I woke up feeling terrible the next day though the more noticeable of my wounds had disappeared. My restless sleep had been more in part due to my experience in the woods as it seemed to haunt me. I was awake however and too tired to care about it consciously.

Zecora explained to me things from her side. Apparently nothing had happened other than me disappearing for an hour before suddenly showing up on her doorstep a disheveled wreck. This did nothing to help the innate fear I seemed to have of the thing. The only explanation I could come up with was that it had somehow put me in some kind of endless time loop in the hopes that I would eventually collapse before it grew tired.

It said two others had escaped. Most likely they took the new artifacts. Now the question is who would be capable of such a feat. Part of me already knew the answer but I dreaded such a thing as it meant no amount of simple manipulation on my part and breaking into the castle to find these ultimate weapons would be impossible. As such I clung onto the idea that somewhere in the world there were two other beings that could survive such horrors and they had them now.

After some time packing up my gear and pulling my bandages off I headed back to town. When I stepped out of the forest I was greeted by the night sky above me. A waning moon left little light for the walk but this allowed for more stars to be seen. At least that’s what I assumed since in this world the night sky is supposedly controlled by Luna. I still don’t believe that one pony can control not only the moon but the stars as well. She must be bending their light or something like that.

By the time I was back to town the sky had turned purple as sunlight peeked above the horizon. A few ponies could be seen out enjoying the morning despite my presence normally spooking them. I didn’t even see any heads turn my way as I headed toward the library. I opened the door to find Twilight sitting at the table reading a book with her coffee as she did every morning. When she looked at me I was surprised to find no hatred behind her eyes.

“Where were you last night? Some of us thought you had already left especially since Fluttershy saw you were heading to Zecora’s.”

I yawned. “Sorry. I went out to talk with her about preparations and such. Ended up spending the night. I’m surprised you were worried at all after the rant you gave me.”

“Well you shouldn’t have taken Spike out without my permission, but ever since we got back he seems… I don’t know, more confident? He seems to stand up straighter as well as more happy in general. I may not have liked what you did, I still don’t, but whatever he learned while out there brought a smile to his face. That’s all that really matters to me.”

“Good to know I’m not being turned into a toad anytime soon. Now if you don’t mind I really need some coffee. I did not sleep well at all last night.” I tossed my bag full of equipment in my room and then headed to the kitchen. When I got there Twilight and Spike were already sitting down for breakfast. Once I grabbed my mug I took a seat so I could enjoy my own serving of pancakes. Spike was busy telling Twilight all about the things he learned with the dragons so I busied my mind with making sure I had everything I needed for the trip. A weapon, a guide on edible plants, winter weather clothing, a tent. I probably don’t need to worry about first aid with Zecora around but it wouldn’t hurt to pack some gauze. There’s also-

“Right Don?” Spike’s voice broke my concentration as I glanced up to see the two of them looking at me for an answer. I swallowed the bite of food I had in my mouth before speaking.

“Sorry, I zoned out a bit there. What did you say?”

“I was telling Twilight that without you I wouldn’t have learned what I did since those jerks would have just spent the day messing with me.”

Judging by how Twilight wasn’t giving me any funny looks I assumed Spike had left out the part about me kicking their asses. “Well, ya, I guess. I’m sure one of the adult dragons would have done something eventually even if I wasn’t there.” After that Spike continued his story while I returned to my mental checklist.

By the way, the whole checklist thing was something Twilight had drilled into me after living with her for a year. In return she had picked up a few curses she still claims to this day to have never said. It is some strange kind of cute to see a purple pony pop the F word.

Soon breakfast was over and everything was put away. I intended to buy a few things I still needed. When I opened the door to leave I found Rarity standing there with a hoof ready to knock. She was levitating something next to her but before I could get a good look she moved it behind her back. She had a strained smile on as sweat began to roll down her forehead.

“Oh Don, you’re here. Is Twilight home?” Before I could say anything I was picked up by a familiar purple aura and put down on the grass outside. I looked to see Rarity slip inside while Twilight gave me an even more strained smile.

“Sorry Don but we have to… talk about mare things! Ya, that’s it. You should go!” Now in a normal situation a guy would give girls their privacy. However I was not normal as I had gone through multiple instances of heat as a pony so there was very little ‘mare things’ I hadn’t seen. Unfortunately I had nothing to counteract her claims so I had to let them have their little secret for now.

“Fine, I’ll just see you at the party than.” With that she shut the door. As if she had read my mind I watched the window curtains drop in unison. Damn it. What are they up to? I entertained the idea they might have figured out my true intentions only for a moment before throwing it away. If that were the case Twilight would have been trying to hide something the moment I walked in the door. It was only when Rarity showed up that she started freaking out.

Part of me wanted to try finding a way back inside but explaining how I got in if I were to be caught would be impossible. You win this round ponies. I began to walk away from the tree-brary and headed toward the market but facepalmed and ran back to the door as I realized something.

“Twilight? I need my bag. Can I come in?” I heard some mutterings behind the door before it was shushed. The door opened about a few inches and my saddlebags flew out before the door shut again. Crazy ponies. I just sighed and threw the bags over my shoulder, the weight of what was inside reminding me that I had yet to empty it from yesterday’s adventure. Oh well. At least if I end up being attacked by Evermore again I’ll be prepared.

* * *

I was leaving the last store on my list when I heard Rainbow call out above me. “Hey Don. What are you up to?” I looked up to see her sitting on a cloud about twenty feet in the air.

“Just buying a few last minute things for my trip. What are you doing?” She leapt from the cloud and glided down. All the while I felt the center of my spine twitch as I watched the wind flow through the feathers of her wings. I need to figure out a way to get wings before I kill myself.

“I was just hanging out when I saw you and decided to say hi. I figured you’d spend your last day reading or something.”

“Well Twilight and Rarity kicked me out for some reason so I can’t do that.” As soon as I said that Rainbow went from calm to silently freaking out in two seconds flat.

“R-really? I wonder what that’s about?” So Rainbow knows too. I thought about coaxing the secret out of her but I was feeling particularly lazy today and shrugged it off.

“Who knows? Anyway, you busy? I don’t have anything to do until noon and I rather not sit around bored.”

Rainbow’s bravado returned as quickly as it had gone. “Sure, I’ve got an idea.” She flew back up to the cloud she had been sitting on and pulled it down. “Let’s see if Twilight isn’t too busy to cast a cloudwalking spell.” I just shrugged and followed her back to the library. Once we were in view I saw Twilight and Rarity stepping outside. Rarity’s aura began to peek itself out from behind the door frame, no doubt their little secret held within. I would have seen more had my vision not been clouded by, well, a cloud.

For about ten seconds I stumbled around trying to get the cloud off but it seemed to follow me wherever I went. It wasn’t until my foot caught a rock that I managed to free myself from the beast. Looking around I saw that Rarity was gone having run off during the obvious distraction.

Twilight ran up to me. “Don, are you okay?”

“Ya. What the hell was that Rainbow?”

“It… well… I lost control of it. Ya, that’s it.” What is with everyone today? Can’t they make up better excuses? Losing control of weather was one thing but having a cloud attach itself to someone’s head makes no sense. Plus Rainbow is a seasoned weather mare. Losing control of a cloud the size of a car is practically impossible with her experience

I just got up and brushed myself off while Twilight asked “What are you doing here with a cloud anyway?”

“I want you to cast that cloudwalking spell on Don so I can take him flying for a bit.”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin for a moment before saying “Alright, I can do that.” Twilight’s horn glowed for a second before she tapped it against my side. The spell wrapped itself around my body, my skin prickling at the touch of strong magic other than my own. It’s rather difficult to explain how one being's magic feels to another, but if I had to try I would say Twilight’s magic felt like water while mine felt like electricity. Or maybe more like leaves being blown in your face on a windy day. Ugh, this is like trying to explain what blue looks like to a blind person.

I jumped onto the cloud that was now at knee level and put my bags on the side so I could sit down. “Thanks Twilight. Rainbow and I will make sure to be back around the time the party starts.” Twilight just nodded with a smile. As she turned toward the road that led to Sugarcube Corner the ground suddenly realized my evil intentions and fled. Or maybe it was Rainbow pushing the cloud, who knows?

“Hey Rainbow! Slow down a bit would ya? I can’t take changes in altitude like I did as a pegasus.” Our speed was halved as I heard her huff in annoyance for having to slow down. I could have used magic to ward off the change in air pressure but some magic doesn’t mix well together. For all I know adding a spell on top of Twilight’s could cause them to violently explode. Plus there’s always the chance Rainbow is more observant than normal.

Soon we were at a height that nothing would get in our way and Rainbow Dash was quick to use that new freedom. We soared above Ponyville at about the average speed for a pegasus. The feeling of air whistling by me combined with the sensation of weightlessness soothed my not-wing itch.

After a while of just wordlessly flying around we stopped above Sweet Apple Acres and Rainbow took a seat on my side that wasn’t filled by my bags. From where we were we could see the apple trees stretch over the gentle hills painting a lovely picture. It left a light feeling in my heart that I didn’t understand but it felt good all the same.

“Thanks for taking me flying Rainbow.”

“Don’t worry about it. Besides it was starting to get painful watching you twitch every time you saw a pegasus.”

I felt my cheeks heat up a bit. “Twitch? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Dude, whenever I see you, you do this thing with your back like this.” She leaned slightly to her left while twisting the opposite direction. She added a strained face with her tongue sticking out just for good measure. “I thought you had fleas or something but the only hair you have is on your head.”

“Alright, you caught me. I guess it’s hard going back to not having wings, at least with how my brain works. Even looking at birds I get this itch where the wings were and I can barely stand it.”

“I figured as much when you came down on a dragon and you didn’t do the twitch like usual.” The conversation stopped for a bit before Rainbow jumped up. “Hey! I bet Twilight could find a way to give you wings. She did have that spell she used on Rarity.”

I shivered at the thought of having butterfly wings. Although it would incredibly hilarious. The Overlord, master of all butterflies! I put my plans for domination of all the flower fields on hold so I could respond. “Unless she finds one that isn't ridiculous looking I’ll live with an itchy back.”

“Suit yourself. I think you would look good with-” she snorted “butterfly wings.” She snickered and would have probably continued into full out laughter had I not pushed her off the cloud. A few seconds later she flew back up, reclaiming her seat and giving me a friendly punch in the arm.

“What? I knew you would catch yourself.” Dash just rolled her eyes with a smile while I rubbed the sore spot. Despite how soft the rest of the pony body is the hoof is about as hard as it gets. How they managed hooficures without an electric sander is beyond me.

The rest of our time up there was spent in silence. Try as I might to focus on my plans for the future I could not as memories of the past year I had spent in Ponyville seemed to surface. Events I regarded as annoyances went by without a single feeling of hatred toward what happened. Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore and was given sweet mercy when someone called out from below.

“Hey you two!” Dash and I both peeked our heads off the cloud to see Big Mac out with the rest of the remaining Apple family. All of them were looking up at us. “Party’s soon. Best get your head out of the clouds.”

Dash and I ignored the pun and instead began our descent. When we reached the ground we all said our hello’s to each other. Big Mac just gave his infamous “Yep” while Applejack nodded. It was only Granny Smith that decided to give a long greeting.

“Well hello there you two. What were you doing sitting up there?”

“Just letting the time pass. I didn’t even notice how much time had passed until Big Mac called us down.”

“Well we can’t have ya be late to yur own party, can’t we?” With that the five of us headed down the road toward town. Rainbow had a rather one sided conversation with Applejack, though she gave nods and shakes of her head amongst a variety of facial expression. She had a small smile on through most of it though and that was all it took to tell my guilt to shut the fuck up. Granny and Big Mac discussed business on the farm. Working for them over the past year had taught me everything I needed to follow the conversation but I chose not to.

Instead I continued my attempts to focus my thoughts but found it just as impossible as it had been up on the cloud. It was as if I had some sort of nostalgia which was ridiculous when it has to do with Ponyville. The town was hit by some kind of disaster practically every week either caused by Twilight and her friends or by some random stranger running into town. Even holidays seemed to have a way of making life insanity for the residents of Ponyville. Not to mention being turned into a pony, having to deal with some green mare with a thing for humans (despite them never existing until I showed up), insane magical mishaps from living with Twilight. The list goes on into Canterlot and doesn’t stop until it reaches Celestia’s ridiculously pompous throne.

Yet at the same time I could not deny that I felt something for this place beyond that of an Overlord. Underneath my despise and hatred for the town was something more. And no, I’m not talking about the feelings of immense gratification that comes from imagining Ponyville going up in flames. This, unlike my darker thoughts, felt light, almost as if it was dancing on air. First guilt now this? I really hope we meet a brain surgeon on the trip that I can ‘convince’ to rip out whatever part of my brain this is coming from. Feelings like these are unnatural for the Overlord.

We finally made it to Sugarcube Corner. I opened the door to find it pitch black inside. This has ‘Kill the human’ written all over it. I walked slowly into the building as I put a hand inside my bag, feeling for the dagger. I had just managed to find it with a single finger when I was blinded by the lights turning on. The darkness had hidden a large group of ponies but before I could strike at the assassins they yelled

“Surprise!”

I let my heart slow down as I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. Little did the cheery ponies around me know I was less than a second away from drawing my blade and setting fire to the place. I slid my hand out of my bag as Pinkie Pie bounced over to me looking all too pleased.

“Were you surprised? Were you? Huh? It wouldn’t be a surprise party if it wasn’t a surprise.”

I gave her a deadpan look. “It wasn’t a surprise. Fluttershy told me yesterday about the party. No one else has been keeping it a secret.”

“But you were surprised by everypony jumping out and yelling surprise, riiiight?” She accented her last word by leaping up on a nearby table and leaning forward so our noses met. Just smile and nod Don. Smile and nod.

“I guess I wasn’t expecting that so yea, I was surprised.” With her question finally answered she bounced away humming a happy tune. That only served to feed my growing paranoia. Is she going to poison me? Part of the ceiling dropping on my head? Cannons?

None of this happened as the party went about like a normal party. I talked with the various ponies I had been around the past year as they all wished me good luck and good health. Some asked about where I intended to go and since I hadn’t actually been told where the nests are yet I could safely say “Not sure but once we’re on the road I’m sure we’ll figure things out.” Pinkie had even made my favorite flavor of cake which I had kept hidden from her since the moment I found out she was a baker.

That’s Pinkie Pie for ya. I caught myself snickering at how much I had adapted to life in Ponyville and quickly stopped. Why am I acting like this today? I shook my head as I tried to put Overlord thoughts at the forefront of my mind. Get the nests, get power, destroy the princesses, destroy the artifacts, destroy ANYTHING that stands in my way. I wandered over to the punch bowl and chugged down a drink as I continued pushing back the infectious silliness. I had nearly won the battle when the girls walked over, though I didn’t actually notice them until Twilight poked me with her hoof.

“Don, we have something for your trip.” Out from behind them floated a box. It was about the size and dimensions that would fit a large picture frame. Assuming that immediately and thinking myself so smart for figuring it out I was completely taken by what was actually inside.

Folded up neatly was a piece of brown fabric. Unassuming to the normal eye but to the magical eye as soon as I took the lid off it looked like it was glowing. I pulled it out to get a better look, unfolding it to find the cloth was actually a cloak with a hood. It was brown as I said before but on the back was a small inlaid pattern that fringed the bottom of it. This pattern resembled how feathers looked folded over one another and were sown out in the same red I had grown used to seeing.

The most shocking part of this was what had been added to the neck. Attached to where the cloak would clip around the neck were two feathers, each a slightly lighter shade of brown with red on the tips. These were my feathers from when I was a pegasus and the more I looked at the rest of the cloak the more I realized what had inspired the design.

They… they made me a cloak that resembles my wings. I was speechless. Yes, the Overlord, made speechless by such a simple gift. All the work I had made dominating my mind with darker thoughts was for naught as the light as air emotions blew in with renewed strength. I felt happiness, sadness, amazement, reassurement. This all filled me in a second, leaving me feeling more confused than anything else. The corner of my vision blurred but when I went to rub my eye all I found was water. Tears?

Finally someone, or rather some purple pony, spoke up. “This is what we've been hiding from you all day. Rainbow Dash told us you had been having trouble since you lost your wings so we all pitched in to make this.”

Each pony went in turn explaining their role in creating this… I don’t even know what to call it. Just calling a cloak felt wrong as if the word didn’t carry the weight of what was actually in front of me. First was Fluttershy as she seemed to have taken my ability to speak. “I helped with the wing design. We wanted to make sure it was just right.”

Rainbow was next. “I added the feathers to it. I forgot to mention this when you were a pony but it’s sort of a tradition for pegasi to keep the feathers from their first preening. It’s in case you ever have an accident and need a replacement. Since you obviously didn’t know this I kept them for you.”

Rarity started her part with a whip of her mane. “I made the cloak of course. Applejack was the one who kept me grounded when I wanted to add more pizzazz to it.” With her contribution counted for, Applejack nodded with a smile.

And it ended with Twilight. “I added enchantments to it. With what I added it should be as strong as steel and be immune to most forms of magic and weather. I also gave it a little something to keep you from feeling that itch.”

I spat out words without really thinking since that wasn’t my strong suit at the moment. “What about Pinkie?”

The party mare jumped for joy as she spoke. “I threw the party silly! That’s an important job.” I just looked over the six of them as my once logical thoughts ran wild. It was as if they were high off the emotions that had been thrown upon me and I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t feeling it a bit myself. I must have stood silent for too long as Twilight suddenly got this nervous look and asked. “Do you like it?”

Try as I might, I found myself a slave to my current state of mind. “I… I…” The ponies all looked like they were going to faint from my response. “No words can describe what I think about this gift. Thank you. All of you.”

With the tension gone they all let out a sigh of relief. As I roughly folded the cloak back into the box Pinkie jumped forward with just one word to say. “Hug?”

Ponies are soft and cuddly! My drugged brain thought. This was all it took to convince the rest of me of what I had to do. Before the pink mare could react I picked her up and gave her a squeeze which she returned wholeheartedly. I felt the rest of the mares gather around and join in on the love as we made a huge cuddle pile.

After a few moments of loving we all let go so I could say my final goodbyes. Twilight and Spike walked me back to the library so I could finish packing what I had gotten that day. As I did so the air seemed to feel heavy. My feelings of happiness had suddenly changed to gloom as I prepared to leave the town.

My home. I had begun to recover from whatever had hit me so I tossed such a notion aside. I still felt it drifting behind the forefront of my thoughts though. With everything packed and my unexplainable gear hidden from view I pulled the cloak around myself. It was a perfect fit though I should have expected no less from Rarity. Next came my bag, the same I had used when Spike and I had gone to see the dragons. It easily held everything I needed with room to spare.

I stepped out into the library to see Zecora had joined my two soon-to-be former roommates. My friends… cut it out! I shook my head once more but felt that thought join its friend before it, silently poking me with the friendship stick. Twilight saying her goodbyes was a welcome distraction.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to you not being here."

I kneeled down so that I was at eye level with her. "I'm sure you'll find someone else to take that extra room within the week." I said sarcastically.

Twilight went along with my act. "Oh please, with that human size bed you have, there's no room for anything else." She looked at me with a smile though her eyes were filled with sadness. Before I could react she wrapped her hooves around me. "You'll always have a home here Don." My body returned the hug despite the protests of my mind. Still can't get rid of this feeling!

After the hug Spike came over. We didn't have to say anything, instead letting a fist bump speak for us. As I got up I ruffled the spines on his head a bit and than headed for the door. Zecora was right behind me as we walked through town.

We reached the top of a hill on the outside of town after a half an hour. I took that moment to stop and put on my gear. As I clipped on the bandolier and made sure it was snug my eyes gravitated toward the town behind me. Memories passed by again, each one ridiculous yet each brought a smile to my face somehow. Working on the farm, hanging with Spike, teaching a class on humans. This continued for I don’t even know how long but it was Zecora’s words that broke through.

“Is there something you need from the town that you heed?” I snapped out of my trance and turned around quick. Enough of this! I will not let myself be controlled by such frivolous emotions! I am the Overlord, and I am meant to rain destruction upon this place. I let all of my hatred and anger bubble up from the recesses of my mind, drowning the happy memories and emotions in a sea of darkness. These thoughts made themselves physical by charging electricity in a single hand and letting it loose on a nearby tree. It tore a hole clean through the bark, burning the inside as well as the tree behind it.

“That... felt… good.” I said with no small amount of evil behind my voice. Back in control, and this time there won’t be any ponies preaching friendship to change that. I looked to see Zecora cowering, having been rather scared at my outburst.

“I’m not sure what you did, but please don’t hit me instead.” I chuckled a bit at her fear before reassuring her though the malice in my voice did not leave.

“Relax. I just needed to clear my head. Now that I’m thinking clearly we should not delay.” Her fear disappeared as she nodded. I pulled the cloak over my gear and brought the hood over my face. Once my bag was strapped to my back we walked down the path. I didn’t look back as I made sure whatever weak notions of peace were purged from my thoughts.

I am the Overlord. I exist to bring this world to its knees. Nothing can stop what is coming. Not even my own conscience.

Author's Notes:

It wasn't until I made this chapter that I realized I had shot myself in the foot making Zecora Don's traveling companion.

So much rhyming... so much...