" 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.