As expected everything went back to normal once the heat was over. The girls all apologized for their actions which I accepted just to get them off my back. Over the course of the next two weeks the girls did little but talk about the Grand Galloping Gala. Even Spike seemed excited for it much to my chagrin. Thankfully there was one event that happened to break up the monotony.

It was a normal day which Ponyville gets too few of. I had finally found my bracer after searching for days at work. Since I hadn’t been wearing it when I changed back it was still pony sized. As such I decided the best thing to do with it would be to toss it into the Everfree and hope that something tears it apart.

I was walking through town to do just that when Applejack ran over to me looking more scared than I ever thought possible from her. “Don! Please tell me you have seen Applebloom?”

“Nope. She wasn’t at school?”

“That’s just it. Cherilee told me that she ran off during recess. No one has seen her since.” She seemed on the verge of crying. “I need to find her.”

Ran off during recess huh? Sounds like the bullies and AJ’s babying have finally done their work. “Alright Applejack. I was heading to Zecora’s to talk to her about something. I’ll check the forest while I’m there.”

“Thank you Don. I… I just need to find her.” With that she sprinted off. I continued walking to the forest hoping that my reasoning was sound. Applebloom’s smart. If she felt hurt she would want to find someone to talk to. I doubt she would risk going to the library to see me so that should leave Zecora. I didn’t stop my relaxed pace as I entered the Everfree. Once I was a good ten minutes down the trail I picked up the bracer in my telekinesis and tossed it as hard as I could between the tree line.

I made it to Zecora’s and knocked on the door. Zecora only opened the door a crack at first but once she saw me she swung it wide open. Behind her I could see Applebloom sobbing.

“I can guess why you are here. I assume there is nothing to fear?”

“Your right Zecora, I’m here for Applebloom. I’m not going to take her back to Applejack though.”

Zecora’s eyes lit up as I spoke. “I see, if you propose what I think, then be sure her wants and yours are in sync.”

“Don’t worry Zecora, I’ve done this before.” She nodded and stepped aside to let me in. As soon as I sat down beside Applebloom she leapt on me, burying her muzzle in my chest. I waited until her crying had died down to hiccuping and sniffles before speaking.

“How are you feeling Bloom?” She sniffled a bit before looking up from my tear soaked shirt.

“Don, everything is terrible. I keep getting bullied worse and worse at school. Applejack won’t let me do anything on my own. It’s all just... bad.” She sobbed a bit more into my shirt as I spoke.

“Bloom, if you had a chance to get back at those bullies would you take it?”

Her sobbing stopped before she turned her head up. Through the tears I could see fire in her eyes, a fire that wanted to burn everything it could get its hands on. “Yes. If I could I would have beaten Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon weeks ago. I’d kick em and kick em until they could do no more!”

“What about Applejack? Would you do the same to her and your family for how they treated you.”

I watched the fire in her eyes dim a bit at the thought but after she contemplated it she looked back up. The flames were even brighter. “Yes. I would.”

I just gave her a nice smile in response as a thought crossed my mind. Am I really going to do this? My smile went away as I smothered the stray thought before it could take hold. Of course I am. This is why I convinced Applejack to baby her. This is why I had her stay away from the party. I will not drop my plan now!

“Bloom, you remember that secret I told you about when we were talking about what my cutie mark could have been?” Applebloom thought about it for a moment before giving me her most childish grin.

“Ya. Does that mean you’re going to tell me it now?”

“How about instead I show you.” I placed Applebloom on the ground next to me and stood up. “Zecora, if you would?”

Zecora nodded and closed her eyes. When she opened them again they were pure black. The jewelry she wore began to glow as a red glowing crack formed in the air. The crack grew larger and larger until finally Zecora reared up and the crack tore open with the sound of thunder. Inside all that could be seen was dark clouds and red electricity bouncing between them.

Applebloom was scared by this turn of events but I picked her up and put her on my shoulders to comfort her. She immediately took to grabbing my head. How relaxed her grip was told me she was ready.

“Come on Bloom. I think I know just how to fulfill your desire.”

* * *

Later that day I led Applejack and the other Apples to a spot in the forest. As we entered the clearing they gasped at what they saw. Applejack wretched while Granny Smith fainted at the sight before them.

The entire clearing was covered in blood. It was splattered on the trees and the bushes. You couldn’t tell if the grass was ever green with the amount that had dried on them. In the center of it all was a bow, its normally pink color stained with blotches of red.

It took awhile but the Apples managed to pull themselves together. Despite the horrible scene Applejack insisted on searching more. She did so for about three days before even she gave up. A week after that they held a funeral. Everyone in Ponyville as well as a great deal of the Apple family was in attendance.

I continued working for the family in the days up to the Grand Galloping Gala. They were all very solemn at work not that I wanted to talk to them. Applejack had even gone mute, only nodding or shaking her head in response to whatever was said.

* * *

“Come now Applejack, you need to get ready for the Gala.” The girls were all at the boutique getting beautified up. At first Spike and I weren’t allowed in the room but once I reminded Rarity that they don’t normally wear clothes we were let in. Not that it made a difference to me as I just sat against the wall. Seems that no matter what universe you’re in girls take hours to get ready while a guy can be done in fifteen minutes tops.

Applejack only shook her head and looked to the ground. Rarity however wasn’t going to quit.

“Applejack. Come now, do you honestly believe that Applebloom would want you sitting around and sulking like this?” Applejack seemed to think about it for a moment before shaking her head. “That’s right! Now I don’t want to see you continue acting like this any longer. The Applejack I know wouldn’t let this stop her. She would keep Applebloom’s spirit alive by continuing to work hard and being the good pony we all know you are.”

Applejack thought about it and I was sure she was just going to continue sulking but after a minute or so she looked up at Rarity with a small smile and hugged her.

“It’s going to be alright Applejack. Now let’s get you ready. I’m sure all that farm work of yours hasn’t done wonders for your hooves.” They went off to do whatever to their hooves while Spike and I continued to sit there. After a while Spike broke the silence between us.

“So what are you doing at the gala Don?”

I shrugged. “I have no clue. The only reason I’m going is to be polite to the princesses for inviting me. I wouldn’t be caught dead at one of these things otherwise.”

Spike’s eyes lit up at this. “Do you want to hang out then? I was hoping to do the same with the girls but it seems they all have their own ideas.”

“Sure, I should be able to hang out. I’m not sure what will happen once we get there though.” Despite how I had not given any guarantee Spike still seemed excited. After a few more minutes I decided to leave and find something else to do.

Wandering around Ponyville I found myself getting stared at by those I passed. As a pony I had gotten a break from such a thing but as soon as I was turned back ponies went back to freaking out. I simply shrugged it off as I continued. Unfortunately it was ignoring the ponies that nearly got me killed.

I had just taken a turn onto a busy street as I pondered the upcoming events when suddenly there was a flash of magic. One moment I had been outside in the sunshine and the next I was in a dark building. The only light came from a few windows but enough was visible for me to determine I was in a small warehouse of some kind. Around me stood four ponies, each standing at a cardinal point. All of them wore brown cloaks that hid everything but their hooves, muzzles, and, for one, wings.

I felt my training kick in as I planned for the worst. One on the right is a pegasus, the rest are earth ponies. With their strength they won’t need weapons but the pegasus probably has a hidden weapon somewhere. No sign of the unicorn that brought me here.

The pony took a step forward and spoke. “Ah, there you are. We have been expecting your return. You were a fool to think you could hide amongst the ponies.”

No sign of a seal of either princess. Must be some rogue faction. I put on my best smile as I spoke. “I doubt the princesses will be happy when they hear that her ponies kidnapped their human friend.”

I had expected him to get angry at what I had said but instead he grinned in response. “The princesses are mere foals compared to who we serve.” I heard metal being drawn from a sheath. As I predicted, the pegasus had drawn a dagger in his mouth and his wings were ready for flight. “Now, in the name of Faust you will die dark one!”

The pegasus leapt at me but I anticipated the attack. I leaned back just enough to avoid the dagger but close enough that grabbing him was easy. Thanks to my knowledge of flying I knew the best place to snap his wing. He dropped the dagger as he yelled out in pain.

I felt the head of the pony behind me slam into my lower back, forcing me to drop his friend. I fell forward and before I could get up his front hooves pinned me down. Just out of the corner of my eye I could see the dagger. I used magic to bring the dagger to my hand and in one swift motion I slashed his forehooves. As soon as there was less weight on me I rolled, tossing the pony aside.

I was now standing, dagger at the ready, as the four ponies attempted to corner me against some crates. The one who I assumed to be their leader spoke again. “You are doing better than we expected, but your death is still inevitable.” With his taunting done, the pony who had done nothing so far charged at me while the pegasus used his good wing to leap above him.

I stepped to the side as I called upon my magic. My hand lit up with fire which I was quick to throw at the pegasus. With his lunge thrown off course he landed on his friend, disrupting his charge and tossing the pegasus into the crates. The fire quickly spread to the wooden boxes but I didn’t take time to enjoy his screams of pain as I rushed the downed earth pony and stabbed him in the back of the neck.

Before I could pull the dagger back out the leader slammed into me. I rolled with the hit but I wasn’t given a break as the other pony charged me. His blow wasn’t as strong having been handicapped by my slash earlier so I took it head on. As soon as we had both stopped I used the trick I had learned while being a pegasus and charged him full of electricity. It took only about two seconds to end his life though it left me rather tired magically.

The leader saw this and used the opportunity to attack me, this time spinning around to buck me with his back hooves. I barely managed to dodge but I stumbled in the process and fell backwards. The pony pressed his advantage and leapt, intending to break a few ribs with his earth pony strength.

Just before he was about to land I brought my feet up and slammed them into his exposed stomach. The air left his lungs and before he could react I grabbed his front hooves and pulled them until I heard his arm pop from its socket. I let him fall limp to the side so I could get up. After brushing myself off a bit I walked over and put a foot on his throat.

“So just who are you guys? You mentioned Faust but as far as I know everyone thinks Faust’s story was fake.”

He gritted his teeth at me; whether it was in anger or pain I couldn’t tell. “You will get nothing from me. I will stay strong until the end!”

Oh, so it’s a cult huh? I thought about just killing him now but the sound of the door opening interrupted that. In walked a blue unicorn with hair that was lighter blue and darker blue respectively. Looking at her hourglass cutie mark I remembered who she was: Colgate, the town dentist. She turned around to close the door without noticing what was happening.

“So what’s the plan for the body? It’ll be hard to…” She looked at the scene with utter shock, her eyes darting between each body in the room. She turned to make a break for it but I was faster. I pulled a stack of crates down with magic to block her exit and then bolted toward her. Along the way I ripped the dagger out of the body it had been left in using telekinesis. Just as Colgate turned around and lit up her horn I lashed out, imbedding the blade just below her horn. I watched the magic around her horn fade with the life in her eyes just before she fell limp.

Once I made sure she was dead I walked back over to the pony I had left alive. His eyes no longer showed the same confidence they had. Rather they were filled with fear. Deciding to use that to my advantage I put on my best Joker grin as I placed the dagger gently behind his ear.

“Now, where were we? Ah yes, you were just about to tell me what this cult of yours is. Be careful about how you answer though. We wouldn’t want me to accidentally slip now would we?”

His pupils became even more dilated as I spoke. “I… strong… praise F-f-faust…”

“Tsk tsk, that doesn’t sound like an answer.” I pressed the blade slowly into the back of his ear, stopping after about half an inch. “Would you like to try again?”

“I… I’m part of the Evermore! All of us are!”

Evermore? I guess I’m not the only fairy tale to actually exist. I had read a small bit on the Evermore. Supposedly they were a cult of extremist ponies that based themselves in the Everfree Forest. There is no evidence to support any of their appearances in history though so everyone assumes it was a myth, especially since no one has heard anything about them for over two thousand years.

“The Evermore? That’s interesting. How many are in this group of yours?”

“I… I don’t know the exact number.”

“Well take a guess based on what you know.”

He thought about it for a moment, sweat dripping down his muzzle. “A couple thousand?”

“Wow. You must have an amazing base of operations to deal with that many ponies. Speaking of that, you wouldn’t happen to know where your base is, would you?”

“The Everfree Forest!”

I sighed and dug the blade in a little deeper. I made sure he could hear me over his own screams. “Don’t lie to me. I’ve been inside the Everfree Forest probably a hundred times now. There are no signs of anyone living there except a zebra and I know for a fact she has nothing to do with you. So I’ll ask again. Where is the base?”

“I… I… I’ll never tell! Praise Faust! May the stars themselves come down upon you!” He continued rambling something religious based while I just rolled my eyes. Looks like I’m not going to get anything else out of this guy. Seems I have a new enemy and this one isn’t afraid to get its hooves dirty like the princesses. When I had finally had enough I brought the blade swiftly across his throat. I thought about leaving the dagger for a second but then decided against it. If a strong enough magic user finds it they will be able to trace it to me.

After taking a moment to clear the door I piled the unburnt bodies in the center along with enough wood to burn the entire building down. With a snap of my finger a spark flew out and ignited the effigy. I made sure to close the door tight behind me so that the fire wouldn’t be noticed until the evidence was too burnt to be of use. Outside I could see that the building was on the outskirts of town and as such was unlikely to burn down any other buildings. Once I was sure the blade was well hidden I made my way back to the library.

I had just finished hiding the dagger in my room and getting dressed in my suit when I heard Spike call out. “Don, you in there? It’s time to go to the Gala. All the girls and I are waiting on you!” I stood up slowly as to not aggravate any of my new bruises and went out to see everyone.

Twilight had enchanted an apple into a carriage and it was being pulled by two stallions, though her original intention had been for enchanted mice to pull it.

No, they don’t have the story of Cinderella in pony world. Not even a ponified version of it. Trust me, that’s what I thought at first too.

The ride to Canterlot was nice to say the least. I sat up front with Spike and the girls took the inside of the carriage. I was glad that whatever Twilight had done to the apple had made it pretty much soundproof so we didn’t have to listen to their gossip. Spike spent the entire time telling me about some of the various attractions around Canterlot that he wanted us to go see. Most of it sounded like dull tourist traps but I figured anything is better than having to deal with the noble snobs they have in Canterlot.

Time passed quickly and soon we were at Canterlot. Upon arrival all of the girls broke into song about what they wanted to do at the Gala, except for Applejack. She still wasn’t speaking though she did do the choreography with everyone. I just plugged my ears until the entire thing was over.

As soon as it was over the girls all bolted in different directions leaving Spike, Applejack and I just standing there. Spike didn’t seem to mind their sudden abandonment though.

“Come on Don! Let’s go check out the crown jewels.” I was about to oblige but when I turned my head to speak I saw Applejack. Her sad face, though only slight, spoke volumes to what she was feeling right now. Despite telling myself that it didn’t matter how she felt, I found myself not able to look away for a few seconds as my stomach pains returned in full force.

Damn it! This again? I was sure that it was gone. I knew that I couldn’t let this get in my way, so I decided to do my best to keep her out of my sight. “Spike, how about you take Applejack instead? Looks like she could use a friend right now.” Spike seemed shocked by the suggestion but one look at Applejack changed his mood.

“Sure, but what are you going to do?”

“I’ll figure out some way to entertain myself. Maybe I’ll have a chat with one of the princesses or something.” Spike gave me a firm nod and went over to speak with Applejack. Despite my reasonings for doing this being selfish, my guilt seemed satisfied by the gesture. Looks like I’m going to need to push up the date of the trip. I can’t take the chance of this getting any worse.

As the two of them left I entered the gala. The first thing I saw was Celestia standing at the top of a flight of stairs with Twilight looking all too eager to stand next to her. Since I was the only human here it didn’t take long for them to see my approach.

“Hello Don. Welcome to Canterlot. I do hope you enjoy the gala despite your distrust of such events.”

“How did you know I didn’t like these kinds of things?”

“Twilight told me. When I saw all of her friends and not you here I wondered where you were.”

“Well she isn’t wrong. I’ve never been a fan of dances of any kind. Plus some of the ponies here are a bit…” I glanced around to make sure no nobles were within earshot. “Snoody.”

She giggled a bit. “I suppose some are, though I can tell you there are those who are quite the opposite. Perhaps I can introduce you later.”

Have the princess watching over me the entire time? No thanks. “Sure, but don’t quit your job here on account of me. I can get by just fine.” With that out of the way I left to see the gala floor itself. From there I could see the four other girls trying to make their dreams come true. I thought about sabotaging their plans but I had a strange feeling something bad was going to happen so I decided against it.

Instead I decided to take up a spot against the wall and listen to the classical group play. For once I was grateful to be surrounded by posh ponies as no one would even look at me for awhile. It wasn’t until some pony with a monopoly guy mustache came up to me that I realized how long I had been lost in listening to the music.

“Pardon me, but are you a foreign ambassador of some sorts?”

I decided to humor the noble in hopes that he would go away quickly. “I suppose, considering I’m the only of my kind in existence.” He seemed oddly interested in this fact.

“The only of your kind you say? Is your species extinct? I’d certainly love to have one of your kind around.”

Wait, is he trying to buy me? I glanced at his cutie mark for a moment and saw that it was a piece of animal hide stretched out on a drying rack. Some kind of rare animal collector.

I made sure what I said next was as blunt as possible. “I’m not for sale, and I’m not going to be part of some kind of collection.”

He was surprised I had caught on to his scheme so quickly. “I-I have no idea what you mean! I was only going to suggest-”

“I don’t care what you ‘suggest’. I’m not spending my life as a trophy. Now get lost.”

His shock quickly changed to anger. “How dare you speak to me that way! Do you know who I am?”

By now our little conversation had gathered a few others’ attentions. “I don’t know who you are, but I do know that behind all that money and fame you are still a pony.”

“So?”

“So,” I kneeled down and gritted my teeth so that my canines were showing. “Ponies bleed.” I watched the noble’s pupils shrink in a nanosecond before he ran for the door. As I got back up the others who had been watching were still just standing there. “Well?”

Suddenly they all seemed to remember they had somewhere else to be and left. For a second I worried about Celestia getting mad at me but I figured I could blame it on being stressed about Applebloom’s ‘death’. Plus I doubt she would look fondly on that pony once I told her what he wanted.

I would have gone back to listening to the music but Pinkie Pie was interrupting them for some reason. With my instincts still telling me something was going to happen I decided to look over the room and see what everyone else was doing. Fluttershy was no where to be seen, I saw a bit of rainbow mane in the VIP section, and Rarity was over at a table with some guy who was making it rather obvious that he was not interested.

Oddly enough this last thing was what caught my attention the most. The guy was clearly a noble, possibly even the most snobbish of all the nobles. But what was strange about him was that despite his face being one of boredom, his eyes were focused on something with intensity. I followed his gaze as best as I could until I found what he was staring at.

Luna? Why is he so interested in her? Luna had just arrived and was already swamped by nobles. I imagine they were all trying to make a power play and unfortunately that put her in a political mine field of sorts. The noble who had been staring at her continued to do so, but there was something about his eyes that made it seem different. He wasn’t looking at her as a meal ticket or even as a stallion would normally look at an attractive mare. He was looking at her with envy.

I found the closest pony to me and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Hey, who is that?”

This surprised the stallion but he answered none the less. “That is Prince Blueblood. How could you not know?”

“Not from around here. Thanks for the info.” I walked away before he could say anything else. A prince? I haven’t heard of such a thing. Is it possible that he hates Luna for being so easily let back into her position as princess? I glanced back at him, his glare still unwavering. Or perhaps it is not political power he craves. I took a chair nearby waiting for my chance to test my theory. Thankfully it was only a few minutes before he excused himself to the restroom.

I got up as he passed the table I was sitting at and bumped into him. As I did so I let a small amount of dark power pass from my arm to his horn. The sudden charge of magic caused him a short headache and by the time he had gotten up to chase me I was exiting the ballroom.

I walked down the halls, taking multiple turns and going up a few flights of stairs. During the entire walk I always made sure Blueblood would see me before I disappear down another corridor. After awhile I finally reached a small balcony and waited for him with my back turned. Once I heard his hoofsteps change from the carpet of the inner castle to the stone of the balcony I casted my sound dampening spell in a ten foot radius sphere around me.

“I’m surprised my prince! I figured most nobles would only crave new land or a more extravagant portrait of themselves. You however want something different.”

“And what do you believe I want?”

I turned toward him and gave him a small but sinister smile. “Power, and I’m not talking about higher status. You crave the power of the alicorns.”

Despite how easily I had figured him out he didn’t seem surprised. “So what? I have always done Princess Celestia proud. I wouldn’t be a prince otherwise. Why should I not wish to be true royalty?”

“Sure, you can make excuses all you want, but how about instead we cut right to the chase? So, I’m going to guess something about you and all you have to do is tell me if I’ve hit the nail on the head. Sound good?” I took his silence as his answer and began.

“You say you’ve done the princess proud. I can just imagine everything you have done to get to where you are now, but it still isn’t enough is it? You know what you want, Celestia knows what you want yet despite everything you do she still won’t give it to you. Every time you were denied what you truly deserve you told yourself ‘I just have to try harder’ and for a time this was all you believed.

“That is until Luna came back.” I saw him flinch slightly as I hit the correct nerve. “How could this be? This mare who had attempted to take over Equestria twice was just let back into her position as princess with no issue whatsoever. She nearly doomed the world to eternal night and she is now your superior. I can only imagine how that makes you feel. To have all the work you have been doing till this point be stomped on with one simple act.

“Am I getting this about right?” With all of his inner thoughts laid out before him he did what comes naturally in such a situation and resort to anger.

“I’m not here to talk of my life worm! I want to know what you did to me back in the ballroom.”

“Come now Blueblood-”

“Prince Blueblood”

“You’re no prince of mine, Blueblood. Anyway, you know what I did. You can feel it, can’t you? The potential that power has. I can make your dream a reality, just think about it. The Alicorn Prince of Canterlot. No Luna, no Celestia.”

“Are you suggesting treason? I ought to call the guards on you!”

“If you are going to do that then I’ll just take back what I gave you.” I extended my arm toward his horn. Black smoke poured out of it and entered my palm. When it was done I waited for Blueblood’s reaction.

“I… I feel… so weak.”

“That’s because you’re just a unicorn, and not even one with a talent in magic. The power I gave you is less than one percent of what you could have if you were to agree to my terms.”

He looked down the corridor for a moment and I feared he would run but he turned back holding his head high. “What are these terms?”

“The first term will be I can’t give you this power right away. For you to even survive having this power you must undergo a change of sorts. This change takes time and getting used to it afterward takes even longer. Even when you have finally adjusted to it you won’t be able to return to your old life as you will no longer look like Blueblood. I can’t have a prince disappearing and the princesses getting suspicious.” He looked about ready to scream for the guards before I added. “But I can give you that small amount now. Consider it a promise of what’s to come.” He thought for a moment before simply nodding.

“Good. Second is that you will serve me. Do this and I promise you will one day rule Canterlot as the alicorn prince you dream of. Betray me and your power goes away, and your new body won’t be able to survive without it. Don’t worry though, I won’t force you to do any servant work. I already have a legion of mindless minions in the works. What I need is people who are smart, commanders of a sorts.” He seemed to like this idea as a small smile came to his face.

“Finally, you will not speak of what I truly am or anything related to it. As far as the princesses are concerned I am harmless and here to make friends. As a matter of fact, one of your tasks while here is to make sure no information about what I truly am gets to the princesses. Can you do that?”

“Easily. The public isn’t aware of this but I’m actually the chief intelligence officer for the princesses. Anything they know about Equestria goes through me first.”

“Perfect. That will make my job a lot easier when I start making my move. Another task I will give you right now is to deal with a certain noble. I didn’t get his name but he had a curly mustache, grey coat, and a taxidermy cutie mark.”

“I know exactly who that is. Lord Varian is his name. What did he do to deserve your ire?”

“He tried to make me part of his collection of rare creatures. I want you to make sure he doesn’t get the chance to try and take me by force. You can kill him if need be but make sure you aren’t tied to the act. At the least I want his assets gone.”

“That should be simple enough. I can have an endangered creature place amongst his stuffed collection of creatures and that will put a fire under his ass. From there it will be child’s play to ruin him.”

“Excellent. Do these things for me and you’ve earned your wings and more.” I held my hand out low. “Do we have a deal?” Blueblood’s face went neutral as he stared at my hand. He took a good minute or so pondering this before he placed his hoof in mine. I let loose a surge of magic as we shook on it. He didn’t even flinch this time.

“I can’t wait to see where this deal takes us.” I glanced up from where we were standing to see Rarity heading this way.

“Don’t look now but that mare that was annoying you before is back.” He only groaned in response as I let down the magic that had kept our conversation private.

“Don? Why are you shaking hooves with the prince?”

I instantly turned on my good guy smile. “The prince and I were just making bets on the next Wonderbolts race. I’m sure Soarin is going to take it this time.”

Blueblood was a perfect mirror image of my own rouse. “Oh please. Misty Fly is on a winning streak. She has no reason to lose now.” Rarity was quick to get the prince around her hoof again.

“Come along, my prince. We should head back. The night is only half way done.” I watched Blueblood glance back at me with a look that said ‘put me out of my misery’. All I could do was hold back my laughter as they took the corner and disappeared.

Well that went better than I expected. He must be really desperate. If it had taken any longer I would have had to drop the spell. I turned around and looked up at the night sky. I still can’t shake the feeling something is going to go wrong though. I just shrugged it off and headed back inside.

Maybe I’m just being paranoid.

* * *

The five girls who had been at the gala during the disaster looked awful. Their dresses were torn, hair was a mess, and dirt stains were all over them. Overall it looked like they had gone through an earthquake, and they might as well had considering the chain reaction that had been caused by them.

Spike, Applejack, and I all sat on the other side of the table. After I had walked in on the disaster zone I decided it would be best to find Spike and act like I hadn’t seen anything. After a bit of wandering I found him and AJ at the donut shop we were at now. For some reason seeing her smiling again made me feel like a fire had been lit in my gut, though she still remained mute.

I just sat there enjoying my jelly donut while the girls learned some lesson from Celestia about how friends make bad times good or something like that. Ever since I had found out about Twilight’s friendship reports I had learned to tune them out like a lot of things she says. I think Celestia noticed this though and decided to put me on the spot.

“Don, I believe this would be a good time to tell everyone what you are planning.” I looked up to see everyone staring at me.

“Oh, are you talking about the trip I’m taking?” Celestia nodded. “Alright, I suppose this is a good time since I’m leaving right after the dragon migration in two weeks.” I stood up from my chair and started before anyone could ask questions.

“You’ve all been great friends to me. You helped me when I had nothing, no memory, no life, nothing to return to. You opened your doors and your hearts to me and helped through the tough time I had when I was stuck as a pony. So far I’ve really enjoyed my time with all of you and I’m sure I won’t forget any of you.” I looked around to see everyone smiling.

“I am sad to say that I will be leaving right after the dragon migration to go with Zecora on a trip around Equestria. Ponyville will always be my home but ever since I have arrived I’ve been learning about the world I am now a part of. As I’ve read about the various cities and places and creatures that inhabit this world I have been fighting an urge to go out and see these things for myself. When Zecora told me about this trip she had planned I couldn’t help but accept her generous offer for me to come with her.” A few ponies had tears in their eyes but not a single smile had gone away.

“So I hope you all aren’t mad at me for this being so sudden but I needed to make sure everything was set with Zecora before I could tell you.” I waited to see who would speak first. Turns out it was Twilight.

“Don, I think I speak for everypony here that you will always be welcome back home. You have all been such a kind friend to us. We couldn’t hate you for wanting to go exploring.” I gave her a smile as I sat back down. “Just… be careful while you’re out there. Some places in Equestria aren’t as nice as Ponyville.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” Nice speech right? I had been planning that for weeks now. Just the perfect amount of sappiness. Not too little to sound dull, not too much to sound cheesy. Unfortunately what came next ruined the moment as Pinkie cried.

“Group hug!”

Curse these ponies, but damn it they are soft!

Author's Notes:

So unfortunately I've got a summer class and other stuff to do in the coming month. As such I won't be able to put out two chapters a week. I'm going to try for once a week but I'm still not sure how much time this is going to take.