A New Potential

Chapters

Chapter I: Adapt and Mend
Chapter II: Enigma
Chapter IV: Blacklight
Chapter V: Happy Birthday
Chapter VI: Get a Grip
Chapter VII: A Song in Flight
Chapter VIII: Sick
Chapter IX: Victims
Chapter X: Have a Heart
Chapter XI: Silhouette of a Life
Chapter XII: Simply Human
Chapter XIII: The Child
Chapter XIV: Last Breath
Chapter XV: A Place To Die
Book I Epilogue
Chapter III: Canterlot; An Explanation

Chapter I: Adapt and Mend

Part I: Welcome to Equestria
Ch. I: Adapt and Mend

“—Sort of… metallic look to it, I don’t know.”

I tried to open my eyes, but my brain did not want to give the orders. My eyes felt as if they were glued shut. It was driving me nuts.

“Maybe he’s not from Equestria. I don’t even know what his cutie mark is. Maybe some foreign flower?”

I heard the words, but they refused to assemble themselves into a coherent thought. Fear mixed with pain and anger pulsed through my brain. One fear of mine was going blind. Open, dammit!

“I don’t know. Maybe when he wakes up he can tell us, or maybe we can ask Compass Rose. She may know.”

In my vain attempts to open my eyes, a small whimper escaped my throat, which seemed to startle the conversing voices.

“Well, seems he’s waking up.” The words still made no sense. A clip-clopping sound resonated through my brain. Whatever it was that was talking, he was walking my way. My brain went on full alert and my hand flung out and my eyes popped open.

Images flooded my vision, bright lights blinded me and I squinted as my eyes adjusted. When they did, I saw what I had swung at—and hit—a moment before. It was a… pony? He stood with one hoof at his jaw and moved it about, checking for damage.

I tried to get out of the bed I lay in, but when I tried to stand, I fell over and smashed into a wall, completely disoriented.

“Hey, careful there,” The female voice said, I looked over, the words finally making sense. A smaller, yellow pony with pink hair walked carefully toward me, her head lowered sort of fearfully, “The anesthesia hasn’t worn off completely yet.”

I tried to stand again, but I fell over again onto the bed. Then I noticed something… different. My hands were gone—no, not gone. They were replaced with… hooves. I jolted back and looked down at my feet, which were also hooves.

I looked, panicked, at the yellow pony, “Wad haff you done do me?”

“Oh, you poor thing,” She looked more concerned than fearful now.

“Ugh, quite the swing you have there,” The pony I had swung at earlier said. He wore a lab coat and had a stethoscope around his neck, “I suggest you sit down and wait for the meds to wear off.”

I took a deep breath to calm myself and let myself slide down to the floor in an awkward sitting position. My legs lie straight out, partially under the bed, and I put my hands between them to hold me steady. I took another look around and realized that I was in a hospital room. Was I some experiment? Was I a pony now? Something didn’t make sense, and the more I thought back to remember, the more my head throbbed.

“Wader” I tried to say, unused to this new mouth and still a little rubbery from all the anesthesia. I brushed my tongue around my mouth. My canines were gone, replaced by flat, grinding teeth, “Can I ha—ahkem—Can I get some…w-wa…water please?”

Wings sprouted from the yellow pony seemingly out of nowhere and she flew out of the room. She returned only seconds later with a glass of ice water with a straw sticking out of it. She flew slowly to me and held the glass up to me. I leaned forward and sipped from the glass, the cold water feeling good on my dry tongue. I leaned back after a quarter of the glass and thanked the yellow pony. Many of my human functions seemed the same, though now I had square teeth and a larger tongue.

Once I was coherent enough I looked around, “where am I?”

“Why, you’re in Ponyville hospital,” the pony in the lab coat said, “This nice young pony and her friend flew you here when you ran out of Everfree forest with a mantacore on your tail.”

“Manta…core?” I shook my head violently. This should be a dream. Ponies? This looked like that—no that was a television show. Not to mention it was cancelled over a decade ago.

“Maybe he’s still dizzy, Mister Doctor, sir,” the young pony said, “Do you need more water?”

“I’m fi—OW!” I tried getting to my fe—hooves when a jagged pain stabbed my ribs, “FUCK!”

“Y-yes, the mantacore did hit you in the side,” The doctor explained, “I had to put you under to sew you back up.”

A wet rag floated through the air, covered in a brown-ish yellow tint, the color of the doctor’s fur. I grabbed the rag with my two hooves and the tint went away, “Press that to your side and the pain should go away in about ten seconds. Zecora can work wonders, I tell you what.”

I pressed the rag to my ribs and the pain slowly ebbed away. I sighed in relief, then looked at the doc, “Hey, sorry about the uh,” I swung my arm in the air to signal what I meant, my vocabulary not the best.

“Oh, no worries, my young stallion, I’ve had worse experiences.”

I looked over to the yellow pony, who now sat shyly in the corner, less proactive about making me feel comfortable, “What is your name?”

She seemed startled at first and looked at the doctor then back at me, “Uhm… my name is… is Fluttershy.”

I smiled—at least I think that’s what I did—and started chuckling, then laughing. The young pony seemed both confused and relieved at my random outburst. This wasn’t real. Her name was the same as… this was not possible. Maybe all those experiments really have driven me mad.

I calmed down after a few minutes and looked back at the pink haired, yellow pony, “Thank you, Miss Fluttershy. I don’t remember it all that well, but I’m sure you saved my life.”

Her face went a little pink, then red, and she jumped into the air and said, “I’mgonnagofindrainbowdashandtellheryou’reokaybye,” then flew out of the room.

The doctor looked at me strangely when I replied, “Just like the show… just like the show…”

From what I gathered from the unicorn doctor and what little bits I could get out of Fluttershy when she checked up on me, I had ran out of this forest called Everfree Forest with a mantacore, some lion/scorpion mixed monster, on my tail and gaining fast. The part of the forest I had exited, though, was where Fluttershy’s home was. The mantacore gained fast enough that it caught me before Fluttershy could come and stop him, being as good with animals as she was. The poison in its tail left me unconscious for three days with a gash in my side. Fluttershy and her friend Rainbow Dash both picked me up and flew me to the closest town and left me with the capable hands of its hospital staff.

Sadly, the poison also locked away any memories of what happened and will take quite a while for the poison to wear off enough for me to remember. Fluttershy’s friend Rainbow Dash visited me a couple times during my stay.

“So this is the trouble-making pony that didn’t have the common sense to just fly away from the mantacore,” The rainbow maned pony said as she walked in the door.

“Well, hello to you too,” sarcasm was not my best suit right now.

“Ha, hey, I’m Rainbow Dash, the one who saved your sorry hide,” She said, bursting with self-pride.

“Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash, I’m sure,” I said, “And you do have my thanks.”

“Aw, you don’t rile up easily, do you?” She stared for a few seconds, and I stared back with a perfect poker face, “Fine, be no fun. What’s your name anyway?”

I opened my mouth to answer and stopped. It was such a simple question. But I did not know the answer. I closed my mouth again and looked at my bed-sheets, thinking.

“Helloooo~ your name,” She questioned again.

I looked up slowly, “I don’t know.”

She seemed taken aback by this and landed at the foot of my bed and squinted at me, “How do you not know?”

I sat and thought for a few seconds again, “I don’t have one. At least, not in this world.”

She squinted at me longer, “Y’know, you’re pretty cool. All mysterious and dark looking. You should come by Cloudsdale sometime when you recover, I’d love to see how well you race if you rest your wings even when your life is in danger.” She seemed to think that I was some sort of racer, a flier, going through some intense training.

“I can’t fly.”

She stared again, “Seriously? Oh my Celestia, what is wrong with you?”

“Wish I could tell you.”

She shook her head and started toward the door, “Well I have some training to do myself, so I’ll catch you later, maybe.”

“Can you teach me?”

The rainbow maned pony stopped and looked pitifully back at me, “Really? You think I can teach you?”

I sat up and tried to hide my smirk. I could play her pride like a fiddle, “Well, from where I come from, you are known as the fastest and coolest flier in Equestria. Hell, why learn from anybody but the best? Unless you aren’t up for it, of course.”

She smiled, “Trying to play me, eh? Well, guess what, bub, it worked. I’ll think about it.”

Fluttershy came by a few hours later, walking in shyly as usual. She knocked on the door rim and asked to come in. After I asked her to come in she flew a chair up at the foot of my bed and sat down, staring at the floor.

After a few minutes of silence she spoke, “Can I ask you a question? I mean, if you don’t want to answer that’s okay, but if you can I would appreciate it, but if you don—“

“Fluttershy,” I interrupted and she seemed to flinch, “Ask away, I’ll answer anything I can.”

“Well,” She began, “I was curious about your cutie mark. It looked like some kind of flower, but I wasn’t sure what, and I love flowers and nature but… what is it?”

It took a minute for the question to register, but memories flooded back, the cutie mark. On every ponies flank symbolizing their special talent. I pulled the covers aside and looked at it, noticing Fluttershy was trying not to.

“It’s a lotus flower,” I said, more memories flooding back at the sight of the red petals splaying out on my flank, “It resembles knowledge, spiritual cleansing, and harmony.”

“Then… what is your special talent?” She asked.

I smiled painfully, a peaceful world and my own world still haunts me, “Equestria is a fairly peaceful land. You ponies live in harmony. My world… was far from that. Everyone was filled with hate and violence. In my world, I studied and did nothing but study. I studied philosophy, religion, sociology, psychology, music, art, literature. I studied anything about people. My goal in life was to come up with a way to create a world like yours. A world of harmony.”

The young pegasus sensed the sadness in my voice and didn’t question any more, though I could tell more was on her mind and urged her to ask, “What happened to your world? Why did you come here?”

I stopped and thought for a moment, “I don’t remember. Maybe I can give you your answer when the poison dissipates.”

“What’s religion?” She asked.

I was about to explain, but I stopped myself. Why bring that curse? “It’s something that caused total chaos in my world. I can’t tell you.”

She sat quietly for a few more minutes. She reminded me of someone I knew, but my mind couldn’t wrap around the concept enough to remember who it was. Eventually Fluttershy pushed her chair back, “I’m glad you’re getting better. The doctor said you can leave in the morning.”

I was about to thank her, but she flew out the door. I smiled. Just like the show.

All those peaceful memories came back to me. Many saw it as just a show, but to many of us, it was happiness. Somehow, I don’t know how, I have been put into that world. When I think about it…I don’t mind having to get used to a new body.

I couldn’t sleep that night. I stayed awake trying to think about how I got here. Hell, I couldn’t even remember my name. Through the night I pondered, but the last thing I remember was looking at the clock, which read 3am. I had dozed off some point in the early morning.

I was awakened by harsh whispers at the end of my bed. I groaned and lifted my head, squinting at the sunlight seeping through the thin curtains.

“Well good morning, young stallion,” The voice of the unicorn doctor invaded my eardrums.

“What’s all that noise?”

“OH! I’m so sorry! You see I brought a friend of mine I thought you might like to meet and,” Fluttershy’s calming but nervous voice answered, “Oh gosh, I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to wake you!”

I sat upright and rubbed my eyes, the newly acquired hair on my new appendage irritating my eye lids. When I opened my eyes again I saw a new pony, a unicorn looking around the same age as Fluttershy, maybe younger. She had soft violet fur and a dark purple mane with small streaks of red here and there. She wore an uncomfortable smile when looking at me.

“Well it does seem that you have recovered fairly well from your wound, son,” The doctor said, examining my side, which only a small, pinkish scar remained, “If that scar does not go away within the next few days, come back to me and I’ll give you something to be rid of it.”

I nodded and looked at the new pony, “I have this odd feeling that I know you. Yet that can’t possibly be since we haven’t met.”

“Well, Fluttershy has been talking about you,” The young pony said, “She’s been quite concerned, as she always is with sick and injured creatures.”

“Yeah. Well she’s been my guardian angel since I got here in Equestria.”

With my comment she turned red and hid behind the violet pony, who sighed a wary sigh, as if she put up with this a lot, “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I work in the library here in Ponyville.”

I nodded, “I wish I could return a name with a name, but I can’t seem to remember it. Sorry.”

She smiled a nervous smile, “Yes, those mantacores do have quite the venom. Can’t be fun, but at least you’ve had a full recovery!”

I pushed the hospital sheet off of me and slowly got off the bed. I had been practicing walking down the halls of the hospital to get used to my new body, and I even learned to control the muscles in my wings, tail, and ears. It felt very odd to be able to do at first, but after a few hours I couldn’t imagine life without them. Humanity just seemed… overrated now.

“So, according to Fluttershy, you are a booksmith,” Twilight said when I finished stretching my legs, “You love to read and write about various topics.”

I smiled and chuckled a bit, “Yeah, at least I used to before I came to Equestria.”

“Well, what’s stopping you here,” She questioned, “I have a full library of books you can read if you’d like. Where’d you come from anyhow?”

“It’s a long… complicated story,” I said, “How about when I get my memory back I tell you guys all about it. I’m sure you, my fellow lover of knowledge, would like to hear the stories of my old home.”

The violet pony gave a wide smile and a gratuitous nod. Fluttershy had since removed herself from her hiding spot, believing the spotlight was off of her by now.

“Hey, doc,” I paced around the room in order to get my legs working, “What do I owe you?”

“For what,” He asked, looking confused.

“For the medical treatment and keeping me here for almost a week.”

“Haha, oh, no, you owe nothing. I don’t know how it works where you come from, but here hospitals are free. Canterlot provides all of our medicines and materials.” He spoke as if he was speaking to a foal.

I thought for a second, then bowed my head and lifted on of my hooves to my chest, “Then accept my sincere thanks as payment.”

All of the ponies in the room seemed uncomfortable when I raised my head, but the doctor smiled and bowed his head slightly in response, “You were a good patient, minus the little issue when you first woke up.”

I walked out silently with the two mares flanking me. As soon as I stepped out of the hospital, I was hit with a barrage of color. The small town of Ponyville was anything but dull. I stopped walking and gaped at the beautiful scenery.

“I know how much you said you hated surprises,” Fluttershy said stepping back next to me, “So we tried to keep you being here a secret from Pinkie.”

Twilight gave a single laugh, “But you know Pinkie. I swear to Celestia I have no idea how she does half of what she does.”

I shook my head, trying to get over the sight when my head started to pound. Immediately I forgot how to walk and fell over onto my face. The two ponies immediately began to express worry, but their words were incoherent to my pounding skull. The pounding suddenly stopped, but my senses did not return. My head buzzed and something flashed in my mind.

Scrambling, notes being crumpled and thrown into garbage cans, others being jammed into folders and files. I could hear knocking, a quick glance backwards a metal door held its ground and my hands scrambled faster than ever. I pulled a file from a drawer, it held a ton of data, but it was titled Pony Stallion: Enigma Shade. Underneath the name was a red flower—a lotus.

My senses returned in a flash.

“—llo?” Fluttershy’s voice penetrated my eardrum.

I was on my side and I realized I had sprawled out onto the ground in my pained struggle. I groaned through gritted teeth and opened my eyes to see Twillight’s worried face staring down at me, “Are you okay?”

“My name… is Enigma Shade,” Was all I could think to say.

Chapter II: Enigma

Part I: Welcome to Equestria
Chapter II: Enigma

"Enigma Shade, eh," Twilight said it for the fourth time, seeming to be swishing the name around in her head, "In Equestria, many pony's names are magically chosen and reflect their appearance or future cutie mark. I wonder if, and how, Enigma Shade has to do with yours."

I stared up, lying down on Twilight's couch with an icepack on my forehead held by Fluttershy. I smiled and thought back, "Perhaps because my cutie mark is an enigma. I mean, I grew up loving the mysteries of life."

Twilight seemed to taste the thought for a moment, "That's too simple, not enough of a challenge."

Fluttershy spoke softly, "I think it makes sense…"

Twilight sighed, "Oh well, I was hoping for a challenge."

My head suddenly felt as if my brain took a hammer to the inside of my skull, "FUUCK!" My hooves jumped to my head.

Twilight looked at me with question and concern, but when my pain subsided she asked, "What does that mean?"

I thought for a second, "You ponies don't… swear?"

Twilight and Fluttershy looked confusedly at me, "Yes, we make promises."

"Uh… Curse?"

"Silly superstitions," Twilight said, "Can't be backed by any evidence."

"Cussing. We call it cussing where I come from, as well as cursing and swearing," I tried explaining, "Any word that I use in aggravation, please let me know so I stop saying them."

Twilight and Fluttershy shared a glance, but nodded. I did not want to ruin their seeming innocence. Fluttershy removed my icepack and flew off to fix another one.

"Hey, Twilight," I awkwardly moved myself into a sitting position, "Thanks for borrowing me a space here while I find a place of my own. I promise I'll help out as much as I can to pay you back."

She laughed, "What is with you and paying people? Is that how your country worked? You had to repay everypony for everything?"

I nodded, "Yes, my world was not as perfect as yours."

"Who said our world was perfect," She asked as Fluttershy came back with a wet rag.

I lay my head back so that Fluttershy could put the rag on my head, "You ponies spoil me. Treating me better than I deserve to be treated."

Fluttershy pat my head softly, "Everypony deserves a little kindness every now and then, Shade," She stopped herself; "You don't mind I call you Shade, do you? I mean, I can call you Enigma if you want."

I laughed, "Gods, that is adorable. Call me Shade if you want, I don't mind."

Twilight pulled random books off shelves and put them in other places, and looking up from below, it looked oddly fascinating, "I think Shade fits you pretty well. Lots of ponies go by their second name, like Dash."

She shelved another book and I could feel her eyes piercing through me, "What is 'gods'?"

I sighed, my habits needed a quick upheaval, "They were invisible, omniscient beings that existed in my world that nobody had any proof of existence or non-existence. Mare's tales, if you will."

"Like ghosts," Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, like ghosts," I answered.

"Yeah, but those don't exist here anymore," Twilight resumed shelving books.

She continued to tell me about the eradication of hauntings in their country. Equestria was once filled with spirits of ancestors passed on, but once Princess Celestia discovered immortality, the only deaths that occurred were from accidents. The spirits were all asked to leave Equestria and live in harmony in a new world Celestia created just for them in her castle in Canterlot. They all listened.

"So how old are all you ponies," I asked.

"We stop aging after we hit 80 seasons old," Twilight said, "After that, we stop counting. Wait, you said you still used the archaic 'years' so… at 20 we stop growing, except for those who were past 20 when Celestia found the cure."

"Twilight, I'm back!" A male voice called from the entrance room.

"Come in the back, Spike, there's somepony I want you to meet."

Fluttershy lifted the rag from my head and kissed my forehead, "There, you should be all better now. Twilight, I have to go now. I promised Angel I would take him to get his favorite carrot candies today."

I stood up and bowed my head, "Thanks again, Fluttershy. You are a very kind pony."

She blushed and flew off, swishing past a small form that just stepped in the doorway, and slammed the front door of the library. The figure stepped closer, looking behind him at the door and scratching his head, "What's wrong with Fluttershy?"

"You know Fluttershy, Spike," Twilight said chuckling, "By the way, this is Enigma Shade, he's new to Ponyville."

The young dragon reached out his claw, "Nice to meet you, I'm Spike, Twilight's assistant. Can I call you Shade?"

I put my hoof into his claw and he shook it a couple times, "Sure thing."

"He's going to be staying with us for a little while and help you with your chores until he finds his own place," Twilight explained.

"Oh good, I was hoping for a little more help."

That night Twilight made me a bed near the couch. It was nothing more than a wicker basket with tons of pillows and a blanket. To any human, this would look uncomfortable, and it did to me as well, but when I got on it and lay down, it was one of the most comfortable beds I ever had. So comfortable, in fact, that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillows.

Although I sort of wish I could have stayed awake longer.

My dreams were filled with the hundreds of terror filled hours of my past life. It was filled with death, screams of agony, and gore covered bodies. I felt my stomach clench and my nostrils flair at the smell of sulfur and blood. Why was peace such a difficult thing to do?

I saw a face I recognized. Tears streamed down it and a rope knotted tightly around her neck. The face dropped and I lurched in my bed. This world seemed so unreal. But it was real. It was so very real.

But why am I the only one to enjoy it?

A drop of water fell onto my forehoof. It took me about a minute to realize I was crying. I tried wiping away the tears, but more flooded out of my eyes. Right when I decided to give up, a small illumination moved across the room. A handkerchief doused in bright violet floated in front of me. I took it gingerly and quickly wiped my eyes.

Twilight's soft hoofsteps came toward me and stopped at my bed. My blanket illuminated violet and the small form lay next to me in the bed.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you," I whispered.

"Shh, don't worry, I was up studying anyway."

I wiped away the remainder of the tears, hoping she didn't see them. She picked up the handkerchief with her magic and wiped my face clean of the tears and lie her head down on one of the pillows. I lowered my head to the pillows as well, a fresh onslaught of tears brought on by her selfless comforting.

She wiped again at the tears and began softly singing, "Hush now, little one, the night can't hurt you anyway. Quiet now, my young colt, I'll always be here night and day. Drift, now, off to sleep, your dreams are just a fantasy. Drift, now, off to sleep, in a world of love you'll be."

She continued her song for another 30 seconds before I was out like a light. This time, I did not dream of hate and death. I dreamt of my new friends.

I woke up in the morning and Twilight still lay curled up on the small hoof-made bed. I slowly stood up and stepped over her, careful not to wake her. I stretched my legs and neck and stepped out of the room, looking. After a few drawers I found exactly what I was looking for—a quill and ink. I used my hoofs to pull the ink out of the drawer and my teeth to open the cap. I then picked up the parchment and quill carefully and unskillfully.

I picked up the quill with my teeth and carefully dipped it in the ink. I could probably do this faster with a bit of practice, but I slowly drew out the two words. After I finished, I inspected my work, which was very sloppy, but better than nothing. I blew on the ink to dry it and folded the paper in half using my teeth and pressed the fold with my hooves. I walked back to my room and laid the crudely folded paper next to the bed where Twilight slept.

I walked back out and put the quill and ink back in the drawer and closed it. Wandering around the library, I ran into Spike, who was reshelving a large stack of books.

"Good morning, Shade," He said when he saw me and waved, catching himself on the ladder before he fell, "Is Twilight up? She wasn't in her bed this morning."

"Good morning, Spike," I stared at the dozens of books sitting on a table as I walked toward him, "She's still asleep."

"Fell asleep studying again, I bet," Spike said, shelving another book, "Hey, you know how to organize books right?"

I looked at the labels on the shelves and the spines of the books, "Well I can if it's anything like back home."

"Work in a library back home," Spike asked.

"For about ten years, yeah," I grabbed a book with my teeth, careful not to get any spit on it, and looked around the room for the right shelf. After I found it, I slid the book onto the shelf and stretched my jaw, "Can you suggest a book for me?"

Spike shelved a couple more and slid down the ladder, "Sure thing, what are you looking for?"

I thought through all the questions I had about this world, "How about we start with politics."

Spike jogged out of the room saying, "Oh, I got just the book!"

I was able to shelve two more books before he got back, and I couldn't shelve anymore because the shelves were too high for me to reach. Spike came back with a slightly large book in his hands that was covered in dust.

"Nopony ever checks out this book," Spike explained, "But I like to look at it every once in a while."

I nodded and took the book from his hands and dropped it on a table and kicked it open, "Sorry I can't shelve anymore. The rest of the books are too high up."

He gave me a confused look and looked at my wings, "Can't you fly?"

I looked at the small dragon and sighed, "Well I'll let you in on a little secret. I haven't always been a pony."

"Well that explains a lot," Twilight's voice came from the doorway, "Good morning guys, I was just about to make breakfast. Anything in particular you want?"

"Oh, oh! You have any sapphires left??" Spike said, salivating.

Twilight giggled, "Yes, Spike, I'll make some sapphire salad. Shade?"

"Anything. Still getting used to the vegetarian diet, don't know much about what you eat," I said, wondering if she had seen the note I left for her.

She seemed confused at first, but then trotted off into the kitchen a few rooms away. Spike looked at me, "What do you mean vegetarian?"

"Well… before I was a pony, we would eat meat," I explained, "We were a very barbaric species."

"Sorry I asked," Spike said, "If you want to know about politics, Twilight could explain to you some of the terms, theories, and laws. She's read that whole book there twice since we got here in Ponyville."

I walked into the kitchen where Twilight was chopping up a cantaloupe and some lettuce with her magic while she dug through a cabinet, "Need any help?"

"No, no, I'm fine. I'm just looking for the bag of sapphires Rarity gave me yesterday."

I looked around and saw a small paper bag on a chair labeled To Spikey, Love Rarity, "Is this it," I asked as I picked it up with my teeth.

She stepped out of the cabinet and looked at me, "Ah! Yes, those are it. Thank you."

She proceeded to dump the contents into a wooden bowl and add lettuce all while swirling and mixing them together. She added a few slices of cantaloupe, "Just enough for a sweet aftertaste."

She set the bowl on the table and went to work on another dish. I sat down watching the objects flying magically through the air. After a couple moments of silence she set a plate in front of me and at an empty spot on the table—where she sat—and called Spike to breakfast.

In front of me was a dozen slices of cantaloupe with two slices of cucumber jutting out of each one holding a strawberry between them. The many different tastes seemed to combat each other on my tongue, but the quarrel left a magnificent taste. They were the most delicious tasting fruits I had ever eaten. When I thought about it, I realized this was because these were fresh fruits, not grown through pesticides and scientific testing.

Spike broke the silence, "So did anypony else come with you to Equestria?"

I stared down at my almost empty plate, "No. My husband was killed at the beginning of the war and my adopted daughter was kidnapped three days before I got here."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Shade," Twilight said.

I stayed quiet a moment, "I'm surprised you guys didn't comment on the husband thing."

"Why would we," Spike inquired.

I smiled, "See, in my world, two men or two women marrying was a horrible thing to do. Homosexuality and bisexuality were anything but a crime when the war broke out."

They stared at me inquisitively and asked what homo and bisexuality was. I explained with a smile on my face, these ponies were way too innocent.

"Well," Spike began, "Everypony is bisexual then."

Twilight spoke up, "Yeah, we don't really see that you have to marry or mate with a specific gender. It's all a matter of romance and partnership. I mean, Dash and Applejack are one of the happiest couples I've ever seen."

Processing. Processing. Ding! "Well, this is… surprising, to say the least."

"Can I ask a question, Shade," Twilight asked, "What did you mean you had to get used to a vegetarian diet?"

"Spike already asked that," I said, smiling, "Humans killed and ate animals. In order to obtain enough nutrients to live, I ate the animals, but refused to kill them."

"There's another way we're really different from each other," Twilight continued, "Ponies not only can't eat other creatures, but we don't want to harm any other animals unless to protect ourselves."

I nodded and finished my meal, thanking Twilight for her work and food.

"It was no problem," She smiled, "Feeling any better from yesterday?"

"Yes," I said, "I remember everything now."

I started spending all my free time reading. The politics book had nothing to do with politics, but with the scientific laws of some sort of alchemy. In the middle of reading a book on dragons in my bed, I was interrupted by a weird belching sound in the other room. Spike walked in with a rolled up piece of paper and handed it to me, "Hey, got a letter for you."

I sat and looked that the paper for a second, trying to figure out how I'd unroll it, "Uh, can you unroll and read it for me?"

He nodded and cleared his throat, unrolling the paper, "Dear Enigma Shade, I wish to formally welcome you to my beautiful land of Equestria. You may wonder how I know you are here, but I will explain everything in person. I request that you come see me at Canterlot Royal Castle. Please bring with you any of my students who have crossed your path since your arrival. I look forward to speaking with you. Signed, Princess Celestia."

Spike chuckled, "Dude, can you believe it? You're in Equestria for a week and Princess Celestia wants to see you."

He rushed out of the room calling for Twilight. I went back to my book, knowing her OCD tendencies would lead to her planning the event. I found, though, that my mind would not let me read. It kept wandering to whatever reason Celestia would want to talk to me, or how she even knew I was here in the first place. Twilight began rushing about the library. I stood up and set my book on a table and turned back to leave when something caught my eye.

When I stood up, a pillow had moved out of place and revealed a piece of paper. In curiosity, I picked it up and struggled to unfold it. It was the note I wrote to Twilight, but more was written underneath my horrid handwriting. Everypony needs a little kindness every now and again. I heard Twilight's hoofsteps outside my door but they stopped and quickly hurried in a different direction.

One thing we definitely had in common. We were both horribly awkward.

Spike was the first to spill the beans. He went to Rarity to get her to watch over the library while we were in Canterlot, and in the process told her about me. Soon she was upon me with a tape measure and a head full of questions. I stood in her studio staring at a mirror. I looked horrifying compared to the bright colored ponies that surrounded me. Black and red fur and mane and tail. My wings and tail both looked rather metallic, but felt like real hair.

"So, Darling, my little Spikey talks highly of you," Rarity said, "He says you are going to see the Princess!"

"Yes, I don't know why, though," I said.

"Oh don't be so modest," She exclaimed, "From a whole different realm and at one point was not even a pony. I have to say that would catch my attention if I were a princess."

Thread and needles flew through the air as she worked on some random project, "So your little Spikey. How'd you get him to tell you about me?"

"Oh, he doesn't hide anything from me," She explained, "Ever since we got together he's afraid to keep secrets from me."

Processing. Processing. Ding! "So you and he are dating?"

"Why yes! Everypony may call him a baby dragon, but we are only 3 seasons apart in age," She continued, "and he won't grow more than a hoof taller than me if he can keep from getting greedy again."

Topic change time, "So what did you want me here for again?"

"Why, to make you an outfit for your first trip to our marvelous capitol, of course!"

I nodded, still staring at the mirrors, "Y'know, in my realm I used to be afraid of mirrors. They don't scare me here."

"Well what in Equestria is there to be afraid of," She questioned, "As long as you stay out of the Everfree Forest, you will have nothing to fear!"

"Are you always this generous and easy-going?"

"Easy-going, no, generous, when I feel it is right," She said, remeasuring my neckline, "And a young, handsome stallion such as yourself should not be allowed to step foot on Canterlot soil without one of my beautiful creations!"

I smiled. At least I was the only one who thought I was hideous, "Y'know, Ponyville has shown me more kindness in one week than I have been shown in a full 4 seasons back home."

Rarity stopped sewing for a moment and turned to me, looking at me over her glasses, "Better get used to it, bub."

I chuckled, "I don't think I ever will."

I came back from Rarity's shop with a brand new red vest that blended with the red in my hair and contrasted just as well with the black. Twilight took time out of her packing to give me a once over and compliment my look. Spike stood taller with his arms crossed, "That's my Rarity."

Twilight finished packing and walked into the kitchen and carried snacks back out, "Okay, small supper tonight, we had a big dinner. We need to get up early to catch the train tomorrow. Spike, have you told Dash and Fluttershy?"

Spike saluted, "Yes, ma'am! And Rarity promised to look after the library for us while we're gone."

"Great," Twilight smiled and sighed, "Finally done with preparations."

Spike took his snack and ran off to bed. I ate mine in the middle room with Twilight.

"Hey Twilight, can I ask a favor?"

"If you need help getting away from those nasty night terrors, then sure, I can help," She smiled.

"Sorry to ask…"

"No, don't worry," She poked me with her hoof as she walked past me, "I used to do the same for Spike when he was younger and read too many scary stories."

I smiled. I had always wanted an older sister. Twilight sure knew the part.

Chapter IV: Blacklight

Part I: Welcome to Equestria
Chapter IV: Blacklight

“Isabel??” I couldn’t believe my eyes. The body I had sketched months ago for my daughter was now running toward me. The small filly jumped up at me and threw her hooves around my neck. I wrapped my arms around her small frame, my emotions fried, but slowly coming back as joy.

“Daddy! You look sooooo cool! Just like the picture!”

“Isabel, how di—“ She cut me off.

“No, Daddy! That nice pony over there said my name isn’t Isabel anymore,” She pointed at Celestia, “She said it was Sapphire Shade, now.”

I looked at Celestia and back to the young white and blue filly, my vision slowly clouding. I blinked and it came back in time for a hoof to tap me between the eyes, “Daddyyyyy~! Crying is for babies, remember?? Tough people don’t cry, and you’re supposed to be tough!” She huffed and crossed her forehooves, losing balance and almost falling off the couch.

“I’m just so glad to see you Isab— Sapphire,” I said and hugged her again.

Fluttershy broke the silence after a quiet minute, “You are quite a cute young filly, Sapphire.”

Sapphire fought my grip and jumped off the couch looking for who would dare call her cute, “Me?”

Fluttershy smiled at her, “Why yes, of course!”

The filly huffed, “I PREFER pretty!”

Dash laughed at her with a challenging grin, “Pretty cool, you mean. That design on your fur looks awesome.”

The rambunctious filly jumped up between the two, her hyperactivity always made her do odd things. She swayed herself side to side, bopping her head on each pony’s shoulder saying “Cool pony. Pretty pony. Cool pony. Pretty pony.”

I smiled. That was my daughter. Spike looked over to me with a confused look and mouthed “seriously?”

Dash and Fluttershy both seemed happy. Their smiles at the compliment and the adorability of the pony’s actions made the room seem so bright after the dark aura my tale gave it. After a minute of her bopping the pegasi, she hopped up and looked at Celestia.

“Miss Celestia, can we go out to the courtyard now? Senti promised me he’d teach me Bounceball today!”

Celestia looked over to me, “Yes, why don’t you and everypony else go outside and play. I have to speak with your dad alone for a little bit.”

All the ponies and spike started to get up. Sapphire urged them to move faster as she ran circles around a table then out the door. Watching her leave felt like a dozen needles to the heart. I knew I would see her again, but it was too soon to part. Fluttershy seemed to sense my reluctance and smiled at me, “Don’t worry, Shade, I’ll make sure she stays safe.”

All the ponies but Celestia, Luna, and Twilight were out the door. Luna and Twilight stood at the door, “If you need me, sis, just call.”

Celestia bowed her head in a very slow nod, “I can handle this, Luna. Don’t worry, now go have fun.”

Luna left with Twilight hitching a ride on her back and the door shut behind them. Celestia looked at me with a pleasant smile, “You are perhaps wondering why your daughter is here.”

I nodded.

Her smile turned a bit nervous, “You see, I was watching you for weeks when I caught hint on what you were building. Your husband taught you pretty well, I might add. That machine of his is… I don’t even know how to describe how amazing it is.”

“Yes,” I said, a sad smile on my face. I remembered laughing when he said he could take us to a dimension filled with peace and tolerance and run by semi-anthropomorphic ponies. Then I remembered taking up his work when he…

The princess sensed my sadness and continued, “Anyway, I noticed, after a while, how much your daughter slowed you down. She broke two pieces you needed for the machine and even gave away your hiding place when she woke up screaming and wouldn’t quiet down.”

I remembered that day. It caused another unneeded bloodshed. I had smacked her to shut her up. It was the first and only time I had ever hit her. Two nearby trash-diggers heard and tried to get possession of her. I don’t remember what happened, but she was afraid of me for a week afterwards.

“Enough beating around the bush, as humans say,” Celestia said, “I brought myself to your world in the dead of night and brought her here to ensure that you finished your project before the military police found you.”

My heart nearly stopped. She had been the one to cause all this pain? She had been the one who made these last few days a living hell?

She had been the one to save our lives…

Sensing my thoughts, she kept talking, “I’m sorry to have done that, but I could only bring her. It was all the strength I had, and the only way you could become one of us was through your machine whereas Luna and I could transform young Sapphire.”

I felt anger. I felt relief. I felt confusion. They mixed together and swirled around in my mind, combatting each other for control, “What makes us so special?”

She thought for a moment as if not expecting this question, “Well…”

“Why not the millions of other people who died in that vain war of ours?”

She sighed, “I couldn’t save everypony, Shade. I had to choose. You two had the highest chance. You were the only one who knew how to get here. I just removed an obstacle until you got here. Besides, it made you fight harder so her ‘death’ was not in vain.”

“Why couldn’t you bring her to me sooner??”

“She just woke up not long ago after the transformation. We had to reteach her to walk and talk. I sent the letter the second she woke up.”

“How did you know I was here?”

She took a sip of tea, “Your doctor sent me a letter telling me a strange pony from outside of Equestria visited his hospital. Nothing out of the ordinary, really.”

I sat quietly to let the information set in my brain. She kidnapped Isab—Sapphire… to save her? I had thought she was killed. I had imagined all the terrible things that could have happened to her. It did make me stronger. I would never see her again, but what point would there be in dying? The pain of the past week and a half flooded through my chest and I jumped off the couch and approached the princess. She seemed nervous at this, but did nothing. I stared at her for a moment. I lowered my head and my body in a humbled bow.

“Thank you.”

She let go of a breath she must have been holding, “No need to thank me, Shade. I did what I believed was right.”

I stood from my bow and went back to my seat, the princess seemed much less nervous now, “So you know a lot about my world then?”

“Near everything,” She said.

“Perhaps you can explain some stuff to me. Stuff that nopony else understands.”

“Perhaps I can,” She took her last sip of tea; “You probably want to know why your government failed while ours thrives.”

“Let’s start with the beginning then,” I went through the checklist in my head, “You have no economic system.”

She smiled, “Everypony works for the betterment of ponykind, not for monetary gain. I was a young filly myself when currency became obsolete in Equestria. My mother started this country as what it is today and died doing so. On currency, instead of working for coins, a farmer will make food to feed fellow ponies. In return, a musician will provide her with music to enjoy during her off time. They don’t do this directly for each other in payment, but because their work helps others in one way or another.”

I nodded slowly, “But surely there is still violence in your world. It seems peaceful, but so does Earth if you don’t look deep enough.”

“That is true. We do have a problem with violence. I have not seen any community that doesn’t. Ponies will fight about sports, games, or any other silly thing to fight about. They may have a hoof-fight or a wrestling match, but nopony has the strength to kill another pony. Each pony realizes the intrinsic worth of the pony they are fighting. They kill a farmer, they just lost some food. They kill a musician and others will be angry and shun the murderer because they just lost a large amount of joy in their life. Kill anypony, and the murderer will be hated for killing a friend. A brother or sister. A mother or father.

“For this reason and countless others, we have not had a single murder for over a century and a half. Out of fear, nopony will kill. As for war, we have not warred for over 3 centuries since the fall of Discord. Everypony is happy with how things are, what reason is there to war?”

My mind fizzed and shorted out, “What would happen to murderers then? Would they get imprisoned?”

She smiled at my naiveté, “No, no, Shade. Ponies would investigate the murder and know exactly who it was. They would run that pony out of town, and the murderer would eventually die themselves from either hunger or being attacked by some creature. It seems like chaos, but it’s this fear of loneliness and social outcasting that causes us to work together in peace.”

I thought about how cruel this policy seemed, but then, looking into my world, I remembered how many people I had locked away in a cell knowing their death awaited them. It was the same, but different.

“The ponies keep talking about you finding a cure for death.”

“Oh, that. No. My father worked on that until his death by the very thing he tried to cure. Luna and I took up his work and found the answer a decade later. I am thee hundred fifty years old. My father died at two hundred sixty three.”

I sat and thought for a moment, “So how did you cure death?”

“I didn’t. I cured aging. Our bodies stay young. When ponies are born, they begin breathing the air, which is sprinkled with the cure.”

“How did you find it, but us humans could barely cure cancer and AIDS?”

She smiled, “The final ingredient was from a plant that went extinct in your world three thousand years ago due to war.”

“So how does it work?”

“So it is sprinkled into the air once a decade. The body grows until everything is developed as it needs to be, around twenty years old, and it stops growing.”

“I haven’t been here since birth. What about me? Or Sapphire?”

“The next spreading is next week. It has immediate effect and lasts fifteen years.”

I nodded, “But that seems like it would have nasty side-effects on both us and the plants.”

“It has no effects on the plants or any other animal,” She said, “And the only side-effect we can find positively affects us. The cure of rabies and dementia.”

“Speaking of mental disorders—“

“Very few still exist. The most debilitating is OCD, and that’s only the severe cases,” She laughed, “Any other questions?”

“Yes, how is it that this world became a television show in my world,” I asked. It was the one question that was driving me nuts since I got here.

She thought for a moment, “You see, I made frequent trips to your world. I tried planting ideas into your world to make it more peaceful. I gave the idea of My Little Pony through a dream. A woman named Lauren Faust was asked to make the fourth generation of that franchise, so I visited her as well. She may not remember the dream I gave her, but she did remember the basics and added in very human aspects such as currency and monarchy. All of the plots, though, were her own work. She was quite the creative genius.”

This confused me, “So you tried manipulating humans?”

She seemed taken aback, “No, no! I merely planted ideas in hope that it would show humans that peace was possible.”

I laughed, “That’s manipulation.”

She sat quietly. She wasn’t the strong, seemingly imperturbable creature the show made her out to be, “I wanted to help.”

“I’m not saying I disagree,” I said quickly, “It was very noble of you to try to help a warring and dying world.”

She nodded but did not respond. She seemed deep in thought.

“So, Twilight claims this world does not have any leaders. How is that possible?”

“Oh that Twilight,” She said, breaking from her thoughts, “Of course we have leaders. Not leaders in the way you see it. They are social leaders rather than governmental.”

“But you’re a princess,” I pointed out, “Don’t you have control over everypony?”

She shook her head, “No. Everypony sees me as more of a mother to Equestria. I rise and set the sun and I spread the cure for age. Everypony respects me. I don’t desire control or power. Respect, yes, but not power.”

“One last question,” I said, my brain still frying, burnt as bread toasted four times and set aflame.

“Yes, go ahead,” She said, giving a weak smile.

“Given what you know about my world: Why hasn’t this happened on Earth?”

Her smile faded, “Because, as it is, the governments made its people fear the word that describes it. Everypony that started to preach its ideals were labeled as terrorists. They claimed it would cause nothing but chaos, but it would only do that if it was used wrong.”

I thought hard on this. She was being purposefully cryptic, “And that word is?”

She remained silent for a moment. I let the question linger in the air, hoping it would bear down on her until she answered. She sighed, still staring down at her empty tea cup on her table. It was almost as if she feared how I would react to the word.

She looked up, “They called it Anarchy.”

Princess Celestia returned to her regal look when we joined everypony else in the courtyard. The hatred for the word she described Equestria with burned inside me. Anarchy was chaos. In no way could anarchy stand! Could it? Anarchy was the absence of social and governmental organization, yet Equestria was nothing but a social organization. I thought back and remembered how she said we were taught to hate the word, and I tried to look at it with an open mind, but the hate for the word still seared my mind like a branding iron.

My hate dissipated when Sapphire spotted me and ran up to me, “Daddy! We were waiting for you! Dashie, that cool rainbow pony, is about to race Barry!”

Her total innocence cleared my mind of everything Celestia and I discussed, and I followed her to the middle courtyard. Everypony else greeted the princess and I, but seemed to keep their distance at first.

Spike broke the awkwardness immediately asking, “So how are we gonna watch the race? If they’re racing around Canterlot, we won’t see all of it.”

Luna and Twilight grinned at each other and looked smugly at everypony, “We’ve been working on something.”

They giggled at their unison statement, but then they started their magic. A purple and blue aura covered the ground and slowly lifted up. The aura became solid, like a platform, and it lifted us into the sky. When we reached a peak high enough that we were above the tower, we stopped.

“This will only last an hour,” Twilight said.

“But that’s more than enough time for ten races with how fast they fly,” Luna completed her sentence.

Everypony clapped their hooves—or hands in Spike’s case—and Luna and Twilight bowed their heads humbly with smiles on their faces. Dash asked Celestia to give them the go, and she stepped to the edge of the platform where she and Barrier lined up.

“Ready? Set? GO!”

And they flew off at lightning speed. Luna lifted Sapphire onto my back and she climbed up my neck to get a better view of the race. I resigned. Anarchy may be a terrible thing, but it’s given us a new life. It’s given us a new happiness. It’s given us a new potential.

“Wow, Dashie,” Sapphire said, hopping up and down, “You were soooo fast! Can you teach me?? Can ya? Can ya??”

Rainbow Dash was bursting with pride, “Of course, kid. Soon as you’re out of flight school.”

Sapphire continued to bounce, “I wanna be just like you when I grow up. Controlling weather, flying fast as a train, and even beating Barry in a race!”

Luna lowered her head to Sapphire’s height, “Well, it’s getting pretty late. Why don’t you show your dad your room?”

Her face lit up, “OH! Daddy! Come on! I gotta show you, it’s sweeeeeet!”

She dashed off into the castle calling for me to catch up. I turned to Luna, “She hasn’t been this happy for years. What have you done to her?”

Luna smiled, “Only what I would do for any child.”

Sapphire called from the castle doors, “Auntie Luna! Quit talking to my dad, he needs to see my room!”

I walked towards the door and Fluttershy followed, “Princess Luna loves children. She teaches Magic Kindergarten here in Canterlot or in a town next to Ponyville depending on where she is staying.”

“Well I’m glad she’s happy.”

Sapphire lunged at Fluttershy as soon as we got close enough to the door and knocked her off balance, “Pretty pony! We played all afternoon, but you didn’t tell me your name.”

“Sapphire, get off Fluttershy,” I said, and she did.

“Fluttershy,” She asked, “That’s a cool name!”

Fluttershy got up, “Thanks, Sapphire… Now why don’t you show us your room?”

I stopped her with my hoof, “Sorry about that. Are you okay?”

She nodded happily, “I love children. I babysit for the Crusaders a lot, so I’m used to getting knocked over.”

We followed Sapphire as she talked rapidly enough that we couldn’t understand her. She was 12 in human years, but she was acting much younger. She was probably making up for the childhood the war took away.

We entered the room and watched as Sapphire bounced here to there showing us all the cool stuff her rented room had. When she was done showing us everything she bounced in front of us with a huge smile on her face, “Are you guys gonna stay in my room tonight?

“Of course,” I said, barely wanting to take my eyes off her for fear of her disappearing again.

She looked at Fluttershy expectantly, “Well… I guess I can, if you really want me to…”

“YES,” My little filly yelled, “Daddy and pretty pony staying in my room tonight!”

Celestia appeared behind us, “Well that solves one problem. There are only two beds in the guest room. Spike and Rainbow Dash can take that room. Twi can stay with Luna. They were probably planning that anyway.”

She started heading away and I stopped her, “Celestia.”

She stopped and looked expectantly at me, “Thank you. For everything.”

She smiled and bowed her head before heading back to the main room of the castle.

Celestia and Luna had a huge dinner party. They apparently had one at least once a week with all the tenants of the castle. Spike, Fluttershy, Sapphire and I all stayed to ourselves at one side of the room while Rainbow Dash hogged all the attention and spent time goading Barrier into another race for tomorrow. Twilight never stepped more than five hooves away from Luna all day except to use the little filly’s room.

At the end of the little party, Sapphire was so tired she nearly fell asleep at our table. Fluttershy gently picked her up and flew her up the stairs and put her to bed. I walked past the room heading outside and I heard her singing the same song Twilight sang me. It made me smile. I stepped outside into the courtyard and spread my wings, practicing the technique Dash taught me this morning.

I flapped my wings, slowly gaining speed, and then hopped into the air. I started to panic and nearly crashed again, but I spread my wings quickly and lifted up before I hit the ground. A smile spread across my face as I gained altitude. I thought back to how dash flew. I tilted my wings slightly down in the front and I moved forward, but lowered in altitude. I flapped my wings a bit harder and I regained the altitude in seconds. My smile wouldn’t go away. I was free. I was flying.

I decided to take it up a notch and tried flying around the castle. The view from where I flew in front of the castle was beautiful. I could not only see all of Canterlot, but I could see beyond that. I could see Ponyville from a distance away, distinct only by a few closing shop lights. After a lap around the castle, I could feel the muscles in my wings strain and I landed on the brim of a fountain.

“That was amazing, Shade,” Fluttershy’s voice came from the darkness. She stepped closer and I could finally make out her silhouette, “I saw you from the window… Not many ponies master that sort of flying so quickly.”

I smiled, trying to catch my breath, “I guess… I was born to fly.”

“Well, you should come to bed. We have to get up early to make the train.”

I nodded and followed her as she turned to go inside, “You have a beautiful singing voice… I heard you singing to Is—to Sapphire.”

She seemed to blush, but the darkness made it impossible to tell, “Well… I see why you named her what you did. She is a bell.”

She chuckled at her little joke, but remained as quiet as she could. I could feel my heart slowly lifting from the despair the war dug it into with every second I spent with these ponies, “Thank you, Fluttershy.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know,” I stared up at the window, “I guess for helping with everything you have been. We don’t find that much selflessness on Earth.”

We walked the rest of the way to the room in silence. There was only one bed, but it was large enough it could fit all three of us plus another foal or two. Fluttershy snuggled in close on one side of my young filly, and I snuck in on the other.

Sapphire seemed to wake a little from the shuffling, but she just tapped Fluttershy with her hoof a couple times and whispered, “Good night, pretty pony…”

Fluttershy kissed her forehead and whispered good night. Sapphire was asleep again in seconds. The room was silent except for a soft wind coming through the open windows.

Fluttershy whispered out to me, “I’m sorry, Shade, are you awake?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong?”

“I was just wondering, I’m sorry,” She whispered back, “You talk so badly about your people on your world. There has to be somepony who was as good as you.”

I closed my eyes hard and opened them again, “There were. Humans were capable of such wonderful things. But every good human being on the world was killed. The only ones left were twisted. Every good human is dead.”

She stayed silent for a moment, and I felt she may have fallen asleep, so I snuggled in under the sheets. But then my heart nearly exploded when she said, “But you’re still alive.”

Chapter V: Happy Birthday

Part II: The Mundane
Chapter I: Happy Birthday

Sapphire danced around the kitchen as I cooked up a warm breakfast. She stumbled several times and banged her head on something, but she always got right back up and started dancing again.

“Whatcha makin’, Daddy,” Sapphire asked for the sixth time.

“Tofu bacon wrapped around daisy melon,” I said, one of Fluttershy’s favorite dishes.

“Why not just regular bacon,” Sapphire said, bouncing in place next to me.

“Because ponies don’t kill animals, remember?”

“Ooooh,” She stopped bouncing and ran off upstairs, “MOMMYYYYYYYYY!”

I shook my head. It had been a season since coming to Ponyville. Nopony knew how our birthday’s translated into their calendar, so Sapphire and I shared a birthday as the day I entered Equestria—even though Sapph got here three days sooner. Today was our birthday marking one season in this new dimension, so Pinkie Pie decided to throw a party for us. She was so enthusiastic about it that I began to wonder if she could rival Sapphire’s energy.

Fluttershy walked in rubbing her eyes with Sapphire bouncing behind her, “I got Mommy! Time to eat now?!”

I balanced two plates on my front hooves and one in my teeth setting the table. I had gotten fairly skilled in the three months I’ve been here, so it was fairly easy, but I almost fell over before I got my forehooves back on the ground.

Fluttershy looked at the table in amazement, “Oh, wow. You made this all by yourself?”

I looked over my creation. It was a little sloppy in the wrapping, but it did look rather appetizing—not to toot my own horn or anything. I looked back and nodded proudly, “I figured I’d wake up early and make you breakfast for a change.”

Her face brightened with a smile and she rubbed her head on my neck in a hug, “Thank you, Shadey.”

Sapphire bounced into her chair, “EW! Stop the lovey-dovey stuff and let’s eat!”

“It’s your birthday,” Fluttershy said, “So I’ll make something extra special tonight for supper and dinner to make up for this.”

I pat her head and sat down on my own chair, “Don’t worry about it, Shy. You do so much for us every day you deserve a break.”

Fluttershy sat down and took a bite of her food. I waited before taking a bite of mine for her reaction. She chewed slowly at first, but she then smiled and dug in. I smiled and took it as a compliment from the barely-conscious filly.

“This is awesome, Daddy,” Sapph said, a huge smile on her face and a chunk of tofu stuck to her teeth, “Only thing better is Mommy’s cooking, and that’s because she’s the best in all Equestria.”

Fluttershy almost choked on her food at that and blushed, “I’m not that great.”

“Fine, in the whole universe!”

She hid her face, blushing harder at the compliment. After that, we finished our small breakfast in silence. Sapphire and I moved in with Fluttershy about a month ago after staying almost two months in Twilight’s spare room. I never expected to get into a relationship with the filly that saved my life, but before long Sapphire began calling her Mommy because we spent so much time together that she thought we were dating. A week or two later we were.

Fluttershy finished first and picked up her plate, setting it in the washbin. She trotted over to me and kissed my cheek, “Thank you. That was really good.”

I hid my smile, which was made ugly by my mouthful of food. When Sapph found out that she was going to be the last one to finish, she wolfed down her food and rushed me to finish, “C’mon! Miss Pinkie is throwing us a birthday party! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!”

“It’s not for another hour, Sweetie,” Fluttershy explained to her, “Why don’t you go feed the chickens to make the time go faster.”

Sapphire jumped at the opportunity to be useful and ran outside, forgetting the feeding bucket and coming back, then rushing outside with it in her mouth. I watched this spectacle chewing my last tofu-bacon daisy-melon wrap.

Fluttershy sighed and lay down on one of her small couches. I set my plate in the washbin and walked over to her, “Are you feeling okay, hon?”

Fluttershy smiled weakly and nodded, “Sapph didn’t give me enough time to wake up is all.”

I nodded and kissed her forehead, “Well, you can rest. I’ll go help tend the animals.”

She looked like she wanted to protest, but her drowsiness made that impossible, “Okay… I’m sorry.”

I leaned in and kissed her, the taste of the bacon still on our lips, “You rest.”

Sapphire and I played while we tended to the dozens of animals in the cottage garden. Fluttershy watched from the couch window and eventually joined us when her drowsiness faded. Today is going to be one of those days. Today is going to be great.

“Oh my gosh, I am sooooo excited,” Pinkie exclaimed, tying a balloon to the doorframe of Sugarcube Corner, “Princess Celestia told Twilight she was going to come to the party! This is so much better than that one time tha—“

“Wait, why is Celestia coming,” I asked her, already getting a headache by her hyperactivity.

“Don’t know!” She bounced inside, “Twilight just got a letter this morning saying she was coming!”

“Well, that was very nice of her,” Fluttershy said, laying her head on my shoulder. She seemed like she was trying to keep herself awake.

Before I could ask her anything, Sapphire started bouncing around everywhere and shouting, “Pony, pony birthday! Pony, pony birthday! It is my birthday!”

“Sapph, calm yourself a little,” I said, “Why don’t you help Miss Pinkie finish decorating.”

“No can do mister birthday colt,” Pinkie said landing a few centimeters from bowling Fluttershy and me over, “You two get to do nothing aaaaaaaaall day! Just leave it to Pinkie Pie!”

I shook my head, “Fine, Sapph, go find Auntie Twilight.”

“OKAY,” She yelled and jumped out an open window and bounced toward the library.

Pinkie bounced happily into the kitchen leaving Fluttershy and I alone. I looked over to her. I was only a half meter taller than her, but she seemed smaller and frailer now, “Shy, are you okay?”

She stopped leaning on me, “Yes, Shadey. I’ll ask Twilight for a no-sleep spell when she gets here, don’t worry.”

“I always worry,” She leaned up and kissed me as an apology just as Pinkie hopped in the room.

“Awwwwww, aren’t you two just ADORABLE” Pinkie said, she hopped into the room and grabbed a bottle of sprinkles, balancing it on her poofy head, and hopping back into the kitchen, “I’ll leave you two to that.”

I started laughing, which caused Fluttershy to giggle, covering her mouth with her hoof to hide it. Twilight walked into the room behind us mid-laughing fit, “Jeez, you two seem happy. Did Pinkie give you the news?”

“Yeah. She is bouncing all over the place,” I said, then caught myself, “More than usual.”

Twilight’s smile faded when she looked at Fluttershy, “Oh, you look rather pale, are you okay?”

Fluttershy nodded, “I’m just tired. Do you have any spells to keep me up for a few hours?”

Twilight nodded and her horn glowed. After a couple seconds Fluttershy perked up a bit more and Twilight said, “There, that should last until the end of the party, but after the party come with me to Zecora’s. It may be a bit more than just feeling tired. Just to be on the safe side, okay?”

Fluttershy sighed, “Okay… I’m going to go help Pinkie bake and decorate.”

She trotted quickly over to the kitchen. I turned to Twilight, “So where’s Sapph. I told her to go get you.”

“Oh, she’s back at the library yelling at Spike,” Twilight laughed, “He was being lazy, so she started telling him he better not miss her birthday party. Then she pushed me out the door so I wouldn’t be late.”

I shook my head, smiling, “That filly…”

“Oh,” Twilight’s horn lit up again and the flap on her saddlebag opened. A small box wrapped in colorful paper and a bow floated out covered in a violet aura, then a second, larger box came out of the other side of the saddlebag in the same paper but a different colored bow, and they flew over and sat down on a table, “There’s yours and Sapph’s presents.”

“Thanks, sis,” I said and pulled her into a hug, “You’re the best.”

“Wow, you sure have grown,” A voice behind Twi said, “You’re twice Twilight’s size now.”

I looked up to see Rainbow Dash walking beside an orange pony with blond hair. I let Twilight go and we stepped out of the path of the doorway to let them in, “Hey, Dash. Long time no see. What has it been, a month?”

Dash wore a smirk, “Applejack, this is my protégé, Enigma Shade. Shade, this is my wife, Applejack.”

The orange pony took off her hat and offered her hoof, “Nice t’finally meetcha, Shade.”

I raised my hoof to hers and some force gripped it and shook it up and down, but I was used to this by now after several meetings like this, “Nice to meet you, too, Applejack. Your wife’s an excellent teacher.”

Dash’s expression burst with pride, but Applejack cut the flower at the bud, “Ah, it’s only ‘cause yer older than ev’rypony else. She cain’t teach a foal squat diddly.”

With her bubble burst, Dash’s expression turned daring, angry, “Oh, yeah?! Well if you think I’m so bad why don’t you just say so?!”

Applejack smiled with a challenging grin, “So.”

They stared each other down for an awkward minute before breaking down into laughter. Twilight rolled her eyes, mouthing to me, They do this all the time.

When the laughing stopped, Applejack looked me up and down, “Shoo, RD was right, you are perty big. ‘Bout as big as Big Mac.”

“Hey, Twilight, where’s Luna,” Dash asked, “I swear I saw here a couple days ago.”

“She flew up to Canterlot last night to accompany her sister to town,” Twilight said.

“Celestia’s comin’,” Applejack asked and looked back at me, “You gotta be perty famous t’get both princesses t’come t’yer birthday party.”

Spike waddled in the door in the middle of Applejack’s sentence with Sapphire on his back yelling, “GIDDY UP!”

“C’mon, can I rest now,” Spike questioned, looking worn out.

“Sapph, leave Spike alone,” I said to her.

“She yours,” Applejack asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well idn’t she cute,” Applejack leaned a hoof on Dash, “She got a mom? Or ‘nother dad?”

I sighed, “Her other dad died before we got here to Equestria.”

“Oh… Ah’m very sorry t’hear that. Ah don’t mean to pry.”

“It’s okay, we’ve moved on as best we could,” I pushed away any sad thoughts, “Besides, Fluttershy has taken up a wonderful role as mother to her.”

“Ha! Told you that Fluttershy would get a tough lookin’ stallion, AJ,” Dash said, “I win.”

Twilight lowered her eyes, “But didn’t you know anyway, Rainbow?”

Dash looked like she was about to accuse Twi of being a traitor, so I cut in, “Speaking of Fluttershy. I’m going to check on how she’s doing.”

I walked past Spike, who made a fist as I approached. I stuck out my hoof and knocked against his fist, “Sorry about her, Spike.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” Spike said, walking over to join the group discussion. Sapphire bounced in place just outside Sugarcube Corner, her school friends in the distance followed by Rarity.

I stepped in the kitchen and froze in place. Pinkie was sitting against a wall with Fluttershy’s arm over her slightly chubby frame and a handkerchief dangling over the other hoof. They looked up at me, and I could see tears running down Pinkie’s face. She immediately yanked away the handkerchief away from Fluttershy and started apologizing profusely for her behavior.

Within seconds she was back up and with a smile on her face, “Don’t let me ruin your special day!”

“Sorry,” I said, “I didn’t mean t—“

She put her hoof on my mouth, “No, no. Sorries are not allowed from the birthday colt.”

I heard a loud crash coming from the main room. When I looked out, I saw the four fillies had somehow managed to topple half the tables in the place. I looked back to Pinkie and Fluttershy and quickly walked out of the room.

The games and dancing and cake all seemed to go by fairly quickly. Celestia showed up with her two guards, Barrier and Sentinel, along with Luna moments after the party began. Rarity spent most of her time with Spike or talking to the princesses. Luna and Twilight were, as per usual, inseparable. Dash and Applejack split up during the party, which seemed odd to me, because all the other couples never left each other’s side. Fluttershy left my side to stop Sapphire and her friends—who called themselves the Cutiemark Crusaders—from tearing apart the whole room, so I went to question Applejack about it.

“Hey, Applejack,” I said, walking up to her.

She smiled, “Ah, hey there, birthday colt!”

“Can I ask you a quick, kinda personal question?”

“Ah’m an open book,” She said with a wink, “Ask away.”

“Well I noticed you and Dash seem pretty close, but you aren’t hanging all over each other like everypony else does.”

“Oh that’s not that personal, Shade,” Applejack said with a wave of her hoof, “Y’see, Dash ‘n’ I been together fer quite some time. Since we were young fillies ourselves. We were once like y’all. But after more’n thirty seasons together, we tend t’give each other space so that when we are together, we appreciate each other more.”

I nodded slowly, “Well that makes sense, I suppose.”

“Ah’m not gonna tell ya how t’run your relationship,” She continued, “But if yer hangin’ on each other so dang much, y’get sick of each other. Lucky RD and Ah learnt that early on. ‘t may seem like y’cain’t go ten minutes without each other, but trust me: y’all will see each other again. That’s how RD ‘n’ Ah stayed together for almost thirty one seasons. That’s how Pinkie ‘n’ mah brother couldn’t stay together.”

“Pinkie and your brother?”

“Oh, right,” She smiled sheepishly, “That’s probably not mah business t’talk about, but mah brother, Big Mac—the stallion Ah said looks ‘bout yer size—left Pinkie a coupla days ago fer Applebloom’s schoolteacher, Miss Cheerilee.”

I nodded, but before I could say any more, Rainbow Dash swooped in above Applejack and wrapped her hooves around her with a teasing grin on her face, “Hey, punk, you hittin’ on my girl?”

Applejack swatted playfully at Dash, “Oh, lay off th’poor colt. We was jus’ havin’ a chat. Besides, y’know Ah don’t swing that way.”

Dash let go and got close to me, still with a playful smile on her face, “That may be so, but I’m watching you.”

Applejack patted me on the shoulder, “Well, that’s mah advice. Hope it helps ya somehow.”

She trotted off towards Pinkie, who tackled her with a hug. Princess Celestia walked up to me a couple moments later, “How is life in Equestria treating you, Shade?”

I looked up at her—even though I was taller than most ponies, she was even taller than me, “It’s wonderful. It’s amazing. It’s confusing.”

She chuckled quietly, “I heard the last part of your conversation. Sorry to eavesdrop.”

“’Swing that way’ I haven’t heard since back home,” I told her.

“While everypony here does believe that everypony is…’bisexual’ I believe you call it,” She explained, “Most of us have preferences toward one gender or the other. While somepony like you or Twilight do not seem to have a preference, somepony like your new friend Applejack or Rarity do.”

“Ah, so you ponies believe in that old theory from the 2000s that the war killed,” I mused.

“Indeed,” She smiled again, “I’ll leave you be. It seems your daughter wants to introduce her friends.”

On cue, Sapphire bounced up with her three friends, “Daddy, Daddy! You gotta meet my friends from school!”

She bounced once revealing a light yellow maned filly with red hair and a bow, “This is Applebloom. She’s Applejack’s sister.”

The young filly presented her hoof, “Nice t’meetcha.”

I shook her hoof, and Sapphire bounced again revealing a white-gray unicorn filly with a purple-and-pink mane, “This is Sweetie Belle. She’s Miss Rarity’s sister.”

The young filly bowed her head and squeaked, “Hello, Mr. Shade.”

I bowed my head back, and Sapphire bounced yet again to reveal an orange pegasus filly with a dark purple mane, “And this is my buddy Scootaloo! She’ll be in the same class as me in Flight School next month!”

She raised her hoof for a high hoof, and I indulged her. Sapphire suddenly jumped so they all made one long row, “And together we’re—“

“THE CUTIEMARK CRUSADERS! YAY,” I could feel my eardrums bursting from the volume and the pitch. I could see a few ponies looking at me and chuckling, including Fluttershy—who probably made sure to stay a safe distance away from the hyperactive fillies. Now I understand why Celestia made a quick getaway when she saw them coming.

Pinkie hopped on top of a table while my ears continued ringing, “Present time!”

Most conversations continued, but a couple ponies went to the center of the room where a small stack of wrapped gifts lay. Twilight’s horn lit up and the two gifts she stacked there earlier lifted from the table, “Here you go. The sizes of the present tell you who they’re for.”

I grabbed my gift out of the air and untied the ribbon (with a bit of difficulty). I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Sapph had already opened hers, and that the ribbon. She pulled out six bookmarks, and she looked at them confused. I finally got the ribbon off of mine, and when they fell away, the box grew to four times its original size. I lifted the lid off the box and inside was half a dozen books.

“I hope you don’t mind sharing each others’ presents,” Twilight said, “Spike and I brought these back when we took that two day trip to Fillydelphia.”

We both thanked them with hugs and brofists/hoofs, and we complimented Twi’s shrink spell. Dash and Applejack brought forth a single present as well, which turned out to be a very large apple pie. Pinkie gave us both a large cupcake (made with extra amounts of love). Celestia and Luna gave us a canister of herbs for our favorite brew of tea. Rarity made us hats and boots for the upcoming winter months.

The three crusaders approached us with a giant card that said “Happy First Equestrian Birthday!” Sapph squealed and tackled her friends. When they were done laughing I thanked them with a bow, though it must have looked weird for such a large pony to stoop low like that.

Fluttershy walked up to us carrying a large box on her back, “I had Pinkie Pie hide this here so you wouldn’t find it,” She gave a triumphant smirk.

She set the box in front of us and we unwrapped it slowly, though other ponies kept urging us to just rip it wide open. We unfolded the wrappings neatly and lifted the lid of the box inside. In the box were two hoof sewn, neatly folded quilts with a card resting on top of them. The card read “Happy birthday to my little angel and the big sweetheart.” Sapphire pulled out her quilt without unfolding it. The quilt had animals in random places with a bubbly design covering it. I left mine in the box for fear of dropping it and unfolding it, but I rubbed my hoof across the material. It had symbols I had described to her before when I discussed things from my world, and it had a similar background design as Sapph’s, but with darker, warmer colors.

Sapphire was the first to recover. A broad smile spread across her face and she tackled the yellow mare, “I LOVE IT!”

When she hopped off Fluttershy, I walked up and pulled her into a kiss, to which Sapphire responded with, “OH COME ON! Get a room!” and kicked me in the foreleg. I laughed and Fluttershy blushed. Everypony seemed to “aww” with their expressions, no matter how brief the kiss was.

“It’s—they’re beautiful,” I said, and she hid her smile and blush by turning her face away and letting her hair cover it.

We went back to the party. About ten minutes later there was a knock at the door. Pinkie jumped off of the table she was on, coaching through a Pin the Tail on the Pony game she left out for the fillies, and answered the door, “Sorry we’re closed for a pri—“

The ever-present smile on Pinkie’s face fell and she took a few steps back from the door before turning around and walking into the kitchen, followed soon by Fluttershy. A large, red stallion with a blond mane walked in tentatively.

“Big Mac, Ah told you it’d be a bad idea t’come here,” Applejack said, approaching him.

The large stallion walked further in, “I didn’t think that would happen.”

“Well what in tarnation didja expect ta happen,” She charged.

“Well, I was expectin’ ta be able to come by and say hi,” He replied, “Was just comin’ to meet Applebloom’s new friend. Saw the shop on the way to the orchard and didn’t think much of it. I came here so often before.”

I walked over to the entrance with Applebloom and Sapphire following me. Applejack pushed the large pony outside.

The door closed behind us. Up close, I was about a hoof taller than Big Mac, but he had more of a muscular build, “Hello there, Big Mac. I’m Enigma Shade.”

I reached out my hoof and he shook it violently before talking, I noticed his speech was slow and well thought out, “You must be her dad, then.”

I nodded, “This is Sapphire.”

Sapphire nodded shyly, which was unlike her. Applebloom spoke up to break the awkward silence, “Hey, Big Mac, Ah’m gonna stay with th’crusaders tanight, so Ah won’t be home. But maybe y’should get going. Ah mean, after that deal with Pinkie last week…”

Big Mac sighed, “I guess so. It was nice meetin’ y’both. Hope to see you ‘round. Happy birthday.”

With that he walked off. Applejack shook her head, “Okay, Ah s’pose Ah owe y’all an explanation.”

“I guess. I’ve never seen Pinkie so upset,” I said.

Applejack sighed and shooed the fillies inside, “Big Mac and Pinkie dated fer a good three seasons, but Mac didn’t quite like Pinkie’s always hyper behavior. Insteada ending the relationship, he jus’s went on ta Miss Cheerilee. Pinkie’s kinda beaten up ‘bout it fer a good number of reasons.”

I nodded slowly, “Not sure how to react to this…”

“Ah feel bad fer Pinkie, Ah do,” She continued, “and Ah think Big Mac is bein’ a jerk, but at least he didn’t bring his new fillyfriend. Life’s been hard on Pinkie since she lost her first coltfriend. Ask her how sh’got ‘er job.”

“Perhaps another day,” I said, absorbing the information. Suddenly an idea popped in my head, “Can I ask a favor, though?”

“Sure, sugarcube,” She said, “Anything Ah can do t’make up fer this whole issue.”

“Do you know anypony who can play good rock tunes?”

She smiled “Ah see where yer goin’ with this. Of course Ah know.”

After the party, everypony bid each other farewell. The princess made a very dramatic exit with a flash of light and teleportation. Twilight told Fluttershy that she would be by in the morning to take her to see Zecora. Fluttershy reluctantly agreed.

Pinkie hopped outside with a huge smile on her face, “Okay, I packed a saddlebag for you to carry all your gifts home.”

She plopped the bag on my back and jumped to hug me, “I hope you enjoyed your party! There’s no better party than a Pinkie party!”

“It was really fun. Thank you, Pinkie.”

Pinkie bounced back inside leaving the remainder of us outside. Rainbow Dash and Applejack decided to race to see who could get home first, leaving Applebloom with the rest of the crusaders.

“Hey, girls,” Applebloom said, “Ah kinda told them Ah was gonna stay with someone tanight. Ah forgot that Ah shoulda asked first.”

Fluttershy spoke up quickly, “Why don’t you girls bring the birthday party to the cottage? Have an outdoor sleepover.”

The crusaders all discussed the idea with enthusiasm and all agreed, “Well let’s get going then, it’s almost supper time.”

“You guys go ahead, I want to talk to Luna for a moment,” Luna froze and the crusaders followed Fluttershy to the cottage.

As soon as they were out of earshot, I turned to Luna and Twilight, who had questioning looks on their faces.

“What is this about?”

“I wanted to first, thank you for coming,” I said, and she smiled, bowing her head a bit, “Also, I hear from Applejack that you play a mad synthesis piano.”

She stood a little straighter, “The best in Canterlot.”

I smiled and looked at Twilight, “And you have a wonderful singing voice, sis.”

Twilight gave me a questioning look, “Perhaps. What is this about?”

I looked at Sugarcube Corner and walked with Luna and Twilight out of hearing range before discussing a plan.

Chapter VI: Get a Grip

Part II: The Mundane
Chapter II: Get a Grip

I woke up to the sound of the crusaders chasing a chicken outside. I opened my eyes to see Fluttershy sleeping peacefully beside me. I didn’t remember her slipping into my bed last night, but her bed was further into the room, and she was probably too tired to make it the extra four meters. I kissed her on the forehead and turned around to check the time.

I had a hard time since coming here switching to the Roman Numeral system they used, but after staring at the clock for a minute, I found out it was about 07:42. Nearly 15 minutes before Twilight said she was coming to take Fluttershy to Zecora’s. I brushed her hair out of her face.

“Fluttershy,” I whispered quietly, “Come on, it’s time to wake up.”

She stayed still, her soft breath billowing past my neck. I put my hoof on her shoulder and shook her gently. Her head bobbed loosely with the movements of her body.

“Fluttershy,” I said a bit louder, shaking more roughly, “Fluttershyyyyyyy”

At this point I started getting worried. She was always a light sleeper. I stepped over her out of the basket-like bed and tried again to wake her. I shook her a bit more violently, saying her name louder. I looked at her side, her ribs slowly rose and fell. At least she was still breathing. I ran down the stairs, trying to keep my wings down, which tried to splay themselves (Pegasi’s wings stretched out when the pegasus feels one emotion very strongly). The wings won the battle and a flowerpot fell to the ground.

I looked outside and yelled to the crusaders, trying to keep my voice under control, “Hey, girls, why don’t you run and find Miss Twilight?”

“Okay!” They all started rushing off into town towards the library.

I filled a cup with water and carried it with my teeth up the stairs. I had to force my wings closed to fit up the narrow stairway. I set it down when I got up there and tried once again to shake her awake. I pounded my forehooves on the ground in my nervousness. Fuck it.

I picked her up with my forelegs and set her on the floor, knowing the water would ruin the bed. I picked up the cup and splashed it on her. She sputtered for a second, but went straight back to her calm, peaceful breathing. I dropped the cup to the floor and started stamping my hooves again and looked outside to see Twilight trotting towards the cottage, not more than two minutes away. I picked up a piece of cloth and dried Fluttershy off, afraid she would get a cold, and picked her up, carrying her outside to meet Twilight halfway.

As soon as I was clear of any objects in the way, I let my wings spread with the nervous energy pent up in them, “Twilight!”

About seven meters away, Twilight ran quicker toward me, “What’s wrong.”

“She won’t wake up,” I said, not worrying about the panic in my voice.

Twilight’s face turned further down in worry, “Let’s hurry and run her to Zecora’s.”

“No, no, I can fly faster than I can run,” I said, my large, powerful wings could rival even Rainbow Dash, who can just barely beat me in a race, “Just point the exact direction.”

Twilight looked at the forest thinking, and then pointed, “I believe it’s that way, if not, just fly higher and look for a clearing with smoke. She’s always brewing something.”

“Great, meet me there,” Twilight nodded and teleported five meters towards the Everfree Forest and broke out in a run. I looked back to the crusaders, who had worried looks on their faces, and I realized I was hovering about a quarter meter off of the ground, “You girls be good, we’ll be back soon. Go have fun, and don’t worry.”

I probably didn’t sound very convincing with the quivering in my voice. I didn’t care. I gave a powerful heave of my wings and I ascended several meters very quickly. I flew above the tree-line and sped forward. I moved my hoof slightly so that the wind would not take Fluttershy’s breath away like it did to me—who knows what side-effect that would have. The normally fifteen minute walk to Zecora’s was cut down to just under two minutes. I landed in front of her house and caught my breath while putting my sleeping fillyfriend on my back so that I could knock on the door.

The zebra answered the door quickly, “Ah, you are here earlier than expected, per—“

“Sorry, Zecora,” I said quickly and sucked in another breath, “Fluttershy won’t wake up.”

She nodded, “Come in, come in, quickly.”

I walked in behind the zebra and set Fluttershy on the cot Zecora pointed at, “And what of your good friend Twilight? I had received a message from her late last night.”

I finally caught my breath, “She’s on her way. It was faster to fly here.”

“Then I suppose you should go find her,” Zecora said, looking Fluttershy over, “The forest, after all, is filled with danger.”

I pounded my hoof in nervousness, “Okay, okay.”

I took off running outside, but I did not fly along the path—my large wings would clip every tree on the sides of the path. After a couple minutes of running, I found a very tired Twilight about halfway through the path.

“Where’s… Fluttershy?”

“I left her… at Zecora’s…. to find you,” I probably looked pretty disheveled the way she
looked at me.

“That was quick,” She said and gave a wheezing laugh, “I am really out of shape for this kind of thing.”

I smiled and heaved a laugh. I looked up and realized we were in a clearing. I looked back down with a wicked smile on my face. Twilight looked at me with question, but then with horror as she took a step back, “Oh, no, no, no!”

I stepped forward and picked her up and jumped into the sky, above the tree-line in a second. Twilight screamed and covered her eyes, but slowly revealed them when I stopped and hovered in the air.

She smacked my shoulder, “Jerk! Don’t do that!”

I laughed evilly, “Aww, but this is the quickest way to get to Zecora’s, and you get a break!”

She huffed, but she seemed grateful for the break. I flew slower than I did with Fluttershy, and my nerves returned after being quelled by a couple moments of laughing. We made it to Zecora’s a couple minutes later, and Twilight thanked me for the ride. We stepped inside to see Zecora brewing up a small pot of herbs on a small flame next to Fluttershy.

“Ah, so you have returned,” The rhyme-happy zebra said when she spotted us, “I believe I know what has occurred.”

“I assumed some sort of sleep powder or sleep spell,” Twilight said, “and those can be pretty dangerous.”

“Not so much a powder, but a poison of sleep,” Zecora pointed to a cut I had not noticed before on the back of Fluttershy’s hind leg, “Contracted from that cut, and it looks fairly deep.”

I kept pounding my hoof nervously, “So can you cure it??”

The zebra nodded, “It will only take a few hours to make, but we must first sew that cut on her flank.”

Twilight found, sterilized, and threaded a needle and floated it over to Zecora. Zecora lifted her washed hoof and the needle attached to her hoof like a magnet, “If you are squeamish I do suggest you leave. And you two are quite, I do believe.”

Twilight pushed me outside, and I tried to resist, but she persisted. We sat outside for a while in silence.

“So, Twi…” I said, breaking the silence

“Yeah?”

I thought back to all the times my hoof was gripped by some weird force during hoofshakes, how Sapphire could hold crayons with her hoof while laying down coloring, or how Zecora held the needle like a magnet on her hoof, “How do ponies grasp things with their hooves if they don’t have fingers..?”

Twilight looked at me with a confused look as I dug at the ground. A realization appeared across her face, “Oh you mean Grip?”

“Sure,” I said, “Why not?”

“Hey,” Twilight said, putting her hoof on my shoulder, “She’s gonna be okay, Shade.”

“Shock’s setting in. Adrenaline is long gone.”

Twilight remained silent. I couldn’t feel a single emotion. This always happened after shocking or frightening incidents. My emotions just up and leave. I stamped my foot in the hole I made in the dirt, “Anyway, this Grip thing?”

She shook her head as if clearing her thoughts, “Well everypony has some sort of magic in them, even though unicorns and alicorns are the only ones who can express it freely with our horns. With pegasi and earth pony they are expressed mostly in Grip, but also in a few other places.”

I nodded to show that I was still listening and she continued, “Pegasi have magic that make them strong, powerful, and fast fliers. Before Celestia came, they were strong warriors that protected Equestria. From what you’ve told me about your world, you were a protector, which explains why you were drawn to turn into a pegasus. Without really knowing, you’ve been using magic since you learned to fly, maybe even before you came to Equestria. Your wings are your magic. That’s why you guys can walk on clouds.”

I nodded, “And earth ponies?”

“They are tricky ones,” She said, looking up into the sky in thought, “While everypony can grow plants, earth pony use magic to make them grow quickly and healthy. Earth pony normally make things. Furniture, houses, food, gardens, you get the picture. Their magic makes things last a long time and maintain its usefulness. Their magic is in their hooves. Heh, why do you think Pinkie’s treats taste so delicious?”

I felt a smile spread across my face, which made Twilight loosen up a bit. She let her shoulders slump, “I figured you already knew how to Grip things, since Sapph picked up on it so quickly.”

I nodded, “And speaking of Pinkie, did you consider my request?”

She smiled, “If you can write it down, we can learn it fairly quickly. Two days tops. And since you gave us a head-start by writing them out last night after the party, we should be ready the day after tomorrow.”

I reached out my hoof and slid her toward me in a sideways hug, “You’re the best, sis.”

She rubbed her head on my chest to return the hug, and I could sense the smile in her voice, “I try.”

Zecora called us in about an hour later while Twilight was trying to teach me to Grip. The cut on Fluttershy’s hind leg was now stitched together, and Zecora said it should heal by the time the antidote was finished. I figured to ask her why it took so long to sew up the cut, but then I remembered she was making the antidote at the same time.

Zecora shot a quick glance, “An inquiry if I may? Yesterday was your birthday?”

I nodded and she continued, “Perhaps her diet projects how she feels. Could you relay to me yesterday’s meals?”

“Uhm,” I started, “Well, we had tofu bacon and daisy melon for breakfast. She did eat quite a bit of Pinkie’s sweets she made for the party to give her sugar and protein to keep awake for the day.”

Zecora shook her head and gave an evil grin, “Well then I must say that it was good for her to not give a present in bed. To put it bluntly, more protein to absorb and she may have been dead.”

I could feel my face flush and Twilight looked away with a red face of her own, “We don’t—I don’t—“

“Oh, my dear pegasus, there is nothing to be ashamed of,” Zecora interrupted, “It is a very common theme between ponies in love.”

I shook my head, “I don’t care if I ever do that the rest of my life. That was never in my mind until now, and I still don’t care. Now can we please move on to why you brought this up?”

“I needed to know how much of this next herb to add,” Zecora said, crushing up some herbs with a mortar, “And with teasing, there is much fun to be had.”

Twilight walked over and nudged me, “She likes to mess with us.”

“You ponyfolk are much more forward than we zebra,” Zecora said, “But lessons were taken from the creatures and Libra.”

“Who’s Libra,” I asked.

“It’s a constellation creature,” Twilight said, “Kinda like an Ursa Major, which you told me you knew about. Libra’s are little barrels of knowledge that live here in Everfree forest.”

Zecora dumped the herbs she was smashing into the small boiling pot. The pot shot up a beam of smoke as soon as the last fleck of herb hit it, “A good fifteen minutes to cool. I must apologize for being cruel.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, “Kinda opened my eyes a bit.”

She nodded and we sat in silence. Twilight started looking through an herbal remedy book, and I sat next to Fluttershy. I noticed that the stitching on the back of her leg had started to dissolve and the cut heal. I lie down with my chin on the cot and her warm breath on my cheek. I closed my eyes, and, after what seemed like an eternity, Zecora said the brew was ready. I sat up and moved a bit so that Zecora could feed the liquid to Fluttershy. Twilight stood next to me and used her magic to make Fluttershy swallow, since she couldn’t in her sleep state.

When the liquid in the small bowl was gone they stepped back and let me step forward. After another eternity, Fluttershy’s breathing became deeper and her eyes drifted open and shut like an ocean tide pulling and pushing the water on shore.

A weak smile spread across her face. Her voice was soft and also weak, sounding like an angel, at least to me, “Good morning, Shade…”

I smiled and resisted the tears of relief that started forming. I leaned in and kissed her. The taste of ginger lingered on my lips after I pulled away. She stared dreamily at me, “I had the most wonderful dream… I dreamt we were flying through space and swimming in the stars… It was beautiful…”

Fluttershy’s eyes opened fully after a few dreamy-eyed minutes, and she looked around behind me, “Where are we?”

She spotted Zecora, “How did we get here?”

I shook my head and tried to explain, “We brought you here when you wouldn’t wake up. You had sleep poisoning.”

She looked up at the ceiling, “I thought that vine looked odd in my garden.”

“What vine?”

“The day before yesterday,” She explained, “There was a blue vine growing from the Squirrel family tree.”

“And?”

“Well, I started pulling on it, and I fell back and cut my leg on it,” She said, “I didn’t think anything of it. I’ve had worse cuts. Oh, I’m so sorry to trouble you…”

I leaned in and nuzzled and kissed her neck, “It was no trouble at all, Sweetie.”

“Shade…?”

“Yes?”

“Why can’t I move my legs?”

I looked at her legs and realized she didn’t move a single muscle other than her face since she woke up.

“The sleep poison paralyzes your body,” Zecora said, “but use of your limbs shall return shortly.”

Twilight explained further since Zecora never stopped talking in rhymes even to make sense, “One of the herbs she used is supposed to override sleep paralysis. It should give her brain a boost in hormone to undo it.”

“How long does this take,” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh, a few minutes maybe.”

She closed her eyes and I lay my head on her shoulder, “I’m cold…”

I crawled on the cot next to her and put my foreleg over her to share body heat. She gave a weak thanks. After a few minutes her forelegs started to twitch and spasm. She pushed me away, and then her hind legs started twitching as well, and she ended up kicking me in the groin. A huge shock of pain shuddered through my body and I fell off the cot.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry,” Fluttershy shakily stood up and bent over me, “Are you okay?”

I squeaked, “Yeah… never better… Glad you’re okay… fuhuck that hurt…”

She kissed my cheek, “I’m so sorry! I had no control of my legs…”

I took in a deep breath and stood up shakily. Zecora was laughing. Twilight hid her face, but I could tell she was holding in a laugh. It was about twenty minutes before I had the strength again to fly the two fillies home.

When we got back to the cottage, Fluttershy showed us where the vine was that she had fallen on. A dark blue and thorny vine came down from one of the branches in the squirrel tree.

“Looks like we’ll have to take the whole branch off…” I said.

“That’s a Kreep,” Twilight said, “A poison vine that grows randomly in acorn trees across Equestria.”

“Is there a way to kill it?”

“Oh, you don’t wanna do that,” Twilight said, “The princess uses these types of vines to cure insomnia.”

I nodded, but glared at the vine in contempt.

“I’ll send a letter to have Princess Celestia send Barry or Sen down to harvest it.”

We headed down to the library where the crusaders seemed to take refuge. They attacked us with questions almost immediately. Spike, who was dreadfully trying to entertain the group, slipped off upstairs as soon as the attention was off of him. We tried to explain to the group, and they flocked around Fluttershy making sure she was absolutely okay.

Sapph somehow quieted the group and she kicked Fluttershy’s foreleg, “You scared me, Mommy…”

“I’m sorry, honey,” Fluttershy said, scooping her up and nuzzling her.

“Don’t ever do that again,” She said into Fluttershy’s neck, her voice cracking, “I thought something bad happened, like with Daddy…”

Fluttershy sat down and hugged the small filly and made shushing noises, and that’s when I realized she was crying. Her ribs started expanding and deflating irregularly with each sob. Fluttershy started humming a soft tune. The other crusaders and Twilight watched in worry as the small pony cried into Fluttershy’s shoulder with a vice grip hug.

Twilight and I shooed the three young fillies into another room while Fluttershy calmed Sapph. We all sat quietly, shocked by the event. The young fillies started worried whispers after a few minutes. I told the group I would check on Sapph and stepped back into the room

Fluttershy was still holding Sapph, but she wasn’t hugging her as tightly anymore. Sapphire’s sobs had turned to shaky breaths and the occasional sniff. When I looked at Fluttershy, I noticed that Sapphire was not the only one who was crying.

Sapphire took in a shaky breath, “I thought—I thought something bad happened…”

“I know how it feels to lose somepony you love,” Fluttershy said, her voice calm even with tears streaming down her face and mixing with her fur, “But I’m still here, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Don’t ever do that again…”

“I won’t. I promise…”

“Do a Pinkie Promise…”

Fluttershy set the filly down so that she could do the motions, “Cross my heart and hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Sapphire smiled and jumped to hug her again, “I love you, Mommy.”

“I love you too, Sweetheart,” Fluttershy’s voice quivered, even after remaining so composed for so long.

I stepped back in the room with the crusaders and Twilight. Twilight looked at me worriedly, “Are you okay, Shade.”

It took me a second to realize what she was talking about, but then I figured out why my eyes were so blurry. I wiped my eyes, “Yeah. I’m fine. Peachy keen.”

Scootaloo, the orange maned filly, spoke out, “Oh, no. If the big tough pony’s crying, we’re probably going to.”

I started to laugh even as a few tears rolled down my face, “Don’t worry, kid. I’m not as tough as you think.”

Twilight set a ball in front of me. She was intent on making me learn how to Grip things. I have to admit: it would make things a lot easier.

“Okay, how about this. Humans had fingers right? Just imagine you still have your fingers and try to pick up the ball,” She coached.

I set my hoof against the ball and concentrated. I lifted my hoof and the ball stuck to it, but fell back to the table after a couple seconds, “Dang it…”

Twilight smiled, “Still one second better than your last try! Now, one more time and you can go home.”

“It’s been two hours, Twi,” I said.

“I know, but look how far you’ve gotten since I told you about it this morning.”

I looked up at the ceiling in defeat, “Fine… one more try.”

I set my hoof against the ball one more time. I imagined my hand was still attached to my foreleg and that I was wrapping my fingers around the small object. I slowly lifted my hoof and the ball stuck, like it did the last four tries.

But it stayed for a good ten seconds before slipping away.

Twilight gave a triumphant grin, “You have it. Now all you gotta do is practice with more and heavier things. But try not to pick up things heavier than seven kilos.”

Luna appeared in the doorway, “Hey, Twi. Supper’s my treat tonight, anything you want in particular?”

Twilight shook her head, “Whatever you want.”

“Are you staying with us, Shade?”

I shook my head, “Nah, Shy is making me and the girls a special supper and dinner tonight.”

“Well you enjoy then,” She smiled, “Oh, and that music you wrote out last night, I almost have it all down. If you haven’t heard, I’ve been practicing all day.”

I nodded, “And it sounds lovely.”

Twi jumped in, “And Dash said that she would do the drum parts.”

“What about the guitar parts?”

Twi gave a proud grin, “It’s not just vocals that I can do!”

This made me smile, “Awesome. I love you guys.”

Fluttershy was always an awesome cook. The four fillies and I all stuffed our faces with every delicious morsel we could fit in our stomachs. Fluttershy ate with less ferocity as the rest of us, but she smiled with every compliment about how awesome the food tasted or how great of a cook she was.

After supper, the girls all ran outside to feed and play with the animals. I helped Fluttershy clean up. I used my newly acquired Grip to pick up a sponge and wipe the plates clean.

“Hey, Shy,” I said, looking at my distorted reflection in the now-shiny plate.

“Yeah, Shadey?”

“I guess… I just wanted to say thanks,” I said, setting the plate on top of another clean plate, “Thanks for being such a great mother to Sapphire. After today… I realized exactly how much she really looks up to you.”

She was quiet a few seconds before answering, “I’m glad to take on the roll. I just don’t feel right—like I’m replacing a hole that shouldn’t be filled.”

“Jason would have wanted it,” I said, “He always believed in raising children with two parents.”

She remained quiet.

“Either way. You’re a wonderful mother,” I repeated, then added, “And a wonderful fillyfriend.”

“I had an older brother,” She said, “His name was Flashbang.”

My mind immediately went to grenades, but then I remembered, those didn’t exist in Equestria. She continued, “When I was only 20 seasons old, he took me flying. He was a daredevil. Always doing tricks. Rainbow Dash sort of reminds me of him.”

She sniffed, obviously holding back tears, “We forgot the schedule for the weather and storm clouds came in. A flash of lighting clipped his wing and were falling. There were a few cumulus clouds on the way down, so he threw me onto one. I looked over the edge just in time to see him hit the ground.”

A tear fell from her eye, and I reached up and wiped it away. She continued, “He died as soon as he hit. Broke his neck.”

“You don’t have to say anymore, hon,” I said, pulling her into a gentle hug, “I understand.”

“I know how it feels,” She said, “Sapph went through it once before and she had to go through it again. I am not a wonderful mother or fillyfriend.”

I pulled her away and looked her in the eye, “Hey, hey. You had no control over what happened. Besides, you came back, and you have no idea how much that means to us.”

She nodded and her tears stopped flowing, “Thank you…”

“No,” I said, kissing her forehead, “Thank you.”

Fluttershy served dinner a couple hours later—a small salad with slices of musk melon. After that, we washed up our plates together and the crusaders all went to occupy Sapphire’s bedroom. We made little makeshift beds for the three of them, and Sapphire shared the pillows in her bed she never used.

After that, Fluttershy and I went to bed. Fluttershy joined me again in my bed tonight, and she fell asleep almost immediately. I watched her sleep for a couple minutes waiting for the sandman to take me. I knew she would wake up again, but a small worry in the pit of my stomach wondered if that was true.

I kissed the yellow filly on the forehead and snuggled up closer to her. I was out like a light only a few seconds later.

Chapter VII: A Song in Flight

Part II: The Mundane
Chapter III: A Song in Flight

I waited in anticipation outside of Sugarcube Corner while Pinkie Pie retrieved the items I had asked to borrow. Sapphire bounced circles around me, “Daddy, what do you need a microphone for?”

I smiled, “I’m gonna put on a little show for the town, that’s all.”

“Oh! What are you gonna do,” She asked, “Comedy act? Singing? A play?”

I ruffled her hair, which prevented her next hop, “You’ll see. It’s a special secret.”

Sapphire started bouncing again, “Can’t ya give me a hint? C’mooooooooooooooon! Don’t be meeeeaaaaaan!”

I felt my smile growing wider, “You’ll see.”

She growled in frustration, so I continued, “You’re annoyance only makes my smile grow.”

She kicked my foreleg, a habit she’s had for a long time, “Meanie!”

I scooped her and hugged her to my chest, “Do I have to squish you?”

She squealed and laughed, “Nooooooooo!”

Pinkie came back out and laughed at the sight, “Poor Sapphie, getting picked on by her own dad.”

I laughed and let Sapph down on the floor, “So did you find it?”

She held out her hoof and handed me a small microphone. Then she reached back behind the door and pulled out the stand, “There you go! Perfect for a show. So, whatcha gonna do with it, huh?”

I smiled, “I’m putting on a show by the fountain. You should come. No, you MUST come.”

“Weeeell, I dunno,” She spread her hooves as if unrolling a scroll and reading it, “Let me check my schedule.”

I facehoofed, “Pinkie, you amaze me.”

“NOPE!” She pretended to fold the scroll back up, “I can go! What’s going on?”

“A surprise,” I said, unable to contain my smile, “A very special surprise.”

“Fiiiiiine,” Pinkie said and hopped past me toward the center of town.

I smiled, “Heh, you guys make this too easy.”

Sapph jumped past me, jumping backwards as we headed towards the fountain in the center of town, “Making what too easy?”

“Nothing,” I said, breaking into a trot, “Nothing at all.”

She huffed with a frown and hopped to catch up with pinkie.

I got to the center of town just in time to see the makeshift band finish setting up their instruments on top of a fold-out stage. Twilight set up the microphone I handed her, “So are you ready, Shade?”

I nodded, “Now that the time is here, the nerves are kinda kickin’ in.”

She smiled nervously, “Same here, but we can do this. It’s for Pinkie.”

“Not just her,” I said, “For a lot more than her now.”

I looked out to see a small crowd joining together. Fluttershy swooped in and landed gracefully next to Pinkie and Sapph. I gulped down my nervousness and climbed the stage. The chatter slowed as I approached the mic, “Good morning, everypony.”

I looked at the makeshift band and they all readied their instruments, “A couple days ago, a friend of mine inadvertently gave me the idea to share with you some music from my home.”

Luna started playing the beginning notes of the first song, and Twilight joined in, vamping while I wrapped up my mini-intro, “We have three songs for you this morning. This first one comes from one of my favorite artists when I was a young colt.”

The music looped for a third time, so I nodded for Twilight to use this loop to begin. She counted the beats with her hoof and came in right on cue, projecting her beautiful voice over the still-gathering crowd:

“Summer has come and past. The innocent can never last. Wake me up… When September ends.”

I jumped in, letting the calming beat of the music rid me of my nerves, and my voice spread amongst the awed crowd: “Like my father’s come to pass. Seven years has gone so fast. Wake me up… When September ends.”

“Here comes the rain again, falling from the stars…”

“Drenching my pain again, becoming who we are…”

“As my memory rests…”

“But never forgets what I lost.”

We sang together in perfect harmony, “Wake me up… When September ends….”

Through the song I watched the small group this show was for. Pinkie Pie broke out into tears halfway through the song. Fluttershy and Sapphire stared in awe, even as the rest of the crowd smiled at the pleasant tune. I sang my heart out. The crowd was no longer there to me. I was lost in the music. Dash went at it with the drums; Luna played beautifully and even added a few surprise, complementary notes; Twilight sang beautifully while playing her small, music powered guitar.

“Wake me up… When September ends,” Twilight and I finished the song on different notes, giving it a perfect mix of harmony and melody.

The crowd stamped their hooves in applause. I snapped out of my trance and smiled at the applause. I noticed Pinkie was still sniffling away next to Fluttershy and Sapphire.

When the applause died down, I cleared my throat and spoke again to the crowd, “This next song was written by one of my personal heroes.”

The group started the music and vamped while I spoke, “He did great things in his life, including give wonderful music to the world.”

Twilight turned off her microphone, knowing this song was my message. I looked straight at Sapphire, “This song is for my daughter. Next month begins a new Flight School, and she will be leaving me for the first time next week for six whole months. I love you, Sapphire.”

I waited for the cue and started singing, watching Sapphire the whole time, and my heart falling into my stomach, “Come, stop your crying it will be all right. Just take my hoof, hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you. I will be here don’t you cry.”

Sapphire stood up and looked at Fluttershy, hoping to get a reaction from her, but received none, “For one so small, you seem so strong. My hooves will hold you, keep you safe and warm. This bond between us can’t be broken. I will be here, don’t you cry.”

From about four meters away I could tell she was holding back, biting her lip, even, “’Cause you’ll be in my heart! Yes, you’ll be in my heart… From this day on, now and forevermore… You’ll be in my heart no matter what they say. You’ll be in my heart… always…”

She started pushing forward into the crowd, coming closer to the makeshift stage. I held back all of my emotions as I watched her push past all the ponies in her path. Fluttershy looked as if she was going to stop her, but stayed back and let her go, “When destiny calls you, you must be strong. I may not be with you, but you’ve got to hold on. They’ll see in time, I know. We’ll show them together!”

She made it to the stage and climbed up the stairs, “You’ll be in my heart! Yes, you’ll be in my heart! From this day on, now and forevermore…”

She walked cautiously closer and I sat down, watching her. The crowd no longer existed. It was just me and my precious gem. She walked closer and I scooped her up, singing the final lines, “You’ll be in my heart, always….”

She heaved a sob into my shoulder, “Always~…”

The music faded. I could feel the smile on Sapphire’s lips as she sobbed into my shoulder. She took in a shaky breath, “I love you, Daddy…”

The microphone caught her words, and an “aww” came from the crowd. I finally noticed them again. A dozen and a half of the ponies were in tears at the probably touching sight. I hugged the happy yet sobbing filly. After a minute she hopped away from me and hid next to me, realizing the fairly large crowd could see her cry.

I laughed, “Sorry, everypony.”

The crowd gave cheers to show that there was nothing to apologize for. The touching father-daughter moment seemed to put the crowd in a feel-y mood. I looked back to the band. Luna had a huge smile on her face, Twilight had glossy eyes, and Dash was gritting her teeth to keep from looking emotional.

I laughed and turned back to the microphone, “This last song I would like my daughter to sing with me.”

The band started vamping the beginning of the next song, and Sapphire looked at me horrified, “Oh, no, I can’t do that.”

I smiled, “Oh come on. We sang this together a million times back home.”

“But that was without a million eyes staring at me,” She said.

The crowd laughed, and started chanting her name. I laughed, “You’ll do fine. It’s your favorite song! Please? For me?”

She groaned, then sniffed. Twilight moved and adjusted the microphone for her size and turned it back on.

The group vamped one more time and Sapph closed her eyes and started singing. Her beautiful young voice quieted the crowd, “I’m holding on to white balloons up against the sky of doom. Tell me you see them.”

I smiled, “’Cause what’s inside of me is invisible to most. Even in clear view.”

“I’m sending out a signal to the possibility of you. ‘Cause right at this moment…”

We sang in unison, “I know you are connected to a part of me that I don’t even know myself. The changes in me are likely to be like the weather.”

I picked up the solo, “Stormy and clear. Strength into fear bound together.”

Sapphire smiled and we continued our beautiful duet. The crowd cheered when the music picked up into a more hard rock format. The crowd, again, faded into the background. It had never been a show for the town. This was for me. For Pinkie. For Fluttershy. And, most importantly, for my beautiful gem, Sapphire.

The music slowed again back to the tempo and tone of the beginning of the song. Sapph and I looked out to the crowd with large smiles and sang together, “’Cause what’s inside of me is invisible to most… Even in clear view.”

The crowd cheered. The band, Sapphire, and I all bowed. Though Sapphire seemed reluctant at first, she enjoyed herself. She jumped up at me and clung to me in a joyous hug. I wrapped my foreleg around her to hug her back and said, “You will always be my precious little gem.”

The crowd dissipated in about twenty minutes. Pinkie tackled me immediately after she got to me. She started thanking me for the first song.

“I don’t know if the first song was for me or not, but it really spoke to me since I lost my first coltfriend in an accident and since Big Mac left me and—“ She continued babbling on until I couldn’t understand a single word she was saying, then she just stopped talking and hugged me and started bawling. She started calling me a great friend and a various amount of other compliments before Fluttershy snuck in a hug.

Pinkie jumped back, tears forgotten, “Oh! I forgot! It’s a good thing you mentioned it because otherwise I would have forgotten! I gotta plan a party for Scootaloo and Sapphire for when they leave for Flight School!”

She immediately bounced off towards Sugarcube Corner shouting a millionth thanks. The crusaders were now crowding Sapphire.

“Wow that was amazing, Sapphy,” Scootaloo said.

“Thanks, Scoots,” Sapphire said with a triumphant grin.

“You realize this makes us rivals,” Sweetie Belle said with a wicked grin.

“Can we still be friends? Frenemies?”

Sweetie Belle stuck out her hoof and shook Sapphires, “Frenemies.”

I turned to my little makeshift band and thanked them for their hard work, “Sorry for the short notice. I’m surprised everypony caught on so quickly, though.”

Rainbow Dash grinned and spun a drumstick around her hoof, “When it comes to learning music, we are awesomely talented. That and we kinda cheated with magic.”

I laughed, “Cheated or not, it was awesome.”

“Well you owe me a race, buddy boy,” Dash said, pointing a drumstick at me.

Fluttershy leached to my side since Pinkie left. She wouldn’t say a word about anything, but she gave a silent recognition and thanks.

It was about noon when we finished packing everything up. Twilight declared a lunch party at the lunch buffet just outside Ponyville, so we stored the stuff in Twilight’s room in the library and headed down to the buffet. Fluttershy continued to leach to me the whole walk and lay her head against my shoulder. Rather than walking with her friends, Sapphire asked to ride on my back during the walk. I didn’t mind. After not seeing her for just nine days when we first got here, I missed her terribly. I knew it would be worse knowing she would be gone for several months, so I’m going to take every moment I can these next eight days.

Pinkie decided to throw one giant party in the middle of town. Seven pegasi were leaving for Flight School today, so the party was to celebrate all of their departing. Sapphire danced with her small group of friends, far away from the other pegasi and their groups. Sapphire spent all yesterday with Scootaloo planning all the fun they would have in Flight School. The other two spent the whole week telling them how sad and how bored they would be for those six months.

I sat a safe distance away from her and her friends, wanting to give them the time I took away with random outings throughout the past eight days. Many of the parents and family had the same idea and gathered together and talked. Fluttershy stared at the group from beside me.

“Do you want to join them, hon,” I asked her.

“No. They are all just arrogant and conceited meanies who try to talk up their own kids to make everypony else feel lower than them,” She had a dark look on her face.

I stared at her. This was a Fluttershy I had not yet met. Her face dropped into that of shame. She let her mane fall over her eyes to block out the group, “I’m sorry…”

I laughed and wrapped my foreleg around her shoulders and pulled her into a side hug, “We all have a little bitter side.”

“I know, but it’s not… it’s not nice…”

I let out a sigh through my nose, “I hate. I hate a lot. I hate my old world. I hate that my daughter lost her father. I hate that she lost him right before her eyes. I hate that she cries. I hate that you cry. I hate.”

She seemed to sulk more, so I continued, “But I’m grateful. I’m grateful that she has a wonderful mother. I’m grateful for a beautiful fillyfriend. I’m grateful for my life here. I love Ponyville. I love the fact that I’ve made so many friends. I love your smile. I have so much to love and be grateful for that I can’t even try to list it all.”

She smiled and rubbed her head against my neck, and I still explained, “We all have a bit of bitterness in us, but it’s how we act and how we react to the things we love and hate that really matters.”

Her head rested on my shoulder now, “Shade?”

“Yes, Shy?”

“You’re weird,” She said with a large grin, “But I love you.”

I smiled and hugged her closer and kissed her on the head, “I love you, too.”

When I looked back over the party, I noticed a young stallion pegasus walking towards us, “Well aren’t you two just adorable.”

He gave a wide, perfect tooth smile, “So who are you two here for?”

I pointed my hoof at Sapphire, “For our daughter.”

Fluttershy seemed to perk up at “our”, but the pegasus talking again made her shrink back down, “Cute.”

The snobbish tone in his voice began to annoy me, “Did you need something?”

“Oh, no, no,” I recognized him as one of the ponies from the flock of parents and as a coach of one of the Second Education School’s bounceball teams, “I just noticed you two here and figured you could use a bit of conversation.”

“We prefer to stay away from groups,” I said.

He ignored my comment and watched Sapphire dancing with her friends, “I do bet that your daughter would get along splendidly with my brother. I heard her singing last week. Talented ponies do tend to stick together.”

I shook my head and gave a fake polite smile, “No, she will probably spend the whole six months by Scootaloo’s side.”

“Oh, well I do hope not,” The greenish stallion said, “She could find such better friends than that talentless orphan.”

I felt my nerves snap, but I still fought to keep my cool, “Excuse me?”

“Oh don’t act like you don’t know,” The pegasus mocked surprise, “That scoundrel is a lost cause. She will probably end up with a job like Derpy’s.”

“I personally find her a charming and polite little filly,” Fluttershy said, but immediately sunk back towards me when the stallion eyed her with scrutiny, “Uhm…”

The green pegasus looked at her for a couple moments and laughed. He called over a friend and relayed Fluttershy’s sentence and the second pegasus began laughing as well. Right in front of us. I felt something in me snap.

“SHUT! UP!” Fluttershy was standing now, her wings splayed. My anger left me, and I stared in amazement. That was the loudest I had ever heard her say anything. Her face was contorted with rage. The shout was so loud that most of the party stopped and looked.

“Listen here, you conceited little twit,” Fluttershy said, the rage spitting like venom at the stallion, “I don’t want to hear another word. You may think you are better than the rest of us, but you are not! You brag about your accomplishments and your family’s accomplishments, but the more you brag, the lower you are. And right now, you are lower than dirt. So shut your stupid mouth you arrogant FOAL!”

The party was silent. I stared in amazement at her stern assertiveness. I glimpsed Sapphire looking with a grin on her face. Her mommy was a fighter.

The pegasus was taken aback at first, but soon he and his buddy were laughing, “Really? Really, really? You believe that garbage?”

Fluttershy stayed quiet and gritted her teeth.

“A pony’s worth is judged by his accomplishments,” He said with another laugh, “And I know who you are. You’re the sad sap. The little foal that can’t do any more than sit and talk to animals.

“In fact, why don’t you go back to that right now? That’s all you’re good for,” The pegasus reached out his hoof and pushed it against Fluttershy’s shoulder, which sent her back onto her flank.

My head spun with rage. I stepped in front of her and my wings unfurled themselves, sounding like a large military flag snapping in the wind. The pegasus stepped back. I was one of the largest ponies in Ponyville, and easily the largest pegasus. My wing span reached a good three meters if not more.

I leaned my face toward him in a threatening stance, “You will not lay a hoof on my family. You can talk all you want to, but you lay one hoof—one more mother fucking hoof—on my family, I will be very, very angry.”

I lowered my voice to a whisper, to where only he could hear, “I have done things to people that you could not even imagine in your most twisted of nightmares. You will leave my sight at once and you will not come within fifteen meters of any of us, or so help me Celestia your future won’t be pretty. Is that understood?”

The pegasus was pale by the time I stood back to full height and folded my wings back up, “Scram.”

He immediately stood back up and ran back over to the group. I looked around me and everypony averted their gaze. Sapphire looked at me with a smile, but kept her distance. The rest of the crusaders looked in horror and amazement. I turned to Fluttershy. She had the same look of horror and amazement.

I lowered myself to her height and spread my forehooves, non-verbally asking for a hug. She lunged at me with a laughing smile on her face. Soon, Sapphire and her friends came over and joined for a group hug.

This is my family. I am not going to lose it. I will do anything and everything to protect it. Even if it means looking like a dick and scaring the piss out of one of the most egotistical ponies in Ponyville.

A large carriage drawn by four large, armored pegasi—larger than me—landed in the middle of town. The door to the carriage opened and an average sized pegasus in silver armor climbed out. He reached back into the carriage and pulled out a clipboard and sat next to the door.

“Ponyville,” He said and looked at the crowd the party gathered, “We are here for seven young pegasi for Cloudsdale Flight School, correct?”

Somepony in the crowd shouted a confirmation and he continued, “Okay, when I call your name, please step forward and board the carriage.”

“Triumph Silverblood,” He called, and a young, gray colt walked with his head high towards the bus. The stallion made a mark on his clipboard.

“Yule Prolif,” He called again, and a slightly overweight, blue-green colt walked hunkered down toward him. The stallion smiled at him, “Ah, looks like we got ourselves a potential power flier here.”

A small smile appeared on the young colt’s face and he straightened up a bit and boarded the bus. The stallion chuckled and looked back at his clipboard. He called off a couple more names.

“Daddy,” Sapphire said, standing under me.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t wanna go…” I knew this would come next.

I stepped over her and knelt next to her, “What if I told you I will come visit you?”

“I thought you can’t do that,” She said, a sparkle of hope in her eyes.

“Oh, come on,” I said, “I’m me. I can do anything.”

She smiled and pushed her hoof against my shoulder, “No you can’t….”

I smiled and ruffled her hair, making her giggle, “I’ll write a letter to the head of the school and ask, how about that?”

“Sapphire Shade,” The stallion called out.

“You promise,” She asked.

“Pinkie promise,” I said and made a shooing motion with my hoof.

“Sapphire Shade?”

She started walking toward the carriage, but kept looking back at me. Each time I did a new motion. Cross my heart. Hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.

She made it to the bus and looked up at the stallion with the clipboard. He watched her the whole time and smiled when she looked up at him, “Ah, a case of the nerves, eh? It passes, little filly, trust me.”

She nodded and climbed the steps slowly. The stallion shook his head with the smile still on his face, “Scootaloo?”

Scootaloo turned around and hugged her friends. She then turned back and ran to the carriage, jumping up the whole set of stairs. The silver armored stallion looked inside the bus to make sure she didn’t hurt herself, shook his head, and called off the final name, giving the next filly a word of encouragement.

The stallion set the clipboard back in the carriage and stood tall and addressed the party goers, “To the parents, family, and friends of these marvelous young ponies, thank you for your trust in the Cloudsdale Flight School. We guarantee that we will return them all as great, powerful fliers. Lest we fail, we shall send a professional tutor back with them to make them fly. Thank you, Ponyville. Good day.”

The carriage had no windows, so I could not see Sapphire as the carriage pulled away from the party and headed back to the cloud city. Fluttershy watched me as the carriage pulled away.

“Why did you do that,” She asked in a soft voice. We started walking away from the party and back to the cottage.

“Do what?”

“You lied to her,” She said. Everypony knew you couldn’t visit your family in Flight School, “You even Pinkie Promised.”

“I will write the letter,” I said, “But I won’t send it. The Pinkie Promise is not broken. She’s a tough filly, and I know she’ll do great, but she needs to know that she doesn’t need me to do that.”

She nodded slowly, “And you lied to make her stronger…”

I kept my face stone even as my heart sank deeper and deeper, “You have no idea how much it hurt to do that.”

Chapter VIII: Sick

Part II: The Mundane
Chapter IV: Sick

There was a knock at the door in the middle of the afternoon. I was taking a nap next to Fluttershy in the main room when the sharp raps at the door woke me up. Fluttershy stirred and nearly fell off the couch we lay on. I climbed over her and she rolled over to where I was laying and curled up against the residual heat my body left behind and fell back asleep. I opened the door and was greeted by a gray pony with a yellow mane.

“Good morning, Shade,” Derpy said with a smile.

I smiled back, “It’s 2pm, Derpy.”

She looked up at the sky, “Well, dang. Thanks for telling me.”

“No problem,” I said, I looked at her for a couple seconds. Her left eye slowly shifted upwards while the other stayed focused. She blinked and they were back in alignment. We stood there for a couple more awkward seconds before I spoke again, “Did you need something?”

“Oh, sorry, I spaced really bad there,” She gave a sheepish grin, “I got a couple late letters for you. Spike got them, so they gotta be important.”

She reached into her mail bag and pulled out two scrolls and handed them to me, “Thanks a bunch, Derpy.”

“No problem, Shade,” She said with a beaming smile, “I gotta go pick up Dinky from school, so I’ll catch you later.”

I nodded, “Well you have a good day, Derpy.”

She flew off and shouted back a farewell. Derpy was an awkward pony, but the town loved their ditzy mail carrier, with exception to a certain few.

I carried the mail in and set both letters on the kitchen table. The first letter was from Celestia addressed to me. The second was from the Cloudsdale Flight School addressed to Fluttershy and me. I Gripped the letter from Celestia and opened it. Every once in a while I would send a letter to Celestia to ask her questions about Equestria, so I was more curious about that letter than a probable thank you letter.

Hello Shade,
I finally found time to reply to the letter you sent me last Monday. I heard that Sapphire left for Flight School last week as well. I suppose you are feeling happy and sad at the same time about this. I’m sure she will do well, and she will have so many stories to tell you when she gets back.
As for your questions. Overpopulation has never been an issue for Equestria. Equestria is a very large land and our population is fairly small. The pony population is around five million, and the land of Equestria can hold several hundred million at least. Remember, disease and death still exist, aging is the only thing that has changed. As for marriage… I wonder why you ask that, but it is not my business unless you make it such. Marriage in Equestria is nothing more than a ceremony between ponies in love. I know in your world it gained you certain rights, but in Equestria it is just a bonding between two loving souls. And yes, there is a similar ritual to divorce here, and it does happen often. One in seven marriages do not last longer than 50 seasons, unfortunately. Not everypony wants to spend eternity with one single pony.
I must say, your writing is getting much clearer and easier to read. I suppose you either learned Grip, or you are just getting really good at writing. Keep it up and perhaps you can learn cursive by the end of next season.
I heard what happened the morning you sent me the letter. You put on a show in the middle of town, as I hear it. You, my sister, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Sapphire have gotten quite the amount of praise even here in Canterlot. I know you must get these kinds of requests a lot, but perhaps you can put on a show for my husband’s birthday next season. I hope that would give you enough time to prepare. Sapphire may not be able to join, but I may be able to borrow her from Flight School for a day. I’m sure she will love to be able to see you.
I hope to hear back from you soon on my request. Write soon,
~Celestia

I read the note twice to make sure I didn’t miss any information. I felt a pang of disappointment when I read the letter again and I did not get the answer I hoped for. I looked up at Fluttershy still sleeping on the main room couch and pulled a parchment from a drawer and found some charcoal.

Dear Celestia,
Thank you for your concern for Sapphire. I am positive that she will do great in Flight School. She’s a fighter and always will be. Thanks for answering my question about population. I have to ask, then. If Equestria can hold so many, why does it have so few?
On the marriage question…

I looked up at Fluttershy again. She lay peacefully asleep on the couch.

I am just wondering. I would like to know as much about Equestrian culture as I can. I’ve been here for a season, and it feels like I’ve been here for much longer. I have gained so much information. The question was just something that came up when I talked to Applejack at her farm a couple days before sending the message.
On the latter note, of course. I’d love to put on a show for your husband. I gotta say I didn’t know you were married. Anyway, I’d better wrap this letter up before it gets too long.
I’ll arrange some music as soon as I can, and I’ll have a couple songs ready for your husband soon. I will see you in Canterlot on whatever day you are having his birthday celebration.
~Enigma Shade

I sighed and rolled up the scroll and hid it in a drawer. I reached for the second scroll and unrolled it. The parchment was completely blank. A sparkle of light floated from the scroll. The light grew as soon as it hit the table. It started to take the form of a pony, and I watched it in amazement. Within a couple seconds the spark was easily identifiable as an Alicorn. Color flooded the spark.

“Good afternoon, Enigma Shade and Fluttershy,” The spark said. In a weird way, it reminded me of a Star Wars hologram. The volume of the sparkle woke Fluttershy up and she drug herself over to the table to figure out what the racket was about.

“This message will not repeat, so please listen closely. I am the head of the Cloudsdale Flight School, Silverwing. Your daughter Sapphire Shade has gotten into a bit of a hassle with a few students. We request your presence at the Flight School within 24 hours of receiving this message. The sooner the better. We will discuss the issue in detail when you arrive. We look forward to your appearance. Thank you. Good day.”

The spark turned to dust. Fluttershy rubbed her eyes, “What happened, sweetie?”

“I think they are saying Sapph got in trouble,” I said, pressing my hoof to my forehead, “We gotta go to Cloudsdale now.”

Fluttershy lay her head on the table, “Okay… Just give me a minute to wake up.”

I smiled and kissed her on the neck, “Take your time, hon.”

The flight to Cloudsdale took about thirty minutes. I had to hold back for Fluttershy’s sake, but I didn’t mind. I never did mind.

When we got to the school, we were stopped by two large pegasi in armor asking what our business was with the school, “You know parents are not allowed to enter the school until graduation, correct?”

“Silverwing requested us,” I said, Fluttershy hiding behind me, “My name’s Enigma Shade, this is Fluttershy.”

The guards looked at each other and back at me, “You should feel proud of that girl. I didn’t tell you that.”

They let us in and another large pegasus in armor greeted us, “Good afternoon. Follow me. Do not stray.”

The large pegasus led us down a large hallway. A few young pegasi ran here and there, a couple already flying, though awkwardly. We stopped at the end of the large hallway in front of a cloud door that looked much grayer than the rest. The guard raised his hoof and knocked lightly on the door. A voice called out to enter and he pushed the door open. Inside Sapph sat next to Scootaloo on a cloud-couch. Across from them, sitting at a cloud-desk, was the mare from the spark.

“Enigma Shade. Fluttershy,” She said, “Good of you to join us.”

She looked at Sapph, who looked antsy, and flicked her head, which cued her to tackle me, “DADDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! MOMMYYYYYY!!!!”

She squeezed my neck until I felt like I couldn’t breathe then attacked Fluttershy. The Alicorn headmistress cleared her throat and Sapph dropped to the ground. She flicked her head again and both she and Scootaloo left the room with the guard. The headmistress pointed toward the cloud-couch, “Please, have a seat.”

We sat, “So is Sapph in some sort of trouble?”

The headmistress smile, “No. At least not much.”

Fluttershy let out a breath. The Alicorn continued, “Allow me to explain. You are aware that Scootaloo is an orphan, yes?”

“Yes,” I said, “I learned that the day they left.”

She nodded, “Well, amongst many families, that is considered shameful. Don’t ask me why, but it’s a certain deep routed tradition that not even the families themselves understand. Anyway, young Scootaloo was being picked on by two colts. It happens a lot here, and we try to catch it as often as we can, but it’s a vain effort.

“The colts pinned her against a wall since Scootaloo is fairly claustrophobic, and held her there for a long while. Unfortunately, the guards were busy elsewhere dealing with a medical issue,” She looked ashamed and shook her head, “Sapphire got out of class around that time, saw the spectacle, and… literally beat them to a bloody mess.”

The back of my mind screamed THAT’S MY GIRL, but what came out was, “I’m not sure how to react to this.”

The Alicorn laughed with an incredulous look on her face, “Honestly, neither am I.”

“How are the two colts,” Fluttershy asked.

“Both of them were home and suspended. They will have to come back next Opening. One has a broken wing and will not be able to return anyway,” She removed her spectacles with her magic and started cleaning them, “The second one got off fairly lucky with just cuts and bruises and a bite mark. Also, I must ask that none of this information leaves this room.”

“Of course,” I felt a sick sort of pride fill my chest, “What do you make of the situation? Does she have to come home now?”

The Alicorn stayed silent for a moment, “Honestly… I don’t want to send her home. She’s a lovely student. She was in my class beforehand. It is sort of ironic, actually.

“See, my class is to teach general things so they don’t fall behind when they get back to normal school. We were talking about cutie marks. I asked the students what they think they were going to do for the rest of their lives. The purpose was to help them narrow down to their strengths from their weaknesses,” She replaced her glasses and levitated a piece of paper in front of her, “Your daughter said these exact words: ‘I want to do what my daddy did back home.’ I asked her what it was you did, and she said ‘I want to help people and protect them from bad people.’”

I felt a tug at my heart, and this time I let the words out, “That’s my girl…”

The Alicorn smiled, “I’m not going to send her home. While the colts’ actions were aggressive, your daughter’s were to protect her friend. The guards don’t want me to know they think it, but I hear the whispers. They think she has guts.”

Fluttershy shook her head, “She was protecting her friend. I think any other bullies will think twice before being mean to her again.”

The headmistress tapped her hooves on her desk, “One final matter. Did you notice something about your daughter?”

I thought for a second. I replayed the minute that I was able to see Sapphire and couldn’t think of anything, “Well… she seemed a bit taller…more calm and polite…?”

She smiled again and shook her head, “Shield, send the girls in please.”

The door opened and Scootaloo walked in with Sapphire behind her, “Sapphire, turn to your side, please.”

Sapph walked out from behind Scootaloo and turned to her side with a giant grin on her face. On her flank was a symbol. The knotted shield. My little gem got her cutie mark.

Scootaloo sat awkwardly as we praised Sapphire and hugged her. The headmistress and her guard discussed in whispers. When the praise and hugs died down, the Alicorn waited with a stern face.

“Sapphire, while what you did was noble and some of us may even be proud of you,” The headmistress said, “I’m afraid there must be a punishment for your actions.”

Sapphire nodded sadly, “I know.”

Scootaloo walked over and leaned against Sapph as the headmistress dealt the punishment, “The princess asked for your presence for a day to put on a show with your father. Due to today’s actions, I’m afraid we cannot allow that. I’m sorry.”

Sapphire slumped, “Yes, Miss Silverwing.”

“However, I will give you one hour to spend with your father and mother before they leave, since they are here anyhow,” She said.

Sapph perked up, “Really?”

She nodded and the guard seemed to argue with her. She waved him off, “One hour does not hurt anypony.”

Sapphire hopped up, “May I be excused, Miss Silverwing?”

She waved her off as well, “Yes, but you must stay in your dorm this whole hour. Go. Have fun.”

We spent the next hour in Scootaloo and Sapphire’s two-pony bunkhouse. It took a whole of five minutes to tour the room, unlike the grand bedroom in the castle a season ago. Something about the Flight School reminded me of my military training back on Earth. It was like a bootcamp for pegasus foals.

After about twenty minutes of stories, Sapphire got a look of dread on her face, “Hey, Scoots?”

“What?”

“Am I out of the Crusaders?”

“Why would you think that,” Scootaloo asked, “Oh, because you got your cutie mark?”

She nodded, “Since the Crusaders is all about finding our cutie mark…”

“I think we can make an exception,” Scootaloo winked, “You were pretty tough.”

Sapph wrapped her arm around Scootaloo, “Thanks.”

“Not like I couldn’t handle them myself,” She countered, “I just wore myself out with practice.”

Sapphire nudged her away, “You wish, Scoots.”

They laughed. I looked at Fluttershy to find that she was smiling at the two fillies.

“So how did you two get a bunk together,” I asked.

“Our names are really close together,” Scootaloo said with a one leg shrug.

Sapphire waved her hoof, “Peeshaw, Fate just really likes us is all. I mean, why else would it happen I was walking out of class right as they were being jerks.”

Fluttershy spoke up next, “Didn’t anypony else try to help?”

Scootaloo nodded, but slumped almost like in shame, “A couple did, but they were the book kind, like Twilight. Not really the tough kind. They couldn’t do more than ask them to stop.”

Sapphire stood tall, “Too bad they weren’t me.”

Scootaloo jabbed her, “Yeah, well next time I’m gonna be the one to save your sorry flank from something.”

“What did you do to the sorry foals,” I asked Sapphire to stop them from their friendly bickering, “The headmistress made it sound like you viciously beat them.”

“Oh! I cracked that snobby punk in the jaw and threw him into a HardWall,” She went through the motions as she explained, as if reliving the moment, “Then I karate chopped the other jerk in the ribs and threw him on the ground.”

“Then she pinned them to the ground and started pounding them until a guard came by and pulled her off of them,” Scootaloo said laughing.

I felt a smile on my face, and I forced it into a frown, “Sapphire, I want you to be more careful. I don’t want to hear that you beat up some other pathetic foal.”

The proud stature of the filly fell into a slump, “Yes, Daddy…”

“But I have to say,” I let the smile return, “I’m really proud of you for what you did.”

She smiled a toothy smile and stood straight again, “Thanks, Daddy.”

“Shadey,” Fluttershy broke the silence of the night.

“Yes, Shy,” I looked up from my book to see her staring up at the ceiling on her bed.

“Can I ask a personal question?”

I smiled and closed my book, “I’m an open book.”

She stared at the ceiling for a while. She opened her mouth a couple times as if to speak, but closed it again to rethink. After a couple minutes, she asked, “What was… what was your husband like?”

I stayed quiet for a couple minutes, letting my memories flood into my brain that I had kept at bay for so long. Fluttershy sat up a bit and looked as if she was about to retract her question, but I spoke before her, “He… Was a brave man.”

Fluttershy stayed silent, and I continued, “He was a bit of an effeminate guy. He did kind of what Rarity does. He tailored men’s clothing, but on the side he loved to study physics and he tampered with computers. He was a kind man, and he had quite the mind. We were together for over fifteen years… er, about sixty seasons. We raised Sapph in about forty of those seasons.”

I shook my head to clear the thoughts before the emotion that came with them appeared. Fluttershy continued to stare upwards. The thoughts kept coming back. The dam broke in different places as I fixed one spot. I laughed a couple times, “I still can’t believe he did that… Crazy bastard…”

Fluttershy seemed to hesitate when asking, “Did what?”

“Saved our lives.”

I slammed the door shut, “Fuck, Jason, grab my guns.”

Jason ran up the stairs, not questioning my panicked order, and I looked out the peephole in the front door. I felt my breathing grow faster along with my heartbeat, so I tried slowing them. Outside the men in full armor and gas masks patrolled the streets. Jason came back down with two pistols in his hand and a rifle slung over his shoulder, “What’s going on?”

Isabelle stood in the doorway to the kitchen, unnaturally quiet. I looked over at Jason and grabbed the weapons, unlocking the trigger locks while trying to keep a steady eye on the outdoors, “The Chinese. They weren’t bluffing. They have thousands of armed soldiers out there. I got here from the station as fast as I could taking the back roads. They are taking houses that they find strategic to hole machine guns. The US military is on the way, I hope.”

I watched as a group of men crowded around another man who began pointing at a data-pad, then pointing to a house across the street. Two of the surrounding men nodded, readied their guns, and started walking toward the house. The data-pad guy, the CO, pointed again to the data-pad and pointed far down the street. Again more dispatched. Gunshots sounded from the house across the street just as the CO pointed at our house.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK,” I screamed, “They’re coming, we gotta get outta here. Go out the back, nobody’s out that way yet.”

I ushered us toward the back room, and Jason grabbed a baseball bat along the way. Outside, we ran across the back yard and opened our back gate. Isabelle whimpered and Jason comforted her by grabbing her hand and hurrying her along. I made sure my rifle was snug around my shoulder and pointed my pistol out to make sure the cost was clear before walking out to the alleyway. I saw my idling car about ten feet away. Jason started walking toward it and I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

I turned to head the other way, but stopped myself. Two soldiers walked up the alleyway, talking. They were distracted enough that they did not catch us running and hiding behind the car. When they got close enough, they started getting suspicious of the running car. I closed my eyes and reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a silencer and screwed it onto my pistol. I would have laughed at the irony if we weren’t probably going to die. I moved and looked through the tinted windows. Since the sun was against their backs, the sun reflected off the windows, hiding me. I motioned to tell Jason to cover Isabelle’s eyes, and I rose and pulled the trigger twice. The noise was fairly loud, but it was not loud enough to carry onto the street.

When the soldiers fell Jason attacked with questions, “Where in gods’ name did you get a silencer?”

“The DA,” I said, “Took it from the evidence locker when we heard the radio report of Chinese ships off the coast and heading in.”

“So I’m guessing off duty tea with the DA went well,” He joked as we pressed forward.

“I kill two people and you make jokes.”

“I see this shit all the time, how do you expect me to react?”

“Like a human being,” I said, “Maybe like those god damn happy ass ponies you want to join so badly.”

He remained quiet as we walked. I heard sniffing and turned around. Isabelle had started crying, probably due to my anger. Jason tried wiping away her tears, but the constant movement made it difficult, “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

“What’s going on,” She sniffed, “Where are we going?”

“We’re trying to make it back to the police station. We can’t take the car because it’ll attract attention,” I looked around a corner before crossing a street to the next block’s alleyway, “And right now shit’s happening. That’s it.”

The rest of the way to the station was oddly quiet. When we got there, one other family, my detective partner, was already there.

“Stellis,” I said, “Good to see you, man.”

“Good to see you, too,” Stellis said, and he nodded at Jason and Isabelle, “But then again, not so much.”

“What do you mean,” I asked, “What happened?”

He shook his head, “The president signed that goddamn bill. He signed the fucking bill. It was on the radio.”

“What bill?”

“The Templar Order,” He said, “The military response team being sent is that fucking mercenary group of religious extremists. They know you have a husband. Chances are, you’ll get killed after the Chinese get taken out.”

“We gotta get outta here,” I said.

“Uh… I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Jason said looking out the window of the full tint windows. Several Chinese soldiers headed toward the door of the station. Stellis and I quickly rushed everyone into the next room—the office.

Shots suddenly rained through the air through the wall. A bullet grazed my skull and I fell to the ground. Everything went hazy and I lost consciousness.

I woke up late at night with a flashlight in my eyes. The flashlight turned off and the voice of Stellis’ wife came past it, “Oh, good, you’re finally awake.”

“What happened,” I asked, “Where’s Isabelle? Jason?”

“Isabelle’s asleep, partner,” Stellis said, “Over there with my sons.”

“Where are we?”

“In the woods. You were out for seven hours. Good thing Luci here is a nurse.”

“Where’s Jason?”

No answer came. I got impatient, “Where the fuck is Jason??”

“Shh,” Stellis said, “You’ll wake the kids.”

“Where is he?”

I could hear Stellis sighing out his nose, “He gave himself for us. He was a brave man. You should be proud of him.”

I didn’t believe it, “You’re lying.”

“Would I lie to you,” Stellis asked in an irritated voice, “Have I ever lied to you?”

I stayed quiet and he started talking, “He threw a fucking bat at them. He took an assault rifle from the SWAT team locker and outloaded on the fuckers.”

“What happened to him?”

“He said you were stronger than him,” Stellis explained, “You’d be better to keep everyone safe.”

I let it sink in. They were beating around the bush, “Did Isabelle see it…?”

“Look I—“

“Did. She. See. It?”

My eyes were adjusted to the darkness by now enough to see Stellis look at his wife, “The only reason she’s asleep is from pure exhaustion. That was not something for a little girl to see…”

I sat there in shock, in disbelief. In less than an hour, my happy life turned into hell. In less than an hour, I lost all but one reason to live.

Fluttershy listened to my story quietly. I knew I was telling it awkwardly with the timing loops and little exposition, and it probably made little sense to the poor pony anyway, but I told it anyhow. When I was done telling the story, she still lay quiet.

After a minute, she broke the silence, “I’m sorry.”

I laughed, “You didn’t do anything wrong. Humanity did.”

She got quiet again. Her thinking pauses always made me nervous. I want to know what she is thinking whenever she does it. She broke her silence again, “Even with how bad humans were, do you ever feel homesick?”

“At first, no. I would never want to go back to that hell hole,” I replied, fluffing my pillow.

“And now?”

I set the pillow down and lay on it. I heard my voice crack, “Every day.”

Chapter IX: Victims

Part II: The Mundane
Chapter V: Victims

“Are you sure about this, Shade,” Twilight said, looking skeptically at the sheet music I gave her, “This doesn’t look like it’ll sound good at all. Not to mention the lyrics are a bit… weird for a birthday party.”

“It’s not for the party,” I said, shelving the returned books pile, “It’s for something else. That sheet there took me a week to remember every lyric and every note.”

“Still looks weird,” She said and lay on a cushion to study the sheet. The room went silent for a few minutes before Twilight seemed to get too nervous by it, “It’s really quiet in here.”

“Don’t you normally love the silence?”

“Well, yes,” She said, looking at the back side of the second sheet, “but with you here, it’s always nice to talk. Unlike most stallions, you are a barrel of knowledge.”

I chuckled and shelved the last book, “Well, what would you like to talk about?”

She put her hoof to her chin in a thinking position, “What about your world?”

“What do you wanna know?”

“What did you do,” She asked, setting the sheet music down, “You said you were police or something like that, but you never said what exactly you did.”

“I was a detective,” I said, sitting in front of her to talk since all of my chores were done, “I investigated crimes.”

“That explains your keen eye,” She said smiling, “What kind of crimes.”

I looked up to the ceiling. I am here four months and my memory is already failing me, “I was in the Special Victims Unit. I would investigate crimes dealing with kids or sexual based crimes.”

“Sexual based crimes,” She repeated almost like a question.

“Things like rape,” I said, the word stinging my tongue, “You know, forcing—“

“I know what you meant,” She said, her words seeming harsher than normal, “It’s actually a little too common here in Equestria…”

“I…” I started without thinking, but I picked up on it right away, “I haven’t heard any cases since co—“

“You haven’t heard any cases since coming here because everypony is too afraid to talk about it,” She said, her eyes no longer focused on me, but into space, and her words were covered in venom, “Whenever you say a word about it, all you feel is shame. Nopony is going to help you, so why say a word? Nopony is going to do anything no matter how hard you cry about it.”

I leaned forward a bit, my interrogating switch flipped on, “Why so bitter?”

Her face changed as she came back to reality, “Oh, sorry about that…”

I smiled, letting her know I wasn’t angry or disappointed, “Don’t worry. Do you want to talk about it?”

“We all have our dirty little secrets we want to keep from showing themselves,” She said, making me more worried, “My older sister…”

She paused a bit, but I didn’t push her to continue, knowing that would shove her away. After a minute, “She was never the same again afterwards. We were best pals until it happened. She was my only friend… Nopony would help her. Nopony wanted to. She was shunned and ignored… She jumped off the Canterlot Castle Garden during my Apprenticeship Ceremony.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, putting my hoof on hers in solace.

“Why apologize? It wasn’t your fault,” Her face twisted in anger again, “It was those sick… freaks.”

“There was more than one,” I asked.

“More than one occasion, too,” She said, “But I got back at them for what they did to her… Nopony listened, but when she cried to me describing every agonizing moment, I listened. I was the only pony who would listen, and I was just a foal.”

“How did you get back at them?”

Her face changed to shame, “Please don’t think less of me if I tell you…”

“Nothing can,” I said, “You are a good sister, and I could never think less of you.”

“Well, Barry helped me,” She began, “We kept it from Sen since he would tell Celestia. Barry says it’s been that way since they started dating and got worse when they married.”

“Ah, so that’s who Celestia is married to,” I said, picking up on the cues to allude to other subjects to help her tell her story.

“Yeah, his birthday is next month,” She smiled for a second and went back to her story, “We kidnapped all seven of them in the middle of the night. The city searched everywhere for them in the morning, but they would never guess we hid them in a cave below Canterlot Castle.”

She stopped, expecting a negative comment. When she received none, she continued, “We had them tied to surgical tables Barry borrowed from the castle’s medical room. I took a pair of surgical scissors, and one by one I…”

I nodded, letting her know she didn’t have to continue, “And how did you keep them from telling?”

“They did,” She said. I couldn’t read the emotions on her face, “But when they told everypony that the Princess’s protégé castrated them, Celestia got offended. Barry came to my aid and told everypony that he was with me and tutoring me on Equestrian holidays the whole time.”

“But wasn’t Barry with you?”

She smiled a sad smile, “Yeah… but nopony dared accuse the Princess’s husband’s brother of wrongdoing with no proof. That’s asking for everypony to hate you.”

I smiled, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Looking back now,” She stared at her hooves, “I feel ashamed of myself for doing it… but I don’t regret it. They took my sister away… and she did nothing to deserve it…”

I stood up and lifted one of my forelegs in a gesture for a hug. She stood up and nuzzled against my chest, “You can’t imagine how often I’ve wanted to do the same. If you ask me, they deserve every agonizing minute of it.”

She smiled at my reference, “You’re the best brother I could ever ask for.”

“You know, if nopony else will listen,” I said, getting an idea for my next letter to Celestia, “Maybe I can be that pony that will take on that job.”

She stepped away and gave me a confused look. I smiled and asked for some parchment and a quill.

On my flight home, Derpy flew past me and circled around me when she noticed she passed me. She matched pace with me and asked me to land using hoof-signals. When we landed she walked up to me with a smile, “Hey, Shade.”

“What’s up, Derpy?”

“Oh! I got a letter for you and one for Fluttershy,” She said pulling a couple scrolls out of her messenger bag, “I saw you flying overhead and thought I’d give it to you now instead of following you home, ‘cause that’d be creepy.”

I smiled, “Ah don’t worry about it, Derpy. Thanks for the mail.”

I turned to head away when she stopped me, “Hey, Shade, I gotta question.”

I turned back to the lazy eyed pony. She blinked and her eyes were straight again, “Yes?”

“Oh, sorry, I blanked again,” She shook her head violently, “Oh, right, my question. You aren’t from Equestria, and rumor says that you weren’t always a pony.”

“Well, I don’t much talk about it, but yeah, that’s true.”

“It may be the unicorn from my Pappi,” She said, blinking to keep her eyes straight, “But I think I see your world when my eyes twist up.”

My attention went all to her, “What makes you think that?”

“Well, it’s a desert land filled with sharp plates of metal and… It kinda looks like a train recycler and junkyard,” She said, “Giant broken buildings with animals that look like they’re from Everfree Forest. Maybe you’ll recognize one if I describe it to you?”

I nodded, my heart in my throat.

“Well this one I see all the time is a creature that stands on two legs,” She looked up at the rooftops thinking, “They got fingers like Spike but not pointy. Some of them have a long nose on their face and really dark glass eyes, but that might be a disguise mask because none of the other ones look like that. Their faces are kinda like a monkey.”

I nodded, shook my head, and nodded again before finding my voice, “Wow, Derpy… That’s quite the gift you have there.”

“Is that your world?”

“Yeah,” I said huffing a singly laugh, “Those creatures… that’s what I was… they’re called humans…”

“Hyooooomaaaaans,” She said, tasting the words, “That’s kinda cool. We gotta do this again sometime. Thanks for talking with me, Shade, but I gotta go get Dinky from school.”

I nodded still shocked. I set the letters I was given in my saddlebag and took off in a slow flight home.

When I got back to the cottage, I finally realized that the letters were from Sapphire in Flight School. I called Fluttershy in from her greenhouse and opened my letter. When Fluttershy got inside, I read the letter out loud.

“Hi Daddy! I’m having a wonderful time here at Flight School! Guess what! I can fly for a full ten minutes now! How’s that for just a month? Don’t worry, I’m staying in line. I haven’t beaten up anypony, and Scootaloo isn’t getting picked on anymore. Sure taught them a lesson they won’t soon forget! I hope you’re taking care of Mommy like you promised. I have so much to say I don’t know what to say next! Anyway, I’ll send an actually organized letter next time, Love you, Daddy. ~Sapphy.”

Fluttershy smiled, “She can’t stay on topic for the life of her, can she?”

“Nope,” I rolled up the letter and set it down and gave Fluttershy her letter, “This one’s yours, so you get the honor.”

She sat down and unrolled the scroll, “Dear Mommy, This letter is between me and you, so if Daddy tries to read it, kick him in the shin.”

She looked up apologetically, so I waved her off with a smile. She trotted off to the couch to finish reading the letter. She sat there for over ten minutes reading the letter, so I started up supper. She rolled up the scroll when I finished slicing up the fruits for the salads and trotted over to me.

“So is she okay,” I asked, worried as to why she would write such a huge letter.

“Yeah, she’s fine,” She said smiling, giving me an apologetic kiss, “She just had some filly issues she wanted to talk to me about”

I nodded, pretending to understand, “I have a question for you, Fluttershy.”

“What is it, Shade,” She said, cutting up some random vegetables for our salads.

“Today, Derpy told me she could see my world,” I said, sitting down, “Do you think that maybe she’s fooling me? You know her better than I do…”

“Well why does it bother you,” Fluttershy asked, “Just saying something doesn’t make it true. Besides, Derpy is a writer. She makes weird stuff up for her stories all the time.”

“But she described my world so perfectly. She described humans and…”

Fluttershy nodded slowly. She set the bowls of salad on the dining table, “Maybe it’s just something we shouldn’t worry about. You’re here. Maybe that’s the way it should be.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I said, sitting down at the table.

We ate in silence as usual. We enjoyed each other’s company even if we weren’t speaking. After I finished my salad and melon slice, I waited for Fluttershy to finish. I had another question on my mind.

“Shy,” I said when she got up to put her bowl in the washbin. When she looked at me I continued, “I know I’m not the most cheery pony in the world. I know I always mention home even when you don’t ask about it. I know I spend more time reading than talking… How did you fall for a twit like me?”

She smiled and sat back down after putting her bowl in the washbin, “When you see all the bad things in you, I see all the good. I see how well you raised your daughter. I see how intelligent you are because of your reading.”

I sat quiet for a minute, and she continued, “There is one trait that you have that other colts who asked me out didn’t have. Maybe one day you will see it.”

I sat back for a couple seconds then gave a whining tone, “You just love to tease me, don’t you?”

She winked and giggled, “Of course, sweetie. Life is no fun if I don’t!”

I lay back in the tub with only my nose above the water. We had the bathtub fixed to fit my large body since it was originally made to fit Fluttershy, who was about half my size. The hot water covering me helped me think and relax. I thought over what Derpy told me yesterday and debated sending a letter to Celestia about it. Of all ponies, she would be the one to know. This thought brought me to thinking of just Celestia. Now that I think about it, she and Luna seemed to be regarded as more than just a leader, but more like a deity. Nopony dared question her or her associates. This must also be the reason Twilight isn’t hanging all over Luna out in the open but only in private.

I felt vibration in the water and jolted up, covering myself. Fluttershy stood in the doorway chuckling. Then I remembered that ponies were normally nude.

“Sorry, Shady,” Fluttershy said, “I forgot you guys were more concerned about privacy than we are.”

I shook my head to clear the water from my ears, “Don’t worry. I need to get used to Equestrian customs sooner or later. Habits are hard to break.”

She nodded, “Well, I’m just reminding you your appointment with Pinkie for baking class is in twenty minutes.”

“Ahhh, dang it,” I said, stepping onto a towel on the floor and taking a couple more to dry myself, “Thanks for reminding me, I totally forgot.”

She nodded and smiled, then asked, “Hey Shady, why is it that humans are so concerned about privacy?”

“Well humans almost always wore clothes,” I said, drying my forelegs, “Since we didn’t have as much fur to keep us warm. Because of this, we became self-conscious whenever we were out of them. It’s a bit more complicated, but that’s the basis.”

She nodded in understanding, “Well that seems silly.”

“It kinda is. The human body became taboo to be seen by anypony else,” I said, putting my vest Rarity made me my second week in Equestria on, “You ask at least one question a day about my world.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” She said, hunching down a bit, “I’ve always been a really curious pony.”

I walked up and pat her on the head then kissed her on the nose, “Don’t worry, hun. I don’t mind.”

She stood a bit straighter and walked past me down the stairs, “Do you want a quick snack? I’m sure you’ll make it in time if you fly.”

“Maybe a bit of steamed broccoli and some cantaloupe.”

She quickly made my meal, and I stuffed it down. After I was done, I kissed Fluttershy goodbye and ran out the door to fly to Pinkie’s place. I made it to her place in about three minutes flying a casual pace.

I knocked on her door and Mr. Cake answered, “Oh, hi Enigma! Pinkie told us you were coming for some lessons?”

I nodded, “Yes, sir. The shop was closed today is what she told me.”

“Yes,” He said, “We have a catering service in a few minutes. And it’s Sunday. Please! Come in! Pinkie is waiting for you in the kitchen.”

I followed him into the kitchen where Pinkie was busy decorating a cake with Mrs. Cake. Mr. Cake quickly ran a cart over to the cake and they slid the large, multi-level cake onto it. Soon they had bags upon bags of goodies filled and on the cart, and they were out the door. Pinkie wiped her dry forehead to display how much work it must have been.

“Whew! That was a lot of work,” She said with a giant grin, “So, ready to learn?”

I nodded and she jumped above me and slipped an apron over my head, “Where’d that come from?”

“What d’ya mean,” Pinkie said, bouncing off before I could ask again.

I shook my head and watched as Pinkie explained how to make cupcakes. Her words slipped from her so quickly I couldn’t keep up, so I tried keeping track of her actions. She added liquid soy and beans half way through the process, which seemed to replace eggs. After about five minutes of forcing me to stir the mixture, she helped me pour the slimy, cream colored mixture into a cupcake pan. She then shoved the pan in the oven and sat on a chair.

“There,” She said with a huge grin, “Not so hard right?”

“Right,” I wiped my forehead, which was actually sweating from the heat in the kitchen.

We sat in silence for a full minute, which seemed to annoy Pinkie because she immediately started talking.

“So how’s it going between you and Fluttershy,” Pinkie asked, “You two look so happy together every time I see you. How’s Sapphire doing in Flight School? Have you heard from her yet?”

“One at a time, Pinkie,” I said laughing, “Fluttershy and I are happy. Never argue about anything, but I never see Fluttershy argue with anypony. I just heard from Sapphire yesterday. She left a secret message for Fluttershy though. I’m wondering if I should be concerned about that.”

“Fluttershy went to Flight School and you didn’t,” Pinkie explained, “Maybe she wanted some advice from a more experienced pegasus. And keeping it secret maybe she’s not wanting to worry you.”

“Well I want to know if she’s in trouble or if she’s worried,” I said, “I want to be able to help if so.”

Pinkie sighed with a soft smile on her face, “Sometimes it feels better to not worry anypony.”

“What do you mean by that,” I asked.

“Well,” She said, her smile no longer there, “I’m not always the happiest pony alive. I’m usually feeling hurt from what happened with June and Big Mac. I don’t mean to complain at you, but it helps me explain. Whenever there’s hurt, I try to smile, but it doesn’t help. When I smile and I see others smile because of me, it makes me feel better. If I hide my pain and smile, and I make others smile, it helps my pain go away. I live to make ponies smile and feel better.”

I nodded, unable to speak for a moment. After a bit of silence, I said, “So that’s why you cheered up really quickly when I walked in here during Sapph and my party.”

“Yes,” She said, her smile slowly returning, “Because I didn’t want to make you frown on your special day. I wanted to make sure you didn’t worry about me. I wanted you and Sapph to smile.”

“But Fluttershy…”

She laughed once, “She is a master at knowing what others feel. She asked what was wrong and I couldn’t keep it in.”

I nodded, “She’s done that to me quite a bit.”

“She’s a wonderful filly,” Pinkie said with a sad smile, “You’re lucky to have such a wonderful fillyfriend.”

“I know that much,” I said smiling myself, “I never doubt it.”

“And whatever you do,” She said, her face turning darker and darker, “Do not ever treat her like June did me.”

I felt something like a stab in my soul at her expression, “And how did he treat you?”

Her normally poofy hair was now straight and covered half her face, which still held the dark expression, “He felt that just because we were dating he could do whatever he wanted with me. One day I got tired of it when he tried to do it during one of our hot air balloon rides… I pushed him away and he slipped… He fell out…”

Her dark expression stayed even as a tear rolled down her cheek, “I had to lie to everypony that he tripped. I still feel guilty even if he was a mean stallion…”

I stayed quiet and she stared at the floor letting the tears roll. I stood up and pulled her into a hug. She flinched and froze up for a second before relaxing again and returning the hug, “I promise, I will never treat anypony like that ever.”

She hugged me back for a few minutes before pushing me away, a smile back on her face and her hair back in a poof, “I don’t doubt it. I think those cupcakes are ready now! C’mon!”

I smiled and followed her. Everypony seemed to have these dark secrets. Celestia was wrong. The last murder was not a century ago. They just stopped accusing ponies of it.

I walked home to think. Pinkie gave me half of everything we made, so I also wanted to keep them warm so Fluttershy and I could share some warm cookies and cupcakes. I had already stopped by the library to have Spike send a letter to the princess about Derpy. I was able to leave quickly since Twilight wasn’t there. I walked up to the forest-side cottage, and Angel hopped up with me and climbed up my saddlebag sniffing for the cookies. I gently nudged him aside and pulled out a cookie and gave it to him, “Don’t tell Shy, okay?”

The bunny got a serious look and saluted before hopping off with his treat. I stepped inside and smiled to see Fluttershy and Twilight chatting on the couch, “Well hello.”

They turned their heads and smiled, greeting me, but I could tell their conversation had involved me by the change in tone the second I walked in, “What’s up?”

Twilight hopped down from the couch, “Just thought I’d pay you two a visit, and Spike got two letters for you. I thought I would use that as an excuse to visit.”

Fluttershy stayed where she was, “Yes, one was from the princess to you and Twilight. She said you should go through with whatever idea you had.”

“Yup,” Twi said, “And she asked me to give you a bit of slack in your job so that you could.”

I waved my hoof at her, “Pff, with three of us there, it’s mostly just goofing off.”

“So what is your project,” Fluttershy asked.

I set my saddlebag on Sapph’s chair, “We’ll talk about that later. You guys want some cookies and cupcakes?”

They both accepted the invitation and sat politely at a table while I dug out the containers of goodies. We dug into them. The two fillies complimented my cooking with every other bite even with me saying that Pinkie did most of the work. All I did was pour and stir with exception of measuring the milk.

After our sugary snack, we went on to discussing the letter from Celestia, “So she actually thought it was a good idea?”

“More than a good idea,” Twilight said, “She thought it was genius. She’s actually surprised she hasn’t done that.”

“What exactly,” Fluttershy asked.

I looked over to Twilight and back then explained, “Twi and I had a conversation yesterday about some of the bad things that happen in Equestria. I was thinking about making a defense force, something like a police station, to help all ponies who are victims of them.”

“How is it a defense force then,” Fluttershy asked, “Seems more like a shrink than anything.”

Twilight took over, “Since most ponies would stop an attack if they saw one, we figured we wouldn’t need a defense force for that, but we would make sure there are repercussions for the terrible things they do.”

“Like what?”

Twi and I shared a glance before I said, “We aren’t sure what the repercussions will be just yet. They will be merciful, yet still make them learn their lesson.”

“Like with rape,” Twilight said, “We would find some sort of punishment that would be equal to the attack. Maybe kick them out of town for a couple seasons, but I’m not sure if we have that kind of power.”

“I don’t think anypony will protest it,” I said, then I stood and found a space and spread my wings, showing my full size, covering most of the room and even having to bend my wings a bit to not knock flower pots down, “And I think power is not what we should be concerned about.”

“Still something to worry about,” Twilight said.

Fluttershy sat quietly for a few minutes before we asked her her thoughts. She looked at us quizzically, “But why would you do bad things too? Two bad things don’t cancel out…”

“What do you mean,” I asked.

She sighed through her nose and looked out of the corner of her eye before meeting mine, “Punishing somepony for something they did doesn’t make their wrong disappear.”

“But it keeps them from doing anything more,” Twilight said when I couldn’t answer.

Fluttershy nodded slowly, “I guess… but some ponies do bad things for a reason.”

“I know that all too well,” I said, thinking back to my conversation with Pinkie, “All too well…”

When Twilight left, I decided it was the best time to read the second letter. It was from Sapphire again. Fluttershy smiled and settled in next to me to read with me. I had a feeling she already knew what was going to be written in it

Dear Daddy,
It’s Sapphire again. Mommy sent me a letter yesterday and I think she’s right that I should tell you too. Now that I think about it… I don’t know why I thought you would be opposed to it. But anyway, there’s something very important that I need to tell you. I’m honestly trying to get out of writing it down, but I asked Scootaloo to make me write it.

I read the rest of the message in my head. I looked at Fluttershy, “You knew about this?”

She nodded, “Yeah. She asked me for advice, and I gave it to her. You’re not mad, are you?”

“Mad,” I asked, “Of course not. I’m actually glad.”

“Glad?”

“Yeah, and a little sad,” I said. Sapphire felt safe going to Fluttershy about such a sensitive issue. This made me glad, but Sapphire felt afraid to come to me about the issue. It hurt to know that.

“Well, no matter what, even if she doesn’t know it,” I said, “She’s still my precious little gem.”

Chapter X: Have a Heart

Part II: The Mundane—Final
Chapter VI: Have a Heart

I gave myself the day off for the occasion. Ms. Cheerilee excused Sapph for the day to join me. I was able to disguise it as a father-daughter bonding day and doing a favor for Rarity. Rarity, Twilight, and Luna were the only ponies that knew the real intention for this outing.

“What about this one, Dad,” Sapphire asked, holding out an emerald the size of her hoof.

“Great! Put it in the bag with the rest,” I said, “But we still need the centerpiece and one more emerald.”

“We’ve been out here for three hours,” She groaned, “My hooves are getting sore.”

“Why don’t we take a break, then,” I offered. She immediately found a flat rock and plopped down on it even before taking her saddlebag off. We were about ten kilometers from the town boundary, so I figured that we could head back and have plenty of time to find the final gems.

“Rarity’s client seems pretty picky,” Sapphire said, rubbing her hooves, “Twenty emeralds and an onyx? That’s a difficult find.”

“Yeah, he is really picky,” I said, “If Rarity weren’t so busy today, she’d have gone herself. She has a better discerning eye than I do.”

“Ugh, she’s always busy,” Sapphire complained.

“Hey, it got you out of class,” I said and sat down next to her, “And it gives us a bit of time to hang out. There’s rarely any time for that anymore.”

“Sorry, Dad,” Sapph said with a frown, “I have been spending too much time with Scoots and not enough time with you and Mom.”

“Maybe tomorrow you can come with us on our picnic after the concert,” I said, putting my foreleg around her shoulders, “It’d be fun, maybe even bring Scootaloo with you.”

Sapphire smiled and nodded as she stared at the sky. She had become a lot calmer in the nine seasons we’ve been here in Equestria. Flight School and dating really made her mature pretty quickly.

“Y’know,” She said, watching a cloud stroll lazily across the sky, “It doesn’t seem like we’ve been here that long at all. I mean, it seems like just last week I came home from Flight School.”

“And feels like just last month we moved in with your mom,” I added.

We spent a few minutes silently reminiscing our stay in Equestria. After the fourth minute, Sapph broke the silence, “Think we can find a sapphire for Scootaloo while we’re out here? She’s been wanting to trick out her new scooter.”

“Sure,” I said, looking over to her, “How’s it goin’ between you two anyway, Sapph?”

She blushed and lowered her head, “Jeez, Dad, you don’t just ask that!”

I laughed, “I’m just asking, Sapph. Makin’ sure you’re happy an’ all that. Wouldn’t be much of a dad if I didn’t.”

She nodded and her face slowly returned to normal color, “We’re good. Things have changed a bit since coming home from Flight School. Sometimes I’m afraid I’m a little too pushy...”

“What makes you say that?”

“She’s too boyish to talk about feelings and all that garbage,” She explained while shining an emerald with her hip, “I am too, but she’s worse. I even caught her crying behind the school one time, and she got mad at me for asking what was wrong.”

I sat quietly nodding as she recounted several more instances. When she finished, I said, “Do you think she’s being bullied still?”

“Can’t be. Nopony will mess with her after they heard what happened at Flight School.”

“But you’re not around her 24/7,” I scratched my head with my forehoof, “And everypony knows Scoots is as stubborn as Cranky when it comes to asking for help.”

We sat in silence a bit longer before getting up and heading back towards town. When we found a sapphire, Sapph looked at it closely. Her name was her girlfriend’s favorite gemstone.

“Hey, Dad,” She said after putting the gem in her saddlebag, “You think I can pick a song for tomorrow’s concert to sing for Scoots?”

“I don’t see why not. Which one?”

“I can’t remember the name,” She said, “But it’s that one you sang for Pinkie last month when Big Mac dumped her for the umpteenth time.”

I smiled, “Sounds perfect.”

Sapphire went to say hi to Sweetie Belle as I chatted with Rarity. She took every gem and inspected them while she spoke, “These are marvelously picked gems. I don’t have to do much of anything to them.”

“How long until it’s ready?”

“Oh, about three days if I get lazy,” She said and levitated the onyx up to her eye, “My, my, what a lovely pick.”

“You have no idea how hard it was to find that,” I complained.

“And that’s your own fault, Dearie,” She said, “But I can’t think of a better labor.”

I smiled and she continued, “This will be beautiful, Darling.”

“In your hooves,” I said, “I don’t doubt it. I wouldn’t trust any other tailor in all Equestria with this task.”

“Oh, you flatterer,” She giggled and pulled the sapphire from the basket, “And what is this?”

“Sapph found that. She wanted to give it to Scootaloo for her new scooter,” I explained and she set it on her work bench.

“Well then I will just have to fix it up for her, now, won’t I?”

Sapphire and Sweetie Belle walked down the stairs together just as Rarity finished polishing the gem. Sapphire watched her as she made her final inspection before presenting the gem to Sapph.

“Wow,” She said, inspecting it for herself, “Thanks, Ms. Rarity.”

“Oh, it was my pleasure. No trouble at all,” Rarity said waving her hoof at Sapph, “Now, why don’t you three find something to do so I can start on this project.”

“Good luck. I hope the client likes it,” Sapphire said.

Rarity smiled, “Thank you, Dearie. I’m positive he will love it.”

We walked to the library to give Twilight and Luna the plan for the concert tomorrow. We had to all threaten Sweetie Belle with embarrassment if she told Scootaloo anything. It was to be a surprise. Twilight pulled me aside for a moment when Luna offered Sapph and Sweetie snacks.

“How’d it go with Rarity,” Twilight whispered

“It went well,” I whispered back, “In her speech, she basically told me it will be done by the time I need it tomorrow.”

“In her speech?”

“She said, ‘I could do it in three days if I’m feeling lazy.’”

“That’s Rarity,” Twilight said then pushed me toward the kitchen so as not to arouse any suspicions.

After a quick snack with Twi and Luna, we took off to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had been foster parents for Scootaloo until she left for Flight School, and when she returned they full out adopted her. When Applejack and Dash got married, Dash built a cloud house that floated about three meters above the farmhouse, so this was where they all lived while Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Applebloom lived in the farmhouse below. Twilight had even cast a spell on the cloud so that it would allow any type of pony to walk on it along with Dash’s pet tortoise.

Sapph and Sweetie Belle ran off to find Applebloom and Scootaloo while I flew up to Applejack and Dash’s farm cloud. I knocked on the solid cloud door and Dash called out through what sounded like running water that she would be to the door in a moment. I heard the water sound stop suddenly a few seconds later, and Dash appeared at the door ten more seconds later with a towel around her neck, “Oh, hey, Shade. What brings you up here?”

“Sorry, I seem to have interrupted something,” I said, spotting Applejack walking by four meters away drying her mane.

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Dash said, nudging my shoulder, “Come on in.”

She led me to a couch a few rooms away and started talking, “So, what do you need, my young protégé?”

“It’s probably gonna sound weird, but my daughter wants to dedicate a song to your daughter during tomorrow’s concert,” I explained with a smile.

“Done,” She said, making me feel like I was talking to a businessmare, “Which song?”

“That one we sang for Pinkie when Mac broke up with her last month,” I said.

Dash stretched out on the couch and lay on her stomach as she spoke to me, “Somehow I knew it was going to be a ‘cheer the heck up’ kind of song.”

“Why do you say that?”

Dash rolled onto her back with a sigh, “Don’t tell anypony I said this, but I’ve been kind of concerned about that little squirt. She was fine the first couple weeks, but now she’s just…depressing.”

“Any idea why?”

“Yes, I know exactly why. She came to me about it,” She stretched one more time then sat up straight.

“About what,” I pressed.

She sighed through her nose and hopped off of the couch. She walked over to the doorway to the room and checked the hallway and zipped the doorway. With no chance of sound getting through the rest of the house, she spilled the beans, “She gets picked on by those stuck-up twits at school. Silver something and Diamond something. She knows if she gets into another fight, she won’t be allowed back to school. I don’t know why she came to me because when I offered to do something about it, she got angry at me. She told me to not tell anypony, not even AJ.

“She’s a strong filly, but she looked so weak when she told me. After threatening me for the hundredth time, she went back to being all mopey. She didn’t want to go to Sapphire because she was afraid if Sapph found out, she would beat the living crap outta the two and then get kicked out of school herself,” Dash sighed and scratched her neck, “Not sure what to do with that kid.”

I sat thinking while Dash explained. When she finished, I said, “We can’t fight her battles. Did she mention the kind of things the girls would say?”

“Well…. Sort of. It was hard to get it out of her,” Dash said, “But she did tell me they said she should go die. They said she means nothing to the world. The rest was pretty passive-aggressive stuff that really doesn’t matter as much.”

I watched Rainbow Dash’s reactions as she told the story, and the more she said, the sadder she seemed, “Everything matters… Are you okay?”

“Screw this tough attitude,” She wiped her nose and looked as if she was about to cry herself, “I’m honestly really concerned about her. I’m afraid she’ll do the same thing Twilight’s sister did. Find the perfect time and just…”

“You know about that?”

“Yeah,” She wiped at her face again, “I was there. My dad was a Wonderbolt at that time, so I went to see him perform… I ended up watching a filly jump onto a bed of sharp rocks and my dad help clean up the mess.”

I cringed at the blunt descriptiveness, “I… see…”

“Maybe,” Dash said, “It would be best to tell Sapphire a bit about what’s going on. All Scoot ever talks about lately is Sapphire. It’s like she’s the only one keeping her going.”

“We’ll tell her after the concert, how about. That way she can stick by her at school the next day. I think the only real reason she won’t tell Sapph anything is from pride.”

“Screw Scoots’ pride. She’s too important to lose over a bit of pride.”

“She’s a gem…”

Dash nodded, “She’s a gem…”

Pinkie helped me set up the microphone and wouldn’t stop talking throughout, “Wowie, it’s awesome you keep getting to play these concerts. I mean I would like to, but everypony finds my music waaaaay too hyper. I don’t know why it—“

I blocked out her incessant rambling and made sure the rest of our little band had everything set. Pinkie squealed a good luck before bounding off the stage and into a space where she, Fluttershy, Applejack, and a small group of several other friends of theirs, but most importantly the Crusaders, who all now had their cutie marks, were gathered at the edge of the group. Sapphire stayed with them for now, since she would only take the stage during one song.

Dash called me over to her drum set just before I was about to speak. I walked over to her, “Shade, we’re gonna save the dedication for last right?”

“Yeah, why?”

She glanced at the small group of our various friends and family, “I don’t wanna be mushy or anything… but can I dedicate a song for AJ? I’ll sing and everything, since you know how to play drums and everything now.”

“Of course,” I said with a smile, “I’ll take over, just let me know what song, and we’ll play that before Sapph’s song.”

I went back up to the microphone, “Good morning everypony! I want to say thank you, as always, for giving us the opportunity to do this every other week. It’s a joy and a half, let me tell you.”

The crowd cheered their approval, “Let’s start with this one named ‘Breathe’.”

We started the song and the crowd leapt into the hard rock sound and the dark, eerie lyrics. Throughout the concert I tried to keep track of our little group of friends to make sure that Scootaloo did not suddenly run off, but the sounds drew her in, as we knew it would. The next two songs were also just as dark and eerie. The crowd ate it up. We lightened the mood with two other songs that were more rock-like, but still a bit eerie.

I laughed at the end of Crazy Train. It felt good to keep music from my world alive, especially the classics. The crowd’s cheer slowed and I stepped back up to the mic, “Okay, fillies and colts, this next one I am going to step away from the mic. Our wonderful drummer has a special message for her wife. Dash?”

Dash hopped off of her seat and I took her place. She tentatively walked up to the mic, “Hello, everypony.”

The crowd cheered her on, but I couldn’t tell her expression from behind, “Thanks, guys. I’ve been practicing singing this song for about two months now since I was introduced to it. I had no coaching, so I hope this sounds as good as I think. Applejack, this is for you.”

In the crowd I saw Scootaloo and Applebloom nudging and teasing Applejack. Dash cleared her throat and stepped up to the mic. Twilight and Luna looked a bit lost, so I started the beat and they caught on.

“I know you, who are you now? Look into my eyes if you can’t remember… Do you remember?” Dash’s voice spread through the crowd and they all sat in awe. Not only was her voice soft and beautiful, but she was singing a mushy rock song, “I can see, I can still find. You’re the only voice my heart can recognize, and I can hear you now, yeah!”

Her voice cracked on the last note, but the crowd seemed to overlook it, captivated by the sound, “I’ll never be the same. I’m caught inside the memories, the promises, our yesterdays, and I belong to you. I just can’t walk away. ‘Cause after loving you… I can never be the same.”

I almost lost my place in the music listening to the voice that just couldn’t belong to such a tomcolt mare. I was able to drag my eyes away from her to our small group of friends and family. All of their jaws were agape and hanging, especially Applejack and Scootaloo. After Rainbow Dash finished her song, she looked out over the crowd and stepped back from the mic as they all stamped their feet in loud applause.

Dash stepped back up to the mic when the applause died down, “There, I got that out of my system. Don’t expect any more mushy, emotional stuff for a while, Applejack.”

Applejack laughed with the audience. They’d been together for 33 seasons. Then it hit me today was their anniversary. Sapphire started making her way to the stage as RD and I swapped places again. Scootaloo stayed where she was, oblivious as to what was to come.

When I got to the mic, I tried stalling while Sapph made her way to the stage, “This last piece is one of my personal favorites. This song has been around since I was a young colt. A VERY young colt. Maybe not as old as Crazy Train, but you get the idea. Now, my daughter is going to sing this one with me.”

Sapphire made it to the stage and the crowd cheered. She set up her own mic while they calmed down, “Hello, everypony. I know my dad and Ms. Rainbow Dash are all sappy and whatnot when it comes to cheer-up and love songs, but I like to be more upbeat.”

The band took this as a cue to start the music and the crowd immediately recognized it, “This one is for my fillyfriend. I may just be a worrywart, but cheer up, ya big jerk.”

She took the next vamp to start singing, “Hey. Don’t write yourself off yet. It’s only in your head you feel left out, or looked down on. Just try your best. Do everything you can, and don’t ya worry what they tell themselves when you’re away.”

She winked at the group as I jumped in as background for the chorus, “It just takes some time, little girl, you’re in the middle of the ride! Everything, everything will be just fine—everything, everything will be alright, alright.”

I watched Scootaloo’s reaction throughout the song, and her reaction was far from what I expected. Instead of acting as if she was on a spotlight, she sat with a smile on her face and wiggled to the music like the rest of the crowd. Sapphire smiled and was enjoying herself, but kept her eye on Scootaloo as she sang.

The song finished and the crowd applauded. Within ten minutes the crowd had dispersed except for a select few. One white unicorn with a blue mane stayed back as family ran forward to congratulate us on another successful concert.

Fluttershy hopped on my back and snuggled up against my neck, “I think you’re sounding better and better with each concert, sweetie.”

I twisted my head and kissed her on the cheek, “Thanks, hun.”

Scootaloo and the other two crusaders tackled Sapphire. After they recovered from the dog pile, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle gave Scootaloo and Sapph some room.

“You’re a jerk, you know that, right,” Scootaloo accused with a smile on her face, “First a gem, now this?”

Sapphire grinned a Pinkie Pie grin, “I know. I’m the best.”

Scootaloo leaned up and kissed her and I looked away. Of course where I looked away to just so happened to be where Applejack was nuzzling Rainbow Dash under her chin, “Best anniversary present ever, Sugarcube.”

“Not many couples get this far,” Dash said with her foreleg wrapped around Applejack, “I figured it was worth the work I put into it.”

“Ah wish Ah’d known you had such a beautiful singin’ voice,” Applejack said, and I looked away again and was met with a white unicorn right in my face. I jolted back and the unicorn stepped back.

“Sorry about that,” The unicorn said, “Name’s Vinyl Scratch. If you got a second, I’d like to talk to you for a couple minutes.”

Fluttershy leaned into my line of site from her spot on my back, “Should I let you two be?”

“No, you’re fine,” The unicorn said, her speech fairly formal for her attire, “It’s not private, just making an offer.”

“Ms. Scratch,” I began.

“Please, Vinyl,” She stopped me, “or DJ, whichever works for you.”

“Vinyl,” I corrected, “If the offer is to join the band or anything, it’s not really a band, it’s just me an—“

“Not what I wanted at all, Mr. Shade,” She said with a grin, “You probably heard of me. I’m from Canterlot. My stage name is DJ Pon3.”

“Ah, yes, I have a couple of your records,” I said and held out my hoof, “Wow, nice to meet such a great musician.”

She shook my hoof and went straight back to business, "I heard the rumors that you came from a whole different world and at one time you were some creature called a ‘human’.”

“That’s correct. All this random information, I figure you’re going somewhere with it?”

“Yes, sorry, laying my cards out without faces,” She adjusted her sunglasses, “I have my own recording studio. I figured I would offer to record some of your top requested songs and make your own band record. I even thought up a title.”

I nodded slowly, “This all sounds… great, but I feel there’s a catch.”

“No catch at all,” She said and smiled, “I just love your music and want to spread it and make it popular outside of just Ponyville and Canterlot Castle.”

Fluttershy adjusted herself on my back and asked, “What did you want to name it, Ms. DJ?”

“Ah, that, yes,” She tapped her head, “I’m forgetful, sorry. I though perhaps ‘Purely Human’ would sound awesome. It would have your top seven tracks.”

“That sounds,” I looked at the floor searching for a word, “Awesome.”

The unicorn smiled, “Perfect. I will put you guys on my list. I’ll even bump you up a few spots in my recording line.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” I said, shaking my head, “Just go ahead and put us at the end, we’ll still be here.”

“Your wish,” Vinyl said, “In that case, I’ll contact you in six seasons when you’re up.”

And with that she walked away. I turned around and noticed the rest of the group staring at me, “What?”

“You realize what just happened right,” Dash asked.

“Yeah, I met my favorite pony musician. She offered us a recording because she likes our music. Now I feel like I’m going to faint.”

When the hype about meeting DJ Pon3 dropped, I looked around nervously. Rarity sat outside her shop a few blocks down like she said she would when the concert ended. She rarely came to the concerts because she was more a fan of classical music with piano and strings.

I took a deep breath to calm myself because I realized I was sweating and my heart was beating faster than normal. I took control of my vocal chords and spoke to Sapph and Fluttershy, “Hey, can you two come with me to Rarity’s shop? Anypony else is welcome to go as well, but you two I want to be there.”

Fluttershy hopped off my back and stood next to Sapphire, “Sure, Sweetheart.”

Sapphire, who was nearly Fluttershy’s height by now, nudged her, “Any idea what he’s doing now? Always with the secrets.”

“Sapphire, I’m right here,” I said, “I can hear every word you’re saying.”

“I know,” She said with a wicked grin, “Was hoping you’d take the hint.”

I rolled my eyes and started walking towards Rarity’s shop. It turned out that everypony decided to come, sniffing the drama in the air and not wanting to miss anything good. When we got close, Rarity gave a subtle gesture to tell me that everything was ready to go.

We all piled into Rarity’s shop and Rarity beckoned me upstairs. I followed her and everypony else stayed where they were, “Shade, darling, you brought a crowd with you?”

“They kinda followed me here,” I said with a nervous smile.

“The more the merrier,” She said with a happy smile, “It will be beautiful, why are you so nervous?”

“Do you have any idea how nerve wracking just thinking about it is,” I asked, “Or knowing that now I have a crowd to deal with.”

“You will be fine, Darling,” She said with an encouraging smile, “You’re a dashing and courageous young stallion with a lot of heart. You can do anything!”

I felt my heart quicken, “Yeah, I know that’s supposed to be helpful, but it didn’t help any.”

“Sorry,” She said, “Well, get your flank down there and I’ll bring it down when you say the cue.”

I nodded and hobbled down the stairs on jelly legs. Nopony seemed to notice my nervousness, so that made me feel a bit better. I stood in front of Fluttershy and she looked up at me with question in her eyes.

“Fluttershy, remember yesterday when Sapph and I went out into the deserts to do a favor for Rarity?”

“Yeah,” She said with a confused look, “Seemed like an awful lot of work.”

“Well it wasn’t a favor,” I said and I waved my hoof as if presenting something, “It was for this.”

Right on cue, Rarity levitated a dazzling dress. It was a forest green and pink with two emeralds on each leg and on the neck. Ten more lined the bottom of the cape skirt. Then, right in the center of the piece, where the sternum would go, was a shining black Onyx—Fluttershy’s favorite gemstone. Words couldn’t describe the beauty of the dress. Fluttershy and the whole group stood with their jaws dropped.

“This, my dear Fluttershy,” I said with sudden confidence, “Is my gift to you as a formal invitation into our family.”

She cut me off before I could continue, “You’re going to ask me to marry you, aren’t you?”

I stopped, my words lost now. After a moment, “That was my plan.”

Color had drained from her face and she looked very, very pale. I kissed her on the cheek and lifted her left forehoof of the ground and kissed it too, “Will you?”

“Of course,” She answered without hesitation, “But…”

I felt my heart sink, “but?”

“Now it’s my turn to faint,” she said, and as if flipping a switch she collapsed into my forehooves. I pulled her in close. I guess I had put too much pressure on her.

Sapphire sat and shook her head as if not believing I had kept this secret from her and had her unintentionally help with my “wedding ring”.

The rest of the ponies all congratulated me even as I held Fluttershy unconscious in my grasp. Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped high in the air, “OH! I got a party to plan now!”

She burst out the door and bounced down the street to plan. Applejack came up and clapped me on the shoulder and watched Fluttershy slowly reawaken, “Don’ worry, Sugarcube. Pinkie did mine an’ Dash’s weddin’. She knows th’ diff’rence between that an’ birthday parties.”

Rainbow Dash clapped me on the other shoulder as well, “Welcome to the club.”

Fluttershy finally came to and jolted out of my grasp and looked around. Rarity walked up to her and pulled her along, urging her to try on the dress so that she could fix any mistakes. They went upstairs, even with Fluttershy’s reluctance, and I was left with the tons of talk.

“I’ll be honest,” Twilight said, hanging on Luna all of a sudden, “I didn’t think you had it in you, bro.”

I laughed, “Honestly. Neither did I.”

Celestia showed up to the ceremony. She brought not only her husband and brother-in-law, but also a few families who took up homes in Canterlot Castle that had become friends of ours due to our constant visits to Canterlot. Celestia herself ran the ceremony, and Twilight and Luna put up a barrier to keep any wandering eyes from seeing the princess and intruding but made sure we could still see the nature around us.

The ceremony was very similar to a human one. Each of us would give our promises, or vows I guess, to each other that we would protect and love each other. The major difference was that Sapphire was to take part in the ceremony to accept Fluttershy into the family. Since Fluttershy and I had no other family, the ceremony was quick and the party started. Sometime during the party, Celestia approached us.

“Enigma Shade, Fluttershy,” She said with a bright smile, “Congratulations. I am very happy for both of you, my young students.”

Fluttershy bowed her head with a blushing face and I answered for her, “Thank you, Princess. And thank you for coming and running this for us.”

“Anything for my faithful students,” She said, “I have a bit of news to discuss with you and the rest of my students on a later day in Canterlot. Perhaps we can set a date for this Saturday?”

“Of course, but for what,” I asked and Fluttershy regained her stature and color.

“Oh, I’d prefer not to ruin your special day with business,” She said and pointed at Derpy, “Let’s just say I’ve been studying a lot with your favorite mailmare over there.”

I looked over at Derpy—who was with Dinky trying to keep a young colt under control—and nodded, “Very well.”

“One more thing,” Celestia pointed at my suit, “You look rather handsome in that suit. And Fluttershy, you look absolutely beautiful. I must have a chat with your tailor.”

We thanked her and talked up our favorite and generous tailor. Celestia seemed surprised that another student of hers had been behind the wedding dress and suit. We all thanked each other once again, and she strolled off to compliment Rarity.

“What do you think that was all about,” Fluttershy asked. Vinyl had done us a favor and sent her wife Octavia and her band to play for the wedding party. The next song was a soft song with a romantic aura about it.

“Let’s take her advice and not worry about it,” I said. I leaned down to kiss her and held out my hoof to her, “How about we dance instead?”

She smiled and took my hoof, “An offer I can’t refuse.”

The nine of us boarded the train and packed into a single car. Luna had already gone back to Canterlot with her sister after the wedding, so that left Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Rarity, Pinkie, and my family going to Canterlot. We idly discussed why we were all being summoned to the princess’ side in such short notice, but we all made clear that we didn’t mind. The princess was like a mother to everypony in Equestria, so any chance to see her was taken as a gift.

Barrier and Sentinel were at the train station waiting for us. They didn’t say anything about the meeting, but greeted us warmly. Oddly enough, Barry even declined Dash’s challenge of a race, which was a tradition of theirs. This didn’t sit well with me. Even Barry was all business. Barry was always goofing off.

“Greetings, my faithful students,” Celestia said, her voice not warm at all, but cold and business-like. Luna stood behind her with an expression that could only be described as worry. Celestia waved us inside, “Quickly, we have much to discuss.”

We filled up Celestia’s study, the same room I met her in when I first came to Equestria. After a few moments, Barry opened the door and Derpy entered the room with us, “Hey guys!”

“Hey Derpy,” Most of us returned the greeting, and all of us turned to Celestia with questioning looks.

“Young Derpy Hooves has a marvelous talent,” Celestia said beckoning Derpy closer, “We have been studying together for the past six seasons since your letter about her, Shade. She could see your realm while I was clouded. After studying with her for a while, she helped me regain my sight into your world.”

“My handicap actually helped somepony,” Derpy said, obviously trying to hide her joy over the fact.

“Yes, indeed Derpy,” Celestia said, smiling and patting her on the head, “You are a wonderful student and a beautiful teacher.”

Derpy’s face was of utter joy and she laughed, “I’m so glad I could help.”

Celestia set her hoof back on the couch and returned her attention to us, “I can see your world again, Shade. I am sad to say, though, that it does not look good. Not in the least.”

“Is that all you called us here for,” Dash said, seeming to grow irritated.

“No,” Celestia said, oblivious to the irritation, “Please let me explain. Shade, there is one civilization of humans left in your world. They are slowly dying—running out of supplies.”

She shook her head and Derpy’s joyous face turned grim. She blinked constantly to keep her eyes from twisting. Celestia continued, “I started studying with other Alicorns and some very powerful unicorns. We found a way to send you back to your world.”

Before I could interrupt she cut me off, “I want to send a few of you to this war torn world and bring back the survivors. We won’t be able to bring you back for at least a season. We want you to help the survivors build the machine you did, Shade, and send them one by one here to Canterlot Castle. Shade, you are the only one who has to go, but anypony else is welcome to join him, but no more than five of you can go. I will need assistance here when the recruits come to help them get situated around Equestria, so not all of you can go. I’ll be sending a message through dreams to a couple survivors to warn them of your coming. We will send you all in two days.”

“I’ll go,” Twilight said almost immediately, “My magic will definitely help.”

“I’ll go as well,” Barry said with a rare serious expression, “They’ll need a guard in case things get nasty.”

Fluttershy spoke up, “I’ll go too. I can’t sit back useless while—“

“I’m not going,” I heard my voice say.

Everypony’s attention went to me. Celestia looked taken aback, “What do you mean?”

“I’m not going,” I felt angry now, like an ancient rage just bubbled to the surface, “What don’t you understand?”

“I thought,” She struggled for words, her weak side showing, “I... I thought you would go back to help your dying world.”

“A world that tried to kill me,” I said, incredulous, “A world that did nothing but shun me since my birth. A world that cared more for material possession and power over each other’s lives! A world like that can rot and burn in fucking hell for all I give a shit! That world has what’s coming to it.”

The room went silent for a few minutes. Sapphire refused to look at me. She knew this mood all too well. I could feel Fluttershy slip away from me and step down to the ground. She sat down in front of me.

“Shady,” She started, looking sad and defeated, “I remember a long time ago. Sapphire had just left for flight training. You told me about how the world first turned dark. You told me how your husband died. How you escaped because of him.”

I felt my shoulder slump and my anger leave me. She continued, “I felt terrible because you told me that even though it was a horrible world, you missed it. You missed home, and I felt selfish for wanting you to stay here with me. Now, you refuse your chance to save whatever’s left of it.”

My heart sank. She was obviously holding in the real emotion she was feeling, “Their only hope is you, and you are okay with letting them die? You start up a business to save the lives of victims, but you refuse to save another group. Why would you pass up a chance to save a life?”

By now, she didn’t hold back her tears, “I know you have a bigger heart than that. On the first day here in Canterlot, I asked if there were any good humans left. You said they all died, but remember what I said?”

I let out a shaky breath, “I’m still alive.”

She smiled through her tears, but it faded as quickly as it formed, “Don’t let him die now.”

She lowered her head onto the couch between my forehooves. I reached to pet her head but stopped myself. What the fuck was wrong with me? I looked up at the rest of the group who looked awkwardly at each other, but refused to look at me. All except Celestia who stared at me the whole time with tears in her own eyes.

“Shade,” She said after a few moments, “I saw what’s going on there. It’s… there’s not a word I can find to describe the horrors...”

I felt myself getting angry again, but not at Celestia this time. I was angry at myself. I made my own wife cry with my self-centered, abhorrent actions. I looked down at Fluttershy, who hadn’t moved a muscle, and lifted her chin up to kiss her on the forehead.

I looked back to Celestia, “I’ll go.”

Chapter XI: Silhouette of a Life

Part III: Remnants
Chapter I: Silhouette of a Life

The creature was so large, it blotted out the sun. I stared at it with amazement. Two other creatures flew with it, and it and one of the others carried another on their back. The three creatures landed, and the two riding jumped down. The crowd slowly approached the beasts. The beasts were shadowed over and I could not make out what they looked like. I stepped out from behind the rubble I hid behind.

“You, child with the bandages,” the largest one called out to me, “Come here.”

Everyone slowly turned to me. I felt some sort of force pulling me toward the silhouetted creatures. They stood waiting for me—one was even bouncing as I approached. The second largest one reached out it’s appendage at me, and I reached for it with my own hand and—

“Nhung!” I felt hands wrapped around my arms shaking me, and the voice yelled at me in my native tongue “Nhung! Are you okay? Please answer me!”

“Mama,” I shook my head and pressed my hand to my pounding forehead, “Did I space out again?”

“Yes, baby,” She fixed my hair, tucking it behind my ear, “Was it another vision?”

“Yeah,” I pressed my other hand to my forehead, “I think so. There were these creatures that flew in and called to me and—“

“Creatures,” She asked, “What did they look like?”

I hated being interrupted, but I shrugged it off since it was Mama, “I don’t know. They were all silhouettes. They stood on all fours though and—“

“Did they look like horses?”

“Mama, please!”

“I’m sorry, Nhung,” She said, “I just had a dream last night about flying pastel colored horses coming to us and—“

I interrupted her this time, “They did look like horses. Mama, we have to tell Stellis about this.”

She didn’t say anything at first, but then tapped my hand that now lay on the table, “Eat first. You have to keep your strength up.”

I gobbled down my food, missing the plate several times in my haste. I rushed Mama out the door of our little hut, and she led me to Stellis. Stellis was always up really early giving jobs to the scavengers.

“Mr. Stellis, sir,” Mama said with her thick Vietnamese accent, “Nhung. Nhung has had another vision.”

“Ms. Nguyen,” Stellis replied with an exasperated tone, “You should know by now that I don’t believe any of this psychic bullshit.”

“I-I’m sorry Mr. Stellis, sir, I—“

“Ms. Nguyen, I’m not going to hurt you,” Stellis said with a much kinder voice.

“Mr. Stellis,” I spoke out, looking toward where his voice came from, “My vision is similar to a dream Mama had last night. These flying horses just appeared out of nowhere and landed in the middle of the stronghold and—“

I felt hands on each of my shoulders and I screamed and dropped to the ground, suddenly feeling like I was back in the cellar. Stellis’ apologizing voice filled my ears and I came back to reality, “I’m sorry, Nhung, I keep forgetting.”

I stood shakily. I felt two gentle hands on each side of my face and I urged myself to stay calm. Stellis’ voice came from directly in front of me as if he was kneeling down to my height, “Nhung. Tell me everything.”

“What happens when we get them all here,” I asked Celestia, walking alongside her around the castle. It had been about twenty minutes since she set the sun, “We can’t use the machines.”

“We will gather our magic and bring you all back, and since you have Barry and Twilight with you, it will make the whole ordeal easier,” She looked out at nothing in particular to keep from looking at me, “Shade. Thank you very much for doing this.”

“Why would you thank me,” I asked, “I’m not doing you any favors as far as I can tell.”

She sighed and looked down to the floor, “It hurt to see all the suffering in that world. I couldn’t sit idly by while hundreds die. I’m not as strong as I appear to be.”

I nodded. We rounded the corner into the courtyard. Ahead of us, Luna stood at the edge of the courtyard with her horn glowing. We stopped and watched Luna pull the moon from the horizon and lift it slowly into the sky. Twilight stood next to her. She hadn’t left Luna’s side since volunteering to leave.

“Luna has been worried,” Celestia said, “She refuses to show it because she wants to show she’s the tougher of us.”

“I can promise you I will bring back everypony safely,” I said watching the scene in front of us. I felt my mind wandering to the different things that could go wrong. The group finding us a threat and killing us. Stepping into a pocket of nuclear energy. Some militia robotics groups still alive. I shook my head to clear the images.

“I do hope so, Shade,” Celestia said. Twilight stood on her hind legs and kissed Luna. A glitter fell from Luna’s eye onto Twilight’s face.

I felt my heart twist at the sight, “I will make sure they all return safe and sound even if I have to die to do so.”

Celestia looked at the ground again, “We’re sending you on your way in the morning. The messages were sent and they’re expecting you. You should get some rest for the trip.”

I agreed and started heading back toward the castle and stopped. I looked back to Celestia, “Make sure to give that promise to Luna.”

She smiled, “Thank you.”

I turned and headed to my room. I stepped inside the dark room and waited for my eyes to adjust. I walked quietly over to where Sapphire slept and watched her for a moment. I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek and pulled a sheet over her. It was just one season, but the stakes were much higher now.

I slipped under the blanket in my own bed and snuggled up to Fluttershy. She wriggled a bit and whispered a weak good night. I kissed her on the forehead and closed my eyes waiting for sleep to take me, but it felt like hours before it came.

“Okay, here’s what all your jobs will be,” Sen floated a checklist in front of him and cleared his throat, “Shade, you will help the humans build the machine and be an overall leader.”

“Boy, you don’t leave anything for the imagination, do you,” Pinkie said rolling her eyes, “I’m sure we can all figure it out.”

Everypony looked at her in confusion. Maybe she was spending too much time reading Dr. Hooves’ interdimensional fiction. Pinkie had offered to go to help boost the morale of the undoubtedly downtrodden humans.

Sen lowered the list with a glare, “Fine, have it your way.”

Luna looked out over us, “So far, Fluttershy, Shade, Barry, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight are going. Are you all sure you do not wish to go with them?”

“I wanna go,” Sapphire stepped forward next to me.

“I don—“ I cut off Luna before she could continue.

“Absolutely not.”

Sapphire looked at me incredulous, “What? DAD! I’m a big pony. I can handle myself!”

“No. That’s final.”

“Why can’t I go?! I want to be useful for once!”

I nudged her with my forehoof and motioned my head towards the door to the next room. I walked out of the room and she followed me, temper flaring. I sat down and waited for her to cool off. She shouted a few more times at me, but I took the rage and just watched her pace.

“Are you done,” I asked when she final sat down in front of me.

“I guess!”

I sighed through my nose, “Look, there’s plenty of reasons why I don’t want you to go and I want you to understand them.”

She huffed and glared at a wall to her right, so I began, “You probably think it’s just about me being worried about you getting hurt. It’s not. I’m not saying anything bad will happen out there, but if it does, I will be at peace knowing you are safe here in Equestria and that you will be taken care of.”

She huffed again, this time in resignation.

“And think about Scootaloo,” I said, catching her full attention, “She’s going through a hard time right now. She needs you.”

She lowered herself down to the floor and lay there while I continued, “Think about how she is right now, and imagine how she would feel knowing she can’t see you for a full season. Imagine how she would feel if something happened over there.”

A tear rolled down her resigned, angry face, “I’m sorry…”

I lowered myself to her level and kissed her on the forehead, “It’s alright.”

She stood up and hugged me, “Make sure you come back in one piece or I won’t forgive you.”

“I promise,” I said holding her tightly. We stayed there for a few moments and she finally hopped down and wiped her face and pretended she wasn’t crying, blaming the tears on ninja onions. She went off to a bathroom to try to get rid of the red in her eyes and I stepped back in the room with the others. I pulled Rainbow Dash aside while Sen lectured everypony on what to be careful of.

“What’s up,” She asked, glad to get away from the boringness of the lecture.

I looked down at the floor and to the doorway to make sure Sapph wasn’t walking in the room, “Can I ask a favor?”

“Of course,” She said with a more serious expression.

“I don’t trust anypony here more than I trust you and Applejack,” I said.

She puffed herself up, “Of course, we’re the best.”

I smiled at her boasting behavior, but then I frowned when I asked, “Can you look after Sapphire while I’m gone?”

“Is that all,” She asked with a fake laugh, “No problem.”

I looked her in the eyes, “And permanently if anything happens out there.”

Her smile disappeared and she searched for any sign of a joke on my face. Finally she closed her eyes and nodded, “Of course I will.”

“Thank you,” I said with a sneaking tone of sadness in my voice.

She looked straight up at me and gave a strong salute, “It will be my honor.”

I started to walk away, but she stopped me, “Shade… I know you only look at Twilight as a sister, but…”

I turned back to her and her eyes were glossy with wetness, “I’ve always considered you a brother. I just thought I would let you know that.”

She looked at the ground and swallowed, “You better come back.”

I pulled her into a hug. She tensed up for a moment, but loosened up and hugged me back, “I’ll try my best.”

We all made our final goodbyes twenty minutes later, and I stepped into the transportation circle with the other four. I felt like I was going off to war again. Fluttershy wrapped her foreleg around mine in nervousness. I pulled her closer and looked out to the small crowd gathered. Alicorns and unicorns and our friends all gathered around. Rainbow Dash stepped forward in the crowd and saluted. Applejack followed suit along with Sapphire. One by one each pony saluted.

“We are transporting you to about a kilometer outside of the stronghold,” Celestia said, stepping in front of the group, “You five are very brave to go out there in that war-torn world. Remember, this a rescue mission. Good luck.”

The last thing we saw before a blinding light enveloped us was Celestia raising her hoof to her forehead in a salute.

The redness of my eyelids slowly faded to black. I opened my eyes with a severe disoriented feeling. I shook my head violently, which did help, and I stood up. The sun was just peeking its head over the horizon, leaving the world still mostly dark but with a lovely glow on the skyline. Pinkie hugged a rock about three meters away emptying the contents of her stomach next to it. Twilight and Barry, who were used to teleportation, only seemed a little dizzy from the trip. I looked around for Fluttershy, but found her with her foreleg still wrapped around mine when I tried to take a step forward. She lay on her side with her eyes closed, so I shook her lightly to see if she was alright.

She didn’t move, so I called to her. She groaned, “Too loud.”

Fluttershy rose slowly to her feet with one hoof to her head. I moved her hoof and inspected her head for any injury. Twilight stepped forward, “It’s just a migraine. She’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

Fluttershy flinched at the sudden sound. She shrugged off any offer of comfort and wandered off. She sat a few meters away with her hooves on her head. Pinkie hobbled to us when her heaving fit stopped and leaned up against Barry for support, “Ooooh, I feel like my tummy is on fire…”

“Teleporting is horrible the first time,” Twilight said, “I can only imagine your first time being inter-dimensional.”

My disorientation went away after a good ten minutes. Pinkie was back to her normal, chipper self a couple minutes later, and Fluttershy joined us after twenty.

“This world is very,” Fluttershy looked around at the piles of rubble and the random mountains of rocks here and there, “Dull.”

“It needs more color,” Pinkie exclaimed, “It definitely needs some pink.”

They all exchanged comments about the landscape and coloring of this world—all of them used to the pastel they were born and raised in. I interrupted their comments, “Wait ‘til you see the people. The color of their skin and hair is not so diverse as the ponyfolk.”

The sun slowly rose in the distance. Twilight hopped on my back, and Pinkie jumped on Barry, and we took off toward the large wall of the human complex in the distance. I yelled to Barry and Fluttershy to circle overhead to give the humans a warning of our landing. After four or five circles, a huge crowd had gathered, so I gave the signal to land. I rolled my shoulders to warn Twilight, and she wrapped her forehooves around my neck as I went into a full out nose-dive to the ground. A few meters from the ground I flapped my heavy wings, decreasing my speed significantly. One-by-one, we landed with loud, satisfying thunks.

Twilight hopped off my back and Pinkie off Barry. Several of the humans had weapons in hand, and a few had them trained on us. We stood awkwardly in the stares of the crowd.

“Who are you,” One shaky male voice dared to ask.

“We are representatives of the land of Equestria,” I called out. The crowd broke into quiet but furious chatter.

“What do you want?”

“To help,” I said.

The crowd exploded into chatter until a woman yelled out, “Prove it!”

“Twilight,” Barry turned to her, “Celestia did teach you that heal-all spell, right?”

“Yeah,” She said, “But I can only do it once a day. It takes a lot out of me.”

Barry looked out to the crowd and faced a pile of rubble, “You, child with the bandages. Come here.”

After a moment, a young girl with a bandage wrapped around her eyes took a step forward. The crowd made a path and an older woman tried to stop the girl. The girl shrugged her off and held out a shaking hand. I took a few steps toward her to see several weapons raise at me. I ignored them and held out my hoof to the girl. Her hesitant steps told me that she could not see past the bandages. When she was close enough, I raised my hoof into her palm. She straightened up and took in a sharp breath. After a moment, she grabbed my hoof with both hands and felt up my foreleg. She felt up to my shoulder blades and up my neck. She reached my cheeks and jawbone when she stood on her tip toes.

She dropped back to her heels, “You are a horse.”

“A pegasus,” I corrected quietly, “What’s your name?”

“Nhung,” She said and took my hoof again.

“What a beautiful name,” I motioned with my head for Twilight to come closer, “What are these bandages for, Nhung?”

She looked toward Twilight, who was making enough noise to follow, “The T.O. took my eyes.”

I looked to Twilight—who nodded—and asked, “How would you like to see again?”

“But… I have no eyes,” The girl shook her head.

“My sister can fix that.”

Twilight stepped up to the girl, “What color were your eyes, Sweetheart?”

Nhung looked at her for a couple moments as if wondering if this was some cruel, sick joke, “Hazel.”

I stepped away, which made the young, confused girl grasp at where I once stood. Twilight set her horn on the girl’s head, “This may sting for a moment.”

Twilight’s horn glowed and the girl stood straight and shook as the electromagical pulse went through her body. She screamed and several rifles pointed at Twilight. Barry and I stepped on either side of her and spread our wings, covering the pair and scaring all the front row wielders into dropping their weapons.

After a few moments, we were able to lower our wings. Twilight kneeled over the heavily breathing girl, “I had to borrow a bit of your DNA to make your new eyes, that’s why it hurt at first. Now, let me help you stand up.”

Twilight helped lift the girl to her feet, and I helped steady her. The crowd looked with curiosity and fear. When Nhung got her balance, Twilight said, “Okay, now close your eyes and take off the bandages.”

The girl lifted her shaky hands to her bandages and slowly unraveled them. She dropped the bandages to the ground and looked at us with closed eyes. Twilight gave the go-ahead to open her eyes, and I stepped so my shadow was over her so she wouldn’t be overcome by early morning sunlight. Nhung’s eye lids flickered and twitched trying to open, but eventually they came fully opened. A look of shock and amazement went over her face. She looked from me to Twilight and back again.

“I can see,” She whispered, and then she got louder, “I can see!”

“If it seems a little hazy, that’ll go away in a few hours,” Twilight said, ever the teacher.

The girl turned around and ran back where she was hiding beforehand and fell into the arms of the older woman that tried to stop her earlier. She then started crying in what sounded like Vietnamese—a language I was trained in, but very rusty with, “Mama! I can see, Mama! I can see! Mama, I can see! I can actually see, Mama!”

She cried into her mother’s shoulder, repeating herself over and over. The crowd stared at us and the girl in amazement and loud chatter began again.

“That wasn’t quite the reaction I was expecting,” Twilight said.

“When you lose something that important to you,” I said watching the young girl, “Getting it back… nothing can compare.”

After a few moments the crying girl took a step back from her mother who said, “Đi đi. Nói lời cảm ơn.”

She jogged back to us with tearful eyes. Twilight looked with concern, “Oh shoot! Your iris looks more violet than hazel. I can fix that.”

“That’s okay. I love purple,” the girl said. She stepped forward and threw her arms around the surprised purple unicorn, “Thank you. Thank you so much!”

She released Twilight and looked at me. Being twice the size of Twilight, I had to kneel down, and she threw her arms around me as well. She stepped back a few paces, “We had dreams of you. I had a vision of you. Are you angels?”

“No,” Twilight said, “We’re just ponies.”

Five minutes after the “miracle”—as the humans began calling it—a group of them led us to something similar to a mess hall while others were forced to go back to work. Many of them tried to offer food, but we declined with claims that we brought our own rations. Fluttershy unpacked a small meal of hay, daisies, and carrots while the five humans stared in amazement.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Fluttershy said, and they shook their heads saying they had already had their breakfast rations.

“Do you have a leader,” I asked them after a few bites from a carrot.

One elderly man with a rifle slung around his shoulder nodded, “We’re most of them. The head honcho is out hunting some caribou that must have been driven down here by the disease. He wanted to be here for your arrival, but he knew the caribou wouldn’t stay long.”

“Understandable,” Barry said, already finished with his meal.

The old man unslung his rifle and set it next to him, “Now, how do you expect to help us? You’re… ponies, for Christ’s sake.”

I looked at Barry and he nodded. I sighed and looked the man in the eye, which caused him to cast his gaze down, “We want to take your people with us back to our world.”

A couple of the younger men seemed startled by this, “What? So we can be your slaves or something?”

“No,” I said and stretched a bit, feeling cramped in the small building, “Believe it or not, I was once one of you.”

“Bullshit,” the other younger man said.

“I worked for the Los Angeles police department in the Special Victims Unit,” I said staring the men down, “My partner was Simon Stellis. I—“

“Simon Stellis,” The older man asked, “You can’t mean—“

The other men cut him off and told me to continue my story. So I did, “I ran away with my daughter and took up building a machine a good friend of mine started. It was a trans-dimensional teleportation device that would mix your DNA to fit the main species of the land it transported you to.”

“Too good to be true,” Another, middle-aged man said, “How can we believe you?”

“I can help you build the machine,” I said, refusing to break eye contact with any of them. They seemed to get really nervous before I realized that it was my habit of staring, non-blinking. I blinked and looked down, “The problem is I need your help. We’re only here for a season. Four months at most.”

“And how do we know we can trust you,” The old man questioned, sounding more like the younger men, “You perform a couple miracles, gain our trust, then send us into an incinerator?”

Twilight spoke over me, “I can turn him back into his human form for three hours, but I need a day’s rest after that, uh…. ‘miracle’.”

“Or I can do it right now,” Barry said, “But he’s going to need to borrow some clothes. You humans seem more intent on wearing clothes even in this heat.”

“It’s only common decency,” The old man said, “We can’t have five hundred people walking around in their birthday suits.”

“Clothes are for styling and to keep us warm during the cold season,” Pinkie said, breaking her surprising quiet streak, “What’s a birthday suit?”

I laughed at her perkiness, “It means naked, Pinkie.”

She looked at me with confusion, “Well that’s a boring birthday suit!”

The small group laughed except Pinkie. She looked around at us in confusion before bursting into laughter herself. Pinkie had that effect on people, even the most serious of them.

A sliver of sunlight filled the room. Every eye went to the doorway where Nhung stood clutching the door. Her eyes seemed to plead for access to the room.

“Nhung, what are you doing here,” The older man asked her.

“I,” She looked at us, “I don’t have a job to do. I wanted to see the ponies again.”

I tapped the bench next to me where I sat on the floor, and she walked cautiously and sat down staring at me with her new, violet eyes. Out of the corner of my eye I caught the five men readying themselves should they need their weapons.

“Twilight,” I said now that I had a closer look at the girl’s eyes, “I think you gave her your eye color.”

The girl looked over to Twilight, “You mean her?”

“She has a point,” one of the younger men said, releasing his grip on his pistol at his hip, “Shall we all introduce ourselves? Perhaps get rid of some of this tension?”

I stood to my full height and bowed low, “My name is Enigma Shade, Chief of Law Enforcement for Ponyville.”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight bowed her head, “Apprentice of Celestia and librarian of Ponyville Library.”

“I’m Fluttershy,” Fluttershy said quietly, facing away from the group, “I’m Shade’s wife and Veterinarian for Ponyville.”

“Barrier,” Barry gave a serious nod, really out of character for him, “Guard and escort for Celestia and Luna.”

“And I’m Pinkie Pie,” Pinkie squealed with a bright smile, “I’m a baker!”

The old man gave me an inquisitive look, “You seem to be the leader here, so I’ll ask you. All of you seem to have quite high-end jobs, why is she here?”

I smiled and leaned toward him and whispered, “Can you look at that and not smile?”

They humored me and looked over at Pinkie’s wide-smiling face. They tried to resist it, but they were soon all smiling and forcing themselves to look away. The five men introduced themselves by first name only.

“Enigma Shade,” Nhung said, “That’s an odd name.”

“Our names are much different from humans,” I explained and pat her on the shoulder. The men reacted again by tensing up with their hands on their weapons, “You guys seem really protective of this girl, why not the several men and women that crowded us before?”

“She’s the youngest of our group,” one of the middle-aged men said, “She’s like a little sister to all of us. You harm a single hair on her head, you’re dead.”

“How old are you, Nhung,” I asked, and she slid a little closer to me.

“Thirteen,” She answered. I looked at her confused until I remembered she was going by years and not seasons. After a moment, something hit me, and I felt a pang of grief, “Are you okay, Shade?”

“I just assumed,” I said, “That there would be more children.”

“When the plagues broke out,” the old man said, “The children were the slowest. Nhung here was lucky, but then again… not lucky at all.”

Nhung looked at the floor and refused to speak anymore. I decided to ask her later, so instead I asked the old man, “What plagues?”

One of the younger men laughed, “You’re from here, then you know about those zombie jokes, right? All those survival games and movies?”

“How is that…” I shook my head, “How?”

“The CDC, man, they released an evolved strain of rabies,” He tapped his head, “meant to use it on the armies, but ended up taking out half the population. By now about half of the strain should be dead, but we have to carry weapons around just in case.”

Nhung had her arms wrapped around my neck by now. She remained silent the rest of the conversation. The five men did not let us ask any more questions until we answered theirs. We answered each question, all the way down to cutie marks. Through the conversation, Nhung drifted off to sleep leaning against me, and the men lay a blanket over her. They were now showing more trust in us with each answered question.

Nhung jumped when the door opened and a man strolled toward us, “So these are the beasts that have the whole place talking of miracles.”

I looked at the man incredulous. I stood up and walked toward him, which must have made him nervous because he reached for his knife, “Simon?”

“Simon Stellis,” He said and tilted his head in confusion, “How’d you know that?”

“Simon, remember I always used to talk about a world of ponies,” I said smiling, “Guess what. The machine worked.”

Simon took a couple steps back and looked me up and down, “Oh my God.”

Chapter XII: Simply Human

Part III: Remnants
Chapter II: Simply Human

“God damn,” Stellis said again, “God fucking damn, man.”

The rest of the ponies looked at him in confusion due to his vocabulary—none of the words being in theirs. I couldn’t bury the smile seeing one of my best friends that I was pretty sure was dead, “Man, you won’t believe how awesome it is.”

“I can imagine,” He looked me up and down for the fiftieth time, “You look like a goddamn cartoon with those colors, man.”

“And we don’t look like this dimension’s equines either,” I said shaking my head still smiling, “Man, I thought you were dead! Where’s your family?”

His face dropped slowly and started rubbing his slightly bearded chin, “They uh… They didn’t make it. When we got separated during that ryack bombing run, we assumed you would find your way to us, so we took off. Man… but Luci walked into a landmine with Yumi in her arms… Francis got out of my grip and ran to where the bomb exploded and… a sniper just…”

He took in a sharp breath. He looked broken down one second, but he immediately hid any apparent emotions, becoming a stone cold man again, “Raymie and I took off. I had to keep him muffled because he wouldn’t keep quiet. We made it here a few years later. All that time we survived. I took him hunting with me a couple months ago. One of the fuckin’ infected clawed him open, just deep enough to hit the jugular… All those years. All those fuckin’ years and he dies by a scratch…”

I put my hoof on his shoulder, “I’m sorry, man… I wish I—“

“No,” He said, back to his stone mood, “You’re here now, not everything is lost. What about Isabelle? Where’s she?”

“She’s back in Equestria now,” I said, “Her name is Sapphire now.”

He shook his head, “What the fuck is an Equestria?”

“The world where I went,” I said, “The one Jason dreamed about.”

He nodded at the floor then looked behind me to the rest of the ponies, “I’m guessing these are your cohorts?”

I smiled and turned my head around at the ponies quietly talking amongst themselves and with the other human leaders, “Yeah.”

“They speak English?”

“They call it Basic,” I explained, “But they speak the same language, yes.”

He walked past me, “Good morning, ponies. My name is Simon Stellis. I’m the leader of this camp. It is a pleasure to have you with us.”

Everypony introduced themselves but Fluttershy. Stellis looked at her expectantly, but she looked away shyly. He turned around and gave me a questioning look, so I explained, “She’s nervous. You tend to have a bit of an intimidating demeanor, man.”

“Well, care to introduce me then?”

I walked next to her and pulled her close to me, “This is Fluttershy. She’s a veterinarian in Ponyville.”

He nodded and looked around at the ponies and spoke as if they were not sitting right in front of him, “What are your relationships with them?”

“Barrier is the brother-in-tradition and bodyguard of my teacher,” I explained.

“She important?”

“She’s the most important in our dimension,” I said, “We’re all her students in a way. Twilight and Pinkie are two of my best friends.”

Stellis gave a slight bow to them, “And the shy one?”

“Fluttershy is my wife,” I said, making his eyebrows lift in surprise, “We have been together for nine seasons but married only a few days ago.”

He put out his hand for a handshake before realizing she didn’t have a hand. Before he could retract his hand, Fluttershy stuck out her hoof. He grabbed her hoof awkwardly and shook it, “It’s very nice to meet you. I hope that we get along in the future.”

Fluttershy spoke quietly, “I don’t see any problems. Shade always talked highly of you.”

“Shade,” He questioned, “Who’s Shade?”

I stood back up, “I am. My name is now Enigma Shade. Human names just don’t work in Equestria.”

“Something that’s been bothering me,” Stellis said changing the topic quickly, “Why are you here?”

“You guys are the very last humans on the face of the earth,” I said. The group had looks of shock, sadness, and anger from my claim.

“How do you know?”

I shook my head, “For the past year and a half the most powerful scientists and magicians in Equestria scoured the earth for human life. This encampment is the final remnants of the human race. They tried over and over and over, but you guys are all that’s left.”

The old man let out a long breath, “Is there any chance of error?”

“Not even the slightest margin of error,” Twilight said, “The only way they could have missed somepony is if they were within ten meters of the borders of this encampment.”

Nhung spoke up when it went silent for too long, “What does that have to do with why you’re here?”

“You’re a bright girl, Nhung,” Twilight said, “Maybe I can take you on as my student when you’re old enough.”

Nhung smiled at the compliment and I explained to her, “Well, we want to bring you guys to our world. You guys won’t last long here, so we’ll share our world and give you refuge. I’m sure you’ll get along well with my daughter.”

“And how would you do that,” Stellis asked.

“The same machine that brought me there,” I said.

“And how do we know that it worked,” A middle aged man said, “If these scientists are as great as you say, they could have easily made a drone of your mind.”

“What’s a drone,” Twilight asked.

“It’s a robot, like in those science fiction books in the library about machine ponies,” I explained, “They think I’m a machine or an empty shell or something that you guys are controlling.”

Barry broke into the conversation, “I told you that I could change him back to his original form for a few hours. You can call in the whole encampment if you want to.”

“We’ll call everyone,” Stellis said, heading toward the door, “I know it’s you, man, but this will make everybody else feel better about the whole thing.”

Pinkie Pie hopped around the crowd happily getting to know each and every one of the humans. Fluttershy never left my side and half the time she rode on my back. Barry and Twilight meditated while I carried Fluttershy and Nhung around. Nhung asked Fluttershy all about Equestria. Fluttershy explained everything in the motherly tone that she had.

Nhung got quiet for a moment before asking, “Do I get to be a pony?”

“Of course, sweetie,” Fluttershy said, “You’ll turn into a pony on your way there, just like what Shade did.”

Nhung poked my ear, “Does it hurt?”

I looked back at her, “Not in the slightest. You pretty much fall asleep a human and wake up a pony a second later.”

“What would I be,” She asked, “Would I have wings or a horn or none or both or something different?”

“My guess is unicorn,” I said and Fluttershy agreed with me, “If you have visions like you said, you’ll be a very powerful unicorn.”

“So why are you a pegasus,” Nhung asked. She got extremely quiet and hunkered down when we walked past a man setting up a platform for the transformation. It was the fourth time she’s done it, but she never did the same when we came across women. I figured it was best to keep the subject on Equestria.

“Well, I drew out my body design on the program, but when I got to Equestria, everything changed. I put wings on myself before, but I took them off thinking that Equestria wouldn’t have pegasi,” She rose up again, listening to my tale, “but when I got there, I had wings and my red stripes were in random places and not where I put them. I also grew a lot.”

“Twice his original size to be exact,” Fluttershy said.

“So the program does something,” I explained. “Maybe it looks into your soul or something, but whatever it does, it makes us who we really are.”

We walked past a large, dark skinned man, and Nhung hunkered down again before she could ask her next question. When the large man passed, Fluttershy asked the question neither of us really wanted to ask, “Are you afraid of guys, sweetie?”

I found a nice quiet place and sat down to let the two off of my back. Nhung was quiet at first, but she nodded, “After being in custody for so long… They all look the same…”

“Then why aren’t you afraid of Shade,” Fluttershy asked.

Nhung smiled and looked up at me, “Well, he may look intimidating… but… You see it, don’t you Ms. Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy looked up at me and smiled, “I saw it when we first met.”

“Saw what,” I asked her. They both gave me an evil grin, “What?”

“I can’t explain it with words,” Nhung said, “You just have this… aura…”

Before I could press further, Nhung’s mother stepped out from between two buildings looking nervously around. She spotted us and relief flooded her face, “Nhung, bạn đang làm gì?”

She looked up at me and over to Fluttershy with a nervous look. She kept talking back and forth to Nhung in Vietnamese. Most of the words I could make out, but I still missed quite a bit of it with the speed of her words. After a moment of conversation between her and her daughter, she said in Vietnamese, “Come, I fear they may be dangerous. Please, do not wander off like that again!”

“Tôi xin lỗi đã làm bạn lo lắng về con gái của,” I said, I am sorry to have made you worry about your daughter. The mother froze and turned around to me. I continued in Vietnamese as Fluttershy looked at me with an amazed expression, “I mean no harm to any human here. I mean only to help, and your daughter is a bright and receptive child. We act only as teachers for her.”

“Bạn nói... việt?” You speak… Vietnamese?

“Mostly,” I said in English, sensing she knew the language, “I was once human, Ma’am. I was taught Vietnamese in my time as a US Airman.”

“How do I know,” She spoke with a thick accent, “You speak the truth?”

“At what point would it be a good idea to attack hundreds of armed humans?”

She thought about it a moment, but Fluttershy spoke before she could, “Nhung is a smart young filly. Perhaps we can take her under our wings to protect her and teach her. We can be her bodyguards from any dangers this encampment may still have.”

Nhung’s mother nodded, “I do not trust Mr. Stellis. I do not trust you, but I do not trust him more. Thanh is not so powerful to stop him, but you are. Maybe I will take your offer.”

“Your name is Thanh,” I asked, she nodded but wouldn’t make eye contact, “I will protect her.”

Nhung wriggled free of her mother’s grasp and hugged my leg. Thanh watched from where she stood, “She is gifted. If she trusts you, then maybe I should too.”

She bowed humbly to us and limped away. We tried questioning Nhung, but she refused to say anything else. Instead, she leaned on us or just played in the dirt. About twenty minutes later, Stellis found us and told us the stage and materials were ready for the presentation and transformation. Nhung silently climbed onto my back. I brought her to her mother, who was on her way to join the crowd, and told her it was best for Nhung to stay with her than follow us to the stage. Twilight caught up to us.

“You ready for this, Shade,” She asked. She looked at Fluttershy as if sensing something.

“Is it gonna hurt,” I asked.

Twilight walked quietly. This made me quite nervous. After a minute, Fluttershy nudged her. She sighed, “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t…”

I nodded. I’d been shot, burned, and beaten to a pulp in my time in the military and the police force—I could handle this. Fluttershy nudged Twilight again and whispered something. Twilight shook her head and gave her a friendly foreleg over the shoulder along with a kindly smile.

I stepped up to the stage where Stellis stood. He shouted over the crowd when I approached, “Attention! Attention everyone! Thank you. As you all know, we have been visited by a strange group. A group of equines who claim to be from another dimension.”

The crowd chuckled and seemed disbelieving. Stellis held up his hand, “The problem is, they claim have proof of this. This gathering is to prove once and for all if these…ponies…are telling us the truth.”

The crowd gave more disbelieving chatter. Once again, Stellis held up his hand to silence the crowd, “The Chamber has agreed with me on this. We will allow them to prove themselves.”

He walked closer to me and leaned his elbow, “This…I believe he called himself a pegasus…Anyway, this pegasus claims to be a good friend of mine from when I served in the police in California. His name is now Enigma Shade. He told me to not call him by his old name, so I will honor this wish. His bodyguard friend has the ability to change him back to his form from before he was transformed into this animalistic form for twelve hours. I will be the final judge. If the story checks out, we will welcome them into our humble village. So, Enigma, any words before this?”

“Yes,” I stepped forward, making him take his elbow out of my rib, “This does seem hard to believe, but I will prove it to you. After the transformation, if I can still stand, I will continue this speech, but right now…I just wanna get it over with.”

The crowd’s chatter built up again. Barry walked up the stage with Twilight next to him. She promised to oversee the transformation just in case she needed to lend a bit more magic—whatever was left in her, anyway.

“You ready, Shade,” Barry asked, the scarily serious look on his face made me shiver.

I nodded, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

He nodded and set his horn on my head and took a few steps back, “Sorry about this.”

Sparks shot out of his horn and a tingling sensation came over my body. A terrible sensation of pins and needles overcame my body as hair sank into it and disappeared. A sharp, agonizing pain spread over my hooves as they cracked and formed five smaller appendages with a black shell over them. I gritted my teeth, but soon regretted it. A wicked stabbing pain filled my mouth. My teeth felt like they were being chiseled away at by an invisible hammer. My tongue burned as it shrank along with the rest of my mouth. I let out a silent scream as my organs churned inside me, rearranging themselves and deleting the unneeded ones while making room for others. My voice returned when my throat stopped burning and my silent scream became a loud, agonizing one. Soon, I could not hear myself and my head pounded with pain worse than any migraine. My ears shrunk and manipulated themselves to equal height of my eyes. My nose grew outwards and my ribs cracked and became smaller. I writhed on the floor in agony. I could not sense any of the world around me when the pain stopped. All of my legs felt as if worms were slithering crawling between each muscle fiber, making them smaller in size and turning into more human versions. After a few more moments, my senses returned.

I opened my eyes to find myself facing away from the crowd and at a horrified Fluttershy. I tied to move my mouth, but it would not obey me. A couple moments later a blanket fell over me. Twilight stepped into my sight and her horn glowed a beautiful purple right next to my eye.

“His vitals are the same as the rest of you humans,” She said, “Giving exception to a faster heartbeat.”

Stellis’ voice came next. He spoke with a weak voice to the crowd behind me, “This is, in fact, the man that I worked with all those years ago.”

The crowd broke into loud chatter, making me flinch at the abrupt sound. Twilight lay her hoof over my exposed ear to block out the noise. I moved my arm slowly from under the blanket to Twilight’s foreleg.

“Your skin is,” I coughed a couple times, trying to get used to the new lungs and vocal chords, “So very soft…”

Twilight smiled and stepped away when Fluttershy came up to me, “Are you okay, Shadey?”

I moved my hand to her face, “You’re soft too… Really, really soft…”

I shivered and Fluttershy jolted back, probably afraid that she had hurt me somehow. Twilight called out to the audience, “Where are the clothes he was offered?”

A box landed in front of me and a few men lifted me off the stage into a dead area to help me dress. By the time I was fully dressed, I could stand on my own, but just barely. Every chance I got, I looked at my hands. It was awkward having fingers. Why would anypony need these useless contraptions?

The small group led me back to the stage and helped me walk up the steps. Fluttershy was at my side immediately and refused to leave it. Stellis nodded at me with a huge grin and spoke to the crowd, “See everybody? Tough as nails.”

“Everypony,” I said to the crowd, sounding drunk and weak. A woman I recognized handed me a cup of water and stepped back. I shook my head to clear the dizzy feeling I had suddenly. My fingers worked just like Grip. I guzzled the water and felt instantly better, “Oh, Dear Celestia, that’s good.”

A few people in the crowd laughed. Stellis walked over to me and pat me on the back and helped me stand, “You were gonna tell us something?”

I pushed him away, telling him that I could stand on my own. I looked up at the crowd, “I did not lie when I said I made it to Equestria. I built a machine that turned me into a pegasus and sent me to this new land in order to escape with my life. I have come here to extend this offer to you. I want to bring all of you with me to this new land. I will help you build this machine again, and we will teach you. We want nothing more than to save you from this dying world.”

The crowd remained silent until an older man spoke up, “And what if we don’t want to go to Equestria?”

“That’s up to you,” I said, “But I will caution you that you will not survive much longer in this world. We merely want to extend a hoof of friendship and to give sanctuary to all in need. Our mother, our teacher, sent us here to save you. This is an offer. We will not force you to take it.”

“Can we remain human,” A female called out.

“Unfortunately, you cannot,” I explained, which caused an uproar in the crowd. Stellis raised his hand to silence the crowd, and they did. I continued, “I can create two different machines. One machine to transform you into one of us, instantly and painlessly, to prove to you we mean no harm and another machine to transport all creatures with pony DNA into our realm.”

The crowd started its chatter again. After a moment, another voice rang out from beside me. Nhung was speaking, but I did not notice her come up to me. She grabbed my hand and held it tight, which was an odd sight for the crowd—her hugging a male, “He’s right. I want to go with him.”

After another uproar, I held up my hand just as Stellis did, and the crowd went dead silent, “I would love to talk more about this, but the reverse-transformation has taken a lot of my energy. I must rest, and soon.”

Stellis called out to the crowd, “We have many spare rooms throughout the village, but no empty houses. Is anybody here willing to spare a room?”

Nhung immediately raised her hand, “We have three empty rooms from the Downzer and the Felix families. We can fit all of them.”

Stellis looked down at the woman who had handed me the water, which turned out to be Nhung’s mother, and she nodded. Stellis clapped his hands, “It is settled then. The ponies will stay with the Nguyens. As for everybody else, please show our guests your best hospitality. We will discuss this matter in detail tomorrow.”

When the crowd was dispersed, I fell to the ground, and Twilight and Fluttershy ended up carrying me on their backs back to Nhung’s house. Pinkie Pie bounced backwards and talked to me the whole way there to try to cheer me up.

“Wowie, Shade, you looked awesome out there,” She bounced circles around Fluttershy and Twilight. Barry dragged himself forward, wore out from the excessive magic use. Pinkie tried talking to Nhung when I refused to respond to her hyperactivity, “Hey, little filly, you don’t look very happy. Why aren’t you happy?”

“I’m never happy,” Nhung said, and I groaned, failing at showing sympathy. She pat my head and returned her attention to the hyperactive pink pony, “But I think that if you guys can build those machines… maybe I can be happy in your world. If Ms. Twilight will still take me up as her student, of course.”

Twilight chuckled, “Me and my fiancé would love to take you on as our student. We both are very good with magic.”

“You have to introduce me, then,” Nhung said. I nudged Twilight to keep her from mentioning any more about Luna.

Nhung patted her mother, “Mama, do you want to go to Equestria?”

Thanh walked quietly at first, “I do not want to become a pony, but I will follow you always, con gái tôi.”

Thanh led Twilight and Fluttershy to a bed to lay me on. They lay me on top of a mattress and Nhung jumped on with me, refusing to leave my side.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen a mattress,” I said. Nhung sat in front of me with her legs crossed, and Fluttershy soon joined her. Pinkie bounced off with Thanh and Barry to find a room for them.

“I suppose I’ll sleep alone,” Twilight said.

“No,” Nhung shook her head at Twilight, “You can stay with me in my room. I don’t want any of you ponies to be alone.”

Twilight smiled for a brief second before her face fell and went blank. Nhung hopped off of the bed and stepped in front of Twilight, calling her name. She snapped her fingers and looked back at us for answers. After three minutes, Twilight shook her head and looked at us, “That was a message from Celestia. She says she’s watching, and… she’s very proud of you, Shade.”

I felt a smile creep across my face, but Twilight wasn’t done, “Sapphire and Dash also want to share how proud they are of you.”

“Who are they,” Nhung asked.

“My daughter,” I explained, “And one of my best friends.”

Nhung nodded and looked back to Twilight, “Is that all?”

“The rest is for me and Barry, don’t worry,” Twilight smiled.

I closed my eyes and groaned, “What time is it?”

Nhung looked up at a wall, “It’s 1400.”

I groaned again, “It feels like so much longer than that…”

Fluttershy pet my head, pushing my hair away from my face, “I always wondered what you looked like before you became Shade. You’re still cute.”

Her comment brought a smile to my face. Twilight laughed and agreed before excusing herself to give Barry his message.

“Hey Fluttershy,” I said, “What did you whisper to Twi before the transformation.”

She looked away and then back at me, “I was afraid it would change you more than just physically… I wanted to make sure it wouldn’t.”

“I’m still me, sweetheart,” I said and I lifted my free arm, asking for a hug. She obliged and we quickly changed the subject.

We talked for the next couple hours. Twilight rejoined us after she gave Barry the message. Nhung left an hour or two in and came back with a bit of food to keep me from falling ill.

“So what do you do in Equestria,” Nhung asked after I finished my short dinner of broccoli soup.

I lay back, my muscles sore as hell, “I’m kinda like a cop.”

“What kinda cop?”

“The chief,” I said with a smile, “I built the Equestria police force.”

“So what do you do, then,” She asked, “I see what your job is, but what do you do?”

I closed my eyes a second, feeling dizzy, “I deal with the victims of different crimes. I help them get over it and make sure the pony that did the crime is punished for it.”

She nodded slowly, “What would you do if a pony killed another pony?”

“That’s never happened,” I said, “For many years no murder was ever reported.”

“What about rape?”

“It all depends,” I sat up, “A couple times we’ve kicked them out of town. A couple other times I’ve had to stop my younger police and other citizens from beating the rapist to a pulp.”

“You’re too kind…”

Twilight looked away, hiding her agreement. Fluttershy looked at her with a confused look, “What do you mean?”

“They deserve nothing less than a slow and agonizing death,” Her whole demeanor changed from a cute young girl to a terrified and hateful teenager.

“Why do you say that,” Fluttershy was the only one who seemed to not understand.

Nhung’s face twisted in anger, but it went to a resigned sadness when she started explaining, “Mama and I were new to America. We lived in California for a year before the Chinese invaded. We managed to escape to Nevada to a Templar Order safety camp.”

She stared at the floor quietly and didn’t talk for several minutes, but she finally continued, “The camp was forced to evacuate, but a few men were told to stay. Mama and I were tied to our beds when we woke up. The camp was empty except for those men…For two years they beat and raped us…

“One of the men showed a bit of humanity and brought us some leftover food, but when his friends found out, they impaled him in front of us. I still remember what he told me that night. ‘You are a strong young woman,’ he told me, ‘Just remember that. You are greater than any of those men up there.’”

Twilight refused to look up from the ground, and Fluttershy stared in horror as she told her story. I listened and refused to show any emotion. Nhung wiped her eyes, “I don’t even remember his name…but he helped me fight back. He made me a rebel, but only until they broke me again...”

She took a shaky breath in, “Three men were ‘teaching me a lesson’ one night…I finally had enough. I bit down hard on him. I almost took it off before he knocked me out…I was chained to the wall when I woke back up. The man I bit came up to me and just started hitting me. His buddies watched and he just kept hitting me. I remember I could see the floor and in front of me. I could see my knees real close up. I know why now, but I didn’t then. I passed out again, and when I woke up, my eye was gone. They made sure I was awake before they took out my left eye. They took a hot—“

Nhung continued to describe in graphic detail all of the horrible things they had done to her over the months she was locked away in the basement of that encampment. She broke off mid-sentence a couple stories later. She sat and let the tears fall from her eyes—lost in the past. I set my shaky hand on her shoulder and she snapped back to reality, “You don’t have to say anymore, Nhung.”

She looked at me surprised. She sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve, “I’m sorry.”

Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around Nhung and pulled her into a hug. Nhung didn’t fight it—instead she wrapped her arms around Fluttershy and cried into her shoulder. Twilight continued to stare at the ground.

Nhung pulled away from Fluttershy after a few minutes and gave a short laugh, “I can actually cry again.”

Nhung’s mother knocked on the door and told Nhung to go get her dinner. She hopped off of the bed and thanked us, but she stopped before opening the door. She ran over to Twilight and wrapped her arms around the shell-shocked unicorn, “Thank you for giving me back my sight… I love you.”

Twilight never looked up from the floor, even as Nhung ran out the door. Fluttershy and I shared a glance, “Twilight?”

She looked up with red, teary eyes, “How could anypony… How could they…”

I sat up slowly as she continued to stutter out her thoughts, “She is just so innocent… She is just… so innocent…”

I remembered from several seasons of talking to Twilight that she had a very vivid imagination. Nhung’s story must have been more than horrifying for Twilight. She imagined every single event whether she wanted to or not. I yanked the blankets off of me and slid my legs to the floor. Fluttershy tried to stop me, but I shooed her off.

“This is—” she hiccupped, “Not right…”

I walked over to her—my legs made of jelly. When I was right in front of her, I fell to my knees so that I was eye level with her. I raised my shaky arms and wrapped them around her and let my chin rest on her shoulder. She let me hug her, but she still muttered to herself, “How could there be so much evil…”

I let her cry in our embrace. Fluttershy sat back and watched, not knowing what to do. I pet Twilight’s back to calm her. She may have seen some terrible things in Equestria dealing with her sister, but it did not compare to the horrors Nhung had to live through. The story did not shock me. It disturbed me greatly, but it was not shocking. From working in the Special Victims Unit for several years, I had seen much more horrible things than what had happened to Nhung.

But I wasn’t about to tell anypony that.

Chapter XIII: The Child

Part III: Remnants
Chapter III: The Child

“Just tell me where the girls are, you fucking freak,” I slammed my open palm on the metal table. Stellis put his hand on my shoulder, making me sit in my chair.

“Good cop, bad cop,” The freak said. He gave a wide, yellow toothed grin, “I like this game.”

“It’s not a game!”

Stellis gave me a stern look, and I stood up, knocking the chair down behind me. I loosened my tie and stood real close to the man handcuffed to the chair, “Tell me where the girls are, fuck head. We have enough evidence for you to get the needle.”

“Oh, I know you do,” The man said, lounging in his chair, “Hell, I’ll even stand in court and say it was me with a smile on my face.”

“Then why can’t you tell us where the girls are, Carper,” Stellis asked with a stern expression.

“Because I like to watch you squirm,” The man said, “It’s utterly delightful.”

There was a knock at the door, and the psych walked in with the captain. Captain called us out, and the psych took our place to question him further.

“So what evidence do we have on this bastard,” The captain asked, “We may have to cut him a deal to save those girls’ lives.”

“We have twelve girls and five boys all raped, mutilated, killed, and ditched all across the country,” Stellis explained, “And we have significant forensic evidence on this sick fuck. Not to mention he’s pretty much telling us he’s the one.”

“And the most anyone will give him is taking the death penalty off the table,” I added, “I doubt he’ll take the deals anyway. He just wants to play games.”

The captain rubbed his balding head, “Look, the docs are saying these girls have five hours at the most if what he’s telling us is true.”

I rubbed my face, “At least it’s not winter. If he has ‘em buried neck deep, the most we have problems with is exposure.”

“At this time of year,” Stellis cut in, “We’d have to deal with earth bourn parasites, bugs, and maybe even snakes—especially if they’re out there with open wounds and no clothes.”

“Hey, Doc,” Carper said with his slimy voice, “I’ll cut you a deal.”

Doctor Nikimora sat back and observed Carper, “A deal for what?”

Carper gave another large smile, “You guys cut my sentence in half, I give you the girls.”

The psych leaned forward, “Do you really believe the DA is going to cut you that much slack?”

“Depending on how much you want to put on the lives of those girls. How much are they really worth to you? Is justice more important than the lives of five little girls?”

The psych stood slowly, “I will go and get the DA.”

“I want a contract,” Carper said, making the psych freeze, “I don’t want lies and deceiving. I want a written agreement.”

The psych left the room and started talking as soon as the door closed, “We can’t give him this deal. Do we have anything else to offer him?”

The captain shook his head, “What the fuck is this guy?”

The psych didn’t pick up on the hint that it was a rhetorical question, “He’s a sexual sadist with pedophilic and bipolar tendencies. He’s not going to give us the location of the girls even if we give him the deal.”

We sat in silence a while longer. Stellis and the captain decided to go and grab a coffee across the street. The psych pat me on the back. He told me to take it easy and went to get the DA on the other side of the building. I was left alone staring at the man through the interrogation room window. Finally I had enough.

I walked through the door and turned off the camera in the room, “So, Carper, where’s your lawyer at?”

“I am my own lawyer,” Carper gave a large grin, “Where’s your cop buddy, Detective?”

“In that case,” I took my handcuff key out and uncuffed the man, “Stand up.”

A look of confusion fell over him and he stood up, “What’s this ab—“

I cut him off by shoving my fist at full speed into the side of his head. He fell to the ground and I dragged him back up, “Where are they, you fuck?”

He laughed, “Looks like somebody is losing their job.”

I slammed my forehead into his nose, breaking it on contact, “Where are they!?”

He laughed again, in more pain this time. He didn’t say a word; instead he spit blood in my face. I felt the rage build in my chest. I smashed my knee into his stomach causing him to spit more blood onto the floor. After each hit, I asked the same question. I could feel the fight leaving him with the limpness of his body. I slammed my fist several more times into his pathetic face and then slammed it into the table.

I tilted his head back by pulling his hair, “You gonna give me the answers I want or am I gonna have to move onto breaking something?”

Blood dribbled from his chin, “Is it worth your job, Detective?”

I smacked my palm quickly into his shoulder blade, knocking his arm out of socket, “Every. Fucking. Second.”

I positioned my hand over the elbow of his other arm, “WAIT!”

I lowered my arm, “I’m listening.”

He took a couple deep breaths but stayed silent, so I raised my hand again over his elbow. He sputtered and finally spoke, “Th-the Redferd Ranch, field four, two corn rows east of the center clearing.”

I lowered my arm and threw him to the ground. I kneeled down over him, “If you’re lying to me, I swear by whatever god there is that I will destroy you. I will make you suffer more than all those little girls and boys you raped.”

He was still gasping for breath when I walked out the door with my phone to my ear.

I woke with a start. For the past couple weeks, I had been having these nightmares. Nhung’s story hit me worse than I originally had thought.

“Shadey,” A soft voice filled my ears, “Are you awake now?”

I looked down and realized I had my forelegs wrapped around Fluttershy in a vice grip hug. I released my grip, “Oh, I’m sorry, hon! I hope you weren’t stuck too long.”

She rolled away, “No, just ten minutes. I tried waking you because it looked like you were having a nightmare, but you wouldn’t budge.”

After apologizing profusely for the next five minutes, we were interrupted by a knock at the door and Twilight’s voice, “Hey, you two, can I come in?”

“Yeah, come in sis,” I said, and when she walked in I added, “No reason to ask as long as you give a knocking warning.”

“Well,” She looked at Fluttershy and shook her head, “Nevermind. Listen, I got the message that the humans have almost finished the transformation machine. They need your final input before they close it up.”

“Do I have time for food?”

She shook her head again, her untamed mane bouncing this way and that, “You can snack on the way out. You were supposed to be there an hour ago. Now move your flank!”

I turned to Fluttershy and gave her a quick kiss, “Sorry again, hon.”

I took off, leaving Twilight and Fluttershy behind. My stomach rumbled, still unused to two meals a day. I will be glad when I can go back to my four meals a day back in Equestria.

“Yo, Enigma,” The young engineer called me over as soon as he saw me, “You get my message, bro?”

“Yeah, Twilight sent me,” I stood over the young engineer, “What’s the problem, now?”

“The scavenge party came back from a Wal-Mart up the street. They brought back a few parts, and I finally have everything in place. I just want your final approval before I cover the skeleton.”

I stared into the wiring. Everything seemed almost exactly like my machine with a single exception, “Where’s the chip?”

“What chip?”

“The XK90pq4V,” I asked, pointing to an empty slot, “You need that for DNA extraction.”

The engineer put his hand to his chin and rested his elbow on his knee. He stood up, “Oh, that chip they found last week! Yeah, I forgot about that.”

“Good thing you asked me first,” I said.

“Sorry, bro,” He said, pulling the chip out of a plastic baggie, “And I set up the control panel to do both operations separately and not at the same time. Now all we need is a subject to test this bad boy on.”

I nodded, “You guys did a great job. You wanna be the one to test it?”

“Hell no, man,” He said with a short smile on his face, “Nah, I’ll go last.”

“Know where Stellis is?”

“Yeah, man,” He pointed out at the mess hall, “He’s over there talking to the rest of the leader people. He’s been getting nervous lately. You notice that?”

“Yeah,” I said, watching to make sure the young engineer didn’t put the chip in wrong.

“If you want my opinion: He’s jealous of you, bro,” He said, standing up from his little operation and wiping his greasy hands on his pants.

“Jealous of what?”

“Bro, you don’t see it,” He poked me in the shoulder, “You are taking his place. He don’t like that. Plus you gots yourself a family, he don’t.”

“I’m not taking his place.”

“But you are,” He put his screwdriver in his bag, “More of us look to you for leadership compared to him. Plus, he’s a nut.”

“Just go get him. Tell him to convene everypony so that we can find a test subject.”

Stellis called out to the crowd for silence. Less than half of the crowd quieted—all talking about the strange contraption being wheeled on stage. I could sense Stellis’ anger building, so I figured I would help him out a bit, “Yo! Quiet!”

The crowd went dead silent at my mezzo forte yell, “Thank you.”

Stellis let out an aggravated breath threw his nose, “Our engineers have finished the machine Enigma has promised us. I was told we can begin the transformations tomorrow and the transportations next month. The only issue we have now is testing the machine.”

“And for those of you afraid to try,” I added, “There is a very small margin of error. The worst that could happen is baldness, and we can easily fix that.”

The crowd stayed silent. Nopony would step up or even make a noise for fear of drawing attention to themselves. Stellis sighed again, “Anybody?”

“I’ll do it,” Nhung’s voice came from the crowd. Her mother clapped her hand over her daughter’s mouth, but Nhung wriggled free and ran up to us, “I want to do it.”

“No,” I said with a stern expression, “I can’t allow it.”

Nhung’s expression fell into disbelief, “But you said there is almost no chance of error. You said it was safe!”

A few members of the crowd agreed with her, “Look, that’s not the reason, Nhung. Just wait for the private sessions. I’m sure both of us would prefer that.”

She looked over to Twilight, but she didn’t receive the answer she wanted. Finally she climbed the stage and ran past me towards the machine and planted herself in front of it, “I’m doing it.”

I looked over to Stellis for support, but he just shrugged and sat on a chair at the control platform. I sighed and nodded at Twilight, “Fine. Twilight, find her name.”

Twilight nodded and approached Nhung with her horn glowing. She stood with her horn against Nhung’s forehead for a good minute before stepping back, “Velvet Sparkle.”

I nodded at the young engineer and he typed in the name, “Okay, Velvet. Remove all clothing and any jewelry you have on anywhere.”

Nhung’s face went white, “Wh-what?”

I looked away, ignoring the crowd’s disapproval, “The machine works using DNA. It can pick away small traces of incorrect DNA, but not large amounts like clothing. Metal and plastic will melt to your skin and leave markings and possible organ failure.”

Nhung nodded, her face still white, “I understand…”

She started by removing two black ringlets from her left wrist and handing them to Twilight. Barry let out an aggravated huff. He stepped next to Nhung and spread his wings wide to cover her from the crowd while she undressed. As soon as her shirt was off she began shaking. Her arms and back were covered in scars and discolored skin. Nhung never objected to me being there, but after a moment I realized I was blocking the view of all the engineers and Stellis. Besides, she knew me.

Twilight had a look of pity on her face—which disappeared whenever Nhung faced her. Nhung set the rest of her clothes aside and let out a shaky breath. We led her slowly to the machine, and Barry followed with his wings lower so the crowd could see Nhung shoulders up. She stepped into the pod and commented on how ice cold it felt. She faced forward and we shut the pod.

“Okay, Eddy,” I gave the engineer the go-ahead. The machine started up, and the crowd seemed to lean forward as a single unit, waiting for the outcome. After ten seconds the machine slowed down and I motioned for the engineer to bring up the activity feed and to open the hatch.

The hatch began the unlocking process and I stood before the crowd for a dramatic show, “Fillies and gentlecolts, may I present to you Velvet Sparkle!”

In perfect timing, the hatch opened. Inside a pink blob of feathers and fur slowly rose from a lying position. The pony slowly rose to her feet. Her mane was a mix of pink and violet, her eyes matched the dark violet of her mane, and her body was a bright pink. Her head bore a horn and her back bore wings that looked of smooth velvet. The crowd stared in awe as the new pony stepped uncertainly out of the pod. She slipped and Twilight caught her with her magic.

Twilight looked at me amazed, “She’s an Alicorn…!”

I closed my jaw, which had been hanging open in the surprise of finding the rare pony species hobble out of my machine, “W-well, fillies and gentlecolts… It appears we have… Royal blood here…”

The crowd started a slow applaud, and it gradually got louder and louder as everypony cheered for the new Alicorn—Velvet Sparkle.

From the power readout of the machine I found that we could only make ten transformations per day or we would overheat the chip and destroy it. The engineers gave the information to the council to create a list of patrons per day. By the end of the day, not a single human wanted off the list. Stellis signed for the final transformation. With a big day ahead of us, everypony set to finish all the stronghold chores. Twilight and Pinkie announced that they would assist me (after volunteering me) in teaching the newly transformed ponies about Equestria starting next week.

But Velvet did not want to wait.

“Do you guys have any fairy tales in Equestria,” She asked with a huge grin on her face, “I always loved hearing fairy tales my mama told back home.”

“What’s a fairy tale,” Twilight asked, leaving an incredulous and horrified look on Velvet’s face.

“She means mare’s tales, Twi,” I explained.

“Oooh,” She looked up at the sky for a moment and lit up, “Oh, I remember one in specific, but it actually happened!”

“Really,” Velvet leaned in toward Twilight, “What? What? What?!”

Twilight leaned back, “The Mare in the Moon.”

I nudged Velvet, “This is one of my faves.”

“Equestria was created by two powerful Alicorns. Sola, the father, built the skies and put a giant ball of energy and light—the sun—in the sky to give life and light to the land. Artemi, the mother, dotted the skies with smaller pellets of light and pulled a large rock from the land—making the moon and the first ocean. Sola adored the marvelous sight and lowered his creation every so often to show off his wife’s handiwork to the creatures of the land. They named Artemi’s sky ‘the night’ and Sola’s time ‘the day’.

“At first, the land’s creatures danced in the beautiful light—they adored Artemi and her lovely artistic ability. Soon, however, the subjects of the two creators found the night’s dark light perfect for sleep. Artemi grew saddened and angered by the creautres for ignoring her masterpiece.

“Artemi hid the sun from Equestria, plunging the land into eternal night. Sola pleaded his wife for the sun back, but Artemi’s anger and sadness deafened her to his cries.

“The land slowly fell ill and died. Without the life-giving light of the sun, the world suffered. Sola entrapped his wife in the moon, forcing her to lower and raise the moon for eternity. Sola found the sun and raised it to bring back the day and life to the land, but he felt haunted. The last words his lost wife uttered before her imprisonment were, ‘I will return, and when I do, the night will last forever.’”

Velvet stared with wide, receptive eyes as Twilight finished the story, “Is that really a true story?”

“Yup,” Twilight smiled, “It’s been changed throughout the seasons to incorporate the newest divinities, but this is the original from the story books.”

“New divinities?”

“Sola could live forever, but when he was killed, his power split into two, another mother and father of the land. When they were killed in the Discordian wars, two more rose from the ground, but they lost their immortality. They had two daughters and worked their whole lives to find the cure for mortality, but died on the verge of their discovery. When they died, their daughters took up their work and found the cure. The younger one insisted on giving it to everypony, and now everypony is immortal.”

“You mean,” Velvet’s eyes lit up more, “I can’t die?”

“Once you get to Equestria, no,” Twilight smiled again.

“Did Artemi ever return?”

Twilight nodded, “Unfortunately. When I was younger and just starting my lessons in friendship and magic, the younger sister—and my best friend, Luna—was ponynapped and possessed by Artemi’s spirit. She called herself Night Mare Moon.

“Night Mare Moon attacked the older sister—and my teacher, Celestia—and teleported her to the sun. My new friends and I stopped Night Mare Moon by gathering these ancient weapons called the Elements of Harmony. We became the elements and stripped Artemi from Luna’s body and banished her from Equestria.”

Velvet looked down at her new hooves, “That’s a sad story…”

“How so?”

“All Artemi wanted was love,” Velvet said, “And everyone just shunned her…”

“Sometimes,” I butted in, “We do terrible things to feel loved, but ultimately it turns us into monsters… Just like the son of Discord…”

“The son of Discord?”

Twilight continued her lesson, “Discord was a Draconequus, a creature made up of all types of animals. He caused havoc and nearly decimated the Alicorn population. Eventually, after many, many seasons of war, Celestia, Luna, and their parents band together and turned him into stone and smashed him to bits. His son was also turned to stone, but he was kept in the garden in Canterlot. He was freed somehow a few hundred seasons later and tried to take over Equestria. The difference was that he wanted to have fun and didn’t want to kill anypony.”

“What does that have to do with love,” Velvet asked me.

“Discord Junior joined his father in wreaking havoc after he was turned down by Celestia. He felt that if he was going to be treated like a monster, he would become one,” I explained, “When he was released again, he wanted nothing but to prove he wasn’t a monster. He was just a creature who wanted to have fun and be loved.”

“My friends and I gathered the Elements of Harmony for a second time and turned him back into stone,” Twilight added, “But Luna and Celestia freed him and keep him in Canterlot as a servant to the workers there.”

“Wow… poor Discord,” Velvet said, “Your mare’s tales are all sad and depressing.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, Discord loves it,” Twilight said, “The foals love his tricks. Also, don’t tell Pinkie I told you this… but she has a crush on him and talks to him for hours every time she sees him.”

“Discord’s a pretty nice guy,” I added, “Just misunderstood. I think they would get along pretty well.”

“Hey, Shade,” Velvet said after a few moments, “What would you say is the best thing about Equestria?”

I thought for a moment, “Other than my family?”

“Right.”

“A developed and functional social anarchy.”

Stellis put his arm around my bulky frame, “Y’know, I’ve been thinkin’ about all this pony stuff and… I’ll be honest, I really wanna stay human.”

“I’ll be honest too,” I said, trying to ignore the flask in his hand, “It’s not that bad. Besides, we really have no choice in the matter…”

“We’re talking about eradicating the human race,” Stellis said through a couple slurs, “You want to turn whatever’s left of the human race into a buncha got damn ponies.”

“Stellis, I thought you quit years ago,” I said, no longer able to ignore the flask.

“I quit for Luci’s sake,” He said glaring at the metal poison holder, “But why should I give any shits about that now?”

“To be a leader,” I said, looking up at the bright night skies, “To show that you are capable of restraint for the good of your people. You are their leader.”

“Know what,” He said glaring at me now, “Fuck you, man! You know you took my spot. They don’t respect me anymore. I’m nothing more than a… forgotten loser, just like always.”

“I respect you, Stellis,” I said, “I always have…but that fucking bottle is making it harder and harder for me to continue to.”

“Scraping the bottom,” He said, wobbling as he stood, “Hey, wadn’t der a fuckin krog band called Scrape the Bottom?”

I smiled, “Yeah. They were on the radio almost every day.”

Stellis laughed, thinking back into the good old days, “Many o’ them sucked ass.”

“But hey, man,” I said, shrugging one shoulder, “The human race is doomed in the end… But you guys aren’t doomed.”

He looked out into the openness in front of us. He finished his flask and dropped it off the wall, “Maybe I should rescind as leader of the group. I’m not fit for leadership. That was always you. Maybe you should take control.”

“No, man,” I said, putting my hoof over his shoulder. Whenever he got drunk, he would get especially depressing, “You did a fine job before I came along.”

“They feared me,” He said, “They respect you.”

I shook my head and stood up, “It’s getting late, and Fluttershy won’t sleep unless I’m with her. Maybe we can continue this discussion when you’re sober.”

“Yeah,” He kicked a couple rocks off the edge, “Night man.”

I wished him a good night and headed back home. I snuck into the house to make as little noise as possible and slipped into my room. Fluttershy was lying down on the bed, but with her eyes open. She always said she didn’t like sleeping alone in the human world. All my stories of my life here must have made her fear the humans. The floor under me squeaked under my weight and she jolted up, relaxing when she saw me, “Oh, Shadey, you scared me.”

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” I kissed her on the forehead and slipped into the bed.

“That’s okay,” She snuggled up closer to me, “How’d your hangout with Stellis go?”

I sighed through my nose, “He got drunk, so we had a bit of a heart-to-heart. As close as I can get to his heart, at least.”

“You’re a good colt, Shadey,” She kissed me and snuggled closer still.

She acted like this whenever something was bothering her. The last time she got really huggy and complimented me in a quiet tone, she was concerned about Twilight going with her brother to visit their sister. At the time, Twilight came back and wouldn’t speak more than three words at a time to anypony, and it hit Fluttershy hard.

“Is everything okay, Fluttershy?”

She sighed, “Yeah, I just had a thought last week, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.”

“Well, what is it?”

She looked away from me for a moment and back, “Since I was a little filly, I wanted to be a mommy. I was really happy when I could be a mom to Sapphie, but…”

I shifted a bit, “but…?”

“But I wanted one from my own blood,” She explained, still not looking at me, “One that I can raise from the beginning to the end…”

I nodded and kissed her forehead, “I understand.”

She shook her head, “I know how you feel about that though… And I don’t want to force you into it…”

“Jason had that same problem,” I said and smiled at her, “Minus the raising a foal part.”

Fluttershy refused to look at me, her face was warm. Even in the dim light I could tell she was blushing. It was more an awkward conversation for her than for me. I’ve had this conversation before.

“I’m here for you, hon,” I said, “Whatever it is you want, you tell me, and I’ll see what I can do to make sure you get it.”

“I don’t want to force you…”

“Lucky for you this is one of those easier ones. The only issue is being here in this dimension and the travel back.”

“I talked to Twilight about it,” She explained, “For the first four months, physical activity doesn’t harm the foal. I just have to be careful the last seven. And teleporting back there won’t harm it either. We’re only going to be here another two months if we keep up the work we’ve been doing.”

We stayed in silence for a while. I thought about everything she was telling me. Through the time I debated this decision, Fluttershy seemed to shrink down, embarrassed by the topic. Finally I came to a decision.

“I’m tired, sweetie,” I said, and she seemed to slump.

“G’night Shadey,” She said in a resigned tone.

“How does tomorrow sound?”

She perked up, “Tomorrow?”

I laughed once and kissed her once more, “Tomorrow.”

Chapter XIV: Last Breath

Part III: Remnants
Chapter IV: Last Breath

“Okay everypony, that concludes today’s lesson,” I sat down in front of the small room and many of the ponies and humans left. A few stayed to question me further, but they were normally the younger ones.

A younger college student—who had just went through his procedure today and was transferred to my class—named Mindshot, stayed in his chair and asked, “Hey, Enigma. You ever gonna talk about psychology?”

I let out a breath, “Psychology?”

“All you really talk about is sociology and politics when it comes to Equestria,” The young pegasus said, “I was a psychology student before all this crap happened. I wanna know how different it is there than here.”

I looked over to the other four students in the room, “You guys have quicker questions before I get into this?”

None spoke up so I jumped into an explanation, “I also asked the same thing when I got into Equestria. I dealt with a lot of these issues through my own career here on earth, so I was curious. Celestia’s not gonna like me saying this, but she’s in severe denial. She told me the most severe disorder was Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.”

“So they found cures for everything else, I’m guessing,” He inquired, “But then again if she’s in denial, there’s got to be some more severe ones, right?”

I nodded, “Indeed. In my nine sea—two years being there, I found an abundance of disorders. Since Equestrians are immortal in a sense, they treat death much worse than humans do. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression run rampant throughout the world. In fact, Barry is the only one not an apparent victim of PTSD or depression. While, yes, we’ve cured Downs Syndrome, schizophrenia, and even many forms of mental retardation, we still have dozens of disabilities like autism, dissociative identity disorder, and, of course, PTSD.”

“So a hundred or so human-made-ponies with PTSD won’t affect the world much,” He said shaking his head, “Perhaps I can still study psychology and assist in curing ponies.”

I nodded and smiled, “Simple as that. Look at your right flank.”

He gave me a confused look and glanced back to see if I was trying to pull a prank on him. He looked back to me for a second with the same confused expression, then his eyes widened and he looked back again noticing what I wanted him to find. The other four looked as well, then back at me for answers. On the young colt was a Psi, the symbol of psychology.

“One day as a pony and you already have your cutie mark,” I said, getting a larger smile out of the young pegasus, “Congratulations, Mindshot.”

“Thank you, sir,” He looked back again, “I suppose this is a big deal?”

I smiled again at him, “Go tell Pinkie Pie and you tell me.”

The door opened suddenly and dozens of ponies and humans flooded in the room. The humans clutched their rifles defensively, and the ponies looked vulnerably around the room. Pinkie bounced through the doors and up to me, “Shade, we have a problem. Sick people are climbing the walls.”

One of the younger leaders stepped up to help explain, “Infected have found us. They need you out there to help fight. I’m in charge of protecting this group.”

I ran out with Pinkie on my heels. Stellis was outside barking orders with Barry.

“You three are good with those weapons,” Barry cast a bubble shield around a building, “We need a few buildings with keen eyes on them in case they get over the wall.”

The three men saluted and climbed the shield. Stellis spotted me and jogged up to me, “How much can you carry on your back and still fly?”

“Two ponies,” I answered, “Three humans in comparison.”

“Good,” He signaled two humans, a man and a woman in Marine Corps cammies, “You two were heli-snipers for the Corps. Can you ride Enigma outside the walls and pick off some of the leaders? Slow the fuckers down a bit?”

The two saluted, “Sir!”

The Marines climbed my back and readied their rifles. I looked to Stellis questioningly, so he explained, “Mutants and infected hordes have found us. They’re climbing the North and East walls. Head count calls about six hundred and growing. If they get over, we’re dead. Go now and thin their ranks!”

Without another word, I jumped and flapped my heavy wings. After a quick warning to the Marines, I sped off towards the North wall where a dozen and a half humans stood peering over the edge with their weapons. I flew over them and glided over a horde of deranged humans—half of them climbing like spiders up the thirty-five meter wall.

“This is as steady as the ride gets,” I yelled to my passengers, “Take your shots while you got ‘em. Aim for the top and the middle!”

The shots of the recoil-free rifles were deafening to me. Several of the infected monsters fell and hit others on the way down the wall. After 30 rounds and 30 bodies, the Marines swapped magazines and outloaded on the East wall. The woman slapped my neck a couple times, “We’re dry—drop us on the wall!”

I swooped down and dropped them off on the wall. We all peered over the edge and saw the creatures were now 25 meters up the wall, “We outloaded 60 rounds into those fucks and not even a fucking dent.”

“More are joining from behind the plateau,” A nervous woman in Army cammies said, “We have plenty of ammunition, but we’re outmanned. They’ve got at least twelve hundred by now, and we only have two hundred fighters.”

“We have at least three hundred humans still,” I said, “What about them?”

“More than half of us were soldiers before finding this place,” The male Marine said, “The rest are our families or cops or farmers or red-neck gun lovers.”

I shook my head, “Get my sister. I have an idea.”

The three saluted and I took off down the side of the wall. I flew close to the wall until my hooves connected with the sides of the wall. I ran along the sides of the debris-made wall, knocking several of the monsters off balance and dodging random protruding debris. In two sweeps, I was able to knock the climbers down to about 15 meters. I saw a flash of light and Twilight waved to me from the top of the wall.

“Twi,” I landed next to her, “Have you mastered that portal spell?”

“Not quite,” Twi said, “But if you want me to try, I can.”

“Can you aim it at the largest concentration?”

“I’m not sure,” Twilight said, looking over the ledge, “It could leave us wide open when the portal closes.”

“We’ll figure out something by then, but at least our problem will lessen.”

“Sir, we’re almost out of ammo,” A man in Air Force cammies said, “I hope that portal idea of yours works.”

“Start getting everypony back down to the rest of the group,” I said, “Conserve your ammo in case we need it more than now. This may get ugly.”

“I’m staying, sir,” The Airman said as the others heeded my orders, “I feel I may be of help.”

“Which window, Shade,” Twilight asked, her eyes onyx black.

“You know who.”

Twilight’s horn turned black, and purple sparks traced along it. A black dot of energy formed at the tip of her horn, and it shot down at the horde and started spreading.

“What is that,” The Airman asked.

Several blue-green tentacles sprouted from the black hole and dragged dozens of infected into the dark hole. One tentacle wrapped around the Airman’s waist.

Twilight’s horn glowed and so did the tentacle, “Oh, no you don’t. This one’s mine.”

The tentacle slinked away leaving a ring of goo around the Airman, “What the fuck IS that thing?!”

“He’s my fiancé’s pet,” Twilight explained, “He’s been dying for a chance to prove himself so that he could be released from Tartarus.”

“And this is his chance,” I said, “Nice work, buddy!”

The victory was short lived. The black hole was closing back up and taking the wall with it. I grabbed Twi and the Airman and took off to the middle of the refuge. The wall collapsed, but the slowly regressing hole in the ground kept the monsters at bay.

“Get inside!”

Anypony still outside rushed to their homes with exception to the rooftop snipers. Twilight built a shield and several ponies and humans rushed inside it. The horde, still 400 strong at least, charged into town and bashed on semi-defenseless homes. Several second story windows opened and weapons poked out of them.

Pinkie ran toward the bubble shield Twilight made, but found that the shield had already solidified, “Twilight, hurry! Let me in!”

“I can’t Pinkie,” She looked frightened, “The shield won’t soften for at least five minutes. Climb to the top!”

Pinkie bucked her hind legs to kick one of the monsters away. Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to climb up the slippery shield. When she got to the top she covered her head and cried. None of the creatures could gain traction enough to climb the shield, but they still tried. Gunfire sounded everywhere and many monsters dropped, but it still wasn’t enough.

“All this work,” Twilight said, “All for nothing…”

I snorted and ran my hoof like a bull waiting to charge, “Fuck it. I’m going.”

Just before I charged the infected climbing toward Pinkie, a sinister laugh filled the air. Pinkie’s head lifted, “I know that voice… I know that voice!”

A dark cloud formed in the air and lighting jumped from it. Pinkie started bouncing from her position on top of the shield, “I know that voice!!”

In another flash of light a body appeared in the sky. Its head was of a pony, but its body was long like a serpent. Its limbs and tail also appeared to be of different animals. The Draconequus laughed manically again, “Good afternoon, everyponyyyyy!”

“Discord,” Twilight smiled and jumped herself.

“Discord! Discord! Discord,” Pinkie bounced excitedly and even lost her footing.

He appeared next to Pinkie, “Oh, my dear friend Pinkie. Why is your face so wet? Why, you should be laughing. Want me to help with that?”

“Oh, if you could get rid of these pesky monsters I would love to see some of your new tricks,” Pinkie said with her silver tongue voice.

“Allow me to get rid of these pests, my dear friend,” Discord bowed his head, but several houses’ doors busted in and the hordes ran in. Discord flew into the air and snapped his fingers. Countless of the infected froze immediately and many others turned on each other, ripping each other to shreds. Ice picks made of pretzel sticks and hammers made of salt licks chipped away at the frozen monsters. Each chunk of ice the fell off burst into flames and fell as flower petals to the ground. Butterflies rained from the sky and munched on any still attacking mutants. The spectacle went on for five minutes until not even the bodies of the infected remained. The bubble shield popped and Pinkie fell on my back. She apologized briefly and jumped off my back and ran to Discord.

“Did you guys enjoy the show? I worked really har—“

Discord was cut off by Pinkie jumping on him and clinging to his elongated torso, “Oh, it was wonderful, Discord! I really loved it! Thank you so much!”

Discord’s face went from a surprised and raised face to a soft smile and kind eyes. He wrapped his mismatched arms around the pink mare, “You’re welcome, Pinkie Pie.”

I looked around at the damage. Four houses were broken into. I picked up Twilight and flew towards them. Her body went rigid for a moment and back to relaxed mid-flight. We landed outside the houses where Barry and Stellis were gathering the injured outside the houses.

“Can we heal them,” Stellis asked Barry, “If you can’t get rid of the infection, they’ll turn into them by tomorrow!”

Twilight ran up to them, “Ponies are immune to the sickness. Heal the humans first. Use the blood poison spell.”

About twelve humans were injured and at least ten more ponies. Bites and claw marks riddled their bodies. Stellis marched over to me, “What in God’s name were you thinking?! That portal destroyed our wall! Not to mention you almost killed us all! Now we don’t have a wall to protect us OR ammunition!”

I felt a slither behind me and Discord appeared next to me with a pipe in his mouth, a monocle on his eye, and a Pinkie Pie on his back. He spoke with a thick Scottish accent, “I do say I am not an expert in these sorts of things, but since I am the spirit of chaos, perhaps I can put some light on the situation. If, say, my friend here had not had Twilight Sparkle cast that spell, you would have been much more overwhelmed than you were, and you would have suffered more incurable casualties than you have. Right now it is only at one.”

“One,” Stellis asked, “There are no incur—“

I interrupted him, “Where’s Flut—“

“SHADE!!”

My head swam, and I flew as fast as I could towards Fluttershy’s fearful voice. I found her standing in the doorway of our rented home with claw marks in random places on her body and tears in her eyes. I sprinted up to her and found what she was screaming about. Right in front of her, lay a red and meaty mess.

Fluttershy looked at me with teary eyes, “Shade, get Twilight, hurry.”

Without a second thought I flew at Twilight and pulled her away from the group she was mending, “They can wait, they have longer than her.”

Fluttershy stepped away from the bloody mess to let Twilight and me see. Thanh lay on the ground with her abdomen torn open and her left arm torn off at the bicep. Twilight looked at her in horror and ran over to an open area and emptied her stomach. I walked closer to find that Thanh was still alive. She reached her only useful arm to me. I stepped closer and she weakly grabbed my foreleg. I surveyed her body. I could see her heart beat the blood from her body and her lungs shakily inflate and deflate. She coughed several times, blood spurting from her lips and landing in the mess of her body.

“Twilight, can you do anything,” Fluttershy asked through her tearful hiccups.

When Twilight’s heaving ended, she shook her head, “No… she’s too far gone, Fluttershy…”

I heard Velvet’s voice calling to me, “Shade?”

I looked over to Twilight, “Don’t let her see!”

Thanh squeezed my leg, “No… let me… see my daughter…”

Velvet saw us a moment later and stepped back, “No. No. This is a dream. A nightmare! No! NO!”

“Nhung,” Thanh reached her hand out to the young pink Alicorn, “Come here my baby.”

Velvet walked to her mother slowly and looked over her destroyed body before her mother pulled her face back to hers, “Mama?”

“Mama has to go now, Nhung,” Thanh said, “She wants you to be a strong girl for her.”

“No, Mama,” Velvet’s tears mixed with the now red sand, “We were going to be safe! We were almost there!”

“It’s okay sweetheart,” Thanh pet her daughter’s mane, the blood making the hairs stick together, “I would rather die now who I am than who I am not.”

“Mama,” Velvet repeated over and over again.

“How is she still alive,” I heard Stellis’ voice whisper next to me, “It doesn’t seem possible.”

“Magic,” Twilight said, looking pale and her eyes brimming with tears, “Some sort of magic powered by her will to live a few moments more. She won’t die for hours, though. She’ll be in pain the whole time.”

Thanh released her hand from Velvet’s mane and motioned for Twilight to come closer. More blood than was humanly possible still pooled on the floor with more coming. Twilight stepped toward her.

“Twilight,” Thanh started, “My daughter loves you. Please take care of her. Guard her. Love her. Protect her. Please.”

Twilight couldn’t hold the tears anymore either. She nodded, “I promise, Thanh. I will.”

Stellis walked forward with a magnum revolver in his hand, “Ms. Nguyen, would you like me to take the pain away?”

Thanh took a deep breath in and cringed from the pain, “Yes.”

He kneeled over her and put the gun to her head, “Any final words?”

She looked at us, “You ponies. You are not ponies. You are angels.”

Even I flinched when the gunshot sounded.

The flames licked the skies and the men tried to keep the flame under control to keep it from spreading to the mourners. Several soldiers wrapped Thanh in a thick white sheet and set her on a stone tab Discord grew from the ground. Several other of the humans gathered ignitable material and spare firewood for the ceremony. The cremation lasted only ten minutes. Discord made the flames dance in sorrow and change different colors ending in blood red.

Stellis stared at the flame with his stone face. He avoided any contact since firing that shot. Velvet took the event just as hard, but she would still speak—if only simple two or three word sentences and only to Twilight.

When the flame finally died, the ashes rose into the sky and into an urn that appeared out of nowhere. The urn floated towards Velvet and set itself on the ground. Discord spoke before anypony else, “The issue here now is: Do we want revenge, or do we want to keep to ourselves and prevent any possible casualties?”

Stellis stood from his stone chair, “What do you mean revenge? All the little fuckers are dead!”

“Not necessarily,” Discord said, his pipe appearing in in his mouth, “There is still a camp of them behind that plateau over there. About two hundred, a possible three hundred. They are awfully civilized for the monsters they are.”

Fluttershy snuggled up next to me, her cuts still not healed since she refused help. Twilight and I agreed to fix that while she slept. She looked over to Discord, “What would be the cost of this?”

“Well, I do know that you have a hidden stockpile of very powerful weaponry,” Discord said to Stellis, “We can carry fifteen of your best soldiers and massacre every last one of them.”

“What makes you an expert,” Stellis asked, “And how do you know about the stockpile?”

“I’m the spirit of chaos,” Discord said, “What better chaos than war?”

“And the weapons?”

“I can see more than you know,” Discord said, walking about with his pipe, “In your culture, I am what you would call a god. Or a demon. Take your pick.”

Several of the mourners got nervous and started fidgeting. Stellis glared at the Draconequus, “Then how do I know you’re not about to send 15 of my best soldiers to their slaughter?”

Discord feigned an offended look, “Oh, I just saved your whole town from being overrun when I could have just taken my friends and went right back to Equestria. Why would I save hundreds just to send 15 to their deaths?”

Stellis glared still. One Marine stood up, “You had a stockpile of powerful weapons and you didn’t get them for the attack?”

Stellis shook his head at the woman, “Of course not. It would take me at least twenty minutes to get them out of there. I was saving them for a shortage.”

“The attack went on for thirty minutes,” An Army Ranger said, “You had plenty of time to get those fuckers out of there. We might have actually stood a chance with military issued over these shitfuck civie weaps.”

Stellis let the berating continue. He sat with his stone face plastered and unmoving.

“Guys,” the soldiers stopped and looked at me, “Leave him be. You have no idea how much stress being a leader has. A stockpile of weapons could easily slip your mind if you’re trying to order people into position.”

The men and women didn’t say another word, but they still huffed their indignation. I continued, “If Stellis hadn’t done what he did as it were, we would have had more than just one casualty.”

The half dozen soldiers went back to their seats with irritated expressions. Stellis stared at me and refused to say another word.

Discord snapped his fingers and a rack of weapons appeared next to him, “Here is your stockpile. Not very large, but quite a bit of firepower.”

The rack held three heavy machine guns and about thirty assault rifles. On the bottom several machine pistols, pistols, and revolvers were lined on pistol racks. Discord snapped his fingers again and a paper appeared in front of him. He called off the names, ranks, and military branch of fifteen soldiers and told them to come grab a weapon.

Discord appeared next to me, “Perhaps you want to join the fray?”

I looked over at his sinister face. The dam that held back my rage began to crack, “More than anything.”

At another snap of his fingers I was 100% human with my old Air Force cammies on. I looked down at my hands. They held a high powered G365 automatic scoped rifle. Discord pat me on the back, “That’s the good thing about Draconequus magic. Quick and painless. Not like that unicornian magic. You’ll turn back when your mission is complete.”

Fluttershy looked up at me with the same look as she did when she thought I was making a mistake. I slung the rifle and leaned down to hug her. She whispered into my ear, “What will this accomplish?”

“Nothing,” I said, releasing her from my grasp. She seemed small even in my human form, “But I still have that bit of human in me.”

She looked down at the ground sadly, “I hope it’s worth it.”

“Worth what,” I asked, confused.

She just shook her head, “I don’t know.”

I stepped away and towards Discord, trying hard to keep my balance, not used to two legs. Discord was standing on all fours waiting for his passengers, “All aboooaaard!”

The rest of the squad climbed the Draconequus’ back and I took my spot in front of the rest of them. Saddles and seatbelts appeared out of nowhere and held us all in place as Discord took off into the dark skies toward the westward plateau. We landed about seventeen meters from the horde of sleeping and wandering infected. My mind raced with what Fluttershy had said. I didn’t notice it at the time, but Twilight and Pinkie Pie had also looked at me with sad disapproval. I was in this now, though, and there was no turning back. A pang of regret slapped me in the face for every single bullet fired, for every single body mangled by them, and for every time I pulled the trigger.

Discord had decided to stay the night. Barry gave up his bed and found another place to sleep to give Pinkie and Discord privacy, unsure of their relationship. Velvet retired to her room before dinner, so Twilight brought her some food to force her to eat before bed. Pinkie and Discord went off to their room shortly afterwards leaving me with Fluttershy and Barry.

After a brief and awkward silence, Barry said, “So Enigma… How’d it go?”

I shifted slightly making a shuffling sound from my now ponified cammies, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well I do,” Barry, the usually joking one, had not made a single joke or cracked a single joyful smile since coming to this dimension, “And I want a full report.”

Fluttershy turned her beaten and scratched face away from me when I replied, “It was horrible, okay? I do everything I can to keep this disgusting human behavior out of my life, but it just keeps coming back.”

Barry kept coming full steam, “And this disgusting human behavior will keep coming back. Get over the fact that you are human at heart. It will never go away. You just have to figure out how to stop their manifest.”

“Barry, please,” Fluttershy tried, but Barry spoke again.

“You came to us to stop what your people created,” His face was blank, but his words stung. And it pissed me off, “We owe nothing to you, but we’re here anyway. Any innocence of war-free memories these young ponies may have had was ruined today. They’ve witnessed mass death and murder today. Then you go off and kill, not in self-defense like it was before, but in revenge. You aren’t one of us, and you can’t be one of us, but we can always be one of you. Look what you taught us today.”

“Barry—“

Barry cut Fluttershy off again, “No, I won’t quiet. Your little human pet needs to hear it.”

I shook my head, “For what purpose?”

“To prove a point,” He was in my face now, “I’ve studied you humans since we got here and each day I’m sickened by it. The only good I see here is that child that lost her mother today. A death you made worse by allowing the massacre Discord brought up.”

Fluttershy pushed him, her force even taking him by surprise. He stumbled back a few steps and sat down to keep from going further, “What’s gotten into you, Barry?”

“Maybe it’s the scum of Equestria being in the next room,” He said, “Or the other one sitting in this very room.”

“Bar—“

I cut her off this time, “I’m sorry.”

Barry looked to me with his empty expression and Fluttershy with confusion. Any rage that came up during his rant subsided and was taken by depression, “I can’t fix who I am, but I can try. If anything, I didn’t get any joy out of that revenge massacre. All I felt was guilt. I let everypony down. I still feel that guilt. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I can’t be one of you.”

The room went quiet with only the crackling of the fire and the ticking of the clock audible. Fluttershy stepped over and snuggled up next to me, wincing from her multiple cuts. Barry looked back and forth between us. After a few moments he stood and walked out of the room to check on Velvet.

After a few more moments, I turned to Fluttershy and kissed her on the head, “You should really get those fixed.”

She shook her head, “No. I don’t deserve it.”

I sighed but didn’t argue. Twilight was going to do it whether she wanted it or not. We sat in silence a few moments longer before she said, “I don’t care what he says. You are one of us.”

With that, she kissed me on the neck and floated off to bed. I watched the fire for fifteen minutes and decided to head outside. I took off and flew over to the South wall, landing on it and staring out into the desert. The wall on the North end was guarded by a small squad of snipers. Discord promised he would fix the wall in the morning, but he wasn’t in the mood tonight.

I thought back over the last twelve hours. In such a small amount of time, the world seemed to have shrunk. I looked down at my hooves remembering the hands the clutched the gun awkwardly. I saw the feet that stood and moved just as awkwardly, like an infant learning to walk. I was glad to be rid of that form. The first transformation had little effect on me since most of it was spent in bed getting over the pain of the transformation spell. The second one felt even worse. After being a pegasus for only ten seasons, I could not stand to think about my human self. But even with my body changed, my spirit would never change.

“Shade,” Barry’s voice came from right next to me. Broken from my trance, I noticed he was sitting right next to me. His slightly larger frame slumped making it look nearer my size.

“I know,” I said, staring back out over the wasteland, “You’re right. Who am I to come to you guys for help?”

“Actually, I am wrong,” Barry said, “And I knew that even as I was saying it. Fluttershy’s right. There’s something about you that’s different. Something she can see, but I can’t.”

“But you’re right about everything you said,” I said, looking back at my hooves and seeing hands again.

“No, I was wrong,” Barry said, “We are here by Celestia’s request. You went to Equestria by Celestia’s request. She saw what Fluttershy sees. While it was wrong to go out and destroy that faction of infected, it may have done good in the end keeping us from getting attacked in our sleep.”

I sighed through my nose, no longer looking at anything. Barry continued, “You are more pony than human. But there’s something you gotta know.”

“What?”

“Humans are very similar to us,” He scratched his neck, “Humans just have a desire for war and conflict. Like that Stellis guy. We should really keep our eyes on him.”

“Why are you telling me this anyway,” I asked, “Completely going against what you said just twenty minutes ago.”

“Well,” He started, “It was something of a test. Instead of fighting back and causing conflict, you took the abuse and sat there just to get it to stop. Then Fluttershy still went to your aid even with all these terrible things I said.”

“You went through all that just to test our relationship?”

“No, not at all,” Barry shook his head, “Fluttershy can never be mad at somepony for long. She’d be back at you by morning as if tonight never happened, but instead, she came to your aid. Whatever she sees, it must be pretty strong.”

“And how do you know?”

“She’s my niece,” Barry said, “I was with her every second as she grew up, and even took a vacation from my job until Fluttershy was old enough to go to Flight School. This was just before Twilight was accepted as the Princess’ apprentice. I know her better than my own brother, and we’ve been together since Celestia’s birth.”

Barry nudged me and stood, “I talked to Fluttershy before I left. She was a little mad at me for making you feel bad, but she sees why I did it. She sees a lot of things. She can see light in a world made of nothing but shadows.”

I smiled, “She can see the heart of a soulless pegasus.”

He nudged me again, “Quit being so hard on yourself. That’s my job from now on.”

“I’ll try,” I said, kicking a rock off the wall.

He stepped toward the ledge and spread his wings, but spoke before taking off, “Please take care of her. And whatever I may say now or in the future, I am proud of both of you, and I am honored to have you in our family.”

He took off back to the house. I shook my head. This Alicorn is a bigger Enigma than me.

Chapter XV: A Place To Die

Part III: Remnants
Chapter V: A Place to Die

Since the attack, we started sending anypony not willing to fight straight to Equestria. It halted the transformation process, but the only humans awaiting transformation were the leaders and the soldiers. We could only send five ponies in 24 hours at first, but we found a way to cool down the chip to stretch it to six. Celestia had her hooves full with all the new citizens coming in at random into the castle, but she still managed to send a visual message to us.

“Good day, humans and ponies,” The message had said, Celestia watching in real time as we gathered, “I am happy to say that your inclusion into our world is turning out very successful, and I cannot wait to meet the rest of you. My faithful student, Twilight, has told me all about the bravery and sacrifice you have all displayed in the past few weeks. I am sorry to hear of the loss of one of your people, but I rest confident in saying I know she’s in a better place.”

The crowd had gone silent even when Celestia stopped talking. She looked out over the group as they stared at her in amazement. She ended her speech with, “Equestria could use more brave ponies. I look forward to meeting you all. Good luck, my subjects.”

The cloud that her image was portrayed on turned to water and soaked into the ground. Moments later, Mindshot stepped up, gave me a high hoof, and stepped into the pod.

I went on a walk around the inside of the compound with Fluttershy. She had been acting weird a week before the attack, but now she was acting even weirder. Today’s curse was mood swings. Her current mood is joyful, but I knew it wouldn’t last much longer since ten minutes ago it was anger—which was also very weird for her since she’s rarely ever angry, and now she’s angry every other hour. She snuggled up against me.

“I can’t wait to get back to Ponyville,” Fluttershy said with a twinkle in her eye, “With all the time we’ve spent here, the lilies should be sprouting! It will look so beautiful, don’t you think?”

“Of course, sweetie,” I tried to give a warm smile, “And everypony home will welcome us with open hooves. Especially Sapph.”

“Yeah,” Her smile slowly disappeared, and I sensed a mood swing.

“You okay, hun?”

“I think I’m gonna go home and rest my head,” She slowly walked away, her tail dragging on the ground.

I shook my head and continued my walk. About ten meters later, I heard shouting and hushed voices after the shouts. I walked closer to the sounds, but I couldn’t pinpoint the exact location.

“Listen, we’re just not comfortable with it anymore,” A familiar voice said, “Ever since Enigma got here, you’ve gotten stranger and stranger. It’s time to take a break.”

I stepped closer to the sound—which I now knew was emitting from Stellis’ home. I cringed when my over-sensitive ears picked up the sound of Stellis yelling, “Fuck you! That fucker ruined everything!”

I peered in the door to find the five leaders confronting Stellis. The eldest, who had underwent his transformation a couple days before the attack, was the one speaking, “C’mon, Simon. We both know that’s not true. He’s helping us. Please…Just hand over your guns. We won’t ask again.”

“You have no authority here anymore, Dick,” Stellis put his gun to the pony’s head, causing four more to point at him. He dropped his gun to the floor a few seconds later, “I see how it is… I see how it is…”

“I’m sorry, boss,” the youngest said, “Even Mindshot agreed you need some recovery time.”

“Where is the fuck,” Stellis screamed, stabbing my eardrums once again, “I’ll show that bitch who needs recovery time!”

One of the middle-aged leaders pushed Stellis into a chair, “He left this morning because he knew you would say that. You’re scaring people, Simon. Why don’t you play some golf this afternoon? Work off a bit of that stress. Try to recover.”

Stellis slumped in his chair and refused to speak. I stepped away and shook my head to clear it. Stellis was normally an angry person, but this is ridiculous. What did I do to him?

When I got about fifteen meters away, the group left Stellis’ home without him. The eldest spotted me and approached me with a huge smile on his face, “Enigma, my friend, how are you?”

“Hey, Doc,” I gave a fake smile back, “Fluttershy’s still acting weird, but I’m doing well otherwise. What about you? How’s getting used to that new body?”

“Oh, it’s great to be young again,” Doc laughed, “Even if it is as a different species.”

“Glad you like it.”

“Oh, and your wife,” He nudged me, “I remember my wife was the same a few times in her life. I’m sure her strange behavior will be gone by the end of the week.”

“And what makes you so sure,” I asked with a laugh.

Doc laughed with me, “I’m old, remember? I know these things.”

We walked a few more minutes making idle chit-chat. We came to a stop in front of my house and Doc asked while he fanned himself, “Hey, mind if I come in for a few minutes to say hi to the wife and the rest of the ponyfolk?”

“Of course not! Come on in,” I opened the door and froze in place at the sight in front of me.

Every wall was covered in black markings. Words were written everywhere—some were crossed out while others were circled, squared, or underlined. Fluttershy flew this way and that with a charcoal marker in her hoof writing more words, crossing them out, or marking them. Velvet sat on Barry’s back, and they watched with Twilight as Pinkie followed Fluttershy around the room as she doodled the random words.

“Come on, Flutters, you’re gonna tire yourself out. That’s not good for you OR him!”

Fluttershy wiped away sweat on her forehead, “I’ve almost got it, Pinkie. I can feel it!”

Pinkie spotted me and ran to me, “Shade! Thank Celestia you’re here!”

“What’s going on,” Doc and I said simultaneously.

Fluttershy answered, “These words keep running around in my head. They’re all wrong! I have to find the right one!”

“Flutters, please,” Pinkie pleaded, but Twilight interrupted.

“It’s just a phase,” She explained, “Sure, it’s a bit sooner than expected, but she’ll find the words or tire herself out. No harm done in the end.”

“Well, what’s she doin’,” Doc asked the question on my mind.

“That’s it,” Fluttershy exclaimed and plopped herself on the ground. I walked up and sat next to her. She pointed to the last phrase she wrote. It read “Lyric Agate.”

Doc looked at Twilight questioningly as Pinkie came to sit on the other side of Fluttershy. Twilight smiled awkwardly and answered Doc’s question, “She’s Naming.”

I tucked Fluttershy in and kissed her on the forehead. When I leaned back, she was fast asleep. I smiled and stepped out, slowly closing the door. I tried to step quietly back into the main room where Doc awaited.

“Sorry about that, Doc,” I said with a nervous laugh.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” He waved his hoof at me, “Ms. Sparkle here was just about to tell me what Naming was.”

Twilight smiled at me, “I don’t believe I told you either. Might want to listen up. Naming is when a pregnant mother starts getting nervous and hearing or seeing words popping up in her head. She’ll go crazy for a few moments and start writing them down everywhere, like you saw here. When they find the name that just seems right to them, they can finally rest. Normally in Equestria we have better ways to help them through it.”

“So that’s why she’s been acting weird lately,” I asked, “Because she needed to find a name for the baby?”

“Nope,” Twilight looked nervous, “Mood swings and irritability are very common around five months. Honestly, Naming should not have come ‘til around nine and a half months.”

“But she’s only two months,” I said, concerned.

“I know,” Twilight rubbed her neck nervously, “And Celestia is being really quiet.”

Doc gave a look of confusion, “Nine and a half months?”

Twilight looked back with a blank look, “Uh… I don’t know what the human gestation period is, but for Equines it’s eleven months.”

Doc nodded in understanding, “So if Fluttershy starts getting chubby before… three or four months… should we be concerned?”

Barry spoke up this time, “Very. The weight gain should not show visibly until five or six months.”

“You’re scaring me, guys,” I said.

Twilight shivered and Barry scooted a little closer, “Sorry. Perhaps another topic until we have actual answers?”

Doc took up on the topic change immediately, “We relieved Stellis from duty. We removed all strong alcohol from his home and took away any guns he owned.”

“I caught a bit of that,” I said, “Got really good ears, y’know.”

Doc nodded, “I understand, and I’m very sorry to have to do that, but we’re taking charge now. He’s gonna be under light supervision until he calms down enough to be put through the process.”

“He’s gonna have a hard time,” Twilight said and shivered again, “Alcohol is nowhere near as powerful in Equestria.”

“Y’don’t have to tell ME twice,” Pinkie said with a pained expression. Last month she had tried hard vodka the search party found. She passed out after just one shot and Twilight spent the next four hours trying to purge the poison from her body.

“We’re just not build as liver-tough as humans,” Twilight said.

“Especially not with hundred-proof vodka,” I said with a Russian accent. Doc chuckled, but the rest stared at me with blank expressions, “Nevermind.”

“You know,” Twilight said to get the attention off of me, “Maybe I should go back to college and get my medical degree with as often as everypony needs my medical assistance.”

Velvet hopped off of Barry’s back and nudged Twilight, “Twilight, can we go practice the levitation spell again? I think I might get it down before we leave!”

Twilight shivered again and nodded, “Sure thing. Let’s go outside and practice on rocks.”

Twilight and Velvet left the room and Pinkie hopped up saying that she wanted to check on Fluttershy again. Barry stared at Doc and me for a few moments. I heard a faint click of the bedroom door shutting and Barry spoke, “So Doc. Stallion to stallion. What’s the real situation?”

Doc raised his eyes a bit, “Well you’re a hard guy to fool.”

“How big of a threat is he really?”

“He’s done a lot of crazy things in the past. We took his guns when we heard that he’s started threatening the lives of some of us,” Doc said, “Hell, just today he’s threatened me, Enigma here several times, Twilight once, our entire engineering team, and—“

Doc stopped himself and narrowed his eyes at the floor. Barry waited a few seconds and urged him on, “And…?”

Doc looked up at me, “Please remember he’s ill, Enigma.”

I raised an inquisitive eye at him and repeated Barry, “And…?”

He sighed, “Fluttershy and your kid.”

Pinkie sat next to me in the room. We watched Fluttershy quietly like guard dogs as she continued to thrash about in her sleep. Pinkie wrung cool water out of a rag and put it on Fluttershy’s forehead to try to control her fever. Her condition was not fatal, of course, but she was not the most comfortable. When her sweating stopped, she turned her back to us and her breathing steadied into a deep rhythm.

“I can trust you,” I said quietly, “Right, Pinkie?”

She glanced at me and back at Fluttershy, “You want me to be a bodyguard whenever you’re gone?”

“Actually I was going to tell you what’s really going on without making anypony else worry,” I said, “It’s a bit more complicated than what Doc told us before. I just need to vent.”

“Go right ahead,” She pat my shoulder, “I’m a good listener, and I can keep quiet better than anypony. Except Fluttershy.”

I smiled briefly before I let the dam burst, “Stellis has gone more than mad. He’s been threatening lives of other ponies and humans so much so that Doc felt it right to take away his weapons and alcohol.”

“And you’re concerned because you’re one of those he’s threatened?”

“No,” I noticed Fluttershy shivering, so I set a blanket over her, “I’m concerned because Fluttershy and our kids are, and even sober Stellis is batshit crazy.”

Pinkie nodded, “But with his gun thingies taken away and your massive size, I’m sure he won’t try it.”

“Thanks, Pink,” I said, watching Fluttershy with my mind wandering elsewhere, “But you don’t know Stellis. Stellis was like family to me. I know him inside and out… or at least I used to…

“When he’s angry, he’ll do very crazy things. He beat down a gunner with a baseball bat when I took a bullet to the shin. He took four bullets that day, but that didn’t stop him. He held a woman over a skyscraper roof when she slapped his kid. He’s always been crazy. I’m afraid these aren’t threats… more like promises.”

Pinkie sat quietly for a few moments. I glanced over at her. She had her brow furrowed in concentration. She spoke slowly, “Maybe… Maybe I’ve been around Discord too much, but… It would be the smartest move to take down the strongest first… And maybe you’re taking your own strength for granted.”

I thought about it. It made sense, but it didn’t make me feel better. Pinkie continued, “I love Flutters and all. She’s my best friend and she’s like a sister to me, but she’s not very strong.”

“But sometimes,” I said quietly, “I think she’s stronger than I am.”

Pinkie scooted closer and laid her head on my shoulder, “Did I ever tell you the story of how she saved my life?”

“You’re always full of stories,” I said with a smile, “Even more than Twilight.”

“Well I wouldn’t go that far,” Pinkie laughed, but she forced herself to stop for fear of waking Fluttershy, “Really, though, she did. Remember that story I told you before about…”

She paused as if not wanting to say his name, “Yeah, I remember.”

She put her head back on my shoulder, “See, after he died, I was a nervous wreck. I couldn’t sleep, I refused to eat, and I could barely hold a conversation. I always smiled before that just like I smile now, but after he fell out of that basket…after I pushed him…the guilt kept trying to kill me. I planned a trip to Canterlot and said, ‘Pinkamena, if you can’t get over this by the time your trip comes, you can always quit.’ Canterlot has the tallest heights in all Equestria.”

I sat and listened to her story. She told it without any emotion—probably in order to tell the story without having to stop to calm herself, “It was lucky that Fluttershy planned a visit with her uncle on the same day. We saw each other at the train station, and she asked me what I was going to Canterlot for. She was the first friend I made as a kid after getting off that cursed rock farm, so I couldn’t just ignore her. I told her I was just going to see the sights, so she offered to let her and her uncle—which, if you didn’t know, is Barry—her and Barry show me around. I couldn’t refuse that adorable little face. We talked ab—“

She stopped suddenly as Fluttershy rolled herself over facing us. Her eyes were still closed, so Pinkie continued, “We talked about random topics all the way up to Canterlot. Town gossip, work—even about a filly she had a crush on. Don’t worry though, she moved to Maretreal many seasons before you came to Equestria. Anyway, she introduced me to Barry and they showed me the sights. I won’t go into detail on that, because I’m sure it’ll bore you to sleep. It was really fun and Fluttershy was a lot more active than I normally saw her. It was a side of her I didn’t know existed. She put a smile on my face for the first time in…I don’t know how long.

“But that night my pain returned. Barry got us both a room in the castle for the night. I wandered out in the middle of the night and went over to the garden. The edge of the garden leads down a mountain. I just sat there trying to gather the guts to just…jump…but then I heard Fluttershy land next to me. She just sat there and said how beautiful the moon looked that night. I didn’t say anything, but I knew I couldn’t jump with her sitting there. I couldn’t do that to her, so I decided to wait for her to leave. We talked for a little bit, but before she left to go to bed she said something I will never forget. She said, ‘I had a lot of fun with you today Pinkie. We should do this again sometime.’ When I agreed she said, ‘You’re my best friend, Pinkie. I love you. Just remember that.’”

Pinkie sniffed and I looked down to see her wipe her eyes. She had taken her head off my shoulder halfway through the story, “After she said that I couldn’t do it. A couple months later Twilight came to Ponyville. Twilight’s the one that drew us all together as one big happy family. We were friends before, but she brought us closer. That’s when I started getting a lot better.”

I reached out my forehoof and pulled her into a side-hug, “She sees everything.”

“I’ll die before I let anything happen to her,” Pinkie said, “That was the point of my story, I think.”

“I wonder what she sees when she looks at Stellis,” I said, watching her irregular breaths.

“She doesn’t want you to know because she knows how close you two are,” Pinkie said, “I’m sure she’ll be okay with me telling you now. She tried explaining to me how she does this, but she doesn’t even know. She says she doesn’t trust him. She said he’s been getting darker and darker since we got here.”

“Maybe she could just Stare him down,” I joked.

“You know about the Stare,” Pinkie asked, “She rarely uses that around other ponies.”

I noticed Fluttershy twitch, “Well, I know a lot of weird facts about Equestria and its inhabitants. Doesn’t change my view of them.”

Pinkie stretched and her normal smile was back on her face, “All that story telling made me hungry. I’ll go fix up something for everypony while you watch over Flutters.”

She trotted out of the room humming. I got up and closed the door and sat back in my spot. I watched Fluttershy for a few more moments, and I got up and sat down closer to her and whispered, “I know you’re awake.”

Her mouth lifted into a smile, but she kept her eyes closed. I kissed her on the side of her head, “Silly filly.”

“Just as I thought,” Pinkie said and fake swatted Twilight with the thermometer, “You have a fever.”

“I’m fine, Pinkie,” Twilight said, but she collapsed when she stood.

Pinkie glared at her, “Do I have to tell Luna about this?”

Twilight sighed, “Fine, fine…”

Barry nodded at us, “I’ll take care of her, but I’d prefer to do this without magic. Don’t worry.”

Fluttershy stepped over to her and kissed her on the cheek, “Get better soon.”

Barry shooed us out. Fluttershy climbed on my back. I became her escort because she was becoming too weak to fly especially with the cut portions we had to deal with. Fluttershy was allowed three meals a day, but it wasn’t enough for a pregnant mare, so we cut the amount of calories she burned. Doc waited in the living room, “Ah, you’re back. Velvet let me in.”

Velvet bowed quickly and trotted towards Twilight’s room. Fluttershy laid her head on top of mine, “Hi, Doc. How’re you?”

“Oh, I’m well, Mrs. Fluttershy,” He took off his hat and placed it over his chest, “I see that you’re better than yesterday.”

I shifted my weight to my left hooves. Fluttershy had gained quite a bit of weight recently, but I pretended not to notice, “So Doc, what d’ya need, my friend.”

“Well, y’see, the raiding party that just came back this morning came back with an extra chip thingermajig,” He said while replacing his hat, “The one to the machine. The engineers want to get your input before they make any changes.”

“Well, if they have a working chip we can double output,” I said as we all headed towards the door. I felt a twinge of excitement. We may be able to get out of here sooner! I could see Sapphire again sooner. We could get Fluttershy some real medical attention. My heart pounded more with anticipation.

Eddy met us halfway and started talking immediately, “Yo, Enigma. Good news. We found another working XK chip. Same model, same year, same everything. Only thing is this one came straight out of the packaging. Brand fuckin’ new, bro. If we get your go, we can swap these babies out after every transformation to double everything. We can be completely done by the end of the month—maybe two or three days into next month.”

“Where’s the chip,” I said, trying to contain my enthusiasm, “I want to be a hundred and ten percent sure before we do this. Plus we’ll need another test subject.”

“Hey, man, I’m next on the list, I’ll test the bitch out,” He smiled triumphantly. We reached the control station just inside the center building, and Eddy opened a large box. He pulled out a slick, black, card-like object and showed it to me, “Look. Same. Fucking. Thing. This is fucking sweet. I’ve never been more excited.”

I pat him on the back, almost losing balance in the process. Fluttershy slipped off my back with an apology. I kissed her on the forehead and turned back to Eddy, “So who’s next on the list besides you?”

Eddy raised a finger and turned to grab a clipboard, “Sergeant Major Stephen Harvey Jr. of Alpha Company Marines. I’m right after him.”

“Great, get one of your runners to grab him,” I said and walked outside, “It’s muggy as hell in here, man.”

“I know, the machines run then cool down,” Eddy pointed in a direction for his runner and he took off, “But hey, can I talk to you in private a second, bro?”

I nodded at Pinkie. She saluted as I walked off with Eddy, “What’s up?”

“Hey, man, your wife don’t look all too good,” He said with a concerned expression.

“I know she’s not,” I said, “That’s why this new chip is a great thing right about now.”

He scratched the back of his neck, “Yeah, man, but I heard from Doc there that she was preggo. I grew up on a farm, so I raised horses. If she wasn’t pregs before coming here, then your time clocks are all screwie. My guess is that the rift between our dimensions is causing your kid to grow at three times the speed. It may not harm the kid, but I’m concerned for your wife. Horses need those eleven months just as much as the foal.”

“You’re not making me feel better in the least, Eddy,” I said, my annoyance level rising.

“No, no, that’s not what I’m getting to,” Eddy said as he put his hands up in surrender, “Let me finish. She’s gonna have to go home the same way she came here because of the DNA fuck up in her system with that kid in there. Either that or she’ll have to birth the kid here. I’ve helped with so many foal births I’m scarred for life. If you want me to go through the process last in order to help out just in case, I’ll be glad to. For all you’ve done, I feel it’s the least I can do.”

I looked back over to Fluttershy. She was joking with Doc and Pinkie, “Y’know, Eddy. You’re a cool kid.”

Eddy smiled and kicked dirt, “Well thanks, bro.”

I patted him on the back, “Clean up that vocabulary of yours and you’ll have the mares swarming you in Equestria.”

“Hey, man,” He looked around, “Bro to bro. I prefer stallions.”

I nudged him and he took a step back, “No shame in that, my friend. Plenty to choose from back home.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Pinkie jolt as if she was just struck by lightning. Eddy gave me a weird look to show that said he saw it too. We walked towards her and she did it again. She looked everywhere with a cautious expression. She started talking and I strained to hear, wishing I hadn’t walked so far away, “Whenever June was on the prowl this happened.”

I started running towards them. Pinkies eyes grew wide and she screamed, “SHADE!”

I saw a figure with a piece of metal held offensively in their hand. I opened my wings and slammed the assailant to the ground a meter away. I looked over my shoulder to see Pinkie and Doc using themselves as shields for Fluttershy. I fully spread my wings and lowered my head as I walked towards the assailant. He struggled to get up and his dizzy grip couldn’t keep hold of the knife.

“Come on Simon,” I said, “It’s not worth it.”

Stellis laughed. He stood and stumbled backwards a step and wielded his knife hand-to-hand combat style, “It’s worth it to me, you son of a bitch!”

He lunched at me with the intent to stab. I side stepped and kicked him with my hind leg to send him sprawling again, “You’re drunk, man. Where the fuck did you get the liquor?”

He turned to me with gritted teeth, “That’s not your business! Fucking die already!”

He lunged at me again, so I jumped into the air just out of reach. Doc and Pinkie had already hustled Fluttershy inside and were probably barricading the door just in case. I glided and landed a couple meters away, “What have I done to you, Simon. We’re best frie—“

“NO we are NOT,” He spat, “You are nothing but a MENACE! You ruined EVERY fucking thing in my life! I lost everything because of you… My home… My wife… My fucking kids… And now you take my people!—“ He threw his hands in the air and gave a sarcastic laugh, “What else do I have to lose?”

“Simon, we both know that’s not true,” I said, folding my wings, “You told me that Luci wa—“

“Yes, she walked into a fucking landmine,” He gripped his knife tighter, “Before we got separated, you said if anything bad happens, meet up at Doctor Yuiro’s. The landmine was on his FUCKING driveway! That fucking sniper was RIGHT in his window! Yuiro was in on it. He knew you’d come to him, and they wanted us. He knew I didn’t trust that crooked smile, but I trusted you. I trusted you!”

“I had no control over that,” I said, the guilt pushing on my lungs making it hard to breathe, “How was I supposed to know Yuiro wou—“

But he wasn’t finished, “Oh and Raymie? I bet you’re wondering about him, too. That kid was a fucking genius. Too stupid to realize he was in danger. ‘Hey, Dad, it’s Isabelle! Look, it’s Isabelle!’”

I stared at him in guilt and horror as he re-enacted the event, “Then swoosh, right in the throat. He thought that monster was your kid. Oh, God, how I wish it was.”

The guilt turned to pain and anger. I stared him down. He had tears running down his face, but his expression didn’t match. It was of pure hate, “Then you trot your deformed ass in here and take my people. Gain their trust and turned them against me! Oh old Stellis is crazy, a drunk, a fucking psychopath!”

“Stellis, I never—“

“You did,” He took a step forward, “And it’s about time you paid for it.”

He sprinted at me, catching me off guard. He swung his knife and I jumped back, but not far enough. His knife nicked my right shoulder. I flew up in the air again.

“Come on, ya fucking pussy,” He yelled at me, “Fight me like a man! Show me how much man you got left!”

“Sniper team Charlie and Bravo in position,” I heard from above me, “Ready to make a shot if needed.”

“Don’t you dare do it,” I yelled to the sniper above me, “Let me handle this!”

I flew down and knocked Stellis over as I landed, “If you want a brawl, you’re gonna get a brawl.”

Stellis stood up and licked the sand off his lips and flipped his knife to point upwards, “’Bout time.”

He swiped his blade at me several times forcing me to back step. When I found an opening in his drunken swings, I stood on my back legs to push him forward, but he rolled to the side and jammed the knife into my side. I gritted my teeth to keep from making a sound, knowing the snipers would take any chance they could if it seemed like I was losing. He went for another jab closer to the heart, but I jumped over him and buck-kicked him with both hooves. He did several summersaults and landed on his feet, but he coughed up blood when he turned back to me. He charged me yet again. I spread my wings like a jet and waited. When he got within slashing distance, I dashed forward and clotheslined him. He rolled over onto his hands and knees, but I put my hoof on his back and pushed him back down. I held him there until he quit struggling.

“Throw the knife over there and I’ll let you up,” I said pushing harder on his back, making him cry out in pain. He must have had broken ribs. He chucked the knife a meter and a half away, and I let up the pressure and let him stand. The pain in my shoulder and side throbbed, but I kept my best poker face and helped him to his feet.

He looked at me with a confused look, “Maybe they were right… Maybe I do need help…”

“You haven’t lost everything,” I said, setting my hoof on his shoulder apologetically, “You can make a new life in Equestria. Maybe you can take Captain rank in one of our police agencies when you get better.”

He put one of his hands on his hip where I had buck-kicked him and the other on my good shoulder, “I’d like that… or maybe I won’t.”

I heard a click, a bang, and a thud. My face was covered in something, but I couldn’t quite tell what. I looked down at the headless body at my feet. My eyes trailed upwards at the glint of a sniper rifle hanging over the edge of the building I stood in front of. I looked back down and an unspeakable rage flowed through me. I flew up the three story building and landed in front of the Ranger sergeant that had fired the shot. I shoved my hoof against his chest and pinned him to the edge of the building, his head hanging off the edge.

“I told you not to fire!”

The Ranger didn’t try to fight me. He held his hands out in surrender and his face was near panic, “I’m sorry, sir, I—“

“Oh you will be sorry!”

“Sir,” He yelled as I put pressure on his chest. He struggled under my hoof for another breath, “Look at the body again… Just one more time and you’ll see what I did.”

I glared at him as he struggled for breath after breath. I Gripped his vest and tossed him on the roof. He brushed himself off and stood up cautiously, but he made no move for his sidearm at his hip. I hopped off the building and walked over to the headless body. I saw a glint, and the rage that flooded my veins turned to ice. In his hand he held a switchblade. I stared down at the body of what used to be my best friend.

It must have been an hour before they finally forced me to go home.

Nopony talked to me or even stepped within two meters of me. Not even Fluttershy.

I sat alone staring in the mirror. The blood and brain matter still clung to my fur, dried now. The water ran in the washbin as I stared.

Whatever I had left of this world was gone. And I didn’t even get a reason why.

With Twilight sick and Barry storing his magic in case she got worse, Fluttershy was left to tend to my wounds. She used a heated needle to sew the wounds closed and then wrapped me in gauze to stop any excess bleeding. She didn’t say a word to me and didn’t even look me in the eye. I tried looking at her, but she always moved her head just such that her mane covered her face.

“I have a feeling you’re disappointed in me again,” I said.

“I’m not,” She said, “I just don’t want to say the wrong thing.”

She finished sewing up my shoulder and went to work on my side, “You’re lucky he didn’t hit anything important.”

“I don’t feel so lucky,” I felt my leg falling asleep, but I fought the urge to move.

She sighed, “This is just what I mean.”

I looked over to her. She didn’t look annoyed or disappointed. She looked more sad than anything. She told me to breathe with my chest so it didn’t conflict with the stitches, so I changed my breathing and said, “Don’t worry about saying the wrong thing. Just say whatever’s on your mind.”

She finished her sewing and quickly tied the knot and started walking towards the door with the medical kit. I stood up and felt pins and needles fill my leg, but I stopped her before she got to the door, “Please?”

She let out a breath, “Stellis was deranged. Equestria couldn’t fix that. We’d have to put him in a home, but that’s no life to live. I know how it feels to lose somepony you love, but… well, as your engineer buddy said ‘Shit happens.’ We can’t change the past, so we might as well not dwell on it. I still miss my brother, but I know he would want me to live my life, so I don’t dwell on that anymore.”

I sat down. Her words stung, but I felt a ring of truth in them. It felt odd coming from the nicest pony in Equestria. She continued, “Ever since we met, life has turned into a giant emotional rollercoaster. We’ll all be happy one minute, and then some stupid thing happens and everything goes to Hades. We haven’t been married a season and already life has cracked a whip at us to test our devotion.”

I felt my heart sink. What was she saying? Was this her way of saying “it’s not working out?” My voice cracked when I spoke, “I’m sorry.”

Sensing my despair, Fluttershy leaned in and kissed me, “I love you, Shade. Don’t get me wrong. You three are the greatest ponies in my life. I’m glad we’re still together. Look at all that’s happened, especially to you and Sapph before coming to Equestria. Don’t dwell on this. Be thankful. We’re all worried about you. We love you… Just remember that.”

She walked out of the room and left me with my thoughts.

The nicest pony in Equestria just told me to get over it.

Twilight was up and about two days later. Her first order of business was to seal up and heal my wounds. Barry had worn himself out by staying up two nights in a row keeping Twilight’s temperature below meltdown point, so he was in bed sleeping it off.

Something about Fluttershy’s cruel-yet-sympathetic speech actually helped me. I was able to keep my mind focused on other things. Stellis’ cremation was done last night, but his ashes were scattered across the wasteland instead of being held in a jar. Velvet said she would do the same with her mother’s ashes before she left for Equestria.

The whole camp seemed on edge ever since Stellis’ death—well, even more so than usual. One man in particular, a young man by the name of Ytri Hynd, seemed especially on edge. Doc tried to confront him about it, but Ytri yelled at him for treating him the same way he did Stellis before his death. Fluttershy said he was a loner, but he wouldn’t cause anypony any harm. We all took her word for it, but we kept our eyes open since nopony knew anything about him.

Eddy came over around noon to check on Fluttershy. He promised to do daily check-ups to make sure she was doing alright.

“So, how are you doing today, Mrs. Fluttershy,” He asked, setting his bag on the floor.

“I’m doing well, Eddy,” Fluttershy smiled, “Thanks.”

He took a stethoscope he borrowed from the camp’s physician and placed the silver circle on her ribs, “Okay, just breathe normally… Okay, deep breaths… good.”

He moved the stethoscope to the side of her belly, “Wow, he’s a lively little fellow today.”

“I know,” Fluttershy said, her face a slight shade of red, “I want him to calm down, but at the same time I’m glad he’s doing well.”

“Well, you’re lucky that your belly isn’t as noticeable as humans are when they’re pregnant,” Eddy joked then checked her gums and her teeth and sat back, “Hmm… Your gums look a little less healthy today than a couple days ago—probably from malnutrition. I want you to have four rations a day now. We have plenty to last us now that we’re sending so many away every day. And Shade, I expect you to go to three meals a day. Your muscle mass is starting to deteriorate.”

“Figured I just needed to exercise more,” I said.

“You do nothing but with all your running about,” Eddy said, “Three meals, no buts.”

He had Fluttershy sit down and he checked her hooves. He tapped them with his finger and inspected the front and bottoms of them. After that he said, “Hooves are good, but if you ever feel any excess pressure on them, make sure to get off them as soon as possible. Have Enigma borrow his back for a little while.”

He lifted up his bag and headed towards the door, “That’s all. I may have to do a couple more tests tomorrow, but for now that’s it. Enigma, can I see you outside?”

I kissed Fluttershy on my way out the door. Eddy leaned up against the wall. I spoke first, “You’ve been talking weird, Eddy.”

“Well, I thought about what you said. I’ve been watching what I say. Become a more respectable pony,” He took off his baseball cap and inspected it, “That’s kinda what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“And what’s that?”

“The only reason I went to school to be an engineer is ‘cause my papa made me,” He put his hat back on, “I hate it. I’m likin’ this job helping out your wife, but…”

“But…?”

“But I dunno, man,” He went back into his normal accent, “Y’think I could go to school to be a doctor back in Equestria? I always wanted to be a vet, but if I’m workin’ with ponies, it’s pretty much the same, right, man?”

I put my hoof on his shoulder and gave him a smile, “You have hundreds of seasons ahead of you, my friend. I wouldn’t be surprised if you walked out of that machine with your cutie mark already on ya.”

“Ya really mean that?”

“Yep,” I said, “But first we gotta get outta here. I’ll be in Equestria shortly after you get there, so you can come back with us to Ponyville. We have a really nice Medical College there. Fluttershy might even offer to be your tutor!”

He dropped his medical bag and threw his arms around me in a surprise hug, “You a good guy, Enigma. Thanks a bunch, man.”

He stepped away and apologized, and he jogged off to give the medical bag back to Dr. Trundl.

Twilight and Pinkie showed up in the house a few minutes later. Twilight seemed excited, “Hey, Enigma. We found another way to cool the chips off, so we can almost double our output!”

“That sounds fantastic,” I said, “How’d you do it?”

“No idea,” She still smiled, “But it’s wonderful news. We can be back in Equestria by the end of next week!”

“Can you show me?”

“Yes, of course,” Twilight bounced, “I brought Pinkie to look after Fluttershy for you.”

“I’m okay,” Fluttershy tried to object, but Pinkie shushed her and pushed Twilight and me out the door.

Twilight led me to the new home of the machine—the center of camp. There were a few more machines attached to it as well and a set of curtains right in front of the pod. A man dressed in Ranger fatigues removed his hat and set his sniper down. He started untying his boots when I realized who he was.

I excused myself from Twilight and approached the man, “Sergeant Major, can I have a word with you?”

The man looked at me and back to his boots, “As long as you don’t mind this. I got an eta five minutes to go to this pony land of yours. They said they’d do the transformation and the teleporting all in one shot for me and the rest of my squadron.”

I watched him untie his boots for a moment longer, “I just wanted to apologize for what I did. I don’t know what went through my mind at that time.”

He slipped off his second boot and looked up at me. He stood and came almost eye-to-eye, “For a detective, you sure don’t got very good eyes.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

He reached out and set his hand on my shoulder, “It’s all good. I understand how hard it is to lose someone close. Sure he went nuts, but it hurts all the same. When I heard my brother’s boat went down in the Pacific, I went berserk. Killed a ton of them sons o’ bitches. Two bullets in the gut didn’t stop me.”

I bowed my head in thanks, “I hope you enjoy our world, Sergeant.”

He stepped back and saluted, “Sir!”

“Ninety seconds Sergeant Major,” The engineer said, “Get a move on.”

He stepped into the curtains and I went back to Twilight. She explained the cooling systems, telling me that they were now using water cooling systems. I tried to pay attention, but every few seconds a glare caught my eye just right and blinded my right eye. I decided to turn and investigate the eyeball assailant, but all I saw was a man from the search party with his face covered by a bandana cleaning his rifle. A cross necklace was wrapped around the barrel of the rifle. The pendant turned again and blinded me for the umpteenth time.

I turned back to Twilight as she explained the final bit of the cooling system, “And that’s pretty much all there is to it. Increases our capacities by seven a day.”

“Not bad, Twilight, not bad,” I said, “You should brag to Luna about that!”

“Oh, trust me, she’ll hear all about our adventures when we ge—“

“In the name of God! Go back to hell from wince you came, demon!”

I turned towards the shouting and noticed the man with the cross now held his rifle trained on Twilight. Without a second thought, I jumped in front of her just as the man pulled the trigger. My eyes were closed tight. Did he miss?

“Shade?!”

Suddenly a burning sensation filled my chest. I opened my eyes to see several men had tackled the guy that fired the shot. I looked over to Twilight with a smile, but she looked at my side with a horrified look on her face, “Shade… Oh my gosh! Help! Somepony help!”

I looked back to my side and found what the burning sensation was. My ribs were bleeding. Looking at the wound now, I felt the burning sensation increase, and the blood tickled my skin as it slid slowly down and finally dropped off into the sand. I looked back up at Twilight. My legs went numb and I collapsed on the ground. She continued to yell my name and several humans came over to try to stop the bleeding. I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them. The place was brighter and the voices were different.

“Shade, I swear, if you die on me, I’ll never forgive you!”

Rainbow Dash?

I closed my eyes again for a moment and opened them. Another voice spoke, but it barely made sense, “The slug splintered into several…”

I closed my eyes again, “We’re losing him! Clear!”

I felt a jolt of pain in my chest, worse than the burning.

And then everything went black.

“I’m here for you,” A voice echoed in the darkness, “I just wish you’d wake up.”

“I am awake,” I tried to say, but I couldn’t even tell whose voice it was.

“That’s okay if you can’t… Maybe tomorrow…”

Book I Epilogue

A New Potential Book I
Epilogue

“Oh… I’ll just set it with the rest over here. When he wakes up, he’ll be super happy to hear from all of you.”

“Yes, we’ll send letters out to everypony as soon as he wakes up.”

“Dak, look! Do you think he’s gonna wake up soon?”

“I don’t know… This is the fourth time it’s spiked this week… He could just be having another dream.”

“Oh, I hope he wakes up soon…I miss him…”

“We all do, Fluttershy…”

I blinked several times and still saw nothing but black. I sat up and groaned in pain and fell back onto whatever I was lying on. I heard a gasp in the dark and a quick shuffling and a crash. Suddenly the whole room lit up and I squinted and raised my hoof to shield my eyes.

“SHADE,” A familiar voice screamed. I felt a smack on my stomach and soft skin on my lips, “You’re awake! Oh thank Celestia you’re awake!”

My eyes adjusted to the lighting and the first thing I could make out was Fluttershy right in my face, “Hi, sweetie. Hard to sleep with all those people talking.”

“Nopony was talking, Shade,” Fluttershy said in my ear. I heard a door open, but I couldn’t see who opened it with Fluttershy attacking me with hugs and kisses.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” A familiar voice said.

“Dak,” Fluttershy’s voice cracked and tears were falling down her face, “He’s awake!”

“Tougher than nails, man,” I squinted, Fluttershy’s shadow no longer covered my eyes. In front of me was a green and white unicorn.

“Your voice is familiar,” I said, “Who are you?”

“My name is Dakratic,” the unicorn said, “You know me as Eddy.”

I smiled, “Eddy, you are a handsome colt, I have to say.”

He smiled, “Thanks, Enigma. It’s good to see you awake.”

“Where am I?”

Dak walked up and sat down in a chair next to me, “You’re in Canterlot Hospital. When you took that bullet, you lost so much blood you fell into a coma. It punctured a lung and just barely missed your heart.”

“Coma” I tried to sit up again, but my chest burned like hellfire, “How long was I out?”

“Eleven agonizing weeks,” Fluttershy said wiping her tears away and hugging me again.

I patted her belly, still a little groggy, “How’s the baby then? Did you get help?”

She giggled and wiped more tears away, “He was born four days after you fell asleep. Twilight is watching him and Sapph for me in the hotel next door.”

I felt my heart sink, “I missed my son’s birth…?”

“He and I slept next to you his first night,” Fluttershy sniffed politely, “He was so small…”

Dak walked towards the door, “I’ll run and get Twilight and the others!”

“Dak’s been waiting too,” I asked when he left the room.

“He delivered Lyric for me,” She said, “He’s the doctor’s apprentice here.”

“Doctor’s apprentice?”

She kissed me on the forehead, “He doesn’t like being called nurse.”

Dak showed up fifteen minutes later with a roomful of ponies. Sapphire sprinted through the doorway a full five minutes before everypony else, giving me a similar treatment to what Fluttershy gave. She was still clung to me when Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash walked in the room. Dash walked up to me and hit me in the shoulder before hugging me, “You’re a jerk.”

She stepped away and took deep breaths to keep from crying. Pinkie dragged herself in the room with a more than exhausted demeanor. She scrawled onto my bed and hugged me, falling asleep almost immediately saying, “If this is another dream, I’m gonna beat up the sandpony…”

With Pinkie still clung to me, Twilight stepped up. She looked at me with tears in her eyes but a smile on her face, “I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

I smiled, “How about a hug and a thank you?”

She looked down at Pinkie sleeping next to me and laughed. She leaned over her and kissed me on the cheek, “This will have to do for now. Thank you, Shade. Thank you so much.”

Dash spoke up to rid the room of the sappy air, “And look at all this fanmail!”

I looked over towards Dash and, sure enough, a large pile of envelopes, flowers, and candies littered the corner, “I would do ANYTHING for this many fans. Well, except take a speeding metal slug to the lung. You’re a special kinda crazy, Shade.”

“Where’s Lyric?”

The room got silent for a moment, and Twilight trotted out of the room. She walked slowly back in the room with a sleeping foal saddled on her back. The foal had the exact same fur design as me, but his stripes were a nice shade of green. Twilight lifted him from his carriage and laid him slowly onto my chest. I pulled him closer into my arms. His wings fluttered a little bit and he nuzzled into my embrace.

“He’s beautiful,” I said quietly.

“He’s your son,” Fluttershy said, leaning her head against my shoulder, “Our son.”

I kissed the top of the foal’s head and sniffed, just now realizing I was crying too. Sapphire fell asleep at the foot of the hospital bed. Smaller beds were pulled out of secret compartments in the walls and everypony else found beds, none of them wanting to leave me for the night, but too tired to stay up the whole time. I stared down the sleeping bundle in my arms and Fluttershy crawled in on the other side of the large bed that Pinkie had not already claimed. Within minutes, everypony was asleep. I nuzzled my head closer to Fluttershy and laid Lyric between us and closed my own eyes.

This time I will be sure to wake up on time.

The hospital planned to release me the next day late in the afternoon after checking my vitals and making sure there was no chance of slipping back into a coma. It gave me a good day and a half to sift through the hundreds of get-well cards and dozens of candy boxes. I stopped halfway through the pile to take a break. Dash had suggested several times to just ignore them like the Wonderbolts do to their fan mail, but I felt some sort of compulsion to read every single letter.

“So what happened after I blacked out,” I asked Twilight and Fluttershy, “I don’t remember anything past that glinting pendant.”

They were silent at first, but Twilight answered, “Half a dozen men tackled the guy with the weapon and beat him to a pulp, but I don’t remember anything else because we were teleported back to Equestria almost immediately. The best doctors in Canterlot did the surgery to remove the pieces of that slug, but there were so many splinters they thought you wouldn’t make it.”

“They didn’t want me to donate blood because I was younger,” Sapphire said, the only other pony in the room, “So Dash donated a ton of it. She was weak as heck for days. She missed a Wonderbolts show because she couldn’t move without feeling tired.”

“I’ll have to make it up to her somehow,” I said, feeling really guilty, “And what happened to the guy that…?”

Fluttershy answered, “I stayed with the others the rest of the day until Celestia could teleport me back too. They took him up to the wall and threw him off. Turned out he was a member of the Templar Order but never said anything. He felt that Twilight and Barry’s magic was a work of… what did he call it?”

“Work of Satan,” Twilight said, “Who is that anyway, Shade?”

I laughed, “I think it’s best you guys don’t know. Religion has no place in this land, so I don’t want to teach it… The guy… was it Ytri? I couldn’t tell because of the facemask. And why didn’t he try this earlier when Twilight first did her magic?”

“It was Kalvin,” Fluttershy said, watching Sapphire draw on one of the envelopes, “Ytri was the one who threw him off the wall… He was next on the list after your sniper friend. His written diary said he had a vision from some guy named God telling him to kill the witch and stop her wicked magic.”

“I still don’t understand how healing people is wicked,” Twilight said.

With that, Lyric woke up and immediately started crying. His cry was not a deafening one, but a quiet, not-so-annoying one. Fluttershy took him from where he lay next to me and put a bottle in his mouth, “Poor thing, I forgot to feed you before your nap.”

“That foal is really quiet,” Sapphire said and pointed her pencil at him, “At first I thought he had no lungs.”

Twilight laughed at this, but I decided to counter her joke, “Yeah, and you were really loud when you were a baby. I thought you were nothing BUT lungs.”

This made both Fluttershy and Twilight laugh, but Sapphire jokingly slapped me, “Jerk.”

The princesses didn’t waste a moment. As soon as they heard I was released from the hospital, they met us there and asked us to return with them to the castle because they wanted to have a discussion with Fluttershy, Lyric, Sapphire and I. I could see the cities folk of Canterlot watching out their windows as we strolled past. Twilight accompanied us to the castle, but she split to hang out with Barry and Sen while the princesses spoke to us.

Celestia spoke first when we arrived in her study, a regal smile plastered on her face, “Your family has done a great service for Equestria. There is no way we can repay you enough for what you’ve done, but we will try. Especially for what you did for Twilight. That took a lot of bravery.”

Luna continued, “There is more to our power than everypony knows. While Celestia has power over the sun and the living, I have power over the night and the dead. This is a rare privilege, but we have taken a message from the Vaults and wish to deliver it.”

Fluttershy went pale, “The Vaults?”

“What are the Vaults,” Sapphire asked.

Celestia answered, “The Vaults are an area in the castle where the spirits of the dead create their paradise. They no longer roam the lands because we created the Vaults. I’m sure Twilight referenced it sometime since meeting her. Every once in a while, a spirit will want to speak to their loved ones, but we have to use discretion.”

“We allowed Twilight and her brother to see their sister,” Luna said, “But that was a bad call on my part. She was depressed for the longest time… I’m sure you remember.”

Fluttershy’s color didn’t return, “My brother?”

Luna nodded, “It appears Flashbang wanted to contact you for the last couple days. We took his message this morning.”

Celestia lifted a book from a shelf and set it on the table, “We keep all of our messages in this book. After studying the human culture, we decided to call it The Book of the Dead. Our own twisted little joke.”

The joke was funny to me, but I stopped myself from laughing, “Well…?”

Luna lowered her head and magic sparks rippled around the book. It opened slowly and the pages flipped until it landed on a page with a picture of a young pegasus around Sapphire’s age. The page wrinkled in on itself and a pony sized image, like a hologram, projected itself from the book.

“Hi, Fluttershy,” The image spoke. It was like a recording—it WAS a recording, “I’m sorry I didn’t try to reach you before, but I figured it would be best if you just forgot all about me and lived your life. I can tell you lived your life because a while ago, this ball of black and red light appeared in the Vaults. We just took it as another coma patient and ignored it, but he talked a lot. He talked about you. He probably won’t remember it because he’s not in the coma anymore since, y’know, he disappeared a couple days ago, but we had a lot of conversations.”

Fluttershy glanced at me and turned her pale face back at the image. The teenage colt kicked his hoof at the “ground” a couple times, “Y’see, he told me you two were married. He was a depressed fellow. Going on and on about how he left you behind and how he feels terrible about it, but he’s got a lot of heart. He told me you had an adopted daughter and a young colt on the way. I wish I could see them. Perhaps one day the princesses will let you guys visit the Vaults and I can. Well, I guess what I want to say is you picked a nice young stallion and I approve. I know for a fact that Mom and Dad are still not in the picture, but if you do see them, tell them I said hi and to be nice to Shade.

“He also talked a lot about your daughter. My message to her is to stay strong and be a good sister to your little brother. And when the foal comes, tell him to be himself, to be a deviant. He’ll find his talent easier that way. And Shade. You take care of my sister, understand?

“I’m proud of you Fluttershy. I love you,” The image sparkled and faded like dust.

Fluttershy stared into the open space where the image used to be, but there were no tears. Her lips were moving, reading “I love you too…”

I put my hoof around her and pulled her into a hug. Sapphire got the other side, and Lyric just lay there, asleep.

Fluttershy was quiet even on the train ride back to Ponyville. She only spoke up at the stop in Stalliongrad, “I think I can describe it now.”

Her voice took me by surprise. She and I were the only ones awake in the train car. Twilight, Velvet, and Sapphire were asleep on the opposite side of the car, and Dash was asleep in the middle of the floor snoring. I asked, “What do you mean?”

“What I see when I look at you,” She explained, “I never knew how to say it until now.”

I set down the book I was reading and my reading light, “And how do you?”

“Any big decision you make is never thought through logically. If it’s not about studying, you don’t think with logic,” She explained and I debated whether or not it was an insult, “You make decisions based on feeling and emotion instead.”

I sensed a sappy and corny moment coming up, “What do you mean?”

She pointed at my chest and then my head, “You think with your heart and not with your head. That’s what I like the most about you.”

I smiled and kissed her on the side of her head, “You should get some rest, sweetie.”

“Goodnight, Shade,” She curled herself up around Lyric, “Love you…”

She was fast asleep in seconds. I turned off my reading light and marked my place in my book. I curled up next to her, “I love you, too…”

Chapter III: Canterlot; An Explanation

Part I: Welcome to Equestria
Chapter III: Canterlot; An Explanation

“Okay, start with flexing your wings,” Rainbow Dash said, unfurling her wings and stretching them to full length.

We were waiting at the train station for the 9am train, and Rainbow Dash decided now was a better time than ever to start my flight training. I felt the new muscles move and my wings slowly stretched to full length. Looking behind me at them, I noticed they were about twice the size of Dash’s.

“Wow, those are big,” Dash said in fascination, “Shame you never use ‘em.”

“Don’t have much a choice,” I said. Fluttershy and Twilight sat a short distance away, watching. Not like there was anything better to do.

“Okay, close them and flex them faster,” Dash ordered.

I did so, closing them much faster than it took to stretch them. I stretched the unfamiliar muscles again and the wings went out in about double the speed, but it was still fairly slow. Dash ordered again, acting more like a drill sergeant than a coach. I closed them again, letting them rest.

“No resting, again, you can’t rest mid-flight!”

A taste of my old home. A charge of anger filtered through my veins and my wings shot out, sounding like a whip. Dash jumped back and my anger was replaced with laughter.

“Not bad, Colt,” Dash said, a smile on her face, “Not bad.”

I folded them back up and Dash floated up into the air, looking for the train, “There it is guys, about two minutes away,” She lowered herself back to the ground, “Enough to start another lesson.”

She demonstrated unfurling her wings and slowly flapping them up and down, and then sped up slightly. She bent her knees and hopped, her wings carrying her off the ground. Then she retracted her wings and fell the five feet to the ground, “Go.”

I stretched my wings again—trying not to whip them—and moved the muscles slowly up and down.

“Faster,” Dash urged.

The large wings caused a lot of wind resistance, but I tried.

“Jump!”

I bent my legs and jumped hard in the air, the wings stopping me from falling. At this point I panicked and my wings curled up, and I fell. Straight on my face. Fluttershy jumped from her seat and rushed toward me, but Dash got to me first, helping me back on my feet with a grin on her face. Fluttershy attacked me with a barrage of questions and moving my head this way and that making sure I wasn’t too badly hurt.

The train showed up halfway through Fluttershy’s inspection, so I had to convince her all the time while boarding that I was okay. After convincing her that I was fine, she backed off, but still kept her eye on me.

Dash walked up to me and patted me on the back with her forehoof, “You’re not bad for a beginner. It takes most foals at least a week to get that going. Took Fluttershy almost a month!”

Fluttershy blushed and hid herself behind Twilight, “I’m sorry, Dash. I tried!”

Dash laughed again, “Don’t worry, Shy. I was happy to coach you, remember?”

She still kept herself hidden, and Dash rolled her eyes with a grin and looked back to me, “You keep doing that awesome, I can show you Cloudsdale next week, and we can have a nice race next month when we get to the speed section!”

The conductor walked into the cabin, “Good morning, gals and sir. This train is headed to Fillydelphia then to Canterlot. Is that where y’all are headed?”

Twilight answered, “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

The old pony smiled and lowered his head, then left the cabin.

“No tickets or anything,” I asked, instantly feeling stupid, remembering currency did not exist here in Equestria.

“What would we need tickets for,” Dash asked.

Twilight explained further, “They stopped doing tickets about 87 seasons ago when the companies decided it would be easier on paper supplies to just ask us where we were going instead.”

Fluttershy spoke quietly, “Yeah, they got rid of them before any of us were born… except maybe Dash. She’s a season older than me.”

I sat down on one of the comfortable train benches, “So you guys DO keep track of your ages, then?”

They all looked nervously at each other, and Twilight spoke up, “Well… Yes… mainly because Pinkie throws awesome parties…”

This made me laugh. They were ashamed of their secret greed, “So how old are you girls then?”

Dash: “88,” Fluttershy: “Almost 87,” Twilight: “79”

“What about you,” Dash asked.

I thought back to the paperwork. My mind could be any age, but that didn’t matter because I didn’t remember, I suppose. The paperwork claimed the body of the pony was 19 years of age exactly from the day it was created, so I answered, “76.”

“So are you gonna tell us how you got here,” Rainbow Dash asked about an hour later, interrupting me from my book about alchemy.

I looked up from my book, “Not yet. As I told Twilight and Spike before, everypony finds out at one time so I don’t have to repeat myself or in case I leave something out one time.”

Fluttershy looked around, “Where is Spike, anyway? Wasn’t he supposed to come with us?”

“Yes,” Twilight answered, “But he slept in, so he’s taking the train after ours.”

“So, can you tell us anything about your world,” Dash asked, ever curious.

“Well, while your world seems more matriarchal, my world rarely let females as leaders,” I explained, uninterested, “We did at one point, but that slowly declined until few remained in power.”

“We don’t have leaders,” Twilight said, “and it does seem that females have the more intellectual jobs, now that you mention it, but that’s because stallions prefer tougher jobs like farming and machining.”

“But we do have a lot of guys in jobs girls normally have,” Fluttershy commented, staring at the floor, “and nopony really criticizes anypony else for their jobs or likes. It’s what they were born to be.”

Twilight added in her own thoughts, “Exactly. We do what we want and nopony really cares what we do as long as we do something.”

“It’s a better system than my world,” I said, “Many of us couldn’t be what we wanted to be because of how disadvantageous it was to us and our families.”

None of them seemed to understand what I was saying, but, then again, how could they? Through just being here a few days, it blew my mind how this world could exist without an economic system. Dash changed the subject yet again.

“So what was your job before you came to Equestria,” she asked.

“I was a detective. I investigated crimes and put violent and evil people in jail,” I explained when I got confused looks. They remained nonetheless.

I sighed, “Basically I helped put people who hurt other people in a secluded space so they couldn’t hurt anyone else.”

“So… you basically tried to keep your village a peaceful place,” Twilight asked.

I nodded slowly, “Basically.”

The carriage was quiet for a while, so I asked, “So what powers the train, Twilight?”

She perked up at her name, “Oh, they used to be powered with steam and wind power, but now they are powered by magic.”

I nodded, changing the subject again, “And how about schools?”

Fluttershy spoke up, “Well, it’s different for pegasi than it is for anypony else. We go to Flight School for two seasons before we join everypony else in Foal School.”

“Foal School was horrible,” Dash said, lying on her back on a bench across from me, “I hated sitting still in class for three hours every day.”

“Yes,” Twilight argued, “But at least it was only eight seasons, then you got the job as weather-girl for Ponyville. Most of us had to stay for 16 to 20 seasons before we got our cutie marks. Although once I was out of there, I really loved the magic school and the magic college!”

“What about in your world, Shade,” Fluttershy asked, “How did school work for you guys?”

I did a few calculations in my head, “We went to one school when we turned 16 to 20 seasons old and stayed there for 24 seasons, then moved onto another school for 12 seasons, and then another for 16 seasons. We went five days a week for 7 or 8 hours a day.”

Dash’s jaw had dropped halfway through my explanation, “WHAT?! That sounds like torture!”

I grinned, “Yeah, but then, depending on your special talent and future job, you may have to go to another school for 8 to 48 seasons. I had to for 16.”

By this point, all the mares’ jaws were open.

Twilight was the first to recover, “That seems…. Unnecessary.”

“Most of the stuff we learn had nothing to do with our future jobs, but our teachers pretended that it did.”

“Wha—“ Twilight was well more than amazed, she seemed almost angry, “That’s… that’s counterproductive, to say the least!”

I laughed hard. My laughter spread amongst the mares and we were all soon laughing our tails off.

We arrived in Canterlot an hour later and the conductor thanked us for riding his train. We thanked him for the ride and started heading to the castle. Spike randomly appeared in our group in the middle of the city, his train actually getting to Canterlot sooner than ours, even with leaving later, but it was probably because his was straight to Canterlot with no stop in Fillydelphia. Twilight seemed to get more and more edgy. She seemed excited and could barely hold a conversation for longer than ten seconds. Dash muttered and chuckled at her own joke.

When we got to the castle, two alicorn guards glanced at us and smiled. One spoke, “Twilight Sparkle! How good to see you again!”

“Nice to see you too, Barry,” Twilight said with a bright smile on her face, “It’s been a season or two.”

The other guard spoke, “Barrier and I were just talking about you. We were planning on coming to visit you in Ponyville.”

“Well that’s thoughtful of you, Sen!”

The first one, Barrier, looked past her to Dash, “Ah, Rainbow Dash. You still owe me that rematch!”

Dash gave a wicked smile, “Anytime, anywhere!”

“When you’re done with the business with the princess, we will race one lap around Canterlot.”

“Deal!”

The second alicorn looked at me and his grin disappeared, his features now of curiosity, “And is this the Enigma Shade fellow the Princess is expecting?”

“Yes, sir,” I said, reaching out my hoof in greeting. He somehow grasped my hoof with his and shook it firmly.

“Name’s Sentinel. I’m one of the doormen and escorts of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. This is Barrier, my brother.”

“Nice to meet you.”

I bowed my head, “Nice to meet you both.”

They were smiling when I looked up, then they opened the door, “We’ve held you up long enough, the princesses are waiting for you inside.”

We all walked inside, but Twilight’s pace was slightly faster. It seemed she could barely contain her excitement. We rounded a corner into a large room with simple furnishings and a fireplace. Princess Celestia sat on one of the couches in the room sipping tea and staring at the fire.

“Good morning, Princess,” Twilight said, a bright smile on her face, but her nervous energy did not disappear. Was I missing something?

The regal looking alicorn glanced toward us and a smile spread across her face, “Ah, my faithful students! How good to see you again!” She took note of me, “And welcome, Shade. It is nice to make your acquaintance.”

I bowed my head, “As to you, Princess.”

“Celestia ple—“ She was cut off.

“TWILIGHT!” Another voice came from behind us. I turned around just as everypony else did to find a black alicorn with a mane that looked like the night sky.

“LUNA!” Twilight took off in a full out sprint and jumped into the air within five feet of the dark, regal alicorn. She was enveloped in a blue-ish aura and flew the rest of the way toward Luna, suspended in the air. She wrapped her forehooves around the alicorn's neck and buried her face, garbling her speech, “I missed you.”

The princess’ face looked of relief and peace, “It’s so good to see you again, Twi.”

I looked away, feeling as if I was intruding on a personal moment. Dash, Fluttershy, and Spike followed my lead and we stepped in the room. The princess used her magic to shut the door, “Let them time to catch up. They haven’t seen each other for a good season.”

“That was… unexpected,” I said, believing Twilight was nervous about seeing Celestia and not Luna.

The princess laughed quietly, “Oh, it was surprising at first to me, too. They were inseparable for the longest time. The only reason they are apart now is because Luna is assisting with renovating a portion of the castle for a new family.”

“A new family?”

“Oh, I forgot,” Celestia said, taking a sip of tea, “Princesses do not actually use the castle only for themselves like they do in your world.”

I stood for a moment, letting the events of the past two minutes process in my brain. After a moment, the princess urged us to take a seat while we waited for Twilight and Luna. It was only about three minutes later that Luna walked in the door with Twilight on her back, a huge smile on both of their faces. Luna stopped next to the couch Celestia sat on, and Twilight wrapped her forehooves around her neck one more time in a hug before Luna levitated her up and set her next to Celestia and sat on the remaining cushion next to Twilight. Twilight leaned slightly toward Luna, resting her head on the large alicorn’s shoulder.

Celestia was the first to break the silence, “You two make such an adorable couple, sis.”

Twilight blushed, “Sorry, Princess. I couldn’t help it.”

Celestia pat her on the head, “Don’t worry, I expected as much,” She smiled and surveyed the group, “Does anypony else want a cup of tea?”

We all answered yes and Celestia called in Sentinel. He walked in with tea as if knowing that was what she would call for. Barrier walked in with a set of tea cups and set them on the table. Celestia gave them both a sincere thanks and bowed her head. They both walked out with smiles on their faces.

“Such nice young stallions,” Celestia said, filling tea cups with her magic and setting them on small tables in front of us.

“So what did you call me here for, Princess,” I asked, “And why did I have to bring these guys with me.”

Celestia smiled, “Please, you don’t have to call me Princess. I called you here to hear your story. I used to be able to see into your world, but the day you came here was the day I lost that sight. I would like to hear you recount your tale of that day to see if anypony else may have made it through.”

I looked around, everypony and Spike was watching me expectantly, “Okay, but I’m not sure if you will all understand it.”

I woke up to a bright light in my eye. The sun was not yet up. I felt a huge pain in my stomach and an incoherent voice yelling at me. Another shock of pain, this time in my arm. They were kicking me. My mind finally woke up.

“Get the fuck up, maggot!”

The flashlight moved from my eye and I got up, but was kicked back down. I swore this was a great hiding place to sleep. Guess not. The gangs found me.

“Get up!” The laughing voice taunted, “C’mon!”

I stood slowly and reached for my hip, pretending to be in pain. A fist came my way and I pulled a knife from under my shirt and dodged the fist, jamming the knife in the back of the man’s head in the process. Two other men pulled out knives and a third pulled out a gun. I threw my knife at the gunman, the knife hitting him between the eyes. The other two charged at me. I sidestepped the first and broke his arm, taking his knife out of his hand. I spun around, slitting the man’s throat and jamming the knife into the chest of the fourth. All four men lie dead at my feet. I felt a pang of guilt, but quickly buried it away; this is not the time to grieve for the men who try to kill you. I pulled the knife from the gunman’s face and sheathed it back under my shirt.

I crawled out of the wreckage that was my make-shift bedroom and dug inside a broken antique television—those fat ones from the 90’s—and pulled out a Molotov I had saved for just such an occasion. I pulled a lighter out next and pulled a sock from my pocket. I opened the bottle and doused the sock, leaving about half the bottle of the Molotov. I stuck the sock in and made sure to dry my hand off before lighting the sock and dropping it in the hole, burning the four bodies.

It was a few miles to my lab, and it was great that I woke up this early. Darkness kept the drones from seeing me. I started sneaking through the rubble pile, finally coming to a fairly debris-free area and made a run for it. After three miles I stopped behind a house to rest. The sun started coming up. I didn’t have long. I sat down and pulled a picture out of my pocket. A young girl smiled back at me. I breathed deep to catch my breath. This was for her. I wasn’t going to fail. The machines were almost ready.

I ran the final two miles and looked around before tearing the door open in the pile of “rubble”. Once inside, I turned a few knobs to make it impossible to open from the outside. I breathed in slowly and calmed myself. The sun had just shown its whole face over the horizon when I got there. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the thumb-sized chip with “Intel” printed on it.

“Fuck whatever god they’re fighting about,” I told the chip, “You are my savior.”

I walked over the pod and opened a hatch at the base. I took my lighter out for a little more light—careful not to get too close to the wires inside—and stuck the small chip into a slot, “Equestria here I come.”

I walked over to a small monitor and clicked a button to turn it on. It booted up in seconds. I swiped my hand along it to unlock it via fingerprints and it logged me in. A few processes started and I waited. Waited. C’mon!

“C’mon!” Suddenly a small window popped up saying hardware was installed, “YES!”

Then there was knocking at the door, “Hey! We know you’re in there, open up!”

I scrambled for my files. I needed my files!

“You are under arrest for harboring technology against the Templar Order,” The voice said, “Open this door at once or we will blow it open!”

I found the file and read through, memorizing my image, my name, and my mark. I looked behind me, banging continuing on the door. Fuck, fuck!

I fed the files into the monitor and it projected a 3D image. It was a pegasus pony. The creature looked like many ponies from a young child’s show that was cancelled about 8 years ago. I smiled. It was working!

“Step back from the door, we are placing a mine. If you do not wish to suffer damage, step back or open the door. You have 10 seconds.”

I hurriedly typed a few words on the computer, setting it to self-destruct as soon as I was transported.

“FIVE SECONDS!!”

I looked behind me and then began stripping out of my clothes and walking to the pod. Once everything was off, I stepped in the pod and pressed a few buttons and a few lights whirred around. The door burst open and seven men ran in and started firing at the pod. The bulletproof glass took the damage well. Then I was gone.

I woke up face-down in some mud. I spit a few times, but something didn’t feel right. I looked down and the hands the held me up were not hands but hooves. I smiled broadly and started laughing. “YES!” I screamed, “FUCK YES! IT WORKED!”

But my victory was short lived. A growl behind me destroyed my smile. Without looking behind me, I ran. Straight. I felt clumsy on these feet, stumbling every few seconds. Soon, I was out of the forest I woke up in that I had just noticed was a forest. There was a house on a small hill a few meters ahead of me, so I began yelling, “HELP!”

But when the word exited my lips, I felt a sting on my hip. I fell a few feet to my right. My vision began to haze, but a blur of yellow flew past my sight. After a few seconds and a garbled sound, it came back and stood in front of me. I closed my eyes and passed out.

Everypony stared at me as I told the story. I tried leaving out the gory details—the fact that I was a murderer—but that lingered in the air as I told my story. Without my notice tears were falling from my face and only caught my attention when a tissue floated in front of me. I wiped away the tears and continued my story. My voice did not match my emotions. It was dead. Cold.

Fluttershy shrunk away when I mentioned her, but I pat her on the back to let her know I was thankful.

When I finished my story, everypony looked downtrodden and sad. Even Dash, who had tried so hard to maintain a tough composure, had a very depressed look on her face.

After a few minutes of silence, Fluttershy spoke, “The girl in the picture, your daughter, what happened to her.”

I gave a single laugh, “She was kidnapped about three days before I brought the chip to my lab.”

She slunk down, her face drooping in a frown. I felt as if I should cheer up the ponies, but I didn’t know how I could do that. Princess Celestia stood from her spot and walked out of the room without a word. I wondered for a moment where she was going, and I hoped she did not think lower of me for my story. I don’t know how much of my world she had seen.

But she came back.

“Shade…” She stepped inside the room and went back to her spot. I looked back at the door and a small white filly with blue spikes, the same design as my fur, walked into the room.

The little pony’s eyes lit up, “DADDY!”