Have you ever just gotten yourself into a situation just once in your life that started to become so convoluted that everything and everyone you know, or at least your perception of it all, becomes warped and transformed?

Just me, huh?

Unfortunately, I'm not exactly in a situation I could just talk myself out of. And the worst thing of it all is that everyone around me knows it. I'm the only one who's just coming to terms with all of it.

And the worst thing of it all was that I didn't even know where it all came from. Had I been a little better at reading the signs, I would've avoided all of this, I wouldn't even be sitting here with this massive scar on my face, or this mare trying to disguise it while simultaneously nibbling on my ear and telling me how much she loves me.

I know, I was going to come here and make amends for our not having this conversation yesterday. And I'm well-aware of the fact that she has feelings for me. But what I didn't anticipate was when she said that she would WILLINGLY place second. She knows that I don't want this from her...

And that's just a problem I've had on the surface.

Goddammit, from that moment I had that dream in Canterlot dealing with her, I knew that my mind had started going someplace where it shouldn't have. And though I never practiced on it in the physical realm, my mental realm has been plagued with similar thoughts. And it's not like she hasn't been sowing these seeds from the start.

That moment in the barn, thought I was dressed in something frilly and girly, I felt more testosterone-driven from the moment her lips seared my cheek. Even my body showed the signs of arousal as she walked off, my eyes glanced as her tail swayed from side to side, her plot shifting from left to right. The only thing that stopped me was the threatening glance from Spike, who stared back at me through the open doorway as he waited on Rarity.

And at that time, I had to psyche myself out of that lust-driven mode before walking out. I didn't need for Applejack and Rainbow Dash to see me walking around town like that, especially when I knew what I was going back home to face. I could even say that my lust had started to manifest from when Pinkie backed me into a wall and mashed herself against me. I was so lucky that I was wearing clothes, otherwise it would've been so easy for me and her to...

AAAARGH! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

But that's just it, that's not gonna happen. As long as Rarity is sitting here, kissing against me, suckling the lobes of my ear, her quiet pants worming in my ears and through my mind, as her hooves glide up and down my chest just underneath an unbuttoned shirt. I want to move from this seat, but I know the main reason why I won't dare to do it now.

I am throbbing with what could be the most painful case of arousal, and my pants aren't exactly loose enough to hide my current state.

"Rarity... stop."

She walked around to my front and placed her forelegs on my shoulders, her haunches raised as she straddled over my lap. As soon as she regained contact with the floor, she sank down on me with a seductive smirk and coiled her forelegs around the back of my neck. While we were eye to eye, she lifted herself and fell on top of me with a menacingly slow pace.

Dammit. "R-r-r-arity." I stuttered as I felt myself flex against the tightness of my pants. My fingers flexed and balled into a fist as she lifted herself once more, falling on top of me with a slow decent. But this time, she forced herself to sit even closer against me. My hands clasped around her waist. As I slowly lifted her off of me, I tried to shimmy myself away, only to be stopped by the guillotine-like drop of her hips. As soon as she landed, I felt myself losing more and more. Self-control was starting to become a foreign concept as another violent throb sent my hips upwards.

Suddenly, I felt a strong yank from my hair as Rarity arched her back and threw her head up. Her magic ungraciously tugged my head towards her as she looked at me with a frustrated scowl that melted into a painful stare. Her teeth tried to grab onto her lower lip in an attempt to stabilize her trembling jaw. The large curls of her mane fell over to the side of my face as she looked at me with those greedy eyes, the eyes of a yearning woman. Her tail wrapped around my leg tightly as she let her entire weight fall on my lap.

Reaching back, I grabbed her tail and tried to pull myself free. Her eyes left me this one time, rolling into the back of her head while her inner thighs raised themselves off of me. A sigh came off her lips as one of her hooves left my neck and pulled at my chin. For several brief moments, her lips would press against mine, her tongue would actively invade, and her magical tugging would pull my hair to control me.

My heart was beating at the speed of the millions of thoughts racing through my head, the sound of her high-pitched squeaks causing me to lose my grips on reality. Half of my mind was trying to get away from her, but the other half as well as my entire body was making a case on why this should keep going. It wasn't like I didn't want it... and that's what scared me. I wanted it, bad. And realistically, I could have it right now. She's basically telling me to give it up, and don't I want to.

"...That's all you'll get for now."

"Wait, what?" I whispered back as she scoffed victoriously, climbing off of me while leaving me a frustrated wreck.

Rarity slid a hoof down my cheek as she answered back. "You said you weren't going to give me anything. So, I just decided that I wasn't going to give you anything either."

Oh, that was WRONG. "Wait, yo... Bu... We... Wha... De... You can't do that."

"Sweetheart, you're the one who said it. I merely complied with your request."

No, that's called being EVIL. "Rarity, you don't just go around doing that kind of stuff to people."

"No... but I am going to do it with you." She responded with a playful smile, booping me in the nose.

"For 'not giving me anything' you sure gave a lot of 'nothing'." I complained as I buttoned the shirt she had undone.

"Well I'm not selfish, now am I? I'm going to at least let you try on the goods before wearing it."

Oh, you are so maniacal. "You know you're wrong."

"We both are, dear." She chimed as she gave me a kiss on the cheek, just before walking towards the door. "But at least I know that you're willing to play along."

As she opened the door, she cheerfully walked into the hall and hummed along the way, pretending that what had happened just now hadn't even occurred. Meanwhile I'm left with a lingering sense of guilt, as well as a case of blue balls. And for a minute, I had to wait inside of the room before my pants could become a little looser in the crotch. As I waited, I fixed my hair, straightened my appearance, and made my way towards the door.

As I walked, I could only question myself: How did my life even get to this point?

Upon entering the downstairs lobby, everyone else waited with eager faces and even-more eager legs. Even Twilight seemed really eager to get things moving along. "So, are you ready to go?"

She really looked energetic compared to what she was like a minute ago. "Wow, you look like you could take on the world. Better than what you were looking like this morning."

"And what does THAT supposed to mean?" She questioned with a scowl.

"It means that you looked a little fatigued earlier. You shouldn't force yourself to do so much during the night hours." I said as I reached out to lightly bop her on the head.

"This coming from the one who wouldn't even wake up at the appropriate call-time. We're running fifteen-minutes late."

"The ceremony doesn't even start till one this afternoon, doesn't it?" Rickey asked.

Shining shook his head. "Don't even try it. You're not gonna win. She likes being an hour early for everything. And if you're not an hour early, then you're late."

"Late for what, being on-time?" Cliff quipped.

"Tardiness is a sign of disorganization as well as indifference. That reflects poorly on not only me and the other royals, but the E.U.P. Guard as well. Now let's get a move-on." Twilight said as she used her magic to open the door, quickly trotting outside.

Rickey lifted his hand to say something else, gaining a discouraging head-shake from me. With a shrug, he just walked out the door and followed the purple princess. As I held the door open, I waited for everyone else to walk outside. The last one to come out was Melanie, who was walking extremely slow. When she walked past me, she gave me a light bump against the chest.

"So did you two have fun in there?"

My eyes expanded as she picked up the pace and caught up with the others. I was left with a dumb look on my face as I was trying to figure out how she would've known about what I was doing in there. But I guess it wouldn't really matter at this point. Rarity closed the door just before she kissed me, so she couldn't even know what she was looking at, even if she were to eavesdrop.

But I know all-too well that Rarity's door wasn't exactly soundproof.

---

We finally managed to make it to the front steps of Town Hall, where a large stage was built to accommodate for all the humans and royals. Though the stairs would've worked just fine on their own, there wouldn't be enough room to hold all of us in one setting. But the possibility of a stage collapsing underneath my feet was the last thing that was on my mind. Meanwhile I was just in an isolated area nearby, pacing back and forth as I was trying to get my thoughts together.

And I will be the first to admit that I was in a world of mess.

I nearly lost all control back at the boutique. In the matter of a few seconds, I went from not wanting to have anything to do with Rarity to a mere layer of clothes preventing us from burning a hole in the floor. And then when she finished, she left me in such a state to where all I could think about was a sexual release. And with the little time I had plus the venue, I wasn't able to fap one out or take a cold one to the balls. No, I was literally walking around town with a small stain in my boxers and with a foul disposition to match. And my mood had already gotten even worse since Melanie started asking me questions about Spike along the way here.

She seemed really interested in trying to find out what's going on with the two of us. I wonder why she'd hold such a vested interest in just that over the shit-ton of everything else that has to do with the world we're currently in. I mean anything else would be a welcome subject over talking about Spike... or his relationship with Rarity... or my relationship with Rarity.

Dammit, I'm still horny.

Is now really an appropriate time for this?

Touche, but I'm not gonna let─

Aren't you the one who supposedly writes me out of my mental corners, not into them?

Well aware of that, thank you for the reminder of what happened a while back. But I can still shift the blame towards the one who came up with the suggestion that I'd go through with this saving-grace thing. Twilight explicitly─

Ugh... You know what, you're right. The only action I really want to take is to put an end to this bullshit. I could care less about what's going to happen with me and Twilight as long as we're not hurting each other anymore. Hell, let's just get a fucking harem started already. Blueblood's managed, so why can't I?

Okay, then let me say what I wanna do. I wanna be able to turn back time and stop myself from even agreeing to shoving my dick in Twilight. Then, I wanna just pretend that this law bullshit was only as bad as it appeared to me on paper. Hell if I want, I can just tell Twilight that the break is over and we can just try to make it work from there. At that point, we can go right back to the way we were prior to the split.

I'm sorry, I don't see how that's possible right now.

I know.

I KNOW THAT!

...Look at where I am now, and look at where I came from. I've done much more than what I had originally convinced myself that I was capable of doing. I'm making a change, and now I have friends beside me who would help me in spite of all the differences.

Don't you think she's gotten the point already?

Yeah, that worked out the first time. Remember what happened with Rarity, let's go back a good fifteen minutes.

Okay, I don't wanna go back on my word. If I make a─

You know what... FUCK IT! You do it! You deal with everything for the rest of the fucking day! I am completely─

"Argh! Just shut up already."

"...Um... who are you talking to?"

I snapped out of my mental argument and realized that I had said something out loud. Looking down, I could see a young foal clutching a newspaper with my picture on it. Instantly, her face was wrought with confusion.

"No! That wasn't directed towards you! I swear! I was just..." I'm currently at war with myself so please excuse my going insane. "I was... telling myself that I should just be quiet for the rest of the day."

"...Huh?" By then, the foal looked at me with a tilted head and a raised eyebrow.

"I mean... I'm just stressed. It's nothing about you. Now what were you talking about─"

Before I could finish, a mare ran up to her daughter and scooped her up while apologizing to me. "I'm sorry about that, sir. My daughter has been really going on and on about how she wanted to meet you. Had I known that you were in a mood, I would've advised her to choose a more appropriate time, like after the ceremony."

I could do nothing but sigh slowly and cover my face as I spoke. "Ugh... It's not you. It's not her. It's me, I'm just dealing with a lot right now. And I am truly sorry for that."

The mare shook her head as she calmly grabbed my hand. "No I understand! The fight with the changelings, the whole rescue ordeal, being wounded, having the captain position quickly thrown on you, and not to mention all the things you could've endured. I'm quite sure that there's a lot of things that you're coping with as a guard. My father was once a guard himself... It was hard on him too, even a little too much for the rest of us."

Okay, not where I thought this conversation was gonna go, but I'll take it. "You shouldn't have gotten that from me. I was wrong... If you want a day for me to come on by, maybe I can set something up to where I can come by the school and hang out with the foals." I am in major need of some innocence in my life right now.

"Well that's mighty nice of you, but we should be going. The coronation starts in half-an-hour. Don't wanna be late for your big day."

The happiest day of my life, right? "Yeah. If I see you guys, maybe I'll bring you on the stage with me and the others, I can share it with you guys, how's that?"

"Sounds good to me! Well we'll see you later." As the mare and her daughter walked off, I couldn't feel anything but a crushing guilt as I heard the conversation between them fade into the noise of the town.

"Momma, do you think he'll really see us?"

"Honey, I think it's better we leave the human alone for a minute. He's obviously struggling with something."

She couldn't be anymore right, unaware of the reason but she nailed the 'struggling' part down. But what I'm dealing with is a personal ordeal, I should've just let my thoughts stay in the back of my head. That's where they should've stayed. At least I would be able to walk down the street like a sane person.

"Nondis?" I looked back up and to my right to see Cadance calling at me.

"Coming!" I responded.

But before I could take a step forward, I suddenly found myself being tugged away from where I stood and pulled into the town hall building. As Cadance dragged me along, she urged a group of planners to carry on without us. Pulling at my shirt, she trotted into the shadows of the alleyway with me in tow. She glanced back as she growled at me.

"What in Equestria was that all about!?" She asked angrily.

"Nothing, just me being stupid. Now where are we going?" I asked as the doors to the inside quickly closed us inside.

She simply looked ahead as she ignited her horn and zapped the both of us someplace else. "Shortcut."

---

We were transported to one of the smaller rooms within Town Hall. Promptly after our arrival, Cadance sat me down and urged me to wait there for a minute. It didn't take her very long to get back with me, but she did manage to bring up not only Twilight, but Rarity and Melanie as well. With a scowl on her face, she spoke while pacing back and forth.

"I have often made it known to myself that I would not EVER force myself to intervene into relationships."

Twilight was the first to speak. "But what about─"

"What I did then was get in the way of a petty squabble. And even then, I have not once walked into somepony else's situation since Shining and I decided to be together, because I learned that relationships aren't solved with magic spells, love potions, and gifts. That was a lesson your brother taught me, and I married him because of that."

Melanie folded her arms and drummed her fingers against her arm. "Um, is there a reason why I'm here, miss relationship counselor?"

"You're here because you need to be." Cadance answered quickly. "Now all four of you have something you need to tell to one another, and since Melanie's been here, Nondis has been stressed beyond comprehension. You all need to get it all off your chest and speak. I'm going to go outside and see if I can buy you some time. Your medal will be given early in the program and if I know anything, Celestia and Luna will be busy with their visit to Sugarcube Corner, so they should give you a good thirty minutes at least."

She knows damn-well I can't get everything off my chest. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"No. Talk to them. Cause you obviously need to clear the air with what's going on with everyone in here. Got it?"

"B-but─"

"Bye!"

...So can I explain to Melanie why I'm in this situation to begin with? No, I thought you would make things harder for me. Great... now I've got to dance around the subject.

The low hum of the AC system continued to be heard inside of the room as the four of us all looked towards one another. Unfortunately for me, I was placed in the situation where I couldn't properly explain my position. Cadance made it very clear that I was to keep the issue with the law under wraps. Meanwhile, my recent session with Rarity went into every direction but the right one. And I have no idea on how Twilight's going to respond to this.

I might as well start from the top. "So... Ladies, what's on your mind?"

Melanie was the first to make a move, walking over to me and grabbing me by the arm. "I've got a lot on my mind, and I think we should go somewhere else to talk about it."

"Well I do believe that Cadance pulled all of us in here for a reason." Twilight rebutted as she walked over to the two of us. "And I think we should start off with what's been going on as of recent."

Knowing that look on Twilight's face, it sure doesn't spell out a short discussion. "Actually... maybe it's best we'd start from the top."

"Yeah." Melanie agreed as she turned to Twilight. "So lets start off with the elephant in the room. How did you two meet up?" She then turned to me. "And furthermore, how the hell did you even find this place to begin with?"

Twilight cleared her throat as she sat on her haunches. "Well, in terms of how he got here, nopony really knows this for certain. The only thing we know is that Pinkie found him wandering just outside of the Everfree Forest."

"That's another thing." Melanie added. "Why do you use the term 'everypony' instead of 'everybody'? It would make a lot more sense─"

"Darling, that's just how we are." Rarity answered, cutting her question short. "Though we do question why do you humans use such unusual names for yourselves, we try not to harp on the subject out of respect."

"Well... it's kinda been bugging me since I've gotten here. But that aside, back to the first question. How did you two even meet up?" Melanie questioned once more.

Twilight continued to answer the question. "Well diversions aside, I was introduced to him as an unidentified species. But being that I had experience with humans prior to his arrival, I was placed over his protection."

Melanie shook her head with confusion. "So let me get this straight, you've had experience with humans before him? So how did that come up!?"

"Magical portal to another world similar to yours but with the same naming system and hide pigmentation of ours. A friend, who was then a nemesis, of mine by the name of Sunset Shimmer stole my crown and intended to use it's magical properties to lead an army of adolescents to our world in a bid of a hostile takeover."

"Now we just completely went out towards left field. What?" Melanie continued to express her confusion. "Magical... ugh, my head hurts."

"Yeah, the magic thing is a headache-inducing subject. Stay away from that. But in a nutshell, it didn't work out, Twilight got her crown back, and Sunset realized the error of her ways. So she and Twilight often help one another and write to each other for advice. Friend stuff." I added in to level out some of the confusion.

"Okay, Sunset is the one with the yellow and red hair, right?"

"Yeah. She was the one you were talking to in the boutique."

Melanie gave a slow nod as she confirmed who she was talking to. "Okay, now back to you two."

Twilight, levitated my hand and pulled me towards her. "Yes. Since then, I've been trying to get him to interact with the citizens of the town. But he just refused to come out of the room for almost over a week. And then I succeeded in doing so up until the first set of clothes Rarity made for him completely gave out on him."

Rarity's hooves lightly scraped against the ground as she turned her head away. "It was my most catastrophic design, to which I could do nothing but apologize for. So since then, I've made it a personal goal of mine to take on the task of building his wardrobe for him. The second time was more of a success... but then he promptly vomited in the outfit. Of course, my friend and voluntary assistant Spike didn't appreciate that too much."

"I wanna get on that subject next, but that still doesn't explain how you two decided to be an item." Melanie continued to stress.

"Well, there was this one time I had gotten rejected by a colt whom I've considered a... close friend and interest. I got a little upset and started drinking the bottles of wine I had in the room. And Nondis came around to comfort me during that little binge."

"And what he wore that night was the second outfit I made him that had gotten vomit all over it." Rarity added with a scoff. By then, I was already fed up with his inability to keep anything clean and quickly had him to make it up for me the day after."

"Yeah, that's what happened the next day. But she was talking about how Nondis and I had started our relationship." Twilight stated.

"Actually, all of this is adding more context to everything that's going on right now." Melanie responded with a shrug. "I'm just listening to whatever you girls are throwing out there."

"Well, the question was about my and Nondis being together, perhaps I should answer that first before we go in all these separate directions." She said as she glanced over to Rarity. "Now as I was saying, I had gotten a little inebriated but recalled him calling me special. Since then, I was more towards getting to know what he was all about. Another thing that happened was that Rainbow Dash pulled him out of the room in nothing but his underwear."

"What?" Melanie asked as her head dropped a few inches.

"Before you ask, Rainbow Dash was trying to get him to referee a competition between her and Applejack. So I promptly dragged him back into the room and the next thing I notice, he─"

"Ran out the room." I answered quickly out of nervousness, unsure as to why I was feeling so embarrassed about that event considering that she already knows we slept together. "Then I placed a bet, lost, and had to wear a dress while walking throughout town."

"Seriously... you had to wear a dress... again?" Melanie questioned with deadpan.

"Yeah, not my proudest moment, but I sold it. And then I had gotten into a fight the next day with some jerk. Knocked unconscious, concussions, constant nosebleeds, the whole nine."

Melanie facepalmed as she sighed. "Nondis, what did you get into a fight over this time."

I really hate to bring this up so soon, but it's the only way to get my point across quick enough. "...You remember Jasper, right?"

She looked at me with disapproval. "You know, I really don't wanna talk about that."

"Yeah, well Pinkie had her variation of him. But he was a whole lot worse than him. There were things that happened that I don't have permission to go into detail over. So I'll just leave it at that and skip ahead. So after I got my ass whopped, Pinkie's sisters came rolling in and beat his ass, then he sues me for his medical expenses in regards to the ass-whopping he rightfully deserved. Then there was this month-long ordeal of my wearing shorts this one time and the press just lost it over this one instance of showing some skin for the first time in four months."

"Oh, so that's when the girls here started wanting to take you for a ride on the wild side?" Melanie questioned.

"Yeah, and for two weeks I've been getting some really raunchy fan-mail, some with some really unusual yet musky scents."

"Uuuugh!" Melanie shuddered with disgust. "Just move on already!"

"Yeah, it was creepy. But come the end of the trial, I'm let loose and he's sentenced to jail for forty-five years... no parole."

"...You have some leverage with the jail system here, don't you? I mean you've got all the connects." Melanie questioned.

"I have significant access with my current position, yes. Why?"

Melanie pulled at her skin as she groaned into her hands. "Uugh!!! Why the fuck did I not bring Jasper here!? He's gonna be sitting in the courthouse jail for another five months before his trial even gets started!"

Him, here? No. He did his crime in the U.S.A., he'll get punished by the U.S.A.. "I think we're getting off on the wrong end, let's get back to the main thing at hand. So a month after that ordeal, Twilight's been looking after me and whatnot. Then one day we have this brief conversation that kinda lead to one thing, and then to another... and then to another... and then..."

"We kissed, numerous times. And I was basically on the verge of getting to the bottom of things... so to speak. And then my brother walked in."

"So let me guess, you two have been going at it because of that incident, right?" Melanie questioned as she looked back to me.

"Yeah. Then I was kicked out of the castle for nearly two months until the portal was finished. And then when that happened, she kinda confessed her feelings last minute. So... in spite of my original decision to leave, I stuck around for the chance of making things work. I was also thrown in military by her older brother as a result, but it could've been worse."

Melanie placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a sarcastic smile. "Nondis, you're in this massive interspecies love triangle, I don't think it could be worse!"

Uh... technically... "So to run through all of it in a few minutes, I'll keep this short and sweet. Spike is Twilight's surrogate baby brother-thing, Spike has a crush for Rarity, Rarity doesn't like him but she has expressed an interest in me, Twilight is my first choice but we're on break right now, Pinkie had an interest but was conflicted with her now-boyfriend Cheese Sandwich, I'm helped Cheese get with Pinkie so she's out, and finally there's you. So... honestly speaking there's about a total of seven-sides to this whole conundrum."

"What the fuck is up with you and your love for amorous polygons!? That's way too many sides!"

"ANYWAYS... I'm kinda in the middle of a crisis. Pinkie and Cheese is out of the equation right now, so I'm delegating my attention to the other five sides. I know that Spike will continue to be an issue, I can't help that. If he wants to see one side of the argument and ignore the other, then I can't persuade him otherwise. And he's not Shining, I can't just wail on the kid... no matter how many times he tries to fuck me over. Rarity, Twilight, and I have already come to a consensus that we would have our discussion at a later time. So again, that leaves you."

Melanie took a deep breath as she folded her arms. "So what do you mean by that?"

It means that the foot's gotta come down. "Mel... I really─"

Before I could finish, Cadance teleported back into the room and immediately made a beeline for me. "Okay, guess I couldn't buy you any time after all. You're first on the program."

Wait, what? "I'm first? But what about all of the festivities, the performances, the extra razzle-dazzle and shit?"

"Who do you think this is for? You're getting honored out front and the performances are set for the entertainment of you and your friends. They don't want you walking out on stage after the performances are done."

And just as I was about to lay it all out there, you couldn't have come up at a worse time. "Five minutes, just give me that."

"Well I'm afraid that five minutes is five too many at this point. Sugarcube Corner is a closed-off venue and it will only be open for the after party. And in their current state, I'm not sure if Celestia and Luna wants to wait another five minutes. It's been ten minutes past the start of the ceremony. Mayor Mare is expected to call your name in the next minute or so."

"Really?" Dammit, and I was so close. You know what, I'm on the clock. I might as well get this ceremony over with and give myself some time to think about how I'm going to say what to whom. And I can't exactly weave stories like I've been doing to Melanie. I've gotta be firm, or I might end up making the same mistake I did with Rarity. "Okay... How long does this ceremony lasts?"

"Well, we're looking at about an hour and a half, if you all can keep your speeches on the short end." Cadance said as she marched towards the door. "But I guess we could look at an hour and fifteen considering that Celestia really wants her sweet-tooth satisfied."

Okay then. At this point I should just close my eyes, take a deep breath, loosen my shoulders, and just get it all over with. Enjoy the ceremony, smile and wave to the crowd, answer a few questions for the press, and then move on. This was the day where I decided that I would be completely open with Melanie, I should stay true to just that. If I fuck up on everything else, at least let me get this one thing right. If I can get it right with her, I should have a chance at making things right with the others. Alright, I can find solace in that. "Mel, I'm gonna need to talk to you later. Okay?"

Rarity and Twilight ran up beside me as I started to make my way out the door. "So... um... have you... made a decision on... us?" Twilight questioned.

My feet grew a little heavier as I started to walk though the hall with that thought on my shoulders. My stomach even started to slowly crawl up my throat as the thought continued to shift through my brain. After I walked outside to see a large crowd gathering before the steps of the Town Hall, I found that I wouldn't be able to say what I wanted to until after all of this stuff had run it's course. I would have to approach them individually, telling them what I wanted to do for the time being.

Whatever I decided, I knew that any sort of progression would be a step in the right direction.

---

From the moment he set foot out those doors, the voices of the crowd reached deafening levels of adoration. Smiles and cheers lit up the entire area, almost the whole town was watching him walk towards the stage. Meanwhile two other ponies, much taller than the rest and also with crowns, pointed him towards his seat as the cheers began to die off a little. As I looked into the crowd, I could see a sea of flags being waved in the air. Some of the ponies were even cheering in midair, performing somersaults, backflips, and barrel rolls. A small row of what appeared to be mares all looked to the stage with tears in their eyes, holding up signs with Nondis' name surrounded by bright red hearts.

Well he wasn't playing around when he said he had a fan club. But what also surprised me was that there were a few other signs, obviously done in a rushed fashion, with Cliff and Rickey's names on it. Horseshoe prints were planted all over in pairs, making a pseudo love heart. Though the gatherings for them were much smaller, their voices were just as loud.

Nondis was given his medals, one award distinguishing his being wounded in the fight, another for his bravery, and two smaller ribbons for the completion of his assignment. Cliff and Rickey were granted medals for high valor, and honorary citizenship. They were also given the key to the city by the mayor. Twilight also honored all three with her personal medal, the Sigil of Friendship. In honor of the families who had experienced loss and were cared for in their final moments, Nondis and Shining Armor were granted awards from Princess Cadance, the Emblem of Compassion.

After that, all four were lined up front and center as five other ponies walked up on stage. The five other ponies bowed their heads as they held handmade reeves made of an assortment of flowers. As they finished, a pink pony with a wildly-puffy mane pounced on Nondis and proceeded to give him a hug, nearly breaking his spine.

"Non-Non, hugs! Hugs for you, I'm so proud of you!"

"Pinkie... breathing... is... important."

"Oh sweet Celestia, I knew that you were going to go a distance, but for you to be recognized as a national hero just makes me so proud!" She said hysterically, completely overwhelmed by tears. "Don't ever let anypony get you down, Nonnie. You're doing great."

As soon as those words left her mouth, I could see a small amount of uncertainty in his eyes. But he didn't seem to linger on it for too long as he pulled off of her and smiled brightly. After that, the five ponies were standing proudly next to the four heroes. As they were standing there, they quietly whispered to one another about something. Then they all turned to Shining, who notified them of something that had them kinda frowned up in the face. Nondis shook his head and continued to smile and wave for another minute. Finally, the four took their seats as the celebratory activities ensued.

Honestly, I don't think my Saturday could've been this interesting. The entire ceremony was a big ball of fun for me. Watching the flying ponies take to the sky and do a series of aerial stunts, followed by a few fly-by's on the stage was pretty awesome. Even the rainbow-maned pony seemed to have shared the same excitement I had in seeing these guys fly around. And then there was the group of younglings who put on a small play to honor the actions of the heroes...

If you ever seen that throwaway gag in A Bug's Life, it was similar to that with the exception of all the heroes dying at the end. Instead it was a bittersweet ending about how a young filly lost one of her trusted friends in the fray and how they were saved. The filly who played the part of the victim walked up on the stage... rather galloped as quick as her little hooves could take her and tackle-hugged Nondis. The security detail was unsure as to how to respond to the situation, but the really huge white pony really didn't seem to mind as she called them off. Meanwhile, the young pony stayed on stage, crying her little eyes out.

Rickey later informed me that she was actually a victim that they helped rescue, and that her friend was actually her dearly-departed butler. My heart went out to the poor thing. But a brown pony, standing beside a pointy-nose mare whispered to the young filly and pulled her off the stage quietly.

Nondis seemed to be happy that everyone was safe, but he seemed upset about not being able to find the one filly he ran into on the way here. He looked down for a bit and it started to become obvious to everyone watching. Though they didn't know the real reason why he was so downtrodden, so they assumed that it was because of his being unable to save more lives. Yeah, I don't think I could even have a job that would have me apologize to every one of the families I couldn't save.

After the final remarks and a speech from Cliff and Rickey on how they felt welcomed in this world, everyone started packing up and the honorees were then guided to the marketplace just in front of what appeared to be a candy-coated, gingerbread-smelling, frosting-laced establishment.

As I stood somewhere else, watching the three boys get swarmed by a group of mares, I pulled out my phone to check the time. I also took notice that I was still without a signal. I guess I won't be calling my attorney anytime soon to let her know that I'm not going to be able to see her later this evening.

"I see you humans have similar devices."

I looked behind me to locate the source of an oddly mature voice. Upon my discovery, I was greeted by the white pony who called off the security detail when the filly ran onstage. Despite the fact that she was significantly taller than the rest, she was very much shorter than me. But the thing that grabbed most of my attention was her hair. Though it flowed like she was suspended underwater, I had to keep in mind that there was little to no wind blowing.

Okay... But seriously, how the fuck is she doing that? "Oh, well we all have our own smartphones. It's how we stay connected."

"So I've been informed. Nondis hasn't made too much mention of you to me, nor has he announced that he would bring another friend of his to us."

Well that's a first. Everyone here seems to act like they know me somehow. "Oh yeah. Honestly I didn't even know I was going to visit until I just randomly showed up here. I don't even know how we even got here to begin with. I keep hearing things about a portal, but I don't recall Nondis having anything really sci-fi looking in his apartment... well aside from his computer."

"So I take it that your first visit to our humble little town has been pleasant, or maybe even acceptable?"

I shrugged my shoulders as I gave off a smile. "Yeah, it's been a bit of fun. But I'm starting to see that Nondis might not see things the way I do. Then again, he knows a lot more about this place than I do."

The white pony smiled really weakly as she glanced over to Nondis. "The past two weeks hasn't been very kind to him. He's been very busy with a lot of security details as well as a bit of desk work. I tried to give him a full week off to recuperate from what was diagnosed as a 'fractured collarbone'. He responds to me by standing in front of the parliament saying that he would take up his assignments just four days later."

"Please tell me he isn't that stupid." Seriously, fighting with a broken shoulder bone is not how you would want to get your honors. And if that's the deal, then why did they not suspend him if he was going to risk his own health?

"I wouldn't say that he's... stupid." She hesitantly answered. "But he does a lot of running in. I'm just thankful that his brash and obscene tactics work out in his favor. And even then it's because of the weapons he uses."

No doubt, Nondis did make a purchase on the guns the other day. I guess he had a reason why he would need a sniper rifle. "Oh yeah, I remember him buying those."

"Yes. Though I'm concerned that he's getting himself into more fights than he can handle at this very moment."

I can see the cause for concern. "He's been like this. Since he was a kid, he'd have all these fights with the kids who bullied him. He'd lose every time, but you could never say that he doesn't stand up for himself... at least not as often as you could say he didn't know how."

"Well he's certainly knowledgeable of it now." She joked, giggling a bit.

"You know, I never did get your name, ma'am. Judging from earlier, you seem to have a firm grip on the security around here."

"I'm just a friend of Nondis. You may call me Celestia. Or Lesty, as what Nondis called me once."

Lesty? I guess that's not awkward sounding... It kinda is. "Can I call you Celly instead?"

She tapped her hoof against her chin as she looked towards the sky. "Hmm... Celestia, Celly... I think it could catch."

"Big Momma Celly! That's so cute, I wanna call you that!"

She laughed quietly as her cheeks started to turn a bright shade of pink. "Oh, big momma... I suppose if it makes you feel comfortable."

I reached around her neck and gave her a big hug along with a huge smile. Giddily, I rocked back and forth as I talked. "You're so awesome, I love you!"

Now her laugh became a little nervous. "Oh ho ho, I love you too, dear."

Pulling off, I gave her a bit of space as I continued to speak. "So, not to be rude, but... I've been dying to know... Can I touch your hair? It's just... wow. That shit you got going on is amazing!"

"Well, I don't see why not. Grab a handful... that is how you say it, right?" She questioned with uncertainty.

"Yeah!" As soon as I threw my hand into her mane, I became mesmerized of how it felt like a mix between hair and water. When I pulled my hand from inside, I was completely amazed of how it was still dry. Once more, I had to stick my hands inside just to make sure that it wasn't water. Again, I pulled out and was flabbergasted upon seeing that my hands were as dry as a desert. "So, how did you get your hair to do this?"

"Well, it's really more of a surplus of magic surging through my body that allows for my hair to become so animated. It happens to a lot of ponies who undergo powerful spells, incantations, or unleashing a large amount of magical energy."

"But don't your horn usually light up when you're casting spells? I know Shining told me that horns do glow when magic is used." I inquired, seeing that hers was hardly even ignited. "And if that's the case, how is it your mane keeps doing that if you're not casting spells?"

"Well you're not wrong. But pegasi and earth ponies do have magic as well. It's just that unicorn magic is the most visible kind of magic. And to answer your latter statement, you might find your answer hidden in plain sight... just above you." She said as she pointed her hoof upwards.

Looking to the air above, I could see nothing more than the clouds and the sun shining brightly in the sky.

"I'll give you a hint: Try not to look into the situation for too long, the knowledge would ultimately alter your sights on life."

Easy hint. "The sun? I know if you look at it for too long, you might go blind."

"Bingo, as Nondis would say."

So... what about the sun? "So what, you get your magic from the sun?"

"Well, actually it's not quite like that. But I would advise you to take notice of your shadow."

As I looked down, I saw my shadow slowly lean from one place to another. Eventually, the black figure then turned to a mere puddle beneath my feet. Looking up, I definitely saw the sun shining in a different place. My head slowly drifted down to the white pony standing before me, her horn lit with a bright golden glow.

...She fucking... moved the sun... with her brain... an object that weights over 2 OCTILLION tons... a hot-ass star with a surface temperature of ten-thousand degrees... from a distance of eight minutes... in light years.

You know what, fuck it, she's God. "Excuse me, ma'am... Are you even real? Is any of this real?"

She then proceeded to laugh as she walked towards me and draped one of her really large wings around my waist. "Oh I can assure you that this is very much real. Though I now realize that I have failed to get your name. You're quite a character!"

"M-mah... Nnn... Mel... Melanie?"

"Melanie? I see. Now that your name has come up, I believe Nondis brought up your name once. I remember him saying it during the day we scheduled the return to his home world. Of course we're so excited that he chose stay, but I never knew that you would actually find your way to our wonderful realm."

"Neither did I." So apparently everyone either knows about me, knows me, or knows of me. Then again, I can't really accuse Nondis of bringing my name up when the whole country practically knows him by name, let alone the city of Austin. "So... Celly... are you the ruler of this place by any chance?" Someone of this much power, I can't see how she couldn't rule a nation with an iron fist.

"Well I'm actually a co-ruler with my younger sibling, Luna. She's the dark blue one that's just short of my height. And as a mark of my sibling, her affinity is that of the moon, as mine is the sun."

Great, so there's two of them? "Oh, but what do you mean by the phrase 'a mark of my sibling'?"

"Well, if you would take notice of the mark on my flank, you would see that I have a sun crest. My younger sister would have a moon crest on hers. Much similarly in a way that would hit closer to home, Shining Armor's mark is that of a shield and Twilight is that of a magical spark, yet the two share the same six-pointed magenta star, indicating their strong attributes in magic."

That would explain the teleportation. Anyone with wings and a horn is capable of teleporting from one place to another... unless it's just a spell that people can learn, which I really hope that it's the former. "Oh... I've noticed that." No I haven't.

"I know this world is completely different from that of your own, but I do want to see to it that you feel welcome here. And just as Cliff, Rickey, and Nondis have enjoyed their stay, I am sure that you will find your experience to be the same."

"Oh... Thank you so much." I said while bowing over, now confirming that she was the head-honcho of this place.

"No, the pleasure is all mine." She said as she placed a hoof and lifted my chin up. "Now let's get in here and quietly move towards the cake, I don't want you missing out on what Pinkie and Applejack baked."

"Oh okay, sure!" I said as I walked towards the bakery doors alongside Celestia.

As I walked inside, I could see a multitude of ponies all chattering and laughing amongst each other. But as soon as a guard walked up and stood by the door to announce Celestia's presence, they all turned and bowed out of respect. As I looked to her, I immediately saw her frown a bit as she looked towards the guard. Then suddenly...

"Hey, cut that out!" Nondis called out to the room. "We're having a party here, you can bow down on a later date. She just wants to have fun like the rest of us, so just chill out."

The guard beside us blinked with shock as he called back out to him. "But captain─"

"You're making her uncomfortable with all of these formalities. Ease up a bit."

"But─"

"It's also an order."

"Yes sir."

I briefly looked back to Celestia, only to notice that she had finished sighing and smiled. The ponies throughout the room looked back to each other and continued where they had left off. Nondis walked up to the two of us and pointed us towards a table near the back of the room.

"Your seats are over there."

"I see that your overprotectiveness continues to know no bounds, captain." She said aloud, but mouthing a few other words to him. "Thank you so much." I read from her lips.

"Go on and take your seat." He said back. She proceeded to make her way to the table, I began to follow her example. But as she cleared past another two tables, Nondis gently grabbed my wrist and lightly tugged at me. "Actually... I need you to follow me upstairs."

Upstairs? "What's going on, is there a special table for the humans or something?"

"No, none of that. But I need to talk to you about something."

Me and him, upstairs alone? I'm already feeling nervous.

---

"...That's how I feel about all of this. I wanted to tell you on Wednesday, but I didn't know how to explain all of it to you."

We've been in this small room for a little over forty-five minutes. And in that time span I felt a variety of emotions, ranging from excitement and joy to sorrow and disappointment. I couldn't do much but fall quiet as he went on and on about what he had experienced these past ten months... or close to it.

In the end of it all, he told me these words.

"I love being your friend. And I will go to hell and back for you. And that's how I want it to be. I know that I did some things that really upset you and kinda put you off. But I feel like if I wanted to go back to that, then it would be a little harder for us to do it. Of course I still think you're attractive as hell and that you really got it going on, but I would be doing us both a disservice if I chose to cater towards that. I don't feel as if I should get into something with you and find out later that... we can't make it work. And then after that, we're trying to go around and pick up pieces of something damaged beyond repair. Yes it sounds like I'm cowering out, but I'd much rather keep what we have."

Meanwhile, I'm just as stone-faced as ever. I don't want him to see me cry, but it's not easy. Every so often, I'm catching breaths or having to look up to the ceiling, just to stop the tears from welling up past my eyelashes. But as it went on, I was quickly flicking them off of my eyes with my thumbs. My chest grew cold and my arms started to feel a little numb. Meanwhile I could feel this discomfort growing in my face, indicating that I was a few seconds away from bursting. So then I tried to be brave and speak.

"...You know, I've been trying to say that this entire time." Oh God, my voice is choking up. "And..." I had to take breaths to stop myself from bursting. "I... really wanted to make you happy. I wanted to make it up to you by starting over, being your girlfriend. At least then I could've made up for lost time."

"Mel, I don't want you to do that."

"I wanted to." For real. I really wanted this. "At least for you." But mostly me.

When Nondis placed his hand on my shoulder, I felt the pressure starting to become too much and I coughed a bit. I had to push him off just to stop myself from erupting. But he still got uncomfortably close to me as he spoke. "Melanie, look at me."

I closed my eyes... dammit I couldn't stop them from falling, shit. "No."

"Mel."

"No. Whatever you're gonna say, you need to say it." Just say those little words that you always said to make me feel better. Everytime I was like this, you would say those words.

"Melanie... look. Please?"

I sniffled and opened my eyes, looking at the sincerity on his face as he placed his hand on my shoulder again. "You are... really special. I don't have words to describe the mark you've made in my life, and to be honest I was convincing myself that I was incapable of thinking of... how you could be replaced. Truth be told, I know that I can't replace you, and I won't put anything else in that little place. I like that little place just the way it is. And I know it feels like it doesn't make sense to say that after all of these years, especially when you have a second chance... but that's how I remember you."

He started to choke up a little, but I know that I was way too far ahead to be able to stop myself from going any further. "...I told you to die. Why would you hold on to that? I don't need you holding on to things like that. That's not how I wanted it to be!"

"We're friends, and we're gonna fight. That's the best thing about friendships, you could say some really offensive shit, and piss each other off, but if you know that the two of you are actually stronger than the words you used to hurt each other, then what's the point? Bygones are nice, but that shit boils over eventually. If you remember what you did, and what you said to each other, then you'll know that you won't do that shit again."

"You're so fucking dumb." I wanted to just hurl whatever was near me at him, just to stop the pain, my pain. I just wanted him to stop touching me. He doesn't have a right to touch me like he normally does whenever I'm like this, not anymore. The same words he used to comfort me, those words just made it hurt even worse.

"And I know that I called you a bitch, and I haven't let myself get over that for a while. Yeah I kinda let it marinate in the back of my mind, but I made a promise that I would never do that to you again. I did some really stupid shit, that continues to make me cringe every time I think back on it. But I keep that dumb shit in my head so that I put it on a giant yellow fucking sticky that says DON'T DO THIS in all caps and bold print. Because you're my friend, I'm not gonna forget that shit because it's worth remembering."

My breathing started to become really heavy, my arms just shot around his waist and up his back, the pain in my chest started to feel a little better with each moan I made against his chest. Each second I sobbed, I internally screamed how much I hated him, how I just wanted to watch him get hit by a bus or some stupid shit. But at the same time, the painful release started to become something of a catharsis. Every now and then, I'd beat on his back with my weakened arms, I tried to push him over but leaned into him and felt his warmth wrap around me.

A bittersweet embrace that I tried to avoid for several minutes, the entire day actually, I was now free from the pain I was afraid to experience... and it was because I had to experience it for myself. I know it sounds stupid, but I love this moment.

I hated him for the time being, but I loved him for this.

---

Ugh... Ever since I've been here, I've been bawling my eyes out. From the whole 'alternate universe' thing to the 'let's stay friends' thing, this day has been nothing but an emotional roller coaster. Can't really say that I haven't been opening myself up for these kinds of things. But I am feeling a certain kind of way because I chose to become a little aggressive.

If I hadn't kissed him Wednesday, this wouldn't hurt so much. If I hadn't let myself meditate on our being together today, I wouldn't feel so let down. But if I hadn't acted out against Twilight earlier... well I'd be in the same situation regardless but I wouldn't feel as if I had this coming.

So instead of staying around while everyone danced and played games, I took a moment to get some fresh air. Looking at my phone, I could see that I was definitely gone for a good portion of the day. If the sun going over the horizon and the moon rising from the other side wasn't an indication, I was definitely here for the entire afternoon. A total of seven hours had passed since I've been here.

And out of those seven hours, I've spent about an entire one just crying my tear ducts dry.

Right now, I'm just tired of crying. I feel like I have nothing else to let loose. My body's even started to feel a little weaker from all the emotions, and it also helps that I've been power walking a mini-marathon. At least I know how Nondis managed to lose all of his weight.

For a few more minutes, I was just looking from a distance. I could see the festive merriment taking place through the window from across the square. And I know that somewhere in there, Cliff is teaching those ponies the meaning of 'turn up'. Rickey's probably having a blast dancing around like he normally does, he's actually a pretty good dancer. I'm not sure about Nondis, he's always been a bit of a wallflower since I've known him. Even on the first day we met, he was watching everyone else dance. He's not that bad of a dancer, but his movements can be a bit jerky and awkward. I'm just happy he has a sense of timing, otherwise it would not end well.

I wonder if Twilight gets him to dance. I bet miss purple princess is one hell of a dancer.

After another minute or so, I finally decided that I've gotten all the fresh air that I could handle. So I took a peek through the window and saw who appeared to be Sunset dancing really close against Cliff...

...And I mean DAMN, what the hell!? Never have I really seen Cliff sweat over a dance, but he's fanning himself with both hands as she just lightly lifted off of him and bashed herself against his pelvis. Rickey looked on with a tilted head, his fist covering his mouth as he squinted. Her hips swayed seductively from one side to the other, rocking back and forth as she looked back to Cliff, who was now chewing on one of his dreads. Nervously he looked towards Rickey with a nod and pointed at her.

Well fuck, had I known the ponies here were like THAT... This is just ridiculous. No four-legged creature is supposed to do some really humanesque dancing like that. After that, I saw her walk up and use her magic to pull Cliff towards her. She pulled him to the ground promptly after and planting her hoof on his shoulder as she slowly sat on him. Her head slowly moved downward towards his abdomen before she pulled back up and poked her hoof at his nose, lightly pushing his head back down.

Yeah, I see why Nondis was so easily convinced.

While the crowd was focused on the two humans at the center of the room, I quietly snuck through the door, past the gathering and up the stairs. As I walked down the hall, I could hear Cliff's voice shout loudly.

"DAAAAYUM, GIRL!"

Obviously he was having a good time.

I made my way into the room Nondis took me into when we had our talk, I didn't even bother turning on the light when I walked in. I made my way towards the bed for a seat, but as I plopped myself down, I felt a very unusual lump in the bedding. And simultaneously, the lump seemed to have yelped in response to my weight being thrown upon it.

"Eeeh!" I squeaked as I noticed the lump move. Out of instinct, I cocked my fist back and readied to throw everything I had at whatever it was that spooked the shit out of me.

"Ah! Don't hurt me!" It hollered back to me. "Well, I can take a hit or to, but not to the face!"

"Wha?" I asked as I ran over towards the door and turned on the light. As soon as the light came on, I saw a small creature with purple and green scales. It's height probably didn't climb any higher than the middle of my thighs. But I did notice the one particularly tall spine that would've reached up to my crotch. That was a bit unusual to see, but other than that...

I have a confession to make... "Oh! Aren't you the cutest thing ever!" I gush over cute things.

"Well, I'm not really that cute, to be honest." He responded while scratching his head, blushing a little as he turned away.

"Oh yes you are! If I had my way in this, I'd take you home and just snuggle you all the way up! Yes I would!" I said as I walked over and started rubbing him on the top of his head, which he responded to quite well.

"Heh heh... thanks." He said as he smiled with a look of pure delight.

"So sweetie boo, what's your name? And what were you doing under the sheets?"

"Well I was actually on top of the bed. You just kinda sat on me."

"Oh... oops." Honestly I thought I was sitting on a really uncomfortable pillow for a moment, that is until the scream came out. "Sorry about that, Mr... um..."

"My name's Spike."

"Spike, right. Is it because of that fin at the top of your head?" I questioned while pointing towards the obvious.

"Actually, it is my namesake. If anypony usually sees the large green spike walking around the room, they'll know it's me. Plus it helps to be the only dragon in miles, so I'm real easy to point out."

Once more, I reached out and scratched his chin a bit. "Aww, so you must be a little baby dragon for you to be so small."

"I'm not as young as you'd think. I'm actually thirteen going on fourteen."

EXCUSE ME? WHAT FUCKING AGE REGRESSION SHIT ARE YOU USING? I'm scared of turning thirty at this rate, and I'm only twenty one. "Oh, well happy in-advance birthday to you."

"Thanks... Um..."

"Melanie, my name is Melanie. You can call me Mel if you want." I said, extending my hand for him to shake. When our hands met, he seemed have a grasp of how we humans exchange pleasantries.

"Melanie. I gotta ask you a question."

"Sure, what's that?"

"How did you get here?"

"Well... I don't know." Sad truth of it is that everyone else knows how. I just know that there's a portal involved, but as far as where it is, I have no earthly clue.

"So you don't have any memories of how you got here?"

"Well I do, but I don't. I was blindfolded by a few friends and they kinda pushed me over here. Right now, I'm not even sure if I'm in Texas anymore. If I get back, I might be in some other country. All these possibilities, it's kinda weirding me out."

"Oh, I know how you feel. Done a bit of cross-dimension traveling myself." He admitted while pointing towards himself. "I also knows how it feels being the odd-drake out."

"I'm pretty sure you do. Being a dragon in a world of ponies must've been one hell of a culture shock, huh?"

The small dragon shook his head. "Not for me, I was hatched in pony society so I'm used to doing everything the pony way. But my claws do put me at an advantage of being capable of things not all of my friends were able to do."

"Like what?"

"Well, I can grasp things like you can. I can play several different instruments, including the piano. I'm also fluent in magic."

Oh wow, he actually does magic. I wonder what his variant is, like is it flame magic or some other weird stuff? "Awesome! So you know how all this crazy shit works?"

"Pretty much, I have Twilight to thank for it."

"Twilight, that's the purple one, right?"

"Yeah, but she hasn't been busy with her magic lately, she's been doing more princess-y things... that and being all lovey-dovey with her special somepony."

Again with these equine-based terminologies, how is it that they use these without it sounding like a really bad pun? "Oh. So do you think that this 'special somepony' is a good fit for her?"

Spike huffed and flicked his wrist. "Not a chance! Twilight should've dumped him a long time ago. In fact, he's not even supposed to be here right now."

"Well, why not?" I genuinely want to hear what he has to say.

"Well if you wanna know, he's looks kinda just like you. You know, human. We completed the portal to his world six and a half months after he arrived. The whole day, he was telling everypony how he would miss them and sorry that he had to go back to his world. He had his bags packed right next to the portal! And then outta nowhere, he just says he's staying here, knowing that Shining Armor wanted him dead for nearly taking Twilight's virginity."

So I've been told. "Oh wow. So he and Shining used to fight?"

"Oh yeah, swords and everything. But Shining lost as soon as he cracked his horn. And since then, he's been walking around as if he has this 'savior complex' while trying to play white knight!"

"Savior complex?" To be honest, I wouldn't deny that Nondis has been poking his chest out a lot more often than he normally does. But I don't think it's gotten to his head like that... has it?

"He thinks he's a hero for doing his job. He's a guard, not very many guards get the praise he did as soon as they got out of basic training. It's all because he's different, it's why the masses hold him to such a high esteem. Just recently, he even got over half of the parliament cheering him on like he's some sort of big-shot."

Okay, I know that Nondis kinda rode the beta-train before he vanished. So I could understand him developing a superiority complex... just a tiny bit, but not that much."Well I guess it must've went to his head a bit, right?" I joked while laughing nervously.

"Oh yeah! And then he has the nerve to put Rarity in such distress! Her business is struggling because she's busy making more clothes for him, knowing that one of his outfits consumes three-times more material than the average pony. And she never charges him, she'll never be able to open a shop in Canterlot with her constantly spending all of her money on him."

"That is a problem." From a business standpoint, that is a very dangerous move. Could it be that her feelings for him is affecting her business decisions? Or maybe there's some ulterior motive behind her doing that.

"I know. And now he's even turned Rarity against me. Rarity, my best friend."

You know, her name has been coming up a lot in this conversation. It seems like he's really fixated on her. "...What do you think about Rarity?"

"Where do I start? She's beautiful, she's generous, she's a wonderful singer, she's an awesome designer, a pretty nice artist too, and she's strong, smart, and funny, and all around charming." He went on like a young preteen boy fawning over a crush in his class.

"You sound like you like her."

"...I don't think I like her anymore." Okay, that's a bit unexpec─ "I think... I think that I actually would be willing to take the next step for her." ─Ah there we go.

"What do you mean by 'next step'?"

He opened his mouth, but paused for a moment and walked to the door. After looking both ways, he walked back into the room and closed the door behind him. He then walked back to the bed and hopped back up to take a seat, his claws tapping against his stubby legs. Something tells me that this conversation is going to get a little deep. "I wanna try and do well by her. I can carry whatever load she puts on me, I can do anything she asks me to and I'm willing to be honest to her about anything that goes wrong. I just... I just want her to see that I'm really interested in making 'us' happen."

"So, do you think about her in any other way aside from in a lovey-dovey way?" Might as well go deeper to see where his real intentions lie.

"Like what do you mean?"

"Have you... you know... have her come to mind and your... body starts to react a certain way?" I'm trying not to just come out and say it.

"Well yeah, I get butterflies and my heart starts to beat really fast. And then there's this thing about her that makes me feel like that I could go all the way with her."

"All the way?"

"It's... kinda embarrassing to say."

Ah, now we're digging for gold here. "Well, I won't tell anyone. And besides, we're grown folks here, so whatever you got to say, just say it."

"...Well... if it's not weird... I start to feel my entire body grow a bit, but when it happens and I'm thinking of her, it doesn't grow past a certain size. So I'd usually get to where I'm like standing on my hind legs, practically at eye-level with any bulky stallion. And then... it takes over."

Drilling for oil now. "What takes over?"

"...That side of me."

"What side?"

He played with his claws nervously, shifting his legs as he spoke. "...You know... the grown side. It happens and I usually have to rub myself to get myself back down to size, if not wait for a while. And when I'm do it, I just find myself thinking about how Rarity could make me feel even better."

"So... you fantasize about her?"

"Fantasize?"

"You know... think about kissing her and doing other things."

"Oh, all the time! Sometimes I'd have to do it thrice or four times a day."

Wow, he's really cranking it. "Have you ever caught yourself... being curious about her?"

His legs tightened against his body, his upper portion shifting forward as his arms folded over his lap. "...A few times, I even caught her doing something... doing it... touching her... you know. And since then, I've been so focused on that one moment, and then I just can't stop thinking and I end up growing again. The sounds she made wasn't like what she'd make during the day, they were... Please don't tell Rarity."

...Okay, we've hit BP levels of offshore drilling, complete with an oil spill. "Don't worry. I got you covered." Don't worry, I'll probably quietly inform her and the local authorities of your snooping around. This is beginning to become an unhealthy crush.

"Thanks. I didn't even think I could tell Pinkie because she's so in love with Nondis, she'd tell him. And she's friends with Rarity, if I don't make her promise, she'll blurt it out eventually. And I couldn't tell Twilight, she'd tell me off and punish me. I would've come back to Ponyville, but lately, I've been trying to keep myself busy at Canterlot so that I don't... grow in front of her."

"Really, I thought that Rarity turned against you and made you leave?"

"Well that too, but do you think I wanted to stay away from Rarity as often as I do? Adding him into the mix only makes me angry and then I start to get really big then."

"Like how big?" If he can get bigger than what he said he did, then this could be a problem.

"...One time, I grew so big that I had climbed to the side of a mountain. And I don't want to ever get that big again. The last time I did, I nearly got Rarity hurt, and I wasn't myself. I actually grabbed her from her bedroom and started climbing everywhere with her coiled around in my tail. I destroyed over half the town. What if I was to drop her? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I had hurt her in any kind of way. I want to hurt him, but I know that she'll be in the way."

Okay, this is very serious now. "Why do you want to hurt him so much?"

With a light snarl he dug his claws deep into his legs, causing me to wince in response. "Because he took everything away from me! Twilight, the one who hatched me, the one I call my big sister, turned her back on me and left for him. Rarity stood in front of him, telling me to get out. Cadance told me that I didn't deserve Rarity! I worked for several years by her side, taking whatever the world threw at her for the sake of making things easier for her. And his being here makes things harder for her, yet she carries on with this big smile on her face, almost as if her dwindling profits don't account for anything! She has a dream of opening a shop in Canterlot, but she can't do that because she's losing the ability to pay on the land, the construction costs, anything, because of him! She's ruining her own dream because he's simply here to do it."

Yeah, it's about that time to chill out for a bit. "But still, I don't think you should hurt him. It would make a lot of people upset. And I don't think it would be fair─"

"Well you're just like him. Maybe you can do something about it!"

...Excuse me? "I don't even know what I would do to make this easier for you, or Rarity, or whoever."

"Please, you gotta convince him to leave. He doesn't belong here. He's been causing everypony discomfort and grief, he should be much happier in your world. That's his true home, right?"

"Yes, but I─"

"You don't want him here, I know it! You want him back in your world, so that he can keep doing human things with his human friends, living in human society, all of that! Don't you think it would be the best thing for him? He knows where his home is, at least he knows his parents, he has all of that in his own world, why should he be content with taking what's ours? He doesn't belong here and he should go back with you. Put it this way, if you had feelings for him and he liked one of the ponies, wouldn't you feel somewhat betrayed?"

"...Actually, I do." Wow... you are... a manipulative... sorry... Ugh. Hoo, you are just like he used to be. But at least he was somewhat subtle about it. You... damn.

"Then do something about it! Stand your ground and make him leave."

I could do that, but I think I have a better idea. "...So, here's a question. Say hypothetically, Rarity and Nondis had feelings, what would be your response to that?"

This time, he hissed out smoke and jumped up from where he sat. "Nondis needs to go. I can't even imagine him kissing Rarity. She said that he was a friend, but I know she wants more than that. Nondis keeps insisting that they're 'good friends' but I know he's up to something! And if he even tries to hurt her, I'll... find him... hunt him down... I'll... I'll─"

Here, let me finish that for you, Liam Neesan. "Kill him?"

"..." The way his claws slowly undone themselves from fist form let me know that he was just as serious about what he was saying.

"...That's pretty extreme." I really don't need to talk to him anymore. I stood from the bed and started to walk towards the door when I heard him speak once more.

"...Well, I think he should've died a long time ago."

My feet just froze in place as I thought about what he had just mumbled under his breath. And the only thing that ran through my mind was the image of the car being slowly pulled from the gulf. I remembered the onslaught of tears that fell from my face as I dropped to my knees, shaking while my hand desperately tried to block my screams. I actually pleaded to the TV, screaming how I didn't want him to die and apologizing to the image of his soaked car.

I should've just left the room then and there, but I was too pissed off to leave what was on my mind in it. "...You are so selfish."

"I'm not. I just want to protect her." He tried to refute his purpose as being something noble.

"So wishing death on someone that Rarity might like is protection? That's what you call it?"

At that point, his expression became really stoic, his eyes almost empty as he asked. "Are you gonna convince him to go back to your world or not!?"

My hand was on the doorknob, I could've left the room and let him sit in the dark. But instead I just wanted to turn back to him and give him a brief speech. "...You know what, Nondis used to act just like you."

"DON'T COMPARE ME TO HIM!" He screamed at me, his eyes beginning to glow a dim emerald green.

"He'd say the same crazy shit to me, telling me that he'd protect me, and that he'd do anything to keep me. Every time I'd have a relationship with someone else, he'd frown up in the face and tell me how I was making a mistake. Often, he was right, but he felt as if he was entitled to have me because he was the 'nice guy' and he did everything for me, he 'protected' me. And you feel as if since you've been helping her throughout her career, you're entitled to spread her legs and go to town."

"But I earned her trust!"

You dumb fuck! "You didn't earn shit, much less her trust. You've shown that you only care about what you want for yourself!"

"Other ponies don't want him here either. They either want him dead for being with Twilight or removed from Equestria altogether."

Just like you, huh? You want him dead or gone so that YOU can be happy, so that YOU can kiss up. "Selfish reasons, right? They're all in the same boat as you. 'I can't express my feelings because this guy, who's not only different but doesn't belong here, is with the girl I like. I'm a good person, or pony, or whatever the fuck I am, and I deserve to be the one who gets to tap that ass on the weekends.' How fucking entitled of you..."

"Well you don't know what it's like to have feelings for somepony, and then have to watch them go off to like somepony else! And each and every time they end with failure, they comes crying to you like you expect to make everything better. Then when they do feel better, the go on to someone other than you."

Oh I know exactly how that game is played. I played it too, and I just so happened to get burned the same way. But eventually, I learned how to do something... "Maybe she wants to keep the friendship she has instead of ruin it with a bunch of drama. Maybe she likes you but only to a certain extent. Maybe she's not even interested but just keeps you around because she respects you, and appreciates you, and actually fucking care about you! And you don't even have the fucking decency to respect her privacy? You talk about doing all of this bullshit to protect her, but in reality you're the one doing more damage than any of her romantic interests. Maybe she's not something to be objectified, a prize at the end of your journey! Maybe she just wants to be a friend. But fuck that, you just wanna get your dick wet."

"I never said that!"

You don't have to, sweetie. You just explained it. "Nondis said the same shit early last November, go figure. And each of our conversations eventually went to sex, and then it stayed there for a significant amount of time. Maybe the two of you haven't even got to that point, but I know it will eventually. You say that you wanna stay away from her when you 'grow', so why is it that you don't want her to be around? Is it because you just have a total lack of self-control?"

"I DON'T WANT RARITY TO SEE ME LIKE THAT!"

"Yet you have the balls to peep in on her when she jills off. You want privacy and modesty, but you can't seem to dish that shit out for her in return. You know what, I'm done with you. I thought you were cute at first, but now I know that you're an even bigger creep than what Nondis used to be. At least he was more honest with his shit, and at the very least he tried to cop a feel. You wanna play 'white knight' and manipulate your way into sex. That's not how relationships work."

"I LOVE RARITY!"

Love doesn't mean you watch her masturbate in the privacy of her own room, you sick shit. "If you love her so much, then you would let her fuck whoever she wants. If she wants Nondis to plow her into the bed springs, you should love her enough to respect her choice. I'm not saying you should let her run over you, but you should still have the decency to acknowledge whatever decision she makes. You don't have to like it, but here's the beautiful thing about all of this: You have options. You can choose to be hurt every time she goes somewhere with a guy. You can also choose to be with someone else, someone who might be a better fit for you."

"Rarity is the only one I want!"

"Well guess what, boo-boo? She doesn't want you. Maybe Nondis wanted to tell you but knew you wouldn't listen. Perhaps she's been trying to get the point across but you just keep living in your little box off the avenue of maybe and hopefully. You even told me that Cadance tried telling you this, yet you still have it in your head that you two should be together. Stop lying to yourself, stop feeling bad for yourself, stop telling half-truths, grow the fuck up, find another pond to fish in, and maybe she might consider it. No woman, girl, pony-chick wants to spread their legs for some brat who can't stop singing 'woe is me'. It's off-putting, it's annoying, and it's a symbol of a bad product. And if I'm Rarity, I don't want to invest in something that's badly manufactured. I want something to convince me that I'm in for an experience in the long-run, or at least something that might break me off a little something good. But you, I wouldn't give you the time of day, you're not even worth the salt. I'd waste time and vaginal fluid fucking around with a pathetic, selfish, piece of shit like you."

"..." His head dropped as I finished. As he stood looking like he was feeling sorry for himself again, I was trying to catch my breath. My head started to throb a bit as I felt my chest rapidly expand and compress. I felt myself staring holes through his body as I continued to rant.

"But at the same time, I've already dealt with someone like you. And it took me this long to say what I really wanted to say to him, because I was trying to make things work without letting it all go into an argument. Yeah I'll admit that I'm projecting a bit. But now that I've seen how much he's grown as a person, in spite of his still-present flaws, I'm interested. I'm interested based on the fact that others are interested. What did I pass on that he's got going on? Intrigue, mystery, that shameless self-promotion he's got going on nowadays, the confidence he has and the demeanor he carries with himself. I want all of it. And if you grow up, you'll get that."

When I finished, he glanced to the side while slowly playing with his claws. "...I don't want anything else. I just want Rarity."

That's it, I'M. FUCKING. DONE! "...And just like that, you've wasted my time. Go fuck yourself."

I walked out of the room and purposely cut the light off before closing the door. My head throbbed painfully in rhythm with my beating heart. My chest continued to rise and fall rapidly as I massaged the sides of my head. My body was feeling such a rush from that rant, but it took so much out of me that I had exhausted the little energy I had left from earlier today. Slowly, I leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, letting myself rest... before a slight tap to the top of my head made me grimace a bit.

"So, did you two have fun in there?"

Looking up, I could see Nondis giving me a big smile... How much I wanted to punch the shit out of it right now. "...You know, you can be a complete asshole sometimes."

He quickly backed off and waved his hands in front of him. "Whoa there, what did I say? I was just joking."

"I was too." No I wasn't. You hit me, you bastard... Okay I'm overreacting a bit, but that shit still hurt.

"Oh." He said as he extended a hand out to me. I grabbed on as he pulled me up to my feet, my arm feeling like he was about to tear them off. At that moment, I had actually felt how strong he had gotten, and it actually spooked me out a bit because I wasn't used to him strong-arming me around. When he finished, he started to massage the side of my head for me while cracking a variety of jokes... most of them unfunny, but one actually got me to giggle. After he finished, we started to make our way down the hall towards the downstairs. As we came down, I had noticed that the whole place looked completely empty from earlier.

"Where did everyone go?" I inquired while scanning the room.

"I took the party outside." He confessed. "You two were kinda broadcasting the conversation a bit so I felt that it was time to move it out the door. Besides, we were gonna watch Luna raise the moon anyways."

"Why do that?" I questioned.

He gave me a slow nod after a toothy cringe. "...I think it was best that everyone didn't get to know your business. And the paparazzi would've had a field day with that─"

"Hey Nondis..." I interrupted.

"Sup?" He questioned.

"...Thanks for growing up." I totally hate your guts right now but I know I will still love you for everything you do. These are just one of those moments where I'm feeling moody and you're here to distract me. Better yet, you're here to make me feel better than I did five minutes ago. Your jokes might not be that great, but you really are a good person... when you try to be.

As he opened his arms, I felt myself being sucked in. Though I disliked him for the moment, I was totally cool with this. At least until he started talking. "Was I really that bad where you'd have to give me that same 'reason you suck' rant you gave Spike?"

"...How long were you listening?"

"A bit. My favorite part was the 'waste of vaginal fluid'. That's some really creative thinking."

I pushed off of him and pounded my fist into his chest. "Ugh, you really are an ass!"

"I am when I want to be. But if I ever do come off as one, please feel free to bop me in the head with something blunt."

I'll give him points for honesty. Yet... "I might find something sharp to poke you with."

"Meh, that works too." He dismissively answered as he ignored what I had my eyes on.

We started to walk outside as the sun started to really sink below the horizon. Meanwhile, the moon started to slowly climb from beyond the mountains. As much as I was weirded by the whole 'moving celestial objects' thing, I wasn't too worried about it anymore. In fact, I just felt comfortable knowing that I had someone to watch it with, someone I knew. And that someone just so happened to be a really strong guard, who doubles as my best friend on the weekends.

Oh, in speaking of weekends... "You know I thought about something. An after-party could really go well with a movie."

He started to giggle as he scratched the side of his neck. "I already showed them Lord of the Rings. You got beat to that one."

"Well I was thinking more in the terms of... something magic related?" Since the whole theme of this day was magic, I felt it was appropriate to end it with something like that.

Nondis immediately caught the hint as he started to bob his head rhythmically. "...Snape. Snape. Severus Snape. Snape. Snape. Severus Snape."

"Dumbledore!" I jumped in, getting him to laugh a bit.

"You're such a dork."

My eyes darted down to the sharp thing I could poke him with. "Can I borrow your sword?"

"No."

Next Chapter: Chapter L Estimated time remaining: 113 Hours, 36 Minutes