Sleep has never really been an issue for me in the past. I remember when I first started out as a mercenary I had trouble sleeping after a few missions. I was new to the field, and it was a tough time for me. But, as I grew more into the field, it became easier and easier. Now, any mission I do I can almost guarantee that I'll sleep perfectly fine. It comes with the field. But, there are a few things that I can not sleep through-

SNOOOOOORE

-such as a snoring orc-

SNOOOOOORE

-a snoring farmer-

SNOOOOOORE

-and Butterscotch. I suddenly miss the days where I got my own room and didn't have to deal with this crap. I could just go sleep in one of the observation towers, but at this point it'd be pointless. I can already tell it'll be my time to go on patrol soon.

SNOOOOOORE

My eye twitches when their snores sync up for a moment. How could it possibly get any worse than this!?

"Mmm, you know I like it like that.... sweet cheeks." That's it! Ellzy sleep talking is the last straw for me. I toss my blankets off and march out of the room as quickly as possible. In the future I'll have to find somewhere else to sleep. Or go to sleep first. Either way, I can not be conscious when the others are asleep.

I trot into the mess hall and grab a bowl of oats for breakfast. I eat them dry, trying to get out of the building as quickly as possible. I doesn't take me long to down the dry meal, grab my gear, and head out the front door. I drop my stuff in a huff and begin to do my stretches for the day. When I twist to the side to stretch out my back, I freeze up when I see the massive blue thing on top of the fort. It has the body of a large lizard and the head of a bird. It has feathers all around it's head and along a good portion of its body. It doesn't have scales though. It instead has a crystalline body of light sapphire.

"..."

It looks down at me and cocks its head ninety degrees to the right, then the left.

"..."

"SQUAAAA!" I look around at the surrounding posts for any kind of back up. The only person I can see on duty is Sledge, but he's on the other side of the compound looking away from here. I reach out for my radio, but stop when the creature in front of me twitches with my movements. It's eyeing me closely, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

"AAAAAHH! I slept like a foal!" Dust Devil yawns loudly as she walks out to me. I begin to panic as the creature begins to eye her as well.

"Uhh.... Dust?"

"I should take that blanket home with me. I love heavy wool blankets! They're the best-"

"U-uh... Dust!?"

"I just wish those cots were a bit softer. I think I have a kink in my back-"

"Dust! I need you to-"

"Maybe I can get Butterscotch to give me a back rub, or something. Uhg. this-"

"DUST!"

"What!?"

"SQUAAA!" Dust jumps up and does a flip in the air before landing behind me in a defensive pose. She gasps when she finally gets a good look the giant creature above us.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" I cover my ears from Dusts scream. From within the building I can hear the rest of the Spartans scrambling. When she finally stops screaming it takes me a moment to get my hearing back to normal.

"What the... Dust?" I look around for a moment before I hear flapping above me.

"HE'S ADORABLE!" I look back up to see Dust land just before the large creature, squeezing her cheeks with her hooves.

"DUST!? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!? GET DOWN FROM THERE BEFORE IT EATS YOU!" I yell frantically as I start to pull my sword out.

"But he's so cute! Aren't you sweetie!?" she says sweetly to the creature as she steps closer to it. The creature quickly brings it's large beak down and pins Dust down to the roof.

"DUST!" I quickly teleport on top, only to find Dust giggling as the creature sniffs her all over. They both pause to stare at me before the creature squawks at me. I try to run from it, but it quickly grabs me in its beak and brings me back down below, dropping me in front of the rest of the Spartans before running back up to its nest on our roof. I shift around a bit, but once I'm certain I'm not harmed I get back up and glare at the creature.

"I don't think he likes you Will-"

"GET DOWN FROM THERE DUST!" I cut her off, jumping a bit in anger.

"But she's so cute! Can we keep her?" she asks eagerly.

"NO!" I yell, then pause. "She?"

"Yeah, there are three black eggs up here. So, I guess it's a she, and she's gonna be a mommy!" Dust cheers, jumping up and giving a little twirl.

"Eggs!" Raz cheers as well, getting odd looks from everypony else. "Marvelous! I'll start a fire pit and we shall have our fill today!"

"What!? NO!" Dust yells at him as he marches off. "Storm don't let him eat her eggs!"

"Storm, tell her to get rid of it!" He looks between the two of us, weighing his options. Everypony stares at him for a moment before the creature squawks again. It jumps back down to the ground and quickly runs to my gear. It looks it over for a moment before picking up my helmet and running back to the top of the building.

"YOU BASTARD! THAT'S MINE!" I yell as I summon it back to me. It glances down at me before squawks at me and jumps down, eyeing my helmet. I look to the others for a moment before turning tail and running.

"SQUAAA!"

For a good ten minutes the Spartans and I watch as True Will ran around the compound to try and avoid the creature. But it was clearly obvious that without using magic that the creature held the advantage in speed. But once the creature would take it back to its nest, Will would just summon it back to him. It reminded me a lot of how Philomena and Softy would play. It was obviously a game to one, and a matter of pride to the other.

"Hey Johnathan?" I call out to the owl griffin, getting him to step up to me. "What is that thing?"

"Well," he says as he pushes his Pince-nez glasses up slightly, "if I would take a leap of faith and guess, I'd say it's a crystal drake. But I'm not one hundred percent on that, due to its friendly nature."

"Oh?" I ask as the creature, possibly a crystal drake, picks up Will and sets him on top of one of the towers. His screams of terror amuse me until he teleports back down.

"Yes, well, generally speaking drakes tend to be more violent towards outsiders, especially when around their nest. The fact that it's treating us like its young is... odd." We pause when Will starts to try and pull his helmet out from its beak. But the creature simply lifts him up and brings him up to the nest with her. He tries to get out, but now she won't let him leave.

"Is there any other creature that looks like that?" I ask as I watch him scream for help as she pins him lightly with her forelegs. Rather than help, Dust joins him.

"None that come to mind. If I had a chance to go over my tomes I could possibly find one, but at the moment it's an extraordinarily friendly crystal drake." We all pause and look back up. The creature is eyeing us curiously as Will tries to crawl his way out from beneath the creature. Dust... is happy.

"I got it!" Lief yells, gaining our attention suddenly. "It built its nest on top of our sleeping area, so we must have her scent! It must think we're all its young!" Jonathan nods to his idea, looking back up to the creature.

"That makes a lot of sense actually. And it shows a lot about drake behavior as well... I'll be back!" Before we could ask anything further, he flies into the fort to get... whatever he's getting.

"Lieutenant Storm, you need to come up here!" Dust yells down to me. The fact she called me by rank makes me pause before flying up there. The crystal drake squawks at me, but doesn't do anything beyond that. "Look."

"What is that?" I peer inside the nest and see a metal object buried in the branches. I step up and start to dig around until I discover the shoulder of familiar looking armor. It has a brass finish and is spiked at the shoulder. It doesn't seem that large, far too thin for a pony to wear.

"That's goblin armor." True Will mentions, done trying to escape the drake.

"That's not just goblin armor." I tell them as I dust it off a bit, looking it over closely. "It's heavy military armor. Look at the battery pack on the back."

"What are military personnel from the Goblin Empire doing here? I've never heard of goblin raiding parties striking this far from their territory. That, and they don't normally wear heavy armor in their hunting parties." True Will tells me.

"Dust; you, Jonathan, Night, and Shifted get geared up. I want you all to scout the area around here within a twenty mile radius. I'll have Tiber and Si Ye launch as well for support. I don't think we're the only ones here."

"Yes sir! But..." she eyes up a few times before giving me her best puppy dog eyes. I sigh and glance up at the crystalline creature.

"She can stay-"

"WHAT!?" Will screams.

"YES!" Dust screams.

"So long as she provides security and doesn't hinder our operations. If it steps out of line, then Raz gets to eat it. Now get going! That armor hasn't been sitting there for long." I yell at them as I move my attention to the pony trying to be as small as possible. "SLEDGE! How did a giant chicken lizard get past you!?"

Once I knew what I needed to get into the moot, mother and I left immediately. A few other dragons followed after us, but kept their distance. I paid them no mind though, I have too much on my mind to think about them.

What am I going to give as an offering of power? I don't own anything that they would deem worthy enough, at least I don't think so. Then there's the issue of what they determine to be power. Is it something symbolic, or physical? Maybe it should be both, just to be safe. I don't think I could get away with doing just one anyway. Not after everything I've done.

"Spike," mother comments, still tucked into herself. "Stop pacing around so much, you're starting to wear the ground away." I look down at the doughnut shaped hole in the cave ground and step out of it in a huff. "What is wrong?"

"You know what's wrong! I have to bring an offering of power in three days and I have no clue what to bring!" I begin pacing again as I start to go over possibilities. "Maybe I should do a demonstration of power? Or should I make something powerful? But I'm not that good at making foci. Maybe I can get Miles to make one for- no! No, I have to do this."

"We have a visitor." Mother comments. I turn to the entrance of the cave and flare my hands, ready for anything. At first I don't see anything, but when something shift in the shadows I lower my guard a bit and approach the figure.

"You can come out now." I growl out. I hear the figure gulp before stepping out into the light. I immediately relax and glare at the dragon before me. I remember her as the dragon from before, the one that called me out. I frown at her and step closer, eyeing her closely. She's a frail one, I can tell that. She's has an amethyst color about her, slightly lighter than me, with lighter undertones. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I... uh... I was... um..." she mumbles as she looks away, fiddling with her claws a bit.

"Well?" She looks up to me for a second before looking back down to the ground. I hear mother chuckle and start to get up.

"I'll leave you two alone," she says teasingly. I drop my tough guy visage and gawk at her.

"W-what!? No you won't!" I squeak out at her.

"Yes I will," she retorts simply, walking out of the cave. I was going to chase after her when the girl next to me giggled.

"What are you laughing at!?" The purple dragon returns to looking at the ground, though I can see the traces of a grin on her face. I ignore her for a second to chase after my mother. When I make it out of the cave I stop and watch her take to the air, ending any hope of catching her. With a huff of annoyance I turn back to the cave and re-approach the dragon. "What are you doing here!?"

"Um... I-I was just... curious," she mumbles.

"Remember what I told you earlier?" I ask, making her nod. "Then leave." I turn and march to the other end of the cave where I drop down to sit against the wall. The girl looks around for a second before slowly walking towards the cave entrance. Three steps into it though she turns back to me.

"W-why are you such a loner?" she asks quickly, making me glare at her. "You've never lived around dragons, and now I'm trying to at least talk to you and you push me away! Do you like being alone that much or do you just not know how to-"

"Shut it!" I snap, silencing her. I sigh and sit up a bit more, suddenly thinking back to Rarity. Spikey! You never tell a lady to 'shut it'! "Look, it's complicated. Do yourself a favor and leave me alone." She mulls what I said over for a moment before smirking to me.

"Mommas boy." I growl at her as she turns and starts to run away. I jump up and step out to the center of the cave, igniting my claws. Just as she makes it to the center of the cave I pull back at her, making a powerful gust of wind fling her back towards me. She hits the ground and slides for a bit before coming to a stop just before my feet. She looks up to me before giving me a weak smile. "Uh... hey there... Mr. Spike sir... so... I didn't mean that by the way! That was a joke, a really dumb joke that... you know, dragons laugh at. And why am I even talking!? I should really stop now! So... I just going to stop talking now... so I don't say any other bad... dragon... jokes.... okay... please don't-"

"Do you ever stop talking?" I ask, silencing her. I shake my head and go back to my spot in the cave, being sure to leave my magic on. "What's your name?"

"Um... I'm Maant Iliis."

"Maant Iliis, Diamond Hide, why did you come all the way out here?" She looks away again, trying to form an answer. I kneel down so my lite claws are closer to her face. "Why did you come here?"

Instead of an answer she simply closes her eyes and spreads her legs. I look down for a second and feel my fire go out. Without a word said, I stand up and slowly walk out of the cave. I kind of just stand there for a moment. Staring out at the world before me. After a few moments I hear her walk out after me, shuffling around nervously.

"Um... are you okay?" she asks timidly. I gulp as I try to ignore her. But, obviously, she couldn't go without a response. "Did you now understand my intent?"

"..."

"I-I was offering myself... to you... well?"

"..."

"I know I called you a jerk earlier, and then a mommas boy, but... I mean... if you were more of a dragon this would make sense-"

"More of a dragon!?" I snap, looking back to her. "I'm powerful enough to take on Bolas!"

"Of course! Of course! I didn't mean anything by it! I was-"

"Was what? Insult me? Seduce me? What exactly were you planning on achieving here?!" She takes a few steps back and holds her claws before herself again. She avoids my eyes as she starts to mumble to herself. I growl in frustration and quickly approach her, pinning her to the wall behind her. "OUT WITH IT!"

"I THOUGHT THAT IF I GOT ON YOUR GOOD SIDE YOU WOULD TEACH ME YOUR MAGIC!" she yells out before ducking down and covering her head. I glare down at her and start to ignite my magic before a light goes off in my head. A plan to get me into the moot and gain respect with the other dragons.

"Train you in magic." I mumble as I think over the implications. It would require taking her back home in a life long commitment to training in the arcane arts. Rarity might become infuriated with my choice of apprentice. No where near as mad as Miles will when he hears about this. I'm still learning myself, what do I have to offer to teach? But, then again, the dragons don't know that I'm the student. For all they know, I'm the master.

"I-I know it was a stupid idea and I'm not worth your time! I-I'll leave and never bother you again mist-"

"How serious are you about this?" I ask, silencing her suddenly. "This is not something you pick up suddenly. This will require a lifetime of commitment and constant study to even become decent at. This will change your life forever, Maant. So, I ask you again, how serious are you about this?" She stays down for a moment longer, thinking over her response deeply. I stand there patiently, waiting what she has to say for herself.

"I-I've lived my entire life in fear of other, more powerful, dragons. To have the chance to become strong enough to stand against Bolas himself... I'm willing to do anything." She stands up shakily and stares me right in the eyes. I can see the conviction within her own, along with the pain of something else. "Please, make me strong! I'm tired of being pushed around, I want to stand up for myself now! I beg you, give me that chance!"

"I'm only going to warn you once. This will change your life. As I am an outcast for other dragons, so will you. This form a magic requires a mindset different than that of a dragons. You are asking to become an outsider of your own people. Can you do that? Can you leave all of this behind?" She looks down for a second before looking back up to me with that same determined look.

"When do we start?" I give her a toothy grin before marching back outside, beckoning her to follow after me.

"First things first, we need to meet up with the Spartans."

Once it was well enough into the day I set out to talk to Luna again. Applebloom is watching over Apple Slice and Granny Smith with Rampant helping out. Shy felt it necessary to tag along as well. It's not that I want to keep her in the dark about this, it's just that I'd rather have her helping with the kids. But, she politely refused to listen to me, then apologized a thousand times for arguing with me. I haven't seen her this ornery since Jasper... now that I think about it, I still don't know what happened with her and Mac back then.

"How much was it again?" Shy asks quietly as she tries to keep up with my quick pace.

"Too much, that's how much." I growl as I think back to that pansy little pencil pusher.

"Is the farm ready for something like this-"

"The only thing ah'm ready ta do is wring that pencil pushing dingle-berry's neck out!"

"Oh... my. Um... was she really that rude-"

"He was ruder than rude! He was downright despicable! Iffin it was up ta me, I'd buck his flank back ta Canterlot and be done with his nonsense! That carnsarn little plot head!"

"Applejack! Language!" I roll my eyes at her and quicken my pace up the path to Lunas home. I don't bother with opening the door and march right in. I look both ways and find Luna sitting at the dining room table, holding her head up with her hoof. She's reading some old tome that looks like it could blow away any second now, with dozens of other ancient books sitting all over the table. She holds a hoof up to us and continues reading, so Shy and I take a seat across from her. I look at the multiple cups of coffee and feel a pang of guilt. She must have been up for hours reading up on this.

"I have good news, and I have bad news." She tells me as she finishes up reading and slowly closes the book.

"Well, let's start with the bad then."

"It's legal-"

"AH BUCK THAT!" I yell as I slam my hoof down on the table. Shy gasps at me, but Luna remains as stoic as ever. "How could that possibly be legal!?"

"The ones calling this audit are quoting very old laws. It would seem that around twenty seven hundred years ago it was determined that separate counties would tariff imports to maintain local businesses and create a competitive edge over imports from other nations. This is part of why Equestria has such a powerful mercantile network. We can export, but importing is just a nightmare." She gives a light chuckle as she pats the book. "Funnily enough, this is the same law book that made Miles and I rulers of Equestria-"

"Luna."

"Right! There is a loophole though! All we need to do is first make an appeal to either the night court or day court and ask for an investigation to be made. And yes, we actually need to make an appeal at court so there is the proper documentation. Then, with some luck, we can appeal to all of your contacts and customers to sign a petition to have the investigation benched. From there we-"

"Luna!" I bark, getting her to pause. "I appreciate all of the help you're giving me, ah really do. But I need to make sales now. All of this political business is... it's just gonna take too long. Is there a way to get this resolved early?" Luna mulls it over for a second before pulling several books over with her magic and starts to read again. I groan and let my head hit the table. We're doomed, doomed! We'll fall behind on sales, the farm will fall into disrepair, we'll have an entire harvest go bad, all for nothing!

"It's okay Aj, I'm sure Luna will figure something out." Shy tells me as she rubs my back. I groan in response.

"Applebloom needs new duds fer school. Then the house needs ta be re-shingled before the rains come. Not to mention diapers, food, an any other daily things we use all of the time. We don't have that much saved up, and we're not digging into Bloom's college fund!"

"We wouldn't dream of it." Shy reassures me, rubbing a bit firmer on my back.

"We need this next harvest or we'll dig ourselves too deep ta bounce back. We've always been on the border of black and red, this'll plunge us ta-"

"Stop your crying, I found another loophole." Luna cuts me off.

"Really! What is it?!"

"Well... it's sort of a loophole-"

"Well is it or isn't it!? Why ya gettin me all worked up over sumpting that might not be-"

"Applejack." Luna says calmly, silencing me. "This method is technically not legal, but is at the same time. This all hangs on whether or not we can convince this audit pony to hold off the investigation. If we can do that, then we can buy ourselves some time. But that won't end this problem. But, I'm sure that if we appeal to his better nature we'll-"

"Ah'll have ta stop ya there. There aint no way we're getting through to that pony. No way, no how."

"How can you be so sure?" Luna asks.

"Well, besides the fact that he's a bureaucrat, pencil pushing, scroll rutter? I... may have yelled at him a teeny tiny bit." I pull my hat over my face and try to avoid eye contact with the two of them.

"Well then... I'm sure that if you apologize-"

"Apologize!?"

"-and keep in mind that this is for the betterment of your family, he'll come around. And, if all else fails, bring him to me and I'll try to appeal to his better pony nature." I look back to her for a moment before nodding to her. If it's for my family, I'll do almost anything for them. Even if I really don't want to.

"Mom?" We all look over to see Tempestive standing in the doorway to the kitchen, drinking a juice box. "What's a scroll rutter?"

"Go to your room." Luna tells him before glaring back to me.

Most ponies my age love Saturdays. They go out with their friends, play games, eat sweets, do average teenager stuff. Not me. Saturday is work day in Moosden, and today is no different. I'm basically Moms assistant as she goes from business to business and check on current affairs. I didn't think being an assistant would be all that hard. Note taking, holding a few things here and there, maybe if this was some other town. Not Mooseden.

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE PUNK!" Mom yells as she barrels down main street. That colt from before returned again and has stolen a bag of apples. The unicorn is fast on his hooves and seems to know the town fairly well. No matter how many bots jump in his way he knows a way around them. He slides between their legs and teleports a short distance away. By limiting himself, he's saving energy. He's smart, I'll give him that. Even with the most well formed plan of attack, Mom hasn't been able to catch him in the few months he's been here. Mom is feeling optimistic about today. I'm... terrified.

"NOW SHADOW NOW!" I jump when my name is called. I yank a rope and create a trip wire in front of the pony. But,instead of being stopped, he blows through it. Yanking the rope out of my mouth. He skids to a halt on the mico platform and teleports away. But, not before blowing a kiss to Mom. She slides to a stop in front of the platform and starts a tirade of cussing, stomping her hooves repetitively. I smack my lips a few times as the ropes burn starts to kick in on my mouth.

"Ssss, that really hurt." I comment as I walk up to her. She stops fuming and grabs my face, looking me over closely. I try to back away from her, but in her rage she uses her iron hoof to hold me in place.

"How bad is it? Do you need a doctor?" she asks as she tilts my head from side to side.

"I don't think so-"

"Band-aid? Salve?"

"No, I'm fine! I just-"

"Ice pack?" She stops moving my head around and gives me a stern look, clearly still angry about the local thief.

"... fine-"

"Okay, come on sweetie." Oh no, she called me sweetie. Nothing good happens after that terrible, terrible, awful word... except when it's Sweetie Bell of course. The best course of action from here on out is to say as little as possible and just agree with her on everything.

We weave our way through the small crowd that has gathered around and step inside our home. This has to be one of the few times I've felt embarrassed here. Not even Dad calling me Shad in his baby voice compares to have to walk past everypony as you let the local nuisance get away. I wanted to tell Mom that I wan't the best pony for the job, but I don't get to whine my way out of work.

E'Claire and Butterscotch are the guardians of our small town. It's their job to oversee the growth and prosperity of Mooseden, as atonement to the town. Dad reformed Mooseden after claiming it for Terradisia. I'm the daughter of the three of them. Even though they've never put any actual responsibility on me, it's there without them saying so. If I screw up, it reflects on them. It's a lot of pressure, but usually it's not a big deal. It's only become a problem ever since that one pony showed up and started stealing food. He has to be new to Ponyville, it's the only place he could run to after taking the mico platform. How he knows of the platform and how to avoid the bots is beyond me. He must know something we don't. Either way, he's a pest and life is going to be easier when we catch him. I just hope I have a muzzle when that day finally comes.

So I follow Mom home where she storms over to the fridge and starts to angrily make an ice pack. I take a seat in the kitchen and patiently for her to return. Nothing I say at the moment will really help, so I'll just wait for her to start fuming.

"I just don't get it!" Here we go. "Ponyville isn't even getting hit that hard! Why does he have to steal from us!? At this point I think he's just doing it to piss me off!"

"I highly doubt that-"

"He blew a kiss at me! That pompous little twerp thinks he's going to get away again, ooooh, he's got another thing coming, that's for sure!" She slams a few things around before brings a wash cloth with ice over. I flinch when she forces it against my lip but don't fight it too much. She's mad, free pass.

"Maybe next time we'll use two ropes-"

"Next time I'm using an army of bots with guns and missiles and fucking giant ass grappling cannon things!"

"... Um... not that that isn't a good idea, but I think Dad, as well as most of the town, would get mad if you used half of those-"

"They won't be mad when I string that little shmuck up and tan his hide!" She starts adding a bit more force to the ice, making me hiss in pain. "Sorry sweetie-"

"Maybe we need to approach this differently." I tell her as I take the wash cloth of ice away from her.

"Oh, and how would you capture him?" I stop and think about it for a second before thinking of the obvious. "Why don't we just chase him all the way home and confront him there?"

"Because he lives in Ponyville most likely. We don't have the jurisdiction to arrest him there!"

"Well... better to stop him than capture him-"

"Absolutely not! I will not rest until I have both my hooves on his straggly little neck!" She takes the ice pack away from me and starts to crush it in her hooves, chuckling to herself as a few strands of hair start to cover her face. I scoot my chair back as her chuckles turn to full blown evil laughter, thunder somehow breaking in the distance.

"U-Uh... I just remembered I was suppose to help with a school project... in Ponyville... now." This is a new level of crazy for Mom, best to just avoid it all together. I slip out of my seat and start to back peddle towards the door. Moms eyes dilate a bit as she starts to try to rip the cloth apart, dropping crushed ice everywhere as she goes from evil laughter to... vengeful doomsayer. I slip out the door just as she starts to monologue about what terrible things she's going to do to that poor colt.

"Hey Shadow-"

"AH!" I nearly fall over from the voice coming from behind me. I spin around to see one of the moose standing behind me. "Oh, sorry for that dear. Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah... uh.... um..." I can't remember her name suddenly. Just another thing to add to my embarrassment today.

"Shaska-"

"Right! Shaska! You're... you are... uh..." Why? Why me?

"I'm Frank Mooses mother-"

"Right! Right? I-I mean, how can I help you?" I straighten myself out a bit and try to look at least a bit professional in front of her. She smiles and lets it all slide, bless her heart.

"I need to talk to E'Claire about the orphanage, is she in?"

"NO!" I jump back and press my back to the door, scaring her for a moment. "I-I mean, yes, she is in. You just... might want to give her a minute... or two."

"Bad day?" she asks sympathetically.

"Maybe not the worse, but it's up there." I tell her, relaxing a bit. She nods and looks around.

"Well, I guess I'll come back another time then-"

"I can help-"

"Oh no, I wouldn't want you doing your mothers work-"

"I really don't mind-"

"Especially since it's Saturday! Shouldn't you be out with friends or something?" she asks as she takes a step back.

"I'm capable of doing anything my mother is capable of doing. I've been trained with a few healing spells as well as any other emergency protocol procedures. I am capable of dealing with any problem that may-"

"A few of the pups at the orphanage had an accident on the heating furnace," she cuts me off dryly. "The one in the main hall. Because of that the furnace has also stopped working, making it freezing in there."

"..." I really hope she means they peed on it.

"The smell is starting to seep into the other rooms as well-"

"Mom's inside!" Before she could say anything else I make a run for the mic platform. I can deal with a lot of things, that's just not one of them. Anything, but that.

I flash to Ponyville and make a run for it. I'm not entirely sure why, but Ponyville seems safe today... that's a creepy thought. It's odd how it could be one of the most secure locations with some of the most powerful people in the world residing there, yet that only seems to create more conflict. I'll have to bring this up with Dad next time he's home! I'm sure this'll make for some interesting conversation pieces-

"Hey Shadow!"

"GAH!" I jump again from the sudden voice. I really need to work on that. I look up and- "Rumble!? What are you doing here?"

"Um... I live here? Ponyville isn't that big you know." I move past him and try to catch my breath, both from the scare and the impulse running. "So... what are you doing in town today?"

"I... just needed to get away-"

"Great! Well, not great because that probably means you're under a bit of stress, but great in that we could hang out. If you wanted to that is! I mean, if you'd like to, please? I-I mean... uh... this got awkward fast." I stop and look back to him, getting him to go rigid. He starts to sweat a bit as he tries to stand there, avoiding eye contact. "So... would you like to hang out?"

"... maybe another time Rumble. Right now... I don't think that would be a good idea right now." His entire demeanor drops drastically when I tell him. I have to look away from him to avoid pitying him. I know it's cold to push him away like this, but it's what he asked for. Without saying a word to him I turn away and start to walk off. I try to not look back, but I don't need to. Only a few steps away from him he jumps into the air and lands before me with a determined look on his face.

"Rumble-"

"No, you listen and you listen well!" I back peddle from his outburst, losing any response I could have made. "I bucked up, and I bucked up big time. I know this, half the town knows this. But I plan on doing what's right to earn your respect back. And I'm sorry I'm being so forward about this but this is the only way I know how to approach things and hearing myself right now is making me regret this slightly. So, sorry again for this, but I'm not giving up without a fight. Now, I am going over to Mooseden to help with whatever problem has arisen over there. You... uh... can do what you want, but... uh... yeah."

"You're not very good at giving speeches, are you?"

"Dear Celestia no! I'm more of the lead by doing kind of guy." We both share a light chuckle together. I paw at the ground as we both just stand there, waiting for the other to speak up. After a long time passes I look back up to him. "Are you really going to go scrape poop off of a furnace for me?"

"Is that what you're running from?!" I cringe a bit from his outburst, making him sigh. "I-If it gets even the slightest bit of your respect back... t-then sure."

"You don't have to-"

"I know I don't have to. But this is important to me. I messed up. And if that means cleaning up burning poop, then that's what I'm going to do!" I smile at his enthusiasm, making him stand a bit taller.

"It's going to take more than cleaning Rumble."

"I know, but... I have to start somewhere. I guess that means starting in the shit... POOP! I meant poop! Sorry." I laugh at his apology, getting him to relax.

"Trust me, I've heard much worse things from my father's mouth. And I'm being serious, you don't have to do this-"

"All the more reason to do it!"

"You're not even a Terradisian-"

"Do I need to be to clean up poop?"

"My mother is probably going to ask a million questions!"

"And I'll answer them all." I do a double take when he says that.

"All of them?" I ask cautiously.

"Aren't you the one who said there are no secrets there?"

"Well, yes. But it's my mother! She's going to ask about... about what happened." He tilts his head at me, confused about something.

"I figured as much."

"She'll kill you! And I don't mean that in the metaphorical sense! She's plotting t o kill some colt whose stealing apples, imagine what she's going to do to the colt that cheated on her daughter!" He thinks about it for a second before walking towards my home. I teleport in front of him to stop him, but he simply walks around me. "Are you crazy or do you just have a death wish!?" He stops in his tracks and looks back at me with those same intense eyes as before.

"I don't care how much of a dork I will sound like, or about the fact that there is a crowd of ponies watching us, here's the truth. Yes, I am crazy. From the moment I laid eyes on you, you are all I can think about! I am wings down crazy about you! And yes, I realize how creepy that sounds! It sounded way more romantic in my head!"

"Why are you still yelling?" I ask as I try to shrink down.

"I don't know! I-I really don't know! So, I'm going to Mooseden now to clean up poop! I'll see you later, and sorry again for causing a scene!" With that he takes off into the sky, flying as quickly as possible. I take a look at the small crowd around me and teleport away. Too many eyes, way too many eyes. I need to escape. I wonder if Mama Luna would let me stay at Canterlot until I'm in my twenties?

Cultural Reference Guide: Statera

Calling Ponyrun players 2.0

Shout out to Shadow Faith for picking the colors of Maant Illis! Thanks for reading, and like always,

Brony on!