It had been almost a year since the human had been mutilated by the Elements of Harmony, the news and rumors spreading about ‘The Knights of the Crown being killed off by the Princesses and Elements of Harmony.’ The initial news about said rumors were met with immediate attempts at dispelling the rumors, and anger about such rumors being spread so carelessly. Reporters and activists swarmed the gates of the castle, attempting to break through the guards line to speak to the Princesses about such rumors. The situation had gotten so out of hand that the princesses held a public speech about what transpired, leaving out parts about his newfound powers, words said, and explicit details.

Twilight had forgone her duties at the library (like anybody goes there anyway) to stay in Canterlot to watch after Daniel, while the rest of the mares quickly removed themselves from the city. Twilight sat next to Daniel’s hospital bed, watching the red and black tentacles slowly moving around his newly rebuilt body, repairing the still damaged organs and rebuilding muscles, tendons, and ligaments. His head and face were immediately healed, the first few hours spent trying to stabilize, and hydrate the crumbling human, thought to be dead because of the grievous wounds.

They replaced his spine so that his legs were reattached, his entrails restored and replaced in his stomach, his left arm set back into place, the muscles and flesh being rebuilt by his newfound… powers. All in all, his healing process was going slowly, but he was going to live, against all odds. His hair over the entirety of his body had started to grow. His arms and legs were already grown to their normal denseness. The hair on his head was a dull gray color, instead of his previous color, and he looked like a stallion from the Equestrian Navy, despite his human differences. The skin, muscle, nerves, and tendons of his right arm had been rebuilt and replicated by healing magic.

The real work was done by the Mercer virus inside of him, rebuilding his strength to its appropriate proportions before everything had gone wrong. A quick scan over what was left of his brain had shown that he was clear of any corruption from external sources, but couldn't pinpoint where the mental takeover was being forced from. Discord was expelled from his mind. The voice that had taken over previously was burned out. But the human had yet to wake after nearly eleven months. His body was almost rebuilt to its previous state, but he had little movement, sound, or interaction in those months. Twilight sat in the hospital room he was held in. She watched his unmoving body, her eyes trailing over his darkened skin. While he had a decent tan before, his skin took a darker shade of brown. His heart beat at a steady pace, only increasing slightly every moment or so, only to return to its previous state before.

Twilight had yet to see any of her friends visit the comatose human ever since what had happened, and that fact annoyed, frustrated, and worried her. They were perfectly fine with Daniel, and only until the human had openly displayed his powers were they fearful of him. It didn't make sense to the mare. They were treating him like an outcast. An animal. A monster. Out of both of the princesses, Luna visited the most, during nights where she was not needed. Celestia visited when she could, and at random times, with no set schedule at doing so. Two guards were stationed at the door of the room, both bored out of their minds. A familiar clicking on the ground met their ears. They stood at attention, immediately knowing who it was. Princess Luna didn’t pay the guards any mind as she opened the door to the room, where the dozing Twilight had jumped in surprise. Her hair was frazzled, her clothes wrinkled slightly. She looked towards the door. “Hello Princess Luna.” She murmured, standing up to curtsy. “There is no need for formality here young Twilight.” Luna replied. She took one look around the room. Gifts lined the tables around the room, from guards, Twilight, and random ponies that had heard of his plight to pay their condolences. Most were just cards. A few baskets were thrown in as well. A few unmarked envelopes sat next to each other. His armor and weapon sat upon a separate table, each plate and piece laid out.

She looked back to the slumbering human, her face unreadable. “I never found out… How did the Elements of Harmony cause this much pain, this much damage?” Twilight asked.

The Lunar Princess looked up in surprise. “There are many variables as to why he was maimed like this. It could’ve been because he is a different species that had fallen to Discord’s power, one that the Elements did not recognize. It could’ve been a very small chance that any Discorded victims were to end up like this, or not survive. It could be because of his powers, or his memories, or his emotions, or his possessions. There are too many reasons as to why the Elements caused his comatose and mutilation.” Luna murmured.

“...When will he wake up?” Twilight asked.

Luna shook her head. “I do not know. It could be any day now. It could be in the next day, week, month, or even year before he can awaken.” Luna said. They both heard a spike in heartbeats of the monitor. They both shared a glance towards it. His heart rate was starting to pick up slowly. They looked at each other, then back to the monitor. The heartbeats were slowly rising, from a dormant fifty-two, to a rising sixty, sixty-six, seventy. The human twitched, the first movement from him in several months. They both looked at each other again, eyes wide, Luna’s in surprise, Twilight’s in excitement. The two mares turned their attention to the human, whom twitched again. His eyes opened for a split half-second, before slamming closed and a barely audible groan escaped his lips. Luna saw flashes of purple in the time he opened his eyes, and stepped closer to him, wondering about the strange tint of his normal ruby red eyes. He muttered something they both didn’t hear. Then, his eyes shot open and he shot into a sitting position. He looked around in surprise. The mares both smiled at him. The human looked both of them in the eyes, his bright, purple eyes shining in the light of the hospital.

“Where the hell am I?” His voice croaked out. He blinked and moved his jaw slightly, then swallowed. “And who are you two?” He asked.

Their eyes bulged out of their sockets. “Uhm… Daniel, it’s us… Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna.” Twilight said, sounding almost pleading.

“Doesn’t ring a bell… And who is Daniel?” He asked, looking curiously at the two of them.

“You’re Daniel!” Twilight yelled.

“So I’m Daniel… I don’t really like that name. How about Bill? Or Steven? Hmm… I like Bill more…” He murmured.

“Do you not remember anything that has transpired over the years you have been in Equestria?” Luna asked.

“Hell, I don’t remember who I am, where I’m supposed to be. I know that humans aren’t supposed to have horns, and definitely not wings and a horn!” He looked over himself. “Aww… I don’t get a special power?” He pouted.

“This is not a game Daniel!” Luna said, grabbing his shoulders.

“I know it’s not a game Princess.” He said, looking into her eyes. She could see something dancing around in his eyes, and a small smirk growing on his face. “I just like spending time with my friends in any way I can.” He whispered in her ears. She looked at him with a blush, but still slapped him across the face. He let out a chuckle. “Alright, all I remember is going to the Gryphon Kingdom and having to live out in the jungle for almost two weeks. Everything after that is… a black... wall...” He murmured.

“So you do not remember returning home?” Twilight asked.

“Nope. I just remember building a little shack out of wood, then I heard a voice in my head, and I blacked out.” He looked over himself. “I don’t remember being this… dark.” He commented. The two mares looked at each other once more, then to him. He looked at the both of them, a frown growing on his face. “What happened.” He stated, his voice immediately turning serious and stone cold, his words sounding more of a request, a statement, then a question.

Twilight flinched slightly. “Well… What happened was…” She retold the entire tale to him, his face falling further and further as she retold it.

When she finished, he closed his eyes. He counted to ten, then to twenty. “Okay… So I…” He stopped, rolling his jaw, taking a deep breath. They could tell his hands were clenching into fists beneath the sheets covering most of his body. “I don’t think it’s smart for me to return to Ponyville. I need to go… somewhere else…” He said. He placed his arm on the bar, his index finger pressed against his temple.

“Why not?! I’m sure they will forg-” She was stopped by him raising his arm.

“I won’t be able to return there, for anything. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie will grow to forget me and can find someone else to have a relationship with. Applejack and Big Mac did well enough without me. Rarity and I never had that much of a friendly relationship, per se. Same goes for Rainbow Dash. We only talked in passing. The rest of the residences there hardly knew me,” That statement wasn’t the complete truth, as he was somewhat popular with some of the locals. Especially the local musicians. “And you Twilight. We barely got to talk to each other either. The only times I ever got to speak to you was when I was on a day off, or if you came to pick Applejack up for one of your world-saving adventures. I’m… I’m just another face in the crowd at this point, despite how much I stand out as of now. If I return to Ponyville, then the first time I meet one of your friends will just end in pain, misery, and tears.” She could see him visibly trembling, and she could hear the heartbreak in his voice. She looked at him with tears in her eyes, but nodded all the same. “I bet I can make a life… somewhere. Maybe some border town in Equestria. Or maybe another country…” He looked at Luna, her face remorseful. She looked up at him.

“You could stay here…” She murmured. He blinked and looked over the white sheets covering him.

“What could I do here? I doubt I would be accepted as a Knight of the Crown if I attempted to attack the princesses!” He exclaimed. “I would understand if I’m not longer needed for my duty. I’m merely a pawn anyway. That’s how the old days worked, right? Knights were merely pawns of the vassals that owned their lives anyway. They were to be thrown away at their leisure.”

He was about to continue when a hand covered his lips. He looked up to see Luna glaring down at him. “Knights are not just pawns of the Crown, to be thrown away with woeful abandon. They are respected by even the highest noble, and are given accommodations in any city or town they please. Although you are respected, revered even, by the nobles of Canterlot, the pessimism and negativity will have to end here and now.” She ordered. He nodded slowly, and she removed her hand away from him. “And there are only a handful of knights remaining in Equestria. Most have either perished in their line of duty, have resigned, due to certain circumstances, or have retired. So the remaining knights are praised even more now than they were previously.” She gave him a smile.

He blinked. “...I think that’s the first time you have ever smiled while I am around.” He said teasingly. She pouted. “I have smiled before!” She said.

Twilight broke in. “You do smile very little Princess.” Twilight said. She glared at the unicorn, while Twilight and Daniel laughed.

“Lighten up Luna!” Daniel said. She flashed him an evil smile. The color drained from his face. “Oh really Daniel? I need to lighten up?” She asked him, getting close to his face. He tried to back away from her face as far as he could, but it did little.

Leveling a neutral stare at her, he spoke. “Yep.” He said simply. She smiled again, and pressed her body against him, her head resting on his shoulder. He blinked and his eyes crossed, before he looked at Twilight. She was suppressing giggles. He glared at her, before a pair of soft lips pressed against his cheek. He blinked and looked at Luna. His face started to flush red.

Two can play this game Luna… He thought.

He smirked and pressed his lips gently against her own cheek. Almost immediately, her cheeks started to red as they continued their game. He decided to take this to the next step as he wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her closer, holding her gently against him. He looked at the corner of his eye at her, and she was staring at him with a strange face. He flashed a devious smile at her. She met him with one of her own, before pressing her lips against his own. His eyes crossed again, and his entire face turned red. Twilight couldn’t suppress her giggles anymore and burst out laughing. Luna looked up at him, as his arms released her, and she started to giggle.

“I think I broke my new toy.” She said, poking his cheek.

They didn’t hear the door open and Celestia smirked. “You need to stop breaking all of your toys Lulu, or you won’t be able to have any fun until you get more!” Celestia teased. Luna’s face grew entirely red, and in a quarter of a second was up and off of the human. The human blinked and looked up, his face also lighting up like a Christmas tree. There, standing in the doorway, was Celestia in all of her might, a teasing grin on her face.

“Well, that was certainly… different.” Daniel said, his eyes crossing as he looked back the last minute or so.

“I seem to always forget to ask, but do humans get this close to each other?” Celestia asked.

“Not especially… Normally those types of things were left for those in relationships. But I’ve lived with… touchy ponies, so I’ve gotten used to sudden events like that.” He answered, rubbing the back of his head.

Luna’s face turned a darker red as he jaw drop. “We are sorry, Sir Daniel! We did not know of your customs!” Luna said, her accent going to one of old English.

“LuLu, you’re doing it again.” Celestia reminded, a bit firmness hidden behind amusement in her voice. Luna looked like she was going to die from embarrassment at that moment. He waved his right arm, and took notice of how skinny it seemed. He remembered the reason why, and his face fell again.

“But as I said before… the entire ordeal, it’s probably better that I stay at one of the border towns, or in another country. I doubt I can be respected after news got out about me attacking the princesses of Equestria like a rabid animal.” He murmured.

Luna snapped out of her embarrassment to glare angrily at him. “You were controlled by another being to create chaos in the best way that you could! You cannot be held accountable for what has happened!” She yelled.

“Yet I have to be! Who else can you blame besides me for no control over my own damn body?!” He shouted back.

“It has happened to the best and worst of ponies! If we were all accountable for what has happened when we were discorded, then some ponies would be in jail for crimes that they committed while discorded!” Twilight yelled at him.

“So if I murdered all of you before you can fire that rainbow, I can continue to walk freely, with no consequences?!” He shouted back at her.

“There would obviously be consequences!” Twilight argued.

“Then what’s the difference here? I threatened to murder two princesses, the Royal Guards, and the Elements of Harmony, and was about to do so when I was hit!” He countered.

“Because you are not in control of your own mind! You had no control of your body! You were saying, and acting not like the Daniel we know! The one who is always there to cheer us up!” She yelled.

“BECAUSE I WAS ACCEPTING THE FACT THAT I AM A MONSTER!” His voice boomed at them. The room fell silent as they stared at him. “I do things that normal humans aren’t supposed to be. I can contort and change my body to make weapons of war. That is not normal for human, nor will it ever be! And when I was a prisoner, I first used my powers. But it’s not normal. I scare ponies when I use my powers. This is the reason why I’m alone now! Why I can never be happy again! Why I should just be locked up like an animal and left to die like one!” He sobbed into his hands, covering his face.

“Daniel… Remove your hands from your face.” Celestia’s voice said. He did so, and a loud smack filled the air, followed by two gasps. His head was cocked to the side from the power behind the hit, but a fire was born in his eyes. His right arm immediately transformed into the large, blade arm he had shown previously and he made a quick jab at her neck. An arm parried his admittedly weak swing and she threw his arm away, making his swing go far left, leaving him exposed. Her arms shot out and gripped both of his arms, with her angered face staring at him, an eyebrow cocked. His eyes were wide, and his blade arm disappeared as he was left to stare at her in shock. The two other mares stared with open jaws.

“W-what?” Twilight inquired, in shock at how quickly her teacher had responded. Daniel tried to bury his face into his chest, but one hand removed one arm from her grasp and she used her free hand to force him to look up at her face. He stared at the middle of her face, avoiding eye contact, but he couldn’t help it and his eyes met hers. She was giving him a comforting smile, her eyes comforting to stare into. He swallowed audibly, and forced his arms away from Celestia.

“I still believe I should not be left to walk freely. What if I become… Discorded again?” He questioned, looking between the both of them.

“After a pony has survived the discording process, they normally show no signs of relapses into the state.” Luna started. “We believe it’s almost like a disease, and after surviving the plague…”

“They develop an immunity to it, in a sense.” Celestia finished, looking towards her sister.

“Have other mammals survived becoming discorded, and have had similar results?” Daniel asked, his eyes on the two princesses.

“Ponies have been the only ones to have become discorded in our records.” Luna commented.

“So how would you know that I won’t just go ballistics again and try to cut you in half?” He grunted, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“We… only assumed that you wouldn’t do so because you’re so similar to a pony.” Celestia said. Daniel rolled his eyes.

“Assumptions will get you nowhere. It has to be complete, solid information that says that I will no longer become discorded before I accept my freedom.” He sat up in his bed.

“I doubt that this would be necessary Daniel…” Twilight chimed in, hoping to talk him out of his decisions.

“I don’t want anyone to be harmed by myself unless they deserve it. How could I know that I won’t become discorded again? My similarity to ponies doesn’t mean anything genetically.” He grumbled.

“What do you mean, “genetically?”” Twilight asked.

“I may look like a pony, but I might not have the same cells as you do. Or, I won’t have the same amount of chromosomes in my body as you would. Or, I won’t have the same brain capacity as you would. Or, I wouldn’t be able to use the same amount of my brain as you would.” He said, confusing the mare even more.

“And what would that mean? You don’t use all of your brain?” Celestia asked.

“It’s really a myth from my world, but it is said that Humans only use ten percent of their brains. That humans could actually use more of their brain, and that they could unlock certain powers. Control of matter. Control of cells. Control of time, space, and other beings. That is, of course, a myth…” He said, trailing off as he saw their expressions. “I doubt it’s true though. I mean, if we only used ten percent of our brain, why do we have the extremely large brains? Why not use only that ten percent? If we could unlock these potentials, why not unlock them at birth, or at certain milestones in their lives?” He shook his head.

“But… that is a myth that is potentially dangerous. Why would you humans create something so devious?” Luna questioned.

“Because humans are great and horrible people. They can use their brains, however much of it we use, to cure diseases as soon as they emerge. For a way to stop parasites from eating farms away. To create things that bring smiles to the faces of many in the world. But there are humans who thrive on darkness, who live to be the bane of other humans. Those humans create theories that seem to intend that almost all humans die in the end, or that the human race is wiped out entirely.” He stared at each of them.

“Such as?” Twilight asked.

He held up a finger. “The most popular was because of Religion. The dead walk the earth, and humans are judged by gods on how well they do in the situation. Those who survive the longest are given a place next to their gods.” He held up another finger. “An asteroid large enough to shatter the planet and destroy all life as we know it.” Another finger shot up. “The death of our sun causing the galaxy that we inhabit to implode on itself as it turns into a super black hole that sucks in everything and destroys it.”

He continued to name off more ways for the end of the world to happen, each with one finger to inhabit a place, until he named ten off. He finished with a sigh. “This still doesn’t change a thing.” He said, giving each a small glare. “I’m not to be trusted just because of a simple similarity to ponies and assumption made by a single being. Run tests, I don’t care. Lock me up, it may be better for you in the long run.” He rubbed the bottom of his jaw.

“I see no reason for this to happen. Discord is unlikely to strike at the heart of one such as yourself.” Celestia said, sounding pleading. Daniel just shook his head.

“You can have your beliefs, and your doubts, and your assumptions…” He murmured, folding the sheet covering him down. He looked over his body as he continued to unveil himself. Scars of what had transpired were easily visible. It looked like he was attacked by a pack of wolves, with most of his torso looking like it was missing chunks of meat. His left shoulder looked non-existent, while all of his right arm seemed too skinny for someone like him. A perfect semi-circle cut into his waist, and he only assumed that his back was equally scarred as his front. He looked for a mirror, and saw one that gave a glaring man that looked like he had spent too much time out in the sun staring back at him. He realized it to be him and lightened up his glare, noticing his eyes’ change.

“So, what’s up with the new color?” He asked, indicating his eyes. They each took a glance at them, before giving them a double take.

“That’s new…” Celestia commented.

“No shit. Now, I’m going to take a wild swing at this and say that those Elements of Harmony things changed my eye color before they mutilated me.” He felt restless, giving that he had been laying in the bed for the last year. “So, when can I leave? I feel like walking.” He said, stretching his arms.

The princesses shared a look. “Wouldn’t you need to exercise your muscles? To be able to walk properly after all of this time?” Twilight asked.

“I’m sure whatever is in my body was busy building me up again. It was probably done with that months ago and is just buffing out my… scarred areas.” He said, watching as the red and black tentacles continued to move over his arm, his arm growing slowly over the time he had been awake.

“Just to be safe, I’d say you should take baby steps. Try standing.” Celestia said. He tossed the covers off of him, ignoring his current naked form, before trying to stand. He swung his legs out underneath him, putting weight on his legs. He started to stand up...