Consequences of Unoriginality

Chapters

(Prologue) Help Me, Please
Awakenings and the Strangeness of Mares
Fears and Fashion
Pink Apples and Wooden Packs
And you thought WOMEN were crazy?
Duels of Many Colors
Beginning to Heal... and then the crazy starts
FU-SION-HAhahahahaha... fuck you universe.
Twilight Emeris: Worst. Boss Name. Ever.
Nightmares of Many Kinds
No More Angst-! Oh wait. Damnit.
Shards of Happiness, Fear and Forgiveness
D-Day
The Doom Party

(Prologue) Help Me, Please

Help me, please.

Just, god why me? I hate this, I hate this so much, I’m scared and worried and nauseous and… just…

Ugh. Sorry, let me back up.

I was born… wait, not that far, you don’t care about that mess. Okay, I’ll keep this basic, because honestly, I don’t expect you to care about most of it.

I was once human.

Somehow, someway, I woke up as a fucking black and red Alicorn in Equestria. And despite being panicky, despite being an admitted asshole and mildly anti-social… I’ve gotten a massive party thrown for me by Pinkie Pie (admittedly, this isn’t a big deal), multiple requests to be part of my ‘herd’, and apparently I’m suddenly "best friends" with the mane six within the hour.

Faster than Rainbow Dash, stronger than Applejack, more powerful magically than Twilight, better artist than Rarity, better with animals than Fluttershy, and everyone thinks I’m funnier than Pinkie Pie. The moment I do something, I do it better than anyone else.

And everyone loves me for it.

Somehow. Someway. Everyone loves me, they think I’m funny and silly and oh so cool. Dark and mysterious and debonair.

Someone, anyone, please help me.

I’m a Gary-Stu.

oOo

I live well outside of Ponyville in a small house, one I built entirely myself without magic. It was simple, but sturdy and homey.
I was proud of it, because whatever this magic had done to me that made me succeed at things so easily hadn’t affected my building skills. I was as good as I’d ever been at building things like this, but no better.

There was a large garden and storage shed out back for the enormous number and variety of presents I'd received over the past two years. This is probably a lot creepier than it sounds at first.

I had a fan-club. A very large one. That I got gifts from every day.

Those stalkers you hear about getting arrested? Or for those huge events that the media likes to focus on who scream and act like total idiots? Yeah, those?

I had those.

It's not fun. Or empowering. Or an ego boost. Or any other positive thing you can think of, it’s just creepy. And honestly, more than a little scary and depressing.

Because they loved me… and they loved me fanatically. Despite not having done anything to deserve the affection. In spite of my attitude and actions, they loved me, they adored me. And it terrified me. Because it was a creepy, terrible, smothering love where mares would get uncomfortably close and proposition me... where I would find gifts at every corner, where their eyes would glaze over and they would smile wide at my approach. A love where I would worry that my ‘no’ would be less than ignored.

The only thing that kept them from getting insanely excited was calm, polite, and actively stated disinterest, and even that was iffy. The effect was so strong and far reaching that even here in my home, it still occasionally could reach ponies in Ponyville despite the wards and magic Celestia had helped me erect against it.

So most of the time, here I stayed, well outside of Ponyville and as far away from other ponies as I could stand, well behind layers of magical barriers.

Was it lonely? Fuck yes. The only pony that could get through was Pinkie because Pinkie, and she didn’t do so very often. I think it’s because some part of her recognized what the curse was doing and tried to stay the hell away.

I cannot overstate how much I appreciated that. I honestly can’t.

Most of my days were spent in contemplation, exercise, meditation, studying what books on magic I’d rented from the library, and generally being a lonely, nerdy, antisocial punk. Though the thought of combining 'nerdy' and 'punk' brought a smile to my face at the silliness of it. I tried not to brood, but I did... a lot. I decidedly did not consider myself emo, because I hadn’t given up on trying to find some way to cancel out what had been done to me to make me an Alicorn Gary-Stu.

Sadly, today was not one of those days of isolation.

Alicorn I was. Immortal I was not. Well... not in any way I was willing to test at least. I still needed food. And while, in theory, I could grow my own, doing so left a bad taste in my mouth... metaphorically speaking, the food itself was delicious.

Which was most of the problem really. I’d really enjoyed growing things and making my own food from scratch before all this mess, but now… now it was something that my stupid ‘I'm A Gary Stu and Better Than U' thing enhanced to stupid levels. Anything I grew, grew faster, tastier, bigger, and all around better than anything else. Y'know, just 'cause. And… it didn’t feel right anymore. I couldn’t just grow apples, not anymore, I had to grow apples bigger and tastier and all around better than the Apple family's.

Because, y’know, Gary-Stu.

Urgh.

So here I was, walking through town and picking up my necessary supplies while ignoring the small throng of fanmares that always followed me around in civilization.

“Gary!”

I closed my eyes to suppress the unpleasant shudder. At one time, I would’ve loved to hear someone, anyone, say my name like that. But now? Knowing that I didn’t deserve it, let alone from someone like Applejack? It was a little piece of torment.

“Hello Applejack. The usual please,” I kept my tone particularly neutral.

Still, she tittered like a schoolgirl, “Ya sure? That… special is still avail-“

“No. Applejack,” I ground my teeth, clenching my eyes shut tightly, “The usual. Please.”

I couldn’t… I couldn’t stand that vacant expression. It was lusty, worshipful, and essentially mindless… I hated to see it on such beautiful and otherwise intelligent mares. And yet... in a way, I was grateful for it, it made it much easier to turn down their surprisingly tempting offers.

What? Yes, I used to be human. But when four females that your hormones scream at you are beautiful who have wonderful personalities basically beg you for a fivesome? You tell me that isn’t tempting.

But despite being tempting, I scowled at the mare, because I knew I hadn’t done anything to deserve her affections, and whatever she might’ve felt otherwise, this was fake, a product of whatever fucked up reality warping my Gary-Stu status caused.

“Awww… alright Sugar, if y’er sure…”

“I’m sure Applejack, same as I have been the past two years.”

She pouted, and thankfully, as cute as she was, I’ve never been affected by cute-faces unless I wanted to be. So I was able to get my basket filled with apples without succumbing to her ‘feminine wiles’. I slipped the apples into my saddle-bags with a nod, paying her the appropriate amount of bits and heading off.

I dodged and weaved through the mares practically dancing about me, offering to carry my basket or go get me my list or other such things. It all blurred together honestly. And as tempting as it was to just step over them since most of them would barely have had to duck their heads to get under me, I’d learned a long time ago that such an action would lead to… consequences. Such as getting orally molested.

I really wish I was making that up.

Regardless, I was able to work my way through my personal crowd to Surgarcube Corner. Now, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but damnit, they made oreo-equivalents that were to die for. I could have asked them to just send them to me, but I liked to bring them the business of my throng of fanmares. It made me feel like I was doing something at least vaguely honest to do a little bit of good.

Admittedly, it didn’t make much sense and was more than a bit stupid... but I clung to that happy emotion, those brief little bursts were practically all I had... damnit.

Pinkie Pie bounced slightly behind the counter as I approached, “Welcome Bestest Friend!”

I cringed. Pinkie had some good days and bad ones. Sometimes, it almost seemed like she saw through the Gary-Stu-ness Effect (hereafter referred to as The GSE because Gary-Stu-ness Effect is way too damn long) and actually saw the scared, angry, and frustrated person beneath. Other days, she seemed to be just as swept up by its insanity as the rest. Today was one of the latter.

“Afternoon Diane.”

She grinned wider, “Ooh! Ooh! What’ll you have? The strawberry muffins? Or maybe blueberry? Or purpleberry! But we’ve got some-mmmph mmmph mmmph~”

Despite the hoof over her mouth, she kept talking, her eyes sparkling. It was a… to put it poetically… balm on my soul that at least some parts of her personality were preserved despite the ridiculous things the GSE made her and others do, “Just the usual Diane."

She smiled behind the hoof and zipped off to the kitchen, sound effects included. Heh.

I rather deliberately ignored the fanmares around me and put my hoof back down, keeping my head tilted down enough to keep my absurdly long horn from scraping the roof.

“Omigoshomigoshomigoshomigosh-“

… fuck.

A blur suddenly pressed up against my side and I winced. Not because it was unpleasant, far from it. But because of the implications of the squealing and giggling that accompanied it.

“Afternoon Miss Dash,” very carefully, I pushed her away with my hoof. It was a bit uncomfortable to reach back like that but… wings were a bit of a… thing… for Pegasi, and if I’d used my wing she’d have gotten… well… excited about it. Yes, that’s inneuendo. No, I didn’t mean to do it the first time. Yes it had been super awkward.

“Omigosh! Hi! I didn’t know you were going to be here today! I mean- I just if I had I’d have totally gotten you some clouds ready! Have you learned any new tricks? Huh? I’ve got that one you showed me down pat finally! Maybe you could show me more? That’d be so cool! And radical and awesome and completely unbelievably cool!”

I cringed more and more as she spoke. This wasn’t Dash, not really. I wasn’t a Wonderbolt, I wasn’t that cool, I wasn’t really some prince, hell, I hadn’t even done anything to earn this reaction.

Had I saved Equestria from multiple nameless horrors spawned by the GSE? Yes.

Had those fights been awesome? Admittedly, most of them were.

But the key point here was that Rainbow Dash had acted like this within a minute of meeting me for the first time, which had been before I’d done anything in Equestria other than babble like an idiot, freak out, and go ‘Huh…? Wait, what? Wtf?’.

“No Miss Dash, I haven’t learned any new tricks,” that was the safest response, I couldn’t think of ways to address her other questions without showing a vague, maybe-sort-of-there interest, which would have been bad, trust me.

Suddenly, I felt her cheek rub against my own, her wing flapping against my neck as she pressed up against me while hovering, her voice was soft and husky as she whispered, “Maybe I could show you a few new ones then~?”

I’m pretty sure my muzzle turned a shade of red, because it definitely felt extremely warm.

My mouth worked silently as I tried to formulate a response, something that was far harder than it should’ve been at the moment, but I was saved by the sudden, noisy arrival of Pinkie Pie, “Here ya go! Pinkie Pies Extra Special Frosting Cookies~!”

The pink mare bounced off the counter, then off of Dash’s back before landing on my own and dropping the carried bag of delicious cookies into my saddlebag, thankfully dislodging the pegasus in the process. I shot her a grateful look even as she clambered up over my head to get back behind the counter, and I liked to think there was a softer, more real smile behind those eyes that knew what I was thanking her for.

And then she spoke, “There ya go! You suuuuuuure you don’t want something more?” she wiggled her flanks, her smile going from happy-go-lucky to saucy and then down to ‘Take me now stud’ over the course of about three seconds.

Aaaaaand I was gone. Bits still spinning on the counter.

Pinkie Pie after you is one of the most terrifying things you’ll ever encounter, provided you don’t want to do anything like that with her. Thankfully, if I left early like that, I could get away before the GSE really kicked in.

‘I’m about to rape you’ Pinkie Pie is just about as scary as I’d expect a legit Xenomorph to be if not more so. No, seriously, it’s terrifying. I was actually thankful for the speed the GSE gave me. As stupidly blatant and silly as a crimson and black "Rainboom" is, it was the only thing that kept me from being… well, screwed.

I only slowed down once I was well away from the Sugarcube Corner, my fanmares left far behind. Somehow, I’d lost Rainbow Dash as well, I think she was still dazed from acting as a Pinkie-Springboard.

Panting slightly, I slowed to a trot, running through the mental checklist of things I needed to do in town. The less time I was here, the better. Smaller chances of world-ending catastrophes happening just so I could solve them because GSE.

…

So much of my life revolved around handling the GSE or avoiding causing the GSE…

Someone, anyone, please… help me.

oOo

Fanmares.

Why me.

Mine are worse than the stereotypical teeny-bopper screaming 13-year-old fangirls. Mostly because these didn’t just try to molest me. They had some actual skill backing it up. That and tranquilizers. This is scarier than you’d think when you’re surrounded by fanmares with nothing but your wits to protect you. Time for me to get creative.

“Look! My un-taken younger brother!”

Read: Stupid.

*Fwumph*

And reliant on immense GSE magical reserves and GSE induced skill to teleport away.

What? I never said I was the element of honesty.

Regardless, now I’d have another issue.

“Gary?!”

A purple and pink and ridiculously powerful issue with OCD.

“W-What brings you here?! Oh! I’m sorry about the mess! I didn’t realize you’d be- Oh, I’m so sorry! Spike! Take a letter! And clean up these books. And I’m so sorry, Princess Celestia hasn’t responded about taking you on as a student to and oh-! Um, right- um, what would you like to drink Gary? Or eat? Or-or-“

Thankfully, when said issue was off balance and fawning over me, things were manageable, and she was rather cute. It was when she tried to seduce me that there were issues. Twilight was probably the hardest pony to resist and keep off of me when she got going.

Thus, I had to keep her off guard if I wanted to get through this day without a purple unicorn trying to get me in bed. I thumped my hoof against the floorboards, “Miss Sparkle.”

“Yes?!” she squeaked.

I focused, feeling the books in my saddlebag with my power, pulling them free with my magic and setting them on the desk, “My returns. I would like the next set.”

“R-Right! On it. Right away!” and she was, snatching the books off of the top of the library desk and sweeping them off into the library proper. I kept an eye on her as she moved, and not just because I loved watching her flanks.

See, I had to keep an eye out for-

I stomped my hoof, “Now would be nice Miss Sparkle.”

“Eep! Yes! I’m sorry!”

A part of me died every time I did something like that. But damnit, going through books always calmed Twilight down. And a calm Twilight was a bad Twilight for me. Fucking GSE. I’m serious by the way. She’d almost gotten me to marry her, unbeknownst to me, seven times already. And that’s the milder end of the scale. She’s also a mean potion brewer.

Aphrodisiacs and Love potions have been used. I’ve never slipped up. We’ll leave it at that.

Thus, I had to keep her off balance. Had to. I didn’t… couldn’t… really fight her off. It wasn’t in me. Jerk and asshole I may have been, but I couldn’t just hurt people.

“Here they are! Omigosh I’m so sorry it took so long, I’ll be faster next time I promise and-“

“Thank you,” quick and terse, the response left her temporarily speechless. I crushed the sympathy that swelled in my chest. I couldn’t afford it. My ear flicked back, the sound of numerous hoofs beating on the ground approaching. Great. My fanclub.

Focus followed by levitating books soon refilled my saddlebag with further books on the magical research into multiple dimensions as well as curses and blessings that resembled the GSE I was afflicted with. Once secured, I promptly teleported again with a soft *fwumph*.

Just because my reality sucked right now, didn’t mean I wouldn’t strive my absolute hardest to find a way to make it better. To break this curse and actually live a life once again, rather than just exist around this stupid Gary-Stu-ness I’d been afflicted with. And damnit, I was no Twilight, but studying the fundamentals of magics and curses like this was at least a step in the right direction to doing something about it.

My magic deposited me on the outskirts of town, and I went over my mental checklist. Food for the next two weeks: Gotten. Research Material for the next two weeks: Gotten. General materials such as spices and soap: Gotten. Food for Droolykins: …

… damnit, knew I was forgetting something.

oOo

Yes, I had a pet. No, it wasn’t a dragon or griffon or even something like a wyvern or other ‘awesome’ animal. It was a cat. A gray, boring looking one with mismatched eyes that almost acted more like a dog than a proper feline. Who liked to drool everywhere and preferred to snuggle between my wings on my back and fall asleep. Who also liked to walk around with a balled up sock in his mouth, meowing at me to play with him.

Yes, I played with him, he’s ridiculously cute.

Yes, he’s quite derpy, but I love him for it.

Yes, I named him Droolykins.

No, it’s not a manly name. But my cat sure as hell doesn’t mind, so bite me.

But I couldn’t exactly grow cat food. And I hated fishing with a passion, so I relied on the not-inconsiderable skills of Fluttershy and the reserves of food she kept for animals.

This, unfortunately, was the cause of my current predicament. I was staring down a panting Fluttershy.

Someone, anyone, help me.

I’m an intelligent, clever, devious little asshole, and I needed help. Now.

I was dealing with an assertive, angry demoness with horribly written dialogue and an absurd DOOM-Stare.

Only horny.

This was not as fun as it probably sounds.

“Love me.”

“I’m only here for Droolykins food Fluttershy.”

“I want you to love me.”

I didn’t move, hell, I couldn’t move. But damnit, I couldn’t give in. I couldn’t.

If I did… with the GSE… this would be no better than rape. Both mental and physical. It’d be no better than drugging her up and breaking her mentally.

I wouldn’t.

I couldn’t.

I’m an antisocial jerk, not a fucking monster.

I clung to that, that reminder that this wasn’t Fluttershy, and that my resistance was the only thing protecting her, the only thing keeping me from being the worst kind of monster.

That desperate, if true, thought, was the only thing keeping my resistance.

“I’m here for food for Doolykins Fluttershy. Nothing more.”

“You’re going to love me,” she’s closer than she was before. Fuck. She’s slowly walking towards me.

I snort and force my hooves to move me backwards, it feels like lead weights have been wrapped all about them, it’s sluggish and slow, but I’m considerably bigger than the yellow pegasus, and my sluggish backwards gait keeps me a good distance fro-

… that’s a tree behind me isn’t it.

Fuck.

Somebody, anybody, please… help me!

“Fluttershy…”

“You’re going to mount me.”

“Nnng…” my brain tried to make my mouth work. It’s one word. One syllable. Two letters. Move the tongue and lips and form it damnit! I don’t want- Not like this! I’ve resisted this long! Come on! Work damnit!

I felt tears at the corners of my eyes.

Work! Tell her! Stop her! Something!

Help… I don’t want… I don’t want to hurt her…

Her nose presses against my own, her eyes staring deeply into mine, that terrible force pinning me in place. I can feel her hot breath against my muzzle even as I try and keep my breathing under control.

She began to turn around, her eyes still locked with mine, tears beginning to fall from my eyes.

“THAT IS ENOUGH!!!”

A veritable shockwave knocked me over, and the much lighter yellow pegasus was swept up in the wind.

I was stunned for a moment before a flash a brilliance swept over me, the world lurching as I was rather forcibly teleported.

It was then that I recognized the voice and the magical power. Princess Celestia.

oOo

I shook my head and righted myself, keeping my wings spread low to the ground as I lay there. It took only a moment before I saw the tall, regal form of the Princess of the Sun.

I turned and bowed my head low to her, keeping myself on the dirt, “Princess.”

“Emeris.”

I winced, both at the name and her tone, she sounded furious, “Yes, Princess?”

No, my name isn’t Gary. But call me stupid or foolish or whatever, but I didn’t want my name associated with this… abomination… I’d become. The other ponies used Gary, but Celestia used my name.

“What were you doing with my little pony?” her voice was soft, controlled, without the slightest waver, and every bit as menacing as a roiling sea of plasma barely contained by gravity.

I looked up, ridiculous crimson eyes meeting her own.

Suddenly, I felt very, very small, and very, very weak.

Her iris’ blazed with the fury of the sun barely contained behind them.

I trembled, my eyes closing as hot magical power pricked against my skin like a wave of fire ants, barely suppressing a whimper. I drew in a shuddering breath, carefully forcing down the fear, the urge to look away, and opened my eyes, meeting her gaze, “I wasn’t doing anything. I was trying to resist Princess. But… I wouldn’t have gotten away, I wasn’t strong enough. I’m sorry.”

She sneered, and I almost cringed away, “So the one time you aren’t strong enough for something is when it involves taking one of my little ponies?”

Yes. Because I wasn’t perfect. Because I was tired, emotionally beaten. Because Fluttershy is just hard to resist in the first place.

But I didn’t say a word, and didn’t break her gaze.

Because she already knew that.

Celestia looked away first, glaring at a nearby tree instead. It was at this point that I noticed that her flowing mane was practically whipping about in the solar wind, blazing gold.

The offending tree caught fire. Literally.

I laid my head down entirely, closing my eyes. Whatever was left of the bloody tears I’d shed only moments before had been evaporated by her glare, leaving trails of salt on my cheeks.

The white alicorn let out a sigh of frustration, turning back to me, “You were resisting to the best of your ability?” it wasn’t really a question, she already knew the answer.

My eyes opened again and I looked at her sadly, “With every bit of myself, Princess. I’m sorry. It wasn’t enough. I’ll…” I paused, thinking for a moment, “I’ll just order food for my cat from her, have it dropped off outside of the barrier or something…”

“That would be best.”

I winced at her tone, looking down and accepting the admonishment, my wings quivering in submission.

Could Celestia beat me? Maybe, I wasn’t sure. Probably. Did that matter? No. Because here was one of the proper rulers of Equestria, one of the most powerful beings in this world, and the only one I knew of that was able to resist the GSE.

She didn’t treat me like gods gift to the world. She didn’t worship me or mindlessly love me. Hell, she didn’t even just hate me without good reason. Even now, she was angry because I’d almost failed, I’d almost hurt one of her little ponies, because that had been far, far too close.

And she was mad because I, in some sick, twisted, stupid little way, I appreciated being treated like dirt. She knew it and never held back her irritation, her anger at my actions.

Because I knew she was addressing me, I knew I was being admonished for something I’d done wrong and deserved, and a part of me was so impossibly grateful for it. I wasn’t a masochist or even that much of a submissive, but I didn’t want to be loved all the time, not in such a false way.

I’d rather feel pain than nothing at all…

Ugh. I felt emo and stupid.

A hoof began to rub through my messy mane and a sigh escaped me, and I realized that I was trembling far less. Urgh, how pathetic could I get? A lot more, and I knew it.

“I’m sorry Emeris,” the Princess’ voice was soothing and gentle as she rubbed my mane like I was a foal, even though I was actually as tall as her. Then again, her birth certificate would’ve had five digits for her age and I barely had two, “I am not truly angry with you–“

I snorted.

There was no need to open my eyes to feel her scowling at me, “Oh come on… you’re angry, justified in it, but you are angry Princess.” The ‘Don’t lie to make me feel better’ went unsaid, but not unheard.

“I do not hate you young one.”

My lips quirked up in a smile, “That one I believe…” The hoof stroking my mane thunked down on top of my head hard for that one.

We stayed like that for several moments, Princess and Pet.

The realization hit me, like it always did.

I had been yelled at, felt like I was going to die, nearly been incinerated, and was still little better than a quivering mess before a goddess that only tolerated my continued existence because she was essentially the epitome of good and I had sworn my soul to her service.

And this was the closest to honest happiness I’d had in the past month.

Somebody, anybody… please… help me.

oOo

The plate floated over to the Princess, Droolykins curled up between her wings on her back.

Lovable little traitor. Hope he drooled all over her back.

“So, fortuitous timing of your arrival aside, what do you need of me Princess?”

She arched an elegant eyebrow at me even as her magic enveloped the plate of cookies and brought it closer, “Whatever makes you think I came for you Emeris?”

“You followed me inside instead of just escorting me home.”

Celestia hummed at that, eating one of the cookies.

A sigh escaped me as I sat across from her, snagging a cookie for myself.

Eventually though, after the tea had come out and a second plate of the cookies gotten filled and slowly emptied, she spoke again, “I have need of your power, Emeris.”

I scowled slightly in confusion, “Princess?”

“You are the only one with the raw power and…” she seemed to search for a more tactful word before just saying it truthfully, “Blood-lust… to accomplish it.”

My scowl deepened, “Princess, whatever can I do that the Elements of Harmony cannot? Anything I accomplish will be all over the headlines, and it will all get attributed to me…”

“I am aware, in fact, I am counting on it.”

A blink, “… I’m sorry, run that by me again?”

Celestia smirked at me, “I want you to go, and handle this with every bit of flair and reality warping as your curse can provide.”

My mouth worked silently, my brain working slowly, “… why?”

“I am having you deal with an elder dragon that has been encroaching upon Equestrian borders.”

“… but…" my brain struggled to understand, this was a political play, not merely a military one, so why... "Don’t they need to see you as powerful and terrifying? Not me?”

“Of course, and what else could I be if I am ordering around the Alicorn of Terra itself?”

That was when it clicked.

She was using me as a pawn… and making it obvious to political figures that I, powerful enough to move around mountains, manipulate lava itself, and create volcanos from nothing… that I was essentially her bitch to order around. What did that imply about her?

Vicious, manipulative, ever so slightly subtle… but layered. Depending on how this went, it could imply that I’m a vicious dog, kept on a tight leash that only the Equestrian royalty held.

I loved it.

“But…” stupid mouth, still working when I should be a good dog, shut up, and just go fetch, “… what if this backfires? You know full well how crazy my curse can act… making me the center of attention and awe…”

“I do have contingencies, Emeris,” her smirk was enigmatic and mysterious.

“That you’re not going to even hint to me.”

“No.”

“… so be it. I am eternally at your service, Princess of the Sun,” I stood, flexing my wings slightly, a giddy sensation trembling in my chest, here was a chance to do good for others that wasn’t initially spawned by the GSE in the first place, “Where is this dragon which needs to be introduced to the power of my curse?”

The white Alicorn smiled, sipping her tea.

I was her dog, rabid and dangerous, being let loose from its leash.

And I reveled in it.

oOo

Some fun facts:

Dragons are Immune to Fire and Doesn’t Afraid of Anything.

Dragons aren’t Immune to Rocks and are Huge.

That means they have huge guts.

Rip and Tear.

Anyways, despite what people would say, the fight wasn’t all that interesting. Impressive? Oh Celestia yes. But not interesting.

I tried talking to the elder dragon, but my social skills are… mediocre at best. And it doesn’t appear that I’m a ‘Purity Sue’, and thus causes everyone to lurvles me forever despite how much they hate me while converting my enemies because they’re just so misguided.

That, and when I fly over a town still trying to clean the blood from the streets and crushed houses being rebuilt? My hesitation to hurt someone tends to fade considerably.

So, when the dragon had attempted to force a confrontation, I’d just ripped a bunch of jagged boulders from the mountain side and beat it with them. An animated avalanche was impressive, but… not a whole lot to talk about. I just stood there, my horn bright with power, and beat the crap out of the dragon. Yes, it was about as subtle as taking a brick and slapping someone in the face, but that’s what Celestia wanted. And I made sure to mention working for her, doing her bidding, and other such to the dragon in the Royal Canterlot Voice so that anyone within miles could hear me.

Was it perfect? No. But subtlety on command wasn’t exactly one of my strong points, y’know, just in case the animated avalanche wasn’t enough of a hint.

Regardless, I hadn’t killed the dragon, that would’ve defeated the purpose. I did send the massive scaled thing running with its tail between its legs. And yes, I made sure to fix the mountain back up after I used it to beat up the dragon.

The... scale of what I had done, so casually... it overwhelmed me when I thought about it after the fact. I'd used a mountain… to beat up a dragon the size of a high-school football stadium… and this was not surprising in any way, shape, or form to me, nor would it be to Celestia.

Someone, anyone, please… help me.

I don’t want this, I’ve never wanted this, not really.

I’d wanted power in my life, but never much. I’d wanted to have an effect on history… not make it. I’d idly considered what it’d be like to have the power to shape the world at a whim.

But to be able to literally move mountains? To be a force of nature nearly as much as Celestia or Luna if not more? Never. I’d never wanted that. It was too much. Too much temptation. Too much responsibility. Too much everything. I'd wanted to be a hero, not a god amongst men.

And yet… here I was. Flying through the air towards the palace after breaking up a chunk of a mountain, using it to beat up something that was almost more landscape than living thing, and then put it back in place, good as new.

How fucked up is that?

oOo

“Princess,” I bowed low in greeting and held the position, my horn barely above the tile and my wings spread out and held low.

“Gary.”

Gratitude, brief as it was, surged through me at the use of my pseudonym. There were more than a few nobles in the room for the Day Court, and I didn’t want my name getting out amongst such gossipy idiots.

“Your will has been done, Princess,” what can I say? I enjoy being mysterious. Wizards prerogative, and I’d always wanted to be a wizard.

“Then you have accomplished your task to my satisfaction, young one?”

A part of me squealed happily as I tuned out the murmurings of those around us, focusing my senses on Celestia alone. It was a game, to see who let it slip first. I’d lose, but it’d be fun to see how long I could keep up.

“I have fulfilled every criterion you had set out for me to the best of my ability, Princess.”

“Mmmm… has he been… handled?”

Still too easy Princess, “I was able to… encourage… him to leave, Princess.”

It was annoyingly hard not to giggle and dance in place. Not because of some ‘Oh! I’m a guy! I’m too masculine for that!’ thing, but because it’d ruin the act and I was having fun. Silly, pointless fun, but fun.

“Then my message was delivered appropriately?”

“I had to be a bit… rough… but yes, Princess. I have delivered your message as requested.”

“Delightful, your quarters have been prepared. I shall summon you again when I have need of you.”

I dipped my head lower, the tip of my horn accidentally scraping the tile. That was a dismissal if I ever heard one, and I was out. I backed away from the royal alicorn, still bowed low. Ten steps back by the front right forehoof if I remembered correctly, then stand and turn, walking out with head held high.

Since I didn’t feel the tangible pressure of Celestia’s disapproval when I did so, I assumed it was close enough.

oOo

By the way, dodging insane fanmares is creepy.

But dodging insane fan-stallions is a lot creepier, and not just because I don’t swing that way.

Because all of the same things were there. The same attempts at molestation. The same mindless, going-through-the-motions attempts to have my attention, the same worshipful expressions that made me die inside, the same gifts and presents and songs about how we’ll be together forever because Twue Wuv.

But the mares usually didn’t try to proposition me… or mount me… or sing horrible songs while playing a ukulele to try and woo me.

Key word being ‘usually’.

At least I can vaporize a strap-on that a mare is wearing.

That is not one of my (admittedly numerous) fetishes, thank you very much.

Shining Armor in particular was disturbing to have to dodge. I know he’s a married stallion for Celestia’s sake!

So I was very happy when I was able to slip away after getting him talking about the mechanics of the magics behind the shield he had created. Dick move, I know, but I’d already heard it, and between him and the other guards, I felt like I was a slab of meat at a carnivore convention.

That’s particularly disturbing when you’ve been a herbivore for two years.

And now? I was hidden away in my quarters in the palace. Saying that my ‘quarters had been prepared’ was a nice way of saying ‘Go to your prison room, a mile beneath millions of tons of rock and stone of the mountain and as far away from Canterlot proper as can be safely achieved without sending you all the way back to Ponyville’. Obviously, she wanted to talk to me still about something, but we had to mitigate the effects of my curse.

The GSE was reduced with distance, and neither Celstia or I wanted the GSE affecting those in Canterlot any more than necessary. I always drew monsters as well. Even down here, I occasionally had to fight nameless horrors, usually mighty worms or wyrms tunneling through the ground. Only my house, behind some of the most powerful wards and magical barriers in Equestria, was I safe from them.

This, thankfully, was at least reasonably cool, if a bit frustrating and tedious. At least I didn’t have to worry about hurting someone, as the creatures spawned by the GSE to ‘show off my l33t skillz’ tended to be mindless. I didn’t care for hurting things, but some ridiculous and stupid part of my consciousness didn’t mind killing non-sentients.

I sighed, pouring myself another cup of tea in the rather spartan room. Stupid tiny cups, always getting in the way of my addiction.

I honestly felt like a monster sometimes, despite assuring myself with cold hard logic that I wasn’t. At least not in the way my emotions thought I was.

“Emeris.”

“Celestia?” Man I was out of it, I hadn’t even noticed her come in. Blasted existential crisis, ruining my situational awareness like that.

An elegant eyebrow was arched and I corrected myself, “Princess Celestia.”

A small, amused smile graced her face as she sat down across from me, a tea poured for her silently.

Neither of us spoke for a while, I was content to just be near someone without being propositioned in some fashion, worshiped, or getting into a brawl. Besides, starting this conversation was royal prerogative, not mine. And of course, I obviously had no idea what to say, so there was that.

Social awkwardness passed off with patience go!

“Emeris.”

“Yes Princess?”

“You’re not going to ask?”

Mentally, I searched for what she could mean, though my response was evasive, “It felt improper.”

“Your curse played out exactly as I expected.”

Oh, duh, the plan. Man I felt stupid. Still, a smile crossed my face, “Good. I was worried it’d do something weird.”

“Mm. You had no idea what I was asking, did you?”

“Not a clue,” I said cheerfully, pouring myself another cup. What were these things? Shot glasses? I totally needed to bring myself a proper mug next time I visited.

An amused smile crossed her face as she sipped her own tea.

Silence reigned for a time. Celestia likely enjoying the brief break from the tedium of the court and nobility with someone that knew how to shut the fuck up. Useful skill that one. Learned it at a young age I did.

Hrrrmmmm, Yoda my mentor was not, I assure you.

Though that would have been really cool.

“Emeris.”

I opened my eyes, taking in the Princess’ far more somber and serious expression, “Yes Princess?”

She was silent for a long moment, the white alicorn setting her cup back upon the table, “What if I told you that we had found a way to break your curse?”

My jaw dropped.

A thousand thousand emotions flashed through me, each fleeting and powerful as my mind raced but no coherent thought went through it. But there was a theme: Happiness and disbelief.

After who knows how long though, I was able to push that back, swallowing slowly, “I…” something was wrong… why did she ask it like that… “I… would say that I’d be elated… almost… overwhelmed… that’s what I want… hell, it’s what you want as well… exempting situations like before of course…”

Celestia nodded slowly, apparently expecting that answer. Her eyes were hard as they bore into my own, her tone as frozen as the furthest reaches of the north, “And what if I said it meant sawing off your horn?”

“…” my jaw worked soundlessly as I processed that information, “I-I… I… would ask t-to be warned before such… Princess… I… I don’t know how to feel about that…”

“And if it meant having to take off your wings?” When’d she stand up?

A small squeak escaped me at the thought, “I-… I…” I swallowed again in spite of my suddenly dry mouth, “I think I would have to request your research… Princess… and exile myself to find another way.”

She was encircling me now, terror was settling in my gut as sweat began to trickle down my back, this… this wasn’t the Celestia I’d come to know over the years, “And if I did not let you?” Her voice was low, dangerous.

I tried to swallow again, holding perfectly still, “I-… I-… I would have to ask why… Princess.”

“And if it was because you were too dangerous to be let out from under my hoof?”

Belatedly, I realized I was trembling like a leaf, “T-Then… then I would have to…” a deep, shuddering breath, “Then… we’d have it out, Princess.”

She was in my face, eyes simmering, “Here and now?”

I squeaked, barely keeping myself from scrambling backwards, “Y-Yes, Princess… but-! But… I’d really rather just exile myself… Princess,” I scrambled for something to say as her eyes burned brighter, “I don’t want to fight you Princess… I don’t want to hurt anyone… I just want to live instead of exist… but not at the cost of your ponies…”

The mighty Alicorn of the Sun didn’t back down.

“Please Princess… if we fight, there’ll be so much devastation… it’ll destroy the city… ponies will be hurt… please…” I was crying, when had that started, “Just let me leave… no pony will ever see me again! I won’t come back until I find a way to break my curse! Just… please…” I was begging now and didn’t care, “I don’t want to fight you… I don’t want to hurt anyone…”

Something soft touched my nose, something clicking as it came in contact with my horn. Slowly, I realized that my eyes were closed even as Celestia, the goddess that had been about to incinerate me, cooed softly, nuzzling me gently.

My thought process, what little there was, ground to a halt. I… I didn’t understand. My emotions were in turmoil. I was afraid, my insides clenched in a knot of fear, confusion run rampant, I wanted comfort, I wanted everything to be alright, I wanted to not be guilty about her being correct, I wanted her to not be angry with me anymore.

“Princess…?” my voice was little better than a strangled whimper as I tried to keep myself together.

“Calm your heart, my not-so-little pony.”

That did it.

The dam snapped. She’d never claimed me as one of her own. Not once. And whatever tenuous hold I had on my emotions shattered as I began to bawl like a child.

My head was tucked under her own, her chin resting atop my head, my horn off to the side. Her wings encircled me, hugging me close as tears flowed freely from my eyes. I had curled up against her, crying desperately as I hugged one of her legs tightly, desperate for comfort, for reassurance that someone was there, that she wasn’t angry, that everything would be alright.

A small traitorous part of me whispered in the back of my mind: How pathetic. Here I was, terrified out of my wits by one of the most powerful beings in Equestria… and now I was being comforted by the same being like a mother would a foal.

The rest of me reminded that part that I needed the comfort, so my ridiculous macho-issues could go crawl into a fire and die.

I sobbed quietly against her, whimpering as the tension and panic slowly faded from me. The mighty alicorn murmured soothing nothings into my ears, holding me close even as I got her white coat damp with tears. I don’t know how long we stayed like that, mighty sun goddess comforting an undeservedly powerful and confused former-human, but in time, my sobs faded into occasional sniffles, the deep ache in my chest subsided to a far milder version, and my trembling ceased.

It was only when my breathing calmed that Celestia spoke actual words again, her voice soft and soothing, “Do you know why I did that, Emeris?”

Despite my best efforts otherwise, in my emotionally drained state, I couldn’t come up with anything, so after a moments contemplation I shook my head.

“I had to be sure. Sure that you weren’t lying to me. That you truly wanted this curse gone-“

Something between a sob and a laugh escaped me, “And how in the hell did scaring me senseless accomplish that? Celestia, I thought I would have to fight you.”

“No, it did not. But even when truly thinking you were going to fight me, you did not attack, you made no aggressive moves, and you still showed concern for those above us.” Belatedly, I realized that she was gently stroking my back with her wings, I was surprised I hadn’t noticed that, “It also told me something very important. Even when threatened, you will not attack a pony. This is crucial for what I have found to work.”

Something stirred in my chest, “… you’ve actually found a cure…”

“Yes.”

“A-… a way to break this curse? To make me a normal pony? Or turn me into a human? I–…” I cut myself off, letting the Princess explain. My brain was rattling around in my head, trying to make sense of the emotional rollercoaster it had been put through.

“It will burn away one of the three traits you carry, either the strength of an Earth Pony, the horn of a Unicorn, or the wings of a Pegasus. You will still be a pony, and a hybrid at that, but it will burn away this curse with it.”

A small, happy sob escaped me as I clung to Celestia. Freedom, in my reach? A life? Friends? But something nagged at the back of my mind, “I… you use the word burn…”

“Yes.”

In a way, I appreciated that she let me figure it out, as the few pieces I had fell into place, “It’s going to hurt… isn’t it…”

“Everything I’ve seen indicates that the agony will be unimaginable… and that if you break the circle, it will be wasted.”

“… and with the power of this stupid curse…”

“It will be trivial to break free and cause untold devastation if you do not keep yourself under control.”

I swallowed, not even willing to contemplate the destruction I’d cause. Volcanos were terrifyingly easy for me to create. I could recreate Mt. St. Helens. With some effort, I could create blasts worth of a Spirit Bomb. An accident or slip of control at that level... “I–… I understand… Princess…”

“Then gather yourself, my not-so-little pony,” her wings uncurled about me, letting me (albeit reluctantly) stand again, “I shall gather the necessary components of the ritual.”

I blinked, “Just… just like that?”

The white alicorn’s smile was gentle, “I have not doubted you are worthy of the efforts to break this curse, not for a year. The only question was whether you could control yourself.”

“But…” another confused blink as I tried to process it all. She’d been furious with me yesterday, she’d jumped straight to the conclusion that I was taking advantage of one of her little ponies and the power of the GSE to ravish one of the elements of harmony… and she’d not doubted me?

“I have been afraid of you succumbing to the temptations of your curse. Of your resolve weakening that fraction enough to let the worst happen. But that does not change your worthiness.” Damnit woman-… mare, stop reading my mind! That’s my schtick!

I scowled at her slightly, shaking my head in disbelief. Urgh. I had a bit of an understanding of women, but multi-millenial goddesses of the sun were apparently outside of my relevant range. Accounting jokes. Gotta love’m.

Celestia smiled gently, scratching behind one of my ears with a hoof, “I trust you.”

As a bit of pride swelled in my chest, I couldn’t help muttering, “… I need a freakin neck brace around you…” A delicate eyebrow was raised, and I finished the thought, “Mood whiplash doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

Another smile, and damnit she was doing that on purpose. Gah.

oOo

I’d found an emotion to settle on: Nervousness.

We were leagues away from any signs of civilization, and by we, I meant myself, both of Equestria’s Diarchs, and all of the Elements of Harmony.

I was sitting in a circle of runes, basins of multicolored fire had been lit around me, and the sun and moon both hung in the sky in a beautiful twilight. It actually kind of scared me that it would take this much power to break my curse, but I trusted Celestia, no matter how much of a pain in the ass she might be at times.

The mane six had taken far more assurance, from both Celestia and myself that this would be fine, that I wanted this, and that this was the right thing to do. Especially Twilight. I think she understood what the spell was better than I did, and in there I think I saw a very honest concern for me, not caused by the GSE or the GSE’s self-preservation.

Now that had worried me, and despite my best efforts otherwise, I was still fidgeting in the circle. As a human, I’d liked moving around and fidgeting, but I could force myself very still when I had to. In this body though, my wings or tail had a tendency to disobey, twitching and ruffling when they really shouldn’t have.

The mane six were taking up positions in front of me, Celestia and Luna taking up another set of positions behind me, forming a rough triangle of the three strongest forces I knew of in Equestria.

Hoo boy, this… yeah, I’m officially sweating.

Celestia was the only one here immune to the GSE, but while the mane six were fully under its damn power, Luna had a considerable amount of resistance to it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for her older sister to risk letting us hang out, and after seeing her eyes glaze over once during our brief interactions in the palace, I had been far too terrified of doing that to her to contradict those orders.

“Princess…”

“Yes Twilight, I am sure about this. Gary is very sick, he’s been affected by a far more dangerous and powerful version of the Want Me Need Me spell, and it will take the combined power of the Elements of Harmony, my sister, and myself to undo it.”

“That’s… that’s a lot of power to direct at one pony Princess. Even one as amazingly powerful as Gary…” A cringe from myself and Luna, but Celestia, the focus of the conversation, had a perfect poker face.

“I assure you Twilight, anything less would not affect this spell.”

The purple unicorn looked to me pleadingly, “Gary…?”

I grinned wide at her, fluttering my wings pleasantly, “Don’t worry Twilight, Celestia’s right! I trust you.”

“But…” it was Rarity this time, “Aren’t you scared?”

My grin widened, “Not a bit! Ready when you are~” Blatant lies! Yaayyyyyyy.

What? I’ve already said I’m not the Element of Honesty.

Celestia had walked Twilight through the spell, and the details of the spell went well over my head. I understood enough that I didn’t need the simplified version she gave the others, but that level of magical theory went well over my head. As in, almost completely over my head despite the GSE and studying this kind of stuff for two years.

I’m not stupid by any stretch, but fuck, Twilight blew me away.

Regardless, my part in this was probably the simplest. Stand there and don’t move. The easiest job was that of the Elements other than Twilight. They just had to focus on their elements while Twilight did all the heavy thinking. The three most powerful spellcasters I’d had the pleasure of meeting had the toughest job, they had to guide this spell to unravel my curse without atomizing me.

No, that was not an exaggeration. Celestia had tried to hide it behind advanced language, but she’d forgotten that I was learned enough to understand that much. If they did this wrong, I’d be literally atomized and removed from existence.

Thus, no matter how much I trusted the trio, I was just kinda sorta totally freaking out at the moment.

“Are thou ready?”

“As I’ll ever be Princess~” Which was, on a scale of 1 to 10, a 3.

Yes, I use horrible running commentary in my head to stay calm and chipper in times of extreme stress, how’d you know?

Slowly, the elements of harmony on the mares necks (and gaudy crown thingy) began to light up, the mares in front of me beginning to lift in the air. A blaze of golden light appeared in the corner of one of my eyes, Celestia’s warm power washing over me. Silver light, softer and gentler than her sisters, but Luna’s power was almost frigid in comparison as it seemed to creep into my veins.

Okay, not too bad yet, I’d put this at a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10 of discomfort.

Then there were more rainbows in the air than just Dash.

I’d seen the Elements of Harmony in action before because GSE. But… I’d never been on this end of it. It’s a lot scarier from this end. The amount of power in that rainbow, even from over here, was… staggering.

I thought I was powerful. Hell, I thought Celestia was powerful.

This?

This was on a completely different scale.

And I was on the wrong end of it.

I was pretty close to shitting my metaphorical pants. Because imagine your big brother or some bully or whatever is appropriate sitting on your chest. Now imagine two of them. Now imagine someone sinking hooks into your guts and pulling them out while replacing them with cold, hard rocks. Now imagine that someone lit a bonfire in the base of your skull, and that you know exactly where it’s coming from. That’s about as close as I can get to explaining what it’s like to someone who can’t sense magic because ho-lee fuck.

Normal magic was sparks in the back of your mind, and more powerful magic felt like a lighter back there. Not really unpleasant, but very definitely there.

This was like a bonfire… in my skull… and holy shit it’s about to hi-

…

Whoa.

It hurt, but it was like a hot shower, or a rough massage, or that bit of pain as a chiropractor works or a hot spring and just… wow…

It was… I was within a kalediscope of color and power and overwhelming magic and it was unbelievable. I couldn't see much outside of the swirling, multicolored bonfire except for some vague shapes.

I was in pain, but it was only a 4 or a 5 on my scale, and I’d experienced a solid 9 as a human, so this wasn’t too bad.

And then Celestia said something, and I realized that the spell hadn’t actually started. They’d just been engulfing me in the proper power.

Then the spell started in earnest.

…

I…

I was on the floor…

Pain…

I couldn’t…

Thinking is hard…

I thought I knew pain...

I–

I’m sobbing… and thrashing…

So much-

It’s like fire ants, crawling in my skin, eating me alive, crawling through my veins and biting every inch of the way and oh Celestia stop it-

My bones–

The pain–

Why–

This–

It feels like white hot needles are prying my bones apart and cracking them to pieces–

God–

My wings–

My wings–!

They were burning away.

They were burning away!

I could feel them! They were burning away!

Oh god–

No!

This is wrong!

They were messing up! They were atomizing me! Wings first!

I–

The–

Stop it! Please!

Someone!

I just–

How long?!

How long is this taking?!

This is wrong! It’s–

I can’t think!

I can feel the feathers burning away! Stop! Stop!

Ripping–!

I’m being ripped apart!

I was crying, tearing apart–

The world was shaking–

No.

The world was really shaking–

It was an earthquake–

That’s–

I was thrashing–

No–… stop–… I had to…

A sob as I burned–

I forced the power away.

Not the Elements, not Celestia, not Luna–

Mine. My power. I was using it, but–

No, I shouldn’t be–

They didn’t want me to–

Even if I died, I couldn’t–

I screamed, feeling the bones of my wings burning away, molecule by molecule.

But I buried it, every bit of my power, buried it in my skin.

The magic followed, diving deep into me to burn the power out.

But I kept it buried. I couldn’t let it out.

And then it was over.

The pain was gone, leaving me a trembling, sweaty wreck on the ground. Oh god, why…

It was all gone, all of the pain, leaving me aching and trembling and sweating and cold. Why had it hurt so much? What had I done-? Celstia-… Luna-… why? That had been worse than everything else combined. That had made cracking out wisdom teeth with pliers and ineffective anesthetic seem like a pinch.

Just–… why?!

There was a hoof on me, and a choked sob escaped me at the aftershocks it caused.

Someone was speaking, I couldn’t hear the words though…

Trembling, I lifted my head, which felt like a lead weight. Something brown fell across my eyes… was that… my mane?

A white hoof hooked around my head, gently cradling the overly heavy appendage, brushing against my horn. My head was gently turned, the world was fuzzy, but the white and Technicolor blob couldn’t be anything but Celestia. But what was the green…?

… that was me.

My coat wasn’t black… it was blackboard green… my mane wasn’t red... it was brown… I didn’t have wings… just a horn… Celestia was so much… bigger…

I wanted to laugh… to cry… to scream… but only a small, happy crooning escaped my throat before unconsciousness began to claim me.

And as the world fell away, an ecstatic thought crossed my mind.

Someone had helped.

And I was free.

Author's Note

This is something that popped into my head and refused to get out: What happens to the world, realistically, when a character is a Mary Sue or Gary Stu? What happens when someone is made into a one? To have that distorted, terrible, mindless impact on the story and characters, the be just better than everyone else at whatever you do... and yet still be yourself beneath it all?

And now we move on to the story proper, an analysis of the aftereffects of being a Gary-Stu. I've hope you've enjoyed the fic so far!

Fun fact: This is not going to be pleasant for Emeris.

Critiques and constructive criticism are appreciated, be as harsh as you feel! Telling me what you think sucks helps me a lot!

Anyways, until next time!

Autobots, roll out!

Awakenings and the Strangeness of Mares

A.N.)–EDIT: As it appears to have been a problem, let me outright state that Twilight is fully intended to come across as Out Of Character for In-Character reasons that have not been revealed yet due to the limited PoV of the story.

Anyways, on with the fic!

Urgh.

Did anyone get the number of that truck?

Ulp-?!

Sorry.. ugh… train…

Ow.

Consciousness returned to me slowly, preceded by a horrendous ache throughout my entire body. An unpleasant groan escaped me before I tried to open my eyes.

It was light out… wherever I was… where was I anyways? What’d happened…?

Oh god- did my fans succeed-?!

I snapped awake, my eyes opening quickly. I disregarded the pain that lanced through me as I lifted my head, looking around quickly.

It was my house. My room. And no one else was in here. Everything was in its place.

No one in my bed. No one nearby. No one making breakfast in a ridiculous apron. No one in the bathroom.

My heart rate slowed as I took in the details, making sure that there was no one here. Nothing was out of place, nothing was where I wouldn’t put it, no gifts littered about or sudden home-making beyond the norm… I was alone. Something still seemed off though.

It was almost like… everything was bigger than it should have been…

… oh.

I looked over my shoulder at the rest of me, and even with my blanket draped over me, the changes were obvious.

No wings. Different coat. Different mane. A quick flick of my tail under the sheets confirmed that that too had changed.

A very stupid grin spread across my face as I laid my head back down on the pillow with a content sigh. Sleepiness and the ache overtaking me as memory trickled back to me. I was free.

No more black coat, no more crimson mane and tail with black streaks, no more crimson eyes, no more ridiculous warpings of reality to make me more important… no more wings…

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m really, really happy I’m not a Gary-Stu anymore, but man, I was gonna miss flying. That shit was fun. A brief movement of my head bumped my horn against my headboard, confirming that I still had that at least, for which I was quite thankful. I really missed opposable thumbs, and unicorn magic was the next best thing.

My sleepy musings were interrupted by a familiar sound. A muffled meow.

Opening my eyes again, I looked at the source of the noise, finding Droolykins standing beside my bed, carrying his sock in his mouth. He meowed at me through the sock once again, making me smile and shift my weight to lean my head over the edge of the bed. Briefly, I worried that he wouldn’t recognize me, I probably smelled different in addition to looking different, but the cat didn’t hesitate.

He walked right up to me, dropping his sock and getting up on his hind legs, planting his front paws on my nose and looking into my eyes. I stared right back into those mismatched green and yellow eyes, waiting for the animal to make a decision. I didn’t have to wait long before he mew’d happily and slid forward, half laying on my muzzle, his front legs wrapped around it as he licked between my eyes.

I closed my eyes and stifled a giggle, my worries assuaged. Droolykins never did this with anyone else that he’d encountered, not even Fluttershy or Celestia. I also knew what the little guy wanted.

Carefully, and with a lot more strain and pain than it deserved, I lifted my head, Droolykins hugging my muzzle and coming with as he kept licking. Gently, I set him back down on the bed, and the feline let go, starting to move about as I affectionately muttered, “Lazy bastard.”

The cat meowed unhappily, taking offense to that even as he hopped onto my back. Laying on my stomach was my preferred way of sleeping as a pony… at least it had been when I’d had wings, might find something else now. Droolykins pawed at my shoulders where my wings had been, mewing plaintively at me, making me sigh, “Yeah buddy, I’m going to miss those too.”

I laid my head back down as my cat curled up on my back. My back would be coated in drool when I got up, but this was completely normal for me.

I didn’t doubt that there were things for me to do, but I was tired and in pain and my cat was comfortably purring on my back, I was going to sleep in damnit.

oOo

Sleeping in consisted of only an hour before I was up and about, my cat still draped across my back. My body still ached pretty bad, but it was tolerable now. I assessed my changed situation as I stared into my mirror.

No wings, which sucked, I’d miss those. My eyes were a dull gray-green now, as I had suspected. My mane was a messy, spikey dark brown, short and swept back. So, so much better than that ridiculous blazing-in-non-existent-updraft crimson and black mane I’d had before. My tail was short and spikey as well, matching my mane, which was considerably better. The long tail had gotten in my way so many times, and no matter how many times I’d cut it, it’d have grown back in the morning.

The GSE liked to screw me over in the little ways almost as much as the big.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t a whole lot smaller than I had been. I couldn’t tell very well at the moment, but I think I was almost as big as Big Mac, if a bit skinnier. That I hadn’t expected, as I’d been a bit on the short and lean side as a human, so being a big stallion seemed a bit… weird.

This meant that I was the perfect size to bump into everything in my home. Things were close enough that my reflexes and habits weren’t interrupted, but just wrong enough that I bonked and boinked and bashed against every other thing. The table in particular was frustrating, my face had been reintroduced to the edge of it at least five times this morning alone.

I also kept stumbling, apparently the new body didn’t come standard with new balance. I kept expecting to have wings and a much longer horn. It made a bigger difference than you’d think.

At least I already knew how to use magic already.

But my Cutie Mark… I had… mixed feelings about that. I’d disliked the Volcanic Planet that had been my GSE Cutie Mark, but… seriously? A book? With a black lotus petal design on it? I didn’t have a clue what that meant. I’d probably figure it out later, but I thought my special talent would’ve been accounting or business or science or something… not… whatever that was.

After splashing some water on my face and rinsing some of the dried sweat from my mane (ignoring Droolykins unhappy meow at getting wet), I walked into the main room once more, taking deliberate steps to avoid stumbling.

It was only then that I noticed the letter on the table bearing the royal seal.

Mother fffff… urgh, I was stupid sometimes.

I opened the letter after struggling into the chair, hitting my head on the edge of the table twice in the process. But after shaking the stars from my eyes, I read over Celestia’s elegant script.

My Little Emeris,

Cue intro theme? Heh.

I am very pleased to say that the spell appears to have worked. Your form has changed, and your magic has decreased considerably. Additionally, the others have not shown their altered behavior since the completion of the spell. I am quite certain that my little ponies are quite grateful for your self-control under such duress, as we were merely shaken, no one was harmed by your slip of control.

A weight of guilt settled in my stomach at that, I’d completely forgotten about the others in my excitement. It’d only been a few minutes since I’d really awoken, but… ugh… I felt like crap for forgetting to check… I had to apologize to everyone for that as well as the whole GSE and thank them for helping me.

An asshole I was, ungrateful I was not.

Yoda my mentor still was not, hrrrmmmmm.

At your earliest convenience upon waking, I would like a report upon your health. While I do not believe that the curse is affecting my ponies anymore, I have secluded you in your home instead of a hospital just in case—

I nodded to myself, good thinking Princess, glad you did that. Even if it was gone now, the risk that it could come back… I shuddered unpleasantly at the possibility.

— but I shall visit within three days if you do not contact me.

Best of wishes, my little Emeris,

Princess Celestia

Right then, best get a message to her before I do anything else, I didn’t know how long it’d been, but the lack of intense hunger implied that it hadn’t been all that long.

Snagging a few sheets of paper, a quill, and ink with my magic, I pulled them to the desk and laid them out. I hadn’t written much since my appearance in Equestria, but my magic-written handwriting was more than decent, which meant it was better than the chicken-scratch I called writing as a human.

Except… when I put the quill to paper, it was far less… delicate… than I remembered. Despite focus and concentration, I couldn’t seem to get the quill to do as I wished with the same precision as I remembered.

Scowling, I realized that my magic-writing had been affected by the GSE. Damn.

An idea flitted through my mind that I was going to try before I just accepted my much sloppier handwriting. I set the quill aside and adjusted the paper and inkwell searching my memory for a long moment before I found the information and stored schematics I needed.

With my eyes closed, I constructed a type-writer, every screw, every lever, every pin. All the coils and springs, every piece and the basic mathematics that went with it, tension, hardness, weight, friction coefficient. And once I had it in its entirety, I held the mechanism in my mind. Being a family handy-man that actually reads the manuals had its advantages.

Opening my eyes, I stared at the paper and inkwell, superimposing the typewriter over both and putting them in the proper places.

With a grin, I cracked my imaginary knuckles over the semi-tangible typewriter of magic and force.

The thing actually worked, thank goodness, though there was a hiccup when I had to move the paper back over and the typewriter didn’t ding like I expected. The sudden departure from expectations nearly shattered the image in my head, and thus, the whole spell, but I held it together and kept typing, this time making the noises I expected on my own.

Yes, I was saying “Clickclickclickclickclick swish-ding~” But I was typing with my brain, so hush.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I learned that not being an Alicorn means pain, and that I miss having wings already. But damn, it didn’t affect my swag at all. Damn I look good. Mares’ll still be all over me.

Best wishes,

Emeris

P.S. – I’m happy everyone’s okay, it would’ve killed me if I’d hurt anyone. I’m sorry about the slip in control, but to say the pain was indescribable is a bit of an understatement. I defer to your judgement on my readiness to join Equestrian society as well as my next step.

Nothing appears to be majorly out of place, but I will give you a full report on the changes to my physicality and abilities once I have finished my assessment. But, for all intents and purposes, the spell seems to have worked as far as I can tell.

I smiled at the letter, dashing a bit of sand over it to dry the ink. I didn’t know if it’d make the Princess smile, but I hoped so.

She terrified the hell out of me, but so had my mom, and I’d still loved her.

Rolling up the letter, I tied it closed and sent it to Celestia.

… or at least, I tried to.

I glared at the levitated scroll, somewhat irritated with myself for just expecting that spell to work like before. I’d vaporized the scrolls with magma and the ashes would reform before Celestia, much the way Spike’s fire would send her the letters. But I didn’t exactly have a magma cutie-mark anymore now did I?

With a sigh, I set about to trying other spells to send it to Celestia, I mean, it couldn’t be that hard right? I’d just written by creating a mental typewriter, what could be so much worse about this?

oOo

I hate it when I tempt fate like that.

With a sigh, I admitted defeat at 74 variations. I’d made 87 attempts, but when I’d tried to start keeping track of them, I realized I’d started repeating myself. Urgh.

I still needed to get this letter to Celestia…

… well, my original sending magic was similar to Spike’s… so why not get him to send it? I should return these books anyway… and I never did get Droolykins more food…

Right, I was… going out…

… I really shouldn’t have been as nervous as I was but… well… stupid emotions never listening to logic.

There was the learned trepidation of going out of my barrier and into the world that loved to screw with me because GSE. But while that was remnants of a habit that hopefully would fade soon, I was also worried about how ponies would react to me without that damn curse.

Taking a deep breath, I forced these fears down. There were things that needed doing, and I couldn’t, wouldn’t, wallow in fear.

Forever forward. Tally ho bitches.

oOo

Hoo boy, well, no question on whether or not the curse was broken… and on whether or not they recognized me despite the change.

‘They’ being all of Ponyville.

I was lucky to not get a glare from anyone I passed going down the street. And while the ponies avoided me a bit more subtly than they had Zecora… there was more than a little bit of simmering hostility being aimed at me. Y’know, just a teensy weensy, itsy bitsy, tiny winey LOT.

Couldn’t blame them to be honest, but… it hurt, there wasn’t any good way to say it. It hurt to be on the receiving end of such looks from pretty much everyone. Now, not everyone gave me hostile looks, but the few that didn’t were either oblivious about my presence or gave me a look that qualified as sullen rather than outright hostile. If there were any happy gazes, I didn’t notice them.

I really wasn’t feeling the love.

Still miles better than being under the effects of the GSE. That was like being stuck in the Twilight Series as Bella when your mind was still your own… only, y’know, even worse.

Yes, it is possible to be worse than Twilight, if you think otherwise then you haven’t read enough fanfic.

Fortunately though, no one actually accosted me as I trotted along, saddlebags bouncing at my sides. As I passed through the market though, I noticed Applejack manning… um… maring? I have no idea on that one… her family stand. My stomach grumbled earnestly, reminding me that I’d… le-gasph forgotten breakfast!

That actually would be problematic for me, I had a ridiculous metabolism. Meant I couldn’t really get fat, also meant I had to eat a lot and frequently. Which also meant I never needed to mow my yard. Cellulose Digestion, yeeaaahhhh!

But now? I wanted an apple. And it was a great excuse to talk to Applejack. Was I nervous and afraid? Oh hells yes. But I was far too eager to talk with her without the GSE screwing with her head and thank her, as well as apologize.

“Afternoon, Miss Applejack,” I smiled as I trotted, “I was hoping to-… ah, to…” Hoo boy… smoking hooves, “To get an apple… please,” I swallowed nervously under her glare, “And, ah, to thank you for helping break that spell…”

Her response was simple, “G’it.”

“… Applejack…?”

She leaned forward, the wooden stand creaking beneath her hooves, “Ah. Said. G’it.”

I swallowed hard, “Y-Yes ma’am…”

So I got. Specifically, the hell away. I didn’t run, didn’t panic, didn’t dash away at top speed. But I got moving.

I was confused, hurt, and a little scared. I didn’t know what I’d done to make her that angry. I just… how do you react to that? I didn’t know how I’d expected everyone to react, but I hadn’t expected that, let alone from one of the Elements of Harmony. I mean, I know Applejack isn’t the Element of Kindness or anything, but… had I really been that bad?

A cold pit of fear settled in my stomach, snuggled up right beside my hunger in a dance of discomfort. I didn’t know what I’d done to make her so angry, and I was going to worry about it endlessly until I found out and found out how to make up for it. I hated it when people were angry with me.

But I could… hell… had to make it up to her later. That hadn’t been the ‘go away’ that you could power through, apologize and give gifts and hugs and whatever else to make up for. That was the ‘go away or this will turn into a brawl’ or ‘go away or we’ll never talk again’. Pony body-language was still a bit of a mystery to me, but speech patterns were basically spot on, and I knew the difference, I’d been on the wrong end of those tones often enough to have picked it up.

I knew that if I tried to force the issue now, it would only make things worse. So as loathe as I was to just… leave like this, it was the better of my limited number of choices.

So here I was, trotting away from the marketplace at a decent clip, trying not to break out into a full gallop. Briefly, I considered getting food from somewhere else… very briefly. The glares around me weren’t as… intense as Applejacks, but I didn’t feel welcome here. I was going to do what I needed to do and leave. Well, at least go home and get the fuck out of Ponyville. I just… I just wanted this to blow over.

Belatedly, I realized that whatever courage I had mustered up to go out had evaporated under the pointedly hostile gaze of the orange mare. But after a moments consideration, I concluded that I didn’t really care. Send the letter to Celestia, get food for Droolykins, leave. Everything else was icing. Icing that apparently had spoiled… or something.

… that metaphor went somewhere stupid.

Regardless, I just wanted to let this all blow over some, time heals all wounds and all that jazz. (No, it didn’t, but it would at least ease the pain enough to address it)

It took little time for me to get to the library, less than I was used to actually. Shaken or not, I usually would’ve had to dodge fanmares every step of the way to get somewhere, which thankfully wasn’t the case. It said a lot that I preferred glares and sullen looks to what I had before.

I pushed the door to the library/Twilights home, looking around for the purple mare and/or her equally purple assistant. Really, I only needed Spike, but I wanted to know that Applejack’s intense hostility was just a fluke and it would’ve been rude to enter the library without at least saying hi.

It just might have kinda sorta maybe totally had something to do with wanting to just talk with the cute mare.

Y’know, just maybe.

I erred on the side of politeness as I called out into the seemingly empty library, “Miss Sparkle?”

Silence.

Hoo boy, hoped she was here, otherwise this was going to be a bit awkward, especially since I could feel eyes upon me, “Miss Sparkle? I have a letter I need sent to the Princesses as soon as possible…” The silence was deafening, not even a creak of floorboards or rustle of paper in the breeze; I’ll admit I was more than a bit freaked out by that as I got up and leaned against the front desk. The letter was pulled from my saddlebag with my magic, my horn glittering as I set it down on the desk, looking for a quill and some ink.

If she wasn’t here, then I’d leave a note for her, I wasn’t comfortable just staying in her home when she wasn’t here, public library or not. Still, I kept talking at a decent volume to the library, in case she was here and something unusual was going on, like she was scared of me or such, “I was just hoping to make use of Spike’s fire—“ the sound of a hoof on wood cut me off, that single sound somehow managing to be extremely menacing.

Suppressing the twitch and urge to jerk my head around, I turned my head towards the sound at a more normal pace, finding Twilight having slipped in from one of the doors. Her head was low to the ground, her hooves wide, her tail swishing back and forth… even as mostly ignorant of pony body-language as I was, I would’ve recognized that stance as hostile even without the terrible glare on her face.

Doing my best to keep my stomach from plummeting through the floor, I smiled nervously at the mare, “Oh, Miss Sparkle, hi. Ah, I wanted to—“

She growled at me.

I whimpered softly, “-to send this to Princess Celestia…”

“You…” that was not a pleasant tone. I swallowed, but damn my mouth for working before I could think.

“Me-?”

Her teeth ground together, her eyes narrowing further, her horn blazing to life, “Get out.”

Twilight wasn’t as terrifying as Celestia, but not by much, mortal terror still described my feelings quite well, “T-Twilight—“

”Get out!”

I was already moving by the time the first blasts were unleashed from her horn. I’d dropped the scroll and ran, trusting my finely tuned instincts of ’Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck’ to keep me well out of the way of the power the purple mare was unleashing. There was the smell of singed wood as I ripped open the library door that I’d so foolishly closed behind me, a rather vicious blast of heat catching me in the flank for that brief pause. I whinnied as I dashed out, belatedly noting that Twilight was cursing me out, and likely had been since she’d started firing.

I hadn’t caught a word of it, and some distant part of my mind hoped it wouldn’t have given me a clue as to why she was so furious with me. The words 'You wouldn't dare-!' and 'I won't let you-!' didn't register in my mind.

This was because the rest of me was in a panic, running full tilt away from the library, focused entirely on just getting away.

So I ran.

Ponies in the town moved out of my way as I galloped, but I still ran.

Instincts, fight or flight… I couldn’t fight Twilight, I couldn’t bring myself to do so. So my instincts all said flee.

And I fled.

Away from the library, out of the town, nearly to the Everfree forest. I fled.

Eventually, the panic faded, and as it did, my hooves slowed. But as the tension and panic slowly melted away, it was replaced with a dead, empty feeling that filled much of my body cavity.

I—

Well outside of Ponyville, I slumped to the ground, panting, my sides quivering.

Emotions tumbled through my skull, muddling my thoughts, bouncing around in my head… and I let them do so for several more moments as my heart calmed down.

But the emotional turmoil didn’t settle on its own, and I had to focus, separating the emotions from one another and analyzing them, examining them and why I felt them, compartmentalizing them and segregating them, making something manageable from the mess my head was at the moment.

Fear. That was easy, I’d just been on the wrong side of one of the most powerful unicorns alive, and one of the most skilled. There was also a bit of fear that I wasn’t completely free of the curse. Or... or worse... that the curse had been inverted, that everyone was magically compelled to hate me now... I... I couldn't consider that, I just couldn't, not yet. Expected. Segregated. Set aside.

Anger. Small, but there. I didn’t know what I’d done. It was the fight part of my fight or flight, useless. Expected. Segregated. Burned and destroyed.

Guilt. Overwhelming, mostly unfounded. I was inordinately guilty for whatever I had done to anger Twilight and Applejack so much. Whatever I’d done, I would make up for it, they deserved better. Excessive, but expected. Segregated. I turned as much of it into determination to do better as I could.

Sadness. Dejection. I wanted to just lay down and cry. All that work for nothing? Two years? That pain? For nothing? Somewhat unexpected. Useless. Discarded.

Terrified anticipation. Would this trend continue? Expected. Segregated. Discarded as best I could.

Lust—

… wait. What.

…

Apparently, Twilight had been really hot, and a powerful, dominant mare had set off all of my buttons.

… not expected. Segregated. Set aside to puzzle over later.

There were various other errant thoughts and emotions in my head, but little else was relevant to the situation and merely muddied the waters. Like, ’Man I want cookie dough ice cream’ or ’Laying on grass like this tickles in weird places’. So like I said, nothing relevant.

That set aside, I did my best to formulate a measured an intelligent response to the situation.

Run away screaming was going to be Plan C.

I had two data points of the hostility, one of them rather extreme, that’s called a coincidence. It made me uneasy, but I had to keep moving forward, hoping for the best.

Because I still needed food for Droolykins. And all I could do was hope that Twilight sent the letter after she calmed down from her rage. Once I’d accomplished the former, I could work on figuring out what I’d done and how best to make up for it. Considering how furious Twilight had been with me… I’d probably be visited by Celestia to check up on me before I could get a letter sent if the lavender spellcaster didn’t send the one I’d left behind.

Thus, Plan A: Go to Fluttershy’s, get Droolykins food, go home.

If(Fluttershy.Emotion == Hostile){
Run to Canterlot, speak with Celestia, because something is screwy
}
Else{
Go home and think
};

Coding jokes, gotta love’m.

oOo

The little hovel/cottage/hobbit hole was quiet as I approached. Well, at least relatively. The animals were milling about, making their usual amount of noise, the smell was still bleh, and everything was idyllic.

Really hoped I wasn’t about to crash the party.

My ears swiveled reflexively at a distant sound. Ah, Fluttershy’s singing, there she was. With a small, hopeful yet nervous smile, I walked towards the sound of her voice. I briefly considered just calling out to her, but after a moments consideration, I put myself between the door and the sound of her voice before speaking, “Miss Fluttershy?”

There was a brief moment of dead silence before I heard the expected, but still barely audible ‘Eep!’.

A yellow and pink blur suddenly tore around the house and nearly slammed into me, making me rear back reflexively. I nearly kicked out at the blur before I restrained my hooves and dropped back down, shying away some. The Fluttershy-shaped blur ‘Eep!’ed again, pulling back and stammering apologies.

A traitorous part of me was inordinately grateful for her fear rather than fury. I crushed that down as I stammered out my apology, “I-I’m sorry– I… I’m sorry about startling you and the whole mess that-… just… yeah…” I trailed off lamely. Whatever I’d had planned to say had died in my throat as the emotions, the guilt, all suddenly slammed into me at once, “I’m sorry about yesterday… so sorry…” I clenched my eyes shut, tears slipping out, “I wasn’t strong enough to resist you, and if Celestia hadn’t… I… Fluttershy, I’m so sorry…”

“I-…” I heard the pegasus’ hooves touch down softly on the ground, “I-… I think you should leave…”

Her words, as soft and gentle and unsure as they were, cut at my heart like a knife, “… I can’t—“

“What-?!” she squeaked in a mixture of fear, disbelief, and a hint of anger.

The words tumbled out of my mouth, I knew she wanted me to leave and I would! But I still had something to do and I didn’t want her to think something strange, “I mean not yet! I can’t leave yet because I didn’t finish what I had to do yesterday and I mean the original task not the other thing,” my face was red, “I mean I… just…” I clamped my jaw shut, forcing the words to stop as I steadied my breathing, “I… I still need food for Droolykins. I have the money to pay. I’ll leave you alone after that.”

“O-Oh…” there was an awkward silence after that, and I cursed my own inability to speak, feeling unbelievably awkward and unable to think of something silly to break the tension, “I-I’ll go get that for you, just… I’llberightback-“

The yellow pegasus was gone in a blur, and I sighed, letting my flank fall to the dirt. I was tired, emotionally and physically. The day’d barely started and I was this bad off. Urgh. Briefly, I lamented my lot in life before tossing such musings aside as unnecessarily emo. There was a low buzzing that suddenly ceased, my horn suddenly heavier. I opened my eyes to find a bright green and red hummingbird had settled on my horn.

I probably looked silly with my crossed eyes staring at my horn, but whatever, “Sorry buddy, I’ve already got a pet, and he’d probably try to eat you if I brought you home too.”

The little bird ruffled in offense, making a small warmth pool in my chest as I smiled sadly at him, “Sorry little guy, not going to happen.”

He (and it was a he, I recognized the feather pattern) shook his head, and I realized that wasn’t what he’d been on about, whoops. He began to gesture with his wings, pointing and squeaking angrily, well, chirping’s probably the proper word, but he was so small that it was basically squeaking. It took me a few moments, but eventually I figured out what he was saying.

I sighed, my head and eyes dipping, “Sorry, yeah, I know. I promise… I won’t hurt her. I never want to hurt her. I… can’t promise I won’t scare her though… sorry… that—… I don’t think I have any control over that…”

The bird, mollified, nodded his head affirmatively, with a definite sense of ’You’d better.

Rolling my eyes, I gave the little guy an equally little glare, “Now g’toff my horn. It’s not a perch.” He squeaked indignantly at me, but I just raised an eyebrow. Eventually, he fluttered off of the magical focus with a huff, flying off towards the rest of the animals Fluttershy was treating. I didn’t know why this little guy was here but-

A small gasp and dull thump drew my attention, making me leap to my feet and turn my head towards the source of the sound, finding Fluttershy and the large (for her) bag that she’d dropped in front of her. Her eyes were wide and her jaw agape, after glancing on the other side of me to be sure there was nothing big and scary on that side, I turned back to her with a raised eyebrow, silently asking what the problem was.

“Y-Your cutie mark?! What-?” the mare was suddenly beside me, and I nearly jumped, reflexes almost kicking in before I viciously suppressed them, keeping myself in place as a pair of hooves rested on my side, blue eyes staring at my hip, “What happened?”

I blinked at her curiously, my face slightly flushed at the close study of what amounted to my ass. I looked back over my shoulder, trying to see what she was looking at. I was surprised to see a large burn over my right flank, covering up much of my cutie mark on that side. It took only a moment for me to connect the dots. Ponies were rather… protective… of the cutie marks, and I had to admit that even I had a certain amount of attachment to that horrid one I’d had before despite everything. Twilight had glanced me with her magic, and it’d left the burn. And I’d just forgotten about the mark because it didn’t seem to hurt much.

Experimentally, I moved the leg, cringing ever so slightly as the skin of the burn bunched from the movement, “Ah… that…”

Fluttersy was suddenly in my face, “What happened?”

I coughed awkwardly, “A misunderstanding—” Foooo… that was a rather intense look, it actually made me pause, considering what to say next. I didn’t want to throw Twilight under the bus, I liked the purple mare, even after two years of dodging seductions and aphrodisiacs, “I… ah… not everyone has been as… nonconfrontational… as you.”

“Who?”

“Fluttershy, it doesn’t matter—“

“Who?” I swallowed, meeting her stare. Her stare tried to compel me, her voice velvet coated iron.

But damnit, I cared for Twilight, and I wasn’t going to throw her under the bus. Those blasts were painful, but the only reason the burn was that big was because the beam had hit at a shallow angle, “It’s no worse than a welt Fluttershy. It doesn’t matter.”

She scowled, but I met her gaze. I was not going to back down on this.

Suddenly, she poked the burn on my flank, and I nearly jumped, wincing and flinching away. It stung pretty bad now that my attention had been drawn to it, but eesh, ow, it was somewhere on the ‘Fffffffffffuuuuu-‘ end of a first degree burn. Her question was considerably more pointed this time, “Who?”

But I didn’t back down, meeting her gaze with my own, “Fluttershy, I’m not going to tell you,” there was no hesitation, though I did look away from her to grumble to myself, “I almost certainly deserved it anyways.”

A look crossed her face that I couldn’t identify in the least before she looked back to my flank, her hoof tracing the burn, “… maybe… but you don’t- I mean, I never thought you'd—“ the edge of her hoof traced across the edge of the burn, making me flinch in spite of myself, this seemed to startle Fluttershy out of her train of thought. “Oh! Oh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to-! I-I’ll go get some salve for that! I’m so sorry, I’ll be right back oh I’m so sorry I’m so sorry—“ She was still apologizing even as she flew off to get aforementioned salve.

I blinked confusedly before shaking my head, an affectionate smile on my muzzle. Crazy mare. Cute as hell, but crazy. One moment she was afraid of and/or angry at me, then she was concerned and angry at whoever had hurt me, and now she was apologetic and scared again and rushing to tend to me.

… damnit, even here I liked the crazy ones.

… damnit.

The soft yellow pegasus suddenly reappeared, hugging a jar of— *sniff* — aloe. The mare set down the jar, murmuring soft, soothing words that blended together in my ears even as she took some of the aloe on her hoof and began to gently spread it over the burn. The goopy mess made me shift the leg uncomfortably, but her words kept me from flinching. Somewhere in there were apologies about the pain and for being so forward in her treatment… neither of which she really had to apologize for.

Crazy mare, cute mare, also very, very good at what she was doing.

Now, I was a bit uncomfortable with this, but I didn’t say anything because A). I’m an admitted pervert, and seriously, would you complain that a female hot enough to get roped into being a super-model was touching your ass? And B). I doubted she realized that if you didn’t know better, it’d appear that she was fondling my flank.

Still, it was over soon, her hoof pulling away from my singed cutie mark. I hoped I wasn’t blushing as the mare looked at me, her voice very soft, “There, all better,” a small smile crossed my face, her concern over another being basically overrode every fear or issue she had, it was sweet, if a bit strange, “You’ll come back if it’s not better in a few days? I mean, if that’s okay with you Gary—“

In spite of myself, I flinched at that name, making her eyes widen, “Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean— Is there anything I can do-? I didn’t put the wrong thing on or—“

Belatedly, I realized that she had no idea what the issue was, and gently if quickly put a hoof over her mouth before she could work herself into a tizzy. Her eyes blinked rapidly at me in confusion as I organized my thoughts to try and explain something that I myself didn’t intellectually understand.

“That’s… that’s not actually my name…” she looked at me in confusion and curiosity, “It’s… it was something to call me… I didn’t want my name to be associated with… with what I was… what my curse made me… I…” I stumbled over my words, taking my hoof from her mouth and placing it back on the ground, “I didn’t want my name said the way… I didn’t want to hear ponies say my name with that mindless worship…”

“O-Oh…”

“It’s… yeah…” I looked away, irritated with my inability to communicate, “I… heh…” an amused, if slightly bitter thought crossed my mind, “I haven’t even introduced myself to anypony except the Princess…” an even more morose thought followed, slipping free before I could shut my traitorous mouth, “Haven’t even really met anypony… just the fake personalities that the curse made me talk to…”

I felt the pall of depression try to settle over me before shaking it off, and meeting her pitying and sad eyes. I cursed myself, damnit, now she probably felt bad, gah, not my intention, stupid runaway mouth. With a sigh, I turned away, opening my mouth again to ask about the price of the food and skedaddle…

… but a yellow hoof extended into the periphery of my view, causing my head to turn back to the pegasus in confusion.

Her face was hesitant, and her mouth worked soundlessly for several moments before a resolute look came over her, and her extended hoof straightened, her blue eyes meeting my dull green ones, “H-Hi. My name’s Fluttershy…”

It took only a moment for comprehension to dawn on me, but when it did, I smiled a stupid little smile, my face heating up in a combination of embarrassment and joy as I turned my body and extended my hoof to meet hers, “And mine’s Emeris. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

A stupidly happy warmth spread through my chest as she beamed at me. All the pains of the day, the glares, the worries, the fears and turmoil, it all fell away at the simple gesture. What had been a lead weight in my gut was suddenly a pink cloud of warm and fuzzy cotton candy. And even as we stopped shaking hooves, I wanted to prance around giddily squee-ing, but I suppressed the urge, if only just. Her voice was soft and caring as she asked, “Feeling better?”

“Heh… much… thank you…” though as I gave her a small, if immensely grateful smile, something niggled in the back of my brain. Something other than my usual inability to come up with what to say in moments like this.

The large bag behind her, kinda sorta maybe totally sparked my memory.

“So…” I trailed off, glancing at the large bag, “How much do I owe you?” I gestured at it with my horn.

The yellow pegasus blinked in confusion before glancing back, realizing what I was talking about, “Oh! Oh, um, eig-eighteen bits… if… if that’s okay with you…” and there it was, right back to the excessively shy and polite demeanor.

Like I said, cute, but crazy.

Smiling affectionately, I pulled the appropriate bits from my saddlebag. Could I have haggled? Sure. But I trusted Fluttershy to not try and mess with me, and I didn’t really have any experience with haggling because the GSE had made it pointless. I’d had to try to pay people for their services, which had been quite frustrating. The businessman (business-stallion?) in me had ground its teeth at the concept of free things.

It was with little effort that I levitated the large bag up onto my back. Though the term large was a bit relative. For Fluttershy, it was quite big (mare could lift more than she gave herself credit for), but even accounting for her withdrawn demeanor and body language, I was surprisingly larger than her.

That… actually surprised me. I’d hypothesized that I’d be almost as tall as Big Mac, if notably leaner. And from actually comparing myself to Fluttershy, it seemed rather likely that the estimate was dead on. I was nearly a head taller than the shy mare, and probably weighed almost twice what she did.

Hefting a bit to shift the weight on my back, I looked back to the pegasus, “Fluttershy… I…” the words, whatever it was that I’d meant to say, died in my throat. I closed my eyes, gathering my thoughts, knowing she was looking at me curiously, “I just wanted to say… I’m sorry, for everything. And again, thank you.” I meant it, with all of my heart. Even something as small as this… it was like a deep breath of air for a man that had been drowning.

Gray-green eyes met deep blue ones, “If there’s anything I can do to make up for the effects of that curse, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“A-Alright…”

It felt awkward, but I honestly had no idea what to say after that. So this is how Twilight felt in episode one… so, with as gentle of a smile as I could give, I turned and started walking off, bag of cat-food over my back. I called over my shoulder, “Hope to talk to you later Fluttershy.”

She seemed to try to stammer out something, but eventually settled on a barely audible, “Bye…”

So it was with a small smile, my day the best it’d been in almost two years, that I left Fluttershy’s cottage, headed towards my own.

oOo

Once well out of sight of the animal-care center that Fluttershy passed off as a home, I let out a squeal of happiness, prancing about giddily before giving a little hop.

Said hop dislodged the sack of food from my back… which promptly fell on my tail rather hard.

Obviously, I addressed the situation with the appropriate level of decorum required for such a painful surprise of having ones tail nearly tugged off while completely alone. Cussed that bag out damn good before replacing it on my back.

I might’ve been hungry, tired, achy, emotionally drained, and a general mess. But it’d still been the best day I’d had in a long time.

This situation called for Metallica!

… what? Hard rock made me happy.

... damnit, I forgot that I didn't have any music like that.

But good mood is ongoing! Never gonna give you up! Never gonna let you down! Never gonna run around and desert you!

…

Fuck, I just rick rolled myself didn’t I…

Damnit.

oOo

I sighed, staring down at the disgruntled feline in front of me, “Hello Drools.”

“Meow.”

“Yes, that’s your food.”

“Meeooowwww.”

“Well, I would, but you’re kind of in the way.”

“Meow.”

“No, I’m not feeding you first. I’ve had a rollercoaster of a day. I’m just as hungry as you are.”

“Mrr?”

“I didn’t get breakfast either, and you haven’t been dodging angry females.”

“…”

“… Drools, did you get out the disco ball?”

“Mewww…”

“…”

“Mrowr!”

“Did you at least clean up afterwards?”

“Meow!”

Shaking my head, I waved a hoof at the little feline, “Alright then, good enough, now move so I can feed us both, ya little fuzzy bastard.”

Droolykins stuck his tongue out at me, but spun on his back legs and headed inside as well.

Could I have forced my way past the little guy? Sure. But I loved him, and he’d been blocking the doorway.

If you’ve ever had a pet do that, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Still, I was home again.

Yay!

I shrugged my back, dropping the bag of food down onto the wood floor as my horn lit up and I focused my magic, grasping the needed utensils with practiced ease. Bowl, lettuce, daisies… nah, roses, this was a special occasion, bread, mayo, mustard, etc. etc.

It was going to be my first proper meal in Equestria… or at least, what I was going to consider my first proper meal in Equestria.

As unrealistic as it was, I kind of hoped that I’d be able to just ignore the past two years of the curse… but the reactions of not only the townsfolk in general, but Applejack and Twilight in specific, busted that hopeful myth. I still... I was still worried that the spell had somehow been inverted, but... that couldn't have been the case, or at least... it wasn't very likely considering how Fluttershy had reacted... still, I'd bet that Twilight had good reasons for reacting that way, I just didn't know them yet.

Nodding to myself, I pushed the concerns aside to address later.

And there was hope. Fluttershy was willing to at least give me a chance. I know I know, Element of Kindness and everything but… it was hope. More than I’d had in a good while. And it was a solid hope, rather than a tenuous ‘Well, I made some progress’ kind of hope. I focused on that rather than all of the work and difficulties that likely lay ahead of me.

For focus on the depressing bits would lead to sadness. Sadness led to depression. Depression to anger. Anger to rage. And rage to the No-Yoda-Was-Not-My-Mentor side.

But first, food. Much easier to be content when you’ve got a full stomach. Bread and circuses and all that.

oOo

Yay!

I could still cook. Even after two years of forced vegetarian dieting, I still wasn’t used to not including meat in a meal. Guess I was a bit too much of a carnivore at heart.

Ug, caveman want meat?

Regardless, the rose-petal salad tasted damn good.

Still, I didn’t really have much to do. I didn’t dare go back to Ponyville with the risk of Twilight still being on a rampage so high, that shit was scary. Droolykins was fed, today was actually one of my off days for exercise, I didn’t want to read the books I’d gotten on curses and blessings and spells, and tending what little garden I had would take very little time…

And yes, I was an egghead. But while I normally would’ve loved to read spellbooks and learn magic, I’d been studying blessings and curses and counterspells and reality calcification for two years straight damnit. I’m done with that mess for a while. I am officially burned out on studying anything in those fields of magic, just… no.

So this left me at an impasse, I honestly had little idea what to do. I briefly considered organizing my gifts, but I’d done that two weeks ago and I didn’t store perishables there…

If you couldn’t tell, my existence had been ever so exciting while cursed. The kicker? I preferred that dull mess to the constant propositions, fights, dominance plays, reality warpings, and terrible horrors from the Beyond that being a Gary-Stu came with.

Because seriously, it’s cool the first few times when you beat up a Cthulu-rip-off, after that it’s mundane, and eventually it gets tedious, and in time, it just gets horrifying. Not because of the sanity breaking, but because the GSE never cared about the background ponies. It only cared about main-characters like me or maybe the mane six. Everyone else could be slaughtered, raped, mutilated, or mentally broken, and obviously a monster has to attack somewhere first…

Before we go any further, really consider the implications.

Every week that the GSE went unchecked, a monster appeared, but unlike Power Rangers or Godzilla or any of these other things with Kaiju… there are actual casualty figures. You actually have to see the mares and stallions broken and shattered, bloody in the street or gibbering in horror. The orphans, the destroyed lives, the broken homes… all that was real, and it had happened every week until Celestia and I had figured out how to localize the effect to my general area.

All those deaths... because I just existed...

I think we had been only a month away from Celestia impaling me on her horn…

… and I would’ve let her.

…

Ugh, those morbid thoughts aside, thankfully those times were long gone, and even if the curse bounced back, I could still suppress that effect. That had been the whole point of studying Reality Calcification after all.

Regardless, I was nearly done with brunch before an idea came to me for my tasks for the day: To figure out what skills I still had after such a… vicious… unweaving of the GSE. But, before I started, I rooted through my desk and files to try and find the list I’d made of my abilities under the GSE compared to an approximation of my human skills as a reference.

I will note again, I had been very bored in my self-imposed semi-exile. Normally, I would’ve left that as a mental checklist rather than writing it all down.

Reference materials and experimental data before me, I was geared up to run through a full spectrum skill-test. It’d probably take me a day or two to get through all of the tests again, but I’d have a comprehensive understanding of what had the breaking of the curse had changed. I was a little excited.

… okay, a lot excited. I loved testing and pushing my limits, and this was a wonderful opportunity to do both.

… squee!

oOo

Reviewing my notes over dinner the next day, I was… hm… I didn’t know how to feel about the results. For the most part, I didn't care about the loss of power, but still, a part of me would miss being horrendously overpowered.

For one, I’d lost a significant portion of my physical strength… but not as much as I would’ve expected considering the change in size. Now I couldn’t lift boulders four times my size… but I could still lift a boulder twice my smaller size. Which worked out to about a 35% decrease in physical power coupled with a 30% decrease in mass. My hypothesis was that I still had Earth Pony magics or genetics or however it worked inside of me to give me the disproportionate strength to mass ratio. Celestia had specifically stated that the spell would only burn away one of the three…

My speed had decreased disproportionately in the other direction, pegasi magics apparently increased ground speed.

I didn’t have any good way to test my resiliency that didn’t involve being far more emo and masochistic than I was, so I’d leave that for later. Ideally, much later. As in, never. So let’s scratch that one off hm?

My eyesight had worsened, and my night-vision had gone from ‘Hah! Who needs infrared?!’ to mediocre. Once again, I was left-eye dominant, my right eye being kind of crappy.

Surprisingly, scars analogous to ones I’d had as a human had appeared. While cursed, my coat and skin had been perfect, but now? All of the little nicks and scrapes and returned. I was actually happy, they were reminders of where I’d been, my past, and assurances of who I was.

The biggest one was easily the long one down the center of my chest, remnants of an open heart surgery, it looked more impressive as a horse though, going down most of my barrel. There was a jagged scar on the underside of my chin from introducing it to a concrete step, that had required stitches. There were the occasional old burns along my forelegs, reminders of times when I’d reached into an oven wrong, or had grabbed something ridiculously hot in the kitchen.

Frustratingly, all of the little stupid scars I’d had on my right hand had decided to settle in a ring of white scars just above the hoof proper. Because, y’know, none of them could’ve been on the hoof itself. And they were stupid scars, like ‘Whoops, I hit a piano while running by it and now I’ve got more scars on the hand’ scars. My right hand just liked to remember every little nick and scrape it’d gotten.

Surprisingly, my hooves were a dark purple, which while it looked silly against the paper I was using, thankfully it didn’t clash with my coat or mane. I didn’t know if purple could clash with green, but I was just glad it didn’t look bad.

I hadn’t noticed it in the morning, but my beauty mark was back as well. Yes, I had a beauty mark, right under the corner of my left eye. Yes, I’m still a guy, screw you.

My horn had a slight curve to it, which Droolykins found endlessly amusing for some reason, and liked to lean up against it while resting on top of my head. Much like he was right now. He was draped over top of my head, doing his best to fall asleep and coat my mane in drool.

Cue sigh.

I loved the little guy, he was unbearably cute. But he could be a major pain sometimes. At least he was no Angel. Urgh. No evil bunnies thank you very much.

Running a hoof along the sheet in front of me, I compared my preliminary test results to those I’d done before. It was only the first round of testing obviously, but it’d give me a rough estimate of how my skills compared to my GSE baselines.

You see, while affected by the curse, I’d been good at anything I’d put my mind to, but I’d been the best whenever I was in direct comparison or competition with somebody else. For example, I was a good cook, but if I got into a cook-off with somebody, then my food would be orgasmic.

I’m not kidding by the way, and it’s not as awesome as it sounds. That kind of food is more tiring than tasty, and it’s horribly addicting in the way that really concentrated crack cocaine is. I shuddered unpleasantly at the memory.

But from glancing at the test results, it seems I’d regressed to my old, human levels of skill.

On the subject of cooking, I could still do so! Yay! It wasn’t exactly five-star restaurant anymore, and it honestly wasn’t even as good as I had been as a human. I’d learned from my mother and grandmother, and while I retained good, down home cookin' like cornbread… way too many of my old delicious recipes required meat or things you get from meat… making them all useless. Damn. Could still make a mean pasta though.

While under the GSE, I’d been an amazing seamster, even when not competing with Rarity. Far better than I had been as a human at least, where I’d been, at best, competent. But now? I lacked the magical dexterity to sew with any modicum of skill, and the only sewing machine I’d memorized the components of was too complex for me to imitate the way I had the typewriter. So, quite unfortunately, I’d lost almost the entire skill to my decreased magical dexterity. Damnit.

I scratched that one off of the list.

Now, without the GSE influencing ponies’ minds, they’d hopefully stop gushing about my designs. They weren’t that good. They were simple and functional, and occasionally I made one that was elegantly simple, but usually? They were just… meh. Though the point was moot, I couldn’t sew anymore.

I mean, seriously, ponies, it’s a vest. Rarity’s disasters look better than that.

My mathematics skills hadn’t deteriorated, but they hadn’t been improved by the GSE either, so no real loss. Check.

Most of my house-keeping skills hadn’t been affected by the GSE in the first place, so again, no loss. Check.

It was hard to gauge what had happened with my rapport with animals after such a limited exposure (one bear and a small pride of manticores), but while I retained a good understanding of what they were trying to tell me, I’d lost the magical effects entirely. I’d always been good with animals, but with the GSE, I’d been practically telepathic and could basically mind-control the animals. That was thankfully gone. Check!

As a side note: My wrangling skills were still above my original human levels, but this was very, very easily attributable to being disproportionately strong. It’s a lot easier to wrangle something big and dangerous trying to eat/gore you when you can pick it up with your teeth and shake it like a rag doll. Check.

Another side note: Bear fur tastes horrible. I had to dab the quill in some ink to scribble that in one of the margins.

My construction skills were mostly in my head, like my mathematics and sewing designs, so were mostly unaffected by the GSE in of themselves. Now, how ponies perceived my designs and constructs probably would have changed, but I didn’t have a way to check that yet. Still, check.

However, that brought me to my magical skills.

Despite what some people might tell you, I wasn’t exactly a Wizard when I was a human. Hint: If someone was actually telling you that with any amount of seriousness? Call an insane asylum, because as far as I’d known, magic didn’t exist. I hadn't been exposed to magic while I was human.

And here I was, levitating a cup of tea over to me with my mind with a cat draped over my head, all while I was a talking green unicorn. Life likes to screw with ya, y’know?

It actually kind of sucked though, because I couldn’t know how much of my magical skill was due to the GSE and how much was actual skill. It’d been kind of depressing that all the skill I had as a spellcaster might’ve been from this stupid curse, no matter how much I told myself otherwise. Now though? I had a point of comparison.

While as an Alicorn, I had full access to all ten circles of magic, now I had to seriously push to hit the eighth, the Lunar Circle. Not entirely because of a lack of skill, but also a lack of raw power.

My magical reserves had been reduced immensely. It’s hard to convey it precisely, as magical reserves are difficult to quantify in the first place. It’s like trying to quantify your stamina. Some people have more than others, but while you might be able to run for hours, start biking and you might tire out in half of one. But there was no doubt I’d lost a lot in both power and reserves.

Out of most of the schools of magic I’d “mastered”, I’d only retained bits and pieces. Theorems, the occasional spell, it varied. Mind you, I use the term ‘mastered’ unbelievably loosely. I could have ‘mastered’ a school of magic within a week of study. To be honest, I think I only reached a high Apprentice status, which, while impressive, is far from mastering, no matter what the ponies who administered the tests would say.

I mean heck, I barely knew the terms for the schools of magic. I'd been more concerned with finding stuff dealing with breaking my curse than theory or whether what I was learning was an evocation or necromancy spell.

Lasers? Gone. Sad-face at that, because come on, lasers.

Almost all of my magma magics were either lost to me, or required more power than I had. This really shouldn’t have surprised me.

I’d lost my powerful illusion magics, though I’d retained the basic ones, images, lights, minor sound generation. Not a huge loss, I hadn’t really been enamored with those magics in the first place.

I’d retained many of my telekinetic ‘tools’. Constructs of will and thought that emulated physical tools. The typewriter had been a more complicated version of the same thing. But for some reason, I’d lost my crowbar. Couldn’t figure out why, but it dashed any dreams of being pony Gordan Freeman. Could still be pony Green Lantern though, heh.

My higher circle barriers had been lost to me, but my formulaic barriers had stayed with me. They were still difficult, but if I could visualize the formula and its graph from first principles, I could create some really solid barriers. My best, the Madelbrot Fractal, seemed like it might actually be able to stand up to Twilight for a time. Looked weird as hell as it’s based heavily on the 3D model of the Madelbrot set, but it was probably the strongest barrier I’d personally created. It was really hard to maintain though, so that was being kept in reserve for hopefully never.

Surprisingly, I’d lost all of my active transformative magics. I’d studied them for several months rather ardently to try and make myself appear less… eeeuuuuggghh… but my magic resistance made it difficult, and even after I’d overcome that, it turned out that I reverted to the red and black alicorn form the next morning no matter what. It just hadn’t been worth the effort it took to look different.

Could still turn Droolykins’ fur neon pink though. He was going to be so pissed when he woke up.

That was for keeping me out of my own house, little snot.

My levitation had been depowered heavily. Could still lift as many things as I could focus on at one time, but the upper limit of Newtons I could apply to a single object had dropped considerably. This meant that I couldn’t pick up as large of an object, nor could I move them as fast, so no more animated avalanches of doom for me.

I smiled at the pages, setting them aside and gathering up my plates, taking them to the sink.

There were only three fields of magic that I felt I truly had mastered: Blessings/curses (Actually the same field of magic surprisingly), Countermagic, and Reality Calcification. I’d spent the past two years studying them extensively, and if I had mastered anything, it was those fields.

Those had been the best chance to break the curse that I’d been under, and I’d focused extensively on them. Might’ve been completely useless in hindsight since Celestia figured it out first, but I didn’t regret it. Sure, I'd dabbled in a variety of black magics, but I'd retained only the most basic principles, no actual spells.

While the first two are rather obvious (though traditional Equestrian magics don’t really support our concepts of blessings or curses), Reality Calcification isn’t exactly self explanatory. To try and skip past the extensive mumbo jumbo and physics needed to understand the field, it basically a subset of Reality Warping magics, being a way to shut down any transformative or reality warping magics in the area as well as counteract those that were already in effect. It had been originally designed to mitigate the damages Discord had caused to the world.

My curse, the GSE, had been primarily Reality Warping effects applied to the minds of ponies and the world in general. Stumbling upon this fact is what made it possible to localize the monster-spawning effects of the GSE, as well as lower the strength of the infatuation-field.

I was very, very proud that I had lost not one iota of my ability, skill, or power in any of the three fields. Which meant that, aside from the Princesses themselves, I was quite possibly the greatest master in those fields alive.

… and, admittedly, ego aside, Twilight would probably kick my ass in them too, but still.

What? I did have an ego, and I liked being really damn good at things, who doesn’t? My problem had been how little effort it’d taken under the GSE, the overwhelming amounts of power I’d had, and the fact that I couldn’t just… interact with ponies without them going stupid on me.

I’d have been fine with just ditching the reality warping effects of the GSE, but while I told myself I wasn’t sad to see the excessive amounts of skill and strength and talent I’d had go away, some part of me was really going to miss it.

That and wings, because fuck, flying was awesome.

A knock at the door drew me from my musings, interrupting my dishwashing.

I’ll admit to blinking in confusion before heading to the door. The only ponies I knew of that could breach my barriers were Celestia and Pinkie Pie. Celestia because she was a Sun Goddess, and Pinkie because Pinkie Pie.

If that’s not a good enough explanation for you, then I don’t know what to tell you.

While I didn’t think it’d been three days since the spell had been broken, it was probably Celestia. Still, I took no chances, readying a concussive force spell and a simple recursive barrier before opening the door.

A blink, and then I looked up the chest of stark white to meet violet eyes. Wow, Celestia was tall.

“Evening, Princess-…” another blink before I swallowed, backing away beneath the intense gaze, “Um… what… what did I do wrong?”

“We have much to discuss with you, my little pony,” I thanked whatever gods there might be that her voice was merely controlled and not angry. But… we…?

I leaned my head around the mass of Equestrian royalty/divinity to find a nearly as large dark blue form right behind her.

Princess Luna.

I had both of the rulers of Equestria outside of my home at the same damn time.

Fuck.

Author's Note

So there it is, pseudo cliffhanger. Yes, Luna and Celestia have a decent reason for both being there at the same time.

This chapter ended up more exposition-heavy than I’d intended towards the end, but I felt it best to get that out of the way now rather than trying to spread it out everywhere. I did my best to keep it at least somewhat interesting, but it’s an info-dump, so I’d be happy to get suggestions on how to make it less… info-dumpy.

Also A). Not everypony is horrendously hostile to Emeris. B). The hostily has a rather good reason to be there. And C). Applejack and Twilight have reasons for seeming OOC.

If you dislike the story, I’d love to hear why. Please comment and tell me what you dislike about the story. Telling me what sucks helps me improve far more than telling me what’s awesome does.

Anyways, until next time!

Autobots, roll out!

Fears and Fashion

“G-Good evening your highnesses?” I swallowed hard, staring stupidly at the two royal alicorns outside my door, “Um, do please come in?”’

My mind was in a panic as I stepped aside, allowing the two large royal alicorns to pass me, closing the door behind them with my dark emerald magic as they had come without an entourage.

They were both here… why were they both here?! Shouldn’t one of them been in the courts? Running Equestria?! Why were they both here? What’d I done to deserve this kind of attention?! I didn’t—

“What can I get you? Food? Drink?” I trotted quickly into the center of the room as the two royals sat, “I mean, I don’t have your favorite, Neigh Grey, Celestia, but I have plenty of others,” why’d I say that?! “I mean, just. I don’t know what you would like Lu- Princess Luna, food? Sparkling water? Tea? Coffee? I mean, I don’t have coffee but I could get some but I’m totally babbling and probably should shut up…”

I snapped my mouth shut, trying to keep myself from saying anything else stupid. The princess shook her head, a small smile on her face, and while part of me was relieved, a part of my mind was screaming at me that there was only one reason for her to not wish for refreshments.

“Emeris.”

Snapping to attention, I turned to the elder of the two royals, “Yes, Princess Celestia?”

“What were you doing in Ponyville?”

My mind raced, trying to come up with an appropriate response even as my mouth worked without direction, “Sending you a letter! Or at least trying. That’s all! Only thing I meant to do was get the letter to you since I couldn’t send it and I was thinking Spike could. I mean, I had to get it to you somehow and I had to try— I- I-…” swallowing, I forced myself to stop talking and just figure out what I needed to say, taking a deep breath before speaking again, slower this time, “I just wanted to send you the response letter. Nothing more, nothing less.”

The mighty alicorn met my gaze steadily as I worked to keep my breathing under control. After a long moment, she spoke again, her voice calm, “And the incident?”

My brain ground to a halt. Incident?! What’d I done? What was it? What did I need to do?! My body froze in place, my eyes widening in panic.

But slowly, far too slowly, the realization came to me that there wasn’t anything for me to worry about. The only ‘incident’ had been running through the town, and I hadn’t done anything wrong, the only thing it could’ve been. I met her eyes as steadily as I could manage, cursing the slight waver in my voice, “To my knowledge, there wasn’t one Princess.”

There was a long silence as she held my gaze, her purple eyes boring into my own gray-green ones.

A sudden pain in my flank nearly made me jump, as it was, it made me wince and the corresponding leg jerk upwards quickly. I turned to find that Luna had poked the healing burn over my cutie mark… I felt surprisingly… indignant… at that, even as she questioned me, “Then what, pray tell, is this?”

I blinked.

Could I tell them that it was Twilight? That the purple unicorn had singed me for no reason I could discern? That she had attacked me? Would they understand? Yes, I could. But damnit, I cared for the purple mare, and I wasn’t about to throw her under the bus. Even if the mane six didn’t need my protection, if I had a chance to keep at least some of the insanity that was my life out of theirs, then I would take it.

My jaw was set, and neither my eyes nor my voice wavered as I spoke, even if I was unable to bring myself to meet the eyes of the alicorns, “Nothing more than a misunderstanding.”

“And who was at fault for this misunderstanding?”

This time, I met the Solar Princess’ eyes steadily, all the turmoil of emotions, the fear, the guilt, the terror, the curiosity, the worry, they all fell to the wayside. I was standing between the possible wrath or displeasure of the greatest powers in Equestria and someone I cared about, I would not waver, “Mine.”

She didn’t’ believe me. I didn’t blame her. But I would not move. It was a meeting of wills between an ancient, immortal Goddess of the Sun, and a young, now mediocre, once-human unicorn. It was no contest.

Celestia looked away first.

Nothing will make me waver when I protect those I care about. I may not succeed, but I will not waver.

The Princess drew herself back up after that brief moment of weakness, her eyes meeting mine, “My sister and I must discuss the next course of action

I nodded, letting my flank slide to the floor as Celestia walked over to her sister, the two alicorns sitting together and talking in soft tones. The language they spoke was reminiscent of Latin, but even from my limited understanding of the ancient language, the syntax and specific words were different.

However, without the pressure of Celestia’s gaze upon me, the entire turmoil of emotions surged back. The fear, the guilt, the worry, every bit of it was back. But this time, I was a bit more prepared for it. As I waited for the two royals to conclude their conversation, I forced my mind to focus on my surroundings. To catalogue my room even as part of me desperately tried to figure this entire mess out.

Bed, table, two chairs, all oversized for a normal pony, but perfect for an alicorn the size of Celestia or my own former size— Okay-… okay. Alright, both of the Princesses are here, despite that one of them should still be in Canterlot because GAH. Okay. Calm. Why are they here?

Fridge, sink, oven and stove, plenty of counter space, drawers and cupboards galore— Are they angry? No, they’ve shown no indications of such. Execution now that I’m an easier target? No, they’re not like that and they haven’t given any indications of such. Are they afraid? Not of me, Celestia might’ve been able to take me even as an alicorn, and now either of them could squash me like a bug. For their little ponies? That was unlikely… but I could outright eliminate the others…

I didn’t keep much in my fridge or even my cupboards. Pots and pans, some utensils, perishables like mayonnaise and other condiments as well as most fruits and vegetables. Funny thing: Pony refrigerators, while they usually had two doors, actually had three sections. Freezer, fridge, and cooler. The cooler was at the top of the fridge section and was a place to hang flowers upside-down to better preserve them rather than in full fridge temperatures— Okay, if you can eliminate all the other possibilities, the remaining option, no matter how implausible, must be the answer. So they were afraid for their little ponies because of me. What had I done to cause that? Nothing directly, so someone must have said something or written something to the Princesses’ to give them the impression that I had done something questionable… but…

Two windows, thick curtains so I could block the light as necessary. As a human, I’d liked the dark and cozy, but ponies weren’t built for that in the least, and it occasionally made me uncomfortable. Thus, compromise! Alright, let’s assume that they’re afraid for their ponies. Who would’ve given them that impression? Anypony that saw me running out of the Library could’ve misinterpreted that and sent a letter to them… but… could it have gotten to them in time?

A surprising number of my cabinets were empty, I had very little, mostly by choice. Anything that I didn’t use was usually relegated to the Gift Shed out back, well except for— Calculations and estimates and probability spreads ran through my head as I calculated the likelihood of one of the ponies composing a letter and getting it to the post office and then it getting to Celestia or Luna in time. It wasn’t good odds. That meant the only way any information could’ve gotten to them this fast was either through Spike or Rainbow Dash flying all the way there and back…

Tea. God, so many teas. I’d collected a lot of them over the past two years. Going from place to place. I had a sizable collection of teas from pretty much every corner of Equestria and some from beyond— Okay, Dash would’ve confronted me directly rather than running off to Celestia, so that left either Spike or Twilight via Spike… which… okay then… why?

Those teas, adding to that collection, had been one of the few pure joys I’d had in the past two years. Going places because my curse had spawned a monster for me to defeat, fighting a bloody battle, failing to save everyone… and ooh look! New tea! It was admittedly more than a little sad that those had been the bright points of my days before getting Droolykins— Why would Twilight give the Princesses’ the impression that I had done something to warrant both of them appearing? Anger? There’d been that. But if that was the reason, then why hadn’t she attacked me first thing instead of waiting until I’d spoken a bit? Then… guilt? No. Fear? … that fit, but… what had I done to translate that fear from flight into fight?

I glanced over at the (currently pink) feline, a small, melancholy smile drifting across my face. Droolykins existence was a boon that I couldn’t really compare to anything else. He’d been a wonderful life-raft in a sea of utter sucki-tude (yes, it’s a word, no, I won’t apologize). Cute as hell, plenty of personality, and immune to the GSE— Even after going through what I’d said at the time as well as my actions, I couldn’t find a trigger, that meant it must’ve been something I’d done as an alicorn… Damn. That’s two years to think over…

The fateful meeting had occurred not long after I’d learned enough Reality Calcification to have some measure of interaction with ponies. I’d gone to Fluttershy to get a pet, and thankfully, her eagerness to get ponies pets had overwhelmed any effects of my curse. After a small string of other animals, this little gray cat had walked right up to me, a sock in his mouth, meowing plaintively up at me for a moment. I’d stared, torn between giggling and just going ‘D’awwww!’ before lowering my head closer to him, at which point he’d clambered right up onto my back, curled up between my wings, tucked the sock between some of my feathers, and fallen fast asleep, drooling all over me.

It’d been love at first drool. Heh.

Fluttershy had tried to apologize for the little guy, but it wasn’t necessary. I’d taken him without reservation, and hadn’t regretted it since—

“Emeris.”

My thoughts tumbled to a halt, but my heart rate had stabilized considerably during my introspection, my head turned to the white alicorn at a more sedate pace, “Yes, Princess Celestia?”

“My sister and I wish to perform some spells to ensure that the curse has completely left you,” I believe I saw a flicker of hesitation, of a grimace, in her gaze, “They will not be entirely pleasant.”

I nodded, “I understand Princess.” And, for the most part, I did. I didn’t understand the cause, the why, but if they had information that indicated me being dangerous or possibly slipping back into the alicorn-state, then this made perfect sense. That and questioning extremely powerful immortals tended to not be on my to-do list.

The two royals nodded at one another, Luna stepping up to the fore. The deep blue mare circled me slowly, her eyes surprisingly piercing as she examined me from every angle. As self-conscious as that made me feel, the surprisingly gentle caress of her magic against my skin was even worse. And by worse, I meant god damnit mare that’s a private place stop lingering there!

Obviously I didn’t say anything because, again, pervert and hot as hell female doing something that can be construed as perverted? Why would I interrupt this again? That and she was the Princess of the Night, Goddess of the Moon, and damnit she was teasing me wasn’t she.

The smirk when silver power caressed the uninjured side of my flanks again confirmed it.

Damnit mare. Getting molested wasn’t on the itinerary either!

Eventually though, she stopped, little pinpricks of power dancing along my skin. I glanced over at her again, confused. That hadn’t even registered on my discomfort scale, at least not physical. Awkward as hell, sure, but not uncomfortable.

And then the pain started.

Her eyes were almost sad, but resolute as little needles of pain jabbed into my flesh. It took only a glance to confirm that there was no actual damage, just an intense probing magic that quickly faded afterwards. I flinched slightly each time, but it wasn’t worse than a bad vaccination shot. Each time. That spread slowly across each part of my body.

… okay, it was kinda sucky, but at least my ‘nurse’ was hot?

Eventually though, the alicorn’s magic stopped, and she gave a nod to her elder sister. Something passed between them, and damnitall, I couldn’t read her expression worth a damn. The larger, bright white alicorn stepped in front of me, her light purple eyes meeting my gray-green ones steadily.

I blinked, looking back at her curiously, as she seemed to be waiting for something, “Princess?”

She sighed slightly, apparently a bit exasperated, “Please do brace yourself my little Emeris, this will be worse than the previous spell.”

“Ah,” that had totally gone over my head, whoops. I took a deep breath, steadying myself and planting my forehooves more solidly on the floor.

There’s pain, and then there’s discomfort. I’d experienced plenty of both, but when Celestia’s horn flared to life, I was reminded of the wonderful third category, discomfort so extreme that it might as well be pain! Woohoo! The more you knowwww~

The power was like a multi-ton brick had inside my chest. I gasped, my eyes widening as the world went to fuzz and spots.

My hooves were trembling on the floor as I struggled for each breath. I couldn’t see Celestia, hell, I couldn’t see anything at the moment. I wheezed, forcing my lungs to work despite the weight within and around them. My eyes rolled back into my head as I struggled to keep upright, my muscles quivering under the surprising amount of strain. Belatedly, I realized that I had whimpered out one of the small breaths that I could manage, and some distant part of me recognized the spell as an advanced derivative of Countermagic and Reality Calcification, one that I had helped create.

But that knowledge was quickly lost under the pressure, the weight, the squeeze of magic as I struggled to breathe.

And then it was over.

I collapsed to the floor, spent despite not having moved an inch, my breaths coming in shuddering gasps. Everything else faded as I focused on my breathing, trying to recover it, counting it in and out as I did my best to steady my frantically beating heart and shaky breathing.

o-Third Person View-o

Celestia looked over the panting pony, interpreting the results the spell was giving her even as she made sure the young unicorn/earth pony crossbreed was alright. There were times where it was hard to believe she was talking to a pony, so different were their cultures. But others, like this one, Celestia had to remind herself that while he was one of her little ponies now, he had once been something very different.

She exchanged a brief look with her sister, the tension melting from both of them as their results agreed with one another.

The young stallion’s mighty curse was truly gone, but this meant that whatever had happened had been either an exaggeration, or maybe even a complete fabrication. However, Celestia didn’t believe that about her precious student, any more than she believed Emeris when he said it was his own fault. There had been a misunderstanding, and Celestia needed to clear it up.

oOo

“Twilight Sparkle.”

The purple mare flinched beneath her stern gaze.

“Your over-reaction harmed a loyal pony. One who has already suffered much. I understand and greatly sympathize with your concern for your little brother and your friends, but I must ask you not to attack a fellow pony," the stressed words made the spellcaster cringe, " I understand that he has not been the best pony, but he is not evil, and is especially crucial to the current political climate.”

“But- but you just said he was depowered! You confirmed it! How can he still be valuable to the political climate?!”

“Because Emeris has skills beyond his curse, far more than he gives himself credit for, and I have plans that require his specific attitude to implement.”

Twilight’s mouth worked silently for a long moment before she dipped her head in shame, “I understand Princess.”

A gentle smile graced Celestia’s features, “I understand how hard it may be to trust him, but for all his dark outlook on life, he is a good pony at heart.”

The young unicorn nodded her head, somewhat resigned, “I understand Princess.”

Satisfied, Celestia nodded, gently nuzzling her student, “I know this is unsettling, but we have ensured that the terrible magics that originated from him are gone. The pony beneath the curse is worthy of friendship.” Once more, Twilight nodded, and Celestia smiled at her little pony, “I hope the transition is smooth, but I am needed back in Canterlot, the sudden disappearance of my sister and I must be explained to the nobility.” She struggled not to make a sour face at that, and the giggle from the young mare in front of her told the diarch that she was not entirely successful.

Once more, Twilight said, “I understand, Princess,” though this time it was with a small smile. Something that Celestia found very encouraging, enough so that with a nod and their goodbyes, she turned and left the library, heading for Canterlot.

But, while Celestia had gone, Twilight had not moved an inch, the smile that had been on her face slowly fading into a look of resigned horror, a small, terrified, almost manic whisper escaped her, “I understand that he’s tricked you… I’ve got to prove he’s still… that he’s still that monster… but how?”

o-Emeris-o

Ow.

Fuck.

This is the second time in as many days that I’m waking up sore all over.

Suuuuuuuuuuck.

Totally was going to reprimand Celestia for such an unpleasant spell.

Yeah, that’d go well. Let’s do that.

At least this time I wasn’t confused and wondering what had happened. With a groan, I raised my head from the pillow, opening my bleary eyes, blinking them clear as I forced them to focus. It was dark out, which meant I hadn’t been out of action too long… well, or I’d been out for several days, but that wasn’t likely— “Ah, thoust are awake.”

My eyes snapped completely open, my neck tensing painfully as I had to stop myself from reflexively snapping my head over to the sound. As my heart rate slowed to a more reasonable speed, I turned my head to the voice, finding the Princess of the Night sitting in my house.

I… um… what.

One of my eyebrows went up, hoping it would convey my confusion without me having to try and articulate the mess my mind was in at the moment.

A playful smile crossed the alicorn’s face, “Thoust are awake. This is, we assume, a good thing.”

My lips quirked up in a small smile as I made a show of glancing over myself and then back to Luna, “Are you sure I’m awake? Because last I checked, visits from royalty seemed more like dream-exclusive material to me.”

She rolled her eyes, making me chuckle before laying my head back down on the pillow. There was a long moment of companionable silence, but for once, I was the one who broke it, “Princess, if I may ask, what were the results of the tests? I ah, kinda passed out before I heard anything else…”

“Thou are clean of the foul magics, though thine body still recuperates from the intense magics of a’fore,” she sipped the glass she had before her, one of my attempts at ceramics actually. Something that had been very easy as an Alicorn of the Earth but was now noticeably more difficult without those magics… or hands… oh opposable thumbs, how I missed thee.

A relieved sigh escaped me as I sunk into the bed, relaxing at the news.

Another silence, though this time, Luna was the one that broke it, “Are’t thou feeling alright. We know that thee has lost much power in the transformation, and that such intense magics as our own can be… unpleasant for ponies.” Idly, I noted that her volume was a bit higher than necessary, but thankfully, she wasn’t anywhere near Royal Canterlot Voice levels, that episode about Nightmare Night had already occurred thankfully.

“I am no more than sore, Princess. It shall pass with but some rest,” I was slipping into a similar accent to her own, a habit I’d gained after living with more than a few strong accents in my childhood.

There was a tingle of magic at the edges of my senses, and I raised my head to find another of my cups had been levitated over to me, already filled with steaming tea. I blinked, hesitating only for a moment before extending my own magics, the deep emerald power interweaving with Luna’s own for the briefest of moments before she left the glass to my grasp. Exchanging hold over items with magic like that always felt far more intimate to me than it really was in this culture, and I’d made sure to ask Celestia about that one.

I shot her a slightly confused look before bringing the tea to my lips, sipping carefully. It was a bit hotter than I tended to drink mine, but I could recognize the type. It was an herbal pain-killer and muscle relaxant, not perfect, but a rather decent one and a good excuse for tea, “Thank you, Princess.”

Briefly, I wondered how she kept it so delightfully warm when it was obvious that I’d been asleep for more than a few hours, but I dismissed that as a mystery and/or explained away as ‘A Magical Pony Goddess with Wings and a Horn that raises the moon in a terracentric solar-system said so’. And that was a perfectly legitimate reason for silly little things like that.

No, seriously, it would probably have been like asking how I’d just known how fertile the soil was and how to adjust tectonic plates when I’d been an Alicorn. Magical theory doesn’t explain those things, they just are.

Either that or I’d been making signs of waking prior to the actual event, but eh, whatever, I didn’t really care.

As I grabbed myself one of the honey bottles I stored in the house, Luna spoke up again, this time more… hesitantly than before, “Are’t thoust comfortable?” I had to admit, that one confused me. I focused on getting the appropriate amount of honey into my tea (a.k.a. – A LOT) as I puzzled over what would bring about the question and thus, the appropriate response.

Coming up with nothing, I set the bottle aside, stirring the tea with a spoon-construct of will and telekinesis, “Aside from the soreness? Quite.”

She seemed even more hesitant now, surprisingly, “The… the darkness does not bother thee?”

Oh. … OH. Wait, what?! My mouth worked silently for a long moment in my confusion, it probably looked bad from her perspective, but I couldn’t help it. Eventually, I got my vocal chords to work, “I’m sorry, but that question totally blindsided me Princess… I…” rubbing my face with a hoof, I collected my thoughts, “Okay… to start off, I love the night, and darkness is something I’m normally comfortable with. But if I may be frank?” I waited for her nod of assent, “Where in the layers of tartaros did that question come from?”

Luna looked off to the side, and if I wasn’t mistaken, there was a bit of an embarrassed blush on her cheeks, “We… were curious if thoust were… different… from our little ponies in that respect.”

I sighed, laying my head down on the pillow once more, formulating a response, “Princess Luna, I am different from your little ponies. The equine species has a strong tendency to sleep at night, my original species however, had a much weaker tendency. No matter how beautiful the night, it is not the home of ponies, and I can feel the difference.”

The diarch’s look fell, even to my untrained eyes, and my suspicion that she had been hoping for indications that her ponies could be nocturnal as well were confirmed, “However, using my own species technological progress as a metric, as alternate light sources become easier to activate for the masses, at least in the cities, more of your little ponies will edge towards nocturnal activities. More ponies will enjoy your night when they have easier ways to banish the instinctual fear of predators in the dark.”

The way her look brightened at that made a pleasant warmth tingle in my chest. And then she spoke, “WE THAN—” I was nearly knocked off of the bed, the house rattling at the sudden volume before she realized what she was doing, cutting herself off and coughing into her hoof embarrassedly.

I raised an eyebrow at her as I raised myself back up, and she had the decency to blush, “We thank thee for thine knowledge and assurance.”

I shrugged, or as much as a pony laying down on their stomach can shrug, “It’s no problem Princess, I’m merely curious as to what brought the question on.”

“We…” she stalled, she’d forgotten that I’d asked before, and hopefully I’d get a better answer this time, “We have been wondering. Our sister informed us that thine original species was more advanced than and rather different from our little ponies… and thee has always seemed… comfortable… when we met thee at the palace during the night. We wondered if it was thou or thine species.”

Okay, that made a bit more sense, ”A little of both. I wasn’t exactly part of the norm of my species, but we are more inclined to being nocturnal than ponies.”

“Truly?” at my nod, a small smile crossed her face as she sipped her own tea, “If we may inquire, how different was your original species from our little ponies?”

Blinking for a moment, I considered the question. I’d actually had very little interaction with equestrian culture in the present, and the only things I had any knowledge of were the basics of the biological differences and after a moment, I said so. But Luna encouraged me to describe those to her, to at least try to satisfy her curiosity.

So, with a bit of a resigned smile, I began describing humanity to a magical pony goddess of the night with wings and a horn that moved a celestial body every day. How much weirder can you get?

oOo

Luna left with a flash of magic, teleporting to the castle after “lowering” the moon and stepping outside of the protective wards around my home. Lowering is the wrong word though, the planet wasn’t flat, it was spherical like any other planet. It was just that the other celestial bodies orbited it rather than the other way around. Raising and Lowering were just the common parlance for what the Princesses’ did with their respective celestial bodies.

We’d talked well into the night. Well, I’d talked well into the night.

Luna was a pleasant, if somewhat stiff, conversationalist. She also managed to be overenthusiastic at the same damn time. Cute, but occasionally difficult to talk to. Thankfully, the somewhat dry topic choice made it easier on both of us. It was a lesson, I was the teacher and she was the student. She also had a weird sense of humor, at least to me, endearing, but weird.

I’d actually learned a lot about pony physiology in the discussion, like that a unicorns horn was directly connected to their brain but would eventually grow back if cut off; that ponies actually had a two-chambered stomach; and that their chromosomes didn’t operate in pairs, but rather, triples.

Yeah, that last one really threw me for a loop. I wasn’t a biologist, but I knew enough about genetics to understand how they worked, but a triple-chromosome system? There was a reason that ponies didn’t really understand them yet, and it wasn’t just because they didn’t have electron microscopes. The genetics for most creatures in this world were this triplet system, and it made inheritance and phenotypes almost impossible to predict given a certain genotype. While earth genetics had dominant, recessive, and a nebulous third category, there were at least five categories of genetic dominance under current equestrian theory.

Yeah, it was a complicated mess.

Regardless, after taking my notes, finishing my tea, and pouring Droolykins a bowl of food for when he woke up (the little snot had slept right through Luna’s accidental Royal Canterlot Voice), I went straight back to bed.

I was tired and sore and had just spent all night up with a beautiful goddess… and not in as fun a way as that implied. It was time for sleep damnit.

oOo

Several days passed quietly.

Much of my time was spent either re-organizing my previous gifts (I more than briefly entertained the idea of re-gifting them back to ponies that had gotten them for me), playing with Droolykins, and re-learning how to use my body and magics.

One of the most fun things I was able to do was explore the Everfree forest.

Was it dangerous? Only if you weren’t reallycareful, and that’s something I always strove to be.

Was it fun? Very yes.

Was it also a good way to get some more testing data? Oh hells to the yes.

Fun fact: The creatures of Everfree learned quickly as individuals, but very slowly as a whole. Didn’t matter how many times I went all green-lantern on them, creating hammers and pistons of will and telekinetic force, the monsters of the forest as a whole still didn’t learn to not bother the green unicorn.

I seriously felt like a green lantern though. My magical power was a dark green, and my constructs actually greatly resembled the classic green-lantern construct, just without the silly trail to a ring or my horn. Never even had to get close to the monsters! Best trick ever.

Made me feel so badass, and I was not afraid to admit it. Everyone loves an ego boost every now and then.

That said, strutting around the Everfree like you owned the place would’ve been a great way to come down with a nasty case of dead. Symptoms include: not breathing, choking on your own blood, your eyeballs exploding, your intestines tying themselves into knots, stopped heartbeat, and extreme agony (these sadly weren’t a joke, there’s some nasty stuff in the Everfree).

Thus, while I was reasonably confident I could take on any ‘monster’ I encountered other than a dragon or god, I was very cautious in the forest. Working on my stealth and ‘parkour’ skills improved my dexterity, speed, and coordination, things that I’d lost in the transformation.

That and it made it a bit easier to avoid the really, really, really poisonous things that were so common on the forest floor. I didn’t know what Poison Joke or its nastier relatives would do to me, but I was in no mood to find out… y’know, ever.

And I gotta admit, it was really nice to just… be outside and not having to worry about some sort of giant, world ending monster appearing out of nowhere to, y’know, end the world just for me to fight it off. That had sucked. First time? Pretty cool. Eightieth time? Not so cool. Three hundred and fourth time? Actually painful.

So yeah, running through the forest. Cool beans.

It doesn’t seem interesting to describe, but to just run along the branches, to leap from treetop to treetop, to duck and weave between branches and limb… it was exhilarating. The scents, the sounds, the feel… it was all so… it was something wonderful, that I hadn’t gotten anywhere near enough in the past two years.

I’d been slowly mapping the forest, the location of predators to avoid, important or unusual plants as well as rivers and pools and clearings. At the moment, I was swinging by one of the nicer clearings, there was some really tasty grass and flowers. Flowers whose only side effect was turning your tongue purple, so that was a plus.

There was something in the clearing.

I froze, almost silent on the branch, staring into the clearing.

Damn, I was upwind of the clearing, I hadn’t thought of that, still not used to this whole ‘Predators can smell you’ thing.

… speaking of predators, hooooo boy was that a big one.

It was a tiger, and it was a big one. Probably half again as large as Celestia. I nearly turned around, even if the thing was magical I could probably beat it, but I wasn’t about to provoke a fight if I could avoid it.

But then I noticed a few key details. For one, there was a massive crocodile right beside it with its throat torn out. For two, the tiger was lying down. And for three, it was hurt, and bad.

Even my untrained eye could tell that one of its front legs was at very least dislocated and maybe even broken. And while I couldn’t be sure from this distance, it could very well have some broken ribs to go along with it.

I very, very seriously considered just leaving. But I couldn’t. It would’ve torn me up inside if I did.

I couldn’t stand to see something in pain, and there was no way this tiger would survive long in this environment, too many predators that would take advantage of its weakness after taking down the other predator. I’d have to put it down… or I would have, if I didn’t know the precise location of a very good veterinarian who knew exactly how to handle this kind of situation. The only issue was getting the tiger there.

Being sure to make noise, I dropped down into the clearing. The tigers head jerked up, massive eyes staring at me. Every instinct in me screamed to run, but I squashed them, focusing on the tiger. I didn’t meet its eyes, instead focusing on its shoulder as I slowly approached. I made sure to keep my gait casual, a stalking motion could be interpreted as dangerous.

Still, when I got within forty feet of the massive predator, it growled threateningly at me, baring its teeth.

I stopped, looking at it as its growl softened. I raised a hoof and the growl intensified, softening once I put the foot back down. Making a decision, I laid down, setting my head on the grass to wait.

Time passed, the tiger’s growl slowly fading away as it laid its head back down on its paws. I counted the heartbeats and breaths, meditating to pass the time. Thirty minutes later, I raised my head, and it growled again. So down the head went again.

More time passed. Counting the breaths.

The tigers breathing was pained, but not labored, that probably meant its lungs were uninjured. That was good.

The minutes ticked by as I waited. But this time, when I raised my head, there was no growl. I stood, no growl. Slowly, I walked forward, and its yellow eyes tracked me. I was within thirty feet of the large predator before it growled again. So I stopped, waiting.

Right now? I wish I had Fluttershy. She could actually communicate with them whereas I couldn’t. But there was no way I could get to her and back in time to keep anything from eating or fighting this tiger, or at very least, the odds were bad. And so, I waited.

I made to take another step, but the growl did not intensify, so I took the step. I made it another five feet before the growl intensified again, this time, I laid back down.

Again, I waited. To the tiger, I was terrifying, whether or not it knew that ponies could be dangerous, I was something approaching it while it was wounded. I couldn’t just tell it that I meant it no harm, but I could give it that impression with my actions. At the very least, I could try. Each growl made my heart rate spike, adrenaline rushing into my system as I tensed up to run, but I forced myself to stay still, this animal needed me and I wasn’t about to abandon it without at least trying.

The process continued, step by step, Celestia’s sun slowly moving through the sky as I approached the massive predator. But, several hours later, I was gently nuzzling the side of the tiger’s head, careful to keep my horn well away from its skin and my head away from its throat. The mighty tiger was purring weakly, but it was not the purr of ‘Ooh, I love this’, it was the purr of ‘Somebody help!’.

Carefully, I moved around the massive feline, examining its side. It was bad, its right foreleg was completely dislocated and it had more than a few jagged cuts on the same leg. I couldn’t tell if its ribs were intact or not, but thankfully it had already stopped the bleeding, it still looked bad though. With slow, deliberate movements, I walked to its good side and gently nudged it.

It took several surprisingly tense moments to try and explain with gentle sounds and gestures. The tiger obviously didn’t trust me, I was no Fluttershy, but it seemed to understand that I meant it no harm. There was no way it could walk, but if it would let me…

Gently, I worked my head beneath its body and with careful magic, lifted it onto my back. With focus and will I created a sled of sorts to keep its legs off of the ground. The tiger growled warningly at me, but I crooned soothingly back at it, quieting its worries. The going was slow, almost excruciatingly so, I had to be careful not to jostle my large passenger, and said passenger was nearly three times my size.

Thankfully though, the tiger complained little, seeming far more to be a massive grumpy kitten on my back rather than a mighty beast of death and predation.

Mind you, I always remembered that that is exactly what I was dealing with, and I’d had a powerful skin-tight physical barrier spell contingency’d to activate if a threshold of pressure or Newtons were exceeded within a certain distance of me. I hated seeing things in pain and damnit, I was willing to take risks to help this guy, but I wasn’t stupid.

I grunted slightly as I walked, carrying the big cat along, stepping over the roots and walking around any patch of flowers I didn’t know exactly what they were.

Nothing accosted our strange little procession, though I had no idea why. I had theories about the scent of crocodile and Tiger kept smaller predators away, but I had absolutely no conclusive evidence so… not a big deal.

It was more difficult to maneuver through the forest with my passenger than I’d anticipated, but it was steady progress. There was also the whole ‘where the hell am I?’ problem. I couldn’t really pull out my map very well in this position, but I only got turned around twice before honing in on Fluttershy’s home.

It was rather obvious when I got close, as there was a sudden scatter of animals when the tiger on my back shifted. Thankfully, the animals merely looked on warily when we actually stepped out of the forest rather than fleeing and making a scene.

There was a galloping of hooves, more than four though… Fluttershy had a visitor? Huh.

Peeking out from under the large form of the tiger, I saw a yellow pegasus and a stark white unicorn. Thank goodness, Fluttershy was here, she could handle it from here. This was well outside my skillset to treat, and the sooner I got this giant predator off of my back, the better it’d be for my racing heart. Both ponies gasped when they saw me and my passenger, and I didn’t blame them.

I blinked stupidly when Rarity threw herself between Fluttershy and myself, her eyes entirely on me with a look somewhere between fear, determination, and anger. I winced, praying that this wouldn’t be a repeat of Twilight.

Thankfully, Fluttershy gently pushed past Rarity, and though the fashionatta looked at her friend in askance, she did not stop Fluttershy as she quickly came up to me, already looking over the predator, “What happened?”

“I found him… or her,” I made sure to add, I didn’t know how to tell the genders of cats apart and didn’t want to offend, “In a clearing in the forest, it looks like he’d gotten into a fight with a croc, won but… got messed up in the process.” The yellow veterinarian began to lead me towards the back of the cottage, “It looks like multiple lacerations on its right foreleg, it’s also dislocated. I think that the croc had gotten a hold of that leg and shook it, so the leg itself may be badly broken, I can’t tell.”

Her look was intense as she examined the large predator. Fluttershy lifted off the ground, hovering beside the tiger to get a better look at it, whispering soft nothings to the tiger when she touched it, soothing its concerns far better than I ever could have.

Still, “Where do you want him?” I needed to set this guy down, he was heavy and I’d been carrying him for the past hour.

“Her.” D’oh!

“Right, where do you want her?”

Fluttershy pointed with a hoof, and I went like a good dog. Carefully, I set the large predator down on the indicated bed of straw, slipping out from under it, making sure to be careful of my horn. I sighed in relief at foisting off the responsibility to someone who actually knew how to handle it, starting to back away from the big cat.

Of course, the tiger decided to thank me, leaning over and giving my face a big lick with a tongue nearly the size of my head. My heart rate spiked at that, and I very nearly wet myself, because the only thing I’d been able to think at that moment had been teeth.

Thankfully, all I got was a face-full of slobber and discomfort from the rough tongue.

Very happy that I retained my head, I backed away from the large feline, letting Fluttershy do her work.

Controlling my breathing, I forced my heart rate into a semblance of control. I didn’t know if Fluttershy would need my help setting that shoulder, so I couldn’t leave just yet. More than a small part of me would be very happy to go back to just running through the forest, excitement like this was for interesting people. And damnit, I’d had enough of that in the past two years, I didn’t need any more.

‘May you live an interesting life.’ Ancient Chinese Curse. Urgh. No thanks. I’ll take an office job pushing pencils and playing with numbers over an ‘interesting’ life any day of the week.

Something white and violet appeared in the corner of my eye, and I turned my head to find that Rarity had walked up next to me, a certain amount of suspicion on her face… at least I think it was suspicion, pony facial expressions still weren’t my forte.

We looked at each other for a long moment in silence. Normally, I wouldn’t be bothered by such, but this was getting bothersome. I raised an eyebrow at her, “Yes?” ball’s in your court now hun.

The white unicorn blinked, “Ah, yes, um,” she coughed demurely into her hoof, “I was just wondering, were you ever truly a Prince?”

“Technically? Or really? Because those are two different answers unfortunately.”

“Oh?” now that had her attention.

I sighed, sitting on the grass behind Fluttershy’s house and settling into ‘lecture mode’, “Well… I was never really a Prince. I never had the duties or the political power. Any illusions otherwise were the curse in action,” I snorted at that.

“And technically?” she asked lightly.

“That’s… a fair bit more complicated…” I grumbled as Rarity sat beside me, her curiosity apparently overriding any other concerns she might have had, “See, despite the common assumption, being an alicorn does not inherently make one royal. It’s the automatic assumption as most ponies are at least tangentially related to the Princesses, so any born alicorn would be, however distantly, connected to the royal family. I however, am not, and thus, not automatically royalty.”

“But why is that complicated darling?”

“Well… see, it’s possible to induct someone into royalty, especially alicorns… and it turns out that a mess of papers and laws recognizing me as royalty on par with the Princesses simply… y’know… appeared,” I snorted, remembering clerks citing laws that Celestia assured me hadn’t existed before I’d come. It had been one of the biggest clues to the curse that was warping reality around me.

“So technically you were a Prince then?” Rarity seemed confused by my tone, also probably because that still wasn’t very ‘complicated’.

“Yes and no. Because I abdicated. Gave up my ‘throne’,” I said the word with as much bile as I could muster, which trust me, two years of pretty decent angst makes a great source of bile. I could’ve probably bottled and sold that stuff! It would’ve been awesome. “Swore myself into the service of Celestia and Luna. Explicitly gave up whatever political power I might’ve had… and what’d’ya know? I kept getting reinstated by somepony or another whenever I went to Canterlot… or some amendment would be found that revoked my abdication.”

A small growl escaped me, “They kept trying to make me royalty damnit.”

“Oh how dreadful.”

I gave Rarity a deadpan look. I might have trouble with pony body language and facial expressions, but sarcasm? I could understand that just fine, “It was, despite what you might think. I never wanted it. I never deserved it. It was the same as the worshipful adoration, the mindless lust that ponies had for me in a different form…” Belatedly, I realized I was snarling at the end of my sentence, but thankfully into open space rather than at anyone.

A sigh escaped me as I let the bubbling anger in me fade away, “Sorry… just… it wasn’t fun. I don’t want to be a part of that life in the first place, and the fact that it reminded me of how ponies react to me was just a horrible icing on the cake.”

“You… you never enjoyed the adoration?”

“No. If anything, it made me feel worse. I had to be extremely careful every minute not to take advantage of anyone… or be taken advantage of,” I shuddered unpleasantly at the memories.

“Oh you poor dear!” Suddenly I saw white.

“Wait, wha— eep!” my face was suddenly buried in the white unicorns chest, making me blush in embarrassment. This wasn’t a social taboo for ponies, but being held to a female’s chest was still embarrassing for me. That and I hadn’t expected it at all.

“You were being treated like a celebrity of highest status when you never desired it! And you couldn’t even have bodyguards to keep the paparazzi off of you!” despite the blush on my face, I cringed. Rarity had a wonderful personality but oh god, that voice, ow, seriously, earplugs please. And being pressed against her chest did not improve her tonal quality.

“Um, Rarity?” She was just being… well… nice I guess, but I kinda did want out.

“Why, the curse must’ve made ruffians of everypony!” she gasped theatrically, though I guess I should’ve been grateful she at least seemed sincere in her offense on my behalf… “And making you look like the worst ruffian of all!”

“Miss Rarity?” I pushed at her gently with my hooves, a bit of fear settling in my stomach, this was sounding distressingly familiar.

“Oh could you ever forgive us for thinking so ill of you?! You must have been—“ Okay. That was enough. This was sounding far too familiar.

“Rarity!”

The ‘marshmallow’ squeaked, “Ah, y-yes darling?”

I scowled, part of me felt bad for yelling at her, but damnit, “Could you please let me go? I appreciate the sentiment, but…”

Thankfully, she let me go immediately, “Oh! I’m so sorry darling, it just… it just occurred to me how it must have been like for you,” as I straightened back up, she adjusted her… whatever the name of that hair curly bit was… nervously, “I never realized that you never wanted it.”

I gave her a disbelieving look, “Who would want to get mobbed and molested by mares every step they took?”

She coughed delicately into a hoof, looking away with a distinct blush through her stark white fur.

I rolled my eyes.

Still, there was something that worried me, “Rarity?”

“Mhm?”

For a moment, I considered how best to phrase this without loading it in some way to get the best result, then I popped the question, “Did you take down those things I’d made?”

“Those dreadful things? Certainly!” her voice built in volume and vehemence bit by bit as she spoke, “I was happy when the compulsion to try and sell them was gone! It didn’t matter that they made me money, it was vile money based on the profits of a curse. They were abominations of fashion!” she nearly screeched the last part out before her eyes went wide as she realized what she’d said, covering her mouth with a hoof.

I laughed, a deep, boisterous, relieved belly laugh. For a moment, I’d been afraid that she’d been slipping back into the effects of the curse, but if she could insult my works, I found it doubtful. Still, as I snickered, I made a mental note to keep an eye on it.

“I-I’m sorry…?” she gave me a confused look as I waved it off with a hoof.

“No, don’t be sorry, just wanted to be sure that you weren’t being affected by the curse again,” a small smirk crossed my face, “And don’t worry, I agree. Those things were dreadful, only the vest turned out the way I’d really wanted, and even that wasn’t fashionable.”

The white fashionatta relaxed some, “Don’t worry darling, were I to be caught by that horrendous curse again, I would know. I just find it dreadful that you were caught up in such a thing without any desire for it!”

“E-Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt…” both Rarity and I turned to the yellow pegasus that had approached us.

“It’s no problem darling! Whatever do you need?”

“A-Ah, w-well, um E-Emeris?”

I stood, turning to her fully, “Yeah? Need some help?”

“I-If you wouldn’t mind that is.”

That’d been what I’d expected to be honest, whole reason I’d stayed really, “No prob, tell me what you need me to do.” I completely missed the look that Rarity gave me, and probably wouldn’t have been able to interpret it if I had caught it.

“Oh, um, okay, I just need you to brace her in place so I can set her shoulder properly,” I followed her over to the surprisingly relaxed tiger. A quick glance confirmed that her foreleg had been bandaged completely and rather professionally. So glad I’d brought this tiger to her rather than trying to do it myself, though I wondered how the hell she’d bandaged with just hooves and her mouth…

Still, I put a leg on either side of the tiger’s uninjured foreleg, pressing myself up against her and forcibly ignoring the fact that I was pressing up against a wall of furry, predatory muscle.

Nope. Not gonna think about it.

“Could you please turn her a bit more? If it isn’t too much trouble…”

Yeah, let’s manhandle (ponyhandle?) the giant predator, this’ll end well. I adjusted myself and wrapped a hoof around the tiger’s side, planting the other three on the ground as I hugged the now-leaning tiger to me.

Damn thing was purring. Purring. Fluttershy was a freakin miracle worker, “Okay now Miss Tiger, this is going to hurt, promise not to do anything bad?” the large feline nodded, and when the shy pony gave me a nod, I tensed up my muscles, preparing myself. The veterinarian tenderly took a hold of the tiger’s foreleg, “Okay now, on three. One. Two. Three.” She gave the limb a wrench, forcing it back into place with a sound somewhere between a squelch and a wet thunk, it almost made my stomach turn.

The roar the tiger let out though nearly made me wet myself… in addition to practically making me deaf in one ear. Seriously, ow.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to restrain the tiger, as I was certain that was beyond my limited strength. Though it flinched and moved against me, it did not strike out at either Fluttershy or me. I glanced at the pegasus, looking for instructions, getting a demure smile and a mouthed ‘Thank you’. At least I think she just mouthed it, she might’ve just said it too softly to hear it over the ringing in my ears. Gah.

Still, she made no move to stop me as I stepped away from the tiger and moved away, so I assumed that was all she needed me fore.

Time to run away! Bravely, y’know, like Sir Robin.

I walked away from the doctor and patient and rather quickly noticed Rarity’s gaze on me. Oh joys. With a sigh, I altered my course back towards my fellow unicorn. Doing an about face, I sat down beside her, watching Fluttershy work her magic.

There was a long moment of silence before Rarity spoke, her voice soft, “Your name isn’t Gary.”

Okay, I was confused. Again. “No.”

“It’s… Emeris?”

“Sounds a bit unusual with your accent, but yeah.”

The look she was giving me made me outright uncomfortable. It was… searching… questioning… penetrating, I shifted under her gaze. The silence stretched, a thoughtful look on her face before she softly said, “People only cared about Gary, never about you… How many ponies know you and not Gary?”

I…

That…

Wow… that… that hit home. Hard.

I looked away, my mouth working soundlessly as I tried to formulate a response, “I…” I was crying… when… I blinked, letting the tears fall.

God damn that mare had hit home with that one.

“Celestia… maybe Luna… that’s… that’s really it…” my voice was soft as I stared at the floor, trying to get my suddenly out of control emotions back into a semblance of decency.

That had hit home hard. Just… holy crap. How’d she hit the core of the issue so hard? I just…

A leg went around me and pulled me close, this time I didn’t complain as she pressed my head to her chest. She hugged me, gently stroking my withers with her hooves as my tears silently fell. A small sob escaped me before I pressed my head against her chest harder, clenching my eyes shut and gritting my teeth.

“Emeris, darling… none of that adoration was meant for you… that’s what bothered you the most… isn’t it?”

Another small sob escaped me. Damnit mare, how the hell do you figure this shit out? Trying to keep myself at least a bit decent, I forced myself to speak, “That…” a weak laugh, “That and not wanting to be molested or molest someone. That was pretty bad…”

“Oh darling,” she hugged me tighter and the tears kept flowing. I didn’t know how long we stayed like that, but at some point, another hoof was placed on my back, gently stroking. This kick-started my brain, and with a deep breath, I forced the emotions down, gently pulling away from the unicorn.

Both mares were giving me a concerned look, and a small, selfish part of me was happy that they cared, “I…” another deep breath, “Thank you, Rarity.”

“It was nothing Emeris darling,” there was a pointed use of my name, and I smiled weakly in thanks.

“I know… but… still. Thank you. And…” another deep breath, collecting my thoughts, “And I just want to say that I’m sorry. For everything. For all the effects of the curse, for all the pain and trouble it caused. I’m sorry.”

Rarity was giving me a… bemused?... look at that comment, “Darling, did you have any control over how it affected other ponies?”

“Um… no, not really… even the best spells couldn’t cancel it out…”

“Then you have nothing to apologize for Emeris darling, it’s not your fault.”

I knew that, but no matter how much I told that to my emotions, logic didn’t change how I felt, and I’d feel better if I apologized, “I know… but…” my eyes flicked over to Fluttershy against my bidding before I forced them back down to the dirt, “I came far too close to doing some horrible things.”

“But…” it was Fluttershy that spoke this time, “Y-You never did any of those horrible things. I-I mean… you didn’t… right?”

My head shot up, eyes wide, “No! Never. I–… I couldn’t have lived with myself if I had! I… that was the closest I’d ever come to it…” I looked away again, missing the glance the two mares’s shared.

A hoof was placed on my shoulder, and I looked up to find Rarity smiling gently at me, “Darling, it’s alright. There’s nothing to forgive.” Weakly, I returned the smile, still trying to collect myself when she slid up beside me, wrapping a foreleg around my withers, “Now! Come along! We simply must do something with that mane of yours! It’s got twigs and leaves stuck in it for Celestia’s sake!”

That time, a laugh escaped me as I was lead along by the fashionatta towards Fluttershy’s cottage, the homeowner following after us. I was being subjected to mare bonding? I’d allow it.

Rather viciously, I suppressed the guilt, not just the unfounded guilt for my curse and its effects, but also my lie... Not that I’d never hurt a pony, I’d never molested one. But… but that hadn’t been the closest I’d ever come. That… that had been with Twilight. I’d remembered why she might have reacted so violently.

o-Third Person View-o

She tucked the small purple dragon into his bed, tucking the blanket in around him with her magic, whispering over his sleeping form, almost more to herself than anypony else, “I won’t let him touch you… if Celestia thinks he’s changed… I’ll prove that he hasn’t. Just because we removed his greatest weapon under duress doesn’t mean that monster has changed.”

Nodding to herself, Twilight turned and walked back down into the library proper, sleep could wait, she had research to do, saying softly into the darkness, “I’ll protect my friends from you Gary, no matter what."

Author's Note

Rarity is surprisingly hard for me to write, I really hope I got her at least close to right. Don’t be afraid to tell me if I didn’t.

This... looks to be longer than expected. I'd originally intended this to cover reintroducing both Rarity and Pinkie, but Pinkie will take up at least another 3,000 words, and likely will fit in better with the next chapter anyways. Still, this looks like its going to be longer than I thought.

... and I've still got at least 7 more story arcs of at least 3 chapters each... hoooo boy, I'm going to be at this a while...

Edit FROM THE FUTURE: YUP. WAY LONGER THAN I THOUGHT.

Anyways, Autobots roll out!

Pink Apples and Wooden Packs

Saddlebags bounced at my side as I trotted down the road towards Ponyville.

The sun was shining. The birds were singing. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky!

Still, it managed to be a good day despite the ridiculously bright weather. Because I was going to the spa.

Yes, I’m male, and yes, I’m going to the spa for a full treatment. Pedicure, manicure, horn filing, the works. Rarity insisted on it after trying to get my mane under control for almost two hours. Apparently my hooves were basically horrendous, my coat needed a good brushing and shampooing, and the less said about my mane and tail, the better.

At least, according to her, and I was inclined to believe the white fashionatta over my own limited knowledge.

I wasn’t a manly man, I was actually rather feminine. But no matter how secure I was in what little masculinity I had, I just didn’t understand fashion. So I’d trust the trend-setter that I wasn’t trendy.

I’d almost, almost turned her down because she was insisting upon paying. Element of Generosity and all that, especially around a ‘crime against fashion’, but I did have a certain degree of pride. The mares had given me a bit of a confused look at my insistence at paying at least a portion of the fee, but I’d insisted and told them truthfully that it was a cultural thing.

That day had been… nice.

And no, I wasn’t hesitating because I didn’t want to enjoy ‘mare-time’. The talks, the attempted hair-styling, yes, even the make-up. I’d enjoyed it without reservation. Even the small talk between us. Talking about my horrendous fashion attempts with Rarity and how they could be improved, surprisingly, my vest was actually only off by color. It wasn’t fashionable currently, but it was elegantly simple and functional and Rarity actually wanted to be allowed to sell it.

That had kinda floored me, I hadn’t realized that anything I’d made was salvageable, but that was cool. Only stipulation was that I got 3% of profits from the vests and I got myself a light pink one, otherwise, the design was all hers.

Then there’d been the conversation with Fluttershy about the creatures in the Everfree and the tiger. Looked like I’d been mostly right, though the tiger’s ribs were fine, its foreleg was pretty messed up. I also learned a fair bit about the creatures of Equestria I’d have called mystical when I was a human. Well, things about them that didn’t involve beating their faces in as efficiently as possible. Been doing far, far too much of that.

Rarity had quite tactfully changed the subject to something she was more comfortable with. Gossip. The two mares had spent some time gossiping, read: Rarity talked while Fluttershy gasped and asked the occasional question. While I found it interesting, I knew none of the names mentioned and had nothing to contribute. So I just sat and listened as Rarity did her thing with both Fluttershy and myself.

For myself, it didn’t seem like much of a change aside from cleaning out my mane, but she assured me that it was a huge improvement and Fluttershy had meekly but genuinely agreed that it had helped. Ah well, I’d trust the mare that actually knew this stuff over my own horrendous judgement. I hadn’t been that good at fashion as a human, so pony fashion was right out.

Fluttershy though? Damn. Like… okay, sorry, let me get the accent and tone right for that: Daaaayyyyuuuuuuuuum.

Fluttershy is a freaking model. Seriously. I haven’t lived my life as a pony, nor have I had enough social interaction with ponies to pick up on social mores, so I didn’t know why she was as unbelievably sexy as she was, but my body definitely knew what it liked and it really liked Fluttershy when she was all gussied up. I’d probably have to sit down and really puzzle over that one of these days to isolate what made some mare’s sexy as hell and others not.

Regardless, after making sure I wasn’t drooling once Rarity had unveiled the shy pegasus, I had made sure to assure her that yes, she looked damn good, stop doubting yourself damnit.

Still, by the time Rarity had cleaned up both of us, it was late in the evening, and it hadn’t been long after that that I had headed home, it had quite honestly been the best day I’d had in a long time.

We’d scheduled this day for when I would already have to be in town for supplies, so hopefully I could get both done at once. I planned to get the spa treatment done first thing and hopefully leave dealing with the rest of the village for later.

And there was said town. Hoo boy. Here goes nothing. I took a deep breath, forcing down my fears and continuing my gentle canter.

I might’ve been completely terrified, but come on! Spa and massage! With two beautiful females! Fear was not allowed when there were sexy mares to be around!

Perversion, bolstering spirits for centuries.

More than a few ponies glared at me as I approached the town, but that was expected, it hadn’t been that long

Okay, now where the hell is the spa? Left at the eatery, right at the blacksmith… no, left at the blacksmith, whoops. Oh! Right, past Sugarcube corner on the other side of the market and down the third alley. Durr. Okay, so if I need to be on the other side of the marketplace then if I cut through this alleyway then I should be able to avoi– PINK!

“Gah!” I stumbled back from the sudden pinkness in my face, landing on my haunches and blinking at the pony in front of me, “Diane…?”

Who it was in front of me processed and a look filled with a mix of emotions crossed my face before I schooled it into a more neutral one, looking at Pinkemena Diane Pie. A Pinkie with a surprisingly serious expression on her face, though thankfully her hair was still froofy, still the seriousness and intensity of her gaze was somewhat unsettling. I swallowed down my trepidation, forcing it down there beside my fears and worries and spoke up, “Um… hi?”

“What…” a hoof was pressed to my chest, “Is your name?”

I blinked, suppressing the first response of ‘Sir Lancelot’, and instead forcing myself to think. No clue how Pinkie knew that was the question to ask, but hell, it was Pinkie, I don’t think I’d ever really understand how she did what she did, “My name’s Emeris.” There were other emotional responses that I could have, butat the moment, confusion was easily the main one.

“Hmmmm…” she gave me a look which I couldn’t decipher past the intensity of it. Then the pink party pony began to slowly circle me, looking me over with that same intensity. Worry began to seep into me, slowly encircling my chest, but I ignored it. There was a small spike of pain from the issue of my name, but I’d already had a good cry about that with Rarity and it’d been a few days since that so it was mostly a non-issue.

Still, it was a bit of an effort to not fidget beneath her gaze, and my disobedient tail still insisted upon flicking back and forth in agitation. I’ll deal with you later, tail.

Pinkie completed her circuit, her surprisingly intense blue eyes boring into mine. I met her stare, blinking in my confusion and cocking my head to the side in askance. I thought I knew what was going on, but I wasn’t about to assume. Her eyes narrowed slightly, “Your name’s not Gary?”

I shook my head, “No, that… that was a name for what the curse made me.”

She kept staring, and I stared back. If she was going to make her judgement, she was going to make it, and I didn’t know the thoughts going on in her head well enough to have the slightest idea what I could say to improve my chances, thus, I remained silent.

Then, like a switch had been flipped, she was smiling, practically radiating sunshine and rainbows, “Okey dokey lokey!”

Relief washed through me like a tsunami, making me smile exasperatedly at the semi-crazy mare, “We’re good?”

“Goody as pumpkin pie! Or blueberry. Or maybe strawberry–“

My mouth ran without my input again, though this time I didn’t really mind, “I prefer cake, can we be good like cake?”

“Oooh! Okey dokey lokey! What kind of cake?!” she bounced on her hooves, her mouth already opening to provide suggestions, but I knew exactly what kind of cake.

“Chocolate chocolate chocolate chocolate chocolate chocolate cake.”

She stopped bouncing, staring at me in slight confusion, “But… wait, six chocolates?”

“Yep, it’s… was… my grandma’s recipe. Chocolate cake, chocolate icing, chocolate chips in the cake, fudge filling in the cake itself, chocolate pudding between the layers, and dark chocolate shavings on top.”

The party pony let out an exaggerated and very theatrical gasp. If it had been anyone(pony) else, I’d have assumed it was faked, “That’s genius! Your grandma was a genius! Ooh! Ooh! I could do stuff like that with blueberries! Or burple berries! Ooh ooh! Or vanilla! Or–”

I chuckled softly to myself, a warmth filling my chest as she rambled on about ideas. I doubted it was actually all that new, but still, it’d apparently made her day… erm… sorry, forgot, Pinkie, so maybe it made her next thirty minutes until she found something else to amuse herself over. After letting her talk for a moment, I glanced at the sun to check the time, I should be at the spa in a little bit, so time to move this along.

“So… Pinkie, while I’m happy we’re cool, what was the point to this?”

She gasped theatrically again before beaming at me, “To see if I needed to throw you a party of course! Because I already threw a party for Gary! But you’re Emeris! And you need a totally different welcome to Ponyville party!”

…

Why didn’t I see that coming?

… right, because I’m a dumbass. Durrrrr.

“Ah, Pinkie?”

“There’ll be balloons and streamers and–“

“Pinkie.”

“–and cake! You’ve got to show me your grandmas recipe! And–“

”Pinkie.”

“Yepperoonies~?”

“Could you schedule it for next week please? I’m a bit busy today and I’m not…” okay, what was the tactful way to say this… the town hates my guts still? No… hm… ah! A different part of the truth! “I’m not all that good with crowds, I can only take them in… ah… limited doses,” total truth, just not the central issue, “I’m probably going to get my fill today, but I should be fine for next week, okay?”

“Okey dokey lokey!” she threw a foreleg over my withers, “You’re gonna love it!”

I made a noncommittal sound, smiling affectionately at the energetic mare. I probably wouldn’t enjoy it honestly. Parties weren’t really my thing, let alone giant social events like she probably would throw. But still, the thought behind it warmed my heart, and damnit, I was willing to give it a try, especially if I could reintroduce myself to everypony and apologize. Good opportunity honestly.

She started to zip off, but I grabbed the energetic mare by the tail with my teeth. She practically snapped back beside be like elastic, giving me a confused look, “Yeppers?”

I let go of her tail to talk, it was something I needed to say now before I tried to put it off, “Pinkie, I just wanted to apologize for… well… everything about me and the curse. I… was a bit too rough sometimes… I’m sorry.”

The pink mare put a hoof on my shoulder, smiling brightly, but gently at me, “It’s okay Emmy-wemmy! You did your absolute bestest with those crazy magics!”

Smiling gratefully at her acceptance, I still had to hammer it home, “Still, I’m sorry.”

Another gentle smile and pat on the back before she bounced off. How she was able to go that fast while hopping, I don’t think I’d ever… wait… oh! It’s all in the knees and back! That’s how she does that! Holy shit! That’s genius! I gotta try that out some time when I’m exercising!

Standing up from my sitting position, I glanced at the sun to be sure of the time once again before starting off towards the spa once again. A small look of confusion crossed my face as I smacked my lips.

… why the hell did her tail taste like grape cotton candy?

oOo

The massage had been… nice wasn’t strong enough, but wonderful was too strong…

… the perfect thing for the time. There we go.

Thankfully, there hadn’t been any other ponies in there outside of Fluttershy, Rarity, and the two owners. They had been hesitant, but thankfully, entirely non-confrontational. I think the fact that I had bits to pay up front and the two Elements of Harmony vouching for me had eased whatever worries they had.

I never understood the point of the facial or mud baths, and while I’d once learned the point of the cucumbers, I’d totally forgotten them by this point. They’d been damn tasty though, and the look on Rarity’s face when I’d eaten them had made me laugh.

The sauna had been surprisingly nice despite my coat, and horn filing was… hm… I… can’t really describe the sensation. It was kinda like a head-massage only better, but different and… deeper? I don’t know, there’s no analogous sensations for the human body to compare it to. It was like… like there was a tuning fork embedded in your forehead, and normally, it just gave off this note when it was used and a softer note when it was just there, but the filing tuned the tone into a much more pleasant hum.

Urgh, it’s hard to describe, but it was pleasant.

The pedicure and manicures (they called them something else, but I’d already forgotten the name, never been good at that) hadn’t so much felt good as they made my hooves look better. Though the circular sander, grinder, and welding masks they’d gotten out had seemed a bit… excessive. Especially considering how a ponies hooves had a limited grasping ability due to the soft section in the center being able to apply a certain degree of suction, but apparently they had been necessary.

Also apparently, my hooves were particularly tough, and had required a courser grinder to properly work on at first. I had a feeling that all the fighting I’d done as an alicorn had transferred over. Either that or magic. Magic was always a possibility here.

The massage though? Perfect. I was tense, hell, I was always tense. It’d been years since I’d had a proper massage, and while hooves weren’t as good as hands for gentler massages, I needed more of a deep tissue massage anyways and the use of teeth made up for any subtleties that their hooves lacked.

Fluttershy and myself talked little, myself even less than the shy mare. I just didn’t have anything to say, so I did what I like to think I do best, listen, and learn.

Rarity spoke of nobility acting silly, of ponies whose names I would probably never remember and their troubles. Herds having issues, rivalries, successes, and failures. I interjected the occasional question when I didn’t understand the social context, but for the most part, I was quiet. Fluttershy though, actually knew who the seamstress was talking about, so she was actually able to interject something useful to the conversation.

It had taken most of the day, and when it was all done, I felt like a proper pony. There was of course, the mild existential crisis at feeling decidedly non-human, but I’d had years of introspection to adjust to the fact that I wasn’t human anymore. Besides, I was still a sentient being, this was no different than acclimating to a different culture. Not to mention that I’d spent most of a day with two attractive females and being tended to by two more, so fuck you existential crisis, fuck you.

A quick glance through my saddlebags confirmed that yes, they were still empty, damnit, I hadn’t magically gotten supplies while in the spa.

Blech. Ah well. To the market. And Sugarcube Corner, Celestia had eaten all of my cookies.

Really should admonish her for that one of these days. Yeah, admonish the immortal goddess of the sun who paid me my stipend to get the cookies in the first place, that’ll go well.

Still, it was a pain to have to get cookies again so quickly… though thank the divines I didn’t have to deal with psycho Pinkie anymore.

Dodging around the occasional inattentive pony, I slipped into the small bakery and…

… well, I would have got in line if said small line hadn’t scattered upon my entrance. Real subtle guys. And here I thought you weren’t treating me as bad as you had Zecora.

Freakin’ flighty ponies.

I walked up to the counter, happy to note that neither the Cakes nor Pinkie had scattered, though Mrs. Cake looked somewhat uncomfortable with my approach. Pinkie though had looked sad at the sudden disappearance of ponies from the line, but had perked up upon seeing me.

She waved a hoof, “Hiya Emmy!”

Very briefly, I considered asking her not to call me that, I normally didn’t care for nicknames, but I discarded it. It didn’t bother me all that much, and she’d pick up on that even if I asked her to stop, she’d keep doing it because it was funny. Eh, maybe later.

“Afternoon Pinkie, any chance I could get my usual cookies?” I kept my face pleasantly neutral as I tried to figure out a good way to make up for the loss of business my entrance had caused. My best bet was to assuage the town’s worries during Pinkie’s party for me…

“Yeppers~!” she ducked under the counter, pulling up a tray of the delightful icing cookies. And damnit, I wanted to splurge, “Would you happen to have gingersnaps?”

“Mhm~!” the pink pony nodded, beaming, “How many~?”

“A half dozen please.” Another disappearance behind the counter before the delightful treats were placed beside the others, “How much do I owe you?”

“Four bits~”

Levitating the appropriate number of bits out of my saddlebag, I replaced them with cookies. Delightful delightful cookies. Not having a sweet tooth does not mean not enjoying amazingly wonderful cookies.

I smiled gently in thanks to Pinkie before turning the smile to Mrs. Cake. I could tell that the looks of the customers still in there were on me as I spoke, so better make this good, “Mrs. Cake? Just… well, wanted to say I’m sorry. Both for the whole alicorn-ness mess… and that I don’t get to bring you a surge of business every week,” I shot a quick glance back at the door which most of the ponies in line had disappeared out of, murmuring, “Really hope I don’t start doing the opposite instead…”

When I turned back to the middle-aged mare, her face had softened, and she smiled, albeit weakly, at me, “It’s alright deary, you didn’t have any control over it,” there was something… weird… about the way she said that, but not in any way I could place.

Still, I made a face, “Not a bit, despite my best efforts. Still doesn’t mean I don’t have to apologize.”

Her smile strengthened, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Pinkie beaming, “Thank you for that dear.”

A wave of relaxation went through me at her acceptance of my apology. Almost made me happy enough to ignore the fact that I hadn’t the slightest clue what to say now. Thankfully, Pinkie Pie.

Yes, that’s a proper sentence, Pinkie Pie is simultaneously a noun, pronoun, adjective, and verb. Bite me.

The pink mare practically exploded like a firecracker, confetti included, and began babbling about a ‘making up’ party at a words-per-minute speed that I… didn’t really care to try and calculate. Long story short, she spoke fast. My best guess was that she was talking about making my ‘Welcome Emeris to Ponyville’ Party would have to be converted to also be a ‘Apologizing for a Terrible Curse that He had no Control Over’ party.

Mrs. Cake and I shared a glance before looking back at the stream of consciousness that was Pinkie Pie. The older mare gently put a hoof on the party-pony’s shoulder, “Now Pinkie, let’s let him go, he’s probably got plenty more to do today.”

I nodded in agreement, but from the way Pinkie Pie shut up right away with her customary ‘Okey dokey lokey!’, I had a sneaking suspicion that she’d done that to diffuse the awkward moment. Random she might be, but socially observant as hell she was as well.

Yoda my mentor still was not. Hrrrmmm.

I exited the confectionary bakery with a surprising amount of grace, the slightest of springs in my step. Progress. One pony at a time if need be, I’d make up for that ridiculous curse.

And now… for food shopping. Joys.

oOo

So far, so… painful? Awkward? Eh, not perfect, but close enough. I didn’t know how to haggle, and since Celestia would likely be cutting my stipend now that I didn’t need it, I would probably have to learn. But still, the hurting ‘wallet’ wasn’t as big of a deal as the hurt feelings. Money is replaceable, feelings are considerably less so.

They weren’t mean… well, most of them, the cucumber salesman had been rather… vicious. He’d snapped at me. Both verbally and physically. I think his daughter might’ve been one of my usual herd of fanmares, so… yeah. Couldn’t really blame the guy. But most every other vendor, while cold, had at least accepted my apology and gave me service.

Still, I had a wide assortment of vegetables, a solid amount of salt and sugar cubes, what else… what else…

My eyes scanned the marketplace, something easily done with my still surprising height (I’d been on the shorter end of average as a human! Why the hell was I the second tallest stallion here?!) and the bubble of space most ponies afforded me. Wish I could say I wasn’t bothered by it, but a small part of me was, ah well, I’ll deal.

Something jumped out at me though, bright blonde hair, orange coat, Stetson hat, apples, oh Celestia the apples. What she was selling looked pretty good too.

So that’s where Applejack had set up her stand.

A part of me was determined to shy away from the aggressive mare, but the more logical and by far more dominant side of me squashed it like a bug. She hadn’t been that aggressive, despite how much my brain wanted to group her and Twilight together. I wanted to be her friend, I also wanted to know what I’d done to make her act like that. Only way to find out was to walk over there and ask… and apologize and ask how I could make it up to her, because I wasn’t about to let her be mad at me if I could help it.

Taking a slow breath, I gathered up all the courage I had, all three drops of it. Despite the quivering fear in my ribcage, I walked towards the cowgirl (pony?) and her stand.

As had been the case so far during the day, as I approached the stand, the ponies that had been buying basically vanished. Skittish little bastards.

Applejack was quite obviously confused at the sudden disappearance of her customers. And I couldn’t particularly blame her, it was a dick move to be honest. Her look changed quite quickly when she noticed me though, going from confusion to what I assumed was a simmering anger in about half a second.

I swallowed, but steeled my heart, continuing my walk towards her. Thankfully, she didn’t really look as angry as she had last time we’d spoken.

A quick glance at the customers I’d ‘scared’ off, “Sorry about that…”

She snorted, but thankfully the simmering look wasn’t aimed at me, though the look she did aim at me wasn’t much better, “Alright, what d’you want?”

I didn’t cringe. I didn’t. But damn did I want to. Regardless, I met her vivid green eyes with my own, “I want to apologize.”

“And what, precisely, are ya apologizin’ f’er?” Aha! I knew that trick. It was a ‘girlfriend’ trick to get a guy to confess to things that she didn’t know about. Thing is, I knew exactly what I was apologizing for.

“Everything that needs it. But specifically? What that curse did to you and other ponies, and how I had to act to keep it from getting worse…” my eyes broke away from hers as a failure of mine flitted through my head, “And for failing to protect the Apple farm near Fillydelphia. I didn’t get there fast enough to turn the Ursa aside… I’m sorry.”

She was quiet a long moment after that before speaking, her voice surprisingly gentle, “Ah’m happy y’er apologizin’ for the first two. And that ain’t gonna be enough to make up f’er all that ya did. But ya’ don’t have to apologize f’er that last one. T’wasn’t y’er fault. According to Celestia, you weren’t even on this side of Equestria when the news came, and you were off so fast it shook the windows even here on the farm when ya passed by. You did y’er best to stop it, can’t blame yerself for that’n.”

“Doesn’t mean I don’t feel guilty for it…” I muttered. Still, I (metaphorically) shook that off with a sigh, “Still, if a simple apology won’t help for everything, what will? I want to make it up to you and everpony else that’s been affected by my curse for the past two years.”

“Well…” I seemed to have thrown the farm-mare for a loop, a small one, but still, “Ah don’t rightly know. Ah just know that a little ‘ah’m sorry’ ain’t gonna cut it.”

“’Fraid of that…” I murmured, irritated with myself for already slipping into my own southern accent, something closer to Georgia than her ‘Tenessee’ accent. My brain worked desperately for something that I could do… work… “How about I work the farm for you, two weeks, no pay. Best effort I can provide.”

Applejack blinked, “That… that might be a good start, sure. But, ya sure? Farm-work ain’t easy, and ya are a unicorn.”

“I’m probably not as strong as Big Mac, but I’ve worked on smaller scale farms before with my grandparents and I’ll give it my all.”

“Ah dunno…”

“Applejack, I can’t promise I’ll be extremely helpful, but I can, and do promise you that I won’t get in the way and I’ll lighten your workload.”

I didn’t waver under her gaze, keeping my eyes on hers as the considering look crossed her face as she scratched her chin with a hoof. Eventually though, the orange mare nodded, “Alright, I’ll let ya try,” a hoof was jabbed in my direction, “But if ah tell ya to do something, you’d best do it. Y’er gonna be there every day before sunrise, already fed,” I nodded at both, fully expecting them and not bothered by them.

It was then that she leaned over her stall, her hoof touching my chest threateningly, her voice suddenly dropping into a dangerous whisper, “And you’d best not even touch m’ah sister.”

I stared at her for a moment before my jaw dropped as the implication sunk in, “I… I would never… I…” I shut my mouth, my eyes hard. I didn’t know why she felt that I’d hurt them, but damnit, I wouldn’t and I had to assure her.

So I made a promise. A very solemn promise. An oath. A geas. A binding on my name and soul. “Applejack, I swear to you, on my horn and soul, as Emeris Fillson, until the time you release me, I will allow no harm to come to your siblings while I draw breath. Should any true harm come to them that I would have been able to prevent, my magic shall turn against me, and a mark of my shame shall superimpose itself upon my cutie mark.”

I meant it.

The attractive mare blinked a few times, “You… you jus’ did magic…”

“I just made a promise.”

Her mouth worked quietly for a moment, “That… that stuff’ll really happen if you break it?”

“Yes.”

Applejack sort of fell onto her haunches, staring at me in surprise, “That… that just might be more bindin’ than a Pinkie Promise.”

I shrugged as best as a standing pony could, “I meant it. I want you to trust me, and I would never hurt you or your family.”

Her mouth worked silently for a moment before she gave me a surprisingly appraising look, “Well alright then.”

oOo

Everyone knows how horrendous the sound of an alarm clock going off is.

Now imagine that alarm clock is in your brain.

Welcome to my life.

Mind you, it’s not that bad. But still, I wish I’d known another kind of alarm-clock spell than one that sounded in my head. Why couldn’t I remember another one instead of this one? Urgh.

Still, I rolled over Droolykins, ignoring his unhappy meow as I fell out of the bed with a thump. Navigating the house by memory and sound and the occasional furniture-detection-device-usage (A.K.A. – Shin meet chair, cuss repeatedly) I was able to get myself a quick breakfast before throwing on my pink vest and saddlebags with lunch and drinks and heading out towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Yes, I was walking through the Everfree right before dawn.

Fuck you Everfree. I was bristling with shining telekinetic blades. I had not had my tea today and I wasn’t in the mood.

Caffine tended to go badly with heavy labor that involved a lot of sweating and being far from a bathroom. Personal experience. Thankfully, I wouldn’t have to worry about sunburn.

oOo

The sky was starting to show the first signs of the rising sun, color starting to spread through the clouds as I walked along the path towards the Apple household. I have to admit, I liked Celestia’s sunrises quite a bit, but I still preferred sunsets.

There was no one outside yet, but the lights of the home were on so ponies were up. So with a nod to myself, I trotted right up to the house and knocked.

There was some commotion in the house at the sound, and I didn’t have to wait long before the door opened, a wide awake Applejack shrouded by the light of the house, “Morning, Applejack, reporting for duty,” I saluted.

Her eyebrow quirked up, but a small smile did play across her face, “Alright then, we’re just finishin’ up breakfast. You ate already right?”

“Mhm.”

“Alright then, ah’ll show you what we’re doin’,” she turned and called over her shoulder into the house, “Applebloom! You clean up the dishes before headin to school, ya hear?” I could hear the little filly in the house shouting back a response even as the orange mare stepped in front of me stepped out of the house, closing the door behind her as she lead me to the fields.

“I’m going to hazard a guess that magic is forbidden in this work?”

“Eyup. Not while y'er workin' to prove y'er sorry at very least,” she said with a flat look.

I winced a bit, "Right." Yeah, that made sense. Welp, there went my plans to make things easier with magic. Curses, foiled again.

oOo

Plows… are heavy.

And hard to pull.

Ow.

Ow, my everything.

It’d been a while since I’d hurt this much. Ow.

Again, at least I didn’t have to worry about sunburn. Thank Celestia for little favors.

End of the line.

With a grunt, I heaved the plow up and out of the soil, grabbed it with my teeth, and hefted it over the appropriate distance and setting it back down. Three hooflengths. Right.

I thumped my forehooves on the top of the plow, pushing the tip back into the dirt before getting back in front of it. A quick glance confirmed that the last row I’d done was, just as planned, straight as an arrow. Hah.

With a quick adjustment, I made sure the straps and harness around my shoulders wouldn’t tug at anything uncomfortably and began to tug, keeping my eyes ahead of me and the row beside me at the appropriate distance. Something appeared in the corner of my eye though, big and red.

I gave Big Mac a nod of acknowledgement as I kept pushing along, having to dig my hooves into the dirt a bit to tug past some of the harder parts of the field. Still, I kept an ear turned to the bigger stallion as I worked, in case he had something to say, a correction to what I was doing, advice, or an admonishment.

The Apple sibling walked beside me for a moment, and I thanked my experience in high-school marching band for being able to actually see him out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t even have to try to look over to actually see him. Conclusion: Yeah, I was almost as tall as the big guy, but he probably weighed half again what I did. Big Mac is a lot bigger in person than he is on screen. He’s built like a freakin’ war horse.

Muscle, sinew, bone, all in a large yet unimposing package. I wasn’t attracted to males, but there was nothing wrong with admitting that he was a fine specimen of the Earth Pony subspecies.

“Y’er helpin’.”

“Mhm,” I can be laconic too big guy, especially when I’m working my ass off.

“Applejack says you ain’t gonna be paid.”

“Nope.”

He was quiet for a long moment as we walked, me dragging the plow behind me. Then he spoke again, “Y’er sure about that?”

I took a moment to unpack the statement in my head, making sure I wasn’t missing any of the subtleties that might sneak into the phrase due to his laconic tendencies, “I’ve gotta make up for the mess I’ve caused somehow, and this is a good start.” The plow clanked as it met rock, and I looked back at it with a scowl, pulling the rock out with my magic and chucking it to the side before starting to tug again, “I’m sorry for all that, by the way.”

Again, a long silence from the larger stallion as we walked. Thankfully, it was a comfortable one, neither of us was particularly bothered by silence it seemed. No surprise there.

Then big red spoke, “I’m sorry,” I blinked and turned to the big guy, raising an eyebrow even as I pulled the plow along. The hell was he apologizing for? Big Mac shifted uncomfortably, a light pink coming to his cheeks as he gestured vaguely with his hoof, “F’er… y’know… uh… tryin’ to…”

Oh. Those times. I rolled my eyes, “Don’t worry, that stuff was more my fault than yours. Stupid curse made ponies act that way.”

“Ah still–“ this time I cut him off, stopping and pointing a hoof at the larger stallion, meeting his eyes.

“No. Don’t. You weren’t the only stallion affected like that. And just because you were the strongest, doesn’t mean you got the closest. It made me uncomfortable, sure, but a lot of the effects of the curse did.”

“But ah tried to mount you!”

This time I poked him in the chest with my hoof, eyes hard, “So. Damned. What. Shining Armor tried to mount me. Hell, half the damn Royal Guard has tried to mount me! You were not the only stallion that tried to mount me, and it was entirely the fault of my curse. There’s nothing to apologize for,” he looked like he was going to argue, but I wasn’t going to have any of it, “And don’t you dare give me some crap about how you should’ve resisted it. That damn magic affected even Luna. You did absolutely nothing wrong, and had no control over your actions.”

Big Mac deflated, looking away and murmuring softly, “Ah still feel bad about it though.”

I could easily sympathize with that, my hoof dropping to the dirt again and I’m certain that my look softened by several magnitudes, “I know… I totally understand. But trust me, you have nothing to apologize for.”

The red stallion turned and gave me a confused look and I raised an eyebrow myself, eventually I asked, “What?”

“How do you know how that feels?”

A morose feeling swept over me at that, “Doesn’t matter how much evidence says otherwise, how much logic might disagree, I always feel like the effects of the curse were my fault. My head says one thing, my heart says another…” I trailed off before shaking the excessive introspection off, “So yeah, I kinda know the feeling.”

A silence fell over us as he absorbed that. Though when a drop of sweat fell from my muzzle, I was reminded that I was supposed to be doing work. With a bit of a heave, I tugged at the plow once more, pulling it through the dirt, Big Mac walking beside me, his face pensive.

He didn’t speak when we reached the end of the row, but when I moved to pull the plow free, he grabbed it with his teeth, wrenching it from the dirt with ease and moving it for me.

I got back into place to pull the plow, looking at the bigger stallion for a long moment, “So… we’re cool?”

“Eyup.”

A happy warmth spread through my chest as I turned back to pulling the plow.

Progress. I loved it.

oOo

The end of day four of my arduous work on the farm.

Still hard as hell.

Heh, knowing myself, it’d be a month before my body acclimated to this kind of work. I’d started eating lunch with the older two Apple siblings. None of us talked much about anything aside from the work, what needed to be done, and anything I might be able to help with. Though their reaction to finding out that my name was Emeris had been a bit amusing.

“Y’er name ain’t Gary?”

“Nope.”

“Why… why’d you lie about that?”

“Because callin’ that… thing that I was by my name felt like far more of a lie. Didn’t want to associate that thing and its effects with me any more than I could help…”

“Oh… that… that makes sense…” The look on her face had been priceless.

Aside from the first day, I’d been doing mostly construction work. Unicorn magic was extremely helpful in repairing things, especially my constructs once I figured out how to replace the constructs with matter drawn from the air and conjuring material from my own energy.

It was a bit draining, but it’s hard to beat being able to simultaneously put twenty nails into a structure at once while holding it all in place by yourself.

I could, in thirty minutes, do a whole days work for the Apple siblings when it came to construction, just because of my magic and already there construction skills.

I had been quite surprised by the relative lack of building standards. While the buildings were superficially similar to the buildings I was accustomed to and had some extremely inventive systems of interlocking beams… I had been able to improve the resilience of the buildings, particularly the barn. Most of what I did involved interlocking boards or ones that needed to be nailed to one another or metal construction braces to hold beams together.

Most of it wasn’t all that complicated, but it made more sense for a species that had two manipulating digits rather than one and a half. A mouth and two pseudo-suction-capable hooves could do a surprisingly large amount, and unicorns had as many manipulation ‘limbs’ as they needed, but the amount of dexterity and the thinking it was conducive to were subtly different.

Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if equestrians were actually aware of the techniques, but that they were a professional-exclusive kind of thing and not something a group of farm-ponies would have the training to do.

It was definitely something to look up later on, or ask Rarity about, she’d know. I mused on the best sources of information on Equestrian economic structures and systems while I entered the Everfree forest.

Admittedly, I was rather zoned out, working like I had all day tended to make me creative and thoughtful.

That said, I had to shake it off, the sun was getting low in the sky and the Everfree was unbelievably dangerous at night. I could handle myself even as tired as I was, but not paying attention would’ve been asking for trouble. Something tingled at the edges of my senses, someone or something was following me already.

Still, I didn’t really bristle, as cliché as it may sound, I sensed no hostility from whatever was following me, at least not yet.

It’s not really a sense, at least not in the way the Pinkie Sense or full on ESP is. It’s a combination of the normal five senses and my magical sense, and my brain processing all of the little data points and information quickly enough to get a general idea of what was going on, but not able to pick out the individual bits.

An out of place twig snapping. Rustling bushes a bit too close. Dead zones of sound, where the birds and bugs weren’t making noise. Things like that. I wasn’t consciously registering most of it, but all together, it gave me a general sense of what was going on.

That said, whoever or whatever was following me was making my ears twitch, though they/it seemed to be falling behind the deeper we went into the forest. After about fifteen minutes, they were on the edges of my senses, but seemed to be struggling.

A bit weird, couldn’t place it to be honest, but whatever.

The bigger concern were the Timber wolves I could hear. They made a distinct creaking noise that I recognized from working on my grandparents orange grove and woodworking with my dad. It was very, very soft, but it was different from the normal sounds of the forest, and they tended to make the birds go quiet as well in passing. Though there were fewer and fewer birds out and making noise this close to sunset.

It was… hoo boy, that’s a big pack.

… damn, correction, that’s a fucking huge pack, that’s at least 30 of them, holy shit, I’d really better get moving, I don’t think I even could handle that many and I definitely don’t want to find ou–

A howl.

A scream.

That was a pony.

My eyes widened.

That was Applebloom.

That was Applebloom!

I didn’t see the trees, I didn’t feel the branches whipping against me as I galloped at full tilt through the forest, I didn’t pay attention to anything but the direction the sound had come from.

Celestia, please let me be in time.

Timber wolves, scattered about, in a loose circle, they snapped at me as I dodged past them, my eyes searching for– there!

A large Timber Wolf was stalking towards the small filly backed up against a tree.

No time.

I shoulder-checked the damn thing. It might’ve been three times my size and made of wood, but I’d been going full speed and it would move.

The predator went flying even as I skidded to a halt. I didn’t have time to care about what happened to it, another one had launched itself after me as I’d ran past. My fury, my fear, I focused it on its new target.

The sword-construct slammed into the wolf’s chest, a broadsword of anger and will that impaled the wolf into a tree not far away.

Another wolf, running at me. I swung my attention, and with it, my rage. The emerald hammer was nearly the size of the wolf and sent it skidding away as well. Then there was pain in my side.

I snarled as I turned, a wolf had clawed at me as it ran by, aiming for Applebloom behind me.

No.

I spun on my back hooves, rearing up and slamming my forehooves down on the timber wolf’s back hard enough to shatter it, breaking it into half. There was a sound nearby. I ignored the wolf’s pained scream and grabbed the back of its broad neck with my teeth and swung myself around, throwing the front half of the dying timber wolf into its oncoming companion.

The wolf yelped as it’s packmate impacted it and I could hear more than a few growls about me, but no more approached.

Damnit. Damnit damnit damnit.

Slowly, I backed up and placed myself over the small filly, she was whimpering beneath me as my eyes scanned the ring of predators around us.

Could I fight them all? The thought was immediately discarded. No, too many. I didn’t think I would survive such a fight, but there was no way I could protect Applebloom too. Her life was priority one.

Draw them away? No. Too risky. Applebloom’s safety. The wolves began to circle.

Could I manage their numbers at all? No. There weren’t any good places anywhere nearby to negate their numbers advantage.

A glance at my wounded side. Slight bleeding. Barely got past the skin. Flesh wound, inconsequential, ignore it. I tuned out the pain.

I had to get Applebloom to safety. In a tree wouldn’t be safe with Timber Wolves. I couldn’t escort her, too risky, and she wouldn’t go fast enough.

My home? No, too risky. I don’t know if I could open the wards for her fast enough.

Had to be the Apple farm, it was the next closest. Okay. Had to carry her. Best way? Saddlebags? No. Vest.

“Applebloom,” she whimpered again, “Applebloom, I need you to listen. Can you do that?” There was a moment of silence from here before I heard her swallow and another moment of silence, “I can’t see you Applebloom, I need you to talk to me, okay?” My voice was… calmer than expected. Despite my racing heart.

“Y-Yes…”

“Okay, we’re going to run to your house, alright? I want you to get up on my back and get up under my vest, okay?” my eyes flicked back and forth at the wolves circling us, they were trying to approach, and a warning snarl made one scamper back a few feet, “Do you understand Applebloom?”

“Y-Yeah, a-ah think…” she was whimpering again.

“Applebloom. I promise, you’ll be fine. Things are going to be tense though, so if I tell you to run, I want you to run, as hard and fast as you can. Alright?”

“B-But–“

“Applebloom. If I tell you to run, I need you to run, okay?”

“O-Okay…”

“Alright,” another snarl at a wolf that tried to approach before trying to get my breathing back under control. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck. I had to be calm. I couldn’t panic. She needed me, “Alright Applebloom, climb up and hold on. We’re going to start going once you have a good grip, okay?”

“O-okay,” her voice was a bit stronger. Good.

I didn’t flinch when I felt the young filly clamber up onto my back, I couldn’t afford to. My heart was already thundering in my chest, my eyes and ears jerking back and forth as I tried to keep as many of the wolves within the periphery of my senses as possible.

The little filly was working her way under the back of my vest, hopefully the thick material could protect her and act as a seat-belt of sorts, “Alright, Applebloom, I need to trust you here. If I have to tell you to run, I need to know you’re going to run home as hard and fast as you can, no looking back. Can you do that for me?”

“Ah…” she hesitated before her forelegs hugged my withers tightly, I could feel drops on my back, “O-Okay…”

“Good, now hold on, this is gonna be rough.”

I waited until I felt her legs tighten around me before I feinted one direction and launching myself in the other, galloping past the timber wolf that tried to intercept me. There was a howl, it sent a cold sweat down my entirety.

The hunt was on.

They bayed and howled as they ran beside me, the pack easily keeping up with me even at my full gallop.

Jaws snapped at my flanks and fangs of thorns nipped at my heels. One came at me from the side, snapping at me.

No! They wouldn’t herd me. I had a goal and they would not make me deviate from it.

The ax-construct nearly took the wolf’s head off.

More howls, shadows of predators flitted in and out of the edges of my vision. One lunged at me from the front, I snarled and didn’t slow, ’No!’ I threw my fury into it, a mace construct splintering its torso. I leapt through the splinters, ignoring the pinpricks of pain along my skin. I had to get her out of here.

I ducked beneath a low limb, hooves pounding on the dirt, panting as I zigged and zagged.

Wolf!

My head jerked away as thorny jaws snapped at my face, glancing across my cheek and drawing blood.

Oh hell no!

I headbutted it, sending it careening away.

Another! This time an ax construct answered its jaws.

I screamed.

I didn’t think, there was pain in my leg, I merely attacked, sword constructs stabbing at the space behind me. There was a yelp, and the pressure on my rear leg was gone. I ran.

Pain shot through my leg every thunderous step. Too bad. Applebloom needed me.

I couldn’t hear her over my panting, over the howls and barks of the timber wolves around me, but I could feel her whimper against my back. Damnit, we’d only been running a minute, maybe two, we still had almost six till we were at the farm even at this pace.

What could I do?

I grit my teeth.

Run. Run harder. Faster. Fuck my legs, fuck my heart, go.

My anger, my fear, I let it run through me and I forced myself to go faster.

Under the limb, over the log, weapons of rage speared at those that dared get close. Claws and teeth nipped at my sides and were met with hooves or head or blades. There was pain, they were at my heels, predators each larger than me, I had to get some space, I had to give Applebloom a chance.

I snarled, imagining the stars in the sky, each a pinprick of light, of hope, and now, of might.

I spun in place and let out a roar, my horn blazing brightly in the darkening forest as the air was filled with sword-constructs of every shape and style. Each a star in my own rendition of the night sky.

And the stars fell.

I didn’t care about accuracy, all I cared about was saturating the space with death, forcing them back.

There were yelps and whimpers and I could see the pack dance back even as some of its members were impaled on emerald blades.

“Applebloom! Run!”

“W-What?!”

No time. They were already starting to stalk closer. I reached back over my shoulder and grabbed my jacket with my teeth, Rarity would have to forgive me, I ripped the jacket apart, exposing the young filly, “Applebloom, run!”

“But what about yo–“

“Applebloom!” I tundered her name, my attention focused on the predators stalking towards us,”What did I say?!”

“T-To run-“

“Exactly! Now run! I’ll be after you soon but I need you to run now. Now go!”

I felt her nod vigorously on my back before leaping off of my back, her hooves pounding the dirt behind me as she ran towards her home.

One of the Timber Wolves tried to rush past me and chase her down. I shoulder checked the bastard, slamming it into a tree hard enough to crack it. With a scream of fury, I grabbed it by the back of its neck and tossed it into another tree, rushing over and slamming my forehooves down on its torso, splintering its entire torso.

“No! Not while I’m here! If you want her, you’re going to have to go through me!” I snarled at the pack as I stood over one of their splintered comrades, “I’m drawing a line in the damn sand! And not a damn one of you will pass! So bring it on!”

They brought it.

An inarticulate scream of rage escaped me as I met their charge and the world dissolved into battle. I impaled one upon my horn and dislodged it by slamming it into the ground. One tackled me, trying to bowl me over, but despite the pain of its claws in my side I swung around, slamming a spiked ball of rage into its side.

Teeth clamped down around a leg and a guillotine construct removed the offending head. A wolf slammed into my side hard, and pain flared, my breath leaving me in a gasp as I stumbled away. Another wolf joined that one, both going for my throat, I called upon my fear and magic and was suddenly bristling with blade constructs, impaling both of the wolves. With a roar, I fired the constructs away, tearing the impaled wolves to pieces.

There was a snarl, claws raked my side before I spun and introduced it to my blades. Sounds behind me, I bucked one in the head, reducing it to only so much kindling.

One landed on my back, claws digging in as it lunged for my throat. I jerked my head up, horn impaling it. With a heave that caused pain to lance through my muscles I threw it forward and off.

I didn’t have time to pay attention to what happened to that one, for another was on me in moments. Hooves lashed out, slamming into predators viciously. One came at me head on, going for my throat, no time to get my horn ready, I headbutted it hard, dropping it to the floor. Die damn you! The weight of my fury dropped down on it like a hammer, splintering it.

Another wolf slammed into the same side as the one had before and the pain made my vision blur, a scream of inarticulate fury escaped me as I responded with a construct.

It was then that one slammed into my other side, this one actually bowling me over. My head spun a I tried to lash out with my constructs, but I screamed at the sudden pain in my stomach. A timber wolf, almost half again as big as the others was at my stomach, claws digging, teeth ripping.

Fury.

Fuck no. I am not going down by being mauled by a fucking matchstick!

My fear, my fury, my pain, I focused it all and introduced the fool predator to it. The largest sword construct I’d ever made, almost three stories tall and broader than a tree, slammed into the wolf. It wasn’t impaled, the blade was almost larger than the wolf, hitting it with enough force to reduce it to sawdust and kindling.

As quickly as my trembling legs would allow me, I struggled to my feet, panting in the silence as the massive sword construct faded. There was a soft dripping, and belatedly I realized it was me, slowly losing blood.

My eyes flicked around at the ring of predators around me.

Wait.

Around me.

I snarled, getting my bearings as quickly as my blurry vision would let me. I lunged, blade constructs appearing in the air, flickering even as they chipped at the wolves and did what I wanted, opening a hole for me to lunge through.

I didn’t run, I couldn’t run. I spun in place once outside the ring of timber wolves, my eyes probably wild even as blood dripped from me.

Once again, I stood between them and Sweet Apple Acres.

I prayed to whatever could hear me that none had gotten past me in my lapse of attention.

Then the half dozen started to growl. There was a moment of fear, my heart seizing up. But fury, my ever present shield, it surged in my chest, burning away the pain, the fear, the worries, the exhaustion. I was all that stood between them and Applebloom, an innocent filly, and I would not fall! “Come on! Is that all you’ve got?! Not one of you will get past me! Not while this body still draws breath, not while this body can move… not… not while I can still stand! This is the line in the sand, and no one will cross!”

Someone crossed that line.

My eyes widened as two streaks went past my blurry vision on either side of me, one of orange, one of red.

“Wha–“

The two slammed into the remaining timber wolves like a train wreck, tossing the predators aside, splintering them against the surrounding trees and one another. My brain struggled to compute, no fight? I didn’t… no more fight?

It was over within only a few moments, whatever timber wolves had been left had either ran or been killed by the two pony-shaped blurs that had rushed past me.

“… wha–… I…” I tried to force my brain and eyes to focus, clarity slowly coming to my vision, “A… Applejack…? Big Mah–” there were sudden sparkles in front of my eyes and the world blurred, my legs trying to fall out from under me. I stomped a hoof to keep myself standing, but not before I felt something warm, almost hot, press up against my side, pushing me up.

“Sugarcube! Sugarcube, you okay?!”

Yeah, definitely Applejack, “Not… not really…” first priority, had to focus on that, “Applebloom? Is she…?”

“Applebloom’s fine!” I sighed in relief, that was all I’d needed to know, “What about you? Mac-“

“Okay… look…”

“-we need to figure something out, ah’ll-“

I bumped my head against Applejacks, “AJ.” I coughed as I tried to straighten myself a bit, “Listen, first thing… first thing we need to do is get out of this forest. Your place is closest…” the world was fuzzy again, damn, “You… one of you is going to have to carry me… I can’t walk… I can’t walk like this…”

The adrenaline was fading, and with its fading, the pain was reasserting itself. Warmth was going away, my skin felt cold and clammy. There was a lot of pain.

“Sugarcube…” green eyes met gray-green ones, mine rather unfocused. She swallowed, then nodded, “Y’er right, Mac, help me get him up.”

I felt blunt teeth on the back of my neck lifting me carefully off the ground even as the farm-mare lowered herself. The large stallion set me carefully on her back, but despite his care, I hissed in pain, my eyes rolling back as my wounded stomach and ribs met her coat. There was a stinging in my face, and I belatedly realized that I was crying, a salty tear had found its way into the scratches on my cheek.

Applejack slowly raised herself up again, and I gritted my teeth to keep from groaning, “O-Okay… don’t… don’t go too rough… don’ think my ribs can take it right now…”

“Okay Sugarcube, you jus’ hold on.”

“Will do…”

The mare began to walk, and I winced in pain at each little jostle, making my injured stomach rub against her. The world was a blur, and as the adrenaline faded, so too did my focus. Blood dripping slowly from my wounds as we moved along.

My emotions were a mess as I stared at the dirt slowly passing below us and the orange coat of the mare I was draped across.

Had… hard to think… had to stay awake…

“Mac… coul’… coul’ you thwack me a good one…? Hard… gotta stay awake…” I couldn’t see the stallion, but I knew he was there.

There was a pause before there was a sudden pain, relatively mild really, at the tip of my muzzle. Unfortunately, it didn’t do its job, it just blended in with all of the other pains, “Did’n… didn’ work… try–” a sudden sharp tug at my ear made me gasp, “Nng! N’kay! That worked! That worked! I’m awake!”

Belatedly, I realized that it was Applejack’s face that pulled away from mine after that, “C’mon Sugarcube, stay with us…”

My head drooped again, “Sure… sure thing…”

I said that, but the clarity the world had gained rather quickly faded, the edges of the world growing fuzzy once more. I tried to find something to focus on, something other than the pain throughout my body… was that… red…?

It was red…

I was bleeding… oh yeah…

Oh… I was… “Well damn…”

“What is it Sugarcube? C’mon, it ain’t much further…”

“I’m getting blood all over your beautiful coat…”

“It… it aint your fault Sugarcube… it’ll…” she swallowed, “It’ll wash out anyways, don’t you worry…”

“But it was such a beautiful shade of orange… and I’m getting it all… all messy…” my eyes tried to drift closed, but I shook my head, ignoring the feeling that my brain was rattling around inside.

The world faded in and out, blackness trying to overtake my vision.

Nope.

I blinked it away, forcing my eyes to focus, full clarity didn’t return to me, but enough did.

The Apple siblings said something, but it was little more than a vague echo to my ears.

Time… I didn’t really have a sense of it… minutes felt like hours… and yet… the next thing I knew, there was a muffled thump, pain making itself known in my side.

Blinking away the tears that had appeared, I lifted my head… it felt like lead… I looked around as best as my blurry vision would allow me. A light green blur was closest, an orange blur, a red blur, and a small yellow blur… I was… I was in the Apple family house…

Hearing returned to me slowly as I forced myself to focus…

They were… arguing…

Why?

Ah… they… they weren’t sure what to do… I probably looked horrible…

“Loo…” I croaked, coughing and trying to gather my voice, thankfully they fell silent quickly, “Look… I… I’m in bad shape… but we… we can handle this… Granny… d’you know how to… how to do a compress?”

The blur nodded, “Sure thing sonny, doin’ so now.”

“Good… good… get… get my legs first… AJ…” I turned to the orange blur, “Get… get some water boiling…” now to the red blur, “Mac… get some clean… some clean linens and towels…” finally, I turned to the little yellow blur. It was hard to think, but… but I had to… “Applebloom… I have… I have an important job for you…”

“O-okay…”

“I need you…” my fuzzy brain ran some calculations, “I need you to run to Rarity’s… tell… tell her I’m here and that… I’m hurt bad… that we need her to sew me up… okay?”

She nodded and started to move, but I wasn’t done, “After… after you tell her… I want you to run straight for the hospital… okay? You tell Rarity that and you go straight to the hospital and… and tell them that I’m here… and hurt… and… and that my blood type is EU positive… okay? Repeat… repeat that for me…”

My breathing was shuddering, and past the pain of the compresses on my limb as Granny worked, I noticed that the older Apple siblings weren’t in sight, “Ah– Ah’m supposed to go to Rarity’s, tell her y’er hurt and…” she audibly swallowed, “And to come sew ya’ up… then go… go to the hospital and tell ‘em the same thing… and, and that y’er blood type is EU… positive?”

I nodded my unbearably heavy head, “Yes… that’s right…” I smiled as warmly as I could manage, “Now hurry up. I’ll hold on, but the sooner you do that, the better. Okay?” The yellow blur nodded vigorously and I smiled, “Now get goin’…”

And she was gone with the clattering of hooves.

With a shuddering breath, I let my head fall back down, ignoring the pain in my injured cheek. I didn’t let my eyes close, trying instead to focus.

Well fuck, I was going into shock.

“Sugarcube…”

Huh? I looked up, and there were an orange and a red blur above me again, the light green one still nearby.

Oh, they were back…

“Al… alright…” I closed my eyes, trying to regulate my breathing past the repeating ache in my chest, “Big Mac… I want you to help… help Granny do those compresses… especially on my back…” the fuzzy red thing nodded, moving around me with the mass of white, “AJ… I… need you to… to tell me how my stomach looks, can’t exactly see it at the moment ya see,” I grinned a bit at the stupid humor, though I don’t think she did.

“It… it looks pretty bad sugar…”

I shook my head, “I know that, but specifically… how… how does it look? Red? Pink? Is there purple? Anything hanging out?”

It almost seemed like the orange blur turned a bit green at that, “N-No… just red… a… a lot of red… gashes… there’s… there’s a little bit of pink though…”

“Is it stringy lookin’…?”

“Y-Yeah…?”

I sighed in a bit of relief, “Then that’s just ligamen’s… just a flesh wound… nothin’ too bad… alrigh’…” I… I didn’t feel as much pain… that was bad… “Okay… I’m gonna need some compresses on there too… just watch the ribs… and… and raise my legs okay?”

The blur nodded and I struggled to remember more. I was going into shock. That had to be addressed first. How do you deal with shock again? I struggled to remember.

There was some pain in my stomach as they began to apply compresses, Granny walking the Apple siblings through it, “Alrigh’… look… once you finish that… make sure that…” a wave of black and multicolored sparkles overtook my vision and I nearly hurled… but I forced it all back down, “Make sure that my legs are up… and that I can breathe… and… and keep me warm until… until the doctors come… okay?”

Again, nods from the blurs, and a muffled echo that I assumed was Applejacks voice rang in my ears.

Yeah… this was fun. Fuck.

The world faded in and out, the blurs moving around even as they moved me.

Nothingness.

Something hot pressed up against me, a welcome warmth against my cold skin.

Blackness.

My breath caught, nearly stopping. I forced my lungs to work, the muscles of my barrel working the fleshy sacks and keeping the oxygen flowing no matter how shuddering the breath.

Sparkles of light. Silence.

Pinpricks of pain in my skin, my eyes opened to a white and purple blur that glowed. Rarity… my mouth slurred out what I knew needed to be said, “Mak’ sur’ the needles an’ thread ‘r sterilized… boil… boil ‘em firs’…”

The world faded away again.

Emptiness.

Pain!

I choked back a scream as a voice thundered in my ears. I couldn’t identify it as the world faded back into existence, “Wha–“

“I said stay awake damnit! Buck! Come on! You have a concussion and severe blood loss, you’ve got to stay awake! Come on!”

“Twi-… Twilight…?”

Purple… huh… black edged in on my vision…

Then there was the pain again.

“Buck! Stay awake! You can’t afford to pass out right now! Applejack! Keep him awake! Doctor! Forceps! Nurse, get another blood bag! Rarity, I’m going to need you in twelve seconds!”

There was a tug at my ear, that uncomfortable sensation drawing my eyes to the orange mare in front of me. How was her head level with mine when she standing…?

Oh… I was on a table..

“Sugarcube! Stay with us!”

I croaked, “Tryin…”

Her hooves clopped down on the wood hard, “C’mon sugar!” her eyes were frantic.

Those beautiful green eyes… like freakin emeralds made out of the leaves of trees…

“You… have such beautiful eyes…”

“Wh-What?!”

“Y’er eyes…” I slurred, “They’re beautiful… wish… mine were that green…” my eyes started to drift closed.

Another sharp tug on my ear brought me back to the land of the waking, my eyes snapping open. Applejack’s breath was hot against my ear, “C’mon sugarcube, you’ve got to stay awake.” My body did its best to shiver, and it was then that I noticed a warm power enveloping me, holding me still.

Huh… useful…

“Tryin’…” the world was going fuzzy again… wish… hey… “Hey… AJ… coul’… coul’ you tell me how earth ponies… how the whole farming works…? I haven’t… haven’t seen much of it yet an’ I’m curious…”

The orange blur with those beautiful green eyes nodded, “S-Sure… sugarcube… I’ll tell ya’…”

Words washed over me, explanations and tales. A pretty voice with a southern accent. Information, delightful, useful information. I tried to focus, I swear, but her words went in one ear, and right out the other. But between the words, the rhythmic voice, those bright green eyes… I had something wonderful to focus on. Something other than the yells and demands and orders of Twilight and the doctor as they tended to me.

Eventually, some indeterminable time later… the shouting stopped. The beautiful and fuzzy… beautifully blurry? Heh… mare… in front of me turned her head away from me. A little sadness filed my heart, why’d she turn away?

“Okay… okay, he’s stable…” Twilights voice.

I tried to lift my head, but the effort was futile, my muscles felt like jelly and my head like a hunk of depleted uranium.

“He’ll be okay?”

A sigh from the purple mare, frustrated and almost… resigned? “Yeah, he’ll be fine. It’ll be a while until he’s fully healed, even with magic, but he’ll be fine.”

I croaked out a hideous sound before swallowing, trying to wet my throat and speaking again, “So… I c’n pass out now…?”

Didn’t matter if I couldn’t see the look on her face, I could imagine the surprise and then the eye-roll, “Yes, you can pass out now.”

A soft chuckle escaped me, “Good… gonna do that then… g’night…” and then I stopped fighting to keep my leaden eyes open, letting them drift close and take the world with them.

Unconsciousness claimed me moments later.

o-Third Person-o

Twilight glanced over the large comatose unicorn as the tension slowly bled out of the room. A blood bag was hooked up to him, bandages covered most of his body, and even then they couldn’t hide the stitches that Rarity had done.

Multiple hairline fractures in both his right foreleg and left hindleg, two cleanly broken ribs, hairline fractures in four more, his right foreleg had been dislocated, multiple lacerations, muscle tears, deep tissue wounds, acute exhaustion, acute magic depletion, Grade I concussion, Class III Hypovolemic Shock that had almost become Class IV…

Even with the trained doctor, nurse, Rarity, and herself as well as the surprisingly good on-site attention from the Apple family, Twilight was stunned that he had survived that.

Stunned, but thankful.

She wanted to prove that he was dangerous. She wanted him banished and taken as far away from Ponyville, as far away from her and those she cared about as possible.

But she never wanted him dead.

She’d been at the hospital, helping with some organizing when Applebloom had burst in, panting and going on about how Gary was in trouble, how he’d saved her and been hurt really bad in the process.

‘Really bad’ was an understatement…

Twilight had teleported all of them straight to Sweet Apple Acres. Her first thoughts had been to assess the situation and see if she’d need to protect her friends and if her help would be needed… but when she’d seen Gary… laying on his side, blood starting to pool beneath him as he struggled for breath, Applejack in tears, holding him close and trying to warm him up to stave off the effects of shock…

How could she not help?

She hated him for what he’d done, but…

Twilight shook her head to clear the thoughts. No. She’d saved his life because he’d needed it. Because even if she wanted him banished, she’d never wanted him dead. But saving one life at nearly the cost of his own didn’t make up for what he’d done. This changed nothing.

She’d prove that he was still the Gary before. She’d prove that Celestia was just under the effects of his magic. She’d prove that little had changed, and that Gary needed to be banished.

She had to protect her friends, she had to…

Author's Note

And that’s that chapter! Comments greatly appreciated!

Not the happiest I've ever been with this chapter to be honest, but hopefully it does it's job. Though it looks like it'll be one or two more chapters before I get to the next story arc... we'll have to see. I almost cut this chapter far shorter at 8,000 words, but I felt the cliffhanger would've just been unneccessarily cruel.

Hope you enjoy, and that this addresses any issues some of you might have had with the character!

Oh! Also! For those who haven’t seen and might be interested, here’s some of Emeris' observations of the world that he's in: Examinations of Equestrian Culture, Physics, Genetics, and Magical Theory

Anyways!

Autobots, roll out!

And you thought WOMEN were crazy?

There was pain. I could not imagine any alternative, it was a simple fact, I could breath, and there was pain.

Ugh. Fuck.

I was in bed, a comfortable bed really, but not my bed. My bed was more like a cocoon of blankets and pillows. My whole body ached.

Fuck you pain. Fuck you up the ass sideways without lube.

Urgh.

There was a beeping, yay beeping? It was steady, that was probably good. A dripping sound too? Huh… and breathing other than mine. Huh…

What had happened…?

Memories of pain, fear, anger, battle, flashed through my head.

Ah. Right. Fought the timber wolves to protect Applebloom.

… why had she been there anyways…? Ugh. Later. After I figured out where I was and dealt with this pain.

I forced my eyes open slowly, expecting the pain from the bright light but unable to completely stifle the groan that it caused. It took several blinks before the world came back into focus.

An unfamiliar ceiling.

Oh fuck, I’m Shinji Ikari.

No, wait, I don’t have a tsundere prepubescent girl with parental issues, emotionless half-sister, and oversexed alchoholic mother-figure all gunning for my pants and all disproportionately busty. Seriously, how had that guy stayed a virgin through that? I know he has issues, but dude, that’s worse than me!

Ah, there we go, my eyes finally focused properly as I blinked up at the ceiling. I looked around slowly, a hospital room, not a huge surprise, I’d been injured pretty bad. Blood bag… and a bag of something else that was clear… I stared at the label hard for a moment before coming to the conclusion that I didn’t recognize the compound. I’d put a bet on painkillers and general fluids.

Either that shit needed to be less dilute, or the drips per second needed to be increased because ow. My everything.

A gentle, surprisingly sexy voice interrupted my thoughts, “Sugarcube…?”

I turned my head the other direction, finding an orange mare sitting beside my bed. My eyes hadn’t finished focusing, but I didn’t need them to tell me who the pony was, “Mornin’ Applejack.” Oh Celestia I sounded bad, I tried to swallow down some saliva to wet my dry throat, “Least I hope it’s morning.”

The farmpony shook her head with a small smile, “Sorry Sugarcube, it’s evenin’, good ta see you’re awake though.”

“Doesn’t feel too good to be awake…” I noticed the window behind her, still daylight, “How long was I out?”

Her face fell slightly, and I felt a slight ache at being the cause, I hated making people worry or unhappy, especially attractive females, “Almost four days Sugarcube. Ah gotta say, even though the doctors said you were gonna be okay, ah was getting’ worried. You looked pretty bad.”

“Not surprised,” I muttered before an amusing thought crossed my mind, “Wait, so that means I normally look good?” I asked with an amused smile.

If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve said she blushed before she thumped her hoof against my shoulder, “Oh hush ya’ varmint.” In spite of myself I winced, hooves hurt, and that shoulder was sorer than I thought, “Sorry Sugarcube.”

“S’alright.” I leaned my head back against the pillow and closing my eyes, just listening to the heart-monitor for a moment. A thought occurred to me and I forced my eyes back open, “How’s Applebloom?”

“She’s alright, still shaken and all, but she only had some scratches,” she paused, and a look I couldn’t read at all crossed her face, “You did good Sugarcube, we owe ya’.”

I made a face at that, “You don’t owe me.”

Her jaw dropped, but she recollected herself quickly, “But you saved Applebloom’s life!”

I turned, poking her in the chest with my hoof to punctuate my words, “And you and your family saved mine.”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed and she poked me back, “Ya’ saved mah little sister and it nearly cost you y’er life.”

Nope, not gonna work, “And you came rushing out to save mine and my sister ain’t here to save. We’re even,” she scowled, and I paused, “Actually, take that back, we’re not even,” a definitively triumphant smile at that, “I still owe you three days of work on the farm once I’m out.”

… man she looked pissed about that. Somehow, she looked even cuter. Stupid hormones. She jabbed her hoof into me uncomfortably, “Now see here,” Eeeeyyyyup. She’s pissed. “You don’t owe me nothin’! You already proved you were sincere about bein’ sorry.”

I shook my head, unable to keep a somewhat amused smile from my face, “A life for a life. On that, we’re even. But I promised you a week of unpaid work, and you’re going to get a week of work. No paying me.” A thought occurred to me and I pointed at her with my hoof, “And don’t you try to pay for my hospital bills either, I’ve got enough money from the Princess’ stipend to cover my bills.”

So that’s what livid looked like on a pony. Still cute by the way. “Horse Apples! You saved m’ah sister, and ah aint gonna not pay that back!”

I shook my head again, maintaining eye contact with the orange mare, my voice much softer this time, “Applejack, you already have. I don’t have anyone precious to me in Equestria…” she stopped, staring at me, “The only lives precious to me are those of the ponies around me, the princesses… and my own. And you saved mine. Don’t sell what you did short, you drove off those timber wolves and kept me alive long enough for the doctors to save my life. If you hadn’t, I’d be dead right now AJ… ”

The scowl melted from her face, her mouth worked silently for a moment, “Emmy…”

“Ah-! None of that,” I pressed my hoof to the tip of her muzzle, a small smile on my face, “No pitying me over this, things are lookin’ up for me now,” I paused for dramatic effect, then gave her my best asshole-smirk, “Still not gonna let you pay me for what I did, indirectly or otherwise.”

She didn’t seem to know what to say to that for a long moment but settled on scowling at me, pushing my hoof away, “It still don’t sit right with me to not repay ya’ for what ya did…”

“And it wouldn’t sit right with me if I let you do so. Like I said, we’re even for saving Applebloom–”

She interrupted me, getting a bit of a pout from me, “And it also don’t sit right with me that y’er still gonna work f’er me without pay,” her scowl hardened.

“I promised didn’t I?” my pout melted into a smile, a way to look at it that might make it a bit more palatable for her occurred to me, “Wouldn’t want to be a liar.” From the look in her eyes, that had hit home, “‘Sides, it’s not like I’m against getting paid for the work in the future, just three more days.”

The beautiful orange mare still looked like she wanted to argue, and I couldn’t blame her, but she also looked like she couldn’t figure out a good way to argue it. And as stubborn as she was? That had to be a pain. Instead, she opted to try and stare me down, her (beautiful) green eyes boring into my own boringly gray-green ones.

Sorry hun, but I could be stubborn too, and I had my honor.

I met her stare and matched it. I’d meant every word I’d said, and I wasn’t going to let her pay me for something she didn’t owe me. She tilted her hat down after a moment, as if that somehow made her more serious, intimidating, or somehow improved her chances. To quote her brother: Nnnnnope.

Finally, she snorted, “You just might be the most frustratin’ stallion I’ve known.”

I was just about to make a crack about taking it as a compliment when there was the sound of a door opening on the other side of me, causing both of us look. The nurse was in? No idea what her name was unfortunately, I hadn’t had to go to the hospital before.

… sadly, she looked like one of the mare’s that would chase me around town all the time. Crap.

Thankfully, she was entirely professional as she came over and checked up on me. A bit overly cold and professional to be honest, but all considered I preferred that to her freaking out in some way or fashion over me.

Aside from the small hiccup when she asked me how much pain I was in on a scale of one to ten, the check-up went smoothly. Whatever scale I’d had before just didn’t… work anymore if I considered 10 to be the worst pain I could imagine. Cracked femur bone my ass. That curse-breaking had to be upwards of 13 on a ‘normal’ scale, sheesh.

It wasn’t a long checkup, pressure, heartrate, temperature, are you feeling any pain and such; and the nurse said she’d send in the doctor once she got the papers in, leaving me alone with AJ once again.

I stared after the nurse for a long moment, mentally cursing myself for not working in an apology in there somewhere, or at least an attempt at one. However, a soft voice drew my attention back to the present, “Emmy?” I turned back to Applejack, and I had to admit, I don’t know why she decided to call me by that nickname, but so long as her eyes weren’t that blank, worshipful look? It was honestly wonderful.

“Mhm?”

“Applebloom’s probably not gonna be able to come visit for a while because of school and bein’ grounded, but she’s sorry for followin’ you.”

I blinked, following me?

Then it processed. It hadn’t then because my only concern had been ‘Applebloom is being attacked by Timber Wolves’ and not why Applebloom was so deep in the freaking Everfree forest. She’d been following me, probably out of some Crusading thing. Crazy filly. Still, I said, “I didn’t mind, just…” I shook my head, “That could’ve gone really bad… I’ll… I’ll talk to her about it when I get out. I’m not mad or anything, but she really needs to be more careful about the Everfree.”

A small smirk played across Applejack’s face, “Ah don’t think anythin’ is gonna want to come anywhere near the farm after y’er little show. Don’t know what ya’ did, but part of the forest is just gone. Nothin’ more than splinters.”

I flushed in embarrassment, pride and guilt warring in my gut, “Doubt it, individuals seem to learn pretty quick, but the word doesn’t spread very well in the Everfree it seems… I mean, those Timber... wolves…” Something clicked in my head, and I scowled, my brain working furiously.

“… Sugarcube?”

“AJ… do Timber Wolves normally act like flesh and blood wolves?”

The confusion on her face was obvious, “As far as ah know, yeah, why?”

“That… that wasn’t normal predator behavior…” I realized I was staring through her neck and brought my eyes up to hers. She seemed to pull back for a moment, “They shouldn’t have kept coming after us after I’d torn apart the first two. Sure, it was a big pack and it was just one unicorn and a filly, but…” I shook my head, turning to glare at the wall, “To keep attacking like that… they should have stopped well before losing even a third of the pack, let alone three quarters…”

“Well, maybe they were real hungry?” she didn’t sound like she believed it either, “Carnivore’s are pretty hard to understand…” that part though, she did believe.

I shook my head, “Not worth it. Trust me. I was an omnivore before I was a pony, and despite what horror pictures might try to tell you, a predator isn’t about to keep chasing prey after the predator is injured. Unless the predator is desperately hungry, it’s not even going to make an attempt if it thinks it’ll get hurt in the process. There’s no point in getting food now if you’re dead, or injured so bad that you can’t get food later.”

“… then what do ya’ think it was Sugarcube?”

My mouth pressed into a thin line, “That’s the problem, I don’t know… and the more I think about it, the worse it is.” I rubbed a hoof against my temple, trying to keep the oncoming headache away, “They weren’t acting either of the ways predators would act around me while I was an alicorn… and even if the wolves were mad at me specifically… no, they wouldn’t have attacked Applebloom first if that was the case, they would’ve come after me. Same if someone was controlling them to go after me…” I thumped a hoof to the bed with a growl, a growl that became a wince as I realized I’d used my injured right one.

“It just… I can’t figure it out…” rubbing my face with a hoof, “Ugh. Nothing’s ever simple…”

“Ya’ think y’er curse is back?” fear, surprise, worry, ugh, what a horrendous mix of emotions packed into those few words.

I shook my head, “No… not really. It’s a possibility that it’s coming back but both Princesses checked for any remnants of it and found nothing.” A scowl passed over my face as I tried to access my magic for the first time since awaking, finding nothing more than a pool of ache, little more than a dribble. That’s… new. Huh. Gonna have to ask the doctor about that, “But just in case, once I get my magic back, I’m going to put up my best Reality Calcifications to counter its effects.”

“You can do that?”

“Yeah,” I replied absently, my brain still trying to puzzle out its multiple threads: what might’ve made the wolves act that way, ways to best counter possible effects of a reappearing curse, what ways I had to try and determine what had happened to the wolves. I didn’t notice the look of fury coming over Applejack’s face, completely unaware of how that made me sound, how it seemed to contradict things I’d said before, but for once, my over-active mouth was helpful, completely unbeknownst to me, “It never worked well on the full curse, but it mitigated the effects. Once I learned enough Reality Calcification magic, I was able to keep the monster attacks localized and it severely cut down on the radius of the ‘stupid-field’ I seemed to have. I might not be as strong as I was as an alicorn, but if the curse is coming back, the effects are still weak and I should be able to completely negate them… for a while at least…”

She was silent for a long moment, which my brain picked up on belatedly, making me turn towards her, finding a look somewhere between fury, confusion, guilt, and a number of other emotions I couldn’t hope to identify, “Yeah?”

“That… magic you know. It didn’t work on y’er curse?”

I raised an eyebrow, “Not really, technically it did, but even with Celestia and me working together, we couldn’t really cancel it out, just make it weaker.”

“So ya’ couldn’t control it even with that magic?”

“No…” I shook my head, my brain grinding to a halt as it tried to process the question, “If I could’ve, I would’ve… I know I’ve mentioned that before…”

A look I couldn’t even begin to describe crossed her face at that and she stood, her voice surprisingly subdued, “Yeah… yeah you did.”

“Applejack…?”

To my enormous surprise, the orange mare began to walk out of the room; the unexpected action causing a worried tension to suddenly grip my heart. She didn’t seem angry, but… had I done something wrong? She opened the door, and I couldn't just let her leave, “Applejack!” She turned, looking at me over her shoulder, and without thinking, my mouth worked, “Thanks for coming to see me… and seriously… don’t worry, you don’t owe me anything.”

Something crossed the orange mare’s pretty face, so brief I didn’t have a chance to identify it. Sadness? Guilt? I didn’t know, “Thanks… Emmy… and thank you for savin’ m’ah little sister. Y’er a good pony… a bit of a weird stallion… but a good pony.”

And with that, she was gone.

…

What the fuck had brought that on?!

“Uggghhh,” I covered my face with my hooves, groaning into them, things just couldn’t be simple huh?

oOo

When the doctor came in, I discovered something that I honestly should’ve realized.

They didn’t have a single record on me.

Oh, they had some ridiculous medical records for Gary, with things written in that were just stupid. The face I’d made when I read over them was apparently hilarious, because the Doctor hadn’t stopped laughing for several minutes after that.

Seriously, “Sex: ULTRA MALE”? “Mane: The most awesome flaming mane of blood red and black ever”, seriously, that’s what was in the little box beside Mane. Who the fuck was messed up in the head enough to think that curse was cool?!

So I’d spent the rest of that evening, and even most of the morning the next day helping fill in the gaps as best I could. I didn’t know if my family history of issues would properly carry over, but the information couldn’t hurt. Cholesterol, blood pressure, the fact that I’d had heart trouble when I was little. The whole shebang.

And I found out that cancer didn’t exist in Equestria.

That… had floored me.

It wasn’t even that they called it something different! They seriously had nothing that even resembled the symptoms of any form of cancer I was familiar with. The implications were… I didn’t know really… just… something was seriously different between Pony, and maybe all Equestrian genetics and those on my world.

Still, we’d pieced together a functional medical history for the hospital’s use, and in the process, gave me a full physical.

Good news: I was going to be completely fine, everything I’d taken should be healed within a week due to magic and the treatment I’d been getting. And despite my family history, it looked like everything was well within healthy norms for ponies, sometimes towards the particularly heavy.

The Bad news: I was in rough shape, even now. The laundry list of things that had been done to me was… extensive. I knew I’d been lucky to survive but… wow. Though the magical exhaustion had been a bit of a surprise, it made sense. Still, talk about made of iron. That and my right foreleg was probably gonna scar all over. Fuck. Of course. More delightful scars on that ridiculous leg.

Open heart surgery was apparently not a thing in Equestria. No surprise, but the look the doctor had given me when I’d told him about it had been… amusing.

Also amusing? His reaction when I’d asked how the psych profile was coming along. I hadn’t known, but I’d suspected, and the way he’d sputtered had confirmed it. After that, the actual psychologist had just come in to interview me, it was rather unfortunate for her that psychology had been one of the majors I’d considered in college before settling on business. I recognized a psych evaluation when I was being given one.

Obviously, she didn’t tell me what it was, but she had to do the psych evaluation herself. I answered honestly though, didn’t have anything to hide. And while she seemed a bit weirded out by me and my culture, she didn’t seem to be worried, but that could easily have been her skill as a psychologist beating out my limited skills at people/pony reading.

Overall though, once they’d upped the concentration of my painkillers slightly, it’d been a rather pleasant stay. I didn’t get many visitors, I’d had a little bit of a panic attack once I realized that no one would be able to feed Droolykins, but one of my visitors had been Fluttershy who, in her own stuttering, awkward, and shy way, had assured me that she’d taken care of it.

Right now though? I was staring down Rarity.

“Um… I’m sorry?”

She grit her teeth.

“I didn’t really have much choice… I’ll pay for the next one.”

“You… barely… had it… for… a… week.”

I cringed at the barely contained fury. See, there was a difference here. Applejack angry? Kinda cute. Rarity’s ‘my work getting destroyed’ emotion? Not so cute. As beautiful as this mare is, she looked ready to tear me apart for that.

“I really didn’t have much choice Rarity, the Timber Wolves were almost on top of us again and she wouldn’t get out from under it…”

“And you tore that delightful vest! You destroyed it! It’s a crime against fashion! You looked positively dashing in it and you tore it to shreds like a common ruffian!” I think the nurse tried to come in and tell Rarity to keep quiet around the patient (I.E. – Me), but one look at Rarity’s twitching eye had made her close the door quietly backing out.

An awkward cough, “I am sorry…”

She sighed dramatically, covering her face with her hoof as she tossed her head about, accentuating her words, “I know darling, but it is such a horrendous thing! As glad as I am that Applebloom and yourself are alright, it is so terrible that you needed to destroy such a work!”

Some of the tension that had been gripping my heart eased, she was angry that I’d ripped her work, but if she was going into the overly dramatic already, I was pretty sure I was in the clear.

Pretty sure.

Obviously, she was going to guilt-trip me into doing some things once I got out, but that wouldn’t be a big deal.

“And these hospital gowns! Positively dreadful! Why, baby blue clashes horrendously with your coat darling!” Oh no, she isn’t– “I have just the thing to correct this crime against fashion and decency!” Oh yes, she is.

Guilt-Trip-Excursion #1: Be her dress-up doll. Fuck.

I gave her a deadpan look, “You just want to play dress-up with me.”

The white unicorn gasped, bringing a hoof to her mouth, “Moi?! Why, I would never-! I must merely correct a crime against fashion!”

“And use me as a dress-up mannequin for all your things for stallions.”

“You accuse me of such blatant manipulation? Such brutish coercion?! Such obvious ulterior motives?!”

“Yes.”

“Well you’d be completely correct.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her particularly smug look, “Alright, so what are you forcing me into first?”

o- Third Person -o

It’d been three days since Emeris had woken up, in that time, Applejack had only found the time to visit the stallion once between all of the work to do on the farm. Even now, she was checking the trees for any bugs or parasites.

The unicorn had been asleep when she’d visited the second time. If Applejack was honest with herself (which she was), she’d spent longer staring at him than she really should’ve, stewing over her emotions. She’d been so angry when she’d last seen him, she’d thought he’d lied to her about not being able to control his curse, and had let the truth slip, she’d been about to make sure he stayed in the hospital for much longer.

But he hadn’t lied, she’d just been jumping to conclusions, and had nearly hurt a good pony.

The magic that had been affecting him had been horrible, for him and for everypony else, and he’d always been so cold and harsh and dominant, almost like an old-school mare. But despite what some ponies had said, he’d never done anything bad.

And she’d just assumed the worst of him at the slightest hint of him lying.

To say she’d felt guilty would’ve been an understatement.

Applejack had been shocked by herself. Emeris had been nothing but pleasant to her since he’d become a unicorn, and while he usually wasn’t the most talkative sort, he was always eager to help. So to just assume he deserved to be knocked around a good one that quickly… it’d made her think.

After stewin’ over it for a few days, as best as Applejack could figure, it wasn’t just because she was a bit scared of him, she was also still a bit angry with him from when she’d thought was him doin’ that stuff on purpose, and a part of her was scared he wasn’t telling the truth. That, and a part of her was actually startin’ to like the unicorn and she’d been pretty hurt when she’d thought he’d lied to her.

It’d barely been over two weeks since she’d thought Gary was competin’ for the position of ‘worst pony alive’, so it was a bit awkward to admit to herself that she liked him as a friend, and that unless he had some serious surprises for her, like him in the way a mare likes a stallion.

She hadn’t even considered it before he’d complimented her like that, even when he was hurt that bad after savin’ Applebloom, he’d complimented her. Now, Applejack didn’t know if it was because he’d been hit in the head a few too many times or anythin’, but he’d sounded so… heartfelt and honest that it’d made her blush.

’Horse apples,’ she thought as she examined the apples of a tree, they’d looked spotty and she had to be sure it wasn’t just a trick of the light, ’It almost makes me blush now, almost a week afterwards.’

A little sigh of relief escaped the farm mare, the spots weren’t any disease or parasite, just a trick of the light. Though she’d found something else in her little examination.

“Afternoon Dash,” she sighed out, this time in exasperation. The many-colored pegasus had a horrendous habit of sleeping in her trees, taking her naps between work and practice all over her orchard. Applejack had learned a good while ago that it usually wasn’t worth the effort to wake up the rambunctious mare unless AJ was looking for a rumble or a way to spend time. And since she was doing neither at the moment, she’d just greet the weather-mare to be polite and get on with her inspection and musings.

To her great surprise, Rainbow Dash replied, a blue hoof sticking out of the leaves and waving distractedly, “Hey AJ…”

Now that made Applejack pause mid step and turn to look at her friend. That didn’t sound like the Rainbow she knew, “Y’all alright up there Sugarcube?”

A head of blue and rainbows popped out from beneath the branches, “Of course I am! I’m always okay!” she shouted indignantly.

Applejack gave her friend an unamused look.

“What?!”

Applejack didn’t waver.

Dash sighed, dropping to a lower, more visible branch, “Okay okay, something’s bugging me.”

The farmpony let her flanks settle on the ground, looking up at her friend, something a pony just had to get used to when dealing with the weather-mare, “And what’s that Sugarcube?”

“It’s Gary,” she grumbled, slumping some before glaring out into space, “I mean, we do all this work to help him, like, not be a prince or something, and then he goes and tears through a whole pack of timber wolves and like, blows up a part of the Everfree! What’s up with that?!”

Well, what a coincidence. A small smile came across Applejacks face, she still had her own guilt to deal with, but she could help Dash with this. Correcting the rumors about him might even be a good way to repay him for savin’ Applebloom, no matter how much he said he didn’t need to be repaid, “Don’t worry Dash, ah know that he’s a bit weird and the spell he was under made it hard to be around him, but he’s not a bad pony.”

Dash blinked confusedly, “What? Of course he’s not a bad pony, what the buck makes you think he was?”

Applejack had been ready to cite the things he’d done for her and her family aside from saving Applebloom, but what her friend had said finally clicked, “–huh?”

“I said what the buck makes you think he was a bad pony? I mean, that spell or whatever it was sucked and everything, but he wasn’t a bad pony or anything.”

“Ah- well, ah thought that everyone just assumed that he…” the orange mare was flushing in embarrassment, “Well, that he, um…”

Dash gave her friend a confused look for a long moment before it clicked, “Oh! You think he bucked all the mares that the magic made go after him? Dude, I saw him turn down Fluttershy when she was trying to use the Stare on him! If he turned down that, there’s no way he was going around bucking all the mares.”

Applejack coughed awkwardly, “Um, then what’s the problem Sugarcube?”

“I don’t know if he’s still Gary or not!”

“… well, his name is Emeris, he just didn’ like to be called that while he was an alicorn.”

“Gah!” the pegasus furiously rubbed her head with her hooves, “That just makes it worse!”

“Ah’m… not sure I understand Sugarcube…”

“It’s just, ugh!” Rainbow Dash slumped back against the branch, “I know that spell he was under sucked and all, and it made me and everypony else act stupid around him, but I actually thought Gary was kinda cool.” She gestured vaguely with her hoof, “I mean, yeah, his mane looked kinda stupid on a stallion, but he did not priss about! And I mean, sometimes he could be really cool.”

“There was this one time, when these cloud-eating monsters were flying towards Cloudsdale while I was visiting, and I was all, ‘Oh no you don’t’ and was all pow and baam!” the pegasus gestured with her hooves, mimicking the moves as she energetically spoke, “But there were a lot of them, and they were pretty tough, so some were getting past me…” she trailed off for a moment, “Almost thought they were gonna get to Cloudsdale before the guard could mobilize…”

But her eyes brightened after a moment, “But then, like, out of nowhere, boom! Gary! He just swipes along the front of these guys, and there are hammers everywhere, slamming into them and knocking them around, and then these huge pillars are all boom and ba’gsshhhh! And the monsters are all pushed back. And yeah, that magic of his made me go all sappy over him, but he was all–“

Dash stood up on the branch, miming a very serious posture and face, almost like a guardpony, dropping her voice as much as she could to mimic the stallion, “’Dash, good work holding them till I got here. You go mobilize the guard, I’ll hold them here until you all arrive.’”

She dropped out of the imitation, “So duh, I went and got those guards up off their lazy asses in two minutes flat! We got back and Gary was still all ‘Pew pew!’ Die monster scum! With his magic and everything. The cloud eaters had barely gotten any closer! But he swung by the guard ponies and was all,” back into the imitation, this time pointing her hoof in time with her words, “’Alright, you, I want your squadron to flank left. You, yours is going to flank right. We’re corralling these things into one area. Leave the top and bottom of the corall open. Everyone else, you’re running interference, don’t play the hero, I don’t want anypony getting hurt here, now move!’”

“So yeah, since he still had that magic and everything, everyone was acting all happy to do exactly what he wanted and everything. But he seriously sounded like a general or warhorse there. And we were all right on it, getting those monsters into a tight little ball in the sky, how could we not though, I was there helping.” Dash preened under her self-praise, and Applejack rolled her eyes.

“That’s when we heard the boom. Everyone was all ‘Wait, where’d Gary go?’ and I looked up, and there was this huge spear of red and black coming down from what had to be the stratosphere it was so high up! And everypony just scattered out of the way and it was all fwoosh and zoom! Then it hit the monsters who were all trying to scatter and it was like a bucking Tornado had gone by!” Dash was talking quickly by this point, gesturing excitedly with her hooves, “Only made of lightning and light and shadow! And the monsters were all sucked up into this thing as it went right through them and they were all ‘Oh no!’ and the thing made them explode into bits of cloudstuff!”

“So everypony’s impressed, they hadn’t seen something that awesome before unless they’d seen me in action, and here we are staring at this drill of black and red as it makes a hard turn in the air and levels off just above the tree-line, all the black and red just bursting off it and it’s Gary! That bucking crazy stallion had dive-bombed the monsters at Sonic Rainboom speeds! He just flies right back up to us and obviously, everypony tries to mob him with thanks and crap, because he’d just been totally awesome, but he’s still all ‘guardpony’ on them and orders them about on clean-up. He tried to slip away after that, ‘cause he obviously didn’t enjoy his whole ‘instant fanclub’ thing–“

“Wait,” Applejack held up a hoof, “Y’all knew he didn’t like that?”

Rainbow gave her friend a confused look, “Duh? I mean, he got more comfortable with them being around him, but he never enjoyed it. And it really bothered him at first, I thought it was obvious…”

The farm pony shook her head, “Most of us don’t have a fan-club of our own to compare it to Sugarcube.”

“Oh… well, it was always really obvious to me that he hated it…”she shrugged before laying back down on the branch, “I mean, he never bragged, even when I got him to teach me that move he did. Turns out it’s a way to corkscrew through the rainboom itself and then ease back enough to catch the spectra and wrap it around you! It’s an amazing move, and it seemed so obvious that he was teaching me because he liked to teach rather than to get something out of me.”

The blue mare looked off into the orchard, crossing her forehooves as her wings settled against her sides, her voice noticeably softer, “I mean… no matter how hard I came onto him because of that silly spell, he was real gentle about how he turned me down…” Dash almost sounded… hurt… “And he never asked anything of me…”

Applejack blinked, staring at her friend for a long moment, it almost sounded like… couldn’t be… “Then what’s the problem Sugarcube?”

Dash growled in the back of her throat, her eyes closed in frustration, “The problem is that Gary was all ‘I want to get rid of this’, which was totally cool ‘cause he obviously didn’t want the fanclub. But then the Princess finds a way to do so that means burning out the pegasus in him and he just… accepts it!”

She gestured angrily with her hooves, “I totally get that the spell on him made him look and seem like, a hundred percent cooler and made ponies act like he was a thousand percent more awesome, but Gary was actually pretty cool and awesome! Not all that radical, but pretty cool and awesome! And when he got rid of it, I thought he’d really change! I got myself ready for the fact that such a cool pony had to go away for another pony!”

“And those wings! He got rid of them! Ugh, such a loss,” a slightly dreamy look passed over her face for just a moment, “Some of the best damn wings I’ve ever seen… just… tossed away… ugh, so not cool.”

“I’d actually convinced myself that I’d be cool with it, sad, but cool with it. But then I find out that he… this Ermine… Ermac… whatever, this not-Gary…” she trailed off for a moment, her eyes slowly dropping to the grass, “I find this jousting arena’s worth of Everfree just… reduced to splinters. And I find out from the doctors that he did it to save your little sister… and that he nearly died in the process…”

“That… I dunno… it kinda sounds like something Gary’d do… just, y’know… without the almost dying part… Gary was too awesome to get beat that bad…” Rainbow Dash covered her face with her hooves, groaning into them, “I just don’t know, okay, I don’t know if he’s Gary or if Gary’s gone or what! I was totally prepared for an awesome pony to have to go away so a less awesome pony could go on, but then the new pony does something awesome! I just… I don’t know…”

For a long moment, Applejack’s mouth worked silently. She’d been thrown for a serious loop by the revelation that her friend apparently had liked Emeris while he’d been an alicorn.

She just might’ve been the only one, because Applejack knew that Emeris himself had hated it.

Eventually, she found her voice and figured out what the proper advice was. At very least, the best advice she could give her weather-mare friend, “Well Dash, about the only thing ah can say is that you should just talk to ‘im. Ah don’t know if Emeris is like the Gary you remember, but ah do know that Emeris ain’t a bad pony, and you should talk to him.”

“But that’s so sappy! And what if he’s like, totally lame? Or if he’s a total loser?!” Dash gestured wildly with her hooves, “Or he just sucks? I mean, Gary could be so cool sometimes, what if this guy is a total egghead? What if the whole ‘bucking monsters in the face’ thing is just a fluke?!”

Applejack face-hoofed, “Just talk to him Sugarcube, you won’t know until ya’ do.”

The weather-mare groaned unhappily, slumping back against the tree limb. She sighed and opened her mouth, but froze, a thoughtful look came over her face. Suddenly, she perked up, her eyes brightening, ears and wings standing up as a grin spread across her face.

A grin that seriously worried Applejack, “Sugarcube…?”

“I won’t know until I get him to prove that he’s awesome enough! Put him through the good ole’ Rainbow Dash awesomeness boot camp and see if he’s up to stuff!”

Applejack started to protest, “Ah don’t think–“

Cyan hooves suddenly wrapped around the farm mare as Rainbow slammed into her, giving her a hug, “Thanks! This’ll be way more awesome than just sitting there talking with a stallion! And it isn’t sappy at all!”

The multicolored mare started to fly off, leaving her friend spinning in place as she tried to stop her friend, just knowing that this would end in disaster, “Sugarcube, wait! Rainbow Dash!”

Said pegasus had almost reached cloud level before she skidded to a halt, “What is it?!”

“Ah don’t think this is a good idea!” the farm pony shouted up at her, hoping to head this off before it got started.

“Why wouldn’t it be-… oh! Duh! Right!” she face-hoofed midair, “He’s in the hospital! He can’t do anything awesome yet! Guess that means I have more time to work on the course then!” she rubbed her forehooves together with what sounded like a mad cackle to Applejack before zipping off.

“… well buck.”

o- Emeris -o

I have come to the conclusion that I dislike being a dress-up doll.

I know, shocker right?

Regardless, while Rarity is a wonderful mare and very good at her job, she’s too much of a fashionatta for my tastes, and I didn’t like having to try on clothes every few moments, even if she was just casting an illusion over me of clothes.

Sure, it’d been fun to listen to her try and explain why something was fashionable and something else was not, even if I heard the words and paid close attention and asked questions? I still just couldn’t see it.

She’d probably still guilt-trip me into something else before she considered the destruction of the vest repaid, but eh, whatever.

I yawned softly, happy that the heart monitor had been removed sometime yesterday. Healing magic could do wonderful things, but that just meant that my ribs would be healed in another day or two rather than two to three weeks. I was looking forward to being able to lay on my other side again. Laying on my left side had been my favorite!

At least laying on my right let me look out the window and see both the stars and the sunset. Best, room placement, ever.

Most of the time I spent sleeping, between check-ups and the occasional… friend… visiting.

That was still weird.

Unbelievably nice and oh Celestia was I not complaining.

But weird.

I’d been awake for nearly four days, which meant I’d been in the hospital for just over a week, and I’d gotten three visits from Rarity, two from Fluttershy, and apparently two from Applejack, though I’d only been awake for the one. Fluttershy had confirmed that that behavior wasn’t normal for Timber Wolves any more than it would have been for ‘normal’ wolves, and once past the sadness and disgust at what I’d had to do, she’d been unable to offer any alternative reasons why they would have done it.

Hugging my spare pillow to my chest, I stared out as Celestia’s sun began to slowly drift towards the horizon. For me? I felt rather popular, and for the first time in years it was a good thing.

Obviously, I wasn’t popular. A few visits from three mares, no matter how high-status or beautiful, did not popularity make.

But it was the feeling that mattered, and it was a good one. My musings bringing a content smile to my face.

Then the door opened.

Lifting my head, I looked over my shoulder at the door, finding a combination of blue and rainbows standing in the doorway. Well, color me confused.

I raised an eyebrow, “Um, evening Dash?” I started to roll over to look at her properly, but my side protested, making me wince, “I’d roll over, but… ah… ribs are still broken.”

Though I couldn’t see her expression properly from this angle, she let out a little harrumph and trotted around the bed, coming to stand in front of me, giving me a surprisingly intense look. Don’t know what brought it on, but I would’ve put money on her checking to make sure I was safe to be around her friends.

So I laid my head back down onto the pillow, meeting her eyes steadily (what is it with these mares and their beautiful eyes?!); I had nothing to hide.

Her eyes narrowed.

I raised an eyebrow.

You’re the one visiting Dash, ball’s in your court.

After a moment, she hopped up, a forehoof on the bed to prop her up as she pointed the other at my face, “So, you used to be Gary, and now you’re not-Gary. Right?”

“Close enough, yeah?”

Dash leaned close, her eyes narrowed as she ‘interrogated’ me, both hooves on the bed, “How many Timber Wolves did you beat up?”

I blinked and thought about that. I hadn’t really tried to count, and even now, when I tried to filter through the pain, adrenaline, and panic, all I got were blurry images, flashes of clarity, emotions. Nowhere near enough to count anything from, “A few I guess. I lost track when I was running around for my life.”

She scowled, confusing me even more before pointing at me accusingly, “Are you awesome? Or an egghead?”

“Egghead, definitely.” … what the fuck kind of question was that?

That actually seemed to make her angry, what the hell?

“But you were the one that blew up that part of the Everfree, right?”

Again, confusion before I figured out what she was talking about. I’d cast Blades Like Stars in the Everfree, and while it was ‘only’ as draining as a fourth circle spell for me due to my earth pony genetics and magics, it was technically a fifth circle spell. There must’ve been some serious devastation where I’d pointed that thing. Whoops.

I coughed delicately, looking away in embarrassment, “Blew up isn’t the words I’d use… but ah… yeah, that was me. Sorry ‘bout that…”

“Gah!” I jumped a bit at her outburst, looking at her confusedly, “Alright, that’s it!” the blue mare poked a hoof to my chest, “You’re going through my obstacle course of awesomeness and my test of coolness! First thing, day you get out of here, got it?”

I blinked, “Um…” What.

A jab from her hoof, “Got it?!” her volume made me cringe, my ears turning away.

“Sure? But–“

I didn’t get to finish the sentence, “It’s settled then! Day after you get out, first thing! You and me, tests of awesomeness and coolness!” she leaned in close, eyes narrowed as her hoof poked my chest in time with her words, “Don’t. Be. Late.”

And then she was gone before I could say a word.

…

Okay, I liked Rainbow Dash and all, but what the fuck just happened?

oOo

I was still thoroughly confused by the weather-mare’s actions even well into the next day. I’d been released from the hospital as my ribs had already healed to the point of ‘merely’ being bruised. I’d gone straight to Rarity, hoping she’d know what the hell was going on.

A quick knock at the door of the Caruselle Boutique had the fashionatta opening the door. Though obviously surprised, she still smiled warmly at seeing me in spite of the complete lack of ponies anywhere nearby.

Skittish bastards.

“Emeris darling! Do come in!” the white unicorn ushered me inside, “Whatever brings you here? I thought for sure you were going to be in the hospital for another few days!”

Still bandaged up as I was, I kept it simple, “Rainbow Dash, specifically, how she was acting.”

Rarity let out an exaggerated gasp, “Oh dear! Was she being a ruffian? Oh dear, I know she can be a little rough around the edges but she’s far too much of a darling! Oh, she must’ve been trying to protect the rest of us deary, I’m–“

Wincing slightly, I waved a hoof, cutting her off, “No no, not that. At least… I don’t think so…”

She gave me a confused look, and I belatedly realized that she’d guided me to the couch and had sat me down beside her without noticing. With a sigh, I repeated my encounter with the weathermare as best I could. It was brief, just as the confusion then had been.

To say she was just as flabbergasted as I had been would’ve been overstating things, but she was rather obviously confused. After a moment of rubbing her chin with her hoof, she suddenly brightened, “I-deeeeaaaaaa!”

Ow. My ears.

“Darling, I say it’s rather likely that our dear Rainbow Dash is trying to makes sure you’re not a danger to us. Loyal to a fault, she’s a bit of a ruffian when it comes to these things, always preferring to communicate with her hooves than her mind.”

“Mmm,” I made a noncommittal noise, “Doesn’t totally fit with what she said though… and I’m worried… I’m not exactly in shape to do any ‘tests of awesomeness’.”

“Oh don’t worry darling,” she patted my withers with a forehoof, “We’ll be sure to be there and make sure she’s not too much of a ruffian.”

Unable to help myself, I raised an eyebrow, smirking, “Is that even possible? Dash, not a ruffian?”

Rarity tittered, covering her laughter with a hoof, “Maybe not darling, but we’ll try at least.” Her eyes swept over me, a mischevious sparkle entering them, “Now darling, about that modeling for me–“

“Oops, look at the time! I’m supposed to be in bed!” I gave her my best shit-eating grin, “Doctors’ orders and all! Toodles!” *POP*

My magic might not have been back completely, but I had more than enough to blink outside of her home and get myself on my way.

oOo

So! After that (and dodging out of being used as a dress up doll for a second time, damnit mare, I know it must be hard to get mannequins my size, but I’ll make you one later! I don’t appreciate pins in my hide!) I’d headed almost straight home.

Should I have gone and questioned the few friends I had? Probably. But fuck that, I was tired, and if Rarity didn’t know, odds were pretty good my own attempts at figuring it out wouldn’t go so well, and she’d assured me that if she heard anything, she’d tell me. And tea, I hadn’t had any in over a week as the hospital didn’t carry it, so I was seriously wantin’ some tea and some quality time curled up with Droolykins and reading a book.

That, and time spent with Rarity was tiring.

Talking with Rarity was a lot like talking with my sister had been. Sure, their accents were wildly different, and my sister had been crazy about music and dance rather than fashion, but there were a lot of similarities. Same passion, similar dramatics, similar antics. There were differences of course, but just like my little sister, being around Rarity tired me the hell out.

My barriers let me in, and Droolykins rushed out to meet me, happily clambering up onto my back. I ever so politely ignored the fact that said clambering involved claws, he was still pink.

Blech, whatever Dash wanted, I’d find out tomorrow. I’d probably have time tomorrow morning to go ask the few others I knew if they knew what was going on, Dash wasn’t exactly known for being a morning pony.

o-Twilight Sparkle-o

“You’ve got to be kidding me! She really expects me to- there’s no one else?! Argh! Just-! … wait… no… this is an opportunity… yes… yes! This isperfect. I can get him away from everypony and nopony has to get hurt! It’s perfect! I just have to figure out how…”

o-Emeris-o

I yawned quietly as I stepped out of my barrier, the large ring of sigils inscribed into the ground around my house. Sigils of various metals, silver, gold, and ‘starmetal’, but mostly ‘cold’ iron. All forged in Celestia’s own smithery and blessed by the sun and moon and cooled with my own blood.

There was a reason nothing had ever attacked my home, GSE or not.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes with a hoof, hopping along on three legs a bit awkwardly. Celestia’s sun was just peaking up over the trees of the Everfree, so I should have plenty of time to check with Fluttershy and Applejack, the only other two friends I had, about what in the world Rainbow Dash was planning.

A cyan hoof wrapping around my withers proved that the universe liked to fuck with me.

Funny joke universe. Real funny. Ahahahahahahahaha. Well fuck you universe. Fuck you.

“Are you ready for some Grade A Awesome action?!”

“Not particularly,” I deadpanned.

“Well too bad! ‘Cause you’re gonna prove whether you’re awesome or a lame-o right now!”

“Joys. Could I ask whyyyyyyyyyYYYYYY–?!?!” Fucking crazy mare! Don’t take off with me in tow like that! I was trying to speak! God damnit! She was making so many tight turns at such high speeds that I was actually trying to keep my lunch down, fucking hell mare!

G-Forces aren’t my friend! G-Forces aren’t my friend!

oOo

“Laaaaaaame. Totally going to dock points off your score for that.”

My hoof was over my muzzle as I took steady breaths, trying to keep my light breakfast down. Dash had apparently thought that a supersonic barrel roll dive with a sharp stop would be a good way to land. I’d basically collapsed on the ground and groaned, it’d taken me about a minute to get to where I was now.

“You did more impressive stunts than that all the time before, and that one almost made you barf?” she tossed her head, “Psh. Lame.”

I gave her an unamused look, finally setting my hoof back down, “And now that I’m just a unicorn, I can’t do things that I could do as an alicorn. Fancy that.”

She scowled at me, and I met her gaze calmly, raising an eyebrow. In spite of myself, I was rather quickly running out of fucks to give. Rainbow Dash had been one of my favorite ponies, probably right after Twilight Sparkle, but getting dragged around at supersonic speeds while confused as hell and getting insulted? That tended to make me irritable.

Eventually, she snorted and turned around, gesturing for me to follow with a wing, “Well, let’s see whether you’re totally lame or not.”

I followed her a short distance to a small, hastily constructed stage. When I gave the mare my best questioning look, she grinned at me, “This is the stage where you get to show off your coolest and most awesome-est tricks!”

“No.”

“… what?”

My look was perfectly deadpan, “No. One syllable, two letters, one word. Nnnnoooooo.”

“Why not?!” she scowled.

Meeting her (red? No… not pink either… rose… yeah…) rose colored eyes, I shook my head, “I’m not a pet, and I’m not a performer. I don’t do tricks on command.”

“Then you’ll fail this portion of the test!” Dash jabbed a hoof at me angrily and I shrugged.

“Then I fail this part of the test. You didn’t warn me and I’m not about to dance like a trained pet on command,” I wasn’t angry, I didn’t raise my voice, but I wasn’t going to do it, simple as that.

“Come on! You’re not even going to try?!”

“Nope.”

With a growl of frustration, the blue pegasus pulled a clipboard and pencil from… well… somewhere… I really don’t know. But she grabbed them and rather angrily scratched something off of the page. No talent shows. Just… no.

A part of me was afraid I’d do far too well.

And so it went, the athletic mare trying to get me to perform (get your minds out of the god damn gutters) for her, and I shot it down. Each time, the test was scratched off the clipboard.

“Not even gonna try the Coolness test?”

“Nope.”

*scritch*

“Radicalness?”

“Not my style.”

*scritch*

“Epicosity?”

I snorted, “Pfffft. My cutie mark is a book hun.”

*scritch*

I just failed four tests in quick succession. She had me run a lap on a relatively small track, something good for me as I was a sprinter more than a long distance runner. She’d grumbled something about “Eh, passable,” when I had finished.

Look, if you’re going to put me through tests and trials like this with no explanation whatsoever, I reserve the right to not do the tests. And I was not going to perform (Mind, gutter, get out of there) for her on command.

I may have been Celestia’s hound on a leash, but damnit, those weren’t my tricks.

Regardless, once we’d ‘finished’ that set of tests, Dash had stared at the clipboard for a long time. And while I couldn’t put a name to the look that crossed her face, it actually made me feel a little bad for not even trying. However, something seemed to cross her mind, making her nod to herself, “Alright, one more, c’mon.”

She stowed the clipboard, tucking the pencil behind one of her ears and trotted off, following the edge of the Everfree, and so I followed.

Taking my eyes off her flank as she walked took more than a moment, just because she was irritating at the moment didn’t mean my eyes didn’t wander in spite of myself. But once I did, I found myself face to face with an obstacle course.

My eyebrow went high as gray-green eyes swept over it. Lightning traps, tightropes, walls, wheels, hurdles… was that a spiked pit? … and was that a bear? … that was a bear.

“Like it?” my eyes snapped back to Dash, grinning proudly over her shoulder at me, “It’s the patented Rainbow Dash Awesomeness Course! Guaranteed to determine awesomeness and coolness and guts!” the blue mare got up onto her hindlegs, gesturing at the course with her forehooves, her spirits obviously buoyed at the introduction of something she’d worked hard on, “Not only is it awesome on its own, but it’s guaranteed to increase your awesomeness each time through and even looks awesome!”

A small smirk played across my face, “It looks more like pain to me…”

Was she pouting? Oh my goodness, she’s pouting! So cute. I actually had to squash the urge to walk over and kiss her in spite of the small scowl on her face. A grin spread across my face unbidden and she scowled harder, falling back to all fours before pointing a forehoof at me, “Laugh it up, because you’re the one who’s going to be running it.”

Well, that killed my grin, “You never did explain exactly why I’d be doing this.”

She rolled her eyes, “To test how awesome you are, duh.”

“Yeah, but why?”

“Because I want to see if you’re…” she stopped, her eyes suddenly shifting quickly, “Because it’s important, okay?!”

My raised eyebrow told her exactly how much I believed that.

It was rather obvious that our previous battle of wills about her other tests had pushed her to the limits of her patience, as she flew nearly into my face, hovering there and poking a hoof against my muzzle, “Are you questioning me?”

“Yes.”

Is it wrong that I love it when being bluntly deadpan like that makes someone’s thought process come very obviously to a grinding halt?

I sighed as a bit of pity and guilt had a party in my chest, I gently pushed her hoof aside with my muzzle, “Look, I just want to know what brought this on.”

“I just…” the pegasus let out a frustrated groan, covering her face with her hooves and landing, “Just run it for me, please?”

A quick glance at said course, it honestly didn’t look that bad, but still… “Dash… I’ll run it, I just want to know–“

The blue pegasus let out a sound of frustration, her teeth closing around the back of my neck and dragging me along, her scratchy voice muffled, “Jufft run ‘e bucking course a’ready!” I heaved a sigh and picked up my dragging hooves, walking the rest of the way to the starting line.

God-… Celestia damnit, I felt like a fucking softie in the worst sense of the word. But I couldn’t bring myself to say no when she asked like that. Crazy mare or not, it sort of tickled something inside of me to get manhandled like this, and she was cute. Urgh, “Alright alright, yeesh,” I grumbled as I stood at the starting line. Whatever, if she didn’t want to tell me, she didn’t want to tell me, I’d press harder if she didn’t spill it after this.

But right now? It just wasn’t worth my time to argue with the stubborn mare. I’d only woken up a short while ago and had been butting heads with her all morning. I hadn’t even had any tea or worked out or read a book or anything fun yet today. I was grumpy and not in the mood. Ugh.

Ugh, whatever, let’s get this over with.

o-Third Person-o

Rainbow Dash grumbled to herself as she held her clipboard.

She almost hadn’t let this Emmer-whatsit even try this course, but a small, nagging voice in the back of her head (that sounded suspiciously like Fluttershy) had pointed out that if she hadn’t let Tank compete, then she wouldn’t have gotten her awesome pet. So despite not believing he had a chance, she was going to let him run the course (even if it meant pushing him into it).

The fact that she’d spent the past few days building it for this exact purpose might have had something to do with it.

Didn’t mean she had to like it though. The stallion looked so lame right now, all dull colors, a book for a cutie mark (seriously, a book?!), a kinda-curved horn, and those droopy eyes of his. They were all sleepy and a boring gray, actually made him look kind of sad really. The little ‘beauty mark’ beneath his left eye did not help. And he didn’t think her course was cool! What a jerk! She’d worked on it for days!

The stallion looked lazily over the course before turning his head to her, asking in that deep, tired-sounding voice of his, “Alright, what’s the goal here?”

Dash scowled at him, “To get to the other side as quickly and awesomely as possible, duh.” Was he even at least an egghead like Twilight? That was obvious.

He rolled his eyes, “Figured,” a small smirk played across his face, “Guessing I can’t just go around the obstacles?” Unable to help herself, Dash growled at the frustrating stallion, but it only made him chuckle, “Yeah, didn’t think so,” a tired, almost resigned look settled over him, and the unicorn slumped a bit.

And then… something about him changed.

Dash couldn’t put a hoof on it, but suddenly, he went from total lame-o to… stallion.

His eyes weren’t half-lidded and almost gray, they were bright and fully open, glittering with an intelligence that hadn’t been there before. Even though they were flicking about the obstacles of the course and not Dash, there was a sudden intensity to them.

He shifted into a ready stance, and what Dash would’ve moments before called lazy seemed calculated and deliberate.

His muscles bunched as he tensed like a coiled spring, and Dash was suddenly aware that he had muscles. Not only that, but she was very suddenly aware that every inch of the stallion at the starting line was either lean muscle or bone.

“Ready.” Even his voice was different, there was sudden edge and volume where there had been none before.

What the buck had just changed?

Those suddenly intense emerald eyes (When had they changed color?) swung to her and his eyebrow quirked upwards.

Dash flushed in embarrassment, grabbing her stop watch that she’d set nearby for this exact purpose and nodded at the unicorn, coughing into a hoof to clear her throat, “On three! One, two, three!” The unicorn bounded off as Dash hit the stopwatch, and the blue mare’s jaw began to slowly drop.

She’d known that he was kinda fast, he’d run a decent time for a unicorn. But she’d only just realized how big the stallion actually was, and that he just might’ve been the most agile non-pegasus pony she’d seen since Pinkie Pie. He practically cantered up the tightrope and then across it, his face a look of intense concentration but his movements carried a calculated grace.

He didn’t run back down the other side of the tightrope, instead leaping on top of one of the hurdles Dash had created and leaping from the top of one to another, knocking over two and only making the others wobble.

Another leap brought him atop the suspended rolling log which he bounded off with barely a wobble.

He ran towards the spiked pit, a vicious grin appearing on his muzzle, one that sent shivers down Rainbow’s spine, though whether they were shivers of fear or excitement, she wasn’t sure. Dash’s jaw dropped fully when, instead of leaping over the pit, instead his horn flashed with power and an enormous emerald sword appeared from thin air and slammed into the dirt, forming a bridge across the pit which he simply ran over.

The bear Dash had gotten Fluttershy to coax over had awoken at the sound of the blade, and the stallion simply leapt over it with a surprisingly boisterous “’scuse me!”

He completely ignored the ropes Dash had draped on the wall to climb with, instead he simply ran at it full tilt and thundered up the side, hooking his forelegs over the edge of the top just as his momentum faded and then hoisting the rest of him over with the ease of a fit earth pony or pegasus, landing on his side and rolling up with an obviously practiced ease.

Galloping to the next wall, the one Dash might’ve been the most proud of out of the bunch, he made to run up it before noticing the handle. There was a flash of… recognition? in his eyes before he grabbed the handle with his teeth and heaved, the muscles in his neck and back bunching as he lifted the wall, the sizable mass of wood sliding up the rungs on its sides. He even tossed the damn thing above his head enough to run under it, something Dash herself couldn’t do.

A flash of magic and he was bounding along the tops of the cloud banks, lightning playing at his flanks as he leapt from one cloud to another, his hooves still glittering from the cloud walking spell.

With a final leap, the stallion landed at the finish line hard, his flank smoking and slightly singed from the lightning. With that same vicious grin, he turned his head over his shoulder and blew away the smoke with a single puff, laughing as he flexed his hind legs in turn to make sure they still worked.

’… what the buck was that?!’

It took a moment for Dash to collect her wits enough to click off the stop-watch. She stared at the stallion as he panted, his coat managing to shine in the dappled light from the sweat that had begun to collect in it, the grin faded as his breathing evened out, but the excitement and intensity still glittered in his eyes.

“That…” he laughed, a deep belly laugh even as he kept trying to catch his breath, “That… was a lot more fun… than I thought it’d be. Better…” he swallowed, the smile on his face more normal and familiar to Dash, the one of a runner’s high, “Better than running through the Everfree… that’s for sure.”

The unicorn walked over to her, obviously in much better spirits after the exercise. He’d said he was an egghead, what the buck?!

As he approached, the scent of his sweat, the scent of a stallion, washed over her, making Dash flush slightly and sending her emotions reeling even harder. She’d almost written him off as a total lame-flank that wasn’t a worthy inheritor of Gary’s, but then he goes and pulls that?! What the buck?!

That’d been cool and awesome and gutsy as Tartarus!

He walked right up to where she sat, his sides still heaving a bit as he breathed hard, there was an amused twinkle in his once again gray-green eyes, “So… how’d I do?” he gave her a grin that she recognized as teasing. It made her flush darken, but also made her anger spike. He obviously knew he’d done a good job.

What was he doing making her feel so confused? How much of Gary is still in Emeris? Did the pony that impressed Dash so much even exist? Why couldn’t he just make up his mind and be awesome? She couldn’t even make up her mind on whether he was awesome or not, let alone how she felt about him. Who was he to screw with her like this?! Ugh!

Dash tossed the clipboard aside, scowling at the infuriating stallion, “It made up for all your other fails!”

The smile on his face faded rather quickly to a look of annoyance, “And that means… what, exactly?”

“It means that I don’t bucking know! It’s all a draw, a blank, a useless bunch of tests! It doesn’t tell me how awesome you are, it just made things more confusing!” she stomped a hoof, snarling in the larger stallions face.

He looked unamused, “So what now then?”

What now? What now?! The whole point of this was to determine if he was still awesome, if he was still the pony she’d known! And all her tests hadn’t worked! It’d just made things so much more confusing! How was she supposed to figure out if he was awesome and cool or not?! It wasn’t like… wasn’t like she had something else awesome and cool to compare him to.

Or a good way to test those things and work out her anger.

…

Suddenly, she had a foolproof plan that couldn’t fail.

She jabbed a forehoof into his chest, her face close to his (she didn’t like his smell, not a bit) as she growled, “You and me, right here, right now.”

His eyebrows went up, and was it just her, or did his face turn a little red? “Um… doing what exactly?”

Dash flushed brightly, but snarled at the bigger stallion, “A sparring match you bucking horse apple!”

“Wait, what?” he blinked, “You’re cute and all, but are you crazy?! I just got– ACK?!”

The tone of his voice made it worse, her anger flared higher, the response to her confusion and the turmoil of emotions in her. All her doubts, her worries, her confusion and sappy feelings that might exist? They had a vent, a target. And that target was right in front of her.

That’d done it. Her face had flushed even worse at being called cute, and being called crazy had just sent her emotions into further turmoil. She’d pounced on him with a snarl and tried to pin him so she could clobber him properly for being a confusing stallion, only to find him throwing her off, his greater reach and size being more than enough to do so with her bad grip.

Dash landed upright easily as the stallion scrambled to his hooves, yelling at her, “Gah! Damnit mare! What the hell?!”

“You heard me! You and me, here and now! Full contact sparring match! See whether you’re worth a crap or whether it was all just Gary!”

First there was shock, but then anger flooded his features for the first time; he snarled right back at her, “Alright then! Bring it!”

Dash brought it.

Author's Note

I’m so evil. :trollestia:

By the way, thank you both, Aburi and Anhero for being my pre-reader and editor respectively, you guys rock!

As always, comments feed me, tasty tasty comments! OMNOMNOM!

Autobots! Haul ass!

Duels of Many Colors

Blood.

I snarled and lunged, teeth snapping at air.

A hoof met my face again, pain flashing through me.

I spun with the blow and bucked back at the infuriating assailant. But once again, she’d flown back before I’d even grazed her.

There was blood dripping down my face, my lip was split, the scratches on the side of my face had been re-opened.

She ran forward, her hooves barely touching the ground as her wings propelled her forward- a leap! She sumersaulted in the air, launching herself at him, hindleg first.

Oh no you don’t! Not again!

A dodge to the side, my teeth snapping out and closing about the attacking leg, her eyes widened but it was already too late, my muscles bunched and I hurled her aside. The pegasus bounced off of the ground and rolled up to her hooves with ease.

She growled and I snarled right back. My brain was on autopilot. She was too fast to think.

I launched myself forward, thundering into a full on charge, and the smaller mare lowered her head tucking her wings close to her body as she launched herself towards me, her hooves pounding against the ground as she met me head on.

I began to turn to shoulder-check the smaller mare but I’d blinked. There was a flash of blue and sudden pain in my jaw. My head snapped upwards, my forehooves left the ground and two bursts of pain bloomed in my chest, canceling my momentum. My breath left me in a gasp, my ribs creaked in protest, anger flooded my veins.

I didn’t think. I snarled and brought my head down like a hammer; it hit flesh, and the mare let out a squeak as she was slammed into the dirt. Stars danced in front of my eyes as I raised a forehoof to slam down at her.

Hooves connected with my barrel, three, five, eight times in rapid succession. She’d rolled over while I’d reared up. A strangled cough was all that was left of my breath before a gust of wind was at my hindlegs and a mass took them out from under me. I slammed to the dirt, immediately scrambling back up as I struggled for breath, my vision only just starting to clear.

She’d flown through my legs, bowling me over and getting behind me!

I launched myself to the side as a blue streak passed through where I’d been a moment before; I rolled to my feet as she swung back around for another pass, forehooves extended.

This time she clipped my shoulder, even as I leapt aside, staggering me. I’d barely gotten my legs beneath me before she struck me again, her hooves bounced off my side. The pegasus ricocheted off and I stumbled back. Blue was coming back at me once again, coming right at my side, I braced my legs but there was a blur, a rainbow over my back, pain bloomed in the other side, making me wince as I staggered once more.

Enough!

I planted my hooves, my eyes wild and teeth bared as the blue bullet slammed into me hooves first again, bouncing off of my tensed hide. She recovered quickly, little more than a streak of blue and rainbows as she swung around again and again from every angle, The side, above, at my legs, at my flanks, at my shoulders– I snarled and snapped at her as she ricocheted off of me, trying to anticipate- to predict- to counter her hit and run tactics, but failing again and again. Even when I thought I had her, she changed direction midflight to avoid my grasping jaws.

Trajectories, patterns, movements, she had a pattern, she had to! No one was– there!

My jaws snapped, catching a blue feather.

Hooves clipped my jaw, scattering droplets of blood across the ground.

Enough!

I tapped into the power I had, feeling an electric shock in the back of my mind at the taxing magic, but I made my will reality, algorithims and formulae became reality and form, will became tangible shape, and anger became real as I cast my spell.

My assailant slammed into the emerald shield that swatted her out of the air, the shield splintering like wood and sending pain lancing into my skull.

She rolled to her feet easily, shaking her head slightly as she assumed a ready stance. I cringed at the pain, my body felt battered and bruised and the base of my skull felt like it was on fire, I’d over-used my magic, I hadn’t fully recovered yet.

I turned to my assailant, snarling even as a drop of blood fell from my face.

Damnit, I was probably beat to hell and Dash practically looked fresh as a spring daisy. Fuck. We were both panting, a slight sheen of sweat on our hides as we stood off, she snarled back at me, “Damnit, why won’t you just fall?!”

“Same reason you won’t fucking sit still!” I shouted back, launching myself forward. I charged at the pegasus once again, my eyes focused on hers. She stood her ground before my thundering hooves, her gaze holding mine even as I approached, both of us waiting for that moment where we were within range of the other–

Her eyes widened and then narrowed, she breathed in, her muscles tensed–

Now-!

I feinted left– she moved to intercept– launched myself to the right– her eyes followed me– my hindlegs touched my forelegs beneath me and I pushed off, forelegs first, straight for her center of gravity, I'd clip her even if she dodged–

She went under my outstretched legs, appearing on my right side, a hoof slammed into my muzzle hard and my hooves hit dirt to brace myself, three more strikes followed in rapid succession, jerking my face from side to side. I staggered back, trying to pull back, but her hooves followed me, rapid fire, head and chest and forelegs.

An uppercut jerked my head up and anger flashed through me. I planted a back hoof and sprung back from the blow like a coiled spring, forehoof extending right into the center of the blue blur in the corner of my eye, connecting solidly and sending her tumbling backwards.

I snarled and wiped the blood from my muzzle as my vision cleared; I glared across the clearing at my ‘sparring partner’. Fucking crazy ass mare! I just got out of the hospital! She scowled back, already on her hooves, rubbing the center of her chest where I’d just struck her, coughing as she regained her breath.

“Bucking little–“

“I’m half again your size! You’re the little–!”

A snarl, a flash of spectrum, and hooves slammed into my chest, sending me stumbling back. A grimace of pain on my face as I reacted without thinking, swinging my anger at the assailant. The base of my skull erupted in fire and a small gasp escaped me as the only semi-tangible hammer swung.

Dash rolled with the blow, the hammer flickering in and out of existence even as it struck her and sent her rolling away. She was fast, almost faster than I could see, but not faster than I could think.

The pegasus stumbled even as she landed on her feet, stunned. This might be my only chance! Despite the roaring pain in my head, I charged, hooves thundering against the ground. Her rose-colored eyes snapped to me, still unfocused, she was already in a ready stance, but it was too late, I was too close and moving too fast. I turned my head aside to shoulder check the smaller mar–

A blue hoof shot out–

The world spun–

Impacts- dirt- was that a potted plant-?

Pain and grass against my back–

Something was already grabbing my left foreleg and I snarled as my eyes refocused. Dash held my hoof to her chest, her lower legs locked around it at the shoulder, pulling it off to the side and locking it down in a classic wrestling move, one I actually knew.

One I knew a simple weakness of, a weakness I’d learned from wrestling with my dad and ‘big brothers’. Be bigger and stronger.

A strangled roar escaped my throat as I heaved with all my might, the muscles and tendons in my shoulder screaming in protest even as I used as much of my body as a counterweight as I could, twisting my hips and pulling, I lifted the entire foreleg well off the ground, Dash and all.

She let out a squeak of surprise, making a vicious grin spread across my face before I slammed the leg and her back to the ground. Her breath left her in a whumph, the mare coughing even as I lifted my leg again, groaning at the strain– the weight was suddenly gone from the leg, making it jerk in surprise, Dash having let go and flown back a good distance, not about to let that happen again.

I rolled back to my hooves as quickly as I could, wincing. Everything hurt. My chest and legs, my shoulder and body. The base of my skull was still on fire, magical exhaustion still screaming at my mind for over doing it, my breaths shaky.

Blood.

A drop fell from my muzzle and I wiped at my face again, crimson smearing my foreleg. Less of it was fresh. The cuts were clotting. Good.

Dash didn’t look so fresh now, scuffed and dirty, her feathers were quite literally ruffled, and there were bits of dirt and grass in her normally beautiful mane. Her sides were quivering with each breath, controlled as it may have been. A vicious grin spread across my muzzle, I might’ve felt like shit, but she didn’t look too good either.

She growled and began to move, her rose colored eyes focused intently on mine. I matched her movements, the two of us slowly circling one another. Around and around we went, eyes locked as we waited for that moment, that hesitation, that signal, that brief instant of weakness–

I messed up first.

My left shoulder gave out, the muscles suddenly turning into jelly for an instant before I forced them to firm up, but it was enough for the pegasus, launching herself at me like a bolt of spectra. I turned to meet her charge, but she spun on her forelegs and bucked straight into my chest, her hindlegs slamming into me with an audible thud.

I couldn’t breathe–

I could still fight–

Her legs were going back beneath her–

I lunged forward, teeth closing about her tail–

She squeaked in surprise–

I heaved.

I spun the blue mare around over my head like a damn lasso before letting go with a grunt, letting her fly. Dash tumbled through the air, her wings flaring to try and control the flight, my nostrils flared, my lungs desperately trying to refill after the blow.

Dash skipped along the ground and I began to gallop after the still hurtling mare.

My chest burned, pain from the blows, pain from the lack of oxygen, but it wouldn’t stop me.

She slammed into a tree, falling unsteadily to her hooves, given a moment, she would’ve gotten into a ready stance.

I didn’t give her that moment.

I shoulder-checked the smaller mare back up against the tree before rearing back and lashing forward with my own hooves at her center of mass.

The first one clipped her shoulder as she lunged to the side, her eyes still glazed from the blows, but her reflexes intact. This was the first advantage I’d gotten in this damn fight and I wasn’t going to let it go. My next strike clipped her face, but her counter struck me hard in the jaw, making my vision blur and the world spin.

I didn’t stop.

We were a tangle of hooves and blows, sweat and blood dripping as we struck again and again, strike and counter-strike. I’d abandoned all pretense of defense as I gasped for air, I wasn’t fast enough, I wasn’t good enough to even try to deflect her lightning fast strikes, but I was bigger, I was stronger, and she had nowhere to go.

I rained blows down on the smaller mare, looming over her, but giving her plenty to target, three of her strikes slammed into me for every one of mine that glanced her as she twisted and turned beneath me, squirming and moving out of the way as I lashed out. Grunts, growls, snarls, strangled battle-cries, we were animals in a fury of melee.

Splinters flew as my hoof slammed into the tree behind her, but when I tried to pull it back it was stuck.

Our eyes widened as what had happened registered–

I snarled and tugged harder–

Dash coiled like a spring–

The hoof was suddenly free, I was stumbling back–

She exploded upwards, both forehooves slamming into my chest as she sent us both flying back–

I landed, my back hitting the dirt hard, knocking whatever wind was left in me out, and she was already on top of me, hooves raining down. I made a sound, one of anger and pain as I lashed back out at her, hooves clipping her as her own rained down. I slammed a hoof into her side and rolled, trying to pin her, to keep those hard blows from raining down, but she fought it.

We were a tangle of limbs, blows and bites, headbutts and grapples, pain and anger, sweat and blood.

I tried to pin her, but a headbutt to the chin gave her enough time to roll us back over– She tried to put me into a headlock, but I reared up and dropped to the ground back first, slamming her into the dirt, her grip loosening enough to roll out of it– I bit her wing, she kicked my hooves out from under me– I’d wrapped my forelegs around her and began to squeeze, but a pair of hooves slammed into the sides of my head hard enough to make me drop her– she bit my horn, tugging it forward, pain lancing into my head, letting out a strangled scream I’d lunged forward and bit her neck, neither of us let go for a moment, she tugged harder and tears formed in my eyes, I reared up and shook her like a rag-doll till she let go, ignoring the blazing pain–

But slowly, bit by bit, exhaustion won over fury. Tired limbs slowed, blows softened as we gasped desperately for breath, pain dulled reflexes and blurred vision…

My foreleg was draped around her neck in a tired attempt to put her into a headlock, the other foreleg trapped between both of hers as she tugged uselessly at it in an attempt to break the hold. We were panting, exhausted, my eyes were closed as I leaned against her for support, her head swinging to bump against mine again and again, a weak headbutt, but even that slowed to a stop, the side of her face leaned up against mine.

We stayed like that for Celestia knows how long, laying on our stomachs and our sides pressed up against each other, leaning our heads together for support, our breaths intermingling as the tension slowly melted from our bodies.

The sweat made my skin feel cold, but the blue mare was warm against me. I still couldn’t catch my breath, breathing through my mouth and nose, scents assaulting my nose.

So many sensations, the scent of grass and dirt, musk, sweat, copper and Dash herself. Her fur against mine, the dirt and grass beneath me, the breeze against my skin, her tail draped across my own shorter one, the feathers of her wing against my back.

There was a dampness against her face, sweat and dried blood, I wasn’t sure who’s… probably mine. Her breath was hot against the side of my muzzle as one of us, I’m not sure who, started to nuzzle the other, gently rubbing our cheeks together.

A swallow, and a voice croaked out, “You suck.”

I didn’t know who’d said it, but it didn’t matter, it opened the floodgates. It started as a snicker, then a giggle, then a chuckle until it finally grew into full blown laugher, our sides heaving as we laughed against one another, neither letting go as we leaned together.

“Let’s…” the laughter faded into chuckles and giggles, nuzzling my face against her own, “Let’s not do that again…”

“What?” she panted, still laughing, “Afraid… I’ll kick your ass?”

“Afraid?” I laughed, “Certain.”

She giggled, pressing her head against my neck, “Yeah, says the stallion seven weight classes above me!”

“Oh yeah,” my head lay on top of hers, rolling my eyes with a small chuckle, “Says the mare who’s got three black belts versus me who’s entirely self-taught.” Dash leaned against my neck and blew a raspberry, showing just how much she appreciated that one, making me chuckle harder.

“Yeah, and you just didn’t go down! Buck, how’d you do that anyways?” she bumped her head against the bottom of mine admonishingly, “I hit you and it wasn’t like it did bucking anything.”

I laughed, “You’re kidding right? I think I’ve got to go back to the hospital honestly…” I trailed off with a grumble.

“Then how the buck’d you keep standing ya horse apple?” she thumped my chest with a hoof, the smile evident in her tone even if I couldn’t see her face with it tucked against my neck.

“Adrenaline?” I shrugged, realizing I was holding her close, “I just… refused to fall. Fought through the pain… best way I can put it…”

I felt her shake her head against my neck, “That’s ridiculous…” she trailed off, squeezing my leg to her chest, “I… hey…?”

“Yeah?” I tried to look down at her, but she buried her face further against my neck.

Dash hesitated very noticeably, “Your… your name’s Emeris right?”

“Yeah… why?”

“I… you’re… you’re not mad about this?”

I shook my head, giving her my best confused look in spite of the frustration I felt, “Not really, irritated and confused sure but… not angry…” I hadn’t wanted to really hurt her, just... I didn’t... I wasn’t Gary god damnit...

She was quiet for a long moment before burying her face against my neck, murmuring, “Y’know, Emeris… you’re pretty cool… y’know… for a stallion.” There was a subtext there that I could’ve read from a mile away, my cheeks warmed.

“Thanks...” I gently rubbed my chin against her mane, a small smile crossed my face, “So… I guess that means I pass?”

*Whump!* “Ow…”

oOo

“Well, it doesn’t look like anything has been broken again, but your left shoulder is torn up and most of your body is bruised, not to mention the cuts... what in Equestria happened to you two?”

“Fell out of a tree.”

The doctor gave me an entirely disbelieving look at that.

“Onto a manticore.”

“...” still no belief on his face.

“What? I live in the Everfree, how is this surprising?”

The doctor opened his mouth, then after a moments thought, closed it, scowling slightly at me, obviously not really believing me, “Then why are you both injured?”

I shrugged “She dove in to save me thankfully, because the thing totally caught me by surprise.” Glancing down at my injured leg I shrugged, “Kinda embarrassing really, one manticore shouldn’t have gotten us this bad, but it did.”

He kept scowling at me, even as the nurse moved from applying gauze and bandages to Rainbow’s injuries to applying them to the few remaining ones on myself, “And why, pray tell, were you in the tree in the first place?”

Well, at that I just had to give him my absolute best shit-eating grin, “That one, I’m not telling.” Across the room, Dash snickered into her hoof even as the doctor scowled at me harder.

“I don’t like treating patients that are going to go out and hurt themselves again.”

My grin melted into a gentler smile, “I understand, don’t worry, once is more than enough for me. I’m not gonna even give this a chance to happen while I’m still injured.” I mean, seriously, it'd been less than an hour since the fight, a day since I'd gotten out of the hospital in the first place, and barely a week since I'd been originally injured so badly... I was freaking done for a while.

His eyes narrowed, “And why did it happen this time?”

“Kinda got talked into it,” I rubbed my uninjured leg in embarassment, that wasn’t exactly what happened, but it was pretty close. I was usually above getting goaded into a fight, let alone one as bad as that, but Dash’d hit an emotional hot button there and I hadn’t been paying attention enough to catch it. I did not appreciate the insinuation that only Gary had worth and that I did not.

Yeah, that’d kinda riled me up.

This time his admonishing glare swung to Rainbow, who shifted uncomfortably under it. Well, that wasn’t fair. “Won’t happen again doc, promise. Once you clear me here, I’m going straight home to get some bedrest. I’m only going to go out to get supplies, no more tree climbing for a while.”

He rolled his eyes, “What is it with you and trees? First the timber wolves and now you fall out of a tree onto a manticore?”

I thought about it, and a wicked thought danced through my head. I glanced back and forth before leaning in, cupping a hoof to the side of my muzzle. Both Dash and the nurse noticed and leaned in, their ears swiveling to better hear as I spoke in a stage whisper, “Well, see, it’s an evil tree conspiracy. Every tree in the forest is totally out to get me. They sent the timber wolves after me as a first strike, the dropping me onto the manticore was a strategic follow up strike–”

With a subdued groan, the doctor face-hooved making Dash guffaw and myself chuckle, “Well you asked.”

Sighing to himself, the doctor shook his head, “Two weeks bedrest for you, if you’re not careful you could cause one of those ribs to crack again,” I winced at the thought. “And you,” he jabbed a hoof at Dash, causing her mouth to snap shut with a snap, “A weeks bedrest for you, no hard flying. You’ve got some deep tissue bruising throughout most of your back and flying will only make it worse.”

Man, it was like you kicked a puppy, poor girl... um... mare. Still not used to thinking like that.

The doctor turned back to me, “And I’d better not see you in here again–”

“For at least two weeks?” I interjected.

“For at least two wee-...” he trailed off before giving me a small glare, earning a great shit-eating grin from me. “Nurse?” A very sudden tightening of my bandages made me squeak, setting Dash snickering all over again, “Now, can you please at least try to not get hurt again?”

I shifted uncomfortably, that had hurt, owwww, “That’s what I usually try to do, it’s just been a crazy month.”

“Doesn’t seem like it,” the nurse muttered.

“Heyyyyyy...” I grumbled, “Two times in as many weeks isn’t that bad.” The medical staff gave me a rather deadpan look, “I’m not even in the emergency room this time!”

The two medical professionals shared a look.

*cinch* “Ow!”

oOo

Once I stepped out of the hospital doors I was greeted by a waiting Dash, the blue pegasus tapping a hoof impatiently, “Took you long enough.”

I shook my head, an amused smile on my face, “I don’t sign anything I don’t read first.” It was true, it always frustrated people, but it’d saved me a lot of frustration over the years. Most recently, it’d saved me from Twilights attempts 3 and 6 to get us married.

“Well it took forever,” she rolled her rose colored eyes.

“You didn’t have to wait for me...”

She smirked, “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?” Her hoof thumped into my shoulder, making me wince.

Rubbing the shoulder, it took a moment to come up with a good response to that, especially past the almost hesitant warmth in my chest, muttering, “Didn’t have to waste your time waiting though...”

She shrugged, and I realized that there were still sticks and leaves stuck in her mane... and probably mine as well, “I don’t really have much to do. Can’t fly for a week,” Dash experimentally flexed one of her wings out, wincing as she did, “Doc wasn’t kidding, my flight muscles are pretty beat up. Trying to fly right now would be pretty stupid...” she sighed, “So we need to find something to do... any ideas?”

I raised an eyebrow at the pegasus, feeling my mouth quirk up, “Okay, don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy your company... but... ‘we’?”

Dash snorted, “Yeah, we, we’re both beat to Tartarus and on bedrest,” she jabbed a hoof into my chest, “We’re in this together.”

An affectionate smile spread across my face, I wasn’t about to complain about spending time with an attractive female, “Well, let’s start with ‘Not that Obstacle Course’ again and go from there?” In spite of herself, Dash snickered even as she stuck her tongue out at me, making me laugh as a pleasant warmth suffused my chest, “Heh... mmmm... more seriously, I’ve got some books on magical theory at my house... but I’d rather not read them.” I trailed off, thinking aloud.

The blue mare seemed to start at that, shifting uncomfortably, “Y-Yeah, books! Who’d read those?” My attention snapped back to her and she fidgeted under my gaze even as I raised an eyebrow at her in confusion, “What?!”

“I love books,” it was a simple statement that made her stop, “I distinctly remember telling you that I was a nerd...” I shrugged, “I just don’t want to read the books I’ve got at my house ‘cause I’ve been studying that subject for the past two years. Just... enough is enough y’know?”

Dash blinked those beautiful eyes of hers, before giving me an incredulous look, “But... you sure as buck acted like an athlete when you ran my course...”

“So?” now I was the one with an incredulous look on my face, “Being an athlete and a nerd aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive states.”

She blinked and said uncertainly, “Gesundheit?”

Groaning, I facehoofed, “Being an egghead doesn’t mean you can’t like exercising. Opposite’s true too.”

Ever so slowly, her face lit up as a grin spread across her face and a little part of my heart sung happily at being able to make her smile like that, even if I didn’t know why. Dash let out a little excited squeal, prancing in place in spite of her bandages and she was so cute that I had to cover my mouth to keep from chuckling.“Okay okay, what’d be a good book? The Daring Do series is filled with awesome and action and adventure! Or maybe the Silverwing series?! Ooh ooh! What about the Dragonblood series?! It’s got this totally awesome mare who’s got the blood of a dragon- and... and... um... what?” she trailed off, looking at me funny as I tried to stifle my snickers.

I waved it off, barely keeping myself from chuckling, “Nothing, it’s nothing,” Blatant lie, she was just too cute, “Any of the above really, I haven’t had a chance to read fiction since I got here.”

“Really? So what have you been reading?”

A shrug at that, “Technical manuals on magic mostly.” It wasn’t like it bothered me, I found the things fascinating, it just bore repeating: TWO YEARS STRAIGHT. I’m done for now. Thank you very much.

“Ugh! Lame!” she suddenly wrapped a cyan leg around my withers, “Alright then, we’ll fix that right up! Twilight’s got all of those series in that library of hers so we can start on whatever one we want. Ooh! She might even have the new Silverwing already!”

I coughed uncomfortably as she started to pull me along, my mind suddenly scrambling at the mention of Twilight, a cold ball of panic begining to settle in my stomach.

“What?”

“Well... ah... um...” I shifted uneasily, looking away from her and trying to figure out how to explain my problem with this plan.

“C’mon, you can tell me.”

“Well... my last encounter with Twilight wasn’t... ah...” what was the tactful way to put this? “Um... it... she wasn’t very happy to see me... let’s put it that way...”

Dash blinked, then slowly, her eyes narrowed, her voice suspicious, “What do you mean?”

“Um... she... kinda...” those rose colored eyes of hers narrowed further, making me shift uncomfortably, “Ah... kinda zapped me to get me out of the library...?”

The blue pegasus looked flabbergasted, “What-?! Why?! I... just... ugh!” her wings flexed, readying for take off, but a wince told the story of the pain and her inability to do so, “Ugh! Horse apples! Why would Twilight do that?!” Dash stomped a forehoof, her wings slowly folding back at her sides.

I opened my mouth, trying to come up with some excuse for the lavender unicorn, but a better idea came to mind, I closed my mouth and pointedly looked around us, at the bubble of emptiness in the otherwise decently crowded street. It took her a moment, but Dash looked around as well, noticing the isolation, I waited until the realization entered her eyes before muttering more dejectedly than I’d intended, “I’m not exactly the most well liked citizen of Ponyville...”

A look passed over her face that made my heart fall, sadness, hurt, an attempt to understand, then her eyes hardened and she seemed to nod to herself, “Then we’re just gonna have to fix that. Come on.”

I blinked, “Um... what?”

She scowled as if it were obvious, “Come on, we’re going to talk to Twilight.”

Shuffling my hooves nervously, I ventured, “It’s not a pressing matter... we don’t need to do it now...”

Those rose eyes narrowed again, something they were doing rather often it seems, and Dash gently jabbed a hoof to my sore chest, “Did she zap you?”

“Well... yes... but...”

“Did you deserve it?”

“Probably, I mean–”

Dash rolled her eyes and reiterated, “Did. You. Deserve it?”

Her eyes bore into mine, making me flush and look away, unable to meet her gaze and trying to find my voice. I wanted to defend Twilight’s actions but... I couldn’t lie to those eyes, to her, I couldn’t find it in me to do so. It was all the answer she needed.

With an affirmative nod, Rainbow Dash turned around, “Come on, we’re going to talk to Twilight.”

“Dash-! I don’t...”

The cyan mare let out a growl and spun back around bit my ear, giving it a harsh tug. I squeaked, my feet automatically moving as she pulled me along as she growled out around my ear, “‘E’re ‘oing ‘o ‘ee ‘iligh!” I didn’t need to be a dentist to translate that one.

“Nng!” it wasn’t all that painful, but it was unpleasant as hell, “Okay okay okay! I’m going! I’m going!”

Her teeth released my ear and I stumbled forward, giving my head a shake. I opened my mouth to complain when I was rather forcefully shoved forward, yelping as I stumbled and Dash behind me, barking like a bloody drill sergant, “Keep moving, keep moving.” Another shove before she just started pushing, her head pressing against my flank as she walked, forcing me to stumble forward even faster, “Come on, keep movin’.”

Damnit mare! You are having way too much fun with this!

oOo

“You had way too much fun with that,” I grumbled in front of the library.

Dash just beamed at me, so I blew a raspberry, but it only made her snicker, “Oh come on, it got you here didn’t it?”

Her logic, it was infallible. Either that or her grin was just overwhelmingly cute and honest in its existence.

I’ll lean towards the latter thank you very much.

Face-hoofing, I grumbled, “Just... can you at least be the one to knock? … please?” that last word came out far smaller and pleadingly than I’d intended; trepidation had crushed my confidence, and my insides were more of a quivering mess than usual when talking to others. Twilight scared me more than I’d thought, this would require further analysis.

A look came over Dash’s face that I could only call concern, “Hey, don’t worry big guy, I’ll handle it, promise.”

I tried to come up with an appropriate expression, but... nothing came to me... so as she led the way those last few terrifying feet to the libraries door, all I could manage was a soft, “Thanks... sorry for being a hassle like this...”

“Pffft,” she waved the apology off with a hoof, “It’s no prob, haven’t gotten to talk with Twi much anyways so it’s a good excuse.” With every bit of that boundless confidence she had been infamous for in my home dimension, Dash strode right up to the door and knocked on it with a hoof.

There was a lump in my throat that I desperately tried to swallow down while we waited, though thankfully we didn’t have to wait long. It was only a few moments later that a purple mare opened the door, calling over her shoulder, “And make sure the books are all sorted before you go over to Rarity’s! What can I– Dash?!” her eyes went wide as they saw her friend, bandaged up with more than a few bits of surgical tape and bandaids, “What happened to you–?! I– What happened–?!” her eyes found me.

I swallowed. Hard. There was a certain amount of surprise in her eyes... but it was overshadowed by a righteous fury, something I couldn’t mistake for anything else. Thank Celestia Dash was there, her hoof jabbing out between the two of us, “Hey! Hey! It’s okay, I know what this probably looks like, but the big guy here didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Dash, you’re hurt!”

“Duh, we had a fight,” her hoof shot out to stifle whatever Twilight was going to say, “I started the fight Twi, not him.” From the look in Twilight’s eyes, that didn’t matter. Dash went on to explain that I wasn’t a bad pony and actually decently awesome for an egghead and so forth... but neither Twilight nor myself were really listening. Her eyes were locked with mine, and there was a simmering, calculating anger there.

“–so dragged the big guy over here to grab the Daring Do series or maybe the Silverwing series! It’s totally lame that he hasn’t read them yet, especially since he’s supposed to be an egghead and everything.”

Then it was like someone had flipped a swtich, Twilight’s demeanor changed, “Are you sure you’re okay Dash?”

“What-? Oh, pfffft, yeah, totally. He hits pretty hard, but AJ hits harder. I’ve had worse.”

“Well, um... I actually have something I need you to do...”

The blue pegasus blinked, “Um... sure?”

“Well, you see, Princess Celestia wants me to test Gary right away to see how breaking the curse affected his skills, but I scheduled to help Applejack today and it’d be really nice if you could do that for me.”

“Um, well, okay, but–”

“Please Dash?” Twilight pleaded, her eyes shining, “Celestia wants that report right away and I don’t want to let Applejack down,” the lavender unicorn placed a hoof on Dash’s shoulder, “Can you help me out here?”

That was vicious. My respect for Twilight rose another notch.

“I...” Dash glanced back at me, obviously torn, “Twi... look...”

“Please Dash? I don’t want to let either the Princess or Applejack down...” Twilight was doing her best sad-puppy-eyes impression. It was a very good impression. “You know what that’s like, right?”

This time Dash just looked straight at me, holding my gaze, “You okay with this big guy?”

I thought about that one for a moment, my eyes trailing off of hers. I doubted Twilight would lie about Celestia’s orders, and she had helped save my life after that fight with the Timber Wolves, I remembered that much. And she’d looked ready to blast me when she’d thought I’d attacked Rainbow Dash, but once Dash had disabused her of that notion, she’d just looked angry. That and after a moments thought, I was certain I could manage a ~50 yard blink at a moments notice. It’d cost me a nights sleep due to a serious migrane, but if I had to, I could.

I didn’t know Twilight’s specific game, but I was willing to let it play out, I smiled as best I could at Dash, “I’ll be fine Dash.” I hope.

“You sure?” her eyes bore into mine, “I can stay around until you’re done testing if you want...”

There was a small flush of happiness at her concern, but I was going to play along, at least for now. I waved her off with a hoof, as much of a smile on my face as I could manage, “It’s no prob Dash, we’ll read later, promise.”

She didn’t believe me, not really. But torn between her loyalties, she went with the one we were suggesting, “Alright, if you’re sure...” she walked past me, stopping to give me a look I couldn’t interpret, her mouth opening for just a moment before her facial expression changed and she kept walking.

My eyes swung back to Twilight to find her purple orbs simmering once more. Thankfully, her horn wasn’t-, oh, wait, there it went.

I coughed uncomfortably, “Um, so... testing–”

“Get in here.”

“Yes ma’am,” I squeaked.

oOo

“And here’s your allowance, have fun with Rarity!” and Spike was gone like a bolt of purple lightning, Twilight smiling as she waved at the already long gone dragon. Poor little guy, got played like a fiddle. The unicorn turned, her gaze rather quickly returning to that simmering anger, making me shift uncomfortably in my bandages.

Twilight walked right up to me, her eyes boring into mine, her horn glimmering. I reflexively readied the blink spell, the back of my mind burning. And then there was paper.

I blinked, my brain processing what was in front of me.

Paper, with writing on it, lots of paper, and a quill... and an ink bottle.

“First part of the tests, general knowledge and basic magical theory.”

“Oh... okay!” she looked surprised at my chipper tone, but my worries had melted away considerably. I wasn’t entirely sure why she was angry with me, but I had my suspicions, and I’d make it up to her step by step. Written tests though? No problem. I was always good at them, and even if I didn’t know the material, it wasn’t about to stress me out. This was miles better than what I’d been anticipating.

Releasing the teleport spell I’d been readying I took the paper, quill, and ink from Twilight, ignoring the pain at the base of my skull before setting the paper down and taking the quill in my mouth. Never used mouth-writing before, but there was a first for everything, and it’d be better than straining my already taxed reserves.

A glance up found Twilight giving me a funny look, I did my best to ask what the problem was and she just shook her head, a look that seemed to be mostly confusion on her face, “You are a strange pony.”

I gave her my absolute best ‘aduh’ look before returning to the paper in front of me.

The derivative of... whoo boy, don’t think I’d gotten that far into Calc...

oOo

Okay, so that lets me take the Ln of e, which cancels that out... leaving me with x^4 * 3x^2 + c = y as my equation for the instantaneous change in velocity... so plug and chug and I get... urgh, triple digits to the fourth suck, um...

I scribbled some more on the page, that’d be four decimal places in the final answer, so this would be 13.7^4 * 3(13.7)^2 + c = y, which... was... 35227.5631 * 563.07 + c = y... m’kay... right... wish I had a calculator...

oOo

Scribbling out the most legible answer I could, I finished the test with a bit of a flourish. Was I weird as hell for enjoying written tests? Yes, very. But I did, and I felt good about it. I’d bombed the hell out of the history and literature portions for obvious reasons, and from the way the questions were worded, my limited knowledge of psychology, sociology and the local religions were mostly invalid. I’d also be happy if I’d gotten most of the physics and calculus questions right, though at least I’d kept up on those over the past two years with my experiments and data.

Unfortunately, most of my time over the past two years had been spent trying to break the curse, nothing more or less. I’d studied magic heavily, even the very forbidden texts with Celestia’s permission, so I’d probably aced the magical theory portion of the test, but I’d earned that one. There were bits and pieces that I was unsure of, but I wasn’t going to worry about them.

Just hoped that the surprising number of ‘short answer’ questions were legible.

I set the stack of papers onto the desk in front of Twilight, considerably more relaxed than I’d been earlier. I was still nervous and uneasy around the mare, but the... general atmosphere of the library calmed me down considerably. Books, pages, wood, the gentle creak of boards when I shifted my weight... it was soothing to me.

And despite my conscious reaction to her, my body and subconscious still trusted and liked the purple mare, and found her scent and presence relatively calming despite the tension in the air whenever she was looking over my shoulder.

While she scowled at the tests in front of her, I sat down. She had said it was just the first part. My chest squeezed uncomfortably as the tension and fear tried to creep back up on me, but I breathed slowly and deeply, zoning out slightly and focusing on the sensory input I was getting to avoid panicking.

The library was practically saturated with free magical energy, between Twilight and Spike, it wasn’t much of a surprise. Even though it’d only been about... a glance at the sun... about two hours since I’d started, I could already feel the soothing warmth at the base of my skull that I’d come to recognize as my magical reserves. Nowhere near full, but I wouldn’t be straining to cast simple spells anymore.

I was glaring at the ugly mess of scarring just above my right forehoof when a soft clink drew my attention back to Twilight as she set aside her quill and pushed my test aside. The lavender mare looked... unhappy? Confused? I wasn’t really sure. But she didn’t look murderous or mindlessly lustful, so I’d call it a plus.

The unicorn mare scowled at me as she stepped out from behind her desk, “Alright, I want to see your best Alteration spell.”

“Right to the practicals... joys,” I muttered under my breath. Only reason it was a problem was the small amount of power I had left, “Um... I turned my cat pink?”

“...” she gave me a deadpan look.

Coughing awkwardly, I rubbed my uninjured foreleg with the bandaged one, “Well, ah... look... I’m really running on empty here after that match with Dash so I’d rather avoid using up magic that I don’t really have... if... if that’s alright with you...”

For a moment, it looked like she would give it to me... but then her gaze hardened several times over, if anything, she looked angrier than before. I was grateful her horn didn’t light up given how hard an edge her voice had taken on, “No. The rules are plain. I need you to demonstrate your best alteration spell.”

I swallowed and looked for an appropriate target. The spell wasn’t inherently complicated, it involved an alteration of the wavelength absorbtion and radiation of a selected material by a set formula, pink was actually an easy slection due to the human (and apparently pony) eye registering all of the ‘colors’ outside of the normal visible spectrum minus green to be pink, the problem came from selecting a chemically uniform structure such as the hair on an animal and choosing a color.

See? Not complicated, just tedious.

Books would be bad... ink would be bad... wood... really bad and not even possible with the formula I had... glass! I walked over to the nearest window, staring up at it. Accounting for the refractive and general lack of opaqueness of glass meant adjusting the formula a bit, but it was easier and less energy intensive than trying to build a bounding box and just change an object.

I focused, taking the smallest dollop of my power that I could manage, something I’d gotten an enormous amount of practice when I had the ridiculous power of a GSE affected alicorn, and then fed it through the algorithm I held in my mind, focused through my horn, and gently applied to the glass. Slowly, a pink tint spread across the material until the entire window was encompassed. And then I was done, a small bead of sweat working its way down the side of my muzzle.

“That’s really the best you can do?” I couldn’t blame her for sounding incredulous.

A gentle shake of my head, “I could do more things...” I shook my head, my mouth was still in Applejack/Rainbow Dash mode, “Sorry, cover more surface area if I weren’t running on empty... but that’s the most complicated Alteration spell I know...”

She scowled, her beautiful eyes narrowing at me, and while her gaze made me uncomfortable, I was telling the truth. Eventually, she snorted and pulled up a clipboard and a quill with her magic, making a note on the page,, “What is your best Medicinal spell?”

“Um... I don’t know any...”

“... what.”

Flushing in embarrasment, I rubbed my uninjured foreleg again, stumbling over my words at the disbelief and intense scrutiny, “I didn’t lose a lot- um... I was never all that good at it, but... well... whatever skill I had was... I lost it when I stopped... when you helped break that curse...” her eyes narrowed and I stopped, swallowing hard despite my suddenly dry mouth and forcing my brain to think about what it needed to say before my lips worked, “Whatever knowledge I had of Medicinal magic went away with my wings.”

Twilight scowled, and there was a sudden rush of fear in me when her horn glowed, but all she had done was bring some pieces of paper over, “Do you know the reweaving spell?”

“Nnnnnno... sounds familiar though...”

“Ugh, watch,” she brought up a piece of paper and with a quick flick of magical power, tore it in half, realizing what she was about to do, I opened my magical senses as much as I could to ‘watch’ as she performed the reweaving spell, but it was over quickly, the paper whole and as good as new, “There. Your turn.”

“Um...”

“Ugh, what?” she snapped.

“I ah...” this time I really flushed, embarassed as hell at not being competent even as a part of me relaxed ever so slightly, I wasn’t perfect,”I didn’t catch that the first time...”

She scowled again before performing the spell once more, “Better?”

Well, no, but I didn’t really want to dig myself any deeper if I could help it. Focusing, I picked up one of the pieces of paper with my telekinesis, tearing it simply and focusing on the torn edges. The spell seemed to work by a repetitive bounding and telekinetic attraction algorithim, focused on the edes of the material, taking attached portions of it and interweaving them through a basic sine wave... at least... if I was reading the little wobbles of magic correctly. As an alicorn, it’d been so... easy to just know right away what the magical formula was, but now... ugh, it’d gotten a lot harder.

This was a good thing. Just... embarrassing. I was used to learning things really quickly, even as a human.

I was wrong by the way.

I knew it the moment the spell started and realized that it was cosine rather than sine, but I’d already cast the spell and the torn page was turned into tatters as the spell kept trying to reweave the paper but rubbing the edges together until the tore apart.

Stupid stupid stupid. Not the sine/cosine mistake, that was an honest one, forgetting to include a cancelation key into the spell though had been stupid, I should’ve been able to stop that.

Twilight was unimpressed as scraps of paper fluttered to the ground. Didn’t blame her.

“Yeah... I’m gonna try that one again...” Grab paper, rip it, cast spell... and thankfully, I was right this time. The reweaving algorithim needed to use cosine instead of sine at that speed... though unlike Twilight’s usage of the spell, there was an obvious discoloration where I’d wove the pages back together.

With a snort, the lavender unicorn made a note on the paper she had, “Alright, lets move on.”

oOo

Telekinesis? I was pretty decent, just running low on power. Converting from Newtons to Horsepower to give her an idea what my upper limit was had been a bit weird though. It was at that point that I’d remembered that I’d already sent the Princess a letter telling her that I hadn’t been that affected... but it’d been through Twilight, who might not have sent it, and it hadn’t been very detailed anyways.

Charms? I hadn’t even wanted to touch that one, but she’d insisted, and despite the spell she’d taught me literally bouncing off of her considerable magic resistance, she declared it passable.

Clairvoyance always made me feel like a pervert, but when I realized that analysis magic fell under its purview as well, I was able to show off a bit with my chemical analysis spell, something that was third circle magic by simple virtue of its complexity.

I’d bombed evocation test, and not in the good way. Converting willpower and magic into pure energy or instantaneous effects was not my forte, I could understand the process, but my brain just didn’t work that way.

Illusions? Eh... no. I didn’t do well, lets leave it at that. That thing had been flickering, transluscent, but oh Celestia had it been fugly. Let us never speak of it again.

Of Reality Warping, I was only willing to perform a single spell. A blink several feet to the right. It’d severely taxed my remaining magical reserves, but eh. Pain is weakness leaving the body... or at least that’s what I kept telling myself as the base of my skull burned unpleasantly.

Then came Counter-Magic... that had been... weird. The test involved trying to unlock what amounted to five puzzle spells as quickly as possible. It’d been more difficult that I’d thought since they weren’t, y’know, actual spells with an effect I could unravel, but Twilight had seemed impressed, angry about it, but impressed.

Reality Calcification though... well... I’d retained every bit of skill I’d gained while an alicorn. The standard tests just hadn’t applied to me. A cycling reality distortion? Nope. Spacial anomalies? Also nope. Alteration of fundamental properties of matter and physics? Nope. Twilight had actually let out a frustrated snarl and slammed her power into my own to try and beat my support of reality, but despite it feeling like a firecracker going off inside my skull, I kept reality locked down.

That’s where we are now, Twilight scribbling away angrily against the clipboard while I rubbed the side of my head with my foreleg, trying to massage away the oncoming headache.

Ow, by the way.

Thankfully, there was only one more school of magic, Boons, so hopefully I’d be able to bow out after that–

“Alright, that’s the last school of magic,” wait, what? “So that leaves one more viable test, the Mana Application test.”

I blinked, my confusion certainly showing, “Um... the what?”

“Ugh,” she rolled her eyes, speaking like one would to a child. Despite what some small part of me might say, I wasn’t all that offended, “The Mana Application test, it determines the maximum mana output you are capable of.”

“Oh,” a test of raw power, “Um... this might not be a good time–”

“I know, I don’t have the appropriate machine here for a perfect test, but I can measure my own precisely enough to get a reading.”

“Um.. not that but–” I’m exhausted woma-... mare!

Twilight snarled, jabbing a hoof at me, “Oh no, no backing out of it, you’re finishing these tests!”

“No! It’s not that, but–”

“But nothing,” she strode right up to me, her muzzle almost touching mine, “Magic up.”

“But–” my eyes went wide.

The lavender mare growled, leaning forward just the slightest bit more, her nose bumping against mine as she snarled out, “Magic. Up.”

I swallowed. Oh Celestia this wasn’t going to end well.

My eyes closed and I tilted my head down in concentration, dipping into my magic once more, maybe if I–

“And if you don’t do your best just so you can weasel out of this, I’ll know.”

FFFFFffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuu-... this is not going to end well.

I took a slow breath, diving deep into my power, calling it to the fore. It came to my call, pouring forth... but it wasn’t all I had and I knew it, I reached deeper, into the lake of fire that was my bodies initial reaction to exhausting itself, and I pulled that lake of fire with me. My horn lit up brightly enough that I could see the light through my closed eyes, hearing the sparks dance along the magical focus.

And then Twilight’s horn touched mine.

I was a boat in a storm, an unweildy raft in the middle of a hurricane of power. The firmament beneath me rocking and distorting as the typhoon called Twilight just made her presence known. In the real world, my body flinched and cringed away from the power, but she followed after me as I drew in a shuddering breath.

I tightened down my power, a tight little skiff that bobbed and weaved in the torrent of energy. My first reaction was to pull away, to dive into the firmament as a metaphorical submarine and just get away from this. I couldn’t fight this! How do you even confront something like this?!I was not this strong, she would overwhelm me! Panic took hold in my chest.

A slow, deep breath. Panic wouldn’t help. Perspective would.

I was weak, I was tired, I was exhausted. Twilight was far more powerful than me Ridiculously so. But I’d been on the other side of Celestia’s power, Twilight just seemed so overwhelming because of the power disparity. Calm. Focus. She wanted a direct confrontation of power, that’s what she’d get, no matter how obvious the result was.

Tighten the focus, narrow the power. My raft became a tight sphere of power, crashing towards the typhoon. Her power began to tighten down into a twister, far more intense, far more dangerous, and far more terrifying. Panic surged again in my chest, but I forced it down, my body trembling as I pushed forward to meet her power with my own.

I was buffeted about, tossed to and fro, but I clung to the firmament and poured on the power, pushing against her power with my own in this battle of wills.

She pushed back harder.

I’m not ashamed to say I whimpered as I felt my metaphorical self get tossed about in the storm.

I clung to the reality around me, the hardwood beneath my hooves, the air against my skin, her breath against my muzzle, her horn against mine, her scent. I anchored myself in it and pushed back, reaching past the fire at the base of my skull and pulling at whatever I had left of my power, throwing it against the base of her power in an attempt to dislodge her, if just for a moment.

It didn’t work.

My raft, skiff, ball of power, whatever it was... dissolved, consumed by my last push, and the core of my self was buffeted by Twilight’s power hard the instant before she withdrew.

Belatedly, I realized that I’d slumped against her, my head pounding as the unicorn lowered me to the floor.

I was right, that had sucked.

Ow.

o- Third Person Limited -o

Twilight stared at the collapsed unicorn, a turmoil of emotions bubbling inside her chest. Her every instinct screamed at her to help the sweating, panting and obviously exhausted pony before her, a big stallion that she had bullied. What properly raised mare bullies a stallion?! But her conscious mind reminded her instincts that this was Gary, and despite appearances, he wasn’t a normal pony.

It didn’t matter that she’d basically crushed him magically, that he didn’t seem to have stood a chance, that’d he’d pulled at his primary mana reserves for a test.

He was Gary, that... that monster. It didn’t matter that he looked like an decently attractive unicorn, that he was exhausted and panting on her floor...

She didn’t know what in the world his scores meant, they were all over the place! And all of those short answers she’d snuck into the test to perform a psych evaluation on him... his worldview... he expected so much intolerance... so much selfishness and greed... so much violence... and yet... he seemed so eager to do the right thing...

Twilight forced down her guilt. No. He’d fooled even Princess Celestia, she wasn’t going to let him fool her.

Her emotions surged and boiled as she forcefully made her notes, ignoring the persistent lump in her throat that she just couldn’t dislodge.

Gary groaned, his eyes clenching shut as he forced himself up onto his belly, breathing forcefully through his nose, his soft voice was surprisingly deadpan despite the pained edge to it, “... ow... worst hangover I’ve ever had squared...” he cringed and began to rub the side of his head with a hoof, “Okay... yeah... ow...” it didn’t seem like he’d meant to be heard, his ears flat back, his tail tucked tight against him, his breathing loud in the quiet library.

Twilight couldn’t help herself, he was cute stallion doing something stupid and she knew better. Reaching out with a hoof, she moved his own, placing behind his ear, her voice far kinder than it should have been despite the resignation in it, “Look, rub here instead, it helps stimulate the blood flow to the main magic manipulation centers of the brain and reoxygenate and remana it more efficiently than anywhere else.”

“... and thus help mitigate the pain faster...” he sounded... surprised... and Twilight knew it wasn’t because of the new knowledge, but rather its source. A part of her shriveled up in guilt, feeling terrible about how she’d treated the stallion, but only a part, the rest was still resolute against whatever Gary could cook up.

She forced herself to walk away from the downed unicorn, setting the exam notes with the exam proper, organizing the papers into a bundle that Spike would be able to send to the Princess. It was hard to ignore the dull green unicorn in the room, for more reasons than just his size, that would be going into her notes to the Princess once Gary had left. The blasted unicorn wouldn’t get out of her head! It was even worse than when he’d been an alicorn!

Slowly, he forced himself up onto unsteady hooves, his eyes still closed, his breathing considerably more normalized. His eyes opened, and Twilight couldn’t help but note that the rapid dilation and contraction of his pupils seemed to indicate a conscious effort to focus them. The gray-green eyes swung to hers, and Twilight felt an emotion bubble up in her chest, one that made her look soften for just a moment before she violently squashed the errant emotion. It was fake, a product of his curse, she was sure of it.

It just had to be.

“Twilight... I–”

“We’re done.” She looked back at the papers in front of her, pointedly going back to sorting them.

Gary’s face fell, his mouth working silently before he shut it. Turning and heading out of the library on unsteady hooves, pausing as he opened the door. He stood there in the sunlight pouring through the open doorway for a long moment before he spoke, “I’m sorry... for everything.” And with that soft, simple statement, he left, the door closing quietly behind him.

Twilight stared down at the papers in front of her, not really seeing them as tears began to gather at the corner of her eyes and she whispered into the empty library, “But sorry’s not enough...”

Author's Note

So yeah, I lied. We don’t get to find out Twilight’s issue in this chapter, and sadly I haven’t hinted at it very well, but my options were to continue with this for another 10,000 words to get to that point, or to cut the chapter at this point. I went with that one. That said, We will find out Twilight’s problem with Emeris in the next chapter as well as start the next story arc (finally, eesh, six chapters for a single arc? This fic might be longer than I thought...).

Thanks again to Aburi and Anhero for pre-reading/editing!

And as always, critiques are always welcomed (no matter how harsh).

Anyways, Autobots, Roll out!

Beginning to Heal... and then the crazy starts

Fun Fact: Hardwood is cold, even through a coat of fur.

Yesterday had not been fun, I’d had to fight Rainbow Dash and go through Twilight’s testing for the Princess... and feel like shit afterwards.

It was a strange mix of emotions, on the one hand, I was delighted that I had done so badly on the tests. I’d given it my best shot, but I’d still failed horrendously on more than a few portions of them and the few portions that I hadn’t failed, I’d had to work my ass off to earn. An honest failure, I hadn’t done unbelievably well just because it was me.

That in of itself made me happy almost to the point of tears.

But the way Twilight had reacted... it was... it left me feeling hollow inside. My heart ached at her obvious distrust of me... no matter how much I couldn’t blame her, no matter how determined I was to make it up to her somehow... the anger hurt. It was still better than the mindless adoration though.

There was a soft clopping sound as Applejack walked past me towards the kitchen, I didn’t raise my head from its place on the ground.

The cowpony had been rather... irritated... when I’d come the farm this morning. Both with me for even joking about doing work in my condition, but also with Rainbow Dash for assaulting me in the first place. Thankfully, it hadn’t been hard to talk her out of knocking Rainbow Dash around some more, Dash really didn’t need that right now.

When she’d asked why I’d come even though I was still hurt, I’d told her the truth. I needed to talk to Applebloom when she got off from school, the act had already been put off long enough.

I’d waited there at the farm, helping Granny Smith with lunch. It was nice to hear stories of Ponyville in the olden times while learning recipes, it was something I’d missed... something I’d enjoyed with my grandma back home, though they had been of our home, not of Ponyville.

… god I missed that sometimes...

The day had been slow so far, with my injuries and my magic as drained as it was, I wasn’t able to do much. The door opened and the filly’s voice called out, “A’hm home!” I lifted my head and opened my eyes, waiting for her to either come in here or for one of the other Apple siblings to send her in. I could’ve gone to meet her, but A). I’m lazy, B). I’m not eagerly anticipating this talk, and C). Dash had done a number on my shoulder and it’d been far worse this morning, walking was more than a bit painful.

My eyes wandered around the room as I waited, there were voices in the other rooms of the household but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. It was soon followed by a rather stark silence.

The sound of hooves against hardwood drew my attention to the doorway, finding a hesitant Applebloom standing there. I gave the little filly a small smile, her eyes swept over my bandages and she balked, making my stomach fall out. I tried to make my smile as reassuring as possible, “Come on, I’m not gonna bite.”

Her mouth moved soundlessly for a moment before she hesitantly walked over, coming to lay down beside me. I’d had some vague plan of what I was going to say, but whatever I’d been planning to say had just flown out of my head, so I’d have to make it up as I went, “Applebloom... do you know why I wanted to talk to you?”

“‘Cause ah followed you to y’er house...”

“Yes and no,” gently, I bumped my head against hers, “Now listen, I’m not mad or irritated with you at all, and I understand exactly why you did what you did,” she winced, “I don’t blame you, and you’ve probably been yelled at plenty for it.”

“Yeah...”

“I’m not here to yell at you or berate you. Just... next time you want to come to my place, ask please?”

“Ah’m sorry!”

“Hey, none of that. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“But ya almost died!”

“I know, but that was because of the Timber Wolves, not you.”

“But... but ya wouldn’t have had to fight them if ah hadn’t been there!”

At that, I shook my head, “Applebloom, there’s no guarantee of that. Those Timber Wolves weren’t acting normally, they might’ve come after me if you hadn’t been there.”

“But... but ya wouldn’t have been... ya wouldn’t have been hurt so bad if ya weren’t protectin’ me!”

Again, I shook my head, “Applebloom...”

“Don’t ya say you weren’t hurt that bad! Ah saw ya! It don’t matter what anyone else says, ah’m not stupid... you were dyin... right over there...” there were tears at the corner of her eyes as she gestured with a hoof.

I sighed, “Applebloom–”

“Ya nearly died and it was m’ah fault...ah wouldn’t–”

A hoof placed gently over her mouth silenced her, “Applebloom, don’t blame yourself. Don’t. Were you doing what you thought was right?”

“But ah–”

I cut her off, poking a hoof against her chest and holding her gaze, “Were you trying to do what you thought was right?”

“Ah...” she looked down, “Yes... ah thought you were a bad pony...”

“Then you have nothing to apologize for.”

“But–”

“But nothing. Applebloom...” I sighed, “Look... I don’t want you blaming yourself for a choice I made,” she made to protest again, but I pressed my hoof against her mouth, “Applebloom. I made a choice to come back to save you. When the pack didn’t give up, I made a choice to hold them off so you could get away. And if given the choice? I’d do it all again if it meant you were safe.”

The young filly’s mouth worked silently for a moment, “But... you almost...”

“Yes, I did. But your life is more precious to me than mine.”

Her voice was little more than a small squeak, “What?!”

“Applebloom. I care more about what happens to you than I do myself. And I know for a fact that I’m not the only one,” I gestured in the direction of the kitchen with my head before turning back to her, “Your sister does too, as does your brother and even your friends.”

“Ah...” she gaped, very obviously overwhelmed. While I had no doubt that unconsciously, she knew that, I don’t think she’d gotten to the point where she’d realized exactly what something like that meant.

“Applebloom, when someo-... somepony says that they love you, when they mean it, they’re saying that your life is more precious to them than their own... and that’s what you should mean when you say it.” The young filly looked down at the floor, contemplating that, her eyes wide.

Today’s sage advice brought to you by yours truly. I figured that one out while brooding on the meaning of life and love after one too many bad girlfriends.

I said nothing as the younger... pony... as she contemplated what I’d said, and what I’d implied. I... I still wasn’t used to grouping myself together with ponies... I thought I’d gotten used to the fact that I was a pony over the past two years but... I’d have to think about that one some more it seems...

The young pony looked up at me questioningly, I gave her a small smile before gently nuzzling her, “I know it’s a bit overwhelming, but... just think about it. You’re precious to other people, just as other people are precious to you. Just...” my smile became more concerned, “Don’t beat yourself up with guilt over a choice someone else made... in this case, me.”

“Al–... alright...”

It was obvious that she didn’t know if she could, and honestly? I couldn’t blame her, but maybe if I... “I know it’s not easy, trust me, but... at least try? For your family?”

At the mention of her family, her eyes snapped to mine, and despite the urge to flinch away, I held her gaze. I couldn’t do the puppy-dog-eyes worth a damn, but I could beg. Her voice was soft, but it gained strength as she spoke, “Alright... Ah’ll... ah’ll try,” she gave me the smallest of smiles, one which I returned.

“That’s all I can ask,” stifling a groan, I pushed myself up to my feet, “Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry, you up for a snack?”

“Ah-... okay...”

“We can make one while you work on your homework?” I was actually hungry, and I didn’t think it’d be good for her to just go stew over what I’d said on her own just yet. She really looked like she needed a distraction... and what better way to distract a CMC member? I looked away ‘coyly’ (blatantly), and idly (purposefully) mentioned, “Might even get a cutie mark in multi-tasking if you do it well enough...”

The little filly practically zoomed off, making me smile before slowly walking after her, ignoring the aching protests of my limbs. I had no doubt that she’d still be wrestling with her guilt for a while, but... if I could help her get over it in the least, it would be worth it.

Was it her fault that I was so messed up? Yes and no, mostly no. But with her guilt, she definitely didn’t need to be reminded of the parts that were her fault. She needed acceptance and assurance right now, not condemnation. She was guilty and honestly sorry for the mistake and its consequences, and that was enough.

A blonde mare met me at the doorway to the kitchen, her eyebrow quirked up and her voice soft, “So, how many times did ya’ practice them lines?”

My mouth quirked up, “Not enough it seems, that wasn’t what I meant to say at all.”

Applejack snorted, a small smile on her face, “Just try not to be so preachy next time.”

I smiled back before slipping past her to make sure Applebloom didn’t ruin the kitchen, “Duly noted.”

oOo

“Okay, your turn, my throat is getting sore.”

Dash laughed before flipping the page with her nose, something that I had yet to master. Her eyes sparkling the pegasus began to read aloud the next chapter of the first book of the Daring Do series.

A small smile was determined to remain plastered on my face despite the twinge of pain it caused the still-bandaged scratches on my cheek. This was just... really really nice. Laying with an interesting and attractive female in the sun, reading a surprisingly good book together, taking turns reading it aloud... did life get much better than this?

I didn’t know, and at the moment, I didn’t care. This was easily the best way to spend the days since my release from the hospital. Dash had dragged me out to read the books from her own collection and I'd been happy to read them with her. But we read at totally different speeds, so reading out loud like this made it so much nicer...

Laying my head on the ground, I closed my eyes, listening to Dash’s voice and the story she told. I’d insisted on us having this outside of Ponyville, no need to socially ostracize Dash for hanging out with me, I was still the new ‘Zecora’ around town.

But at times like this, it was a lot easier to remember that it hadn’t been all that long since I was an alicorn, barely a month. But... I’ve got to admit, at times like this? It didn’t matter if it hurt that ponies still didn’t trust me, because moments like this were worth it all.

oOo

With a groan, I pushed myself out of the bed, ignoring Droolykins kneading my withers from atop my back. He was still pink. Both because I didn’t have the energy to change him back, and because damnit, he was being a pain. A loveable pain, but a pain nonetheless.

My body still ached all over, three days after that ridiculous fight. Fingers to massage out some of the pain would’ve been delightful at the moment, but oh well.

I got a pot of water boiling, my eyes browsing through my catalogue of teas for something good before the sun was up.

I was up at this godawful hour for one very simple reason: To get moving towards the Apple family farm. Why? Because I knew myself. I knew I was a loner and a creature of habit, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that if I didn’t get myself into a habit of going somewhere every few days at absolute least then I’d end up just holing up in my house.

There’d been enough of that for the past two years, now was time to go out and have friends, to be around peop-... ponies... and just enjoy time with them.

So even if I couldn’t help out at the farm yet, I was going to go over, get into the habit, and generally try to be sociable. Because Celestia knows I needed it.

… that’s probably literal by the way, she probably does know...

oOo

Okay, so I needed to pick up some more carrots, I was running low since I hadn't been to the market in almost two weeks, and then maybe some– PINK?!?!

Letting out a completely manly scream (totally feminine yelp), I scrambled back, falling onto my rump and blinking my eyes rapidly as my brain processed the situation.

Two orbs of blue and a sea of pink cotton candy. Pinkie Pie.

Oh.

That explained things.

“Hi Pinkie...?” Well, my heart rate would be close to normal again in a few minutes after that scare, why was... she... oh... right... party... that I hadn’t been able to make... Crap. Thankfully she didn’t look angry or anything, just... Pinkie like... Yes that’s an adjective, hush, “Um...”

“Hi Emmy-wemmy!” she beamed at me.

“Um... yeah... hi... um...” how best to put this... “Pinkie, about the party?”

“Your Welcome to Ponyville Party?”

“Ah... yeah, that one...” I shifted uncomfortably under her giddy gaze, “I know that I asked you to put it off before–”

“And you want me to put it off again while you recover?” she pouted, giving me a rather good set of puppy-dog eyes, making my heart clench. Less because of the face and more because I was actually guilty about this in the first place.

“Yes, I’m sorry, but um... Dash kinda made... well...” I looked down at my still bandaged leg, “Accidentally made it so I couldn’t attend... I’m still having trouble getting around and–” a hoof wrapped around my withers. When’d she move? “– I’d... um... yes?”

“Okey dokey lokey! It’s no problemo! We’ll just turn your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ and ‘Emmy-wemmy isn’t a Bad Pony’ party into a ‘Get Well’ party too!” she beamed widely at me, giving my withers a squeeze, the warmth that swelled in my chest at her understanding easily outmatched the bit of pain at squeezing the sore muscle.

I sighed in relief, leaning slightly into her half-hug, “Thanks... sorry about all of this...”

“It’s okay Emmy-wemmy! Your Auntie Pinkie Pie totally understands! Partying while you’re sore is never fun.”

A gentle smile worked across my face before something occured to me, “Wait... aren’t I like, three years older than you?”

“Shhhhhhhhh! Don’t you worry about that!”

A wry grin, “... it’s four years isn’t it?”

She blew a rasberry, “Pfffffft, you age slower!”

“I wasn’t an Alicorn before I came here Pinkie,” I grinned.

“But your people are only adults at like, 21 right?!” she poked a hoof to my still bandaged chest.

How’d she know that? “Well, we reach physical maturity at around 16 -18.”

“Still older than a pony!”

“... right...” learn something every day... “Still got four years on you though.”

“Shhhhhhhhhh, that’s not important!”

o-Third Person-o

Smiling at the paper in front of her, Twilight rolled it up with her magic, while his tests hadn’t been perfect to get him kicked out, the way his short answers painted him, Gary could still be extremely dangerous to have around other ponies, useful or not!

’This is good, once Princess Celestia gets my letter, there’s no doubt she’ll realize just how dangerous letting Gary stay here is and she’ll exile him! And nopony has to get hurt! This is the perfect plan!

o-Emeris-o

Sure, I’d fully intended to come here every day to get into the habit and everything but... it was kinda boring. Granny Smith was nice and had some nice stories but... she slept most of the day and I couldn’t really work outside with the two older Apple siblings until my magic came back.

That left me with making lunch and trying to find something to do that involved as little motion as possible. There honestly wasn’t much, but as I’d laid there in the living room and going over the skills that I could apply, I’d realized that I could balance their books for the family. It was something that I, in my freely admitted strangeness, actually enjoyed.

Imagine my surprise though, when I discovered that the Apple family didn’t keep ledgers or books.

“I... wait... what?”

Applejack gave me a confused look, “... ah said that the only books we’ve got are right over there? Unless y’er talkin about Applebloom’s schoolwork...” she didn’t need to voice how weird such a question would’ve been to her.

“No! No... um... I mean the books you use to record business information like how much you’ve spent on things?” I’d asked the orange mare to see her books once she’d come in for lunch, but maybe they just called it something different?

“We don’t got none of those... why would we? We aint no bank.” From her look, she thought I was crazy(er than usual) for even thinking that.

“O-kayyy...” I thought they were a post-Rennisance-equivalent / pre-Industrial-Revolution-Equivalent society... that would’ve meant they’d have had banking by now... “Then how do you know how much to pay for your taxes?”

“By the bushel,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone, “Every tenth one goes to the Princess for other ponies to have.”

“Oh... makes sense...” I rubbed my chin with a hoof, contemplating that. It meant that the Apples were in a 10% tax bracket of some form or another... a gentle bump on my shoulder got my attention, making me turn to the cowpony, “Hm?”

“Ah asked, why d’ya wanna know?”

“Oh, I wanted to balance them for you if you had them. It’s something that I’m good at and I can do without... ah... aggravating these,” I waggled my bandaged leg a bit with a small smile. Applejack was obviously confused, but I had no idea what by, “What’s the matter?”

“Ah.... well, what does balancin’ books got to do with runnin’ a farm?”

“Well, it’s actually an interesting thing because...” I trailed off, something occurring to me, “Wait... AJ, what do you think I mean by balancing books?”

“Balancin’ them on y’er head or back or somethin’, what else?”

“... oh... okay, that probably explains why you’re confused...” no kidding, but... did they really not know about this stuff? Or was it just called something else? Or was this just the Apple family? “Um... okay, what I mean is using accounting and making sure your money in is better than your money out and to track your costs–”

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa there partner, are you talkin’ about them things those Flim-Flam brothers and their ilk use?” she gave me an ‘evil-eye’ at that one.

“... maybe? I honestly don’t know what they use so I can’t say for sure...”

“Ah’ve heard of more than a few farms that fell prey to a slimey businessmare that told them they’d make lots of bits just by usin some books and fancy mathmatics, but they was tricked and lost their farms, the businessmare long gone,” the mare, still sweaty from working outside leaned in, “Now, you saved m’ah little sister and you’ve been a pretty trustworthy stallion so far and everythin, but ah don’t trust them fancy mathmatics with m’ah farm.”

I winced a bit, “Ah, okay... the professor that taught me this stuff actually warned me about that. Lemme guess, the farmers that were put out of business were told to make as much stuff as they could, but stock kept piling up and despite what other ponies tried to tell them, they kept producing?”

“Ah...” Applejack blinked, obviously surprised. Then her eyes narrowed with what couldn’t be anything but suspicion, “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Because my teacher warned me about that trick, among others,” the truth, no need for anything else, “See, the point of accounting isn’t to straight make you more money, anyone that tells you that or that you can make more money just because you have accounting is lying.”

The cowpony was obviously still a bit skeptical, but she asked curiously, “Then what’s the point of all them mathmatics?”

“To...” I stopped, my brain hitting a brick wall. Where the fuck to start? Especially to someone who might not know anything about it? Hoo boy, “Well... it’s a bit of a long answer actually... so I’ best try to explain it over lunch.”

“Sounds good to me, ah’m hungry.”

oOo

“If them fancy mathmatics can do all that, why don’t everypony use ‘em?!” Applejack and Big Macintiosh were both a bit agape at the list of things I’d scrawled out for benefits of proper accounting and budgets.

I coughed into my hoof embarassedly, I really liked accounting, I’d gotten my undergraduate in it after all, so I just kinda sorta maybe (totally) gushed about it to them, “Well, for it to be worth anything, it’s got to be accurate. And for it to be accurate takes a lot of work. Even then, you need to know what you’re looking at, otherwise someone like the... what was it again... the Flip Flap brothers can walk in and trick you with the numbers,” wrapping my magic around the quill, I dipped it back in the ink before making some quick T accounts on the paper in front of me.

“Like... for example, the very trick I think was used on those farmers? If you’re tracking your inventory and you’re distributing your fixed costs, the ones like taxes or insurance or food that don’t change based on how many apples you grow and sell, if you distribute that amongst how many apples you make, then you can make it look like your costs are going down like... so.”

I glanced up and it was obvious that they didn’t understand a bit of what I’d just done, “Ah... well. Basically, you need to know what you’re doing or someone can trick you with stuff like this. I wouldn’t mind doing this for one of you, I’d teach you what I was doing and why as I went along too so you could do it yourself.”

The two Apple siblings shared a look before turning back to the pages I had sprawled out in front of me. Applejack’s emerald eyes went back to mine, her face still turned to the pages, “But y’er sayin you could use these fancy mathmatics to make the farm more money?”

“That’s a solid maybe,” I smiled a bit before my face got serious, “To be honest though AJ, I don’t know, at least not yet. Again, the point of keeping these records is to find when something goes funny and figure out how best to fix it or when something goes right and how to do it again. I might find something that’s not obvious when you work every day or I might find that y’all are running the farm as good as you can. I really don’t know yet.”

Applejack looked back at the papers for a long moment, obviously thinking. Then she turned her head back to me, “You can do these mathmatics though? And teach’m to me to boot?”

“Sure,” I shrugged, “I think it’s a useful skill to have and I love teaching. I don’t know how useful it’ll be, but it might help.”

The mare slowly nodded, obviously still contemplating things, then her eyes flicked to me, meeting mine from under her wide brimmed hat, “We’re not gonna pay you f’er this unless we notice more bits around the house, just so ya’know.”

I smiled brightly. Smart mare, “No problem, wouldn’t have it any other way,” something occured to me and my smile melted into a cheeky grin, “‘Sides, I still owe you more than a few days of labor.”

Her eye twitched and she deadpanned, “Y’er the most frustratin’ stallion ah’ve ever met.”

I couldn’t help it, I laughed.

oOo

Gently exerting my will, I began to undo my bandages. It’d been nearly a week since I’d gotten out of the hospital, and while Dash had added another week onto my bedrest, she hadn’t done anything to make me keep the bandages any longer.

It was slow going, more because of my difficulty using my telekinesis than because of any desire on my part. Piece by piece, I removed the gauze and bandaids that had been put on me, apparently ponies didn’t use clips to hold bandages in place like I was used to, which made sense since such a tool worked best with more delicate handling than hooves and a mouth were capable of.

This meant that they’d tied the damn things, and knots weren’t exactly my specialty, so I had to go even slower. I was rather happy that I’d decided to do this in the evening at my home, I was more than embarrassed enough with just Droolykins watching me fumble around with my bandages.

By the time I was done, I had a solid stack of rolled up bandages, thankfully with no red. Red would’ve meant that I was still bleeding, but the duller, darker, brownish-blackish color that speckled the gauze was one I recognized as dried blood. Freakin nasty, but a good sign.

With a bit of a smile at Droolykins, I headed towards the bathroom to check the damage in the mirror. I didn’t used to scar easy, but... well, I wanted to be sure. Call it my little bit of vanity.

Hefting myself up and ignoring the ache in my joints, I placed my hooves on the sink and looked myself over, wincing slightly at what I found. My front right leg was a mess, no two ways about it. The hoof itself was nicked and scratched, the... well, the hair that draped over the tops of my hooves, the... fetlocks I guess? Some of that had been torn to bits and didn’t look like it was going to grow back, and a lattice of unpleasant looking scars worked all the way up to my knee. This was in addition to the old burn scar I had from cooking years ago.

At least the leg was still green and mostly covered in fur.

Where the one timberwolf had clipped my cheek were three broad scars. Those admittedly would probably look kinda cool once they settled down, but right now they were an angry, ugly red, still slightly inflamed with clots on top of them. Ew.

My back was a mess, I hadn’t thought that one wolf had been up there long, but thin lines of discolored fur and visible skin took up most of my back. It wasn’t a network or even a web of them, but there were a lot.

To say my stomach was a mess would’ve been understating things. The stitches were still there, holding together a mostly healed mess, a wide swath of my belly was currently without a coat, thankfully a light fuzz of green appeared to be growing, so with any luck that at least would be covered. My chest was surprisingly unmarked, little more than slight discoloration from the bruised skin beneath, Dash had done a number on me.

Mare was fast, really fast, felt like I was moving through molassas compared to her. Eesh. I really doubt I’d stand much of a chance against her without my magic.

Thankfully, most of the nicks and scratches I’d gotten had faded away to nothing, or at very least were hidden by my coat... but my back left leg... um... I hadn’t thought that wolf had messed it up that bad. It was an ugly mess, a not-insignifcant portion of it around the knee region had been turned into a networked mess of ugly scars where the timber wolf’s teeth had dragged around against my flesh while it had shook its head, savaging my skin.

Wincing at the phantom pain, I flexed the leg. Thankfully, aside from the general ache in my joints, it seemed to be mostly cosmetic, ugly clotting and inflamed red, it was hideous, but there didn’t seem to be actual damage to my leg muscles or joint.

I was unbelievably lucky. Sure, I had some new ugly additions, but I’d wear them proudly. They were honest scars, earned saving someones life.

They were proof that I wasn’t invincible, that I wasn’t perfect, and an assurance to my mortality.

That and I was just masculine enough to think that being a scarred warrior was awesome, even if it made me a bit uglier. I’d never been a horribly attractive human, never ugly, but never all that attractive, so it was no big loss.

… at least I didn’t think so...

I stared at my own face, turning it from side to side. I had no idea what descriptors to use for my own face, let alone whether or not it was an attractive one.

… man, now that was going to bother me for hours.

oOo

“Hey, Emmy!”

I looked up to find a multicolored mare gliding down to meet me as I exited the Everfree. I was a bit late today since I’d stayed up, Celestia’s sun was already rising and painting the sky a beautiful spread of colors, some that you wouldn’t have seen on Earth. I thought the faded green was a nice touch.

Dash was healing better than I was it seemed, she’d had to stay with Fluttershy the first few days after our little brawl. She could fly, but had rather obviously not wanted to try and get up to her house with her flight muscles as beat to hell as they were.

Considering that my chest still hurt? I didn’t really regret it, especially since it didn’t stop her from beaming at me and asking for a rematch. Crazy mare. Mind you, she’d probably get that rematch, I had trouble saying no when she smiled like that. But I think I’d try and get her to teach me some actual pony martial arts before we gave it a go. I wasn’t really in the mood to get my ass utterly whooped.

“Hey Dash, you’re up early,” I smiled affectionately at the pegasus as she approached. She was bubbly, energetic, and cute, it was always good to see her. The sudden widening of her eyes confused me for just an instant before I remembered that I’d ditched my bandages last night. Right.

“Whoa... Em... jeez...” she landed, her rose-colored eyes wide as she did a quick trot around, looking me over, “You look like you went through a war or somethin...”

I couldn’t help the snark, an amused smirk playing across my face, “Or somethin’ like fighting a pack of timber wolves?”

“Pffft, yeah right, like you could do that,” she teased, grinning back at me, taking a moment to run a hoof along my scarred up foreleg, “Gotta admit, they look pretty awesome, make you look like a freaking Warhorse or Battlepony,” her smirk became teasing, “They don’t help your looks any though.”

I snorted, stifling a laugh before placing a hoof to my chest and raising my nose in the air as haughtily as I could, “Well I believe they make me look rugged and devilishly handsome.”

Dash laughed, bumping her shoulder against mine, grinning broadly at me, “Yeah, you keep believing that big guy.”

Shaking my head with a smile and a small chuckle, “I think I will, thank you very much,” forcing my legs to move again despite the protests of my joints, the blue pegasus following after me, “So what brings you out here so early?”

Her face brightened and she pranced eagerly beside me, “Guess what I found out!”

“The Wonderbolts are coming to town?” I guessed, my eyebrow raised.

“No, though that would be so awesome, but nope! Guess again!”

“Um... no idea?”

“I found out that there’s going to be a new series by the author of the SIlverwing series!” her eyes sparkled as she beamed, “It means we can read it together without having to reread stuff! I mean, yeah, it’s cool to read with you and everything, but it’ll be way cooler to read something together that I haven’t read yet!”

An amused and affectionate smile worked its way across my face, “Sounds good. When is it actually coming out?”

“Two weeks!” she practically bounced in place, “If we hurry we might actually get through the Silverwing series before it comes out! It’ll be so awesome!”

I was just about to agree before I remembered that I had other things to attend to, my face fell, “Ah... we might not be able to hurry, I’ve got things to do...”

That really killed her enthusiasm, and it made her look so dejected that it actually hurt, “Oh... um... okay... um... what... what do you have to do?” she asked hesitantly.

“I’m doing some accounting for the Apple family, and making all the books from scratch while teaching Applejack what I’m doing is taking most of my days. I love reading with you, but I promised to work for them... and I’m probably going to do this for money once my promised time is done.”

“Oh... okay...” apparently it wasn’t whatever she’d been assuming as she seemed to relax, then irritated, “Ugh... egghead stuff. Reading’s one thing, but accounting? Seriously? Ew.”

A small smile crossed my face, “I did tell you that I was a nerd Dash.”

“Yeah, but... accounting? Ew. Seriously,” a look of confusion crossed her face, actually making her pause while walking beside me, “Wait...” I stopped, looking back at her over my shoulder curiously, “You’re teaching AJ how to do accounting?”

“Mhm? The Apple family doesn’t have any books or accounting records...”

“I... but AJ hates math! Why?” she gave me a suspicious look, one I didn’t totally understand but I answered her anyways.

“So she knows I’m not swindling her, and so her family can’t be swindled later... and wait, you know about accounting? She didn’t even seem to know about it...”

She nodded, “Well yeah, duh, I’m head weathermare. I gotta make sure the budget balances and everything, I also pass out the bits for ponies pay.”

I face-hoofed, “Right, duh, government worker. You manage the whole stipend don’t you?”

“The what?”

“The money that the crown sends, I know it as a stipend...” I started to walk again, a bit slowly to encourage her to follow.

“Oh! That, yeah, I do...” she began to follow alongside me, “I just know it as my budget.”

“Mm, so is that common? The budgeting thing that is,” I looked over at her as we walked around Ponyville. Socially excluded Rainbow Dash was not on the docket, “I don’t know how widespread accounting practices are.”

“Kinda, places that the Princess pays to do work have to do all the accounting and stuff, and a lot of the businesses in cities and stuff do it, but most places just keep track of how many bits they have... at least I think so, this is all egghead-stuff big guy.”

“I know, thanks though, that explains some things... I’m just gonna have to try and figure out why Equestria doesn’t have accounting like I’m used to yet...” I scowled as I walked, mulling the question over.

“Is... is that a bad thing?” the blue mare asked almost timidly.

“Hm?” I blinked, turning to her and surprised to find her so hesitant, “Oh! No, not really, just... confusing... is all. There’s got to be a reason, I’m just trying to figure out what it could be,” I turned to her, as earnest as I could be, I did not want such a nice and earnest mare to feel bad just because of a some silly word fumble, “Thank you for telling me that, it helps clear up some things.”

“Oh... okay...” a small smile returned to her face before she gave me a confused look again, “Seriously though big guy, accounting?”

I couldn’t help it, I laughed.

oOo

Dash had to go not long after that, still shaking her head at my choice of profession even as she went to work on her own.

Walking up the small roadway down the center of the farm I headed towards the house. If I’d felt up to it, I might’ve trotted or even cantered, but my joints still protested a bit at every movement and each time I brought my hooves down at anything faster than a walk I got a little stab of pain up the bones of my leg. Not fun.

As the house itself came into view, I could see both of the older Apple siblings setting up some of their farm tools for work. Applejack noticed me out of the corner of her eye, jerking her head at me in acknowledgement, still focused on the straps of the plow as she checked them over, “Mornin Emmy, almos’ didn’t think you were comin’ today.”

“Sorry, ran into Dash on the way here and woke up a bit late to start with,” I rubbed my uninjured cheek with an apologetic smile, even if AJ couldn’t see me at the moment. I was not staring at her flank... much. Scouts honor. And yes, I was a boy scout at one time, only for like a month but hey, its the thought that counts.

“It’s alright, ya’ usually don’t have to do work till after lunch anyways.”

“True, but I like to make lunch, and I think I might have a recipe that you guys haven’t tried,” a small but eager smile crossed my face. I liked to cook quite a bit, it was rather fun to me, and the look on someone’s face when you made something good was always worth the effort put into it, especially if the person happened to be an attractive female. I’m biased, I admit it.

I could hear the teasing smile in AJ’s voice, as she gave one of the straps on the plow a tug, “Welp, hope it’s better than the last disaster.”

I laughed, “Hey! I’ll have you know that I’m working with completely foreign cheeses! Totally not my fault. I had no idea that fetsil would catch fire like that.” Total truth. Hilarious truth, but total truth.

“Still,” nodding to herself, she turned to face me, still grinning, “Might be better if ya let Granny take th– holy horse apples!”

My train of thought towards a proper snappy comeback was completely derailed by her sudden exclamation. My entire body stiffened, magic coming to the fore as I reflexively readied to deal with the monster that had accompanied that exclamation for the past two years– and then my mind reminded my body that that wasn’t happening, that the look in her eyes wasn’t fear. It was something between surprise, pity, guilt, and something else I couldn’t identify, but not fear.

The moment came and went in an instant, and outwardly it showed as little more than a quick flash of tension, a widening of my eyes, a spark at my horn, but inside I was a mess. My heart rate had spiked and adrenaline had surged. Not fun. Hope I could get out of that habit soon.

Still, Applejack seemed to catch it, an embarrassedly apologetic look crossed her face, “S-Sorry sugarcube, but... ah...” the look melted into a sad one as her eyes swept over me, “Ah was just surprised is all... y’er... ah didn’t expect ya to be...” she gestured helplessly at me with a hoof.

I blinked before realizing what had startled her, a small smile worked across my face, “Messed up? Beat to hell? Knocked around?” I waggled my scarred up foreleg a bit, somewhat amused.

“Sugarcube!” she admonished, scowling at my attempt at making light of the situation.

“Applejack,” I set my hoof back down, holding her gaze even as Big Macintosh stepped up beside her, a similar and equally unidentifiable look on his face, “It’s nothing, really.”

The mare scowled, “You got all of... that,” she gestured at the still scab-covered scars that I had, “Protectin’ m’ah kin... it’s not nothin’.”

“Applejack...” I looked to the red stallion for support only to find him nodding in agreement with his sister. I didn’t want this, not their gratitude, not for something like this. Sure, I’d save Applebloom, but it was from something that I still feared might have been caused by me. I didn’t want them to thank me for that.

With a small groan, I covered my face with a hoof, collecting my thoughts, “Look... Applejack, what... what do you think these are?”

She was confused, and I totally didn’t blame her, I wasn’t sure where I was going with this either, “Um... scars...?”

“Well, yes... but other than that.”

“Um... no?”

“They’re proof that I did something right. They’re proof that I’m not some unstoppable juggernaut. They’re proof that I saved a life. Applejack, I know these aren’t pretty, and that even when they fully heal, they’re going to be rather unappealing... but... I don’t regret how I got them at all. And when I see them, I feel proud... so don’t you go feeling guilty about them,” I made sure to look at Big Mac as well, “Either of you.”

Applejack’s eyes settled on my scarred up foreleg, “But... sugarcube...”

“But nothing Applejack. We’ve already had this conversation,” and we have, at least three times so far, “I saved Appleblooms life, but you two saved mine, we’re even and no one’s at fault. Just because there’s some new ugly under the bandages doesn’t change that.”

She scowled at me, “It just don’t sit right with me though, ya saved our little sister.”

“You say that like you would’ve done something else in my position,” she opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off, “And before you say something about not having a little sister to save, I do, but she’s not in Equestria, or about not being able to pull it off, honestly I didn’t either. There’s no doubt in my mind I would have died if you two hadn’t arrived.” the cowpony’s mouth shut with a snap as she glowered at me, “Anything else?”

“Only that y’er probably the single most frustratin’ stallion I’ve ever met,” she grumbled.

Unbidden, my best shit-eating grin swept across my face, “Only on-...” a pause, “... wait, what day is it again?”

“Tuesday.”

The grin was back, “Only on Tuesday.”

Applejack facehoofed and groaned, and from the look on his face, Big Mac was resisting the urge to do so as well. There was something off about the young mare’s body language though, I couldn’t name it, but something in me recognized it. The way she hung her head, the way her ears tilted back and down, the downcast eyes, the way she halfway stomped her hoof once she pulled it from her face... she was truly bothered by this.

The grin fell from my face and I stepped forward, ducking my head to gently and carefully bump her under the chin, careful of my horn and strength, my voice gentle and soft, “Hey, AJ...” I waited till her surprised gaze met mine. I held her gaze, trying to convey my sincerity, “Look... I know that my attitude about this makes you uncomfortable, but I really don’t think I deserve any praise for what I did. And if it makes you feel better, just being a friend, giving me a chance to do something with my life, to actually work for a living for once... that’s more than enough repayment for me.”

A number of emotions flashed across Applejacks face before she turned around, muttering to herself something about getting to work as she grabbed a hold of the plow, the tip of her tail twitching spastically.

Somewhat confused, I turned to Big Mac, finding him looking at his little sister with what was probably a mixture of concern and surprise. Gah, why did he have to be so stoic? I was bad enough at reading pony expressions and body language as it was.

Blech, I’d figure it out later.

Reaching out, I gently poked the more massive stallion in the chest, my voice gentle but serious, “Same goes for you Mac, just, y’know, without the nuzzle. No offense.” Big Mac swung his suddenly scrutinizing gaze to me, staring at me hard. I blinked, surprised by the sudden intensity of his gaze, shifting uncomfortably.

He examined me for a long moment, searching for something... but I didn’t know what. While normally unbothered by silence, the intensity of the larger stallion’s gaze as well as my confusion made it rather uncomfortable for me. My eyes flicked to Applejack, checking up on her before softly asking Big Mac, “We still cool?”

I had no idea what the issue was, my only guess was that I’d been too forward with his sister on accident, something that terrified me. As an older brother myself, I knew exactly what I’d do to someone I didn’t trust messing with my little sister... But, after a worryingly long moment, without his expression changing in the slightest, Big Mac nodded, “Eyup.” And with that, he spun on a hoof and grabbed one of the carts, beginning to pull the large hunk of timber and iron out towards the orchards.

Now thoroughly confused, I cautiously approached AJ, stepping up beside the mare. I opened my mouth to speak, to say something, but whatever I’d intended to say flew out of my mind at the what I saw.

With the morning light of Celestia’s sun behind her, Applejack’s mane was like spun gold, her coat glowing a blazing orange, her muscles like taut chords beneath her skin, playing a song of grace and power as she readied simple farm equipment.

God damn, she’d turn me into a fucking poet. Just... holy shit. I swallowed hard, pushing the feeling down, “Um...” Applejack looked over and some part of me inside quivered, I hoped that my coat covered up the light blush that was certainly on my cheeks, “Are we still on for the lesson later today?”

I couldn’t read the look she gave me at all, but she looked away, her voice soft, “Yeah Sugarcube, ah still want that lesson later.”

“Alright... I’ll have lunch ready for you when you come in then,” turning, I headed towards the house, but her voice stopped me again.

“Sugarcube?”

I turned, looking at her over my shoulder, “Yeah?”

“... more ugly?” she drawled out, raising an eyebrow at me.

An amused grin appeared on my face, and I wasn’t able to keep from teasing, waggling my eyebrows suggestively, “What, you’re saying I was something other than ugly to begin with?”

I couldn’t be sure in the glare of Celestia’s morning sun, but I think she just might have been blushing despite rolling her eyes and shoving me along with a hoof, “Just g’it ya varmint.”

Laughing, I couldn’t help myself, “So that’s a yes?”

Hooves smacked against my flank, making me yelp and scamper further along even as the mare suppressed a laugh, “Ah said g’it!”

“Yes ma’am!”

Turned around as I was, I couldn’t see the smile on her face, a smile of melancholy, of affection, and of a hint of guilt. I hadn’t seen the surprised, embarrassed and happy blush on her face after I’d first nudged her head with my own.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

oOo

Ignoring the bubble of emptiness around me, I walked through Ponyville towards the spa. Rarity had scheduled another little get together for herself, Fluttershy and me. It wasn’t in my budget just yet to go for a full suite of care (even if Rarity fronted half the cost), but it would be nice to get a massage.

This meant walking through Ponyville, which meant being reminded that I was the new Zecora.

This was a terrible fad and they should feel terrible.

At least the shop-owners didn’t disappear (for the most part). None of them particularly liked me, but my bits were good, and that’s all that really mattered in the end.

That and I didn’t have to dodge around ponies to get places, that was a nice bonus.

Given my relative height advantage over most of Ponyville, it was easy to see over the few ponies left between me and the spa to find the stark white and soft yellow of Rarity and Fluttershy standing in front of the establishment. With a small smile, I approached the conversing pair, conversing meaning Rarity talked while Fluttershy occasionally commented.

“Mares,” I said in greeting once I was within comfortable speaking distance.

“It's fine to refer to us as 'ladies' darling~, and there you aaaAAAAAHHH?!” Rarity turned and suddenly stumbled back, her eyes wide. My heart-rate spiked, reflexes kicking in, my muscles tensing and my horn sparking with magic all before I rather forcibly reminded myself that I should’ve seen that coming, that the two of them hadn’t seen me without my bandages yet and it was normal.

“I’ll be real happy when people stop doing that...,” I grumbled to myself as my heart rate slowly normalized.

“D-Darling?! What- oh... oh dear, your coat! Your skin!” The unicorn gaped, obviously aghast. Fluttershy beside her was equally surprised, but Rarity was the one to rush forward, quickly circling me, her eyes scanning over my skin.

“Oh how dreadful! Your delightful understated coat! Your mane!” her hooves began to press against me as she scanned over me, “And here! How terrible! I simply cannot let this go on!” I shifted uncomfortably as she circled around me close, her hooves and magic playing across my skin, this was uncomfortably familiar.

“Um... Rarity...?”

“I simply must make something for you Emeris! Socks?” her hoof trailed along my scarred hindleg, “No, it wouldn’t cover the entirety of this and it certainly wouldn’t look good on you... boots?” she pushed my legs apart slightly, her eyes studying me intently, “No no no, it wouldn’t work, ugh! These delightful hindlegs ruined!”

Okay, definitely uncomfortable now, “Rarity?”

“Oh dear, and your barrel! The entire thing is just- just... oh it’s terrible! All those muscles! All that definition! Ruined by those scars!” her hooves trailed along my side before she got in front of me, her eyes boring into me before her hooves came up to cup my cheeks, “And your face! Oh how horrid that such a thing could mar your delightful face!”

For the briefest of moments, it seemed like she was about to kiss me, and for that briefest of moments, I flashed back to far too similar attempts by other mares. I froze in place, my muscles tightening as I prepared to bound off, but then she was circling again, “I simply cannot let this stand! I will make something to help you be fabulous once again! At no charge! Ap ap ap! No arguing! I shall not allow such a delightfully attractive stallion to be marred in such a way–”

“Rarity!!” she backed up at my sudden volume, her eyes widened in surprise in direct contrast to my own eyes, wide in barely suppressed terror. My heart in my throat as my breathing came in shuddering pants, my next words were in a pathetic and soft squeak, “You’re making me uncomfortable...”

It didn’t take more than a moment for it to click, and I had no doubt that she knew exactly what the problem was, “Oh darling, I’m so sorry! I didn’t– that’s not what I was– Oh that’s not what I meant! I’m so sorry deary, I’m not attracted to you like that.”

Swallowing, I nodded, my heart rate starting to slow, even as Rarity apologized, “Oh, Emeris... I’m so sorry darling, I know how that sounds but I’m just...” she stopped herself, taking a slow, calming breath. “Emeris, you’re a very attractive stallion, but you’re not my type and I’m not attracted to you like that. I’m sorry, I didn’t... I wasn’t thinking about how it might seem...”

I shook my head, “Don’t-... don’t blame yourself, I didn’t realize it was going to... I’m usually better about that... it....” I had to take a moment of my own to steady my breathing, “It usually doesn’t bother me when you do your clothes thing, it just... it was so sudden and you were all over me... let’s just... can we just pretend that never happened...?” that last part came out far weaker, far more like begging than I was honestly comfortable with.

I’d just had a fucking episode because Rarity had gushed over me. This shouldn’t be swept under the rug! What was wrong with me?!

But the unicorn gently rubbed her cheek against mine, her voice soft, “Of course, it’s no problem at all.”

I flushed, mostly in embarrassment at my stupid little episode, but I didn’t want to sweep that under the rug, that needed to be addressed, just... “I’m not saying I don’t want to talk about it just... not right now... not so soon after that... it just... ugh... I feel stupid...”

“Darling, I understand,” Rarity smiled gently at me, putting a hoof on my shoulder, “Just because I cannot sympathize does not mean I don’t understand.”

Her hoof fell away, and a soft warmth pressed up against my side. Somewhat surprised, I turned to find Fluttershy pressing her side up against me, her eyes radiating sympathy and understanding. My heartbeat slowed, the turmoil of emotions, guilt, fear, panic, shame, they all fell away as she smiled gently at me.

I don’t know how, but somehow, some way, Fluttershy understood. Her voice was soft and gentle as she somehow guided me towards the spa by walking with me, her side never leaving my own, “It’s alright, we’ll just have our get together and you’ll feel a lot better. You can talk about it when you’re comfortable.”

Rarity walked on my other side, though not as close as Fluttershy, “Fluttershy’s right Emeris, it’s completely alright. Our treat this time since I gave you that little scare.” She opened the door with her magic, stopping me before Fluttershy guided me in with a hoof on my chest, “But I’m still making you that outfit. Those scars are dreadful and I can’t just stand aside and allow them to go unaddressed.”

Opening my mouth to disagree, she cut me off, “Ap ap ap! No buts! I am the one that ruined your day by causing that little episode and I shall be the one to make it up to you. You have been a good friend and model so far, and ignorance is no excuse for causing that kind of fright! Fluttershy, would you be a dear and get him into the spa? I have to adjust our appointment.”

The pegasus nodded, already somehow guiding without guiding even as I tried to protest, “But... Rarity, I–”

“Ap ap ap! What did I say about buts? And don’t you worry your little head darling,” she ruffled my mane with a hoof, the action making me scowl in spite of the emotional roller coaster, “You can pay for your next one without a doubt. But I simply must make up for my mistake and I won’t take no for an answer.”

“Rarity.”

“Emeris, you are not a perfect stallion, but you are a delightful gentlecolt who has had a dreadful time of things. I understand that you dislike special treatment, I truly do, but my reaction was inexcusable and I simply must make it up to you,” she gently placed a hoof on my shoulder, “Please?”

My mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before I looked away, my words barely coming out as a whisper, “I really don’t deserve friends like you guys...”

“Now none of that darling!” her hoof bumped up under my chin, raising it higher, “You’ve done wonderful things, there’s no reason you don’t deserve a little consideration for your feelings, nor one to not deserve a proper apology. Now! Fluttershy dear?” The pegasus beside me nodded before gently pushing me along without actually pushing, guiding me along towards the spa proper while Rarity went to the desk to change the services we were getting.

I meant it, I really didn’t deserve friends like this. Sure, Rarity had made a mistake and caused a panic attack but... well... okay, maybe it made more sense to look at it like that. If I’d caused one of the girls to have a panic attack I’d be pretty insistent about making it up to them too.

With that in mind, I think that, for once, I wasn’t going to complain about getting special treatment

o-Third Person-o

“-and I know that you distrust him my dear Twilight, but I can assure you that he is a good pony, a good pony who has gone through far more turmoil and pain than any deserves. While I cannot tell you to simply trust him I, as your teacher and mentor, ask that you trust me and my word that I would not claim him as one of my little ponies if I had any doubt as to his loyalty or his nature. Your Mentor, Princess Celestia.”

“Grrrr! Why doesn’t she understand?!”

Spike cringed away as Twilight stomped her hooves, her mane a frizzy mess. He’d seen her kind of like this before, but... there was something different about this time than the times before. Still, he had to try and head it off at the pass, Twilight hadn’t let her assistant meet the other unicorn yet, but if Celestia vouched for him... “Well, the Princess trusts him... shouldn’t you give him a chance?”

“Spike?! I- ugh. You don’t understand...” her rage faded, turning into sadness, “I can’t trust him... I know the princess trusts him but... he could be lying to her! He could be deceiving her!”

“Well, it’s not like you can get into his head and see what he’s thinking, so you’ll just have to trust the Princess’ word,” he pointed out reasonably.

Twilight sighed, looking about ready to agree... but then a light came to her eyes, a dangerous, maniacle glint that Spike recognized, “Get... into... Spike you’re a genius!”

“Wait, what? No! That’s not what I-” he was suddenly swept up in her purple hooves, hugged tight.

“Oh thank you Spike! That’s perfect! Celestia will definitely believe me if I can find that kind of evidence!” the purple dragon suddenly found himself outside the door, a small bag of bits in his claws, “Now you go run off and have fun, Rarity could probably use your help! I’ve got research to do!”

Then the door was slammed shut and locked behind him.

“... this is not going to end well.”

o-Emeris-o

“Okay, so if you sold thirteen bushels of apples at an average of seven bits per five apples, how much money would you have?”

Applejack groaned, her head dropping to the table beside the paper. I shook my head, a small smile on my face, “Come on AJ, this stuff is the whole point of math, and you’re more than smart enough to do it.”

We stood together in the kitchen, papers and books scattered across the table. The young mare stood beside me as I taught her, the dinner table being the only table in the household big enough to do this work on. In the morning, I worked on compiling the books for the Apples between getting lunch ready, but after the older Apple siblings came in for lunch, Applejack would stay in with me to learn accounting.

Mind you, this first week was mostly basic arithmatic. While I spent the morning in the house with Granny, creating a lesson plan for my student while helping make lunch; we'd been spending a few hours a day at lunch or after the chores were done working on some problems.

Applejack didn’t say it, but I could tell that she’d never been good at math, to the point that it was a sore spot for her. I wouldn’t doubt that she’d been made fun of for her lack of math skills, she was extremely insecure about it. It was almost like she didn’t expect herself to be able to do it at all, which was beyond sad.

I could not let this stand. Asshole or not, I had a heart, and I could teach. She might never do calculus, but I’d teach her basic algebra and how to balance books, and I’d get her to believe that she could. An attractive and otherwise smart mare shouldn’t have a hole like that in her skillset, and she definitely shouldn’t feel like it was impossible for her because she was math-stupid. It was just wrong, and I felt like bucking the asshole that had made her think like that in the face.

Hard.

“Why can’t ah just count the bits?” she grumbled, her voice muffled by the wood.

I chuckled softly, “Because if you can’t do this much then it’ll be far too easy to swindle you with some clever math. That and because I’m teaching you,” I punctuated the sentence by bumping my hip against hers, “And I prefer practical applications for my math.”

AJ’s head snapped up, her suddenly wide eyes making me shuffle back a bit, “Um... is there a problem?” I’d recently realized that a large part of pony facial expressions were made up of their ears and their positions, but her ears were facing forward yet leaned back, I had no clue what that meant.

At my words though, something seemed to click in her brain and her ears went down and a moment later swept back before they were forced back into a more normal position. Sadness, agressiveness, and then forced normalcy? I really had no clue.

“It’s nothing sugar-cube,” she scowled, but... it didn’t seem to be at me... now I was thoroughly confused.

“AJ–”

“Ah said it was nothing,” she said sharply, cutting me off and this time scowling at me hard.

I swallowed, letting it drop. I didn’t know what brought that on, but there was no doubt that Applejack wasn’t willing to talk about it. Bumping hips like that was probably a bit more... ah... intimate than I’d anticipated and she hadn’t appreciated it. At least, that was my best guess...

Ugh... what in the world had I gotten myself into...

o-Third Person-o

“Ugh! How can he–?! I just–! Why can’t I read his mind?!” Twilight screamed at the trees of the Everfree, finally far enough away from the small cottage to not be heard.

The purple unicorn snarled and bucked at one of the trees. The mind-reading spell she’d found wasn’t simple or easy, especially to reach it over a distance. But it was well within Twilight’s capabilities.

No, the problem was the target.

Trying to read Gary’s mind was like trying to dig through a mountain with her bare hooves. His mental defenses were simple, but so ridiculously strong that Twilight could barely make them bend. It wasn’t an issue of power, while Gary certainly had more magical power than he had when she’d tested him, he still only had a decent fraction of her own power.

No, the issue was three-fold..

First was his absolute certainty of self was a major impediment to any mind-affecting spells used upon him, something that was supposed to only come with years of meditation and soul-searching. While normally, a mind was like a tough but malleable clay, his was as hard as stone to external forces, yet was not brittle or fragile enough to shatter with a powerful enough assault.

But if that had been the only issue, Twilight could have worked around it. Every mind, no matter how strong, had its cracks, its weak points, its flaws which a skilled mentalist could exploit. Or at least, that’s what Razzerie, the foremost expert on Enchantment spells in the last thousand years had said about the subject.

The second was his raw magic-resistance. Gary was incredibly resistant to magic, nearly to the level of an alicorn like Candance. Sure, Twilight could breach that level of resistance, but it was another layer of considerable difficulty to the efforts. It made sense that a powerful Earth Unicorn had considerable magic resistance, especially one skilled in counter-magic and reality calcification like he was. But it was still another, completely unavoidable issue.

The final problem was one that baffled the lavender mare. His mind had no weak points that she could exploit.

It wasn’t that there weren’t any weak points, she could feel that they were somewhere, and she had even found two! The problem was that she couldn’t exploit them in the least! One of the flaws was filled in with a magic that could only be Princess Celestia’s, and while Twilight had a feeling she could have unraveled the magic and exploited the flaw, she wasn’t about to undo it. It might even be the reason the Princess (misguidedly) trusted him and Twilight wasn’t about to take that risk.

The other flaw that she could find was just strange. In the mental landscape of metaphor and allusion, it was a puzzle door with a missing piece. This was a very common mental defense ponies would unconsciously develop in response to repeated mental probing, the only way to get through was to provide the appropriate mental trigger, the mental ‘key’ so to speak. The problem was that Twilight couldn’t even understand what the key was!

The puzzle was right in front of her, but the key would be something Not and Is, the color of vile, the smell of black, the sound of clouds, the sight of the heartbeat of the earth, the voice of death and the song of madness. It was all of those things at once, and Twilight just couldn’t form the key.

Twilight couldn’t even begin to conceptualize such a thing, let alone one thing that encompassed all of those.

It was just a glimpse of the strangeness of his mind. The mere fact that she hadn’t found the other cracks of his mind, despite feeling their existence was evidence enough. She couldn’t find any of the normal flaws or cracks in a sane beings mind... and not even any of the ones in a crazy ponies mind! She’d studied those just in case Gary was as insane as she feared!

But nothing. Nada. None. Zilch. Zero. Zip.

The unicorn groaned, her head thunking against one of the trees.

She couldn’t overpower that mental defense, she wasn’t sure she could muster up enough raw power past his magic resistance to just batter through them, and his mind had no exploitable weak points! The only weak points were one that Celestia herself had sealed up and one that she couldn’t know the key to unless she was Gary! And it wasn’t like she could just be the Earth Unicorn to... see...

Twilight’s eyes snapped open.

… who says she couldn’t just be him? Just for a little bit? Just to get past his mental defenses? Just to see whether or not he was telling the truth?

… this required research

o-Emeris-o

Ugh, what a weird dream...

The smell of lavender and blueberries, the taste of grass, the shaking of the earth... weird. It had flashes of nightmare-ness to it, but I couldn't remember any details... well whatever.

I yawned, rolling around in my cocoon of blankets to glance at the window. Still night time, had plenty of time until I had to wake up and head to the Apple farm... eh... sleep then.

oOo

“Nope!” I laughed, saying in a sing-song voice, “Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope.”

Applejack growled, getting her legs beneath her and shoving up, trying to roll us over and dislodge me, making me laugh harder. I tightened my grip around her chest and rolled with her through the leaves, landing back in the same position we’d been in before.

I couldn’t help it, I chuckled as I kept Applejack pinned.

“Wooooo! Go Applejack!”

I mock scowled at the nearby pegasus, “Hey! Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?!”

“Mares before colts big guy!” Dash laughed, “Mares before colts!”

“Aww come on– whoa!” the cowpony had reached up with her hooves, hooking them behind my head, a quick twist of her barrel sending me flipping over and onto my back. As the world reoriented itself, an orange mare suddenly filled my vision, her forelegs pinning mine to the ground as she grinned fiercely at me, “Gotcha ya varmint!”

“Aj! Watch out for the-!”

Too late. Before AJ could process Dash’s warning, I’d given my barrel a twist, flexing my muscles and using my legs as alternating counterweights to rock the cowpony above me off balance. A forceful flick of my legs and a flexing of my stomach sent us rolling once again, a tangle of limbs, but a tangle of limbs only one of us had been expecting.

It was a relatively simple matter to use AJ’s surprise to pin her again, this time on her back. I simply lay across her chest perpendicular to her body, pinning her forelegs against her. In spite of myself, I probably looked rather smug.

The young mare’s eyes widened as she processed the sudden turn of events, “Wh-What in tarnation?!”

Dash on the other hand, was barely stifling a laugh, “I tried to warn you! Even I can’t out-wrestle the big guy!”

Applejack squirmed beneath me, but I just settled a bit more. Her back legs kicked, she flexed her back to try and dislodge me, but with her forelegs pinned and her back legs unable to flex far enough to get leverage there was no way for her to dislodge my noticeably larger form. Eventually she gave up, Dash still snickering into her hoof as Applejack harrumphed indignantly at me, scowling up at me even as I grinned down at her.

The two weeks bedrest for me was almost up and I'd been coming out to help around the farm at least with my magic. But Dash had come around and, in her rambunctious and go-getter way, roped Applejack and me into a wrestling match. It'd started as Dash vs. AJ, which had ended with Applejack's victory, but then Dash had had to go on about how I was a better wrestler than her and there was no way AJ could beat me...

While I consider myself immune to the 'puppy dog eyes', it had sounded fun.

And I’ll admit it, I was curious about whether I really was as good as Dash said I was or not...

And, well, my grin was far too smug right now. But I’d had fun wrestling, and as tired as I was getting, keeping the energetic and feisty mare pinned, it was nice to just rest, even if it meant staying atop her, chest to chest.

… oh who am I kidding, especially if that’s how I got to rest.

“So, give up?”

AJ snorted, scowling up at me all the harder for a moment before a sly grin spread across her face, one that quickly became worryingly devious, “Not yet sugar.”

“Oh real– Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow!!” quicker than I could react at the odd angle, Applejack had lunged her head up and caught the tip of my ear between her teeth! Much like when someone tugged on an ear as a human, my body just rolled with it to try and keep as little pressure on the ear as possible. Unfortunately, this meant freeing Applejack.

Once again we tumbled, a tangle of limbs rolling through the grass and leaves as Dash laughed uproariously. And once again, only one of us had been prepared for it and quickly pinned the other. Only I wasn’t so much pinned as I had a sudden addition, Applejack had wrapped one of her forelegs tightly around my neck resting on my back as I stood.

“Woooo AJ! Ride’m cowpony!”

“Hey! I take offense to tha–”

“Yeeeee-hawww!!!” a hoof jabed against my flank like a spur and my body automatically reared, Applejack holding on tight as she laughed. Wiith a somewhat amused snarl, I made a decision. If she wanted to ride a bucking bronco, well, I’d buck like a fucking bronco.

I tossed myself from side to side, kicking up my legs, twisting and turning, rearing back and throwing my weight around as harshly as I could... and she stayed on the entire time, laughing and holding on tight, Dash alternatively cheering for one of us or the other, obviously amused by my plight.

Evil, evil mares. Beautiful, but evil.

I kicked and threw myself from side to side, I tried to run in a tight circle, I tried a purely vertical jump, nothing was working. If anything, it made the two mares laugh harder as I basically worked myself into exhaustion.

Well, this wasn’t working.

Panting, sweaty, an obviously amused mare on my back that refused to be dislodged... what else could I do to get her off of me? Aha, remember the horse movies from when I was a human. I reared back all the way and fell backwards. With Applejack as glued to my back as she was, there was little she could do but let out a yelp before I dropped on top of her.

I began to curl up to roll out of her grip, but before I could the legs around my neck tightened, and her hindlegs suddenly locked around my waist. Surprised at her quick reaction, I squirmed back and forth, twisting in her grip while Dash cheered. I flexed, arched my back, twisted and turned, stretched my legs out and tried to use them as counterweights....

But it did a whole lot of nothing. Applejack had me pinned, shifting her own weight so I couldn’t get in contact with the ground or roll us over, and locking me in place without anything to push against for leverage.

Sure, I could use magic to get out easily, but that’d be cheating.

WIth a sigh, I relaxed in her grip, throwing up my hooves, “Okay, I give. You’ve got me.”

“Wooooo! Go AJ! Awesome!” Dash cheered as Applejack’s grip eased up, letting me slide to the ground beside her, the two of us rolling to our stomachs. Both of us were sweaty, and apparently exhausted, the cute mare was panting almost as hard as I was. Dash smirked, “I’ve got to remember that trick, it’ll be nice to out-wrestle you for once.”

Ignoring the fact that Dash and I had only really wrestled twice so far, I stuck out my tongue at the blue pegasus, “She totally cheated.”

“Ah still won,” Applejack smirked at me, extremely smug.

Well, I stuck my tongue out at her too, “Ear pulling is still totally cheating you evil evil mare.”

I actually kept a straight face for a whole thirty seconds before I began to snicker, unfortunately, once I began to snicker, the dam broke and the three of us rather quickly dissolved into laughter. Giggling and chuckling, Applejack and I exhausted and leaning against one another while Dash rolled around, guffawing at my loss.

In time, the laughter faded into little chuckles, Dash still giggling as she said, “Nice, still gonna use that one though. Good going AJ! First time I’ve seen the big guy beat in wrestling.”

Said orange mare snorted, quite smug, “And you said ah couldn’t do it.”

“I didn’t think you could!” Dash rolled over onto her stomach as well, giggling at us, “I’m totally surprised! That was an awesome trick and I’m totally going to use that against him!” she grinned viciously at me and I blew a raspberry at her before giggling myself.

“Well ah did! Ah said I could and I did!” AJ nodded smugly, and I couldn’t help but laugh. The crazy, beautiful mare had beaten me, sure she’d cheated, but she had beaten me. I smiled over at her, stopping for a moment I realized that she’d picked up quite a few little shrubbery-based hitchikers.

Snorting, I grinned at her, “You did, but I think you got your mane messed up in doing so.”

The cowpony snorted even as Dash giggled, covering her mouth with a hoof, “He’s got a point AJ, your mane’s full of junk!”

“Well yours is even worse sugar,” Applejack poked me in the chest with a hoof as our breathing equalized, her coat glistening slightly with sweat, “Y’er mane’s full of leaves and y’er coat’s covered in dirt!”

I chuckled, “True... still...” I smiled a bit, “It’s more a shame that your mane’s messed up than mine...” leaning over I grabbed one of the more egregious twigs from her mane with my teeth and dropping it aside. I didn’t notice her stiffening, with my focus on getting the things out of her mane I couldn’t see her blush, shaking my head and picking the leaves from her mane I couldn’t see the sudden heartbroken look on Rainbow Dash’s face.

“Hey, I’d better get going... got... got something to do... yeah...”

I turned, looking over at the blue pegasus curiously as she stood, her wings slightly lowered and her ears drooping slightly. Confused, I raised an eyebrow at her, “Really? I thought...”

“Yeah yeah, just remembered something... gotta make sure the weather patterns are updated and stuff, forgot to do it earlier,” she grinned weakly, waving it off with a hoof before turning and launching herself into the air. I was thoroughly confused, I thought she’d cleared her schedule so that the three of us could just hang out and have a good rough and tumble time...

“Sugarcube, look–” the pegasus waved off AJs soft exclamation.

“Hey, don’t worry about it AJ, we’ll find some other time to hang out, it’s no prob, promise,” she grinned weakly at us before turnng back around, “Well, gotta fly!” and then she was gone in a multicolored streak.

Confused, I turned to AJ, finding her staring after her... our friend, a look of pity and hurt on her face, hurt both sympathetic with Dash and her own personal pain, “AJ...?”

Startled, she turned to me, mulling over something for a moment before pushing herself up onto her hooves, “It’s nothin’ sugar... don’t you worry about it none...”

“Applejack...?”

“Ah said it was nothin sugarcube!” she snapped, making me flinch back a bit. Then her face softened, “Sorry sugarcube... you don’t worry about it none... ah’ll handle it.”

I stood as well, “I... you sure AJ?” I looked at her curiously, unsure myself about this. It had been so sudden that I had no idea what had happened, just that Dash had flown away for some reason.

“Ah’m sure Emmy, don’t you worry, you just head on.”

I wasn’t sure, but she definitely seemed certain. Having no idea what to say or do, I just followed the directions of the person that actually had some concept of what the culture was and what was going on, it had the least chance of me fucking things up again at least. With a small, unsure nod, I did exactly that, heading off, walking towards the exit of the farm.

It was only when I was long gone that Applejack muttered to herself, staring off after her blue friend, “What is wrong with you Dash... he wanted you here too...”

oOo

Another day, another slight headache.

Applejack was a delightful mare, teasing, strong willed, snarky and down to earth. But that didn’t change the fact that it was hard to teach her accounting. I loved to teach, and I loved accounting, and I rather liked Applejack. But guh. Trying to work around her stubbornness as well as convert the lessons into something easy and more fun for her to understand? It usually gave me a headache by the end of the day.

That said, I didn’t regret it in the slightest. And from the looks of things, I’d make a decent living doing the work as well, yesterday was my last day of promised unpaid labor, and while I hadn’t been paid yet? It looks like I’d make meals and then some by working for her and her family.

Yay!

Crossing the barrier of sigils, I walked up to my door. The barrier was solid, quite possibly the greatest work of magic I’d ever wrought, but it parted easily for me. It was a simple exception-based runic system, are you allowed? Yes or no? Done.

The categories the magic searched for were written out in special runes that only someone wtih ‘op’ permissions could work on. It wouldn’t have been complicated to add in Applebloom, just add another age range and name to the system and as long as she was with me, she could’ve entered. The problem would’ve been the amount of time it would’ve taken to do so safely without accidentally locking myself out.

Still, the magic was powerful enough to not only contain the full power of my curse’s reality distortion, but it had actually suppressed it as well. If Celestia and Luna hadn’t already been okay’d for the sigils, even they couldn’t have broken in.

Thus, whenever I really thought about it, I was always thoroughly confused by how Pinkie Pie could breach the magic. Seriously, even saying “It’s Pinkie Pie” has its limits as an explanation.

Yawning, I pushed open the door, I had to clean up the house a bit, make dinner for myself and Droolykins and get to bed. Up and early in the morning and all that, “Hey Drools,
I gently bumped the cat with my muzzle, “Been a long day buddy, you ready for bed? ‘Cause I know I am.”

He meowed, licking my nose before interweaving between my legs as I walked about the house.

It was good to be home, safe, and just enjoying the calm.

o-Third Person-o

Twilight watched quietly as the shadow that was Gary moved in the window of his home. Night had already fallen, but the Everfree around his home was quiet, not that she was worried. Twilight was under about six different cloaking spells at the moment, a combination of illusion and enchantment and reality warping spells meant to keep her from being detected by Gary. Keeping her hidden from the monsters of the Everfree was childs play compared to the magic she’d prepared to work against the former alicorn on the off chance he’d been faking the limits of his power.

She was waiting for him to go to sleep, just in case he might notice what she was about to do.

Breaking into his mind hadn’t worked, his mental defenses were simply too strong, but there was another way. Breaking into his mind would mean a one way link, but a two-way link? One which merged their minds? It was more dangerous, but it also could bypass far more mental defenses.

But the only way for this to be safe at all was if Gary was fast asleep, which was why she’d followed him home and was waiting for him to go to sleep. Once the former alicorn fell asleep, she’d be able to work on getting past the barrier the princess had erected around his home to keep his power in.

Twilight didn’t even try to examine the barrier yet for fear that Gary would sense it, and so she waited. Waited for the former alicorn to fall asleep. She counted the minutes until the light in his window went out (47.3), but then waited some more time to allow for the average time for a pony to fall asleep (15.8 minutes), doubled that just in case. Then she waited the further amount of time for a pony to enter appropriate REM-sleep before she stepped up to the barrier (82.5 minutes).

Slowly, she circled it, her eyes examining each sigil and their order, her magical senses extended to their maximum as she pressed her power up against the invisible barrier. It was honestly well crafted, the raw power behind it quite possibly exceeded that of any individual Princess and was well outside of Twilight’s capability to match. But that didn’t mean it didn’t have cracks.

The flaw was small, and not so much a true flaw as a quirk of the Hoofinburgian Aspect Checking System that was used. It’d taken nearly an hour to figure out that much, and once she’d discovered the flaw, it took her another hour and a half to properly figure out how to exploit it. The system checked the aspects of anything and everything entering it, and everything in existence was built from a combination of these aspects.

This particular runic system was built to only allow the breadth of purely Aereo aspected materials as well as nonliving materials within a hoofs-length of an allowed living material. The living materials allowed were very, very small, the aspect checking would only allow ponies that fit certain criterion through.

The flaw with the system though was that once a pony figured out the criterion required, it was possibile to project a bubble of the necessary criterion around oneself to fool it. It wasn’t easy, first a pony had to know how to read runic sigils in the first place, then to read a complicated, interconnected, self-reinforcing system to find the appropriate checks, and on top of that there had to be a distinct link between the caster and the criterion required. But Twilight was the only student of Princess Celestia for a reason, and it was quite possible to bypass.

Carefully, Twilight molded the magic to fit the criterion, to make her aura appear as if she were Celestia. She didn’t have the power to emulate her, but the barrier didn’t check for raw power, just the right ‘flavor’ of aura.

Wreathed in a tightly controlled golden power, Twilight slowly slipped through the barrier, feeling its powerful magics tingle against her skin even through her aura. Shuddering, she pushed on through to the other side before letting the magic drop.

Taking a deep breath, she walked carefully and quietly up to the door, pressing an ear up to it and listening. The only sounds was a soft snore and slow breathing, so after triple checking her cloaking magics, Twilight slowly pushed open the door.

The entire place was just a room and a bathroom, the bed wasn’t far away from the door. Gary was laying in his bed, fast asleep and curled up under the covers, an equally fast asleep cat curled up against his side, he looked so peaceful... huh, he had turned the cat pink.

Cautiously, Twilight approached the bed, her eyes locked on the sleeping Earth Unicorn. Slowly, she lifted herself up onto it, quadruple checking her wide array of cloaking spells to ensure her presence couldnt’ alert him or wake him.

Taking a calming breath, she lay down beside him, a part of her mind not in the tense worry about discovery or focused on her goal noted that he was big, but that was beside the point. Carefully, slowly, Twilight leaned her head in and pressed her forehead against his, extremely careful that her horn did not touch his own. This spell required direct physical contact between the caster and subject, but had warned about two unicorns touching horns during the spell.

As if she would ever willingly touch horns with Gary.

Twilight worked the spell, focusing the magic through her horn and through her skin against his, her mind reaching to his and pressing against the mountain of self that comprised it through his considerable magic resistance.

But... it didn’t work.

Her mind enveloped his, pressed against it, pulled at it, but it did absolutely nothing. It was like trying to make a rock absorb water like a sponge. Her mind simply didn’t merge with his.

Okay, this was surprising, but not a problem. Twilight had anticipated this! She’d done her research, and there wasn’t any one true version of this kind of spell, there were quite a few and some worked better for others, that had just been the most common one, she had plenty of others to try!

With that in mind, Twilight tried another spell, by rights she should have waited an hour for the previous one to dissipate, but she didn’t have that kind of time. She pushed another spell against his mind, again a failure as her mind pushed against his.

Again and again she tried, spell after spell. Each one failing against his magic resistance and mental defenses, each time her panic grew just a bit more as did her frustration. Any second now, he could wake up and discover her, any second now! And even worse, she was running out of variations of the spell to try!

She pressed her forehead against his harder, her eyes shut tightly as she poured magic into spell after spell. She needed to do this! To protect her friends! To ease her mind... she needed to know! Why couldn’t she just see what was in his head?! She pushed her mind against his while pulling at it as hard as she could, there had to be a way in! There just had to!

“Come on...” she whispered in frustration, as she poured mana into the latest spell, “Let me in!”

Making a sleepy sound, Gary pressed his head lazily back against hers... and did exactly that.

His mind opened up like a gateway, all of the resistance simply gone, and Twilight suddenly found her mind pouring into and being enveloped by his own. Her body’s eyes widened as memories and emotions assaulted her, past the fuzzy dream his conscious mind was experiencing, a turmoil of emotions and memories surged.

Twilight found herself far deeper in his mind than she’d ever intended.

Hands, two legs–

Fear and rage, running–

Friends, true ones and fake–

Her mind recoiled quickly, pulling away from the depth of memory, emotions surging through her that were not her own. She nearly pulled herself out, ending the spell prematurely, but she didn’t. She forced herself to collect her thoughts, her emotions, to collect herself in his mind. Bits and pieces of her self had scattered in the sudden entrance to his mind.

Collecting herself, Twilight tried to search through his mind, she hadn’t had an opportunity to practice the spell before this so she was operating on theory rather than practice. She tried to call to mind a moment he’d done something wrong, memories bubbled at the back of her/his mind, of nearly not stopping himself, of pulling away, of the minds of ponies bending around him.

No no no! That’s not what she wanted! She wanted times he’d messed up! Times he’d done something wrong! But nothing came up, nothing. How he’d almost failed to protect Applebloom, how he’d made Applejack and Rainbow feel bad, how he’d had a panic attack around Rarity and Fluttershy–

No! Back further! Back when he was an alicorn then! He hadn’t done anything bad as an Earth Unicorn, okay, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been horrible as an alicorn!

Loneliness. Gaping, terrible loneliness. No friends, no potential for friends. Hurting good people that didn’t deserve it just by existing. The guilt, the horror at doing such terrible things by existing. All that power, all that energy, but all of that curse that terrible curse, the monsters and the destruction they always caused because of him, why? What had he done to deserve all of it? Nothing, nothing to deserve something so horrible, he knew he hadn’t, he’d never done something that warranted such destruction and death. Oh god, Celestia, why did others suffer for this? Why?

Tears were in both their closed eyes, the emotions, the horror, the guilt, all of them washing through their conjoined minds.

No! This wasn’t– Something had to have changed! He’d stopped being an alicorn–!

Pain, indescribable pain. Even the memory of it was terrible, every part of him was on fire, tearing itself apart beneath his skin, beneath the waves of power that were the spell– tears burned away with power– struggling to hold it in, to not release all of that power into the world, to contain the power of the earth itself– a memory worthy of nightmares–

Another consciousness began to return, confusion and sleepiness, magic? Wha–??! No! No no no no! He was waking up! Twilight had to end the spell quickly and get away!

Confused, foreign magic, he raised his head, an unconscious weave of reality calcification starting to form around him, their horns touched–

Twilight?!

Oh ponyfeathers.

Too many magics– the remnants of two dozen mental fusion spells, seven cloaking magics of varying schools, reality calcification, direct contact of inherent magical foci– two souls, mana impressions, linked through magic as the spell weaving them together exploded–

Consciousness left them.

A.N.)– No, I’m not that much of a tease.

o-Unknown-o

Consciousness returned to me/us–

’Twilight? What was I/she doing here?’

Images flashed, memories– Trying to discover whether heIGary is evil or not, whether Celestia was right or she’d been tricked– mind reading magic hadn’t worked, maybe mind-merger? Remove the safeties and simply link up and fuse minds to bypass the defenses–

’What-?! Why?!’

’I/she needed to know! She/I couldn’t just let somepony dangerous stay around my/her friends!’

A headache, thoughts bouncing around, who was thinking, what was going on? I/We raised a hoof to our/his/her head, eyes clenched tight against the rising pain, groaning in pain.

’Why would you think I’d threaten them?! I know I hurt you/I/Twilight but they’re my/his friends too–!’

Memories flashed, thoughts, things dredged up, summoned by the question–

It faded away, my muscles coming back under my control, and as they did, the tears started to fall.

Oh Celestia…

C-Celestia…

I’d–

He’d–

Tears were pouring down my face as I began to sob.

He’d nearly mounted me!

I-If Pinkie hadn’t–

I sobbed on the floor, quivering and whimpering.

I’d liked it! Why?! Why had I liked it?! Why had I enjoyed the feel of his lips against mine?!

I sobbed harder, a strangled cry escaping me as I wept. I’d been so lucky… so ridiculously lucky…

Those lips gently pressing against my cheek, his hot breath against my skin as he tenderly nuzzled my neck–

I whimpered, burying my face in my hooves, trying to force the imagery out of my mind, to forget the sensations, the smell of a powerful, virile stallion just above me, the heat coming off his skin, those massive wings slowly encircling me…

He’d been about to mount me! And I would’ve let him! Celestia, I had been more than letting him, I’d been encouraging him! Another sob tore its way from my throat as I sobbed, snot was running down my nose and I didn’t care.

I’d been so lucky that Pinkie had scared him off… Celestia… if she hadn’t been there…

…

My eyes widened in horror.

Oh Celestia…

I was quivering, hugging myself tightly.

How many times hasn’t she been there?

How many mares had he taken like that? How many?

How many times had he used that magic to force himself onto a mare?!

I cried, hugging myself tight.

Oh Celestia…

How many times…?!

How many mares had been forced to watch as their bodies betrayed them? Had to listen to their own voices crying out? Begging for it? Betraying them. Lying for his pleasure? How many had felt their body betray them, felt those lies of pleasure at his touch?! How many others had he taken, all while they couldn’t do anything about it?!

I sobbed.

How many friends had I failed?

Our jaw dropped, hismyEmeris’ mind almost recoiling at the thought, ’I’d– I never–!’

Another memory, surges of thoughts and remembrances, emotions and situations washed over us.

Mares dodging around me, encircling me like sharks, each clamoring for attention, all of it fake.

I just wanted to go get some cookies damnit, why did I have to go through this every time?! They were small though, at least compared to me… maybe I could step over them… hey, it’d be pretty easy, and I wouldn’t have to push through them! It was a great ide–

Something soft and warm pressed against my sheath and I reared back, recoiling in disgust. At her. At me. At everything. What was–?

The mare I’d been stepping over had taken that as an invitation to orally molest me.

To orally molest me?!

I strangled the sob in my chest and launched myself away, not even trying to conceal the horror on my face. I felt… dirty, wrong! I felt stupid and evil and… unclean! How had I let that happen?!

The world blurred into white, and then exploded into black and crimson as I broke the spectrum barrier.

I had to get away–

–Pinkie, chasing me down. I’d duck away, open a door only to find Pink. On the clouds, I’d find Pink. Her tongue was all over me even when I threw her away. She didn’t want this! I knew she didn’t! I didn’t want this! Leave me alone! Please! I flew as hard and fast as I could, desperately trying to get away. There was nowhere for her to appear now… oh Celestia thank you… I didn’t know how much longer I could’ve- She appeared from beneath my vest and I screamed–

–all four of them?! They were all four begging me for a fivesome? I- oh Celestia, it was tempting- they were so attractive, they looked so desperate and wanting and damnit its fake I can’t even consider it because it’d be wrong and why is it so tempting?! I couldn’t remember what I said, but I’d said no, I’d turned them down. I’d walked away. Because no matter how tempting. No matter how much my hormones screamed at me. No matter how desperate and needy. No matter how clouded my thoughts from the scent of their collective heat, it was wrong, it’d be rape, no matter how I looked at it. I wasn’t a monster–

–I didn’t dare go into town right now, it was the week of estrus and it’d be too tempting. I didn’t dare–

–Somebody, anybody, please… help me!

“Fluttershy…”

“You’re going to mount me.”

I felt tears at the corners of my eyes.

Work! Tell her! Stop her! Something!

Help… I don’t want… I don’t want to hurt her…

She began to turn around, her eyes still locked with mine, tears beginning to fall from my eyes.

“THAT IS ENOUGH!!!”

A veritable shockwave knocked me over, and the much lighter yellow pegasus was swept up in the wind––

–oh god oh god oh god what had I done?! I’d nearly- I almost! Twilight! Oh Celestia I’m so sorry! I’d nearly- I’m so sorry! I couldn’t- I’d forgotten! I’d almost forgotten that the curse is what made them do it! That hadn’t been Twilight! It hadn’t! No matter how much it’d seemed like her! No matter how much I’d wanted it to be the real her, it hadn’t been her! I couldn’t- but I’d amost- oh Celestia oh Celestia oh Celestia- please forgive me! I nearly- if Pinkie Pie hadn’t interrupted I might’ve-… I would’ve-! Oh god oh god oh god–

We were crying now, curled up in the corner, holding a pillow tight to our barrel as tears flowed freely, memories assaulting us again and again, Emeris’ mind couldn’t stop itself ’That’s– How could you think that I was raping them?! I know it might’ve been uncomfortable to ask but wouldn’t someone have brought it up?!

Again, memories.

I wanted to cry, to scream, to shout, I wanted anything to come out of my mouth but what was happening now.

Someone had mentioned Gary on accident, and that damn magic, that terrible, irresistible, unstoppable magic had swept over us. All we could do now was ride it out, singing his praises. Gushing mindlessly about how amazing and awesome he was. Talking about who might have had the honor of being mounted by him.

I gagged mentally, revolted, my stomach churned, and yet nothing outwardly changed.

Even when I tried to write about him! Even to the Princess! I couldn’t- no matter what I did! I couldn’t even try to sneak something into code! It was always that stupid gushing, begging her to take him on as a student or make him a prince or to make me his student, whenever his name was mentioned, that’s what it would devolve into… this ridiculous useless mess–

Another sob, guilt, fear, worry, shame. A turmoil of emotions sweeping over us.

Us.

We were there, together, one body, one fragmented mind–

No one had ever been able to talk about Gary, the loss of control whenever they tried to had trained them to never speak about him/Gary/usedtobeme, it’d been a habit to keep themselves in the face of that monstrosity–

Nopony had known anything about Gary except what they’d seen and the conclusions they could draw from that– Twilight had thought all ponies had been as successful in pursuing him as she had been– ’Everyone thought I was a monster–?! Dash hadn’t–

I couldn’t talk to anyone! What was I supposed to think?!

We sobbed, guilt, pain, fear, anger, our minds were a turmoil of emotions. It was hard to think, everything kept getting lost, who’s mind was it? Who was thinking what? Who’s memories assaulted us?! The tide of thoughts and memories, shame and pain... it was too much.

We curled up, our head and horn aching, clinging to the pillow as we sobbed ourselves back to sleep. Celestia, someone... anyone... help us.

Author's Note

I am, however, that cruel. Hope you enjoyed the end of this story arc! Also hope that the reveal of what caused Twilight to think the way she did/does was satisfying.

Bonus Round! What was the key to the flaw in Emeris’ mind? Cookies to whoever can figure it out!

I’m not particularly happy with the first section, and there doesn't really feel like as much time has passed as there is supposed to, but otherwise, I like the chapter.

Anyways, Autobots, Roll out!

FU-SION-HAhahahahaha... fuck you universe.

o-Third Person Limited-o

With a smile, Dash flew towards the library, eager to pick up the new book by the author of the Silverwing series. She’d be able to read it with Emeris and... and she’d ask him out on a proper date when she did.

She was nervous, Dash was willing to admit it to herself, she was really nervous about this but... AJ had talked her into it.

The farmpony had tracked her down almost immediately after their little wrestling session and had basically cornered her.

o-Flashback-o

“Dash... sugarcube, we need ta talk.”

The blue pegasus froze, hoof raised in mid-step out of Sugarcube Corner, “O-Oh! Hey AJ, wow, um, look at the time, I-” flaring her wings, she made to take off, but AJ grabbed her by her multi-colored tail and dragged the mid-air pegasus off.

Speaking through the mouthful of tail, Applejack’s voice was muffled but perfectly understandable, “Oh no ya don’t sugarcube, we need ta talk.”

“A-About what?” Dash flapped harder, but Applejack just kept dragging her along until she had her well out of the way of the main streets of Ponyville. With some work, she got Dash’s tail pinned beneath a hoof, looking directly at the other mare until she let herself land once again. Nervous and jittery, Dash obviously didn’t want to have this confrontation.

But AJ wasn’t about to allow that, “Why in tarnation’d you run like that?”

“I don’t know–” the weathermare started, but was quickly cut off.

“Dangnabbit sugarcube,” the farmpony scowled at her friend, “Why’d you run from Emmy and me like that?” Dash’s eyes darted about, looking for a way to escape the conversation, her wings trembling in a need to not talk about this, this sappy mushy mess of emotions. AJ couldn’t read every nuance of her friends emotions, but she understood enough, her eyes softened as did her voice, “C’mon sugarube... ya know you can tell me, no matter what it is. What’re friends for?”

Dash slumped, unable to argue with that, “I... I didn’t want to interrupt you two...”

“What?” surprised, the blonde mare tilted her head at her friend in confusion, “Sugarcube, he wanted you there too! Why would you have been interruptin anythin–?”

“It hurt okay?!” Dash snapped, making AJ flinch back.The anger was gone in an instant and Dash’s face fell as she slumped to the ground, looking away from the farmpony, feeling embarrassed and stupid, “Sorry...”

Startled, stunned, confused, Applejack got up and moved to lay down beside the pegasus, gently bumping her cheek against Dash’s, “Sugarcube...” she hesitantly started before barreling ahead, “What’s really the matter?”

Unable to meet the farmpony’s gaze, Dash stared at the ground, withdrawing into herself and mumbling, “It’s stupid mushy stuff...”

Again, Applejack lightly nudged her friend, her voice soft, “It sure ain’t stupid if it’s makin you hurt so much.”

The pegasus was quiet for a long moment before she turned to her friend, quietly asking, “Can-... can you keep a secret?”

“Pinkie Promise,” AJ smiled gently, making the motions.

Biting her lip, Dash glanced about, making sure no one else was around before leaning in, “I... I really like Emeris–”

“Ah hate to break it to ya sugarcube, but that ain’t exactly a secret.”

The normally blue pegasus turned several shades of red at that, “Shut up! I’m not good with this mushy stuff!” she trailed off, looking away as her voice fell to a pained whisper, “I’m really not good at this mushy stuff...”

“Sugarcube...” AJ trailed off for a moment, surprised to see this side of her normally brash and confident friend. Quietly, she asked again, her tone gentle but insistent, “What’s wrong?”

“Look, I–... I’ve never really had a special somepony. Like, ever,” her voice gained strength and steadiness as she spoke in the isolated alley, “Sure I’ve tried to date stallions before but... they usually turned me down... and I know I’m just a scrawny, muscled freak–” AJ made to argue the point, but Dash was far from done, “–but the few that did go out with me were all ‘Oh, it was just pity’ and I- I always got dumped or kicked out of the herd after like, the second date. So when I started to like the big guy I was totally psyched but really scared that he’d turn me down too. Well, I mean, just a teensy bit scared, but yeah, scared. Thing is, every other time I’ve tried to go out with a stallion I was all aggressive and did things right away, so this time I thought, ‘Hey, maybe if I don’t rush things, it’ll work this time’... but... but then when you two were wrestling he... well...” an obvious pain washed over her eyes.

“Dash...”

“I mean... I know I never asked him out or anything, but he just up and started grooming you... right there in front of me! I–...”

“Dash!” the pegasus flinched slightly before flushing and ducking her head, quieting under AJ’s stern gaze.

“Why in the name o’ the Princesses do ya think that ya can’t court him just ‘cause he groomed me a bit? Ah ain’t some silly monogamist that’ll tell ya ya can’t court him just ‘cause I was, and ah’m not courtin’ him!”

“I-... I know...” Dash muttered, staring at the ground as the beginings of tears formed at the corners of her eyes, “Bu’ no stallion’d want me if they could have ponies like you in their herd–” the sudden and sharp tug on Dash’s ear cut that train of thought off rather quickly, making the pegasus wince and cry out slightly before AJ let her ear go. Dash scowled at the farmpony as she rubbed her ear, “Ow! That hurt! What was that for?!”

“Don’t you go tearin’ y’erself down like that sugarcube. You ain’t a bad lookin mare and ya likely have more of a chance with Emmy than ah do.”

There was a flash of anger in those rose-colored eyes, “Oh I call horse apples! There’s no bucking way I have a better chance with that stallion than you! He was bucking grooming you for Celestia’s sake!”

But the farmpony metaphorically stood her ground, “Do ya remember where he’s from sugarcube?”

The sudden change in the line of questioning threw Dash, her anger being replaced by irritated confusion, “Not really, why?”

“He’s not from Equestria at all, he don’t know anythin about courtin a pony, and ah mean anythin’,” a brief look of confusion flashed across her face, “Ah don’t know how ya haven’t noticed to be honest with ya, but ah mean it. He obviously don’t know when he’s flirtin’, he didn’t even realize that bumpin’ Cutie Marks was flirtin’.”

“What?! Wait, he bumped cutie marks with you–?!” AJ covered her friends mouth to cut her off and finish what she’d been meaning to say.

“Sugarcube, don’t pay attention to things like that, ‘cause he obviously don’t know what he’s doin’. But Ah want you to think about this, when he’s got free time, who does he usually schedule time with? Ah’ll give ya a hint, it ain’t me, and it ain’t Rarity or even Fluttershy.”

Slowly, Dash’s eyes widened as that processed, and when AJ’s hoof was removed her mouth was only able to work silently for several moments before she hesitantly squeaked out, “... really? You-... you really think he–?”

Smiling, Applejack nodded, “Eyup. Honest to goodness. Ah’m almost positive that Emmy likes you a lot.” The way the pegasus’ face just lit up at that made the farmpony smile, warmth suffusing AJ’s heart and helping her push even further, poking a hoof to Dash’s chest as she continued, “And that’s why ah think you should ask him out and court him proper.”

Rainbow’s thought processes came to a crashing halt, “What?!”

“Ah think you should ask him ou–”

“I know what you said, but are you crazy?!” Dash scrambled up onto her hooves, backing away from the apparently crazy mare, “Every time I’ve asked a stallion out things have gone bad! I always rush things! Always! I know I do! And there’s no way I’m gonna screw up my friendship with the big guy just because he makes me feel all mushy!”

Sighing, AJ stood up as well, “Sugarcube, ah really think you should court him proper if y’er so aflutter about him.”

The blue pegasus’ entire face lit up red, that word had a special meaning to pegasi, though AJ didn’t know it, “That’s not– I mean, I’ll rush it and mess it up!”

“No, ya won’t. Ah’m sure of it,” Applejack put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder, “Listen sugarcube, Ah know y’er scared, but think about it. All them times you’ve just been readin’ with him? Those times when the two of ya would just wrastle or spar? Those were practically dates without the flower,” the corner of her mouth quirked up at the irony, here Dash was worried about asking Emeris out when she’d already gone on a half dozen ‘dates’ with him, “All ya gotta do is ask him if he wants to go on a right and proper date with ya. It can just be one of them readin’ sessions the two of ya do.”

“I-... you really think that’d work?” at that moment, the blue pegasus seemed far more like their yellow and pink friend than her normal brash self, her voice soft, unsure, and hopeful.

“Ah’m almost positive sugarcube,” a sly thought came to Applejack, “Ah’m sure he’d go out with ya if ya just asked him, though if y’er like this then ah doubt you’ll do it before the weeks out, why, ah’ll even bet ya a barrel of m’ah best cider that ya can’t ask him out within the week.”

A fire lit in the pegasus’ eyes at the thought of a challenge, launching up into the air and pointing a hoof at the earth-bound mare, “Oh you are so on! I know exactly how I’m gonna do it now too! We’ve already got a book-date planned for the new Silverwing side-series and I’m totally gonna ask him out for it! Just you watch!”

The orange mare grinned, “Good, ah’m sure ya can do it Rainbow.”

Dash blinked before flushing, realizing that she’d been had, “I...” she looked away for a moment, hovering in place, “Thanks AJ...”

“It ain’t nothin sugarcube, ya just needed a good kick in the flank is all, and what else are friends for?” she smiled warmly at the embarrassed pegasus.

“Well I guess even awesome ponies like me need to be pointed in the right direction sometimes,” she polished a hoof against her chest before examining it haughtily, making Applejack roll her eyes and shake her head, a small, bemused smile on her face.

o-Present Day-o

Once she had the new book, Dash was going to go to Emeris and ask him if he wanted to make their book reading a proper date. Sure, if she was honest with herself, he’d probably be confused at first and... Dash mentally swallowed down her fear, he might turn her down. But there was a full barrel of the best Apple Family Cider on the line, and... she really wanted to believe AJ when she said that he liked her too.

First things first though, getting the book.

Zipping up to the window, Dash threw it open before flying in, “Hey! Twilight, do you have the boo-ooOOOOK?!” surprised, the pegasus ‘backpedaled’ midair, staring at the strange intruder in the library, public or not, “Whoa! Who the buck are you?!”

“Dash! Oh thank Celestia, this is perfect. I need you to go get the others, we have–”

“Whoa whoa whoa!” the pegasus flew down quickly poking a hoof into the broad chest of the newcomer, her eyes narrowed, “I asked you who the buck you are! And what the hay are you doing in the library?!”

Rainbow Dash stared at the... the alicorn stallion in front of her. A bit bigger than even Big Mac, but not quite as big as the Princesses, he was an impressive sight. Massive wings, a long and thick horn, a lustrous yet familiar lavender coat, his mane and tail were both a dark green with pink hilights, but while the mane was a disheveled, midlength spikey mess, his tail was long and as straight as a ruler.

His mouth worked silently for a moment, “Dash, I...” his eyes closed, and he seemed to calm himself before opening them again. It was then that Dash noticed that his eyes were surprisingly feminine, and crazily, one eye was a bright purple while the other a dull gray-green. Those eyes pleaded with her as the stallions soft and somewhat high-pitched voice begged her, “Dash, please, could you get the others? The girls... the Elements of Harmony... could you get–...” there was a brief moment of confusion on his face, “Could you get our friends? Please? I don’t want to have to explain this more than once.”

“I... what the buck’s going on? Just who the buck are you?”

“Dash... I’m... could you please get the others? I only want to explain this once... I’m... I’m Twilight.”

Her eyes widened before she was off like a rocket, trailing a rainbow behind her.

oOo

The Elements of Harmony minus one plus Spike were soon sitting in the main lobby of the library, Spike quietly passing around tea to the gathered mares.

“Darling, are you sure this stallion claimed to be our darling Twilight? I don’t mean to doubt you darling, but it’s quite unbelievable, gender-changing magic is just unheard of! And thank you Spikey-Wikey.”

The dragon opened his mouth, but Dash cut him off, “I told you Rarity! This big ole alicorn stallion was just standing right over there and when I got in his face about what he was doing here he was all ‘Dash, go get the others so I can explain, I’m Twilight’, and I– I dunno, I could just see it! It was in his eyes, one of them looked exactly like Twilight’s, and he even kinda sounded like her!”

“Well I–” Spike started.

“But darling! Gender changing is impossible! And becoming an alicorn? Unheard of! Why, Emeris is the only case I’ve ever even heard of an alicorn becoming less than they were, but our Twilight becoming an alicorn stallion? Absurd!”

“I think–” the dragon attempted to speak once again.

“Well we all know that Twilight can make some really weird things happen with them fancy magics of hers, ah’d be willin to bet there’s a chance she actually did that in some way.”

“Guys, I think–”

“Well, that is true darling, but those things are supposed to be completely impossible for unicorn magic! Even our dear Twilight can’t do things like that!”

“Really, guys, I know–”

“Oooooh, is it appropriate to throw a ‘Congratulations on Being a Stallion’ Party? Or should I keep it to just a ‘Congrats on Becoming an Alicorn’ Party? Because, like, the first one could be mean if she didn’t want to become a stallion. Which is weird, right? Not the not wanting to become a stallion thing, but if she’s still a ‘she’ or if she’s now a ‘he’? Do you know? I don’t know.”

“I know that–”

“I-I think that we should probably wait for Twilight to tell us what happened... if that’s okay with you guys that is...”

“Guys!” the baby dragon slammed the tray he was holding onto the main desk in the library in frustration before spinning back around to the gathered friends, “I know what Twilight did!”

The mare’s all stopped and turned to the little dragon at his outburst, though it was Rainbow Dash that spoke up first, “Well, get on with it! What happened?”

Spike’s face scrunched up for a moment, irritated with himself for his outburst, “Look, Twilight was going to try and get into Gary’s head last night, and I think something went wrong with that spell.”

The mare’s all shared a look before turning back to Spike, “Spike darling... maybe you should start from the beginning...”

o-Flashback-o

Spike played with the bowl of gem-cereal in front of him, worried and glancing at the door to the library every so often. Despite his attempts to keep her from going, Twilight had still snuck out to try and ‘get into Gary’s head’ as she’d put it. At least that’s what he thought she’d done when he hadn’t found her in her bed this morning, but since Spike didn’t actually know where this ‘Gary’s’ house even was, he couldn’t have exactly gone to stop her.

All he could really do was sit and wait for the purple mare to come home and desperately hope that she hadn’t gotten herself into too much trouble... which sadly, Spike doubted. Knowing their luck, things had gone catastrophically wrong.

The door to the library slamming open nearly made the poor hatchling jump out of his scales, and the shout even more so, “Spike! Spike? Spiiiiike?! There you are,” an alicorn stallion swept into the library, the door closing quickly behind him, “Quick, find me that copy of Mental Magics: The Complete Edition as well as a copy of Magical Catastrophes and Conundrums and F.U.B.A.R.: The S.N.A.F.U. of Magic.”

“Wait, what?” Spike shook his head, trying to clear the sudden case of cobwebs, “What’s going–?”

“Spike, please!” the stallion turned towards him, eyes frantic, “We have no time to waste!”

“... Twilight...?” he asked hesitantly.

The stallion froze, “Spike– I...” then he slumped slightly, “Yeah... it’s me... just... could you please help me find those books? We really have no time to waste.”

o-Present-o

“So, what was the problem with Twilight?” Applejack prodded.

“Yeah! And what’s this got to do with her trying to read his mind huh?”

Spike opened his mouth, but was interrupted once more, this time by someone entirely different, “It has to do with a magical mistake in reading Emeris’ mind... a magical accident that...” the alicorn stallion had stepped out onto the balcony of the library, starting to walk down the stairs, “That caused the two of us to fuse... mind and body...” the stallion stopped at the foot of the stairs, looking at the assembled mares, “Girls... I’m-... I’m Twilight Sparkle and Emeris Fillson.”

The silence at that proclamation stretched out for almost a minute before Rarity uneasily laughed, “That- that’s a delightfully well done prank darling, but–”

“It’s not a prank!” the alicorn snapped, his wings flaring before he looked down, ashamed of his outburst, “It’s not a prank... I messed up and... and now we’re like this.” The stallion slumped to the ground, “I messed up and now... we’re both paying the price...”

The five mare’s shared a look before as one getting up and moving over towards the alicorn, “Darling... you say that you’re both of them... so... who, ah... who are we talking to?”

“I–...” the stallion hesitated, almost unsure before looking back down, “Twilight. Just Twilight.”

“Then what the buck happened to the big guy?” there was a hint of fear in Dash’s eyes, and when the stallion didn’t answer immediately she pressed harder, “What happened to Emmy?!”

“He’s here! He’s..” the stallion put a hoof to his head, tapping it, “He’s in here with me... just... he kinda...” the stallion searched for the appropriate word, “Emeris is asleep at the moment. He sort of... fainted...” The Elements of Harmony shared a confused glance before turning back to the stallion who rubbed his cheek slowly, in both embarrassment as well as something else, “He... when he realized that... that we had wings, Ga-... Emeris’ brain just... shut down.”

“... wait, what?”

“He-... he panicked,” there was a flash of concern on the stallions face before embarrassment took precedence, “He was rather... irritated with me... wasn’t mean but... really, really irritated...” the stallion flushed, “I don’t blame him... but... when we saw these?” he gestured back at his wings, flexing them slightly, “He... he just panicked... he thought he’d... he thought he’d been turned back into Gary.”

The alicorn withdrew into himself slightly, his voice soft, “He... he was so scared... I only caught a bit of it between our merged minds but... he... Emeris was horrified by it...”

“Is...” Applejack swallowed, almost afraid to ask, “Is Emmy alright?”

The stallion nodded, “Yeah, just... he’s really out of it at the moment... I can’t even hear him, just... I know he’s there okay? It’s hard to describe.”

Relief showed on most of the collected mares’ faces, glad that their friends were alright. Then there was the anger, “Twilight!” the stallion turned to Dash, who jabbed a hoof at the lavender alicorn, “The buck were you thinking?! What the buck made you go and do that?!”

“Dash, I–”

“Ah hate to say it Twi, but Dash’s right,” AJ pushed her hat higher, scowling at the stallion, “Ah don’t really get why you’d go through with that when somethin’ like this might happen.”

“Girls, I–”

“Twilight, deary, I must say that I expected better of you than this! I know you’ve had your moments where you’ve made mistakes, but this one is absolutely dreadful! Violating a pony’s privacy like that! Why, I can’t see what could ever have possessed you to do so!”

“Look, I had–”

“Yeah! Seriously Twi! What the buck were you thinking?!”

The stallion leapt to his hooves, eyes hard as he bellowed over his friends, “I thought he’d raped you!”

The mare’s all flinched back, eyes wide, horrified and shocked. Rarity gaped, her voice weak as she asked, “... w-what?”

Tears were gathering in the corners of the stallion’s eyes, “I thought he’d raped you, maybe all of you,” the two differently colored eyes jerked from one mare to another as he continued, his voice shakey, “I had no way of knowing that he hadn’t even touched a mare, but I–... girls, I thought everypony was as... succesful...” he spat the word out bitterly, “In their... seductions of him...”

Horror began to dawn on Rarity’s face as it processed, the others still too confused and shocked to connect the dots, “Darling... oh Celestia, darling, you hadn’t–...”

“No!” his eyes snapped wide, shaking his head viciously, “No! I hadn’t–... no... I wasn’t actually... I didn’t actually manage to trick him into mounting me... I just...” the alicorn slumped to the floor, his voice barely above a whisper, “I just got really close... and... and if Pinkie Pie hadn’t arrived when she did I... I would have succeeded... and I had no way of knowing that no one else had gotten that close! I thought–... I was terrified that every other mare had gotten that close with him and that Pinkie hadn’t been there for them...”

Confusion was replaced by horror on the faces of the other mare’s, though a certain amount of relief appeared on Rarity’s, thankful that she was wrong, the white mare carefully said, “Darling... maybe you should start from the beginning.”

“I–... yes... you’re right...” the stallion stood unsteadily, taking a moment to breathe, “Spike?” the equally horrified and dumbstruck hatchling nearly jumped at the sound of his name, “I–... could you go get us something to eat? I... I kind of want this conversation to be private...” the stallion looked away in shame, “I shouldn’t have said as much as I did in front of you already... so... please?”

“I...” the stallion’s eyes turned to him, and even though they were the wrong color, the young dragon could see his friend and caretaker in them, begging him to do as they’d asked, “Alright Twilight, I’ll go get something for everyone...”

“Thanks Spike...”

oOo

The six ponies lay in a circle, five of them focused on one with a cup of coffee in front of him, tea before all of the others. Taking a slow breath, the alicorn gathered his thoughts before raising his head from the cup in front of him to the mare’s around him, “None of us knew what it was like for Emeris... we had to guess what he was like... I... I had no idea, and what I saw and felt made me think that he was a horrible pony... but... I don’t think any of us really understood, so... I think we should talk about what... what we saw when Emeris was an alicorn and what we thought about him.”

Swallowing down his trepidation, the stallion continued, “I’ll... I’ll start... The... the magic around him made me try to seduce him... by any means possible,” his eyes fell back to the cup in front of him, “I... I had to watch as I put all my knowledge into coercing him into liking me... I used charms, spells, trickery, and even love potions... I... that last time I was able to try, I’d slipped him some powerful aphrodisiacs and love potions and tried to layer a spell on him to make him mount me...”

“I...” he swallowed again, before nodding at the pink pony nearby, “I would have succeeded if Pinkie hadn’t arrived... at... at the time I thought she’d scared him off,” shifting uncomfortably in place, the stallion admitted, his voice soft, “I... when we merged... I found out that she’d startled him out of the daze the drugs had put him in... he ran because he was horrified with what he was doing...”

“I... I didn’t realize nopony else had gotten as close as I had... I thought... I thought that everypony else had... I didn’t think that somepony could always interrupt him...” the stallion trailed off, cradeling the cup of coffee and staring into its depths.

“You thought he’d taken advantage of the magic and mated with everypony... oh darling...”

“I know better now! I... but I wish it hadn’t...” the stallion curled in on himself, his wings pressing tightly against his sides before he took a shuddering breath and let it out slowly, forcing himself to relax, “O-Okay... what about... what about the rest of you...? We’ve never been able to talk about Ga-... Emeris... so let’s do it now, clear up anything that we may be missing. I’ll...” the stallion swallowed, closing his eyes before forcing himself to continue, “I’ll speak for Emeris, since I’m... we’re... I have access to his memory.”

There were more than a few uncomfortable looks at the statement, the stallions mismatched eyes going from one mare to another, pleading with them to start, to not let Twilight be the only one to confess to a misunderstanding. Rarity was the one to speak up, “I-... I thought he was just an alicorn, a celebrity... that he occasionally ah... took advantage of his ‘popularity’ without realizing that the adoration was fake...” the fashionatta’s voice was soft, “I didn’t... I don’t believe that I was affected as badly by the curse that surrounded him as you were darling. But Fluttershy and I have learned a lot about what it was really like for him during our visits to the spa, isn’t that right darling?”

The yellow pegasus squeaked as the spotlight was swung to her, hiding behind her hair for a moment before softly speaking, “I-I-... yes... Emeris has told us how... how hard it was for him... he seemed... oh he seemed so scared when Rarity looked over him that one time,” the look in her eyes softened with concern, “He just... he looked so fragile... I can’t even imagine what it must have been like while he was an alicorn, to be so strong... but... I do know what it’s like to have all those eyes on you... the adoration you didn’t do anything to deserve... to be afraid... I know what that’s like.”

Her pink mane fell like a curtain over her face as she murmured, “But I... um... I didn’t really think too hard about what he was doing while he was an alicorn... I just knew that he was big and scary...”

Applejack and Pinkie both comforted the pegasus between them, gently stroking her sides with their hooves; the party mare was the next to speak up, “I knew Emmy-wemmy wasn’t a bad pony, but sometimes the meany-weany magics on him made me... made me do things he didn’t want me to do... it... I didn’t like it...”

This time it was Fluttershy nuzzling Pinkie Pie, comforting the younger mare as she sniffled slightly, “I didn’t like doing that... I like making ponies smile, not... not be scared...”

After a moment of comforting the pink mare with the others, Applejack spoke up, her voice soft, “Ah thought he was a bad pony as well... thought he might be takin’ advantage of what the magic did with other mare’s... didn’t think too hard about it though... ah just really didn’t like my mouth lyin’ for me like that. Felt like he was makin’ me lie and lie and lie...” she shifted uncomfortably, pulling her hat down lower, “Ah kinda snapped at him for it pretty bad first time we talked.”

There was a silence after that, a silence that dragged before the group, almost as one, turned to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus glanced among them for a moment, blinking, “... what? I knew he was on the level the whole time. I thought it was obvious that he didn’t like the attention,” a more than slightly smug look settled onto her face, “I never treated him badly.”

Together, Applejack and the stallion deadpanned, “Except for the time you beat him up.”

“Hey! I didn’t know if Emmy was the same as Gary or not!”

“So you bucked him in the face?” the farmpony questioned, eyebrow raised.

Dash nodded, “It was the only way to be sure.”

At this, the stallion raised his own eyebrow, “Sure about what?”

“That Emeris was awesome, duh,” the alicorn and farmmare groaned and facehoofed while Rarity rolled her eyes, Fluttershy’s smile was distinctly... polite, and even Pinkie shook her head a bit, “What? He was being confusing!”

“He does that a lot Sugarcube, but that ain’t no reason to buck him in the face.”

“Oh like you don’t want to sometimes.” Applejack, the stallion, and Pinkie Pie collectively coughed and looked away. “Hah! Knew it!”

Coughing, Applejack turned to the stallion, “It’s Twilight right? That’s who we’re talkin to?”

He nodded before shifting a bit uncomfortably, “Yes, I’m–... you’re talking to Twilight right now. I’m the only one of us awake at the moment...”

“Then... then what now Twi? Are...” she hesitated before cautiously continuing, “Are you two stuck together,” she swallowed, “Forever now...?”

“No! No,” Twilight stared down at ‘his’ coffee, whispering softly, “At-... at least I don’t think so... I... I don’t really know what happened... the spell should only have merged our minds not... not everything... and neither of us had wings... it makes no sense...”

“Can... can you reverse it darling?”

“Yes, I’m almost positive. I just need to do some research, there was a strange interaction between the spells... um...” Twilight shifted uncomfortably, wings shifting, “The spells I used to sneak into Emeris’ home and try to read his mind... they all interacted strangely... I just need to figure out exactly how... once I do that I can undo this and split us back apart.”

While Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were unabashedly concerned about their friends, Rarity was also exasperated with Twilight’s antics, but Applejack and Dash were torn between being concerned for and frustrated with their good friend.

Eventually, Rarity spoke up, “So... what now darling?”

Uncertainty, worries, fears all passed over the stallions face before he stood, “First... first I have to test this body out–” both Dash and Applejack’s eyes swept over the large stallion, all tight muscle, powerful flight muscles and mighty wings, they flushed, “Since it’s not Emeris’ or mine. I–” a slightly glazed look came over the stallions differently colored eyes, but it faded after a moment, leaving ‘Twilight’ blinking slightly, “Um... I know some basic exercises that can determine how my–... this body’s physical capabilities compare and contrast to Emeris’ as he was the more... physical... of the two of us.”

Dash couldn’t help herself, “Eeeegggggheeeaaaaad.”

Twilight scowled at the blue mare before continuing, “Once I’ve determined the limits and changes in this body, I’ll have a starting point from which to research the full effects that this botched spell has had on us and determine how best to undo it.”

The gathered friends glanced among themselves, but it was Applejack who spoke up first, “Ah think you should ask the Princess abou–”

“No!” the alicorn shot to his feet, eyes wide, “No! We can’t– No one tell the Princess!”

“Darling, I know–”

“No! You don’t understand, I– I’ve really messed up. Really bad... I– I betrayed her trust...” Twilight slumped, her wings and ears drooping, “I can fix this, I know I can. But... please, don’t tell the Princess. I don’t want– I don’t want her to know how badly I’ve messed up... please don’t tell anyone!”

“But... Sugarcube–”

“Please! I–” Twilight begged, ‘her’ voice falling to a mere whisper, “She might actually banish me for this one... please, don’t tell anyone...” tears began to gather in the corners of the alicorn’s eyes, “Please...”

The girls all glanced amongst one another and the alicorn stallion that their friend(s) had become. Bits of hair were sticking out at odd angles and his tail was twitching spastically. Cautiously, Applejack ventured, “Are ya sure about this sugarcube...? Cuz’ it–”

“YES!” Twilight trailed off, looking down, “… yes, I’m sure.”

Obviously unsure, the mares glanced amongst themselves once again, more silent communication passing between the close friends, one that Twilight herself, in her semi-panicked state, couldn’t properly understand. In collective, if uncertain, agreement, the mare’s nodded and Rarity hesitantly said, “Alright dear, we’ll trust you... just...”

“Split y’erselves apart soon? This is weirder than a flyin’ pig,” Applejack pushed her hat up some, rubbing her head, still somewhat overwhelmed by the thought that two of her friends were in that body.

Twilight sighed in relief, the tension melting out of ‘her’ body, “Thanks girls... this means a lot to me... and don’t worry, I fully intend to separate us post haste, this is... um... pretty awkward,” Twilight glanced back at the body’s flank, specifically at the cutie mark, an open book with her old cutie mark on one page and the lotus design that had been on the cover of Emeris’ book on the other.

“Yeah... I can, uh, imagine,” Rainbow Dash stared at the flank as well, though for decidedly different reasons.

Standing, Twilight took a slow breath, trying to calm herself, “Girls... thanks for hearing me out and for not telling anypony... I’m sorry about this, but I’m going to fix it as soon as I can,” ‘she’ paused for a moment, glancing back at the body’s wings before turning to Dash, “Could you help me test these out once I go through the other tests? I um.... don’t actually know how to fly...”

“... say what.”

“I don’t know how to fly... Emeris does but I can’t seem to... um... well... I can’t really use that knowledge while he’s out of it like he is, so... um... I kind of need a teacher so I can gather data properly...”

After a moment’s consideration, thinking about the mare that she’d be teaching, a certain feeling of dread washed over the pegasus, Dash facehoofed and groaned to herself, “Why do I have a feeling this is gonna be a long day...?”

oOo

“Oh Celestia oh Celestia oh Celestia oh Celestia oh Celestia oh Celestia–”

“Twilight! Calm down. Buck, seriously, I’m right here, I won’t let anything bad happen to you, I promise, just keep your wings spread. Come on, you’ve ridden in your hot air balloon before, you can do this.”

Dash sighed, riding the air currents beside her transformed friend. Twilight was flying in the alicorn body, if barely, it’d been far easier to take off than either of them had anticipated, the body had far more physical strength than Twilight was used to; the fact that she barely had conscious control over ‘her’ wings didn’t help.

“It’s different under your own power!” the unfortunate part was that Twilight was nearly panicky, her wing movements were jerky and she kept overcompensating.

“Come on Twi, you can do this,” she stayed nearby, but not too close, she didn’t want her wake to interfere with Twilight’s. It’d been a few hours since their talk in the library, and Twilight had put her... his... whatever Twilight qualified as right now’s body through its paces. Twilight had been determined to teleport out of Ponyville to avoid being seen and Dash had humored her, meeting her at the predetermined spot outside Sweet Apple Acres.

“Oh Celestia oh Celestia– I’m falling! Dash I’m falling!” Twilight wobbled in the air, making Dash roll her eyes, she was worse than Fluttershy!

“No, you’re not. Flap your wings! Up and down! It’s easy! And don’t worry! I’m right here Twi,” rolling her eyes, Dash glided near the alicorn. There was more wingpower in that body than even hers, sure it was bigger and denser so it had more to lift, but it should’ve been able to do so almost as easily as she could! “And tuck your legs! Stop flailing them like that! You’re making it harder on yourself!”

Twilight vainly tried to do just that, her legs twitched as she jerkily flapped her wings, unfortunately overdoing it and making her gain altitude quickly. Groaning, Dash face-hoofed at the frightened squeal of her friend before moving after her, “Calm down! Buck, seriously Twi, stop panicking! There’s no reason!”

“I’m a unicorn with wings, that has no idea how to use them, over three hundred feet from the ground! There’s a reason to panic!”

Rolling her eyes, Dash flew closer, “Look, just stay there and I’ll grab a cloud for you to stand on so you can calm down–”

The alicorn’s differently colored eyes widened in horror, his legs starting to flail again, wings pumping furiously, “I don’t know how to stop!”

Right, she’d forgotten to tell her that, “Okay, to–”

“I don’t know how to stop!” Twilight was panicking, full on panicking, that was not good.

“Twilight! Just listen to me! Just lock your wing–” focused on trying to calm her friend, Dash hadn’t noticed the air currents until the last moment. One of the alicorn’s large wings caught a powerful updraft, sending the still-climbing alicorn into an uncontrolled fall, “Twilight!” Dash dove after them.

The alicorn screamed, flailing uselessly in the air. Fear surged in Dash’s heart for the briefest of moments before she pushed harder, feeling the air push against her progress as she accelerated, could she get past those damn hooves? One good hit from someone stronger than Emeris...

Twilight’s scream stopped and Dash met her friend’s eyes for just an instant, something in them had changed. To Dash’s surprise, the alicorn tucked his wings with practiced ease, using his legs as counter-weights to roll mid-air into a dive of his own, wings flaring out and angling to catch the wind to bring the alicorn swooping up in a textbook climb. With only a few powerful flaps of his wings, the alicorn was in flight once more rather than a terrifying, fumbling fall.

A grin spread across Dash’s face as she pulled out of her own dive, following after her friend, “Woo! Go Twi!I knew you could do it!” the pegasus flew beside her... rather suddenly competent friend. She blinked in confusion at the very sudden change, there was more to the sudden change than Twilight finally calming down, the look of pained confusion, irritation, and a mess of other indecipherable emotions on the stallion’s face made it even more confusing, “Twi?”

“Just– I–” the stallion cringed, “We– …” the stallion made a face, “One moment Dash.”

Now definitely confused, Dash followed the alicorn until he landed on a cloud, landing beside him and giving him a concerned look. She had the vaguest inkling of what might of happened, but... “You there big guy?”

“Yes I’m– we’re– urgh...” the stallion covered his face with a hoof, breathing slowly for several long moments before pulling the hoof away and taking a deep breath before opening his eyes, “The danger jumpstarted Emeris’ mind, he’s awake right now. Both of us are... awake. And we’re having trouble...” another look of confused concentration before continuing, “We’re having trouble... parsing... figuring out who’s in control.”

“That’s great–” Dash was cut off by a hoof, the stallion scowling at the cloud beneath them, both eyes alternately twitching, “Yeah...?”

“I’d– we’d– … Dash... could you give us some time to work this out? We need to come to an agreement. Emeris knows how to fly, so don’t worry about us getting down,” the stallion lowered his hoof, still glaring at the cloud, “This... this might take a while. We need to come to an agreement and the less... talking we have to do, the easier it will be.”

Dash was quiet for a long moment before she softly asked, “You want me to leave...?”

The stallion flinched slightly, a softer look coming over his face, “We’re sorry, but for now, we’d best be alone.”

“Oh.... okay...” Dash shifted uncomfortably, “Um... so, yeah... see you um, guys later? Good luck figuring this stuff out and everything, I guess...” her wings spread as she readied for takeoff.

“Dash,” the stallion’s voice was different, deeper, softer, “Thank you, you’ve helped, don’t doubt that. And once this is settled, once Twilight and I are separate again, we’ll hang out, I promise.”

She hesitated, she wanted to believe him, she really did, but a part of her was certain that he hadn’t just dismissed her presence. Still she smiled, keeping the hurt and rejection from her face, “No prob big guy, see you then.”

o-Twilight Emeris-o

’That... could’ve gone better...’ came Emeris’ thoughts as they watched the blue pegasus fly off. Twilight didn’t respond with a coherent thought, but the emotional pang was more than enough. It hurt to have to send Dash away like that, and it was obvious that doing so had hurt her, but talking was hard. Parsing between their different thoughts, diction, word choice and intended direction for the conversation made their speech halting and confusing at absolute best, and an unintelligible mess at worst.

They needed to figure this out, and the fewer ponies/people around, the better.

They settled down on the cloud, conflicting habits making their body twitch uncomfortably, ’Okay, first things first, division of duties. The body, who’s doing what?

’You’re obviously the more physical of the two of us, and this body seems to be more yours than mine. That and you’re the one that knows how to fly–’

‘–and since you’re the more skilled of us at magic, it makes more sense for you to control our magic. Agreed, that’s about what I was thinking–’

‘–that could be a problem though, the thinking, we need to divide our thoughts, we’re already having bleed-through–’

‘–of thoughts and personality, agreed. First priority is separation of thought. One moment, I have an idea–’

’–I think that could work, but I don’t know if I can define my boundaries as well as you can, and it’s drawing from my knowledge of mental magics to work in the first place. What if we–’

‘–isolated sections of knowledge and skill for both of us to have free access to and then defined boundaries from that core, yes, that would likely work. You should–’

‘–probably do the initial work and then define in opposition to you due to your greater definition of ‘self’, agreed.’

The stallion took a slow, deep breath, eyes closing as the two minds in it focused inward. Emeris noted idly that mental magic on oneself felt strange, but slowly, the definition of mental boundaries appeared, thoughts bled slightly less between them, and after an indeterminable amount of time, the two of them were at least distinct within their mind. Thoughts, flashes of ‘This will only work for a while’, ‘This is a temporary fix’, ‘The division is artificial, one or the other could take control of the body or magic’ and ‘the cake is a lie’ (though that one rather confused Twilight, it also gave her the strange urge to chuckle) went through their mind. The knowledge was far less from anything that resembled communication and more from the conjoined nature of their minds.

It was all giving them a headache.

The stallion rubbed his forehead, pausing before correcting the action to a more efficient pain-relieving position.

When thoughts did not immediately bleed from one to another, a thought transferred between the two, ’Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3, testing, testing, 1, 2, 3?’ The thoughts seemed ‘deeper’ in tone and softer, but at the same time more solid.

’Funny. Our head isn’t a mic or sound system.’ The thought was amused, but exasperated, faster and lighter than the other.

’There’s a better way to check?’ Emeris thought sarcastically at his ‘head-mate’.

’Oh hush, at least we can tell who’s thinking what now.’

’---’ came Emeris’ noncommittal thought, a blend of emotions, acknowledgement and frustration, Twilight’s mind interpreted it as a grunt.

The stallion lay his head down on the cloud, wings tucking against his sides. A flash of irritation escaped Emeris before it was stifled and his thoughts began, ’Alright. I understand the why, and I’m still not happy with what you did. But we’re in this situation now and we need to get out of it.

Guilt and apologies without words surged through the link, ’You’re right, I’m still sorry. I didn’t–’

’I know, I understand. It’s frustrating and a part of me is unbelievably angry that you turned us into a damn alicorn,’ the word was tinged with anger and fear and horror, ’But I intellectually understand exactly why you did it. I don’t blame you and you’re only at fault for an error in judgement–’ flashes of Twilight rushing through the spells she had, an instant of ‘why didn’t you/I just ask?’ ’– but I would’ve done similar in your position. Let’s put that in the past though and–’

‘–focus on getting ourselves separated again. I concur,’ Relief washed through them, and the body nodded in resolution, picking up his head.

’Yes, we need to focus–’ a barrier against the fear, the horror, the terror, a shield and direction to avoid the pitfalls of madness ’–as it will certainly help us stay separate long enough to get out of this.

’You’re right. We need to work out how best to do this. Step by step. I already have a list–’ flashes of thought, organization, numbered and prioritized, ’–which we can work off of.’

The checklist was shared between them, Emeris processing the sudden knowledge for a moment, ’Where’s ‘ask the Princess’ on the list?’

’What?! Panic, fear, and shame flooded through their conjoined minds, the link broadening for the briefest of moments. Questions were posed and answered in flashes too small to be considered coherent thought. Questions of why, the problem, the issue, answers of fear, regret, disappointment, love and potential banishment.

Their link settled, their minds pulling apart once more.

’Oh. Okay. I still think we should ask them.’

’What?! Didn’t you–?’ this time the link was broadened intentionally, flashes of thought and logic and argument passing between them, boiling down to two, emotionally packed and intricate statements:

‘She could banish us!’

‘She loves you.’

The link closed once again as the two minds practically ground against one another for a long moment before a compromise was suggested, ‘We work for a week before we send them a letter asking for their help.’

’Two.’

’One week. I’m terrified that the curse will return.’

There were flashes of terror, barely contained behind purpose and direction and focus, horrors unleashed which only something as strong as a Princess could handle, something they were not.

Shaken by the surge of fear and memory before Emeris clamped down on it, Twilight’s thoughts were weak, ’... alright, one week.’

’... thank you. Unsteadily, the stallion stood, flexing his wings, taking a moment to truly adjust to the slightly different appendages, ’Alright... after that, what was the next task again?’

’Determining the limits of this body. I’ve already gone through magic and the more... ground bound physical tests.’ There was a shudder of fear at her out of control flight.

Warmth, comfort, and sympathy radiated from Emeris across their link, flashes of memory of daring flights, soaring through the skies, the feel of the wind against one’s skin and through one’s feathers, flying high enough that the powerful mana currents of the solar wind played against one’s coat and through one’s mane, comforts and delightful memories to try and soothe her fears.

The body flushed slightly as a strange mess of emotions went through it, being both the comforter and the comforted, their face scrunched up at the sudden conflicting mess that was their head, “Ow...”

’Alright, so we go through the tests, record the data and–’

‘–try to derive some theories from that, yes. They paused, trying to parse the sudden confusion of thoughts.

’Immediately after that, we need to figure out a long-term solution to keeping our minds separate A.S.A.P.’

Author's Note

So, new site layout. Cool beans. Gonna take some adjusting to having one dedicated place for Author’s Notes, but eh. Also, if you didn’t see some of the text in Purple and Green, please tell me so (as it was probably a rather confusing chapter otherwise) just so I know how many of my readers are affected by that.

Fun thing I was made aware of as of the site-upgrade: A recommendation on TVTropes in the FanficRecs for MLP:FiM for this story. So stupidly happy about that for some reason... :rainbowhuh:

Not completely happy with this chapter, but it does it’s job and does it nicely. Both Twilight and Emeris are intended to seem slightly OOC in this, Twilight in comparison to canon and not how she’s been in this story so far (as that was based off of a flawed understanding), and Emeris in comparison to what else we’ve seen of him.

Again, immense lurvles for Aburi and Anhero for pre-reading/editing the story, they help make this story a lot better than it would’ve been otherwise :yay:

Anyways, Autobots, Roll Out!

Twilight Emeris: Worst. Boss Name. Ever.

“Aggghhhhhhhhhh!”

’Twilight. I’ve got it.’

“Oh Celestia this is insane!”

’Twilight. I’ve got it. Relax.’

“You’re crazy! You’ve got to be crazy?! Look how high we are! And we’re wobbling! Even I know we shouldn’t be wobbling!”

’Twilight. We’re only wobbling because you’re panicking and keep trying to take control from me. I know what I’m doing. Let me fly.’

’B-But we’re so high!’ The lavender alicorn’s wings quivered, his legs twitching and jerking in partial panic as he flew above the cloudline.

’Twilight, I know. But you have to trust me, I know what I’m doing. I’ve been flying for the past two years. Twilight, I’m trusting you to keep our minds separate, but I need you to trust me to keep this body safe.’

’I–... a-alright.’

There was a moment of confusion as Twilight tried to pull herself back, to curl up, but the action made their body tense, a flash of irritation from both of them and a hint of guilt and apology from Twilight before she forced herself to relax. The tension slowly bled from their body, the wobble disappearing from their flight.

Emeris flexed their wings, taking a slow breath, feeling the air rushing past their body... and started tumbling as their right wing started twitching and fell out of sync with the left. Thankfully, it only took a few seconds for Emeris to correct and they were soon gliding relatively smoothly again.

’Twilight!'

'I'm sorry! I'm sorry... This is... rather difficult.'

Emeris’ irritation faded some, being replaced with concern, 'What’s wrong?'

'This is not as easy as I thought it would be. It's not just a matter of allowing you control, I have to concentrate on not using my body.'

'...?'

'I know that we have to share this body, but if feels like it's mine. And to simply not use it... it's easier to say, or in this case think, than do.'

'I think we should find another way to handle this. Perhaps we could isolate certain muscle groups to one mind?'

'No, that could be disastrous if one of us become unconscious like you were earlier. I... I think that this is the best way,’ The alicorn took a calming breath, ’I just need to learn how to handle it.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes' Twilight thought with as much determination as she could muster.

'All right then, I'm going to gain some altitude.’

"WHAT?!” the alicorn twitched and jerked some in the air, 'Why would you do that!? We're already hundreds of hooves off the ground!'

'Two reasons: First, it's actually safer. The higher you are the more time you have to correct whatever problems you have.'

'... And the second?'

'For best results when working on control, you should do it in a stressful environment. So we're going to fly at altitude until you can handle that, then we can start having fun.’

’You are such a pain.

’And the worst part is that you know I’m right. Emeris practically radiated smugness, ’Now, are you ready?

Had anypony been around they may have been confused by an alicorn smirking and whimpering simultaneously.

’I’ll take that as a yes! Here we go! Emeris flexed their wings, and with a mighty flap, began to ascend.

’I’d like to amend my previous statement! You’re a bucking asshole!’

oOo

’Nice, isn’t it?’

The alicorn soared high above the earth, the world a woven network of green, the tan of roads and train tracks occasionally crossing the expanse. Houses were little more than dots far beneath them as they rode a powerful thermal, warm air rushing up against their body, filling their wings and holding them aloft. The wind rushed through their ears as the sun warmed their back, lighting the tops of the clouds beneath them in a brilliant gold.

’I... okay... it is kind of nice... the alicorn murmured in their thoughts, watching the the world pass beneath them.

’A bit easier to relax up here, isn’t it...?’

’Yeah, it’s... it’s soothing...

There was a flash of memory, of soaring above the sky itself, unimaginable cold at their back, feeling the world shifting and moving beneath them, far away from the troubles, from the insanity and pain, from the temptation far below.

’... you’ve missed this... haven’t you...?’

He was silent for a long moment, slowly adjusting his wings to stay within the thermal, ’... flight was the only good thing that came from being an alicorn... from being a Gary Stu... I... I really enjoyed it, it’s the only thing I miss from that time...’

’... Emeris... are you going to be okay?’

’... yeah... yeah, I will. Just... it’s weird to want something from those two years... There was a moment of melancholy, of despair, but it was pushed away, the alicorn’s head shaking slightly, ’Regardless, how are you holding up?’

’Emeris, I’m not entirely sure that–’

’I know what I’m doing Twilight,’ he snapped, irritation flaring before being pushed aside, an embarrassed and apologetic emotion flowing back through his response, ’So... how are you holding up?’

Twilight’s thoughts were kept to herself for a long moment before she responded, ’I think I’m handling the altitude better now... I should be able to handle more.’

’Good. Because after that horrendously sobering thought I kinda need the adrenaline rush of pushing a body to its limits. Hold on to your hat, you’re in for a ride.’

The alicorn’s wings tucked as he rolled in the air, Twilight felt a thrill of fear even as a pleasant calm settled over Emeris.

’Oh Celestia...’

Emeris dove.

Twilight whimpered in their mind as the world rushed up to meet them, but forced herself to relax with considerable effort. Carefully opening herself to the mixture of calm and excitement pouring off of Emeris’ helped. She was scared, there were no two ways about it, they were diving towards the ground at a high speed and she knew exactly what such an impact could do to a pony... but for every ounce she was afraid, Emeris was serene and exhilarated.

But, if they were to make this fused body thing work, they’d have to trust one another, and ideally, be friends as well. So, as terrified as she might have been, as worried and uncertain, she was willing to trust Emeris.

As the treeline approached, their body twisted and their wings flared out, catching the currents of air and sending them soaring once more, this time at cloud level over the Everfree.

The fused alicorn performed aerial acrobatics over the Everfree, dipping and weaving among the clouds. The once-again-alicorn was not a stunt flier like Dash, and in truth, lacked finesse, possessing only mediocre talent. But as the athlete had said, this body had immense power, dodging clouds was far easier when it took only a single wingbeat.

While Twilight didn’t find the same thrill and excitement in the athletic dance Emeris performed, but... she could see why he did. The pumping adrenaline, the rush of the wind, the feeling of power and athleticism, the thrill thrumming from his mind... there was something to this.

It took almost an hour of this aerial ballet for them to tire, during the time, Twilight slowly relaxed into their strange agreement. It became easier to allow the more skilled and athletic unicorn to control their body, they had a few issues, one time Twilight had twitched in spite of herself and sent them careening into a cloud, but thankfully their body was far tougher than Twilight expected.

Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn’t be so bad...

oOo

Spike was sorting through the wealth of books the Library had stocked for ones that might help Twilight un-fuse herself from this Emeris guy. Something had gone wrong, just like Spike had expected, but... this was a fair bit more “gone wrong” than he’d anticipated.

Well, no matter what, they’d have to–

*Pop!* “Spike?!”

The dragonling scrambled to keep a hold of the stack of books in his claws at the sudden appearance of of a lavender alicorn right behind him, his (her?) voice warbling weirdly as if they couldn’t decide how to speak.

“Ah, there you are! Could you take some notes down for me... please?”

“S-Sure thing Twilight,”

The alicorn paused, a strange look coming over his face, “Emeris is awake again, we’re both in here now.”

“O-Oh...” Spike blinked, well, now it was awkward... “Um... hi?”

The alicorn facehoofed and... his voice changed? The tone and accent were slightly, but very noticeably different, “Ugh... sorry... this is awkward for us too. We... this is just weird. We’re still getting used to all of this and any help you can give would be great, just pretend that I... Emeris that is, am not here...” the alicorn paused, spacing out slightly before shaking his head, “And sorry if we start talking to ourself... selves? Anyways. Sorry if we start doing that, it helps keep things organized up here,” he tapped his temple with a hoof.

“Oh... um... okay?”

Sighing, the alicorn rubbed his head, “Let’s... let’s just get started on this...”

oOo

’Emeris?’

’Hrn...? What is it? I jus’ woke up...’

’What is this?’

’What is what...?’

’That!’ she snapped, overwhelmed with embarrassment and awkwardness.

Emeris became aware of a reasonably natural biological event that occurred in males during awakening.

’... oh. That. That’s, ah... that’s normal unfortunately.’

”WHAT?!”

“Twilight! You okay?!”

“Y-Yeah! We’re fine! Just-... just adjusting! First time waking up like this and all!”

’This isn’t the first time we’ve woken up like this!’

’He probably won’t think of it and damnit! Do you want to explain to him what the problem is?!’ Emeris snapped back, almost as embarrassed and awkward as his headmate.

’...’

’I didn’t think so,’ the former human grumbled, more than a little snippy himself, Now yes, this is unfortunately normal for males. It goes away eventually.’

’Oh... that’s... um...’ a tumult of emotions radiated from Twilight, embarrassment, awkwardness, apology for her reaction, disgust and curiosity at the biology.

Emeris’ responded with a similar mess of emotions, embarrassment, awkwardness, irritation, but also understanding.

Jerkily getting out of the bed, the two wordlessly communicated, half-formed words slowly becoming pure transfers of emotion with flashes of information attached. Both seeking a more efficient and less confusing way of communicating with one another without losing their identity.

It was a testament to their combined intelligence (both in a literal and metaphorical sense) that they were able to come up with a coherent system before they got to the dinner table, going through the suddenly extremely awkward morning routine at a snail’s pace.

Even something as simple as dealing with their hair/mane was a problem, they had to brush their tail and mane, as per Twilight, but really work at it due to having some of the unmanageable aspects of Emeris’ hair. Their habits and automatic motions were awkward and contradictory, not to mention the basic biological functions that were required.

In those thirty minutes of morning prep, the two learned more about one another than most married couples do over years.

It was not pleasant.

oOo

Rubbing their face with a hoof, the alicorn groaned softly, leaning against the table.

’Tea.’

’Coffee.’

’Tea’s sweeter.’

’I have coffee.’

’Coffee’s bitter.’

’So is tea.’

’Tea’s better with honey in it.’

’I only have coffee. And we’re not going outside like this.’

’… damnit. Lots of cream and sugar then.’

’I like it black.’

’And I generally loathe coffee, and I’m not particularly eager to find out how our preferences for flavors interact in this body. Lots of cream and sugar.’

’... urgh, fine. Lots of cream and sugar.’

’Thanks...’

“Spike?” the alicorn croaked, “Could you help us get some coffee going? It’s going to be a long day...”

oOo

“Twilight darling, are you up?”

“Oh! Rarity!” the small dragon practically zipped to the unicorn’s side as she entered the Library, “She’s... well, they’re upstairs right now going through some texts.”

“Thank you Spike– wait, they?” Rarity’s eyes lit up, “Emeris is up?

“Um, yes–”

“Oh delightful! We were so worried!” the white unicorn began trotting towards the stairs, only to be intercepted by the purple and green dragon, “Spike?”

Spike scratched the back of his head, “Uh, well, they asked not to be disturbed for a bit...”

“But, why Spikey-Wikey? If all they’re doing is studying–”

A soft, but pointed voice interjected in the short pause in the fashionista's sentence, “Our own biology, which is awkward in and of itself.”

“Emmy darling?” Rarity’s eyes snapped up to the purple alicorn walking down the stairs, blinking before murmuring, “Yes, it is you, at least at the moment.” The alicorn made one of those amusing facial expressions that Emeris did at times, tinged with a bit of awkwardness that was entirely Twilight.

“It’s both of us, kind of simultaneously. We... it’s hard to talk sometimes since we both want to speak... but only one of us can without it coming out as a weird... thing.”

“No kidding,” Spike grumbled, “It was just Argleblarglebleeeaaauuuurrghghhh for a bit there.”

The alicorn flushed, and Rarity had to cover her mouth with a hoof to keep from tittering, “Well, that must be... frustrating... darling.”

“Extremely,” they grumbled.

Clearing her throat into her hoof to rid herself of her excess giggles, Rarity asked, “Anyways my dear...s is there anything I can do to help you? I know this is quite the mess and would be happy to assist you in any way I can.”

“There isn’t... well... maybe... it’d be nice if... but then... hrm...” the alicorn scowled for a moment, blinking as his mouth moved silently before shaking his head, “Could you bring us some tea and honey please?”

“... dear?”

“We’d... like some more variety in our caffine, Iagh..” the alicorn winced, flushing as Spike sighed and Rarity’s eyebrows rose, “Sorry... Twilight only has coffee and Emeris prefers tea.”

“Oh... alright,” while obviously somewhat conused about her friends peculiarities, Rarity was willing to accept them if it meant helping, still... “Are... you certain that there’s nothing else darlings?”

“As... as certain as we can be... we need to do some research...”

Rarity smiled gently at her friend(s), placing a hoof on (his? her? their?) shoulder, “It’s alright Twi-... you two, your friends are here for you, we’re certain that you two can fix this.”

Smiling weakly back, the alicorn nodded gratefully, “Thanks Rarity, we really appreciate it.”

“It’s nothing darling~ Though you simply must model some designs for me! Male alicorns are simply so rare that I’ve never had the opportunity to design for one!”

The alicorn couldn’t help it, he laughed.

o-Applejack-o

“Dash! Sugarcube! Ya up there?”

There was a small groan from the window above the orange mare as the blue pegasus peeked out from her window, rubbing her eye with a hoof, “Yeah, wha-iz-it AJ?”

Applejack blinked before scowling disapprovingly up at her friend, “... did ya just wake up? It’s almost noon.”

A scowl that went completely unnoticed it seemed, as she just yawned, leaning against her cloud-window, “Yeah, and? There aren’t any clouds in the sky!” she waved a hoof at the completely clear skies.

With a groan, AJ face-hoofed at Dash’s laziness before shaking her head, “Anyways, I thought you should know that Emeris is awake again! Rarity just came and told me!” Applejack couldn’t help herself, grinning as she spoke. As frustrating as that stallion could be, she was happy that he was okay... well... maybe not okay, but he was awake at least.

Sure, she liked the stallion, but RD really liked him. Applejack had no doubt that the knowledge that he was at least conscious again would improve her day.

Or, at least, she’d thought it would.

“Yeah...” as hard as it may have been to see the pegasus from the ground, Applejack could almost swear that her face had fallen when she looked away, ”I know...”

The farm-mare blinked, staring up at her friend, “Y’know? When’d you find out? Rarity just told me and hadn’t gotten over here to you...”

Rainbow Dash shifted in place a bit, fidgeting, “I was there when he woke up, he did it when Twilight lost control while flying... totally saved their hay to be honest, it would’ve been a close save...”

“Then...” AJ blinked, the realization slowly coming over her, “Why aren’t ya more excited sugarcube? Ya sound almost sad...”

“W-What are you talking about? I’m really happy! It’s awesome!” even from the ground, it was obvious that Dash’s smile was forced.

Another scowl, this time fiercer, “What’s the matter Sugarcube?”

“Nothing! Nothing’s the matter at all!”

The smile became even more obviously strained... Something was wrong and by tarnation, she intended to find out what, “Sugarcube, you come down here and talk to me!”

“There’s nothing to talk about!”

“Horse apples! Something’s wrong! Why don’t you want to talk to me about it?”

“I–…” she obviously cringed, shifting in the window, “It’s mushy stuff, okay?!”

“Tarnation girl! What did I say about that stuff last time you said that?!”

She shifted uncomfortably, “... that that’s what friends are for...”

“Exactly! Now get your flank down here and talk to me or I’ll go grab Twi and Em and get them to drag you down to talk. You know they can and would!”

The normally confident mare squeaked, “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Ah would and you know it sugarcube! So get down here and talk to me or you’ll be talkin’ with them as well!”

“I–... a-alright...” almost hesitantly, she slipped out of the window and slowly fluttered down to AJ, her ears drooping and wings pressing against her sides. The blue pegasus pawed at the grass absently with her hoof as Applejack’s green eyes narrowed.

“Welp?”

“I-It’s awkward okay? It’s stupid mushy stuff. I just don’t do mushy stuff.”

“Sugarcube.”

“Alright!” the pegasus snapped before wincing and letting out a sigh, “… alright. Look, Em sent me away, okay?”

The implications of that made Applejack’s face soften, her tone a fair bit gentler than it had been before, “Hun, there ain’t no way he meant it like that and you know it.”

“I know!” she stomped her hoof, her teeth gritted before the fire left her eyes and she slumped, “... I know... just... it really hurt... and it’s not like I can just ask Emmy out now that Twilight and him are the same pony.”

“Well... ah suppose that makes sense...” AJ shifted slightly before something occured to her, “Just so long as ya don’t give up totally Dash, it’s not like this is gonna last forever. Both of them are real smart.”

“S-Sure thing, there’s no way I’d just give up that easily! That’s silly! Hehe...”

The awkward chuckle at the end of the sentence did not fill Applejack with confidence, “Sugarcube...”

“Oh! Look! Clouds off of schedule! I’d better go handle that! Talk to you later AJ!” and then the pegasus was gone in a streak of multicolored light before her friend could get a hold of her.

“... well... horseapples.”

oOo

“Aspect fusion?” turn and walk.

“No, neither of us had the appropriate Areo aspects to cause the creation of wings,” turn and walk.

“Could it have linked to my wards?” a pause.

“No... not really, if it had, we’d have more aspects of Celestia and Luna as those are the allowed beings aside from yourself, it wouldn’t have given us aspects of you and me,” the clopping sounds resumed.

“Damn... um... physical interweaving?” another pause.

“Well, it’s possible, we do have an increased mass... but not the right amount.”

“Damn, right, you only had about half my mass, but we weigh even more than that. Still, that brings up the question, where’d the extra mass come from then?”

“Pony-feathers, you’re right. That’s the thing though isn’t it? Where’d the mass come from?”

“That and the wings,” a growl, “Seriously, that was burned out of me and you’re a Unicorn, where’d these come from?”

Finally, their audience of one spoke up, “Can you two stop that?! Seriously! It’s not just weird when you talk to yourselves like that, it’s freaky!”

The alicorn glared at their assistant, but the purple dragon stood beneath it steadily, “Seriously, you’ve been pacing back and forth talking to yourselves for the past hour!”

“Spike, we need to figure this out,”

“But do you need to do it like that?”

The alicorn face-hoofed, “No... but... it helps. Especially for Emeris, he has trouble thinking without moving around,” there was a pause from them before they nodded to themselves, “Spike, you don’t have to hang around us when we’re like this. We’ve got to really think about everything we’ve researched for a bit before we look up anything else, feel free to take the day off.”

“... Twi?”

“She’s right Spike, we’re just going to be a pain in the a–... flank, right now.”

“If you’re sure...”

“Yeah, don’t worry, don’t stress over us, take some time off... just make sure that the sign says closed on your way out!”

While somewhat hesitant to leave Twilight, Spike wasn’t going to turn down the chance to enjoy himself. The young dragon quietly left the library, dutifully checking to ensure that the curtains were drawn and the door locked behind him, the closed sign up.

It was only once they heard the door close that the alicorn slumped to the floor, a somewhat dejected look crossing their face for the briefest of moments before it was pushed aside.

’We are not singing about how screwed up our situation is. Urges be damned. We’re not through yet.’

’Party pooper. … still... it looks hopeless.’

’It looked hopeless for two years Emeris snapped before his temper cooled, embarrassment and guilt flooding them because of his outburst ’... sorry, just... look, we can handle this. It’s only been a day, we just finished our research, we haven’t gone through all of the possibilities, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to give up. I will never give up.’

There was an unintentional flash of memory between the two, ’... one foot in front of the other until the end of time... because if you don’t, then you’re no better than dead... you really believe that...’

’... yeah... had to keep telling myself that even before coming here, I’m naturally predisposed to depression and I had to internalize a way to mitigate it...

’... was it really that bad?

There were flashes of days, weeks spent uselessly, unable to muster up the desire to do anything but go through the motions. Months of an ache in his chest, of nothing being fun, of nothing being accomplished... not because there was nothing to accomplish, but because there was nothing he could bring himself to do. While unpleasant for Emeris, it was particularly poignant to the studious and determined Twilight.

’Sorry... didn’t think that’d be that harsh for you... the alicorn flushed in embarrassment, he’d only meant to respond to her question, not actually bother her.

’Don’t be, you couldn’t have known. And if it was that bad for you, you had a reason to internalize that... though I do have to say that your response was a bit extreme, you went to the other side of the spectrum.’ Twilight teased half-heartedly, ’You went from a timid puppy to a rabid timberwolf.’

’… I’d prefer to be compared to a kitten and a tiger thank you very much… more of a cat person…’ Emeris sent back through their conjoined minds.

The amusement from Twilight was tainted with despondence, and the two were silent for a long moment before Twilight sent back, ’… forced levity isn’t exactly effective when it’s in your own head huh…?’

’Not really, no,’ Emeris’ thoughts were faintly amused as well, sharing his headmate’s despondence and resignation, ’That’s… that’s why I tend to get angry… as a great speaker before my time said, ‘When people get sad, they just lay around and moan about being sad, but if you get people angry, they get things done.’ Might be paraphrasing that, but… it’s the truth.’

There was a pause from Twilight as she absorbed that, before she gently, but amusedly suggested, ’Why don’t we skip the getting-angry step and go straight to the getting-stuff-done part?’

oOo

Applejack pushed her way into the library, being sure to close the door behind her with a hoof, the basket of treats (both apple-based and not) swinging in her mouth, “Sh’ike?”

“AJ?” the purple dragon peeked out from the kitchen, “Hey, they’re in the lab, something about jeans or something,” he jerked his thumb in the direction of the door to the basement, walking to it himself, “I’ll open the door for ya.”

“Shanks Shpike,” walking through the offered door, the cowpony headed down into the cluttered basement. A number of machines were on, beeping or flashing, some whirring and moving, others bubbling... eventually, among all the things, Applejack found her friend(s) glaring at a set of test tubes, their horn glowing slightly.

“Allo Twi, Em.”

Usually, when Twilight was interrupted while in her ‘sciencey’ mode, she’d either jump a mile in the air or ramble about what she was lookin at, instead, the alicorn waved a wing at her, “Hey AJ, Twi’s a bit out of it at the moment, she needs to focus on the magic right now. Thanks for bringing food by the way, I keep getting caught up in Twilight’s fits of genius and we’ve been forgetting to eat. Definitely a first for me...”

Applejack set down the basket of treats on a clear spot on one of the tables nearby, “So how’s things been goin’?”

“Mmm.”

“That bad huh?” she walked over beside the alicorn as he ruffled his wings, an unhappy look on his face.

“Not really, it just feels like we’re out of our depth.”

“Really? That’s surprisin, y’all are two of the smartest ponies ah know...”

“Thanks, but it’s not just about being smart. This is completely unlike conventional magic. It really feels like we’re starting from scratch. It’s...” he gestured with a hoof, trying to find the words before inspiration struck him, “It’s like trying to get apples, but there aren’t any trees around so we’ve got to grow our own.”

She blinked before asking for confirmation, “An the apples in that are the solution to this mess?”

“Yeah. If this was a normal problem, Twilight or I, probably Twilight,” he admittedly easily, “Would be able to draw on our existing knowledge of magic and fix it. But it’s not. This is something that conventional magic considers impossible.”

Applejack felt her heart plummet, worried for her friends, “Then... how are ya gonna fix it?”

“Step one is figuring out what actually happened. Once we get that, between the two of us, it should be relatively easy to figure out how to fix it. We’ve already gone through some of the more likely explanations and discarded them, we’re currently testing one of the other possible ones...”

“Is... is there anything ah– we can do for y’all?”

“I wish...” the alicorn sighed, glaring at the test tubes still, “But at the moment, we’re just getting–” he trailed off, his differently eyes unfocusing for a moment, “Ah... hrm... okay... well... well.”

“Um, Em?”

“Sorry, we just finished the experiment... it’s... the data’s confusing at the moment... but... promising,” the small smile on the alicorn’s face was hopeful.

“Oh, good,” a small sigh of relief escaped Applejack as the alicorn began to move the test tubes around, placing some in machines while others into a cooler, muttering to themselves more animatedly than Twilight normally would have. Then again, they could literally talk to themselves...

Still, she wasn’t here to listen to her more bookish friends talk to themselves, and dropping off the food had only been a part of it.

“Anyhow sugarcube,” she interrupted the alicorn’s musings, “Ah just was wonderin’ if there was any chance we’d get in any more tutorin’ or if we’re gonna have to wait till y’all figure this out?”

A sad look spread across the alicorn’s face, “We’re going to have to wait AJ, neither of us wants to risk this turning out to be the curse returning, so we’re trying to get it handled as quickly as possible.”

Applejack schooled her facial expressions, trying not to show the brief bit of sadness that news brought. It made sense, preventing that curse from coming back. But still, a small, traitorous part of her wished her friend could keep tutoring her. Sure, he could be a pain in the flank sometimes; but the lessons made her feel smart, and it was nice to spend time with a friend, “It’s alright, ah understand, just wanted to be sure an’ all.”

The gentle nudge against the underside of her chin made Applejack flush as she turned to the alicorn who had gotten considerably closer, “Applejack, I’m sorry about this mess, once we get it fixed, we’ll catch up on everything we missed, promise.”

“Ah– a-alright,” surprisingly flustered, Applejack couldn’t do much more than nod, “Thanks, Ah-Ah’ll be goin’ now, let y’all work an’ everything.”

“AJ–” the stallion started to raise a hoof, but she’d already practically dashed back up the steps.

“Talk to you later sugarcube!”

The door was closed behind her before the alicorn could say anything else. Heaving a sigh, they facehoofed, “Damnit.”

’Y-You–... I... we... but...’

’... what?’

’Since when have you been flirting like that?!

The male of their combined mind nearly jumped from their skin at that, ’I– I–… I suspected but…she just looked so sad and… and I couldn’t just do nothing!’

’There are any number of things you could’ve done! You could’ve just said something! Put your hoof on her shoulder! Nudged her! Why–‘ There was a flash of memory, of Applejack with the sun rising behind her as she worked, of her face whenever she was teased, of wrestling with her, of teaching her and learning from her, of the warmth that spread in his chest when he made her smile, ’… oh. Oh.’

’Sorry… I can’t… I can’t control my stupid heart… and I just… I just do things sometimes before thinking them all the way through…

Embarrassed for a multitude of reasons, Twilight covered their face with a hoof, ’Ugh… just… can you court her after we’re separated please?’

He groaned through their conjoined minds, ’Don’t worry, I’m not even seriously considering a relationship at the moment. I’m still adjusting to the idea that someone close to me isn’t trying to get into my pants.’

’Get into your pants…?

’Ah, um… sorry, it’s a euphemism for sex.’

’... that’s... ugh...

’Yeah, sorry.’

’Is it... really that bad?’

’I... had a rather significant freak-out when Rarity got a bit too close to me... I’m still a bit... ah... fucked in the head from then...’

There was a wordless ‘Why?’ from Twilight that was met by flashes of memory, of the many times that interaction with ponies had devolved into him being molested, of the many times a pony close to him meant that they were about to either molest or attempt to rape him.

The alicorn flinched at the memories, both the giver and the receiver, ’Sorry... I–... I didn’t mean to show you that... just...’

’PTSD... you have PTSD...

There was a flare of confusion from Emeris before the acronym was translated, ’Oh... oh. Um... yeah... I... I guess I do... an unidentifiable mess of emotions washed through him at the realization, bleeding over their link, Sorry... I–... sorry that you’re stuck linked with me like this.’

’No! No... you don’t have to be sorry. I got us into this mess, this is my fault. Don’t... don’t apologize for that...’

’I–... okay...’

A long, awkward silence settled over the two of them as their minds withdrew from one another, trying to absorb the information and revelations between them. Emeris trying to sort out how he felt about being more distorted and messed up than he’d originally assumed... and Twilight as she tried to understand, really understand what it must’ve been like, what the effects on one’s psyche would have been to have ponies, all ponies, be like that... and that she was stuck linked with him, their minds fused and bleeding over into one another. They’d just had uncomfortable revelations about love, sex, and trauma, awkward didn’t even start to cover it.

There was a pulse of thought that could only be likened to a cough between them, ’Well! We should get back to work.

’Yes! Right. Lets. Where were we?

oOo

“Twi? Em?” Dash knocked on the door of the library hesitantly, “I got the letter from Spike, what do you want–”

There was a sudden lurch and a flash of purple and as the pegasus stumbled around, she realized that the world around her had become the inside of the library, “–orry, Spike’s not in and Twilight didn’t want to open the door.”

“Wha–?” blinking her rose-colored eyes, Dash swung her gaze around to find an apologetic looking alicorn beside her.

“We said that we’re sorry for that. Twilight didn’t want to open the door and Spike’s not in at the moment,” his wings shifted uncomfortably against his sides, though something was... off... “Twilight’s been more than able to teleport others for a while now, but Emeris’ power and magic made the spell a bit different than she’d thought it would be. We’re sorry about the disorientation.”

“Oh... okay... just... um, don’t do that again please?” there was something off about the alicorn, and Dash couldn’t put a primary on it. Sure, she’d only seen her friends combined like this for a little bit a few days ago, but something definitely seemed off about them right now... “I mean, why didn’t you two just yell for me to come in?”

The alicorn blinked before face-hoofing, “Right. Sorry. Should’ve done that. Won’t happen again.”

Rolling her eyes at her friends antics, Dash waved it off, her worries fading, “Yeah yeah, anyways, what’d you two need me over for?” it was still weird knowing that she was talking to both Twilight and Emeris at the same time right now... but it wasn’t ‘things are different between us’ weird, and that was a good thing in Dash’s book. Apparently they really had just needed to sort things out between themselves.

This relieved Dash more than she’d care to admit, she’d been more than a bit worried before, but... well... AJ had been right!

“Well...” the alicorn stretched out a wing, “We need-”

“Holy horseapples! What happened to your wings?!”

The alicorn winced at the reaction, “Ah... well... “

There was good reason for Dash’s response, at least in her eyes. The large and otherwise beautifully structured wings were a mess. Feathers were askew all over the place, the down was rumpled, some of the primaries were bent, and there were bits of dirt scattered through the wings, “Well what?! What the buck happened to your wings?!”

“Ah... we... we don’t know how to preen ourselves...”

“... what.”

The alicorn sighed, looking sheepish, “Twilight obviously doesn’t know how to preen, and, well, Emeris never had to learn while as Gary, his wings just stayed nice the entire time... so we never learned how to preen and... well... you can see,” the alicorn waved the disgusting wing slightly.

“You’ve got to be bucking kidding me...” the pegasus muttered in disbelief, “You never had to preen?”

“Not once, it was one of the little blessings of the state, though it was linked to that ridiculous mane. Blech.”

“And you wanted to get rid of that? Not the mane because that looked stupid, sure. But you wanted to have to deal with preening and crap?”

The corner of the alicorn’s mouth quirked up in a very Emeris-like smirk, a subdued smirk of meloncholy and amusement that seemed out of place on such an attractive face, “I wanted to be able to talk to others about things like that, not cardboard cut-outs speaking through them.”

“... oh. Heh... yeah... that must’ve gotten old quick...”

“You have no idea,” the alicorn groaned, a strange resonance to their voice, sounding like both of Dash’s friends rather than just one. With a sigh, the alicorn looked back to her, shifting his wings, “Still, could you help us out here? These are getting uncomfortable, making the neat-freak in Twilight go crazy, and not knowing how to do it is really bothering Emeris.”

Dash coughed slightly, looking away, “O-Okay, but why me? Why not Fluttershy?”

Their smile was gentle, “We wanted the best...” then it turned amused as the accent became distinctly Twilight’s, “Well... Emeris did.”

Flushing at the compliment, Dash smiled a bit, “Well you went to the right pegasus then! Now,” a wicked grin crossed her face, “Spread’m.” The alicorn coughed and sputtered, amusement and aghast horror competing on their face. It was a weird sound to hear a pony try to laugh and stammer and yell all at the same time.

After a moment of watching the alicorn’s confused emotions, Dash took pity on them, “Your wings of course, can’t help you out if you’ve got them tucked like that!” The affronted “Dash!” was all Twilight, but the chuckles were definitely Emeris, “C’mon! I’m serious, spread’m out.”

With a sigh, still obviously torn between a grin and irritation, the alicorn spread his wings out. Dash had to suppress a cringe, the wings really were pretty bad, her wings were one of the few things she was a neat-freak about, improper wing care could really hurt your flight performance after all.

With a sigh, Dash walked over and circled the still surprisingly large alicorn, taking in the mess that was their wings, “We should probably sit to make it easier for you to get to them huh...?”

“Yeah, and we’re going to be here a while, there’s a lot to do... yeesh. Did you even try to fix this?”

The alicorn coughed as their flanks sank to the floor, their wings twitching, “We started to, but were afraid we’d make it worse.”

Rainbow Dash scowled at the large wing in front of her for a moment, “Y’know, I’d almost say that’s stupid, but knowing you two, you just might’ve.”

“Oh hush Miss Crash,” the alicorn grumbled.

Victory achieved, Dash stepped up to the alicorn, coming to a stop as she approached his wing. Swallowing, she forced down her nervousness and issues. Sure, she was about to help an alicorn preen, an alicorn that happened to be two of her best friends at the same time, one of which she was very seriously considering asking to be her stallion...

But the two of them probably had no idea what they were asking! And it’s not like preening was automatically romantic or anything just... usually romantic.

Ugh. As awkward as this might’ve been for her, her friends really did need her help, those wings needed help. A lot of help. Sighing in resignation, Dash began to work

oOo

’... seriously. Two of my friends?!’

The male unicorn’s mind cringed away, ’Sorry! It wasn’t on purpose! I... they’re just so amazing... they’re strong and energetic... sorry... I... sorry...’

’I... ugh... no... I understand... just...’ the mare of the two groaned, their body facehoofing in exasperation. There was a surge of apologetic feelings from Emeris, but Twilight waved it off, ’No, really, I get it, I’m just surprised and... it was an automatic reaction. I spent years thinking you were taking advantage of my friends and finding out you actually like two of them is a shock.’

’I–... sorry.

’Don’t be sorry for your heart. Just... again, leave it all until after we’re seperate.

’Agreed, wholeheartedly. I don’t even know if I’m comfortable with romance right now, let alone interested in pursuing it... I know I’ve got way too many issues to work through before I even consider dating... hell, I thought that before you pointed out my full on psychiatric issues like PTSD, sheesh.

A sudden surge of emotion from her headmate made Twilight cringe, ’What is it...?’

’Just... I just realized that I’m broken... really broken...’

’Emeris...’

’Ugh. What a mess. Can we get back to doing things now? I’ll fix my brain after we get seperated. If anything, it’ll provide a distinction to help pull our brains apart.’ he grumbled.

Sympathy and unintentional empathy radiated from Twilight, the closest the two of them could get to a comforting gesture between them, ’Alright, I have an idea, but I’m going to need your knowledge of Countermagic here.’

’Alright,’ the alicorn took a steadying breath, the unnecessary emotions discarded, ’Alright.’

oOo

There was a soft tinkling of a bell as the door of the shop opened.

“Welcome to the Carousel Botique, how may I– oh! Applejack, how can I help you dear?”

“Ah... ah could use some help fixin somethin...”

Author's Note

Holy flying fuck (Pegasi Priests not included) that took way too long to get out. I'm very sorry folks. I got a job at a restaurant and between learning basically every job in it and filling in for the shifts we were missing as we've gone through half-assed employees... I've had very little free time until recently.

I'm sorry about this not being up to my usual standards of size, but I wanted to get this out sooner rather than later.

And gah, I'll be happy when the plot lets me get away from Emeris as the focus. He's the PoV character, not the focus of the story damnit! Ugh.

Regardless, thanks again to Aburi and Anhero for beta'ing and editing. And I am happy that we got to see another side of Emeris and Twilight both while developing their changing relationship. I'll just be happy when I can get Emeris to being more background observer than focus of the plot.

Anyways! Autobots! Roll out!

Nightmares of Many Kinds

It was a party, ponies were smiling all around me… Everyone was laughing and having fun... there were balloons and streamers and confetti. A festival! It was a festival! There were rides and shows and games! Foals laughing and the murmur of voices.

But… then the smiles… they changed.

Like a ripple spreading through a pond, their smiles grew too wide… their teeth too big, too sharp… pony faces weren’t meant to do that… their faces can’t do that!

Eyes turned red, blood flowing out from their pupils to cover the entire eye, coagulating and turning brown even as it ran down their faces and into their too white, too sharp teeth.

No...

No!

This wasn’t right! This was wrong! So wrong! It was so wrong!

Unnatural–!

Run! Have to run-!

But every step, there were more, at every turn, those grins, impossibly wide and sharp, the blood pooling on the ground beneath each face.

Then the laughter started.

Run!

It was a chorus, a chorus of laughter, of foals and adults, wheezing laughs of the elderly and the tittering of bells, but it was all wrong… it wasn’t normal! It wasn’t right!

Ponies! Normal ponies! There! Hiding! Had to get to them! They’d–

They changed, they turned with normal faces that split into more of those horrifying grins.

That laughter! Stop it! No more!

Had to run!

Get away, had to get away-

Couldn’t let them catch me-

Laughter started to bubble in my chest, a grin spreading across my face–

”NO!!!”

There was a hollow thud as pain flared their face and the alicorn struggled to their feet, their breath ragged as they suddenly untangled themselves from the sheets, mismatched eyes darting around the empty room.

’That- a dream-? No, a nightmare-... another nightmare. Can we not do that again….?

The alicorn swallowed hard, ’It’s not exactly pleasant for me either Twilight. I don’t like these distorted memories tormenting our sleep any more than you do. Really don’t like waking up with a face-full of hardwood floor though.’ came the terse reply.

’Hey! It’s totally normal to thrash about during a nightmare like that!’ They glanced out of the window to see the sky starting to lighten, so heading back to sleep wasn’t an option. Twilight pulled at the sheets with their magic as Emeris moved their body to untangle themselves from the sheets.

’Not for me!’ Emeris snapped back before guilt flooded over the connection at his loss of temper. ’Sorry… just… not used to nightmares, and definitely not liking these twisted memories… I was powerful when these things happened…’

’So you weren’t scared or horrified?’ Twilight almost scoffed, she was too irritable after waking up like that to feel particularly guilty about her mental tone, tucking the sheets back into place with their magic.

’Don’t give me that! Don’t-.... you can only take so much of the world tearing itself apart because of horrors before you have to distance yourself from it. You can’t be emotionally involved when horrifying things happen every damn week.’

The alicorn stumbled on their way towards the bathroom, ’Emeris…’ Twilight was torn between being disgusted by how he’d deliberately distanced himself from the suffering of ponies and being horrified by the fact that he’d had to.

’Ugh. Can we just move on please, we’ve got a lead on how to separate us again and I don’t want to waste any time since we’re up.’

The alicorn’s lips pressed into a thin line, ’... Emeris, what’s wrong? You’re usually not like this.’ she asked with concern and confusion.

There was silence from her head-mate for a long moment as they went through their new morning routine, ’That town… I remember it… it had started with just a few ponies, I’d thought I could cure them, reverse what was happening. But it wasn’t a curse or reality warping… something from Beyond had slipped through and was killing them, not just twisting them, but killing them and twisting what was left into… things very much like what we saw… it spread like a disease… I was immune but, even touching the blood or… or hearing the laughter was enough to cause it to spread… I barely contained it. I had to vaporize the town.’

The alicorn paled at the thought, ’Emeris…’

’I... I couldn’t do anything Twilight… there was nothing I could do to save them, no monster to stop, no magic to help, no trick… and they didn’t do anything other than stand there and laugh in their stolen bodies… I’ve never felt so helpless since then…’ Pressing their head against the cold glass of the mirror, a few small tears escaped their eyes, ’I… I try very hard not to think about that time… I want to forget… I want to leave it alone and never deal with it again. It’s gone, it’s in the past, and that’s where it should remain. I can’t change it, I can’t prevent it, I can do nothing but mourn… and I’m tired of being sad… I-... I just want all of that to remain buried where it belongs. I don’t want it dug up… I just want my dreamless nights back...’

’... I’m sorry.’

’... I know.’

oOo

There was a soft tinkling of a bell as the door of the shop opened.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, how may I– oh! Applejack, how can I help you dear?”

“Ah... ah could use some help fixin somethin...”

“Whatever do you need help with?”

“It’s mah hat, it got tore up a bit while chasin down Applebloom near the edge of the Everfree,” with a flick of her head, the Earth Pony flipped her hat off of her head and into her mouth before tossing it the remaining distance to Rarity, “Ah just don’t want it to get any worse if Ah don’t tend to it.”

Catching it with her magic, Rarity pulled it over to one of her work stations, “Of course, felt isn’t my specialty but I’ll have it fixed right away~” looking it over with a professional eye, she pursed her lips, “Mm, yes, this will be but a moment's work, feel free to take a seat, dear; I’ll have it fixed right away.”

“Thanks Rares,” Applejack went over to one of the couches, laying down on it and looking out the window as her friend worked.

The two were quiet as the seamstress worked her magic, both literally and figuratively. Well, mostly quiet. Rarity hummed to herself softly, and every now and then Applejack would let out a little sigh.

It was after the fifth such sigh that the seamstress actually paused in her work to look at her friend, “AJ, darling, whatever is the matter?”

“Huh-? N-Nothin’s the matter.”

“Applejack dear, you’ve been sighing and staring out of the window the entire time you’ve been here, what’s wrong?”

The cowpony snorted, looking away with a huff, “That don’t mean nothin!”

Rarity gave her friend on her couch a flat look, and only moments later Applejack’s quick glance back gave her away. Within a minute, Applejack’s facade cracked and with yet another sigh she laid her head against the armrest of the couch, “Alright, Ah’ll tell ya, but only ‘cause Ah think you can help. Ah’m worried about this whole combined pony business and how it’s gonna affect Dash’s confidence.”

“While I certainly understand being worried about Twilight and Emeris, I’m not sure I understand how it might hurt Dash’s confidence…” with a puzzled look, she set the hat down, “I know that she’s quite fond of Emeris but why would this situation…?”

“Ah kinda convinced her to ask Em out just before they got fused…” she sheepishly admitted.

“Oh… oh dear, that would be problematic wouldn’t it…”

“Darn tootin,” Applejack grumbled, rubbing her muzzle with her hooves, “Ah just don’t know what to do. Dash definitely wants to court Em, but she’s so scared that she’ll mess it up that she can’t even think about askin him out.”

The unicorn contemplated as she worked, “Well… why not give Emeris a flower yourself?”

That took a second to process, “What?!”

“Ahem, why not ask Emeris out yourself?”

“How the hay would that help?!” Applejack had leapt to her hooves, staring at her friend like she’d grown a second head.

“Well dear, you do like Emeris correct?” Rarity gestured daintily at the cowpony.

Applejack’s face turned red, “What makes ya’ think that?!”

“Aside from your fawning over the stallion, eagerness to be around him, and considerable worry at his predicament?”

“Those are all things that a friend does! Especially if they’re a stallion, let alone one who’s gone through the horseapples that Em has,” the cowpony pointed out, smirking at her friend.

Coughing delicately into her hoof at the profanity, Rarity pulled out her big guns, “Well, aside from all of that, I’ve caught you staring at his flanks several times and sighing, not to mention that you tend to get a twitchy tail around him,” hiding a teasing smirk behind her hoof.

Applejack’s hoof came up in a reflexive motion to pull her missing hat over her face, doing nothing more than messing up her hair as her face turned a bright red and she frowned at Rarity, “S-So what if Ah like the stallion? This doesn’t help Dash! Heck, it’ll probably just scare her off or make her mad with me!”

“But a stallion’s first mare is supposed to bring other mares into the herd–”

“What part of ‘it’d just scare her off or make her mad with me’ wasn’t clear Rares?!”

“Applejack Apple! I know that our Dashie is far more delicate than her rough exterior would imply, but do you really think that she’d turn down an opportunity to be invited into a herd…? Well, knowing her pride, that’s actually a reasonable concern...”

“Exactly!” a hoof was pointed at the white unicorn across the boutique.

“Then how did you get her to start to ask him out in the first place?” she asked in curiosity as she finished her work on the hat, taking it up in her magic.

“Ah was only able to convince her ‘cause Ah…” Applejack trailed off, realization coming over her face.

“Yes?” Rarity encouraged.

“‘Cause Ah turned it into a competition…” she said softly, a smile slowly spreading across her face. However, Rarity wasn’t sure she liked that smile… it wasn’t unhinged or any such dreadful things… but it spoke volumes about an ill-considered idea.

“Applejack–”

“Ah know what ta do!” the pony galloped forward and snatched her completed hat out of Rarity’s magical field.

“Applejack, dear, it might be a good idea to talk through the idea before-”

“Thanks for the help Rares!” and she was off! The fashionista tried to grab her friend to stop her, but only managed to grab the hairbands in her mane and tail before the blonde cowpony disappeared out of her stores front door.

“... I have a really bad feeling about this…”

oOo

’Told you tea could be good,’ Emeris’ mind smugged good naturedly at Twilight as they sipped his special tea. ’Smugged isn’t a verb Twilight.’

’Oh hush, I’ll grammar better when I’ve got more caffeine in me. Twilight snarked back.

’Too tired, will brain later?’ the male part of their conjoined minds noted with amusement.

The alicorn rolled their eyes and a small laugh escaped their lips… a small shiver of fear suddenly working its way up their back, ’... sorry… couldn’t stand laughter for a month after that village…’

Staring down at their tea, Twilight returned, ’...I thought that was me…’

There was a moment of silence as the thoughts and understanding seeped through them before the two started to giggle, covering their mouth with a hoof and trying to suppress it as the sound sent a small, instinctual fear through them.

“Spike?”

“Yeah Twi-Mis?”

“A). I, Emeris, hate that name and it can die in a fire,” the alicorn answered primly, the corner of their lip quirking up in spite of their best efforts, “And B). We’re going to need to use some of your gems tor an experiment today, just wanted to give you a heads up.”

“Which ones?” the little dragon asked with a measure of suspicion.

“The diamonds and the jade sadly.”

“The jade?!”

“It won’t be damaged, the diamonds might but the jade won’t, promise.”

“Pinkie Promise?”

The alicorn mimed the motions, though there was a small hiccup as Twilight and Emeris did it with different hooves by default, but they still went through the motions, “Pinkie Promise, at worst it’ll be singed if this blows up in our faces, but its not a filter, it’s a metaphysical anchor for the diamonds which will be the filters.”

Spike pursed his scaly lips, “I still don’t like it,” he grumbled.

“Emeris can make you more diamonds and gems after he’s separate again to make up for it.”

“... what kind of gems…?”

“Depends on the materials available mostly, it’s most likely to be rubies and emeralds.”

“Deal!”

’Since when were we bargaining?’

’Since we were talking about something he considers his.’

’Hoarding instincts?’

’LIkely, that combined with comparative immaturity, a sharp wit, and come on, what kid would be happy if you took their favorite treats away?’

Shaking their head with a smile, the alicorn finished their tea, “Alright then Spike, it’s a deal.” They hadn’t realized that the thoughts exchanged hadn’t been really between one mind another, merely undifferentiated thoughts.

oOo

“Dash! Rainbow Dash!”

"Ugh,” with a groan, the blue pegasus rolled to the edge of the cloud she had, past tense, been napping on, shouting over the edge at the pony that had disturbed her, “What is it AJ?!”

The farm pony held up a full mug to Rainbow, "Get yer flank down here!"

"No way...," Rainbow whispered to herself, gliding down to where AJ sat waiting for her. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked suspiciously.

"This here is an apology." Applejack passed the mug over before she pulled another one out from behind her. "And this one is a bribe."

By the time Applejack finished talking, she was facing the bottom of the first mug; which was empty in record time. "This is your special reserve cider, you only break it out for special occasions!"

"And there aint no occasion more special than this. The apology is for pushing you about Emeris. And the bribe is for a challenge Ah've got for you. Ah want you to stay still long enough to hear me out on this." Applejack paused as she offered the second mug to Rainbow.

Rainbow tried holding out, even if just for appearances. But they both knew just how much she loved the frothy goodness that was held in the simple wooden cup. It was a forgone conclusion that she accepted. "I'm listening."

"Well, first off, Ah've got a bit of a confession to make. Ah've got a bit of a crush on Emmy too." Applejack had to pause as Rainbow choked on her cider.

"I- *hack* - knew it was too good to be true, you want me to back off and-" whatever further comments the pegasus might have had were silenced by a bad case of orange hoof in the mouth.

"Yer gonna hear me out now, remember?" Narrowed eyes and a disgruntled grunt met that question. "Ah like Emmy, and you do too. And Ah reck'n he likes us both right back. This here is where that challenge comes in. Ah say Ah can get him before you can."

Hurt and confusion warred on Rainbow's face as she muttered to herself. "Hear her out. Hear her out."

"An’ no matter what, Ah know it’s gonna be a close race. One we’re both gonna finish, no doubt."

Rainbow froze as the implications of those words hit her.

The two mares stared at each other for a while as Rainbow processed that.

"You called this a challenge. What are the stakes?"

"Aint it obvious sugar? Winner gets to be head mare."

“... you are so on.”

oOo

’Alright, so ballpark it for me, what’s the worst case scenario here?’

’Well, we could tear our minds and bodies apart and scatter them into the various crystals.’

’That’d be pretty bad.’

’Yes, that would be bad.’

’Ballpark it for me, how likely?’

’Not particularly. It’s more likely that one of our minds will get trapped in one of the gems.’

’Well fuck-nuts.’ he murmured in their mind, ’So, best way to deal with that?’

’Language! But we just have to be careful in our implementation, triple check our lists and such. Our calculations are correct, the problem comes from execution.’

’Joys. Alright, let’s get to work then, I’ll move stuff out of the way if you draw the circle.’

’Good idea, let’s get to it.’

oOo

’Careful... careful... if that diamond touches the rune it will short everything out and we'll have to start all over.’

"I know Twilight, I'm being careful," Emeris muttered as he nudged the gem into place. "Almost th-"

*WHAM!!* "EMERIS!!"

The diamond pierced the rune with a small spark, letting the magic smoke free from its binding. Twilight and Emeris could only sigh as they watched at least an hour's worth of work fizzle. With a sigh, the alicorn turned towards the window that had just been rather violently slammed open.

The source of the interruption hit the ground running, both literally and figuratively, as Rainbow Dash quickly landed in front of their shared body and immediately started tugging them towards the door. "Emeris! I finally found you - come with me!"

"Dwasht- err, sorry, both of us were trying to talk there, this is Twilight. What's wrong?" they asked while letting said mare get them moving.

"What? Nothing's wrong Twilight. Me and AJ are seeing who can nail Emeris first."

"Wait, what?" Twilight stuttered as she dug their hooves in, hijacking control from Emeris, "What do you mean by that, what's going on?"

"What's goin' on is that fast and feathery here is trying to get the jump on me. Well, on Emmy too," Applejack said happily, kicking the library door closed behind her as she trotted up to them. "I know you got here first an all; but I made the challenge, and I wouldn't mind taking first crack at him."

’WHAT THE BUCK IS GOING ON HERE!?’

"Oh no." Rainbow turned her full attention to the newcomer, stomping a hoof against the hardwood, "I was here first, I get the first shot!" she jabbed a cyan hoof at her friend.

’Calm down Twilight, Emeris tried to think at her soothingly, but the unsettled undercurrent in his mind betrayed him, ’I’m sure they’ll be willing to wait until after we get separated before we do... whatever this is…’ Twilight had the distinct impression that he wasn’t thinking too hard about what they were talking about.

"Now, now, sugar. This here competition is one where hard feelings ain't gonna do anypony any good. 'Sides, did you ask Twilight here if she's okay with it?” Realization dawned on Dash’s face.

’See?’ There was a weak mental chuckle, ’They probably just want to have a match of some kind or smack me around for something I did as Gary…

But Applejack wasn’t done, “Now, Ah don't know about you, but I don't want to end my first date with Emmy without a goodnight kiss, and with Twi there... well shucks, that's basically asking her to kiss me too!"

The alicorn’s heart seized in their chest, ’What?’

By the time AJ was done, Rainbow was sitting on the ground perilously close to pouting. "You're right. I didn't think about how far we might go, and if Twilight was okay with it. But you know... I don't think I'd mind her being there, not really... as long as Twilight is cool with it. What do you... think... Twilight?"

The alicorn’s pupils had shrunken to pinpricks, small convulsions slowly working their way along the conjoined body, ”No…”

AJ leaned in a bit, “Twilight…? Emmy…?”

“Hey… Em,” Dash came closer, “You okay–?”

The pegasus trailed off as there was the soft clatter of trembling hooves against the hardwood floor of the library, “No… not again… not again… not again…” ’It was gone! It was gone! There’s no reason! No! No! They can’t like me! They can’t! No! This is wrong! Wrong! It was gone!’

–we’d like you to take us, any way you’d like! My friends and I would really like a chance at riding a stallion like yourself~”

Panic surged, horror and fear, the alicorns heart pounding, Twilight desperately trying to regain control of the body.

–mindless blather, little better than talking about the weather or asking what he’d liked, there was no mind behind this talk, no person–

’Emeris–!’ her headmate didn’t respond, panic and horrible flashbacks surging from him in intensifying waves, ’Emeris!!’

But her thoughts didn’t reach him, and unknowing of the mental struggle going on within the alicorn, Applejack stepped forward, raising a hoof towards the unicorn hesitantly, “... Sugar…?”

“No!” both eyes had gone a gray-green as the alicorn shouted with the full force of the Royal voice, scampering backwards and hyperventilating, “No! Not again! Not again! I had a life again! Friends! Not again! Not again!” their horn sparked with power, but Twilight forced the spells to fizzle.

He was breaking down, there was nothing else to call it. This was a panic attack worse than anything Twilight herself had experienced. She could barely keep his panic from releasing bolts of magical power or an overwhelming wave of anti-magic while fighting the tide of fear and panic coming from him.

–vacant expressions of lust, little more than mindless–

“Twilight! Em! Get a hold of yourselves!” Applejack shouted, the sheer panic coming off of the alicorn unsettling both her and Dash. It had come out of nowhere!

“No no no no no no no no no no no–” the alicorn scrambled back until his flanks hit the bookshelf, completely uncaring about the books that spilled onto him from the action, instead starting to scurry along the edge of the wall; wide, unblinking eyes locked onto the two mares in front of him.

’Bucking Tartarus! I can’t get control of anything!’ A very different panic was worming its way into Twilight, that of the consequences of this panic attack, ’Damnit! The best thing that could happen is that Emeris gets us to his home and hides there until I can calm him down and we explain it to the girls but I can’t even get a hold of the vocal chords long enough to tell them tha–’

“Damnit AJ! They’re going to run! They’re in no shape to be in the Everfree, we’ve got to keep them here!”

“Y’er right, Ah’m sorry Twilight, Em, but we can’t let you go–”

“NO!” sparks of purple and emerald flew from the alicorn’s horn as Emeris attempted to shove the two mares back and Twilight counterspelled it before it even left their horn.

’Oh no! This can’t get any–’

*POP* “Twilight Sparkle, we would like to ask if you knew where Emer–” the room fell silent as another alicorn appeared in the library with a flash of light. The princess of the night had teleported into the main room of the library, her polite tone trailing off, her eyes widening at the scene before her.

’I didn’t even finish the bucking thought!’

“What is–?”

“Princess! Keep that alicorn from leaving! We’ll explain later!”

“No!”

”HOLD!” midnight blue magic tried to encompass the alicorn, emerald and violet sparks arcing from the smaller alicorns horn and popping Luna’s magic, “What?!”

“No! Not again! No no no!” The purple and green alicorn slammed into the bookshelf again, knocking more literature free in their haste to scramble away as tears streamed down their face. Applejack rushed to cut the alicorn off at the door.

’Oh no! No! This is bad! Emeris stop!

In spite of the near gibbering terror that enveloped the merged alicorn there was no hesitation as he pivoted, powerful wings snapping out and sending them airborne with a single flap, making a beeline for the window Dash had broken in through.

Twilight had no hope of controlling their body; she was struggled to keep him from doing something hasty with his magic, taking control of their body in this state of panic was nearly impossible.

But the multicolored pegasus was there almost instantly, staying between her merged friends and the windows with her greater speed and agility.

”ENOUGH.”

Light left the world.

The noonday sun should have been shining freely through the windows of the library… but now it was darker than a moonless night. The only visible thing in the library was a glowing pair of eyes and a waving field of stars.

’... oh no...’

There was a strangled sound and sparks of magic lit the room briefly; with a soundless cry, the smaller alicorn was bound to the ground. The chains of darkness encircled their limbs and barrel dozens of times before dipping into the hardwood floor. The alicorn struggled, yanking at the chains, making them stretch and the floorboards crack and warp, multicolored sparks flying freely from their horn.

Light slowly returned to the library, the bound alicorn still struggling against their bonds, pupils little more than pinpricks as they strained against the chains of blackest shadow, small whimpers escaping a mouth muzzled by woven moonlight.

Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash tensed as they watched the alicorn strain against the bindings, even the princess watching warily. But after several moments, the lavender alicorn stopped struggling, but the panic was still evident, grey eyes darting back and forth between the three mares in the room. The friends slowly relaxed as the princess spoke, “Can one of you explain to me what is going on…?”

Appeljack cleared her throat, “Well princess, ah… well… Ah’m not sure where to start actually…”

“Twilight and Emeris are the same pony,” Dash said, pointing a hoof at the bound alicorn, “Twilight thought Emeris was still Gary and that Gary was a horrible and really messed up pony,” the pegasus winced, “Like, really super horrible pony. Twilight knew she messed up and didn’t want to disappoint you and Princess Celestia so Emeris and her were trying to fix it themselves.”

Luna’s eyes widened at the explanation before gesturing at the still panicking alicorn, “And this reaction…?”

“Ah don’t think we rightly know Princess…” Applejack approached the indicated alicorn, the motion getting another frantic fit of struggling from the merged pony, the implications making hurt flash across the faces of both AJ and Dash, “Though, it may have to do with how we were askin’ Em’ out…”

A serious glare settled on Luna’s face, “I suspect I know what has happened…” the bands of moonlight around Twilight Emeris’ muzzle slowly unraveled, “Emeris–”

“Luna! Get me out of here! The curse is coming back-!”

And back on went the bindings.

Luna scowled as shocked looks appeared on the other mares in the room before a scowl appeared on Applejacks and Dash’s face fell. The orange mare strode forward, settling her hat further down her brow even as the merged alicorn shied away, “Look, Sugar… look me in the eye.”

He did, gray eyes with pupils that were little more than pinpricks met hers, “Now look here Sugar, Ah can understand that you’re scared if ya’ think the curse is comin’ back. And now that Ah think about it, Ah can even understand how two mares comin’ to ask ya out at the same time would make ya suspect that.” She stopped a foot away from her still panicky friend, “But Ah really have ta’ ask ya’ a question here Sugar. A very serious question that has nothin’ to do with askin’ ya out or any of that.”

“Now Ah’m sorry about this Twilight, but just bear with me a moment. Em, I want ya’ to look at me, look at me real good.” Applejack watched with a bit of fascination as one of the alicorns eyes seemed to fade back to Twilight’s lavender, the trembles slowly fading despite the tension still filling the large stallion’s body.

Despite the obvious fear and near panic still filling their merged friend, the alicorns eyes were locked with AJs.

*WHACK*

“Do Ah look like a mindless fanmare to you?!”

’Wha–?’

The alicorn blinked stupidly, head still turned from the smack. There was pain, but far more than any minor pain, it was the surprise.

Applejack almost smacked the alicorn again, but restrained herself, a small tear slipping from the corner of her eye, “Ah’m insulted! And hurt. Ah get that y’er scared, Ah get that y’er tryin’ to protect Dash and me, but do we really look like we’re under that crazy curse?”

The alicorn blinked again in confusion before turning his head back towards Applejack, eyes wide.

’I– but this– what–...’

’Emeris, are you back with us?’ Twilight asked her headmate, riding the waves of guilt and hurt and fear that were rolling off of his mind.

’I–… I think I am… I…’ his heart ached when Applejack quickly brushed away the tear that had traced its way down her cheek, ’... do you think they’re right? This isn’t… wrong?’ without a better way to describe it, Emeris’ consciousness cowered in the corner of their mind, ’I– I can’t believe that…’

’Emeris. Let me take over.’

’... okay…’

Unknown to the alicorn, their eyes slowly shifted till both were lavender as they stared at AJ, their breathing slowing as the tension slowly melted away.

Luna stepped up, peering at the smaller alicorn over Applejack’s shoulder, “Twilight, I am to assume that you are with us at the moment, and that Emeris’ panic has been subdued?”

Twilight nodded, Emeris was still afraid, but he had recoiled into the back of their conjoined mind. At that, Luna’s horn glowed once more and the woven moonlight unwrapped from the merged alicorn’s muzzle.

As Twilight took a shaky breath, Luna spoke again, both her face and tone stern, “Twilight Sparkle, I am informed that this… merger… is your doing?”

A cringe, “Y-Yes Princess…”

Luna’s mouth pressed into a thin line, “And what were you trying to do Twilight?”

“I was trying to read his mind to get proof he had done bad things… the curse prevented us from talking to each other about him… I thought other ponies had gotten as far or further with him than I had…”

After but the briefest of moments, realization dawned on the princess of the moon’s face, her eyes widening as concern took over for any anger, “Twilight–”

“Nothing happened! Nothing-... just… nothing more than kissing happened… just… it almost did and… I assumed that it was more than almost for the others…” Twilight shied away as the chains slowly dissolved, looking at the floor.

There was several moments of silence as Luna absorbed this. With a slow breath to collect herself, she stood at her full height, “Twilight. I am extremely disappointed in you,” the lavender alicorn flinched, “And I am certain my sister will be as well.”

“Princess–”

Luna didn’t stop, “You should have come to my sister or myself with these concerns once you were able. You shouldn’t have dabbled in such dangerous and dark arts so casually. But you didn’t, and you did. And because of these failures, you have endangered both yourself and Emeris.” With every sentence, the alicorn cringed and withdrew more into himself, “Neither of you are aware of the risk you have taken and are still at. You two are extremely lucky that this happened and that your minds are still distinct enough to differentiate!”

“But Princess, I–“

“No,” Luna cut them off with a glare. She paused, her eyes closing as she took a slow breath. Opening her eyes again she continued in a calmer tone, “Twilight Sparkle, you are in trouble, and I am quite frankly, very disappointed with you. While your reasons were noble and the curse was quite horrific, you have committed wrong. Element of Magic or not, your casual use of such dangerous magics is extremely concerning.”

Twilight whimpered, but the alicorn's eyes flashed a gray-green and he started to stand stronger, “Princess Luna, it's–“

“Be silent Emeris. Twilight has made a grave mistake.” It wasn't just the alicorn that cringed at Luna's tone, Applejack and Dash did as well, “Twilight Sparkle, you shall stay here while I retrieve my sister. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, while you have my thanks for helping restrain these two while Emeris panicked; I must ask that you not be here when we discuss Twilight’s punishment.”

There was a pause.

“Hey! We're not going to abandon our friend!” Dash leaped up, her wings flaring before hovering only a few inches off of the floor of the library.

Applejack scowled, pushing her hat further down, “Ah hate to say it Princess, but Ah've got to agree with Dash. Even if ya' ask us to not be here, it'd be wrong for us not ta' support our friend, even if she's done wrong.”

“A noble sentiment,” a small smile graced Luna's features before it was replaced by a far more regal one, her head rising high and her starry mane billowing in a nonexistent wind, “But I must insist. This is a security matter and must remain as private as possible.”

The two Element bearers glanced at one another, some silent communication passing between them. Dash’s head was low, even though there was a scowl on her face, “Are you…” she paused, gathering her thoughts, “We can’t support Twilight?”

“Twilight must endure her punishment on her own, though you may comfort and support her afterwards,” there was no hesitation from the princess of the moon, “She has made a mistake and must take her punishment.” At the distraught looks on the mares faces though, Luna's stern look softened, “Do not fear over-much, as she will inevitably have Emeris with her. And knowing him, he shall support her as much as she needs.”

Not entirely satisfied, the two athletic mares exchanged a glance that spoke volumes before turning back to the Princess, “I do not like this...”

“Ah gotta agree Princess. Twilight is our friend, and so is Em.”

“And again. I must insist. There are things that must be discussed that could threaten the safety of Equestria should any mention of them be heard.”

“... wait, seriously? This is 'Danger to all of Equestria' kind of stuff?”

“Yes. While it is unlikely, it could potentially threaten not only our way of lives, but our entire world.”

The jaws of every pony in the room other than the princess' dropped.

'Not again… not fucking again... just... this has got to be the curse again...'

“S-Seriously...?”

“I am not joking.”

There was a long moment as Rainbow Dash’s jaw worked before her wings flared, “What?! What the buck?! That’s exactly the sort of thing the Elements of Harmony should be a part of then! That’s our job! We save the day fro–!”

“Enough!” Luna stomped her forehoof, the light in the library fading momentarily. She took a slow breath, “Rainbow Dash, once again your nobility does you credit, but please understand, even thinking of some of the things which we must discuss could bring their attention and give them a way into our world.”

The merged alicorn stiffened, memories of the beings from Beyond that Emeris had fought while under the curse flitted through their conjoined minds.

“Whilst Emeris and my sister and I are beyond their attentions, Twilight and thy selves are not. This is the risk Twilight has put herself at. Her knowledge of these beings could potentially draw these beings to her after she is separated from Emeris,” Luna sighed, a resigned exhaustion briefly settling on her features, “While it is possible that Twilight may be shielded, we must reduce the exposure to the absolute minimum.”

“These… these guys can’t be that bad…” Dash hesitated, glancing between Twilight Emeris and Luna before asking in a small voice, “... can they?”

“Dash,” Emeris had begun to speak, but stopped, realizing that Twilight had said their friends name as well. The Element of Magic continued, “I–… we’ve been having nightmares, memories really, of these beings… I’ve gotten a couple glimpses of the… the things that Emeris had been fighting.” She paused, staring at the whorls in the wood beneath them.

A sentient, fatal disease that spread through the sound of laughter and taste of blood.

A living fire that gorged itself on equine flesh and could not be put out even by magic.

A monster that was always behind you no matter what you did, only visible in reflections to its victim… or to others when it started cutting.

“No… they’re not that bad. They’re worse… So, so much worse…”

Applejack and Dash both swallowed.

Emeris sent as much comfort to Twilight as he could through their conjoined minds. After a moment, he took over their body once more, unknowing of how their eyes shifted to gray-green as they turned towards the larger alicorn, “... Princess Luna.”

“Yes… Emeris?”

“Is…” he hesitated, “Is this related to my curse? I mean… are we certain that this isn't my curse trying to come back?” Applejack started to speak up but the alicorn stallion stomped his forehoof, “No. Hear me out. Two beautiful mares come to ask me out at once, immediately followed by one of the two most important beings in Equestria appearing, and apparently what's going on is important enough to threaten the entire world. Damnit, tell me that doesn't sound like my curse!”

The two mares looked uncomfortable at that, but Luna stepped forward, “Emeris, I can assure you that the threat I speak of is not related to your curse. If anything, your curse is a byproduct of the threat. It is only a concern due to what Twilight has done. I shan't say more while others are here, but this is not due to your curse returning.”

“... oh.”

“Are there any other concerns?” at the shakes of the heads, Luna nodded, “So be it, I must go gather my sister.” With a soft pop and a flash of midnight blue, the princess was gone.

With a resigned sigh, the merged alicorn slumped to the floor of the library, tears slowly flowing from the corners of their mismatched eyes.

Applejack gently put a hoof on her merged friends' shoulder. The alicorn tensed and AJ froze, but after a moment the muscles under her hoof relaxed and she began to trace small circles against the lavender coat, “Twilight... it'll be okay, Ah promise. Same ta' you Em.”

Dash set down close and pressed a forehoof against the large alicorn's barrel, “Yeah, no matter what, we'll stick with you two. And come on, Twilight's Celestia's personal student and Emmy here saved Equestria probably hundreds of times! She's not gonna do anything too crazy.”

“But Dash! Ihglurh–“ the alicorn flinched mid-word, head raised to look at Dash, cringing even more as the pegasus snorted in amusement.

“Okay, that's always gonna be funny.”

“Oh hush.”

'Emeris! What gives?!

'She's right. But if you get started you're just going to work yourself into a panic.'

'Well clearly you'd be an expert considering your obvious experience.'

'I will have you know I did not work myself into a panic. I went from zero to destination Fuckthatville on the Nopetrain in nothing flat. A much more effective technique for illogical panic. Less time for logic.'

Unable to help herself, Twilight snorted in amusement.

“Ah gotta say though, it's real weird when you can tell that the two of you are talkin to each other in y'er head.”

“Sorry, Twilight was trying to work herself into a panic.”

“Pfft, unlike you; you immediately panicked, no warm up required,” Dash teased.

“That's what I said!” the alicorn stallion said with a grin.

While Applejack facehoofed and tried to suppress a smile, Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes with a smirk, “It wasn't a compliment ya big egghead.”

“But it's so much more efficient than working yourself up into a panic. Saves so much time!” the chortles from both of the minds in the alicorn ruined any facade of haughtiness they might have worked up.

After the chuckles faded though, Emeris spoke up again, “Girls... look... I–... after all of this merged stuff is resolved... if you're really serious about this, I–“ the alicorn had to close his eyes, stomping a forehoof and taking a slow, shuddering breath, “We'll talk after this merger thing is resolved and the princesses certify that the curse isn't starting back up because of this. I know that you say it doesn't, but I am completely fucking terrified that it is.” He swallowed, “Y'know, in case you couldn't tell,” his grin was weak, but there.

Applejack’s face became a cross of sympathy and hurt, “Do ya' promise?”

The alicorn took another shuddering breath, “Yeah. But again, first things first, getting the two of us un-fused.”

After a moment, the earth pony sighed, “Alright. And you keep Twilight sane and safe ya' hear?”

“Will do. I won't let the princesses get too crazy with the punishment, fate of Equestria or no.”

'But I did mess up...

'I stand by my previous statement.'

“Good,” Rainbow Dash said with a nod, “if I can't be there to support Twilight with my awesomeness, at least you'll be there to pick up the slack.”

It was a lot easier for three people to share an eye roll when two of those share the same set of eyes.

“Anywho, you two stay safe, okay?”

The alicorn smiled, “We will AJ.”

Rainbow Dash hesitated for a long moment before wrapping a foreleg around her combined friends' withers, giving them a tight hug, “What she said; stay cool. I really, really hate this... it's totally unawesome...”

While the alicorn had briefly tensed, after a moment he relaxed into the hug, “We will Dash.”

The hug lingered for a long moment before Dash pulled away, “Alright, enough mushy stuff, we should get going.”

With a despondent look of their own, the alicorn wiped the remnants of their tears away with a hoof, “Yeah... we should probably get cleaned up before Celestia gives us a dressing down.”

“Right, we'll talk to ya' later sugarcube...s...”

The two mares walked out of the library almost reluctantly, closing the door behind them.

Staring after them for a long moment, the alicorn eventually sighed and began determinedly wiping their face off with their forehooves.

'How... how are you so much calmer now...?'

'... it's always been easier for me to be strong for somebody else than for myself...' an unfiltered thought slipped through, 'I wouldn’t have lasted this long if I weren’t doing it for you girls...'

'... why did I ever think you were a bad pony...'

'Because I was the focal point of significantly over a hundred disasters in the past two years, I mentally manipulated all beings around me, and I nearly raped you?'

Twilight's mind cringed, 'But you didn't. That wasn’t you. You didn't ask for any of this.'

'But it's still my responsibility.'

Author's Note

IT IS BACK. IT LIVES. TIS A DEAD-FIC NO LONGER!!

I'm very sorry about the delay, but a number of things conspired to keep me from writing for a long time.

That said, many thanks to Aburi, my pre-reader for the oodles of help he provided in the creation of this chapter, some sections were actually full on written by him due to my absurd writers block.

BUT STILL. IT LIVES.

So whoever the awesome person is that's been doing the TVTropes stuff for this story, feel free to fix that up!

So happy to have this out finally. I'm actually pretty happy with the chapter overall, it's not perfect, but I like it! Next chapter will deal with Twilight's punishment, the end to this fusion business (FINALLY. I REGRET THIS STORY ARC SO HARD. TOO HARD TO WRITE.), and the plot finally moving away from Emeris-centric.

But as per usual, comments, critique, and general feelings of any kind are greatly appreciated!

Anyways, Autobots, roll out!

No More Angst-! Oh wait. Damnit.

Twilight Emeris sorted the various gems back into their appropriate places, they’d already cleared the floor of the runic inscriptions and sigils for their attempted ritual.

There was a pair of soft pops and flashes of light.

“Twilight. Emeris.”

Swallowing due to the trepidation of both of the bodies inhabitants, they finished setting down the gems and turned towards the two alicorns in the center of the library, “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.”

“Come here Twilight, Emeris.”

The two walked forward, their neck muscles twitching as Emeris tried to hold their head high even as Twilight tried to hold it low in submission, ’I’ve messed up! I’ve messed up bad!’

’You only did what you thought was right, even if you made a mistake while doing so.’

Celestia’s eyes narrowed slightly as the merged alicorn came closer; her horn lit up and a golden light washed over the smaller alicorn, causing an unpleasant prickling sensation along their coat. Mismatched eyes blinked, ’I recognize that spell, it’s what Luna used to see if I was still under the curse…’

The princess of the sun’s lips pressed into a thin line momentarily as the spell finished before her face returned to a regal, if neutral expression. That alone made Twilight cringe, she had not seen that look on her teachers face directed at her in years.

“Twilight, before anything else, I want to hear your side of this story.”

Taking a slow breath to steady herself, Twilight began, “I–… when Emeris was still under the curse, I made several attempts to sleep with him. I almost succeeded one time…” concern flashed through Celestia’s eyes and her jaw tensed, “But… while I didn’t succeed, it was only because Pinkie Pie interrupted us… since no one could talk about ‘Gary’ without activating the curse… I didn’t know no one else had gotten that close… and I thought… I’d thought other ponies had gotten him to mount them.”

The princess of the sun stepped forward and wrapped her warm, alabaster wings around the lavender alicorn, pulling them close to her chest. The merged alicorn stiffened briefly before leaning into the embrace, a slow stream of tears seeping from their mismatched eyes.

“Continue, Twilight.”

“S-So I had trouble trusting Emeris… I–… I think I hated him. S-So when you told me to trust him, to give him a chance… I thought that-... I couldn’t believe the curse was really gone…” tears were soaking into Celestia’s coat.

’At ease Twilight. It’s okay, just explain it to her.’

“I couldn’t trust him. I had to find proof to show how bad he really was to you so I tried to read his mind for that proof… but that didn't work out so I... I tried to merge our minds... that turned out… like you can see.”

One of Celestia’s wings came around to brush the slow trail of tears from the smaller alicorns face, “Yes, I can Twilight.”

“I–… I just thought he’d raped my friends and… and I couldn’t think past that.”

“But you didn’t come to me with that possibility Twilight.”

The alicorn’s head fell, “No.”

“And you still used forbidden magics to seek your information, or at least, those that require a specialized license.”

“Yes.”

Celestia sighed, her wing slowly brushing her wing along Twilight’s back, the disappointment in that sigh sent a pang of pain through Twilight’s heart, “I am disappointed, Twilight, I had thought I taught you better than this.”

“Princess…”

“I am mostly disappointed that you did not come to me with your concerns. All of this could have been avoided. But you have scared me. When I had heard that you’d merged yourself with Emeris I was worried for the mental stability of two of my little ponies. Emeris’ mind is a dangerous place, not only because of the knowledge he holds, but also due to his nature.”

“What do you mean Princess…?”

“Emeris, what are you?”

“... you mean originally…? A human…”

“Why are you a pony?”

“Um… I never totally understood that… magic conjured up a physical body for me which I’m possessing is the best I could figure out…?” I’d studied separately from Celestia and hers, so she probably knew the truth considering that she’s the one that figured out how to fix it.

“Your actual form can barely exist in our reality, your physics are fundamentally different from our own as you have noted to me. When you first came, Harmony wrapped around your form and acted as a buffer between your reality and our own. On a metaphysical level, the core of your existence is wrapped in a shell of Harmony magic.”

Twilight’s eyes shot open as something clicked in her head even as Emeris absorbed that information, “So that’s why we needed the Elements of Harmony to fix him! We were recalibrating his harmonious baseline so that the ambient magic wouldn’t try to ‘correct’ it!”

A small, though amused smile appeared on Celestia’s face, “That is correct Twilight.”

’Slow that one down for me please…?’

’If your form (and its effect on others) is/was a result of an error in the Harmony magic acting as a buffer between you and the rest of reality, any attempt at negating it or changing it would be going against what the universe considers the ‘natural order’, like trying to make the sun not shine or things fall up. The universe eventually corrects those effects by asking the “soul” of the pony what’s right, and since as far as the ambient magic is concerned your soul was that powerful harmony magic shell, unless-’

’-a powerful link to Harmony is used to perform the change or otherwise a part of the process, it just won’t work and reality will reassert the original state. Ah. Okay. Thanks.’

Then Twilight paused, “But… why does that make his nature dangerous…?”

This time, it was Emeris that picked up on the implications quickly, ’Because… what if you’re not ‘merged’ with me....

“Because, Twilight, the two of you are not merged in the normal sense that such magic would imply. Your real body is within the Harmony magic that makes up Emeris’ body while his soul is nestled within your own. The longer you two are combined in this fashion, the greater chance your very existence will be damaged by close contact with Emeris’ very different physics.”

“O-Oh…”

“Thankfully, separating you two should not be difficult, though it shall be painful. The only concern is how much dangerous knowledge you have gotten from Emeris due to osmosis.”

At this, Luna cleared her throat, “If Twilight was sharing Emeris’ nightmares for the past few nights, she knows of one threat of which the knowledge of could cause trouble.”

Twilight blinked, “You’ve been following Emeris dreams…?”

Luna raised an eyebrow at Twilight, “There are things in his rare dreams and nightmares that I must ensure do not escape. In the rare times he dreams, I must keep an eye upon them just in case.”

“Oh…”

“Emeris,” the merged alicorn turned back to Celestia, who still had a wing wrapped around them, “You are more aware of the things which you have fought than either of us, as well as Twilight’s exposure to your mind. Are there any other things which may endanger her mind?”

There was a flash of… something through their head before Emeris viciously suppressed it, “I can’t determine. There isn’t an easy distinction between our minds, I can’t simply view her mind without risking more bleed through, especially if I’m looking for something.”

Celestia’s mouth pressed into a thin line before she nodded, “I understand. Regardless, we shall need to seal off that memory.” Twilight swallowed, even if it was Celestia, messing around with her head wasn’t something she was looking forward to.

The princess of the sun stepped back even as Luna came up to stand beside her, both of their horns lighting up, “Relax yourselves my little ponies.”

’Wait, how? What are we doing? Are they about to do the memory thing? What–’

’Twilight. What are the laws of magical ethics?’

’W-What?’

’What are the currently accepted laws of magical ethics?’

’The First: Do not end the life of another with magic

The Second: Do not alter the mind of another

The Third: Do not permanently alter the form of another

The Fourth: Do not summon from beyond the veil

The Fifth: Do not use outside energy to power your spells

The Sixth: Do not give energy to another’

’Seventh, don’t worry when the super powerful immortal princess of the sun tells you not to worry.’

’... what?’

’They’re done.’

“What-?! I– Princess?”

“I’m guessing that Emeris distracted you, Twilight?”

“I– … yes…”

“Yes, we are done with the memory seal,” Celestia’s smile edged into ‘amused’.

“Oh…”

“And now we must pull you out from Emeris’ form,” Luna was moving to the other side of the merged ponies.

“J-Just like that?!”

“Time is of the essence Twilight,” her eyes locked with theirs, “I am sorry, but this will be quite painful, especially for you Emeris.”

“I understand. We are prying my body apart to pull Twilight out of it…” there was a switch in tone and accent as Twilight took over the vocal chords once more, “S-So what do we do?”

“Relax as much as you can and do not struggle, yourself especially Twilight, if you struggle you risk harming Emeris internally.”

Twilight let out a little squeak at that as Luna slowly traced a circle into the floorboards around the smaller alicorn.

’Twilight, it’s okay, I trust you. We can do this.’

’Is… is this what it was like for you when we broke your curse…?’

’... yes… yes it was.’ They were nearly sweating, fear was clenching around their heart like a cold fist, their breath kept threatening to get away from them… ’I found it helpful to try and stay in a single position rather than trying to go limp…’

As the circle beneath them lit up, there was silence in their mind for a long moment, ’Emeris?’

’Yes Twilight?’

’Before we’re separated again… I just want you to know just how sorry I am about all of this.’ The thought was accompanied by the Element of Magic opening her mind to her headmate almost completely, her emotions flooding through their conjoined minds.

’Twilight… you’re forgiven. You’ve been forgiven.’

’It still needs to be said.’

The pain started at their chin. It was like a knife was being used to split their lower lip right down the middle, and while a whimper escaped them, they did not move. The magical effect began to slowly move down their body, tracing from their lip down their neck, then their torso, all the way down their barrel. While considerable, the pain wasn’t excruciating, like a very large paper cut. Then there was another cut, from the inside of one forehoof, up their leg, across their barrel, and then down to their other forehoof, a process repeated with their hindhooves.

The lavender alicorn was slowly lifted, ’And suddenly… I have a premonition this is gonna suck, hard.’

’Emeris-!’ Twilight chastised, even as she struggled not to laugh. Then there was almost a lurch as something grabbed onto Twilight’s existence. Unnoticed by the conjoined minds, golden light began to shine through the cuts.

’Okay, that hurts. That hurts a lot.’ There was a pulling, feeling to Emeris that a hot brand had reached inside him to clench around his heart and pull it from his chest.

Which, to be honest, if it was pulling Twilight from him, it kind of was.

Twilight felt like she was enveloped by the sun, not in the sense of the pleasant warmth of sun during summer, but the blazing heat of the sun in the desert, it was pain and discomfort.

And then the force started to pull, prying his chest open

’OW! Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow, ow, ow ow ow ow, seriously by the way, ow, still not as bad as the curse being lifted but ow ow ow ow ouchies ouchers owie oh such a dick ow ow ow ow ow ow ow fucking ow god damn mother fucking cock sucking ass licking piss drinking cum guzzling rabbit fucking donkey humping fisting loving piece of shit–......’

oOo

Emeris mind slowly faded from the fringes of Twilight’s, leaving the mare stunned at his quite… eloquent cursing even as it faded. She was uncomfortable, but her discomfort went from pain to disgust as the sensation of far too warm sunlight against her skin was joined by that of warm, wet flesh, the pulsing of blood and bits of bone surrounding her.

There was a wet, squelching sound as her vision faded, being replaced instead with a wash of dark red.

Panic tried to grip her, but she forced herself to stay still and calm, she risked not only herself, but the pony she’d wronged if she panicked. There was a sucking sensation all around her and suddenly light nearly blinded her and there was a chill against her coat.

She breathed in, sucking in air as if she hadn’t breathed in hours, blinking repeatedly despite the pain in her eyes, red tears flowing freely down her face as blood was washed away.

Panting as she floated slowly to the ground, her legs crumpling beneath her. Curling up and both feeling and looking like a newborn foal, she saw Celestia in front of her, shining like the sun with golden light. The realization that she was in her own body was quickly followed by the one that Emeris was likely behind her and she quickly looked back, a strangled cry escaping her, “Emeris-?!”

There was the body that she’d shared with him, lavender coat covered in blood, mismatched eyes that were glassy, mane and tail tangled… and opened up from jaws to tail, ribcage spread open and blood falling to the floorboards… and inside the chest cavity… something.

There was something words failed to describe residing in the chest cavity of the body, shining with darkness, bent at impossible angles, twisting and shifting and impossible to describe. Twilight’s mind recoiled from it… and yet it was so familiar because it was… it was EMERIS on a level that was hard to describe but was so fundamental that it actually hurt–

The bodies chest closed quickly and with a sickening squelch, the magical aura around him an ever shifting mix of golden yellow and midnight blue, the body slumping bonelessly in the hold.

’He… he isn’t breathing...’ “E-Emeris-?!” Twilight croaked, her legs fumbling weakly, uncaring as she smeared blood against more of her floor in her attempt to stand, or at least crawl closer to the hovering body, “Emeris!”

“At ease Twilight,” Celestia’s voice was terse in concentration, but thankfully calm, “He only looks bad, give it a moment.”

And so, as she watched, tendrils of that mind-bending existence reached out of the cuts in the barrel of the alicorn body and pulled them shut… a rainbow light shimmering along the seams before slowly spreading to encompass the entire body. Twilight stared in awe as the body began to burn with not only the magic of the elements of harmony, but also black magic. Strands of black power swirling in the infinitely colored flames that enveloped the body, hiding it from view.

The flames of harmony slowly faded, revealing the large stallion that Twilight had come to associate with Emeris, the mess of scars along his barrel and legs, the three large ones on his cheek… and now a new set mirroring the ones that had just been carved into them to release her. A line bisecting his body from his bottom lip to his nethers and another two stretching between each set of hooves. The pink vest he had taken to wearing was obviously not present, but his Cutie Mark, a black lotus design on cover of a book, was the same.

And his eyes were closed, his breathing… he- he wasn’t breathing…

The body was slowly lowered to the ground as the flames sputtered out, and Twilight immediately crawled a bit closer, “Emeris!”

He coughed and his chest started to rise and fall, a small sigh of relief escaping Twilight even though he groaned in pain. At least he was alive. She turned to her mentor and teacher, eyes wide, “Princess, is he going to be okay?”

“Yes, Twilight. Emeris is exhausted and in pain at the moment, but otherwise fine.”

Turning back to the stallion on the floor, Twilight’s eyes narrowed momentarily before turning back to her mentor, “Can he do that again? The healing that is?”

Celestia shook her head, “No. That was Harmony magic… ‘correcting’ his form. It did something similar whenever he tried to alter his appearance while he was an alicorn.”

“Oh…” Twilight stared at the large stallion, his breathing was coming in harsh pants, a small tremor working its way through his body.

“While it looks otherwise, your body was not physically within him, only metaphysically so. The only injuries he truly sustained where the ritualistic cuts.”

With that said, Twilight still couldn’t dispel the concern constricting her chest, ’He’s not moving.’ struggling, she pushed herself closer to his unconscious form. Her legs just refused to work properly, fumbling beneath her like a newborn foal as she stumbled closer.

“... Twilight?”

She didn’t respond to her mentor, she was determined. In spite of her disrespectful legs, she forced herself closer, stumbling until she was within a hooflength of him. That much motion had taken a lot out of her, but she was satisfied when she could extend her forehoof to press her fetlock against the side of Emeris’ face.

Relief flooded through her when his harsh breathing slowed at the contact. A small smile found a place on her face when his tremors faded, the feel of his hot breath against her hoof assuring her that yes, he was alive.

“Twilight.”

Celestia’s soft voice drew Twilight’s gaze, looking up at the alicorn that had come up beside her. Twilight’s entire face turned a bright red. Here she was, covered in blood, laying on the floor of her library with her mane and tail matted against her coat, unable to even stand, her forehoof gently pressing against the face of a large unconscious stallion, and she’d ignored Celestia! “Sorry Princess…”

A gentle smile appeared on Celestia’s face, “It’s alright Twilight, I understand that you were concerned.” The large alicorn settled down beside Twilight, her wings folding against her sides. She nodded at her sister, and with a nod back, Luna vanished with a flash of midnight blue, “But now we must talk about your punishment.”

Twilight cringed, curling up.

“Do you know what you did wrong Twilight?”

“I–… I didn’t trust you or my friends to talk about what was going on… and I misused magic, using dangerous spells.”

“That is correct,” a sad look crossed her face, “Because you did not trust my sister or me enough to come to us with these concerns, and because you used inherently risky magics, you have put yourself and others at risk.”

Twilight could only hang her head.

“Thus your punishment is this: you are to not use magic at all for the next month, and you must get help from others for even the smallest tasks,” her eyes bore into Twilight, her tone unwavering, “You must be reminded of the power of magic and how to trust your friends. You must get assistance from one of your friends for any task aside from walking or your own hygiene.”

The unicorn’s head jerked up, eyes wide, “I–!” but then her head fell, eyes falling to the floorboards, “Yes Princess.”

“Do you understand Twilight?”

“Yes Princess.”

“Mmngfck…”

Both of them blinked before turning towards the source of the sound, the stallion in front of them.

Briefly, Emeris coughed before croaking out a curse, gray-green eyes fluttering open with a cringe, “Sorry. Ow. But… what if something big and nasty comes to town during the month?”

Several emotions flashed across the faces of both mares, surprise, relief, then embarrassment for Twilight, and surprise then amusement for Celestia, “Emeris, my little pony, that is why you are here.”

Both of the unicorns blinked at that, looking up at the alicorn laying beside them, “Um…” started Twilight, “Could you elaborate on that please?” finished Emeris.

“Emeris, should anything dangerous or crazy happen in Ponyville while Twilight is not allowed to use her magics, I will be expecting you to handle things. You have more experience handling the insane and dangerous than anypony, other than possibly my sister and I.”

Rolling onto his stomach with a small groan, Twilight’s hoof fell away from his face as Emeris righted himself and looked at Princess Celestia, “Princess… are you sure…?”

“Emeris, could you handle an Ursa should it come to the town?” she asked with an amused smile.

“Well… yes,” the green unicorn shifted slightly.

“If a dragon were to appear, would you be able to stop it?” Celestia raised an eyebrow at him, her smile still in place.

“Probably?” he knew that answer really depended on the size of the dragon in question. Any being other than himself under the effects of his curse would struggle with some dragons, even Celestia or Luna.

“If there was an incursion from the Everfree, would it be within your ability to stop it?”

“... most likely,” fire magic might not be my specialty, but it had its place.

“Then I feel safe in declaring that any event that would require Twilight’s magical power can be handled by you for the duration of her punishment,” she said with an amused smile before it melted into a more motherly one, “You have talents Emeris, ones that will be very useful in time. Do not be afraid to embrace them.” A brief sadness crossed her eyes, “You are more brutal than my little ponies, and I may need to call upon that part of you in the future. You are rare, though not unique, in your combination of viciousness and power.”

“I–… I understand Princess… it just makes me uncomfortable… it’s too familiar in some ways…”

Celestia smiled sadly at him, “You once called yourself my sword and shield, to use as I see fit to protect Equestria and stop that which threatened it. Though the terrible curse upon your existence has been removed, as your destruction of those timber wolves proves, you are still a greater warrior than many of my guard. You are no prince, but you swore yourself to be my warrior, has that changed?”

“... no. No, it hasn’t.”

“Then shall you defend Ponyville while Twilight serves her punishment?”

Emeris raised his head a bit higher, “Yes.”

Celestia’s smile was radiant as she leaned down to nuzzle Emeris before pushing herself up onto her hooves, “Then this distasteful mess can be considered finished. Twilight, you shall serve your punishment for a whole month, starting now. And Emeris… do try to relax. I had hoped you would have more time to enjoy being a normal pony before I introduced more insanity into your life.”

The princess of the sun glanced over Twilight before her regal look melted into a more amused smile, “Though Twilight, if I may make a suggestion?”

“Yes Princess?”

“Do get Emeris to assist you in getting clean. It will be quite difficult to clean up without any magic in your current state.”

Both unicorns looked over Twilight’s form, covered in drying blood, her mane and tail matted and coated in the fluids and in tangled messes. Emeris’ cheeks turned a soft shade of pink as Twilight flushed a bright red, “Ah… right… thank you Princess…”

With a final smile, Celestia teleported away, leaving the two unicorns on the floor of the library, the wood still coated with streaks of the blood that Twilight had left when she’d dragged herself over to Emeris.

After a moment of silence, Emeris cleared his throat, “Well! Anyways. Awkwardness awkwardness awkwardness. So! Let’s get you up to the shower and cleaned up! It’s not like we haven’t done this for the past few days or anything.” His horn lit up even as he stumbled to his feet, Twilight being lifted from the ground by an emerald glow.

Her legs flailing, Twilight’s eyes went wide, “But it is different–!”

“Only because we’re making it so~”

“Damnit Emeris!”

“Then walk without magic,” Emeris said with a teasing tone, his magic fading even as he stopped.

Twilight’s legs wobbled beneath her, and she sent a triumphant look Emeris’ way.

Then her legs buckled under her after only a moment’s worth of standing.

Emeris returned the triumphant look, his horn lighting back up and lifting a sulking lavender unicorn off of the ground and walking up the stairs, his own legs still unsteady from the ritual.

oOo

“Droolykins…?”

I’d walked home… my real home.

Despite my teasing, I hadn’t done all that much other than get her back, legs, and mane before leaving the rest to her. She’d regained strength in her limbs relatively quickly and I’d left her to deal with her more sensitive areas.

We’d had enough shower time together already thank you very much.

But now… I was home. Pushing the door open and looking for an animal I’d missed quite a bit the past few days.

“Mrwowr…?” came a sleepy sound from inside.

“Pfft, you lazy little snot,” I couldn’t help but grumble, my horn lighting the room with an emerald glow as I slipped inside, “I–…”

I paused, realizing that tears were slowly escaping my eyes.

I was home. The craziness wasn’t over. Twilight was hurting and suffering now, but we were friends? I had to figure out what to do about Applejack and Rainbow Dash. I had to tell the girls about us being separated once more… it was all so much, and it had all come crashing down on me at once.

And there was no one to be strong for.

“I kind of need you right now… I just–” I almost sobbed as I crawled into bed, my still-pink cat meowing plaintively at me, “I just need to hold you close for a bit and cry okay…? I- I’ve had a rough week…”

My cat meowed and lifted onto his hind legs, pressing his front paws against my chest and making a shoving motion. I went with it, rolling onto my side as the cat came up and curled up against my chest, starting to lick at my coat. A small sob wrenched its way free from my chest and I wrapped my forehooves around Droolykins.

I was home.

I was finally home.

oOo

Sunlight beat down against my coat, warming my skin and soothing the aches in my joints and muscles. My vest was laying on the ground beside me as I lay on my side not far outside of the Everfree.

I was comfortable, and my mind was just wandering.

My original intention had been to head into Ponyville and talk to the girls, updating them on the situation, but when the sun had hit my coat once I was out of the shade... I'd started crying again. No huge sobs or anything, but tears had started to flow and I'd laid down on the thick grass.

I was messed up, I knew it. I apparently had PTSD, I also probably had a couple other psyschological issues to be honest... but I would get better with time. I was determined to get better. I would address the issues as they came up and fix them, because I was stronger than this mess, I had to be. Especially if I was to be the defender of Ponyville, no matter how briefly.

That said, right now? I really just wanted to relax for a while without any of the stress of protecting ponies or interacting with those that still hated me.

So sunlight! It was awesome. +4 Self Esteem and -3 Horrible Psychological issues per round.

And fuck, there's the tears again.

Damnit, stop that. Bad emotions. Bad. No sudden swings. Bleh.

With a huff, I rolled over onto my other side, snorting into the tall grass.

Oi veh, what a start to the day.

oOo

Thankfully, the walk through Ponyville was quiet, the various ponies treating me with their usual disdain and disgust and general other d-words that I probably shouldn't say.

But getting to the Carousel Boutique was thankfully uneventful, the bell jingling as I stepped inside the overly fanciful establishment slash home.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, how may I– Emeris! Darling!” Rarity's polite smile brightened into a far happier and more relieved one as she trotted over, “You've been separated from Twilight!”

I smiled, “Thank you for stating the obvious, but yeah. The Princesses split us apart relatively easily.”

Her eyebrows went up, “Oh dear, the Princesses found out?”

I nodded, my smile fading, “Yeah, Luna came to check on us just as...” my mouth shut briefly, “Well, she came upon us fused like that and wasn't happy. She got Celestia and after they split us up, they gave Twilight her punishment.”

“How bad is it?”

“She's not allowed to use magic or do anything without the help of others for a month. The only exception in the latter case being walking and personal hygiene.”

Rarity cringed, “Oh... my, that's going to be quite difficult for Twilight, her magic is very much a part of her.”

I kept my mouth shut, I wanted to snark about having lived without magic for most of my life, but there was a time and place for that.

“Regardless darling, how are you doing?”

“Alive, awake, and very happy to have my own set of limbs once again,” I admitted.

Rarity started to smile and nod, but her eyes narrowed, her lips pursing. I raised an eyebrow at her curiously. Then her forehoof came up to press against my bottom lip and every muscle in my body tensed, ready to leap away.

She paused, a brief look of confusion coming across her face before she rolled her eyes, bopping me in the nose with her hoof, “Oh relax, I'm not interested in you like that Emeris and that hasn't changed.” Then she scowled, “But I just noticed this,” her hoof pressed against my bottom lip and tracing down my neck, “It appears you have a new scar... how dreadful...”

Then something clicked in her head, “Oh dear! Does Twilight have a matching one?! Scars can work for you but on Twilight-!” she rushed off into the boutique.

I rolled my eyes, “Rarity–”

“They work for you because of your rough and tumble look but on Twilight–! Oh the poor dear, I absolutely must figure a way to cover up such blemishes on her otherwise wonderful coat! Especially if she can’t use magic to hide–”

“Rarity!”

The alabaster unicorn stopped in her rushing about to stare at me for a long moment before blushing, “... Twilight doesn’t have a matching one does she?”

“No,” I smiled in amusement, “No she doesn’t. They’re ritualistic and I’m the one that has them. She’s still unblemished.”

“Oh… oh, that’s good,” with a flick of her hoof she ‘fixed’ her fancy hairstyle, “I was quite worried there for a moment.”

I just raised an eyebrow at her, knowing full well that I was smirking at her.

“Oh hush, Twilight has an elegant beauty that she simply does not properly exploit and I was worried that it had been ruined.”

Suppressing my smile, I assumed an exaggerated affronted look, placing a hoof against my chest, “Are’st thou saying that I lack such elegance and beauty?”

Rarity smirked, “Yes.”

I paused, pretending to mull it over, “Well you’re right,” lifting my heavily scarred foreleg and giving it a waggle, “I kind of look like a warzone.”

She shook her head, a small smile on her face, “Now my dear, what did Princess Luna appear during?”

That made me blink, “Um…”

“You were talking about how Luna appeared while something was happening and then moved on. I do know your tells, maybe not as well as my other friends, but yours are quite distinctive,” her forehoof came to gently rest on my chest, her smile warm, “Now what happened that’s made you uncomfortable darling?”

“Ah… well…” I glanced off to the side, feeling my face heat up as I rubbed one foreleg with the other awkwardly, “See… I… kind of had another breakdown… but Twilight was stuck with me as I did…”

“Oh… dear, what brought it on…?”

“... both AJ and Dash came to ask me out at once…”

“... oh…” her hoof fell, “I was afraid that something like that would happen…”

“... really?”

“Yes… would you like to talk about it over some tea dear?”

“I… yeah, I’d appreciate that…”

oOo

“So that’s what happened on my end…”

Rarity sighed, rolling her eyes, “I swear, that Applejack can be so brutish when she gets an idea in her head. Not as bad as Rainbow Dash is, but still quite headstrong.”

I looked at her, cradling my cup of tea in my forehooves, “... did you give her the idea?”

But Rarity shook her head, “Not on purpose. I was trying to offer advice on the situation but she took it the wrong way.”

I gave her a look.

“Oh don’t give me that!” she huffed, “While it’s private and I won’t provide details, I didn’t suggest she rush off to ask you out, let alone doing so with Dash. I’m quite aware you don’t handle such things well.”

With a sigh, I let my head drop to the table. Her hoof came over to stroke my shoulder, but the dramatic mare was quiet, “I don’t know what to do,” I mumbled into the wood.

“What do you want?”

“To be happy and safe? For my friends to be happy and safe?” I was quiet for a moment, “For the mares I care about to be happy and safe…”

“Emeris…”

“I know... I know that’s not helpful… but I don’t–…” I sighed again. There was the clop of hooves on the floorboards as Rarity got up from her chair and came to my side, wrapping a foreleg around my withers. Though I stiffened momentarily, I still relaxed into her loose hold; turning my head to look at her, I continued, “Before all of this, I wanted to have romance… to have someone to love and be loved by. I-... I still do. But I’m scared.”

“Do you like them?” she asked gently.

“Yes,” I said without any real hesitation, knowing exactly to whom she was referring.

“Can you give them a chance?”

“I-... I don’t know.”

“Do you want to?”

The thought of the sun rising behind Applejack, of reading with Dash, the possibility of kissing them, of holding them close…

A small sob escaped me, “Yes.”

Rarity’s legs encircled me in a tight hug as I broke down for the second time today alone, wrapping my forelegs around her barrel and burying my face against her neck as I sobbed into her soft coat of fur.

oOo

I blew my nose into the fourth tissue so far before discarding it into the proper waste receptacle.

While it’s not something I’d do, if I’d tossed those anywhere else, Rarity would’ve had my head mounted. Or at least a maiming… probably a maiming.

“You do need to talk with them dear.”

With a small pulse of magic, I pulled over another tissue, this time to dab at my red-rimmed eyes, “I know. It’s where I was headed after talking to the others and checking up on Twilight.”

“I… well, I’m a bit surprised honestly.”

“... why? I don’t back down from what needs to be done… I just know when I need a breather before I dive in…”

“I know dear, but…” a small smile appeared on her face, “You have to remember that most ponies aren’t like that.”

Even as I tossed the latest tissue aside, I rolled my eyes and grumbled good naturedly, “That’s because y’all are way too panicky. Freaking flighty ponies.”

oOo

So… right, this was a rough day. If I’d been thinking, I’d have stopped by Fluttershy’s first, but I guess I’d have to catch her on the way back… eesh. That left AJ and Dash who I wanted to talk to together and last, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight.

I had no idea where Pinkie was at the moment, but I’d check the Sugar Cube corner after checking up on Twilight.

I mean, what were the odds that I’d run into her on the way to the Golden Oaks Library…?

… well now that I actively thought that, pretty close to 100% considering we’re talking about Pinkie Pie.

Seriously, that pony seems to run on narrative sometimes–

“-and so you see, since there’s been a little wibbly wobbly, magical wagical mishap, the ‘Yay you’re not an Alicorn of Equestria’ party will have to be put off a bit longer, okey doke?”

… seriously?

… whatever, I can work with this.

While a disgusted looking pony cantered off away from Pinkie, I was actually able to anticipate the sudden surge of pink, fluffy, sugary happiness that glomped me (for once). I kept walking despite the pink cling-on I’d gained, her hooves wrapped around my neck in a hug, her back legs dragging across the ground, “Hello Pinkie.”

“Hiya Emmy! It’s super duper good to see you separate from Twilight again! That was all super weird, I mean, what kind of pronouns do you use when talking to one another? Or when talked to? Or– mmph mmph mmph-?”

I’d pushed a forehoof into her mouth to stop the stream of consciousness, unable to help the small twitch of my eye that happened when her tongue brushed against the soft part of my hoof. While contact with Pinkie didn’t bother me as much as it usually did with ponies, anything related to her tongue made me flinch. Bad memories. They weren’t here fault and she disliked them as much as I did, but… it didn’t make it any easier.

“It’s good to be separate again, and we struggled with the pronouns sometimes ourselves. First and Second Person were fine, but third person was confusing as hell.”

“Oh, that had to be super duper weird!”

“Mhm, very,” I hadn’t stopped walking towards the Golden Oaks mind you, even with her back-hooves dragging across the ground, “So you know, Twilight’s being punished for a month.”

“Gasp!”

“Luna discovered us merged like we were and got Celestia to help break us apart as well as deliver Twilight’s punishment. She’s not allowed to use magic for a month and is supposed to get help for… pretty much anything she does.”

“Double Gasp!” I rolled my eyes, Pinkie was saying the word gasp again, “Twilight can’t use her magic?! And she has to have help with EVERYTHING?! Not just every thing, but EVERYTHING? Igottagohelphernowseeyoulaterkthnxbye–”

She attempted to disappear off, but I stopped her with a telekinetic grasp on her tail and an eyeroll.

“Pinkie.”

“Yeppers?” she asked while hanging upside down.

“Could I ask a favor?”

“Sure!”

“I’m going over to Twilight’s myself so I’ll help her out, but…” I took a deep breath and made the plunge, “I kind of need to talk to Applejack and Dash… I’d appreciate it if you could tell them to meet me outside of Sweet Apple Acres about an hour after noon?”

The party mare cocked her head to the side, giving me a look I had trouble parsing…

Then she smiled enormously, “Okie dokie lokie~”

I smiled back in gratitude, “Thanks Pinkie. “

Setting her down gently, the emerald and almost crystalline glow of my magic faded from around her as she did a little spin in place, twitching spastically.

… wait, what? What is she doing…? She got up on her back hooves and put out a foreleg, spinning in place once before stopping in a random direction, eyes brightening.

… right, Pinkie Sense, she’s probably finding–

“Aha~ Hiding near the pickles again!”

–… not gonna ask.

oOo

I pushed my way into the Golden Oaks Library, “Twilight?”

“In here!”

Closing the door behind me with a rear leg, I walked to the kitchen, not knowing what to expect. I found the lavender unicorn fumbling with a quill in her mouth, ink stains on her lips as she worked on… a rather big stack of paperwork…

Walking up to the kitchen table, I shared a glance with a young drake that was holding her inkwell; torn between amusement, resignation, and concern, “Extra homework?” I asked, looking over the four feet worth of paperwork.

Twilight made a face, “Mhm.”

With a small smile, I reached out with a hoof to wipe the ink stains from her lips. She blinked before her eyes flicked to mine, “Ink,” was all I said as I sat down beside her. I glanced over the paperwork… which seemed more like community service sort of stuff… mixed with grading mid-level college-equivalent magic coursework.

Not really homework then, but community service paperwork.

I turned back to her, “How are you holding up so far?”

She made a face, her ears folding back and her lips pressing into a line around her quill, her ink-stained hooves on the tabletop.

“That good huh,” a quick glance at the table confirmed that her ink bottle had probably been knocked over a couple times, not to mention that there were splatters of ink on Spike and the floorboards beneath him. My horn lit up as I pushed some power into the glass. The normal shape of the bottle was intended to limit spillage if I remembered correctly, but considering she was mouth-writing it’d be better with a wider mouth to it. I altered its state to liquid long enough to reshape it like clay into something more resembling a cup or bowl, adding some support struts to prevent tipping before switching its state back to pure solid.

Twilight blinked, looking at the reshaped inkpot for a moment before shooting me a look of gratitude, shifting the quill in her mouth.

“It’s no problem,” with some focus I tagged all of the ink on the table, floor, and Spike and pulled it from there, getting back what had been spilled and poured back into the inkpot, “Just because it’s punishment doesn’t mean you have to suffer, you were only doing what you thought was best.” I gave her a teasing look, “Just try to think about it a bit more next time you consider using gray magics.”

She scowled, grumbling “Hush,” around the quill.

I smiled, knowing that she would.

I looked over at Spike, “Morning.”

“Um… morning?”

“I know we’ve never really talked before, I was hoping to fix that,” I extended a forehoof, “Name’s Emeris.”

He raised a scaly eyebrow, taking my forehoof in a clawed hand, shaking it, “Spike.”

“Now to avoid the fumbling for a topic, I shall default to the social call of nerds everywhere. How about that popular sports team?” Spike made a face, snorting and trying not to laugh, but I wasn’t done, “I hear they’re doing so much better than less popular sports team. They’re definitely going to go to the championships for the sport.”

Spike broke down into laugher, making me smile as he covered his face with one claw.

“But seriously, how are you holding up?”

Taking a moment to catch his breath and shifted the ink bottle in his claws, “I’m doing okay, it’s good to have Twilight not going crazy over stopping you or the two of you fused together.”

A displeased huff from said unicorn made me smile, “I can definitely see that, the lack of those things improved my days too.”

A rather eloquent grunt from Twilight that translated into ‘Oh shut up’.

Both Spike and I smiled at that, but I turned to Twilight, “More seriously, I’ll be along sometime tomorrow to help out so Spike can get a break.”

Both of the purple beings in the room shot me a grateful look at that, warming my heart. For all the bad that had happened because of me, at least this much I could do.

oOo

Now for the part of the day I dreaded…

Ignoring the clenching of fear around my heart, I headed towards Sweet Apple Acres. I had to do this, I couldn’t just run away… that’d make me scum… no, lower than scum. I’d always hated the anime harem protagonists that couldn’t buckle down and deal with the fact that they had girls that liked them.

I might be many things, but a hypocrite is not one of them.

So despite the tremors that kept trying to work their way through my body, I kept walking.

I turned a corner and there, sitting in front of the archway for the farms were the two mares I was dreading talking to.

Fuck.

Swallowing, I forced one hoof in front of the other as I headed towards AJ and Dash, the two of them surprisingly quiet, and any conversation they had been having had petered off once I’d come into view. Yeah, it’s not like that was detrimental to my nerves or anything. At least they weren’t staring at me creepily.

Finally approaching close enough to speak comfortably I cleared my throat, “Ladies.”

“Heya Sugar,” Applejack’s brilliant green eyes were locked with mine even as she fidgeted slightly, a hesitant smile on her face.

“H-Hey Em…” Dash’s rose colored eyes though refused to do more than glance at me, her wings ruffling and shifting as she tried to adjust herself into a more comfortable position.

I looked at them, really looked at them.

Applejack was right, they didn’t look like mindless fanmare’s.

There were no glazed looks, no spoutings of platitudes, no sudden affections or attempted molestation or any number of things that happened while I was an alicorn. No, this was a pair of uncomfortable ponies talking to another, hell, Dash didn’t even want to be here… she was worried and scared...

I sighed, “Alright… first things first. I like both of you, quite a bit, and very much in the romantic sense.” While a small blush spread across Applejack’s face, Dash’s lit up like a fire hydrant, “But I’m terrified. I spent two years having to run away from any interest shown in me, and the two of you coming on to me at the same time like that made me think that curse was coming back and… well… yeah… I didn’t handle that well…” I admitted, trailing off.

“A’m sorry about that, that was my fault, Ah shouldn’t have teased y’all so much, it made everythin’ so much worse…”

“Hey!” Dash leapt to her hooves, “Don’t pretend like I didn’t go along with it! If I hadn’t rushed this along–”

“Now don’t go blamin’ y’erself sugarcube! You were totally against rushin’ things until Ah talked ya’ into it!”

“Ladies…” I said with a sigh.

“I made as much of a mistake as you did! You don’t have to take this all onto yourself!”

“But it’s the truth! Ah talked you into askin’ Emmy out way sooner than ya’ would have!”

Rolling my eyes with a small smile, I still boomed out a word, “Girls!” They both flinched, making me feel bad briefly as their heads hung. But I kept my voice gentle as I said, “You’re both forgiven. I get that y’all got out of hand and weren’t thinking. It’s not like you haven’t done it before.” I smiled gently at them, “If you remember, I’m usually the one reigning you two in when we’re together.”

“Not always,” Applejack said with a pout.

“Well, no, it wouldn’t be as fun if I did now would it?” I asked, a warmth starting to fill my chest. This… this felt right.

Dash fidgeted again, bringing my mind back to the situation, “Alright… so… you both like me?”

AJ nodded, “Eyup. Though if ya need more convincing, ah’m sure we can work somethin’ out.” I couldn’t help the small twitch at that statement, both so similar and yet so very different from what I’d heard before.

With a cough, Dash turned away, a dusting of red appearing on her cheeks as her wings pressing tightly against her sides, “Y-Yeah… w-what she said.”

I sighed, deciding to ignore that one as I rubbed one foreleg with the other, “Alright… I don’t really know how this works. I know we’ve read books with romance in them Dash, but… that doesn’t really help me in a situation like this…”

There was a glance from Applejack towards Dash, “Well, if we weren’t competin’, Ah’d suggest that Dash and Ah... demonstrate. Or maybe it would even help things along, give Em here a little… visual aid to help him make a decision.”

The pegasus squeaked and her wings flared, her blush intensifying along with my own.

“But this ain’t exactly normal,” Applejack admitted, “See, normally one mare asks a stallion out and they go out for a while before bringing other mares into the herd. And when mare’s are competin’ like this they usually don’t expect to be a part of the same herd…” Her a soft shade of pink tinged her cheeks as she bumped her hips against Dash’s, making the cyan pegasus turn an even brighter shade of red.

“A-Ah… right…” I coughed. I was horrible at flirting but even I could recognize that. If I’d had a collar, I’d be adjusting it, “Ah… well… I don’t want to hurt either of you… ”

Applejack snorted, “Don’t you worry about that none Em. There ain’t nothin’ keeping the two of us from bein’ in the same herd. This is about time and our bet.”

I shifted a bit at that, this… it wasn’t fanmares but… damnit I wasn’t exactly from a polygamous society.

To my surprise, Dash swatted AJ upside the head with her wing, scowling at her. Though I was confused, Dash still came up to me, an intense look in her beautiful, rose colored eyes, “... Dash…?”

She ducked her head before gently bumping the underside of my chin with it, “Em… don’t you dare feel rushed, okay?” I flushed as she slid her head to rub her cheek against my neck, finding my heart warming as comfort flooded through me, “We don’t need an answer right now. You’re scared, I get that… I mean, you’re considering going out with the most awesome pegasus and earth pony ever.”

I could feel her smile against my neck and I had to choke back a laugh, bopping her atop her head with my chin, “And you call me a dork…”

She pulled back and blew a raspberry at me, making my face split into a broad grin. Her face melted into something more serious though, “But really big guy… don’t feel rushed to answer. I-... I really like you, but I definitely get that you’re scared and not ready. I can wait, I-.... I just don’t want to lose my friend because I was jumping at the bit…”

“I…” her words sent my emotions tumbling around in my chest. I swallowed around the lump in my throat, my rump sliding to the ground and a shaky breath escaping me.

“Emmy?” Applejack stepped up beside me, “You okay sugar?”

“I… I need a minute to think…” I said softly, rubbing my face with a hoof, “I-... I’m guessing not-choosing isn’t an option?” I asked with a hint of strained amusement.

The earth pony gave me a deadpan look, though Dash shifted uncomfortably, “No sugar, not choosin’ ain’t an option. We’re having a competition about who you go for first,” while Dash didn’t look totally behind this, she didn’t disagree.

That brought up a question: Did I like one of them more than the other?

I-... I didn’t know… maybe?

They were both beautiful in ways that are hard to describe to a human sensibility. Dash was all lean muscle that shifted beneath her coat when she moved like chorded steel, not to mention her absolutely beautiful wings. She was way smarter than she pretended or even considered herself. She was an avid reader that totally got and shared my desire to totally geek out about things. Hell, she went from a badass beauty to an adorable cutie whenever she went on a geekgasm.

Applejack was a down home beauty. Was she elegant? No. But… she’d push me to poetry in the right light. She was strong, determined, solid, and understanding. She was fun to be with and work for, wonderful to teach, and she really got how much I could enjoy the more mundane, repetitive tasks. She was a strong mare, and I have to admit, I’ve kinda got a thing for females that can take me to task… but…

I looked up at them, glancing between the two beautiful mares, between a pair of rose colored eyes and a pair of brilliant emeralds.

I always hated the harem protagonists that didn’t make a choice. Sure if the girls are all happy for a harem, more power to ya’ but if they demand a choice and you waffle? Bite me, suck it up and accept there’s no way to get out of the situation without hurting someone.

So here was the question: Who would be hurt more by my choice?

Applejack wasn’t as sturdy as she appeared but… Dash showed every sign of having a fragile heart.

A sigh escaped me, “Alright, if I have to choose–”

“Whoa whoa whoa big guy,” her eyes had widened in panic, her wings fluttering, “I just said you don’t have to choose just yet-!”

I extended a forehoof to gently press it against her lips, “Dash.”

She pulled back, “Seriously big guy! Take as much time as you need! I totally get that we scared you! I mean, I don’t like some of my fans when they get a bit weird sometimes and you had it way worse for way longer so I totally get it!”

I couldn’t help the small smile that spread across my face, keeping a forehoof pointed at her.

“I was serious when I said that you shouldn’t feel rushed. I’m totally against rushing you into this, especially if you’re scared of this–” realization slowly dawned on Applejack’s face as she noticed my hoof still pointed at the fidgeting pegasus. She failed to cover her amused smirk with a hoof quickly enough that I didn’t notice even as Dash continued her rushed outburst.

“Dash,” I said softly.

“–I mean it’d totally be okay if you didn’t choose and we just stayed friends f-for as long as you want–”

“Dash,” I said stronger, gently pressing my forehoof against her chest.

“– it’s okay if-... um… yes?”

“I choose you. If I’ve got to choose who to date... first. I’m choosing you.”

“... really?” she squeaked.

“Yes. Would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?”

Her wings flared and her eyes went wide, a smile practically exploding onto her face, “Omigosh omigosh omigosh omigosh omigosh–! Eeeeeeeeee–!”

There was practically an explosion of rainbows as the pegasus launched into the air and began circling around nearby, giggling and laughing.

I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. It faded though as I turned to Applejack, finding a similarly amused smile on her face, “Hey…”

She turned towards me, “Hm? What is it sugar?”

“I–… Sorry about choosing Dash.”

She snorted, still smiling, "No need to go apologizin' sugar. How can ah out romance Dash here if she don't get a chance at romancin you?"

Relief flooded me, the tight grip around my chest easing slightly. Still, I couldn’t help but tease, “Not because of that–”

As if on cue, Dash swept up in front of Applejack and pointed a hoof at the groundbound pony, “Hah! I win! The bet is as good as mine!”

“Because of that,” I smirked at Applejack, who only stuck her tongue out at me before turning to Rainbow Dash.

“Ah’ll have you know that this don’t count just yet Dash, it’s just the first date! Ya’ don’t have him just yet!”

Rainbow Dash blew a raspberry at AJ and I had to facehoof to cover up the smile and laughter that threatened to escape me.

I was still scared, unsettled by the fact that they like me, still worried on some fundamental level that this… this slice of happiness wasn’t real… couldn’t be real.

But… they were never this real. The fanmares, the psychosis caused by the curse… were never this real, this natural. This byplay, this back and forth, this was something the curse never could really be. Intellectually, I trusted the Princesses, I trusted them when they said that the curse was gone. Logic truly said that this was the real thing.

But emotions never listened to logic, even mine.

Fear, discomfort, and panic were very much a thing for me.

But damnit, I’d make my Will Saves as many times as I had to to give this a try. I wanted to be happy, I wanted them to be happy, and I was willing to do damn near anything to ensure that they at least had a chance at happiness.

“Now, I hate to interrupt this delightful example of friendship and solidarity,” I wasn’t even joking! “We do kind of have to figure out the basics of when we’re actually going on a date, Dash.”

A small blush appeared on Dash’s face, but her ears remained perked and forward as she landed, her wings fluffing, “Right! Um-... I’m not too good at this part actually...” she admitted softly in embarrassment.

I snorted, “Me either, but we’ll figure it out.” I couldn’t help to glance at Applejack’s amused face, “But it’s probably bad form to discuss it in front of the mare you were chosen over.”

Dash coughed, “Um, right. Good point… sorry AJ.”

“Don’t apologize sugar, we are competin’ here, and just as a reminder, if ya’ don’t win…” she stepped up beside Dash and leaned in, whispering in her ear, “Ah’ll be the one kissing you rather than the other way around. But don’t go usin’ that as an excuse to throw the competition now.”

Dash’s face wasn’t the only one that lit up with a blush, that whisper had not been quiet enough to avoid my own ears catching it. The same way my ears snapped to attention at that, Dash’s wings sprung up as she let out an adorable little squeak.

“R-R-Right! We’d better get going!” And Dash was off like a rocket, at least as much as her extended wings would allow.

I tried to scowl at Applejack, but there wasn’t much heat in it, “Bad Applejack, don’t tease Dash like that!”

“Like you wouldn’t do the same,” she rebuked with a smile.

“... touche’.”

Shaking away the heat in my face, I started to turn to follow after the retreating form of Dash, “... and seriously… AJ… are you okay with this?”

My only answer was a slap of her hoof against my flank, making me rear up with a whinny and scampering off on reflex.

Damn that mare for her greater knowledge of (and willingness to exploit) natural reflexes of this body. Damn her to extensive cuddles and lavished attention upon. I slowed down to a trot rather than a panicked gallop as I followed after Dash, but there wasn’t any real heat to my thoughts. I was just grateful that Applejack wasn’t turning this into a mess… at least any more than the competition already did.

That-... that had actually gone way smoother than I’d thought it would…

… okay, something was up… the only question was what?

Even as I caught up with Dash (my marefriend?) I puzzled over that troubling thought.

oOo

“Alright, y’all can come out now.”

Applejack resettled the hat on her head as she watched Emeris head off after Rainbow Dash, a small smile on her face. At least until several long moments passed without any ponies appearing. A scowl appeared on her face, “Ah know y’all are there, there ain’t no way Pinkie and Rarity would miss this.”

There was a delicate clearing of a throat and a couple ponies slipped out of various hiding places around. As expected, there was both Rarity and Pinkie Pie, but also the hesitant form of Fluttershy.

“Oh, I’m sorry, we were just worried that things might have gone badly…” the shy pegasus said softly before catching herself, “W-Well, I was worried about that, I’m sorry if I assumed something about why Rarity or Pinkie were here…”

“Don’t be darling, that’s every reason why we’re here, and I’m very sorry about this Applejack, Emeris wasn’t exactly elegant in his handling of the situation.”

Applejack rolled her eyes, “It’s alright, this is about exactly what I hoped would happen.”

There was a long pause, even from Pinkie Pie, “... what?”

“Ah said that this is about exactly what I was hopin’ would happen…?” Applejack said again, giving them a curious look.

“Well that’s not exactly what you said, but that’s the intent of what you said and you see what we’re really confused about is that it’s totally weird that you would call a challenge with Dash about going out with Emeris if you were hoping that he’d pick Dash anMmmph mmph phhhmmph–”

Rarity had placed a hoof over Pinkie’s mouth, “What do you mean dear…?”

“Well, Ah was honestly hopin’ that Em would pick Dash. I like the guy, no two ways about it, but Dash really likes him. She’s liked him since Em was an alicorn! It’ll take a bit before I’m as comfortable with this stuff.”

“So why did you compete with her…?”

“To make sure she didn’t talk herself out of it. Ah figured he’d choose her, an’ this way I get a bit of breathin room to work up my own nerves,” after a moment, she noticed the surprise on her friend’s faces, “... what?”

“That’s… quite devious Applejack, especially for you.”

The cowpony snorted before grumbling, “It’s not like Ah lied or nothin’.”

Pinkie Pie nearly bounced in place, “Does this mean I get to throw a ‘Yay for getting into a relationship!’ party for Dash and Emmy?”

“No.” came the unanimous agreement from the rest of the girls. The reasons varied from ‘It’s too soon’ to ‘You know that would scare Emeris’.

“Regardless, this does require at least a bit of celebration.”

“Oh yes, it’s really good that those two are starting to find happiness.”

“Yay! I’ll go get the streamers and the balloons and we’ll–”

“Have a light snack together as friends,” Rarity overrode the excitable pony.

“-have a light snack together as friends! With balloons and streamers! And cake!”

Author's Note

That... came out way sooner than expected. It's not likely to happen again for a while, but still, damn. This is pretty impressive for me considering how much I work and my classes...

So yeah! Emeris is screwed in the head and not a perfect person, he tries sure, but he isn't for a variety of reasons.

I'm not super happy with the "Who am I going to date?" part of the chapter or the tail end, but I'm reasonably happy with most everything else.

The story still needs a cover image though! It always makes me a lil' sad when I see it without fancy pictures. That is usually made up for the fact that the story having a TVTropes page makes me giddy for no discernible reason.

Total side note: If you haven't tried out kudzuhaiku's The Chase, YOU SHOULD. It's a wonderful story with numerous, well written OC's with characters that are written as people rather than pastiches. It basically encapsulates a large part of what I wanted to with this story: OC's aren't bad, even super powerful ones. Total different update plan than me, and and admirable one, multiple 2k+ chapters per day. Seriously. Impressive stuff.

Pimping of an awesome story out of the way, as per usual, any thoughts, comments, and criticisms are welcome! What did you like, what didn't you like, what confused you, etc. etc.?

And with that said, Autobots! Roll out!

Shards of Happiness, Fear and Forgiveness

Once more I was standing in Rarity’s place of business, but this time was different.

Usually she used me as a big ole’ mannequin for her styles for large stallions, but right now she was adjusting an outfit for me. An outfit that I’d commissioned for myself.

An outfit for my date.

A date scheduled for only a few days off!

It kind of sucked, since I still hadn’t redeveloped the magical dexterity to sew again. A part of me wanted to make my own outfit, but I trusted Rarity far, far more to make something amazing.

“So dear, the pink or the purple?”

I looked between the two pieces of fabric, “I-... really have no idea. I tend to favor pink personally but you’re the designer, not me.”

Rarity huffed, “And here I thought I’d appreciate someone who didn’t pester me about little details but I must say that your indecision is just as insufferable in your own way.”

My look quickly became sheepish, “Sorry, I’m not exactly good at fashion and you’re a master of it. I trust you.”

Another huff, though there was a small smile on her face, “Still, you have no idea what you want?”

“Sorry,” I flushed a bit, “I just want to look good for the date and I don’t exactly own… well… anything nice at all.”

She let out a long suffering sigh, “Well yes, we’ll have to take you to the spa and stylist beforehand to ensure that you look absolutely fabulous but… your wardrobe is completely insufficient!”

That made me roll my eyes with a smile, “Rarity, please remember that I’m going on a date with Dash here…” I almost shivered in a combination of fear and happiness, “And eventually going on a date with Applejack. Fancy isn’t the name of the game. Practical is.”

“Yes, ruffians the lot of you!”

“But you can work with that?”

“Of course I can, who do you think I am?” she smirked.

I couldn’t help but grin back at her.

oOo

“Excuse me?” I asked softly.

“Go away!”

I sighed. I know that ponies tended to leave quickly whenever I was nearby but damnit, I only wanted to get lunch while in Ponyville…

The Cakes treated me well enough, and most of the ponies in the market would sell to me; if at a big mark up… but…

“Please, I just want to order something–”

“And we just want you to go away!”

Man that was a gut punch… Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I tried again, “I only want to buy some food.”

“Buy it somewhere else then!” the mare shouted from her place beneath the counter, her voice cracking.

“I–” cringing, I looked away. I couldn’t–… reaching into my saddlebags with my magic, pulling out several bits I set them onto the counter, “I’m sorry.”

I turned and walked out of the restaurant, taking a shuddering breath. It hurt, for them to act like this. I couldn’t blame them, for two years I’d been the bane of their existence, bringing death and demanding worship with my very presence… but it still hurt. I wanted to make up for the pain I caused… when ponies hid like this, when they scooched their chairs away and deliberately avoided looking at me… how they’d left the moment I’d walked passed them while entering the restaurant…

An antisocial asshole I might be but damnit, it still hurt…

oOo

Bumping the door to the Golden Oaks open, I dejectedly sipped from the smoothie I’d gotten at the Sugarcube Corner, “Twilight?”

“Mmng!” turning to the source of the sound I found Twilight wobbling atop the ladder, a book in her mouth as she tried to sort it into the high shelves. Spike was sitting beside the base of the ladder on a stack of books with a comic in his claws. He’d glanced up at me when I came in but had returned to his book.

“How many times has she fallen down?”

The little dragon rolled his eyes, his face nothing more than bored at this point, “Three so far.”

Twilight let out an indignant sound as she stretched a bit further.

Oh this is not going to end well. I instantly began figuring out how to construct a telekinetic pillow. The trick was to put air in it, I mean sure, I could just grab her but A). It was hard to directly affect living beings with telekinesis, especially for me, and B). I could see this coming enough to have a bit of fun. So what about the material itself for the pillow–

“I’m guessing there’s going to be more. And she’s got a lot to catch up on right since our merger threw her schedule out of whack?”

–elasticity in the material, definitely a contrast to that of my usual rigid metals–

“Got it in one,” he said, glancing up from his comic, “She’s just got to get the library sorted back out from your book binges and what she needed for the homework Celestia gave her.”

–construct it off of a basic foam simulation? No, my brain can’t handle the randomness, better just go with a dodecahedronal system to give it plenty of crumple space–

“Wow, surprised she got through them that quickly… color me impressed, still, you’ve been doing this plenty long enough Spike, I’ll take over for now.”

–err on the side of safety, plenty of elasticity, just make it big in case she falls. I’ll adjust it more later.

“Really?!” Spike’s head shot up, his tail practically wagging as he launched to his feet, “Thanks! I’m totally going to go see Rarity–!”

“Don’t forget your other friends Spike, Rarity isn’t the only one who’s probably been missing you!” This was Twilight, who’d finally gotten the book pushed into place. But the silly mare had gotten into a rush to say her piece and… well…

Is it wrong that I found her squeak as she fell adorable?

“... wha-?” the purple unicorn blinked a few times, enveloped as she was in an enormous, glowing green pillow.

… probably. But come on, it was.

I let the impromptu pillow construct fade, setting Twilight on the floorboards of the library gently, “She’s right by the way Spike, but enjoy the time off. I’ve got this.”

“Thanks Emeris!” comic tucked away under his arm (And it’s definitely wrong that I felt a bit jealous of him for being able to do that, it’d been a long time since I could do that damnit), Spike zipped upstairs to what, if I remembered correctly, was his room.

I walked over to Twilight as she stood, “How are you holding up?”

“I’ll be okay,” she grumbled, getting her hooves beneath her.

“Reshelving everything before you get to remaking a schedule?”

A sigh escaped her, “Yeah. I can’t leave a public library in a state like this, I did take on the job of running this place after all, I can’t neglect that.”

“Of course not,” I looked over the stacks of books as I walked over, taking another sip from my smoothie as I did. Spike came zooming out of his room, running down the stairs and out the door.

"Bye Emeris! Bye Twilight!"

"Have fun! But be safe!" she called out to her assistant as he opened the door.

"Toodles," was my own farewell as the door closed behind him. Turning back to the smaller unicorn mare I cocked my head to the side, looking over the stacks of books, “Well, I don’t know the sorting system you use, so I can’t help you sort directly, but I should be able to hand you books as you need them.”

“I… Emeris, thank you. But, you know that you don’t have to do this.”

“And you’re not allowed to do things without help,” I said with a small smile. Her ears swept back as she looked away, “Twilight, it’s okay...”

A resigned sigh escaped her, “It’s not that. I mean, yeah I don’t like it but… Celestia added a catch, and I don’t think you’re going to like it,” she took a deep breath, “I’ve been asked to forward this to you.”

“... okay…?”

Walking over to one of the tables in the main portion of the library she picked up a bag and walked over, setting it down in front of me. I raised an eyebrow at her as she sighed again, “Your first payment from Celestia for being on duty to protect Ponyville… Sir Emeris.”

A cold weight settled in my stomach, “... what.”

Twilight sighed, her ears drooping as a look of resignation settled on her face, “I knew you wouldn’t like this... “ she took a deep breath, “Celestia has… well, she’s legally made you a knight of Equestria sworn to her service which,” a lavender hoof was jabbed into my chest, “Before you panic, makes sense. It’s to legally protect you and give you some authority, leeway, and a legal reason for you to be protecting us. Also, it’s so she can pay you.”

My chest felt cold and empty, “B-But–”

Twilight glared at me, “You’re not a Prince, it’s not the world rewriting itself and I’m in full possesion of my faculties,” she trailed off for a moment, glancing away briefly, “Though I’m not totally sure Celestia is of hers... she should know that this isn’t something you’d take well.”

“Twilight, I–” I was shuffling back unsteadily.

There was a sudden thunk, “Oh enough of that,” I stared at the very close unicorn who had just knocked her head into mine, “Emeris Fillson, it makes sense. I agree with Celestia that it’s the best course of action here. You’ve been given authority to do the task she gave you and you’re going to be paid for it since you’re not being punished.”

Her hoof poked me in the chest again, “And are you really gonna complain about getting paid?”

“No!” my every business instinct fired off at once before easing off, “I… well… maybe a little…”

Twilight gave me a look, “Emeris… I’ve been in your head. You’re not complaining about getting paid.”

“... I don’t feel like I’ve earned it.”

“Just about as much as the milita does,” she rebuked, though she glanced at the bag, “Mind you, that’s excessive payment by those standards. But by the same token, you’re also massively more experienced and at least significantly more skilled than enlisted Royal Guard, let alone militia. So at least some of it could be justified by paying a quality employee.”

“But it’s still excessive…” I noted, happy to feel the tension and terror easing in my chest. My breathing was still shaky and it felt like there was a cold grip around my heart, but at least I didn’t feel like bolting anymore… But still, it was a big bag of bits the very first day of this ‘job’. It didn't matter what denomination was in the damn bag, it felt like a lot.

A small smile crossed Twilight’s face and she gave the bag of bits a light kick, “Significantly less so than mine. My stipend is ridiculous,” she rolled her eyes, “I get paid 328% more than I should, even taking the factors of skill and being her personal student into account. Celestia likes to spoil her little ponies when she can.”

I snorted, an amused thought crossing my mind, “Did you carry the National Hero coefficient?” I waggled my eyebrows, “That’s the one that always gets me.”

“That doesn’t make any sense and you know it,” the purple unicorn said with a smile as she turned around and started pushing the ladder down the shelves with her head.

“Well duh,” this time I was the one rolling my eyes even as my flanks slid to the floor. I pulled off my saddlebags with my magic as I continued, “It’d be another factor, likely somewhere between 1.4 or 1.9 if you’re using your payment for running the library as the base.”

“I placed it at 1.28 when I did the calculation since it’s not widely known that I’m the pony that did those things. And could you pass me Anvil’s Enchantment 216?” Twilight began to climb the ladder.

Glancing over the titles of the stacks of books, I set my saddlebags on one of the tables, “I don’t have the data to make a real estimation, so I’ll trust yours. Though I’m surprised you have enough data to draw a conclusion with that many significant figures when general accounting isn’t a thing,” finding the requested title, I pulled it from the stack with my magic and lifted it up to her, “AJ didn’t even really know what it was.”

Twilight made a face as she took the book and put it into place before starting to go back down the ladder a ways, “Blast’s Crucibles of Magic please, and while I know AJ isn’t exactly… great with numbers, I’m not surprised she doesn’t have much an idea what accounting is. Most farmers don’t, especially local ones. But accounting is generally something major businesses do.”

“Huh,” I found the book and passed it along, “I can get why if they pay their taxes by the bushel, just find it weird, all taxes have to be paid in cash where I was from.”

“Really? Well, Celestia realized that the requirement that taxes be paid in bits was causing farmers to dedicate more and more of their land to cash crops to the point of detriment during the Earth Pony Revolt scarcity crisis of AB 204,” she breathed in again, “So she revamped the system so that the suppliers of raw goods could pay by a portion of their goods to the crown which are then redistributed as appropriate for payment. Gargel’s Your Shiny Teeth and You, Heartsong Edition please. Some services such as construction do something similar by doing a certain valued amount of work for Equestria as their taxes.”

“Really? I-... huh… I’m surprised that works…” I thought about that puzzling feeling for a moment as Twilight sorted the book into place and started to climb down, “Well, on the scale of Equestria at least. It’d take me a bit before I could articulate why though. It seems like a logistical nightmare though to collect perishable taxes…”

“It’s based off of a modified feudal system, where local governments redistribute as needed, where it’s a direct proportion between the more perishable the good and the locality of the government in charge of its collection and redistribution.”

“Fascinating,” I said without the slightest hint of sarcasm. That could be a delight to study… “Though it seems rife for corruption....”

“That’s why they’re locally elected and there are checks on them,” she said, moving the ladder again, “Feeling better?”

I paused, my brain catching up to the question. My cheeks warmed, “Yeah… thanks.”

There wasn’t that cold weight in my chest anymore, I didn’t feel like a coiled spring ready to launch off at the slightest sound. “Do…” I had to swallow before I could really ask the question I needed to, “Do you really think this is for the best?”

“Your knighthood? It’s a formality to protect you since Harmony isn’t trying to make you a prince anymore,” she started back up the ladder, “So while I don’t think it’s ‘for the best’, I do think it’s a good idea. And could you pass me Blast’s Forge Magic?”

I slowly looked over the stacks of books for the requested title, trying to wrestle my rebellious emotions into line.

“Emeris, are you going to get over yourself or do I need to start talking business again?”

Snorting in a combination of surprise and laughter, my chest warmed in a pleasant happiness, “Need to? No. Would you please anyways? Your financial system is so different from what I’m used to, it’s fascinating. And Twilight…? Thanks.”

The lavender unicorn smiled gently, “And thank you for forgiving me.”

oOo

“So that’s what’s been happening,” I heaved the bag of feed off of my back.

“Oh dear. I hope Twilight is okay…” Fluttershy fussed with her mane, “I’ll have to go over and check on her.”

“She could definitely use the help,” I admitted as I stepped out of the storehouse. She had been struggling when I’d left a few hours ago, “By the way… ah…” I flushed a bit in embarrassment, “Could you help me figure out what I need to do to get ready for my date with Dash? You know her better than Rarity does and you can bring the pegasus viewpoint…”

“Oh-! Oh my, a-are you sure?” the yellow pegasus scuffed a hoof as I closed the door to the storehouse, “Rarity knows so much more about things like courtship and herds and stuff…”

“Fluttershy, hun,” I rolled my eyes as we started to walk towards her house, “Asking Rarity for tips on how to date Dash? Not going to work out well.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure,” she said softly, shaking her head, “Rainbow Dash definitely likes being treated like a mare. She may be excitable and dominant but she really likes what she calls… um… mushy stuff.”

A wave of nervousness hit me, “But… ah… what constitutes as mushy stuff?” I gestured vaguely off into the forest as I spoke, “The last time I really dated was years ago, and all of my cultural knowledge is from a completely different, patriarchal monogamous species with different sexual dimorphism and social structure…”

She paused midway through opening her door, “Oh! Oh my. That’s quite unusual, were you part of an avian species?”

“No,” I shook my head briefly as we headed to her kitchen, “We’re related to apes.”

“That’s quite surprising, most mammals use Herd based social structures. Um… oh dear this is awkward to ask, but were your people truly monogamous or monogamous genetic spread?”

“Um… I don’t really know…” I had been studying to be an accountant for pete’s sake! Not a psychiatrist or history teacher or biologist, “But culturally my people were definitely monogamous, though there were exceptions.” Oil sheiks came to mind, both the harems of old and the wish-fulfillment harems of anime.

“Oh I’m so sorry,” Fluttershy hovered up to her cabinets, “It must have been extremely awkward when ponies asked you to form herds with them… tea?”

“Yes please, and it still is,” I admitted as I sat in a chair, “I-... I’m having trouble adjusting to the fact that it’s okay for more than one mare to like me at once. That it’s not part of the curse…“ I shifted some, “Herds like this are called harem’s in my culture and are considered male wish fulfillment.”

“That’s… um, confusing. Why would this be wish fulfillment? It’s so very hard to keep everypony in a herd happy…” she admitted as she fluttered around.

“Having multiple women was considered a sign of status and that you were desirable enough for them to compete with one another over you,” I shifted some, not really willing to admit the other possible reasons it would be wish fulfillment. But I could definitely try to explain it to her, “I think a mare having multiple stallions all to herself would be comparable.”

“Oh!” her face lit up with a blush, “Oh dear, that-... that does make sense…” her ears perked up in realization before drooping down, “It must have been very scary when two mares you like asked you out at once.”

“... ‘very’ is a stronger word than I’d use, but it’s… uncomfortable,” I admitted. “Especially since I don’t know what I’m doing, apparently mare’s are supposed to pursue stallions…?”

“Yes,” she nodded as she set the pot of water on the stove, “Traditionally, the mare asks the stallion out.”

“I remember Rarity mentioning something about flowers…?” I ventured as she lit the fire. The arcano-tech drawing stored magical energy and created a small flame.

“Oh, those were classically given as part of the courtship ritual,” she said with a nod as she came to sit at the table, “But now they’re given either when the mare asks the stallion out, or when they meet up for the date.”

A deliciously naughty idea popped into my head and my mouth worked before I could stop it, “I’m going to go out on a limb and guess I’m not supposed to eat the flower?”

“Goodness no!” she actually looked offended, “You’re supposed to wear it! I mean, if you accept the mare taking you out on a date that is…”

“Which, obviously, I am,” I smiled briefly at that before continuing my questioning, “What-... what’s expected on the date?”

“Oh, um… that depends on the date…”

“Fluttershy, pretend I’m a foal and you’re teaching me about dating for the first time.”

“Oh no! I couldn’t do that! You’re… you’re much too big to be a foal,” she said, looking up at me through her bangs. Admittedly, I was over half again her size, but still, not relevant sweetie.

“I mean use that mindset to think about what I need to know,” I said with a hint of exasperation, as she got up to add the tea leaves to the now boiling water, “Despite any appearances otherwise, I don’t have the experience of an adult stallion.” Start from the beginning, same way you poke the ceiling in a dungeon with a ten foot pole before entering it properly.

She shuffled her hooves nervously, “Well, since it’s the first date you can expect talking, hugs, nuzzling, um… she’ll be paying if you go out to eat.”

I winced, “Not really a viable option there considering how ponies treat me.”

Fluttershy came over and sympathetically bumped her nose against my shoulder before continuing, “Um, well, herds also normally groom each other. Rainbow Dash will probably be awkward about it but she’ll try to cuddle… if you can handle that…”

I kind of wanted to be insulted by that… but, well… yeah. My track record for not panicking so far has been… less than stellar, “I-... I’ll try to be prepared for that.”

“After the date,” she said from her place beside me, “Stallions usually walk the mare home and, um, if you enjoy the date….” her voice kept getting softer as she spoke, her head going lower, “Well, usually if a stallion enjoys the date and likes the mare, well… they kiss at the end of the night.”

A… a kiss…

Swallowing hard past the lump in my throat, I tried to regain control of the sudden and confusing surge of emotions raging in my chest. Hope, fear, and nausea all decided it’d be nice to make a Katamari ball in my stomach and bounce around a bit.

“I–” my throat seized up and I had to swallow hard to force it to work again, “I’m not sure if I can do that.” A sad look crossed her face and her wing reached out to brush against my side, drawing a shuddering breath from my chest. It took me several moments to get my breathing back under control.

Swallowing, I reordered my thoughts, “Well. What-... what shouldn’t I do?”

“Um, well, commenting about her flanks or wings. Don’t try to pay for anything. D-Don’t mess with the base of her wings,” her face lit up a bright shade of red at that, “N-Not on the first date.”

“But preening the rest of her wings is okay?”

“Oh yes, definitely. Anything outside of the axillaries, ah...” she paused, realizing that she’d used a technical term I didn’t know. She extended her wing and moved it at the furthest of the two joints from her shoulder, “This joint here outwards.” She then pivoted the wing at the closer of the two, “From here inwards is more… um… intimate,” another blush, “B-But would be acceptable on l-later dates.”

Biting my lip briefly, I turned to her, “I was planning on making dinner for us to have at a picnic outside of Ponyville and just hang out and talk for a while over the meal, would that be acceptable for a first date? I wanted something more low-key than the books we’ve read and Rarity’s gossip.”

“Oh, that should be good,” I sighed in relief as she continued, “It’s a nice, subdued date, not a whole lot of excitement.”

Further conversation was interrupted by the tea demanding our attention. On a certain level, I was pretty grateful for it since it gave me a chance to think about further questions, which I certainly still had. I felt like a freaking Bioware protagonist, asking stupidly basic questions like this.

“Um… are roses romantic? They are in my culture but I don’t know about here,” I paused as a thought occurred to me, “I mean, I don’t want to bring something that’s insulting, but I also don’t want to be crazy forward here. I know that unicorns can exchange horn rings as part of marriage and that pegasi can give feathers, but I don’t know… well… yeah.”

“They’re romantic, but, um, you’re not going to be proposing or anything with it. Usually, gifts of flowers are eaten like chocolates or pastries, it’s only the dating flowers that are the same color as the coat of the mare that aren’t eaten usually. Roses are a bit of a delicacy.”

“... so I have a garden of delicacies at my house?”

Her face actually got bashful at that, “... yes.”

Confused for a moment, I gave her a look.

“Um, I-... well… might have gotten Droolykins to grab some of them while you were merged with Twilight…”

“... I’m torn between being amused because you feel bad about something that doesn’t bother me,” she flushed and nervously waited for me to finish the thought, at which point I began to tease, “And between being amused at how you basically went clever RPG character and looted the dungeon.”

Confusion flashed across her face, “Um… what is an RPG character…? And why would they loot a dungeon…?”

I blinked, “Oh, welp. That’s… actually a pretty involved answer.”

“I have time…”

With a sigh, I accepted the subject change, I’d made the cute mare too uncomfortable as it is, “Well, see, RPG is short for Role Playing Game–”

oOo

With some effort, I pushed my barrel closer to the ground, my forelegs stretched to their limits in front of me.

Stretching was important for any real exercise, which is what I planned to do tonight. I hadn’t seriously exercised since before the merger and that was definitely not my style.

Mind you, going for a run in the Everfree wasn’t exactly safe, especially at night. But I’ve run through the Everfree plenty of times during the day and I had yet to encounter something I couldn’t handle or run away from. I mean, if I hadn’t had to protect Applebloom I could’ve just blinked away from those Timberwolves in a couple quick hops.

So screw you various monsters and predators and general nasty things residing in this chaotic and overly magical forest! My character level is far too high for your challenge rating!

I grunted as I shifted to stretch my back legs.

Well, that’s what I was telling myself so I wouldn’t get nervous. I honestly didn’t have anything to worry about, but it was still a bit scary to go out on a run/patrol like this at night.

While, in theory, I didn’t have to do anything to ‘protect’ Ponyville, it made me very uncomfortable to just sit around doing nothing, especially since I was getting paid.

You could call me a lot of things and I wouldn’t disagree with you, but irresponsible was not one of them.

oOo

Okay, so, I wasn’t exactly an expert on magical beasts and their classifications, but I was pretty sure that this was a naga.

A very angry, hostile, and generally cantankerous naga, but a naga.

It had the lower half of a snake, but the upper half not of a human, but a pony. Which was weird to me, but hey, whatever floated your boat.

Now, normally I would avoid coming into confrontation with the predators of the Everfree, even on patrol. Sure, none of them liked me, but they usually avoided me just as much as I avoided them. It was only the apex predators that attacked me.

Nagas? Not really apex predators, not compared to Ursa’s, dragons, hydras, or a tatzlwurm.

But there was a problem.

A problem called making a new nest too close to Ponyville.

I had no frame of reference for how long she’d (?) been here, but the dirt was reasonably fresh and the tree limbs still green so it wasn’t too old.

Briefly, I boggled at how much easier fighting monsters was on me emotionally compared to talking with people. Then I remembered that the people thing was kind of new and different and strange while the monsters were something sadly familiar.

Also, I remembered that I should be paying attention a bit more.

Sure, a naga is dangerous what with the hooves and fangs and snake hair and constricting body, but… well… three words:

Giant Magic Mecha.

More like Mid-Sized Magic Mecha for extra alliterative appeal, but the same concept. An encompassing, humanoid suit of construct magic rendered me effectively immune to anything the naga could dish out so long as A). I had mana and B). I maintained concentration. Sure, enough force could break through the construct, but the naga couldn’t muster up that kind of direct whoopass while I was at full strength.

I’d been working on the formula and spell construction for this for almost three weeks now. It was just an extrapolation of the same magic I used for the rest of my constructs, just a more advanced application… one I really wish I’d had on hoof (or was it horn?) when Applebloom and I had encountered that pack.

I reached out with the arm of the suit and barely missed grabbing the surprisingly agile creature. I hadn’t really gotten the hang of balancing the thing on two legs yet, so I’d forgone the lower body and just encompassed myself with the upper part of a suit of armor, resembling for all the world the plot-atrocious but stylistically awesome Susuanoo that the Uchiha’s had.

With a sniff, I walked forward, pushing the foliage out of the way with the constructs arms as I made half-hearted motions to grab the naga. I couldn’t move very fast while doing this, until I could master the legs I was limited to a walking pace while using this spell. I didn’t want to hurt the damn thing so much as scare it off, it hadn’t done anything wrong (to my knowledge) other than pick a bad place to nest.

So my plan was to just scare the naga off by being an even bigger, meaner monster. Didn’t need to hurt it so much as make it understand that this was my territory to defend, so to quote any number of crotchety old men:

“Get off my lawn.”

oOo

I yawned as I walked, my cup of tea floating beside me as I walked through Ponyville. Last night had taken longer than I’d thought it would. I pointedly ignored the ponies ignoring me, I especially pointedly ignored the ones that ducked back into their houses or behind things.

Sure, it hurt, but it wasn’t worth confronting them over. Nor was it something that confronting them would fix.

I’d been in town a lot more than I was really comfortable with recently…

I was going to check up on Twilight, maybe grab a few books from the library, talk to Rarity about the outfit, and head back home.

Taking a sip of tea, I pushed the door to the library open and was greeted by a rather large alicorn.

Blinking for just a moment, I continued in, “Morning Princess…?” I noticed a somewhat bashful Twilight behind Celestia, both of whom had turned to me as I’d entered, “Um… is there something I should know about…?”

“Actually Emeris, there is,” Celestia said, with a look that I’d classify as amused on her face, her hair undulating in the unseen current as it always did. I was actually a little jealous, her hair looked beautiful and ethereal, mine while under the curse had been long and stupid, “It seems that there was a misunderstanding about the nature of Twilight’s punishment.”

A bit of concern bubbled up in my chest, it was mitigated by the fact that Twilight didn’t seem afraid so much as bashful and Celestia only seemed amused rather than angry or irritated, “Which is…?”

“Twilight must ask for the assistance she requires. While I am proud of you and the others for volunteering to help my student so easily, it misses the point of the punishment,” she fluffed her wings slightly, her eyes flicking to Twilight, “Twilight may not accept any offered assistance, but must ask for it.”

“Oh…” it took me a moment to process that, sipping my tea. “... well there went my plans for the morning.”

oOo

Heading to the Boutique a fair bit sooner than anticipated I stuffed my cleaned out cup of tea into my vest. Trotting along through the dirt streets as I pondered what Celestia had told me.

Apparently the nobility had been making legal motions towards either ‘adopting’ Gary or towards having ‘him’ arrested or put to death or any number of things. They hadn’t figured out that I was actually Gary yet, while it was apparently super-obvious to anyone that had met Gary that I had been him, legally there was no connection between us.

By making me legally one of her knights, Celestia was able to pre-empt anything the nobility might try since it made me ‘nobility’ enough to avoid adoption and a number of other legal maneuvers. Not to mention she could legally assign me tasks like the protection of Ponyville without problems.

Just as the excessively feminine establishment came into view, a pony galloped past me, the instant when they recognized me being very obvious in the sudden swerve they made to give me a wider berth. Still, the dust they’d kicked up making me sneeze hard.

Ow.

Rubbing the tears from my eyes with my left fetlock, I kept up an awkward, three-legged pace towards Rarity’s place of business.

Then I smelled a bit of ozone and sweat, “Em? Hey! What’s up?”

My face split into a grin as I put my hoof back down, “Not much Dash, just fair warning, Twilight can’t accept offered help any more, she’s got to ask for it.”

“Really? That bites,” she glided over, landing beside me.

“No kidding,” blinking, I realized that something had happened between when we’d last seen each other, “Oh, yeah, and apparently I’m a Knight now.”

“Sir Emeris?” she asked, seeming to taste the term before a grin spread across her face, “Nah, can’t see it.”

“What, is a knight not worthy of a Wonderbolt?” I said with mock indignation, pleased at the small bit of pink that appeared on her cheeks.

“Nah,” she grinned, her wings fluffing, “You’ve read what knights talk like! All thees and thous and talking about honor and being offended when the bad guy does stuff. That’s just not you. If some bad guy tried to mess with you you just beat them up with a mountain.” She paused, her eyes going off to the side in thought, “Well, you did when you were an alicorn at least.”

I pouted, “I didn’t just beat my enemies up with mountains.”

“Oh, right, you used volcanos sometimes too! And hammers the size of mountains, and swords the size of rivers, sonic rainbooms…”

I blew a raspberry at her, earning a giggle, “I get it, I don’t do subtle when it comes to bad-guys.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining. It’s pretty bucking awesome,” she bumped a hoof against my shoulder, “You freaking blew up part of the Everfree to protect AJ’s little sister, that’s good in my book.”

“And to think, you used to hate books,” now it was her turn to stick her tongue out and I chuckled. Something clicked though as my brain finally traced her trajectory to its origin, “By the way… didn’t you hate going to the Boutique too?”

Her rose-colored eyes went wide and I knew I was on to something. I figured I knew why of course, but still… teasing her would be fun, “W-What are you talking about?”

“You came from the Boutique right?”

“Yeah? What if I did?

“You’re usually super concerned about appearing ‘cool’, it’s nice to see you a bit more… well, mushy.”

She snorted, looking away, “What makes you think that me going there was something mushy?”

“You were getting Rarity to make you an outfit for our date,” I guessed with a fair bit of confidence.

Her head snapped back to me, eyes wide and wings flaring, “How did you know that?!”

“I’m psychic obviously,” I said, rolling my eyes but unable to keep a smirk from my lips.

“Oh I call horseapples!” Dash accused, torn between laughing and scowling as she jabbed a hoof at me, the ponies in the distance around us going unnoticed, “There’s no way you’re actually psychic otherwise you’d have seen AJ and me asking you out coming!”

Now it was my turn to snort, “Of course I’m not! I just guessed since that’s what I’m doing right now.”

That made her pause, “You’re going to get an outfit for our date…?” she asked with far more surprise than I’d anticipated.

“Um… yeah…?” I blinked, tilting my head, my ears falling, “I want to look nice for the date and I definitely don’t have anything nice to wear…”

“It’s not that!” she hastened to say, pressing a hoof against my shoulder, “Definitely not complaining or anything! Just… um…” her hoof fell and she looked away, biting her lip, “I just didn’t expect you to go through that much trouble…”

I was suddenly acutely aware of my still lackluster knowledge of the social norms of Equestria and ponies, “Do… um, do stallions normally not get outfits for dates…?”

“... not for me…” she muttered under her breath so softly I almost couldn’t hear it. What had escaped her seemed to click in her head and she started to correct herself.

Oh hell no.

Without hesitation or letting her speak, I stepped up and wrapped a foreleg around her withers, pulling her close. Her head tucked beneath my chin as I pressed her to my chest, “Hey,” she stiffened for just a moment before relaxing with a sigh, her warmth settling against me, “It’s okay. I want this.”

She snorted but didn’t try to pull away, instead shuffling a bit closer, “You certainly didn’t when you were an alicorn.”

“I couldn’t exactly tell the difference between the real and fake stuff then hun,” I smiled just a bit at memories that seemed a bit better in hindsight, “It was always really hard not to return your affections. You were very snuggly,” I grinned against her coat, enjoying her scent, a mix of her shampoo, ozone, fresh rain, and something with just a hint of spice.

The pegasus shivered as my breath washed against her ear before weakly trying to push away, “Hey! It was that stupid curse that made me act so mushy!”

I chuckled deep in my chest, “I like snuggly,” gently nudging the top of her head as she pulled away, “Don’t be afraid to be mushy around me Dash, I might tease you some, but I’ll never think less of you or spread it around.”

She shuffled in place, her cheeks a light shade of red, “I-... thanks. Just don’t expect me to be mushy all the time okay? It’s just not me.”

“Pfft, of course not. You’re the athletic, daring stunt mare,” I moved to gently nudge her cheek, but it turned into a slow nuzzle, my eyes drifting closed, “Mushy stuff is a side thing for you. Just don’t be ashamed of it, not with me.”

“Tch, we’ll see,” I could feel her smiling against the scars on my cheek and hear the laughter in her tone, “Depends on how sappy you are. I might have to revoke your stallion-card if you act too mushy.”

Mutually pulling away, I couldn’t help but notice that her scent lingered in my nose as I grinned at her, “You say that like I had one of those in the first place.”

Snickering, she smirked, “So by that tree on the eastern road on Tuesday?”

“Yeah,” I smiled warmly, “Just a bit after noon.”

Rainbow Dash smiled, her wings flaring outwards, “Don’t be late Em or I’ll kick your flank again.”

“Isn’t that my line?” I muttered in amusement as she took off in a multicolored streak.

oOo

… was that a trenchcoat…?

I didn’t even know ponies could wear trenchcoats…?

“It’s only a rough sketch currently, but I do believe it’ll suit your rough and tumble appearance as well as withstand your usual antics and work.”

It was a trenchcoat, vest, shades, fancy hat, and bandages.

“The wrappings were a compromise on my part since socks aren’t truly a style you’d favor,” on the sketch they reminded me of a martial-artists hand wraps, just for my whole legs… “I’m actually quite proud of those, covering up the extensive scarring on your legs without giving you a… pompous shall we say, appearance.”

It was, in a word, awesome.

“I considered whether it would be better to accent or to downplay those three scars on your cheek, but the best I was able to figure out for a stallion was this hat,” a very wide brimmed affair, quite elegant to be honest, it reminded me of the classic vampire killer hat, “The shadow it casts will help accent the scars to give you a deliciously dangerous look which I do believe that Rainbow Dash shall enjoy.”

The coat, hat, and vest were all similar shades of brown on the paper, with gold highlighting the buckles and buttons and clasps. The wraps were a stark white contrast and the shades a deep black.

“Overall, I’m quite delighted with it, it truly encapsulates your practical mindset while accenting and supporting your rakish appearance,” Rarity said with a smile as she gestured at the paper.

I didn’t like it.

“I–…” a sigh escaped me, I didn’t want to say that.

“What’s wrong darling? Brown isn’t your color?”

“I don’t like it,” I admitted.

The fashionista raised an eyebrow at me with a smile, “I do believe I figured that out from the look on your face dear, but what is the problem? Don’t be afraid to say so, that is why it’s only on paper right now.”

Shuffling my hooves, I struggled to express what the problem was, glaring at the paper as if doing so would bring the words to mind. Why didn’t I like it? Rarity was good at what she did… so I didn’t doubt it looked good… yeah, I definitely thought it looked good, but I didn’t want to wear it because…

It unsettled me.

…

Oh.

“I–... okay, this is going to sound extremely stupid,” I grumbled, irritated by how fucked up my own head was.

“I will be the judge of that darling,” the businessmare said with confidence.

“It’s too awesome.”

Her almost crystalline eyes blinked before she turned to look at the sketch. She stared at it, likely trying to puzzle out the reasoning behind that statement and the implications of it. One of her ears cocked to the side briefly before she turned back to me, “Is it not subdued enough?”

“It’s stereotypically ‘awesome’ or ‘cool’,” I paused as her ears perked up, her eyes widening.

“Which is exactly what your curse made you. Oh my, I can see why you don’t like it now,” she said, looking back at the sketch with a new eye.

“Yeah, it’s stupid.”

“Hm, stupid is not the word I’d use dear, silly maybe, but not stupid,” she mused, tapping a hoof against her chin as she stared at the sketch held in her magic.

“Still, it makes your job harder, not something I intended,” I prided myself in being easy when it came to clothes dang nabbit, this was the opposite of easy.

“It’s quite alright darling, at least you’re able to articulate what the problem is,” she’d switched to rubbing her fetlock against the bottom of her chin with an almost comical contemplative expression, “The frustration is that the outfit is quite practical and removing or changing parts may make it less stereotypical but also remove some of your precious practicality…”

Her ears and eyebrows shot up as an almost manic spark lit her eyes.

I immediately plugged my ears with construct cotton-balls.

“IIIIIDDDEEEEEEAAAAAAaaaaa~!”

As the smaller unicorn practically exploded into a flurry of ink and paper and scribbling, I let the cotton-swab constructs fade.

Ow.

Rarity cantered around her workshop, her magical aura wrapping around various pieces of paper and colored inks, bringing them up for inspection before just as quickly setting them aside.

“Should I come back later?”

“Oh no dear I-!” she paused, glancing at the sudden chaos she’d caused around the room, biting her lip, “Well… maybe. This may take me some time, but I simply must finish sketching out this idea, I do believe that you shall absolutely love it.”

I smiled, “I believe you,” I said without the slightest bit of sarcasm.

“In fact…” there was a distinct twinkle in her eye, “I do believe that I have a completely delightful idea for a new line for stallions. Emeris, I have a proposal for you.”

Quirking an eyebrow at her, I made a gesture with a forehoof for her to continue.

“My muse simply cannot be denied and I absolutely must make this outfit in its formative state. I’ll make you a deal though, if you don’t like it, I’ll put it away into my inspirations closet for another time, maybe another large stallion like yourself, and I’ll make you a proper outfit to your tastes. But if you do like it, it’ll be yours gratis, all I ask is that you purchase another two outfits from me in a similar vein to keep the fires of my muse burning.”

Rolling my eyes, “Rarity, did you really think you could slip a sneaky marketing trick past me? I know I’ve told you that I was being trained to be a businessman.”

Rarity’s face fell, and I reached out with a forehoof to press it against her chest, “I’ll be buying at least three outfits from you at your normal price.”

I couldn’t help but let out a short bark of a laugh at her shocked look, “Oh come on, you didn’t really think I was going to avoid paying you? Rarity, you do damn good work and your normal prices are already practically a steal. It just ain’t in me to avoid paying you for your work.”

A beatific smile lit up her face and she let out a happy little squeal.

“Now, go crazy and I’ll get out of your way,” I couldn’t help the broad smile on my face as the alabaster unicorn did just that. A little more hesitantly I asked, “Just not too over the top for me please?”

I couldn’t let her make me something without paying for it. Even the thought of that made me supremely uncomfortable. Partially because that’s what ponies always tried to do while I was Gary, and partially because that’s just the way I was. It was sort of an honor thing, sort of a logic thing, sort of a ‘Economies work by people getting paid damnit! I’m going to pay you because you need to be paid and I am a rational actor!’ thing.

Yeah, I’m weird, but it can be best summed up as me feeling bad if I didn’t compensate people for their efforts and work. It was a bit hypocritical of me since I myself had little problem doing work for basically free, but I considered that better than the alternative.

“Oh don’t worry Emeris darling, I shall make it fabulous!”

“Light on the fabulous as well please…?” I said with an admittedly hesitant smile. Hesitant because I didn’t know if she was joking or not...

oOo

“–I’m still surprised that you liked him while he was under the effects of his curse,” Twilight admitted to her friend beside her.

One of Rainbow Dash’s ears quirked to the side, “I’m more surprised that nopony else realized he hated what was happening.” Her wings folded tightly against her sides as she pulled the cart along, “I mean, he was obviously awkward when he first got here, and he turned everypony down and always tried to escape when anypony showed interest in him.”

Twilight blushed, “It’s hard to realize that when all anypony can talk about him is how amazing he is and how much they want to rut or be rutted by him,” her blush turned into a scowl as they approached another line of houses, “And when all you can do is try to get bedded by someone you’re not interested in.”

“So… what?” the well-toned athlete asked, her face showing her confusion, “You’re saying that ‘cause you didn’t like him at the start it made it harder to like him at all?”

“That’s probably the best way to put it, yes. It was a positive feedback loop of initial dislike being amplified by the espousing of unfelt affection; causing resentment of the source of the contradiction which meant more intense dislike, which meant even more resentment when obviously false statements are being trumpeted by all of your peers, which meant even more dislike ad infinitum.”

Dash gave her unicorn friend a look, “How about saying that in non-Egghead-speak?”

Twilight made a face before rolling her eyes, “Not liking him meant ponies didn’t like being forced to say good things about him, which made them not like him even more. So ponies started to hate him when this pony they already didn’t like was all they or others could talk about.”

“Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”

Now it was Twilight’s turn to give her friend a look.

It didn’t go unnoticed, and Dash stuck her pink tongue out with a “Nyah.”

Twilight responded with the perfectly eloquent and refined blowing of a raspberry.

The two friends only kept a straight face for a few moments before bursting into giggles, the two friends leaning against one another as they came to a stop.

Taking a small stack of papers from the cart hitched onto Dash’s well toned withers, Twilight fumbled them into the mailbox of the first house in the line before moving along to the next and repeating the motion; Dash following along beside her as the unicorn performed the unfamiliar action.

The two friends made their way down the street in relative silence, Twilight unable to speak due to using her mouth as her manipulating appendage and Dash not feeling an particular need to talk, instead just watching ponies move along with their lives and livelihoods.

At the end of the row of houses, Twilight started to speak again, “Thank you Dash,” she smiled gratefully as she led the pegasus beside her to the next house on the list, “I really appreciate you helping me pass these out.”

“Hey, it’s no problem Twilight, just, y’know, don’t merge yourself with anypony again. Like, ever. That was super weird.”

The purple unicorn winced, “I get it, I get it, I messed up.”

Rainbow Dash laughed, her multicolored mane bouncing as she did, “Oh come on, it’s already over, it’s funny now!”

“It wasn’t funny then,” Twilight grumbled, scowling at her cyan friend.

Giggling, Dash’s wings ruffled as she pulled the massive cart of surveys that Twilight was supposed to be passing out. Her muscles were shifting under her coat like corded steel, “Don’t be a lame-o Twi, it was funny! You two were super awkward with your wings.”

“Hey!” unable to help her blush, Twilight pouted, “It’s not like I was born with wings.”

“Uh huh,” the pegasus said with a smirk, her rose-colored eyes twinkling as she practically strutted up to the next house, tail swishing with each step.

“You’ve had your wings your whole life! And Emeris never really had to learn to use his wings as such, it just came naturally.”

Dash’s spectral tail flicked and her grin got even more teasing, “Yeah, and you two were still super awkward about it, you especially! You didn’t know how to preen or anything! It was totally hilarious the way you stammered and shuffled.”

Twilight’s pout went fierce as she went to grab a stack of the surveys, “It’s only funny for you because now you’ve got a date with a stallion you like.”

“Mmmaaaayyyyybe,” she admitted, her wings fluffing as Twilight put the small stack of surveys into the mailbox.

Twilight pouted even harder at that, unable to come up with a good comeback, scowling at the pegasus as her friend knickered, trotting in place. The multicolored bolt of lightning seeming to strike repeatedly as Rainbow Dash’s thigh flexed and moved.

“So…” Dash said, drawing the word out teasingly, “Is there something on my flank or you just like what you see?”

The question ground the unicorn’s thought process to a halt, “W-What-?!” her face quickly heating till it felt like it was on fire.

“Oh come on, you’ve been staring at my flanks ever since we started carting these things around,” Dash smirked at the mortified unicorn, “And you were totally staring at my wings when we hitched me up to the cart.”

Twilight’s face was a solid shade of red by this point as she stammered inarticulately.

‘I’ve been staring at Dash’s flank?’

‘I have… Oh dear Celestia I have been ogling Dash’s flank!’

‘When had that happened? Why had that happened? When did I start staring at that shapely flank? At those toned muscles? WHY AM I DOING IT AGAIN?!’

Dash’s grin became devious and strutted, her wings fluffing out, “Looks like everypony wants the Dash.”

Now that her attention had been drawn to it, Twilight was excruciatingly aware of how her eyes followed down the line of the well toned athlete’s body from her muzzle down to her tail as she gave the multicolored appendage a flick, “I’m not-! I–”

‘Sure, I’m not monosexual or anything, but I’ve mostly been into stallions! I’ve never been hugely into mares, let alone my friends! And Dash is my friend! I’m ogling my friend! My supremely athletic, energetic, fun-loving… well toned… pegasus friend.’ Her mind trailed off as she looked at the Element of Loyalty with new eyes.

‘Well huh… never even tried to think of her like that,’ A small smirk spread across her face, ’I actually don’t think I mind the idea.’

“Um… Twilight…? Is something wrong…?”

The smirk became almost evil as Twilight tried to channel a little bit of Rarity, “Why would anything be wrong?” she pitched her voice a bit lower, trying to make it husky the way romance books always talked about as she approached her friend.

“H-Hey-!” Dash leaned away briefly, a dusting of pink appearing on her cheeks as Twilight got closer, shuffling her hooves slightly but unable to truly back away hitched to the cart as she was, “Twilight-?”

A pleasant little emotion bubbled in Twilight’s chest as she turned the tables on her friend, and a warmth spread through her at Dash’s reaction to the nuzzle she gave her. Twilight pressed her muzzle gently against the back of the pegasus’ jaw, a motion just a bit more intimate than normal for friends, and she smiled against the blue coat as Dash’s wings reflexively expanded in display.

Feeling her friend’s coat heat up even as she nuzzled it, Twilight couldn’t help but smirk just a bit, her lips working against Dash’s coat as she said, “You were the one willing to kiss me right along with Emeris weren’t you–?”

There was a muffled boom as Twilight’s muzzle suddenly felt colder and her mane went flying around, a soft phrase left on the wind, “ThanksTwiit’sbeenfungottagobye!”

Only then did the straps and handles of the cart hit the ground with a gentle thump.

Twilight’s surprised face broke into a giggle and she cantered in place, her cheeks a bright shade of red, “Oh wow that was fun! I can see why Rarity does that!” still giggling, she admitted to herself that she wasn’t really sure if she was interested in Rainbow Dash or not, or just had a sudden urge to appreciate the female form, but teasing her had been fun.

… sudden appreciation for the female form…

’Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,’ Twilight grumbled to herself, her good mood evaporating, ’As if everything else wasn’t enough.’

Then another realization hit her, “Oh ponyfeathers.”

Glancing back at the cart almost full of survey’s, “Now who’s going to help me pass these out…?”

oOo

Two days to D-Day.

Tch, surprisingly appropriate to be honest, only in my case it was Date-Day rather than an invasion of hostile beaches.

… unless I’m the beach.

And suddenly that was a whole lot less funny. Thanks so much brain.

And here I was getting a haircut.

… well, mane-cut I guess? Terminology could be so weird here. I never had to learn these things. Like, how come my coat doesn’t get super long and shaggy while my mane and tail can? It didn’t make any sense to my non-biologically oriented brain.

Rarity was leading me to her favorite stylist in town (and basically, the only real stylist in town) to… well… get my mane and tail styled up for my date.

… so what I was going to a stylist? My mom had, and I’d gone with her. So what if it wasn’t manly? I didn’t give the slightest number of fucks about being masculine.

… not that it appeared to matter given the disparate and changed gender roles in Equestria but eh, whatever.

I’m mentally rambling, can you tell? I’m nervous. Fluttershy squeaks and hides, Dash cranks up the ego until it cracks, and I ramble.

In this case, my nervousness was due to having to closely deal with some new ponies that likely hated me still… Intellectually, I knew it was a silly fear, the worst that could reasonably happen is that we were refused service because of me.

While, normally, our ‘beautification’ group was Rarity dragging Fluttershy and myself out to the Aloe and Lotus’ salon for a full treatment, gossip, and a meal together, Fluttershy couldn’t make it today. I suspected that Rarity dragged Fluttershy and myself out like she did as much out of her own desire to find beauty as she did out of a desire to try and get Fluttershy and I to socialize.

I was supremely grateful for her attempts, she always scheduled our little forays into socialization, which made it a lot harder for me to just laze about and ignore it. I struggled to just go out and socialize unless I had a schedule or a habit or other obligations.

The insightful and beautiful unicorn was arguably the closest friend I had other than Dash and Applejack, but we both freaking cringed at the thought of romance between us. Great friend, but ugh, no way did I want to deal with how pompous she was pretty much all the time. And I was, as she so politely put it, ‘Far too rough and tumble’ for her tastes-

“Really darling, you need to pay more attention or ponies will start assuming that you like me.”

Blinking, I realized that even if I was aware of my surroundings, my unfocused eyes had been pointed at my companion’s flank. Well crap.

I flushed, “Sorry about that.” A weak chuckle escaped me before becoming a sigh, “I’m sorta zoned out right now.”

“It’s only a trim Emeris,” Rarity said with a smile, “No worse than going to the spa.”

“I believe you,” I said as I switched to a three-legged walk, “But only up here,” tapping the side of my head with a forehoof, “But down in here,” this time I tapped my chest, “I keep being terrified that something crazy or horrible will happen.”

“It’ll be perfectly fine dear, I promise,” coming up to the door of a little shop with the classic barber pole outside the door, “Now come along, lets get your mane into a form worthy of this date!”

Beaming, she pushed the door open, the bell jingling as she stepped into the small salon, “True Glamour! Darling! I’ve brought you a new customerrr~”

“Oh Rarity, it’s so good of you to do so!” the earth pony looked up from her desk as she started to walk around it to greet us, “Who hav-” her eyes landed on me as I hesitantly stepped through the door and a switch was flipped.

Her pupils shrunk to pinpricks, her face paling even behind her burnt orange coat as she froze in place, not even breathing.

My own face fell immediately as my heart felt like it fell out of my chest. There went any hopes of a good day.

“Yes dear, it’s him, and yes, I know how it feels to be around him, but he needs a trim and you’re simply the best stylist in town-”

“No.”

My head hung even as Rarity stepped up, “True Glamour, dear, I promise he’s not as bad as you remember-”

“No, get him out of here.”

“True Glamour, you are being unreasonable!”

“Rarity, let’s just go, there’s no need to make her do something she doesn’t want to,” and I just wanted to be gone. I got enough of these knives in the heart from just walking through town, I didn’t need more of that.

“No, I tolerate the attitudes of the other ponies around you only under duress, but I will no more tolerate her reaction than I did Lotus or Aloe’s!” the alabaster unicorn said with an amount of determination that I admired and appreciated, even if I felt it was misplaced, “Now True Glamour, I assure you that it will be fine. It’s only a haircut, nothing bad will happen, you’ll still be yourself I promise.”

“No! Rarity I refuse!” you could see the whites of her eyes around her purple irises, “I won’t serve this monster!”

“True Glamour you are being a foal!” Rarity said with a stomp of her hoof, her eyebrows drawing down in a scowl, “Emeris has been cleared by Twilight and both of the Princesses as no longer having that terrible curse he had before. He’s only been trying to make it up to ponies, just like you, for the trouble he caused over those two years. I have been coming to you for years and I have brought him now in confidence.”

“But Rarity-!”

“No! Glamour, I will not be leaving until his mane and tail have been cut and that is that.”

… okay, even if we had no romantic feelings for one another, I definitely just wanted to hug her tightly for hours while crying and thanking her for being such an awesome person. You go Rarity.

True Glamour’ jaw clenched, her eyes darting between Rarity and me. I did my best to look small and unthreatening, difficult to do considering I was half again the size of the unicorn beside me. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, her ears swept back, “Rarity, I don’t–”

“Please Glamour, for me?”

“Just-!” Glamour cut herself off as Rarity fluttered her eyelashes, the earth ponies’ nostrils flaring, “Let’s-... let’s just get this over with.”

Her breathing was harsh as she headed back towards the chair. Swallowing, I followed after her hesitantly, my ears unconsciously swept back. I pulled myself up into the chair and looked over at her as she grabbed the bib thing that stylists always put on you. Her movements were jerky and anxious, her tail pressed tightly against her thighs, I started to say something, not entirely sure what, but it died in my throat when her eyes briefly met mine.

It wasn’t panic, it wasn’t rage, but it wasn’t a pleasant emotion in those eyes of hers.

So with a shuddering breath, I gathered my courage and settled in to the chair as best I could. It was still weird to me how subtly different chairs were here than I had been used to.

“What are you here for?” Glamour snapped.

“Just a trim, about half this length, similar style.”

Snorting, Glamour slipped the bib over me before tying it with a jerky motion and going to grab her tools. Rarity had taken up sentinel nearby, giving me a demure smile that was likely intended to be encouraging.

I’d be the first to admit that I needed it. Never been scared of haircuts, but I was supremely anxious and uncomfortable right now. My brain had latched onto the contours of the chair, how it was subtly different from the chairs I’d gotten used to as a human. The bend was more pronounced to support the lower back, the part for my ass was more curled to better support my hind-legs. But yeah, I needed encouragement because here was an angry, panicky pony with scissors near my face.

It was silly, her name was True Glamour, her whole job was cutting and styling hair, and her cutie mark was a freaking pair of scissors!

But emotions didn’t listen to logic. My breathing was shallow and shaky and it felt like my ribcage was trembling under my skin.

I felt her hot breath on the back of my neck as she snorted again and I wanted my brown pants please and thank you. I just… I pressed my forehooves tightly against my barrel in an attempt to prevent myself from shaking.

Hooves roughly pressed against my shoulders and the scissors began to work, my ears desperately flicking out of the way.

… was it just me or did those scissors sound angry?

Clippings fell, scattered bits of my thick brown mane falling all over the bib and my shoulders, each time the steel of the scissors brushed against my skin I had to clench my muscles to avoid flinching away, though my ears were reluctant to listen to my attempts to control them.

Was-... was this normal…?

I mean, those scissors were brushing against me more than they’d ever had when I’d gotten haircuts as a human…

I glanced over at Rarity and found her lips pressed into a line, her ears swept back as her eyes narrowed.

… okay, yeah, now I’m worried.

“Glamour, darling, this ah… this isn’t really up to your normal standards of quality…”

While the stylists growl was muffled by the scissors in her mouth, it was still perfectly understandable, “I just want him gone!”

“... I’m sorry,” her hooves pressed painfully tight on my shoulders, “I didn’t… I never wanted anyone to be hurt by my presence and tried to keep it from affecting pe- ponies, but I didn’t realize how bad it was. I’m sorry.”

Her hooves had gone extremely still and I shot a glance at Rarity, finding that she too had frozen in place. I was still faced away from the mirror and couldn’t see True Glamour face… but the sudden, shuddering release of breath against the back of my neck sent a small tremor through me as I too froze.

“You’re sorry?”

Oh no…

In for a penny, in for a pound, no matter what, I’m committed now!

I swallowed, “Yes. I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? You’re sorry for all the trouble you caused?!” the sound of the scissors was suddenly very loud next to my ear, “Do you think that somehow makes it better?! Are you a bucking moron?! Do you think that saying sorry makes up for all the times I had to drop everything to chase after you like a drooling idiot?!”

I had to suppress a reflexive flinch away from the cold steel, my ears twitching and my stomach sinking.

“Sorry doesn't cut it! But my best customer comes in and demands that I cut the mane of the- the abomination that pretends to be a pony!” the cuts of the scissors came faster and faster and I had to suppress the urge to squirm out of the way, “Do you have any idea what I had to listen to my little filly say?! What my precious little girl would say while you were in town?! What I encouraged you herdbreaker?!”

“I-” I resisted the urge to turn around in spite of the flurry of cuts around my head, I wanted to deny it, I wanted to say that I never knew, that I had no control... but the words seized in my throat. I stared at a point on the far wall, just above Rarity. The other unicorn in the room staring in horror at the train wreck in front of her, mouth half opened as if to say something.

“No! You don't! And you come in here and have the gall to say that you're sorry?! I don't bucking care how sorry you are! If the Princesses didn't vouch for you I'd want you dead!” I bit back a small sob, I'd heard that before but- “But they do! Crazy mares they are, they do! And now you've brought Rarity and Pinkie Pie into your damn power again-!”

”No!” I couldn't let that stand! No! My head jerked around, there would be no confusion! I couldn't even let myself think of that happening! “I would-”

My words caught in my throat as my breath hitched in pain and I flinched away instinctively, my horn lighting up.

There was dead silence as I stared at an equally wide-eyed True Glamour, my brain trying to catch up-

There was a wet *thwap* and my eyes flicked over to the sound-

… was that my ear...?

…

That was a piece of my ear.

My eyes returned to a horrified looking True Glamour.

She'd just cut off part of my ear.

We both looked over at the bloodied piece of ear on the hardwood floor.

That was almost half of my ear, cut off at an angle.

Our eyes returned to a lock and my ears unconsciously flexed, a sharp, stabbing pain followed by a dull ache making themselves known in my mind at my right ear. The sharp tang of coppery blood filled my nose as warmth began to trickle down the side of my face; my eyes finally picked out the speckling of dark red across the stylists muzzle. There was a soft pitter patter in time with my racing heartbeat as blood flowed freely from my ear… stub of an ear…

True Glamour pupils had shrunk to tiny pinrpicks, “I-I-I-... I'm sorry-” she stammered softly past the scissors in her mouth as she began to tremble like a leaf.

She'd cut off half of my ear!

She hadn't meant to... obviously so.

Her whole job was to cut hair and not do exactly that!

Her name is True Glamour, her cutie mark is a pair of scissors, this is probably the first time this has happened!

She was freaking apologizing! After going on a damn tirade about how saying sorry wasn't enough!

…

She was apologizing.

The light around my horn died out, and I could practically feel myself deflate, “It’s okay, I forgive you.”

“What?!”

I flinched at the exclamation from behind me, turning towards my friend, “Rarity–”

“No!” she cut me off, her hoof making a cutting motion as if to strike what I was saying down, “This is not– you can't just forgive this!” She strode up, her blue eyes frantic and intense, “She cut off your ear!” she spun on the stylist, shrieking, “You cut off his ear!!”

The orange earth pony cringed away, her ears low as she started to stammer incoherently even as Rarity rushed over to me, “Oh dear oh dear, I- oh goodness it’s bleeding badly, we’re going to have to stop the bleeding somehow, oh! And me without my sewing kits!”

Glancing at my reflection, I could see a steady trickle of blood coming from the straight cut of the ear, the ear and the entire right side of my face were coated in blood already… Suddenly there was a wall of white in my vision as Rarity reared up, her forelegs both coming up to pinch my ear in place, drawing a hiss of pain from me.

I felt the tingle of Rarity’s magic against my barrel and realized that she was searching through my vest for something, finding the bit of string that I always carried in its usual pocket, she quickly brought it up to tie it around my ear. The action made me grit my teeth hard as she tightened the knot of the string around my ear.

She settled back down on all fours and I belatedly realized that she’d gotten blood all over her forelegs, and there was a speckling of droplets on her muzzle and chest as well, the dark crimson a stark contrast to her alabaster coat. She seemed to relax as she saw that the flow of blood had been slowed to barely a trickle.

Then True Glamour spoke, “R-Rarity, I–”

Anger and indignation flashed across Rarity’s face as she spun on her hooves, “True Glamour! I am appalled at your unprofessionalism! Not only did you berate your customer you cut off his ear!” I felt myself yanked out of the chair by magic, the bib simultaneously being pulled off and thrown aside, “Come along Emeris, we are leaving and getting that ear looked at. We will not be returning.”

“Rarity-” I started, but True Glamour was going into full blown panic mode now.

“Rarity!” she’d dropped the tools of her trade as she practically stumbled forward, I was no longer a concern, “I didn’t– It was an accident I swear!”

“Accident or not that is inexcusable for a professional of your caliber True Glamour! Especially after yelling at my friend like that! I mean look at him! Look at how much he bled in just those few moments!” I found myself moved behind the furious unicorn, Rarity having placed herself between me and Glamour, “You have lost my business good mare!”

“But Rarity-!”

“Rarity!” I boomed, startling both of the mares in the small salon, my eyes locking with Rarity’s as she spun to look up at me, “It’s alright.”

Her manicured eyebrows went up briefly before her brow furrowed, her ears sweeping back, “No. No Emeris, it’s not alright.”

“She’s sorry,” I pleaded. Don’t fight, don’t hurt her, not because of me…

“That doesn’t mean you should forgive her that easily!” an alabaster hoof was stomped and I felt a fire light in my chest.

“What?” I snapped at the smaller mare, “Like how I forgave Twilight?! What Twilight did was far worse than this!” My ears had swept back and I couldn’t stop it despite the pain it caused, “Are you saying I shouldn’t have forgiven her?!” I was yelling, damnit, I shouldn’t be yelling, this is my friend, arguably my best friend.

Rarity seemed almost taken aback at that, her eyes widening as she recoiled. Then she leaned back in, her eyes as hard as the diamonds on her flank, “Maybe you shouldn’t have darling.” This time it was my turn to recoil even as she continued, “If what Twilight did was truly that bad, then maybe you forgave her too easily. “

“Rarity!” the exclamation slipped out of me in surprise and horror.

“But regardless of that, you shouldn’t be forgiving True Glamour, not so easily! She cut off your ear! After insulting and belittling you!” she forced herself to calm, “She has in no way earned forgiveness.”

“But I wronged her!” I shouted before reigning myself in, “Even if I had no control over it, even if it wasn’t my fault… it was still because of me… it’s still my responsibility.” I met Rarity’s eyes imploringly, “With how much forgiveness I’m asking for, how can I deny giving her forgiveness?”

For just a moment it seemed like I’d convinced her, but then her eyes hardened, “Forgiveness isn’t a currency Emeris! It isn’t something you exchange! It’s something you earn or give! You can’t guilt someone into forgiving you by forgiving their own faults!”

“It’s not about that!” I roared, “It’s about fairness! It’s about honor! It’s about doing unto others as you would have them do unto you! Forgiving her is as much for my peace of mind as hers!”

“And it’s bad for my peace of mind if you do forgive her!” she snarled, stomping a hoof, “I mean look at yourself! Half of your ear is gone! Most of your face and side are covered in blood! You came in submissive and polite and she tried to deny you service! She insulted you before she hurt you! And even now she’s more concerned with losing my business than your health!”

Rarity raised her head high, her nostrils flaring,”Emeris, I can’t let you forgive her so easily.”

My barrel heaved and it felt like I was going to throw up; the sound of my labored breathing loud in the otherwise quiet salon as my jaw worked, “I-... I-... I can’t,” I was crying… fuck, I was crying, “Rarity I can’t. I just can’t not forgive someone that honestly apologizes. I can’t!”

Rarity’s blue eyes slowly widened as I went on, her jaw working slightly.

“R-Rarity… I can’t… I–” her hoof was pressed against my lips and I distantly realized that she’d smeared some of my own blood from the floor onto my coat with the action.

“No… no, it’s alright Emeris. Just…” she swallowed, taking a breath to collect herself, “Let’s just go dear.”

“Rarity–”

“Ap,” again her hoof was pressed against my lips, “That’s… that’s enough Emeris.”

Her hoof fell and my mouth started to open but… her eyes, there was… hurt? Concern? Pain. There was pain in her eyes.

Whatever anger, whatever force there’d been in me to defy her disappeared in a rush, and weakly I said “Alright…”

Rarity’s look softened in gratitude, but only momentarily. The instant words left True Glamour mouth not half a minute later I watched as a change came over the fashionista, “Rarity, I–” her head went up, her hind-quarters tensing as her weight shifted to her forelegs for just an instant, her eyes regaining that fire of anger as her ears swept back, “I–”

“True Glamour, precious,” the stylist and I swallowed hard as Rarity’s eyes closed, grinding the term of endearment out between her teeth. Props to her, because however pompous she sounded most of the time, there was no question that she turned that term of endearment into a ‘bricks have been shat’ one, “I absolutely must insist that you don’t press the issue.”

“O-Okay…” she squeaked, practically cowering now, her ears pressed against the sides of her head.

“That’s quite good to hear precious, now do come along Emeris, we do need to get that ear some proper medical attention,” despite the strain in her voice at keeping her cool, Rarity’s head was held high as she turned away from the interior of the salon and made a beeline for the door.

I had to practically scurry after her, having a moment of fright as I nearly slipped on the small drying pool of blood on the wooden floor. Something clicked in my head as my eyes trailed up after Rarity, who herself was trailing bloody, if faint, hoofprints. I coughed, “Rarity…” oh she wasn’t going to like this…

“Emeris, dear, we’ll talk about it later, but right now you need some proper medical attention,” she said with an almost pleading finality.

“Not that…” I caught up to my fellow unicorn, “Um… you’ve got blood on your…” glancing at the coating of blood on her forelegs and the speckling of it along her muzzle and chest, “Um… you.”

It took a half a second for those words to sink in, and when they did she shuddered unpleasantly, shuffling in place momentarily, “E-Emeris, may I borrow your vest dear?”

Wordlessly, I worked my ever-present pink vest off and passed it over to her with my magic. Taking it with her own power, she immediately began dabbing it against her muzzle and hooves almost frantically, trying to be refined as she hastened to get it off.

With a shuddering breath, she seemed to mentally declare her appearance satisfactory enough to leave, folding the now red-brown stained vest in a quick, practiced motion of her magic, “Could you be a dear and–” encompassing the vest with my magic I gently took it from her and set it on my back, “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing,” I said honestly. She’d made it after all.

“Now come along, let’s get that ear looked at,” her eyes traced the side of my face and her lips pressed into a tight line, “And I do so hope that the doctor knows a good way to remove blood stains from a coat. You look positively dreadful.”

I pointedly didn’t say anything about the flecks of dried blood still on her muzzle as I followed her out of the door.

Before closing it, I glanced back to find True Glamour almost cowering behind the chair, her eyes locked on Rarity as she trembled like a leaf.

In spite of the traitorous part of me that was adamant that she hadn’t suffered enough, I-... I was determined to come back and apologize for this mess. I had to. Her floor was ruined, possibly her reputation…

I-... I don’t think I could come back here for another manecut though… even if everything worked out perfectly from now on…

With my course of action determined, I gently closed the door behind me.

oOo

Rarity and I had made all due haste to the hospital because wizard needed food badly, and Rarity needed a moist towelette.

The looks we’d gotten had been… interesting considering that the normally pristine Rarity and the ever disliked me had been speckled and coated in the red-brown of drying blood respectively, galloping through the streets.

“Hey, it was more than two weeks at least…?” I gave the nurse a sheepish grin.

The nurse pulled back from the stitching she was doing to give me a flat look, not bothering to say anything past the needle in her mouth before returning to her task of sealing up my stump of an ear.

“It’s not my fault this time…? Well, it wasn’t the last time either but this one is particularly not my fault,” there was another little jab of pain at the new edge of my ear as the needle was pushed through.

Of course I got the same nurse I did while I was here after the fight with Dash.

“Mhm.”

The corner of my mouth pressed together tightly as I tried to keep from twitching or flinching away in spite of the pain. An amused, if silly thought flitted through my head, “Hey, are there any social stigmas to earrings? Like, is it wrong for a guy to have them or anything? ‘Cause if there aren’t, it’d be pretty efficient to get my ear pierced now.”

The nurse grunted, not that I expected a whole lot more with her mouth full with such delicate work right now. And no, that wasn’t innuendo.

… really wish Rarity hadn’t left me in here alone with her. I mean, I get that the nurse was the one who had to clean me up and stitch up my ear, but after explaining the basics of the situation and getting a nurse on the task, my companion had practically dragged the doctor off.

It wasn’t like the nurse was mean to me or anything, a little cold sure, but nothing bad. It was just super awkward. I was a lot more comfortable around Rarity in general and even though intellectually knew that her breath on my ear meant nothing at all, it still made my chest tighten in conditioned fear. It was stupid of me now to be afraid, but when every time over the past two years it had been a prelude to molestation, it becomes an express ticket on the nopetrain.

My ears twitched and pain flared in my ear, earning an exasperated sigh from the nurse (Redheart I think?) and a grunt from me, “Sorry.” Her hoof gently pressed against my shoulder momentarily in a gesture of comfort before she went back to work.

At times I hated this body of mine, I had almost no control of my tail or ears, I felt like I had no leash on my fear and that the one on my anger had been loosened.

Not being in control of myself had always bothered me, but the power of my curse had made me afraid of it. A single slip, a single moment of inattention, a single ‘why not’, and I could have destroyed someone’s life, shattered the economy, or cracked the planet.

The nurse gave the thread a tug as she finished her stitching and I winced, my entire neck tensing as I tried to keep from flicking my ear. She did something fancy with her lips and tongue that for a human would be very flirtatious at parties and tied off the string with her mouth and carefully snapped it off.

As she headed back over to the cabinet to get some materials, I settled back down on my forelegs and suppressed a sigh.

What a mess, even if I didn’t have to worry so much about losing control of myself anymore, it still bothered me.

I snorted as I lay there in the sunlight from the window, the nurse returning with a tray of various first aid materials and cleaning materials on her back.

She dabbed a cloth into some sort of solution, “Close your eye please, I’m going to try and get all of this blood out of your coat before it stains.”

Obliging her, I held still as she used a hoof to rub the damp cloth against my face, delicately working it against my ear. The motion sending extremely unpleasant tingles along what was left of my ear and down my spine. It twitched a few times against my will, but the nurse was thankfully patient with me.

“... thanks by the way,” she paused in her efforts and I continued, “For being so kind to me after all of this mess…”

She was quiet for a long moment before sighing, “You’re welcome.” She returned to wiping my coat down.

With that, we fell back into relative silence, thankfully far more comfortable than before. Celestia’s sun was bright and warm as it shone through the window, the birds were singing outside, but the soft clinking of glass on the metal tray beside me was much louder as the nurse worked. There was the smell of antiseptic, which was particularly bad in my nose.

The equine nose was more sensitive than I remembered my human nose being, but not massively so. I was usually able to ignore stuff like the overly sterile hospital smell, but without anything more pleasant to focus on my mind decided to fixate on it.

It was only a few minutes later that Rarity and the doctor came back into the room. Rarity’s face and posture were neutral, but deliberately and pointedly so. She was definitely feeling something and hiding it. I sent a questioning look her way, but her only response was a little shake of her head.

And suddenly I was worried again.

She immediately picked up on that, “It’s alright Emeris, there’s nothing wrong. I just needed to check up on some things,” she came up and pressed a hoof against my barrel, a small smile on her face.

I wanted to ask… both because of basic curiosity as well as the near certainty that it was related to me, but
would it be too rude? Too much after our spat not even thirty minutes ago? Would I even be able to get an answer from her?

Rarity rolled her eyes, “Oh don’t worry dear, it was mostly to get sewing tips in case something like this happens again, because unfortunately I have a feeling that it’s likely. You certainly have a talent for getting yourself injured.”

I lowered my head back to my forelegs at the mild admonishment in her tone, “I’m not exactly enjoying it either,” I grumbled.

She sighed dramatically, a fetlock brushing against my face as she pursed her lips in displeasure, “Well I certainly find it frustrating, at this rate even I shall find it difficult to make your appearance presentable!” Her hoof went back to the tile floor and she turned to the nurse, “You’ve done quite well Redheart darling,” Ha! I was right! “He actually looks presentable again without all of the… eaugh, blood in his coat.”

“Thank you Ms. Belle,” Nurse Redheart returned politely.

“That said,” she turned back to me, “Your manecut is quite unfinished, I’ll have to finish it up myself at the Boutique.”

I blinked, “Are you sure Rarity?”

“Darling, who do you think does my hair?” the fashionista said with a smirk, adjusting her hair delicately with a hoof, “If I had to go to the stylist in order to properly maintain my coif I would be broke!”

“I don’t doubt your skills,” I told her honestly before admitting, “I just don’t like being a bother…”

She waved it off with a hoof, “It’s nothing dear, it’s been far too long since I’ve cut the hair of somepony other than Sweetie Belle.”

The doctor delicately coughed into his hoof, a clipboard held in his magic and we both turned to him, “Mr. Fillson, I can’t say it’s good to see you again.”

“I met the deadline for bed-rest?” I offered with a somewhat sarcastic (if strained) smile, ignoring the small twinge in my ear.

The unicorn made a face before sighing, “Yes, yes you did.” I grinned broadly. Ten points to Slytherin. Shaking his head, he continued, “You’ve come into my hospital with a nasty wound, again.”

That made me blink, “Really?”

Every other equine in the room looked at me funny at that, though it was Nurse Redheart that spoke up, “Mr. Fillson, there’s a moderately sized arterial vein that goes approximately two thirds of the way up the ear, with your ear cut in half you could have passed out from blood loss had Ms. Belle not pinched it off until it stopped bleeding.”

I suddenly felt rather cold at the thought. Whatever good feelings I’d been able to recapture after the argument and incident evaporated.

Really should have made the connection between ‘there’s a lot of my blood on the floor’ and ‘possibility of bleeding to death’.

That also kinda sorta maybe explained why Rarity had been just a teensy weensy, itsy bitsy, tiny winy bit absolutely furious with True Glamour.

“Oh,” was my ever-so-eloquent reply.

“Yes, it’s not exactly serious unless left untreated, but it is certainly a worrying wound,” flipping the page on his clipboard over he skimmed over the next page, “According to Ms. Belle’s description, you lost a large amount of blood.”

“That seems likely.”

“Then I recommend drinking lots of fluids and cutting down on the tea… again,” he added with a deadpan look before continuing, “The wound won’t seal for another couple days, so be sure to only lightly rinse it, no scrubbing or picking at it… again.” Yeah, I get it, I got myself messed up again. “You don’t really need prescribed bed-rest… this time, but as your doctor I must recommend taking it easy for the next few days as your body replenishes its blood supply.” Okay, now he’s just fucking with me. Touche’ doctor what’syername, touche’.

“Gotcha.”

“And Mr. Fillson?”

“Don’t come back in for at least three weeks this time?”

“I’d prefer to avoid it until your next physical in five months if you would.”

“... might not be possible.”

“At this rate I find it very unlikely, yes.”

“... well… ah… Celestia knighted me to legally have me protect Ponyville from monsters so…”

There was a long moment of silence before Nurse Redheart dropped her head to the table with an unhappy groan. The doctor blinked for a moment more, “Well… that explains why she’s been footing the bill.”

oOo

“I didn’t know that Equestrian military got free medical insurance…” I murmured to myself over the soft sound of scissors as I looked over the leger and legal jargon I’d requested about my non-payment, “… that’s probably going to be useful,” I admitted.

“I’m quite surprised, isn’t that something your people have?” Rarity asked as she worked, her magic delicately brushing against my skin as the scissors did their job.

Admittedly, I probably should have been more unsettled than I was, but I trusted Rarity implicitly, “Well, no. My culture didn’t actually treat its veterans all that well. Wasn’t horrifying or anything, but we didn’t exactly have an immortal and ancient goddess watching over our laws and determined to make sure everything was okay.”

“Emeris! Dear, don’t call the Princes ancient!” Rarity scolded, but I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

“Hun, she is ancient. Also amazing and beautiful and radiant. But ancient.”

She huffed, “But it is simply rude to talk about a lady’s age!”

I opened my mouth-

Then closed it.

“Nah, too easy.”

“Emeris!” came the indignant cry and I couldn’t help but chuckle, a warm happiness spreading through my chest.

As I started to settle back into the chair, I realized that the scissors had stopped. Worried that I’d actually hurt her with my teasing, I turned in the chair to look at her, “Rarity, I was only joking.” Her look wasn’t hurt, it was… distant? Concerned? Sad?

Shaking her head, the alabaster unicorn waved it off with a hoof, “No, it’s not that dear, don’t worry, it’s just you being your usual brutish self, something I’m quite accustomed to by now.”

“But something’s wrong,” I pressed, concerned.

“Nothing to concern yourself with darling, it’s simply been an…” she paused, looking for an appropriate word, “Exciting day.”

I winced, “Sorry about that.” It was because of me after all.

Her blue eyes rolled in exasperation, “You don’t have anything to apologize for Emeris,” she paused very briefly, I almost missed it really, but then she pressed a hoof against my shoulder and gave me a gentle smile, “And I can assure you that it’s quite alright. Apology accepted even if it is unneeded.”

Some of the tension in my chest eased at that. I wasn’t happy that her day had been ruined because of me but… I’d trust her, “Okay…” Turning back in the chair I settled back down to let her get back to her self-appointed task as I returned to my own.

I wanted to know the ins and outs of my position as a knight, but I couldn’t help the small, stupid smile on my face.

oOo

One day to D-Day…

I’d spent the first part of the night on patrol, but mindful of the doctors ‘recommendations’ I’d avoided pushing it too hard. I’d returned home well before midnight and had fallen asleep reading the documents the doctor had been kind enough to give me about medical insurance and my status in Equestria now that I was a knight.

Once I wasn’t worrying my head off about my date, I’d have to remember to get some books from Twilight about my duties, responsibilities, and legal powers.

I was super happy that, unlike my cat, I didn’t drool in my sleep, so the documents were fine, if not the best pillow.

I knew what I was gonna do today though, and no it wasn’t ‘Try to take over the world!’. Been there, done that, didn’t even get a T-shirt.

The plan was to go to Rarity, pick up my new fantabulous outfit (no, she didn’t actually use that word but that was the general sense I got from Rarity about it), swing by the library to check up on Twilight (and see if she could order me some books on my whole knightly duties) before heading to Sugarcube Corner to get some ideas for a meal from Pinkie and the Cakes.

Odds were at least five to one that shit was gonna go down today. Place your bets now!

Hey, given how my week’s gone so far, those were generous odds–

“Emeris!”

I froze in place, ready to bolt if necessary for just a moment before I recognized the voice as a certain librarian’s, “Hey Twilight,” relaxing some I turned to find her trotting down the street towards me, “What’s up?”

“I would like to lodge a formal complaint to my previous roommate,” she said, the corner of her mouth quirking upwards in spite of herself.

Admittedly, I didn’t get it at first before it clicked what she was referring to, “One moment, let me get a hold of him.” I tilted my head as if listening to something before looking back at her, “Speaking.”

“After your forceful removal, I found some minor cosmetic damage to the accommodations,” there was a spike of concern before I realized she was waving it off, “Acceptable and understandable given the… violence of the eviction. But during the cleaning I found some of your luggage strewn about the place. This was utterly unacceptable.”

For just an instant, I started to panic that something dangerous had been left in her mind before it clicked that she was teasing. Still concerned if not frantically so, I swallowed, “What did I leave?”

“There’s this emotional baggage left around that’s definitely not mine,” oh no… “I mean, a sudden fascination with flanks and wings? An inescapable attraction to athletic mares? Sudden spikes of perversion? Those are definitely not mine.”

… oh.

My face heated up and I gave her a sheepish smile even as the smaller unicorn smirked at me, “Ah… sorry about that.”

Twilight snorted, the smirk melting into an amused smile, “It’s alright, just weird being attracted to some of my friends now. I already checked with Princess Celestia about it, if there’s nothing substantial sustaining the emotions on my end they’ll fade back to my original relationship baselines in time.” Her tail flicked, “Though I have to admit, it’s tempting to tell Applejack or Rainbow Dash just how much you probably think about the muscle definition of their backs and stomachs.”

Okay, when I said my face heated up before? I was lying. Now my face was on fire to the point, “Ah. I’d rather you didn’t…?”

Her eyebrow went up, “You’d rather I didn’t…?” she deadpanned.

“Oh don’t give me that,” I grumbled with refinement and class and not the least bit of petulance, “You’d have to explain that you’re having those thoughts too right now to do so and embarrass yourself.”

“It’d be worth it,” she said with a smug smile.

I ever so eloquently blew a raspberry at her. The giggle that escaped her was worth every bit of embarrassment on my part.

Rolling my eyes, I asked, “Anyways, how was your day? My day has been good so far. How about that weather?”

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes, “No, I didn’t come over just to tease you about that… though it was fun, I can see why Rarity does it.” I raised my eyebrow at her, “I came over to ask if you could help me collect some papers I passed out yesterday.”

I made a face, shuffling my hooves, “Unfortunately no. I’m going to spend most of today preparing for my date with Dash tomorrow. That and… well…” I gestured at the not inconsiderable bubble of space around the two of us and the hushed conversations.

Twilight glanced around, not comprehending at first before the realization obviously came across her face, “Oh…. is it always like this…?”

“... has been ever since my curse was broken,” I admitted in something between a grumble and a dejected sigh.

I didn’t brood or sulk, but that didn’t mean I liked to think about it.

Twilight’s lips pressed into a thin line as she scowled, her ears sweeping backwards, “That’s not right.”

Looking away with a sigh, my head drooped, “They’ve only suffered under the effects of the curse…” I looked at her and pointed out, “Just like you had.”

She winced, her ears drooping, “That doesn’t make it right.”

“No… no it doesn’t,” I admitted, “But it does make it understandable.”

She scowled and stamped a hoof, “We can’t just let this stand. You were suffering too and they certainly have preconceived notions about what it was like for you!”

“Well… ah… Pinkie’s going to be throwing a party to celebrate my curse being broken?” I offered.

She considered that, rubbing her chin with a hoof, “Mmm…. I guess that’ll have to do. If it doesn’t fix the situation by itself then we’ll figure something else out.”

“Yeah…” I said uncomfortably, shifting in place. I hoped the party would go well, but the thought of so many ponies around me in one place, it sent nervous shivers down my spine.

The silence dragged on and we both shuffled our hooves, neither knowing what to say. Her soft lavender eyes locked with mine briefly before we both looked away, but then her eyes returned with a more curious expression. Curious, I turned back to her, raising an eyebrow. Then her eyes widened.

"Emeris... what... what happened to your ear...?"

... oh... um... crap.

"Well... um..."

Twilight's eyes narrowed, "Emeris... don't try to brush this off."

"Twilight, it's–"

"Sir Emeris Fillson, don't you dare try to play this off. What happened?"

"... stylist cut it off."

"What?!"

"I said that the stylist cut it off!" I snapped, glaring at her. She wanted the answer, she'd get it but damnit I wasn't happy about it, "I was getting a manecut and I snapped at her and it got cut off! It was an accident!" My nostrils flared as I struggled to control my breathing and volume.

"Emeris... that's..."

"The end of it." I declared with finality, holding her gaze, "I'm not pressing charges. I'm not going to make a big deal about it. It's already been treated. And I got a manecut anyways. There was an accident and she's forgiven, that's the end of it."

Her ears swept back as she met my gaze, "That's not okay Emeris-"

"Twilight, I forgave her just like I forgave you. Mistakes are made and I'm not going to make a big deal about it." I wouldn't, I couldn't... this isn't alright.

The lavender unicorn winced, cringing away briefly. Her reaction making my heart fall through my stomach, I didn't... I didn't want to hurt or scare her, but I couldn't let her do something to the stylist for this... I just couldn't... "Twilight... I'm sorry, I just... I can't let her be punished because she was mad about what happened while I was cursed..."

"I understand Emeris... I just don't like it," she met my eyes defiantly and I shuffled my hooves awkwardly, but I stood my ground. The silence stretched, and we simultaneously looked away in awkward embarassment. We weren't acting like rational adults, we were acting like children. This was stupid and petulant of both of us, and I at very least had thought we'd gotten past this.

... then again, I was the cause of the situation the last time I'd had a spat with a friend too. Damn my inflexibility on these things... but... I couldn't bring myself to do it...

Eventually it was Twilight that broke the silence, coughing delicately into her hoof, “Anyways, I’d better get going, got to pick up those papers.”

“Yes, right!" I immediately latched onto the excuse to part, "Much work to be done. Best of luck Twilight.”

"You too Emeris, have a good day."

"You too Twilight."

Could you say awkward moment? I could say awkward moment! Because fuck, that was awkward…

Now back to getting ready for my date… goodbye awkwardness, hello stress and panic and oh-Celestia-oh-Celestia-what-do-I-do?!

Fucking hell.

Author's Note

BOOM.

Super happy with this chapter overall. It does so much that I wanted it to so well. We finally get to see Emeris' forgiveness start to get him in trouble and some of his own issues and flaws brought to the forefront and we get some more delicious world-building! (I missed being able to do that :raritydespair: )

But it didn't get to the date! Damnit!

Then again, I just dropped 17k words on y'all so... yeah. Sorry, not sorry.

So! Question: What was your favorite part of this chapter? What was your least favorite part?

As always, comments and critiques are always appreciated! They feed me (not as much as pizza and mac n cheese do, but still)!

Anyways, Autobots, roll out!

D-Day

“Okay, gotta admit, I like it.”

“I thought you might darling.”

“It’s quite… well, the word from my culture would be Victorian or Steampunk depending on who you asked…”

“This style is from what was called the Duality Period and would be called Sun-Favored since it compliments your dark coat and coloration better.”

“I’m surprised you kept the wraps then… they work and all but they wouldn’t seem to be a part of the ensemble.”

“Pants would clash with this outfit far more, and socks simply don’t work for you,” she grinned, “Would you like to try it on?”

“Yes please.”

oOo

“What do you think Drools?” I lifted the recipes that Pinkie had given me in turn, “Rose Salad? Red Rose Sandwich?”

The pink cat just yawned and rolled onto his other side and kept purring with his eyes closed.

“Some help you are,” I grumbled as I flipped through the recipes. Without the supernatural ability to be awesome at everything, I was reduced to working with prewritten recipes. Thankfully, I could more than follow a recipe, so it wasn’t a huge concern, just something to get used to again

Question was, what to make? I wanted a picnic food and I wanted something appropriate, I also wanted to make something that Rainbow Dash would like but… well, I had no real idea what she liked.

It was something delightfully normal to be worried about. Not giant monsters or being fused or being sexually assaulted by mindless mares.

Just fretting over what dish to make for my date tomorrow.

Stressful? Sure. But it was something people did all the time, it was something normal and dull and simple.

But what would she like best?! Gaaaaahhhhhhhhh.

oOo

Fresh air…

How long…

Time… that meant nothing but it had been far too long…

Eyes opened and light streamed into them, making me flinch.

I pulled everything inward, feeling warmth and something against my skin.

Okay, body check here. I was breathing, and without pain, so that’s good. I opened my eyes, two of them…? Two of them, good. Ow by the way, but still, good. Seeing in anything other than visible light? Nope.

I blinked a few times to get the tears out of my eyes as I took stock of what I could see silently. No eldritch horrors, no impossible angles, no things twisting in upon themselves, just… trees, partially burnt and slightly distorted and warped… okay, that’s good.

Slowly I extended all of my limbs, counting as I did. One, two… six? No, seven? Eight including the head/neck.

Blinking again, I tried to wiggle each of the limbs in turn, turning my head around to try and find them based on where the sensations were coming from.

Two… forelimbs? Hooves. Forehooves? Forelegs? Call me confused… was I a horse?

Two more… hind legs. Okay, all hooves, not some mis-mash creature…? All black with deep crimson hooves. Very weird… not a natural color for horses. That would mean… yeah, the odd limb was a tail that… was constantly billowing around and glowing…? What the hell…?

Now thoroughly confused I did my best to push myself to a standing position, something that took a few moments of fumbling with the whole quadruped thing, but I managed. That left two limbs on my… back? I turned my head and… it kept turning, okay, that was disconcerting to be able to turn that much, but I’d gone through weirder.

And it was wings… big, black, feathered wings.

… huh, cool.

I tried flexing them, having a bit of fun with how they maneuvered and twisted before I got myself back on track. Evaluate the situation first, squee about wings later.

Okay, I could see a muzzle between my eyes when I focused, my coat of fur was short and deep black, my hooves, tail and hair? Mane? Mane. My hooves, tail, and mane were all a deep crimson. So I was a black pegasus…? That was new. Also, a bit familiar.

So I was in a forest? Yeah, a darkly colored forest, there was a scorched ring around where I’d been laying. There’d probably been grass there until I’d appeared…

Taking a deep breath, enjoying the fact that it was air I was breathing and not something eldritch and impossible like love or the color purple. I examined each of my senses. It was quiet, but I could hear birds in the distance… and my ears swiveled… huh, that’s new… Tilting my head a bit, I tried tilting my ears all the way around to hear all around me. It didn’t change what I heard, silence and birdsong, but it was good to check.

My sight was thankfully normal. You see the smell of square with your fifth eye just once and that is more than enough please and thank you.

I could feel the dirt beneath my hooves, not in the hard part of the hoof but in a soft part at the center, there was a word for it but I don’t know what it was… I could feel the wind in my wings and between my feathers, an interesting sensation to say the least, one I think I liked… And I could feel…

I could feel a gentle warmth at the back of my brain, somewhere around and above the base of my skull. I didn’t think it was my mane since I couldn’t feel something similar with my ass and tail… Looking around again to be sure nothing was around me other than empty forest, I closed my eyes to focus on the sensation.

It was… warm… and bubbly… and so vast… so immeasurably vast… but it was also alive… it was so alive it almost hurt if I focused too hard, because above the molten vastness of heat was every tree, every insect, every–

My eyes shot open.

Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa. Whoa. Enough of that.

I hadn’t survived Outside with even a fragment of my sanity intact by focusing on stuff that vast. Nope. Nu uh. All aboard the Nope Train to Fuckthatville. Whatever I was feeling was big and powerful and honestly beyond my comprehension. Not even gonna go there.

All that said… I don’t think I could feel anything else…

I tried to find anything else weird again, no funny sensations, though feeling my ears the way I did was very strange… and the colors, while darker, seemed more… vibrant? Solid? There wasn’t a word really… but they were more something than I was used to…

I’d been through weirder, and seven limbs (not including the head) was a decent number, not too many and not too few, I’d miss having hands and opposable thumbs, but hey, I’d been through worse.

So… now what?

Concerned, I looked around, trying to find a direction to go or a general, coming up with bupkis.

Well, the cons of the situation: I was lost in a strange universe as a pegasus with something vast at the back of my mind with no direction or signs of civilization nearby, or even signs of sentience.

Pros: I wasn’t staring down Cthulu, Yog-Shoggoth, or some other horrific monstrosity Outside. Hell, this place was practically normal!

The pros obviously outweighed the cons here, lets be honest.

Still, that left me wondering what to do…

… fly?

… sure, why not, there’s no one to embarrass myself in front of…

I unfurled my wings and gave them a few experimental flaps. There was a lot of power in these them, a lot more than I expected to be honest, only two experimental pumps of them got my feet… hooves off of the ground. Emboldened by that, if a bit weirded out by the strange strength, I flapped my wings with feeling.

Let’s just say that I was like a kid the first time in one of those driving simulators in the movie theaters and arcades. Unsteady and crashing into everything. That or an adult trying to play video games the first time.

I definitely felt the branches breaking as I smashed into them, but I felt no pain. Briefly, I pondered that pain might not be a thing in this universe from my place belly up on the ground, it was more the kind of snafu I was used to, but then I remembered the pain I’d felt at the blinding light and that idea was discarded.

Pouting a bit, I rolled over and got back up onto my feet… hooves now damnit, get that right. Anyways, I stood again and tried once more, this time mindful of my surroundings and keeping the oomph and motions between the two wings equal.

And I was off! Taking off like a literal rocket actually…

And… wow…

My wings spread wide as I attempted to hold position, and I could practically feel myself grab the air around me with the wings as I hovered hundreds of feet above a beautiful forest… the sky was crystal blue, the clouds fluffy and white, a forest as far as the eyes could see, birds taking off in the distance… rolling hills beyond the forest and mountains beyond that…

It’s one thing to see this from the window of a plane, it’s another to see it under your own power several hundred feet up with the wind blowing around you…

I… I think I loved doing this already.

Best. Universe. Ever.

A grin split across my face before I laughed heartily, my legs making a silly little motion in my excitement as I did a loop-de-loop.

Safe.

Even if there were monsters and demons and things horrendous here, it was miles better than where I’d just been. Even if I wasn’t human again, even if there weren’t any sentient beings here… so much better!

Taking a deep breath and enjoying the myriad smells in the air and the warmth of the sun on my coat, I ascended further into sky and surveyed the world beneath me. The best way I could think of to find civilization (or at least what I would recognize as civilization) was to look for a river and follow it, since settlements liked rivers for a variety of reasons.

There! My eyes locked onto a winding streak of blue along the ground, tracing along it into the dista-...

… welp, there’s some civilization alright. Well damn. Not a bad sized town to be honest. A fair ways away from my current placement above the forest, though nothing insane…

Well… hopefully they’re friendly?

… okay, I’m giddy from not having to dodge eldritch abominations, but that didn’t mean I shouldn’t think about this logically. Could this be bad? Yes, they could be eldritch abominations. Alternatively, they could be hostile to varying degrees. Even in a way that my newfound flight wouldn’t allow me to escape. But… well… I was lonely. And odds were that it’d be something awkward and dangerous, but so long as I remained calm everything could work out.

So, now knowingly taking a risk, I hoped they were friendly.

Craning my head forward and trying to lift my hindquarters I managed to lean forward after a few attempts (damnit player one!), slowly gliding towards the settlement. Test-flapping my wings a few different ways to get a better feel for them. Also, because fun. Seriously. Flying. Pure wonder. My heart was soaring almost as much as I was to be honest.

As I approached I could see numerous multicolored forms that were definitely not birds flying over the town… were those… horses?

…. well, actually, that’d make sense if I had assumed the form of the native sapients.

Now thoroughly curious, I glided closer, my approach seeming to send the pegasi into a flurry of activity that was soon mimicked by the town itself.

I guess an approaching black pegasus wasn’t common…?

As I got close to the town, a strangely familiar streak of color approached me at high speeds and I carefully slowed myself. I neither wanted to send myself on a tumble to the ground nor appear threatening. Especially since there seemed to be a flock (pack? Herd?) of the pegasus approaching now.

The fastest blur resolved only a few feet away from my side as I glided in, a considerably smaller pegasus the color of the sky, her tail was long and her mane short and scruffy, but they were quite literally every color of the rainbow. She was extremely familiar for some reason… also, quite beautiful. Not in a sexual way mind you, but still beautiful.

“Hey! What are you doing here?”

I blinked in surprise.

I understood… her? Her. Definitely a her. But I could understand what she was saying! It wasn’t F’tagan or anything silly like that! Woo!

“Trying to find people to talk to?” I ventured with a hesitant smile, no teeth because these were (probably) herbivores. We were on the final approach to the town, and I could see an entire mass of brightly colored ponies.

“Omigosh! Really?!” her wings fluttered in what had to be excitement, and I felt another tickle of familiarity.

... waaaaaiiiiiit a gosh darned motherfuckin minute. You’ve got to be kidding…

My wings flared out as I approached the ground and I tentatively flapped my wings a few times to slow down and not crash into the dirt, “Um, yes, really…? I’m kinda new here.” For any definition of here they could understand, and most of the ones I could.

There was an excited, almost giddy murmuring from the crowd of ponies as my hooves touched ground in the small opening in the crowd. It took me a few moments to shuffle my wings into a proper folded position against my sides. Okay, did I just get dumped out of the Beyond into a reality that (at least superficially) resembled my own, one that was filled with pleasant, happy, friendly natives that for the life of me resembled freaking My Little Pony?

I caught a glimpse of my reflection in one of the windows. I wasn’t just a pegasus, and a huge one at that, I was a winged unicorn, I forgot what term the series used for them, but hell, I was like one of the Princesses! I mean, I stood so much taller than the other ponies that they could have walked under my torso while barely lowering their heads.

Heh, Princess Emeris Fillson. Pffft. I smiled, I looked freaking stupid. Deep black coat and a dark crimson mane and tail that were waving around constantly, my mane looked like it was in a constant updraft really, red eyes, and an absolutely absurd horn.

Still, did I luck out with the RNG or what? I’ve been living a Roguelike ever since being booted from my home reality and now I get this? It’s like going from Battletoads to a modern shooter on easy! Sweet merciful lords and ladies, it wasn’t heaven but not a bad choice!

Hell, looking around it honestly seemed like… hell, Friendship is Magic? Really? Definitely better than the other choices. If I wasn’t mistaken that was Rainbow Dash, I could recognize some background ponies like Lyra, and that was definitely Twilight Sparkle approaching me through the crowd (herd?), “Hello! My name’s Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia, what’s yours?”

Definitely the voice I remembered from the show. An amused thought flitted across my mind, “Call me Gary,” I brought my foreleg up to my chest, raising my nose into the air and doing my best Bond impression, “Gary Stu,”

Another excited murmuring went through the crowd, and I could hear the name Gary getting passed around freely while a stupid grin came across my face. Yeah, only I got the joke right now, and it’d probably fall flat once I told it to them but who the fuck cares? I thought it was funny, and I’d just explain the truth later, no big.

“Gary Stu! So! Awesome!” there was an excited squeal from Rainbow Dash as the pegasus was suddenly against my side, nuzzling her cheek against my shoulder as her wings fluttered to keep her aloft. A bit uncomfortable at her sudden proximity, I gently pushed her away with my wing, the closest appendage.

She made a sound that could only be called a squeal of ecstasy as she flopped onto the ground, squirming around and giggling, leaving me even more uncomfortable and with a soft blush on my cheeks. Even if she wasn’t human, that sound had been very human and more than a little erotic.

There was a giggling from the ponies around me and Twilight,,, bowed…? “Prince Gary Stu, it is an honor to meet you.”

“Um… I’m not really a Prince, no matter what the wings and horn might imply…” I was a bit weirded out now.

Immediately from the crowd came a cry of “So you’re a king?!”

I made a face at that, especially because of the… excitement and happiness of that question, “No! I’m not nobility, I have no rank at all!” What the hell?

There was more murmurings at that, and Twilight in front of me had turned to an alabaster white unicorn next to her, “Rarity! I must send a letter to Princess Celestia!”

While a part of my mind noted that both of the unicorns in front of me were pretty, most of my mind was focused on…. well, the stilted delivery. It was almost like a bad actor had said the lines… not a really bad actor, just a bad one.

“Um…”

“Absolutely darling!” Now that I was looking, the smile seemed almost… forced. It didn’t really reach Twilight’s eyes… or Rarity’s… I might be misreading their different facial structures though….

“We have a new prince, she absolutely must know!”

“Whoa! No way! I don’t want to be a prince!” that’s way more responsibility and leadership than I wanted or thought I was remotely capable of! I had enough trouble keeping my band section under control!

“A king then!”

I freaking recoiled, “Definitely no!” what the hell?! Was this some sort of test? The fuck was happening?

There were suddenly two hooves at my sides and I almost flinched away at the unexpected contact, my head swiveling around to find the source a pony that I didn’t recognize. A mare with a fuchsia coat and a darker mane, her grin very wide, “Are you sure? You’d make a great king.”

The fuck? The flying fuck? “No. No thank you.” I shuffled away from her, my eyes wide and my wings shuffling reflexively. Where was this coming from? It’d only been minutes tops!

Already on edge, I nearly jumped when two confetti cannons went off, showering me with the little strips of paper, “Wheeeeeeeeheeheeheee~!” a shuddering breath escaped me as I tried to calm down and a bright pink pony appeared in front of me, “It’s time for a welcome the new prince party~!”

“No! I am not royalty!”

There was a sudden press of soft warmth against my chest and my cheeks heated up at how pleasant that was, “So you won’t be taking a herd?”

“What?!” I fucking recoiled from the previously pleasant warmth, staring down at the- the butter yellow pegasus?! The fuck?! Fluttershy?! The fucking fuck?! “No! Definitely not!”

“Awwwwww….” They were pouting? What the fuck?! There’s no way this is normal! This can’t be–

Hooves were pressed against my side and I shuffled away, my wings flaring reflexively even as I stared at the brightly colored pony that had been against my side, “Are you sure?” there was another press of warmth against my other side, just beneath the wing, “We’d be happy to–”

“Enough.”

The world froze.

“W-What…?” my eyes wide, I turned around quickly looking for the source of the voice, finding a midnight blue horned unicorn… one with a mane and tail of stars… “L-Luna…?! I-... wait…” my brain was slowly catching up to me, the panic starting to fade, “You… you weren’t here…”

A brief smirk passed across the alicorns’ face, “No, I was not.”

“This…” I looked around, blinking as my eyes passed over the various ponies frozen in ‘time’, finally putting the pieces together, “This is a dream… a nightmare really…” I turned back to Luna, “A memory…”

“Yes, it is,” the princess approached, stepping over the frozen ponies as she did, looking over them with what I guessed was morbid curiosity, “This is the first time I’ve seen this memory. I was aware things were bad for our subjects but this…”

Sighing, I extracted myself from the memories of equines around me, rubbing my face with a foreleg, “Thank you for stopping it then… it only gets worse from here,” I paused, realizing that I was still big, black, and there are too many jokes to go with that but I was actually unhappy about this fact. Sure, I’d been like this for the most part of two years, but those memories were almost exclusively bad with few bright points. Whereas the last two months had been… good. Not great, but good.

“Princess,” I looked up at her from my fetlock, “Since I know this is a dream, can I change back…?”

For the briefest of moments, Luna looked intrigued, but then she shook her head, “No, your natural form would be dangerous to even me in its rawest state, here in the dream world it would actually be worse as your fundamentally different laws would be brought into direct contact with my mind.”

I blinked, “Oh… um… that’s not actually what I was talking about. Good to know though…” I lowered my hoof, shifting my wings, “I meant back to my normal pony form actually…”

“Oh…. then yes. Yes, you can.”

“... how?”

“Haven’t you fought nightmares on the Aether plane before…?”

“As Gary, sure, but everything was easy and natural while I was like this, I only had to focus to make things happen…” I shrugged, “I didn’t even know what I was doing half the time, just that I was getting results.” I’d eventually learned that I was just throwing around so much power that I was warping reality, that I was just throwing so much raw power at things that my will was made real regardless of intervening steps. Thus the term ‘Reality Warping Magic’.

“Ah, the dreamscape is very similar actually. It will take a greater exertion of thine will, but you may reshape your form here.”

“Huh,” I looked down at my legs, closing my eyes and focusing, envisioning my normal coat color. Green.

Opening my eyes, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it had worked, if not perfectly. The color was a bit off, but at least my coat wasn’t black. Then I went through a checklist, my horn wasn’t a three foot spear, I made it a bit more appropriate and curved it a bit. My mane was short, spiky, and brown, as was my tail. Dark purple hooves and gray-green eyes. My cutie mark was a book with a black lotus on the cover, not a(n admittedly awesome) molten planet.

I kept the wings because hey, wings and it was a dream.

There we go, much better. I probably looked atrocious because of my half-assed efforts, and the thought brought an amused smile to my face, but I was at least closer to myself.

Looking back up at Luna, I found her head cocking to the side briefly, “Hm, you are still my height.”

Oh, whoops. Glancing down, I realized that I was still at alicorn proportions, standing taller than any of the throng of temporally frozen ponies around me. Hadn’t thought to change that, “Ah. Problem?”

She shook her head with a small smile, “No, tis a pleasant change of pace to look one of my subjects in the eye.”

Squirming a bit, I worked my way out of the frozen throng of ponies, “So, aside from saving me from a nightmare, what brings you here Princess?”

“Your nightmares are infrequent Emeris, I must ensure that they are not the preludes to one of the monsters in your head attempting to escape,” she glanced over the throng of frozen ponies with a scowl, “Though thankfully this simply seems to be a relatively normal nightmare.Though…” she trailed off briefly, her wings ruffling slightly before she turned back to me, “I must admit to a fair amount of curiosity, my sister endeavored to keep us apart as much as possible for both of our sakes. As enlightening as our previous session together was, I still barely know Equestria’s newest knight.”

I flinched a bit, “Still not super happy about that,” I admitted. It was one thing when Dash was teasing me about it, it was another for the title to be used seriously. One was good natured teasing, the other an uncomfortable reminder.

“Too similar to being royalty?”

“Mhm,” I scowled, “I mean, I get it, but still.”

“That is understandable, but something I do not understand is your attraction to them,” she nodded her head at the throng of ponies, her eyes particularly on the pair of athletic blue and orange ponies.

A curious mix of emotions went through me, “I… they’re wonderful. It’s hard not to like them… I–… I’m more confused at how they like me…”

Luna gave me a look I couldn’t decipher, “Is it so weird?”

“... a bit?” I admitted, shuffling my hooves some, “I was never much of a catch. I’ve dated, sure, but I was always the pursuer. And especially with my… issues… I’m surprised they like me in a romantic sense at all…”

“Would you like to talk about it?”

“Yeah… I would,” stopping, I turned to raise an eyebrow at the freaking Princess of the Moon with a small smile on my face, “Though don’t you have better things to do than listen to me bitch and moan?”

“Just as the physical health of our subjects is my sisters responsibility, their mental health is mine,” she came up and brushed her shoulder against mine, “And no matter your origins, you are now one of ours.”

A small thrill of happiness flitted through me at that, and I was probably smiling more than I really should have, “Seems legit to me.” I glanced back at the frozen throng of ponies and a fair amount of the good feelings disappeared, “Is there any way we could do it on the wing? This brings back many of the bad feelingsis.”

Luna snorted in amusement at my silliness, returning some of the good feelingsis to me, “Certainly, Sir Emeris,” her wings flared as did mine in response, “Let us be off.”

With a few powerful beats of our wings we were off, the rush of air now familiar once more as we went into the sky. A small, content smile settled on my face, it was a delight to see the world rushing past us and the wind in my mane and wings. It was a dream… but it was a good dream.

We flew in silence for a little while, the world literally blurring beneath us as we did though it seemed to be more of a dream thing than a speed one. Eventually, it was Luna that spoke, “What makes you willing to go past your fear for those two mares?”

“... because they’re willing to go past their issues with me… because they’re beautiful… because they’re amazing?” I trailed off in my rambling, slowly flapping my wings, “Applejack is so stable. She’s honest and pleasant, she’s so easy to work with and nice… she teases but she doesn’t get crazy with it. She’s confident and capable and wonderful…”

“Dash is fun… she gets it and… it’s so easy to see how real she is. She’s got an ego, she’s physical, she can geek out so wonderfully…” I sighed, slowly dodging a cloud, “I don’t… I really don’t get why she likes me…”

“Truly? Less so than with Applejack…?”

“Yes, I… with Applejack it’s probably a crush,” I said, my wings ruffling some as I flew in discomfort, “I’ve been teaching her accounting and working with her and saved her sister and… and I just can get why she might have a crush on me.”

“But Dash… Dash I just don’t get… not in a romantic sense at absolute least,” there was a distortion in the air flow as Luna flapped beside me, “I mean, I can sort of get that Applejack wants stability and strength and someone she can have fun with… but… I’m not exciting. I’m not cool or awesome or radical, I’m basically the opposite of all those things. I’m boring, I’m lame, I’m an accountant… I mean, I can read with her and exercise with her, but that’s not enough for a freaking relationship…”

“Are you so certain?” Luna asked, and I glanced over to see her with a smirk on her face.

I blinked in confusion and fully turned my head to look at the midnight blue alicorn against the light blue of the sky, “Reasonably so…?”

“Hm… let us see,” the alicorn of the night tilted and drifted off towards the ground. Curious and confused, I angled my wings, following after her.

With a few flaps of our wings, we approached an increasingly distinct patch of grass at the edge of a forest… one that grew increasingly familiar as we approached. It was the edge of the Everfree where Dash and I had originally had our brawl, and later had trained in…

When we came in for a landing, I could see two ponies in the clearing… one was Rainbow Dash… in her Gi? And the other was… me?

… okay, now that’s weird.

Luna and I landed not far away from the two ponies, both the dream Dash and my dream duplicate in martial arts Gi’s. This… this was another memory, much more recent…

“Okay, even out your hooves some more,” my duplicate did so, shifting his hooves and assuming a stance at Dash’s direction, “Better but your legs are still wrong, here,” the blue pegasus came up and tapped at my duplicate's legs with a forehoof, nudging them into place for a proper stance.

“Pretty nitpicky stuff,” my duplicate noted.

Dash bonked me upside the head lightly, “This is the stuff that matters ya dork! If you don’t exercise right you can hurt yourself, and if you don’t do this stuff right you can get hurt by the bad guys.”

I stuck my tongue out at her for a moment before rolling my eyes with a small chuckle, “I get that, but these just seem like small changes is all. I’ll do them, just not sure the point of them.”

“Ugh, alright,” she stepped in front of me, assuming the same stance she’d been trying to show me, “See, this is the main stance of Rolling Earth.” I nodded, watching her intensely, trying to adjust myself to match her stance, “It’s a ground heavy style. It’s heavy on grapples and rolling dodges.”

A small snort escaped me, “It’s called Rolling Earth so it’s all about rolls and the ground. Who’da thunk that?”

Rolling her eyes with a smile, she continued, “You have to bend your knees so that you can launch yourself one way or another,” she demonstrated, launching like a spring to the side in a roll and coming up onto her feet in a single smooth motion, “Or the other way,” this time she launched herself forward into a somersault, her hoof coming to a stop within an inch of my face.

I kept my eyes locked on her form as she moved, a small thrill of pride going through me at the lack of flinch on my part. I trusted Dash and instead focused on learning and analyzing her form. There was a brief flash of respect across Dash’s face as I nodded, a small smirk appearing on my face as an amusing realization hit me, “I don’t think I can do that one Dash.” I reached up and tapped the side of my horn.

She snorted, a small smile on her face, “Still, you gotta learn the basics, and the first part is the stance. If I knew Shattered Stone worth a damn I’d be teaching you that, you’ve got the size and strength for it, but Rolling Earth works well with your ground game.”

“Alright,” my hoof returned to the grass beneath me and I looked over myself, checking my positioning compared to hers, “Do I have this right now though?”

“Yeah, much better, a whole lot less suck in that stance.” I blew a raspberry, drawing it out, making Dash shake her head with a giggle. Her giggle brought a little bubbling happiness to my chest and I went with the urge to be silly, wiggling my hips and punctuating each wiggle with another little fart noise.

Her snicker broke into a full blown laugh, “You are such a dork!”

I made an inquisitive fart noise at that, earning another round of giggles from Dash.

“If you don’t stop I’ll make you do something else with that mouth!” she jabbed a hoof at me.

One of my eyebrows went up and an ear cocked to the side, soon followed by both eyebrows and ears going up as my perverted mind made a connection it probably shouldn’t have. My ears automatically leaned forward, a small smirk making itself known on my face around my tongue, when she gave me a somewhat confused look, I returned with an exaggerated eyebrow waggle.

After a brief moment, realization dawned on her face and Dash blushed with a small giggle, “Oh shut up!” her wings ruffled, extending slightly, “I meant having you do some mouth exercises-!” my eyebrows went back up, “For martial arts! Like picking up trees and rocks ya dork!”

I had to pull my tongue back in as I chuckled, but didn’t say anything, just grinning at the blue pegasus in spite of the small blush that was certainly on my face.

With a small laugh, Dash swatted me upside the head, “Alright alright, I get it, watch my mouth,” a mischievous grin spread across her face as she turned to the side, flexing a hind leg, “Now, the flanks are the money-makers.”

A short bark of laughter escaped me, which earned a chuckle from Dash who nonetheless continued, “See, all your power comes from these gals. Your flanks are the strongest part of you and you’re either hitting something with them or you’re using them to get power into your forelegs.”

“Your forelegs are where you get the speed,” she got up onto her hind legs, shadow boxing at me with several blindingly fast strikes on either side of my face. My muscles twitched slightly with each pass of her hooves, unable to see anything more than blurry sky-blue streaks, “But these babies don’t have anywhere near the pain they could if you don’t use the money makers too.”

While vertical, she deliberately shuffled her hindlegs, “If I don’t brace and push myself off with these into a blow it’s not gonna be more than a love tap.”

I nodded, “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. I get it.”

Dash cocked her head to the side as she dropped back to the dirt, “Huh?”

“I know it as one of the laws of motion, you hit shit, it hits back,” I nodded at large rock one of the trees was growing around at the edge of the clearing, “If you hit a rock, you feel it in your hoof sort of thing. You can only move by pushing against stuff, like the ground or the air.”

“Pft, you just got to science it up don’t you?” she said with a teasing grin.

“Dork, remember?” I rebutted with a smile. Pushing myself up onto my hind legs and taking a few experimental swings. Something occurred to me as I did and I swung my hooves in horizontal sweeping motions with a small scowl, “How would you get the force for these then?”

“The money makers, duh,” she rolled her eyes as she got back up, demonstrating as she talked, “It’s in the twist of your hips, you’ve got to shuffle your hind hooves to get real force behind those strikes.”

“Okay…” my eyes were locked on her stomach and hips for reasons entirely to do with learning and absolutely nothing to do with how her muscles shifted and flexed beneath her coat. I gave the motions a try, wobbling due to the unfamiliar effects on my balance. I didn’t fall since I practiced running through the treetops of the Everfree almost every day, but it was a close thing, I’d never really practiced standing upright.

Dash thwap’d a hind leg with a wing, sending me falling back to all fours, “Save that for later, stance first, hitting things second,” she admonished with a smirk. She was enjoying this way too much, but i couldn’t complain because A). I was learning and B). She was freaking adorable while doing it.

Still, I couldn’t resist blowing another raspberry at her as I assumed the stance she’d been teaching. Once more Dash corrected it with a few taps of her hooves against my legs, making my hooves shift in the grass, though there were fewer things to fix this time, “Alright, let’s run through a basic sequence.”

I watched as the teasing faded away for the next few moments, standing there with Luna as I was. Dash and my memory-self went through several steps and moves of Rolling Earth. “You don’t see how she might like you?”

Shooting a glance over at the princess, I spoke softly as I watched the surreal memory, “I see a dork and an athlete hanging out and being friends, teasing one another.”

“Flirting,” Luna uncompromisingly corrected.

“Hey, Em?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you holding back so much?”

“... what are you talking about?”

“Um… you’re a lot slower than I remember? I mean, no, you weren’t keeping up with me in the fight or anything, but you should be faster than this…”

“Even taking the fact that I’m taking it slow to learn into consideration?”

“...”

“Figured, just being sure.”

Dash rolled her eyes, “Seriously though, you’re a ton slower. Hold out a forehoof?” I confusedly obliged as Dash came up in front of me and pressed her forehoof against mine. Picking up on what she was going for, I pushed back. She wasn’t stronger than me, but both of us strained into the action, Dash’s hoof being pushed slightly back.

Stopping, Dash snorted, “And you’re weaker too. You were throwing my flank around with more strength than that. And before you say adrenaline it sure as Tartarus isn’t that. You’re weird and all, but adrenaline can’t do that much, I’d know,” she scowled.

“Well I’m not holding back. That’d be silly in this kind of training… That and I wouldn’t insult you like that.”

“Are you doing magic? Like, super special super strength magic sort of stuff?”

I shook my head, “Not that I’m aware of at very least… from my studies you can be magical, like my curse was, but I’ve never seen anything about doing unconscious magic.”

With effort, I pulled from the memory to turn to Luna, “Is there anything like that? I know of Boons that can increase the physical prowess of someone, but nothing that you could cast on accident.”

The princess of the night scowled at me… but not at me? “There is such magic… I was not aware that you were capable of it though…” she said, trailing off as I realized that her eyes were focused on my cutie mark, “It may make sense however…”

“Princess…?”

She shook it off, “I must speak with my sister about what to tell you about such magics, I wish to be sure of her own thoughts before I make a decision. Regardless, such a thing is not why we are here, we are here to explore your feelings for these mares and theirs for you.”

In the strangest of sensations, the world blurred forward and I found myself exhausted, sweat practically raining off of me onto the grass below as my barrel heaved, “Come on! You can do another!”

“Just…” I swallowed hard, trying to get some saliva back in my throat, “Give… me a sec!”

“Oh come on Em! You’ve got more in you! Another set!” she shouted in my face, the scent of ozone and spice thick in the air, her coat practically glistening with sweat.

“Bite me!” one of my hindlegs was at the edge of having a seizure, my focus was the only thing keeping it from trembling by tensing the whole thing, the bite marks on it aching fiercely, “Let me catch my breath.”

“Don’t chicken out on me! No pain no gain ya wimp!” her wings were low and flaring out, “Do another!”

“If I do another right now I could hurt myself!” I snapped.

“What? Afraid of a little pain?”

“Damnit Dash! I’m not afraid! I just don’t want to pull a musssssshhhh-!” I hissed through my suddenly gritted teeth, my eyes clenching shut as I lost control of the hindleg, the rebellious limb convulsing and little stabs of pain working through it that matched the bite marks along it.

My whole body jittered as the limb spazzed out on me, my ragged panting coming out as a sharp hiss through my teeth. The shakes stopped in what had to have been less than a single agonizing minute, a small, pained sound escaped my throat, my eyes still tightly shut.

“Em…?” came Dash’s stunned voice.

“Ow.”

“Bucking Tartarus Em! Get off those damn legs!”

“What-?” I started to open my eyes only to see a flash a blue before there was warmth beneath me. There was a sudden rush of panic at the terrifyingly familiar sensation before I was suddenly up-ended and on my side on the grass.

I started to get up, but a pair of hooves were placed on my barrel, pushing me back down, “Stay down, holy horseapples Em, you shoulda told me your legs were doing that! Just stay off your legs for a bit,” her hooves began to press and knead just above my flank, “I didn’t know you were that bad off big guy, why didn’t you say anything?”

A bit too stunned to do otherwise, I just rolled with it, letting my head fall down to the grass beneath me, “I was having fun and wanted to keep up…” I admitted with a small blush, my barrel heaving as I tried to catch my breath.

The Gi slipped around on my sweat some as she worked my muscles and and she paused. I lifted my head to find her staring in more than a bit of surprise at my flank, her hoof pressed against my flank again and the Gi slid just a bit, soaking through and she almost recoiled, her wings flaring, “Buck Em, you’re frothing! I couldn’t tell at all! Stay here, I’m grabbing some water! Don’t get on your hooves yet!”

Confused, I tried to raise my head up some more, but Dash was gone and back in under ten seconds with a raincloud. With a quick flick of her wings, she hacked off a piece of it, “I’m super sorry Em, I couldn’t tell at all! You looked freakin fine until your leg started to go. Sweaty, sure, but not frothy!” taking the raincloud, she wrung it out over me, causing cool water to pour against my side, sending shivers through me.

“Gonna take a wild shot in the dark that’s bad?” I ventured, letting my head fall back down to the ground of the clearing, trying to make my sore muscles relax.

“A-duh! Especially with how hard your flank is!” she paused before coughing, her wings ruffling, “N-Not that that’s a bad thing most of the time! But right now, with you frothing up like this, you run a risk of tying up!” Her hooves began to knead my flank and barrel again, pressing hard into the sore muscle, relief easing through me as she worked.

“You do realize I don’t know those terms right…?” I asked. Definitely not gonna complain about the attractive multicolored mare with her hooves on what amounted to my ass.

“Right, bucking nerd…” with a small sigh, Dash rolled her eyes, “Okay, you sweat when you get hot or you exercise a lot. You seem to sweat an extra lot but whatever. But that stuff’s clear. But if you start over exerting yourself you start to sweat this white sweat that’s called froth. That’s only when you’re seriously pushing yourself though. If you keep pushing after you start frothing you can really hurt yourself.”

“When your muscles start to seize up like that, you need to stop moving or they can tear themselves apart,” I twisted some in place and my leg seized up again, shuddering in spite of my best attempts, and even though I kept my eyes open it drew a pained hiss from me, “Especially with your legs having been messed up like they were. Even if the timberwolves didn’t tear up your muscles with those bites, it still means you can hurt them worse now.”

“Duly noted…”

She sighed, “And damn Em, that–… that makes me feel bad… I was pushing you way harder than I should have…”

The beautiful pegasus trailed off and I gritted my teeth through the pain enough to speak, “Dash, come on, you said yourself you couldn’t tell I was that bad off, don’t blame yourself…” my barrel wasn’t heaving so bad by now, “I really didn’t look that tired…?”

“Not anything like you were about to bucking collapse!” she sighed, “Buck Em… I can’t believe that you pushed yourself that hard just to keep up with me…”

“I didn’t want to disappoint you,” I admitted, my cheek heating up against the grass beneath it, “You’re going out of your way to teach me this stuff, I should be giving it everything I can…” I trailed off for a moment before clarifying, “Within reason. I was stopping because I knew I was getting close to hurting myself.”

“Next time don’t get even here!” she admonished, giving my flank a small swat, “I mean…” she trailed off briefly, a small amount of wonder in her tone, “I’m totally flattered you went this far for me, but next time, stop a bit sooner okay? We’re training, not trying to beat each other up.”

“Will do,” I said with a small smile as she got some more cloud-stuff, wringing it out over me, making me shiver as the cool water hit my too hot skin.

Luna’s voice interjected into the memory, “Do you not see why she might like you?”

Lifting my head from the grass, I looked over at the blue alicorn sitting in the grass not far away, “... not really?” at her scowl, a similar expression made itself known on my face, my tail flicking in irritation as I struggled to put it into words. Laying my head back down I stared at the now frozen Rainbow Dash over my prone form, “At least, not in comparison to the fanbo- fancolts she probably has? I’d expect her to be interested in a Wonderbolt, not…” I made an exasperated gesture with my forehooves, “Well… me.”

“Why would she be interested in a Wonderbolt?” Luna probed.

Blinking, I looked over at her like she was crazy, “They’re awesome? They’re daredevils, adrenaline junkies, heroes, badasses, and they fly? Passions she shares or idealizes.”

A small smirk crossed her muzzle, “And you are a fearless hero who has fought monsters that no other force in Equestria could, and you were an alicorn that relished in pushing the magical limits of your flight.”

“As Gary,” I said with far more petulance and bitterness than I really had a right to.

“And what has changed other than your lack of wings?” she rebutted, “Especially after your escapade in the Everfree,” she gestured with a wing and my gaze followed it. There at the edge of the clearing we’d been training in was a swath of trees felled or turned into kindling, the part of the Everfree that I’d hit with Swords like Stars…

I scowled again and pointed out a fact, “Any dedicated combat unicorn could do similar.”

“Some. But most would require a longer build up to such a spell,” the princess of the night noted, causing my scowl to deepen.

“Not all, a fair number could do even more with even less. I remember a captain that basically vaporized a building to stop a demon.”

“There are not that many unicorns with that power output Sir Emeris.”

“It’s not impossible though!”

“But tis rare, and not something that she would see often if ever before,” Luna stood and approached, “You are a warrior Emeris, if not by nature, then by nurture, and she idealizes noble warriors.”

“I–…” I trailed off, unable to refute that. Hell, why was I trying to refute it? Oh, right, fucked in the head. Ugh. My head fell back down to the grass, “It doesn’t seem like enough.”

“Why not?” she asked, her horn lighting up and the world becoming awash in midnight blue.

“Because I’m messed up?” I pointed out with a raised eyebrow as I stood up, the aches and pain dissolving as did the world around me, “I mean, seriously, I’m scared of anypony liking me because my first instinct is still that they’re being controlled by the curse.” I had returned to the alicorn form I’d ‘chosen’ for myself in this dream as the world became a white expanse.

“That is no longer the case Sir Emeris, both my sister and I have confirmed it.”

“Luna–… Princess, I know that. But I know it up here,” I tapped the side of my head with a hoof before bringing it to my chest, “In here? Not so much.”

“Then you have your quest then do you not, Knight of the Beyond?” she asked with a small smile.

But I shivered.

That title had resonated in the dreamscape in a way that unsettled me, “Please don’t call me that.”

“No,” I blinked, staring at Luna, finding her eyes hard, “You are our knight, and you are of the Beyond. Here in the Aether, titles matter as much as names, and you know how much names matter don’t you, Gary Stu?”

This time I flinched before snarling at her, that name causing something deep inside my chest to wrench, “You’ve made your point!”

“I’m not certain I have Gar–”

“Nightmare,” I snapped. She froze, eyes going wide. With a shuddering breath I reiterated, “You’ve made your point Luna.”

There was an indeterminable time of silence as our eyes remained locked, “I shall still refer to you as our knight, it serves to distance you from him here in the Aether.”

I closed my eyes, trying to get my flaring temper under control, breathing far louder in my nostrils than I intended, “The title helps?”

“Yes, you are still linked to your history as Gary,” I immediately flinched, but there wasn’t that horrid tugging/twisting sensation this time, “Those with the authority to do so referring to you otherwise helps thin that connection.”

My lips pressed into a thin line as I sighed through my nose, “And what does that connection do…?”

“It primarily causes nightmares, but if reinforced too heavily here in the Aether, your mind may assume the shape of Gary’s.”

My chest went cold at that, my eyes snapping open, “... what.”

“Should enough pressure be applied here in the Aether, your mind would become that of what Gary’s was assumed to be,” she said with far less gravity than such a fucking statement deserved! “This is unlikely given your mental resilience and aversion to exactly such a thing, but it is a possibility.”

A shudder of revulsion went through me, “Fuck that noise.”

Luna smiled slightly at that, “Quite.” The princess of the night approached, “But come, our Knight of the Beyond, my sister shall soon raise the sun. Our time tonight shall soon be over.”

I sighed as golden beams of light began to burn their way through the white expanse of the dream-realm, “Not sure whether I’m relieved or sad…”

oOo

The dawn came, the speckled sunlight coming through the my window, the light warm on my face.

Good morning good morning, go the fuuuuck awwaaayyyyyy~

With a yawn, I rolled over once, letting my legs dangle off the edge of the bed and getting a face and mouthful of fur, “Mmph-?”

Recoiling with a snort, I had to spit out some fur, Droolykins mewing unhappily at being awoken, “Ppbbbth! Bleh! Shush, you’re not exactly tasty you know!” I found myself suddenly wishing that I still had hands to clean off my tongue because ew. Ew ew ew. That tasted nasty! “Ugh, you need a bath!”

“Mew?!”

The pink animal leapt off of the bed and right into the construct net I created. Even half awake I could create some thread, it was a whole lot safer for me to do this than trying to affect a living thing directly. I couldn’t judge my strength very well and I was very uncomfortable with the thought of handling something living with power that could suddenly spike enough to bruise or break.

With an unhappy groan, I rolled out of bed, ignoring the plaintive mewling from my cat as I landed on my hooves, wobbling into a standing position.

From what I could tell, unicorns normally let their power flow like water around a living being to encompass them and move them then, but my magic was too rigid and structured to do that. I could infuse non-living things with my power directly and manipulate that, but the magic resistance of living things made it difficult or even dangerous for me to do that with them.

Carting the unhappy cat over to the sink, I turned the water on and plugged the drain.

As I stared at the pooling water, my brain tried to catch up with my body’s awake-ness.

I’d had a dream… a dream with Luna talking to me… talking to me about my feelings for Applejack and Dash and my confusion over Dash’s feelings for me… I could remember that Luna had made some sort of point about Dash having reason to like me and another one about titles but the rest of it escaped me...

Turning the handle again, I turned off the water, deliberately lowering Droolykins into the water. Picking up the brush and soap I began to work at the unhappily mewing cat.

Alright, so it was Tuesday, I was going to go to the spa in a little while, get dressed… and…

My eyes went wide.

Oh, yeah. D-Day.

Meep.

Swallowing hard, I took a few deep breaths to calm my suddenly racing heart.

Okay…

Okay.

Well… that would explain Luna’s topic choice…

So the plan was simple, get cleaned up at the spa, grab my stuff and my fancy new outfit, meet up with Dash and have fun for the rest of the day.

Oh, and try not to have a horrible freak-out, that’d be nice too.

… considering my track record, it was unfortunately likely that I’d have some serious issues. I mean hell, even when we’d first met I’d freaked out, even if it wasn’t immediately.

Lifting the unhappy cat out of the water I looked him over even as he glared at me with his mismatched eyes. Mentally declaring him fit to use as an impromptu pillow, I lowered him back to the water and began to rinse him off.

Curse you emotions! Curse yoooouuuuuuu! I mean hell, I wasn’t this nervous on my first date!

Then again, on my first date I wasn’t dealing with two years of trauma associated with affection, so there’s that.

With a bit of a self-depreciating snort, I lifted the rinsed cat out of the water, pulling him into my forelegs and the towel I held there. The little cat making an unhappy sound even as I dried him off, drawing a small smile from me. “Oh hush ya little snot, you were dirty as hell, too many wild parties.”

Droolykins mewed unhappily in my forelegs even as he snuggled closer, “Pets resemble their owners Drools. You complain plenty, but you really love the affection ya snot, just like me”

oOo

I’d forgone my normal vest today, instead going for just a pair of saddlebags to carry the meal for later. It felt pretty weird to go without my vest honestly, I just wore it so much. It was my comfort blankie, my binky of sorts. It was getting a pay cut since it hadn’t been doing its job worth a damn, HR found its performance absolutely unacceptable in the last review.

… or would that be PR here? No, then what would be public relations?

… man I took that joke somewhere weird.

Anyways, I’d run into Rarity on the way to the spa, the alabaster unicorn had been carrying my outfit in a bag. Fluttershy had been invited, but couldn’t make it today due to someone bringing in a sick viper that required almost constant attention. Rarity had practically dragged me the rest of the way to the spa, jabbering on about exactly what needed to be done to make me fabulous enough for my date. I didn’t pay too much attention to be honest, it was mean but I kinda tuned her out after a point.

“-and a proper rinse of your mane and tail will do them absolute wonders! Your coat and mane are already delightfully thick and soft, they only need some care and styling to be absolutely marvelous!” her horn lit up as she opened the door to the spa, letting me in, “Isn’t that right Aloe dear?”

“Ov’ course it iz Rarity~”

“Do you even know what we’re talking about?” I asked with a smirk as I entered.

“No, but Mizz Belle iz far more likely to be right than wrong,” the spa-pony pointed out, an amused smile on her face.

I nodded as Rarity stepped in behind me, the door closing behind her, “Touche’.”

With a haughty smile, Rarity spoke up, “So as scheduled, we are here for Emeris’ full treatment~ The works darling!”

Surprisingly, Aloe winced, “Ah, well, we… you zee, we can’t.”

Both Rarity and I blinked at that, while they weren’t as friendly with me as they were with Rarity and Fluttershy, they’d definitely warmed up to me over the past month, “What’s wrong?”

“Our boiler iz broken, and ze repairmare won’t arrive until tomorrow, we have no hot water for a full treatment and we would not put customers through that, let alone such repeat customerz az yourselves!”

While Rarity pouted, I cocked my head to the side. Damn, I was actually looking forward to this… “Well… can I look at it? I’m not exactly an engineer but I’m a bit of a handyman, I might be able to figure it out.”

Aloe seemed uncertain, not that I could blame her, “I promise that if I can’t figure out how to fix it I won’t make it worse.”

“Well, if you think you can fix it…”

oOo

To make a long story short, I couldn’t fix it. I’d figured out that the problem was with heat regulation system that’d caused pressure to build up too much and a pipe to break, but I didn’t understand it well enough to fix it.

The pipe had been a simple fix though, which left me stumped. I knew I could figure out the mechanism given some time, but I had a date and a repairman-... repairmare was going to be here tomorrow.

Hrm…

“Can you fix et?”

“Technically no… but I might be able to jury-rig something…” I scowled at the boiler in the basement as my brain worked. The problem was that it overheated, I couldn’t fix the mechanism that normally regulated it but magic? I didn’t have a spell to do that, but runes might…

Stepping up to the inactive boiler I reviewed the mental list of runes I knew. It wasn’t much different from coding really, if you coded in two or three dimensions rather than linearly.

I said it wasn’t that much different, not that it wasn’t harder. It was hella hard once you got into the three dimensional stuff like the inside of gems. I preferred keeping it linear, stuff like circles or borders kept it most similar to coding.

Hm…

To roughly translate:

while (Power > 1){
if (Water >= Boil) {Contained_Heat = Contained_Heat * .99
External_Heat += Contained_Heat * .01}
else {Wait 1 second}};

Given that I went through the work of defining power and temperature and what was contained heat and what was uncontained heat… that would work… though I didn’t know a rune for boil… evaporate might work though… yeah, it’d be a bit of a complex wording but I could basically enumerate it into a single pointer rune…

I could make it last forever if I instead had it vent some of the excess heat into the runic structures stored power, but this was a ghetto-rig, not a true fix, so with this it’d just fizzle out over time.

I sketched out the runic circle along the outside of the boiler, double checking the language in about four different directions to be sure it wouldn’t blow up or do something weird. I deliberately didn’t put in any of the usual anti-tampering stuff for the explicit purpose of making it easy to pop the magic if there was a reason for it.

“Okay, stand back, let me power this up,” Aloe, Lotus, and Rarity all shuffled a few steps back. Tapping into my mana reserves, I lit up my horn and went down the runic line, pouring a little bit of energy into each one as I went along, “This’ll keep it from overheating, but it won’t last forever. This is a quick fix only. So keep that repairmare scheduled for tomorrow.”

Powering up runes was actually always an impressive thing when you did it right, each rune would start to glow in sequence and with some practice it’d end up looking like glowing power flowing through a pipe.

Actually not a bad analogy for linear or circular runes like this.

“Really? Zis will make it run?”

“With the fixed pipe, which I’ve marked as such, and this? Yeah, it’ll work for a few days at least, maybe longer. But definitely get a professional to look at it,” I eased up on the power flow just a bit as I finished, instead pouring it into the whole, waiting for the- Ah, there it is. The whole ring pulsed briefly before I cut the power flow entirely, letting it settle into a gentle, forest green glow.

“There we go,” creating a telekinetic shovel, I began loading some wood into the fire box proper to speed things along. I did have a date to get ready for.

“Oh thank you! We did not think we would be able to meet our appointments!” Aloe said, a beatific smile on her face.

“Yes! Consider your treatment today on the house!” Lotus was even giddier than her partner, actually prancing in place.

I paused in my loading, a small clench of fear in my chest that didn’t make its way any further, “You really don’t have to.” My ears had swept back in spite of my level tone.

“Non non,” Aloe waved it off with a hoof, “If you had not we may have had to make many of our clients services complimentary today! This iz much better! It is the least we can do to show our appreciation.”

True… and it did make sense. I wasn’t against getting paid for work, I just wanted to make things up for what my curse did to others, which it seems I’d already done here, so… “Can’t really argue with that logic…” I returned to shoveling, only putting in a few more scoops of wood and kindling before I let the shovel dissolve.

With some effort, I switched my brain over to the mindset required for evocation. It wasn’t something natural to me anymore, not after the curse was broken, but I could still manage a few basic things like this. With thoughts of heat and burning and a little lighter flicking I created a small fire at the end of my horn before throwing it into the fire box, sustaining it long enough for the kindling to catch.

That’d take a bit though so… gritting my teeth, I tapped into my mana reserves and channeled them through my horn and into the spell, the inefficiencies of the effort making my horn light up brightly as the fire blazed.

“Are you sure you wish to do that Emeris?” it was Rarity that asked this, but I didn’t look at her, “You obviously don’t have a talent for pyromancy and this sort of effort will drain you quite heavily…”

“I’m not going to be stupid about this Rarity, but I don’t anticipate having to draw heavily on my mana reserves today.”

“And if you do?” she questioned with a raised eyebrow and an otherwise deadpan expression.

“See the above statement about not being stupid,” I said with a small smile as I let the mana flow die out, instead recreating the shovel to put a few more wood chips and logs into the fire box.

“Zat should be fine Mister Fillson, we shall get the other tasks done while ze water heats.”

“Works for me.”

oOo

“What ever did you do to the boiler anyways?”

“Hm?” I flicked my uncut ear towards Rarity beside me as the masseuse did their jobs, unable to look at her due to the cucumbers over my eyes.

“I did not recognize that form of magic, that writing wasn’t anything I know and that wasn’t normal enchantment.”

“Oh, those are runes, they’re not a common thing since they can be pretty bad if you misuse them, and the classic paradigm for unicorn magic lends itself to doing them wrong,” the masseuse began to do that rapidly beating hooves thing on my back and my voice began to oscillate in a hilarious manner as I continued my explanation, “I learned magic differently from most unicorns and already had a background that lends itself well to the thinking required.”

Coding and accounting worked really well with Runic magic, since it was in a way the coding of the universe, but it also dealt with equivalent exchange. The accounts had to balance, something that normal coding didn’t really have to worry about. I wasn’t super good with languages though, that talent would’ve made me an absolute natural at Runic magic rather than ‘just’ pretty good. Curse you french rather than japanese being offered in high schoooooool~!

“Should we be worried then?”

“NoOot reaalllLlLLlLy…” there was a soft *crick* as my foreleg was tugged, and after the brief moment of pain I basically melted into the bed-thingy, “It’s not fool-proof, but things would already have to be going wrong for it to do anything bad, and it’ll fade in a few days.”

Another *crick* as the masseuse went to work on my other limbs and I let out a small groan. Damn that’s the good stuff.

“So it’s a lot like normal enchanting?”

“As far as I know, I’m not an expert on normal enchanting by any means,” I admitted freely as the masseuse’s hooves worked against my right foreleg, the pressure a welcome thing on the scarred leg, “I think Runes are more rigid in implementation than normal enchanting, which is sometimes an advantage, but oftentimes a disadvantage for the basic stuff.”

“Hm… I must ask Twilight to learn more it seems,” she mused.

“That’d be smart, she’s much more of an expert than me,” I admitted, “I specialized heavily, so my knowledge is pretty limited. Why do you want to know?”

“Oh, I was hoping to work them into my dresses and outfits, if one could work beautiful characters into the lining and trim of an outfit that made it stain and wrinkle resistant it would be absolutely wonderful!”

I pondered that for a minute, “Well… I might actually be able to do that. I’ll have to see if I still have free reign with the royal library first, but if I can get a few reference books on runes I should be able to put something lasting together.”

There was a long silence from the fashionista before she carefully asked, “Emeris, what limits are there on the enchantments you could put together with these runes?”

“Technically? Given enough time to think it out and reference materials? Not a whole lot,” I shrugged, “There are functional limits mind you, I’m not good enough to do certain things like runic quilts or such, and there’s a limit to how small you can make runes and the amount of power you can put into an object based on the size of the runic inscription, but as far as variety goes? There’s not a whole lot of limits.”

“Would the material of the dress make a difference?”

“Not with runes, though I know it would with normal enchanting. The material the runes themselves are made out of matters for power output of the magic, but not for the kinds of enchantments you can place.”

“Would you be willing to make me those enchantments against wrinkles and dirt and stains?”

“For a price,” I said with a small smile.

I could practically hear Rarity grin, “Why Emeris dear, I do believe this is the start of a beautiful relationship~”

oOo

I slowly stretched, feeling a satisfying little pop in my back knee. A facial (Mind out of the gutter! I don’t swing that way), a hooficure, a mane styling, a tail styling, massage, steam bath, some fancy coat brushing thing I didn’t remember the name of, and a horn filing.

I felt freaking fancy. In a good way.

A bag floated in front of me, making me blink at the teal enclosed fabric. Turning my head, I found Rarity walking up, having already paid for her own treatment today, “Time to change?”

“No, it is time to finish your transformation into a form absolutely fabulous and worthy of such a date!”

“See, you just did that thing where I say one thing, and you say it again only much weirder.”

She harrumphed at that, making me smile even as I took the bag from her.

oOo

As I slowly wrapped up my legs with the white silk bandages around my legs, a thought occured me, “Hey, Rarity?”

“Yes dear?” she said from outside the room I was changing in. It was a bit strange that I felt uncomfortable changing in front of even Rarity, especially since she often-times changed me with all the outfits that she’d put me through. But eh, I didn’t question it.

“If you’re here helping me, who’s helping Dash?” there was a long moment of silence from the other side of the door even as I tied off the wrap up near my shoulder, flexing the leg to make sure it could move fine, “Rarity…?”

“Ah, what makes you think that Dash is getting help?”

“Well, aside from the fact that I know she’s almost as nervous as I am about this, for whatever reason,” I muttered that part under my breath, “And that she came to you for an outfit, there was the way you just said that.”

I could hear her cough delicately, “That’s silly darling, Rainbow Dash is an absolute pillar of confidence! Why, she’s probably just finishing up her preening now~”

“With Fluttershy.”

“Actually she’s with Lot– …” I could practically feel her scowl at me through the door, “That was mean.”

A giggle escaped me as I started to wrap my other foreleg, “So do you think she’ll be done before me?”

“I’m going to make sure of it dear, a mare should never keep a stallion waiting.”

“I think keeping people waiting is bad in general, regardless of the genders involved,” I noted with an amused smile.

“Oh hush you and finish putting on your outfit.”

oOo

I adjusted my tie, a small, shuddering breath escaping me as I stood outside of Ponyville. I was going on a date.

I was going on a date.

I was going on a date.

I… holy crap.

All four hooves on the ground, I closed my eyes and took slow breaths, trying to calm the terror in my chest. There was a line of tension through my body, my chest clenching tightly as I basically freaked the flying fuck out.

There were so many ways this could go wrong. This could be the curse sneaking its way back into existence. She could immediately discover she didn’t like me on the date. Would she like my outfit? Would monsters attack during the date–?

I facehoofed even as my mind raced, feeling my own hoof tremble against my muzzle in panic. The thoughts were pouring out of my head faster than I could bring up the logical counter-arguments.

That I might scare her off, that I might have a full on freak out in the middle of the date and hurt her, that the curse could return during the date! That she wouldn’t like me, that this was a joke, that it was a set up–

I could handle it! No matter what happened, I could handle it! I knew I could!

–she might ask me to stop seeing her ever. I could be such an ass that she’d get the others to stop being my friends, I could do something so socially inept by pony standards that she’d hate me–

I grit my teeth, pressing my fetlock to my face hard.

It was astoundingly frustrating to have a panic attack and be unable to do anything about it. Because fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck. It was my first date jitters times a hundred, meshed with my jumbled unpleasant emotions towards the curse.

“Sugar…? That you?”

Applejack-?! She’ll hate me for picking Dash! She’s only trying to make me feel better-! I clamped down hard on those thoughts, “H-Hey–…” I swallowed in an attempt to get my voice steady, turning and putting my foreleg down. My eyes opened to the sight of Applejack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. While Applejack was in her usual stetson, the CMC had their capes, all of them staring at me, “What’s up AJ?”

“You okay Sugar?” the farmmare approached, the CMC in tow until she was in normal speaking distance, “Ya’ don’t look too good.”

“I–” Don’t say anything! She’ll think you’re crazy! But I can’t lie to her, she deserves the truth! I– I looked away, trying to keep my racing thoughts reigned in, “I’m nervous.”

Call me the Knight of the Understatement ladies and gentlemen.

“Y’er nervous about your date?” it was Applebloom this time, looking up at me with wide eyes.

“Yes, very,” I smiled, strained as it might be.

”You’re going on a date with Rainbow Dash right?” Scootaloo asked. Kids, blunt as ever, tact was still something a few years off it seemed.

“Yes, I am, later today actually,” I admitted a bit awkwardly. I mean, come on, Applejack was right the fuck there thank you very much. Okay with it or not it was bad fucking form, it had to be!

“So lucky,” the little pegasus breathed, staring up at me, but not really seeing me. I’m pretty sure she was instead thinking of her idol, possibly with herself in my place.

The thought made me chuckle, “Yes… I’m very lucky. It’s why I’m scared I’m going to mess it up.”

“Why would you mess it up?” it was Sweetie Belle that asked this one with wide eyed innocence.

While I wanted to roll my eyes at that, a funny thought came to mind and I glanced around as if looking for listeners before leaning down and cupping a hoof to the side of my muzzle as if imparting a secret in a stage whisper, “Because I’m kinda weird.”

The little fillies burst into giggles, making a pleasant warmth fill my chest and a smile appear on my face in spite of the grip around my heart. Glancing up though I found AJ giving me a small scowl before her face straightened out into a more neutral smile, “Girls, why don’t y’all head down to Scootaloo’s on y’er own? I want to talk to Emeris here a minute.”

Applebloom, in the manner of every little sibling ever, immediately jumped on the opportunity to tease her elder sibling, “About being your special somepony too?”

Applejack bumped her forehoof against her sister’s flank, “Maybe, but it ain’t none of y’er business.”

“Awww!”

“Now g’it, Ah’ll pick y’all up after I have lunch with the girls alright?”

“Okay!” the little fillies turned to me and chorused, “Bye Emeris!”

“Good luck on your date!” Sweetie Belle called as they started to run off down the path.

“Thanks!” I called back.

But Scootaloo stopped, looking at me. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she raised a hoof to her head, pointing at her eyes and then at me with a small scowl. Understanding, I smiled and nodded at her in acknowledgement. Satisfied, she took off after her friends, her small cape billowing as she did.

A fond smile had found its way onto my face in spite of the panic still squeezing in my chest.

-now if we mess up we’ll definitely have Scootaloo mad at us too–

Brain. Shut the fuck up.

“Alright Sugar, little ears are out of the way,” Applejack came up, bumping a forehoof against my leg, “Want to tell me what’s eatin’ ya?”

I heaved a sigh, my head drooping, “I told the truth, I’m nervous. Just… understating it a bit,” I admitted, a wry smile on my face.

Applejack scowled, her ears sweeping back and her blonde tail flicking in irritation, “Understatin’ by how much?”

My mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out, so I blew out my breath briefly, looking away, “I was kind of in the middle of suppressing a panic attack when you and the girls came up.” I turned back to her with a grin, “But I’m doing much better now!”

Apparently the grin was a bit strained, as the cowpony did not look impressed, “Emmy…” she said warningly.

I sighed, anymore this beautiful mare could read me almost as well as Rarity could, “It’s the truth, I’m not doing good yet, but I’m doing better.”

Her ears drooped to the sides as her look melted to one of concern, “You gonna be okay?”

My first response would have been ‘Of course!’ but… that would’ve been a lie. While most of my concerns were stupid and silly, there was the very real possibility that in spite of my best efforts my Sanity points would run out in the course of the date or I’d go into Limit Break or my Humanity would run out or however you’d want to put it, I could have an episode. My head fell, “I think so, but I don’t know.”

Briefly, a sad look swept across Applejack’s face before she smiled at me, using a hoof to ruffle my (carefully styled no more) mane, “Hey, you’ll be fine sugar. You took on a whole pack of Timberwolves for my sister at the drop of a hat, you can handle a little ole’ Dash.”

I snorted and rolled my eyes, a smile appearing on my face, “Little she says.”

The farmpony grinned, “She ain’t so bad if ya’ treat her right.” Her look melted into a warm smile and without warning, she placed a small kiss on my left cheek, right on top of the scars, “A lot like you sugar.”

My face turned at least four different shades of red at that, the feeling of her warm lips against my cheek lingering; my jaw working silently a few times before I got out a small, “AJ…” She felt extremely close, her muzzle less than a foot away from mine, and part of that was simple height difference.

She grinned at me, her emerald eyes dancing with mirth and mischief, “Now, we may be competin’, but Dash is m’ah friend too. if ya’ treat her bad, Ah’ll have ta’ buck the apples right out of y’er noggin, we clear?” I nodded, unable to say anything at the moment, essentially trapped by her eyes as they narrowed slightly, “But ya’ treat her right, and I’ll treat you right, ya hear?”

I swallowed hard, less from fear than from the sudden need to wet my throat, all I could smell was Applejack, that blend of grass and apples and sweat, “Loud and clear.”

“Good, Ah’d give ya a thump for luck, but y’er dressed up all fancy,” she gestured at my outfit with a hoof even as she smiled warmly at me, “So you’ll just have to imagine it. But still… good luck.”

My mouth worked silently before I smiled warmly, my heart feeling like it would swell out of my chest, “Thanks AJ…” my voice barely more than a whisper.

“Ain’t nothin’ to it,” she said with confidence as she walked past me, close enough that I could actually feel the heat coming off of her coat, making me almost shiver. As she got past me, she looked back at me over her shoulder, “Now get along, you’ve got a date to get to,” her tail swished through the air until it cracked against my flank, making me rear up with a whinny and scamper ahead several steps, my face turning red.

“AJ! What is it with you and my flank?!”

Her face split into a wide grin, “What can Ah say? I’m a flank-mare!” With a far too amused giggle, she took off down the road towards town, calling out over her shoulder, “And Rarity did a good job! Ya’ look good!”

I gaped after her, aware that I probably resembled a fire hydrant by this point. Blinking a few times before I closed my mouth, my tail swishing back and forth in embarrassment. She had way too much fun teasing me.

Still, a small smile appeared on my face.

My chest was pleasantly warm and I felt like prancing about, a giddy little smile appearing on my face before I schooled my expression into something a little less silly.

That had felt real, it had felt natural, it had been fun.

I could do this, even if things went wrong, I could handle it. I always knew I could, but now I felt it too.

I’d always thought that wishing people good luck was a bit silly, I’d often replied that I made my own luck, but… I guess I really needed some luck from her.

An entirely unmanly giggle escaped me as I did prance a bit. I had a date with Dash, one that would probably be awkward and tense and any number of other things… but I had a date.

oOo

Rarity pushed the door open to the Library, glad to have gotten a hold of Pinkie earlier today to set this up as the rest of the girls exempting Rainbow Dash, “Girls, it’s good to see you, Fluttershy, I’m happy you were able to come with how that… delightful, snake has been.”

“Oh, Angel will take care of Ms. Slithers for a little while, Pinkie did say it was important…”

“Yepperoonies, Rarity was all ‘I need you to get up the girls, I found something out that they need to know’ and I was all ‘Okey dokey lokey~’ and- mmph mpph mmph–”

Twilight didn’t look away from her fellow unicorn even as Applejack held a hoof over Pinkie’s mouth, “So what did you find out Rarity?”

Coming to sit down in the small circle they’d formed, the spot that Spike had strategically positioned next to himself of course, Rarity let out a small sigh, “Well dears, Emeris is…” she trailed off, searching for a polite way to describe it.

“Special?”

“Different?”

“Bucked in the head?”

“Twilight!”

“Sounds about right.”

“Applejack!!”

“What? It’s true and he’d say it himself.”

“Oh dear, but it’s still a mean thing to say about him Twilight, I mean… oh dear…”

“Fluttershy, I was stuck in there with him, trust me, he’s kind of messed up. We all know it.”

Rarity delicately coughed into a hoof, “Yes, well, I’m not entirely certain we’ve realized just how… distorted, our newest friend is.”

“Let me guess, you found out he has PTSD?” Twilight ventured, to the confusion of most of those present.

“Among other things,” the fashionista confirmed with a nod.

“What’s Peaty-Esdy?” Pinkie asked with a grin, but it was the slightest bit forced.

Twilight cringed, shifting in place, “It stands for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s… it’s when the bad things that have happened to a pony haunt them. Nightmares, panic attacks, loss of control, anxiety, avoidance…” her lavender eyes fell to the hardwood floor, “In more extreme cases it also can include emotional detachment, an inability to remember important aspects of the trauma, and…” she swallowed, “And a loss of interest in living.” She shuddered at the thought.

“That’s a bucking disorder?” Applejack had half-raised herself off the floor, “What’s a serious problem then?”

Twilight’s stare was almost blank as she responded with an almost rote memorized passage, “It was originally called Post Traumatic Stress Disharmony, it was renamed to a disorder due to the negative connotations and misinformation on disharmony, as many ponies believed that disharmony was a choice. Therefore any time disharmonious mental states interfere with a pony's life it is referred to as a disorder.”

Fluttershy scooched closer to the purple unicorn, wrapping a wing around her withers, Twilight letting out a small shudder as she leaned into the pegasus’ offered comfort.

“That is how the doctor described it to me…” Rarity confirmed, “And we have to admit, it certainly describes Emeris quite well. It was brought to my attention by something… unpleasant however.” The girls and Spike all looked to her as she adjusted her coif in a nervous gesture, “Emeris lost over half of one of his ears."

Fluttershy gasped, her wings flaring defensively; Pinkie deflated slightly, her ears drooping; Spike had a brief look of confusion before wincing. Applejack gave Rarity an incredulous look before glancing away, then her eyes slowly widened as she realized that while she’d seen the missing right ear, she hadn’t really seen it given that she’d been distracted by his emotional state and how nice he’d looked cleaned up.

Twilight herself winced at the statement, “Yeah, I found that out yesterday.”

“I was there when it happened,” Rarity said with a scowl, earning a sharp intake of breath from all others present, immediately followed by a sympathetic wince as the alabaster unicorn shuddered, “There was a lot of blood. It happened while True Glamour was cutting his mane, it was her fault too and… and he forgave her, just like that.”

“Wait, what?” Spike cocked his head to the side in confusion, “Isn’t that a good thing?”

Her scowl deepened, “She tried to refuse him service, and when I convinced her to do it anyways, she insulted him, treated him like dirt, and when he tried to defend himself she cut off his ear! It was an accident but still!” Rarity’s voice had been climbing in volume as she punctuated the sentence with a stomp of her hoof, “And afterwards she was more concerned with losing my business than the pony bleeding all over her floor! As frustrating as Emeris may be at times he’s still my friend and it was- it was… it was appalling, disgusting, horrifying, atrocious!”

The alabaster unicorn deflated, “It was absolutely unacceptable, and he just forgives her… just like that. He had to. It’s hard to describe but if you’d seen his eyes when I tried to tell him that he shouldn’t… he was desperate. It was almost like I’d asked Fluttershy to hurt her animal friends, or Rainbow Dash to betray a friend.”

“But… had she done anything to earn…?” Twilight said in mild shock.

“No… no she hadn’t,” drawing herself back up, Rarity touched up her coif with a hoof, “It’s then that I realized that I needed to talk to a professional about this. While Nurse Redheart sewed up his ear, I talked to Doctor Stable about his mental state. he said what you just did Twilight, that Emeris is suffering from PTSD, but that’s one of several issues.”

As the others stared at her, Rarity began to list them off, “He said that he suffered from PTSD, a phobia of physical affection, a hint of what he called Paranoid Personality Disorder as well as Avoidant Personality Disorder, as well as something else that the doctor called PDNOS…?” she looked to Twilight for elaboration.

“Personality Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, that’s what his forgiveness would fall under. It’s obviously something that interferes with his life and social interactions, so it’s definitely a disorder, but I don’t think I’ve heard of something like that before.”

“That seems appropriate. The doctor also mentioned that Emeris likely suffers from a moderate case of Dissociative Identity Disorder in some form or another, treating the things that happened while he was Gary as a different life, but one he has to make up for.”

“That’s silly, Emmy didn’t have any control over what happened while he was Gary, only what he did! And he controlled that just fine. I mean, the worst thing I ever caught him doing was ogling my flanks when I was bouncing around Sugarcube Corner after a really good rush that he’d brought in.”

Twilight shifted uncomfortably, “It actually probably has something to do with everything he had to see as Gary…” her voice fell to just a whisper, “I still have nightmares of some of the things I saw, Luna’s had to help me at night, and I only saw a few nights worth of horrors.”

Fluttershy tightened her wing around Twilight and the unicorn shot her a grateful look.

“So… what do we do about this mess?” Applejack asked.

Rarity shifted some in discomfort, “The doctor had a few recommendations, as dreadful as the suggestion is, we can always convince Emeris to let himself be committed.”

The entire group cringed, “Oh dear…”

“Yes, an unpleasant option at best,” Rarity admitted, “The next was that we convince him to come in to go to a dedicated therapist.” The girls exchanged a glance, considering the possibility, “The other one he suggested was that we take over his therapy ourselves.”

“Ah’m sorry, but what?”

“The doctor suggested we might help with his therapy or even do the bulk of it,” Rarity reiterated, “He needs to open up about what happened to him as Gary, but what we can definitely do is to forgive him, but assure him that he has nothing to apologize for.”

“That’s therapy?” Spike asked, voicing the confusion of most of those present.

“It’s like cleaning and disinfecting a wound,” the group turned to Twilight, who was scowling at her forelegs, “To quote Sound Mind the second, discussion of trauma brings up the poison, examining it and addressing it disinfects, and with the poison gone and the wound of the mind cleaned, the mind will heal itself as the body would.”

“That doesn’t sound very fun,” Pinkie scowled briefly.

“It didn’t sound any more fun when the doctor said it either,” Rarity admitted.

“But… that’ll fix him up?”

“In principle… it’s what currently prevalent theory suggests. But with the amount of trauma that Emeris has gone through, it may be a long time before he’s healed…” Twilight shifted in place under Fluttershy’s wing, her ears sweeping back as she scowled, “But he may never be even close to normal. We’ve all got to remember that he wasn’t a pony originally.”

“Oh,” the ears of the lone pegasus present perked up, “He said that he originally came from a species with just a bit of sexual dimorphism that mated for life in pairs, an ape-like species that most closely resembles chimpanzees.” Her ears drooped then, “But he didn’t tell me much else about them. So I don’t know how much of it is him being a hueman and how much is him being himself, sorry.”

“Mated in pairs? That’s a lot of lonely mares…”

“According to Emeris, there was one mare per stallion actually.”

That made all of the girls pause, thinking about that possibility for a moment, “That’s a lot of stallions…”

Rarity coughed into her hoof delicately, a small blush on her cheeks, “Yes, quite.”

Pinkie giggled, “Ooh… that’d be fun!” Applejack swatted her lightly in the back of the head in spite of the small blush on her own face.

“Uh, girls,” Spike raised a claw, “I think kinda we’re getting off topic.”

“Yes,” Twilight coughed into her hoof, “You’re right Spike, of course.”

“So what do you think girls? What should we do?”

“Ah’m in favor of helpin him ourselves. He’s done his best to do right by us and we should return the favor.”

“Yeah! Friends stick together like birds of a feather! Like geese or sparrows or pigeons or penguins, though do penguins even have feathers?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, okay!”

“I-I think we should get him go to a professional,” Fluttershy said, “If you’re sick, you go to a doctor.”

“I disagree,” Twilight said softly.

“Oh! I’m sorry.. but why?”

“Don’t be Fluttershy, I just disagree. I think we shouldn’t have him go to a professional about this unless we can’t help him ourselves. He’s different from most ponies, heck, he’s still learning how to be a pony. A therapist may not realize or believe that and may make things worse,” shifting uncomfortably, Twilight looked away, “And they may be like me and just assume that he was bad and deliberately sabotage him because of it.”

While most of the girls shot Twilight a sympathetic look at that, a very brief scowl crossed Rarity’s face, “Be that as it may Darling, do you really think that we should try to help him without professional assistance?”

“I think we should try first, before getting him to get professional help if we can’t help him on our own,” her tail flicked back and forth, “I really don’t want to risk him getting sabotaged by someone who’s supposed to help him.”

“Again?” Rarity probed.

Twilight flinched slightly, almost recoiling from the comment even though it earned Rarity herself some hard looks. But the purple unicorn looked at the floorboards of the library with a small scowl and in a voice barely above a whisper admitted to the otherwise silent library, “Yeah, again.”

Rarity’s gaze didn’t leave her fellow unicorn for several long moments before she finally looked away with a sigh, “So we definitely want to help him ourselves, but what is the vote when it comes to convincing Emeris to get professional help?”

“Ah dunno, while Fluttershy is right and we should definitely have somepony that knows what they’re doing, Twilight’s got a point. Now Ah’m a bit scared by the thought of somepony tryin to mess up his mind even worse if given the chance.”

“Friends stick together!” Pinkie said with a smile, “Even if we can’t do it by ourselves, we can always talk him into it later.”

Rarity nodded, “Alright then, we try to help him by ourselves first, and if we feel we aren’t doing enough we convince him to get professional therapy.”

oOo

I approached the tree with a small smile, saddlebags bouncing at my sides and having finally gotten the ridiculous prancing out of my step.

As I crested a hill, my eyes picked out a splash of riotous color sitting beneath it just as expected. Rarity really had held me up long enough for Dash to get here first.. Not that it was a huge surprise seeing as how she was Celestia knows how many times faster than me.

… actually, Celestia might not know that if she didn’t have a good gauge of how fast I was now.

Still, I approached the hill at a steady pace in spite of the nervous energy bubbling in my chest. I was excited, I was nervous, I was hopeful, hell, I was positively giddy!

Dash had stood once I’d started climbing the little hill the tree was on, “So…” she started, her wings expanding some before she resettled them back at her sides, doing a small turn as she did, “How do I look?”

Well… seeing as how her wings had freaking glittered in the light, as had the golden sandals that were on each of her hooves and the laurel in her mane. A simple, multicolored toga was all she had on her barrel, the fabric seeming to shift in color as she moved…

She was, for lack of better words, breathtaking. Hell, she’d even gone so far as to have her mane and tail brushed, which was a wonderful effect to be honest.

“Can I go with… wow?” I said with a grin.

A small blush appeared on her cheeks and she smiled, her wings resettling again as she flicked her tail, “Now there’s an appropriate reaction for a pegasus as awesome as me~”

“Oh?” Thesaurus powers, go! “What about astounding, amazing, wonderful, astonishing, fantastic, fantabulous, super,” Dash was fighting (and losing) at suppressing a snicker as I kept going, “Awesome, stupendous, amazetastic, incredible, delightful, colorful, unique, dazzling…” I had to stop to take a deep breath, and Dash almost cracked up, “Splendiforous, wonderous, awe-inspiring, cool, chill, badass, intimidating, impressive, impossible…” I trailed off for a moment, hesitating, before I said from the heart, “And beautiful.”

Her wings flared even as her face turned a deep shade of red, “I-... you’re just saying that.”

But I shook my head, “No, I’m not Dash.” I hesitated, wondering if I should leave it at there or continue on, but I decided that in for a penny, in for a pound, and I approached the top of the hill, “I’ve never told you for a number of reasons but… really, you’re beautiful.”

“Um… I…” her rose colored eyes were wide, “Wow…”

My blush deepened as the silence dragged on, but a smirk began to break out on Dash’s face, “Well, at least one of us looks good.”

I blinked before raising an eyebrow at her incredulously. She grinned at me as she approached, “I mean, come on, Rarity did a good job,” a glittering wing came out and brushed against my vest, “But a dork like you? She had her work cut out for her.”

A bit of a grin spread across my face as I raised my head and pressed a hoof to my chest, “I will have you know that Rarity did a fine job!” A brown silk vest with gold trim and buttons, a white button up shirt, a little red tie, a belt with a brass buckle and studs, and my stark white wraps made for a delightful combination in my opinion, “And according to her and Aloe I look absolutely fabulous~”

“Yeah,” her mouth had settled on a mischevious grin, her feathers tickling at my sides and flank as she started to circle me, “Fabulously dorky.”

“Me being a dork just might have something to do with that hun,” I rebutted with a smirk.

“Still, I know how to make it way cooler, at least forty percent.”

“Oh?”

Turning her head, she reached into her wings and pulled out a single feather from her secondaries, leaning up and tucking the feather behind my ear with an almost nervous smile, “There.”

I blinked for just a moment before my face flushed and I grinned like an idiot, “Okay, yeah, probably forty percent better.”

Her grin was, well, like a rainbow on a rainy day, a small blush on her cheeks as the already sunny day seemed all the better. Then she blinked again and her head cocked to the side in confusion. A bit surprised by the sudden change in attitude, I cocked my head to the side even as her eyes narrowed, “Em…?”

“... yeah?”

“What happened to your ear?”

…

Fuck.

This is not gonna end well.

I shifted uncomfortably, my hooves shuffling, “Um, well…”

“Emeris…” she said warningly, scowling at me as her wings flared in a far different fashion than before.

I deflated some and begged, “Promise me you won’t rush off to hurt someone.”

“Emeris!” she snapped, and I felt my temper flare.

“Promise!”

Dash grit her teeth, poking me in the chest with a hoof, “Who the buck did this to you?!”

“It was an accident and I don’t want you to rush off and beat the hell out of her for it!” I snapped, not backing down.

“If it was an accident then why are you hiding it from me?!” she stomped a forehoof as she glared up at me.

“Because she was being a bitch before it happened!” my volume had risen more than it should have, but I couldn’t help myself, “And I know that if Rarity almost came to blows with her over it then you’ll want to beat the fuck out of her!”

Dash’s eyes went wide for just a moment before she snarled, “Damn right I do! If it’s bad enough that Rares wanted to beat her up then this horseapple’s earned it!”

I stomped a hoof in frustration, my nostrils flaring, “Damnit! That’s why I haven’t said it yet! It was an accident!”

“Was it her fault?” she demanded, her eyes narrowing and her wings held low and almost threateningly.

“Yes!” I paused before clarifying, “Mostly, I jerked around some when she was working, but still.”

“Then just tell me what happened!”

“Promise you won’t go beat her face in,” I wouldn’t budge.

“Tell me.”

“Promise first!”

“Why?! Why protect her?!”

“Because I don’t want to see her hurt just because of an accident!”

“Em, she took off half your bucking ear!”

“She apologized!”

“So bucking what?!”

Something in me cracked and I bellowed, “So I fucking forgave her okay?!”

Dash flinched at my volume and I felt my heart ache. But after just a moment, Dash drew herself back up, her rose colored eyes burning with intensity and her tone little more than a growl, “If it’s her fault like you said, then she needs to answer for it.”

“What, like I should answer for the terrible things that happened while I was Gary?!” I snapped, unable to help myself.

“That shit wasn’t your fault!”

“But it is my responsibility!”

“So what?!” she barked out, “Sure you’re responsible for it, just like I’m responsible for the weather here! But that doesn’t mean it was your fault anymore than it’d be my fault if some crazy weather came out of the Everfree and threw my plans off! They don’t punish me when that happens and they shouldn’t punish you for what happened around you while you were Gary! But you said it was this horseapple’s fault! Are you gonna change your mind about that?!”

“I–…” my brain ground to a halt, my anger popping like a balloon; I looked away, staring out at the green hills as my brain tried to catch up.

Was she just responsible, or was it truly her fault…?

… yes, it was. I was responsible for moving but she’d provoked me.

I deflated, “Yeah… it was her fault.”

Her wings pulled inwards, “Who did it?”

This time I winced, “Promise you won’t rush off to beat her face in.”

“Emeris!”

“Not to protect her!”I rushed to say, “Because we’re supposed to be on a date, together, us. And because I don’t want you to get in trouble,” I trailed off for a moment before adding, “And I really think Rarity is going to basically ruin her life no matter what I say at this point…”

Dash stopped, the anger draining from her as her wings folded against her sides, “Em…” she sighed, stepping up and pressing her head against the crook of my neck, I pressed my chin against the top of her multicolored mane, leaning into her.

A part of me screamed in terror at the simple act of affection, but the rest of me politely told it to shut the flying fuck up as I used my chin to tuck Dash’s head against my chest, pressing against the smaller pegasus, feeling her heat through our respective outfits, taking comfort at her closeness and pleasantly warmed by the dappled sunlight.

I don’t know how long we just stood there like that, pressed together, her cheek slowly rubbing against the material of my vest as I breathed in her scent, of ozone and spice and some herbs from whatever soap they’d used to get her cleaned up.

A sigh of frustration and exasperation escaped me, “What a great start, not even thirty minutes into our first date and we have a fight…”

The pegasus snorted, her wings ruffling against her sides, “Hey, I’d say our first fight was when we met up after your curse was broken.”

I considered the statement for a moment, “Touche’.”

The pegasus sighed, rubbing her cheek against my silk vest, “So who was the horseapple?”

“True Glamour if I remember right, the stylist… she was cutting my mane and being a royal bitch to me…” I admitted now, after the fact, “Even with what the curse did she was taking it too far.” My thoughts settled firmly on what she’d said about Pinkie and Rarity and my blood boiled just a bit.

“She cut off your ear?”

“On accident, seriously, she was just about as horrified as I was about that part. She was just being bitchy and nasty, not actually trying to hurt me, just not caring if my haircut was bad.”

Dash snorted, “That still doesn’t make it okay.”

I sighed, “Please don’t hurt her too bad,” I pleaded, “She really did apologize.”

A sigh escaped her as she ground the top of her head against my chest, “Alright, but there’s no bucking way I’m not gonna give her a whole lot of crap for this.” She pulled back, her eyes locking with mine as she looked up at me, “She cut off half of your ear Em, buck…” a sad look passed across her face before she pouted, her ears drooping, “And it was the tugging ear too! Total horseapples.”

I snorted, an amused smile on my face, “Sorry, no tugging on it until it’s totally healed,” as a bit of a peace offering I turned my head, offering my left, undamaged ear to her and waggling it, “This one’s still free though.”

She let out a small snort, the little smile on her face worth the uncomfortable sensation as she clamped her teeth on the offered ear and tugged me over to the blanket. I still let out a very unmanly squeak at the man (mare? pony?) handling, but didn’t fight it as she bumped her shoulder against my chest and threw me off balance, a foreleg suddenly hooking around my neck before I found myself ass over applecart and tumbling across the blanket.

I rolled to a stop on my back, blinking up at the grinning Dash, “Was that really necessary?”

“Yep,” she said smugly as she came up to lay down beside me.

Rolling my eyes with a small smile, I swung myself around onto my stomach, tucking my legs beneath me as my side pressed against Dash’s, “Time for food then?

“Yeah,” she said, the thought of food though quickly perking her mood, a grin spreading across her face, “So, you said you’d bring food, so what’d you bring?”

Grinning, I opened my saddlebags with my magic and lifted out the contents, attempting to reclaim the pleasant silliness I’d had earlier, “For the lady’s perusal and judgement I present for appetizer, Rose salad with cucumber, pickle and cheese, with a light vinaigrette.” Her eyes widened as I set the container out, “For our entree, I present yellow rose and tulip subs with lettuce, pickle, mustard, and mayo.”

“Wow… you really went fancy with this didn’t you?”

“Just a bit,” I said with a smile. My horn lit up as I picked up the salad I’d made and two bowls, creating a set of construct tongs with a bit of focus and serving us both a healthy portion. Setting her bowl in front of her, I smiled gently, “Bon appetite.”

oOo

The meal was quiet, if slightly uncomfortable with the so-recent fight, but over the course of our appetizer we leaned more into one another until her wing had spread out across my withers once again. At which point I think I was well and truly forgiven, because when I’d started to bring out the subs and put away the bowls, she’d tucked her head underneath mine, pressing her smaller form against the length of my body.

I felt comfortably warm there, snuggled as we were, her wing wrapped around me, the sunlight peeking through the leaves of the tree. The two of us quietly munching away at our subs.

How in the world had I lucked out like this…

Even through my vest and shirt and wraps I could feel her taut muscles under her coat, that immense strength contained in such a small, elegant form. And without any coercion, she was laying here with me.

“Em…?”

At the sound of her voice I nearly jumped, realizing that I’d been staring at my half-eaten sub for a few minutes now, “Yeah?”

She bumped her shoulder against mine, “What’s up?”

I sighed, my gaze returning to the half-eaten sub, “It’ll sound a bit stupid,” I paused, thinking about it for just a second before adding, “And probably not appropriate conversation topic right now.”

Dash snorted, “I think we’ve already broken enough rules of the date, so shoot.”

Blowing my breath out through my nostrils, I gathered my courage and set the sub down, “Why in the world do you like me?” She blinked and I continued, “I mean, I’m a dork, a dweeb! I’m an accountant for petes sake, and I have issues. A lot of issues,” I freely admitted, channeling a bit of batman there, “Why in the world does an amazing athlete and amazing mare like yourself like me?”

“Um… oh…” she looked away, her sub drifting downward, “You… you probably won’t like the answer…” she said softly.

Now it was my turn to blink, my mismatched ears cocking at an angle, “Okay?”

She started to shuffle away but I swung a foreleg around her withers, gently trapping her. Her face lit up like a fire hydrant at that, but she stopped trying to get away.Ducking her head, she mumbled something indecipherable.

“Sorry, but you’re going to have to speak up hun,” I almost winced, knowing how much it sucked to be on the receiving end of that sort of phrase.

“I said because you liked me.”

Now that made me pause, “That… isn’t what I expected at all… you’re going to have to elaborate that some…”

Dash turned her head away, staring at the edge of the blanket, “I–… look, I’m not good at this mushy stuff okay?”

My chest twinged in sympathy, “Hey, it’s okay, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“No no, you asked… I just…” she snorted, “I’m going to sound stupid.”

“Not stupider than I usually sound,” I joked with a grin, trying to lighten the mood. Pausing and cocking my head to the side in mock thought, “At least it’s not likely, and even if you do I’ll be more impressed than anything else.”

A short snort of laughter escaped Dash before she shook her head, a small smile on her face. The pegasus took a deep breath before drawing herself up, “Okay, well… you’re actually pretty cool and all. You’re funny and you just roll with the jokes and pranks, which makes you like, fifteen percent cooler by itself. And when you get going during training you can be pretty awesome too. No, you’re not radical at all, but still, two out of three ain’t bad.”

I smiled a bit, rolling my eyes, only to have her wing knock me upside the head lightly.

Blowing a small raspberry at me, she continued, “But, like, that wouldn’t have been enough. You’re nice and you look good and you’re an all around decent guy,” she scowled at her hooves as she wrung them in front of her, “But I like like you because… well… you liked me.”

“Sure stallions are nice to me, but… I’m too…” she gesticulated with her forehooves some as she glared into the distance, “Aggressive? Teasing?”

“Awesome?” I interjected.

She snorted, rolling her eyes at the cheesy line, “And I’ve got no bounce to my flank, not like Fluttershy or Rarity. I’m all muscle!” I opened my mouth but she cut me off, “Don’t say anything, I know I am, I work hard for it! I’m proud of it!” she sighed in frustration, “But it’s not what stallions look for.”

Now that made me scowl some, “Then they’re idiots, I think it’s one of your better traits. You look like you work your butt off for an amazing body. You’re not disproportionate or anything, just super fit.”

“I know! I catch you staring all the time.”

The statement sent a rush of heat to my cheeks. I’d known I wasn’t super subtle about that or anything but still, “Sorry,” I turned my head automatically in a futile attempt to hide my blush.

“Don’t be!” she bit her lip, glancing away briefly before quietly admitting, “It sorta excited me, made me feel wanted y’know? I liked it.” Okay, if I was blushing before, now I was redder than the front of her mane, only it was giddier and less mortified now. “It made me think, y’know? Just… made me wonder if I could like you since you already liked me…” she trailed off, staring at her sandaled hooves.

“Dash…”

“I mean, I don’t know if I would’ve been interested in the first place if you hadn’t been… you said it yourself, you’re not exactly my type,” she gave me a weak grin that quickly faltered as she looked down at the blanket beneath us, “Not on the outside at least, not after you stopped being Gary. You’ve always been bigger than I like, you like to do boring things, you’re only cool or awesome on accident, you gave up your wings rather than your horn…” she sighed, “But… while you’re pretty cool when you look closer… I just… I don’t know if I’d have looked if you hadn’t liked me first…”

“Dash…”

She snorted, looking away, “Like I said, stupid.”

There was no way I could just let her go on thinking like that, “Would you believe me if I said part of the reason I like you is that you don’t seem to like me all that much?”

She froze, her ears cocking at odd angles, turning to look at me incredulously, “What?”

“You tease me, make fun of me, you don’t sugar coat it when we train, you actually push me even when I push back… hell, you push back even harder…” I squeezed my foreleg around her withers, pressing her tightly against my chest.

“Dash… I’m terrified of affection. As much as I want it, my first instinct is that it’s fake, that it’s a lie and I have to run now to keep people from being hurt… I don’t…” I struggled to put it into words, staring at the blanket, “You don’t trigger that reflex much if at all… you’re rough, but not in the way people under the curse were, you’re… well… you.” I smiled at her a bit weakly, “Stupid reason.”

Dash snorted, “No, you see, your reason makes sense, mine is stupid.”

“Nuh uh. If your reason is stupid, then so is mine.”

“Dude, your reason is all about you overcoming your fears and crap, mine’s super shallow.”

“It would be if it was the only reason you liked me, but the way you said it it was just the reason you started liking me, big difference,” I countered.

The pegasus blew a raspberry at me, “I’m on your left y’know.”

“... so?”

“So I can do this!”

She lunged up, clamping her teeth on my uninjured ear and tugging, sending us both tumbling, “Gack!”

Bowl! Cloth! Grass! Hill!!

The pegasus was giggling as her forelegs tried to get a hold of me as I twisted, a playful and wordless sound of defiance escaping me as I struggled with her for dominance. The two of us tumbled down the hill in a tangle of limbs until we hit the bottom, my greater size and weight letting me roll her onto the bottom. I grinned down at her as she squirmed, “Ha!”

She made another lunge for my ear and I twisted out of the way, “Double ha! Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me!” I grinned smugly at her.

Dash scowled up at me for a moment before a mischievous grin spread across her face. suddenly I was worried.

She lunged up again and I twisted back, but instead of my ear, she licked the front of my muzzle, leaving a streak of dampness along my nose.

First thought, kinda ew. Second thought, kinda hot. Third thought– OH CRAP I’M ROLLING.

“Ack!”

“Ha yourself!”

I squirmed in the hold of the smaller pegasus who had me pinned on my back, her forelegs wrapped around my neck and her hind legs around my foreleg, her flank was on the ground and no matter how I twisted or squirmed I couldn’t get the traction to do more than scooch us around in the grass some. Still I worked at it, “That,” I grunted, “Wasn’t any Rolling Earth style move.”

“Nope~” she said with a smug smirk, her core and legs bunching as she fought my struggles, keeping me locked in place, "That was marefriend-fu!"

I snorted in amusement. To be fair, I could’ve used magic to get out of this easily. I couldn’t Blink away since she was wrapped around me like this, I would’ve just taken her with me, but I could’ve made a construct crowbar or hands or something to just straight up pull her off.

But that would’ve been cheating, and I might’ve been all for that in a real fight, this was for fun.

Blowing a raspberry at her, I admitted defeat, “Alright! You win,” I threw up my free forehoof, “You got me. You can let me go now.”

Dash hummed thoughtfully, relaxing some, “Nah.” I raised an eyebrow at her and she grinned mischievously at me, “I’m comfy.” Leaning in, she gently rested her muzzle against mine, her eyes closing.

My heart thudded in my chest in a combination of fear and excitement, reflexive panic kicking in… but… she didn’t do anything else. No voracious kiss, no lunging and desperate makeout session, no attempt to straddle and mount me…

Her muzzle just… rested against mine, a small smile on her face as our breath intermingled… and slowly, ever so slowly… the panic eased.

Gradually, a warmth spread through me as I relaxed, my eyes drifting closed as I breathed in her scent once more, feeling it wash over me. Absently, I tugged my trapped foreleg free and she let it go, both of us content to just lay there together, her wings fluttering quietly for a moment as we settled, equally content smiles on our faces.

I don’t know how long we lay there like that, just enjoying each others closeness… and to be frank, I don’t care. Eventually, she shifted some, her cheek rubbing against my scarred one as she hummed, ending with a happy little giggle, “Would you believe I never really expected to be able to do this with a stallion? Always thought I’d be too awesome for stallions to handle.”

A little snort escaped me as I adjusted myself to wrap my forelegs around her, hugging her close, “You’re too awesome for me to handle, but I’ll be damned if I don’t at least try,” a small grin spread across my face as I slowly nuzzled her neck, “You’re especially too radical for me, I can’t handle radical at all.”

She chuckled, her wings flaring to drape across the two of us.

“Y’know…” I started.

“Hm?”

“I honestly expected you to want a more exciting date than this…” I said it teasingly, but… I really had. I’d worried if this would be exciting enough for the beautiful adrenaline junkie.

I felt her eyes open as her eyelashes brushed against my cheek and I watched her pout thoughtfully. Then she shrugged and smiled, settling back down and snuggling close, “N’ah, I’m good.”

With a smile of my own, I gave her a squeeze, holding her tight against my chest.

I know that we probably had gotten grass stains and dirt all over the outfits that Rarity had made us, that we’d totally destroyed whatever styling to our manes and tails had been done, and generally ruined all of the efforts the others had gone through to make us beautiful. But ya’ know what? I couldn’t have cared less.

Gently stroking her withers with my forelegs to a happy crooning from Dash, I settled in for the long haul, the pegasus half-on and half-off of my chest and her presence completely enveloping me.

oOo

“So why’s did Ravenclaw start being all ‘Separatists bluh bluh~’ this book?”

“Most likely mediocre writing actually,” I said, my saddlebags bouncing at my sides lightly as we trotted along, “See, because of an altercation while I was Gary, the Griffon kingdoms unified into a single empire, absorbing the Minos state along the way. This happened only about a year ago, so it wasn’t even a thing in earlier books. It’s a good character arc for Ravenclaw really, but it would’ve been a lot more meaningful if she’d made the unification of the griffon kingdoms an event in the story rather than something just assumed.”

Celestia’s sun was slowly dipping towards the horizon, a beautiful splash of colors across the sky, almost as many were in Rainbow’s mane and tail, “But she didn’t.”

“But she didn’t,” I confirmed with a nod, “Note that it wasn’t bad writing per se so much as…” I searched for the term, “Inelegant.”

Dash pouted in the most adorable way as she thought about that, “So… like how you fight versus how I fight?” she ventured with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s…” I stopped to think, before nodding, “Actually a really good example,” the corner of my mouth quirked up, “If I didn’t suck that is.”

A wing swatted lightly against my side, a small smile on her face as we came to a stop beneath her house.

I looked up at the house, which honestly was more of a small mansion. Clouds or not, it was, in the words of my homies in the hood, pretty bitchin’. It was a little reminder that Dash made damn good money as the head weathermare of a region up against the Everfree.

“So…” I turned, finding Dash biting her lip and looking away from me, a small blush barely visible on her cheeks in the waning light, “I had fun today…” she glanced over and grinned, “Rough start, but… it was fun.”

My face suddenly heated up as it clicked what was happening, “Y-Yeah… very fun…”

She wanted a kiss.

I–…. could I?

I wanted to.

But my stomach was twisting into knots, wrapping around itself.

I was scared… hell, I was fucking terrified.

She glanced down at her hooves as she scuffed one in the dirt before looking up at me through her lashes.

My heart clenched.

Fuck, would it be worse to not kiss her or to try and kiss her only to throw up?

My jaw worked silently as I tried to make myself do something as the silence dragged on, dejection slowly spreading across Dash’s face.

Damnit, come on brain, make up your mind! I know this is a big deal, I know this is the first time I’ve crossed any sort of line in more than two years, I know that this is me fighting a conditioned response to avoid giving affection, but damnit! Either do or don’t!

“I–…”

And I could see it, that moment that her heart broke just a little, “I guess it’s good night then…” her wings flared and with a single pump of them, she lifted from the ground.

What?! No! I wouldn’t hurt her with this! I refused!

She turned, starting to ascend as I managed to croak out, “Dash.”

Pausing, she turned, only for my tie to be telekinetically thrown around the back of her neck and pull her down even as I leaned up, mashing my lips to hers. She made a small, surprised squeak as I pressed my lips to hers, holding her close with the tie even as her wings fluttered.

After that moment’s surprise though, she melted into the kiss, her lips pressing back against my own as our heads tilted slightly to gain more contact. The pegasus letting out a happy little crooning sound as her soft lips worked against mine, and I had to suppress a small groan. The delightful scent of ozone and spice flooded my nose and made me shiver, the tie forgotten as I leaned into the kiss.

Kissing her was like kissing a stormcloud, thunderous and dark and crackling with electricity.

My eyes cracked open and my heart throbbed at what I could see. Dash was lit by the waning light of the sunset, her wings glittering with every flap and her multicolored toga shimmering in the light, a small tinge of red to her cheeks as our lips pressed together. She was so beautiful…

With a shuddering breath, I slowly broke the kiss, the two of us pulling away slowly, panting softly.

Belatedly, I realized that my tie was draped across her withers loosely, the red silk a light contrast to her multicolored toga in the increasingly red light of the sunset. I realized that she’d fluttered even higher during the kiss and that I was standing on my hindlegs to reach her. Falling back to all four hooves, Dash slowly drifted lower as I tried to speak.

“Dash…” my voice quaked slightly before I swallowed, “Don’t ever mistake my hesitation for a lack of desire. I want this… I want you. But… this scares me. This is all new and terrifying and yet horrifyingly familiar at the same time.” I rambled off before stopping myself. With effort, I admitted, “I… I know I have issues, and I honestly think you deserve better than me… but I promise, so long as you want me, I’ll do everything in my power to get over them for you. I don’t regret this, and I don’t want you to either, okay?”

The beautiful pegasus nodded weakly, her eyes slightly unfocused. That little fact sent a small thrill of masculine pride through me even as I blushed brightly.

Gathering my courage, I stood on my hind legs again much to Dash’s surprise, and gently cupped her cheeks with my fetlocks, keeping her in place as I placed a small peck on her lips and smiled, “Good night.”

Dropping back to all fours, I turned and began walking towards my home before the fear clutching at my heart could cause me to do something stupid.

There was a long moment of silence from behind me before a nearly ecstatic giggle escaped the pegasus and I heard her take off, the sound bringing a smile to my face. It was only a moment later that the realization hit me.

I’d kissed Dash.

I’d kissed Rainbow Dash.

A giddy little giggle escaped me as I began to skip, practically floating on the light, warm feeling in my chest, the wonderful feeling overlapping and overwhelming the tense fear that still was there.

For arguably the first time since I’d arrived in Equestria, I wasn’t just content or having fun… I was happy. Well and truly happy down to my core.

With almost joyous laughter, I took off in a gallop for home, today… today had been a good day.

Author's Note

(TONS) of Words! Things! Stuff! Exclamation points!!!

So how about that cover art? T'is super sweet and rockin off all the socks in my opinion. While not perfect, the only things are super-nitpicky.

Anyways, I’m actually pretty happy with this chapter, it came together a lot better than it felt like it would when I started, if a lot bigger.

There were a few scenes I was kinda concerned wouldn’t accomplish everything I wanted to when I first wrote them, but I was able to add in all the subtleties and world-building I was aiming for!

Much has been accomplished here. Emeris has been called out (again) on his silliness when it comes to forgiveness, what Rarity actually did while Emeris was getting his ear sewn up has been revealed, what Emeris was like when he first arrived and what his arrival was like has been revealed (as well as a couple other subtle things!), and a date has been had!

So, what are your thoughts on the chapter and what we’ve learned? What’s your favorite part of the chapter? Your least?

Leaving y’all with those questions, I’ve got some chapters to work on! Hopefully I’ll be able to crank out an ending to CoU: Alternate as well as another chapter for Taking Turns.

Anyways, comments and critiques are appreciated as always! I fully encourage calling me out on what you think sucks as well as gushing about what you think was amazing! It’s how I improve!

Anyways, Autobots, roll out!

The Doom Party

flsh-POW

“Ack!” *thud*

“Hi Spike,” I said with a bit of an amused smile, “Sorry about that.”

The little dragon flailed from his place on the library floor, “Why couldn’t you use the front door?!” came the indignant cry as he pushed himself up, given me a mild scowl.

“Not really in the mood to deal with Ponyville right now to be honest,” I admitted, looking away briefly before turning back to him, “Is Twilight in?”

“Yes, I am,” I turned to the purple unicorn as she came from the kitchen. There was a small smile on her face, “How’d your date go?”

The thought brought an admittedly stupid if subdued smile to my face, “Good… way better than I’d feared… better than I’d really hoped to be honest.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed briefly before widening in surprise, “I’d guess so! Since you have an earring with one of her feathers on it.”

My cheeks warmed as I shuffled awkwardly, “Ah, well, it’s just a secondary.”

“Still!” Twilight almost laughed, “Pegasus secondaries still have a lot of magic in them!” she tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow, both ears up and alert, “Um… did Dash put it onto an earring?”

My blush deepened, “No, ah, I did that myself… I… well, I didn’t want to get rid of it and it wouldn’t stay in my hair…”

Twilight’s eyebrows went up as she approached, “You pierced your own ear?”

“Well, yeah?” I said, cocking my head to the side, said left ear twitching some, “The main trouble is the sterilization and avoiding the major vein, but it’s not that bad really.”

“I know that, I’m just surprised you did it yourself,” her eyes focused on the thing I’d made. A little piece of gold that I’d carefully melted into a semi-teardrop shape, the point enveloping the base of feather, having been melted around it, “Most ponies don’t bother with earrings at all, stallions especially.”

“Ah, bad thing? I never got a straight answer out of nurse Redheart about whether or not there was a social stigma attached to earrings or not,” that was kind of my only concern. I’d gotten the gold loop from one of the hundreds of gifts I’d gotten as Gary and it’d taken just a little bit of fire and telekinesis done very carefully to make it work. A quick bit of painful teleportation had put it into my ear and the still hot metal had cauterized the hole.

Brutal? A bit. Painful? Yeah, but not as bad as you’d probably think. Efficient and pragmatic? Oh fuck yes. And I was many things, but I was still an accountant and businessman, pragmatism was definitely my thing whenever possible.

“No, just unusual, ponies are going to look at you funny and more worldly ones will assume you’re related to zebras somehow…” she paused with a thoughtful pout, “Then again, given you’re big, scarred up, and were once Gary, stares are going to be pretty standard.”

“Whoop-dee-doo,” I grumbled.

“Why’d you choose that ear?” Spike asked, pushing himself fully onto his feet and dusting himself off.

I waggled my still-whole left ear, the feather swishing about in a way that I actually found delightful, “I didn’t want to put too much burden on my already injured ear. It’s only been a few days since it was cut up like this and it’s not healed yet.” A bit awkwardly, I continued, “That, and if I’m going to go along with this whole herd thing, I need to be prepared to have multiple earrings.”

Twilight patted my shoulder with a foreleg, “You’ll do fine…” she gave me a comforting smile, “You said yourself it went pretty well.”

“Yeah…” I admitted in spite of the nervousness the thought of a ‘herd’ immediately brought to me.

“Were there any freakouts?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at me in curiosity.

I cringed just a bit, “Mild freakouts, good overall though.”

Spike gave me a funny look at that, his head cocked to the side even as he picked up his comic book, “That’s better than you hoped?”

Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow, “... duh? This is me we’re talking about. I’m not exactly a whole lot better than little miss OCD here.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and gave me a small glare even as Spike snorted in amusement.

The lavender unicorn’s glare melted into a small smile rather quickly though, “Still, that’s good to hear. I’m happy you two had fun.”

“Thanks, I’m actually here for a reason other than gossip though,” I removed my saddlebags with a small exertion of will, setting them down nearby, “Could I get those few books on runic magic you have in right now?”

“Sure,” Twilight turned and headed to the shelves, her eyes scanning over the bookshelves as she got the ladder and started pushing it around, “Though if I remember correctly, you already know most of the stuff in these books off the top of your head. What are you working on?”

“I’m going to be working out some clothing-enhancement stuff for Rarity to work into her designs,” I said before shrugging as Twilight climbed the ladder, “I might be able to do it off the top of my head, but I’d much rather have a reference just to be safe.”

“Good idea, just… be careful? A miswritten runic inscription can cause a negative feedback loop or a mana vortex or-”

“Any number of bad things, I know.”

“... yes,” she grumbled around the book in her mouth as she climbed back down, “And you’re not an invincible Gary anymore.”

“Thus getting reference material,” I said with a smile.

She gave me a very unamused look at that, causing my smile to get even wider, earning an eye roll from the burgeoning archmage even as she returned to scanning the shelves for any other books that fit my criterion.

There was something else I was here for though… what was it… it was… “Oh!” Turning to the other purple being in the room, I pulled a letter from my pink vest with magic, “Spike, while I’m here, could you send this to Princess Celestia for me?”

“Sure,” he said, taking it from my magic. Turning it over in his claws and examining it briefly, he looked back up at me, “What is it?”

“A request. I don’t actually know what permissions I still have from when I was Gary.”

“What are you curious about?” Twilight asked, pausing in her perusal of the prints.

“In particular? My access to the Royal Library and my ability to requisition things,” Spike took a deep breath and blew, emerald flames encompassing the note, “I’m not expecting the blank check I had or anything, but it’d be nice to have better than average access.”

“You could always ask me, I have almost complete access to the full library.”

I made a little bit of a face at that, “Eh, that’s a bit sneakier than I’m really comfortable with. If Celestia is keeping something from me, she probably has a reason.”

Twilight made a similar look, which was honestly pretty funny, “That’s true…”

“Still, the message is away, we’ll find out one way or another in a few days.”

“Fair enough,” she smiled a bit, setting one last book into my saddlebags, “That should be the last of them though.”

“Sweet, thanks,” with a flick of will, I slung the still light saddlebags up over onto my back. I turned and found Twilight giving me a bit of an amused look, earned a cocked head and ears from me, “What?”

“I need a signature to check them out since you don’t have a library card,” she said with a far too amused smirk.

I blinked before realizing something, “... you’re going to tease me about my horrendous writing aren’t you?”

“Absolutely mercilessly.”

“What’d I do?” I whined with considerable grace and elegance.

“Aww! But you’re just so adorable when you pout like that,” her grin was teasing.

My excessively mature response was to blow a raspberry at her.

oOo

With several quick, successive, whp-crack’s I Blinked through Ponyville.

There were a bunch of different distinct sounds that teleportation could have depending on the method used and the exact magics. Most had their own strengths and weaknesses, some methods would allow someone like Twilight to jump from her home to the Apple farm in a single jump, while others could be done in rapid succession within line of sight, etc. etc.

I knew a couple versions still, one that went *POP* which involved turning the self into light and beaming yourself to somewhere else and reforming, it didn’t involve much in the way of knowing where you were going so much as your close range destination, a great emergency teleport.

I had another that went flsh-POW, this one was a more long-range, involving the slicing through of the barriers between normal reality and the Aether, basically creating a small wormhole before shoving it wide enough to go through it explosively, letting it seal behind you. You had to have a super good idea of where you were going for that to work, but it was rather efficient and long range.

The one I was using now, my whp-crack, involved turning oneself partially into energy and basically throwing it, requiring line of sight and a solid item to act as the destination, but it was something I could do rapid-fire. It was the least efficient of the three since it involved suffusing my whole body with power and launching myself, but I could do some extremely sweet parkour. If anything, it resembled the classic high speed movement in shonen’s, just with a flash of light.

Right now I was using it to bounce off of the walls and roofs of the town, avoiding the usual glares and distaste of the town as I was little more than little flashes of light before I pinpointed my next destination and Blinked again.

It was more energy intensive that I’d really be okay with in most situations, but I hadn’t really been exercising my magic worth a damn since I’d never really had to as Gary.

With a flash I solidified at the doorstep of the Carousel Boutique and gently pushed my way in before anyone could realize that I was there.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, I’ll be with you in a moment!”

“No rush Rarity, just wanted to check in with you since-” there was a small swish as Rarity did her own bit of teleportation in front of me, though in her case it was more ‘gossip-senses tingling!’ teleportation than the actual, magical kind, “-I know that you’d want to know how things went.”

I had about a half seconds warning.

Her bright blue eyes swept over me and like a homing device, locked onto the small blue feather hanging from the earring. Her eyes brightened–

-here it comes-

–she took a deep breath–

-cotton swabs in ladies and gents!

–and let out an almost piercing “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeee!” that trailed off into an excited giggle.

Ow. Seriously. And I thought her idea squee was bad…

“Oh how delightful darling! It went well?”

I smiled gently as I let the cotton swabs fade and rolled my eyes, “Yes, it went well. It’s a secondary though, not a primary, just for the record.”

“It’s still wonderful to hear darling!” she tittered, prancing in place and pulling me into a quick hug, “I’m so happy for you two!”

I smiled briefly, wrapping a foreleg around her and returning the hug, softly saying, “Thanks for taking the time to help me.”

She gave me a small squeeze and I could feel her smile against my neck before pulling away, giving me a subdued smile, “It was nothing darling. I merely saw an opportunity to make two of my friends happy.”

“Still,” I said, standing there in front of her in her boutique, “Thank you for helping.”

“So~ Details?” she asked eagerly.

I rolled my eyes, “No Rarity, I’m not going to gossip about it.”

“But but but-...” she pouted at me, her lip quivering.

“No,” I said resolutely, “We had a good time, she looked absolutely fantastic, and my freak-outs were minor.”

With a sound of frustration, Rarity scowled at me, “Emeris! Please! At least something! Did you at least kiss?”

-the scent of ozone and spice flooding my nose, it was like kissing a stormcloud-

I coughed, looking away, fully aware that my face was likely a bit red.

The fashionista's eyes brightened and she gasped, a wide grin appearing on her face, “You did! Oh how delightful!” she giggled, prancing in place as I blushed brightly at her excitement, “I was worried you wouldn’t be able to!”

I coughed and admitted, “So was I… but the date went well,” a small scowl punctuated the sentence, “And that’s enough about it.”

Rarity pouted, but I narrowed my eyes in spite of the blush on my face.

Her lower lip quivered once more, her eyes tearing up.

“Rarity. No.”

She huffed, her eyes immediately clearing before she smirked sidelong at me, “Fine, I’ll ask Rainbow about it then.”

“Go for it,” I said freely, my blush slowly fading, “I just refuse to kiss and tell.”

Rarity blinked once before covering her smile with a foreleg, “That is adorable.”

Now it was my turn to pout, “What? I just don’t like to.”

The alabaster unicorn reached up and patted me on top of the head, a fair bit of a smug smile on her face, “And that’s why you’re an adorable stallion in spite of your scars.”

I scowled at her some, “This is for me not telling you more isn’t it?”

“Whatever gives you that idea darling?”

“Oh, I dunno, maybe the fact that I actually kind of know you by now?”

She smirked, “I have no idea what you mean dear.”

oOo

Rapid-fire teleportation in the Everfree would’ve been a bad idea because A). The intense, chaotic power of the local leylines throws off most magic subtly, and when you’re vaporizing yourself and reforming, a little mistake isn’t something you want. B). Teleporting without knowing your destination in a place with as many dangers as the Everfree was just asking for trouble like Poison Joke. And C). The point of the teleporting was to avoid glares and interaction with the cantankerous populace, there wasn’t any populace here to avoid.

… well, at least none that I couldn’t smack around a bit if they got rowdy.

I stepped through the barrier around my home and walked up to the door, pushing my way inside, “Mew?”

“Bark bark bark,” was my deadpan reply to the pink cat, lifting my saddlebags off my back as I kicked the door closed behind me.

He made an unhappy sound, earning a confused look from me. I found him standing over his empty bowl, which was pretty self explanatory, “Oh, so you’re a greedy gut, that’s what it is.” He gave me an unhappy little growl even as I opened the cabinet and pulled the bag of cat food down, “Oh hush, you’re a greedy gut, I filled your bowl up yesterday.”

With a pleasant smile, I went through a simple routine of settling in. Check all the windows to see if they’re still locked, check under the bed for anything, get some tea started, check behind the shower curtain, wash off my face and hooves in the bathroom, y’know, the usual stuff.

For someone a fair bit paranoid that is, but hey, it’s not paranoia if they’re actually out to get you. And I’m still in the habits of ‘They’re all out to get me’.

I was aware it was a bit silly, but it wasn’t hurting anyone and I didn’t really have a reason to deal with the anxiety that I’d feel if I didn’t check.

Settling into the chair, I pulled up some pieces of paper, a quill, and some ink before I cracked open the first of the books Twilight had pulled out for me. I set to work, looking for new runes, relations between them, and possible combinations in order to get Rarity her inscriptions.

After stuffing his face, the increasingly plump pink cat scrambled his way up onto my chair, and then onto my back, curling up under my equally pink vest.

Still, I worked, a small smile on my face as the warm ball of fuzz purred against me. Papers and blots of ink getting slowly spread out across the tabletop. My magical dexterity was still pretty crappy, and the exacting delicacy required for runes was difficult for me, but hey, I had to practice sometime, how else would I improve?

Interestingly, as I slowly went through the books, I discovered more information on ‘proper’ enchanting.

The material that was having runes placed on it didn’t really matter for the purposes of mana retention and efficiency. The material the runes themselves were made of though could. Air, or carved runes, however you wanted to think about it, were workable, but not super efficient. But things like the inlaid runes around my home could retain and channel absolutely absurd amounts of power.

Standard enchantment on the other hand dealt heavily with the material you were enchanting, metal took your infused power very differently from cloth which was very different from wood and so on. It was actually one of the reasons I had trouble with it. The material of the runes was a modifier on the efficiency and storage capacity of runic enchantments, but the process of standard enchantment was inherently different depending on the item you enchanted.

It was like the difference between coding and wood carving. A true master enchanter wouldn’t so much impose their enchantment on an item as coax out a beautifully efficient and powerful spell out of what was already there. Following the grain and ‘colors’ of the item to bring something into existence.

I sucked at wood carving.

Still, this was relaxing. Interesting research, finding correlations between runes and systems, translating and practicing the runes themselves. I was basically writing myself a little runes wikipedia without all the pomp and circumstance and high-browed language that these various wizards used.

I wasn’t a scientist, not really. I was an accountant. But I had a better grounding in serious scientific theory than a fair number of these ponies were. Not all! But there was an obvious theme here of singular geniuses pushing boundaries only for others to follow after them rather than a huge collaborative effort. There weren’t unifying systems or themes like the use of greek or latin that i was used to.

It was a haphazard mish-mash of things, where one genius would use a system that made sense to them and the terminology would stick, and then another genius would expand it further using their own terminology and so forth.

That and many of them had what I liked to call EHAD! Or “Excessive Hot Air Disorder”. Eesh. Don’t use seven big words when two or three little ones will work.

Fuck that noise.

So with some time, dedication, and motivation from frustration I basically rewrote the terminology into something a lot more understandable. Really, I was just applying the coding jargon I remembered to things, which streamlined it so much.

I mean, come on, here’s what I had to work with, stuff like Puntodecomenzar, Terminer le Point, Iam meditatio mirror and Iam meditatio imaginem.

Yeah, uh, no. Let’s go with Entrance Point, End Point, Pointer, and Referenced Point?

Bleargh.

oOo

It was a strange day that Rainbow Dash would wake up early, but she was on cloud nine today. A smile on her face and a spring in her step and flight, the occasional (extra) loop-de-loop working its way into her path.

She’d already gotten her weather work for the day done and the instructions were set out for her fellow weather pegasi. Now she was just enjoying herself, normally she’d have taken a nap by now but she felt too… giddy, to energetic and warm and fuzzy to even consider napping.

With a laugh, Rainbow Dash swooped low over Ponyville, doing a quick aileron roll that bled into a full barrel roll. Something tickled at the edges of her senses and a quick hairpin turn later, she dropped to her hooves in front of a purple unicorn, “What was that Twilight?”

“I said that I’ve got something to talk to you about,” she said, her face surprisingly serious.

In spite of the bubbly feeling in her chest, the pegasus folded her wings against her sides, “What’s up?”

Twilight shifted slightly, looking away briefly in her discomfort, “It’s something that should be a bit more private than the middle of the street…”

“Sure thing, what’chu got in mind?”

“Well, there’s this little cafe…”

oOo

“Well, okay, that’s… sheesh, that’s a long list,” she scowled, “But we’re gonna try to fix him ourselves?”

“At least at first, while following the advice of professionals,” Twilight said softly, pulling her cup of coffee closer to her, “We’re…” she paused, glancing down at her cup with a scowl before taking a breath, “Okay, I’m worried that a professional might hate him and deliberately mess up his treatment.”

“Like True Glamour cut his ear,” Rainbow Dash said, her scowl darkening.

“Yes, like that… just with his head…”

Her wings flared, a fierce gleam in her eyes, “Not gonna happen.”

oOo

The forest was quiet, eyes peeking out through the darkness. The night was moonless, the beasts prowling…

Tigers, Bears, Ursas, nagas, chimeras, manticores, camazotz, chupacabras...

But no true horrors…

My heart was beating furiously, loud in my ears, power thrumming just beneath my skin as I prowled forward.

There, a pool in a clearing, stars reflecting against its surface.

I went forward, hooves quiet on the grass and light underbrush, approaching the pool, but at the edge, I froze.

“You know that when you look into it, you’re going to appear as an alicorn.”

There was a pause as my brain caught up with the situation.

I snorted, airly waving a hoof, “T’is very likely, true.”

“Your teasing is not appreciated,” Luna deadpanned as she stepped up beside me in the… dream? Nightmare? I couldn’t tell at this point.

“Duly noted,” I said, a small smile on my face.

The princess of the night’s wings ruffled as her bright blue eyes scanned the darkness, “I must admit, you pack quite a lot of detail into this, it’s quite unsettling.”

“I saw most of these when I was on patrol tonight,” not the manticores or the Ursas, but I was familiar with them. In spite of the spikes of fear even the littlest Ursa caused. Seriously, you don’t run into something that big and not be afraid, no matter how beautiful and delightfully fuzzy it may be.

“Ah, it draws from recent memory then?”

“Yeah,” I stared at the pool in front of us, wings ruffling.

“You seem only unsettled by the various predators around us, not afraid.”

“I’ve gotten used to them,” I admitted, “I run into them a lot while I’m out in the forest on my runs. I’ve gotten a bit desensitized to them,” I paused in consideration before adding with a tilt of my head, “That and they’re not really a threat anymore. Nothing they can do can handle my magic.”

“But you’re more afraid of being Gary Stu once more than any number of monsters, aren’t you Sir Emeris?”

I flinched, my chest clenching in a sudden rush of emotions, denial, anger, fear, and I almost snapped at the princess of the moon, but I didn’t, “... yeah. I can’t think of anything natural to Equestria that scares me that much… or as… viscerally as becoming Gary Stu again.”

There was things I feared, stuff like Discord or the Princesses being truly angry at me, things like elder dragons or, y’know, simple stuff like cuddling a giant tiger whose face was almost the size of my torso. That had kinda set the oh crap meter going.

But… nothing fundamentally horrified me, nothing really gave me… well… nightmares like the thought of going back to being Gary Stu. Not now that I had friends…

“... well,” I said, realizing there was something else, “Nothing that could normally exist outside of my curse. There’s some pretty scary monsters that’d scare me more, but they’re from Beyond.”

Luna blinked once before shuddering, “I don’t believe those qualify.” her wings actually puffed out at that briefly. Creating an amusing scene of an unsettled immortal princess set against the backdrop of monsters and horrors within the Everfree forest in the middle of a moonless night.

…

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t that amusing when you really thought about it, but still, it made me laugh. Kinda. Mostly.

Yeah, okay, the Beyond wasn’t something to joke about.

“But those aren’t coming back now that the curse is fixed,” I paused as a scary thought occurred to me, my eyes widened as they darted over to the still composing princess, “Um… that isn’t a possibility right?” I had never asked that question before, I’d just, y’know, assumed…

“No, thankfully it isn’t,” she said with gratifying certainty, “You are…” she paused, scowling as if searching for the words and gesturing with a wing, “You are still a weak point in our world, but there are no longer cracks in reality around you from the botched shell formation.”

“So, no more horrors from Beyond?”

She nodded, the moon appearing in the night sky through the leaves of the trees, “That is correct.”

“Good. Then yeah, being Gary tops my list of ‘Things that scare the crap out of me,’” I said with a fair amount of cheer.

“But tis not your only fear, is it?” she asked softly, settling down on her haunches, her wings folding against her sides as she sat in the sparse grass of the dream-Everfree.

“No…?” I said, raising an eyebrow at her, “Um… is this going to turn into another ‘let’s talk about your issues’ session…?”

With a small snort, a little smile spread across Luna’s face, “No, I am more curious about what scares something like yourself. You were as powerful as my sister and I with resistances that even we do not possess due to your nature, what scares something like you?”

It was another ‘let’s talk about your issues’ session.

Heh.

I sat down, folding my wings against my back and tilting my head up, looking at the sky of the dreamscape, “Probably a lot of the same things that scare you. Being scared of messing up, scared of insulting my friends on accident, scared of being an idiot… and just because I’m resistant to the mind warping effects of Outsiders doesn’t mean I’m immune.”

My lips pressed together into a line as I tried to articulate the feelings and thoughts I knew but hadn’t really put words to.

“I… well, I wasn’t scared of things for a while there. I was basically invincible, nothing could hurt me, I thought it was just straight up the world declaring me invincible, have fun. I didn’t realize it was the magic that lets me interact with you not working… I…” with a breath, I turned my head back down, glaring at the grass beneath me, noting idly that more detail appeared in it as I focused on it, almost like textures loading in a game, “I stopped being afraid after a point. I stopped being really concerned with my own safety, it was a given, the only question was the safety of others.”

The soft brush of feathers could be felt against my shoulder, and I didn’t need to look up to know that her wing had settled against my withers, “Which you did an admirable job protecting by all accounts,” the princess said softly.

A small snort of laughter escaped me, “Yeah… never felt like that though…” I tilted my head up, looking at her sideways, “Did you know that I had to vaporize the bodies of foals possessed by Outsiders?”

Her eyes widened, and some small, dark part of me enjoyed that reaction even as the rest of me felt for her.

Luna’s mouth opened once before she closed it and composed herself, her ears drooping to the sides, “No… I did not.”

A bitter smile found its way to my face as I looked back at the ground, “Yeah… that was a thing. I… nothing could happen to me so I wasn’t a concern, it was only the safety of others. So fear was… well, not something I associated with monsters.”

With a little snort of genuine laughter, if a bit self-deprecating, I turned to her, “Predators sort of escaped that, I was actually super scared by a tiger not long after I was freed from the curse.”

She glanced at the encirclement of monsters and predators, the corner of her mouth quirking up, “I do believe that you’re past that though?”

“Lions and tigers and bears oh my, these predators once made me rather shy, chimeras and chupacabras and giant spiders oh dear, not a one of these monsters do I fear.”

…

“That’s actually a super good poem, I usually suck at that kind of crap. Could you write that down and send it to me after this? I doubt I’ll remember it upon waking.”

Her laugh was almost melodic, bring a pleasant bit of warmth to my chest at that, “Certainly Sir Emeris, I would be delighted.”

“Thanks!” I grinned broadly at her, wishing briefly I still had thumbs to give her a thumbs up for that. Then the moment passed and I shuffled a bit, a more subdued smile on my face as I looked out at the pool still ahead of us, the moon now creating a beautiful scene as its light reflected off the water, “But… well… I wouldn’t use the word ‘past that’. I’d say I’ve put them under the same new category I’ve put monsters.”

Once again I struggled for words, “I’m… afraid isn’t the word, but it’s close. I’m fearful, I’m wary, but not really afraid of them. They’re dangerous, but if I’m careful, not a threat.”

“There’s something else though I’d venture,” the alicorn of the moon and night said, giving my withers a squeeze with her wing.

There was.

I just didn’t really want to admit it.

“I’m scared of people.”

But I did. Because seriously, fuck fear. She was offering to listen.

“Sir Emeris?”

“I’m afraid of people. Some part of me is still afraid of physical contact… I’m getting over that though, I don’t flinch when someone touches me anymore at least,” I gestured at her wing with my own.

“And why do you say that?”

I blinked in confusion, “What?”

“Why are you afraid of people? What about them scares you?”

“I…” pausing, I struggled for words, trying to think of a reason, trying to put the complex mess of emotions in my chest to words and phrases, “I’m afraid of hurting them, scaring them… I don’t want to give them even more reason to disapprove of me…”

I looked up to meet her eyes, finding an intense gaze in her teal blue eyes, “Why?”

“What do you mean why? I bristled, almost snapping at the alicorn of the moon, “I hate seeing people get hurt! It’s all I saw as Gary!”

But she did not bend, her eyes locked with mine with an almost frightening intensity, “And why does their anger bother you? Why does their fear incite your own?”

Surprised, I tried to scooch back, stopped by the wing around my withers, struggling to find a reason to give her, “I–… it… it feels like being Gary all over again…”

“And how is that? How come their fear and hatred makes you feel like Gary? When all Gary was showered with was affection and adoration?”

“Because it’s not about the adoration!” I snapped, nearly trembling, though whether it was in anger of fear I couldn’t have told you, “Being Gary was about the monsters and the lack of people to talk to! Not about… adoration or affection or the ease of doing things!”

“And why are you afraid of that?” Luna pressed, and something in me cracked.

“Because I can’t be alone anymore!” I roared at her before curling inwards on myself, tears starting to flow from the corners of my eyes as I choked out, “I… I just can’t…”

Luna pulled me closer, tucking my head beneath her chin and holding me close, her warm wings wrapping around me. I leaned into the offered comfort, choking back sobs as I buried my face against her chest, tears streaming from my eyes and soaking her coat.

I didn’t bawl, I refused to, but pitiful sounds escaped my throat as I clenched my eyes shut, desperately trying to contain the flow of tears. Unconsciously, I rubbed my face against her midnight blue coat, smearing the slowly running snot and tears against the princess with a whimper.

No words were said as we sat there in the grass, tears slowly leaking from my closed eyes, my breath shuddering in my chest even as I curled up in her wings. The soft warmth enveloping me entirely in a tight hug as small sobs wrenched their way from my throat. It hurt. I hurt. I hurt all over. Acknowledging how deeply their hatred cut without glossing it over, without shoving it away…

Desperately, I pressed my face against Luna’s chest as my chest heaved with suppressed sobs, seeking whatever comfort I could get.

“I–” the word was little more than a croak, causing me to stop and swallow, trying to return some semblance of normality to my voice, “I know how to avoid that...I know how to address it, it’s… I have to talk to ponies, I have to prove that I’m not Gary, that I’m not a bad person, I have to make up for the bad things that happened while I was Gary… but it’s hard to do that…”

Luna’s wings slowly stroked my back and sides as she interjected, “And tis so much easier to simply cling to the friends you’ve already made rather than try to fix the problems with others.”

It was like someone had twisted the knife in my chest, and I nearly flinched away before burying my face back against her chest, my voice little more than a hoarse whisper, “Yeah.”

“You can’t languish in your complacency Sir Emeris,” she insisted gently, “If you truly wish to recover you must continue to make friends, ones that shall stick with you to keep you from being as alone as you fear.”

“I know… I know… I… it’s just hard… it hurts so much,” I pressed my face harder against her chest, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words… words can break my heart…”

“And that does not mean you should not try.”

“No… no it doesn’t…”

oOo

Air.

A sharp intake of breath, no smells or sounds.

I exhaled slowly as I blinked my eyes open, finding myself staring at a wall.

Sunlight was coming through my window behind me as I lay there in a warm cocoon of covers, a snoring ball of pink fuzz draped across my neck.

Another dream… with Luna? Yeah… we talked about… fears?

Hrm… was this going to be a regular thing…?

I wouldn’t complain, it’s just strange that she’d take time out of her busy schedule of patrolling the dream world and keeping the Fae in line to spend time with me in my head. I knew that time was a bit of a nebulous concept in the Aether, but it still seemed strange that she’d have the time to spend with me. It might be that she could be in multiple places at one time in the Aether… I’d have to remember to ask next time…

With a snort, I rolled over in my bed, pulling the covers tightly around me as I buried my face into my pillow, I wasn’t going to get up yet this morning. I had some more stuff to do with the runes and was going to go check with AJ about the date of our… well… date. But that was later. Right now? I was just going to lay here and not think about anything.

Yayyyy procrastination! Procrastinators unite-! Tomorrow.

oOo

I wouldn’t say that there was a spring in my step as I gave Ponyville a wide berth on my way to the Apple family farm, but I was definitely a fair bit more lively than I had been this morning. iI was going to schedule a date with Applejack, something that I was both eagerly anticipating and dreading. I was nervous. Tense. Hell, I was practically vibrating.

My date with Dash had gone so well… not perfect, but still! I mean, hell, when does anything go perfectly, especially for me? It’s not realistic to expect perfection from anything, just strive for it.

So I could definitely say I was more confident this time, less a nervous ball of fears and paranoia than I was before… not that that was saying much. I’d pushed through it but seriously…

“Hey! Emmy!”

The slow boil of my nervousness practically popped like a balloon at the sound of that voice, “Dash, hey.”

Well that sounded lame, but hey, my brain kind of shut down and a stupid grin came over my face, give me a break. There was something different about her though… what was it?

Apparently Dash agreed with me, laughing in amusement, “Hey yourself dork,“ she glided in until she was flying very slowly beside me, a grin on her face, “How’re you?”

“Good,” I replied with a matching grin, one that turned into a smirk, “Better now though.”

“Pfft-hahaha!” the beautiful pegasus curled up in laughter, somehow staying airborne as she did. In spite of the small blush on her cheeks, she smirked back at me, “That was super cheesy!”

“It made you laugh didn’t it?” I retorted and said warmly, “I’ll chalk that one up as a win.”

She slugged me lightly in the shoulder, “Yeah yeah, like I’ll let that count.”

It suddenly clicked and I stopped there on the slope of a grassy hill, “Is… is that my tie?”

With a grin and blush, Dash somehow preened midair, showing off the oversized, rose colored tie that hung around her neck, “Well, you did give it to me. I like it. I think it goes with my colors pretty well don’t you think?” It did, it matched her eyes almost perfectly.

My mouth worked silently even as my face felt like it was on fire, my heart doing a little flutter in my chest. I was embarrassed that I’d completely forgotten my tie like I had, but also supremely flattered that she’d taken to wearing it, this was completely unlike anything the ponies had done while I was Gary… it was… I didn’t even have words… “Dash…”

Her smile turned almost gentle as she landed in the grass beside me, “What? You got a feather, I got your tie.”

“Heh,” there was a swell of warmth in my chest as my mouth worked without my brains approval, “Not that… it makes you look a little silly all by itself.” Her rose colored eyes blinked a few times in confusion, making me smile affectionately even as I lit my horn, “Here.”

Encompassing the silk tie with my magic, I untied it from around her neck and began to wrap it around her right foreleg. Since the tie had been made for my significantly larger form and proportionally thicker neck, the tie ended up as a martial arts wrap that matched her eyes. Now the beautiful pegasus was hovering there with a single wrapped leg, staring at it, “There,” I said warmly, “That’s at least fifteen percent more awesome and cool.”

In spite of the small blush on her cheeks, Dash snorted, a little bit of a stupid grin on her face as she looked up at me, “Dude, leave the quantification to me. This isn’t awesome or cool.” A part of my heart fell at those words in spite of the smile on her face, but then she grinned even more, “This is, like, thirty percent more radical.”

I snickered, grinning back at her, “Okay, okay, I’ll trust the expert.”

“Damn straight.”

With a happy little hum, I considered this silliness, this adorable and likely pointless silliness that gave me tons of warm fuzzies. I might need to start getting ties to give her. ‘Cause, especially as a wrap, it’d eventually get worn away, pegasus feathers (especially primaries and secondaries) were magically resilient, but the tie wasn’t…

… unless…

“By the way,” I started walking again, keeping my eyes locked with hers, “Be sure to get a hold of me in about a week or so and I’ll add some magic to that thing to make sure it doesn’t get messed up.” I mean, that’s kind of the whole point of my studying, just because I’m doing it for Rarity doesn’t mean I couldn’t use it for other things.

“Really? Sweet,” her wings flared and she started to slowly fly beside me, “Mm, anyways, where are we going?”

“Ah, the Apple family farm,” I said, looking away a bit awkwardly, my mismatched ears twitching, “I’ve got to schedule our date.”

“Oh, right,” I glanced back at her at the casualness of her tone, completely natural… her eyes were pointed upwards as she pouted thoughtfully, “I totally forgot that you hadn’t set up anything with her…” it was then that her eyes widened briefly and her face paled, if just for an instant, her eyes falling to the ground as did my heart, “Huh.”

“Dash…” man, I knew this was a bad idea, I just knew it, I knew that herds were supposed to be normal here but that–

The beautiful pegasus flexed her now-wrapped forelimb and a happy grin spread across her face, “Well… there’s no way that AJ can beat this,” she turned to me and waggled her eyebrows as she presented the red silk.

My thought process ground to a halt even as Dash strutted mid-air, “I’ve got this bet in the bag~”

“That’s your concern?” my mouth worked without my brain again, in a bit of disbelief, “Winning the bet?”

“Uh, yeah?”

I raised an eyebrow at her.

She snorted and rolled her eyes, “Okay! Okay… I may have felt a bit insecure… just a bit! I’m too awesome to get down like that,” she looked away, her face lighting up in a bright red as she murmured under her breath, “Especially now that I’ve got you.”

A bit of the nervous tension in my chest eased even as a bit of heat came to my own cheeks, though I still felt bad about this in general, I mean, it was my fault… “Seriously, don’t worry about that. I meant what I said.”

With a smile that melted my heart, Dash bumped her shoulder against mine, “I know, and I’m not gonna let you go…” both of our faces were red at this point, but I couldn’t find it in me to care, though when Dash made a mock scary face and waved her forelegs around menacingly, “Eeeeevvvvveeerrrrrrrrr…” I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh no, whatever will I do?” I deadpanned.

“Not a Tartarus damned thing, ‘cause y’know you like it.”

In spite of the small squeezing in my chest, I leaned forward and bumped my muzzle against the back of her jaw, giving her a brief nuzzle as I murmured, “And don’t you forget it.”

I could feel her face practically light on fire before I pulled back from her soft coat, an inappropriately confident smile on my face as I kept walking, feeling a surge of silly pride at the small, stunned pause before she started flying after me once more.

“Y-Yeah, right!” there was a long moment as she flew beside me before she scowled through the near crimson blush on her face, “No fair by the way.”

I smirked at her, “I find that I don’t care.”

With a snort, she thumped my shoulder with a hoof once more, “Horseapple.”

oOo

Okay, I was super confident beforehand, but now? Now I was very nervous, because seriously? One chick you’re dating coming with you as you scheduled a date with another? Awkward.

Dash and I walked up to the Apple family farm, my eyes scanning over the orchard and the fields for the telltale sign of Applejack working. Also known as trees visibly shaking. Seriously, strong mare.

But it wasn’t until we were half way down the path to the main house that Dash declared, “There she is!” pointing with a hoof as she flew a bit higher. And there she was, a delightfully orange splash of color against the red of the barn as she moved towards the house, a large wagon of… something that I couldn’t identify from this distance.

Setting intercept course, Impulse only, engage number one.

While Dash lived up to her namesake and went Warp 2 over to the earth mare, I just kept my casual pace. Partially because I just wasn’t as excitable as the wonderful pegasus, and partially so I had time to gather my courage. My heart was starting to flutter in my chest in nervousness, and I was pretty sure that if I had palms still they would have been cold, clammy, and sweaty.

Slow breaths, in and out. Control it, deep inhale, slow exhale. It mattered less what you did so much as you gained control over it and yourself.

I felt like I was about to ask a girl out in freaking middle school, come on! I was past this!

…

Okay, not really, in fact, not even close, and this was a worse situation to be fair.

“–so now we’re here so you can get your chance, y’know, to fail at winning,” Dash smirked as she flew beside her.

Rolling my eyes even as Applejack scowled at her friend, I lit my horn, pushing power into the cart and lifting it off of the ground, “Where you headed?” I glanced over the hay, finally able to identify the carts contents at this range.

Her look turned a bit deadpan at my taking of the cart, though I just smiled at her as the cart hovered in my emerald green glow, “Ah was takin it to the cows.”

“Shall I come along then?” I said with a smile, gesturing in that direction. Her eyeroll almost got me to snicker as she headed that direction as Dash and I followed after, floating cart in tow.

Giving me a curious look, Applejack reached out with a hoof and lightly tapped the feather earring, “Ah’m gonna guess that this proves y’all had a good time?” she smiled.

Even though my face turned a bright shade of red, Dash landed on my back with a giggle, “Oh yeah,” I could feel her shift and a quick glance back confirmed that she was preening and fluffing herself out, a grin on her face, “It was awesome.”

In spite of the heat in my cheeks as I rolled my eyes, I still smiled, “Yes, it was… nice.” Man I felt awkward, I mean, I definitely liked Applejack, and this wasn’t all that different from other conversations that we’d had a number of times, but still… the very premise of this…

“That’s good to hear,” AJ said with real warmth and… relief? I couldn’t be sure, and cocked my head at her a bit in confusion, my ears tilting at different angles.

“Hah~” Dash didn’t seem to pick up on it though, flipping around so that her back pressed against mine, her wings pressing against my sides to keep her balanced as she lay there, “Not so good for you! Looks like I’ve got this competition in the bag!”

“Says you,” the farmmare taunted back, a smirk on her face. She shot a wink at me with those brilliant emerald eyes of hers before coming up to my side and craning her head up, likely up to my passengers ear and said in a husky whisper, “As far as Ah’m concerned, Ah’ve already won my prize.”

There was a soft sound from behind me and a quick glance over my shoulder to see Applejack’s teeth slide off of Rainbow Dash’s sky-blue ear as she finished her nibble to punctuate her whisper, and a shiver went through the weathermare on my back. I had no doubts that the entirety of the pegasus on my back heated up from embarrassment.

I would not hesitate to admit that there was a blush on my own cheeks.

With a far too amused chuckle, Applejack settled back down and walked beside me, her soft coat brushing against mine. Even as Dash sputtered, the farmmare leaned in and whispered into my ear, “Ah’d consider that worth you stealin’ m’ah work.”

“I’m not stealing your work,” I rebuffed, trying to ignore the pleasant sensation of her warm breath against my ear, “I’m helping as an excuse to talk to you.”

“Still stealin’ m’ah work.”

“Helping.” I stressed with a smile.

“AJ!”

Both of us looked to the pegasus on my back, though it was the mare beside me that spoke, “What is it sugar?”

“You,” Dash said with finality, “Are a perv.”

“Oh like you haven’t thought of it!” Applejack retorted, “Ah’d get the only mare Ah’ve met that can keep up with me and the best flier Ah’ve ever heard tell of as well as a hard workin’ stallion that’s willin’ to put his life on the line for m’ah kin! Ah call that a win whether Ah’m in charge or not.” She smiled, her tail flicking, “Ah’m still gonna try to win, but Ah ain’t gonna twist mahself into knots trying to. The fun’s almost as much in tryin’ as it is in the prize itself.”

With those words, the tension, the fear that had been constricting my chest melted, not all of it, but most.

“That… that sums it up nicely,” I said with more affection and warmth than I’d even intended, a smile on my face.

“Ugh… great… mushy stuff…” the pegasus grumbled half-heartedly, exceptionally obvious since she made no attempt to move from her place on my back.

Applejack and I shared an eyeroll at that, “Says the mare wearing my tie,” I pointed out, to the raised eyebrows of the farmmare beside me.

“H-Hey! It’s only fair!” I could picture the pout on her face without even turning around as AJ and I came to a stop in front of the pasture that contained the cows, “You got one of my secondaries so I got your tie! Fair trade and stuff.”

“So that’s what she’s wearin’?” AJ asked with a smirk as I set the cart down, the light around my horn fading and the mild mental strain fading with it.

“Mhm. Obviously it’s not mushy at all to hold on to the tie of your coltfriend,” I teased, or as Twilight might have said, smugged.

Though it drew a snicker from AJ, the pegasus responded with an extremely elegant raspberry.

When the chuckles subsided, I actually tried to get into why I’d come, ignoring the sudden clenching around my heart as I did, “Anyways, AJ, we never did schedule a time and place for our date.”

I felt Dash’s wings extend, the feathers blanketing my sides as Applejack blinked before chuckling again, “That we didn’t sugar. Did ya’ have anythin’ in mind?”

“Not really, I’m kind of not sure about what I’m doing here,” I admitted with only a bit of embarrassment and trepidation, “I don’t have the slightest clue what the rules and expectations are for herds or anything.”

“Well, um…” AJ glanced away, shuffling her hooves awkwardly evenly as she leaned up against the fence for the pasture, “This ain’t exactly normal in the first place.”

“Uh, no duh?” Dash interjected, wiggling her back against my own to get more comfortable even as her wings pressed against me like a blanket to keep herself in place and… it seemed almost to claim me as her own.

“Really?” I deadpanned. I mean, I figured that this wasn’t normal, but to garner that kind of reaction?

“Yeah, usually a mare and stallion’ll go out for a bit and get comfortable with each other before the mare invites another in or a mare gets up the courage to make a move.”

“And here we are, competin’ against one another,” Applejack confirmed as she leaned against the fence, her gaze turning towards the expanse of rolling grass hills. Her voice got a bit softer and more contemplative, “It sure ain’t normal for two mares to go after a stallion at once like this, at least without tryin’ to shove each other out.”

Huh.

“So what do you two think is best here?” I asked, this was as much about them as it was myself and I really wasn’t sure how to go about this.

“Um…” I felt Dash shift on my back as Applejack looked over my shoulder, the two were likely sharing a glance as they thought about it and communicated in some way that I wasn’t exactly privy to.

“Well, Ah’d think that we’d each go out with you by ourselves before we declared a winner, it’d make it a bit more normal…”

“And easier on you big guy,” I felt Dash’s head rest against the back of my neck gently, actually comfortingly, and if it’d been possible, I’d have shot her a look of appreciation, “Considering how much trouble you had handling how awesome I was by myself, both of us at once is probably more than you can handle.”

Despite the teasing in her tone, the way she pressed against me and the gentleness in her tone assured me she was actually concerned.

AJ actually looked surprised at that for a moment, “That too!” she shook it off and pushed off of the fence, quickly coming over and pressing a hoof against my shoulder, “Ah don’t want to push ya too hard… Ah kinda forget sometimes that this is so hard for ya’.”

I gave her a gentle smile in spite of the small clenching around my chest, “It’s alright, I’ll say when things get too much, just… just give me some time and space, I’ll get there.”

“Still. Y’er m’ah friend first, possible coltfriend second.”

“Um… excuse me?”

The three of us ponies blinked and turned to the voice, finding several of the cows at the edge of the fence, looking at us awkwardly, “Um, we do so hate to interrupt but, could you pass the hay please?”

“Ah… yes, sorry,” I murmured, lighting the hay on the cart up with my horn and flexing my magical muscles to lift it up over the fence to them, setting it out, “Very sorry about that, we got caught up in our conversation.”

“It’s quite alright, we didn’t really want to interrupt, but we felt it was a bit ruder to just walk between you to get it…”

“It’s alright Annabelle, Ah’m sorry that we got caught up like that, it won’t happen again.”

“Applejack, you’ve taken care of us plenty well, there’s nothing to apologize for. Thank you for the hay.”

“You’re welcome.”

The cows took only a few moments to throw the bales of hay over their shoulders and head off, leaving the edge of the pasture and quietly gossiping amongst themselves. Even I, with my mediocre hearing and messed up ear could hear some of the gossip being focused around us, particularly Applejack’s unusual but not entirely unexpected choice of herdmates.

So… that had been a thing.

I coughed awkwardly to break the silence that had settled over us, Dash having shifted to instead drape herself across my withers and stare off after the departing cows in the same sort of surprised and stunned confusion that the rest of our little group were under, “So… about scheduling that date.”

Applejack cleared her own throat, “Yes, right. Pinkie plans to hold your party in a day or two, so we’d better leave the date for after that… mess.”

“Good idea.”

oOo

I yawned, flipping my way through the book before me, it was midday as I lay there in the Carousel Boutique. Rarity’s fainting couch was actually pretty comfortable to be honest.

Rarity was busy with a commission of hers at the moment, but after this one she’d be free to talk with me about a couple of the possible runic designs I’d been able to throw together over the past few days.

Pinkie’s party was supposed to be soon, Applejack and I having left the specifics of our date off for now while we waited for Pinkie’s party to, as the farm mare so elegantly put it, ‘Probably go over like a heated mare in the guard’s locker room.’

As much as I wanted to trust and believe in Pinkie, I was seriously dreading the upcoming party.

Rarity passed by, muttering to herself as several bolts cloth and scissors and rolls of thread floated along beside her as she worked. A small smile appeared on my face at that, and I returned to flipping through the book in front of me, double checking them against my notes that I had unfurled beside me as well as the prototypes I’d thrown together.

I’d still had a few outfits and bolts of cloth in the storehouse of gifts that I’d gotten from Gary’s ‘fans’. I actually still had a fair number of things there… hell, I had to actually take an inventory one of these days. Organizing things was pretty different from taking an inventory. I’d just thrown together a few very basic outfits and items with runes colored onto them.

Things had only blown up in my face once yesterday! And I’d even kept my eyebrows!

Mind you, most of the explosions (generally minor) I’d encountered were only explosions in the broadest sense. Usually the item would catch fire rather than actually go boom. But sometimes I messed up when writing the runes themselves, which caused bad things to happen. Usually explosions. One time it’d turned the fabric into woven water.

I had no clue how the flying fuck that’d happened, so don’t ask me.

If I had the chance, I’d ask Celestia or Luna about that because I hadn’t the slightest doubt that Rarity would be all over cloth made of woven water as something to wear. … not that I could blame her, it was pretty awesome.

Maybe I could help Rarity figure out an outfit suiting their (in my opinion, best) titles, Dawnbringer and Nightbringer. Cliche? Sure. But undeniably awesome in their literal accuracy.

My flipping back and forth between my prototype, notes, and the book in front of me was interrupted by the door popping open, my head and ears snapping up as I quickly looked over at the opened door.

-if it’s a normal resident I’ll teleport out-

Pinkie. Ah.

-didn’t want to hurt her business-...

“Sup Pinkie?”

“Emmy! There you are!” with an audible ‘zip’, Pinkie did that pseudo-teleport she sometimes did right up in front of me, my head craning back just a bit as her hoof quickly came up to boop me on the nose, “You’re it!”

“... I’m it?”

“You’re it!” she beamed.

“... okay. Could you please explain why I’m it?”

“Well you see, I’ve been looking for you for a while now to talk to you but I couldn’t find you at the library or at your house or at the farm or Fluttershy’s or at Sugarcube Corner but that’s where I started looking since that’s where I was at the time but you weren’t in any of those places so I started to think of it as a game of tag since I’m really good at tag and if I’m really good at tag and I’m it but you’re the only other pony playing then I’ll be really good at finding you! So I found you! And now you’re it!”

… how she could do that in a single breath would always baffle me.

“... seems legit. So why did you want to talk to me?”

“ I wanted to be super-duper sure that you would be available in two days for the party!” the pink earth pony practically vibrated at that last word. Wait, no, no practically about it, she had. Huh.

Despite the cold hand of fear that grasped at my heart at the mention of the party, I nodded, “Sure, that’ll work. No more serious damage, no more things getting in the way, let’s rumble.”

She grinned brightly, “Yay! This party is going to be awesome!” her voice went high pitched at the tail end of her sentence, making me cringe just a bit even as she swept me up into a hug before zipping back out of the Carousel Boutique.

I blinked a few times before shrugging and getting back to what I was doing, making a mental note of the date.

“Emeris, did I hear someone come in?”

“Pinkie’s scheduling my ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party the day after tomorrow.”

“Ah! Delightful, I have just the thing to wear. I’ll be just a minute dear.”

“Take your time, Rarity, no rush.”

oOo

Rarity hadn’t finished up another tie for my outfit, so I was gonna be rolling out without one.

Wraps, check.

Button up shirt, check.

Earring, check.

Courage, not check.

So not check.

I took a slow breath as I fiddled with my outfit again with my magic. Today was the day of the party, and despite having spent all of yesterday attempting to gather my gumption and determination for today and I’d failed spectacularly. In spite spending the entire day in solitude, cuddling my cat and just playing around with runes… I was still struggling to get myself to leave.

I trusted Pinkie, I trusted the others, but I was scared… I was scared of confrontation and having to deal with this. It had to be done, I had no doubt about that, Twilight had got it right, but… ugh, that didn’t mean I wanted to do it.

“Mew…?”

“Yeah yeah,” I grumbled, glancing down at the pink cat beside me, “I know, get on with it already.”

oOo

It was with no small amount of trepidation that I walked towards the town, a cold claw of fear clenching around my heart as I kept putting one hoof in front of the other.

I approached the line of houses that marked the edge of the town, and from this approach I couldn’t see any ponies. Like… any ponies.

Oooookaaayyyyy…

I flicked my ears about, listening as my eyes scanned the houses. Where was everyone…?

… I’m guessing at the party. Well shit.

I moved through the empty streets towards the Sugarcube Corner, knowing full well that the tension in my chest was mounting in spite of my best attempts to control my breathing and heart-rate.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I totally understood why I felt scared and nervous. Even best case scenario where things went wonderful this was going to be awkward and uncomfortable for me since I wasn’t exactly a people person in the first place. But to be under the scrutiny of so many ponies that obviously didn’t like me? Sure, there were ponies that treated me fine outside of the girls like the Cakes, but they were mostly family of the Element Bearers. The best I’d really dealt with otherwise was cold indifference.

Then my ears caught the murmur of a crowd. Welp.

Following the sound was easy, it was on my original course. Tally ho.

I turned a corner and found what looked to be the entire adult population of Ponyville arrayed in the street.

Block party!

The entire crowd went quiet.

…

Okay, not a block party.

Shit.

I swallowed under the stares of the crowd that had a line of sight towards me. There was a banner above of ‘Welcome to Ponyville Emeris!’

Pinkie, did you have to invite fucking everyone?

In spite of the trembling of my chest, I clenched my teeth and walked forward towards the doors of Sugarcube Corner, hoping that the girls were there and not interspersed with the crowd. The ponies parted around me, leaving a bubble of emptiness around me, their gazes locked on me in glares even as I moved through the street.

I should run.

I had to at least give this a shot.

I shouldn’t be here.

Come on, I can do this.

It really said something that a few whispers were able to cut through the near silence. I couldn’t understand them, but the emotion behind them was clear. Distaste, disgust, disbelief, and a lot of other unpleasant ‘dis’ words.

“Emmy wemmy!”

I almost teleported away at the cry, but I restrained myself even as a pink missile glomped me, the party pony actually swinging around my neck twice like a pinwheel due to her momentum and my tense stability.

“You made it!” the froofy haired pony grinned up at me while hanging from my neck by her forelegs.

“Hey Pinkie,” I was able to deadpan, as I kept walking, Pinkie’s rear hooves dragging along the ground as I did, ponies maintaining distance from us, “It’d be wrong not to come to my own party, so you shouldn’t be surprised that I’m here.”

“It’s still good that you made it!” she grinned and pointed with a forehoof, “The rest of the girls are over near the door of the Sugarcube Corner.”

So right where I expected, well at least that was good… with a deep breath, I pushed on through, ignoring the increased intensity of the glares sent our way as I made a beeline for the entrance of Pinkie’s job. It took very little time for the crowd to part enough to reveal the entrance to the corner, and standing there was the rest of the ‘Mane Six’, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash…

Big Mac also stood nearby, and I took a bit of comfort in that in spite of the hostility around me.

“Hey,” some part of me really appreciated the fact that I wasn’t the only one here who wasn’t totally on board with this idea and was on my side. Applejack and Twilight both looked pretty nervous, and Rainbow Dash didn’t look much better. Fluttershy was a surprise, though she was basically cowering from the sheer number of eyes and attention that was now being directed our way, not that I could blame her. Rarity on the other hand was practically bristling, at least for her.

Both the alabaster unicorn and sky blue pegasus had a sharpness to their eyes as they challengingly locked gazes with those around us.

While a part of me was super happy about that, most of me felt like that was a bad way to go about this…

“Alrighties!” At some point, Pinkie had left her place as a cling-on and instead (somehow) gotten on top of Sugarcube Corner, “Now that the guest of honor is here we can get this party started!”

She pulled a string, and the hidden party cannons went off, confetti and streamers and the funny little hats flying into the air, and judging by the faces of everyone...

… that… didn’t work worth a damn.

Hoo boy.

There was a long moment of silence as the confetti slowly fell to the ground, Pinkie posing atop Sugarcube Corner. But as the last bits of paper hit either dirt or ponies backs, a soft but angry rumble could be heard starting in places in the crowd.

“Pinkie…” I muttered, “I’m not sure about this…”

“Why are we throwing another party for him?!”

I flinched, my heart starting to thunder in my chest as I looked for the source of the cry off to the right, unable to find it in the throng of ponies as Pinkie spoke over the crowd, “We threw parties for Gary! But never Emmy!”

Dash left the ground with a powerful flap of her wings, “Yeah! He isn’t that pony!”

“I sure don’t see any difference!” came a different voice from the left, and I flinched again, backing up.

“Hey!” Applejack stepped up beside me, her eyes fierce, “He’s plenty different from Gary!”

“That’s what he’d want you to say!” came another call, and I flinched away.

Twilight stepped up, raising her head high, “He didn’t want any of this! The curse is gone!”

“Is that what he told you?” someone from crowd called. With each of their cries, the hostility of the crowd slowly built, mutterings passing amongst them and increasing in intensity and anger. Like a fire where every accusation was a log added to its roar.

“I know that he hated it! That effect! The curse! It’s gone!” Twilight shouted.

“Looks to me more like the Princesses just weakened him!” came a cry from the right, was… was that True Glamour? “Now he’s just tricking you first before going for the rest of us!”

’No...’ I shuffled back, my breath coming as little more than shuddering gasps, ’This… this isn’t what I want…! This is exactly what I was afraid of!’

“That’s not true! This isn’t like before! We’re not being compelled to do anything!” Twilight shouted at the crowd, desperately looking around, “I th–”

“I bet he can’t control as many ponies as he could before so he’s focusing on the Elements!”

There were cries of ‘Yeah!’ and ‘I bet!’ from the crowd as I recoiled, a strangled, “No…” working its way from my throat, feebly shaking my head.

“No!” Twilight yelled, eyes wide, “I promise it isn’t! I thought he was doing that too! I thought the same thing! But that’s not it! He was never the monster you think Gary was–”

“She’s being controlled!”

“Yeah!”

“What?! No! I’m not be–!”

“We’ve got to get them away from him!”

“Yeah!”

“Keep the Elements away from that monster!”

“Now see here!” came the booming voice of Big Mac, the massive stallion’s head raised high as he stepped up beside me, “Ah don’t know what y’all did when ya’ talked to him, but that ain’t fair! He ain’t done anythin’ wrong!”

There was a short pause as a ripple of hesitation went through the crowd, but then a cry went up from the right, “He’s got him too!”

“Oh no!”

“Hey! He’s saved my little sister!” Applejack shouted, trying to stop the rising tension and anger.

“Like he ’saved’ everyone from all those things before?!” came another shout from the one on the left, almost snarled, “The bastard hasn’t changed a bit!”

“He almost died doing it!” Applejack screamed, desperately trying to stop the rising flames of anger. A ripple of surprise went through the crowd, shock appearing on a number of faces as Applejack continued, “When did ya’ ever hear about Gary gettin’ hurt?! Never! Gary couldn’t be hurt when he was fighten! Emmy saved m’ah sister and almost died doin’ it! And he didn’t regret a thing! He ain’t a bad pony!”

For the briefest of moments, I thought that Applejack, that wonderful mare, had stemmed the tide.

But then came a cry from off to the right, “Maybe he should have died!”

The dam cracked.

“How many ponies died ‘cause he was around?!” I whimpered, shuffling back, my heart… it was slowly breaking.

“Do you have any idea what my foal said and wanted to do with him?!” ’No...’

“So what if he almost died! It’s the same problem! Just now only Ponyville has to suffer!” ’I didn’t want people to suffer…’

“Get rid of him!”

“Get lost!”

The girls and Big Mac closed ranks around me, my heart surging with affection… but the emotion only made me feel like I was being torn in two. Dash flew upwards, angrily gesturing at the crowd that filled the street, “Hey! No way! There’s no way we’re about to let you get rid of our friend!”

“Get away from him! He’s controlling you!””

“No! He’s not! That’s what we’re trying to tell you! Look at him! Does he look like he’s in control here?!” Twilight shouted, pointing at me, making my head jerk towards her.

Twilight, I know I probably don’t look the best but do you really think it’s a good idea to bring attention to me?! They fucking hate me! I love you all but they loathe me!

There was a brief pause in the crowd but another call, this time from the left, “He’s just afraid ‘cause he’s been found out!” The dam stretched and strained.

“Yeah!” I had to get out of here… I couldn’t stay here! But I couldn’t get away… pressed up against the wall like this, surrounded by bodies… I had no line of sight to anywhere and I didn’t dare teleport blind with so many ponies in the streets, I might teleport into someone!

The crowd began to press closer and the horns of Twilight and Rarity lit up, the girls gritting their teeth even as shouts came from the crowd, “Get away from that monster!”

“Girls! Move! Let me get away! They want me gone! I’ll go!” I shouted at the girls.

“No way!” Dash shouted over the din, her eyes fierce as she hovered above our little group.

“Rainbow’s right darling! This is your home as much as ours! They’re not going to run you off if we have anything to say about it!”

“Are you insane?! He’s obviously controlling you!”

“Are you bucking stupid?! We’re trying to tell you that he isn’t!”

“They’re too far gone! Get them! We’ll get them away from him and take him out!”

*Crck*

oOo

The horns of Rarity and Twilight shone brightly as the prepared for the mass of bodies as Applejack, Big Mac, and Rainbow Dash all getting in front of the others to shield them from the mob. Pinkie watched in horror as the party she’d set up disintegrated even as Fluttershy’s eyes started to narrow as she began to step up from behind Emeris’ larger form.

But Fluttershy froze as she watched a change come over Emeris. One that only one of their number had seen anything like before, but Dash was facing the oncoming crowd.

”NO!”

There were screams and yelps as the street between the crowd and the circle of the mane six almost exploded, both groups flinching back as massive swords plunged into the dirt between them with enough force to shake the ground beneath their hooves.

The girls and Big Mac flinched backwards as an emerald star suddenly blazed in their midst, and turned to find Emeris had changed.

Fluttershy had watched it happen, what had once been cowering and trembling in fear had instead become barely restrained fury, ready to pounce as he shook in anger. His normally soft, lazy gray-green eyes had hardened, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks as his eyes had shifted to bright green… starting to glow even in the daylight.

“Don’t you fucking dare!” he roared, his head held menacingly low as tongues of bright green flames pushed their way through the cracks in his teeth with every exhale, ”I don’t fucking care what you say about me but don’t you fucking dare touch a single fucking hair on their heads!”

A wave of fear went through the crowd as they shuffled back from the jagged wall of blades. Unnoticed by all was the light slowly leaving. The sky was slowly darkening in time with the darkening of Emeris’ horn, the originally brightly blazing horn instead becoming darker and darker.

“Emeris…” Dash softly said in shock.

”I don’t care what you do to me! I deserve a lot of it!” Emeris’ eyes widened in horror, his voice softening as several tears leaked from the corners of his eyes, “So many bad things happened because of me…” But then something cracked, his eyes becoming fierce once more and shining like menacing green flames even in the day, his horn suddenly shrouded in darkness as he bellowed, ”But I won’t stand by as you threaten people whose only crime was to be nice to me! I won’t! I fucking refuse!”

Many in the mass of ponies flinched, stepping back, more than a few mutterings and whispers of “Monster…” passing through their ranks.

In spite of the fear running through her, Applejack stepped closer to the large unicorn, “Emeris, it’s okay…”

“No! No it’s not!” he snarled, his blazing green pupils slowly expanding to encompass his entire eye, the pinpricks of his pupils frantically darting back and forth between the gaps in the blades, “You’ve done nothing wrong and they’re threatening you! I won’t fucking stand for it!”

The sun shone in a nearly black sky, Emeris eyes the brightest thing in the town.

“G-G-Get away from that monster!” came a cry from the crowd.

Emeris nearly exploded, a terrible wind surging outwards from him as tendrils of darkness pouring from his horn, his eyes wild, “You want to talk about monsters?! How about y’all?!” tongues of emerald flame licked at the corners of his mouth as phantom blades faded in and out of existence above them, causing cries of fear to come from the crowd, “How about the monsters that threatened their friends just because they defended someone?!”

Worry spiked in the hearts of the mane six as the twisting gusts of wind tugged at their manes and coats, surging with every shuddering exhale of the menacing unicorn.

“I withstood the hatred, I took it, I accepted it!” Emeris’ voice was comparable to the royal Canterlot voice in his fury, causing the crowd to flinch backwards, “Because for all that burden, I could take it! I’m responsible for all the pain and suffering caused by Gary’s presence and I fully intend to make up for it! But again and again I was rebutted, I was refused in my attempts to make up for it!” Black flames began to sprout from his hide, his horn entirely encased in them as his eyes blazed, “I took it! I accepted it because no one else deserves it!”

“Em!” Rainbow Dash landed beside her coltfriend, reaching out but recoiling at the flames, so cold that they burned, “It’s okay, it’s alright–”

“No! No it isn’t!” the unicorn snarled, the tears from his wild eyes beginning to shine with a bright purple light, “It’s not fucking okay! It’s not! It’s not okay that they threaten you! It’s not okay that they hate you! I won’t stand for it! I won’t! They can say whatever they want about me! But the moment they threaten any of y’all! All bets are off!” The wall of swords cracked as more blades began to phase into existence, his tears igniting when they fell to the dirt beneath them, each drop a flash of flame.

Twilight leapt in front of the much larger unicorn, “Emeris! Stop!” wild eyes that burned a bright green locked with her lavender ones and Twilight fought the urge to flinch, instead holding his gaze, the airborne weapons fading. There was fear, rage, and something else in those eyes, his pupils tiny spots of darkness in the pools of solid green, “Emeris, we’re okay, you’re scaring ponies.”

“They should be scared!” he roared, and Twilight almost flinched backwards at the burst of emerald flame that came from his lips. Twilight suppressed a shudder of fear at his visage as his vest caught flame; black flames nearly shrouded his form, his already massive form seeming even larger than normal as it loomed over her, his eyes blazing a solid sickly green as glowing streaks of purple drew lines down his face, tracing the scars on his left cheek, “They dare threaten people I care about and they make an enemy out of me!”

But the burgeoning archmage stood her ground, “They didn’t threaten us! It’s okay! I promise!”

“Bullshit!” he snarled, and despite none of the ponies knowing what that phrase meant, its intention was obvious. The black sky suddenly bristled with swords like fangs and claws, if only for an instant, and cries of fear went up through crowd, “They threatened you and the girls and I won’t stand for it!” the wind surged outwards from him, kicking up dirt and debris.

“Em–”

Whatever Twilight had meant to say was interrupted by two explosions of power, drawing the attention of everypony present.

“It’s the Princesses!”

“We’re saved!”

The cry went up through the crowd as the alicorns of night and day hovered there above the street, each garbed in their battle armor. Celestia’s barding a brilliant copper metal and Luna’s a shining golden, both encrusted with gems of many kinds.

It could not be seen from those on the ground, but they did not do anything immediately not for appearances or any real desire to, but rather out of shock.

Celestia had seen the darkening of the sky from Canterlot, and the surge of black magic had even woken Luna from her slumber, the sisters had assumed that something terrible had attacked Ponyville in order to provoke Emeris to such lengths…

Without a word between them, the two princesses sprung into action, “Emeris!” Celestia blazed with power, her normally beautiful mane and tail instead blazing like solar flares, “Stand down!”

“C-Celestia…” Emeris had frozen, still trembling in place, the sky regaining a hint of its normal color as the flames licking his coat guttered. But he grit his teeth and the flames surged again, his eyes burning, “They threatened the girls!”

“Emeris, it’s okay, we’re here.” Luna said softly, landing within the circle of blades.

“Sir Emeris, you were given the task of protecting Ponyville!” Celestia’s voice was hard as her blazing eyes held Emeris’ own, and every pony scrambled to get out from between them as the princess of the sun floated down on the outside of the haphazard circle of blades, “Have you forsaken this?”

“They gave up that protection when they threatened my friends!” he snarled, the black flames surging. The mane six stared, startled not only at his anger with the princess, but at his size. He normally stood almost a full head taller than Applejack, but now he stood nearly level with the approaching Luna.

“Emeris… do you think that we’d let something happen to them?” Luna gently asked, slowly approaching, her wings and head held out low as she kept her eyes locked on the unicorn in front of her, “We are here, we shall allow nothing to harm them, you have our word.”

The pinpricks of darkness in the blazing pools of green swung to the princess of the night, the black flames guttering once more, “Luna…” he said in a trembling voice.

“Sir Emeris, stand down,” came the command from the princess of the dawn, causing said ponies eyes to jump back to her as she added in a gentler tone, “Your power is not needed now.”

The black flames faded into wisps in the air as the sky began to return to its normal blue. Luna’s teal eyes swept to those of each of the mane six, flicking between their eyes and the trembling form of Emeris.

Twilight was the first to make the connection, stepping closer to the larger unicorn and gently reaching out with a foreleg to press it against his shoulder. The dark green unicorn flinched at the contact, his head snapping towards her with wide eyes, and Twilight said softly, “It’s okay… we’re safe, the princesses are here.”

Rainbow Dash was the next, landing beside her coltfriend, draping a wing over his withers, “Emmy, it’s okay we can handle ourselves even on a bad day, but with the princesses here you don’t need to worry about a thing. Promise.”

Applejack pressed the length of her body from shoulder to hip against Emeris’ own, “Sugar, it’s okay, you can go easy now.” the mares could actually feel his body start to shrink in time with the green in his eyes, revealing the whites once more.

“Emeris, dismiss your blades, please,” Luna gently coaxed, slowly approaching.

Eyes still glowing met hers, “L-Luna… I–… I can’t…”

“You’re not alone Emeris, I promise you this. Please, dismiss your blades.”

With each breath sending trembles through his form, Emeris glanced back at the wall of swords. Swallowing, he closed his eyes, his horn flashing a dark green and the weapons shattering, the fragments fading into mist. The brilliant purple glow of his tears flickered and faded, Twilight quickly stepping up and pressing her face against the underside of his chin, the length of her horn gently resting against his neck.

“Darling, easy, we’re here…” Rarity pushed herself up onto her hind legs and pressed her forelegs against the larger unicorn’s back, adding herself to the press of bodies, “Your friends are here.”

Luna wordlessly coaxed Fluttershy around in front of the group as Celestia paced around the group, maintaining the circle that the blades had formed as her mane and tail returned to their normal multi-spectral forms.

“E-Emeris…?” the butter-yellow pegasus softly ventured, causing his green eyes to open and get trapped in her Stare, “It’s okay… it’s okay… just relax… we’ll take care of everything…”

“Fluttershy…” Emeris whimpered, having returned to his normal size, the sky it’s normal blue once more.

Luna’s horn flashed midnight blue and an intense bolt of magic thumped into Emeris’ head. The unicorn’s eyes rolled back and he swayed in place even as Luna fired another stun bolt into him, the second bolt finally knocking the unicorn unconscious. His large form starting to slump, only to be caught by his friends, the mane six gently lowering him to the ground.

Silence reigned in the street as the friends worriedly checked over their friend, glancing amongst themselves over his unconscious form. It was only after a long minute of this that the two princesses let out sighs of relief.

“Is… is it done…?” someone from the crowd tentatively asked, “Is it over?”

“Yes,” it was Luna that spoke, “Sir Emeris is unconscious and shall remain so for several hours.”

“What?!” came a cry from the crowd, “You didn’t kill that monster?!”

There was a flash of flames as Celestia’s mane and tail were once again consumed in solar fire, but it was with an almost unerring calm that she turned back to the crowd. “No, I did not kill my knight. Now, my little ponies…” her voice was calm, but carried an undercurrent of anger that didn’t go unheard, “Somepony is going to have to explain to me just how my friend and your protector decided that you were enough of a threat to warrant black magic.”

Twilight started to speak, but a midnight blue hoof was gently pressed against her mouth. Glancing over, she found princess Luna slowly shaking her head.

The crowd shifted around nervously, each member looking to another to explain the situation to the blazing princess.

“Well?” the Dawnbringer asked, standing high over the crowd that filled the street.

“He knew we were going to expose him!” came a cry from the left.

Celestia’s eyes snapped over to the sound of the voice, searching the crowd for the source, “And what, pray tell, were you about to expose? His love of sugar cookies?”

There was some nervous laughter in the crowd, but a shout came up from the right, “How about how he’s tricking you?!”

The princesses’ intense gaze swept towards the voice, “And how is he doing that?”

“He’s taking control of the Elements of Harmony!” the other voice shouted, distinctly male and from the left.

Luna spoke from her place sitting beside the unconscious Emeris, the large unicorn practically swaddled in ponies, “The Element Bearers have no traces of magic upon them.” What went unspoken and unheard by all but her sister was the residual effects of being so close to powerful black magic.

Celestia suppressed the small smile at the sight in spite of the situation. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were pressed against his back and stomach respectively, his head laying on Twilights’ forelegs as the lavender unicorn worried over his still smoking horn, Fluttershy was pressed against his neck and using her wings to help Rarity brush away the ashes of his vest.

Turning back to the crowd, the princess of the sun announced, “Emeris has used no magic upon the Element Bearers to sway them to his side, no magic other than that of friendship."

Her eyes hardened, “But I know Emeris, I have known him since the first day he appeared here in our world. I know him well enough that I have no doubts that he tried to extend a hoof in friendship to you—even if you had smacked it away.” Her wings extended to their full length as her voice slowly rose in volume, “He considers his duty to you to be more important than his own life and has since he first arrived. So I ask again, why would he consider you a threat?”

The throng of ponies shuffled uncomfortably, some at the edges starting to turn, but a line of golden power traced around the streets, keeping the town from escaping their admonishment.

The silence that hung over the crowd was almost palpable, their beloved princesses’ disapproval an oppressive weight. But then the pony in the left of the crowd spoke up once more, “Because he’s a monster and we were trying to keep him away from the Element Bearers!”

“And who speaks?” Celestia demanded, “This is the second time I have heard you speak for the crowd! Come forth so I can hear your grievances properly!”

There was a moments murmuring before the crowd worked and shifted like a living thing and the pony that had been speaking was shoved out in front, a stallion with a light tan coat and brown mane stumbling out from the leading edge of the crowd. Wide green eyes stared up at the intimidating form of princess Celestia, “And to whom do I speak?” Her voice was gentle, but it carried over the almost silent crowd.

“Davenport… your highness,” he said nervously.

“So, Davenport, would you please explain to me why you believe Emeris is a monster that needed to be kept away from the Element Bearers?” while the princesses’ voice was not accusatory, her eyes and stance were uncompromising, no falsehoods would be tolerated.

“Princess, you must know what happened while he was still an alicorn!” the earth pony pleaded desperately, “The kinds of things he made us say! Even foals like my friends! The things she said were horrifying to come out of a little fillies mouth!”

“I am aware of this, and it was something that I can assure you that Emeris had no control over, it horrified him as much, if not more than yourselves,” Celestia said, her voice loud and clear, even though she addressed the pony in front of her, “In the early months of his time here it was more than once that I had to comfort him as he lost his lunch at the things he had heard from honest ponies like yourself or had nearly had done to him.”

“But how do you know he’s not lying?!” the pony cried out, “After my friend gave him a small cut he convinced Rarity to ruin her business–”

“That’s a bucking lie!!” shouted Rarity, leaping to her hooves, her eyes fierce, “True Glamour cut off his ear! She cut it in half! Right in front of me! After insulting him and refusing him service!”

While Davenport seemed surprised by this, Luna spoke to the alabaster unicorn, “Rarity, that is enough.”

Rarity flinched at the admonishment, but gathered herself quickly, glaring defiantly at Luna before sweeping the glare across the crowd, “I won’t be quiet when he’s lying! She didn’t just cut him! Emeris is missing half of his right ear now!” Surprised mutters sprung up through the crowd.

“Rarity Belle!” this time, Luna’s tone brooked no argument. Rarity cringed and looked away with a scowl.

After a moment’s quiet Celestia spoke once more to the earth pony before her, “Davenport, were there any other reasons you called Emeris a monster?”

“I–… he–…” looking about frantically, Davenport searched for another reason, “H-How do you know he’s not just tricking you?!”

Celestia’s eyes hardened, “While I am no more infallible than any other pony, I have not the slightest doubt of his character. I gave him a choice not too long ago, to have his wings and horn chopped off or fight me and die. Do you know what he chose?” She let the question hang in the stunned silence, allowing her audience to absorb the magnitude of the statement, “He begged me to allow him to run far away, not because he feared me… I’m not certain even I could have subdued him while he was an alicorn. But because any fight between us would have devastated the landscape and city around us. Even as I bore down on him with my power, he only sought escape.”

“This is a pony that fought horrors that even Luna and I dared not,” the blazing solar prominence that was her mane and tail flared, nearly flaming jets, “And he did so without hesitation because he felt they were his responsibility, a product of the terrible curse that plagued him,” her voice slowly rose as she spoke to the crowd, “The same curse that caused ponies to act in such a terrible way around him.”

“At any point he could have simply left, he could have fled and enjoyed the power and gifts his curse granted him, and he would have been exactly the monster you say if he had. He had power comparable to my own!” the solar flames flashed brightly and everypony took a half step back at the heat, “There was nothing that Luna or I could have done if he’d decided that the problems in Equestria were ours and not his. But he didn’t! He took the burden upon himself willingly.”

“Emeris is a pony who spent two years alone! He was alone, fighting terrible monsters, and did so without ever harming a pony! Despite repeated attempts by the very ponies he protected to rape him!”

Celestia’s chest heaved as she steadied her breathing once more, her eyes intense as her hair slowly calmed, instead a simple curling tongue of flame rather than the violent solar flare it had been before, “I spoke with him often, afraid that he was the very monster you claim, that he was trying to trick me and worm his ways into your hearts and souls… but at every turn, even in his weakest moments, he fought for you, he put your safety and happiness before his own, and freely threw himself at my mercy. Were it possible, he would have geas’d himself to me, sworn on his very soul and magic, but despite trying to, he could not, his curse would not allow it.”

“He chose the horror of having his wings burnt off,” every pegasus in the crowd flinched at that, “He chose it over allowing you to suffer under his curse. It is because of this, because of this strength of character and devotion to his fellow ponies that I have named him a knight of Equestria, and gave him the task of protecting Ponyville.”

“B-But he threatened us! With swords! And-and the sky darkened!”

“And I know Emeris well enough to know that he would not do such unless pressed into a corner and provoked,” Celestia said without hesitation, “So I ask for a third time, why would my knight consider his charges a threat?”

The crowd flinched backwards almost as one, and glances were exchanged between the throng of ponies as each hoped another would step up. But it was Davenport that spoke, his voice trembling in his admission, “W-We were going to get him away from the Element Bearers and run him out of town…”

“So every pony in Ponyville, each having made it known that they hated or were hostile towards him, made steps towards ripping him away from his friends, possibly violently. His first friends in years that could easily be hurt in the press of bodies, all while threatening him and backing him into a corner where he couldn’t run.”

“H-Hey! That’s not what happened!” came a cry from the crowd.

Celestia whirled on the sound, her mane and tail flaring up brightly as she shouted, “But is that what he would have seen?!”

Ponyville’s masses had nothing to say to that, whimpers coming from more than a few in the street. Celestia scowled at her subjects, “I am disappointed in you. I must apologize, my little ponies, for I have made a mistake, I had not realized that you were as unaware of his plight as you were… but I am very disappointed in your reaction.”

The golden ring around the streets pulsed once before it faded, Celestia’s eyes closing as she took a slow breath, her mane and tail both returning to their multicolored states as she folded her wings once more. When she opened her purple eyes once more, she spoke in a calmer, if uncompromising tone, “Return to your homes, reflect upon your actions. And if you have any other concerns, come to one of the Element Bearers, come to the guard, have a letter sent to my sister or I… do not simply stew on your hate! You are better than that!”

Catching herself, she took a steadying breath, “Now go.”

The town went.

oOo

Twilight lay beside her mentor, both of them watching Applejack and Rainbow Dash fuss over Emeris’ unconscious form, the group safely ensconced in the Sugarcube Corner. Fluttershy and Rarity both sat on either side of a despondent Pinkie, the party mare disheartened by the absolute mess the party had become.

“Princess?”

The Cakes were quietly bringing out refreshments for the group, having helped get the blankets and pillows that Emeris’ large form had been laid on.

“Yes, Twilight Sparkle?”

Big Mac had returned to the Apple family farm to look after the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who had been left with Granny Apple by their respective families in case the party had… well… turned out like it had.

“What…” the purple unicorn swallowed before turning back to Celestia and softly asking, “What happened out there? I’ve never seen magic like that.”

Celestia was quiet for a long moment, her helm sitting on the floor beside her as she watched her sister wave her horn over Emeris a few times. Eventually, she responded to Twilight, “It is magic that I’d hoped you would never have to see. It was black magic, powerful black magic at that, but unfocused and uncontrolled.”

Twilight’s head jerked to her mentor, barely keeping her voice as a whisper, “I- I know you said it was black magic earlier but I thought you were exaggerating!” at the shake of Celestia’s head, Twilight gaped, “B-But–! Where did Emeris learn that?! I didn’t–…” she trailed off, trying to organize her thoughts.

“Even though it was as Gary, Emeris was exposed to and learned large swaths of black magic in his search for the source of his curse,” the princess said softly, “Is it so surprising that he retained some of his knowledge of it even now?”

With a nod of her head, Luna turned from the unconscious form of Emeris and towards the door, the royal sisters sharing a nod before the princess of the moon left the building and took off. Somepony had to return to Canterlot to ensure things were running smoothly, and this… this was Celestia’s responsibility.

“But… Princess, I was in his head,” Twilight said, “There’s dark magic in there, sure, but… nothing like that. He knows of black magic, but… that’s different from knowing black magic. I mean–… Princess, he darkened the sky!”

The Dawnbringer's head hung briefly, her ears drooping for just a moment before she turned to her student, “It was instinctual… the same way a pony may spontaneously create a spell that aligns with their special talent…”

“Emeris instinctively used magics that related to his…” the purple unicorn finished, staring agape. She blinked a few times before hurriedly asking, “Y-You knew Emeris had a talent for black magic?!”

Celestia shook her head, “My sister and I suspected based on his cutie mark, but we did not know until today’s events confirmed it.”

Twilight turned, staring at the unconscious unicorn, “Emeris’ special talent is black magic…”

“Luna and I believe it is more complex than that, but that is a significant portion of it, yes.”

“But…” Twilight turned back to her mentor, her voice still a whisper, “He darkened the sky, nopony but Luna or yourself should be able to do that!”

“Had I chosen to, I could have brought the day back to its full strength even from Canterlot, but the sky darkened as he drew in power from it and doing so would have weakened him,” turning her gaze back to the subject of their conversation, Celestia shifted her legs beneath her some, “Luna and I both assumed that he was fighting something terrible and powerful, a remnant of his time as Gary that had been missed… and that weakening him then could mean his death…”

Twilight glowered at the floor as she grumbled, “That’s not entirely wrong.”

Celestia flinched slightly at that before sighing, “No… I suppose it’s not.”

The two of them lay beside one another, the bakery filled with the soft sounds of Fluttershy and Rarity comforting Pinkie as Applejack and Rainbow Dash quietly fretted over Emeris’, the sounds of the Cakes working in the kitchen audible in the quiet.

Several minutes passed in the quiet before Twilight spoke again, “What do we do now…?”

“We convince ponies that Emeris is not the monster they believe, my sister and I must decide upon the proper way to handle Emeris’ talent for black magic…” she trailed off momentarily, “And I must apologize to him as well, it was my ignorance of the feelings of Ponyville that caused this to happen.”

oOo

A pleasant warmth–

With a grunt, my eyes cracked open and I blinked.

What–

“Princess! He’s waking up!”

My eyes clenched shut at the abrupt sound, and with a groan I rolled onto my stomach. What the fuck had happened…?

“Thank you Rainbow Dash, I must ask for some time with him alone.”

What? Princess Celestia? Yeah, she’d been here, I remember that…

“Are you sure…?”

“Yes, I am quite certain.”

There was a shuffling sound as I blinked my eyes open. I remembered things going wrong, I remembered the crowd… threatening to take my friends away… I remembered being angry… so impossibly angry… A hint of creeping horror worked its way into my heart. What… what had I done?

“Okay… just… be sure he’s okay, alright? I wanna talk to him myself when you’re done.”

“Certainly, Rainbow Dash.”

Vision returned to me in time to watch the sky-blue pegasus start to walk out of a door. She cast a glance back at me, meeting my eyes and giving me a sheepish smile, doing pretty good at hiding the concern in her eyes as she gave me a wave before walking out the door.

Where… where was I? What the fuck was going on? I glanced around and quickly found the large form of Celestia walking up to me. Blinking, I realized that I was swaddled in a little fort of blankets and pillows that was warm and comfortable… and I was in Sugarcube Corner…? “P-Princess…?”

“Emeris…” her voice was gentle as she lay down in front of me, tucking her legs beneath her body and folding her wings against her sides, “It is good to see that you are awake.”

“What…? What happened?” I asked, settling on the seeming most important question in the flurry of them that rattled in my head. Celestia’s armor of Orichalcum was not far off, mountain copper touched by the might of the sun… what had made her wear that…?

“The party that was thrown nearly became a riot, the crowd made an attempt to take you away from the Element Bearers who were quite resolute in staying by your side,” a small smile graced her lips before being overwhelmed by a more melancholy look, “You did not react well. You protected the Element Bearers from the tide of ponies and gave them quite a scare with black magic. My sister and I arrived and were able to calm you and the situation. We had to knock you unconscious.”

“I–…” I swallowed, trying to force down the concern and fear that welled up inside of me, “I didn’t hurt anyone did I?”

“No, you did not.”

A sigh of relief escaped me, taking with it a large part of the tension that had built, leaving me to almost slump back down to the blankets and pillows beneath me, “Good…”

There was a long moment of silence before Celestia spoke again, “Emeris, I have to apologize to you.”

Now that had my attention, in spite of my still drowsy state and my confusion, I looked up at the princess curiously with an eloquent, “Huh…?”

The princess of the sun, the freaking Dawnbringer herself, hung her head, “I must apologize, because it was my actions and choices that led to this situation. It was my ignorance that caused you so much trouble. And in spite of that, I asked you to defend the very ponies that disliked you so freverently.”

“Celestia…” I murmured, trying to sort out the sudden tumultuous mess of emotions that caused.

Anger, sadness, frustration, affection, concern… what a mess...

“Emeris… my little pony… I am sorry... I am so sorry that my manipulations have caused you such pain…”

“Celestia,” I said again, this time my voice much stronger, “Stop. You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

She shook her head, “No, I do. I should have known better.”

“How?” I inquired, “You said it yourself, you didn’t know.”

Purple eyes locked with mine, “But I should have figured it out. Between my sister and I we should have realized what was going on and addressed it.”

I opened my mouth to contradict her, but found I couldn’t, with a sigh I looked away. My chest aching from the mess of emotions flowing through me.

“It is because of my machinations that you were hurt, and for that, I am sorry,” she said gently, sadness resonating in her voice.

“Celestia… I work for you freely… I’ve put my reins in your hands, I trust you to make better decisions than I would, and you consistently do… just because you made a mistake…” I shook my head, and held tightly to what I felt was the most important emotion that bubbled in my chest, that spark of warmth, “Celestia, if I didn’t forgive you for a mistake, what kind of person would I be? I’ve made plenty of them myself.”

It was almost imperceptible, but I could see the powerful princess relax at those words, just a bit, a small smile appearing on her face, “You are far too forgiving my little pony.”

No… in this case, it wasn’t just me being forgiving, “Celestia… I know you made a mistake and did something wrong, I know you caused me harm… but…” that most important emotion in this case, that one I focused on, “But I love you, and you forgive family when they make mistakes.”

Celestia’s eyes went wide, and her mouth worked silently for a long moment as the words hit her.

It was true, in my own, twisted way, I loved her. Despite the two years of reprimands, of manipulations and paranoia, of distrust and command… I loved her like she was another mother. A mother figure that I hadn’t had in years.

“Emeris…” she said softly before reaching out with her wings and pulling me close to her chest, dragging the covers with her, “My little pony…”

Without hesitation, I buried my face against her soft white coat, tears starting to flow from my eyes as I fumbled around with my forelegs, grabbing on to her and hugging her tight. Hot tears began to land against my neck and withers as her chin pressed against the top of my head, her warm chest heaving with small, barely contained sobs.

Her forelegs encircled me, hugging me close as we both cried, tears flowing freely as we quietly sobbed against one another. I couldn’t have told you why we were crying… an admission of affection long overdue? A desperate need for love? Forgiveness asked for and given? I don’t know… but it felt right.

As I pressed my face against her coat, tears staining the stark white, I knew that Celestia never would or even could replace my mother, but nor was she trying to. She was filling a role in my life, she was taking up duties that none other would or could as part of her relationship… of our friendship… just as I was doing for her.

So… as we lay there, hugging each other tightly as we quietly cried, I felt better.

The purpose of the party had been to introduce me to Ponyville properly… to start and build relationships…

I’d… I’d like to think we accomplished that…

Celestia and Luna, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy, Pinkie and even Twilight… they’d helped me.

With a choked sob, I began to bawl against her chest, a smile on my face.

I’d cried out for help… and they’d helped me.

Not someone, not just anyone… my friends.

Author's Note

Welcome to the end of Consequences of Unoriginality! IT’S THE FINAL COUN- *cough*, sorry, the final chapter! This isn’t the end of the adventures of Emeris Fillson in Equestria, but it’s the end of this section of it. This story was, fundamentally, about the consequences of his time as Gary Stu, about his making of his first friends and dealing with the feelings of the populace of ponyville, and about him getting the help he so desperately needed in the prologue. Things that he’s finally gotten here in this chapter.

But this brings Consequences of Unoriginality to a close! I still have tons of stuff to write though, but it’s going to be in an upcoming story, Consequences of Darkness. Stay tuned for when it drops!

But on to the specific things about this chapter! I’m actually super happy with it! Not everything, the build-up to the crowd starting to go for getting the Element Bearers away from Emeris didn’t feel organic to me, not as much as I envisioned it originally at least, but I’m super proud of some of the lines in here, as well as a number of the things I called back to! There’s actually a point in this chapter where Emeris outright contradicts things he said earlier in the story, and there’s subtle reasons for it, he doesn’t even realize that he’s doing it because he’s so messed up!

I’m not ultra happy with how assured and gung-ho Applejack appears about the relationship, and leaving the relationship between Applejack, Emeris, and Rainbow Dash on this note leaves a bad taste in my mouth as an author. But given her pride, stubbornness, and the situation, I couldn’t figure out a way to organically work in her doubts and hesitation about this herd. She has them! But I couldn’t figure out how to make those come across while within Emeris’ PoV.

Cookies (and possible spoilery-tidbits) to anyone that can catch all of the foreshadowings I’m harking back to here! Bonus points if anyone can guess my favorite line in this chapter!

Major thanks to my pre-readers/editors/whatever the hell you call their multi-faceted jobs! This story wouldn’t really have been possible without them and their efforts! Special thanks to Aburi who's been with me since… hell, chapter three I think, calling out my stupid crap and helping me when my ideas fumbled in execution!

So what’s your favorite part of the chapter? Of the story as a whole at this point? What’s been your least favorite?

Anyways, as always, comments and critiques are appreciated! Never hesitate to call me out on stuff you think is stupid or wrong or contradicts canon! I’m all for it! It’s how I improve!

Anyways, Autobots, transform and roll out!