“Two days until we go back to Canterlot.”

If nothing else, I could say that this world had given me a lifetime's worth of horse-related puns in the space of a few months, and I still had to choke back a girlish giggle every time I heard the name of this nation's capital city once it'd become clear what it meant. “I can't say I'm really looking forward to it,” I told Sveti. “Twilight's last letter said that the protests died off a couple days ago... but that's not much comfort if they get wind that I'm back.”

She let out a soft yawn and stretched her forelimbs. “Mmh. I might've felt the opposite way before we took this trip... but Ancestors, Ponyville just sort of grows on you, doesn't it?”

“It sort of had that effect on me even before I could talk to the locals. Now? It's kind of charming me into wanting to stay, even if the place is as crazy as anything.”

“It certainly is that. I don't think I would've agreed to come here if I'd known that Discord of all creatures was a resident!” She chuckled. “But I'm glad we did. Things in Canterlot were... stressful, and honestly, Peter... I've enjoyed being here with you.”

My reply was interrupted by a heavy-sounding knock at the door. “Royal Guard!” came a voice from the other side. “Open the door immediately!”

(-)

“Ugh. This is driving me crazy!” Twilight let the clipboard drop onto her desk, followed by her head a moment later. “These numbers make no sense at all,” she groaned. “Was the instrumentation faulty? Did I make a miscalculation somewhere? Did I-”

“-want some tea?” Cadance followed her words up the staircase to Twilight's little nook in the library, with a large tea tray hovering right behind her. “You know, some ponies actually take time away from work to relax,” she teased gently.

“I know, I know. Thanks, Cadie.” She smiled as the other alicorn set the tray down on the desk.

“Just because you're a grown Princess now doesn't mean I can't dote on you from time to time.” Cadance lifted the kettle, still piping steam from the spout, off of the tray. “Do you still take your tea the same as always?”

“I sure do. So what brings you to the library?”

Cadance poured hot water into both teacups on the tray, then dipped a teabag into each one. “I ran into Spike on his way to Rarity's and he told me that you were in 'study mode' and had given him the day off, so I took the liberty of sneaking into your kitchen while you were in your usual trance.”

“Well, I definitely appreciate it. But what brings you by? I figured you'd be with our guests, or looking to talk to Peter.”

“Our guests are doing some shopping, and Peter will probably be out and about a bit later today. Enough time to come check up on you during your 'working vacation'.” She chuckled pleasantly as she finished steeping the teabags and added some sweeteners to each cup. “What is it that's got you so frustrated?”

“These are all the measurements from the magical tests I ran on Peter during his stay in Canterlot Hospital,” she explained, flipping through the pages on the clipboard. “I've been trying to use them to gain an understanding of how his magic-nullification ability works, and maybe to get a lead on just how he ended up here. But the numbers I've got here make absolutely no sense!”

“Why don't they make sense?”

“They're just not possible at all. Look at this.” She pointed to a line of notations. “The Marelheim-Eqstein ratio here? Thirty-seven over two. If this reading had been correct, Peter would've turned into a thaumatic collapsar and sucked most of Equestria into the void.”

“I think we'd have noticed if that had happened.” Cadance chuckled as she took a sip of tea. “Who took these notations?”

“I did, most of them at least. But how could I have missed these inconsistencies?!”

The pink alicorn leaned back and cocked an eyebrow. “Twilight, what's that one line of dialogue you used to love quoting at me when you were a filly and I was trying to do homework?”

Twilight didn't even need to think. “ 'How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?'. Fetlock Holmes, The Sign of the Foal.”

A grin crossed Cadance's face. “So what would Ms. Holmes have to say about this situation? Do you really think that you could have made mistakes this big and not realized it?”

“There's no way. I would've noticed bizarre readings like this the moment I saw them.”

“So then, having eliminated the impossible, what's left?”

“Well... hmm.” Twilight stared at the pages, willing them to give up the knowledge she sought. “I don't know! I can't think of anything that could've happened. I stored these pages with his medical files in the hospital records room, and only staff ponies would have had access... to....” Her voice trailed off as her mind began working.

“What is it you're thinking?” Cadance asked.

“Something I don't like. Let me check these pages....” She pulled a few free from the clipboard and spread them across the desk, then quickly assembled the components of the Thaumatic Trace spell in her mind and channeled magic through it, letting the energy spread across the sheets of paper. To her shock, a number of sections on each page lit up with a pale-blue hue.

Cadance tilted her head, peering down at the pages. “What's that?”

“A magic-detection spell. Somepony's used a Magic Mistake Mover spell on these pages- these records have been altered.”

“But who-”

Cadance's question was cut off by the front door of the library slamming open. “Twily? Cadie? You in here?” Shining Armor's voice called out.

“Up here, Shiny,” Twilight called. “What's wrong?”

“I think I need you both to come with me. Something's happened.”

Cadance gave Twilight a look. “I have a feeling the tea's going to get cold.”

(-)

“Where is she? Where is she?!”

Dustmop was practically beside herself in panic, despite Hammer's attempts to calm her. It had been two hours since their agreed-upon meet-up time, and Dewdrop was still missing; even Snowdrift had lost his customary aloofness over any matter regarding his sister and was openly concerned. The filly was sometimes absent-minded, but had an almost obsessive dedication towards being punctual.

Red Crescent, on his behalf, was feeling his usual calm demeanor begin to suffer as well. A filly wandering off for a little while was hardly unheard of, but by now more than a third of the town had been searched with no trace of Dewdrop, which brought to mind another thing that was unfortunately not unheard of- something dire happening to an unattended foal who happened upon the wrong place at the wrong time. In a place like Ponyville, the scenario wasn't out of the question. We waited far too long to alert the local Guard contingent and Captain Armor, he thought ruefully. Perhaps the charms of the town lulled us into a false sense of security... but I should have known better! Oh, little raindrop, where have you gone off to?

“There it is!” somepony shouted. “It's the Everfree Yeti!”

He looked up to see the creature that had been the topic of many conversations over the last couple of months, alongside the griffin that had apparently become his companion and protector. On each side of them walked a heavily-armored guard apparently escorting them towards a rickety-looking shed not far away, and behind the group was a nervous-looking mare following closely. “Whoa, wait, hang on,” he heard somepony in the crowd shout. “Peter! Sveti! What's goin' on?!”

One of the guards gave the mare a warning glance. “Miss Applejack, this is official Guard business. Please stand aside.”

“Y'all must not know mah reputation.”

The orange-coated mare was about to take a step forward when the griffin raised a claw. “It's okay, AJ,” she said. “Just let us find out what this is all about.”

Curiosity- and latent frustration borne of not being able to adequately contribute to the search for Dewdrop- drove Crescent to approach; the guards gave him barely-perceptible glances, but his armor marked him as one of their own, despite his unfamiliarity to them. The group halted at the front of the shed, and one of the guards pulled open the draw-bar that held the door shut, then opened it.

Nearly the entire inside of the shed was splattered in crimson. Tufts of hair, caked in red and unidentifiable, were strewn around; lumps of something- he couldn't see what from his vantage point, but his imagination wasn't shy about suggestions- glistened in the sunlight. He swore he heard someone in the crowd retch. “What... what is this?” one of the guards murmured.

“I saw the creature take something into that shed earlier,” the mare said. “And then there were strange sounds and an awful smell....”

“...the pluck?” the griffin swore. “That's a lie! Peter was with me all morning!”

“Can you corroborate that with an impartial party?” the guard asked.

There was a loud gasp from the crowd. “Oh my Celestia!” someone exclaimed. “That's when that filly disappeared! That monster must've eaten her!”

A good number of the crowd gasped or cried out, many of them stepping back fearfully, but others moving forward. But before anypony else could speak, a voice sounded out from behind the shed.

“That is a lie.”

A cream-colored earth pony mare stepped into view, a deep frown set on her face. “Identify yourself, citizen,” one of the guards demanded.

“My name is Bon-Bon Sweetie Drops. I would've been here earlier, but I got caught up in the search for that lost filly.” She gave the creature named Peter an apologetic glance. “Sorry.”

“Never mind that,” the guard said. “Explain yourself.”

“I was asked to take part in a scheme to make it look like the human had eaten an animal from Fluttershy's cottage. I'd meant to tell somepony this morning, before... all this.”

“And can you prove any of this?”

“She doesn't need to.” The light had fooled Crescent's eyes earlier, but now he could see clearly. “That is not blood.”

The guard who had spoken raised an eyebrow. “And by what authority do you speak?”

“The authority granted to me by twelve years as a medic in the service of Their Majesties' Royal Guard, and five Ribbons of Valor for preserving life in the execution of my duties. Rest assured, Private- I have seen blood.”

Now he had the attention of both guards. “But... you're just a corporal,” the other said.

He shrugged. “I like the rank insignia.”

“I can vouch for him,” came a familiar voice; he looked over his shoulder to see Hammer approaching. “Captain Hammer, 403rd Ground Infantry.”

“And if you don't believe him, maybe you'll believe me.” Crescent couldn't help but grin as Captain Armor followed his words up to the crowd. “Now what is all this?” he asked.

“Sir!” Both guards immediately came to attention and saluted, as did Crescent; the guard who'd been the doing the majority of the talking spoke up. “We had a report from a citizen that the Everfree Yeti was spotted doing something inside this shed. We opened it to find... this.” He gestured to the scene before them.

“And then this citizen informed us that it had been faked,” said the other guard, gesturing to Bon-Bon.

The earth pony nodded. “It's just beet stew, boiled out and mixed with cornstarch and some coloration. The... uh, lumps there are soybean curd.”

Something nagged at the back of Crescent's mind, and he turned towards the crowd. There- a unicorn mare was doing her best to look nonchalant as she backed away from the shed, and she was in the right place... so he quickly moved, his greater size giving ponies incentive to get out of his way, and before the mare could get clear of the crowd he was blocking her way. “Hello, miss,” he said, doing his best to keep his voice and expression non-threatening. “Were you going somewhere?”

“I, um... no!” It was certain- this was the mare who'd shouted earlier. “Just, uh... need to go use the little fillies' room, that's all.”

“Before that, if you could just spare a moment... what made you think that the creature there had eaten the missing filly?”

“I, err, I....”

She was visibly sweating already, and now he allowed his expression to become more stern. “Miss, I would have you know that there are quite serious penalties in place for lying to a Royal Guard in the course of an official investigation.”

She managed to hold her composure for five more seconds before it shattered. “The whole thing was Goldengrape's idea!” she wailed, pointing a hoof at a very shocked-looking stallion. “He wanted to make it look like the monster had eaten some animal to shock everypony out of what it's doing to them, but I thought....”

He lowered his head to look directly into her eyes. “You thought what, miss?”

“I- I don't, I didn't, I....”

She looked close to breaking down, and he relaxed his expression. “Miss, please just tell me what happened. There's a filly we need to find. Do you know where she is?”

“She- she's in a treehouse out in Sweet Apple Acres. I told her that her mother would be by with some new friends, then locked the door with a Keep It Shut spell. It was just three hours ago!”

Shining approached the mare. “Why?” he asked, his eyes narrowed. “Why do all this?”

“Because that monster is doing something to ponies to make them love it! We- we thought that if we made it look like he was dangerous, it'd break the spell!”

Both the human and the griffin were staring at the mare, and if anger could bear a physical force, their combined glare would have blown her to Appleloosia. Captain Armor's expression was hardly more forgiving. “Private Stand,” he said in a flat voice, “take this mare and that stallion-” he pointed at the one she'd called Goldengrape- “into custody. Hold them at the barracks until further ordered.” He raised his voice. “And if anypony decides that today is a good day to leave town for the wrong reasons, I'll remind you all that doing so would count as impeding a Royal Guard investigation and would only increase any penalties.”

The two ponies reluctantly followed the guard away, and the crowd parted as Princess Twilight approached; Crescent reflexively knelt before her, as did Hammer next to him. “Please, arise,” she told them. “Captain Armor, I heard what happened. I know where the clubhouse is- I can teleport there immediately and have Dewdrop back inside of a minute.”

“That'd probably be for the best, Princess. I'm sure her parents are eager to have her back.”

Twilight nodded and smiled, and was gone a moment later in a flash of purple magic. Shining turned towards the ponies still standing around. “Alright, everypony, this show is over. Go back to your business.”

The crowd began to disperse, showing Princess Cadance standing nearby; she approached the human, raising a hoof that he carefully shook. “Peter, it's nice to finally meet you,” she told him in a quiet voice. “My name is Cadance. I'm so sorry for what's happened here-”

A burst of magic interrupted her, and Crescent turned to see that Twilight had reappeared, looking far less happy than when she'd left- and the first words out of her mouth explained why perfectly.

“She's not there!”

(-)

I was angry.

No, strike that. I was livid. And not for my own sake- though it'd be a lie to say that the faked “murder scene” hadn't gotten my ire up. But that some imbecilic mare had basically kidnapped the little filly I'd saved, locked her in some treehouse, and hadn't even taken into consideration that the thing had windows... well, now we had an AWOL filly lost in the fields in the cold of winter. Wind had blown enough of the powdery snow around to make following hoofprints impossible, and Twilight's attempt to track her by magic was foiled by the fact that the kid had crossed her own path several times, something the spell apparently couldn't handle.

Applejack's farm was enormous, so the volunteers searching for the filly- myself included- broke up into groups. Sveti had taken to the air with a number of pegasi, though the branches were thick enough to where I wasn't sure they'd be able to see much at any real distance; I'd been paired with a unicorn named Ember Blaze, and we were running through the trees at a good pace, looking for any sign of the lost filly. We'd stopped to catch our breath- even my endurance had limits, and Ember wasn't very much of an athlete- when the pony looked up at me. “Err, um... Peter?” he asked.

“What?”

“I... I want to apologize.”

“For what?”

“For what went on in town today. It's just....” He paused a moment. “I don't know. I was scared of you- I am still scared of you, if I'm being honest- but what those ponies did was just so far beyond the pale, I....” After a moment, he shook his head. “I'm just... sorry.”

“You're scared of me, but you're out here with me.”

He nodded. “Yeah. We've got a filly to find.”

I nodded, and gave him a bit of a grin. “That's what counts.”

He gave me a slight smile as he looked around. “Well, I hope we find her soon; we've gotten closer to the Everfree than I like, and....” He trailed off, ears pricking up. “...do you hear that?” he whispered.

I strained to hear, leaning forward. “I can't. What is it?”

“I think it's... barking.”

Shit. “Lead me there.”

It was only a minute of running before I heard what I'd been afraid I would hear. The barking was easily recognizable as Winona, the Apple family's little collie; her barks were high-pitched, rapid-fire and seemingly panicked, and I had a hunch as to why. “Get somewhere visible from the air and signal for help,” I told him, opening my jacket. “Send whoever gets here this way. I think we've found our filly... and trouble.”

With that, I set out on a dead sprint through the trees. I heard a loud whistle and pop behind me; a glance over my shoulder showed that Ember had fired off a magical flare that hung directly above him. That'll bring pegasi right quick, I thought. I just hope quickly enough.

And then I crested a hill and saw what awaited me. A partially-toppled tree near the edge of the field held the little filly, desperately clinging to some branches near its top, while Winona stood as her vanguard on its trunk. No less than eight timberwolves had gathered around the unearthed roots of the once-stately tree, all of them intent on both dog and pony as dinner- and it looked like Winona's desperate, loud defense was losing its effectiveness rapidly.

A thick branch, three feet in length, half-buried in the snow suddenly found itself as my weapon; I would have preferred my gun, but the situation didn't leave time for recriminations. My blood had turned to fire in my veins, all fatigue forgotten as I focused single-mindedly on my goal- remove the threat to the child.

I was light enough on my feet to where my first target never heard me coming.

crack

The timberwolf shattered as if it had been rigged to explode; its component pieces were still falling to the ground while I raised my impromptu club a second time and caught another of the creatures upside the head. I spun on my heel to face the rest of the pack- but they had already focused on me and were spreading out... except for two of their number who immediately turned tail and ran at the sight of me.

That still left me with four very dangerous creatures to contend with, without the element of surprise. Just keep them off yourself, the pony and the dog until backup gets here, I told myself, maneuvering myself between them and the tree trunk.

It was easier said than done. The timberwolves were not stupid, and I wasn't nearly as quick on my feet as Winona; the wolves split into pairs, one group working on feinting and flanking me while the other tried the same with the collie. Through some miracle, Winona and I were able to hold out for almost two minutes, and I was beginning to think that we could even beat them-

-until I saw the two timberwolves I'd brought down literally reform in front of my eyes, and my brain locked up on one thought. They're not allowed to do that. That's cheating.

The other wolves were quick to capitalize on my moment of startled distraction. One of them barreled into my legs, taking me off of my feet and sending me crashing into the tree trunk; I managed to keep hold of my club and smack it against the chest of the other timberwolf as it lunged for my throat, but I was still vulnerable and now I had four of the wooden bastards coming for me. I let out a yell as I felt thorn-teeth dig into my leg and pull; one had gotten a hold of me and was trying to drag me off the tree, and I could hear the filly let out a scream of terror as I desperately grabbed at the trunk with my free hand.

Then a loud screech echoed through the orchard, and a flash of amber and white intercepted the timberwolf at my leg, leaving most of its head intact while obliterating the rest of its body. Sveti cut a rolling turn that a fighter pilot would've envied and landed next to me. “Are you okay?!” she gasped, looking at my leg.

“It's not as bad as it looks.” It probably was, actually; the leg of my pants were torn and soaked in blood, I could see exposed muscle through the wound, there were even what looked like timberwolf teeth lodged in the skin.... if it wasn't for the adrenaline high I was on, I likely wouldn't have been able to stand. But there was still a job to do. “We've got to keep these things off of her until help gets here-”

“Help's already arrived.” Three ponies came to a landing at the base of the tree; Rainbow Dash was flanked on either side by two other pegasi I didn't recognize- but Dash had told me enough about the Wonderbolts for me to recognize their uniforms. The one who'd spoken, a mare with a flame-colored mane, took position next to me while her partner, a black-maned stallion, stood between us and the wolves.

The creatures seemed to sense that their advantage was lost, and all of them broke and ran- except for one, too intent on standing and snarling at me to back off. I got to my feet and slung my club over my shoulder, taking a couple of unsteady steps towards the timberwolf, then delivered the best line I could think of.

“You gonna bark all day, little doggie, or you gonna bite?”

I doubted that the creature was impressed with my originality, but at least my tone of voice managed to convince it to turn tail and flee. I managed a short laugh before my body, realizing that the danger had passed, decided to cut off my adrenaline supply... and the pain of my wound hit me full-force, sending me back to the ground.

To my surprise, the filly immediately bolted down the treetrunk towards me, clinging to me and crying; I put my arms around her, gently patting her mane. “It's okay,” I told her. “You're safe now.” I looked up. “Sveti, do you think you can fly her home?”

The filly shook her head, clinging to me even more tightly. “No! I'm afraid of flying. I wanna stay with you.”

“Okay, okay.” I patted her again and gave Sveti a helpless look, which she answered with a grin.

Everything seemed to go by in a bit of a blur after that. Twilight had teleported in, taken one look at my wound, vanished and reappeared moments later with the zebra I'd met- Zecora seemed to be her name; it wasn't a word in the pony language- who immediately gave me one of her potions to drink and began applying salves and bandages to my wound. The filly, whose name turned out to be Dewdrop, had apparently never met a zebra before and was asking her loads of questions, which Zecora answered with a good-natured smile.

Once I'd been treated and could manage to walk with the assistance of my club-turned-cane, we began the long trip back to Ponyville. Big Mac showed up along the way with the intent of carrying me on his back, and all my efforts of trying to talk him out of it were met with polite but dogged insistence... so the townsfolk of Ponyville ended up greeted by the sight of me and Dewdrop perched on the massive stallion's back. I could tell that my magic nullification was affecting him as much as any other earth pony who exercised their strength when I was touching them, but he had enough raw muscle and determination to work through it for the entire walk back.

And every last moment of what'd happened that day seemed worth it when I saw Dewdrop reunited with her parents, her mother tearfully embracing the filly and her father wrapping his forelegs around them both. As the taller pony- almost as tall as either of the primary Princesses, though lacking in horn or wings but graced with a respectable beard- saw to my wound with hooves capable of far more dexterity than I would've thought, I leaned back into the chair I was seated on and closed my eyes for a moment, letting my hand rest on Sveti's back. “You saved my life, you know,” I told her.

“I'm glad I got there in time,” she replied, taking my hand in her claw. “Peter, what you did today, especially after all that happened....”

“...marks you as a true hero in my books,” said the bearded pony, as he finished rewrapping my bandage.

“Let's not start throwing that word around.” I laid my head back down. “I had to. She'd ended up in that situation because of me. Not doing something about it was just out of the question.”

“I can't agree with that first part.” When I looked up, Dewdrop's mother was standing in front of me with her daughter perched on her back; when she saw that she had my attention, she turned to the crowd of ponies nearby. “Everypony, I want you to look at this creature,” she said loudly, pointing a hoof at me. “Do you see that bandage on his leg? He got that from protecting my daughter from timberwolves- which makes this the second time he's saved her life.” She started walking towards them, a furious look on her face. “And why did he have to protect my daughter from timberwolves? Because some idiot pony locked her in a treehouse to make ponies think that he'd eaten her! And some other idiot ponies set up a disgusting faked scene to make ponies afraid of him!” She shook her head in disgust. “And you want me to believe that he's a monster?!”

Nearby, her husband chuckled. “Told her for years she could've been a drill instructor,” he said quietly.

A number of ponies slinked away, thoroughly shamed; the rest almost seemed proud. Dewdrop hopped down from her mother's back and trotted back towards me. “Mister Peter?” she asked.

I gave her a smile. “Yes?”

“Me and my parents will have to go home soon, but I wanted to give you something first.” She reached into her saddlebags and pulled out something familiar. “This was the blanket you were sleeping on when you were hiding by the river. It's winter now and you don't have any fur to keep you warm, so I wanted you to have it again so you don't get cold.”

She gently placed the folded red blanket in my lap and smiled brightly up at me. I felt tears well up in the corners of my eyes as I returned the smile, gently patting her head. “Thank you,” I said to her, looking up at her parents and seeing them gazing at her proudly. “You've got a good filly here,” I told them.

“We wouldn't have her now if not for the two of you.” The father approached me and Sveti for a hoofshake. “Captain Hammer. My wife is Dustmop, and my colt there is Snowdrift. Sir... I don't think there's any way I could possibly repay you for what you've done, or make up for what happened to you here earlier, but I want you to know that there are four ponies here who are eternally grateful that you're in Equestria. If you two are ever in Broncton, look us up.”

“Yeah, come over to our house sometime!” Snowdrift said. “Because you're pretty cool.”

“We'll do that,” Sveti told them. “And thank you for your words, both of you. After today, it really means a lot hearing them.”

Finally, after being thanked by Princesses Twilight and Cadance, Shining Armor, Mayor Mare and seemingly half the population of Ponyville, Sveti and I went back inside our rented home to rest. I leaned my branch-turned-club-turned-cane against the wall near one of the chairs, turned... and found Sveti rearing up in front of me, reaching out with her forelegs to hug me tightly. “Do you have any idea how proud of you I am right now?” she whispered into my ear. “You can't make me believe you're not a warrior anymore. You showed what you're truly made of out there today.”

I shook my head. “Sveti, I'm not. I just... I had to help her. I would be a monster if I hadn't.”

“And do you know what that makes you? A noble warrior.” She tapped my nose with a talon, grinning at me before dropping back down to all fours. “Now you sit down and keep your weight off that leg... you've only got two, you know.”

I gasped in mock horror. “Only two?! Why did nobody ever tell me until now?!”

The blatantly false sobbing I broke down into as I collapsed into the chair earned me a throw pillow to the head, tossed at me by a snickering gryphon.

(-)

“Do you have any idea how much this sets our cause back?”

Air Sergeant Peppermint York gazed sullenly down at the newspaper headline. “Everfree Yeti Helps In Foal Rescue” it read, showing a picture of the creature surrounded by ponies, holding a ecstatic-looking filly in its forelimbs. “Yeah,” she said quietly, though the reason for her being upset was far away from that of the stallion sitting across from her- a foal had nearly died because some idiotic small-town yokel thought that locking away an out-of-town filly was a good addition to their already-inane plan.

“This is why I discourage independent thought in my underlings,” the stallion muttered. “They're not much good at it.” He looked up at her. “We are losing this battle for public opinion. At least tell me the Guard is more sympathetic to our cause.”

“You must not have read that whole article,” she deadpanned. “Like the part where two of the Wonderbolts' top-ranking officers commended the creature for bravery. All this has done is widen the schism between the ones still on our side and the ones convinced the thing's just some innocent misunderstood creature.”

“Well.” The stallion tugged at the collar of his expensive shirt. “I do have to give Sparkle all due credit; she's waged a spectacular campaign to win over public opinion. It seems our last chance for salvaging this situation is Aircolt Wind.”

She let out a quiet sigh as she looked up at the wall clock. “Speaking of....”

(-)

“How are you feeling, Aircolt?”

He let out a soft groan. “Like five miles of meadow after a buffalo stampede,” he croaked.

“That's entirely understandable.” Doctor Measure smiled. “It's been a rough recovery for you. Your allergy to briarwort made using healing solutions on you rather tricky, so we had to allow your body to handle the majority of its own healing.” He glanced behind him. “Now that you've reached a rating of three on the Hopmare scale, I've cleared you for being interviewed by your squad leader.”

He stood aside to allow the pegasus to step forward; she gave the young stallion a half-smile. “Well, Aircolt,” she said, “I hope you haven't gotten too comfortable lounging around here on the taxpayer's bit.”

“The taxpayers should spring for better food.” He made a face. “What brings you here, Sarge?”

“We've been needing your statement on what happened the day you were wounded.”

Wind looked away, frowning deeply. “...I've been trying to remember myself,” he said quietly. “The most I can remember is flying patrol over Ponyville after the chimera attacked, then I spotted the Everfree Yeti... and the next thing I knew I was waking up here.”

Oddly enough, the sergeant had an almost relieved look on her face- until another voice spoke up. “I was worried like something like that might happen,” Princess Twilight said from the back of the room. “Ordinarily, it might take months or even years for your memories to return naturally- but fortunately, Doctor Measure has given me medical clearance to use a memory spell on you. Do I have your consent for this procedure, Aircolt?”

The stallion agreed, and after a moment's preparation, the Princess touched her horn to his forehead, and a gentle flow of magic surrounded him. Measure watched as the guard's eyes widened, then closed. “I remember now,” he murmured.

“What do you remember?” Princess Twilight asked.

“The creature... he was standing by a building, holding his weapon. I... I thought it was going to attack you, Princess. I had to stop it, so I tackled it, and... that's all I can remember.”

“I see, Aircolt. Did he see your approach at all? Did he actively seek to use his weapon against you?”

“I....” He went quiet for a long moment, seeming to consider. “I don't think it had a chance, Princess. I came at it too fast.” He looked up at her. “I... didn't do something wrong, did I, Princess? I thought it was going to attack. I didn't see any other way to stop him.”

She smiled warmly at him. “No, Aircolt, you didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I'd commend you for acting quickly in what you perceived to be a very dangerous situation. What happened afterwards was unforeseeable by anypony.”

“What happened afterwards? Princess, what-” He visibly winced, laying his head back down. “...ugh.”

“Easy, Aircolt,” Doctor Measure said. “You're going to give yourself a migraine if you strain yourself.”

Twilight nodded. “I'll make sure everything is explained to you soon, Wind- after you get some more rest. But in the meantime, before I go, I promised a friend I'd pass along a message for you.”

“A message? What is it?”

“He wanted me to tell you that he's sorry for what happened, and that he never meant to harm you. Oh... and his name is Peter.” She smiled again. “I'll see you again soon, Aircolt Wind. Until then, I wish you a speedy recovery.”

She was gone in a flash. Satisfied that things were finished and determined to give his patient peace and quiet, Doctor Measure ushered the sergeant out of the room, barely noting how she stared at the spot the Princess had stood the entire time.

(-)

knock-knock, knock-knock

“I'll get it.”

Sveti made her way to the front door, opening it to find a familiar- and somewhat bedraggled-looking- earth pony mare standing beyond. “Hello, um... Sveti, was it?” she asked.

“That's right. Err... Bon-Bon, I believe it was?” When the mare nodded, Sveti gave her a smile. “Hey, I was hoping to thank you for everything you did for Peter and I before we left for Canterlot. It would've been easy for you to go along with those other ponies, especially after... uh... you know, what happened at Sugarcube Corner. We're both grateful that you stood up for us and told the Guard what happened.”

“Yeah, wanting to make Peter suffer for Lyra being... well, herself just wouldn't have been right.” Bon-Bon rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “And actually, that's sort of what I came over here to talk about. Is Peter still here?”

“He's finishing up the packing. Did you want to talk to him?”

“Err... actually it might be easier talking to you about this, female to female.”

Sveti raised an eyebrow. “How do you mean?”

“Well, it turns out that Lyra's little display at the Corner wasn't entirely her fault. See....” The pony gave her a sheepish smile. “Lyra's got... kind of a fetish for bipeds. It's one I haven't minded helping her indulge, but... it turns out that she was starting her estrus cycle a little earlier than either of us expected, and seeing Peter that morning sort of, well, set her off. You know?”

“Uh... yeah, heh. I can sympathize.”

“I thought you would.” Bon-Bon managed a chuckle. “Lyra would've come to apologize herself, but she's a little... indisposed right now. And I'm not sure I'm comfortable telling Peter exactly what happened... do you think you could? Lyra would be devastated if she lost his friendship because of all that.”

“I, err... I suppose I could, yes.”

“Great! I really appreciate that, Sveti, and so does Lyra.”

Sveti nodded. “Well, I'm glad to help. I hope everything's alright between you and Lyra now?”

“Oh, definitely! We, uh... we worked things out.” A distracted look came over Bon-Bon's face for a moment before she apparently remembered herself. “Um, I hope the two of you have a safe trip back to Canterlot, and please come back sometime soon.” She glanced behind her. “So, uh... I'd better get back home. Thanks again!”

Sveti watched the pony leave. Is she trotting funny? she wondered. Oh Ancestors, she's trotting funny. That's more than I needed to know. She closed the door against the cold air and turned back towards the stairs to the second floor. So just tell Peter why Lyra was so forward. It's no big deal; I'm sure his species has the same problem... don't they?

Beloved ancestors, I don't want to have to explain heat cycles to him. That's... that's weird territory to cover. Maybe I can find a pamphlet or something-

She almost walked straight into him lugging the last of their suitcases into the hallway. “Who was that at the door?” he asked.

“I, uh... I'll tell you on the train.” She had to resist the urge to faceclaw on the spot. Smooth, Sveti. Smooth as butter.

(-)

“I knew leaving this in your hooves was a mistake.”

It took every ounce of composure he had to not scowl at her. “Please, if you have any idea at all as to how you could have performed more competently, I'd love to hear it.”

“I'd find it much more enjoyable to list your failures.” She smirked at him. “Let me tell you, we absolutely loved your debacle in Ponyville. Couldn't have built more sympathy for the creature if you'd tried.”

“Weren't you the one who suggested rigging an entire building to explode?”

“I had the perfect vacant home on the outskirts of Ponyville chosen and everything. Nothing scares ponies like a nice, big explosion, and I would've raked in a bundle from the insurance.” She scoffed. “It couldn't have gone over worse than your plans, and it probably would've cost less than those protests!” She shook her head in disgust. “I honestly can't decide which scenario is more pathetic- that you were so utterly outplayed by some middle-class bumpkin turned royalty, or that you failed so completely that she didn't even need to.”

He was practically trembling in outrage, despite all attempts to control himself. “Look. All we need is one more try at this. We know he's still vulnerable to magic; we can get a unicorn into the embassy-”

“There's no more 'we' to this.” Her steely eyes stared into his. “You've cost us an almost absurd amount of bits, not to mention time and effort, in this little endeavor of yours. You had us roped in with your promises of greater prestige and leeway in Parliament, but that's not likely to happen now, is it?”

“And so what? You're just going to slink off with your tail tucked up and let that undeserving little whelp stay in power? Her support of the creature makes her vulnerable in a way that we're unlikely to see again in our lifetimes!”

“That much is obvious, but what's even more obvious is that you're not the one we should look to for guidance in how to deal with it.” She turned away from him, flicking her tail across his nose; he jerked back. “I don't think you should bother showing up at our usual tea meetings anymore,” she told him.

All he could do was seethe in anger as she trotted out of the meeting room. Almost as soon as the door closed, he heard the curtains rustle behind him. “It seems you've lost their confidence,” came the other stallion's voice. “And their allegiance.”

“I need neither.” He was angry enough to spit, but he restrained himself. “This is too valuable an opportunity to give up. Let them blunder around like foals; I know there's a path to success here.”

“You need to calm down.” The stallion's voice captured his attention, forced him to look up and make eye contact. “Anger boils the brain, you know. Embrace cold, clear thinking and you can grasp even the most impossible-seeming goals.”

Just at the edge of his awareness, he felt something pry its way into his mind; the argument he was about to mount broke apart like morning fog, leaving him wondering for a moment what he was about to say... until that thought too faded away. “What do you have in mind?” he asked.

“You'll see. I'll say this, though- if we can't win this little battle at a distance, then perhaps we'll have to take the direct approach.”

The other stallion went towards the back of the room. “Wait.”

“Hmm?”

“Adjust that glass eye of yours. It's misaligned and just looks creepy.”

The stallion's horn glowed for a brief moment before he made his way out the rear door.