“...so wait. She was in heat?”

Sveti had taken the most roundabout route to explain Lyra's sudden turn in personality that I could imagine was possible. The look of relief on her face when I finally understood was almost comical. “Right,” she told me. “She... err, has a liking for creatures with two legs, and seeing you when her heat was starting....”

“Yeah, I get it.” I chuckled. “I'm just glad this all didn't hurt her relationship with Bon-Bon. I guess it was a little unexpected?”

Sveti nodded. “It was early for her, yes.” She went quiet for a moment, obviously thinking, then: “Do human females...?”

“Huh? Oh....” Suddenly I understood her earlier hesitation; this felt like a weird topic to be discussing with her, and I couldn't really even put my finger on why. “Err... no, no. They don't go into heat.”

“Oh. Okay.”

The silence lasted an entire two minutes before the question finally clawed its way out of my mouth. “Do you...?”

She blinked in surprise, staring at me for a moment with an expression I couldn't read. “Yes,” she blurted out. “But there's... medicines to reduce it.”

“Oh.” Well, there was a revelation. Honestly, I couldn't begin to imagine what that whole experience must be like for a sapient creature, and a whole plethora of questions came to mind- but then common sense made a rare and welcome appearance, and I kept my mouth shut. Sveti likewise looked like she wanted to say something but didn't.

This time, it took me five minutes to break the awkward silence. “So what should we do once we get back to Canterlot?” I asked.

That thankfully got things back on track, so to speak, and we managed a normal conversation through the rest of the train ride. But even then I couldn't quite get our earlier talk out of my mind; some things that I'd been keeping out of my headspace for the sake of dealing with all the emergencies I kept running into were starting to pry their way back in. Maybe she and I need to talk a few things through, I thought. But it can wait until we get settled back in.

Getting settled back in, though, was going to have to wait just a little bit. The first thing to greet us when we entered the building was a bunch of streamers and balloons; for a moment I thought that Pinkie Pie had actually made it to Canterlot before us and chosen to throw a party just for the heck of it, but the proud smiles on the staff ponies were proof that they'd gone to the effort all by themselves. “Welcome back!” Quick Service called out. “We read about what happened in Ponyville, and we decided that our two resident heroes deserved a hero's welcome home.”

There was that word again. I didn't let my distaste for it show on my face, though; I knew these ponies only meant the best, and I had to admit that the phrase “welcome home” felt a little more appealing to me coming from them. The staff quickly took our bags, getting our dirty clothing- mostly mine, of course- ready for laundry, while setting down a late dinner for us; the long train ride had left both of us famished, and the stew and sandwiches didn't survive for long. The staff wouldn't stop fussing over me and my injured leg, even though I could walk well enough on it with a cane, and Sveti wasn't making any effort to argue them out of it either.

Once dinner was done- and the staff was not having any part of me trying to help with cleanup- Sveti and I went upstairs to the lounge to unwind for a bit; I had the feeling that, had I given them leave, Ensemble and Service would've carried me up the stairs. Despite everything that had happened in Ponyville, there was something else I wanted to talk with the gryphon about- and it seemed that she knew my intent as well, letting out a heavy sigh as she settled into her chair. “I think I know what's on your mind,” she said.

I nodded. “Look, if you don't want to tell me, I understand.”

“No. I do want to tell you. It's... just not easy to think about, still.”

And as we sat there, Sveti told me the story about how she'd come to be in that cage in the sideshow; how she'd surrendered herself in order to save her father from blackmail, and how Tent- or, rather, Big Top- had ended up imprisoning her, feeding her lies about her father's status to keep her compliant... even after he'd taken his own life.

By the end of it, I could tell she was struggling to keep tears from falling. I stood, walked over to her chair and knelt down next to it, pulling her into a tight embrace and feeling her forelimbs wrap around me in return. “It still hurts,” she cried into my shoulder. “Applejack told me it would, but I thought it would've faded at least a little.”

“So this is what you and her talked about when I was in the spa?” I asked quietly, feeling her nod. “I'm lucky to have never lost family like that... all I can tell you is that I'm sorry, Sveti. You did your best for your father- I know he would've been proud of you.”

“I just can't help but feel that I should've been here for him instead. Maybe he wouldn't have....”

I gently rubbed the back of her neck. “You can't think that way. You couldn't have known what would happen, Sveti. You did the best you could with what you knew then.”

She sniffled quietly, going silent for a moment. “I... wish that was the whole of it.”

“What do you mean?”

She went quiet again, for almost a full minute this time. “I was angry at him,” she whispered. “I... I couldn't understand why he'd chosen to... be with a pony. I'd wanted him to find another mate after Mom left us, but I just couldn't grasp why he'd look outside his species.” Another moment of quiet, and then: “...maybe now I understand better. And I feel like a hypocrite because of it.”

Well, now I knew her feelings better. But did I know mine? All of the things I'd been thinking about before on the train rushed back into my mind... until I squashed them. I could wait until later to sort out how I felt; Sveti was hurting, and needed compassion. “You aren't,” I told her. “You just couldn't see things from his perspective then. Now you can.”

“I should've been more supportive of him, though. I should've been happier for him. Why did I get so fixated on him being with a pony when a good daughter would've been thrilled to see him finding companionship with someone who cared for him?”

I let out a quiet sigh. “Sveti... what would your father say if he were here now? Do you think he'd want you to feel this way? Or would he tell you to forgive yourself and move on?” When she looked up at me silently, I lightly ran my fingers along her plumage. “Maybe I don't know any other gryphons to compare you to, but I've known plenty of humans who would never have gone to the lengths you did for him. So even if you didn't approve of who he ended up being with, you still loved him enough to do what you did for him. That's all that matters, as far as I'm concerned.”

She stayed silent for a moment longer, before pulling me against her and burying her head against my chest. “I miss him,” she keened quietly. “I miss him so much. I just try not to think about it, but sometimes it all comes back on me.” Her breath hitched for a moment. “I think... you're all I've got now, Peter.”

I stroked her neck for a little while, just letting her get her emotions out, until her shoulders were sagging and she was leaning on me more due to fatigue than anything else. “Hey,” I said quietly. “Let me help you get to bed. It's been a long day.”

She was obviously too tired to do anything but comply, and after the thankfully-short walk to her quarters where I helped her into bed and covered her with the quilted comforter, she was asleep almost instantly. I watched over her for a moment before turning to leave, when something caught my eye- a small picture frame set on her dresser, seemingly pushed aside. The photograph inside showed a somewhat younger-looking Sveti with a larger gryphon just behind her, and I could tell by his size, bearing and resemblance to her that this was her father. I saw none of the troubles she'd told me he had borne reflected in his eyes. Probably taken in happier times, I thought.

An idea hit me. I returned to my own quarters to retrieve my tablet, brought it back to Sveti's room and quickly took a picture of the photo, then dimmed the lamps and left her to rest. I was far too tired myself to work on my special project, and had no hope of finishing it that night with the revision I was planning, but soon I'd have it done for her. I shut the tablet off, changed for bed and began to climb in- then remembered something, and returned to the bags that had been left in my room by the staff. A quick search found what I wanted, and I returned to the bed, draping the small red blanket over myself before dragging the comforter up over it.

I had time for one conscious thought before sleep overtook me: It really is warm.

(-)

“I am so excited right now!”

If Twilight hadn't been flying down the hallway at a sedate but efficient speed, she probably would've been skipping. Next to her, Shining chuckled, shaking his head. “Okay, I'll admit that I sort of am, too,” he told her. “But maybe you're getting a little carried away.”

“I don't think you're excited enough!” She stuck her tongue out at him. “We've been puzzling over that carriage of Peter's for months. Now he's finally going to show us how it operates! I've been waiting to use this Watch It Work spell for ages.”

“Are you sure that spell will even work on something that complex? Or that you'll understand what it shows you?”

“There's just one way to find out! I know the spell itself won't cause the carriage any harm, at least.”

As they entered the “clean room”- made as thaumatically neutral as possible to allow for more sensitive magical readings, hence why the pair had walked to the location rather than teleport in- they encountered the group of scientists and technicians who'd been working on everything Peter had brought with him since they'd begun discovering it. They were just finishing attaching a small contraption to part of the back of the carriage. “Is that the toxin neutralizer?” she asked.

“Yes, Princess,” one of the techs answered. “After Mister Collins warned us that the engine of his machine produces small amounts of dangerous gases while operating, we figured it would be better to be safe than sorry. We've also inserted an enchanted detection crystal to find out just what those gases are, since his grasp on the language isn't quite strong enough to explain.”

“Excellent. The sensors and machines are all powered up and ready?” She gave the row of delicate thaumatronics a critical look.

“Double-checked and run through three diagnostic cycles. We're as ready as we can be, Princess.”

“Great! And now we just need the guest of honor....”

As if on cue, the doors opened, and Peter and Sveti entered the room; the human had his bag slung over one shoulder. “Good morning,” both of them said.

“Hey there, tough guy,” Shining responded with a grin. “Your leg's looking a lot better. Glad to see it.”

“Good morning! It's good to see you both again. Thanks for coming by.” Twilight accompanied them both to the carriage. “We have everything set up, Peter. Hopefully your carriage is still working well!”

“I hope so too.” The biped pulled the door open and slid into the compartment- amazing, the amount of engineering that had to have gone into making it so easy for him to fit comfortably- then retrieved his keyring from his bag, selected the largest key on it and slid it into the strange port on the side of the steering shaft. “Ready?” he asked. “It can be a little loud.”

Twilight nodded. “Go ahead.”

With that, Peter twisted the key.

Vrrrr-vrr-vrvrvrvrROOOOOOM

Several of the technicians instinctively stepped back, and one even jumped a respectable distance away before getting control of himself. Twilight hardly noticed; she was enthralled by the deep thrumming of this alien machinery, still able to function after the damage it had taken and then months spent sitting idle afterwards. And it doesn't even use magic, she reminded herself. I think it's time to learn just how this miracle of technology functions.... “Peter, can you step back out?” she asked, having to raise her voice only a bit over the sound of the engine. “I want to cast a spell to examine it.”

He complied, returning to Sveti's side as Twilight's horn began to glow brightly. Her magical field surrounded the vehicle, then sank into it and vanished... and her jaw dropped. There's so much happening! she thought, immediately thankful that the spell's safeguards kept her from being overwhelmed. The plain steel superstructure hid an amazing plethora of working systems, the likes of which she'd never seen before in her life. So much of it seems to be designed to transmit electricity, of all things, she realized. But what for? Why is so much concentrated in these tiny little mechanisms dotted around the engine?

Unable to answer that question, she turned her attention to the engine itself. While she had a better understanding of what she found there, it was no less astounding to her. It uses a piston system not unlike a locomotive's steam engine... but they're so small, and going so fast! It's like there's countless tiny explosions going off inside each one; how is it that the whole thing doesn't just blow apart?! And how does it transfer power to the wheels?

After a few more moments, she let the spell dissipate. “It... it's too advanced,” she admitted. “I- I don't even know where to start. I feel like a first-year schoolfilly trying to understand Starswirl's Ninth Theorem. The complexity of these systems is mind-blowing; I can't even understand what most of them are meant to do, let alone how they do it.” She shook her head. “Wherever it is that Peter comes from, humankind's technological prowess outstrips that of ponykind by an order of magnitude.”

Peter came up to her, leaning lightly on his cane as he gave her a comforting smile. “Princess, I can see why ponies not have technology like mine,” he told her. “You not need. Have magic! Magic to go places, magic to make things- magic to grow food, control weather.” He pointed upwards. “Humans have machines we put high in sky, go around the world, can see weather everywhere. But can't stop weather. We know when will rain, but what can we do? Get umbrellas.”

“I... didn't consider that.”

He nodded. “Also- technology have own problems. I told you about harmful gas that comes from tailpipe, right? Not much from one. But thousands, millions? Starts to add up, cause problems. Many ways humans make electricity have some kind of bad effect. We learning, making better ways, but still can cause problems.”

She was about to respond when what he'd said hit her like a brick. “Wait... millions?” she said quietly. “You serious have that many of these in your world? I would've thought at most there'd be a couple thousand!”

“No, millions. Trust me.”

“So, every human has one? Is it that easy to build and operate them?”

“Huh? No, not every....” His voice trailed off for a moment, and he took on what seemed to be a thoughtful look as he got back into the car and started taking things out of his bag. “Princess- how many creatures on Equus, you know?”

“World population? Wow, there's a tough question.” Twilight chuckled. “A worldwide census is of course impossible, but estimates are at about two hundred and fifty-seven million sapient, civilized beings in the known world. Ponies account for about seventy million of them, with fifty million or so being right here in Equestria.”

“Huh.” He went quiet again, taking a strange-looking cord and plugging one end into one of his devices- the smaller one that fit in his hand- and the other end into a part of the vehicle's interior. “My nation-” he said a name that made no sense to her- “has three hundred million humans. My world... what is million times thousand?”

She gaped at him. “...your world has a billion humans?”

“My world has eight billion humans.”

Somepony dropped a clipboard, which clattered against the floor. Even Sveti was staring at him in utter disbelief. “That's....” For once, Twilight found herself completely at a loss for words. “Where... where do you all live...?”

“Lots of places. Is a big world.”

His demeanor suggested that it wasn't anywhere near the big deal to him that Twilight considered it to be, but his nonchalance didn't help her wrap her head around that number. She couldn't imagine eight billion ponies... hay, eight billion anything sentient all crowded together on one planet. They must be incredibly friendly with each other, she thought, to be able to cohabitate like that... but then what do they need weapons for?

One of the technicians interrupted her thoughts. “Princess, we've finished the analysis of the exhaust gases,” she said.

“What's the composition?”

“There's some components the spell can't identify; they're far too complex. But we did identify water vapor, carbon monoxide and dioxide, and nitrogen oxide.”

“Wow. I'm glad you warned us, Peter; carbon monoxide would've been a serious hazard in an enclosed area like this.” She gave the human a smile before turning her attention back to the technician. “Able, is the neutralizer removing all the exhaust components? Even the one we're unable to identify?”

Able nodded. “Yes, Princess. The air that leaves the neutralizer is as fresh as a spring meadow.”

Peter chuckled. “See? Magic. Humans would love to have something take harmful things out of exhaust.”

As silly as it seemed, it made Twilight feel better that something she found so ordinary would be sought after by such a technologically-advanced species. “So Peter, may I ask what it is you're doing with your other devices in there?” she asked, gesturing towards the inside of the vehicle.

He seemed to search for a word for a moment. “Giving power,” he said.

She blinked. “How does that work?”

“Engine make electric power. Cord-” he pointed to the thin black cord he'd plugged into his device- “put power in object.”

“The engine is generating that electricity? But how....” Her voice trailed off. “Is it running some sort of dynamo? We have something like that in the Ponyville Dam; the water turns paddles that create thaumatic energy through a crystal dynamo.” She realized he was staring at her blankly, as were both Shining and Sveti. “...I, uh, I'll explain that some other time,” she murmured, waving a forehoof dismissively. “But still! Nopony ever thought of generating electricity that way!”

“Probably because pegasi magic and storm clouds would be more efficient,” Shining noted. “Plus... well, there's not many things we have that use electricity.” He glanced over at the human. “Peter, do a lot of things on your world use electrical power? What about weapons?”

“Weapons? No. Not able keep enough power one place to make work well. Use electricity for other things, though- cooking, heating homes, communicating.”

“Communicating? How?” one of the techs asked.

Peter held up the device still wired to the vehicle's console. “This is device able to talk to other devices, long distance away.” He held up the odd tablet machine he'd shown them before. “This also can talk other machines like it. Many machines make collection, hold lots of information, anyone can see on other machines.”

“Really?” Twilight's ears pricked. “What kind of information?”

“Anything. Can read millions of books, teach people in other countries all at once, hear music and watch moving pictures from many places.” He chuckled as he tapped the tablet. “This? Could hold one thousand books, easy. And is not even very good machine! Have one at home, can hold few million. Lots of moving pictures, music, games, other things.”

“And... are there millions of those machines, too?”

His grin grew. “More than a billion.”

She nearly fainted at the concept, her knees going weak at the very idea of millions upon millions of machines sharing information across an entire world. “I wonder if we could do something like that here?” she said. “Maybe use specially-tuned resonance crystals and a thaumatic interpreter? I could devote an entire decade to the study of remote communication and not exhaust all the possibilities....” She realized by the stares everyone was giving her that she was going off on a tangent. “...right, I'll make note to look into that at another time,” she said, scribbling down a reminder on her clipboard.

The day hadn't been as successful as she'd hoped, but by the time the techs were wrapping up, she'd developed three new lines of inquiry for study and written down half a dozen other odd ideas to boot. “Sveti, Peter, thank you so much for your time,” she told her friends. “Though... I have to admit that we had another reason for bringing the two of you in today.” She put down her clipboard. “Everypony, if you could give us some privacy?”

The technicians packed up their things and left the room, their hoofsteps echoing through the hallway as they went, until Twilight and Shining were left alone with the human and griffin. “Princesses Celestia and Luna were notified of your acts of bravery in rescuing Dewdrop from the timberwolves,” Twilight told them. “Both of them were extremely grateful for what you did, and if you're willing they'd like to give the two of you a formal recognition ceremony- but on the assumption that you'd rather not have the publicity, they asked me to give you these here and now.”

She summoned the custom-crafted case and levitated it before them, opening the lid. “By order of Princesses Celestia and Luna... and, um, me... I grant to Peter Collins and Sveti Windwhisper the Solstice Star medal, for acts above and beyond the call in service to Equestria and her citizens.”

“Congratulations to both of you.” Shining smiled. “I wouldn't let anypony say you don't deserve it.”

She watched them retrieve the gleaming, silver-and-gold medals from the box. “Thank you, Princess,” Sveti said quietly, bowing her head for a moment. “I'm truly honored.”

“I am too.” Twilight couldn't quite make out Peter's expression; it seemed a strange mix of gratitude and resignation. “Not know about ceremony... Sveti, we talk about later, after post office?”

“Sure.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Post office? Expecting something special?”

“Sending, actually.” Peter chuckled. “One other hero who should have recognition.”

(-)

knock-knock

“Hang on jes a sec, I'm comin'.” Applejack made her way up the cellar steps and trotted towards the front door. “Sorry 'bout that; ya caught me in th' middle of pressin' cider, an'- oh, heya, Derpy!”

“Hi, Applejack!” The mailmare gave her a broad smile. “Don't worry about it; you're last on my route today. You've got a package!”

“A package? Huh. I wasn't expectin' nothin'....” She watched as the pegasus pulled a fairly large, carefully-wrapped package out of her saddlebags, settling it on one wing as she retrieved a clipboard. Applejack took the attached pen in her mouth and scrawled her signature, then took the parcel. “Thanks, Derpy,” she said.

“No problem! Oh, wait, one other thing- Rainbow wanted me to tell you that the weather team had to push up the next snowstorm to tomorrow, so don't bother doing a lot of shoveling.”

“Heh, figures. Thanks fer th' heads-up! Have a good night.” She waved as the pegasus made an unsteady takeoff and soared into the air, then closed the door and placed the package on the living room table. A couple of well-placed tugs with her teeth had the wrapping off neatly, and in the sturdy cardboard box inside she found three things- a large velvet sack tied off with a string, with a tag identifying it as being from an upscale pet shop in Canterlot, as well as a smaller cloth sack and a folded letter. She picked up the last item and opened it to read, finding it to be a carefully-penned hoofwritten- or, apparently, hand-written- letter.

“Dear Applejack,

There's been a lot of talk about Sveti and I saving Dewdrop, but I haven't forgotten that there was a third party involved, without whom we might never have found the filly until it was much too late. Enclosed please find a bag of gourmet dog treats for Winona as thanks for her heroism; if I have any say about it, she'll be getting a medal as well. Also, please tell your brother that I thank him again for his help getting back to Ponyville.

Also please find enclosed six bits as payment for three apples I took from your orchard during my first 'visit' to Ponyville. It was a matter of necessity, but I always repay my debts whenever I can, especially considering how kind and welcoming your family was towards me during my second visit.

I also want to thank you for talking with Sveti about her loss. She only recently told me about what happened to her father, and while I'll do whatever I can to help her, it's good that she has a friend who understands what she's going through; I can see it's really helped her. You're one of the best ponies I've met during my time in Equestria, and I don't doubt that your parents would be proud of you.

Sveti tells me that you and your friends will be starring in a play about the holiday called 'Hearth's Warming Eve'. We have a similar holiday where I'm from, and while I admit that I wish I could be with my family to celebrate it, I'm thankful that I have friends here as well. Princess Cadance has gifted Sveti and I tickets to the play, and I'm looking forward to seeing it. If you and the others would like to stop by the Embassy while in Canterlot, we'd be glad to have you- the staff is having a party that morning to celebrate, and friends are welcome to join.

Yours,
Peter Collins”

Applejack chuckled to herself as she set the letter down on the table. “I'll tell ya what, Peter,” she said quietly. “Yer really terrible at bein' a monster.”

Then she let out a loud whistle. “Winona!” she shouted. “C'mere, girl. Y' got a gift from a friend.”

(-)

“I'm going to admit that I wasn't sure about you at first, but you're proving to be a dependable worker, Farris.”

Farris Wheel couldn't help but smile at the praise. “Well, Mister Revue, I wanted to prove that I was worth hiring,” he said. “And that you weren't wrong in giving me a chance.”

“Well, so far you've done that.” Encore Revue's rather light but noticeable Prench accent was still a bit difficult for Wheel to understand at times, but he'd been getting better at it during the two weeks since he'd started this job. “You may find yourself at the head of the stage crew before long if you keep up this dedication, young stallion! Now, I understand that you've asked not to work the Hearth's Warming Eve show, for understandable reasons- but I've had a couple of callouts for tonight's performance of See, Say, Show for the 4th School District foals, so could I get you to stay tonight to help out the crew?”

“Oh, sure, I don't mind at all.” And he didn't; not only did it mean a bit of extra pay, but also some goodwill from the stage crew... and he remembered loving the story the play was based on when he was a colt himself, and a chance to see it performed- even if only from the wings of the stage- would definitely lift his spirits.

Setting up went easily enough- though he was a little worried about a two-story-tall prop tower that looked like it hadn't seen maintenance in quite some time- and Wheel settled himself down to watch the last rehearsal before the evening performance. Everything seemed to go fine until the second act, which was when Klumby the Clown was due to make his first appearance- only there was no sign of anypony in a clown suit to be found. “Okay, where's Crater?” somepony called out. “Has anypony seen him?”

Wheel realized that he actually hadn't seen the bulky earth pony at all that day- in fact, the last time had been two days ago, when Crater had been seemingly moody and withdrawn for a reason he hadn't wanted to talk about. The rehearsal was put on hold while the crew went around the theater looking for him; Wheel had just come out of the stallions' room without any sighting when the rear theater doors practically crashed open. “Hey, I'm here!” Crater shouted, his voice slurred and his steps unsteady.

Shocked realization crossed Wheel's mind. He's drunk?!

“Yeah, so c'mon, let's do this!” Crater somehow made his way towards the stage, leaving behind the telltale smell of peach cider along his path. “What're we on, Act Two? C'mon, let's all get in place and get this dumb thing started.”

“Crater.” Encore stepped onto the stage, his face set in a frown. “What are you doing? Have you been drinking?”

“I'm not as think as you drunk I am. C'mon, this is just some dumb foal's show, so who cares?”

“I care, Crater. It's the responsibility of the crew to care about the production! This show is as important as any other!”

“Pfft. That's not what my fillyfriend said, before she trotted out on me to go flirt with some waiter who called himself an actor!” Crater raised his voice in a horrible, screeching facsimile of a mare's tone. “ 'Oh, you just play some bumbling clown in a foal's show? That's just not what I'm looking for.' Well buck you, Pond Shimmer. More like Pond Scum!”

Encore approached the ranting stallion. “Crater, get off the stage. You're in no condition to perform.”

“The buck I'm not! Who're you to tell me what to-” Crater made to shove Encore with both forehooves, but his balance was completely shot and all he managed to do was send himself crashing into the prop tower behind him... which immediately gave in under the impact and sent plaster and scaffolding crashing down on top of him.

“Tétines de Luna!” Encore immediately began trying to lift the wreckage with his magic. “Somepony get a medical team here!” he shouted. Wheel galloped onto the stage with the rest of the backstage crew as one of the actors rushed outside to get help.

Suddenly, part of the wreckage fell aside, and Crater stood on his hind legs, raising one forehoof to the rafters. “...and not one bit for tribute!” he shouted, his voice as clear and stentorian as one of the great actors of the Canterlot elite... and then he collapsed on the spot before his bizarre quote had even finished echoing through the theater.

It was a worry-filled few minutes before an emergency response team made it to the location, and after a hooffull of tests they determined that Crater seemed to have escaped permanent harm but needed to be put under observation for a day or two to be safe. As the still-unconscious pony was carted out and the mess on the stage was cleaned up, Wheel heard Encore let out a sigh. “Well... I suppose tonight's performance is a wash,” the unicorn murmured. “Klumby's part is too integral to the play to just leave out.”

“Don't we have anypony else who's studied the part?” somepony asked.

“We couldn't find anypony else who'd take the part. It's too physical for most unicorns or pegasi, and a lot of actors are too uptight to 'get into' how ridiculous the role can be.” Encore shook his head slowly. “The foals are going to be disappointed.”

Wheel stared down at the floor thoughtfully for a moment... then raised a hoof. “Mister Revue? Maybe I can fill in.”

“Farris?” The unicorn looked up. “You can fill in? You never told me you had acting experience.”

“Uh... I don't.” He scratched at the back of his neck. “But I read the book a lot when I was a colt, and I think I still remember most of the lines. And, honestly, I don't mind that the part's silly.”

Encore gazed at him appreciatively for a moment, then turned. “Ashwood? Twinkle? Do you think you could handle ad-libbing if Mister Wheel here were to play the part of Klumby but couldn't remember all the lines?”

Both actors looked at each other, then back to the director. “Certainly, I think we can manage,” Twinkle replied, giving Wheel a smile. “The show must go on!”

There was thankfully a spare costume for Wheel to wear- though it had been sized for Crater and was almost ridiculously loose on his trimmer frame- and he was given a copy of the script to go over before the performance. He spent the three hours he had until showtime going over it as much as he could, but he still felt entirely unprepared fifteen minutes before the show was scheduled to start. This was a bad idea, he thought, gingerly making his way towards the edge of the curtain. I should've let somepony else take the role. I'm not an actor; I've got no business being on a stage!

Then he nudged the curtain aside to look out at the audience, and saw the dozens upon dozens of foals seated beyond the stage, all of them looking excited and happy. Almost against his own will, he found himself imagining the disappointment that would show on those young faces if the show they were looking forward to was canceled just because he was afraid of going out on a stage. I can't let that happen, he decided, letting the curtain fall back into place. Those colts and fillies out there came here to have fun and see a show. It's not their fault Crater went and got drunk... so why should they have to go home unhappy? Stallion up, Wheel- you've got to do what you can.

He kept that thought in his head like a mantra until it was finally time for him to take position on-stage... and then, as if some magic button had been pressed, his mind cleared of everything but what he needed for the play. And when that spotlight hit him, he gave the biggest grin his face could manage and projected his voice as loud and clear as possible so that every last pony in the farthest row could hear. “Hey, everypony! Did somepony call for Klumby?!”

The ninety-minute performance seemed to simply fly by for Wheel. There were a half-dozen points during the play where he couldn't remember his lines, but panic was the furthest thing from his mind; he seamlessly ad-libbed a line or joke to keep the act going, and the other actors were sharp enough to run with it. The audience seemed to explode into laughter with every pratfall and stunt he performed, each one getting all of his energy and effort to make it look as convincing as possible. Foals love over-the-top slapstick, so long as it doesn't look like anypony's actually getting hurt, he reminded himself, even while he play-staggered across the stage after being hit in the head by a comically large foam hammer.

He was nearly exhausted by the time the play came to an end, but there was no way he was going to miss the curtain call, taking his place with the other actors to bow before the cheering, stomping audience. Other actors, he thought giddily. I can't believe I actually did all that. This... this feels amazing. He could actually feel his knees wobbling as the curtain closed once more, and the various congratulatory hoof-pats and playful pushes from the rest of the crew almost sent him falling over a couple of times.

Then he looked up and saw Encore staring at him with a slack-jawed expression. “Mister Wheel,” he said slowly, as if not quite trusting himself with words. “You... you've told me that you had absolutely no theater experience before today. I didn't somehow mishear you, did I?”

“Um... no, sir, I've never set hoof on a stage as an actor until tonight.”

The unicorn shook his head slowly. “You, young stallion, have been neglecting an exceptional talent, then! You had all the purpose and energy of a professional; the joy you took in that role was almost palpable!”

“Well, I- I mean... I didn't want the foals to be disappointed, you know? I've... I've always wanted to entertain ponies, especially foals. I always thought that was supposed to be my special talent. I just never had the chance to really try.”

“Well, Mister Wheel, I don't think that last part is true any longer.” Encore smiled. “I would be completely remiss in my responsibilities as a patron of the arts if I didn't nurture talent whenever and wherever I find it. And you, my good Farris, have talent in spades. I'd like you to begin as an understudy here in this theater- I'll arrange for lessons in dancing and singing, if you feel you can handle roles involving them. What say you, Mister Wheel- would you like to trot the boards as an actor rather than a stage hoof?”

Some part of him wanted to decline, fearing that he wasn't ready to be in the limelight, to have the eyes of ponies on him so soon after what'd happened with the Everfree Yeti- with Peter, he corrected himself. But after being on that stage, after hearing the applause and knowing that it was meant for him as much as anypony else there, he couldn't turn his flank on it and walk away now... he'd finally found what had been missing in his life, all of these years. “Yes,” he found himself saying.

“C'est le sabot! I'm thrilled to hear it, young stallion. I'll see you here two days from now at 8AM sharp; take tomorrow off and rest- you've earned it.”

“I... I will, Mister Revue. Thank you. Thank you!” Wheel was so excited that he nearly forgot to take off his costume, making his way to the exit amidst congratulations from the crew, and feeling like a pegasus trotting on clouds the entire way to the apartment he'd shared with Silver Wisk since they'd been released from the castle. He was also exceptionally tired and sweaty, so the first thing he did upon getting home was take a hot shower.

He happened to glance in the mirror as he was drying himself, and paused for a moment, feeling as if something was off but not quite able to put a hoof on it at first. Then he realized- the alien-looking feature of his expression was a smile. He'd been smiling the entire time since he'd left the theater, more broadly than he could remember doing in a very long time.

That smile stayed on his lips even as he settled into bed and quickly fell asleep.