Saved!!!

Chapters

1 - The Fall
2 - It Takes 2 to Cooperate
17 - Moving into Choas - Part 2
3 - Kindness Restored
4 - Introductions
5 - Pondering the Moon - Part 1
6 - Honesty Restored - Part 1
7 - Honesty Restored - Part 2
8 - Honesty Restored - Part 3
9 - Gauntlet of Espionage - Part 1
10 - Gauntlet of Espionage - Part 2
11 - Gauntlet of Espionage - Part 3
12 - The Trial - Part 1
13 - The Trial - Part 2
14 - Trains and Trainwrecks
15 - Change of Plans
15.5 - Interlude - Stagnation from Liberation
16 - Moving Into Choas - Part 1
18 - Ars Novellum
19 - Enduring Crystal
20 - Mirrors
21 - Differences
22 - Resolutions
23 - ' Talk ' it out
24 - The New Protectors of Earth
25 - Judgement.
26 - Empathy
27 - Plans
28 - Recollection

1 - The Fall

A trip,

A fall

A new day.

“ AAAAHHHHHHAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH ”

Cried PonderBright, as he barreled toward the ground at faster and faster speeds, his body slowly becoming smaller with bright flashes of light obstructing his vision.
The light was too bright. He blinked away tears of shock as some sort of involuntary reaction forced him to close his eyes.

For a second, he figured this was him finally snapping, and that all that magic business within the last school year was just the start of his insanity. At least that's what he hoped, to be safely inside a padded cell screaming and foaming from the mouth : but in safety. Not this.

But it was all too real. Deep down he knew it, even as his life flashed before his eyes again.
He had confirmed his suspicions with several classmates back when Twilight and 5 others used rainbow lasers against a demon. Their story matched the one he experienced.

He opened his eyes, and PonderBright was greeted by 2 horse like appendages instead of his arms.
In his manic confusion, he gave up. Too many things were happening at once. He was overwhelmed, but mostly tired.

Depression took over.

Maybe this was a good thing.
Maybe he would leave a funny-shaped hole in the ground in the figure of whatever abomination Twilight had turned him into.
He went to cover his eyes, but as he did he felt 4 separate things cover his eyes instead of 2. And he saw feathers.

Wings.
HE HAD WINGS.

He immediately spread every appendage he had, HOPING to control his wings.
He was running out of time.

He tried to rotate his wings like an arm.
He was running out of time.

He looked down to gauge how much time he had left.
He was running out of time.

Upward wind turned sideways. Then downward.
He had done it.

With around 3 primitive-buildings worth of space to spare he had did it.
A immense euphoria washed over him, he didn't want to die after all, but as soon as he had realized this he realized something else; he was still in the air.

He zoned in back to reality as he was starting to fall back down.
This wasn't good.
He was in the wrong position to glide again, Can a horse survive a 150 foot fall?
Wrong question.
His mind wandered, and he was almost blinded by a light from just above him.
No time for that, focus on a plan.
He tried to get himself turned back around into the popper direction for falling like a proper cursed winged abomination.
You know, wings facing the desired direction of travel and whatnot.

But it was no use.
This new body would not cooperate, or maybe he was not giving it the popper commands?
Time has run out.
The best he could manage was a very steep circular motion before crashing into a forest nearby the primitive settlement.

He was very lucky to have to, and he knew it, for the countless branches broke most of his fall. The cuts, bruises and blood were worth it, given the alternative.
He impacted the ground hard. His new form was not aerodynamic, and very dense. His plan to sacrifice his two front … “ legs ” had mostly failed, as what he was assuming to be his torso had taken a lot of the damage. This was made immediately clear by the mind-splitting pain that followed the crash.

He came in so steep he left a short indignation into the forest floor, it was a miracle he was still conscious.
He immediately screamed.

He checked his wounds.
That's a lot of blood.
He looked for something to tie his leg off. Stopping the bleeding came first.
He had no fingers in which to tie it off.
His mind was spinning.
He was no stranger to pain; physical, mental or otherwise, but this was on another level. Mostly physical.

Was he going to pass out?
Was he going to die?
More strange lights from directly above him.
Rescue?
He looked up.
No.
Nothing.

He used traction and his other leg to gain the feeling the sweet relief, that is; the of lack blood following out of one part of his body. Now to focus on his torso.
No time wasted, he rips a abnormally big leaf from a bush and lays over it.
He reaches with both his hooves around his back, along with his mouth, ready to tie it as tight as he could.
Not much blood was coming out from his … “ bottom torso “ mostly removed hair and bruises.
He was lucky yet again for that too, as PonderBright could not tie a knot in such a awkward position with such new - ' limitations ' on how he handled things.

He was, in fact, a horse. He had realized it earlier to save his life, but not internalized it.
Goldish-Yellowish fur? Huh. Some things never change.
The next vine was a hard one to get out. It's as if it was heavier then the rest...
He noticed he was slowing. Getting dizzy.
He tried the best he could.
He had tried.

A voice broke him out of his long trance, coming from a small horse from a fair distance away.
“ A- Are you ok? “ said the young pony.
“ You... Speak? ”,
“English?” Replied PonderBright, not in the right mental state to form popper words. The tone he tried to speak come out manic and frenzied instead. Or maybe that was just all the blood in his mouth.

“ Eng- "
" wha- "
" Look I'll get ya'll hel- ”

“ AM I DEAD?! “ Screamed the broken pony, interrupting her.
The little pony recoiled, making a face even the human could recognize as truly terrified.

PonderBright tried and failed to calm the situation.
“ WHERE AM I? “ he bellowed, sounding only slightly less angry and also more authoritative, both of which only by accident.
“ CAN YOU STOP THIS BLEEDING? “ he screeched in a much more pleading manor.
He had inadvertently “ pointed “ to himself using one his legs. Huh. So this thing does come with instructions.

The little pony was scared stiff. His best bet was this little (child?) creature and he knew it.

After a short silence a thought passed his mind.
Sunset Shimmer.

“ ARE YOU ONE OF TWILIGHTS GOONS, SENT HERE TO FINISH ME OFF !!! ” He screamed without thinking.
Black lightning streaked across the tree canopy, along with afterimages of purple and green dots.
He recoiled at that last one, as it was much bigger and brighter then all the rest, but as he looked back down the beautiful yellow and red little horse; she was gone. Along with his last hope of not bleeding out.

He instantly realized his mistake.
Or maybe not.
Hooftracks.
He walked past the crash site and some destroyed trees, a few were done in by the crash; fewer still by the black lightning.
He followed them all the way back into the primitive village.

Of course.
He was an idiot.
They have buildings: so they have basic healthcare, DUH!

His walk sped into a stroll, still fighting the dizziness and jitters, otherwise it would be a sprint.
Some other “ people “ took notice and flocked near like a group of by-standards observing a schoolyard fight.
“ O- Oh my “ said one.
“ Do you need help? “ said another.

He paused for a moment in disbelief. He expected that kind of delay and response from the little pony, but not these ones. They had jobs. He SAW them working. He SAW one of them put down a book to walk over to him!
Or maybe that was the blood loos talking. Who knows.
“ YES! “ “ I NEED HELP! “ As he leaned toward the other ponies in urgent expression.
“ GET A M- “ Ponder was interrupted by a … female? (maybe?) ponies scream.
Luckily she was quickly quieted by another female (?) pony sitting across from her.
Another tan pony walked up to him, and... bowed...? before seeing all the blood on the ground.
“ SORRY! “ he stumbled his words for a bit.

“ I WILL GET -” The tan pony then finally managed to say, before yet another interruption via someone in the crowd screaming:
“HE NEEDS HELP!”
Things quickly devolved into a shouting match, without anything getting done.

The seldom few ponies who were level headed enough to calmly approach PonderBright were assessing the situation.
All this activity was not doing his autism any favors. He might actually be more in a state of panic then when he was falling.

He then felt a sharp pain coming from his back. A pony had touched it to asses the damage without telling him. Perfect.
He turned to face the perpetrator.
“ HANDS OFF “
The confused and scared pony looked at him with a bloody twig in his hoof.
“ DONT TOUCH ME “ snarled our dark-green and gold pony, almost foaming at the mouth with strained expression.

He then felt another, much sharper (but still manageable) pain from his front left leg.
And at this point - he was done.

Mentally done, that is.

For when he felt his makeshift tourniquet fall off and blood start to ooze out of his worst wounds again, he did snap. But for real this time.
Only one thing was present in his mind; a response trained up over time by so many moments of his past:
“ Attack. “

Green lightning.
Everywhere.

5 ponies motionless. 1 Missing a few vital parts.
At least 6 being dragged off by others.

The pony he had mistakenly directed his “ Thought of Aggression “ towards was completely unharmed, now starring in shock directly at him, and PonderBright staring back at him.
The staring contest quickly came to an end as the dark blue pony ran off, almost slipping due to fleeing so rapidly.

Our main pony turned a little more to the right to see his actual target of his ire. The one that removed his tourniquet.
What was left recognizable looked like a doctor.
Modern stethoscope. Scrubs. What looked like the charred remains of bandages.

He ran.
Away from civilization, all the wise that he had done it again. There would be no help, no escaping Twilight, and no returning back to the human world.

He blew it and he had done so twice, IN A ROW.
At least this time he would make sure his death would not result in more.

After running for awhile, he found a cave and decided that would be his final resting place.
He marched firmly into the opening, and taking a long while to finally get lost inside the winding tunnels to ensure his solitude. He chuckled a bit; even after all this he was still somewhat mentally sharp.
Why had he screamed at the little horse that was just trying to help?

Why the only thing he … wanted to think about when faced with (comparatively) minor pain was to attack?
Was this connected to the destructive lightning in any way?

Oh well.
Probably. Who knows?

It won't matter soon anyway.

Soon it will be nobody's problem, including his own.

He awakened to sounds of hoofs against stone.

It sounded like many different hoofs, like an entire herd, but he wasn't accustom to gauging how many bodies there were when there were 4 legs and all 4 legs were a bit shorter altogether.
He had noticed that most of the bleeding had stopped. He found himself muttering : “Guess I really have to do everything myself”.

A familiar regal female voice was overheard from just around 2 or 3 meters. “ Twilight, did you hear that? ”
Celestia. He recognizes that principal's voice.
Another female voice: “Be ready.”
Luna? He wasn't well read in school affairs, even after Twilight had brought back some semblance of unity to the school.

Ah. Right. A grim reminder to how I got here.
Twilight. A hero now turned villain. She must have succeeded in entering “ Equestria “, obviously.
Did she make mind slaves of the two? Maybe. Impossible to know for sure, given the nature of magic and my lack of understanding.

Now her past transformations of ears and wings made sense; she was from here.

The third time she came back was much more stealthy, probably due to tip offs about government tracking or something. Crystal Prep. Glasses. New Clothes. Distance from her friends. I was even applauding her ability to make it seem like she was actually just a genius inventor from the human world, ...
until her ' totally mechanical and not magic device ' started tearing holes in reality during the sporting event.

I tried to run, half because of the giant plant monsters, half because of how past 2 times ended. Got blockaded by security and told it was for my 'safety' that we were all in one place.
After no-so-politely explaining to the guard that one place is exactly what a brand new eldritch magical horror would want, he nervously said he was just doing his job and to precede to the courtyard.

None of the others seemed to have a single care in the world. Not even reminding Celestia and Luna of the horrors of magic seemed to change that. Nor did Sunset talking to them earlier.
The games continued.
And then Twilight willingly released the magic out of the device that was known to malfunction.

What a perfect moment to be so uncharacteristically stupid.

I had my boot knife, shirt knife, other shirt knife, and OTHER other shirt knife at the ready to “persuade” any blocking bodies to move aside once the …
“magic happened”
but I was too late.
She transformed, I ran,
And I sprinted right over a rock, directly into a portal.

But

That's the joke, right?
That's the punchline right?

People that try to do good like you and me just get catapulted to the wayside, or into a locker, or face first into a toilet, or into a giant ball of eldritch energy, or into a surprise floor esekia, or out of your home onto the street.

And it's not our fault.
But it doesn't matter.

What matters is the result.

And if I don't do anything now, The Result will likely be Twilight destroying my world and taking over a better world, or a war between the two worlds, if Twilight is somehow stopped.

...

No.

I'm sorry Twilight, if your still in there, I don't know how to fire rainbow lasers out of my eyes like you once did.
I've ran all the possibilities through in my head, and there's only one conclusion.

If this is a mercy or more akin to justice,
It does not matter.

Because the result is the same.

I, PonderBright, am about to make my inevitable death, worth it. By doing quite possibly the greatest service “Equestria” has ever seen.

Killing Twilight Sparkle.

When in difficult country, do not encamp. In country where high roads intersect, join hands with your allies. Do not linger in dangerously isolated positions. In hemmed-in situations, you must resort to stratagem. In desperate position, you must fight.

Sun Tzu, Art of war.

Author's Note

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

I find it very funny that the first written record of how to wage war references the magic of friendship. (In Sun Tzu's own demented way)
Ill be posting some after every chapter.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

2 - It Takes 2 to Cooperate

He jumped into their general area after making a short climb over some rocks.
He did a little test as he ran up. He made sure he could, in fact, summon lightning by thinking about the results of his mission.
Bright green, chaotic.
But powerful.

All three were here; Twilight, Celestia, Luna. At least that's what he thought, with them having the same color scheme and voice. They noticed his magical outburst, due to their wide stance and glowing horns.
He was going to rush in and fire as close as possible. That should do it.

But why were Twilight's eyes not glowing?

No time for that, attack.

But why did none of them look like they had been made into Twilight's thralls?

You'll run out of time. Attack.

And why does this feel wrong?

ATTACK.

He fired a short lived burst of green lightning crawlies all over the cavern. His aim was either the worst in history; or he didn't want to hit his target. In addition, he had not gotten closer to his targets. Not even a inch. In fact, he had backed away.
Celesta and Luna had also used some sort of magic to teleport them backward.

They looked ready to fight, but not Twilight.
Twilight looked hurt. A very compassionate form of hurt.
He stopped. He wasn't capable. Twilight had two horses to back her up, and she was out of range.

Or maybe that wasn't the only reason.

He started to lower his head in surrender when he felt... stuck. Immobile. He saw a thin pale and dark mist covering him. He felt... It... too. In a way. He was in combat. No mistaking that.
He used those feelings.

He managed to flash such a bolt, that both Celestia and Luna lost their 'grip'. He then fell to the ground, wincing in the process. He was ready to fight.
In his dying breaths, heWOULD make a difference. Twilight put her hoof in front of Celestia.
“ Stop! “ she said, firmly yet with no hostility.

What?

She wasn't transformed. She wasn't lost.

She had saved his homeworld, and he was about to kill her.

He immediately screamed, but not out of pain from hitting the ground like he was expecting. It came mostly from mental shock, as him screeching “ NO! “ showed as much.

“ DON'T GET NEAR ME “ He said as tears started to flow.
“ JUST LEAVE ME! “ He screamed, his voice distorted at the end due to what he thought was his magic going out of control.

Twilight knew she had to help. There was a pony in need right in front of her, just like the one she had recently saved. And this one doesn't even need convincing.
Both her heart and mind were certain.
She needed to try.

Twilight put her hoof in front of the two other princesses. “ Don't hurt him! I'll calm him down! “ She stated.
They looked conflicted and unsure. They still used some sort of magic, unknown to PonderBright. But not as invasive as the previous. Must be some sort of defensive maneuver.
He instinctively threw a burst of lightning Twilight's way to stop her closing the distance, but just in her general area, and only in front of her.

It was just to scare her away.
He needed to get away.

Get away to pass away peacefully.

She stopped walking forward while having used a wing to shield her head. She then lowered her wing, gained some sort of … look? In her eyes, and marched forward with a newfound confidence.

“ Let me help. “ She said.
He hung his head head in pain. Pain not of the body, but of the mind.

I felt sleepy.

I trust you.

He woke in a medical bed, chained, of course. Hoof handcuffs? Hoofcuffs? At least he could feel his front right hoof, which had started to get numb towards the end of his first day in ' Equesteria ', if Sunset was to be believed.
He looked at his general condition. He was looking very bandaged, clean, goldish-yellow, and... green hair? Some familiarity gave him a tiny bit of comfort, even if it is just coloration.
It took awhile before one of the passing nurses realized he was awake.

“Oh. Uh. I'm not really sure to treat an Alicorn.”
Alicorn? That's me?
“I was told to let you know that your going to have a meeting...”
He was very surprised by the lack of the words : 'trail, execution' or 'burning'
“With the 3 Ponies you met before they took you here...”

“And... Thats' it!”, “Whew!” the nurse sighed. She put down a note on her cart. “It's fine.” PonderBright responded. He was surprised to find his voice so raspy.
“More water!” she said, strolling off, more of a statement then an ask. He realized he had misinterpreted her last statement before putting the note down.
He waited until those three came.

It's all he could do.

The princesses were approaching the seemingly asleep pony, due to how he hung his eyes. He was still sensitive to a lot, light included.
He could only make out bits and pieces with them being so far away, but from what he did make out; Luna was opposed to Twilight's plan to put him in a regular hospital rather then a prison one. She cited how he would react when he woke up and saw them. They finished their approach :
" He is not to be trusted. He is likely not even from this world! " Luna rebuked.
“I trust your judgment, Twilight.” he overheard from Celestia.
' Huh. ' He thought to himself.

He immediately ended the miscommunication by saying :
“ I'm awake.”
Twilight turned towards him with a friendly smile.
She's trying to defuse the tension. She's not very good at it, but it's a glass house. His social skills are worse then the human's world version of Twilight and he knows it.

The others are much more tense.
“I'm ready to talk.” He volunteered.
“Alright.” stated Luna. “Then we shall begin by explaining the situation.”

As they all were explaining the situation, all 3 of them noticed PonderBright's expression getting more shameful and sad with each new detail they passed on.

3 casualties.
8 with permanent damage.

He had a hard time fighting back the tears. He never enjoyed pointless suffering. Quite the opposite in fact; he and FlutterShy used to wave at each other at the animal shelter back in the human world.
Twilight was noticing this, and she thought everyone could use a breather.
“ We can take a brake if you need- ”
“ No. “ he dully responded to Twilight's unfinished question.

He slurried together a few words : “ I think that this should be resolved as soon as possible, so no one else is hurt. “
Twilight was taken back. This was not what she was expecting. Going from a manic rampage to wanting to fix it in what must be only a few moments for him.
Though this wasn't unusual at all for Twilight's encounters with villains, she still did consider it a major unexpected victory.

“ I'm- Sorry. “ He stated.
“ That's all I have to say. ” His eyes darted to the floor.

Luna and Celestia's expression softened a bit; Luna more then Celestia.
Celestia still had that famous poker face.
“ We still have some questions. ”
“ If you would. “ Luna said authoritatively.

The Male Alicorn and the Female Alicorn stared at each other until it became rather awkward.
“ Do you have them ready? “ He asked.
“ Of course. I was waiting for your confirmation. “ She replied. “ Ah. “ He muttered.
He was waiting for her to ask. He had never communicated this.
“ Yes. I'm ready. “ He finally got around to saying.

“ Very well then. “ Luna replied. ' Here it comes ' He thought.
“ Did you mean to attack the ponies at Ponyville? “
“ No. You mean the village I followed the young pony too? No. “
Luna paused for a moment to make sense of the horribly worded response. ' Young Pony ' ? Could he be any more vague?
The three princesses were starting to get the picture of how exactly he fumbled 3 whole 'peaceful' encounters.

“ Did you mean to attack AppleBloom, the 'young pony' you mentioned? “ Her tone was slightly rushed and monotone with this one, as if she knew the answer. Because she did.
“ No. “ His expression in his voice getting ever duller, becoming much like a machine.
“ Did you mean to attack us when you landed nearby us in the cave? “
“ No. Only Twilight. “ He stated in the same monotone as before. He had accidentally moved his gaze to meet her in that moment. He saw her pupils get small, and she leaned back a little.

Celestia had covered Twilight with one of her wings, her head tilted up slightly. Luna had ignited her horn. Her softened expression now hardened again.

“ Maaaybe we should take a break? ” Twilight awkwardly suggested as she popped out from behind Celestia's wing.
“ That was my fault. “ PonderBright apologized.
“ I'm not very good at communicating. “
“I... understand. “ Luna said with a sigh, her posture and words finally loosing their pointed nature. Still guarded, though.

As they left, PonderBright had finally realized why he had stumbled his words as bad as he did: he had been in hospice for a week and a half. The calendars they use here very closely mimic the human ones, and the one he had atop his wall had 11 days filled in.
Or he hoped. He hoped those were days, not months or years. Was a Equestrian day the same length as a normal day? Probably not. He should stop assuming.

When they came back, Twilight looked nervous about something, but at least the tension in the other two was all but gone. Theirs was replaced with a very sad and somber look, and Ponder was surprised he was picking up on any of this at all.
People usually hid their emotions from him back home, and these WERE horses, not humans. Ponies. Same thing.

“ Explain why you attacked Twilight. “ Luna exclaimed.
“ I thought she was my worlds Twilight, who was corrupted by magic and wanted to destroy my world to get here. “ He managed a measly ' point ' at the ground to spite the cast on his functional fore-hoof.
“ I figured I would remove a threat to Equestria, since I was bleeding out anyway... ”
Twilight sighed a sighed a relief, but a small one. You don't get used to noticing these things unless you spend a lot of time listening and not talking. PonderBright was for the first time thankful of his past friendships.

Celestia looked at Twilight, and Twilight back to Celestia. Celestia then took a step towards PonderBright and asked:

“ What is your name? “ She said, calmly.
“ PonderBright. “ He blanked responded.

Celestia smiled. Though Ponder did not know and could not tell, it was only a smile to lift his spirits.

“ PonderBright, we understand that these actions were ultimately not your fault, however- “
“ Yeah. I understand. There still needs to be accountability. “ Ponder replied.
“ However. “ Celestia politely interrupted.
“ We can not let such actions pass without first ensuring they will not happen again. “ Celestia stated.
“ Therefor, I, Queen Celestia of Equestria, hereby order the pony PonderBright under the temporary authority of princess Twilight Sparkle, for the purposes of learning the magic of friendship. So he may never repeat these same mistakes again.”

“ Your horn will stay limited for the duration of your visit.” She pointed to the top of his head, which in fact, had a horn.
... Which was covered up by a strange device.
Celestia turned, whispered something to Twilight, and walked away.
Twilight thanked Celestia while walking over to PonderBright. She released him from his Hoofcuffs with magic, and said with a smile and a hoof held high:
“ Stay and rest for awhile. We have a crystali- I mean new baby … party to attend to. ”

" I'll see you later. "

Twilight was the last to walk out. This all left Ponder in quite a state.
He had never experienced such... Uh... What was the best word for this again?

In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.

Sun Tzu, Art of War

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

I find it very funny that the first written record of how to wage war references the magic of friendship. (In Sun Tzu's own demented way)
Ill be posting some after every chapter.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

17 - Moving into Choas - Part 2

The time spent with Pinkie went alright, Ponder thought.
He still wished he could be doing something to make things better, though he had absolutely no idea what that even entailed, and likely; he himself would not be able to do it.

He thought about Applejack's words: A simple apology.
That would not cut it.
And he would likely find a way to do it wrong.

The meeting time had finally arrived, and nothing went horribly wrong for once.
Him and Pinkie arrived right on time to the only functional clock in this madhouse: a tall tower in the center of the park.

' Titanium ' was talking with Discord, they seemed to be getting along just fine.
Pinkie was seeing this too, and dawned a smirk while looking slightly sideways in their direction.

Ponder was about to ask what was going on for such a strong response, when he was interrupted.
" Heya! " Pinkie instantly shifted to a cheerier tone.

" Want to switch? " She pointed to Ponder.
" Or.... " She took a knowing tone.
" Maybe you want to meet up later? " She said slyly and knowingly.

Discord had to stop himself from laughing at something Celestia said as they were walking to the meeting area.
Titanium looked up to Discord.
" I - suppose - you do need to go. "
" I enjoyed our time. "
He said very formally.

" Yes. I do suppose so. " Titanium replied with a smile.

" Thank you Discord for the invite. It was fun. " Her smile turned into a formal one.
" Ponder, shall we? " She looked over to him.

Ponder got a little uncomfortable at that.
He wasn't entirely sure why, but it was an emotional reaction.

" Oh well! " PinkiePie happily jumped over to Discord.
" Can we go on the size-warping one!? " She decidedly asked.
" Sure! " Discord said with gusto.
" Next- after that- I have a monster designer area that - "
They trailed off as they walked away.

Ponder had raised an eyebrow at Pinkie.
It had taken his mind off of Titanium, but only for a moment.

" My apologies Ponder, I did not think my presence would make you uncomfortable. "
Ponder took a moment to pause, then looked back at Celestia to give a response. Or rather, to ask a question.
Celestia interjected: " A lack of emotion is sometimes more telling then showing it. "
Ponder gained a knowing look.
" Ah. " He confidently stated; his would-be question answered.

They sat on the nearby ' peer ' overlooking many different types of sunsets.
Titanium seemed mesmerized.
Ponder waited patiently.

" Firstly, I would like to apologize. " Celestia was suddenly ready to speak after a long period of silence.
" Wh- What? " Ponder had to ask. It's not everyday someperson can out speed him mentally.

" There were - other instances of Equestria in peril in the past. " Ponder took a blank expression to that, reserving his judgement.
" And I'm afraid I have not done my duty as Princess by failing to take adequate steps to prevent similar events from happening again. "

Ponder looked amazed. And amused, but mostly amazed.

" I hope this apology finds you well when I say... I do need to issue more rules on the matter. "
Ponder held back a scowl as he now struggled to look at Celestia.
She patiently waited for awhile, before speaking up:

" Are you ready for them? " She asked, as if nothing was wrong.

" Sure. Might as well get it over with. " Ponder was failing to hold back his non-enthusiasm.

Celestia took a different tone.
" I had - hoped that meeting in this place - " She waved her hoof around " And in these circumstances - "
" Would at least convey something. "

' She just deviated from her usual manner of speaking. ' Ponder thought. This might be genuine.
An idea came to him.
" Sorry, not really conditioned for it. ", " I don't believe it. "

Titanium tilted her head at him a bit.
He continued his explanation.

" It's sort of... been a pattern in my previous life for good stuff like this to happen - " He waved a hoof to the rest of the amusement park while standing up.
" - only to be not-so-gently reminded that I'm in a world that doesn't value ACTUAL justice or kindness in the slightest. "

Celestia was about to speak up when she ended up letting Ponder speak :
" Even if it's by the exact same pony that supposedly wanted to talk in the first place. "

He stared at her. Quite uncomfortably.
Awaiting a response.

" Hm. " She had to think.

" I almost issued the order to increase security. " She finally said.
Ponder was yet again, at a loss.
" It would have been so easy to write Shinning Armor, our former head of security, and ask him to aid us in improving the countries situation on the matter. "

" But I did not. " She admitted.

Ponder's sudo-aggression was all but gone. He had an inkling of where this was going - but he didn't even believe himself.

" It was because Luna was against it. "
" I had worried that It would upset her greatly; as she had made it very clear that she wanted to do it herself. "

" And I was worried I might have to send her away again. " She looked to the moon, which was right beside the sun in Discord's Chaos World! ™
" But It was an unfounded fear. And my ponies suffered because of it. "

" So I apologize, for not acting sooner. " She finished.

Ponder was at a loss for words.
Never, ever had someone with so much to loose ( and with so much power over him ) had willing been so vulnerable.

' Of course, she could just lock him up and deny all this. ' he was thinking.
But just the rumors alone would do considerable damage. That he was sure of.

If that was the case.
There was just one thing he had to make sure off.

" Well then Celestia. "
Ponder lost all emotion.
His expression turned ghastly robotic, tone shifting to match while not even blinking.

" Can you confidently say you intend to work with me? "

Ponder intentionally left the question open-ended.
He watched her like a hawk - still not blinking - with his head tilted down slightly to maximize intimidation.

This did not go unnoticed.
' Quite the trauma response. ' Celestia thought to herself.
She let it go.

" Yes. " She said calmly and collectively.

" I do. "

" For I believe you can change, even if you do not believe that yourself. "

That part broke Ponder. His concentration, mostly.
Not a single sign of underhandedness, shame, or anger.

He re-centered his gaze on her, after a short break of looking away.

" IF - you follow these new rules. " She interjected, only slightly more serious this time.
Even PonderBright, as autistic as he was, understood that she was watching her tone.

" Do you understand? Are you willing to follow them? " Titanium asked.
" Oh. Yes! Definitely. " He blurted out, as if he was on a timer.

Ponder mulled the thought around in his mind a bit.
" I have them written down, If you wish to go back to them as a reminder. "

" Oh thank god. " He reposed.

" Thank - who? " She asked.

" Oh. You - use the phrase - ' Thank Celestia ' I think? " He corrected her without thinking too much about it.
" I was - unaware I was an expression. " She let a smile emerge.

" Oh. Yeah. " Ponder continued. " I don't find it very likely that anypony in your court would use it in front of you. "
" Plus I'm not from this culture. Plus Autism. " He finished his mini-tirade.

Luckily Celestia had many thousands of years suppressing laughs. Any other pony might have been offended. But not her.

Celestia continued to let Ponder go wildly off topic and into this foreign tangent. There was still plenty of time, after all.
" ... You know. " Ponder managed to slip out
" Speaking of ' no possible way you could have known ' - If you don't mind me asking - why do you hold yourself to the impossible standard of preventing every bad thing that could possibly happen in Equestria? "

Celestia, to spite her thousand-year reign, was at a complete loss.
Too many possible things he could be referring too.

" Whatever do you mean? " She plainly asked.

" You - mentioned - " Ponder grew more depressed " that what happened with me - " He had to pause again.
Celestia interjected.
" We do not have to discuss this if you don't wish. " Titanium offered.
" No- It's ok. ", " I want to get this out. " He rebuked.

Not ' improve this ' or ' fix that ' Celestia was thinking. An improvement. An immediate improvement. Good job Ponder.

" Do you - expect yourself to predict a eldritch bipedal alien to suddenly be dropped from a great height into your world - only to be given wings to save himself from falling - only to not be able to use those wings because, no duh - only to happen to be transformed into the thing most likely to cause collateral damage - only to happen to crash land near one of the few populated areas? "

Ponder had to catch his breath a bit.

He continued.
" Look- I'm not 1,000 years old, so maybe I don't know, but - " Uncertainty and fear oozing out with every syllable.

" I understand PonderBright. " Celestia spoke up.
" And - now that it has been properly and completely explained; I do see that some of my previous worries were unfounded. "
Ponder brightened up a bit.

" And - Truth be told - and the same to you Ponder - " Celestia was considering telling him this.
She decided for.
" Construction incidents, along with mining mishaps - claim more lives per year in Equestria then the tragedy that you were involved with. "
" Not that it makes any of them any less tragic. " Her tone turned somber. Quite the chilling experience, even for Ponder who had plenty of experience with authority.

" Now Ponder. " She looked to him.
" Yes? " He said after a short awkward pause.

" While I have written these rules down, I must know that you are paying attention, and following them to the best of your ability. " She continued on with just the right amount of sternness.

Ponder nodded in response.

" I wish to discuss these with you - so that there will be the least chance of misunderstanding. " She looked to his body language.
He had sat back down - and had little tells as to what he might be thinking. He did have this... ' Autism ' after all.
Nothing she couldn't work around.

" Alright. " Ponder plainly said - WITH some emotion this time!
" I'm ready. "

Celestia had taken every reasonable percussion. Perhaps she had learned a bit more from her student then she had realized.

They talked for awhile.
Not for too long, they had to agree on another meeting when Pinkie and Discord got back, but nothing another session at Twilight's place wouldn't solve.

She wasn't going to deprive him of sleep. After all, having him only half- hear what she says in a half- asleep daze would defeat the point entirely. She knows that pain.

Plus... She wasn't entirely turning into her most faithful student. Not just yet.

The rest of her week was filled with paperwork, collaborations with Shinning Armor, and a general feeling of thankfulness that she has friends to draw strength and inspiration from.

Author's Note

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

In all honestly, this would likely end with one or more parties misunderstanding each other and ' attacking. '
Luckily both are more or less geniuses in a very specific scenario.

Try at home at your own risk.

3 - Kindness Restored

He couldn't help but think there was a sense of strain or stress to Twilight voice as he remembered it. She was much better at friendship then her human counterpart, and oddly enough hiding her emotions. He wondered if the two were related. Must be, the fakest ones were always the most popular.

He still trusted her though, to spite everything. Plus - their was unusual lack of the hammer being brought down upon him.

He wasn't sure what part convinced him: her putting himself in harms way just to save him? Or her dedication to spreading... Friendship? Teamwork? Celestia said friendship, but Celestia is not Twilight Sparkle. He hated when others put words in his mouth, and he wasn't going let that happen for his savior.

These kinds of thoughts whirled around in his head for awhile, so long he realized that their little short trip to the ' Crystal Empire ' was not so short anymore. They had been gone for days.

The hospital food was getting old. He could now move around fine and there was nothing to do. Nothing to do to make amends. He was left alone with his thoughts for an uncomfortably long time.

He wasn't going to assume. Assuming was how he got into this mess. He was going to wait for an explai-
“ Sorry we were late getting back, there was some holdups at the crystal empire, and well... “
Twilight said, barging into the room in a unkempt manner.

“ I'm so sorry about the delay. I didn't want you think you are a prisoner. “ She apologized.
He then used his one and only social skill in attempt to repay some kindness.
“ Twilight, you saved me from self destruction, and then probably execution. You don't owe me anything. I'm fine. “ He stated with confidence.

Twilight smiled in relief, but he couldn't help getting that feeling again. This definitely was no casual friendly conversation. Much more tense, serious. But it could not be helped. He HAD killed some others, after all. A scar he will have to carry for the rest of his life. No matter how short, or how long that may be.

Twilight wanted him to follow her. She motioned to the door with a hoof. They talked as they walked.

“ So the Crystal Heart needed to be restored to heat the empire “, “ And It's powered by positive emotions? “ Asked PonderBright.
“ Yes, though I'm kind of surprised you figured it out from just that explanation. “ Twilight half-replied-half asked.

The two were walking to FlutterShy's cottage for a friendship lesson.
The day was getting short, and the summer air was slowly turning cold.
It wasn't cold per say, but still not quite the heat of one of the main summer months.

The sunset was violent golden. Weather ponies flew by, a slow and gentle soar through the air.
It was quite a cozy atmosphere, if anypony was relaxed enough to slow down enough to appreciate it.
Which they weren't.

Ponder spoke up yet again :
“ Whats more strange is you'd trust me with top secret military intelligence. “ He said half jokingly.
Twilight stopped and her pupils shrunk a bit.
“ You... You'd consider that of... military importance? “

“ Well, yes. Its a single, fragile point of failure for the whole empire. I'm amazed it it took that long to break with it only being shielded behind a curtain on the ground floor!“ Ponder raised a hoof trying, and failing, to stop the growing tension.
There was a sizable silence as Twilight was in contemplation.
“ You know what? Your right. “
Twilight said in half-confidence as they approached the door. She still had her famous awkward smile on from his last remark, though Ponder thought he had done something wrong.

He ignored that thought as word games like those were nonsense, and only led to stupidity and miscommunication; and The last thing he wanted was more harm being caused.
The door opened after a short knock to a very familiar looking pony.
“ Fluttershy? “ Ponder instinctively said.
“ Oh ? Did twilight tell you? “ Fluttershy asked.
As he was walking per her hand... hoof gesture he noticed a... serpent thing floating near the doorway, giving him a very angry stare.

He instantly widened his stance, and apparently spread his wings by accident, hitting Twilight in the face.

Twilight's instincts kicked in. She had to defuse the situation. (though the situation was in no need of defusing)
Twilight said in a rush “ HI Discord ! “ In a very strained manner, poking her head out from Ponder's wing.
Twilight looked at Fluttershy as if she was in pain, and Fluttershy looked at Discord.

“ Don't look at me, we talked about this. “
' It spoke? ' Ponder was thinking.
Thank god it was not a wild animal. Who knows what a Fluttershy could tame in a fantasy world.
“ Also “ It continued -
It snapped his fingers and he felt lighter.

His head felt lighter.
No horn?
Fluttershy butted in: “ DISCORD! “
“ What? He'll get it back when he leaves, and it's not like he was using it anyway. “
PonderBright was amazed.

“ Thank you, whatever you are! “ He said in uncharacteristic joy.
Twilight was unsure on what recent event to be more confused by. It certainly did show.
“ Is it permanent? “ He asked, happiness still in his eyes.
“ Oh certainly. If you want it to be. Along with a all expenses paid trip back to the human realm if you so wish. “
It snapped his fingers again, and the inside of her house turned into a modern airport security, with it's new clothes now resembling a flight attendant, but not quite spot on.

“ Yes! Thank you! “

“ Um, the horn thing, not the trip back to the human world. “
He looked back happily at twilight, who was obligated to share a small smile.
Discord's fingers were already poised to snap.
“ Sigh. “
“ Also, What? “
Discord responded in confusion.

“ That horn caused so many people so much trouble! I'm glad any possibility of it happening again is over. “ PonderBright answered.
“ Well, if it makes you happy, ” Twilight said with contemplation in her voice “ Then that's ok. “
“ I just didn't want to make you feel like you were missing a part of your body. “

“ I'm originally a human, remember? “ Ponder responded.
“ Oh, right. “ Twilight said with minor embarrassment.

“ And it's ponies, not people “ Fluttershy calmly corrected him.
“ Oh, right. “ Ponder said in blank monotone, mood instantly back to sadness and depression.

“ I think I know why Twilight chose me. Come on, lets go meet some nice little animals. “
Ponder smiled.
She motioned to Twilight as she nodded. Twilight then closed the door and hoofsteps were heard leading away from the house.
The two remaining ponies walked out into the back, Discord following closing behind, guarding Fluttershy.

Her backyard was quite a cozy one. Little miniaturized bushed sprouted up from the base of a large shade tree.
A small shed with vines growing along it, not pruned.
The only thing even remotely off putting was a ever so slightly ominous treeline in the distance. Still, very far from her house.

And of course, lots of animals.
Did that bear... just wave at me?
The petting commenced.

Fluttershy; surprised and disheartened by what she heard Ponder say in the house, overcompensated by sharing a bit too much about every animal that was in her backyard. Many fuzzy, meaningless words like “adorable” and “little” followed.

She realized halfway through the sentence: “ And this little cute bluebird would just love- ” She had looked in Ponder's direction and noticed he was uncomfortable.
“ Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was making things tense. “
“ No it's fine. “ Ponder replied
“ This is much better then the human world. “

“ Oh? How so? “
“ Animals free to go everywhere, and they can think! “
Ponder had misunderstood her apology, but neither seemed to care. The point had already been communicated.
“ This is all very nice. “ Ponder said after a pause. “ I think I needed this. To SEE kindness, or at least be near it. ”
A ferret rubbed up against Ponder's leg
“ And maybe experience it too. “ Flutteryshy replied.

Discord butted in : “Ah yes. Very great. Much fun. Are we done here? “ his angry glance turned into more of a sneer at Ponder.
Fluttershy slowly replied “ No, not really. “ without understanding the situation.
PonderBright, however, knew exactly what this was. He had experience in just about every negative emotion, his own included. This was jealousy.
He was not about to attempt to hurt another creature, not mentally and definitely not physically. But he thought he would repay the kindness that Fluttershy had shown him by calming her 'dragon' friend.

“ Discord, I'm going to be leaving soon anyway, why rush this? “ He said in hopes of issuing a verbal surrender. It didn't work. Shocker.
“ Well color me surprised if I don't trust a murder-pony with my best and dearest friend Fluttershy. “

“ Discord, we all know it was an acci- “
Ponder cut Fluttershy off.

“ My horn is gone. I wanted it gone and thanked you for it! I like the culture-way of life you have here in Equestria, I love it! I would never do anything to harm it! “
“ Maybe not intentionally. “ Discord said smugly.

“ DISCORD! “ Fluttershy said with minor hate in her voice.

“ No it's alright. “ Ponder replied
“ You have just cause to not like me Discord. I don't want to say that I'm trying to deny that. “

Discord let up a bit.
“ Hmph. “ A almost stone-cold reply.

“ Ill try my best not to cause anymore trouble. “ The words pained him. These words he had hoped not to say today, but to postpone indefinitely. A reminder of a seemingly perfect world he had tainted with his human tendencies.

A thought crossed his mind.
“ Wait, Discord, with all that power, maybe you- “
Discord's pointed anger turned to solemness as he turned away from the other two.

PonderBright was confused, not understanding the que, until Fluttershy put her hoof on his shoulder.
He scowled and sat back down on the grass.

“ That's not the point of today. “ Fluttershy stated with a tone that begged for confidence.
“ Were all doing this because we want to help, and to show you we want to help. “
“ And because we all agreed that this wasn't your fault. “
She said that last one with a bit of doubt.

“ Well, I suppose I got a little carried away too. In our conversation. “
“ And I suppose that some of the past … situation is my fault too. “

Discord's voice and posture softened. Fluttershy was gaining a gleeful open-mouth smile.
“ If I wanted this to have never happened; I could have been paying more attention, especially near the cottage - and to you Fluttershy. “
Fluttershy blushed a bit, and her smile turned heartfelt, though Ponder was waaaaaay to autistic to notice this.

“ I could have ended that whole fiasco anytime I wanted, IF I had noticed what was happening to you, PonderBright. “
Discord half-apologized.

“ You don't have eyes in the back of your head. “ PonderBright rebuked, almost argumentatively.
“ Oh but I do! “ Discord turned around to reveal a copy of his eyes that weren't there before.
“ But in all seriousness though, I do have hundreds or thousands of invisible eyes active at any given time. “
With a snap of his fingers, many circular eyes revealed themselves in the area.

Ponder reached out to touch one, but it moved away with almost perfect movements to keep its distance.
“ Cool. “ said Ponder.
“ Really? “ said the other two in confusion.
Fluttershy was used to this stuff, but an involuntary refugee literal alien with such a bad first experience? She was shocked and amazed.
Discord was similarly stumped too, he expected to end the tension with a quick scare and a group laugh.

“ And fyi, unless you agreed to be Equestria's entire police force, I don't think you can be paying attention to everything all the time. “ Ponder confidently stated.
Discord smiled.
“ HO HO! Oh you flatter me. “, “ Not even minds as great as mine can process that much information, ill admit. “
“ Well anyway, since were getting introductions out of the way, Discord is the name, Chaos is THE game. “ He said while snapping the dirt roads into soap, and the grass into candy.

“ Wow. “
“ Now I kind of want to know what happened to the area they gave you to do whatever with. “ Ponder replied, assuming yet again. He wanted to shift the conversation, he didn't think he could take talking about his mistakes much longer.
“ Land? What land? I'll have you know I'm only a homeowner in the Chaos Realm. “ He said as eldritch horrors crawled out from a portal behind him, turning out to be paper cutouts just viewed from a bad angle.

“ Didn't they give you some land nobo- nopony would want just to see what you would do with it? Or as a thank you? Or maybe a chaos amusement park? “
Both Flutteryshy and Discord were awestruck, but mostly Discord.
“ I'm happy your getting along. Maybe even made a new friend? “ Fluttershy cheekily said to her friend.

Discord, who had been furiously writing this down with a pencil in his mouth, hand, and tucked between one ear looked over to Fluttershy's 'smug face' and disappeared his writing and stationary.
Some of Flutteryshy's animals walked over due to lack of petting. PonderBright and Fluttershy happily accepted them by their side and into their laps as they sat down.
PonderBright's attention was caught by a sudden polite “ AHM. “ form discord.

His 'seating area' was now a radio recording studio, complete with a boom microphone and table. He was dressed the part too, like always.
“ But please, tell us more about this... 'Chaos Themed Amusement Park' “ Discord said with a perfectly straight face with both hands clasped together, perfect posture and all.

Both him and FlutterShy laughed in response, and PonderBright realized something he hadn't in a long time; he was feeling alright. Having FUN even. It was a good feeling. But reality brought him back down. But not back down to his normal 'rock bottom' like he was expecting, more like a neutral feeling; bordering on the bad side. He hoped it would last, but knew better and just tried to enjoy the moment.

When Twilight picked Ponder up from Fluttershy's at the end of the day, She and the others had a brief private conversation.
He spent that down time looking at just how weird and beautiful everything was. The distant mountain city, the town, the general rolling landscape. He should have done better with the townsfolk, in all honesty. He didn't know how though, and he was desperate to try to make things as better as he could.
After the fact. It looks like there was no undoing the deaths.

The thoughts of taking a long walk off of a short dock never surfaced though, which was odd.

The door opened.
“ PonderBright? You can come back in now. “ Twilight said with a genuine smile.
He sat down on a stool next to a table, where they were all seated.

He fumbled the process, as one does when your a human with horse like appendages, but Twilight managed to lend a stabilizing hoof at the right moment.
“ We are happy you were able to relax. “ said Twilight.
“ Yeah. I definitely feel better. “ said Ponder.
“ You seem better too. “ Fluttershy replied.
“ Sometimes, we all need a little kindness. “

“ And, I think I know what to do now, regarding your friendship lessons. “ Twilight remarked.
“ That is, if you'll stay in Equestria, of course. “

“ Yeah. “ PonderBright stated.
“ I don't feel like giving up anymore. “ He said with unusual amounts of emotion in his words.

Ponder looked over at Twilight to see her eyes half-closed. She looked? Smug? Did she foresee this?
No. Too many variables.
Something similar? Also no. This wasn't the logical reaction to this conclusion and he knew it. No pony-human-anything could have predicted any sort of short term improvement after what he went through, Equestria and earlier.

Ponder was about to say something, but then-
“ Well then it's settled! Thanks guys. “ Twilight said as she got up to leave.
Ponder followed her.
After some goodbyes, And after a distance was between them and the cottage, Twilight spoke up.

“ You know, I had some doubts that you really meant what you said. Intentionally or not. “ Twilight said in a normal tone.
“ But not anymore. Between what I saw when I was there, and some of when I wasn't, I don't need a spell to know that you were telling the truth. “ She said in honesty.

" Your doing better now and I'm confident you won't hurt anypony. " She further said in earnest.

“ When you weren't there? “ Ponder asked.
“ Oh! “ Twilight had gotten ahead of herself.
“ Discord can replicate any moment he's seen, like in a play. “ She replied.
“ Huh. We have similar devices in my world. “ Ponder replied.
“ Oh. “ She said in minor interest.

“ And I guess that explains the weird feeling from when I was being questioned. “ Ponder said.
“ Yes. Zone of Truth, It's a harmless spell. “ Twilight stated. She hoped he had not been too sensitive too it, having an alicorn's sense of magic and all.
“ It's fine. “ He said in usual monotone. Twilight's face getting slightly more worried at that response, but not enough for Ponder to notice.

“ But anyway, I wanted to offer you a stay at my castle. “ Twilight had course corrected the conversation yet again.
Ponder looked surprised. She continued.
“ You clearly are sorry. You didn't mean it, and you want to make up for it. That's all the evidence I need. “
Ponder fought back grinning as much as he could, as he was taught that such a thing was either rude, creepy, or a sign of weakness depending on who was in front of him.

“ Thanks Twilight. I'll accept. “
Kindness.
Kindness indeed.

Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.

Sun Tzu, Art of War

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

I find it very funny that the first written record of how to wage war references the magic of friendship. (In Sun Tzu's own demented way)
Ill be posting some after every chapter.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

4 - Introductions

“ It's just that, It's sometimes hard to understand you when you talk about certain things - or make certain points without displaying any emotion. “ Twilight said, as she was showing Ponder around the castle.

She had learned from Starlight; and this time there could be no accidental room openings.
Hence, this tour.

It had been almost a day since he joined her and Starlight in the castle, and yet, he barely left his room. He went outside, but only for ~15 minutes at a time and only at sunrise and sunset. She had her concerns, but they were minor. She zoned back in to catch Ponder's response:

“ But I only show emotions for one thing: how I feel about the situation. “ Ponder replied, entirely missing the point.
“ Besides, wouldn't having only possible meaning to such a complex thing make it simpler? “
His point was technically correct, as if he was talking to a perfect machine.
He knocked on a door they were standing near as he finished his sentence.

After around 3 seconds of no response he unlocked and opened the door. Twilight felt relief that he at least knew basic manners and how to use them.
In the moment, she was more worried about how him and Starlight would meet, but those fears would soon be rendered irrelevant as Starlight was already in the library.

“ Oh! “ Starlight was startled. She didn't hear the knock, or just wasn't paying attention.
Twilight was at a standstill. She didn't know what to do. Not exactly the best option for two ponies till in ' friendship kindergarten ' or so she thought.

“ Your the other pony that Twilight mentioned. “ Ponder had responded.

They both stared at each other for an uncomfortably long period of time, Starlight because of her lasting uneasiness and Ponder because autism. The deadlock became apparent to all parties involved.
It was so long, Twilight almost spoke up.

“ So, your new here? Twilight asked about letting you stay here yesterday. “ Starlight felt obligated to say with a forced smile.
“ Yes. “ Ponder responded.
Both were happy that they were speaking to each other, even with such smallest of talks.

“ Well that's the library! “ Twilight said in a rush.
“ I ought to show him the rest of the castle; learning from you! “ She said facing starlight.
She closed the door.

Twilight didn't exactly know why she had rushed the goodbye. She forgot about that introspection as a sense of ease overcame her as she checked another room off her checklist.

Ponder had wondered: Did she rush this? Did she not want us to meet? Nah. Couldn't be. Us two are literally living together, in a medieval court kind of sense.

Twilight, of course, had not even come close to any of these realizations. She had been operating on autopilot. She didn't want to make a mistake. Not now while both of those ponies were in their ' fragile cocoon stage of friendship '.

While they were walking Ponder realized he had not yet confirmed one of his earlier suspicions; and he was not about to let another being speak for his savoir, so he had to ask:

“ Twilight, the thing your trying to teach is friendship, correct? “
Twilight immediately forgot about the earlier nervousness she was feeling to hold back a little laughter.
“ Yes. You didn't get that from our time together? “
“ Well, no. Not for certain. “

“ Celestia said 'magic' of friendship which could mean regular friendship, or the firing of the rainbows thing. “
Twilight giggled. She never had thought about it that way, being in mortal combat every time she had to use them.
She let him continue.
“ And the friendship lesson's original plan according to Fluttershy was to just make me … feel better? Right? “

She was surprised at his frankness. Though, she had already seen both sides of Starlight's personality, maybe this was just the other end of his.

“ Yes. “, “ Friendship definitely comes first.“
“ The real magic of friendship comes first; Learning how good it is to have friends. “
He responded in a very guarded manner:
“ Well, I don't mean to be rude or ungrateful in any way but... “

Twilight was waiting for a response.
“ I tried friendship many times and it was a total disaster. “

Twilight immediately stopped. Ponder took notice and took a guarded stance, to match his earlier tone. Both ponies eyes shrunk, but Ponders were truly tiny.
Twilight had noticed the tension, and tried to soften it, but at this point she was already basically twilight-ing over the previous statement.

“ Uhm, … You tried it multiple times … And every one was a failure? “ She asked, failing to force a smile.
Ponder only stared back, eyes completely open, unblinking.

Twilight had never encountered this response before. She didn't know what to do. The closest thing she'd seen is from one of the older royal guardsmen.
This was also not doing her mental state any favors. She kept thinking about how it would even be possible for anypony to even say that, and moreover react in such a way.

A few seconds passed.

PonderBright's expression instantly softened as if a switch was flipped, now to a more worried look, and he seemed to be a bit more approachable.
Ponder had figured, if he's going to get the full might of a higher authority brought down upon him, it might as well be Twilight.
' This was apparently his form of a social peace offering ' Twilight was thinking.
He answered her question:

“ Yes. They either ended in them drifting away, or some form of betrayal. “ He rushed a response.
“ A bad investment at best, and a -“ His expression turned sour. “ Security risk at worst. “

Twilight was relieved. She didn't show it, however. She still had some twilight-ing to do quietly in her room, and it did show.

“ I'm, so sorry your former friendships turned out that way. “ She said, mostly to comfort him. He wasn't having it. Not because she didn't try or wasn't genuine, but because he was particularly zealous about not making decisions with his emotions.

“ It's fine “ He returned to his usual monotone, the threat of retribution for pointing out a flaw in his superior all but gone.
“ It's mostly a done deal for me, at least when were talking about what I can accomplish. “

Twilight looked confused. Ponder explained further.

“ I've done friendship many times, I already know how it ends for me if I try to do it again without changing anything; statistically speaking. “

Ponder realized something, though the realization was off topic.
“ Oh, sorry. I got ahead of myself. With your level of technology you probably don't know what ' statistically ' is. “

Twilight saw a path to shoehorn a friendship lesson in, and by celestia she took it.

“ Oh I'm well aware of statistics. “ She replied. Ponder looked shocked.
“ Probabilities, Z-scores, tripple-blind studies and standard deviations. “ Twilight was trying hard to make a point, but Ponder was not quite getting it just yet.

“ So maybe you'll be willing to be learn about friendship in the same way you just learned about us and statistics. “, “ There's new perspectives and knowledge just about anywhere, and I think it would be a shame if you just gave up on all of it. “

Ponder still looked shocked, but out of amazement rather then confoundment. Twilight, to spite her much greater experience in friendship, did not notice this.

“ Oh. Uh. Maybe that's a little too much for right now? “ She asked.

“ Oh, no! I'm sorry for assuming! “ Ponder said. He further spurted out words to further curb miscommunication: “ I got that all wrong. And maybe for friendship too, … though given my sample size I'm much more confident in that assertion. “

In rushing to snuff out any incorrect words or assumptions, he had accidentally took a slightly cocky and assertive tone. ' Whoops. Another drop in the ocean, I guess ' Ponder thought. Hopefully she won't be too mad -

“ Well then I guess we'll have to provide you with even more good ones. Friendships, that is. “
She said with confidence.
“ To tip that scale back in the right direction, or the mean of that data back towards where it should be. “
“ Statistically speaking. “

PonderBright had no words. Her logic was sound, snarky remark at the end or not. This was not the world he knew, and he was literally an alien. He was just so used to Earth, that the massive difference in location, culture and other differences hadn't been mentally processed yet.

Or maybe he was intentionally putting that realization off.

Who knew.

He certainly didn't.

“ Oh yeah. Certainty. I didn't mean to say I wanted to call it quits before I even began. “ He corrected himself.
“ I'm down for basically anything. I'm a big enough, … pony to admit that I know nothing about nothing here. Equestria, that is. “

They both shared a genuine smile for the first time, as Twilight finished showing Ponder around.
“ You know, I think I know how to revise your friendship plan. “ Twilight said as they came back to the massive entryway.
“ Oh? Is there a standard procedure or something? “ Ponder tried to make a joke.

“ Ah, no. “ Twilight responded. She had a slight smile to let Ponder know that the attempt was appreciated.
“ But I am fairly certain I know anyway. You remember Applejack? “
“ Sure. We saw each other around, helped each other a few times, in fact. “

They traded a few more meaningless words until Twilight asked:
“ You know honesty is kind of her thing, right? “
“ I guess? Yeah. I think that makes sense. Never heard her lie back in Canterlot. “

Twilight had assumed correctly that their human counterparts had little knowledge about their elements and what they represent.

“ Well, I'll have you talk to her next, If that's alright. “

Ponder agreed with a nod.

“ There's some... not so easy things you need to hear now that you're feeling better, and in a state to hear them. “ She had not been looking forward to saying this.
“ There was lasting damage, and some things that can not be undone. “

' There was no going around that, so might as well go through it ' Ponder thought to himself as she finished her sentence.

“ Yeah. I think so too. “ Ponder said.
Ponder looked around, as if Appplejack was living there as well.

“ Tomorrow. “ Twilight clarified. She was not used to anypony not quite understanding her on a surface level just as much as Ponder did.

But he did connect with her via statistics and past experiences, in a different way. She couldn't help but wonder if that would come up later or needed to be addressed, but for now, she was just happy she herself wasn't about to go into another minor breakdown.

With as many things happening as of late, it wasn't really something she thought she could afford.

After a genuine “ Bye! “ from both parties Twilight went to Starlight and Ponder to his room.
Ponder couldn't help the thoughts that he was always in a mental state to hear whatever horrible truths Applejack or anyone else had to lay down on him. His devotion to logical action and improvement was absolute, or so he thought.

He was good at it.

Very good at it. Better then everyone in his school, the entire state even, if you look at the numbers a bit crooked. Why wasn't he thinking about anything else? He asked himself.

Because there is currently no greater way to make progress, of course.

And so, with him leaving no other valid targets to direct his mind too, his thoughts festered.
Unknown to PonderBright, of course. The thoughts continued:

He was forged through hot fire to be what he is today. He couldn't possibly be susceptible to such simple minded pitfalls, could he?
Not in the traditional sense, no. He had too much life experience proving otherwise.

He drifted off to sleep.

But every dam has it's maximum safe level, no matter how many safety latches, diverting waterways and height.
And even steel has it's breaking point.

PonderBright went to sleep thinking that the whole Fluttershy business was mostly a waste of time.
A well intentioned waste of time, but a waste of time. He was very different. Both physically, and especially mentally.

His subconscious state manifested in a dream.

Or rather, a nightmare.

PonderBright awoke to strained distant screaming. He had been trying to wake up due to said screams for awhile now, but something akin to sleep paralysis must have been keeping him half asleep.

He instantly realized something.

The screams had abruptly stopped.
His survival instincts kicked in.

He immediately jumped from his bed, his eyes still trying to adjust to the dark. No lights, duh. Primitive magic world.

His eyes and ears were not working at 100%, probably due to the abrupt end of sleep and him getting up too fast.
He clumsily used his wings as digits to strike a match and light a candle, the same way twilight had done when getting back from Fluttershy's.

She must have done so to show him. He knows she can make lights from her magic.
Magic.
Something he wished he had right now, if only to make a laser-lightning light show then run away if he happened to run into the perpetrator.

He started to walk towards Twilight's room to alert her. The faded sound of his own footsteps echoing around the halls, surprising even him. He must still be half asleep. No corrected vision, either. The dizziness had luckily faded. At least that's something.

He pressed on to spite not being in a state to do so. he had to see if Twilight was ok. The last thing he wanted is for something bad to happen to anyone here, in the perfect pastel pony world. He was in the middle of wondering if that ' perfect world ' assumption was really correct when he realized something:

NOTHING around here was viewable. Or clearly, at least. Everything was a blur; no matter how close or how far. He looked at a nearby mirror to check himself, and there he was, in crystal clear perfect view.
His mind started to stray.

Have I lost vision? Do I need glasses? He thought to himself. No. Everything sounds … Distorted. Faded.
Something was wrong. Everything was off.

Then, A crystal clear voice seemingly inches away from his ear speaks with perfect clarity and confidence:
“ Well of course it is. You don't belong here. “
He immediately turned.

Nothing.

Not a hint of magic, (which he was very good at detecting by now) , and no visual.
He threw a nearby book on the ground at the empty hall, and it fell to the floor. No invisible enemies either.

He didn't have that big of a grasp of how magic worked, or rather not at all. He figured this was either some sort of physic attack meant to throw him off, or a hallucination.

He figured the perpetrator wanted to slow him down with that threat. He did the opposite. He started to run. Not a sprint, as doing the exact opposite would be falling for basic reverse physiology. Plus he still could not see very well, and may sprint into a trap if he went at full speed.

He then ran past something.

In one of the rooms, he could have sworn he saw blood.
Blood and a corpse.
He kept running.

If the perp was in that room, they would likely come out to attack him. He ran to the nearest intersection and hid under a desk.

“ Wow. You really have lost your touch. No walking over your tracks like a bear, no sound diversions, no making of makeshift weapons. “

He immediately jumped, hitting his head on the bottom of the desk.

He then heard laughter. A very mocking laughter. Very familiar. As if some sort of mental block; (or break), was preventing him from recognizing it's owner.
The laughter was not only right next to his ear like the previous two interruptions; it echoed all over the halls for a bit.
Whoever this thing was, it had eyes on him.

It knew ALOT about him.
It was at the tip of his tongue who the perp was. It bugged him. It disturbed him deeply.
He ran. Fast, this time.

It seemed to have eyes on him no matter what he did, so no use in hiding. He took it's advice and got a fire poker as a weapon as he passed the fireplace.
He then immediately came across another corpse. This time in the hallway.

Rarity?
She was hit on the back of the head with something. And then stabbed repeatedly in the stomach.

He didn't know If this was just the shock kicking in, but his vision and hearing was further starting to fail him. More things became blurred. Blurred things became more blurred. His footsteps were now one long, echoing sound, even if he slowed down.

One thing was still crystal clear though:
“ You took too long. So I did. “

He swung his poker around, wings hurting under the strain of it. He just wanted it to go away.
More laughter came as a response to his struggling.

He pressed on. He hoped to curb the casualties. And he desperately wanted to kill whatever was evil enough to do all of this.

He came across a strewn up blue Pegasus in the kitchen. It looked like Rainbowdash. This one was in much worse condition then Rarity. What was recognizable looked horrible. She had been tortured.

“ Justice. “ Said the voice.

“ JUST TAKE ME! “ PonderBright finally shouted back.
“ TAKE ME AND LEAVE THE REST ALONE! IT'S CLEARLY ME YOU WANT! “

More laughter.

“ The rest? “

His heart sank. He dropped the poker as it would just slow him down. He would body slam whoever or whatever this thing was and let the rest escape. If not, he would bite it's putrid throat out for it's sins.

The hallways were much, much longer then he remembered.

He ran past a few more corpses, 3 to be exact. The rest of Twilight's friend group, probably. He didn't check to look.

His eyes and ears continued to fail him, the more and more he ran. It became so bad that he could only make our the vague outlines of shapes.

He ran and ran, and eventually came to the end of a dead end hallway.
He was not shown any of these during his tour, and wasn't even sure there was any in the castle.

He was confused, but he knew the door at the end was Twilight's.
He hesitated. To spite his emotions, he opened the door.

What came into view was a human. Completely and perfectly visible. Perfectly clean. Turned away, and Twilight's motionless body on the floor next to it. It and her was the only things clear enough to be reconcilable, though Twilight was much more blurred.

Her throat had been slit, but other than that there seemed to be no signs of the usual damage on the others.

“ A mercy. “
It said.

It's voice now not only right next to Ponder's ear, but also coming from the human.

It's head had instantly rotated a bit to have one tiny part of one of it's eyes face him. Ponder was in shock. Did he teleport? Is it's speed immeasurable?

“ This was never going to work. “

“ You know better. “

Ponder's legs were about to give out.

“ But of course, you already knew that -”

A tree branch from a window obscured it in darkness for a moment, and when it was back in view it was turned around to face him. It towered over the shorter stature of the ponies in the room.

It was himself.

“ Right? “

It had it's arms outstretched, reaching away from it's torso and slightly shrugged, in a domineering fashion.

It began to smile.

A bright flash of a dark blue magic shined from a distant somewhere, then everything was gone.
A familiar pony came into view.

“ Luna? “ PonderBright correctly guessed.

Luna had a very concerned look on her face, and was visibly shaken.
“ Ponderbright. “ Luna replied, not really knowing what to say.
Ponder had realized: this was just a dream.

“ OH THANK GOD “ He instinctively blurted out.
Luna seem confused.

“ And what might you mean? “ Luna asked.
“ Don't worry about it dream Luna “ Ponder said with maximum catharsis in his voice.
“ I'll be waking up soon. “

She seemed slightly offended.
“ I am the princess of dreams, Twilight has not told you? “
“ So, your trying to say your the real Luna? “ Ponder had to ask.
“ Yes. I was about to say. “ Luna replied.

“ Well if your the real Luna, and want to convince me, send me a tex- a letter or come to visit; I'm totally done with this dream stuff for right now. “ Ponder had openly admitted, falling on the dream-like floor.

“ Very well. I wish to discuss this with you anyhow. “
“ I will arrive tomorrow morning. “

Ponder did not respond. Hopefully he would get some rest thanks to this Luna-Ex-Machina.

When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.

- Sun Tzu, Art of War

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

I find it very funny that the first written record of how to wage war references the magic of friendship. (In Sun Tzu's own demented way)
Ill be posting some after every chapter.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

5 - Pondering the Moon - Part 1

PonderBright woke in a parallelized cold sweat, instantly and frantically.

He eventually managed to regain control of his muscles, sprung up, then tripped back down onto the floor due to getting up too fast. He made his way to the eating area Twilight had shown him.
Down the main hallway... 6th opening at the edge?
Probably.

He met up with Starlight as he was walking.
Her eyes widened a bit as she saw him:
“ Rough night, huh? “ She asked.
“ Yes. “ He replied, just wanting the day to be over already.

“ I kind of understand- I mean in my own way! “ She replied with haste, as if trying to avoid some misunderstanding.

“ I sort of can relate. “ She shared, possibly a bit to much as Ponder was looking back at her dazed, tired, and done with the conversation.

“ But maybe you should take a bath beforehand. “ She said as they approached the dining area.

' Oh. ' PonderBright thought.
“ Where- “
“ Back where we came, 2 doors, the one on the left. “ She responded, almost forgivingly.

He was minorly embarrassed. His mind was also taken off the dream, for a moment.

Those thoughts did resurface while in the bath, as the sponge flew from his wings yet again due to his inexperience with his new body.

Why did other Ponder take his time in killing pony Rainbowdash?
He knew the human Rainbowdash, not the pony Rainbowdash.
At least, he thought it was the pony version of Rainbowdash.
Same coloration and hairstyle helps. No missing the rainbow style hair dye.

He assumed he was just good at guessing, while continuing to fumble the brushing process, soap in eyes and all.

He didn't really know a lot of ponies here, he continued to think. He only knew Celestia and Luna, and the few ponies Twilight introduced him too. Probably for the best.
His mind drifted to human Sunset's offer of friendship back during his school days. Still would say no.
' Humans.' he thought with disgust; glad to have an entire reality of separation between them and him.

His thoughts continued.

Was Spike mad at him? No. Couldn't be. Not for anything he directly did to him, as Twilight had mentioned nopony he was living with was effected by the disaster.

== Dining Area ===

The table was set with many different types of food, due to Spike being wise of Ponder's arrival. He wanted to know what he liked best, and made a little of a lot of different dishes.

“ Where's Ponder? “ Spike asked Twilight, genuinely confused as he chomped down on a plain gem, mouth full and all.
“ I don't -”
Twilight was interrupted.
“ He's taking a bath. “

Starlight was still uneasy being here, and she wanted to save PonderBright as much of that uneasiness as she could.
All with suggestions, of course. The last thing she wanted to do was order any pony around.

“ So, what do you think? “ Twilight asked, nervousness still slightly in her voice.
“ About? “ Starlight had to clarify.
“ PonderBright. “

“ Oh. Uh, I think he's getting along just fine- at least with me he is. “ She corrected herself nervously.
Twilight had a curious look on her face. So Starlight continued.

“ I think he's emotionally drained. “ Twilight looked confused. “ But recovering! “ Starlight clarified.
“ Maybe not a morning person? “, “ I don't know. I haven't known him that long, and I don't want to assume.“

Twilight went into deep thinking mode for a moment when she was distracted by something flying out the window.

“ Or maybe he had a nightmare. “
Starlight looked out the window Twilight was looking at.
Luna.
Both were minorly worried as to what this could entail, Twilight slightly more so.

Twilight started to get up to go get the door, when Spike said confidently:

“ I'll get it! “

Twilight sat back down, with only a slightly concerned expression.
She had come to trust Ponder almost as much as Starlight, she just hadn't internalized it yet.

They finished their meal and let Spike explain the situation to Luna.

PonderBright was almost done with drying himself, when he heard a knock on the door.
He assumed what this was and said preemptively:
“ I'm fine, Haven't drowned, I just don't know how to dry waterlogged feathers. “
He heard minor laughter from behind the door. Twilight.

He heard her muted from the other side:
“ Sorry, I don't know how unless your using magic. “
She replied in earnest.
Distant footsteps.

He finally just threw in the towel, literally, and walked out to the mess hall.
He had a short lapse in judgment when he thought he had to put on clothes, jumping a bit and scaring Spike.
He got the cold shoulder, or so he thought. He didn't respond to him, and Spike was usually talkative (to other ponies) in the short time he knew him.

Was that a stare? A ' stink eye ' ?
Ponder wasn't sure.

He joined a empty table and just started eating. No meat?

At least one person/pony/creature was happy right now. Starlight was definitely not, and he knew that from his short time with her.
Twilight was his primary focus anyway. He had to repay her for saving him. Starlight was just another student. A student that hadn't killed anypony. A better student. A student that had been able to help Twilight. A much better student.

These thoughts ruminated until he was stuffed. He had eaten on autopilot again.

Spike had snuck up on him:
“ When your done, Twilight needs you in the entryway. “ he said with little emotion.

He had been told he would be meeting Applejack outside an apple farm. Strange.
And from his observations, Spike usually takes a chipper tone for a greeting. Strange.

He was already mentally thrown off as he was walking to the door.

What really threw him off more was what he saw next.
“ Luna! “ he said, trying to hide his embarrassment from his dream. He was fairly good at it too. Practice makes perfect, after all. Though, not from his time in pony world.

“ I'd like to talk about the dream you had yesterday. “ She was in a very tired state.

PonderBright looked confused. It looks like he had completely fooled all of them, minus Luna.

“ I am the princess of dreams. Surely you remember that part of your dream? “

Ponder had the stupidest, most dumbfound-iest look on his face. He had brushed off and insulted a queen to her face. Well, not to her actual face, but via psychic dream telecommunications.

While this was happening Twilight was thinking: ' How important was this? '
PonderBright did not seem to be taking this that seriously, and princess Luna only slightly more so.
She looked between them both with that famous puzzled look on her face, mouth half open.

Starlight had long since retreated to elsewhere in the castle.
Ponder and Luna stepped outside. Luna seemed barely able to keep her balance due to tiredness, but she managed.

Twilight only got in a few words before they shut the door:
“ Uh ok. Let me know the outcome, Please? “ Twilight had said, as the two walked away from the castle.

“ PonderBright, do you know how to fly? “ Luna started talking.
“ Um, sort of. I can take off and fly in a straight line, but I need a lot of starting and stopping ground. “

“ Very well. I wish to conduct this privately, and the location I had in mind meets all those requirements. “

“ Follow me. I shall catch you if you fall. “

They both got a good running start, and Ponder took to the skies after Luna. Luna circled around and followed closely behind Ponder.

PonderBright's form was very stiff and mechanical, bordering on paralysis, but it worked for the most part. Luna only had to course correct him with magic 3 times the entire flight.

Luna had noticed on how quickly he had taken up flying. It had only been a couple of days since he was let out of the hospital, and now he's already in the air? Interesting.

“ PonderBright, I must commend you on your willingness to learn- “ She realized he was entirely focused on staying in the air.
He was looking down constantly.
“ Look straight ahead. Level. I will catch you. “ She reassured him, using her ' traditional ' volume.

Ponder nodded and attempted to mimic how Rainbowdash flew when she was relaxing. It didn't work.

A few more catches later, they landed. Luna noticed that Ponder had a very happy look. Almost like a filly on their first birthday look. She hadn't seen that one in awhile.

His initial crash. She had forgotten.
“ I'm sorry PonderBright if the flight brought back bad memories. “

“ They did. “ He autisticly responded, seemingly instantly getting over his happy moment of achievement.
“ But when I landed, and even though I got some help from you, I know I can definitely glide now. No more chance of- Uh. “ He made himself sad again.

Luna changed the subject.
“ No horn aswell? “

PonderBright misinterpreted this as an accusation of trying to escape, seeing as he was partially responsible for taking off that shackle.

“ OH UH “
“ Discord removed it. Completely. “
He spurted out while pointing to where his horn used to be.

“ No possibility of- “, “ HM “ He was at a loss for words. Normally he would had thought up a excuse for someone of so high authority, but this time he was completely in the wrong;
or so he thought.

Luna had to ask about his cheerful tone in his last response.

“ You seem glad. Did Discord do you any other favors? “
“ No. Just this one was more then enough! “ Ponder joyfully responded.

Luna had been worried for nothing. No Tirek part two.
“ PonderBright, I am glad that you are working, seemingly tirelessly, to amend and ensure the success of your time here in Equestria. “

“ But I fear you might reach a breaking point. “

There was a pause.

“ Another breaking point. “

She said while trailing off.

Ponder looked confused. He had already internalized that situation was solely due to the abruptness of the situation, lack of magical training, and lack of information; not the result of a mental break.

From the outside looking in, however, he was certain the opposite was true.
Luna further elaborated.

“ You are undoubtedly strong. I saw that in your dream. You thought It was a real emergency situation and you went to help others, not leave through the door you had passed. You even offered yourself sacrifice.“

“ You saw all that? “ Ponder had to ask.

“ I saw enough. “ Luna exclaimed.
“ And I'm worried that this all will come to the surface, sooner or later. “

Ponder shrunk over, sad and disappointed.
Luna continued. “ So I wish to discuss it. “

Luna knew something was off. Of all the reactions she had experienced in her long reign as princess of dreams, that was not an expected one.
Had she been gone too long? Was she loosing her touch?
Then again, this was literally an alien she was talking to.
She took a more guarded posture.

“ Is something the matter? “ She said raising one eyebrow.

“ It's... “
“ It's just that... “

Luna patiently awaited his response, no annoyance to be found.

“ Back in the human realm, I always had people telling me that they knew best. Sure, it started out all nice and non-intrusive, but then they started assuring me that they knew I did this because of that, and that their new solution was certain to work this time, … “

Ponder looked up to make sure Luna was not angry. She had successfully put on a poker fake, but she did not needed it. She was not angry.

“ I was always just the massive collection of mysterious failures, to spite all their meddling. “ He said that last part with anger, looking away from Luna in the process.
“ And this is a literal dream were talking about, nothing actually happened. “

He recoiled minorly, as if by habit.

“ But. “
“ I really did screw up this time. “

“ So I have no right to complain. “

Luna was disheartened. Not at what he said though.

“ PonderBright. “ Luna said
“ You are correct in that there will be some ' meddling. ' “
Ponder closed his eyes a bit, with ' here it comes ' written all over his face.
“ But we do not seek to control you down to the last hair. “

Ponder looked unconvinced.
“ You say that this was your... ' screw up '?", " That this was your fault? “ She had to clarify.
She struggled with pronouncing ' screw up '.

“ Yes. “ He said, sorrow creeping back in.
Luna steeled herself.

“ It is not. “ Luna said with certainty; the moon beginning to creep over the horizon.
Ponder was surprised. Very surprised. So surprised his pupils shrunk a bit and he leaned back a few inches.
A first for everything, I guess.

“ You were badly injured, half conscious, and not magically trained. “
“ You were also in a foreign body after crash landing in an alien world. “

“ I do not blame you for the tragedies. “
“ It is part of the reason I voted to equit you. “ She said, looking solemnly towards the moon.

Ponder was surprised there even was a trail. Brief, informal or otherwise.

“ But you did willingly attack Twilight. With much less serve injuries and knowing the damage magic can cause; no less. “
She had looked back towards Ponder. The sunset on the horizon began to shine rays.
He rebuked out of habit: “ But I thought she was the corrupted version of a human, that I was taking out a world ending threat! “

“ PonderBright, from what I saw you attacked immediately. “
“ Yes, and? “
Her gaze hardened. Ponder's fear grew wildly.
“ From what I understand you did not check to see if she was still corrupted. “

“ Yes, I don't know what a corrupted pony looks like. “
He noticed his rebukes started to sound more and more like excuses.
Because they were.

“ And I also remember you stating you know little to nothing about magic. “

This conversation had reminded Luna of the latest Nightmare Night. She had to take a moment to gather herself after that last sentence. Her expression returned to normal princess blankness.

“ Yes? “ He said, awaiting an answer to his answer.

“ So why did you attack Twilight when you had no knowledge as to what she might look like at all; transformed, or otherwise? “

He was plainly shocked. He didn't have an answer.
He looked to the side, to ponder if you will,
her argument.

“ A voice is not enough to go on. “
“ Yes, … I know. “ he responded with worry and confusion.

“ PonderBright, I saw that lightning. It's color is influenced by emotion. And that was pure, violent green. The brightest I have seen. “

Ponder looked surprised as to his accidental record he set in pony world.
“ It is the color of fear. “

He had to much to process. He put off thinking about that for now.

Luna started talking again.
“ To spite your insistence that it was intentional... “
“ I believe you are not to blame for that incident either. “
“ If “
“ you agree to let somepony know if your emotions are starting to overwhelm you. “

Ponder nodded. He then blurted out
“ Yes! “
“ Yes of course! “

He didn't know what else to say. A simple ' I was already ready to do whatever you said! ' or similar would have helped tremendously, but he was not that socially inclined.

Another silence followed.

Luna picked up.
“ About Rainbowdash -”
“ Uh, hang on. I – Think I need some time to process this. “ He nervously smiled back at Luna.

“ You apply these lessons quickly. You are indeed a quick learner. “ Luna complimented him after a short sigh.
“ We shall resume “ Luna yawned “ After I get some sleep. “

She flew away, forgetting to ferry him home. The walk back was long and confusing. At least it was night, and no other pony was out to see him.

Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.

- Sun Tzu, Art of War

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

I find it very funny that the first written record of how to wage war references the magic of friendship. (In Sun Tzu's own demented way)
Ill be posting some after every chapter.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

6 - Honesty Restored - Part 1

Thankfully, no nightmares plagued PonderBright that night. A sweet, dreamless sleep followed by a peaceful awakening.
He was not used to staring up at such an ornate ceiling.

After a quick question session from twilight about what happened and that everything was indeed alright, he headed for the library.

Ponder had little to no clue how this world operated, and thought he needed a better understanding of how things worked around here, now that he has done everything non-research related to make sure

The incident

would not happen again.

Starlight again. What a non-surprise.
There were many libraries in the castle, But this one had many books on magic. He was beginning to wounder if Starlight was a bigger nerd then Twilight.

“ Hi Starlight. “ He said with no emotion, only to signal his entrance after a short knock on the door.
“ Hi Ponder. “ She replied without looking up from her book.

This didn't really feel right for anypony in the room, but both ignored It for their own various separate reasons.
It took him a very, very long time to find a ' baby's first magic book ' and while trying to pick it up with his wings, he realized that the tips of his feathers were much to weak to hold even something as light as a book.

He was initially disheartened; until he saw it float up to where about where his mouth was, with a short reply from Starlight:
“ If your having trouble, maybe I could help? “

' This is most likely certainly some sort of test. ' Ponder thought to himself.

' Random strangers aside from the unusual outlier (Twilight) do no enjoy helping unless there's other people around to see how “kind” they are. '
' sigh better put on a mimicry mask, else I be silently judged. '

His thoughts continued, almost to the point of spiraling out of control, but since he was emotionally sound, the idea to express his worries never crossed his mind.

' OH NO I MIGHT HAVE SAID THAT IN A SLIGHTLY CONDENSENDING TONE ' Starlight was frantically thinking to herself, using those poker face skills from back in her village days to not show it.

' He looks slightly put off, did I do something wrong? I did something wrong. '
Ponder's failed attempt at acting gave way to visible confusion as the book kept hovering there.

“ What am I supposed to do? My wings won't wor- “

“ Your mouth. “ Starlight politely corrected him, pointing a hoof to her mouth.

“ Um, Ok. “ PonderBright said in genuine confusion.
It took him around a second to mentally fabricate the proper muscle movements to open his mouth, aim at the book, and then clamp down.
When he did eventually grab it, he went down the ladder and seemed like he wanted to say something, so he dropped the book.

“ Thanks Starlight. I'm not used to how ponies get things done around here, or, anywhere. “
Starlight wondered if that was supposed to be a joke. It wasn't.
She looked down at the book at noticed it's title:
' First Magic for First Fillies: Basics and Control '

“ Oh. “ Starlight said without thinking.

“ What? Don't … Pegasus-es... Have magic? “ He assumed a accusatory stance from Starlight, and had responded very so slightly defensively.

“ Well, some. But not that type. “ She pointed to the book. “ Pegasi do have magic, but it's passive. “, “ It allows them to fly and manipulate weather. “ She caught herself rambling, but oh well.
Anything to be helpful, useful.
“ And since your a – kind of an Alicorn, you probably have earth pony magic too, which is also passive. Strength and endurance, that kind of stuff. “

' Huh. ' Thought PonderBright. ' What a articulate and well thought out response. '
Ponder went into deep thought for a moment, interrupting the flow the conversation Starlight had accelerated to lightning speed.

“ I think I'll still read it anyway. I think it's good to know the basics of how the - this world works. “ He said as he was walking away.

Starlight wanted to say something, something so bad it almost burned. But she felt is was not her place.
Ponder picked up the book then dropped it, due to lack of practice. He looked sideways at it, lying on the ground.

He suddenly spread his wings a bit, but only raised them.
Starlight was having flashbacks to her village days.

He put the book in between one his wings and his body, making a makeshift basket.
Starlight was considering starting small talk, just to extend the conversation to buy herself more time.

He started to walk away.
“ PonderBright, you shouldn't ignore a part of yourself just because you had a bad experience! “ She almost shouted.

He turned around to ' be a part of the conversation '.
He looked surprised and amused. She really was just trying to help.

“ Wait, no, not like, now, when your not trained, just- “
“ No I get it. “ Ponder responded to her, wanting to cut off the awkward moment.

“ But I wanted this. I don't even have magic back in my own world, so I'm not loosing anything. “
“ Yes but -“ She was sound more and more frustrated and submissive. “ You are missing out on something. “
He looked her last sentence put him into deep thought.

She sighed.
“ Iv'e, … made a lot of mistakes. A lot. I just don't want to let the same fate to happen to any other pony. “

She looked up and saw his expression : blank with minor surprise.
Her fears finally snuck in.

“ Just- Uh- Forget what I said. “ She said while bursting into minor nervous laughter.
Ponder was astounded. Not only was she not here to poke and prod, but she was willing to say something so controversial to the new guy.

He could not help but see some of his past self in her.

He smiled slightly.
“ Starlight. Your good. You didn't say anything wrong. It's just your opinion. “ He wanted to clarify as much as possible, assuming that would calm her fears. And since he was not talking to a perfectly logical robot, it didn't. At least not entirely.

“ But I- Didn't mean for it to come out like that. “ She rebuked.
“ It's fine. I understood you perfectly. “ He said in calm demeanor.

Ponder was staring to get frustrated and Starlight was staring to get flustered.

“ Alright, Bye. “ Ponder said In an attempted pleasant tone, and walked away.

Their first real meeting had not gone so well, but it was irrelevant; Ponder was thinking to himself. He set the book down on his table. HIS table. In HIS room. The thoughts immediately ricocheted around his head as immense catharsis. This was Twilight's, but he trusted her. He knew she would not hold them over his head like meat above a dog.

Starlight was feeling so-so about the encounter. She's glad she was able to say it, but worried about who he might tell, and what trouble that might cause. She really did not want to take any sort of leadership stance in anything, not even a conversation, but she felt she had to say it.

Starlight expected doubt and even remorse to come, but they didn't. She didn't regret her decision. Huh.

The next morning Ponder found himself wanting to talk to Twilight. He had selected the magic book himself, and he didn't know the first thing about magic. Not a good combination.

Instead, he ran into Twilight and a very familiar looking pony. His human world memories resurfaced.

“ Applejack? “ He guessed.
“ Yup. “ She replied, lacking her usual headstrong or chipper tone. Then again, not all pony equivalents are 1 : 1. Maybe it's a world-between worlds difference?

Twilight looked worried about something. When didn't she?
“ Well, I'll leave you too it. “
She walked away.

“ Well come on. “ She said with little emotion.
“ Meetin's spot this way. “

He followed her out of the castle, and out of ponyville.
They were now next to a farm.

“ I'll be back with somepony else, stay here. Do not get near that farm, ya hear? “ She said with minor sternness in her voice.

She walked away, towards one of the barns.
An apple orchard. Huh.

He sat down, legs tucked into themselves like he saw Twilight do when she was reading.

He waited.

And waited.

He was tired of waiting.

He reared up, and shouted at the top of his lungs,
“ A P P L E J A C K ! ! ! “ with very low tone and maximum volume for maximum sound travel distance. His science teacher would be proud, if he gave a crap.

Nothing.
He was getting mad.

He shouted a few more times, and still, Nothing.
' A lot of seriousness she took this. ' he thought to himself, as he ignored Applejack's order and got up, walking to the farm.

He walked past many trees. A red pony... Kicking them? Oh. All the apples... are aiming themselves into the basket as if by magic. Do I have that power? Starlight said I do. Or something similar.

Is it dangerous?

No. Starlight or Twilight would have said or … done something. I should not be worried. I should not be worried.

He had zoned out a bit too hard, as he started to hear what sounded like 2 mares talking. Arguing.

“ but - “, “ mark - “, and “ NO! “ was all he could make out.
One was from Applejack, and against all odds he recognized the other.

He walked closer to see Applejack arguing with... Applebloom? He did recognized someone. If only from a name drop during his trail. He was surprised he remembered it at all, given how bad at names he was.
“ But if he could just find out- “ Applebloom was rebuking.

“ NO. That pony is dangerous. Now for the same reason I tell ya to not step in front of an apple cart while it's movin', or go playin' near the border of the Everfree forest, STAY AWAY FROM THAT PONY. “

Applebloom looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't.

“ Alright. “ she sheepishly replied. She hung her head.
Applejack had noticed him.

She turned around to face him.
“ NOW WHAT IN TARNATION DID I TELL YOU?! “ She yelled, fear almost a given in her reaction. Anger completely a given.

Ponder was conflicted. She wasn't taking this... ' friendship lesson ' seriously and she was spreading sorrow because of him. And too Applebloom, no less. She was the first one that tried to help him.
On the other hand he was basically a prisoner and had a x3 manslaughter record.

His face awkwardly contorted to a half-annoyed, half-worried look.
“ OH – OH NO YOU DON'T! GET BACK TO THE -” Applejack verbally retaliated. She got closer. Leaned forward. That was an attack stance, if he had ever seen one. He grew a scowl.

They were interrupted by the red pony that been following him.

“ Applejack, we got a visitor, is he the one you want to talk with ? “

“ Yes- but-” Applejack's anger turned to frustration.

“ Applebloom, go somewhere else. Go play with your friends or help Granny Smith. She's cleaning the bottlin' cookware. “
Appleboom was scared now. Not of PonderBright, but kind of scared of Applejack.

Even PonderBright had enough social acumen to know what was going on.

She ran off, as requested.

“ Big Mac you can go back to harvesting. I was looking for ya but I don't feel like helpin' Ponder out that much now. “ She said with minor ire.

Big Mac had a slightly knowing look when he look at Ponder, back to Applejack, Ponder and then Applejack again. He then exchanged a look with her for few seconds before dropping all pretense, going back to his usual demeanor, and saying “ Aight. “ while walking back to his harvesting location.

“ Come on. “
“ This way. “
“ Back the way we came. “
She sounded more annoyed then angry now.

They returned to the spot he had left.
They sat.

Combined quotes! These multiple praters will often contain multi part lines from the art of war.

There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:--

(1) By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army.

Sun Tzu, Art of war.

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

I find it very funny that the first written record of how to wage war references the magic of friendship. (In Sun Tzu's own demented way)
Ill be posting some after every chapter.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1038297/gotta-catch-em-all-bad-steryotypes
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

The start of author's commentary.
Be prepared, and be prepared to read in context as I personally like to leave a lot of it up to the other guy (you) to figure out.

Ponder is starting to get accustomed to it all... And that means his truest personality can finally show.
He and authority do NOT mix.

If you didn't already get it from the story: Ponder actually hates bad intentions and stupidly executed plans the same. Can't tell the difference.
No matter how small or how insignificant the transgression might be, if there is a single shred of ill intent in the entire interaction he will view the entire interaction as having at least the same level of ill intent.

7 - Honesty Restored - Part 2

“ Now I want to apologize for the wait, and for That. “ She started, pointing her nose back towards her farm.
The sun was slightly over noon.
It was hot.
Ponder was irritated by the smell of pollen.

“ And I expect an apology from you too. “ She looked at him with determination.
“ For? “ He asked, not wanting to be getting the better of.
“ For traspassin. “ She said slowly and deeply, anger coming back.

“ You were gone for hours. “ He rebuked.
“ Now look here. “ She was getting angry.
“ I was only gone for a hot minute. “
“ Don't you say- “

“ That. “ He pointed at the sun.
“ The sun? “ She questioned, alarmed by his interruption.
“ Yes. Didn't know what you called it. “ He hastily and immediately responded, further stretching his tone for another response:

“ Was there. “

He pointed to where the sun was, much earlier in the day.

“ Oh. “ She had relaxed a bit, but still had tension.
“ That's almost two and half-hours. “

“ My apology still stands, and is further extended for that trans-gression. Sorry. “

” Your turn. “ She said with much less hate and hostility.

Ponder just about had it. This pony had ditched him in the hot sun, not taken any of this seriously when he had killed some ponies, and now she wants to play meaningless word games when she instead could be helping prevent another possible crisis?

“ I'm sorry Applejack, am I supposed to be learning something from this, or getting better somehow, or less likely to accidentally cause damage again? “ He said with notable ire, annoyance oozing out with every syllable.

Applejack cocked an eyebrow.

“ Because the way I see it, your not taking this seriously. You want to get this done and over with because- “ He regretted his verbal retaliation in the middle of a sentence. A first.
“ Because you rightfully don't trust me around your family. “ He said, switching to a remorseful tone.

Applejack closed her eyes a bit to think about what he had said.

She opened them, slightly squinted at the floor to signal her closeness to speaking.

“ Alright. “ She sighed. “ Like to go straight into the deep end, do we? “ She said with hesitation.

She inhaled.
“ No. I don't. “
“ I don't want to do this, and I suggested that you be sent straight back to wherever the other hu-mans are as soon as you were better. “
He shrunk down a bit.

“ But- Twilight insisted that you could stay, and against my own better judgment, here you are. “ She said with pure frankness in her voice.

“ And here I am. “ She replied to her own statement.
“ Sittin' here with you. “
“ I want to make things better, and I want to do good by you, whatever that means. “ She said with confidence.
He didn't fully understand that last one.

“ But Applejack, - And I'm no friendship expert, but - “ Ponder stuttered.

“ Come on, out with sugar. The sooner you stop being shy the sooner you can get back to Twilight's. “, “ I don't judge and it's pretty clear to me you meant no harm. “
“ Um. No. That's not what- I mean “ He continued to stutter.

She waited patiently for his response.

“ I'm having trouble finding words that don't imply anything negative. “ He eventually said.

“ Well then out with them, because later on in this here conversation things are gunna get about as negative as they can get. “ She said in frankness, attempting to steel PonderBright's resolve.

Ponder was very worried.
She noticed.

“ It's nothin' accusatory, and none of this is just your fault. “ She replied with a sigh.

“ Oh. Well then. “ It took Him awhile to course correct.
“ I'm having trouble seeing how playing meaningless word games makes any sort of progress. “

Applejack looked confused.

He elaborated:
“ When I went to Fluttershy's Discord was helpful enough to remove my horn, When I was talking with Luna, she explained the importance of telling another pony about something serious to me, even if I think it wouldn't be important to them. “

And He continued:

“ And the initial... trail with Celestia and Luna defined solid next steps and safety restrictions. “
He pointed to where his horn used to be.

“ Ah. “ Applejack finally spoke.

“ I think I see what's going on here. “ She had taken a thoughtful tone.
“ And look, I don't know what sort of messed up creatures or culture got you to thinkin' that... “,
“ Or even what a hu-man is.“

“ Human. “ He corrected her via a gap in her speaking.
“ Right. “ She said, minor one time annoyance in her voice

“ But here we do things this way. “
“ We apologize. “

“ And I don't know what worked for you in the past either, but this is what works for us. “
He still was unconvinced. Ego. He averted his gaze from her.

“ Twilight trusted me, no matter on how much I insisted otherwise, She said I was the right pony for the job. “ She said as pointing to the floor; the space in between them.
“ And I don't know what worked for you before, but It obviously did not work here. “ She said sternly.

She was right. And it didn't work for him before, either.

“ The human world was a horrid cesspool of backstabbing and competition, where any good is snuffed out by evolution and the law of averages. “ PonderBright emotionally said with disdain.
Applejack looked shocked. She didn't recoil, though.

Ponder looked down in anger, sadness, and a whole slew of other negative emotions.

He saw a slightly-more-yellowish-then-his hoof peak into his field of view from along the ground. His que to look up.

“ Back on … track... “ She seemed thrown off.
“ Well, uh, we're... Or somepony, is definitely going to want to talk to you about that. What you just said. “
He stared back, completely expressionless, thousand yard stare and all.

She seemed to notice. And understand the subtext, too.
“ Look, It's gonna be much harder to do this if you don't trust me, right? “
Ponder just viewed this as her assuming.

He nodded. Finally something he could rationally agree with.

“ And like I said, Twilight and the others trust me. “ , “ So I'm askin' you to trust me. “
“ Basically, save all questions for the end of the lecture. “ She was getting stern and slightly annoyed. The joke she tried to make did not diffuse the tension.

He sat back up straight, and nodded a feeble nod.
“ Ok? “ Applejack asked.

Her logic was sound. He could not argue. He could not argue.
“ Ok. “ He said with uncertainty.

He took a deep breath and focused on Applejack.
“ Sorry. “ He said; completely out of practice apologizing.

“ Hm. Alright. “ Applejack was thinking about something.

“ A good first attempt. “ She admitted.
“ I can see your tryin', but you got a ways to go. “
This time HE raised an eyebrow.

“ Now- I thought you said you trusted me! That we had an understanding! “ She seemed frustrated. And hurt. Ponder didn't not recognize that last emotion. Why was she snapping at him?
He look dumbfounded.

“ I- I did. “ He responded with confusion, looking back and forth as if someone else was watching.

Applejack purposely waited a moment.
Ponder grew restless.

“ Now, you see, that's the first thing we need to talk about. “ She exclaimed.
“ Ponies half the time can't even tell what your sayin', let alone thinkin. “
“ If you'd been better at that, maybe this wouldn't have happened. “ She said with a more somber tone, tipping her hat a bit downward and looking away from him.

He was confused on so many levels.
BUT
First thing was first.

“ But, I did... L I T T E R A L L Y say that I trusted you. In plain... words.
Do you call your language English? “

She sighed. A lot to unpack.
“ Yes. You did say that. And then you seemingly threw all that out the window when you looked at me like that? “
She said while pointing to him. Not sternly, not aggressively, just making a point.

“ Wh- What? “ He had never entertained such nonsense before. Such roundabout and illogical arguments had always been dismissed, and the user of said argument permanently demoted to ' dumb animal ' in his mind.

But this time was different.

This time he was actually trying.

This time he was actually listening.

He and Applejack interrupted each other with a single syllable, when Applejack yielded by tipping her hat down to him.

' Much appreciated. ' He thought.
' Giving you a chance wasn't a mistake after all. '
An abnormal amount of joy then filled him, though he had no idea why.

He continued on:

“ I did say that. “,
“ I meant it. “

“ Did I- “
He was struggling immensely with what to say next.
“ Did I somehow imply otherwise? “
He was very unsure about his last statement. It showed tremendously.

Applejack looked almost amused. Almost.
“ Yes. “
“ Um. Hope you don't mind me askin'... “
“ It's almost impossible to offend me. “ He said, this time knowing what to say via experience.

' Just get on with it, Applejack. ' he was thinking.
“ Aight. “ she muttered, almost wanting to prove him wrong now.

Ponder did not notice this.

“ But, are you kind of slow? “,

“ Like, A slow learner? “

Ponder had one thousand and one rebukes to that mental trainwreck of a conclusion. Patrice makes perfect, after all.
Let's hope a literal horse brain succeeds where the monkey ones have failed.

“ No. “ Ponder said with absolute confidence.
“ Certainly not. “ He continued further.

“ I don't have half the emotions or mental needs you have. “ He said while pointing to her. She looked surprised.
“ I'm much simpler a creature. "

" That's why I didn't understand your need for an apology. “

Applejack was still confused.
“ That, uh, wasn't my question. “ She had to say.

“ Then what is? “ This time he was totally lost.

“ With your facial expression back there. “

She continued:
“ It looked like you was' doubtin' my assertion that you needed to work on your apology. “

“ Yes. “ He responded in his usual monotone, waiting for a response.
Applejack was getting even more confused.

“ Well – THERE YOU GO! “ She said, strain in every word.
“ OH! I think I know where the disconnect was. “ He blurted out.

Applejack now genuinely wanting to continue the conversation to hear his answer.
“ I now trust your intentions, not necessarily that everything you say is true. “
He clarified.

“ Oh. “ Applejack said.

“ That was a good explanation. “ She admitted.

“ But all that could have been avoided if yall' just saved your' questions for the end of the lecture as I said! “ She said with concern.

“ I did. “ He said.
“ I didn't ask a question. “ He said with confusion In his voice. Raising yet another eyebrow, ignoring what got them into this mess of a tangent in the first place.

Something clicked in Applejack.
“ You know, “ She said with certainty.
“ We had a similar pony come to visit not too long ago. “
Ponder was invested in this tangent of a tangent. He could do this all day.
“ Maud Pie. “ She said.
“ I'm not very good with names, Please don't expect me to remember that. “ He said with embarrassment.

“ I won't – I won't “
“ Now back on track. “ She did a little wave to him.

“ Long story short she can't take a hint to save her life. Or- anyone else's for that matter. “ She was frank.
“ She has to have everything be very literal. Well, at least the words spoken to her. “ She corrected herself.

“ YES! YES! YOU GET IT! “ He was overcome with joy and got up from his seat, scaring Applejack a bit.
“ Oh. Sorry. “ He genuinely stated, and sat down.

“ Huh. “ Applejack said in another moment of realization.

“ So, what were you trying to say? "
“ Sorry for the confusion. “ She apologized, looking knowingly at PonderBright.

“ I was letting you know I wasn't following your logic without breaking up your sentence. “
Appplejack looked confused and embarrassed. Such big words.
“ I was trying to say that I wasn't getting it but without interrupting you. “ He said with annoyance.

Applejack ignored his minor rebellion.

“ Hm. “ She said as if she was trying to remember something specific.

“ I understand. “
“ You do? “ Ponder wasn't sure about that. Too many past experiences told him otherwise.

“ Yes. I do. “ She assured him.
“ I want to get work done as good and as fast as just about anyone in Ponyville, and just about anyone at the farm. “

She looked over at Big Mac, still harvesting.
“ Just about anyone. “
He just stared at her.
She continued.

“ But the thing about workin' with others “ She segwayed:
“ Is that you need to try to meet them at their level first and foremost. “
Ponder looked unamused.

“ Now, see what a simple little miscommunication did, right now, and well... “ She trailed off.
Ponder got sad.

(2) By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier's minds.

Sun Tzu, Art of war.

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

I find it very funny that the first written record of how to wage war references the magic of friendship. (In Sun Tzu's own demented way)
Ill be posting some after every chapter.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

I DO NOT want Ponder to be characterized as a jerk. Only socially retarded. And a snob, but only on the inside.

8 - Honesty Restored - Part 3

“ I know you want to find the best way to get things done. “ She swung her hoof around with the word ' best '
“ And- You know what. “ She had another idea. This whole friendship lesson might be doable after all.
“ Your right. “
Ponder was back to being confused.

“ If I had just assumed correctly - ”,
“ that you were doubtin' my competence, not my intent, the conversation would have been slightly faster. “

“ But that's not what happened, was it? “
Ponder looked defeated.

“ And I'm sorry that I don't... quite have the... uh- mentality for that. “
“ But somethin' tells me that similar stuff happened in the past, even back in your human world. “

Ponder was not happy. He just got schooled by a mind that not only was much dumber then he was, but admitted it. He could have sworn he let out a small sigh of anguish.

And he also could have sworn she fumbled her last point just to rub that in.
To make a point, but still.

“ So, Try. “ She asserted.
He was back, yet again, to confused.

“ I'm going to ask ya to at least try. “
“ Um- Applejack. I don't know how much I - “

“ And your gunna have to ask them to try too. “

Ponder was confused and shocked.
“ And, If you don't mind me askin'... “ She continued.
“ You was thinkin' I was simple minded back there, weren't you? “ She said in half-confidence. With a smile, to let him know he wasn't in trouble.

“ Wha- “ Ponder found himself saying, as he got up to look around the area the area for magic.

“ And I ain't readin' your mind. “ She said with a well earned smirk.
“ Earth Ponies don't have that kind of magic. “ She said, raising a hoof to eye level.

“ Now. “ She got into lecture mode. Ponder was now attentively listening.

“ Don't you find it funny that while I could read you like an open book - “
“ You couldn't read me? Even when you raised that eyebrow, even while I was tryin' to communicate with you. “
“ Well, yeah. “ Ponder frustratingly rebuked.

“ Intelligence is very predictable. Chaos is not. “ He pointed a hoof to himself. He realized he had to further clarify:
“ There are usually only a few, simple ways to do something the ' best way ' “ He was trying hard not to insult her again. She showed appreciation with a smile.

“ While there are nearly infinite ways to mess something up. “ He finished.
She was back to a minor frown. ' So close, yet so far ' She thought to herself.

She started to respond.
“ Even if that was true -“
Ponder raised another eyebrow.

“ See – There you go again. “ She pointed at his raised eye.
“ We talked about this. “ He responded in monotone.

Applejack sighed.

“ - Back on track. “ She said with assertion.
“ Why did you count on me, in all my simple mindedness, to understand exactly what you meant; in a ' serious conversion ' just to save a few seconds here and there? “

Ponder just stared into space. He didn't know what to do.
A short, clown nose honking noise rung about in both of their heads.

“ Hold on. “ She said, noticing his uneasiness.

“ Let me give you an out. “ She offered;

“ You were just wanting to speed things along, not thinking bout' it too much. “ She said.
“ And you were talking to me as if you were talking to another' one of you'. “ She finished, proud of her rebuttal.

“ Are... -” He was trying to say.

“ Are you sure you can't read minds? “ He half- asked.

Applejack laughed.

“ Well, I too thought ya a bit slow. “ She apologized.
“ But turns out “
“ Ya'll were just different. “
“ Different ponies have different strengths. “ She confidently asserted.

Ponder was too used to running mental circles around everyone he met to think otherwise, until now.

He had never even considered that other people were more then just another pair of hands when compared to him.
Fixing a car? Sure, others can do that. He didn't want to get that dirty or spend that amount of time learning about it, especially while being physically disabled.

But now He wasn't so sure about that.

If they weren't going to be hostile to him, and Applejack wasn't, then maybe he should consider their differences instead of just snobbing them.

After all, Intelligence was just another way to figure stuff out, and Applejack seemed to have this ' communication with the normal people ' thing already figured out. To a T.

“ Ready to talk about the more troublin' stuff? “ She asked with sincerity.
“ Yeah. “ He replied, almost chipper.
“ Now that's more like it. “ She said, not able to muster a smile.

Ponder was worried.
She inhaled.

“ Yall are gunna have to apologize to the entirety of ponyville if you want to stay. “

Ponder's heart sank a bit. Not too much, just enough to make him nervous.
“ And to the families of those you effected. “ She said in unusual formality.
He was about to say something, when Applejack interrupted him:

“ And not a single pony can say no for you to stay in ponyville. Otherwise, you got to go somewhere else in Equestria, assuming you want to stay here. “
She motioned to the sky.
Ponder was surprised. Even Applejack was approaching her limits. And with her element of honesty, no less.

Ponder turned to sadness, depression.

Applejack took notice.

“ Look, I understand if you don't want to go back to where the other humans are “
“ It's just that -” She started to explain.

“ No I get it. “
“ Even if I'm completely safe, I still cause tension – For some reason “ He said that last part with minor confusion.

“ Yeah. You cause tension. And worry. And whole slew of other negative things just by bein' here. “
“ Your not like Starlight who, well, almost destroyed the world “
Ponder seemed concerned about that last statement.
“ Her mishaps were private. Never happened, actually, with time travel being time travel “
Now He was just confused.

“ My point is that yours was - … public. “
A point he really did not like to be reminded of.

“ And that changes things. “
“ Drastically. “

“ Yal' didn't meant to do it. “ She clarified.
“ Even most of the townsfolk agree. “

“ So your not in trouble, in THAT way. “
Another reminder. He was almost getting bored of them.

“ But after you talk with all of us – Twilight's friends “ She swatted a bug from her snout.
“ Your gunna have to talk with them. “
“ Keep stayin' away from the townsfolk. “ Applejack had noticed his aversion to them from the get-go.
“ And you don't have to use that made-up name you told to that one pony that stopped to talk with you. They don't know your real name. “
Ponder was embarrassed. He was made fun of plenty of times for his ' edginess ' when he didn't even mean too.
Luckily this was Equestria, not the human world.

“ Nothin' shameful about it, good on you for tryin' “
She said.

He had been worried for nothing. No finger pointing and laughing.
In fact.
He had never been made fun of or physically assaulted since he got here.
Huh.

Another thought creeped into his mind.
“ Applejack, if you agree with me on all this - word nonsense - stuff - , why did you make Applebloom cry? “
Applejack got worked up: “ Wha- Was she? “
She turned her head back to the farm, then back to him.

She got back on track.
“ I don't. I don't agree. I'm first talking about what YOU see as true, so then I can talk about what I think is true. “
She looked saddened. Almost depressed.
' Good. ' thought PonderBright. One more disincentive to not do it next time. Applebloom was now a little more safe from her shenanigans.

“ And that's another thing.- “ She was preparing another big speech.
“ I get it, I won't disobey orders. “ He interjected.

“ Nope. “ She responded.

“ Ya'll could have been dangerously dehydrated out in this summer heat. “ She said as she swung one of her water satchels to him.
He drank it in almost 6 seconds.

“ See? “, She said
“ Don't endanger your own safety, or anyone else's, orders or not. “ She said with confidence.
“ Alright. “ He said, waiting for another segway.

She responded after a long swig from her water case :
“ Your presence is distractin'. “, “ And not just because your socially awkward. “
“ Are... We still talking about Applebloom? “ He had to clarify.

She tilted her head at him.
Hypocrite. Non-verbal communication.

Oh well. He did understand.

And he does hold himself to a much higher standard then everyone else.

The noise of Applejack putting her bottle away zoned him back in :
“ Because if we are “ He looked at her to confirm she was paying attention. She was, and was also just seeing where he was going with this.
“ Arn't... YOU the one that, said all that, while I just... stood there? “

“ Another good segway. “ She proclaimed.
“ Your just filllllled with holes of the social variety, I just can't find enough to fill. “ She said chipperly.
He was unammused.

“ Sorry. “ She apologized.
“ Didn't mean for it to come out like that. “

They both shared a stare.
Applejack's awkward and Ponder's accusatory.

“ Yes. “ She had to break the silence.

“ I did. “

“ And I am mostly to blame for that outburst with Applebloom. “
' Mostly? ' Ponder thought to himself.
Luckily she wasn't able to 'read' that thought.

“ But you made a choice. A choice to be here “ She pointed to the ground
“ Rather then there. “
She pointed to the sky.

“ And I now agree with you! “ She leaned forward.
“ Those things sound like abominations! “ She said with minor doubt.
“ They were wrong for doin' those things too you. “ She said with forgiveness.

“ But all choices have consequences. “
“ And by choosing here rather then there “, “ Things are gunna happen that wouldn't otherwise. “
She was taking a more and more regretful tone.

“ And I probably need to get back to Applebloom soon. She needs an apology too. “
She was looking back towards the farm, impatience in her eyes.

" And- I would apprecaite If we didn't talk about my family no more. " Applejack firmly asserted.
Ponder look down at the ground, then back up at Applejack while formulating a response.
" Ok. " He said with pure frankness.

" Alright. " Applejack confirmed.

“ And I get it. “ He said.
“ You do? “ She was questioning him, turning back around to face him.

“ Yeah. My presence here " He did a sweeping hoof motion at the sky " will be, on average, a net negative until I make some sort of amends. “
He said while closing his eyes.

“ Well I'll be. “ She said with hope.
“ Twilight was right. You are one smart cookie. “ She further clarified.

Ponder grew a smile.
Applejack was embarrassed.

“ Well, uh, If you have it worded exactly the way you need to hear it. “ Applejack had gotten over it pretty quickly.
“ You adapt pretty fast. “ She was over her earlier embarrassment.
“ Don't thank me, thank the autism. “ He half-joked, as he knew autism was just as much a part of him as anything else.

“ Aw – What now? “ She was just confused. Of course. Primitive pony world would have no notion of mental disabilities.

“ Oh- Don't worry about it. “ He said while smiling and waving a hoof, trying to communicate he had tried to make a joke;
to do the funny. He had forgotten he was in a primitive pony world.
Applejack smile a minuscule bit. Had one of his social cues...

Actually worked?

He got back on topic.
“ We can always talk later. You have a lot to do. You work on a farm. “ That last sentence was absurdly awkward, but true.

“ Indeed I do work on a farm. “ She validated his social peace offering.
“ But; I don't you think you need any more. I think you get it. “ She said with a smile and tilting her head towards him.

“ Wow. Thanks- uh. “
“ Bye? “ He half – said half- asked, as she turned to walk away.

“ See ya around. “ ; She sent him off with. She got up, and confidently strutted to the orchard with her red family member.
An unusually friendly response for someone who was yelling at their kids to stay away from him not an hour ago.
Was he meant to infer something from this?

Should he ask her?
He wasn't about to disobey orders when lives weren't in danger and follow her to her farm, no, but what about something she meant by saying it that way?

Was she testing him?
No, she just lectured him about miscommunication.

Was she wanting to get a rise out of him?
No, she could done much worse per the earlier parts of their conversation.

Was he meant to infer something else from that?

Yes.
Yes he thought he was.

He walked away with his head held high, not close to the ground as all the times before.

Applejack had been watching.
She turned back around to go to the farm, while talking to herself:
“ Hm. You do indeed catch on quickly. “

She looked back at him.
“ And you may not be as socially inept as you think. “

Her cutie mark began to glow, and shine outward.

Mission complete.

She smiled a proud, well earned smile as she walked to clear things up with Applebloom.

(3) By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers.

Sun Tzu, Art of war.

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

I find it very funny that the first written record of how to wage war references the magic of friendship. (In Sun Tzu's own demented way)
Ill be posting some after every chapter.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

I had to guesstimate how someone with slightly below average intellect would try to teach what's basically a super smart alien about how their mental limitations effect the way they do things and talk to each other.

I had to guess. >:( I had to find out the hard way. Trail and error. Tens of thousands of times.

The show does this masterfully: The mane 6 are very good at what they do; but their not infallible. When other start treating them as such, they show cracks like anyone else.

Much later in time due to skill level, but still.

The cutie map can call creatures without cutie marks. Remember that.

9 - Gauntlet of Espionage - Part 1

It had been a few days, and he was still thinking about it.

His talk with Applejack had done his mental state no favors, with him dreading the private apologies most of all. Luckily none of this wasn't until he met all of Twilight's friends, and Twilight thought he was ready.

Going undercover as a Pegasus to avoid further tension was a brilliant idea. I wounder if Applejack was the original pony that had it.
He was trying to take her advice and not focus to much on the metaphorical finish line, rather the road under his hoofs, but that's where the analogy started to break down; He wasn't very good at friendship. Not emotionally or mentally.

He appreciated Applejack's honesty, for all that was worth. He didn't outwardly show this, due to a distinct lack of social skills in that area. He just hoped that in his willingness to cooperate she understood... somehow.

Spike ran by, glowing.

Huh. Dragon thing?

He found himself reminded of one of his hangout sessions with Discord, where he had convinced him to open a haunted house instead of trolling some poor old lady by making her plants glow every time she wasn't looking directly at them.

He apologized for Discord, and luckily she was forgiving. Even laughed a bit.
Strange.

At least he still had the amulet Discord had given him. One press and there he would be, ready to solve any danger that presented itself. It was a very calming thought. Why hadn't anyone else thought to do this sooner?

Oh well. They probably did, just not given him one before he himself had asked Discord for a copy. What's Starlight up too?

He had found her In her usual spot, reading and practicing casting.
“ Oh hi. “ He said with quaintness.

“ Hello. “ Starlight got up from her table.

“ Did you need something? “
“ No not really. “ He said.

“ Oh, so you just wanted to say hi? “

That response broke him a bit.

“ O- Um- No. “ He chirped out. Starlight looked concerned.
“ Not the saying hi thing, Coming here just to say hi. “ He stumbled into a bad response.

Starlight cocked an eyebrow.
“ Ok fine. “ He admitted. “ Do you know where Twilight is? “ He asked

' Oh. ' She thought to herself, surprised. She must have misread him; the real reason she didn't ' get it ' couldn't possibly be he just sucks at communicating.
She was too used to be able to read everypony back in her village.
Too bad she hasn't met Maud yet.

“ What for? “ She asked.

“ The magic book I got – It's too hard to understand. “ He admitted as he dropped the book from his wing-basket.
“ Either I'm just dumb or I'm missing some very important context. “
“ No, No! Your not dumb. “ She confidently stated.

They both paused for a bit. That interaction;; especially that last sentence... seem too genuine. As if they felt they shouldn't be enjoying themselves at all due to their past.

“ Um. Your not dumb. “ Starlight finally broke the silence.
Things had returned to a normal state of “meh”

“ Well thanks. I'm not dumb. “ he further implied with minor confidence.
“ But wait- “ He was about to ask

Starlight tilted her head slightly sideways in questioning.
“ Isn't Twilight the magic expert here? So shouldn't I be asking her? “

Starlight was holding back a smirk.
“ I'd say I'm pretty good at magic too. “ She said, still fighting back the same boastful smirk.

“ Come on. “ stated Ponder

“ I know that look. Even as an alien I know that look. “ He wanted an answer.

“ Oh, fine. “ She surrendered.

“ I fought Twilight to a standstill many times. “

“ Like, 8 times. “

Ponder was backing away.
“ IN THE PAST! IN THE PAST! “ She rebuked.

“ Will I ever live that down? “ She questioned out loud, eyes widening at that mistake.
“ Not entirely, I think people will still bring it up, but I think the context around it will change. “ He replied, too autistic to realize that was a rhetorical question not meant for his ears.

“ Really? “ She asked, sarcasm intentionally inserted into the word.
“ Yes. “, “ Or, At least that's how it worked in my world. “ Ponder replied, half an eyebrow raised to her sarcasm. At least to him, it did come out of nowhere.

“ Yeah but you don't count. “ She said waving a hoof and picking up another book with her magic. She prodded her brain for a valid excuse.
“ Like you said your LITTERALLY an alien! “ minor playfulness in her voice.

“ And? “ He asked.
Starlight waited for his counterargument, hoping to be proven wrong.
She didn't get her hopes up.

He noticed she was waiting for him. He responded.

“ The fact that a ' literal ' alien is so closely related to your mentality to spite such massive physical differences “ He stood up on his hind legs, starting to use his front legs as arms to make a point “ Should mean that there's at least some universal way to how we living beings think! “ He ended his last word as a upbeat professor would.

Starlight was astounded. Mouth half open.
She smiled.

“ Well, Thanks. “ She was wiping something from her eyes; her voice getting teary.
“ Uugh. “ Ponder muttered, getting back down on all 4's and leaning back.

“ OH good. “ Starlight was back to her usual self.

“ Now I get to question you about something you didn't mean to say. “ she said with minor sass.
She paused for a moment in hesitation.

“ So, what gives? “ Starlight had minor concern and hurt written all over her.
He immediately had a response ready.
“ It's not you, It's just I get uncomfortable around too many emotions. “

“ So, like Discord? “

“ No! No. Not that. “ He rushed in a response.
“ I'm not disgusted, I'm unconformable around the mushy stuff. “ He clarified.

“ Twilight really has here work cut out for her, huh? “ Starlight said off handily.

“ Yeah. I guess she does. “ Ponder was impressed with her assessment.

He had never thought about that. He only focused on doing whatever Twilight wanted, as a way to make up for her kindness. He was alarmed at himself for almost forgetting such a crucial detail.
' That's why she's very busy and sometimes forgets things ' ; he had closure on that train of thought.

“ Ponder? “ Starlight asked, as he had been staring into space in the middle of the conversation.

“ OH RIGHT. We were talking. “ He replied in monotone.

Starlight giggled.
Ponder frowned.

“ Sorry, Sorry! “ She looked away and up while waving a hoof.
“ So, uh, anything else? “ She had mistakenly displayed social anxiety for wanting to rush the conversation. Hopefully Ponder wouldn't be too offended.

“ Oh. I was going to ask if you could recommend a entry level magic book, but if your busy... “
“ Oh no! “ She replied with regret. “ I'll actually walk you through it, If you'll let me. “ She offered and apologized.

“ Oh. Yeah. Sure! “ He responded with optimism.
She immediately got into it.

“ I definitely can't recommend most starter books from my childhood “, “ But I do have some new favorites from later in life, most are here, some are in the other wings. “
She cast magic as she went along, all the books sorting themselves and flying into place.
She found the ones she was looking for.

“ Wow Starlight, If I didn't know any better “
He was now in a volcanic wasteland, with dragons spread thinly across the flat rocky landscape along with a single nearby rock with 4 eyes.

“ You could have actually been a teacher! “ He said with minor sarcasm.

Oh.

Oh no.

He had been teleported to an unknown location.

His eyes started to dilate. His heart pounded. He looked around. Discord? Here? He was looking at him. Saying something? No time to read emotions.

He turned around constantly, looking for potential threats.

Twilight had had enough of Discord's shenanigans. This was a serious situation. She was about to say something, when Ponder started to foam at the mouth and started shouting :
“ STARLIGHT! WERE UNDER ATTACK! “

“ STARLIGHT!!! ”

He then looked to Discord.
“ DISCORD, CAN YOU HANDLE THIS? “
His state of panic becoming more focused by the second.
“ Oh. Um. Sorry? “ Discord apologized. ' For what? ' Ponder was thinking.

He looked around some more.
The rock now had no eyes but now four eye holes.

Spike was there. Still glowing. He wasn't looking his way, though. Weird.
In fact, none of the dragons were.

“ Whats going on!? “ He asked Discord, in a much more controlled manner.
“ Ehm. I brought you here to give you the credit you deserve! “ He said, arms outstretched towards him with... uncertainty?
' A first for Discord ' Ponder thought.
" Annnd I had hoped to use you to make a point. " Visible embarrassment on his face.
He sat in contemplation for a bit.

Twilight was just about to throw off the rock suit and give Discord a piece of her mind when she heard a snap; and the disguise was completely disappeared.
“ It's all good right? No harm no foul? “ Discord half-pleaded half-asserted.

“ OK DISCORD. JUST STOP. “ Twilight shouted.
Rarity was just as shocked.

“ Twilight, and -who? “ asked Ponder.
“ What's going on? “

Twilight cleared her throat.
“ Discord brought you here to show us, literally, that he has plenty of friends. “

“ Not true. “ Discord said in a very unusual shaky manner.
“ I brought you here to credit you for the me-summoning necklace idea. “ He said with repentance; holding up his copy of the necklace.

“ But now something... “ He swirled his right hand around a bit while looking up to the sky.
“ Feels off. I feel terrible. “ He had swiveled back towards them, arms outstretched in apology.

Twilight, in a uncharacteristic outburst, blurted out:
“ Fine. Don't do anything like this again. “ She said, pointing a hoof to Ponder, but not looking in his direction.

“ Um, If I may interrupt. “ Rarity had meekly but regally said.

“ The dragons are running off. “ She pointed over at what used to be the congregation.

Discord snapped again. Spike had been looking around, as if he was missing someone. Or someone(s). As if he could not see them at all. And after that snap from Discord, he could.

“ Oh. There you are... “ Spike trailed off into silence.
“ Discord? Ponder? What are you doing here? “ He asked In annoyed confusion.

Ponder was still shaking. He managed to shrug.
Discord tapped his fingers together nervously.
“ I brought in Discord. With how many ways this could go wrong, this is a matter of national security. “
, “ Discord, can you make sure one of more, agreeable ones win? “
“ Certainly. “ Discord had still not quite returned to his normal tone.

“ Now we can just wait it out, no matter who the new dragon lord is- “
Twilight was interrupted.

“ We? “ asked Spike.
“ We? “ replied Twilight.

Spike looked to the side, eyes half closed, then back to Twilight.

“ I'm staying to compete. “

“ W H A T ? ! ? ! “ Shouted Twilight, the rapid increase in pitch making her voice give out at the end. She had slid into a wider stance, wings outstretched and all.

She realized her mistake. She looked over to ponder. Almost cowering. Not out of fear of her, fear of the situation. Eyes deadest on her.
In fact,
all eyes were looking at her.
To her.
She felt like she needed to be strong. As the last and strongest link the chain, she couldn't break. She was worried and she couldn't show it. But she did anyway.

She gained a concerned and very worried look on her face for about a second or so; staring off into space.
She then returned to standing on all 4 legs, as she had reared up a bit, and then tried out one of Starlight's poker face techniques.

“ Spike, Uhm. “ She was trying to be quieter.
“ We have many ways to defend Equestria. “

“ Discord, the other 3 princesses. “
Her expression turned somber. And genuine.
“ All you would be doing is throwing your life away. “
Spike got tears in his eyes.

“ You don't know that! “ He held back screaming.
" I could win! "
“ And that big dragon may only be the start of it! “ He pointed back to where the leader of dragons used to be, throwing his arms out in expression.

“ We have no idea what the dragons as a whole are capable of! “
“ Spike – I “ Twilight was about to cry.

“ Have Discord make Spike invincible. “ A loud and monotone PonderBright stated.

He had gotten up to face both Twilight and Spike, with a ghastly blank expression. His movements were entirely stiff and robotic.

Twilight was looking at PonderBright, visibly concerned.
“ Are you ok- “

“ And there should be 2 more volunteers. To ensure a convincing win. “ Ponder said, ignoring Twilight completely as he spun around to Discord.

“ Can you turn ponies into dragons and vice versa? “

“ Oh. Yes. Why hadn't I thought of that... “ Discord went into deep thought. He seemed distracted.
“ Twilight, Is this plan agreeable? “ Ponder asked in a hurry.

She looked down to the floor, mind finally catching up to her. She was still very worried.
Mouth half-open, Her eyes darting around the ground for a few moments seemed to get her the answer she needed.

“ Yes. “ She responded; uncertainty clear in her voice.

“ But I don't feel... comfortable with you leading- “
He immediately turned away. Talking to Discord and Rarity. She had taken too long in her response, apparently.

She stared off in their direction for a bit, and spike nudged her.
“ Twilight, are YOU ok? “ Spiked asked.

“ I don't know Spike. “ She said while looking over to him, comforted.
“ I can't help but think I wasn't really made for this job. "
She peered at her reflection in a puddle.
"A princess. “ She said with sorrow.

“ Nonsense. You had to know-all to bring in Discord, remember? Getting help is exactly what leaders do: especially the leader of friendship. “,
“ And yeah, I probably would not have won competing by myself. “
“ You were right. “

“ Thanks, Spike. “ As she wiped her eyes.

“ Yeah don't mention it. “
They had made up already.

They both looked back toward the unofficial meeting with concern, with Ponder starting to run out of breath he was talking so fast.

“ I really hope this works out. “ Twilight found herself saying.

Spike looked at Twilight then back to the other group.

“ Yeah. “ His tone lost all expression.
“ Me too. “

The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves; on the other, a victory that is complete.

Sun Tzu, Art of war.

There can be more then one leader. Sun Tzu recognizes this in " Maneuvering " verse 7.

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

I find it very funny that the first written record of how to wage war references the magic of friendship. (In Sun Tzu's own demented way)
Ill be posting some after every chapter.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

You might be asking yourself
Both for the cannon show and for here:
Why oh why do these little ponies lead like their a bunch of disorganized children?

Answer: Because they are.

10 - Gauntlet of Espionage - Part 2

Their conversation was taking too long. Twilight thought about stepping in. In all logic, she had too. She was the only one here who knew about Equestrian inner workings and international relations.

But what about making sure Spike was ok? Actually invincible?

And also her previous argument with Discord, will he leave or disappear on her approach, leaving them doomed?

And what of her previous blunder, surely she would just make things worse with her excessive worrisome self.

The planning session had finished. They were all snapped somewhere else.
Twilight had ' snapped ' back to reality.

She wanted to at least be a part of the plan, but she was too late.
And she didn't want to call another meeting, as the dragons were already starting to gather again.

She noticed Spike was gone.
Before having time for another thought, Discord suddenly appeared and snapped her away.

She was immediately met by two, massive dragons. With very familiar color schemes.
Discord wasn't seeming like himself. He immediately burst into words:
“ That there -” He pointed to the larger dragon.
“ Is PonderBright. “

“ WHAT? “ Twilight was very confused; but at least she now knew why Ponder had asked about the dragon thing.
“ That's Rarity. “ Discord pointed to the longer, smaller, more regal looking one.

“ Etirawr. “ Corrected PonderBright.

“ My code name is Nova. “ He further explained.
“ The general plan is for me to make a show about how I'm going to win, and then loose to the more critically thinking Etirawr. “

“ Yes. “ Rarity sounded rather tired; swept up in the action a bit too much.
“ Then I shall describe the wonders of soft bedding, free trade, and indoor plumbing as reason to not destroy the ponies. “
She looked to Ponder for approval.

He nodded.
“ And then... I give the staff away after - “ She clear her throat “ ' getting board after a few weeks? ' “
She said with a forced smile.

Ponder shrugged as much as a fully grown dragon could shrug :
“ Sure. Whatever. Doesn't interfere with the plan. “
He replied.

Twilight was impressed.
Their plan was solid. Very solid.

She was somewhat relived, even though she barely knew the first in and out of this plan.
She still couldn't help a bad gut feeling per the inherit deception, but she had asked Discord to do something very similar, so she couldn't complain.

“ Twilight, can you disguise yourself like earlier and continue to lead from the shadows? “
She almost thought that last response funny. but this was too serious a situation.

“ Um- I'll try. “ She said with fabricated confidence.

Discord's voice rang in her brain.
“ TESTING testing... 1 2 3... “ She heard, almost as if it was one of her own thoughts.
This startled her tremendously, as she jumped back a bit.

“ Maybe we could- slow down a bit “
She considered herself lucky. Ponder had let her finish a sentence that time.
Ponder pointed to the dragon gathering at the ledge of a cliff.

“ They're starting. “

He jumped, and took off.
Rarity, having no experience with wings, struggled greatly.

Discord noticed this and made her levitate; the illusion of her flying.
It was not that convincing.

Twilight was close to saying something, but she wasn't sure what.
She prepared her magic. This was going to be a bumpy ride.

Ponder landed nearby the gathering. Rarity shortly afterward. They were now glowing, courtesy of the lord of chaos.
The current dragon lord turned around to acknowledge the new presence.

“ Oi? Who are you? And why are you still glowing? “
“ We're here for the passing of the dragon lord title. Isn't that why you summoned us? “ Ponder had started acting the part.

Rarity stayed silent.
“ I haven't seen you around these parts... Or anywhere. For that matter. “ The big dragon's eyes squinted a bit.
“ You wouldn't. Were basically from the other side of the planet! “ Ponder confidently stated with vigor.
“ Planet? “ Questioned the big dragon.

“ Yeah, what do you call it? “ Ponder had saved face.
“ Land. “ The big dragon slowly bellowed.

It looked at them both in contemplation.
“ Well, you lot sure are weird. You use strange words and keep glowing even after I should have put a stop to it. “

There was a slight, very slight, noticeable frown growing on PonderBright.
“ But I guess since your here, The more the merrier! “
“ Plus, you do look like formidable young dragons. Unlike these lot. “

He looked over to the current competitors, doing a waving hand motion above their heads.
He noticed a familiar small green dragon.

“ You. “ He pointed to Spike.
“ I thought I released you. “ He said in an intimidating tone.

“ Yes. “ Said Spike, not intimated or phased in the slightest.

“ But I've decided to stay here and compete. “
“ I am a dragon after all. “

The other competitors were already looking bewildered and confused.

The big dragon chuckled.
“ Fine. If these two “, “ weirdos ”, “ get to compete, then you can too. “

“ All dragons are welcome to compete. “
“ But they do so at their own peril. “ He said with intimidation as his goal.
“ Now, all of you... “

He reared back.
“ Go on and be the first to find the Blood Stone Scepter! “
He breathed fire. That, apparently, was the signal.

Rarity and Ponder had not started with the others; missing the que.
The big dragon was looking at them, raising an eyebrow.
They both got the picture and flew off.

Things started off as one might expect, with Spike with getting shoved into the rock-filled ocean by one of the larger dragons.

“ Thanks GARBLE “
“ I was planning on swimming anyway! “
Twilight heard, as she creeped up from behind some rocks dressed in seaweed.

“ Spike, do you know if your, actually invincible? “ she said with worry in her voice.
“ Yeah. “ He responded with a sigh, starting to swim.

“ I pinched myself earlier, and my fingers just slid off, like, no damage what-so-ever. “ He said with certainty, surely to boost Twilight's moral.

“ Good luck spike. “
Twilight softly said.

Spike smiled.

He was distracted by an armored dragon falling into the water, and sinking.
He, of course, went under to save them.

Twilight had still had her minor concerns, but Discord did good work.
She still wanted to check with him just to make sure.

“ Discord's Dialing, how may I connect your call? “ She heard from Discord, while a mental image of strange machines with many holes and wires flooded her mind.

Many different Discords were running around frantically, like chickens with their heads cut off. Most were talking up a storm in a meeting room in the back of the hallway.

“ Um- Did you remember to make Spike unable to drown? “

All the Discords stopped in place.

They immediately resumed after a short snapping sound.
Twilight lowered her eyes a bit.

“ Discord, is something the matter? You seem off. “ Twilight asked inside her mind.

“ Oh well. I don't know. I've never felt this way before, and to be honest... It's kind of driving me - “
Another Discord walked up to the one she was talking with.

“ We need an entire map drawn up of the maze section, STAT! “ It said with papers falling from it's hands.
“ Oh- Well uh- Got to go. “ He said as the connection was ended.

Spike surfaced.

No comedic remarks about he suddenly gained a bunch of breathing capacity or strength to swim with a dragon 5 times his size. He was solely focused on saving that armored dragon.

They both swam to the island.

Ponder flew with all the grace of a derailed train. Luckily, as it let him fit in. Something was different about flying with these wings, he just couldn't figure out what. At least it made the facade more convincing.

Oh well. With Discord on our side, the outcome was certain.
Equestria was safe.

And he himself was able to help the only way he knew how:
Violence and subterfuge.

Not against any other dragon or pony, no, but just in a general sense.

No victims.
No victims allowed.
He thought to himself, as he flew near a cave opening.

He was very careful to not accidentally kill another dragon, but the occasional bump-them-into-a-into-a-pile-of-rocks was fine.
Take your lumps like a man; you big bullies.

Or take them like a dragon.

Whatever.

Rarity was not taking this well, falling far behind PonderBright without letting him know. She had caught herself saying “ Sorry! “ one too many times, and getting odd looks from the other dragons.

This state of affairs started to spiral when she just didn't know where to go, as racing wasn't her forte.
She had to ask Discord where to go; putting further burden on him.

Ponder was wondering where Rarity was, as she was supposed to follow exactly 27 meters behind him, before “ causing “ (discord) a rock slide at the finish line to bury him.

He flew to what looked like to be the cave entrance, and looked around.
A small blue dragon was pointing at Twilight, with no disguise.
Spike was nearby.

Had he remembered to confirm if Discord had made everyone invincible? Not just the competitors?

No.

He swooped in, calling himself every synonym of ' stupid ' he knew of while flooding Discord's com lines.

After no response, he found himself landing very hard and steep (but sticking it) very nearby the 3.
He overheard from the blue one: “ Dragons, don't do ' friends ' “

A loud thud.

Ponder had a put an arm between Twilight and Ember, almost large enough to block their vision.
Spike turned to look at him.

He turned back to the blue one: “ Well this dragon does. “ He said as he poked his head between Ponder's claws.
“ And we do too. “ Ponder menacingly said, in hopes of scaring off the blue dragon, Rarity landing not far from them.

“ I knew it! “ The blue dragon said.
“ That you were somehow connected; working together! “
Everyone but Spike had a ' we got got ' look on their face.

The blue one smiled.
“ Just wait until the other dragons hear about this! “
“ There's no way they will accept a weak pony aligned dragon! “

She attempted to fly off, but was caught in the hand of Ponder.

He slammed her back down into the sand, his slightly agape mouth starting to flare up.
Twilight teleported in front of Ponder, wings outstretched, and shouted, “ NO! “ while releasing a magic blast that pushed him back.

Ponder was taken aback. He lifted a claw up to his open mouth, not knowing he had been creating a flame.
Twilight had a disappointed look as she flew back down to Spike and the others.

The blue dragon was completely ok. He had not meant her any harm, and it showed by her still being functional.
“ What's your name? “ She asked.
“ Ember. “ She said, still shaken from the slam. Still brushing off sand, she was still able to move.

“ You, really don't know what your doing here, don't you? “ She said while looking at Ponder; still looking defeated and submissive at the much, much smaller pony.

Twilight responded for him -
“ No. But I do know one thing: “
“ If any of those other dragons win this gauntlet, It will endanger Equestria. My home. “
She pleaded.

Ember looked frusteratedly angry.
“ I thought, If I won this gauntlet, that I would show every dragon that there are better things then just being big and strong! “

She scowled and looked down, and away.
“ That I'm not just some princess who needs daddy's protection. “

Spike seemed to respond to that.
Too bad Ponder had to be stupid again.

He drew closer to Ember, her leaning back a bit. Not too close to set off Twilight, but just close enough for him to whisper, and much as a dragon his size could.

“ Indeed, It could be. “
Ember looked confused. Twilight looked annoyed.

“ You could win this gauntlet, right here, right now. In under a second. Like magic. “
The words oozed out of his mouth like poison from a snake, something a dragon of his size should not be capable of.

“ Then what would I represent? “ Ember argued.

“ Cheating? “, “ Pony superiority? “

“ Subterfuge. Diplomacy. Slight of hand. That other things are mightier then claws. “ He pointed to her arms, then to her head. His claw lingered a bit near her head.

“ The cognitive ability to recognize an advantage, and take it. “

“ No. “ She refused, turned away, and flew off.
She had stormed off so harshly and suddenly, she had forgotten her helmet.
Twilight looked furious. But not angry kind of furious.

A rock crushed a nearby red dragon, and Spike being spike, went over to help.

The three other dragons seemed to be distracted so Twilight marched over to Ponder.
He tried to speak up.

“ I- “ This time she interrupted him.
“ PONDERBRIGHT, Stop. “ She said sternly with anger in her voice.

He leaned back a bit.

He instinctively looked around for more threats in the area.
“ Look at me. “ She almost yelled.

She was angry. A first time for everything.
“ Listen to me. “

He sat up straight, and looked down at her.
“ You are in no position to lead anything. “ She said with cold anger.
“ I thought you would have learned that by now... “ She said with a much softer voice, seeing his posture.

He felt something. Something on the tip of his tongue that he had not felt in a long, long time. Sure, he was hurt, but it was something else. Unidentified.

He started to act like Discord.
The uncertainty and sheepishness included.

“ I wasn't trying to - “ He paused.

“ Then what should I do? “ He said apologetically.

Twilight looked downward slightly, and after a short time looked back to him with sorrowful authority:
“ Finish the gauntlet. “, “ We can't let all of dragonkind know this race was rigged. “

“ Don't win. “

The words were monotone. Another first for Twilight, as far as Ponder was concerned.

“ You've... “ Twilight seemed to debate voicing her next words. “ Done enough already. “

Ponder just stared. Not at her, more akin to the ground before her.
She turned back and put on her seaweed disguise.

Rarity clumsily waddled up to him.

She put a wing on his shoulder, and asked:
“ Are you alright? “

He rotated his head just enough for her to see his purified divine drive and determination, causing her to reel back. The desired effect.

He took off.
He didn't know where he was going, he just wanted to go.

The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first instance, from the converted spy. Hence it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality.

Sun Tzu, Art of war.

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

I find it very funny that the first written record of how to wage war references the magic of friendship. (In Sun Tzu's own demented way)
Unfortunately the art of war is only so long, and my chapters are numerous.
No more quotes. ;(

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

Ponder is legitimately confused as to why Twilight was angry with him.
Twilight was the same.

Culture clashes aren't solved by the magic of friendship when in hostile situations.
AVOID them sure. After the fact? Yup.
But not while your in them.

11 - Gauntlet of Espionage - Part 3

Doing nothing didn't work.
Doing everything didn't work.

He was hyperventilating.

Luna's past words of seeking help echoed from the back of his mind, but he completely shut them down.
Ah, yes. Stopping to talk about your feelings in the middle of a death race where doing so would get you found out.
A lot of help these friendship lessons were.

He barreled through other dragons as he went, slamming into them at speeds so fast he knocked some of them out cold.

He got to a housing area- maze like section.
The red dragon from before bumped into him while he was landed.

“ Hey watch where you- “

Garble realized the difference in size.
“ Uh. I'll be going... That way. “ He pointed to the opposite direction of where he was headed.

Ponder recognized him.
The ringleader bully dragon.

' Oh no you don't. '

Twilight had said to finish the race but not win.

Slowing down the other dragons while making it seem like something he would do SOUNDED like something she said, and she did LITTERALLY not say it was forbidden, but at this point flashbacks of his time dealing with
' authority '
in the human world was getting the better of him.

Does he do it? Bad. Wrong. Punishment. Failure.

Does he not do it? Horrid. Incorrect. Corrective actions need to be Implemented.

...

Destroyed Equestria.

Screw it.

' If he's wrong no matter what he does, he might as well do what he wants to do. ' He thought.

He slammed a claw down on the little red dragon.
“ Oh? I think you and me are gunna have a little' chat. ' “ He said while grinning.

“ Oh. Ugh- “ The red one was at a loss for words.

“ The race is still going. Someone like you could actually win if they- “
Ponder cut him off.
“ I have time to spare. I can win whether or not I get in some “

“ quality time “
“ with a lowlife bully like you. “

The red dragon was shaking in his non-existent boots.

“ Lets chat. “ He said in monotone.

=== Ember, Spike and Ponies ===

Ember and Spike's unlikely team grew brittle. She was already wary of him, or more likely so, his companions.
She broke it off when entering the maze, as they had already fallen far behind due to Ponder's shenanigans.
She sneered at Ponder shrugging off the crystal spikes, most shattering on impact with his hide.

Rarity, now a pony again, stumbled due to how off balance her costume was.
She almost fell into a lava pool when Spike pulled her back from the brink.

After a short thanks from Rarity Spike spoke up:
“ Oh it was nothing. “ He said, almost clownishly.

“ Nothing? You just risked- I mean- You lost time saving her. And she's putting herself In danger, just to cheer you on! “ Ember interjected.

She looked back at the many destroyed crystal pokers, questioning the authenticity of any pony-related event.

“ I think. “ She said after a pause.

“ That's just what friends do. Don't you have anyone that looks out for you? “ Spike had asked.
“ Not really. “ She found herself admitting.

“ Which, I mean to say, I don't. “ She said with confidence, thinking back to the scandal from earlier.
“ We were only helping each other get through that tunnel. And now were through. “

“ So “

“ That's it. “
“ Our business is concluded. “

“ There's only one Scepter, after all. “
She said nonchalantly as she flew off.

“ Oh. “
Spike had replied, to an ever deaf ear of Ember, who was too far away to hear him anyway.

After a long walk of the maze, and a conversation with Twilight and Rarity about if Ember was actually his friend, he used his wits and deduction skills to find a cave with a long winding path, with a red crystal growth at the end.

This was it.

Almost as soon as he walked through, Garble showed up from behind.
But this time he was different. Angry. Unhinged. And walking oddly.
Slightly off balance.
He's obviously jostled around at least a bit, and he's not doing a very good job at hiding it.

Scared?

He immediately went to attack Spike. To no avail, invincibility and whatnot, but he did prevent him from reaching the Scepter.

=== PonderBright ===

He had long since released Garble, now basically bullying the other dragons.
Nothing they couldn't handle, of course.

Plus; it was justice. Their culture is to be big and bully, so they should be bullied by someone bigger.
Tit for tat, having your intentions done upon yourself, everything was right in the world.

It was almost becoming cathartic when he realized he wasn't guarding the end of the maze.

Discord had been helpful enough to provide them with a map of it upon request, and he should be placing his big, fat, intimidating dragon butt around around there to shoo the competition away.

He took off, much to the relief of the other dragons.

He was thinking as he was flying:
' With the map, shouldn't someone have won by now? '
He turned his thoughts inward to ask Discord.

The telecommunications room was in disrepair.

All but one Discord was shouting at each other in the meeting room.
The Discord that answered his ' call ' was disheveled. Speaking meekling, without any of that classic Discord enthusiasm.

“ Discord what happened? “ He had to ask.

“ Oh. Hi PonderBright. “ Discord managed to squeak out with a sigh.
“ Discord, are you ok? “

Ponder, at this point, had no filter.
Or, in other words,
no ' guard '. No ' walls '.

“ Oh quite alright. “ He said with another sigh.
Discord looked back to the meeting, which now was now more of an argument then anything else.

Discord got angry as he looked.
“ I'm just a little bit DISTRACTED is all. “

He said with accusation in his voice.
The other Discords didn't like that.

Signaled by them shouting back at him, giving Ponder a full blast of Discord-themed loud.
It hurt his brain's ears; if that's even a word.

“ Ah- “ Ponder flinched.

All the Discords took notice of this.

They all seemed to agree on one thing now.

“ Yup. Alright. Shut it down. “ As the Discord he was talking too took a chainsaw from slightly outside of his view. The other Discords nodded.

PonderBright never would guessed his next feeling: He felt sorry for Discord.

Something happened in PonderBright. Something he knew not. His pupils grew big, and it was almost as if a single sparkle, or a star, shinned bright in it. There were more lines attempting to from to complete the constellation, but those were not for now.

Pink.

He had come to a realization. If he deserved to be forgiven for his mistakes, and he thought he did, thanks to Fluttershy and friends. A ' crime ' forgiven which he didn't intend to happen; neither the cause or any of the consequences. Then... Discord, ever deserving to be in a state of panic right now, might actually not.

Even someone with the worst of intentions could be forgiven, if they know not what they do, to quote a popular religious book from his world.

His notion of ' Justice ' was starting to seem a bit too wobbly, even for him.
“ Discord. I forgive you. It's ok. It's fine. I'm fine. “ He said, not wanting to waste a second more.

“ Oh? “ Discord seemed confused.

“ I'm sorry I didn't say so earlier, but I should have realized you were hurting. “,
“ An important member of our team was floundering, and I was too busy coming up with stupid things like code names to do anything about it. “

Discord, still shocked, tried to save face.
“ Well, I don't know about floundering. “ He rebuked.

His clones seemed to be in sync with him again.
Ponder smiled.

“ But I do feel like giving this whole... communication thing another shot. “ A background Discord said.
Ponder was unsure what type of communication he was referring to.

Discord put down the chainsaw somewhere ' offscreen '.

“ Let's get back to work, shall we? “ The main Discord said to the others.
The others saluted him, and the transmission was cut.

He then flew head first into a wall.

Not paying attention.

Psychic telepathic communications and flying – Don't do it kids.

After a short period of radio silence, Discord was the one to call him this time.
“ Twilight and the others are approaching the end. I- forgot to send them the map. They didn't need it. “

Good. He was heading there now.

“ Rogger. Over and out! “ Discord said while sticking out his tongue.
PonderBright was genuinely happy that Discord was happy.

=== Spike and Ponies ===

Spike was scarred of Garble. Not half-and-half scared, not kinda scared,
Scared.

It's like something in him was broken. He was going for the kill with every swipe.

This was not the bully he knew.

The glances and blows slid off him. He was still invincible, after all.
Garble was almost feral. He was snarling, and just kept going at it. Even as he started running out of breath.

Twilight in her stalagmite costume watched with minor concern while Rarity used Discord's private com lines to cheer Spike on like a spectator to a fun sporting event.

Twilight was glad Ponder had that idea. Making Spike invincible.
He was also the reason she could even summon Discord without all the elements, too.

He should have known better. He should not have gone that far with Ember.

Her attention was drawn by Spike letting out a scream of fear, followed by Garble hurting himself on some gagged rocks in order to peruse Spike.
Seems to be the only thing on his mind now. Whatever got him this way must have been pretty bad.

Oh boy did she recognize this.

And thankful she didn't ' get into it ' while under the pressure of this entire ordeal.
Twilighting? Freaking out? She recognized the thought process, even if no one had a valid word for it yet.
… Though... This isn't exactly like one of her ' moments '.

' Garble is too hyper focused on one goal to notice anything else '
She kept thinking to herself.

Oh.

Maybe...
Maybe Ponder wasn't to blame.
At least, not entirely.

Her focus was drawn back to Spike, who had a little blue dragon helper swooping in to body slam Garble out of the way ; ' saving ' Spike.

“ EMBER! “ Spike shouted
“ I thought it was every dragon for themselves! “ He continued.

“ Why did you help me? “ He responded with glee.
“ Because- “ She was openly conflicted.

“ Your not like them Spike. You refused to cheat, You enjoy helping, and you've never broken one of our deals. Your a real stand-up creature. “

“ Not like the ponies. “

“ Um- “ Spike wanted to rebuke so many claims she just made, but he felt he was short on time.
“ Go get the scepter. You've more then earned it.“ Spike offered, hand outstretched.
Spike put on a knowing smile.
“ Friend. “

“ Um, not friend. “ She sheepishly replied, almost embarrassed.
“ I am not talking about my feelings. “

“ Just – acquaintance. “

“ And regarding the scepter... “
“ Waaay ahead of you. I just didn't want to see you die. “ She said with care.
Spike still was optimistic.

“ It's a great start. “ He said, stepping aside.
Ember started to walk towards the crystal holding the scepter, when Garble flew in from behind.

“ I AM SICK AND TIRED OF YOU PONY WORSHIPERS “

“ H E L P I N G E A C H O T H E R ! “

He screamed some more in mania:

“ DRAGONS “
“ DON'T “
“ HELP “

He snarled as he grappled with Ember.

Spike was thinking about getting the Scepter himself, looking over to it.
He decided against, as that would betray her trust, and focused on proving emotional support.

They were in the air, and he couldn't annoy Garble off of her as he hoped to do.
His cheering and words of encouragement did about as much as one might think they would do in a fight; almost nothing.

Garble seemed like she was getting the upper hand. He readied a sharp foot talon.
He slashed. It connected; causing minor damage to her leg. She winced.

Twilight was ready to throw off her rock costume, right here, right now; consequences be dammed.
She agreed with what Ember said. No casualties.

Ember leaned back to respond to Grable's earlier assertion:

“ These dragons - “

“ D- “

A blur of faded gold with green undertones swept through the area, disturbing the air with such speed and power it even blew Twilight and Rarity over.
Passing so close to Ember, it knocked her out of her flying stance, unintentionally causing a tipple back flip; her barely catching herself before hitting the rock bridge.

Their ears rung for a bit as the sonic boom faded.

' A ½ foot closer and it would have got me. ' Ember thought to herself.
' Killing me. '

Garble was gone.

Every creature else in the room wasn't sure what happened either.
Until Twilight, and soon the others, were found staring at the back corner of the room.

PonderBright.
With Garble, slammed against the now cracked stone wall under his claw.
“ YOU STILL WANT TO PLAY THIS GAME? “ Ponder bellowed.

“ THIS GAME OF DEATH, PAIN, AND ENSLAVEMENT?! “ The cave wall carried his deep voice too well, and with his massive dragon vocal cords, making it all too intimidating.

“ THE GAME WITH ONLY ONE WINNER? “
“ WHERE THAT WINNER HAS TO ENDLESSLY FIGHT, JUST TO STAY ON TOP ?! “

Ponder sighed a deep sigh

“ WELL, YOU MADE YOUR CHOICE. “

He looked back at Garble.
Garble was objectively horrified. A look anycreature in the room never expected to see from him.

Ponder clamped down.
It looked like it hurt.

“ AND YOU LOST. “

He moved his head down towards where Garble is.
Twilight didn't like the looks of this. She threw off her rock costume, and flew towards them.
Would she make it? She wasn't going to make it.

“ May you regret your choice for the rest of your life. “ Ponder snarled.
“ All 12 seconds of it. “ His mouth filled with fire.

“ You wanted to play that game so bad, didn't you? “

“ Well. “

“ GAME OVER. “

Garble haphazardly covered his face.
PonderBright reared back, inhaling.

Well.

What was he waiting for?

Garble looked confused too; his hands now no longer blocking his general face area.

He was staring at Ponder.
Like he had something in his eye.

Ponder thought in that moment: He was about to kill some creature.

No by accident.
Not to save more lives.

Just for Justice.
Or perhaps to make an example.

It would work.
The other dragons would tell stories for generations of a phantom hulking beast who came out of nowhere,
killed one of them because he didn't like their aggressive ways,
and then returned to nowhere as fast as he had come.

It would strike terror into the hearts of every dragon, especially in those who would have followed in Garble's footsteps; but would be too scarred to after hearing that tale.
Even more so after it gets exaggerated over time.

So, why?
Why the hesitation?

Many emotions flooded his head and banged around, causing the once infinitely intimidating dragon to now seem quite unsure of himself. His posture softened.

He loosened his grip.

He let go.

He sneered at Garble as he turned around, scoffed at him, and seemed ready to go back to the entrance of the room.

“ N O ! “ Cried Twilight, arriving with a blast of magic aimed at Ponder.
He was now frozen in place.

Garble slowly flew past, still heavily damaged, but still conscious.
Twilight looked at him to Ponder's side, straining under the magical load she was under.

' Huh? ' She thought to herself.
' He was frozen, so... He couldn't move anything... not even his claw. '
' He let him go ? '

Her magic slowly stopped.
He just flew there, looking down apologetically at Twilight,
No signs of his earlier rage.

Twilight looked to be in disbelief, from Ponder's vantage point of immense difference in height and size.
She slowly turned away from him; sadly. She flew back to the stone bridge.

=== Ember ===

Ember looked to Twilight in shock:
“ I- “
“ Go get the scepter. “
Twilight interrupted.

She pointed a hoof at the big crystal at the end of the bridge.
She looked over to Ponder with a dead, cold stare.
He looked back; likewise.

Almost as if they were talking somehow, Ponder suddenly nodded and took almost a full second to ramp up his fire breath, and took some more time to aim at a very specific point in the wall.

The wall was instantly obliterated.
The new hole was lined with, presumably radioactive, super-heated plasma.
He flew out of the hole.
Twilight too burdened to say anything.

Everyone else too shocked to stop her, even Garble;
Ember walked, slowly, to the scepter.
She picked it up.

She wore a tired look on her face as the power in the rod shot out into the sky; alerting all other dragons of her success.
She looked back to the crowd.

Same looks as hers.
Minus Garble, who was as scared as a newborn dragon witnessing his first Phoenix attack.

She walked away.
An empty victory.

Her father, of course, congratulated her, after his usual anger and outrage at her disobedience.

He even complimented her.
Even admitting to one of her philosophies.

She inadvertently tuned it out.

' How much of that was actually me? '

She met up with the ponies in secret, after a short party from the dragons.
It all felt empty.

“ Well. “
She said.

All of them were there, except for PonderBright being replaced with a dragon-horse-bird... thing.
They all stared at her.

Things had gotten this tense.

She sighed.

“ Thank you for your help. “ She said, very professionally.

“ Without you, I likely would nothave won the gauntlet. “
“ And when you next see Ponder, I thank him too, for defending me. “
She looked to her damaged leg.

The chimera snapped.
All better? How? Was it him?

“ Uh- Um- Thanks. Chimera? “ She guessed.
It did not respond. Too serious a situation?
It crossed it's arms and nodded.

“ That. “ Twilight was struggling for words.

“ Wasn't defense. “ She admitted.

“ Well. “ She corrected her slouched posture.

“ At any rate, while you have my thanks, I must ask you all to stay away from the Dragonlands. “ She asserted, knocking the ground slightly with her Scepter.

“ You are all too much trouble. I can't have you here.“ She said with minor regret.
“ I'll make sure no dragon causes Equ- Eqaa- your homeland, or any other land, any trouble. “ She outstretched a claw.

“ Deal? “

“ Deal. “ Replied Twilight, depression visibly and auditorily showing.

Their shake was about as mechanical and by-the-book as one could imagine.

They walked away.

“ w a i t wait “ Ember heard form afar.
A familiar voice.

Garble?

He was running.
Weird. He usually liked to fly.

“ HOLD ON “ He said in a pant.
She raised an eyebrow.

“ I'm not here to fight! “ He said while shaking his open palms at her.

Not the best peace offering.
She subtly gripped her staff.

“ I – Uh- wanted to say... “ He was straining to get the last word out.
“ Sor- y. “

“ There. I said it. Do you forgive me? “
She raise the other eyebrow.
“ No. “ She said

“ Rea- Oh. oh. “ He replied, starting to get sad.
“ Well, thanks anyways for- “ He awkwardly spat out; starting to walk away. He seemed like he was in the middle of remembering something important.

He quickly turned back around quickly to face her.

“ Are the other ones gone? The ponies? “
She was confused.
“ I need to apologize to them too. “ He said with urgency.
He looked sheepishly at Ember.

Ember was impressed.
' Such improvement ' She thought.

Oh.

His experience in the race.
At least one good thing came out of this.

“ Yes. They already left. “
She pointed to a direction not them with her Scepter.

“ Oh good, maybe I can still catch- “
Garble was interrupted.
“ No. By order as dragon lord, I order you to not seek out any species other then dragons. “
' Can't have another incident so close to the first one ' she was thinking.

“ Aww man... “ He seemed genuinely sad.
“ Can you... At least – Let them all know? When you next talk? “ He said with repentance.

“ I'll see what I can do when I open a line of communication. “ Her tough girl facade was failing.
She was starting to feel sorry for him. And proud?
“ Thanks. “ He quickly said, and flew off.

=== Twilight's crew ===

The trip back to the airship that brought them there was long. The stones under their hoofs were heated by the sun all day; Hot.

“ Um- “ Discord was trying to ask something.
“ Go on. “ Twilight was still depressed.
“ Regards to PonderBright “,
“ You don't think he'll get into serious trouble for this one, will he? “

Twilight looked at Discord longingly.
“ He let him go! That's got to count for- “
“ I don't know, Discord. “
She said as she looked back ahead, slightly more towards the ground.

There was a pause in the conversation.

Discord looked conflicted.
Him being him, he was obviously mulling something around in his head. As per the many gestures and grunting noises.

He then confidently stated:
“ If you gave me a second chance when I sided with Tirek, ”, “ Then you should keep that pattern going. “ He said half - confidently half – pleadingly.

Twilight looked back up at Discord, now even more somber.
Discord elaborated on his previous statement -
“ Just because he failed you once, doesn't mean he'll do it again! “ He almost said that like he was in an argument.

Twilight looked back down to the path they were walking, hurt.
“ Maybe so... “ ; said with loads of doubt.
“ But I fear It's not up to me and me alone. “ She meekly said, eyes narrowing.

“ And he didn't fail me. “
“ I failed him. “ She said with eyes closed, blinking away sorrow but not tears.

They all were shocked by that last one.
Everyone but Twilight shared stares of confusion, and some of disbelief.

Spike to went to comfort her.
“ Oh come on! “ He was very good at forcing a cheerful tone.
“ It's not your fault! “

He continued to reassure her as they walked to the airship.

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

What do you think of heavy handed stuff?

And what do you think of court trials with our favorite ponies?

12 - The Trial - Part 1

“ It would not have worked. “ Discord said in semi-sarcastic monotone.
“ I made Garble invincible as soon as I heard him say that. “ He crossed his arms with authority.

“ Alright. “ Celestia exclaimed.
“ I believe I am ready to start. “ She waved a authoritative wave at Discord.
Discord then stopped the replaying. The faded images of the reenactment lingered for a bit before disappearing completely.

Ember picking up the Scepter was the last mirage to vanish.

Celestia looked to Luna, who gave her a look so subtle only a sister with a thousands years of experience could even begin to understand.

“ Well, “ Discord rubbed the back of his head.

Discord nervously managed to get the words out:
“ I guess I'll take my leave- “

Before being interrupted by Celestia:
“ I wish you here for the trial. “ Celestia waved a hoof at him.

“ There are also some things I wish to discuss with you... About how you handled the situation. “
Discord looked surprised.
He replied with a simple : “ Oh. “

Celestia cleared her throat.
“ Is it true that you were the one that brought in PonderBright? “
“ Yes. Everything I've shown you is as accurate as I can remember. “
Discord said with a formal bow.

“ Alright. “ Celestia closed her eyes.
“ I would like to ask: why did you listen to PonderBright over Twilight? “ She said with a hoof outstretched. Luna nodded in agreement.

“ That's certainly not how I remember it. “ Discord reposed.
“ All I remember before Ponder taking charge Is Twilight freezing up like a Breezie in the winter. “, “ She didn't say to do or not do anything. And Ponder had good ideas like always, so I... “

Discord looked somberly towards the ground.
“ Well. “
“ Maybe not ALL good ideas. “

Luna looked awkwardly at Discord.
“ Are... You unaware on how the chain of command works? “ She asked in earnest.
Discord shrugged.

Celestia interjected -
“ Discord, we are aware that we failed to give you proper training and instruction. “
“ You are not to blame. “

“ But, in the future, do seek direction from the highest nearby trained authority; even if a nearby civilian has very good ideas. “ She said with near perfect expression and tone, similar to a teacher.

“ Already taken care of. I'm not making that blunder twice. “ Discord admitted.

Discord turned to leave.
He turned back around, forgetting something.

“ Twilight IS one of those trained ponies, right? “ He sheepishly asked.
“ Yes. “, “ She is to be considered one. “ Celestia answered.

“ Apologies. I'm kind new to this... Friends and … working together … and cooperation thing. “
Discord said as if he was a hermit just returning to society.

“ It's OK Discord.” Celestia took a regal tone.
“ Your trying. And that's all we can ask. Equestria thanks you for your service. “

Discord tapped his fingers together.
“ Do – consider what I said yesterday about Ponder, yes? “
He quickly teleported away without waiting to be dismissed; or any response to be had.

“ I'll oversee some modified royal guard training. “ Luna exclaimed to Celestia; pointing a hoof to where Discord used to be.
“ Thank you. “ Celestia blinked slowly.
There was a short period of silence.

“ Is there anything else you wish to add before we begin? “ Celestia turned to Luna.
“ No, his dream and our conversation is all I had to offer. “ She responded.

Celestia inhaled slightly.
“ Very well. Then we shall begin. “

She nodded to a guard pony, who knocked on the big metal blast door to the throne room.
After a short while, it opened. And three ponies stepped in with a four guard escort :

Rarity, looking confused.
PonderBright, looking depressed.
And Twilight, looking ever so defeated before the trail even began, was the first to speak.

“ I'm so sorry about this. “ Twilight said looking Celestia's way.
“ I didn't mean for any of this to happen. “

“ No need to apologize again, Twilight. “ Celestia said in response.
“ It's very clear to me that none of this was the intention of any pony. “ She said while moving her gaze to Luna; giving her a chance to speak.

“ My thoughts as well. “ Luna added.

PonderBright seemed to get over his most recent depressive state a bit with the last two assertions.
He was about to speak, when -

“ I would like to clarify before we begin : we are here to discuss the events that happened to you In the Dragon Lands. “
Her voice echoed over them, not giving them a chance to speak.
“ I would like to know from your point of view what happened. “
Celestia waited patiently through the silence she created.
Her face had started to return to blankness; the beginnings of a poker face.

“ Well, If you don't mind, might I share first? “ Rarity had broken the silence, pointing a hoof to herself.
“ Certainly. Whenever your ready; step forward. “ Celestia responded.

Rarity obeyed the command in minor confusion. She had never had to do this before when speaking to Celestia, even with an audience.

“ Well, so there we were, listening to the dragons talk about new leaders- “
“ When they started talking about doing horrid things to Equestria if they were ever made so. “

“ So Twilight froze up, “
“ Like she normally does “
“ And Ponder started taking charge “

PonderBright and Twilight both inadvertently shared looks of confusion.
They both wanted to say something; when they realized Celestia's gaze was not on Rarity...
But them.

Celestia's expression had shifted too. Ever so slightly.

' Is she... bored? ' Twilight was thinking back to her many years with Celestia as her student.
' And why was she looking this way? '

Twilight was just now getting to see her former teacher as something much more.

Something that could only be created with over 1,000 years of refinement.
Twilight continued to stare in awe, almost disbelief.
Why hadn't she noticed any of this sooner?

Was...

Was Celestia just this good at hiding it?

' Wow I am sure glad I'm autistic. ' Ponder was thinking in this moment; watching Twilight ' shake up ' a bit from nervousness per Celestia's stare.

' If I've been able to be defeated by a mere stare I'd would have died long ago. Waaay back at the beginning of my school days. '

He had noticed that some weak willed people back in said school days tended to cave at the slightest hint of push back. He was glad he was not one of them.
Unfortunately his more aggressive take on life did him no favors this time around.
He continued to focus on Rarity, not looking deeper as to why Twilight was acting this way.

Twilight's now stiff posture promoted Celestia to smile a bit and return her gaze to Rarity.
“ And that's when he slammed his arm down, right in front of Ember. “

Celestia's attention instantly switched from secretly observing the other two, to now openly asking Rarity:
“ Rarity, if you must guess, why do you think Ponder did so? “
Ponder froze up. Rarity, who was faced away and slightly ahead compared to Ponder, did not notice.

“ Why, he was defending Twilight no less! “
“ That much was obvious. “

Ponder looked at Twilight.
Twilight grew a conflicted look, and looked away.

Celestia turned to PonderBright.
“ PonderBright, Why didn't you ask Discord to extend the invincibility to Twilight? “

It took him awhile to come up with the words.
“ I tried. He wasn't responding. “
“ He seemed occupied, with something else. “
He depressingly stated.

Hm.
Celestia thought to herself.
So Discord really isn't all knowing.
And quite a unreliable narrator at that.

Luna broke her concentration.
“ Sister, I must attest to Ponder's actions here. It is easy for heightened emotions to take over in a difficult situation such as that. “
She took a small moment before responding.

“ I understand Luna, dooley noted. “
Celestia nodded.

Everypony was getting a clearer understanding of how it went down.
The conversation went on.

…

“ And thats when... He slashed her leg. “
“ Honestly It was only a matter of time before he found a way to inflict some damage to somepony. “
Twilight was looking downward with those last two sentences; now even more worried then Ponder, who was staring into space.

“ And that's when he arrived. Ponder. “
“ He slammed Garble into the back wall and threatened to kill him. “

“ Twilight went to save him, but... He flew away somehow? “
“ To spite Ponder being held in place? Perhaps he slipped through his claws?“
“ I'm sorry If I'm not being helpful enough darlings. “ She said apologetically, pulling a hoof closer to herself.

“ It's quite alright. “ Celestia reassured her.
“ Just stick to what you know. “ She further stretched her tone.

“ Well, then Twilight stared at him for a bit and he left. “
“ Through a hole in the wall he made? “ Celestia asked.
“ Yes. “ Rarity said.

Rarity took a pause.

“ Wait. “
“ You knew? “, “ This whole time? “

“ Sort of. “ Celestia Gently tilted her head.
“ Discord can't be paying attention to everything all at once now, can he? “

“ Oh. “
“ Well, thank you dear, for wanting to hear my side of the story. “ Rarity said in earnest.

“ Your welcome Rarity. “ Celestia reposed.
“ And I thank you sharing your experience. It did paint Ponder in a much more positive light. “
“ PonderBright, If you could step forward. “

' She didn't ask a volunteer this time. ' He thought to himself.
He was beginning to realize what had gotten into Twilight. This was a thousand + year old queen. Will his high intellect even be enough put him at an advantage here?
…
Did it put him at an advantage during the Gauntlet?
…
Did it really ever? Or did It just piss the other person off, while his point zoomed right over their heads?

Uh oh.

Thoughts like these ruminated around in his head at lightning speed as he was walking. His face grew quite contorted quite quickly due the speed of his rumination.

Celestia had been noticing this change.
“ PonderBright, hopefully your testimony will help us reach a decision. “ Celestia exclaimed.

Was her mind not made up?
' Was there really a chance? '
Ponder was thinking.

His posture softened.
“ Alright. “ He said, still with minor sorrow.

“ I'm ready. “
“ Why did you not kill Garble? “ She abruptly asked.

He froze a bit, but not completely.

Celestia's eyes were very much focused on him. Not a harsh gaze. One for focusing; collecting information.
Luna attempted to exchange a short look with her sister, not knowing completely what's going on either, until Ponder spoke.

“ It was for three reasons. “

“ The first was, I'm unsure about what I was doing was the best way. “
Twilight's posture softened a little bit.

Everyone in the room continued to let him speak.
“ You have your entire culture and civilization built on such... Soft … And happy... And fragile things. “ Ponder was looking to the Sisters this sentence.

He quickly looked back towards nowhere, as he wasn't good with eye contact.

“ And I didn't think that kind of diplomacy was what any of you wanted. “
“ Or needed. “
“ You are correct. “ Celestia exclaimed.

Ponder waited a bit; for another response.
Celestia patiently waited. A poker face fit for an (alicorn) god.

He continued:
“ The second being I was doubting the effectiveness of my solution. “
Celestia raised her head a bit, but not with Ponder noticing.

“ Dragons are not humans. “, “ And neither are Ponies. “
“ And while making an example like that would have worked wonders back in my world... “
He solemnly looked back towards the other 2 ponies.

He looked back towards the Sisters with certainly.
“ - There are cultural differences between us, there are very fundamental mental ones as well. “
“ I doubted It would have had the same effect. “
“ I was worried It might even backfire. “

“ The third.... “ He was almost gasping for air.

He was trying to formulate how to say it best.

' He didn't deserve it? ' No. Too unbelievable since she heard his tone via Discord.
' I changed my mind? ' Not that one either. Too wishy-washy for a pony with his conviction and consistency. If only he were Pinkie Pie.

He was at a loss.

His mind wondered to his conversations with other ponies,
mainly AppleJack.

Screw it.

If he was going out burning-at-the-stake style, he might as well go out
Honest.

He looked back up to the sisters.

“ My desire to see him saved outweighed my desire to see Justice done. “
Luna raised her head a bit.
Celestia resisted that urge.

Both the background ponies in the room took on much more dramatic poses.
Celestia's eyes turned to Luna for a bit. To confirm her expression.
She return her gaze to Ponder.

She waited.
“ Could you further explain? “ Celestia had to ask to move the conversation along.

Ponder contemplated for a bit.
“ I wanted to see him suffer. In pain. “
The peanut gallery from behind him became ever more uncomfortable.

“ As much pain as he inflicted on others for fun, I wanted the same done to him. “
“ In my world we call that Justice. “

Celestia interjected: “ And when you mentioned you had warned Garble in an indirect way, is what you were referring too? “
She had given him an out.

He took it.
“ Yes. I had talked to him earlier about it. “
“ Pointing out how horrid it was. “
“ And how he would never succeed. At least, not in a complete sense. “
He had fumbled his words.

“ Garble would never succeed permanently, I mean. “
“ And you wished to see him, ' Saved? ' ?“ She further asked.

“ Yes. “ He looked down to his hoofs.
“ I realized that he might not even know the whole of what he's doing. “
“ Even if I explained exactly that. “ He said with disdain.
“ I realized I was judging him too harshly; by a standard to which I hold myself. “

Rarity had been struck in the heart for awhile now; per Ponder's testimony.

She finally spoke up in the middle of their conversation:
“ Dear... “, “ You can't possibly be keeping track of every little thing you say or do to self improvement all by yourself... “, “ And especially not except yourself to completely change your ways after just one conversation! “

“ That's what friends are for – be a little generous to yourself! “ She said while pointing a hoof to him.
Twilight was pleasantly surprised at this outburst

It seemed to resonate with Luna, too.
Rarity's eye widened and she grew surprised.

“ Oh- ! “
“ I'm dreadfully sorry. “

“ You were talking and I just- “
“ It's quite alright Rarity. “ Celestia responded, finding a cut in Rarity's sentence.
“ But, since you are done with your testimony, I must ask you to take your leave. “

“ Oh. - Alright. “

“ Sorry. Again. “
Rarity said as she walked out.

The doors closed as Celestia gathered herself.
Ponder managed to get in some words first.

“ I know I probably... violated some social taboo of sorts. “
He said with dismay.
“ I saw their reaction, and it wasn't good. “

“ But if I were to do it all again with the same knowledge I had back then, knocking Garble out would be the only thing I would change. “

“ I would like to add. “ Celestia started in.
“ You did disobey my direct order to listen to Twilight when you ran off with Discord and Rarity. “

Ponder looked confused.
“ So, you do not regret anything else about your time in the dragon lands? “ Celesta had shifted in her seat a bit.

“ No. “ He said in confident monotone.
“ I did what I thought might save my friends, and Equestria as a whole. I have no regrets. “
He said, as if a verdict would be handed down instantly.
Twilight looked away, conflicted.

Celestia turned to Luna with a smile.
“ The usual? “

“ Indeed. “ Luna answered.
“ And I also don't know why we bothered with the truth-spells. “ She waved her horn. Various magics in the area dispelled themselves.

“ Though. “ She looked to Ponder, then back to Celestia.
“ I would like to talk with PonderBright privately. “
Twilight was looking stiff - like she need to stretch.

“ PonderBright, If you will. “
“ What? “ Ponder let Luna know he wasn't getting it.

“ Come with me. “
She got up, and he followed her into a side room.

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

High court stuff involving 1,000 year old immortals necessitates careful writing.
And also subtlety.

13 - The Trial - Part 2

Celestia waited for the door to shut before returning her gaze to Twilight.
“ Do not worry my student, you are not in trouble. “

Twilight looked to the door that the other 2 alicorns exited.
“ Are you alright? This experience hasn't shaken you too much, has it? “ She said more as a friend then a leader.

Twilight looked to the side, with a puzzled look.
“ Whatever it is, I am ready to listen. “ Celestia reassured her.

“ Ehm. “ Twilight searched for words.
“ Its- “
Celestia was still, ever patient.

“ I worried that there is a part of me that would have let Spike compete, Discord or not. “
She looked solemnly towards the ground.

“ Almost as if past Twilight would say something like: “
“ ' If your staying to compete, then I'm staying to cheer you on! ' “ Twilight put on a small show; making a voice of self mockery and shooting a hoof away from herself, Trixie style.
“ Or... something like that. “ She was back to sad.

' Oh. ' Celestia thought.
This wasn't Ponder related.

“ Twilight, there is nothing wrong with letting your pupils make their own decisions. “ She calmly said.
Twilight seemed to get it, and looked away with a smirk. Celestia continued her lecture:
“ And maybe a deadly obstacle course was not the best start for Spike; “
Twilight was back to self-doubt.

“ And even if you had let him compete - I'm certain you would have intervened if things got too dangerous. “
Twilight perked up.

“ Yeah – Yeah your right! You always know what to say Princess Celestia! “
“ Now, Twilight. You know how I feel about being held to such a standard. “
“ Right, sorry. “ Twilight awkwardly apologized.

“ Now, I should take this opportunity to give some criticism. If you'll accept it. “ Celestia had turned to face the sunset, and back towards Twilight as she said so.
“ Of course! “ Twilight was back to self-doubt again.

“ If Discord's replaying was accurate... “ Celestia paused for a moment to gauge Twilight's reaction.
' Eager to hear ' written all over her.
Good.

“ You did not assert your authority when Ponder was taking charge. “

“ Well, he was right. The dragons were going to meet soon. We were short on time.“ Twilight answered.
Celestia tilted her head, ever so slightly.
“ And M – Maybe that's not the only reason. “ Twilight continued.

That's a emotion Celestia didn't see often from Twilight.
Fear.

Celestia sat down near the window.
The guards gave Celestia a bit of a weird look while Twilight's fear loosened up a bit.

“ Something distracted me. “ Twilight finally said.

There was a pause.

“ I could – hear my own heartbeat. “
“ The world slowed down and every little sound became loud. “
Celestia already knew what this was.

“ Twilight, have you ever heard the saying : Mole in front of a carriage? “
“ Your referring to the Freeze Response? “ Twilight asked.
“ Not being able to do anything in a stressful situation; all the same. “ Celestia responded.

“ I believe that will fade with time. “ Celestia pointed to herself.
“ Along with some practice in much less – high stakes situations. “ She continued.

“ But what scared me the most is I didn't go into my usual ' Problem solving mode' “
Twilight added on.

“ Usually I'm all over the place screwing everything up! “
“ But this time I just – froze. “ She said with contemplation in her voice.
“ This time it was different then in the past. “

“ I hadn't experienced anything like it. “

Celestia knew exactly what this was.
But she also knew just telling her would do less good then pointing her in the right direction.

“ I believe this is a sign that you are moving more towards a more neutral response to these things. “ She said.
“ And, All things considered, I think everything turned out quite alright. “ Celestia, added on, changing the subject.

“ - You do? “ Twilight asked in confusion, raising one wing slightly.
“ Indeed. Considering the alternatives. “
“ You did your best Twilight, and it turned out alright. “
“ We will take the necessary measures to make sure this does not happen again. “

Twilight was still unconvinced. Her nerves always had a knack for getting the better of her.

“ And, you know, PonderBright is responsible for many of those measures. “ Celestia changed the subject again. Twilight looked back at her.

“ It is clear that he does want to help, and to change. “
Twilight looked back down to the ground as Celestia turned to look at her response.

Celestia was surprised at that one. So much so she almost showed it.
“ Do you disagree, Twilight? “ She asked in earnest.

“ No. “

“ He obviously wants to help. “ Twilight said with uneasy certainty.
“ It's just that “
“ He did want to kill Garble. “
“ And – he called it justice. “

“ Hm. “ Celestia only half-agreed with Twilight on this one. She showed as much.
“ If you do not wish to continue his friendship lessons, then we could send him back to - “

She was interrupted.
“ No! “ Twilight almost shouted in monotone.
“ I'm not giving up on him. Just... sharing concerns. “ She said with authority which faded into sheepishness.

Well. She wasn't a mind reader. Celestia would just have to wait and offer her support on this subject. Along with one final send off:
“ Very well. “ She sat back on her throne.
“ Then I shall continue to allow you to do so. “

Twilight looked conflicted at that last sentence.
It looks like she didn't have to read minds after all.

Celestia offered one more word of advice:
“ And Twilight, I do not think he is a danger to others. “
“ Garble was a – special case. “
“ I know. “ Twilight slowly responded.

“ We will be borrowing him for a day to further instruct him. It seems he does require a more strict regimen. “ Celestia ended the conversation with a smile.

There was a wait for Luna and Ponder to get back.

They were talking a long time.
Celestia signal for a guard to check on them.

More time passed.

When they returned, Ponder was looking much less depressed. Celestia assumed her sister had told him much of the same.

“ Very well. “ Celestia spoke.
She looked to Luna.
No apparent objections.

Celestia got up and walked slightly closer to Ponder.
“ PonderBright, I understand you are trying to adapt and change. “

“ However. “

He was getting deja-vu.

“ The laws are as such, and I do personally believe there are some mistakes an adult such as yourself should not have made. “

Ponder was dying to say something.
Twilight shook her hoof at him, and then to Celestia.
He understood that social cue.

He interjected:
“ Adult? “
“ Yes. “ Celestia was just about as confused as she's been in 120 years, but didn't show it.

“ Are you not considered one where you are from? “ She was taking shots in the dark at this point.
“ YES! That's it - “, “ I mean- no. “ Ponder responded.
“ In my world I would still be considered a child. “

Twilight's eye got slightly larger.
“ Oh my- YES! “
“ When I was there, I was treated like a filly! “
“ I'm so sorry I didn't realize it sooner! “

She said in manic apology; her eyes fixed on Ponder.
“ Twilight, you already had enough to worry about; it's fine. “ Ponder said looking back at her, responding to her open ended apology.

Celestia closed her eyes for a bit; seeming fine with Ponder's response to Twilight.
“ Well then, Twilight, I fear then that our social experiment has come to an end. “

Celestia was expecting signs of relief from Twilight.
To her dismay, she was correct. Twilight had relief written all over her face and posture.
“ He will certainly be missed by the other humans. We shall- “

“ Wait! “ PonderBright interrupted again.
“ If you send me back now they'll just dissect me for being exposed to an alien world. “
“ Also they'll probably find the portal here, and start invading. “

Everyone in the room, including Celestia, was visibly shocked.

“ Well. “ Celestia was instantly back to calm.
“ Since I'm not the expert on the subject matter, “
She regretted having to bring Twilight into this.

“ Twilight, can you corroborate? Is his assessment accurate? “
“ I- Don't know. “ Twilight responded in genuine confusion.

Discord tore the fabric of reality back a smidge; poking his head out to speak.
“ I can corroborate. “

Every pony in the room had looks of disappointment, minus PonderBright, who was surprised.
“ You send him back, and Twilight's human friends will join him on the dissection table as fast as you can say : ' magic in the human world ' “. He said while doing air quotes.
“ And personally, I'd take banishment over going back there any day. “ Ponder interjected; missing the point entirely.

Celestia cocked an exceedingly un-regal eyebrow.
“ Discord, have you been to the human world? “

He jutted in a response.
“ Not personally. I just sent some eyes and ears there, you see? “
He snapped his fingers and eyes and ears of various sizes appeared around the throne room.

Luna snarled under her breath.

“ I just got curious when Twilight left for another dimension. I hadn't been to one of those in awhile. “ He said while hand-rolling.
“ And you eavesdropped on our trial because... ? “ Celestia suddenly asked Discord with a slight sneer.

“ Well, do you honestly expect me to just sit idly by as my second-dearest friend PonderBright is judged by a standard not of his own... Or even HIS WORLD? “ Discord spat out like a child in a argument.

Celestia smiled.
Discord recoiled a bit.

“ Oh. Well. More like – acquaintance. “

“ Acquaintance? “ asked Ponder, from Discord's arms as he had picked him up in that last sentence.

Discord looked at the 4th wall all dumbfounded-like.

“ Ah. Hm. Well. I just – didn't want to call us friends when we didn't agree that's what we are!!! “ He said in enthusiastic splendor; arms outstretched, dropping PonderBright.
“ A n y w a y “ Discord looked to Celestia's minor smile.

“ My vote is not guilty. For what that counts. “ He crossed his arms.
“ Dooley noted Discord. “ Celestia responded.

“ And while I do appreciate your contributions to Equestria Ponder “ Celestia was in her closing statement.
" Adolescent or not; You should not have been so willing to kill any creature considering how you arrived here ; even if that creature is an enemy combatant. "
“ As ruler of Equestria I fear I can not overlook all of this. “
Most ponies in the room had forgotten this was even a trial.
All ponies expect Ponder.

He looked towards Celestia, who was looking back out the window.
She turned to face him, the light shinning at her back.

“ PonderBright, I find you guilty of use of excessive force. “

' That's it? ' More deja-vu form Ponder.

“ Your sentence is 50,000 bits of service to the state, or 24 moons in prison. “
Luna looked to Celestia, with minor hints of ' appalled ' on her face.

“ That's... what you call your money? Right? Bits? “, “ I don't have any money. “ Ponder was slowly regaining his composure.
“ The fine can be paid with service as well. “ Celestia clarified.
“ Should you select that. “ She made that clear.

“ Yes. “ Ponder confidently stated.
Celestia narrowed her eyes a bit. She was looking directly at Ponder, who was looking right back at her.
She had noticed something, as per her head tilting up a bit and her staring intensely at ponder.
A Light blue reflection shown in her eyes. It was fading in and out, but still there.

Celestia, returning back to the conversation, brought up a paper to read and started to speak again:
“ I'll have you start with joining the ponyville hazard squad for a day. “
Twilight froze up a bit.

“ And if Twilight has any ideas on this or any other matter, you do need to listen to her. “ Celestia strained her posture, looking down at Ponder.
He looked confused.
“ I'll have Luna teach you chain of command along with Discord. “

Luna smirked.

Ponder responded: “ Luna already spelled it out- or more like - made it clear? “
“ I didn't consider it at the time, but what I did was technically insubordination. “ He said with tiredness in his voice.
“ Sorry Twilight. “ He said without looking back at her.
“ It's fine. It did work out in the end, right? “ She said with minor hints of regret.

After the short silence, Discord, who had been uncharacteristically silent for quite awhile, grabbed Ponder from behind and lifted him up into the air.

“ YA-HO!”
“ JUSTICE WINS AGAIN “

He put Ponder back down, now a very stiff and scared pony. Almost resembling FlutterShy when she was spooked. He looked back at Discord with pinhole pupils, in apparent agony. He wasn't hurt. Was he just that upset at that grapple?

“ Hm. You know. “ Discord was coming back down to earth, mentally speaking.
He gritted his teeth a bit, before turning to Celestia.
“ – I got to say. “

“ You really do know what your doing here Celestia. “
She turned her ears up a bit.
“ I honestly thought this place was held together with duck tape and dreams when we first met. “
He stretched out a roll of gray industrial tape from behind his fingers.

“ But as it turns out - “

“ You've more idea what your doing on the throne then anyone I've ever seen. “
He magically spun the tape together, making many layers. It was now capable of holding a 200lb weight on the end; as he demonstrated by swinging a miniature wrecking ball at a cardboard cutout of the old medieval Equestria.

Discord looked back at her, smiling confidently.
“ Yeah. Of all the rulers of the human world no one has come close to what you've made. “ Ponder added, still not completely recovered from Discord's surprise back hug.

“ Country? Culture? “ Ponder was pushing a already delicate situation.
Celestia did not force back a emerging smile.
“ Thank you both. “ She recognized that they were genuine.

“ But I am not special. “
“ I just have good intentions and many years of experience. “

“ And, with time,” She looked towards Ponder “ may you come to realize that Culture and Country are one in the same. “
“ And that folding tape analogy might be more on the ball then you think, Discord. “ She said snidely.

“ I'll look forward to it. “ Discord loudly exclaimed.
“ FREINDSHIP IS MAGIC! “ He said with ' traditional princess volume ' vigor as he vanished in a poof of party favors

“ Well, that was all a bit too high energy for me. “ Twilight interjected, visibly tired.
“ Then you all are dismissed. “, “ We have settled this matter, as far as the law is concerned. “
Celestia waved at them.

Twilight sunk down, defeated. Almost disappointed.
Celestia was raising a hoof to her as they started to walk away, but stopped.
She slipped up and did not hide her fear, and Luna took notice.

The doors closed.
Luna asked her: “ Do you want to talk about it? “
“ Not until Twilight wants too. “ Celestia confidently reposed.

“ A more important matter does concern me. “ She continued.
“ Which is? “ Luna had to ask.

“ Equestria, at least in it's current form, might indeed be as sturdy as a single strand of tape. “

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

It always bothered me that Twilight would just... Let spike do the unknown dragon race, likely resulting in his death.

Spike's about to get impaled on some rock spikes?
Better shout " Look! " and point to a dragon I said I didn't trust.
Problem... solved?

And after Spike almost gets impaled on those rock spikes, only surviving by around 1/2 seconds time to spare, her next words/thoughts can be summarized as :
" OOOH DRAGON CULTURE INTERESTING!!! "

I caulk this up to bad writing and Twilight canonically being a teenager in a medieval/renaissance setting.
But mostly bad writing.

Twilight was never wrong about a reformation, was she?
Or did she ever think she was wrong?

14 - Trains and Trainwrecks

“ Ehm. Ehm.“ Twilight nodded clumsily, walking back to the train with Ponder.

“ I - “

“ didn't ask a question or or make a statement. “ He responded.
“ Are you alright? “ He had to ask.

“ I'm fine. “ Twilight turned her head up, almost walking into a wall.
Ponder's gaze fixated on Twilight, ready to catch her if she fell.
Or maybe she was just having a stroke.
Who knows.

The ponies that watched had certainty seen a sight to behold.
The Princess of Friendship, half asleep, seemingly being followed by a guard that refused to intervene.
The rumor mill was sure to run wild.

' Listen to Twilight ' was what PonderBright heard and he intended to follow it.
If she says she's fine, then no intervening will be had.
None at all.
Not even after she had to catch herself going down some stairs.

...

A blurred image of a small red dragon invaded the edge of Ponder's vision for a split second.
He turn to look at the intrusion.

“ Do – Do you need something? “ A dark-red sales pony spoke to him.
“ N- No. “ He returned his gaze to Twilight and continued walking.

' Surely she must notice. ' Ponder was thinking.
' And just not care. '
She was gaining back her usual sense of semi-regal composure while boarding the train.

' Does the culture here just permit this degree of... reputation? ' He ended up sitting across from Twilight, adhering to an unknown emotional reaction beckoning him to not get too close.
He really didn't want to rely on emotions.
But he thought he had too.

They weren't the most accurate anyway, but at this point he thought it's all he had.
He would not let his autistic alien logic plague pony world again.

Twilight was looking at him nervously, in between between him looking away due to not being good at eye contact.
A voice bellowed through a hollow metal pipe:
“ Last stop for PonyVille! “

As it turns out, she had fallen asleep. While sitting up, no less. He wished he had that power.
Anyway.
It's now or never.

“ T W I L I G H T ! “
Ponder autistically screeched, Twilight almost instantly shooting up to the ceiling.

“ WHA - “
“ WHAT “
She looked around, eyes darting around in fear; poking her head out from behind her seat that she had fallen behind.

Ponder reared back a bit, and took on a uncharacteristically pleasant tone:
“ Were here. “
He pointed a hoof to the door.

“ Oh. “
She stared off into space at the door.

“ Thanks. “
She seemed to be calming down quickly.

It was only a matter of time before he screwed something up socially again; if he hadn't already.
His plan was to go straight back to his room, and read a book or something until bedtime.
This would not come to pass.

“ Oh hey Twilight. Ponder. “ Applejack greeted her at the station.
“ Hey AppleJack. “ Twilight responded sleepily.
“ Oh. Whoop. I was hopin' to get your advice on somthin' but I can see you need your rest. “
She tipped her hat to her, and whispered as she was tipped it :

“ Rainbow is here. “

Ponder was interested as to why that was a bad thing. He looked to Twilight all confused-like.
“ Oh. “ Twilight responded almost as if she was forced to go to another hearing. Slumping, sad, the works.

Applejack walked away without saying anything else. Twilight looked to Ponder.
“ Just – don't... Um. “

Ponder was definitely feeling something when he saw her struggle with her words for him.
He wasn't exactly sure what, and he wasn't going to go digging in the emotion catacombs to go fetch an answer.
It didn't feel good. That much was certain.

“ Imply anything hostile? “ He took a guess.
Twilight looked up in contemplation for a bit before returning her gaze back to Ponder.
“ Yeah. Close enough. “

' Did – did she give up? ' Ponder was thinking to himself.
' Is she going to give up on the other stuff? '
' It almost certainly is. This isn't my first rodeo. '
Ponder, when zoning back in, noticed Twilight was walking quite fast.

He took out a hat from one of Twilight's bags he had been carrying and put in on, tilting the brim down so he would have a harder time being seen.

He took out some sunglasses and a scarf and offered them to Twilight with a
“ hm ? “
with his mouth full of hat.

“ Oh. No. “

Twilight seemed confounded by the gesture.
After 7 seconds or so, She finally got it.

“ Oh! No. “
She said while looking at Ponder with a knowing glance.

He just assumed she understood what he was trying to do and continued walking.

“ Ah! There you are! “ The two heard from above.
If PonderBright's past experience with pony doppelgangers had been correct, and so far that they had,
that voice belongs to RainbowDash.

She flew down to Twilight, who had turned to meet her.
Ponder turned around too; while quickly and discreetly putting on the sunglasses.
' Awfully fast ' Ponder was thinking, as tiny amounts of sand and wind brushed by his face from the incoming pony.

“ Whoops! Sorry stranger. “ Rainbow looked to the disguised Ponder.
She showed off her wings, spreading them skyward.
“ Didn't mean to get you there. “

“ Hey Twilight, who is this shady character anyhow? “
She playfully pointed to PonderBright.

“ Let's catch up later. “ Twilight managed to conjure a friendly tone.
“ I'm really tired – and – I just want to go to bed. “

“ Yeah, Yeah sure thing - “ Rainbow had started to hover, her eyes slowly squinting and moving towards the yellowish-gold pony.

There was a pause.

“ Well,
nice to know you care about me Rainbow. Bye. “ Twilight started to walk off, but Ponder turned around in too much of a hurry.

“ Hey- Hey wait up a minute. “ Rainbow flew a bit closer.
Things were getting tense.
“ I think I know you. “ She said sneering, pointing a hoof to him.

He turned around.
“ I'm not from around here. You do? “

Twilight sighed.

She took a very small moment to gather herself before saying:
“ Rainbowdash, this is PonderBright. “
“ WHAT! “ RainbowDash was astounded. She outstretched her wings a bit too much, loosing a bit of altitude. She easily caught herself.

“ This is him? “ She immediately turned hostile. Or; at least in tone.
“ Why are you sneaking him around like that? “ She further rebuked, half-confused half-angry. She threw her arms out to drive home a point, whatever that was.
She flew closer.

“ I- “
Twilight cut Ponder off.
“ Rainbow, please. If we all could just get some rest - “
Rainbow cut Twilight off.
“ And let him disappear into the depths of your castle again before I get to ASK HIM some very pointed questions? “, “ No way! “

Ponder felt physical unease.

“ Just leave him here and I'll have em' back by sundown in one piece! “
“ IF he cooperates. “
She flew ever closer.

Ponder lowered his head slightly. His eyes met hers, determined.
He would not go down without a fight.
“ Ponder. Your wing is in my face. “ a muffled Twilight said, from behind Ponder's outstretched feathery appendage.

“ Oh. Sorry. “ He was unable to muster anything but a stone cold tone and expression.
He only looked Twilight's way for a moment, making sure she was safe, before his eyes twitched back to Rainbow as he finished his sentence.
He had come to realize he had only raised that one wing. Not both. Huh.

Rainbow seemed to notice too.
“ Umgh. “ Rainbow seemed conflicted, per the weird animal sound.

She then landed. VERY close to ponder.

They exchanged a stare. A VERY close stare.
Rainbow was trying to intimidate him; but Ponder stare in return was one she would not easily forget.

Rainbow looked down and sighed.
“ Alright. You win. “

Ponder looked around, mostly behind him.
' This was a competition? ' He thought to himself.

“ There's... definitely something off about you. “ Rainbow said as she was walking away.
“ But I think I can leave you alone. “ Her head jerked back to face him.

“ For now. “
She completed her fly-off. And just as soon as she arrived, she had left.

“ Great, now lets get home before I blow up the entirety of PonyVille by saying ' hello ' the wrong way. “
Ponder said under his breath, pulling his hat down even further.
Twilight looked at him, confused.

Ponder looked back.
“ Wait did I say that out loud? “
Worry and fear starting to creep into him again.

He jutted in a few rushed words:
“ I didn't mean to – I'll “

“ It's fine Ponder. “, “ Everyone worries. “ Twilight said that last one very rehearsed, as if by personal experience.

Ponder had a pre-cooked response ready to go :
“ I think I'll be heading to bed, If that's ok with you. “

Twilight nodded.
“ Your not the only one that needs bed right now. “ He rebuked.

A minor smile.
A VERY muted response if Ponder has ever seen one.

Was this just how tired she was?
No.

For once in his life, he was dead certain of something socially. This was not entirely due to lack of energy.
He looked back at her, as he had always been walking a few steps behind.

Still smiling.
Quite a pleasant smile.
No way that was genuine. Could not be real.

Yet still, smiling.

Huh.

He took on a (albeit fake) pleasant smile and sped up slightly to walk with her.
Eyes almost closed on one and a satchel of bags on the other,
They continued all the way to the castle.

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

Autism is systematizing.
Friendship is personal.

But what happens when Autism wants relationships and Friendship has conflicting wants?

Lets hope their communication is on point.

15 - Change of Plans

That morning was not a good one.
He didn't see Starlight, and he had stumbled into Spike who gave him the cold shoulder.

Or at least he thought.
That's what completely changing direction after looking at him means, right?
Him too huh?

...

Was defending a murder-y enemy combatant really that high on their priorities?

No.

Maybe back in the human realm, where everyone had a ' tribe ' and everyone stuck with them to the end; war crimes or not.
But no. There was no such mob mentality here in pony land; or so it seemed.

He had his doubts.
He would have to get over them quickly though, as Twilight was doing some work on the castle on his way to the cafeteria.

She looked frazzled. Did she even sleep?
She was placing and installing locks. On a door?

Spike's door?

“ Twilight? “ He softly said.

She jumped a bit.

“ Oh! Ponder. “

“ Why are you covering that door? “ Ponder asked in utter confusion.
“ This there something that I shouldn't be dealing with inside? “

Twilight only stared at him and started to sweat.

“ Ye- “

Twilight stopped in the middle of the word.
She looked around for anything to excuse herself from the conversation.
No dice.

“ Um. No. “
“ Not par-titc-ulary. “ She had fumbled the syllables in that last word.
When she looked back to Ponder he had one eyebrow raised, and was looking dead straight at her with all the expression of a rock.

“ Well – I meant to say - “
Her eyes darted around the room.
There was no clearer giveaway. He would not be fooled.

“ I'm just beefing up security after that whole ' Dragon ' ordeal! “
She swung a hoof in a greeting motion.

“ Who knows what unknown dangers Equestria might spring next? “
She almost cringed at herself in response.

Ponder looked unconvinced.

“ Oh. Ok. “
And then he walked away.

Did... did that actually do it?
She stared, dumbfounded, in his direction for awhile before returning to her work.

PonderBright averted his gaze from Twilight's reflection in one of the crystal pillars.
He had been walking a bit slower to give her a chance to ' spy ' on him so he could confirm his suspicions.

' She doesn't trust me. '
' I blew it. '
' The nicest person I've ever met hates me. '

Is all that rung about in his head.

It was distracting.
So distracting.

So distracting he couldn't think about anything else.
This is bad.

He needs constant control over his mind;
else he gets hurt by other people, (intentionally or not)
or he hurts other people.

He was getting dizzy.
Old PonerBright would lament future PonderBright for stumbling around into random objects, defeated by a mere opinion of someone else.

But he was not old PonderBright.
“ Are you ok? “

Starlight's voice.
He was able to zone back in.

“ Starlight! “ Ponder almost excitedly said.
“ Oh. Hi Ponder. “ Starlight gave him her ' confused ' response.

“ Oh. Well. I didn't need you for anything. “ Ponder rebuked.
“ You just startled me. “

Starlight slightly raised one eyebrow. She wasn't entirely buying it.
“ Well see you. “ PonderBright walked away.
“ Oh um. Ok. “ Starlight hoof waved him goodbye.

She had been fooled, no doubt about it.
But it's almost as if he didn't want to do it.
Or at least have the conversation last longer.

Maybe Dream Human Ponder was right, in a indirect sort of sense.
He didn't really belong.
It took this long for him to settle in, and Starlight seemingly got the hang of things after week 1.

He got some big news during breakfast, about what he was going to be doing with the next ~6 or so hours of his life.

“ Starlight, we'll be doing magic lessons again. “,
“ I have some stuff to do around the castle. “

Twilight looked ever so slightly towards the open back doorway, with Spike standing there.

“ Oh. Alright. “ Starlight replied in confusion.
' It wasn't like Twilight to change a schedule, especially not last minute. ' She was thinking.
Her poker face was impenetrable. Twilight was none the wiser.

“ And Ponder -
Ponyville is having it's quarterly Cleanup. “
Apparently whoever had the idea (Twilight, Celestia, or Luna) had scheduled him for it.
He zoned out after that.

Him?
In public in front of hundreds of ponies?

No.
Surely she couldn't be serious?

He caught Twilight in the middle of an explanation:
“ So that's why you need - “

“ Um Twilight. “
She looked at him attentively.
“ I uh. “
“ I don't know if I can handle a full 8 hours in THAT social a situation. “

Twilight went into thinking mode; eyes moving to a upward spot in the room and all.

He was expecting something along the lines of ' NAH! Just go straight into the deep end! ', ' You'll do fine, and if you don't there must be something wrong with you! '

He was even more shocked when he heard:

“ You know, you may be right. “ She said haphazardly.
“ I'll let Green Picker know to keep you on one of the more solitary teams before moving you up. “

After a strange look for Starlight, he was off.
He was an abnormally fast eater, an artifact of his past life and yet another wrench in the gears for his social lessons.

He walked past Spike on his way out. Earlier then the other two, like usual.

“ Thanks, Uh. “
“ I've never had anyone actually try to make something more complicated then salads or pasta. “

Twilight found herself staring intensely at the two's interaction.
Spike was unamused.
“ Uh-Huh. “ He responded with eyes narrowing.

Ponder face instantly turned to an expression that can only be explained as : ' Extreme toilet need '
And swept his feet in his desired direction of travel; walking quite fast.

That knocked Twilight out of her gaze. She used some sound amplification magic to glean a utterance from Ponder under his breath as he was leaving :
“ Why do I even try? “

Twilight pulled her wings closed to her body. She was always very expressive with them, even for a winged pony.
“ Oh... “ She quietly muttered with a mix of hurt and depression.

“ Um Spike. “ Twilight beckoned him over with a hoof.
“ Yeah Twilight? “ His tone was much more friendly with her.

“ Um - “ She was drawing a blank. This almost never happens.

She looked like she was straining herself to the other two creatures in the room.
And was that expression... fear?
“ Ah- Never mind. “ She said, sandwiched between nervous smiles.

“ Uh. Ok. “ Spike then left the room, his usual politeness intact.

Starlight, not knowing anything about what is going on, slowly looked over to Twilight. “ So – Magic. “ Twilight dawned a slightly coy smile. Starlight was bad at making small talk when not speaking down from a higher position.
It was fine. You don't need to blend in perfectly for basic introductions anyway.

“ Yes. Magic. “ Twilight finally responded to her half-question.

“ Same time same room? “
“ Yup! “ Twilight was trying to put on a happy demeanor. To distract Starlight, sure, but unknown to anypony including Twilight;
most of that was to distract herself.

Twilight noticed she had walked further ahead. Also,
Starlight had struken up a conversation with Spike.
A new friend?
A NEW FREIND!

She activated her ' spying ' magic, too which she didn't like the name, to check on how they were doing.

“ It's not just me, right? “ Starlight's voice. Over some magical noise. Still very audible though,
“ You thought that was weird too? “

“ Well, yeah. “

Spike shrugged in expression.

“ But It's not like Ponder would notice. “ He said slightly dauntingly.
“ Or probably care. “

“ I – Wouldn't say - “ She was slow to finish her sentence.
“ Look Starlight, “, Spike had interrupted her. “ I know you two are... - Kind of friends. And It's best friendship practice to assume the best. “
“ But I think we all know that friendship isn't exactly high on that ponies priority list. “

“ Oh. “ Starlight looked to the side.
“ I guess your right. “ She said with defeat in her tone.

All of them had not been paying attention to where they were walking, Twilight mainly.
She had sopped in the middle of the hallway, causing them both to crash into her.

“ Oh! Whoops. Sorry. Something was- “ Twilight took a pause.
The two then got to see a look they'd never thought they'd see:
Depression.

“ I was distracted by something. “
“ But the moment has passed. “ Twilight was reassuring herself.
“ I hope. “ She looked back to the path forward, and continued.

Starlight looked to Spike, who almost buried his face in a shrug while looking away.
She looked the other direction to match him, but gained a frown in the process.

Twilight was done looking over her shoulder. She had to find an exit.
She sped around a corner then teleported away.

Her voice was full of worry. But not drive or determination.
Her posture was readying her to move, but to flee, not to hunker down to find a solution.
She found her eyes darting around the room frantically, not searching for a target, but searching for a new threat.

“ Oh... “ She was surprised at herself that a tone and volume this muted didn't belong to Fluttershy.

Her breathing was becoming heavy.

" GIVE- ME- A BREAK! " Ponder panted.
He was not as good as manipulating objects in his mouth as he thought.
" Oh come on! " GreenPicker loudly exclaimed; getting a groaning response from Ponder.
She felt a scowl coming on.
She excused herself, making a mental note of Ponder's general uncooperativeness.

In actuality, this could not be further from the truth.
Ponder WAS an alien, first and formost.
He had not figured out the most effective and efficient way to do things in a entirely new body; in a entirely new way.

His autism or lack of communication skills certainly didn't help that, as he never mentioned that his groan was just a simple disagreement rather then verbal disobedience.

He also was pampered in his old world, in a way. No physical exertion needed: at least not outside of the occasional fist or knife fight.

Fourthly, known to absolutely no one, Alicorns have the lowest metabolic efficiency out of any creature on the planet, or to put it more simply; Alicorns require the most food for their size of any creature in Equestria.

The Fifth reason was made clear later into the day, when he was sent home early for ' not doing the work ' .

He was barely able to open the doors.
He walked slowly, with his head down, panting and sweating, to his room.
150 feet might as well be 3 miles.

After the latest round of self-insults in his head, he was forced to zone back in for his lambasting:
" Ponder? " Twilight.
" What are you doing back so early? ", " The cleanup doesn't end for another 4 hours. " She had understanding in her voice.
' Understanding soon to be gone- ' Ponder quickly thought.
Wait.
No.

' Lets not assume. ' Ponder's oxygen depraved brain managed to churn out.
' This IS Twilight we are talking about here., ' He further idolized.

' She's given me surprise after surprise, and not in the bad, stupid, or evil variety. '
' Lets wait and see. '

" I - Cant - Out of breath - " He panted.
Twilight looked at him with sneered squinted eyes.
" Really? " She had to ask.

Could she not see he was in pain?
Could she not tell he just couldn't do it?

Asking him to repeat what he already implied?
While in this state?
He refused to believe she was that stupid.

He switched his expression from pleading to scowling.
It got her attention.
Good.

" YEs ! " His voice gave out at the end. No big volume when in this state after all.
His legs spread out as he said that, him barely able to catch himself.
His head rotated towards the ground.
Still panting.

They both were about to switch their mentality.
One not of open communication, but slightly defensiveness.

And with defensiveness; must come assumptions.
Assumptions about how the other pony was feeling and thinking, all only for defense; after all. Nothing intentionally harmful to the other pony.

But the other pony doesn't necessarily know that.
In a perfect world, sure. They would.
' That would be the case '
They both were thinking.

Oh how they both fantasized about that perfect world, in that long, long 1.2532 seconds.

They both stared at each other for around a second.

They both decided on the more diplomatic route.

" Twilight. " He managed to get a full word in.
" Please. " His tone strained.
Ponder pulled no punches. Likes usual.
But,
He watched his words,
and he allowed Twilight maximum room for error.
And he -somehow- managed to use an acceptable tone.

" Alright. " She looked down sternly at him, as she had taken off flying similar to RainbowDash when questioning Ponder.
She purposefully landed. She had to ' watch it '. Moving too quickly could set him off, so she thought.
Only a slight negative recoil from Ponder. Good.

" Let me see. " Her tone was not guarded, but flat and serious. Perfect for putting off judgement to a later time. ' Thank you, Celestia. ' She was thinking.
" Let me check your vitals. " She got closer, and raised a hoof to put on his shoulder.
Her horn ignited; leaving as little room for misunderstandings as possible.

He nodded; lowering his head slightly.

She only needed to direct him to the floor with that hoof, and retracted it quickly.
She just needed him still and not wobbling around for a full magic scan.

There was a short delay in the action from both ponies. It was caused by a simple realization : That was very easy.
Like, very very easy.
As in, not even that much harder when compared to getting all defensive.
And they didn't even have to give up anything in the conversation in order to do it.

This delay was very short. The time frame of thoughts like these operates in milliseconds, after all.
But it was just enough time for the other to notice, and them to both to help each other zone back in.

After another short and awkward pause form Twilight, the scan began.
Twilight's ears were flooded with:
" BA-BUM/BA-BUM BA-BUM/BA-BUM BA-BUM/BA-BUM BA-BUM/BA-BUM BA-BUM/BA-BUM "

Oh my god.
She didn't believe it.
He was going to have a heart attack.

She immediately pressed the Emergency button on Discord's Amulet, which lost it's invisibility as soon as she grabbed it.
Discord appeared in a full cop uniform, albeit one from Ponder's world. He only had to look around a bit before he realized what was going on.

" Hm. "
" Twilight, I get that I'm supposed to listen to you when you press that thing- " Discord pulled his own copy of his necklace out of cloak to show them both.
" But this is - "

" Discord, Please. " Twilight was serious.
" Alright fine. "
" BA-BUM/BA-BUM BA-BUM/BA-BUM BA-BUM/BA-BUM BA-BUM/BA-BUM BA-BUM/BA-BUM "
The sleep from Discord's eyes instantly vanished.
" Alright. " He snapped a few fingers, poised to snap some more.
" On it. "

The room was now filled with ' back - up ' hearts, many different sizes and shapes.
Was that square-ish one made of metal?

Her attention was back to Ponder, who was looking between the two very fast, starting to breath heavily again.

" No No! " She muttered to herself.
She tried to take a informative tone. Mostly successful.
" All this is just a precaution ."

He seemed to calm down a bit.
Now sitting entirely on the floor, the two watched him for a bit.
Except the ' little bit ' they had to watch him for turned into not so much a ' little bit ' anymore.
It had almost been 4 minutes.

Finally, after Twilight and Discord were starting to share looks of ' What's next? ' Ponder's heart rate began to fall.
But very, very, VERY slowly.

The crisis was over, after about 30 minutes of waiting.
" It's a shame that I have to ask, but can I give Ponder a big hug - "
" NO! " Twilight interrupted Discord.
She cleared her throat.
" No. "
" You may not. " She toned that last one as an order.

" Oh. Alright. " The now disappointed Discord did not seem to understand, he also had alien biology, but he seemed to understand where Twilight was coming from.
With a quick snap and a spiral into himself, he faded and popped from existence, but with no added sound.

Twilight sighed a sigh of minor disappointment.
He was trying.
And apparently so was Ponder.

A little too hard?
No. If anypony could have predicted this, this would not have happened.
Ponder would not have pushed himself that hard,
GreenPicker would not allowed him to do so,
and none of the organizers would have place him in that position, including herself.

Twilight and Ponder shared a look of understanding before he opened his door and headed inside.

Starlight, left alone in the library for quite some time, was sitting on her usual pillow.
Hoof supporting her bored head, engrossed in yet another magic book.
This one she had read before.
She had read all these before.

" Twilight! " Starlight perked up as Twilight walked past the entrance, looking worn out and tired.
There would be no magic lesson today.

* sigh *
She quickly got up and walked over to Twilight to catch her before she disappeared into her room.
" Long day huh? "

" Ehhh - " Twilight almost sounded fine. Didn't quite look it though.
" Sort of. " She strained her posture.

" It's fine though. Problem -" Twilight yawned " solved! "
Starlight held back a giggle.

" Sorry that your friendship and magic lessons keep getting postponed. " Twilight continued.
Starlight was sure glad for ONE of those.

" I'll make it up to you the day after. I already have arrangements tomorrow. " Twilight closed her eyes as she put a signalling hoof down to the floor.

Twilight walked away.

Starlight gave her a short wave, as she didn't really know what was best to say in response.
She returned to her re-re-reading, head slipping out of her hoof and onto the table.
She grunted a grunt of frustration.

She was even frustrated about being frustrated :
Because she didn't even know what she was originally frustrated for.

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

Previous stories are centered around a main theme with second aspects on simulation accuracy.
This chapter is centered around simulation accuracy with secondary aspects on a theme.

Which one do you like more?

15.5 - Interlude - Stagnation from Liberation

Author's Note

I realized that Ponder was painted in too positive a light and some people were having trouble believing he would do the things he did in Gauntlet of Espionage and similar.
I also wanted to expand on his past, so here we are.

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

15.5 - Interlude - Stagnation from Liberation

" Get up, get down, cuz were gonna come around, we can work to-gether helping Twilight win the crown! "
Today had not been a good day. He had been accosted three times this morning alone by wannabe linebackers wanting to charge him into a locker. His mother decided that she wasn't going to feed him breakfast either, due to their fight yesterday night.
At least the school lunch was consistent.
Bad, full of plastic, and generally not filling; but it was something.

Another another round of the crowd in the line shouting ' PONDERBRIIIIIIGHT! ' later he finally had his meal, after almost 30 minutes of waiting in that unoptimized overcrowded line.
If they were going to tease him, at least be creative like in his first year.
His derogatory nickname alone he was getting board of.

He sat down at one of the middle tables this time; side ones were apparently sick of him.
But just as soon as he looked down at his food -

CRUNCH

" Uh. Whoops. "
" Sorry. "

The rainbow haired girl had stepped in his food.
Maybe he placed it down too fast? Was in too much of a rush to notice her?
Muscle brain syndrome for Ms Rainbow over here, dancing on top of a lunch desk?

Probably some combination.
In reality, most things were.

She closed her eyes for a bit and scratched the back of her head.
He considered it.
She couldn't take him, being female and all, and it certainly would set a example.

But this place had too many potential witnesses.
He would have to get her later.

" Are you - " Rainbow was about to apologize.
She looked to where Ponder used to be, but he had already stormed off.

She instinctively raised a hand to him as he was walking away, but she then turned to the others that were singing and did her part in the middle of the song.

He somehow managed to find a way to slam the cafeteria door on his way out, greeted by the most prominent female bully in school.
" HEY! Watch what your doing - You nearly - "
Ponder cut Sunset off.
" No. "

He got up in her face. A surefire way to get the conformists to back off.
She took a step back.

" -A "
She took a moment to gather herself.

" I already have my hands full. But I can make an exception. "
" Do you want to be even more alone then you are now? Because I - "

" I already am alone. "
He smirked at himself for that one.

His stare pierced her like daggers. But she was top brass, as far as female social stuff was concerned.
Essentially socially pampered, he was not too surprised when she still didn't back down.

" Stay out of my way. "
She was starting to break. Good.

" Wasn't planning on it. " He then broke eye contact and started to walk away.

He then felt a cold wet chill run down his spine.
Was that her drink?

He turned around to see her smugly filming him on her phone.
And it was her drink.

Her smile quickly turned to fear as he marched towards her. Her words and cries of ' HELP! ' and ' STAY AWAY FROM ME! '
were drowned out by the music coming from the cafeteria.
Not that it mattered.

She let out a real shriek when he grabbed her by the wrist.
He pulled her in close, knocking her phone out of her hand and onto the ground.

" I gave 3 men here hernias. " Ponder said in monotone.
" 6 to the hospital. "
" Surely you must have heard the rumors? "

Those numbers, were in fact, way overblown.
He had only confirmed 2 permanent injuries and 3 hospital visits from his escapades;
But the rumors were as such and he just couldn't ignore them.
He did state lesser numbers then the latest exaggeration, to add some ' credibility ' to them.

Her feeble attempts to break his grip were about as successful as her attempts to hide her fear.
His grasp looked like it was hurting her. Good.

" I- I can report this. "
She managed to chirp out.

He pulled her closer.
" Then I'll disfigure you so bad you won't be recognizable. " He blankly responded.
The fear in her face grew wild.
" And men in white suits will likely have to confine you indefinitely to prevent you from killing yourself. "

" And yeah you can get me jailed for this. " He took a slightly more whimsical tone on that one.
" At least for a little while. "
" But you better hope witness protection does a damn good job hiding you in your new life. "

" Because once I get out "
He then let his anger show. On his face, in his voice, and all over his body.
" I'm coming for you. "

He let go at just the right moment, her shambling backward and falling to the floor.
She said nothing as she frantically scurried along the floor to get her phone, which was much more closer to her then he was.

She finally ran away in panic, not screaming, just shaking with minor tears.

He finally could stop the blank staring and return to his sulking.

He found a nice little spot under the stairs to hide out until the students started to walk the halls again.
Nice time to sharpen some wood stakes that look like pencils.

' Everything, no matter how stupid, understands an ass whooping. ' He was thinking to himself as he did his work.
He sharpened them for the rest of the dream.

And yes, It was a dream, because he woke up from it.
Again, to a foreign ceiling.

Almost a month had passed since he got here, but it was still all too surreal.
He walked past Starlight talking with Spike. Twilight talking to Luna.
He didn't pay them much mind.

He sat down at the table.
Food.
Good food. Filling food.
Not just diced lettuce with a bell pepper chopped into 4 segments on his plate.

He didn't really see the need to pay anything else any mind.
Everything was alright.
He was happy just the way he was.

He happily enjoyed his meal.

16 - Moving Into Choas - Part 1

" Welcome!, WELCOME! " Discord exclaimed, throwing out his arms in expression.
He had conjured himself a full magicians suit while the puff of colored smoke he manifested a few seconds earlier was fading.

" Discord's Land of Chaos awaits! " He pointed his staff to the path into this amusement park, which had segments of inverted gravity (with the corresponding path) and many parts where ponies that were walking straight returned to the point where they started.

" Well start with the maze of no return. " He gestured to the more... confusing part of the entryway. And that was saying something.

" Discord. " Ponder said, almost with sarcasm in his voice.

Discord paused for a moment.
" Oh- Alright. "

" But it's so much more authentic my way! "
He snapped his fingers, and a red rope now blocked the entry to the... reality breaking parts.

A new age rating sign slide across the air making a ' nails on a chalkboard ' sound before slowly coming to a complete rest near the new ' attraction ' .

" Discord, If you don't mind me asking, could some pony actually get lost forever in that maze? " Celestia raised a slight hoof to ask.
" No. Of course not. " Discord replied plainly and bluntly.
" PonderBright had given me the idea to just use names for ' Branding ' instead of actually being descriptive or literal. " He raised a finger to his chin in consideration.
" Which, in hindsight, is a lot more chaotic! "
He chuckled a bit.

PinkiePie's eyes had already grown big from the moment they had approached the entrance. Her holding her excitement this long was certainly not a given.
" WOW! I can't believe I'm finally here! ", " With the stuff with me and Maud, " Pinkie's head swished as if she was a clock and her words were seconds passing. " Flurryheart, Starlight and- " She had inadvertently look over to Ponder.
She stopped talking for a moment to gather herself.
" And wow! I've been busy. " She wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead.

" But now I'm here! " She reached out to hug Ponder.
" A - H - ! " Ponder jerked back.

" Oh. Right. Sorry. " Pinkie demeanor got just a little bit more somber.
" Don't... " Ponder was struggling to find a tone Twilight would call ' passable '
" Touch me. " He said with minor annoyance.

" Right. " Pinkie was back to her usual self.

' She's... fast. Really fast. ' Ponder was thinking to himself, as he stared at Pinkie, making every pony in the room but him and Pinkie herself slightly uncomfortable.

" Well then. " Celestia was quick to shift the focus.
" Discord, do you have the spell we talked about prepared? "

" Certainly. "
Discord snapped.

And with that, Celestia was gone, replaced with a -quite short- earth pony with a single basic, earthy color for a coat and only a few mundane colors for a even more average manecut.

" C- Celestia? " Ponder had chirped out.
" Yes Ponder. You guessed correctly. " The new pony responded, revealing herself.
Her voice had not changed much.

At least by comparison.

" Wow! " Pinkie jumped back in excitement.
Celestia manged to get in words in between one of Pinkie's escapades; no easy feat.
" I'm afraid I'll need to be - discreet when I'm not here on official business. "
" And, when I am in this form, you shall refer to me as Tiara Titanium. "

" He even changed your cutie mark! " Pinkie pointed out, pointing a hoof at her new cutie mark; smiley faces around a exaggerated crown symbol.

" Indeed. " Celestia agreed with a simple nod. Pinkie had stopped for a moment to agree with her by ' wagging ' her head, when Celestia manged to get in even more words :
" And I humbly ask to keep what Tiara Titanium does, "
She raised a hoof to herself.
" and what Celestia does, "
She looked back to Canterlot.
" separate. "

" Ok - Dokie - Loki - " Pinkie was getting restless.
" Oh. Yeah. Sure. " Ponder was taken aback. He had never seen her like this. In a casual setting.

Then again.
He didn't really know her IN a casual setting. Or at all. He had just assumed that ' Princess ' behavior was her default.
And maybe it still was.
Why did she differentiate what was an order and what wasn't?

He looked up from the path he was staring at to see her staring back.
They met eyes for a moment, long enough for both ponies to realize they were both purposefully looking at each other, when Titanium grew a slight smile and looked away, head held high.

Did -
Did she plan this?
All of this?
Even this reaction?

He was just staring at her, awestruck.
' Why else would she purposely look back away from the amusement park she was wanting to go to, and look and me specifically, in this exact moment? '
He could think of no other reason.

And, as such that IS how his mind worked, it must be so.

In reality, Celestia looked back more so to check his response, not to convince him she was physic. She didn't really have an idea of what to expect from Ponder. Perhaps it was a intellectual blunder on her part. No matter.
An opportunity presented itself, and she took it.

Ponder was none the wiser.

As they were walking, Discord seemed a bit spent. Mentally spent, he was physically fine.
" Apologies. That kind of magic seemed to be a bit more taxing then anticipated. " He said, still breaming with joy and confidence
He shrugged.
" Even with a willing target. " He looked over to Celestia.
" And a magically adept one as well. " It was weird hearing such a real tone come from such a non-regal pony.

Titanium gave a certain look to Discord, but Ponder was too autistic and Pinkie was too distracted to notice.

" Oh I'd say you and me both are more then just little old ' Adepts ' " He air-quoted his fingers.
" Were something special. Something else entirely, you and I. " Discord attempted stated the obvious.

" Can I go on that one? " Pinkie was having a hard time keeping her voice down when asking Discord.
" Hm. " Discord tried to explain :
" You know. Maybe - "
" The one where you repeatedly - AND HARMLESSLY - Might I add - get turned inside out - "
" Might not be the best idea for Ponder. "

Pinkie was minorly upset.
" Wha- But you didn't even ask - "
She was interrupted by Discord using a finger to rotate her head to Ponder, who was looking nauseated just thinking about it.
" Oh. " Pinkie stated in realization.
" Wait - But that means - ! " She had come to a realization.

" That's right. " Discord had congratulated her.
" Were thinking of having the groups this way to start - You and Ponder and Me and C- Titanium. "
Celestia chimed in - " And switch later in the day, at 3 past noon. "
She had failed to hold in a chuckle. The excitement was getting to her, too.

Ponder had thought Pinkie would be bummed out by the news, he didn't expect her to make some nonsense up to get him in trouble, but something slightly less.

" Ok - Dokie - Loki - "

Huh. Another surprise. Or perhaps she was just good at hiding it. She did, supposedly, throw parties for a living.
He had taken care this time to hide his expression, his emotions, and especially what he was thinking.

And still

Celestia, or Titanium, rather, was still looking to him.
Pity?
A look a pity?

He DID recognize some social cues. Especially the ones that came with negativity. Or really, anything negative.

He looked back up at her in confusion, and a bit of submissiveness. A bit more of asking permission to be confused at her then submissiveness, if he had to give the face he was making a name.

Celestia returned a soft, gentle gaze starting with her eyes half closed, with them almost closing completely during a short head bow, and opening to a very certain, but still soft, stare.

While Ponder was left contemplating how this was even possible for some pony to just do that in only ~ 0.45 seconds in a entirely new body, Celestia, likewise, was beating herself up for not noticing his uneasiness sooner and continuing to actively observe him, making him more uncomfortable then he had to be and by extension making herself more uncomfortable then she had to be.

' Did - did we just non-verbally communicate? ' Ponder had to ask himself, as they left his view. ( Which wasn't a great distance, the chaos, and all that )
' And - We did do that - Right? ' He continued to think.
Those nerdiest-of-nerd thoughts would distract him until they got to the first ride Pinkie thought they both would enjoy.

' No, NO! ' Celestia was ruminating to herself.
' You should be better than this! ' She continued.
' No- Calm down. ', ' Deep - mental - breaths.'
' While I can let loose a bit in this new form It's no excuse to completely let my guard down. I am a queen, after all. '
She returned to normal, and after the short zone out for a mental breather, started to have fun.

PonderBright however, was incapable of, and did no, such thing.

' Is she going to blast me ? ' He thought.
' Blast me with that fancy magic of hers for stepping out of line? '
' Is this all some game leading up to me being turned into radioactive vapor? '
' No. '
' Even I know that's beyond what this situation calls for. '

' But maybe lock me up? ', ' A sort of twisted vengeance against my earlier mistakes? '
' A twisted since of justice? '
He stopped thinking at that last part.

He just enjoyed the rides.
As best as he could.

Pinkie was having a blast. All the things she never thought possible were here, ready to be experienced.
Non-euclidean mazes.
Bottomless pits.
A space where your vision detaches from your body and bounces around the room a bit.
Spaces where you turn into Sea monsters, Dragons (Ponder refused to go in that one), and Para-sprites.

It was very euphoric.
She looked to ponder when on a underwater roller coaster, and saw him not having a good time.
Or maybe this was all very distracting.

The words she wanted to speak didn't come out well through her new gills. She would have to wait until the end of the ride.

After a message from a weird black box with a circular indent (Discord's voice) : " I hope you enjoyed the ride! And didn't breath in air through your gills as you were exiting. Or, if you did, HAVE A NICE TRIP! "
She then looked to Ponder.

His smile had not gotten past ' beginning to enjoy himself ' the entire time she's seen him. Not good.
This was an amusement park.
He SHOULD be having fun.
And he SHOULD know by now that Celestia doesn't blame him THAT MUCH for what he's done, right?

" Ponder, whats up? " A badly worded question from Pinkie.
" Wh- What? " An honest and clear question from Ponder.

Pinkie stared at him for a moment.
" Your not having fun! "
" I should know. I'm an expert in smiles! " She smiled back, getting a little too close and causing him to lean back.

" Well. " Ponder looked up, then back to Pinkie.
" Pardon me if I think this is just a ruse for punishment. Or spying. Or a long, drawn out roundabout way to put me in my place. " He sneered at that last one.

" Wha- For who? " Pinkie had to ask, front hoofs thrown outward in response
" Me. " He said with sorrow.

" Thanks for inviting me Pinkie. But I don't think I'll stay much longer. "
" Well, That's going to be a bit hard. " Pinkie reposed.

" Wa- " Pinkie interrupted ponder before he had time to form a single word:
" Celestia is the one that invited you. "

Ponder got a look of confusion.
Then determination.
" Then that only further proves my point. We don't know each other. There is no other possibility! "
He pointed a hoof at her while saying.

" Woah! Calm down man. " Pinkie put on a fake smile, but a one so good it managed to fool Ponder.
" An invitation to an amusement park is never a bad thing! " She closed her eyes in glee.

" Is it? " Ponder was taking a more and more hearse tone by the second.
" 1 - She could not be taking this seriously. ",
" 2 - She could be stringing me along - and when I let my guard down spring a question on me that I answer poorly. ",
" And 3 - She could be taking this new disguise because she wants my assassination off the record. "

Pinkie immediately cut in.
" assa- WHAT?! "
" Did Celestia try to cook you up in a stew the first time you met?! " She was having a hard time keeping her happy demeanor. And that was saying something.

" She's authority. A member of authority. The HIGHEST authority. Me and authority- " His tone then took of maximum bitterness :
" Don't Mix. "

Pinkie looked back to him, a bit confused and bit understanding.
" But - Twilight - "

" TWILIGHT IS DIFFERENT " He almost shouted, the bitterness now all but gone.

" Twilight is understanding, effective, and most of all : ", " Nice. "
He had taken a pause to ensure proper wording and tone for the last one, and Pinkie took notice.

" Well, on the other hoof, It's not all bad. " Pinkie rebuked.
" Wha- What? " Ponder had to ask for clarification.

" Your situation isn't all bad. " Pinkie stated.
" It wouldn't kill you to lighten up - just a bit. " She pinched her hoof at that.
Ponder raised an eyebrow.

" For example - You started out the best out of all the reformed villains! "
Ponder's skepticism turned into more confusion. Most he's been in awhile.
" For example- " Pinkie took an authoritative tone.

" How many threats to Equestria never meant any harm, OR already knew the values of friendship, but rejected them anyway, and still managed to be a good pony? "
Pinkie leapt towards Ponder and pointed a very enthusiastic hoof towards him.
" One! "

" And that's it! "
" It's just you! "

She looked upward from the spot she had let herself fall to the floor and smiled, awaiting one from him.
It did not come.

A scowl, instead.
Oops.

" Pinkie- "
He looked away.
" I think I should be holding myself to a much higher standard then just ' not being a horrible piece of shit '. "

Pinkie was thinking about saying something along the lines of ' You can't do everything ' Or ' Your not a god, don't set your expectations so high ' Or perhaps
' Be a bit more generous to yourself. '

But that was more Rarity's thing.
She restrained herself from speaking.

" Well; now I know why Twilight has her lesson plan. " Pinkie said in understanding, finally calming down a bit.
" Really? ", " So, what's next? " Ponder thought he had to ask.
" Rarity. "

" Ah. "
" The fashionista. " Ponder said in bored monotone.

Pinkie was the one to raise an eyebrow this time.

" Do you happen to know how something as shallow as looks or trends can fix this? " He pointed to himself.
" Because my vast mind has suddenly run dry. " He said with little emotion.

Pinkie let the 2nd comment go.
She focused on the first.
" She's not shallow, silly! "
" She very generous! "

" I'd like to see that. " Ponder said in disbelief.

" Ponder! " Pinkie said with very mild anger.

" What? ", " I said I'll give it chance, though I don't believe you in the slightest. " He muttered that last part.
" Oh! " Pinkie replied. " Well why didn't you say so! "
" I did. " Ponder plainly stated, not getting where pinkie was going from.

" ' I'd like to see that ' Is what I said. I WOULD like to see that. " He further clarified.
" The tone I used clarified that I didn't believe it was true. "

" Oh! " Pinkie said.
" Well why didn't you say so? " She grew a large, knowing grin.

" I did. " Ponder was starting to get annoyed
" I said all that the first time in plain English. "
He paused.
" Ponish. Plain Ponish. "

" Well I don't know what goes on where your from, but here that stuff is used for sarcasm. " She squinted at that last part, almost double- winking at him.

Ponder groaned, throwing his head to the sky, much to Pinkie's surprise.
She thought she had successfully done ' The funny '
But no.

Ponder more or less mentally wrote Pinkie off as a lost cause at that point, being as ineffective and ' not-smart ' as she was showing herself to be.
He half expected her to half-hear and misinterpret something he already said to her and tattle to Twilight or Celestia on him.
The thought chilled him and aggravated him tremendously.

" Stupid- Retar- Word games " Pinkie heard Ponder muttering under his breath; him looking down to the path they were walking with intense frustration.
Something in Pinkie clicked.

" OH! " She shouted.
Ponder was removed from his temporary trance, now looking at her with curiosity as to what the latest emotional outburst was for.

" You're like Maud! " She put on another wide smile.
" Maud? " He asked.
" Maud Pie! ", " I know a pony that acts - kinda - similar to what you do! " She nodded, still reared up on hind legs in excitement that she found a solution.

' Huh. Second time I've heard that name. ' He thought to himself.

Pinkie finally returned to normalcy - or at least her version of it.
With her finally walking correctly again, the conversation could continue smoothly.

" Man, It took me awhile to realize you too were alike! "
" You do a real good job of hiding it! "
Pinkie then realized :
" Even if it is to your detriment. " She said in a apologetic tone.

" Great. " Ponder had responded. Crass, hearse, and angry.
" Even when I'm good at social stuff I still somehow suck at it. "

Even after a short pause, Pinkie was too off put to respond.
" Fuck my life. " He said in complete and monotone earnest as he focused on the path ahead.

" Well, Uh - It's not all bad. " Pinkie was staring to let the negativity get to her. And that - was saying something.
Was it the frequency? Emotional impact? She thought to herself.
No.
It was because she didn't have an answer. He was right.
No rebuttable came to mind.
Not even a little one.

She felt she had to deflect.
" You still spread joy to all these people; " She made a hoof motion to the surrounding park goers " - by helping Discord! "
" And the Discord summoning necklace - " Pinkie was now jumping in and out of Ponder's view, seemingly by magic.
" And the armbands for the royal guards! "
She was done showing off his ideas. Finally.
His head could take little more turning and his eyes could take no more re-focusing on whatever trinket he helped to design.

He sighed.
" Yeah. ", " Your right. "
" Really? " She was about to smile; and he already had a response ready :
" Yeah. Your logic is sound I can't think of a good counterargument "

" WA- HOOO! " She shouted, embracing Ponder with the most friendly of hugs.
Ponder shoved her off.
" WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT NOT DOING THAT? " He almost screamed.
' Crap. ' He thought to himself.
' Now she's going to hate me too. ' He was expecting.
' So much for this ' communicating ' thing. '

Pinkie did look a little disturbed, yes.
But that was it. No further consequence.
" Oh. Sorry. "
" I can, uh. "
" Be a bit scatterbrained is all. " Pinkie rubbed the back of her head.

He raised an eyebrow at that ' unusually friendly ' response, which only served to make her slightly more uncomfortable.
And at that point, he just stopped interacting.

Ponder considered the phrase: ' Couldn't agree more. ' But decided against. He was past lashing out in defense.
He didn't want to completely admit it, but Twilight's lesson were working.
Slowly.
VERY slowly.

Pinkie was about to tell him something.
" You know - " She stopped herself.

" NO! " She stood up on her hind legs and waved her front hoofs in a ' stop ' pattern.

" Save it for Rarity! " She told herself, in a way that Ponder would understand he was not yet a part of that conversation.

Ponder chuckled.
" And people had the gall to call you stupid! "He said as a compliment, squinting his eyes at her and slightly raising one eyebrow to really drive the point home.
" Or - At least the alternate version of you from another world. " He added in complete monotone, with a much more relaxed stance.

" Ha Ha! " Pinkie had apparently found that funny.
" You belong on a stage! " She added.

" No - WE belong on a stage! " She revised her previous statement.
" Oh. I get it now. " Ponder had not entirely understood her earlier remark : Now he did.
Was she getting easier to understand by the second or was it just him?

They both agreed to walk towards a more surreal attraction rather then a thriller ride.
Ponder thought he would start a conversation this time around.
" You know, I do have some advanced otherworldly knowledge related to your field that's safe to share, If you'll have it. "
" W O U L D I ! " Pinkie almost shouted, but kept her voice calmer and used more spaced out words and sounds to make her point. She was in agreement. VERY in agreement.

" Well first there's this guy call weird al - "

And so it went.
For hours.

Author's Note

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

I find it very funny that the first written record of how to wage war references the magic of friendship. (In Sun Tzu's own demented way)

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

Ever wondered why Celestia and Twilight always treated friendship in the show as fragile and a thing to be cherished while it lasts?
This is why.

18 - Ars Novellum

A mid-day sun rose to Celestia's horn peering into the castle's library. She was amazed she even found time this week to meet with Ponder with how much more busy she's been lately. Increasing security and managing the country? Even with Shining's help it was starting to become a nightmare.
Hopefully Twilight will be ready to help with that soon.

" CRAP I DID CALL YOU CELESTIA WHILE IN DISGUISE DIDN'T I?! " Ponder almost shouted.
" It's quite alright Ponder, I remember referring to my myself as Celestia mere minutes later. You are in no trouble. " Celestia now replied, now restored to her former glory by discord.

Their meeting had been going along so well.
What was with that response? Did he value the rules so fervently?
No, there was the incident with Garble. He was no Twilight.

They continued for only a short while. The rest of the conversation was unusually efficient.

Minus the occasional ( Emotional? ) outburst it had been quite the standard conversation with Ponder and his instruction. He was almost like a royal guard ; or more like a cadet.
Massive potential but without the proper training.

Or maybe he DID have some training.
The world he was from did seem very war torn by comparison, if he himself was to be bellied.

At any rate, Celestia had finished ahead of schedule (for once) and decided to talk with Twilight as she had seemed a little more uneasy as of late.

After a short greeting, they sat down to some tea away from everyone else.
" Is something the matter, my student? " Celestia was genuinely curious of the prior
" Well, kind of. " Twilight uneasily replied.
" I don't know? "

" I've been trying to teach them both friendship, but - "
Celestia interjected
" Starlight and Ponder? "
" Ehm Hm. " Twilight nodded.

" But - They don't really seem to be taking much to it. "
" Also - " She took a pause.
" They both seem to want to. Almost feverishly so." Twilight looked to the side in utterance.

" I - think that speaks more to my abilities as a leader - then - "
" Twilight - stop. " Celestia said gently. Twilight still slightly freezing up, but that was to be expected.

" From what I understand you managed to convince a cult leader and a warrior-zealot to not only abandon their way of life, but strive for what equates to the exact opposite! "
" You are no failure. " She replied with calm certainty.

" But- " Twilight was formulating a response.
" Even so - difficulty or not - they're still... "

" They will come around in time, Twilight. "
" I have trust in your - and their abilities. "

Twilight was full of doubt. Written all over her. Such a sad pony.

" I could come and check up on them periodically, if you so wish. If only to add a second set of eyes. "
" Oh! Yes. Please. " Twilight, ever the grateful.

" Plus - " Celestia took a much less serious tone:
" You can't expect them to instantly realize the meaning of friendship with just a single spark in a matter of seconds, can you? "

Twilight almost reflexively hid herself with one of her wings out of embarrassment.
" Well - Um. ", " Yeah. I guess I did do that. " She admitted.

" But I'm definitely not one to be idolized! " Twilight rebuked, in a unstrung, regal tone. The forced strain of the syllables almost got to Twilight herself. She really had pressed that point hard.

" Really? " Celestia slyly asked.
" Because I can think of two ponies who might be closer then you think. "

Twilight stopped for a bit to think.

" Oh - them? Wha - NO! " Twilight said, as she brushed Celestia off.
" They're not idolizing me - There - " Twilight stopped mid sentence.

" Yes? " Celestia asked, as Twilight's eyes twitched around the room.

" Ok. So - lets say they were. "
Celestia let it slide. Advice right now was more important.
" How do you - Hm. Get them to stop? " That last part sent Twilight into a forced smile; as if she had asked something wrong.

" There is nothing wrong with looking up to traits you admire in a pony - a little bit. " Celestia stretched out that last part - and with good reason :
" Perhaps; sometimes even to mimicry. For if they copy you correctly in a area that you excel at that they lack in; everypony wins. "

" But - certainly not forever. " Celestia made an intentionally open-ended statement.
" Wha- what do you mean? " Twilight asked, right on track.

Celestia gathered herself " Having anypony - especially a ex-cultist or a ex-zealot - only work off mimicry - "
Twilight butted in, finishing her sentence: " - Is a bad idea because of the many moving parts of a ponies mind - and the lack of normalcy for them to fall back on! "
There it was.
' That spark. ' Celestia was thinking.

But , more importantly ; Twilight was back to being Twilight.

She was lucky she had given her some space. She seemed pretty jumbled up last time they met. She wasn't sure this would have worked then.

" I have many more stories and anecdotes on that topic from my years as ruler and similar, if you want to hear them. " Celestia kindly offered.
" Oh, I think I already understand. " Twilight said with cautious confidence. " But - I would like to hear them anyway. "
" If your still willing to tell. "

Celestia couldn't hold back a smile.
" Of course Twilight. "

And so it went.

The tea grew cold, and Celestia was needed back at the castle in Canterlot.
Celestia had to say her goodbyes.

" Wow! So they - just did that? " Twilight said, chirping out laughter in between syllables.

" Yes, Back then, no pony - not even I knew that saliva was not - in fact - a disinfectant! " Celestia said with gusto.

" You'd think they'd learn fast that it was counterproductive... But. - " Celestia stopped. Grew a bit more somber.
" History does tend to repeat itself, doesn't it? "

" Yeah. " Twilight only meekly chimed in on this one, books were not as good as personally experiencing it, after all.

Celestia noticed Twilight's shift in tone and posture
" And - yes - you'd think I'd know better. " Celestia's tone was getting more and more depressed by the second.

" But - apparently it took personally looking at multiple dead ponies for me to finally take this seriously. " She slowly said, head turned down.
She looked back at Twilight, who had a look of shock.

All those years of stress, finally getting to her.
She had realized too late, and now It had hurt yet another pony who didn't need to be hurt.
The gears in her head started to spin wildly as her guard went back up.

" Oh! - Apologies - I didn't mean to - "
" I - didn't know you felt that way too. " Twilight interrupted.

Celestia gasped.
" Tw- Twilight. "
" You should not be held to my standard. You only just became a princess. " She hurriedly said.

" I appreciate your concern. ", " But. "
Celestia's many years of experience had allowed her to regain her composure almost instantly.
" There are things that should be commonplace - of someone my age. "
" I don't mean to sound conceited, but - No pony who hasn't lived as I or Luna can hope to understand. "

Twilight put on forced smile.
She went in to hug her former teacher, and she happily accepted.

" No one's perfect. " She said in earnest.
" Yes. " Celestia agreed.
She let the hug continue on for a short while before retracting her wing. Twilight got the picture.

" Thank you, Twilight. "

Twilight looked back at her mentor, with happiness almost bursting at the seems.

" But I really must be going. " Celestia warmly said.
" That error we discussed won't correct itself, will it? "

She walked out of the library.

" You know they're not telling us what's bothering them! " Starlight was arguing.
" But - If we could just find out what were doing wrong - "
" No. They said they didn't want interruptions, and that's that. " Ponder was unyielding.

" IT WOULD BE SO SIMPLE ! " Starlight's voice was strained.
" And it's not interrupting them if they don't know - " Starlight noticed Ponder's face of shock.
She turned around.
Celestia.

" OH! " Starlight staring sweating.
" Celestia! " Her face now solely only an expression of guilt.

Ponder raised an eyebrow at Starlight, who was much too busy being caught to notice.

" Well Twilight, Ill leave you too it. "
Plainly said Celestia, completely unfazed.

As Celestia walked away, Twilight was walking out.
" Um. " Starlight broke eye contact with her, now to the floor.

" Wha- ? " Twilight had to ask.
" Starlight was considering spying on you two for increased friendship lesson effectiveness. " Ponder autisticly blurted out.

Starlight's gaze rapidly shifted to him, now of daggers instead of embarrassment.
" What? " Ponder got defensive.
" I thought you DIDN'T like to talk about this stuff! ", " So i did it for you! ", " So, you know, so you wouldn't have too? " Ponder waved his hoof around in that last sentence.

Starlight looked disgusted.
Ponder looked back at her, completely annoyed.

Twilight sighed.
She waved goodbye to Celestia, who had been holding formation in the hallway in case anything else was needed.

' Those two might actually be better for you then you might think, my student. ' Celestia was thinking as she was flying off.
' You might just be learning to go with the flow - '

' Or maybe to just " let go. " '

After a short berating from Twilight ( who did not take it personally ) Ponder and Starlight went their separate ways.
It was only a day before Twilight had a new assignment for Ponder.

" The human world? " Ponder asked over a book.
" Yes. We both need to make sure your not being missed. " Twilight said, in her soft but authoritative tone.
Ponder quickly snickered.
" Oh. Alright. So, were going now then? " He said without hesitation or strain.

" I'm not going to leave you there; Celestia Luna and I just want to make sure the balance of that world isn't upset. "
" Yeah. I understand. " Ponder replied to Twilight.

" Don't want them searching for me. " He continued.

' If only he took that state of mind with every pony ' Twilight was thinking.
She couldn't quite put her finger on what ' it ' was exactly.

The trip to the Crystal Empire was a long one. Not much too talk about, at least until they were about to arrive.
A little foal came up next to Ponder, and asked :
" Is this seat taken? My friends don't want to see me. "

" It's not taken. It's empty. " Ponder pointed to the seat beside him.
" Oh? " Twilight, from the next seat over, chimed in.

" Maybe I could help. ", " If your willing to talk about it. "
Twilight smiled back at the foal.

" Well - It's - "
" Oh. Your - Um. Twilight! The new friendship princess! "

" Yeah. That's me. Though I prefer to just be called ' Twilight ' " She replied, awkward smile included.
He ( the foal ) brightened up. " It's my lucky day! ", " We'll be back together hanging out in no time! "

Twilight was getting uncomfortable.
" Well... I can't promise that - "

" I'm LeafShine! " He introduced himself; immediately continuing to his problem:
" I was over there with my friends, " He pointed to the other end of the train car.

" We were all getting along just fine, we even brought in a new friend! "

" That's good. " Twilight said with confidence.

" But- After only a few days they started making fun of me! "
" They called my plant a ' joke ' "
He nudged a unusually good looking tiny houseplant he had brought with him.
Him being a unicorn made the situation ever stranger.

Twilight was impressed. " Well I think you took really good care of that plant. ", " It looks great! "
" well maybe he should marry it! " Was heard from across the train car.

...

" Well, that wasn't very nice. " Twilight finally breaking the silence.
" They called plants and - and me dumb too! " The little foal was now hesitant to speak, his voice now much meeker.

" I just wish we could be friends again. "

" Hm. " Twilight brought a hoof up to her chin for consideration.

Then, suddenly, from Ponder :
" Maybe they were never your friends in the first place? "
ShineLeaf got sad.

" Ponder! " Twilight said half-scolding.

" Wha- Oh. Ok. " Ponder got the memo; but only after a metaphorical 5 weeks worth of business days.
" Do you really think so? " ShineLeaf was looking to Ponder.

" I can't answer that. " He said in monotone.
" Aww. " ShineLeaf was now not only sad, but depressed.

" Just- Let me handle this. " Twilight was still uncomfortable giving ' orders ', but still managed.
Ponder silently pointed a hoof to ShineLeaf, as if to say ' He's right here! '.

As she let that little ' ponder outburst ' go, She continued to think of an answer for ShineLeaf.
Nothing came to mind.
It wasn't looking good.

There... was one thing.

" Maybe there's been some sort of miscommunication. "
" Why not go and talk to them - but leave out assumptions, slang terms, and really get down to it! "

" Thanks princess Twilight! " The little one had forgotten her request. He got up from his seat to walk over back where he was; but it seemingly did not go well.

Within a minute he was walking back to them both, when a ball of paper flew across the car and hit ShineLeaf in the back of the head. He ran to where Twilight and Ponder were seated.
Twilight winced.

Ponder grew angry.

" Im- Sorry. " Twilight manged to say.
ShineLeaf then ran to the next car, silently crying.

Twilight looked over to his former friends with determination while Ponder lifted an eyebrow and got up from his seat.

Twilight was worried about where this might go. Not visibly, but still.

He grabbed the paper ball that was thrown and went back to his seat.

" yeah~ ! clean up the litter! " was shouted from the group of 4 young ponies.
The rest of the train was starting to take notice.

Twilight was relieved.
" Oh. You just wanted to make sure no pony trip- "
" No. " Interjected PonderBright. His eyes darted up to her, then immediately back to his paper ball.
Twilight paused.

He rolled the ball around in his wing a bit.

" Paper doesn't fly that far. "

He unrolled the paper, revealing a rock inside.

Twilight gasped sightly.

She looked to the ' paper ', then to PonderBright, then back to the ' paper ' again.
" How did you? " She said slowly and quietly.
" Experience. " Said Ponder in a very serious tone; matching her volume.

Ponder looked back at her, seeing her look of concern.
" Receiving! Only receiving! " His whisper almost returning to normal volume.

" I'm a lot of things but a bully will never be one of them. " He said with disdain, looking to the bullies while squinting his eyes and gritting his teeth.
Twilight returned their conversation to normal volume. " That's not what I - "
" Wait. Hold on Ponder. "
" There's something I need to do first. " She said with determination.

" Alright. " He said with minor curiosity.

Twilight looked around the train car.
" Guards? " She asked in monotone with moderately high volume.

She went to the car behind her.

The bullies in the car were starting to get nervous.
Ponder looked smugly back at them while giving them a little ' nod ' to maximize the fear factor.

He smirked harder after he could see their faces.

" Guards? " Twilight's eyes were slightly narrowed. Focused.
3 cars down, she instinctively raised one hoof when she saw one. She walked over to him and cleared her throat.

" Oh, Princess Twilight. " He was not surprised to see a regular, Twilight, on the train. She did travel a lot.
" Is something the matter? "

" Yes, actually. There is. "

" Oh. Well then. Lead the way. "
As they started walking, the guard was getting nervous.

" Is it dangerous? " The guardpony asked.
" Oh. no. " Twilight cleared the misunderstanding.
" Sorry. The other princesses usually - "
" No it's fine. I'm - not used to this sort of thing. " Twilight apologized.

The guard did not want to give this up.
" Oh! no. It's entirely my fault. Sorry princess. "

Twilight now understood her mentor's occasional silence when giving out orders.

They walked without talking back to the car she had left.

She stepped in front of the seat with the 4 young bullies, guard in tow.
" Please listen to my story. " She looked to the guard.
" Yes, Princess. " He obediently stated, hoof salute and all.

" I was trying to help a poor little foal rekindle a friendship with this group when they threw a rock at him. "
The guard patiently awaited the end of her story.
" They wrapped it in paper as a disguise. "
She looked over to ponder.

He ( surprisingly ) got the hint and walked over.

He unfurled his wing, revealing the rocked wrapped in standard textbook blankpaper.
The looks on the kids were getting hilariously contorted out of fear.

" We didn't - " One of managed to squeak out. But...
" I don't want to hear it. " Twilight interrupted.

She turned back to the guard.
" I want to you watch these kids closely. Don't let them leave. "
" Yes, Princess. " Twilight continued :
" I told you all this because they can be crafty. Be watchful for any tricks. "
" Yes, Princess. I will be vigilant. "

" I can corroborate that entire story, if need be. " offered PonderBright, head tilted slightly at the guard.

The guard only turned his eyes to meet Ponder. "No need. The word of a Princess will result in immediate conviction, if it comes to that. " He stated.
The bullies winced, while Twilight raised an eyebrow to that.

" Thank you for your service citizen. " The guard continued. " You may go back to your seat : "
" If that is what the Princess wants. "

" Yes. " Twilight said, minor hints of uncomfortableness creeping into how she carries herself and her words.
" That's alright. Thanks Ponder. " She said genuinely.

She walked past Ponder on her way to the other cars.
" I'm going to make sure that foal wasn't hurt. If we arrive at the Crystal Empire before I get back... "
" Just wait at the station. I'll meet you there by flight. "

" He seemed fined to me. " Ponder offered.
" No wobbling, no scratching the back of his head, no blood or clumps of hair - "

" I appreciate your attentiveness, but ... " Twilight was getting choked up.
" Not all wounds are physical. " She had seemingly snapped out of it; now filled with determination.
" This is something I need to do. "

" Oh. " He plainly replied.
" Yeah you definitely don't want me there if that's the case. " He responded with total understanding.

They exchanged an awkward look right before Twilight left to go find ShineLeaf.

Ponder always had a knack for making moments that way.

Author's Note

Author's Note:

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

The darnedest things can come from the darnedest places, huh?
Embrace the chaos.
Discord would be proud.

19 - Enduring Crystal

Twilight had time to think on her way to Shineleaf.
The walk was long.

She had heard that he went all the way to the back of train, all the way to the caboose.
Which; the guards ponies actually let him through.

She had heard it was staff only, so the situation must be serious or they just didn't want to get involved.
Ah.
There it was again.

That distrustful thought process - which had haunted her ever since the incident with PonderBright.
It had been bothering her; but It had yet to rear any negative downsides.
Yet.

Then again, It wasn't like her to ruminate.
And while it pained her slightly to knowing think bad of some pony; she admitted to herself that it HAD payed dividends.
Not very friendly. But effective.

So long as it did not grow uncontrollably and turn outward like Ponder's,
she guessed she was ok with it.
It's all she could do in the moment.
And for the most part, she thought she had it under control.

" Princess? " A guard pony with a spear asked.
" Oh! " Twilight was pulled back to reality, almost in surprise.

" Do you want us to go get him? " They asked
" Oh. No. " Twilight waved to the guards pony as she walked past into the last car.

Shineleaf was there, right at the back, being watched by another guards pony while the signaler was looking out the window; no doubt preparing for arrival.

He was sitting. Feet dangling over the edge of the back of the car.

" Why don't we come back to a little? " Twilight said as she walked up from behind.
" Wh- " Shineleaf almost jumped. Twilight was startled.

" Oh. " " Yeah. " Shineleaf agreed with little emotion.

Twilight was sent into a thinking frenzy.
' That could have - '
' No. '
' Not the time. '
She snapped out of it.

" Are- you alright? " She asked, slightly raising her front right hoof.
" Yeah. " Shineleaf was not giving the most convincing responses.

Twilight maneuvered into the direction he had looked off into.

" I'm sorry about what happened with those fillies. "
She waited for his response.

" That yellow pony was right. "
" They were never my friends. "

' If only Pinkie were here. ' Twilight was lamenting.
It didn't take long for her to formulate a new response:
" That was a pretty rare occurrence. " She assured him.

" And me and that yellow pony happen to think that your plant-growing skills are great. " She softly stated.
" You'll definitely find a new friend if you don't give up searching. "

He sighed.
" Alright. " his mood only slightly improving.

Twilight's tone turned intentionally chipper.
" Your not from Ponyville, but If your willing to share where your from, I'll be willing to connect you with some friends there! "
" Why don't I bring you back to your parents; you don't have to tell them what happened, they already know. "

Twilight remembered something.
" And they can't hurt you anymore. I assigned a guard to make sure of it. "
He seemed to respond to that.

" T- Thanks. " He was managing to look her in the eye now. An improvement.

As they walked out of the little red car, Twilight was now feeling like herself again.
Calm, at ease.
She couldn't help but entertain a little sensation at the back of her head :
' Would past Twilight would have remembered to assure Shineleaf that the threat was neutralized? Gone? '

Thoughts of Spike in the dragon race came back.
Along with her fight with Tirek.
And the aftermath of Ponderbright's atrocity.

After successfully shutting those thoughts out - new thoughts emerged.
' Yes, Ponder may have some strange abilities and mental advantages, but situations that require the use of those abilities are usually not good ones '
' If I absolutely needed to learn something 1/3 faster or do something 1/3 better then any pony else; chances are the situation is not so great anyway. '
She looked to Shineleaf.
' And failure was a likely option either way. '

Celestia almost never bet on such chances.
Only when there seemingly no other option, did she draw things down to the wire.

And just like that - the intrusive thoughts stopped. For now.
After quietly thanking her mentor, she arrived back at Ponder's car.

She waved to him as she passed into the next.
After a quick summary from Twilight, Shineleaf's parents seemed appalled.

She felt she needed to tell his parents personally. Just something a friend would do.
The conservation was unusually long; his parents asked for much clarification and re-telling.
At last, it was finally over :
" We'll were definitely going to tell the teachers about this! " His father sternly said with a minor speech impediment.
His mother nodded sternly in agreement.
Shineleaf sighed in frustration.

Twilight was made a little uncomfortable by that, but after exchanging addresses for letter purposes felt satisfied that she did all she could. She went back to her seat.

" Thank you Ponder. "
Ponder looked back to Twilight, eyes now slightly more relaxed.

" Thank you for looking out for that filly. "

Ponder grew a bit uneasy.

" Something the matter? " She asked.

" Mostly I was just making sure those villains never get a chance to harass anyone again. " He rebuked quietly. Almost as if should be ashamed for something.

" Ponder! " Twilight said almost scolding him.
" What? ", " What part of what I just said wasn't correct? " He was almost annoyed.
" It's not that - " Twilight was back to normal tone.

She mulled the question around in her head a bit.
" You don't know their story. " She pointed to the bullies, shivering under the watchful eye of the guard.
" Their history could be any number of things to warrant that bad behavior. "
" Why do you have to be so confrontational? "

" Does having reasons for a crime make it not a crime? " Ponder asked, tilting his head slightly.

" Well -"
" No. " Twilight had to admit.

" But this is what we are all talking about when we mention the dragon's gauntlet, or your - Uh - general demeanor! " She stressed the point.
It didn't feel right. And she was definitely out of practice, if she ever practiced this at all.

" I talked about it with his parents too, if that's what you were worried about. " She volunteered the information.

Ponder looked to her, conflicted. Then back to the bullies.
She could see hate in his eyes.
Very pure hate.

" Let's - " " Talk about something else. " Twilight offered.
Ponder looked back to Twilight.
His eyes darted around the room, a bit awkward but nothing any pony couldn't handle.

His gaze then met Twilights.
" Did they say they would tell the teachers then end the interaction? "

Twilight took a pause.

" How did you? " Twilight was interrupted.
" I didn't. That's - why I asked. " His tone was now monotone and somber.

" And I'm guessing the little guy didn't take much to that? "

" Y- Yeah. " Twilight was astounded.
Next to zero social skills to accurately predicting the ending to an hour long escapade? What?

" Look. I don't know the system you got here. " Ponder pointed to the ground. He was bracing himself for something.

" But In my world what you did doesn't work. "
" Not in the slightest. "

He took a pause.

" In fact, it does the opposite. "

Twilight had a lot to consider.
" But - "

" Look, Twilight, Friendship may be your deal and expertise, but this is mine. " He politely interrupted.
His eyes winded a bit.
" But - I didn't want to interrupt you - I just wanted to put that out there. " He said while moving his hoof in a line to one side.

" Hm. " Twilight considered it.

" I still think you should consider my way. " She said sternly.

He really looked like he wanted to say something.

" A - " He was stuttering.
" W- "

Twilight looked at him in anticipation.

" Ah what the heck. " He eventually relented.
" I trust you. "

" Are we just going to keep doing things the nice way, even if they lead to more ponies getting hurt in the long run? " He genuinely asked, looking back at the bullies.

Twilight was taken aback.

" I- " Ponder was anxious; seeing Twilight's reaction.
" Just - forget I said anything. "

Twilight held her bottom lip as she looked away from Ponder.

" Sorry. " Ponder had defeat in his voice.

" No. It's - ok. "
" It's just a question. " She responded.

" Just- Um- "

Ponder winced at her struggling.

" Try to save the negative stuff for when were in private, ok? "
" Ok. " He responded, almost too silent to hear.

The rest of the train ride went as one might expect, short and awkward with few words spoken.
Ponder's words had lingered in Twilight's mind a bit.
She couldn't help but fell sorry for what that little colt had and was probably about to go through.
And she also felt a bit sorry for Ponder too.

When they arrived, Ponder was stuck staring at the Crystal Spire.

" Was - Was magic used to make that? " He was in awe.
He pointed to the spire.

" Because that's definitely higher then the 7 stories we were taught primitive cultures could build. "

" Well, yes. " Twilight smiled.
" And very ancient magic too. Over a thousand years old! "

" And maybe say - non technologically advanced cultures. "
Ponder sighed.
" Got it. Spend an extra 3 seconds every time I want to say the exact same thing. Will do! " His tone shifted up in that last part.
Twilight raised an eyebrow.
" Joking! 3 seconds is nothing. Nothing. " Ponder's tone returned to normal as he look back in the direction they were going.

The walk to the Crystal Palace was short, it was only one city after all.
A crystal pony waved at Twilight. She waved back.
She knew her?

" Should I be in disguise? " Ponder asked.
" O- No. " Twilight said with a minor laugh.

" Oh. " Ponder said blankly. " I just thought- it might be reputation related. "
" No. " Twilight responded blankly.
" It's fine. Nothing bad is going to happen from you being undisguised. "

Ponder smiled.
She gave a smile back.

Soon after, they found themselves under the Spire.
" A bit more imposing when your directly under it. " Ponder said with an eyebrow raised as they came to the center under the castle.

He looked to the 4 tiny support columns.
" And unstable. If your using anything close to my world's materials. "

" It's fine. " Twilight said while half-laughing.

" TWILY! " A stallion almost shouted from one of the pillars.
" BBBFF! " Twilight responded in kind.

Ponder looked over in their direction to find them hugging.
" Shinning Armor? " Asked PonderBright.

" PonderBright. " Shining said with haste and little emotion.

" And um. " He looked to the pink alicorn.

" Yup. Still bad with names. " He said while staring into space.

" Cadence " The pink one said.

" No FlurryHeart? " Ask Twilight, finally releasing the hug.
" Yeah. " Shining Armor plainly said.
He looked over to Ponder.
" About that. "

" Oh. " Twilight plainly said in understanding.
" We wanted to talk to you about that. "

They started to take the conversation indoors, which Ponder was slow to follow them in.

" Again, about Ponder. " Shining interjected his and Twilight's small talk :
" I would like to do a few tests to ensure ponies safety. "

" Shining! " Twilight almost said scoldingly.
Ponder's eyes lit up a bit at that.

" What? " Asking Shining,shame almost in his voice.

There was a break in the conversation, and Ponder took it.
" Maybe he just wants to confirm things with his own eyes? "

" Yes. " Shining Armor confidently stated.
" Among other things. "
" Nothing too crazy. "

" Well, alright. " Twilight got the memo.

Shining gave a - look? To Cadence, and she fell back to walking with Ponder, who was in the back of the pack.
She then stroke up a conversation. Simple stuff. " How was your day? ", " Enjoyed the Crystal Empire so far? " Easy things to say yes or no to.
Ponder was looking back and fourth from Cadence to Shining. Confused.

' How? ' He was thinking.

Twilight looked back at him, and then back to Shining, suppressing a little laughter.

" It's like there living in their own little world. " He instinctively blurted out.
" Oh! " Cadence looked to the sibling duo.

She smiled.
" Yeah. "
" They certainly can be like that sometimes. "

She looked back to Ponder, who had an excessively blank stare.
" Um- Are you alright? " She asked.

" Oh. Yeah. " He turned back to face her.
" Why wouldn't I be? "

" Well it's just that - " She stopped her response.

" Wow. I guess you really are an alien! "

She stopped herself.
" Wow! I'm so sorry, that probably was insensitive! " Cadence apologized.
" Oh not at all. " Ponder responded. " Your 10,000% correct. "

" And even at my homeworld, I'd still be considered very unusual - or ' alienated ' If you want to use that term. "

Cadence put on a fake smile.
She looked over to Twilight, who caught her eyes.

She playfully mouthed
" help me"
along with slightly worried eyebrows.
And so, Twilight burst into laughter.

Apparently she told shining, who only gave a minor chuckle.

" What would I give to understand them. " Ponder thought out loud.
Cadence looked over his way.

" You - seriously didn't understand any of this - didn't you? "
" Very little. " He admitted.

She looked away, slightly embarrassed.

Quickly, Cadence returned to the conversation, with newfound drive and determination.

Ponder was not happy as a direct result.

They all stopped in a long hallway. Both Cadence and Twilight decided that they would " Catch up " and went on their way yet up more stairs.
Not the most efficient floor plan.

Ponder looked to Shining, who had stayed back.

They both stared at each other for awhile, when Shining closed his eyes in consideration and came back with a response:
" Can you fly straight? " He plainly asked, as if talking to a royal guard.

" I- think so? " Ponder responded. " I don't know what counts as ' Straight ' up here. "
" Alright. " Shining responded.
" Show me. "

" Here? " Ponder asked.
" No, obviously not here. " Shinning's tone loosened a bit.

" Cuz - I can do it here If no pony else is around for me to potentially crash into. " He offered.

Shinning raised an eyebrow at him.
" Alright. "

He nodded to 2 guards in the room, who opened the doors they were stationed by and walked through.

" They just- were listening the entire time? Not zoned out or anything? Creepy. " Ponder was going off topic.
" Ponder. Focus. " Shining said with little leeway.

" Right. Sorry. I got jumbled up recently. "

Shinning let out a short sigh.

" And why me? ", " Why am I safe? " He asked.

" Your specialty is magic shields, right? " Ponder got right into it.
" Yeah. " Shinning plainly rebuked.

" I'm not going to be able to build up enough speed - About 80~90 kilometers an hour in here to break an average pony's shield. "
Shinning was looking unamused.
" So as long as you shield when I get within 6 meters ~?"
" Meters? " Shinning asked, tone getting more and more brash as Ponder went on.
" 20 feet. " Ponder corrected himself in monotone.

" Then you should definitely be fine. " Ponder said with confidence.

" And you know the specifics of magic shields... How? " Shinning was almost getting accusatory.

" Because - ", " I asked Starlight Glimmer about them. " Ponder said in visible confusion.
" To make sure no other pony gets hurt. " He added.

" Uh-huh. " Shinning was obviously unconvinced.

" Uh- " Ponder was completely lost.
" Was it - something I said - did ...? " He thought he had to ask.
Very clumsily ask, too.

" Just get on with it. " Shinning protested.

Steeling himself, Ponder walked to the back of the long, long hallway.
He accelerated fast.
So fast, in fact, it might be considered a reckless sprint.

Shinning's expression when Shinning Armor threw up a small, simple shield almost got to him.
But he was better then that.

He took off without much problem.
He flew to the end of the hallway, quite fast.

A part of him wanted to prove something to Shinning.
Or maybe to himself.

He stopped quite suddenly in front of the giant window at the end.
He let himself fall a bit before re-catching himself and gliding very close to the wall.

He ran his feet across the wall while in flight for good measure - just to really rub it in that he was, in fact, in complete control of his body.

He safely glided back to the other end of the room.
The one opposite Shinning Armor.

" Well. " Shinning said in minor astonishment.

Ponder walked closer, seeing as Shinning wanted to say something :
" You certainly could be a cloud buster with that performance. "
" The- weather ponies? " Ponder responded.
" Yes. "
" Huh. "

Ponder kind of expected some sort of change in mood from him.
At least a more light tone.

But no. Not this time it seemed.

" Next I'd like to test your mental ability. " He plainly stated, sourness still not gone from his voice per their previous conversation.

Ponder didn't want to believe he could be so different from his sister.
But the evidence was as such.
And it pointed overwhelmingly in that direction.

Ponder's eyes and posture sagged as Shinning led him into one of rooms. The guards coming back out into the hallway was his take that he passed the test. Or at least one of them.

" Fortify the Empire? " Asked Twilight.
" Yes. " Explained Cadence,
" Me, Celestia, Shinning and Luna have been talking, and well ... "

Author's Note

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

The one thing that completely astounded me about the original series:
The lack of preparation (minus Twilight's friendship school) for the inevitable later threat.
In all honestly something like this should have happened in the series proper after season 4.

20 - Mirrors

" That... doesn't sound like a very stable situation. " Twilight responded.

" Yeah- Me neither. " Cadence put her tea back down on her plate.
" But I think it has to happen. " She corrected her posture.

" For everypony's safety. "
The evening light shown through the tall glass windows, not colored like the castle she was used too.
The two had decided to chat in loo of going through the portal, as Shinning had wanted to do something with Ponder.
Twilight was still had the train ride in the back of her mind.
' Why wasn't she taking this more seriously? '
' Why hasn't she? '
The thought continued at the back of her mind.

She spoke up :
" But night watches? Re-militarizing the Wonderbolts, and all the others? Fielding multiple standing armies? "

" Night watches? " Cadence asked.
" Well, maybe not that. " Twilight corrected herself.

" But definitely the armies. " She added.
" Even if Equestria has been much less safe as of late - I don't see the point. " She asked her sister in law, almost pleading.

" How so? " Cadence asked.
Twilight straightened her posture as she put down her regal teacup.
" Nightmare moon, Discord, Tirek, Starlight AND PonderBright would have not been stopped by an army. "

Cadence took a wing to her chin to think.

" Be that as it may - " Cadence was hesitant .
" Things outside Equestria are not necessarily the best right now either. " She lowered her eyes a bit.
Twilight was not pleased by the news.

" It's not a fear that's easily understood. " Cadence looked back to Twilight.
" Unless you've been responsible for a whole country. "

Cadence looked out the window.
" I can't be there to protect them all. "

" I just can't but think there's a better way. " Twilight looked away from their conversation.
" And maybe there is! " Cadence exclaimed, looking back to her.

" But - I can't in good conscious as the Crystal Empire's ruler not accept Equestria's help. "
Twilight looked at her all crooked-eyed.

Cadence explained : "While the Crystal Empire is much larger then a small group of friends- " She pointed a hoof to her;
Twilight seemed to be getting it.
" It is still only a single city with only around 3000 ponies. ", " A army of ours would not be much of an army. "

" Well, yeah. " Twilight relented.

An idea came to mind. It wasn't a orthodox one, but It just might work.
If it meant avoiding the situations PonderBright keeps depressively talking about...
Might as well pitch it.
" PonderBright seems to know much about his world's way of handling these things. "
" Maybe- "

" Twilight- " Cadence watched her tone.
" I know that Celestia has been able to glean several great ideas from him. "
" But, not me. " She said with confidence.
" Assuming- that's what you were asking. "
Twilight had a hint of sadness on her face.

" While I'm not sure if those ideas would help the Crystal Empire - " Cadence had found the correct tone.
" I'm personally not willing to take the risk. " Her tone turned serious.
" Whatever system Celestia has - ", " I'm afraid will not work here. " She said with softness and understanding.

Twilight paused.
"..."
" I understand. "
" I just wanted a more friendly solution. " She smiled softly at Cadence.

Cadence sighed.
" I think we all do Twilight. " She smiled back.
" Were doing the best we can, and so far it's been working out. "

" Yeah. " Twilight agreed.

She still couldn't help an idea formulating in the back of her head.
One on the note of a ' more friendly solution. '

The rest of their conversation was delightful, fun, and perhaps the least of all: with minor undertones of tension.

It took awhile for Shinning and Ponder to show up.

" So, what are we going to do about that? " Ponder asked, voice still hard to hear from the distance.
" I am going to brief you two on what to do in the event of that emergency. " Shinning was looking worn out.

" Shinning! " Twilight was looking happy to see him.
" Twilight. " Shinning's tiredness was showing.

" He didn't put you through the ringer, did he? " Twilight half-sarcastically asked Ponder.
" No not at all. " He took a frank tone.

" All those tests were really easy. "
Shinning jumped a bit, with a look of confusion on his face.
" But- we also tested your mental abilities. "
" Yes. " Ponder plainly and quickly stated, staring right back at ShinningArmor.

Twilight got her classic ' awkward ' face while Cadence secretly snickered and looked away.

" Anyway, Shinning, you had something to brief us on? " Twilight broke the short silence.
" Yes. " He regained his composure.

He walked to the sitting area near the throne, with the other two in tow.
" It has come to my attention that the human world is not as safe as I originally understood it. "

Twilight looked confused.
" But you haven't been to the human world. "
" What you know is what I told everypony, right? "

" Sort of, "
Shinning was looking and feeling better by the second.
" But Ponder has too. And he has been in quite a few more - "
" situations "
" while there, then you. "

" If what he said was accurate; we might have a problem."
" To the best of my ability. " Ponder added, waiting for Shinning to finish his sentence.

" Right. " Shinning gave Twilight a quick glance then got back on track.
" There's only one situation that came to my attention that I think we need an action plan for. "
Twilight was humoring her brother. Only a little bit of that showed.
She shifted in her seat, and prepared herself for her brother's shenanigans.
Shinning continued, nonetheless : " In the event that you both are assaulted, Twilight, I need you to run. "
Twilight's eyes widened.

" Wha- What? " surprise and confusion took over.
She Even brought up a wing.

" PonderBright informed me that he regularly - has this happen to him. "
" Why can't I help? " Asked Twilight in all seriousness.
" Perhaps send a guard? " She looked concerned.

Shinning took on a more understanding tone " He also told me - ", " That females humans stand no chance against a male human. "
" At least- not in standard combat. " He looked to Ponder.
Ponder nodded with little emotion.

" And as for sending a guard squad : " Shinning looked back to Twilight.
" None of mine, or probably anyone else'; are trained for Trans-Species Combat. "

" - Right. " Twilight said plainly while looking away, ignoring the banter form Shinning.
" But - I never saw anything even remotely close to that happening. At least not while I was there. " She looked to Ponder with concern.

" What if you took your element with you? " Asked Shinning, back to seriousness per Twilight's response.
" I don't think so. " Twilight rebuked.
" My element already caused enough trouble for that word- and with lasting damage. " She looked to Ponder.
" Yup. " Ponder nodded.
Shinning's head jerked to him, looking annoyed.
" Wa- " Ponder took awhile to 'get it'

" Oh. "
Ponder sighed, then looked sideways as he motioned zipping his lips shut.
Twilight looked to Shinning with a sense of doubt.

She retracted her gaze as fast as she gave it.
" And plus, I don't think that would work the same way that It can be used here. "
" Right. " Shinning had come to the same realization as Twilight was talking.
" I just don't want anything bad happening to you, Twili. "

" I - don't think we'll need any of these plans anyway. " Twilight swirled a hoof in the air.
" At least not for a short visit and checkup. " She looked to Ponder, still with that same doubt.
Ponder looked away.
Oh no.
Was she being dismissive? Condescending? Not the best example she's been setting.
Her eyes left Ponder's gaze as soon as she noticed.

She'll apologize later.

" May I say something? " Ponder asked with major annoyance.
" Yes. " " Sure. " Shinning and Twilight both said at the same time.

" Twilight likely won't be in danger if she just stands back ~ "
" I'd say - five feet? "

Shinning turned to him, confused. They both exchanged words :
" I thought you said you two would be in danger - ", " When I asked you about this. " Shinning said through sips of tea.
" WALKING together. " Ponder clarified. " When we are in close proximity. "
" Their target will almost certainly not be her. " He exclaimed.
" She saved their world, like, what? 3 times? "
Twilight got a short lived minor blush of embarrassment.

" Oh. " Shinning seemed satisfied. " Hm. " Twilight, per the sigh, wasn't.

" I'll manage. " Ponder offered.
" I've lived there for 17 years. Another few hours probably wouldn't hurt. "

" Right. " Twilight was reassured.

Cadence, who was silently watching over all this, offered PonderBright a word :
" I hope for your safe travels, PonderBright. "
She looked to Shinning. Nothing. Not even a smile.

She scowled slightly.
" Come' on babe. " Shinning tone softened drastically.
" You know I love you. "

Candace's look lightened up a bit.

Ponder and Twilight started walking off to the portal after a short wave from Twilight.
" That wasn't because of me, was it? " Asked Ponder.
" Well- Kind of. " She had to say.
" But it wasn't your fault. ", " You did everything you could, as far as I saw. "

" Huh? " He responded. With an upbeat tone. He looked happy. A passerby might confuse him for a optimist.
He looked back to the two royal ponies, the guards now closing the door to the throne room.
" Your borderline physic sometimes, you know that? " Ponder said with a lower voice.

" Well - " Twilight was caught off guard by the compliment.
Truly - she had her work cut out for her as princess of friendship.

" Any pony can learn how to do it. Even you! " Twilight mentally punched herself over the wording of that past part.
" Huh? " He asked in disbelief.

" I wasn't always like this. " She unfurled her wings.
" I was much less - sociable back in the day. " She turned her head down a bit.

Ponder stopped walking for a second.
" Really? " Now Ponder was in complete, total, disbelief. Eyebrow raised and everything.

Shinning was resolute.
" I'm just saying we shouldn't be encouraging him to stay longer then he has too. "
" But in disservice of not giving common courtesy to a pony in need? " Cadence asked.

" He said it himself - he values no such thing. " Shinning rebuked.
" Doesn't mean we still shouldn't do it. " Cadence responded.

Shinning rubbed the back of his head.
" Look, I don't think he's a bad pony, but- "
" It did happen because of him. And I can't be sure the details. I wasn't there."
Cadence smugly responded :
" And by that logic Starlight should get the death penalty for destroying all life in Equestria multiple times over. "

Both their tones had stayed friendly throughout the conversation. They shared a laugh.

" Maybe send him on his way - out of the castle - once he comes back? " Cadence offered.
" After the debriefing? " Shinning added.
" Sure. " Cadence agreed.

" YOU WERE A NERD?! " They both overheard a muffled PonderBright scream from behind the door.
Cadence chuckled a bit; with ShinningArmor having to fight the urge. They both gave each other a knowing look only spouses could share.

Shinning looked to Cadence :
" Maybe I should go send them off. "
Her response :
" Yes. "

" I'm happy your here, but we really need to get going. " Twilight calmly half-asked her brother to let them both go.
" We have an arranged time with Sunset, and I don't want miss it - We've "

" Well then I guess you better get going. " Shinning said with minor playfulness.
" I'm going to stay here by the portal. "
" And just in case any pursuers follow Ponder through it ; I'll put a stop to it. "

" Aww. " Twilight said in not-all-seriousness.

" You probably won't have to. " Ponder jutted in.
" They aren't actually bloodthirsty; they're just horrible pieces of shit who like to physically torture others for fun. "
Twilight was only uncomfortable. She silently rolled her eyes.
Shinning was resolute.
Ponder continued : " They'll run away at soon as you give them the least bit of trouble. " He offered.

Shinning looked to Ponder with confusion.
" What? " Ponder asked. " What did I do this time? "

Shinning gaze softened.
" You- really are this way aren't you. " He thought out loud. Ponder was taken aback. He was used to this in the human world - but not here. He was left to wonder why that was.
Twilight, in the meantime, was switching gazes between the two, obviously feeling sorry for Ponder.
Shinning sighed.
" Sorry PonderBright. For all the mistrust. "

" Still - In regards to you two - but mostly Twilight. " Shinning's tone took on concern.
" I'm surprised you can stay relatively calm in this situation. " Him, a royal guard, said. He pointed to the portal mirror in the room.
" You both have a guards response to danger. Facing it head on is not something anypony could do. "

" Well, I'm no different from anypony- I just learned to act differently. " Twilight responded.
" And- Maybe. Well. Maybe I'm used to it. " Depression seeping into her tone. An uncomfortable silence followed.

Ponder looked at Shinning as if he should do something. He shrugged in response.
As one might expect, Ponder promptly got all bent out of shape not knowing what to do.

" Well-Uh. " Ponder was searching deep for words.
" Flash Sentry will probably be there. "
" Maybe that's part of it? " He said with a knowing tone.

" Ponder... " Twilight said in embarrassment, looking away temporarily.

" What's this? " Shinning asked.
" Well- " Twilight did not want to answer.

Ponder turned to Shinning. " You seriously don't know? "
" No. " Shinning was signaling via his lack of tone that he wanted to end the conversation.
Too bad he was talking to PonderBright.

" Well, they both have a crush on each other. "
" A major crush. "

" Ponder! " Twilight was almost pleading with him at this point.

" Huh? " He looked to Twilight. Major embarrassment. He know just how much the normies hated that.

" Oh. Sorry. " His tone was off.
Twilight only kicked the ground softly with one of her hoofs.
Ponder squinted at her.

" OK CAN WE STOP TALKING ABOUT ME PLEASE? " Twilight finally managed to say. Her regal persona was starting to break.
She was now shoo-ing PonderBright to the portal.

" Sorry. " Shinning stated to Twilight as he left the room.
" I'll assign two guards here. Just in case. " He looked to Ponder.
He nodded in return, too busy being pushed by Twilight to start talking again.
The door closed as he was off to get the guards.

" Hang on wait. " Ponder said with a serious tone.
" Can this wait? " Twilight was already in a frenzied tone.

" Potentially not. " He added.
Twilight sighed.

She sat.
Ponder took his next words carefully:
" Flash is a human. "
" Yes. " She responded with little emotion.
" And your a pony. "
" Yes. " Her tone slowing returning to normal; she was getting over it.

" That- shouldn't work. " Ponder concluded.

Twilight facehoofed.

" No I'm being serious. " He responded, completely blank faced.
" Unless that portal messed with your mind there should be no way that's possible. "

Twilight removed her hoof from her face, now hovering over her mouth in compilation.
" You know- "
" You could be on to something there. " She continued getting back on track with the conversation, hoping and praying it wouldn't circle back to Flash and her.

Ponder continued his theory.
" And you didn't seem like yourself when you were there either. " His head turned to the portal.

" How- so? " She was barely following along.

" Well, when you lost your crown, you didn't just ask for it back. You know. Just say you lost it? "
" Oh. " Twilight was slowly coming to the same realization Ponder was.
" And when Sunset ruined your reputation, you tried to run for prom queen yourself, rather then having someone like Rarity do it. "
" The Twilight I know now would not have done- "
Twilight was back to minor embarrassment. Ponder had taken notice.

" Hey, It's - probably - not your fault. " He added.
Twilight looked to the side in apparent... shame?
First time he's ever seen that from his mentor. Or any authority figure. Must be another case of Twilight being an actual leader rather then a self-appointed tyrant.

" If I'm right - and I REALLY don't want it to be - "
Twilight's ears perked up.
" Then the second we both go through that thing were going to be bombarded with every single screwed up human emotion there is. " He said with disdain. Twilight's eyes widened with understanding and fear. Ponder looked to the portal with the same worry.

" Now that you mention it- " She looked to the portal. " I was - sort of distracted when I first came there. I didn't know what to expect. "
" And every time after didn't help much. " She raised an eyebrow.

Ponder sighed.
" At least I'll see the aneurysm coming this time. " He said dully.

" Hey- If your going to have a stroke- " Twilight stretched out her tone as if she knew it was a joke.
" It's a figure of speech. ", " In poor taste. " He added.

" Wait. " Twilight had a weird thought.
" You don't - Uh - suffer from that same affliction here, do you? " She put on a wide, forced smile. Her embarrassment be damned. She was concerned for the other pony living with them.

Ponder laughed.
" HAH! No. " He immediately responded with confidence while pointing to himself with a hoof.
" My heart was killed a loooooong time ago. You have nothing to worry about with me. "

" Oh. " Twilight plainly responded.
He had firmly shifted the conversation back to ' sad ' .

Twilight smiled.
" Your getting better. At friendship." She said in reassurance.
PonderBright nodded slowly in agreement.
He also smiled back.

He was almost to the portal, when Twilight added some final few words:
" Just- try to be nice to everypony there, ok? " She asked with much hesitation in her voice.
" Ok? " He replied.
" Maximum niceness. Got it. "

He looked at the big mirror, almost 3 times taller then him. He stepped into the portal.

Author's Note

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

Friendliness can be tough when security goes against it.
But it's still worth a shot.
Also Twilight x Flash is dumb without this explanation.
Bite me.

21 - Differences

Author's Note

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

Trying top authors note. Maybe people are just not seeing it?

Change is hard.
Sometimes, if given the option, people go to very extreme lengths to avoid it.
VERY extreme.

21 - Differences

The transition was unexpected.
He thought it would be jarring, but it was abnormally instant and smooth.
It even positioned him standing up. Huh.

He un-clinched his hands. They had both been wound up into balls.
He DID have no fingers in Ponyland.

And then the human emotions came back.
He was really hoping he was wrong this time.
PonderBright definitely didn't miss this.

Twilight came through shortly afterward.
After making sure Ponder made it through safely, she noticed he was scrunched up.
Very afraid.
Or more like a feeling of dread?

For the first time in awhile, she did not see a threat in him.
She supposed that ever since the trial she was working towards this; just not realized it.
She didn't see a zealot who was sure in his crusade.
Just a poor stallion who had had many, many bad experiences trying to do the best he can. Quite needing of some guidance.
The same stallion she saw in the caves.

Her eyes narrowed, and she realized she was blushing.
Not a big blush, but still present.

She swerved around, lowering her head slightly.

' He's your student. '
" He's your student. " She said under her breath.

She took a deep breath.
Regaining her composure, she walked up to PonderBright and put a hand on his shoulder.
He spun around to see her with his eyes narrowed.

" Oh. I- Didn't know "
Ponder interrupted :
" Yeah. It's mostly a me thing. "
" People coming in from behind is a security risk. "
Twilight retracted her hand, feeling a bit sorry for him.
He started walking towards the school.

" Lets get this over with. " He said with unusual gusto. Almost a chipper tune.
" Wha- " Twilight was visibly confused.

" Hey- Hey. " Ponder pointed to her.
" Five feet. "
" ... "
" Ah crap I just sounded like a sexist, didn't i? " He said, unusually scatterbrained.

Twilight giggled under her breath, then fell back a few paces while saying :
" Remember, you just need to talk with Celestia. Make sure no one is missing you. "
" Missing? Me? " He reposed.
" Now that's funny. "

After PonderBright had killed the tone like usual, the two were in the entryway.
The school was mostly empty, it was before school started after all.
Minus 1 key group of friends.

" Sunset! " Twilight walked past Ponder to greet her.
" Twilight... " Sunset was uneasy. She was looking to and from PonderBright.

She motioned to her other friends : a jerky hand motion across the neck.
Ponder, looking very unamused by this pity attempt to go around him, leaned to the side a bit to peer in the direction they were retreating too.

Twilight.
The other Twilight.
Towards the back of the pack, hiding sheepishly behind a book she was holding.

He instantly (and involuntary) clenched both his hands into a fist, while being unable to suppress a very low pitch response:
" Y O U. "
The entire friend group reeled back a bit, including both Twilights.

He started walking towards human Twilight.

Not quickly, not slowly, just at a normal pace.

RainbowDash looked side to side, and then to Ponder.
" Alright. "
She steeled herself.

She ran in fast, and tried to tackle Ponder.

He leaned back a bit, grabbed her by the arm, and tripped her up with his leg he turned into a hook.
He then let go, using her momentum to send her to the floor in the direction she was running.
Rainbow let out a small wince, she did hit solid marble after all.
She looked back at him, mostly unharmed.

He had stumbled a bit due to the weight he had just shifted around, (RainbowDash) but recovered just as quickly as he had done the deed in the first place.
No words were spoken.
In actuality, it looked quite awkward.

Much too real.

The rest of the girls looked on in shock.
Rarity was pulling a taser from her purse, when he stopped.
Right in front of his target.

Not within striking distance. Just outside of it.

Human Twilight wasn't able to look at him, instead looking off to the side.
Fear very visible, but overshadowed by shame.
Sweating bullets.
Prepared to meet her fate.

" That expression... " Ponder sneered upward.
" You know what happened after I fell, don't you? " He crossed his arms and tilted his head. He smiled a smile of pain.

Twilight nodded, tears starting to become visible.

" HAHAH - AH. " Ponder laughed in anger.
His sanity was starting to become questionable.
Not even during his fall did he act this way.

He noticed this.
He inhaled deeply while closing his eyes.

His gaze instantly snapped back to Twilight. She froze.
The others froze too.

" And to think you all would have learned your lesson the first two times this happened! " Ponder looked much more composed as he jestered to the others in the room.

" But no. "
" You all somehow insist on making it a third. " He sneered at Twilight, who was now trembling.
" And keeping the threat around - No less! "

" And to top it all off- You all insist on protecting this piece of shit - " He made a hand motion at Rainbow, still looking at Twilight.
" Who would willingly destroy this ENTIRE PLANET if given the opportunity to do so! " The words left his mouth like nails on a chalkboard. It hurt to listen too, and it sounded like it hurt to say.

Ponder stared at his target unblinkingly. Searching for something. A reaction?
Human world Twilight only closed her eyes and started to sob.

" Ponder! " Pony Twilight cried from across the room, Applejack holding her back with a look of worry on her face.
" D- " She shouted.
" AAA- " Ponder threw a finger to the air to hush her up.

" You might be an expert in Pony World, but this is my world. " Twilight's interruption seemed to snap him back to (mostly) himself.

" And that- " He pointed a hooked finger to one blinking away tears.
" Is a human. "

" And I happen to know firsthand how evil they usually are. " He lifted his right hand, pointing to a small scar. He didn't turn around. No response from his target.

" Ponder! " The equestrian Twilight pleaded.
" She didn't mean it! None of you meant it! Please! "

He slowly looked back at her human counterpart. Cold, unfeeling, and emotionless.
The others were starting to step backward.

Minus the other Twilight.

" I'm - so - sorry. " She managed to say, past all the shaking and tears.
Ponders expression returned to what an onlooker might call ' somewhat resembling normal '

He laughed.
A casual laugh.
Made all the more creepy by how out of place it was.

" Twilight. Your smart. "

" Hu- Huh? " She looked up at him.

" Dare I say your smarter then me and everyone else in this room. "
" You invent things on a whim and effortlessly win academic competitions. " He said while raising an arm into the air.

" So why. "

" Why did you willingly release the magic? "

" I can understand If it were PinkiePie, Rarity, Bulk Biceps, or even Derpy. "
" But you? "

" You have no excuse. " His hands balled into fists again.

Twilight broke free of AppleJack's grip and started running to them.
She arrived rather quickly, and put a hand Ponder's shoulder.
She didn't know what else to do; if Rainbow couldn't stop him with force she certainly didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell.
No response.
She wasn't even sure he noticed her.
It was almost like she wasn't even there.

Ah.
There it was.
A very feint sideways glance from him.
She retracted her hand.

PonderBright returned his focus to her counterpart.
" You know better. "

His tone took on one of pain.
" You should have known better. "
" You have NO excuse. " His anger showed.
" N O N E. "

Twilight feel to the floor.
" I know. " She said through tears, wiping some of them but not managing to get all of them.

" I'm - so sorry - " Her tone was very strained.

" I wish you could have heard their screams. " He spoke without tone, tilting his head upward, looking down on her.
" Maybe then would it finally get through your thick skull. "
Ponder's eyes widened, and returned to their unblinking state.
Obviously searching for a certain response.

The sad and trembling human took awhile to come up with a response.
" If - If there's anything I can do - "
" Kill yourself. " Ponder interrupted.

His tone was not angry.
Nor did it have any tone what-so-ever.
It wasn't trying to make her feel bad.
It was very matter-of-fact.

It was entirely ' To the point ' .

Her response was a lack of response; minus minor facial twitching.
She definitely had a look of shock as she brought up her hands to her face for a good viewing.
If they would stop shaking, that is.
Her friends, including other Twilight, were already rushing to her.

Ponder got the memo and turned away.
He gave Twilight one more disappointed look as as one last parting shot.

She had a classic thousand-yard stare.
Largely unresponsive.

It took almost 2 minutes for her to start crying uncontrollably, only stopped from completing falling to the floor by her friends.
Once she was out of crisis, only staring sideways depressively into space, did Rarity jump into action.
She got up, got one last look at Twilight to indeed make sure everything was ok, and starting stomping towards PonderBright.

She had held it together until now for Twilight, but it seemed confronting him in his corner of the room was too much.
Tears started to form.

He had been standing there for almost 7 minutes. Watching them. As if he was waiting for them to get done with a class assignment and was bored waiting.
It pissed her off so much.

PonderBright noticed the wannabe fashionista approaching.
Still holding her taser.
He reached in his sleeve a bit.

Two knives should do.

Rarity threw her taser across the room, startling everyone. It landed in the area no one was currently inhabiting, shattering to pieces on impact.

Ponder re-strapped and re-secured his knives. Not that anyone could have noticed them anyway.

" YOU MONSTER! " She got up in his face; pointing a finger.
" YOU FIEND! " She wasn't trying to hide her tears.

" LEAVE IT TO YOU; WHO TALKS ABOUT HOW HORRIBLE THAT WAS : TO TURN 3 CASUALTIES INTO 4 !!! "
" Are you done? " Ponder plainly asked.

Rarity's rage visibly intensified; but as she looked back to Twilight and friends she managed to push it down with a long inhale.
After a short " AUMPH! " and a dismissive hand wave, she rushed back.

" I'm so sorry dear. " Her tone was almost normal as she sat down next to human Twilight. frazzled, more like.
" I don't know what came over me. "
" Is there- anything you need? "
" No. " She plainly responded.

The others perked up.

Twilight got up from the floor, not quite managing to stand yet. She sat upright, head all the way down.
" Dearie, you don't have to take what he says- "
Twilight nodded.

" I know. " She sniffled.

" Well. " AppleJack interjected.
" In think we should go somewhere more private. " She looked to a hallway.
" And- I know most of us probably want to do - not so legal things to Ponder right now - " She looked to Rarity.
" But that's not what this situation calls for. "

They all collectively non-verbally agreed, and escorted Twilight to a classroom.

The other Twilight gave a short lived wave, and walked back to Ponder.
Unable to look at him.

" Done throwing a pity party for the genocidal maniac? " Ponder was ready.
Ready for any argument.
For any rebuke.

He had spent the last 7 minutes war gaming every scenario that could now transpire.
Human Twilight was the monster.
Not him.
He was certain. And it showed.

" That's - not quite how it was. " Twilight's response had no emotion, and was slowed.
Sorrow.

Not disappointment,
Not anger,
Not a power play to put him in his place,
Just- sad.

Now THAT caught him off guard.

The walk to Celestia's office was long.
Ponder knew it by heart, and was leading the way.
With the school empty and only just now filling up, it seems the earlier worry about physical safety was largely unwarranted.

Twilight had been thinking all the way there.
For something.
ANYTHING to say.

She really, REALLY didn't want to go there, but she didn't want to leave things as they were even more so.

" Ponder- "
He turned to face her, nothing more.

" Why did you treat her that way? "
" Isn't she me? But just from a different world? "

" No. " He said with confidence. He turned back to face her -
" Rest assured you are NOTHING alike. "

" The only thing you two have in common is you both like to learn. "
" Your nice, you wouldn't destroy an entire world just for the sake of knowledge. " He said softly, looking back in the direction they were headed.

' Ah. ' Twilight thought.
There it was.
That glimmer of hope she saw in him.
But so dim, so faded.
And it seems now he's willingly rejecting it.

" I wish you'd taken your friendship lessons more to heart. " Twilight; being sincere.
" Because I know what you think about others, isn't true. "

" Twilight. " He said tired and with pain:
He pulled up his hand, once again brandishing his scars for her to see.
" I wish "
" I could believe you. "

Twilight looked away for a bit.
Then sighed.

She started to walk away.

Celestia's door opened.
" Hello? ", " Did someone want to see me? "
" Yes, actually " Ponder said with a very normal tone and execution.
It's as if a switch was flipped in him.

" Oh? Do we have a new student Twilight? " Celestia asked, as Twilight was walking away.
No response.
" Huh. " Celestia stared at her.
" Did, something, upset her? " She felt she had to ask.

" Yeah unfortunately. " Ponder quickly responded.
" Looks like I'm at it again. " Ponder said with minor annoyance and dread.

" At what again? ", " Do I know you? "
" What? " Ponder asked.

He decided to try and jog her memory. Old boomers tend do to get this way after a week or two of your absence.
" I've been in your office over 30 times. " He raised an eyebrow at her.
" Getting in fights, (even though i never started them) ",
" Getting tattled on for mundane shit even teachers sometimes do- "
" The Softball Incident ? "

Celestia was getting uncomfortable.
" Hmmm. "
" No. "
" Not ringing any bells. "

" Maybe you mistook me for a lookalike administrator back at your school? "
She laughed nervously while Ponder mentally rolled his eyes.

He was almost dumbfounded.
This level of stupid wasn't unheard of from his principal, but still rare.
' Wow. Either this boomer is currently having a stroke or we got some more eldritch magical mayhem in the works. '
' 50/50 either way. '

Ponder's unenthusiasm for the situation showed.
" Well then yes I would like to transfer. "
" Apologies, my memory isn't the best. " The words slid out of his mouth like a snake.

" Oh! Well then. " Celestia was back to herself.
" Do you have a signed form of transfer? "

" No, not yet. ", " Twilight was just showing me around. " He responded.
" But, just to ease my sanity, could you check if I have records here? Just for my sake? " He fained his disability well.

' ease my sanity ' ??? Celestia was getting more and more freaked out the second.
" Sure... ! " Celestia kept her peripheral vision on him as she search her filing cabinet.

" Name? " She asked, putting on a overly polite front as she opened her filing cabinet.

" I can't believe anyone would say that! " PinkiePie loudly exclaimed with a depressive tone.
" Was he always big bully behind our backs or something?! " She openly asked.

" No comment. " AppleJack's hat was tilted down. A tinge of pain echoed through her words.
Rainbow was looking impatient.
" I don't care if he is a Wondercolt, or that he helped us with magical stuff in the past. "
" That guy needs to leave and never come back. "

" He doesn't really seem like the type that being friendly would work on either. "
Fluttershy chimed in.

" Here Here! " Rarity agreed.
" No forgiveness for me. Never in a million years! "

They all collectively looked downward a bit, taking in what just happened.
And what they just said.

They looked to Twilight, who had multiple glasses of water on her desk, along with Fluttershy's blanket, Pinkie's lunch, Rarity's pillow, Rainbow's sports drink and AppleJack's sweater.

" Lets- not get too caught up- " Rarity made a overly complicated hand gesture.
" In the moment- shall we? "

" Sunset- " She turned her head to her. The person in question had been sulking in the opposite corner of the room this entire time.

She looked up only momentarily, before correcting a bit of her bacon-colored hair and returned to her thinking.

" That display didn't rattle you too much did it? " She asked.
" Yeah. It - kind of did. " Sunset admitted, looking up.
" But that's not it. "

The others were confused.

" At least, not all of it. "

" When I was listening to him speaking - And I agree that what he did was unacceptable. I couldn't help but understand where he was coming from. Only a part of it,, that is."

" Wha- " Rarity was taken back.
" WHAT? " Rainbow butted in.

" From his perspective Twilight was only a person who recklessly endangered everyone's lives, and then tried to end the world just to get to another. "
" And- directly caused the chain of events that resulted the tragedy he was involved in. "

" That doesn't excuse this. " She looked to Twilight.
" Not by a long shot. "

" But I can understand why he chose to do this. " She ended by looking out the window she was leaning against, minor worry in the way she carried herself.

" It's amazing how much you stick up for people. " Rainbow admitted.
" Yeah. " AppleJack agreed.

" I suppose that does explain a small part of- " Rarity cut herself off with a grunt.
Fluttershy and PinkiePie gave each other knowing looks, then sulked.

" Me and him have - a history. " Sunset was catching the depression in the room.
The others looked to her in confusion.

They all then looked to Twilight.
Still looking sideways off into space, but doing much better then before.

Sunset seemed to take initiative.
She walked over to Twilight, and slid a desk next to her.

" It's not your fault. It's no ponies fault. You know that, right? "

Twilight looked to her, then back to the wall staring.

After some short consideration from Sunset:
" Other Twilight told me what I needed to know. There was nothing you, or anyone else could have done. "

" I could have not been stupid and released my device. " Twilight calmly and quietly argued back.
" True. You made a mistake." An immediate response from Sunset.

" But it wasn't THAT mistake. " She really pressed the word ' that ' while Her eyes motioned off into the distance.
" No one could predict that series of events. "
" Your no more to blame then He is. "

Twilight stooped frowning. Not smiling, just not frowning.
" Alright. " Twilight wiped her tired eyes.

" I think I'm over it. " She still said with depression.

" Alright. " Applejack offered a welcoming tone.
" Why don't we go to the band room, to take our minds of it? " Her forced smiled was not that good.

" Yeah. " Twilight agreed while getting up from her table.
She staggered a bit; standing up too fast.

The others were ready to jump into action when they saw the fake smile she put on to sooth their nerves.
They all nervously laughed it off, and continued to music practice.

" If you need anything else, or want to complete your transfer, let me know! "
" I'm only a phone call away! " Celestia left off.

Her office door closed slowly, as if she didn't want to set him off.
Ponder was left with more questions then answers.

He checked his phone, as he had been recording her almost the entire time.
Making sure no magical mind-altering nonsense was effecting him in the room.

Nothing.

Everything was normal.
He no longer existed in this world.

In any other context, he would be ecstatic. No chance of anyone investigating their way into Equestria and ruining the ' magic ' of it. But this wasn't them giving up on a half-assed investigation after 2 weeks.

This was magically induced.

He thought for awhile. The wall he was resting up against was starting to hurt.
Ah. Bingo.
Another plan, another day.

He walked to the entry way, in quite a rush.

He stood in a area where all would see him coming into the building, but not too inconspicuous.
He pretended to play with his phone.
In reality he was constantly recording video.

After a short wait, the students started pouring in.
He dreaded the confrontation. But he had to be sure.

Luckily, his theory was correct.
No one recognized him.

No one - expect the plant girl.
Constantly doing double takes. Trying not to be noticed looking at him. Scrunched up.
He was right to assume it was coming from a person rather then something more akin to a magical natural disaster.

He waited until his stalker was done ' secretly ' observing him. He followed her to her locker, picking up a magazine, tape and some printer paper on his way.
She didn't notice him.
This was all too easy.

He went into the bathroom, and started cutting up the magazine to make a nice assortment of letters.
He wished he brought some gloves, It was hard not getting his fingerprints on the letter using his shirt selves alone.

He walked back to her locker. He pretended to see something from within, did a double take, and ' peered ' into it. He then deposited the letter inside via his long selves while making sure he wasn't seen by anyone.
It didn't need to be a perfect display.
All he needed to maintain was plusable deniability.
Not like anyone around here gives a shit about her OR him, or anyone else for that matter.

22 - Resolutions

Ponder decided that now was the best time to look for Twilight. She had run off when Celestia answered the door, not even giving a schedule or proper meeting place like she used to do.

" I just wanted to double check that everything was alright. " Twilight was looking at a tired Sunset, who was leaning against the wall of the band room.

" Well, not exactly alright. " Sunset looked back at the door.
" But ok enough. "

" You? " She honestly asked.

" Oh I'm fine. I just- "
" Really? " Sunset interrupted.

" A bit disheartened. " Twilight looked to the side.

" Yeah. He's been with you for awhile now, has he? " Sunset remarked, lowering her eyes.
" Yeah. "
The two then shared a short lived moment of silence.

" Well, best of luck to you. " Sunset turned away, apparently not wanting to say more words.
Twilight reached out a hand as her back was turned, but retracted it as soon as she offered it.

It was awhile before Ponder found her.
" I uh- " Ponder was uncomfortable. First time she's seen him like him.
" Got one more thing to check on my end. "
" You good? "

" Not exactly. " She responded.
Most of the other kids had gone to class already, leaving them alone in the halls.

Ponder sneered at his unintentional open-ended question.
" It's around 45 minutes from now. "

" Ponder, I think we need to talk. " She looked back up at him with a blank stare.

Ponder sighed.

" There's a spot near the school where we won't be bothered. "
He started walking, looking behind him.
Twilight was following.

He continued to the spot to the side of the school.
The autumn air wasn't too horrible, but still present.

Not saying anything; he sat down on the outskirt of the school's foundation.
' If the past 2 times didn't do it, this one certainly did. ' He thought.
' She's done with me. '

Twilight started immediately.
" I understand you have a right to think what you want, and to talk it out with those who wronged you. "
" And I also get that this world, and other Twilight hasn't been kind to you. "

" But you've been under my study for awhile now. ", " And the reminders from Celestia, Luna and I… "
She trailed off at the end of her sentence.
" To see that happen -"
She mulled her thoughts over for awhile before speaking again.
" Id- thought you would have know better. " She said solemnly.

" I know. " He agreed, not lifting his head to speak.
Twilight seemed confused.

" And when you didn't listen - " There was a gap in Twilight's speech.
" That wasn't an order. ", " None of it was. " Ponder haphazardly interjected, no Mal intent anywhere to be seen (or heard).

" -R- Right. " Twilight got back on track after a short pause.
" That was my fault for not making that clear. " Her gaze softened.

Ponder continued, looking back downward : " And that outburst wasn't for me alone. "
Twilight, now confused again, was about to speak up - when ...
" Turns out Equestria being in constant danger isn't that unheard of. " He looked back up to her.
" You and your friends, the ' dark ages ', and even Star Swirl and his friends. Thousands of years ago. "

" When I saw her. " He frowned. But just enough to be noticed.
" I saw an opportunity to reduce the likelihood of Equestria being destroyed. "

Twilight looked to the side in dark realization.
That wasn't purely an emotional outburst.
She already knew the gist of what he was going to say.

" I saw the chance to reduce the likelihood of a threat, and I took it. "
He looked to the side, not able to meet her gaze.
' This was Garble all over again. ' She thought.
' Just without the aggression. '

" Ponder- " It didn't take long for her to formulate a response.
" That - isn't your call to make. "

" At least - not in that way. " She looked into one of the school's many windows.
" Doing what you did. "
Ponder sighed again.
His tone was just about as depressed as you could get and still be considered ' normal ' .

" I could probably could have told her to do anything when she asked me that question, right? " He honestly asked Twilight.
Twilight nodded, eyes half closed and peering down.

" Yeah. Figures. " He turned to the side.

" If just one iota of my brainpower had been spent on literally anything else; brainpower that was all busy and tied up trying to make Other Twilight feel bad; "
" That would have solved it too. "

" I wouldn't have taken it that far. "

Twilight had hope.
Hope that this situation could be turned around.
Unknown to PonderBright, of course.

" I blew it. " He admitted.

" And the kicker is- " He turned to Twilight, tears visible.
" IT DIDN'T EVEN WORK! "
He chuckled a false chuckle of pain.

" Her friends just swooped in, and erased just about all of that pain I was trying to cause! "
" And to top it all off- " He had come to some sort of realization in that moment.

" You're right. " He made a knowing single-handed gesture.

" If Equestria could do without me for thousands of years - why should it want me now?! "
He looked away in shame. He wasn't trembling, but probably close to it.

Twilight had to make sure of something.
If she was going to continue working with him, she had to be sure.
He had admitted to purposely causing pain, after all.
" And you were only trying to cause that pain not for yourself, but for the sake of others? " She waited with baited breath.

" Yeah. "
" I would just love it if we could all just hold hands, be friendly, and nothing bad ever happens to anybody. " He had fumbled the response. Probably because he was wiping away tears.
She didn't entirely buy that. There was SOME emotion in that fiasco, but to hear that he didn't intend any more then he thought was ' necessary ' ... She might just be able to believe that. She might just be able to work with that.

Twilight walked up to him, and sat on the same concrete protrusion as Ponder.
" I understand. "

The VERY last thing he expected.
He looked back to her in shock, entirely going on the assumption he misheard something. His posture showed as much, as much as you can show being on the spectrum. It looked oddly pathetic.

She noticed this, looked to the side, and the back to Ponder with a forced smile.
" I used to get that way too. Too fixated on something to see everything else that's right in front of you. "
" And, honestly I still do sometimes. "

" Well - not with aggressive tendencies. "

" Although. " She looked back up at him.
She could have sworn he looked just like her for a single moment in time. A hallucination. She had to gather herself. She could not afford to break here.

After wiping her eyes in disbelief;
" I just- had my friends to fall back on. To tell me where I was going wrong. " Twilight had ended the thought, having got back on track.

Ponder looked back at her. " I don't want to be like this. For what it's worth. "

" To be so incompatible with friendship and ' nice ' that every lesson has to blow up into something like this in order for me to ' get it ' . "

Twilight looked away.
" Yeah. "
And as just as soon as she looked away, she looked back. With a hopeful look, this time.
" But It doesn't have too. "

He looked back at her with mild disbelief; hanging his eyes slightly closed.
A look of defeat.

" It's true. " She leaned her back against the building. " And I can show you, if you'll let me. "
Ponder's gaze softened.

" And - If you'll abide by some new guidelines. "
Ponder grew weary. Twilight continued.

" Your going to have to at least try to do things the way I showed you. "
" No more of these outbursts. I can't have any more. " Her tone was becoming stiff, her trailing off and looking to the building.

" And no more trying to be a hero. " She re-focused on Ponder. " Your suggestions are fine - great even. " She said that last part quite upbeat.
" But too much has happened as of late. And as I said before; it's not your place. "
She caught herself. She was possibly about to slip into a condescending tone there.
That catch was noticed by Ponder. And notably appreciated.

" But - If your willing to learn- you always have the option to - "

" Alright. " Ponder agreed. It usually didn't take him long to formulate decisions or ideas anyway. He did a bad job of hiding the joy and relief in his voice.

" Well - If your up for it - I think I know what to do next. " She said hopefully.
Ponder raised an eyebrow after wiping dried tears away.

Twilight looked back to Ponder.
" And - again - I'm sorry for not pointing this out sooner. "
" If we had just talked plainly like this - this probably could have been avoided. "
" I guess that was just a holdover from when I was studying under Celestia "

They both got up per Twilight's lead, and started walking back to the front of the school.

" She always had a knack for the indirect form of teaching. " She held out a hand. " But, not me, apparently. "
" If I had just done what I thought to try from the start- " She started to trail off.
" No - It's - cool. " Ponder rushed a response. Didn't know what exactly to say.
" Right. " Twilight replied, regaining her composure.

" And- Well. "
She figured it was ok to tell him.

" I was- kind of scared of you. "

Ponders eyes winded. He was even taken aback a bit.
" Oh- I didn't mean to- " Twilight frantically said in apology.
Scratching the back of her head.
Talking in a strained tone.

The works.

" No. It's fine. " PonderBright was still recovering from the verbal blow.
Twilight seeked to clarify:
" I just- thought you needed to hear it. And the time seemed right - "
" Yeah. I know. " He plainly replied.
" And I agree. " PonderBright could not argue with that logic.

He noticed something amiss with his hands.
He pulled them up to give them a good viewing,
And noticed they were shaking a bit for a short moment in time.

It was just fast enough to miss, but miss it he did not.
Huh.

" Yeah alright lets go. " Ponder said in a hurry.
" To whatever you have planned. " He stuck both hands in his pockets.

" I was thinking we could make up with Twilight. " She took a teacher's tone.
" The way we left off wasn't great. "
" And now that we've talked, I was hoping we could fix it. Instead of leaving things the way they are. " She presented a level hand in expression.

" Yeah alright. " He replied with hope.
" That's - quite the turn around in such a short time. " Twilight half-joked, half-laughed nervously.

" It's just that - " Ponder tried to explain.
" I think I understand where your coming from now. "

Twilight raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

Ponder sighed.
He took a deep breath before answering her:
" This feeling sucks. "

Author's Note

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

Oh the conflicts we would avoid if people took time to understand.
Or people stopped being stupid.
Either could work, but we both know #2 aint happening anytime soon.

So don't pretend or act like it will.

23 - ' Talk ' it out

Luna gave Sunset a thumbs up and a short lived smile.
Sunset turned to enter the band room, and stepped inside.

The whole crew was here, minus human Twilight.
Ponder, arms crossed; looking like he didn't want to be here, and Twilight by his side.

" So, uh. " Sunset started, not wanting the others to get a word in first.
" You, really wanted to get this done, huh? " She stared in Ponder's and Twilight's general direction. No one knew who she was referring too, but Twilight answered :

" I just thought we could at least make up. " She answered in slight confusion.

" Right. " Sunset turned her head down.

" Well, to start - I probably should have taken more care to make sure you two were separate : at least until after we got a chance to explain things. " She looked to Ponder, who gave her a unamused look in return.
Twilight was visibly confused.

" But isn't that what you wrote Sunset? " Twilight asked.
" Make amends and gain closure for those two? "

A wave of realization washed over Sunset's face.
" Oh. "
" I'm- so sorry. " She said in serious earnest.

Twilight was still looking confused, while the others were wondering where this was going.

Sunset looked directly at Twilight.
" People - Creatures - Here in this world - Don't really make up that fast. They just can't. " She grabbed an arm with another.

" This is my fault for not realizing the disconnect between our worlds sooner. " Sunset caught herself after stumbling her last sentence.
Twilight was taken aback.
Ponder raised an eyebrow.
The rest just watched.

" Oh. " Twilight brought a finger up to her mouth for consideration. She looked away from Sunset and the group, lost in thought.

Sunset awkwardly moved closer to the center of the group.

" Well, I fell I need to ask: PonderBright, did you mean what you said? "

He looked away for a short while, towards a corner of the room. Then back.
That gave her all the answers she needed.

" Right. " Her tone turned slightly sour.

" That complicates things. "
" Majorly. "

" It's going to hard - if not impossible to pull this off. "
She looked to Twilight.

" Well - If you don't think this is a good idea. " Twilight said softly.

" Sorry. I just don't see this working out. " Sunset gave a empathetic shrug.

" Ponder. " AppleJack chimed in for a moment.
" I understand you and Twilight are working together on this. "

" But seeing as you were one of the ones that saved us from being trapped under the dazzlings, and one of the only ones to complain to Celestia and Luna about the Freindship games - "
" Why so hostile at Twilight? She's one of us, you know? "

" Just seems to me like your sending mixed signals. Is all. " AppleJack had successfully mustered a neutral tone. It showed. Mostly on her face.

" Glad I could clear this up. " PonderBright relaxed a bit, shifting in his seat to face her. It's almost as if he felt more relieved.
" I worked to eliminate the threat at hand. "
" When the dazzlings were up to their obvious magical-take over shit, I confronted them. "
" When Celestia and Luna were too busy having an alzheimer's induced fit to notice that the Friendship Games should be canceled, I confronted them. "
" And when Twilight - "

" Alright. I think we get it. " AppleJack interrupted.

" But Twilight is our friend. ", " And there ain't no magical horror stuff happenin' right now or when you yelled at her. "
She seemed to press that point. With a pointed finger and everything. Her hostility was slowly becoming overt.

" She's no longer a threat? " Ponder intentionally raised an eyebrow at her.
" Really? " He asked rhetorically.

" YES. Really! " RainbowDash shouted.

" Ever since that day she's been so depressed she didn't even want to ASK about magic because she's afraid of something going wrong! "

The silence continued.

" Well? " Rainbow asked.

" I thought you answered your own question. " He raised a finger of expression at her.
That seemed to set her off.

" Well, If you think your going to do that again - " She stepped forward, hands now a fist.
" Rainbow! " Several of her friends shouted in unison.

Ponder moved his chair back.
He was ready to stand up.

" What?! " She looked around the room in honest confusion.
" I wasn't going to go after him! "
" I was just making sure - "

Rarity interrupted:
" RainbowDash! "
" You are going to get yourself killed! " She exclaimed with worry.

It took a hot minute for Rainbow to ' Get it. '
" Wha? "
" Killed? " She looked to Rarity with righteous doubt.
" Serious - "

Ponder cut her off mid-sentence by pulling a knife from his upper sleeve, and quickly stabbing it into the wooden desk he was seated at.

It was so fast that the knife entered the table before the other girls could recoil.
He retracted his hand from his weapon as fast as he took it out.
Everyone had reacted, but Twilight less so. Hers was a bit more of concern then worry.

He let it sit there for awhile. Plunged into the desk. He stared daggers at RainbowDash before slowly reaching for his blade.

" Glad I could clear that up. " He finally said, pulling the knife out of the wood and putting it back into it's hidden shirt compartment.

He made no move to get up from his seat, or to attack. Or to SEEM like he was going to do so.
He was quite proud of that.

" Ponder. " Twilight slowly raised a hand.
Ponder sighed.
" Twilight we are literally in danger here. " He motioned a hand to RainbowDash, who now had one arm awkwardly grasping the other in embarrassment.

" Plus I'm pretty sure no one wants to be here. " He motioned to the room.
" Speeding this along is what everyone wants, right? " His statement turned into a question.

" Correcting that tangent was what anyone would have done, right? " His confidence now in shambles.

" Lordie. " AppleJack exclaimed, finally breaking his monologue.
" You really are that dumb, aint' cha? " She said in monotone.

Ponder rolled his eyes.
Sunset seemed to get fearful when she said that.

" Sure. Lets go with that. " He matched Appejack's monotone.
" Sorry, Ponder. " Applejack plainly apologized. The bare minimum.

" Oh sure. Lets do that too. " He interjected.
The others seemed confused.
" Waste even more time saying useless mouth words not getting to the point. "
" Don't you all just love being here? " He sneered at the apple human.

Twilight looked at Ponder with pointed eyes.
Ponder sighed. He got back to a more neutral tone :
" I have an appointment in 15 anyway. " He pointed to his phone.

" Either get to the point, cancel, or postpone until later. "
" I don't care. And I don't care what you think of me. "

" I honestly couldn't give less of a shit. "

" Ponder. " Twilight put a hand on his shoulder.
He rotated his head fast towards Twilight.
They shared a look for a single moment.
His tone turned slightly harsh as his posture became more compact. It wasn't intimidating. In fact, it was kind of pathetic, if words had to be put too it. Twilight's gaze softened.

" Right. Sorry. " He blankly said.
No one was certain where the apology was directed.

" Also, Twilight. " He properly looked back to see her.
" Not from the back, please? "
" Oh. " Twilight was mildly put off. " Alright. "
She walked closer to him, so that the next time she would be coming at him from the side.

He looked to AppleJack, eyes half closed in a very bored stare.
" I'm - Just gunna stop talking. " - As she corrected her hat.
" Iv'e said my peace, and I think I've said enough. "
She leaned against the school wall.

" Yeah. " Sunset had her arms crossed and looked off into space.
" Neither Ponder or Twilight have had it easy. "
Ponder scoffed at that remark.

" So I think reconciliation is not in the cards right now. " Sunset continued.
" If - " She hesitated.
" If that's even in the cards at all. "

Twilight looked like she wanted to say something, even raising a hand, but was beaten to punch by PinkiePie :
" Well I think it's worth a shot. " She said with cautious optimism.

" Assuming- Well. You know. " She looked to Ponder.
" I'm not the one assaulting people. " He interjected, looking to RainbowDash.

" Hey! " Rainbow got defensive. " What else was I supposed to do when I saw you marching up to her, huh? "

Ponder rolled his eyes as the first part of his response.
" If I wanted her dead, she'd be - "

" OK. " Sunset interrupted, almost shouting.
" Definitely now with this talk of assault and murder, I think this is where we should leave it off. "
Twilight looked disheartened.

Sunset marched to the door, and opened it.
And there stood Twilight.
Other Twilight.

Sunset's look instantly soured.
" Oh no. "
" How long have you - "

" Long enough. " Human Twilight explained.
She walked in.

" You don't have to - " Sunset was cut off again.
" I want to. "

She centered herself in the room, staring at Ponder.
" I'd like you all to leave the room, if you would. " She stated plainly.

" Sunset and Twilight can stay if they want. "
" But I don't think I can handle any interruptions or distractions. "

Rarity winced a bit at the word ' distractions ' .
They all left the room, with FlutterShy giving Twilight once last look.
One last chance of an ' out '.
She didn't take it.
The door closed.

Sunset and the other Twilight still in the room, Ponder raised an eyebrow at her.

" Something the matter? " The purple human asked.
" Just braver then I expected. " He plainly responded.
Pony Twilight gave him a crooked look, but he couldn't see it.

Completely ignoring ( or unfazed, impossible to tell ) by his words, she advanced into talking distance.
She did not sit down.

" Whatever else you have to say to me, say it now. " She said softly.

Ponder looked to Twilight.
She looked back with :
" Just - stick to the basics. ", " What I taught you. " She stuttered.
He nodded and returned his gaze to his target. It took him awhile to gather himself.

" I hate you. " He started.
Pony Twilight looked away in sorrow.

" I hate everything about you. "
" If the day ever comes where I embody just one of your traits, I WILL kill myself. "

" Ponder. " Twilight said sternly.
" Fine. " He responded. " Got carried away. "

" Moving on. " He corrected his posture.
" Every second that passes with you here is another major threat left unchecked. "
Twilight looked like she was going to intervene again, but waited.
" That magic is likely still in you. Even if it is just a part of it. "

Sunset's and Pony Twilight's eyes widened.
They were not expecting that train of logic.

He continued still -
" I've seen your past transformations. " He pointed at Sunset.
" Pony ears. Tail. "
She recoiled a bit. But not in fear or shock.
" And correct me if I'm wrong but the last time magic was brought here it went away once the portal was sealed off. "
" But now - it's apparently here to stay. "

" How long before she gets any ideas then? " He pointed to human Twilight.
" How long before she tries to rip this world apart? "

" Ponder. " Sunset interjected.
" No one is themselves when infected by that much magic. "
" Especially not your first time handling it. " She grabbed her arm with another.

" Is that true? " Ponder looked back to Twilight. She nodded.

" Alright. " It took him mere moments to gather himself.

" Then that would make her criminally insane. "
" Likely to go off at any - "

" It's not like that either. " Sunset continued his sentence.
" It has to be- a lot. "
" Were you not here when I transformed? " She asked.

" No. " Ponder plainly said.
" Too busy falling into another world. "

" Just wanted to make sure - again - that was all correct. " He looked back to Twilight, who nodded again. She had returned his gaze with a bit of sorrow.

" Good. " Ponder's posture relaxed a bit.
" Should be taking no chances when an entire planet is at stake. " He muttered.
He sneered back at human Twilight, who had lost all of her composure from their previous escapades.
Something must have done it.

By process of elimination...
It must be -
Wait.
No.

Not here to make her feel bad, after all.
Unless,
That info could benefit us in some way later down the line.
Better hold onto that bit of info. Save it for later.

While Ponder was lost in thought, Pony Twilight looked to Sunset with an apologetic look.
Sunset shrugged. She genuinely did not know what to do now that this has started.
- Other then support both Twilights.

A long silence ensued.

" Did you mean what you said back there? " Human Twilight asked.
" At the last moment? "

Other Twilight shifted her weight just a bit. She was getting uneasy.
" We should probably be - " She started to say, motioning to the door.

" Yes. " Ponder said in the most matter-of-fact tone he could muster.

" But I didn't mean to say it. "

Her posture shrunk a bit in response.
" Alright. " She responded.

It took awhile for her to muster her next question.

" What did you mean to say? "

The other two in the room instantly jumped into action.

" Hang on- you don't - " Sunset was stuttering. Her hand motions and signals meant little to human Twilight.
" Yeah. You don't have to - " Equestrian Twilight offered.

" I know. " She corrected her glasses, which had been fogging up.
" But I feel I have too. "
She looked to him, who had been staring at her the entire time with quite the unamused look, arms crossed and all.

" Because he's right. "
" No! " Sunset jumped.
" Everyone is deserving of life. " Sunset was starting to getting quite compassionate.
The other two seemed to glean something else from that statement.

" I wasn't talking about that. " Human Twilight casually shook her head.
" Then what - " Sunset trailed off.

" His assessment. " She looked back at Ponder with determination.
" Oh. " Sunset sighed a sigh of relief.
" Ok. " She was obviously shaken. She corrected a hair, like she often liked to do when faced with awkwardness.

Ponder waited for Sunset to finish whatever she was doing.
" Alright. " He took a more casual, authoritative tone.
" Twilight. " He looked towards his target.

He considered his words carefully.

" One. "
" You should never willingly come into contact with any magic. "
His human target was about to speak when he cut her off -
" This magic has shown to be wildly unpredictable, and even a single misstep can lead back to catastrophe. "

Human Twilight finally got her chance to respond:
" I know. " She hugged her book.
" It's too much of a risk. " She agreed.

" Two. " Ponder continued, no sign or response from Twilight.
" Report directly to Sunset with any information regarding unknown magic. "
" If... " He turned to Sunset.
" She's willing to cooperate, I suppose? " He had gotten a little carried away. He was not in charge here, and he knew it.

" Of- Of course. "
" I'll contact Princess Twilight right away. If that happens. " She responded; with Pony Twilight not liking the added ' princess ' to her name.

" Third. " Ponder was almost robotic.
" Get your magic scanner thing, and do a complete sweep of the school. "
Everyone's eyes brightened. They were all coming to the same realization at the same time.
" Triangulate any source of magic, and report the exact location of any disturbances within 3d space immediately to Sunset. "

" I - " Sunset was taken aback.
A full, well-thought-out plan was not the outcome anyone was expecting here. Especially not her.

" I'm sorry. " She apologized.
" I'd thought I'd sealed all the rifts. But your explanation makes sense. "

" No it's fine. " Ponder sighed.
" Your incompetence was expected. " He slowly sneered to Human Twilight with a piercing stare.

" Ponder! " The other Twilight scolded him under her breath. She was comfortably out of her area of expertise right about now. That being where the aggressor actually has a point. She didn't know what else to do.

" Right. Ok. " He looked confused. His flow completely ground to halt. He lost his composure, and had to take a minute.
It seemed he was at a loss. Either he had no more ideas or Twilight's interruption had thrown him so off course he wasn't able to correct. He was noticeably embarrassed.

After a short awkward pause originating from everyone, Pony Twilight decided that it was her turn to break the silence :
" Well, this certainly wasn't what I had hoped, but now that we have an action plan maybe I could put it in writing - "

Sunset happily responded. " Yeah. "
" I think that would be great. "

Even human Twilight was looking better.
She gave a small nod, seemingly waiting for another person to end the ' meeting ' .

They left the room awkwardly, mostly due to Ponder, when he stopped near the doorway.

" You can go. " Sunset offered him.
" You have a meeting- and- "

" I don't feel comfortable with you either of you two behind me. " He plainly offered, while other Twilight was mere steps behind him.
The message was clear.
" Right. " Sunset continued through the doorway, with human Twilight in tow.

" And by the way I'm not in charge here. " Ponder stated with much autism.
" Twilight's in charge. She has final say in this. And probably the answers to any magic questions. "
Twilight looked away in embarrassment.
She really hadn't taken charge that much this entire escapade, huh?

Sunset had an idea creep into her mind as the group was splitting.
" Twilight. " Both Twilights looked her direction.

" Um. " Sunset scratched the back of her head.
Ponder looked back as he was walking away.
He walked back to the group.

He then stopped, and muttered something to himself while being completely lost in thought.
" Science... "
If the others weren't weirded out before, they were now.

" SciTwi. " He pointed to human Twilight.
" And since you were here first, your Twilight. " He pointed to his mentor.

" That should dispel any confusion? "
He gave an open-ended shrug to the bunch.

" Any objections? ", " At least, as long as were in the same place. " Twilight asked her doppelganger.
SciTwi shook her head.

" Alright then gotta go. " - And then Ponder walked off.

The rest of the girls shared a knowing look with each other; the tone finally somewhat resembling normal.
" At least he's trying. " Sunset offered.
" Yeah. " Twilight added.
SciTwi only gave the green and golden human one more glance, before returning her focus to the group.

Author's Note

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

Don't get your hopes up, Ponyworlder.
Overestimation is often just as bad as underestimation.

And both can easily get in the way of communication.

Also for all you with autism out there -
Most of the time people don't even listen to what you say the first few times!
But they do listen to how you said it.

24 - The New Protectors of Earth

Ponder was surprised his old password worked.
" Huh. "
He muttered, as he moved the mouse to a video recording app.

" Testing... Testing. " He said into the built-in-microphone.
A quick save and test later, and he had what he wanted.

He started another recording, taped over any and all indicator lights with black construction paper, then pulled up a full screen image of a black background.
Perfect.

He started a recording on his phone, and unlocked the door to the room.
He walked to the side of one of the utility cabinets and opened it's doors; concealing himself between it, the cabinet, and the wall.

And now he waited.

' Boy, wouldn't it be ' awkward ' if another person came instead of her? '
He thought.
Yup.
" awkward "
indeed.

After a long while, his target finally showed up.
She had her hand in her bag, and wasn't feeling too good if her body language and look on her face were anything to go by.

Ponder slowly closed the cabinet door, revealing his location.
" You know. "
The green one jumped in response.
Ponder continued his speech, nevertheless.

" Having your hand on your weapon when your trying to conceal it is generally not good practice. "
She was frozen in place. Her eyes were fixated on him as he slowly walked to the door, both hands in his pockets.

He even (almost) turned his back to her to close that door.
But he didn't take his eyes off of her.

He slowly turned back around to see a frantic green human, ready to fight.

He was about to say something, when -

" How do you know about the memory stone? " She blurted out in strained expression.

' Huh. Ok. '
' I guess were just jumping into it. ' He gathered his thoughts.
Ponder slowly inhaled.
It wasn't everyday he could be instantly destroyed at range by an adversary.

" I didn't. " He admitted. " I knew about the memory erasure, but not in the form of an artifact. " He plainly responded.
He was still blocking the door.

His target started breathing heavily.

She pulled out a rock, and presented it to him.
Or rather, at him.

Ponder flinched. But only just a bit.
" Man, your... Not really used to how the game of power is played, huh? " He offered a hand in gesture.

" CUT THE CRAP! " She spat out brashly.
" You didn't send me a serial killer letter and lock in me in this room just to talk! "

" Oh? But I did. " Ponder worked hard to channel his inner autism. To confuser her.
It worked.

" Wha- Huh? " Her grip on the stone loosened.
His target, now properly out the ' confrontation ' state of mind, could now be brought into the fold.

" First off, I'd like to say good job. ", " Very well done. " Ponder gave her a short clap, but not too loud.
Her face contorted into sheer befuddlement.

" You really did remember to get everything when erasing me from this world. "
" Or- At least that's why I think this school isn't swarming with police, feds, and the military by now. "

" Not well enough. " She sighed, looking off into the corner of the room.
" And I don't think It'll ever be enough, either. " She looked back to him.

" Equestria? Is that what you call it? " She asked.
Ponder nodded.

She inhaled.
" I don't- know anybody there. " " Or how to access them. " " Or what type of systems they might have in place to defend against this! " She shook the stone, Her breath becoming manic.

" But- " She took a deep breath.

" You don't know anything about that. Or this. " She shook the stone again. " You locked me in here because you don't know anything about this entire situation! " She almost snarled.
" But - "
" How could you? "
" How could you know? "

Ponder reared back. Just a bit.
He was starting to understand the reactions he got from AppleJack and similar. This was scary.

She started talking :
" I'm the one with - "

" Your right. " Ponder cut her off.
" I basically have no idea. " He monotoned plainly.

" That's why I tested your ability here. "
" And frankly- I think you could use some help. "

" Oh- Nuh uh. " She shook her head.
" After this conversation you aren't going to remember a thing. " Her eyes narrowed.

" Oh I'm aware. " Ponder responded plainly and quickly.

" Then - " Her tone becoming higher.
Ponder responded to her open ended 'question' :
" I just thought I could offer you some information. And advice; but only as someone who got in a fight every other day and thus had to deal with the administration here. "

She looked at him with suspicion.
" Of course, I don't know what you've been through. " He added.
" Just thought I'd offer. "
He took a slight, little step closer.

She readied her weapon.
He stopped.

He let a slight look of aggression slip through before correcting it. Her eyes narrowed.
Man this sucks.

" No. " She said with poorly hidden aggression.
" You don't. "

" You have NO IDEA how hard it's been! "
" The sleepless nights, the constant fear of surveillance! "

" Not being able to relax, because you know at any given moment, you could just wake up in some government black site! "

" I spent- "
" 2 weeks. "
" 2 weeks straight trying to get your parent's name and faces. " Ponder was uncertain if her small fit of crying was out of frustration or anger.
" I was lucky only one of them was actively searching for you. " Her tone was tense all throughout.
One of them?
Not ' none of them? '
What?

No.
Can't be distracted.

She continued :

" My grades are the worst they've ever been. "
" I missed out on second planting season this summer. "
" This THING " She violently shook her weapon.
" RUINED MY LIFE! " Her voice gave out as she screamed at Ponder, hurt visible all over.
It was quite sad.

Ponder took a pause.

" Alright. " He sighed.
" But- In your outburst- you let slip the limitations and requirements of your weapon. "
He stared at her emotionlessly.

She recoiled.
She was most certainly -
scared.

" And- Yeah. " He added.
" That must suck. "

" So I won't try to claim I understand. " He plainly and softly stated.
He continued to stand there, arms behind his back.
One holding a bunch of sand,
And the other holding a knife.

" Also, thanks. "
" I really would hate if Pony World fell to this world's nonsense. Bio weapons and nukes and such. "
Her gaze softened.

" But by that logic - " He stretched out that last word.
" You don't understand me either. "
He opened both his eyes to their maximum size.

" I could be an Equestrian agent posing as myself. "
" Ready to take back what's ours. " He looked to the stone.

" I could just be playing with you, and all I need to do to get my stone back, Is a flick of my wrist, an idle thought, "
" and a snap of my fingers. "
He brandished his hand to her, about to snap.
He had since put his knife away. No use intimidating her that much.

He un-pressed his fingers.

Quite a long silence ensued.

The tension seemed to be naturally fading.
Ponder spoke first.
" I'd considered myself lucky that whatever your holding ended up in your grasp, rather then in any of these other retards. "
" I only figured that you'd be open to vital information about how the ' other world ' works, so you don't raise more questions by using that thing. "
He had to make sure she got it. No misunderstandings or misinterpretations could be had.

She looked around the room.
She tensed up.
Her eyes then darted around, frantically changing size.

She sighed. She relented.

" Alright. " She lowered her arm.
He wasn't sure if she wanted to make peace or because her arm was getting tired. She still held the stone though.

" I knew the person I talked to back when Sunset went crazy had functional grey matter. " He confidently stated.

She looked around aimlessly in realization.

" You're that creep that tried to talk to me at the Fall Formal! " She pointed to him. Her voice was returning to ' manic '
" That was purely my parents idea, trust me. " He argued.
" Me BEING there, not me trying to make conversation. " His eyes trailed off.

" And- was that an insult? " She tilted her head.
" No. " He said with his speech stretched out, minor pain in his voice.

It appears he had pushed his luck a bit too far. She was back rearing to go, and he hadn't yet info-dumped everything relevant he knew on her to aid her never-ending mission.

But she didn't attack.

An opportunity.

He went to open his mouth, but stopped.
She still stared at him.

' Just - stick to the facts. ' He remembered Twilight telling him.
This wasn't that situation, and her order certainly didn't apply here, but...
Maybe...

" Sorry. Should not have said that. " He offered.
Her tension waned.

" I'm assuming you already know I'm - ' PonderBright ' ? "
" Sure. If you want to go by those cutesy horse nicknames. " She said with disgust. She seemed ready to talk.
" Whatever. "
" WallFlower. "

" Not that you'll be remembering it, just thought I'd help the conversation along. "

" Honestly. " Sunset mentioned, walking with Twilight down the hall.
" It was probably the best possible scenario. "

" At least - considering the alternative. "
She and Twilight had been standing up for awhile. They stopped at the library.

" Sorry again Sunset. " Twilight took a sorrowful tone.

" I - Think it might be a bit of everypony's fault here. " Sunset swirled her hand around while sounding like a teacher.
" That - proper communication initiative thing you were writing to me about? "
Twilight nodded in response.

" I honestly think it couldn't come fast enough. " Sunset continued.

" I- agree. " Twilight reluctantly said.
" Oh. " Sunset showed minor surprise.

" I was hesitant at first, too many things on my mind, I guess? " She smiled a small smile.
" Twilight. " Sunset gave her a knowing look.
" Come on. "

" We've known each other for too long to keep secrets like those. "
" Why so somber? " She switched to a inquisitive face.

" Well - " Twilight twirled her hands around.
" While I do - somewhat - agree with how Equstria is changing - "

" I - "

" Can't help but feel that I'm forgetting something. "
" Or- "
Sunset interrupted.

" Or maybe that you've yet to do something you need to do? "

" Yeah. " Twilight smiled. Sunset cocked her head. She spoke :
" Trust me, I know all about that. And the pressure. "

They both smiled.
" Pinkies slumber party. " They both said in unison.

After laughing, Twilight grabbed her arm.
" Yeah. But this is different. A bit. "
Sunset raised an eyebrow, but did it in that typical Sunset fashion; ie, somehow not making it insulting.

" It's not anypony's expectations I'm worried about. " Her tone turned slowly away from ' happy '
" It's like I forgot something important, but I never even knew what it was in the first place. "

" Wow. " Sunset swerved in front of Twilight.
" Now that's some pressure. "

Twilight quickly looked away in embarrassment.
" I don't mean to sound needy or preachy. "
" I know. " Sunset lowered her eyes.

A thus their session of catching up continued.

" Shouldn't Ponder be about done by now? " Sunset asked.
" Well - He didn't exactly tell me where he was going. " Twilight shrugged with a forced smile.

Sunset calmly facepalmed.
She sighed.

" Well, I'll search the 2nd floor. You take the first? " Sunset seemed geared to jump into action.
" Alright. " Twilight turned away. She gave Sunset a short wave goodbye.

Ponder had wondered why there was a message written on his hand in his handwriting. He check his phone like the message said. Nothing.
No video, no pictures, no evidence.

The message continued onto his arm.
Whoever this was must be a chatty one.

' Check pc 13? '
Ok... ?

" Huh. "
He muttered, as he moved the mouse to a video recording app.

But to his surprise, he was already logged into this pc.
And it was recording.

Well then.
Time to take a watch.

He was done writing on his arm again. He figured that was enough info if she decided to do it again.
So it really was that easy?
To just - wipe out any source information on someone?

Well.

Atleast, IF you know about the source.

Welp, time to leave this shithole.

It took awhile to find Twilight. He had returned to the first floor band room, as that is where he saw her last.
The students are going to be let out soon.
He had to find her quick.

Ah! There.
He walked up to Twilight, and was the first to speak :
" I - didn't know just how hard sorting out multiple intertwining schedules was. " He rubbed the back of his head in apology.

" Oh. " She only said.

" Lets- return to the portal, shall we? " She put on a smile.
A fake smile?

He couldn't tell.

He was also expecting a more... Colorful? Reaction. At least.

They walked in silence to the courtyard.
It wasn't long, but it wasn't short either.

SwiTwi was waving her scanner around. She seemed to be zoning in on something.

" They still haven't repaired that thing? " Ponder motioned to the statue.
Twilight looked away, but quickly looked back.
" And I guess not everyone here is as complacent as you think? " Twilight opened a hand to her counterpart.
' That almost seemed natural. ' Ponder thought.

" Yeah. " Ponder admitted.
" I guess. She's not entirely incompetent."

" I also guess I'll have to find a way to smooth things over. "
Twilight nodded. She was about to speak when -
" As soon as I figure out how to take my hoof out of my mouth. " Ponder said in blank monotone.

A smile and a quick head turn.
THAT was the reaction Ponder was looking for.

...

Why did he value her approval?
That was the problem here.

After so many instances, It could not hide from him any longer.
Even if that thing was himself.
Or a part of himself.

" Are you ok? " Twilight raised an eyebrow.
" Oh. Yeah. " Ponder replied.

" I just get lost in thought sometimes. " He looked back to SciTwi, hoping for answers.

Man, she really was getting very close and accurate measurements, wasn't she?

Sparks.
Sparks coming from the top of that thing.

He sprinted.

Not again.
Not again.
NOT AGAIN.

PonderBright dashed at a speed unbecoming of someone who was supposed to be physically disabled.

He ran toward SciTwi. Twilight, for just a moment, feared the worst.
Until he stopped in front of her.

He took a... wide stance?
His arms were outstretched - almost making a X shape with his body.
Completely blocking that which was behind him.

He stared wide-eyed at the portal.

After a short pause -

His head twitched back to the closest Twilight.
" RUN! "

That certainly scared her into action.
But, as he said so, more sparks flew out of the top of the base of where the statue used to go.

A light came out.

It shot out as if by spigot, then slowed.
And then started following SciTwi.

Ponder moved to intercept it.
It slowed again.
It seemed... Fluid? It continued to delay it's 'fall' towards the two.

SciTwi had scrambled and fallen down on her first attempt to flee.
She scurried back up, dropping her backback, book, and scanner.
She flattened her scanner under her foot.

She, not surprisingly, slipped again. But this time in the other direction.
The magic blob swept itself upward in response to her getting up, then downward.
Ponder jumped at it like a goalie. He didn't stray too far from SciTwi.
It stopped in face of him. Again.
It was almost like it was - repelled. By him.

The look on his face was one of abject terror. He was certainly not fooling anyone - or anyTHING to his levelheadedness.

SciTwi, after pausing for a short observation of the situation, got up for a third time. She was much more calculated and careful, and this let her escape the orb's range fully.

Ponder started backing away.
But, as he did, The orb, lacking any other target, started accelerating towards him.
No longer repelled by him, but now attracted to him.
Almost like a magnet.
There was no way he could dodge.

He quickly moved his arms in front of his face in an ' X ' formation, not knowing what else to do.
It did not help. The orb connected, and phased into him.

A flash of light.
Almost blinding.
A pale, golden light.
Like a sickly sun.

Both Twilights witnessed in horror as the flash gained 3 eyes above it. Very large at first, but quickly shrunk down to rest in front of Ponder's face. Two in front of his regular eyes, now warped too, and a third vertical one for his forehead.

He gained a ring with spikes behind his back; just hovering there.
Most of the rest of his body was clad in golden armor, minus his hands, which had extremely long, sharp claws made of some geometric material. The armor's patterns resembled eyes.
There was some sort of yellowish light making up 2 horns atop his head. Angular, goat horns.

And, perhaps worst of all, was the faintest of glows.
Radiating from behind his eyes.

Author's Note

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

Surely... Giving good and grace a little room to breath in the face of unknown adversity and challenge couldn't hurt too much...

Right?

25 - Judgement.

They all were speechless. Including Ponder, apparently.
He had transformed while looking at Twilight. His Twilight.
His many eyes narrowed as he jerked back to the portal, causing a minor recoil in the two.
He stared at it intensely for a while

Sunset came running through the main entryway to see what all the commotion was about.
She stopped instantly.
By the shock, freezing, and look on her face....
She was the most terrified out of all of them.

She couldn't stop shaking.

" W- " Pony Twilight couldn't complete her words.

Ponder noticed that, and looked back to see if any other nasties made it past him.
Sunset, and only Sunset, took a step back.

" I think it's over. " His tone was of many voices, layered onto one.
Like a chorus.

" I think we should -" As he raised a hand in the general direction of the group, he noticed his claws.

He stared at them for awhile.

" Oh. " He slowly sighed.

He closed his eyes. All of them.

After a long awhile, he opened them again, but not so wide this time.
His tone turned solemn :

" I think I'm about done here. With this word. "
The others were left wondering what he meant by ' done '.

" I want to go back now Twilight. "
" May I step through the portal? " He asked, turning to the portal while turning his head back at her.

It took little time for Twilight to gain the confidence to advance into talking distance. Her footsteps were rhythmical and measured.

" Um. " She choose her words carefully.
" No. "

He raised 2 of his right eyes at her.
" Why not? " His voiced becoming annoyed.

" We- Don't know the effects of going through like that. " Her fingers pointed a soft ' point ' towards him.

Ponder then let out a short lived snarl that should have belonged to an apex predator in Equestria.
He crossed his arms, and looked away from Twilight.
Everyone recoiled, minus her.
She only put a single foot back.

" I'm- going to go get my element now. " She motioned to the portal.
" Or maybe ~? " She turned to Sunset.

" Since the portal's open, maybe permanently, we could just go get our friends, because- you know? "
" That's faster? " She said with strain.

Sunset nodded, and rushed back into the school.

SciTwi also seemed like she wanted to retreat. She slowly inched back into the school from the stairs when -
The space around her warped, almost popped, and she was back where she started.

" Uh-Uh. " Ponder sneered at her, lowering his raised hand back to his side. His tone was low and serious.
" You aren't going anywhere. "

" You're the reason were in this mess to begin with. "
" You're not leaving my sight. " His voice had no shifts in speed, but certainly in pitch and tone.

SciTwi nervously put her hands behind her back.
She looked away, hoping that would calm the situation.
Out into space. At some clouds. Anything.

He continued his stare.
She could almost feel it.

" Ponder- " Original Twilight stepped closer to him.
" Maybe we should just sit down instead? " She offered.

His gaze shifted harshly towards her.
His tone, however, was no different from normal.

" Why do you insist on doing things the ineffective way? " His head made creaking noises as he tilted it.

" You DO know this is the 4th time this has happened? " His raised a claw in expression.

Twilight was taken aback a bit.

SciTwi rushed over, as fast as a scared little girl could, and positioned herself in front of Ponder.
Blocking him.

" Phfff. " Ponder's ego showed.

" You know I'm not one of those balls of eldritch energy, right? "

" I know " SciTwi managed to say, tears in her eyes. Presumably from fear.
" But I'm the one your mad at. ", " -And rightfully so. "

" And I know your feeling angry right now. " She added.
" And all the other negative emotions you've kept bottled up until now have nowhere to go, and- and- "
" Have nothing stopping them. " She looked downward, as if accepting her fate.

Her face slowly rose back up to meet his.
He had, quite possibly, the smuggest look anybody could possibly have. And that was WITH the new eldritch features.

" So take it all out on me. " She softly cried, lowering her head again.

Ponder laughed. An open laugh. Not too big, not too small, but -
very condescending.

" Allow me to enlighten your tiny little swirl brain for a bit. " He motioned his claw towards him, and SciTwi's feet were pulled closer to him.
Right in front of him.

He smiled wide the entire time too, revealing many rows of sharp teeth.
Also; turns out he doesn't have to move his mouth to talk.

Barely keeping her balance, SciTwi was now face to face with the abomination. Who was leaning forward, for the extra fear factor.

She couldn't control her shaking.

He leaned back after feeling satisfied staring her down.

' ding '
Twilight was stopped from advancing to her location by a nearly invisible pale force field, as per the sound made by it.

God she was so helpless.
She hated this.

Ponder smiled at SciTwi. He talked slow.
" You have "
" N O I D E A "
" How badly I want to flay the flesh from your little bones right now. " He said with coy, a short-lived fire flaring up from the halo behind his back.

SciTwi collapsed. She couldn't look away.

" String you up in an effigy in front this school as a reminder to everyone - to"

" N E V E R "

" Let this happen again! " He swung his claw in a wide sweeping motion. Not too close to SciTwi, though.

" But. " Ponder turned away.
" I'd destroy the very system I'd want to save in doing so. "

He turned back, shrugging.

" So I can't! " He said plainly.

" In other words… " His whimsicality turned to anger.

" I've had enough of your, and everybody else's, shit. " He grit his teeth.
He magically forced his target into a complete bow, head touching the ground.

" NEVER "
" Equate us again. "

He released SciTwi from his grip. He didn't move. He only stared at her.

Twilight now rushed over to SciTwi; the force field now lifted.
She looked at him like a villain while helping her up.

He scoffed.
" This wasn't hard you know. " He looked back to SciTwi.
" Not hurting people? ", " Entirely doable. "
He added.

" You should have just flown into the first portal you made back then. "
" Do better. " He sneered.

But they weren't listening.

He sat in frustration. Almost a squat.
" I just wanted to make a happy world. "
" And here I am yelling at a high school wannabe genocider in hopes she won't do it again. "

" I just want to go home. " Tiredness began to show in his voice.
" I just- " He sighed. " Want to go home. "
He hung his many eyes.

Twilight looked back to her counterpart for awhile, to make sure she was ok. And could stand.

After confirming this, she slowly made her way to PonderBright. Quite casually.

She put a hand on his shoulder.
He jerked his head to see her, but she didn't react.

Fear.
Visible fear on his face.

He instantly retreated back into his posture; the light around him itself starting to conceal him.
He almost blended in with the pale concrete of the school's exterior. He was getting hard to look at.

A long moment later, Sunset returned with the rest of the group.
" Oh. " Sunset was surprised.

" I'd thought - "

Ponder looked up from his ' ball ' .
" Oh, you thought I'd be causing chaos by now? "

He stood up.

" I told you before. I don't care what you have to say. " He gave a sarcastic shrug.

Sunset recoiled. Now frozen in place.

" Oh? " He tilted his head?

" Are you... " He furled his claw in the air a bit.
" Scared of me? "
Twilight tightened her grip on his shoulder.

After Sunset's breathing accelerated, she took a few steps back, and he got his answer.

" Good. "
" At least someone here is aware of consequences. " He smiled.

Twilight jumped in front of him.
" Ponder, stop! " She sternly yelled. Her face, upturned. It seems she couldn't hide all her fears.

" Fine. " He raised a claw.

" Just get on with your whole -
' take away my only power before I get to use it for good even once '
stick. "
He said with disdain, while waving a dismissive wave to the group, who was rearing to go.

All but Sunset.

FlutterShy had retreated quite a ways to meet her.
Faintly- It could be heard -
" i just cant do it " : Coming from Sunset.
" i can't muster up the c- courage to face him. i won't be of help. you'll have to do this without me. "

After a nod from FlutterShy and another sly smirk from Ponder, She walked up in front of the group.
" Girls? " She looked to the Twilights.
ONE was operational.

Everyone able gathered together on the school's stairs and held hands.

As they rose into the air, Ponder looked ever so slightly down. He sighed.
He put a hand/claw/thing on his hip.

Hopefully this wasn't going to be painful.

Author's Note

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

Wrong.

26 - Empathy

It took longer then expected. He defended himself, sure, but it took around ~ 50% longer then Sunset for him to be ' Defeated ' .

At least he wasn't literally basted into a crater. He started to question if Sunset surviving her own de-powering was intentional or - just luck.

And then his other emotions came back.
Ones like shame, and restraint.

He hadn't realized the extent he had relied on them until now.
There was something more - Something else he got back that he lacked while transformed.
- But now was not the time for that.

Now was the time for running.

As the rainbow faded, Ponder could be seen running to one side of the courtyard.
He stumbled a bit, but eventually made it to the school wall with a bench.
He had re-entered his ball-like state while sitting, looking like a little mound on the ground.

His eyes peered at them through his posture; almost hidden by his crossed arms and raised legs.

He had magic no more.

While Applejack sighed a sigh of relief, most of the other girls started talking amongst themselves, mostly congratulatory cheers and ' WOOS ' from Pinkiepie. They didn't move for awhile; blocking most of the staircase.

After awhile, Sunset looked over to Ponder. Twilight was with him, and he hadn't gotten up from his ' ball '.

" Girls. " Sunset turned to them.
" Yeah? " They said in almost-unison, Pinkie being the odd one out.

" Do you think - maybe... " She looked back to Ponders corner.
Rarity squinted in consideration, them realization.

" Oh no. " She shook her head.
" You can't be serious. " She scoffed and shook her hand at her.

" He's getting his just deserts like all the other villains. " She dawned a snooty tone as she looked away.
" Let him wallow it in for a bit, then lets talk about- "
" Rarity. " Sunset was getting stern.
" He was the one who took that hit for Twilight. OUR Twilight. "

" Oh. " Rarity hadn't yet processed what Sunset said yet.
" O- What. " She looked to Sunset, who was still not amused at her. " Are you telling me he - "
" Wait. "
" But weren't you scared to be around him not long ago? Perhaps - "

" I'll be fine girls. " Sunset nodded. " It only was a problem then. "
" Thanks for worrying about me, but I'm going to tell him what I couldn't while he was transformed. "

They all looked at each other, and shrugged.

She started walking.
She saw Ponder muttering something.
Twilight raised a hand, almost as if she was going to put it on his back but then stopped, recoiled ever so slightly, then put her hand back on the bench; now looking put off and not really knowing what to do next.

As she approached - she could hear -
" -Should I have done drugs in anticipation for this? " Male voice.
" Maybe if - "
" No. I don't think there was anything any pony could have done. " A solemn Female voice.

Sunset remembered her time frantically apologizing; To those who were now her best friends no less.
All those awkward stares and forced smiles. At least he was dealing with Twilight. She couldn't think of a better place to start then apologizing to her.

" Hey. " She walked up to the two, classic arms crossed stance and all.
Ponder looked away, while Twilight looked to her, to him, and back to her.

Sunset thought she got what Twilight was putting down.

She sighed.
" You know that wasn't your fault, right? "

Ponder just rolled his tired eyes. At least he was sitting with correct posture now.

" Flay the skin from your flesh - " He muttered. " What was I thinking? " He put a palm to his face.
" Do you - " Sunset looked to Twilight, then back to Ponder.
" Remember when I was like that, and not only did I - " She paused, looking at Ponder. She seemed deep in though for awhile, then continued : " - Try to kill Twilight, but also got all her friends involved with it as well? "
She looked back to Twilight for final approval. No noticeable objections.

" Yeah? " Ponder was failing to see her point.

" Well, for what it's worth... " Her nervousness was starting to show.
" I think you did a decent job handling it. " She put one leg out, resting her body weight on the other.
" When I put on the crown - " She paused.

" When I felt it's power - I tried to yank it off. "
" But It almost instantly overwhelmed me. " She raised a hand in expression.
" And to the best of my knowledge - you didn't actually hurt anyone. Or try. "

" Did you talk to Sci-Twi? " Ponder seemed interested in the conversation now.
" Yeah. She unhurt. " Sunset awkwardly looked back to the school.
" She just- "
" She had to go change. "

" Right. " Ponder looked away. Twilight too, joining Sunset's awkwardness.
Ponder kept on :
" I did make sure not to bend her joints the wrong way when forcing her into that bow - " Sunset took a step back.
" But... I wasn't thinking about tears, sprains, or popping a joint out of it's socket - " He said nervously.

He put another hand to his face.

" I R E A L Y do not know why I wasn't thinking about that! " He said in a hurry, while nervously laughing at the end.
He was afraid, and he wasn't trying to hide it.

They all took a pause.

" Ponder. " Sunset looked his way.
" No one is themselves when they lack control like that. "

Another pause.

" Just - " Twilight interrupted.
" One question. " Ponder seemed ready to talk, so she asked.

" When you said you Um - weren't doing what you wanted to do - "
" What- Did you mean by that? "

Ponder shook his head.

" I was talking about systems of kindness in general. " He solemnly replied.
" Theoretical systems. Ideals, really. Won't come to pass." He looked to his hand's scars.
" But - I'll admit even the human world has some examples of them. " He pointed to Sunset's friend group, now disbanding and going back to class.

Twilight noticed Sunset giving her the stink eye. She gave her a look of confusion in return.

Sunset inhaled.
" When I said you aren't really yourself that way, I really meant it. " She looked down at Twilight, now looking away in embarrassment.

" Even if you manage to keep SOME parts of yourself; Your not really you without it all. "

Twilight looked away, as if it was some involuntary reaction to hide her shame.
Sunset softened her gaze a bit.

Twilight then got up, and walked the short distance to Sunset.

" Im- not really helping, am I? " She quietly asked, both hands behind her back, to which Sunset nodded a reply.
" Right. " Twilight looked to the other group, who was now only comprised of Rainbow and Rarity.

" I think I'll just - " Twilight two-handedly pointed to them.
Sunset nodded again, this time smiling slightly. But she did it only for her, as once she turned back to Ponder, her face returned to a neutral look.

" She isn't mad at you, you know? " Sunset had to be sure. She knew him, and he had a knack for misinterpreting things.
Plus she wasn't sure he heard all what they said.
" No. " He looked back up at her.
" She's just scared. " He sighed in reply. He glanced off into the suburban distance, presumably at the mountains.

' No truer words have ever been spoken. ' : rattled through Sunset's brain. It was a bit unlike the Twilight she knew, but a eldritch encounter was an eldritch encounter.

Ponder raised an eyebrow. Apparently she had been savoring the quiet moment a bit too long.

" Right. " She got back on track.
" I don't blame you. "
" And - I think with time - " She looked back to the school.

" None of them will. "
" Don't give up hope that things - "

" Stop. " Ponder plainly said with another sigh, interrupting her.

" I've been through a lot of shit today, And taking advice from a human is the last thing I need right now. "

Sunset was taken aback.
She looked to the side to consider what he said, then the other.

She evidentially turned back to him and said :
" Alright. "

" I guess I'll be one book entry away then. " She shrugged, then looked at him for a response. A soft gaze plus a nod. He seemed to understand.

" Thanks for what you did so far. " He said in almost a hurry. " You've successfully put an eye-dropper sized dent in my ocean of problems. "

" Well - " Sunset was seriously considering correcting him on the ' human ' thing.
But she let it slide.

" Glad to hear it. "
And then she walked away.

And while she was walking away, Rainbowdash was marching over.
Sunset sighed, and did a very unenthusiastic 180 on the ball of her foot.

Twilight seemed to be distracted with small talk with some extras from the school, also noticed.
Her eyes widened as she rushed over.

Now there were 4.
3 in Ponders corner, and the 1 that was Rainbowdash.

" Need something? " Ponder broke the silence with a accusatory tone and a raised eyebrow.

" Yeah, actually. " Rainbow wasn't standing too close, but close enough to talk comfortably.
" Why did you resist us? "

Ponder rolled his eyes.
" First of all - bad wording. There's too many things you could have meant there. "
" Second - It was you - and only when you tried assaulting me. " He stated matter-of-fact.

" Not that! " Rainbow got slightly annoyed.
" When we were using - rainbow power, you took extra long to come down from... That. "
" What were you trying to do? " She looked at him with doubt.

" I was trying to defend myself. " His eyes narrowed. " Last time I saw that happen, Sunset was in a 12-foot deep crater she had to get a running start to pull herself out of. " His tone was getting hearse.

" You didn't see us defeat the sirens? " She ask in earnest.
" No. " He looked at her straight.

" After I followed music girl to let you out of the bottom of the stage I tried throwing rocks at the blue one to distract her. "
" After that, their ' music ' was getting to be too much, so I ran."
" ' Music girl ' You mean Vinyl? " Rainbow asked. " Yes. " Ponder gently facepalmed.
" They're just placeholder names. " He looked straight at her.

" Alright. " Rainbow was almost at some sort of calm.
" You- uh. " Twilight raised a finger at him.
" You were the pony under all those clothes? " She asked.
" Yeah. " He added.
" Felt I had to hide my identity before what I was going to try and do. " His toned softened.
' So she DOES have functional grey matter! ' He thought.
He looked back to Rainbowdash.

" Plus - the thick clothing blocked out some of their sound-based attacks. "

Rainbow looked to the side. She had many things written on her face, but none of them got through to Ponder due to the sheer number of them. The other two seemed to get it. Sucks to be him, I guess. Ponder waited for them to make the first ' move '.
Rainbow, similarly, nervously tapped her fingers together until someone else decided to end the moment.

At least the autumn air was nice to everyone. Mild breezes, and everyone was now safe.
The tension was definitely calming down, and that was appreciated by everypony and everyone there.

" I wasn't really able to do much. " Ponder continued.
" They're borderline invincible. ", " But - nothing advanced human technology couldn't solve ... Well. Eventually. " He ended his tangent with a knowing nod off to the side.

" How- " Sunset raised a finger " Did you know that? " She had worry written all over her.
" When I said I confronted them. " Ponder shifted his gaze to her.
" Words weren't the only thing I tried assaulting them with. " He said as he slipped a knife out from the velcro lock in his sleeve.

Sunset looked away in pain.
Twilight looked to him in concern.

" That- must not have ended well. " Twilight volunteered. Ponder solemnly nodded.
" Yeah. " Sunset slipped back into the conversation. " They're literally giant lizards cramped into those tiny little human bodies. Freakishly strong. They're basically Dragons! " Sunset pressed the point.

" Very reckless if you ask me. " Rainbow added further.

Ponder rolled his eyes.
" And how was I supposed to know this? "

" You could have just asked us - " Sunset took a very understanding tone. Almost condescending.
" And we certainly could have used your help if you were willing to - " Sunset stopped. Twilight was getting uncomfortable. Another ' out-of-character ' moment, as far as Sunset was concerned.

Ponder took that opportunity to interject :
" Help with what? I'm not a musician, and your ' Vinyl ' was there to help you anyway. " He was slowly become visibly depressed.

" Help with anything - really. " Sunset looked to the sky in contemplation - " Moving band equipment, keeping watch, if you weren't effected - then anything would have been - " Ponder raised a hand.
" I was effected. " He painfully admitted.
" But not anywhere near as everyone else. Minus your crew of course. "

" Right. " Sunset was putting the pieces together, and so was everyone else. He really had been lurking around since the begging, huh?

" And yeah. " He tone turned sour. " Pretty much anything would have been better then what I tried. "

" Well, hopefully they didn't hurt you too bad. " Sunset offered in earnest.
" Oh they did. " Ponder added.
Everyone's eye's widened in response.

" But against all odds - no permanent damage. " His tone softened. He looked to his hand.
" Oh. Right. " Rainbow interjected. " The victim card. "
" You know that only works when you actually are victimized and helpless, right? "
Both girls heads jerked at her. Sternly.

Rainbow pouted.
She muttered under her breath :
" You past doesn't give you that much of an excuse. "

Ponder rolled his eyes.
" While I can promise you I'm not one of those things you mentioned, I wasn't about to 'play it' " He did the classic ' finger air quotes ' just for her.
" I was about to say - "
Ponder paused.

He smiled a bit.

" You know. "
" The largest scar on here " He brandished his hand for all to see.
" Is actually from my cat. " He said calmly, pointing to the big piece of malformed skin.

" I wasn't paying attention, maybe even being a bit stupid, and well. "

" Accidents happen. "

" And oh yeah. It hurt. In the moment. "
" But- "
" At the end of the day - If this is the largest thing that lasted - " He rotated his hand around for all to see.
" Maybe you actually have a point there Rainbow. Perhaps I should just aim to ' get over it ' "

He looked over to Twilight who had shifted in her seat. Smiling.
He recoiled a bit. That was a first coming from Twilight.

" That- That was -" She was having problems with her words.
" That was very well spoken. " Her eyes were gleaming.

" Well. " She was re-processing what she just said.

" Maybe- not that last part, well- not in it's entirety- "

Sunset interrupted :
" And- I take it that's your way of saying your open to communication with us? " She offered, narrowly avoiding insulting Ponder.

" Yup. " He nodded.
" If I'd just known the specifics on the Dazzling from you guys - and actually helped - maybe you wouldn't had to cut it so close down to the wire. Along with all the other benefits. " He rotated his arm in his socket as a pitcher did when it started to hurt.

Sunset nodded nervously. Twilight just nodded.

" Yeah. Alright. " Rainbow relented.

" Maybe your not such a bad guy after all. But don't go near our Twilight, you hear? " She said with minimal sternness.
" Way ahead of you. " He got up, looking at the portal.

' Oh. ' Twilight paused. Was he really ready to go after such a short time?
I guess so.
Ponder sighed and let his posture sag. " Now there's that problem. " He pointed to the portal.
" That's our only exit. "
" Oh. " The girls said in unison. They hadn't really thought past the immediate crisis, haven't they?

Author's Note

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

If you thought Twilight never gives up, you clearly have not met Sunset.

27 - Plans

They all stared at the statue for awhile. Rainbow gave a short glance to Sunset, then retracted it.
" Yup. " She put a hand on her hip, blowing some rainbow hair out of her face.
" That IS your only exit. "

Ponder looked to Sunset " And seeing how SciTwi is 0 for 2 with this stuff, and I'm not much better... We can't safely study this thing until we figure out how to get through safely. "
Sunset turned to him, uneasy.
" Or can we? " He asked.

" Um... " She was getting lost in thought.

Twilight sighed a sigh of tiredness.
" I - don't think It's that dangerous. There probably would have been another incident if it was." Sunset nodded to that.

Twilight, after all that has happened, wasn't looking great. She looked spent; bags were starting to form under her eyes.
She wasn't putting off her usual air of composure. She was starting to slip.

" Just make sure you get a running start. " Rainbow pointed to their group.
" And don't trip. " She pointed to Ponder's shoes, laces weaved in and out of the top of his shoe in a chaotic manner.

As Ponder bent over to correct his mess of a shoe, Sunset was putting a hand up to her chin.
" Maybe... "
" I could ask Celestia or Luna to put up caution tape around it? Maybe? " She looked to Twilight, who was the magical expert here.

" Nuh-uh. " Ponder interjected, still working on untangling his shoe.

" That thing gave chase beyond 4 meters. Better to have everyone just enter from the gym or the back. " Ponder added with a course voice.
" Well - " Twilight looked to him, conjuring up a response. Ever with the collected tone she continued :

" That's not really how magic works. "
" You could be miles away, and even a small amount would still find it's way to a suitable host. "

Ponder look embarrassed.
" Right. "
" Magics, uh, your thing. "
He quickly went back to tying his other shoe.

" But - That might be a good idea Sunset. " Twilight was taking a bit of extra time to formulate her response.
" I don't know how magic is defusing here. And adding a little bit of distance couldn't hurt. "

" Right! " Sunset patted a fist into her other open hand. " If the membrane's strong enough, the magic will likely just find another target somewhere else in Equestria! It might not pass through at all! "

Twilight nodded. " Yes. It's not a permanent solution, and I'll be back here soon to see what I can do. " Twilight made a meek gesture at Sunset, but she wasn't sure what it was about.
' Is this what she was like when she was tired? ' Sunset was left to wounder.

" Alright. " Rainbow looked like she was about to get a smirk, but resisted the urge.
" All this science mumbo-jumbo; this is usually the part where I have to take my leave. "
" But I'm gunna stay. "
" And help - in case any of you need it. "

" Thanks. " Sunset calmly offered.
" Thanks Rainbow. " Twilight said genuinely.
Ponder only stared at her. He looked like he was about to say something, then caught himself and returned to silence.

Twilight, even in half-asleep stupor, recognized this as weird. Even for him.
' Is - Is he hesitant to offer thanks? Or - maybe - scared? '
' Surely - he doesn't consider himself that - ' Her mind was then pulled back to the start of their visit here.
She answered her own question.

Rainbow marched over to give her instruction.

" First foot flat, second bent. "
" Yup, like that. " Rainbow was checking their stances - before they made a break for it.
She had seen worse. That nerd from math, for example. She was about to crack a smile, but -
She caught herself. She knew who she was in the company of.

" WAIT. " Ponder got up from his stance, walked over to a loose trash can lid, and picked it up.
" If they're pointing their spears at the portal I'd probably want something in between me and that point. "
As he got back into Rainbow's sprinting stance he grabbed the lid so it would be the first thing through the portal.

Rainbowdash rolled her eyes in response, while Twilight only had a look of pity.

Twilight was first anyway. She gave Ponder one last cursory glance, just to make sure he was ok. As paranoid as always, he was. Holding his improvised shield. But- if today was anything to go by -

Twilight got up and ran, and made it through the portal. As per her instructions, Ponder was not too far behind.

The run was without incident. As Ponder made it through the portal, his view was completely obscured by his shield.
It was larger. Much larger.
It was even taller then him, but not by much.

" Huh. " Ponder was taken off guard. Even twilight raised a eyebrow at it.
It fell to the floor, making a loud clang. As metal against marble does.

" Uh, Princess? " A guard in the room walked over.
" Oh! " She answered.
" We're alright. "

" Right. I will go and get the Captain. " The guard then looked to the other guard in the room. She instantly stiffened up, saluted him, and went back to her standing.

Twilight sat down. Tired.

After the first guard left, Twilight turned to the other one.
" You can go too. " A purple hue encased a switch on the wall and pulled it down. The machine surrounding it ground to halt, and the mirror stopped vibrating.
Ponder raised an eyebrow at that.

" Yes, Princess. " She responded without emotion.
' They really were all like that huh? Like the old British royal guard? ' Ponder was thinking as she was taking her leave.
' If they really are all stuck up like that maybe they need- '
" Ponder. " His thought was interrupted by Twilight, who was now standing up.

" About what happened back there - " She seemed like she didn't want to do this. Like she was forcing herself. But there was an unusual lack of pain in her words and the way she carried herself. Almost like she had ripped off a bandied.
" Oh. Sorry about that. " Ponder kicked the oversized trash can lid.
" It might have bonked someone - "
" No. " Twilight politely interrupted him.

" That's not it. " She turned her head to the side, but only for a moment.
" I know you probably don't want to think about it but- " Ponder's expression turned solemn.
He sighed. She continued :

" I'm sorry I didn't take you seriously when you were voicing your concerns about... Well. " She motioned to the portal.

Ponder had to do a double take. He looked back, then forward, lost in thought.
He eventually gave up and had to ask : " What? "

" I wasn't taking you seriously when we were talking with Shinning. " She responded. He looked down in realization.
" I didn't want to think about it either. " Her tone turned soft as she brushed off one hoof with another. He could barely hear her.

" And - unfortunately - you were right. You weren't safe. " Sadness now audible her her voice, Ponder felt he had to sit down, so he did.
" You were worried about your safety. And I brushed that to the side. " She raised a hoof slightly.
" As I said back on Earth, I'll see what I can do to stop future events like that from happening. "

" Um. " Ponder managed to say as he looked to the side. Awkwardness written all over his posture; he only managed to hide it on his face.
He didn't say anything more.

Twilight smiled.
" You don't have to reply. "
" I'm just glad were all safe and sound. "

Twilight Sparkle and PonderBright both tired, they were walking to Cadence's throneroom. They had completely forgot about waiting for Shinning, but managed to catch them both on their way.
Shinning only needed a quick glance before saying : " What did he do this time? "
Twilight only let out a short lived grunt as protest. Leave it Twilight to make anything sound regal.

While Ponder was gaining his disappointed face, Cadence put a hoof in front of Shinning and shook her head at him.
" It's nothing serious; Nothing that can't be talked about later." Twilight assured them both; a look of worry starting to form on Cadence.
" And - maybe if it's not too much trouble - we could spend the night? " She asked. Cadence eye's widened.

Shinning only took a moment. " Sure. " He offered. Cadence took much longer.
" Yes, - but. " She caught herself.
" Not near the babies room. "
" Or floor. " She added.

As Shinning looked over to his wife with much surprise, Twilight looked like she saw this coming.
Ponder was just as confused about the reversal of roles as Shinning was. He nodded to the request, more so an order, and followed an entire squadron of guards to where he'd be staying the night.
He managed to overhear some snippets of dialog as he was being escorted :
" And - maybe - some food? " said a meek Twilight. She wasn't asking for that much, was she?
" Sure. " Cadence was back to her regular self. " You and your food. " Shinning exclaimed over Cadence.
" I swear recently it's been all you think about. " A barely heard Twilight shout : " stop! " In a playful manner.

He definitely could use some food. Even though he had eaten earlier on the train. By all means he should be getting fat, but he was as thin as ever. Even loosing some weight. And for the most part, he hadn't been stressed.
It was probably too late to ask the guards for some anyway.

As he entered his room, he admired the architecture. The Crystal Empire really did have their own style, huh?
And then he heard the click coming from the door. He slowly approached, not wanting to set anyone, or anything off.

" Everything alright out there? " He asked. " Yes. " He got his stone-cold reply. He tried the door. Confirmed locked.
" You locked me in here? " He didn't have to wait long for his answer. " Yes. "

Ponder inhaled. He could feel his heart rate increasing. " Why? " He half-demanded in monotone.
" Um. Because we can't have guests wandering the castle halls at night? When the Princess is asleep. " A very minor shift in tone from the guard. Ponder immediately responded with his next question : " How am I supposed to get water? " minor hostility in his voice.
It took awhile for the guard to respond. " We will fetch that for you, if that is what you desire. You are a royal guest, after all. "

" And, if possible, please keep communication with us to a minimum. Were, uh, not supposed to be talking to you right now. " Is all Ponder got.
' Are- are they serious? ' He wasn't believing this. Something else was going on. He heard minor bickering from behind the door about who was ' free ' to go get him a glass of water!

Eventually. Inevitability. After 20 FREAKING MINUTES. The guards opened the door. One was front and center with his water. Two others looked at him nervously.
His reputation really did precede him, huh? This wasn't Ponyville anymore, and Twilight obviously hadn't 'gotten' to these ponies yet. Or maybe they were just built different. Angular pupils and all.
They closed the door, and he was left with his 'water'. Yes. ' water ' in quotes, was correct.
No way he was trusting this.

He dabbed a bit of water on his skin. He then started moving furniture.
" Uh - everything ok in there? " One guard asked from behind the door. " Yup. Everything's fine. " Ponder responded.
" Just moving the end table somewhere out of the way. I tend to roll over in my sleep. " That, of course, was a lie.
But they seem to have bought it. No further interruptions.

He, in fact, had moved the entire dresser in front of the only door. The doors opened inward, and now he made sure they didn't open at all. He searched the end table for anything useful. And old fire poker. Perfect. He put that under his pillow just in case he needed to defend himself or brake that big window for an escape. He did have wings, after all.

By the time he was done, the water on his skin had dried. ' Well, I'm not on the ground foaming from the mouth ' He thought while looking at the dry water spot in a mirror. He put a bit on his tongue next. He, of course, spit it out. As you do when your testing for poison without a second pony.

What PonderBright underestimated, however, is that a full test done this way lasts for 3 straight hours. So he sat. In his bed. Tired, hungry, and most of all, thirsty, for 3 hours. Unable to sleep.

At the end of it, he finally drunk his water, and went to bed.
' I hope your right Twilight. ' He thought as he dozed off.
' That I can trust these ponies. '

Author's Note

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

How cautious is too cautious?

28 - Recollection

" Thanks, Cadence. " Twilight slowly blinked at her sister in law, as was their special little sign of appreciation. " I'll talk to him later. I agree that a lot of things were left unsaid. " She put her hoof in front of the other as she was about to close her guest room door.
" No problem Twilight. " Cadence smiled back. " You can come to me for advice anytime. "

She closed the door, took a quick look at her room, then settled into her bed. It took longer then usual to fall asleep.

She was there with PonderBright. Back int he human world. At some sort of - peace conference?
They were still ponies. Everyone was a pony.
As they both were sitting down with their food getting ready to talk, when Rainbow bumped into PonderBright; spilling both their food.

Ponder only raised an eyebrow while giving her a mean look. Phew.
" It's fine. " The words marched slowly out of Ponder's mouth.
Rainbow didn't respond. She was only embarrassed as she covered her face and ran away. Didn't do much to help the situation.

Ponder's gaze then shifted to the floor, towards Rainbow's split food.
" Wait a second. " He looked like he was fixated on something.

" Tacos. " The taco? That Rainbow put on her r plate?
" TACOS. " He continued. Twilight recoiled a bit.

" TACOS - TRIGGERED - D E A T H !!! " He screamed, re-gaining his 3 eyes in the process. Her vision had shifted above Ponder, who's head had snapped upward while screaming.

She awoke almost in a cold sweat, quite early if her usual sleep schedule was anything to go by. She wasn't really terrified; and she wasn't sure what to think about the dream. Luna hadn't appeared. Maybe because the dream was too short, or maybe because she didn't want Twilight to know of her presence.

She marched to the throneroom quite put off.
" Something the matter? " Cadence asked as she entered. " Oh it's nothing. " Twilight put on a smile and raised a hoof. " Just a weird dream is all. " She was back to her regular composure. And good thing too. Brother was at 9' o clock.
" Whatever it is you- " Shinning was beginning to say, before getting cut off : " I said it's fine! " Twilight was showing no signs of worry.
" Well, alright. " He gave his sister a coy look.

They ate, again, per Cadence's request. After the meal and some small talk -
" You seriously need to eat BBFF. " She pointed across the table.
" I ALREADY DID! " He protested, showing one half-cleaned plate. " It's YOU TWO that might need a reality check. " He looked to this wife. " Not that either of you are gaining weight or anything - just "
" Perhaps Ponder will want to join in now that Flurry is put to bed? " Cadence asked.

A nod from both other ponies confirmed the change in subject. They walked up the stairs to Ponder's guest room.

" Ponder? " Cadence knocked on his door. No response.
She looked to the guards. They shrugged.

Twilight joined Cadence at the door. " Ponder? " She asked more loudly.
A faint " i'm up " could be heard from behind the door. Sounded tired.
It was understandable, given what happened yesterday.

Slow footsteps to the door.
Then a heavy screeching sound, as if something was being dragged along the floor.

" Ponder? " Twilight asked. " Just give me a minute. " He responded groggily.
Cadence and Shinning both shared a raised eyebrow. She nodded to the guard on the right, who saluted her and opened the door with a key. The door wouldn't open. It was blocked.

Twilight, noticing this, tried to move the door, and whatever was behind it, with magic.
" Ponder? Are you ok? " She asked with minor concern. Almost instantly; a thud was heard on the floor.
Very little could be seen of the other side. He had, in fact, barricaded himself in. For who knows what purpose.

" Twilight? ", " Was that you? " Asked a confused PonderBright. " You made me loose my footing. I tripped. "
" Oh. " She released both objects from her magic. A stern silence washed over the three.
After not too long of a wait, the door opened, and out came a physically exhausted and heavily breathing PonderBright.

Twilight looked around to gauge the room. Everyone, including the guards, was looking at him with suspicion. Ponder only raised an eyebrow in response, and looked this way as If I had a schedule.
I did.
But this, like most of his usual shenanigans, had thrown everything way off.

" What- were you doing in there? " Asked Shinning. " Sleeping. " An immediate response from PonderBright.
' Oh no. ' Twilight was thinking. ' They arn't accustomed to what he's like. '
' I better - ' Her moment to herself was interrupted :
" What were you doing - with the dresser. " Shinning clarified, more stern this time.
" Unbarricading the door. " Ponder matched Shinning's attitude. Not good.

" Why? " Shinning let his response sit for a bit.
" Because you barricaded me in that room first? " Ponder response was as if whatever he was trying to convey was obvious.
" Well, locking is not quite barricading, but- "

Cadence cut him off.
" OH! I'm so sorry! " She sighed a sigh of relief as she said.
" You're not from here; you must have thought something strange was going on! " She said with eyes closed.
" - Yes? " Ponder's response painted him as the only one in the room with common sense.

Cadence finished her thought - " I should have told you from the start. Or at least given you a warning. "

" Oh. " Shinning relaxed. And with that, Twilight did too.
Ponder looked unconvinced. " So - locking something in their room against their will with a armed escort of 9 is commonplace here? "
Cadence was looking at the floor like she didn't know how to respond.
" Well, I never really thought about it, but yes! " Twilight managed to squeeze in a few words. That seemed to placate him. Strange. It wasn't all that convincing. SHE wouldn't quite believe her if she was in her shoes.

" Hm. " Shinning Armor was lost in thought. A rare sight to behold.
" Glad we could clear that up. " Cadence offered, to which Ponder nodded.
The walk to the dinning hall was uneventful. Pleasant, even. Ponder stayed quite, and the three talked about Flurry Heart and the Crystal Empire's closer ties to Equestria.

Ponder blended in to the background so well, Cadence let slip a minor piece of classified intel. She caught herself, and in realization, Shinning put a knowing hoof in front of her; altering Ponder to that info's importance.
Ponder rolled his eyes as he looked to Twilight. She face hoofed gently. There neighborhood watch plan wasn't going to be a secret for long, but she was still understandably disappointed.

" Just- " She whispered to Ponder " Try to stay quite about that until I say so, ok? "
Ponder raised an eyebrow. " About what? "
" What cadence just said. " Twilight was confused.
" I don't know what your talking about. " Ponder responded in earnest.
" I - What? " Twilight was lost. Ponder flashed a smirk in response, and returned his gaze forward.

Oh. She figured Celestia was so open to him for a reason.
She gathered her words for a question : " Did - Celestia happen to talk to you about anything - "
" I can't answer that. " Ponder's tone had hard shifted to stern. His tone and volume was still a whisper, so he didn't attract any attention. And he didn't sound imposing.

" She set out a list of rules for me to follow, I can let you know all about that. " He offered.
" But in all honesty " He went full monotone " You can probably just ask Celestia and she would probably tell you. "
" But not me. " His tone went straight back to ' stern '.

Ponder gained a genuine smirk, and moved his eyes to the path ahead.
Twilight repressed a minor giggle with her hoof. It certainly was her first time experiencing this; especially from one of her students. Starlight does occasionally display leadership skills when in public with her, but only of the ' social proof ' variety. A lot you can learn from each other, Hm.

With the two ponies ahead of them none the wiser, they pressed onwards towards the food.

" You know " Shinning looked up from the table at Ponder. " And - If Twilight is agrees - " Twilight looked up from her food in his direction. " You could have a job with us looking for flaws in security. "
Cadence looked to Shinning. " Oh. Your uh, going through with it? "
" Relax. None of his work will be for here " He pointed to ground " just like we talked about. "

Cadence blinked twice. " Oh. I was referring to your - AHM - earlier assessment. "
" It's fine. " Shinning said with confidence. " Plus - per that exchange in the hallway, we do know he can keep a secret. "
Ponder's eyes widened.
" Provided - " Shinning reiterated " Twilight thinks it's ok.

Twilight brought a hoof to her chin for consideration.
" Hmm. " She was leaning towards no, when spacetime sprung open, out popped Discord, and fell back into itself like a curtain.
" Allow me to demonstrate his ' readiness ', your majesties. " He said while snapping.

Ponder got his horn back. He also got a magic safety bubble; discord approved of course, but he didn't notice that like the others.
He looked confused at first. The others were too in shock to say anything. Then he reached a hoof to his head.

" Discord. " He frantically looked back up to his would-be friend.
" Get it off. " His tone starting to show worry.

" See? " Discord turned around to gesture to the others. Looks of shock. " Oh. " He said.
Cadence was furious. But only showed it.

" GET IT OFF! " Ponder almost screamed, becoming more and more manic by the second.

Discord snapped. And with that, he was back to normal.
" Well. " Discord took a uptight attitude. " It wasn't what I expected, but at least now you know for certain where his true intentions lie. "
" DISCORD! " Twilight scolded him. " That wasn't the issue! "
" Oh? " He responded in doubt. " Then wha- "
" Leave. " A stern order from Twilight. Discord recoiled a bit.

" Well then. I can see when I'm not appreciated. " He looked to Ponder; righteous furry written all over.
" Me and him can go snap travel for quick ice cre- " Ponder interrupted him by snarling at him like a wild animal, and walking over to Twilight's ' side '.
Twilight moved back a bit, but instantly regained her composure and joined the rest of the three in giving Discord the stink eye.

" Oh. " Discord softly stated in realization. He only hesitated for a moment before outright disappearing. No flashy showmanship, no noticeable teleportation, nothing.

" Sorry about that. " Twilight solemnly apologized, head down. " Don't be " Ponder was still taking a hostile tone.
" It's not your fault he doesn't know how words work. " He sneered off into a window.

Shinning walked up to Twilight. " Think what you want about him. " He motioned to Ponder " At least he's not that. " He pointed to where Discord dissipated. Twilight got a strained expression. Ponder responded with " No duh. " which made Shinning raise an eyebrow. Twilight looked away.

" Well, If you don't think he's ready for it - " Shinning got back to the point quite fast. " I never said that. " Twilight interrupted.
" I just need some time to think on that. "
" Huh. " Shinning's tone became inquisitive. " That's quite unlike you. Well, alright. " He raised his hoof in expression.
" I guess we'll have to put off upgrading Canterlot Castle's security until we can get a consensus form Celestia and Luna. " He looked to Cadence. She nodded.

" Seriously? " Ponder asked. An open ended question. No pony in the room seem to know what he was talking about.
He gently face hoofed. " No one knows another alternative for a security advisor? " He let the question sit.
Nothing.

" TWILIGHT " He said in expression, pointing at her.

" She's been in combat almost more times to count, faced countless threats, and put her life on the line just as much! "
He looked to her, ready to dish out his last rant. " She's basically a superhero. " He muttered.

" I - hadn't thought of it that way. " And " Oh, come on. " Were heard from both Cadence and Shinning Armor respectively. At the same time too, to add to the confusion.
" Yeah, I have to agree with Shinning here. " Twilight said with softness. " I'm nothing special. I just did what any pony would do. "
" Uh huh. " Ponder raised a non-offensive eyebrow at her. " So normal ponies would not only have the know-how, the power, and the will - to constantly risk life and limb for Equestria? And every couple of months? "

" Oh. " Twilight was taken aback. " You weren't only talking about the will. ", " You were - uh - also talking about the means, and the way. Alright. " Twilight inhaled.

Ponder only stared at her. Awaiting his response.

" Well, with Nightmare moon, Celestia was waiting in the sun, so there wasn't any real danger there - "
Twilight was seeming awfully caught up with this tangent. Almost as if obsessed.
" And Discord would never hurt any pony - at least not physically - mentally though. " She caught herself. The room was becoming tense.
" - Queen Chrysalis - " Her tone was becoming somber. " More of the same - but - "
" Worse. "
" Sombra - " She paused, looking sideways to the floor.
She looked back up, and her tone attempted to turn hopeful again : " Tirek - "
Her head turned back down. She rubbed a hoof against another in tired realization.
" I - almost died. " She continued.
" Sunset - " Another pause.

" Twili? " Shining asked in genuine concern. The rest were showing they felt the same way.
She didn't respond.

" And when the Tree was under attack... "
Her tone turned somber. " My friends... "
She looked up to the group. Almost frozen stiff. She looked off to the side, then back down to the floor.
She sighed.

" Triek ; I almost died. " She was losing her composure.
" The Dazzlings ; I almost died. "
" Starlight - and " She looked up to Ponder.
" Twilight? " He had to ask, looks of concern written all over.

She opened her eyes wide in realization. She pulled up a hoof and awkwardly rubbed her other front leg with it.
Shinning Armor and Cadence trotted over to Twilight, while ponder did the opposite. They seemingly had acted on instinct; Twilight's family to make things better and Ponder to not make things worse.
Ponder was put off. Quite considerably, too. Luckily it didn't last.

After collecting himself, he stared at them. Like he always did. Silently hoping he could actually do something.
After a bunch of what must have been meaningless assurances from her family, Twilight walked over him.

" Sorry about that. "
" Don't be. " He offered. " And I'm beginning to think the mentors over here all hold themselves to perfection. " He jested. He got a look of relief in response. He smiled.

They all walked to the train stain, tension notably higher, and none of them saying anything.
But that seemed alright; as all ponies smiled all the way there.

Author's Note

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

Friendly relation in high tension situation is difficult.
Fortunately those who want to cooperate are fairly easy to spot.