After last night's talk with Celestia, I hopped back in the pony-sized guest bed and settled for the fetal position for most of the night. When I woke up, the room was noticeably warmer and I was soon greeted by a familiar guard with a blue mane. Flash and I chatted about my adventures since our last meeting at Canterlot. He also told me more of his quiet desire to meet with Moondancer, citing that he heard a lot of good things about her personality from a former classmate who recently moved into the city.

We got to the throne room, seeing a white and lavender table set up for us. Shining and Cadance sat next to each other while Celestia sat on the other side, having me sit by her for what she explained to be purely protocol. And I saw her reasoning for it, Flash had actually sat himself beside Cadance while Shining armor sat even closer to the outside. It almost felt like Celestia was assuming the role of a dignitary while high level talks was about to ensue. And after a while of sitting there hearing both princesses discussing the welfare of their respective domains, I started to feel vastly out of place.

Shining quickly noticed my discomfort and rose from his seat with a bow to Celestia. "It appears that Nondis is a bit uncomfortable right now. Maybe I should take him to tour the city."

I started to move but Celestia quickly flagged me back down. "I'm sure he's only uncomfortable because we've excluded him from the conversation." She said, glancing over to me. "I think he has more to talk about in terms of the subjects. He does pose himself to be quite the champion of the citizenry."

All of this still felt completely weird to me. I mean I've had some touch of this conversation before in a dark room with no one higher than Princess Luna. But Celestia being present kinda made me feel like discussing my brand of politics was still a touchy subject, even if we agreed on some things. But I could see Shining trying to insist on his point. "Well, I'm sure he'd be a lot more interested in the citizens here. I'd like to think his mind is swimming with questions about the locals."

Cadance then agreed. "Yes. Nondis should be able to see the sights of the town, maybe even take a gander at Spike's statue."

Shining quickly praised his wife for the idea. "Great idea, sweetie! Nondis should gain a bit of inspiration over seeing it. Perhaps we should hurry things along."

"But─" Celestia started to intervene before Cadance eagerily cheered her aunt towards the idea.

"Aw, come on! When was the last time you and I ever had a girls' day out? I know it wasn't this decade!"

"It was quite literally this past summer." Celestia deadpanned. "You just got back from visiting Shining after estr─"

Cadance quickly interrupted, motioning to her husband to move quickly. "I know a good mud treatment at the spa is a great way to let the stress of the past month. You deserve something good for yourself." She then addressed her husband. "Shining, please take Nondis out for a tour of our lovely city-state. He should be more than happy to meet some of his admirers from the empire. You can even take Flash along with you! It'll be just like the good old times."

Shining looked over at me, who was recounting the moment I had discovered a wagon full of dying and malnourished ponies. I tried to shake my memory of it, reaching some level of success. Flash quickly spoke to our defense. "Um, those times weren't really... good."

Cadance remained bullish on her approach. "Flash, would you please escort the boys out into town? Thank you. Dismissed."

At that point, there was no arguing against her orders. They were sealed and he had to follow them. "This way, fellas."

While I was practically being pushed out of the door by both the stallions by either side, I looked back to see Celestia cracking a suspenseful glare at her niece, who smiled and waved so eagerly. And for the second before the doors closed, I could see Celestia place a hoof on Cadance shoulder. As we walked along, I could feel the floor rumble some while Shining wiped his brow dripping of nervous sweat. "Phew, thank Faust those doors and walls are sound proof."

I turned to the young prince and questioned him. "Okay, what's the deal?"

"Boys day out, Nondis. Boys day out."

My time in the Crystal Empire was filled with a lot of walking. Sometime later, I was dragged through town and given a tour of the sights. Everything from the Crystal Library, to the Crystal Boutique, the Crystal Souvenir Workshop, the Crystal Bowl™, and finally the Crystal Plaza where there was a statue of Spike made of, you guessed it, crystal. When we finished with our tour there, I was standing still with my arms folded, staring at the side of the large depiction of the young drake holding the crystal heart.

"So that little fuck has a damn statue, like a legit statue?" I asked quietly while a crowd of ponies passed us by.

Flash quickly replied to me, almost to stop me from saying anything that might offend someone. "Spike was the one to find the crystal heart and delivered it to Princess Cadance. From there the entire city, and very much the entirety of Equestria was saved from the clutches of King Sombra's diabolical reign."

As more citizens passed by, they overheard the explanation Flash had offered and proceeded to chime in with their own thoughts. "That's why he's the hero of the Crystal Empire!"

A mare called out to us from further down the square. "He's also an inspiration to us all."

"He's saved our hides more than once after all." A stallion answered as he pushed what seemed to be a cart full of crystallized corn.

"He used his dragon breath to melt an entire cloud of ice, stopping it from plummeting into a crowd of thousands!" An elderly mare called out, popping out from one of the houses through an open window.

A small family walked by as the mother chimed in also. "He's my future son-in-law!" She said as she patted her daughter on the head.

"He's my future special somepony!" The little filly announced, almost love-stricken.

I gave the young prince a nudge as I whispered out the side of my mouth. "He almost assassinated me."

"Probably better to not throw that one out for everyone to hear." Shining muttered. "I thought you two made up after all of that."

"Work. In. Progress." I emphasized heavily.

While the crowd continued to sing the praises of the young dragon. Shining walked us over towards the castle again. As we made our way through the entrance, Flash was given a command to stand guard by the heart while Shining and I entered into the crystal elevator. But I noticed that there was a distinctive lack of accompaniment with this elevator. Just yesterday, I saw two guards standing by with two crystals to place into the slots. But instead, it was Shining Armor himself who placed the crystals in their assigned areas, allowing the elevator to ride all the way to the very top of the tower.

When we reached the top floor, we could see the entire city and the lands beyond it's boundaries. I could even see a clear and distinctive line where the snow of the wild tundra and the virgin snow of the city had embraced. It was astounding, I would've enjoyed the view a lot better if it wasn't for the fact that there was a distinct lack of guard rails around the topmost rotunda. It was a sharp drop leading to the other spires of the castle below. I settled with standing in place for the time being.

Shining boldly walked towards the edge and looked out to his empire. "Can you believe that all of this was hidden for a thousand years?"

"No kidding." I replied, looking towards the top of the spire we were in, trying my best not to get too interested in the view.

Shining giggled as he pointed out the drop. "Aw, c'mon Nondis. Don't tell me you're afraid of heights with all those glass towers your hometown has.

"Difference is that I can go to the top floors and not feel like I'm looking at my own death. That's what guard rails are for." I pointed out. "Remember, I live in a city that sits on the riverbed with rolling hills. You lived off the side of a mountain for most of your life."

Shining nodded in agreement. "Guess you'd better get used to mountain life if you're gonna be assigned to Canterlot, because ain't nothing like that high altitude life, you know what I'm mean?"

I continued to stand at the center of the elevator. "Yeah, for now I'm just gonna enjoy the safety of solid ground."

The stallion continued to look out in the distance, staring in silence for a while before he spoke again. "...What do you think of Twily?"

I looked over at the prince overseeing his own lands. "She's a great girl." I replied. "I mean anyone who dares to get close enough to her would easily be in for the best thing ever. I guess looking back at it, we did kinda sprint for second base, but we did enjoy each other's company outside of that."

The stallion didn't look at me as he asked me another question. "So would you be willing to give her another shot?"

I folded my arms as I sat quietly, thinking of everything that I had went through, everything I had seen and felt over the past eleven months, getting closer to a full year now. "Well... that's the thing."

"What is?" Shining asked.

"Well when we had a real big spat one day, she made me promise that we'd break up after my fight against the parliament was done. It was the night before my brothers first came to Equestria. We just had possibly the best time with each other without going so far as to breaking the taboo a second time. When we finished, we had a long heart-to-heart."

"You don't know if she was serious about it, do you?" The stallion inquired.

"She sounded serious." I stated. "I never wanted to consider her as less than anything but serious at that moment. She was really trying to make sure she had my undivided attention. She said that she wanted to see if she could go on without me, if my separating from her would give me the freedom of pursuing my own happiness. And in turn, she'd try her best to open herself up to expressing her own emotional freedom with other guys. I mean that was her choice, but..."

"She doesn't really reflect that." Shining concluded correctly.

"Yeah. It feels like right now whatever someone else does to me, she has to show some way where she can compete. I don't know if it's her way of trying to prove a point to herself or trying to show me that she can at least stand on level with whoever I deal with."

Shining finally turned to me, giving me a stern glare. "Do you think that she'd ever be able to compete with anyone you're dealing with right now?"

This time, I tried to not give off any signs that I was dealing with a certain potential interest. "Well, I know my client is pretty enthusiastic about spending time with me, but I don't see her as competition." I answered.

The stallion turned his entire body towards me, walking over from the ledge. "So what do you think of Princess Luna? It seems that the two of you would find it easy to jump into some trouble."

I scoffed at the prince. "Seriously? She and I agreed that what we did was a one-time thing."

"So far, I'm counting twice that you've been looked at by her in some way." Shining said, twice rubbing his hoof against the crystal floor. "So there's nothing developing between the two of you?"

"Nope." I answered.

"Does Twilight know about any of that?"

"She does. I told her what happened and why. Hell, you know what happened and why."

Shining scratched his mane as he spoke. "Yeah, I guess Blueblood and I did prep you for that one. So that's understandable, at least you're being transparent about that."

"I just don't want that to be something I hold back from her, she at least deserves to know what I'm doing and how I'm doing things. That's what's going on."

"So you're really being honest with her right now?" Shining said before sighing heavily. "I know it took a long time for you to tell your family about your being in the service. I can understand your wanting to be secretive, but you did come out with the truth eventually. I can respect that." He quickly teleported around behind me. The moment I turned around, I saw his magic stirring around his horn, as if he was ready to send something painful my way. "But don't you dare lie to me, Nondis. I don't want to hurt you for lying to me or my sister. So if you ever make any kind of decision to hurt my family in any way, be it simply emotional or going so far as physically, I will personally deliver your head to your brothers as a message. Just like you want to protect your brothers, I want to protect my sister. And I know you won't dare hurt her in any way."

I started to ready my own magic for defense. "I have no intention of doing so."

Shining stood proud and tall as he removed the crystals from off of the elevator platform, locking us up here for as long as he desired. This time, he asked with a grim smirk on his face. "So... what's between you and Celestia?"

I started to argue against his accusation but he quickly interrupted me with a quote.

"I think I remember this being said. 'If you choose to remain, I will understand and will no longer pursue you. If you choose to move on, then I do expect you to be mine when this is all over'. Those being her words."

My heart jumped as I couldn't do anything but stand with my jaw agape, displaying my guilt as easily as the sun shined light over the crystal city. The stallion readied himself for the first move.

"So while we have our long-awaited rematch, I do intend to pound the truth out of you eventually."

The sound of a peaceful droaning hum accompanied by a mellow sitar sounded in the background while a group of six masseuses tended to the two royals. Cadance sighed with relaxation as her head was suspended over the back of the crystal mud tub she was using. As she laid there, one mare tended to her mane, another massaged her face, the final one poured in more mud for the princess to enjoy.

Meanwhile Celestia sat in her tub not as relaxed as her adoring niece. Her mane was being brushed but she did not enjoy it as much, her face was being massaged just as well as her niece, but she didn't feel nearly as good receiving it. As more of the mud was placed in her bath, she couldn't help but to feel concerned over the specialized treatment that she was receiving. Her own sigh was a completely different brand than that of the one produced by the pink alicorn princess.

"Whatever is the matter?" Cadance asked as she peeked through one eye at her aunt. "You usually love this kind of stuff."

Celestia turned her head towards the other alicorn. "I should be the one asking you that question. The only time you ever do this kind of stuff is if you need to talk to me. So I'm assuming that you either have something you might want me to know or you have some grievances that need airing out."

"The only grievances is that I'm finding the dumbest combination of foods to try out lately. One second, I'm eating pickles, the other I'm eating chocolate, the very next minute after that I'm just dipping the pickles in the chocolate."

Celestia was wrecked with disgust, cringing at the thought of the two foods combined. "Yuck, and you actually like that!?"

"No! But the weird thing is that I can't stop myself from eating more of it. I've had so many cravings like that lately. Late at night I'd summon the maids for some gelato and soy sauce, the middle of the day I'm snacking on apple slices dipped in wasabi, evenings come and I'm eating pineapples with cheese!"

"You need to get that checked out." Celestia muttered as she turned away.

"Right. And don't get me started with Shining Armor."

The princess rolled her eyes. "What happened THIS time, Cadance?"

The princess groaned as she started to explain her problems. "You ever had mood swings? I mean damn-near bipolar mood swings that verge on the line of psychotic. One second I just can't be without my husband, like I don't ever want him to maintain a distance more than two feet away from me, much less leave me in the room by myself. And then the next I'm about to find a way to throw him off the balcony because he says something that's stupid to me but logical in context, or he just leaves the room and I'm like 'Fine, go leave, I'll find another husband to love me like I deserve."

Celestia turned back to her niece. "And then you go back to feeling like you want him there."

"RIGHT! If he ever disappears from my sight for more than five minutes, I'm immediately searching for him like I don't have any fucking clue on what space even is." The princess snapped out, pounding her hooves into the mud. She found herself splashing one of the workers in the face with mud. "Oh, sorry about that."

"It's okay princess. Let it all out." The spa mare said with a smile.

Meanwhile Celestia chuckled at the thought. "If only I could ever know what that feels like. I have terrible luck with colts."

"Well of course it sucks to have a romantic interest─name redacted─who only ended up sealing himself in a capsule filled with dark magic as the only way of saving two parallel dimensions. You told me that much."

The alabaster princess looked at her mud and popped one growing bubble as she spoke. "Well I just know that love's not for me. If anything, it's just a pointless distraction from my work."

Cadance gave her aunt a side eye and clopped her hooves to get the attention of everyone in the room. "Alright everypony, ten minutes." The staff all walked out as the music continued to play in the background. Cadance quickly turned around and pointed to the two blindfolded crystal stallions standing in the back of the room. "You too, boys. Ten minutes for girl time." The two left the sitar in the room as they exited, leaving only Cadance and Celestia to speak with one another. "Okay, so you have a bit of a glow on you."

The other mare turned away. "Cadance, stop it."

"I'm just asking who is it that's got you feeling giddy like a school filly? I haven't seen you like this since you started talking about Sombra, the good one and not the bad one."

Celestia started to rise from her bath as she replied. "He is the bad one now, both of them are. I just wish that I didn't have to watch him suffer like that."

"But now you have someone who you're looking at, right?" Cadance insisted.

"Cadenza. No."

The pink princess tilted her head up a bit to look at the back of her aunt's head. "Let's see if I can quote this correctly. 'Gotta admit, I don't think I've ever heard a confession as realistic as yours. It's like you have a contract in your head, you already came with what you want in this, and you won't settle for anything less'. Does that happen to resonate with you in any way?"

The elder princess would not show the younger her face, clearly displaying a sense of shock that she would know the details of the conversation she had the previous night. "I... don't recall that ever being said to─"

"Seriously, why him???" Cadance questioned emphatically. "I can understand a stallion that's like middle-aged, in his forties, already well-established, possibly divorced or widowed, maybe even so caught up in his job that he's got a bachelor tag still hanging around his neck. I can even see you maybe talking with Alex, going the route of danger and forbidden taboo, with him quietly admitting to you that he seeks to open up some personal dialog with you. But you and him, I just can't see it? It's like watching the two of you butt heads at one another like a pair of mountain goats, it doesn't make any sense."

"I think we should end this conversation." Celestia announced sternly.

"Auntie, it's girl time."

"It's not girl time when I'm being criticized for my personal decisions that affect who I associate myself with and how I associate myself with them. Just leave it at speculation and end it there, please."

Cadance didn't want to upset her aunt, but she had to insist on her personal feelings as well as an external situation that would stem from the development. "I just want to know... How are you going to tell Twilight that you're taking something that used to be hers?"

Celestia quickly snapped at her niece. "He belongs to NO. ONE. He is his own possession, not some suitor with a collar tag and a leash. I don't own him, I don't seek to. So leave it at that, Mi Amore Cadenza."

The young princess sighed heavily, admitting defeat. "...I'm just happy that you're doing something that makes YOU happy for a change. I always tried to stress that to you for decades. It just takes some trips down bad memory lane to show you that you deserve something good for once."

"And we leave it at that." Celestia replied, sinking down into the mud bath.

"...Do you think he'll tell her the truth?"

Celestia closed her eyes as her mind wandered back to the moment they embraced each other the previous night. "I pray that he does."

"...So what did he do to win you over?"

"Cadance."

"Did he give you a stern talking to or did he just confess to you his feelings or something? Was it something that he did the night you stormed off after that meeting where you tried to fire him?"

"Where is my masseuse?" The princess questioned angrily.

"Have you ever like wanted to kiss him, are the two of you dating, how far along are you?"

"We. Are. Courting. It is a courtly love." The elder princess said to satisfy her curious niece. "We do not engage in anything physical other than him kissing my hoof from time to time as a show of respect. That is all, I don't need him going any further than that. Now that I've answered your questions, can we get back to the massage? My mud is starting to crust over."

Cadance quickly changed her tone, planting her hooves on the edge of the tub, patting along with excitement. She at least wanted to pretend to be happy for her aunt, despite it being with someone she felt was still questionable to her. "I know you wanna talk about him."

"No I don't. I want my mud to flow instead of crust over me if that's okay."

The niece then amplified her gestures. "I know you want to tell somepony you trust. And you don't trust anypony with your romantic pursuits more than me."

"Cadance..."

"You love the idea of sharing with your favorite niece the exploits of your potential romances, even every stallion who courted you with an unrequited love. Tales of guards in armor swearing their undying fealty and loyalty to your cause in days long past, including one Fair Charity."

The princess rolled her eyes once more before surrendering. "He feels like a reincarnation of Fair Charity, but he isn't."

"So that makes him different from the other in what way?"

The elder princess glared at the younger. "Cadance, you've got enough out of me."

"Auntie, c'mon!"

"Ugh. I kissed him once or twice, that is it. Does that satisfy you?" The princess begrudgingly confessed to her niece.

The younger princess audibly gasped, holding her hooves to her muzzle as she froze in place. "You didn't."

"It was the night before I appeared sick for breakfast. You weren't there."

Again, Cadance had to play to her excitement. "So you actually did─"

"I told you of my exploits. Now let us continue with spa day."

Though she was unsatisfied with the details, she knew that her aunt wasn't so easy to part with that information when it came to anything. For the moment, this was all she could afford to milk out of her. Cadance clopped her hooves loudly and repeatedly before the other eight ponies that dismissed themselves entered into the room and joined the two princesses once more. They carried on their duties and the princesses sat quietly as the the elder princess started to think to herself.

"I wonder what he's doing right now. Knowing him he always gets into trouble."

Meanwhile Cadance sulked in her tub. "Faust help us... Try not to be too harsh on him, Shining."

Meanwhile Atop the Crystal Castle...

Our sparring session had gone on for about a good fifteen minutes, both of us were out of breath and very much depleted of magic. After casting off so damn much of it, Shining's horn had glowed with a residual heat while my arm started to feel like a thousand ants had crawled through my veins. Even as I rested, my hands started to heat the cold crystal they rested on. The place was still intact, but our conditioning was shot.

That wasn't the only thing that our bodies were tired of, we were wrestling for a while. It only took a close call of my rolling towards the edge for everything to come to a halt. Shining dropped his assault and then went further to stop me from accidentally going over the edge. When he pushed me over to safety is how the two of us managed to stay laying down where we are now. Sweating, panting, and very much out of magic, the two of us sat silent for a few minutes to recouperate.

And then Shining snickered at me. "I had to save your skin. That's a win for me."

"As if you won that." I answered back.

"If I hadn't used whatever little magic I had left to save you, I could've sent you over the edge. You might've had a few broken bones."

"A few?" I questioned as the prince sarcastically smiled at me. "More like hundreds as I tried to put on my best impression of Count DuMoneé."

"I think you would've nailed it." Shining joked.

"No thanks." I chuckled back. "I like my brains not being in my nose."

While the two of us shared a quick laugh before falling back onto our backs, Shining slowly started prodding into the details of my situation with Celestia. "So... Is she anything like Luna?"

"Far from it." I replied. "Luna was more interested in physical things. Celestia is a lot more conservative, I don't blame her for not trusting any guy she sees."

"Quite literally day and night, huh?" Shining said with another chuckle.

"Yup. Luna's an inexperienced kisser."

"And Celestia?"

"Well... that's something I'm gonna keep to myself."

"Aw, c'mon. You gotta tell me something." Shining insisted.

"Shining..." I started as I looked over to him before sighing and looking away. I also left my sentence purposefully unfinished.

"Whoa, bad or good?" The young prince asked eagerly. "If you leave it like that, you know something that no other living being can tell the world. You gotta share it."

"No, not this time. I can't tell you anything."

"I can guess?" Shining said as he sat up.

"You can try. I won't confirm anything."

The stallion then proceeded to grill me. "So she's good."

"Possibly, that's to be determined." She was really good at kissing, willing to teach me a thing or two.

"She does tongue."

"Possibly, that's to be determined." She demanded that I'd give her that.

"Safe to say she's aggressive with all that pent-up frustration."

"Possibly, that's to be determined." She takes her time, and she likes to be held. Can't say that she pressed me down and ordered that I give that to her. But she has her moments when she wants to engage.

"She likes to be touched."

"Possibly, that's to be determined." You don't even have to kiss her for her to want that. She doesn't shy away from the idea of being embraced. She loves to sit down for hours and talk, she likes spending the time to cultivate a mood more than a cheap massage to get her rolling.

"She's shy about her sexual desires."

"And you already know the answer I'm going to give you." Possibly, that's to be determined... Really, I mean it this time.

The stallion rolled his eyes as he threw his hooves into the air out of frustration. "Really!? C'mon, you know something and you're holding out."

"What else can I say? I'm not about to break her trust by telling you what makes her tick."

Shining lowered his voice as he muttered towards me. "Dude, I've been with an alicorn princess who hadn't experienced the touch of a stallion for well over a century. If anything, Celestia is probably ten-times worse than Luna out of the sole fact that she doesn't like to discuss sex."

"Considering her life story, do you really expect her to." I asked, reminding him of a certain detail he overlooked prior to saying that statement.

The young prince appeared crestfallen and remorseful for a second. "Oh... yeah that would be a pretty touchy topic."

"You think?" I replied while softly knocking myself against the forehead with my palm.

A wave of awkward silence ensued for a while before we would speak again. Shining's tone dropped to concern this time. "Hey Nondis, are you and Twily really through with each other? Do you know if her promise was really genuine?"

I closed my eyes, allowing the thoughts in my mind to quickly roll of my tongue. "I think Twilight would sooner lose me as a lover as opposed to losing a friend. That's just it. I love her all the same and I'm willing to protect her because she's got my heart. But I can't imagine her wanting to stick with me after all of this. She's very possessive of me, and I don't want her to feel like she has to compete with any more of her friends. I'm sure that hurts her in some way and it damages the bond between them. So not only would I take her first in almost everything, I'd be putting her last when all is said and done."

"Yeah, that's not a very fair thing to do." Shining walked beside me and offered a hoof to help me up. "I've made my fair share of runs at mares prior to my marriage because I felt the law was unjust and unfair to my own desires and freedoms. In fact, the moment that fake Cadance signed the papers the days leading to the wedding, I was more than thrilled to finally be able to make love to her, not realizing I was involving myself with a changeling queen."

I placed my hand on another place on the ground, seeing how it sizzled against the thin layer of ice. Shining backed away as I started to get myself up. "You know, I haven't─"

"To preemptively answer your question, Chrysalis knew what the hell she was doing in bed. Not too proud to admit that our one time was better than the first few with my inexperienced wife." The prince confessed quietly. "But all of that stuff aside, I knew Cadance didn't want to compete and I was unfair with her because I made a vow to be her fiance. True, I still had my urges and I was justified in protesting the idea of forced abstinence. But I made sure that when it was all over, she'd be the only one, no matter how much of an island I was on." Shining playfully knocked at my side. "You know, Cadie wasn't my first girlfriend either, I had a few middle school interests that I felt like I could have a better chance with, because of the whole princess thing. But when she showed up again in high school, she showed me she wanted me and no one else."

I turned to the blue-maned prince. "Shining... I'm sorry that I couldn't make good on my promise to you about Twilight."

The young prince looked up to the top of the crystal rotunda, staring at the ancient designs of snowflakes ingrained into the ceiling. "The moment Twily set you free is the moment she gave that opportunity up. I'm not gonna go on a tirade and tell you that you should consider my sister instead, I'll leave that to my mom. I wanted you to fight for her as much as you did when you fought against me the first time. You did just that, and technically died for thirty-two seconds. You kept your word, you carried her until you couldn't physically walk. Your life was on it's ends and you were the one who said that you could keep going. I personally think she realized that you were too damn much for her right then."

I know that he was giving me his blessing and offering some mode of closure. But I had to ask him again to be sure, I wanted to make sure that there were truly no hard feelings between us. "You're okay with me doing this?"

"Nondis, I'm upset that I won't get to call you family. That doesn't mean that I won't get to call you a friend. That's a pretty good trade when all is said and done."

The prince gave me a favorable smile, his mane whipping from the cold winds of the higher altitude. I could only imagine him giving me a thumbs up if he was human. In all, I felt comfortable. "Thank you... Shining Armor."

Shining slung a hoof at the air while rolling his eyes. "Don't thank me. Thank my sister for saving you from me the first time around. For now, just tell her the truth and I'll be content with wherever you go in life, as long as it's the right path."

I gave a nod of acknowledgement. "Fair."

The prince then summoned the two crystals used to move the elevator and stepped onto the platform. While he started to place the crystals in their designated slots, he quietly tapped his hoof until the elevator got moving. As soon as my head was slowly submerged past the floor, he turned to me with a smirk. "...So how do you go about dating Celestia?"

I groaned while facepalming. "Give it a rest, will you?"

After the royals all reunited, we had a quick lunch outing in the town square and made our way back to the train station. Cadance joined us for this trip, citing that she had some things to clear up with some of the provisional hires she made to update her guard's combat tactics. Cadance then explained that she originally wanted me to visit to give some insight on how the crystal guard could improve their tactics with some input by another species who also happens to be more technologically advanced. But in finding out about our relationship, they decided to intervene and make sure that we weren't on drugs or something.

Celestia was apparently the most miffed of us, quietly citing to me that she didn't want to reveal any of our status to anyone else other than who we needed to inform of it. And that particular detail left me with one additional trip needed to the bottom of the mountain. I rode my motorcycle to cover the distance instead of worrying about being on the train again. True enough, I could just waltz through the portals again and be there in five minutes, but I needed to get the hang of the purring beast I was gifted. And like hell I was gonna stay on the train to catch a ride further south.

If anything, my patience on train rides for the past two days have worn to a bloody nub.

When I arrived to the foot of the castle, I could feel the cold looming shadow of the large structure dwarf the rays of what appeared to be the later stage of the setting sun. Snow still blanked much of the town, so my black bike would've sure stood out for any onlookers to satiate some feline-like curiosity. When I knocked, Spike was the first to answer the door wearing a white apron with a Rarity caricature superimposed on a red heart on the front. The dragon made way as I wheeled the black machine into the lobby, making sure it didn't fall on him.

While I didn't really have any favorable feelings towards him, I couldn't shake the fact that he has a statue in some snowy town far north of here. I wasn't quite jealous, but I did feel like I did a few things more than serve as an errand boy to save a kingdom. And unless all of those other stories I've heard were true, I don't really consider my catalog of achievements any smaller than his.

...Okay I admit it, I'm a little salty about it.

Spike then pointed me out in the direction of the kitchen. Twilight looked to be a bit of a mess, batter and a myriad of decorative ingredients had served as the new additions to her manestyle. A cook book sat alone on an island countertop, shielded from the gooey chaos splashed around the room. The princess then noticed my presence and warmly invited me into the room. "Nondis! Just the taste-tester I've been looking for."

I glanced over to see what Spike was doing next, but apparently he only left his tail in the door momentarily before it disappeared with every last impression of his 'Brave and Glorious' scaly ass. On the floor, I found a hastily-written note telling me how Twilight is trying to learn how to bake chocolate chip cookies. He also pointed out that she caused two batter explosions trying to get used to the electric mixer she borrowed from Pinkie Pie.

I looked around the room to find me a 'safe' puddle to dip my finger into. After I located one on the counter next to me, I took a taste for myself... and promptly regretted eating what felt like raw unsweetened pancake batter. "Hey Twilight. I see you're picking up a little something new."

Twilight smiled as she announced proudly. "You know it. The holidays for me offers a little more free-time than any other time of the year. So now I get to experiment on a few things I haven't gotten the chance to do much of. Like cooking for example, I know you missed your Hearth's Warming feast back on your world, so I decided to try my hoof at something simple to make up for it."

"You know you really don't have to do this." I said as I started to look at the list of ingredients. But as soon as I read the measurements out to myself, I had to close the book for a second to check the author. And wouldn't you know it, it was none other than Zesty Gourmand who authored the damn thing. "Everywhere I go, you haunt me with your terrible cooking." I muttered to myself while tossing the book away.

I pulled out my phone and googled a simple recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Twilight then noticed the book she was reading out of was sitting at the top of the trash can. "Hey, who tossed my book away?"

"Burn that shit, it won't teach you anything." I emphasized, using my magic to shove it further in. "For now, we will be consulting the oracle for cooking advice."

"What oracle?" She asked. I promptly shook my phone with a smirk before she nodded slowly. "Ohhhhh, okay."

As soon as I started reading out the ingredients to her and how much of what to use, she quickly found the kitchen starting to smell like a proper bakery instead of a mediocre breakfast bar. Thankfully, that allowed me to enjoy the place a little more. And as soon as the baking tray went into the oven, Twilight was already staring at the window through the oven doors as if the cookies would suddenly be made in thirty seconds.

The young princess chuckled at her reflection on the oven door, seeing how much of a mess she was. "Wow, I look like I fought a swamp monster."

"Knowing you, that wouldn't be too far-fetched." I replied with a chuckle before looking back at the time on my phone. The sun had already set by then. "...So. How's things with you?"

She started to use her magic to clean herself off. "Well, things have been going. How about you, what about your things? Been staying out of trouble?"

"I guess you could say it finds me as agreeable company." I replied. "I haven't moseyed on down in Canterrot in a few days."

She gave me a cautious look. "A few days, Canterrot?"

"Well to be fair, I only stumbled onto it once." I added.

Twilight shook her head. "You know, the girls and I almost wandered in that part of town one night. Pinkie wanted to go there saying that it looked like a fun night festival, Rarity wanted to tour the sights a little more, Rainbow heard rumors of the place and thought of it as a fun adventure to see if it all held weight, but that changed quickly after Applejack and I dragged them by their tails to someplace else."

I folded my arms and smirked. "Yeah, you would've gotten the full blow of it. I'm just lucky to get the daytime sights of what goes on down there. Needless to say it ain't exactly something I slept comfortably to."

Twilight stopped staring at the cookies, becoming a bit impatient with watching them. So she devoted more of her personal attention towards me to kill time. "You know, the girls ask a lot about you. Ever since you woke up from your coma, it's like we don't ever see you around here other than when you show up to the castle for something."

"Really, I just spoke to Rarity and Sweetie Belle two days ago." I said.

"Well that's Rarity, how about Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, or Fluttershy? They may not be on your list of romances, but they miss you all the same."

I folded my arms as I thought more on what she said. "Yeah, you have a point. At this rate, I've seen Starlight more in the past thirty days than any of the girls. I might have to find some time to do that."

"If you got time to be wandering around Canterlot to find the bad side of town on accident, then I'm sure you can find the time to come to us and give us a day with you. We miss having you here in little old easy-going Ponyville."

"Yeah, now that you've mentioned it, I've seen my hometown more than Ponyville in the past thirty days. I think I should set aside some time to keep things grounded. After all, what better way to recharge than to go back to humble beginnings, jump back into the nostalgia train for a bit?"

"Simpler times, like that one day you were stuck in the bathroom over at the Hayburger Inn and Shining had to bail you out."

"Yeah, back in the days when I used to think you were setting something on fire each time you used your magic." I joked. "Or how about that time we had that party and you got drunk?"

Twilight groaned but eventually that gave way to laughter. "Yeah, I'm not doing depressed drinking ever again."

Both of us took a moment to laugh at our embarrassing past mistakes and acknowledge how stupid we may have acted or looked to one another. And when it all came to rest, I finally saw the opportunity to open up some dialog about what we were going to do from this moment forward. My throat had dried by that point, but I had more than enough spit to suffice.

But she caught me off guard with a jittery cheer as the bell timer went off. "Cookies are done!"

It was like watching a child wait at the table while their grandmother slowly pulls out the fresh batch of cookies from the oven. But instead of the child waiting at the table, it was the child who almost wanted to just throw caution to the wind and shove as many cookies from the tray into their mouth. As soon as she placed them on the counter, I could see her wagging her tail with excitement. It was admittedly cute how she waddled in place, waiting for our creations to cool off. I took the time to finally say what I wanted to. "So Twilight, have you ever thought about that promise you made me keep?"

The young princess paid no mind as she wiggled in place. "Yuh-huh."

I tried to get her attention once more. "The one where you asked me to break up with you when all of this was said and done."

The princess glanced back at me, stopping in place. "Oh... that one. I honestly forgot about that."

I rolled my eyes. "How could you forget it? You stop us in the middle of sex to point that out to me."

The princess grumbled back. "Is it really sex if all I'm doing is crushing your penis between my haunches?"

Never really did point this out, but Twilight talking about sex outside of her being turned on is pretty awkward. Cute, but awkward. "Intercrural sex is still sex."

"You were the one having the fun out of the both of us that time."

"Besides the point!" I interjected, trying to get back on topic. "Either way, this is what I'm saying. I've been thinking about that and of course, how things didn't quite go as expected with that."

Twilight sat on her haunches and started thinking out loud. "Yeah, I suppose it would be a bit different since I was the one who annulled our engagement publicly. I mean there was a lot going on and I also had a long conversation with Alex, and I guess we ultimately pointed out what could've gone wrong if things kept going the way they were."

"Hold up─" I quickly interjected, holding up a finger to silence her. "Are you saying my brother talked with you on that?"

Twilight shrugged slowly and nervously, slowing down her speech as well. "Well, I guess we had a conversation while I was... well... emotionally compromised. And he might have said that you would be better off a free man for the foreseeable future. So I thought that it would've been a great idea to put our relationship in the fridge for later. But I guess that's where we see if things come to a spoil." Twilight turned back to the cookies and took a good whiff of our creations. "I'd like to think that we're just like these cookies. Give it some time away to become what we need them to be, then enjoy it later. I know I'm not the best looking girlfriend, but I am appreciative that I get a once over with you." She levitated one of the cookies and took a quick bite, realizing her cookies were incredibly crunchy. "Yeah, right now we're kinda crunchy, but there's room to improve."

I paused for a moment and asked her once more. "So... what are you REALLY looking for in this?"

The mare crunched down on the cookies and shrugged. "Honestly, I broke up with you publicly because I wanted to come back for you later. A reward for giving me and the others our freedom, that's what I wanted to do."

I slowly felt myself wanting to turn away from her, realizing that I had since made a decision with my future with her. "Do you think there's a chance of us finding happiness with others or do you think that it wouldn't be as rewarding?"

I could already feel Twilight's eyes piercing my back with a familiar sadness. "Well if you had any intention to be with somepony, then there's a chance that you'd open up to the idea of it." And then her tone changed to one of forced optimism. "I mean I know that Rarity is interested, but she's a fleeting romance type. She likes the thrill of here-today-gone-tomorrow, I guess you can try and give her something stable but I don't know if it will keep going for some years. Months maybe, but to me personally she could easily be done playing with you after a while." She then went on to Pinkie. "I guess Pinkie Pie would be open to the idea, but you'd have to bunk one in with Cheese Sandwich. Maybe he'd give the two of you some alone time and you can grow things from there. You won't get that personal attention with her, so it wouldn't be the same."

"...Someone who lived for a thousand years?" I muttered.

Then again, it wasn't forced optimism, it was her arguing why she would be the better choice of them all. "Luna, I don't know if Celestia would even give you her blessing on that. In fact, I know that Celestia would adamantly deny it because she's just that protective of her sister. I'm sure if she knows what happened between the two of you, it wouldn't come as a surprise what she'd say and how she says it. I think she'd throw you on the busiest assignment just to keep you occupied. It only makes sense that you two wouldn't be able to keep a consistent flow because of sibling squabbles."

I sighed heavily as I muttered. "And it feels like you just can't win."

Twilight continued to keep her mask on for as long as she could. "Well you see me in here, I'm working on how I can compete. You see me trying to improve on what I can offer. And I don't think there's any better way of doing that than to make sure you're there every step of the way." She used her magic to tug at my arm, trying to pull me towards her. "So how about it, you and me being a work in progress, it'll be just like old times... well, with an added benefit sometime down the road."

I couldn't help but to feel anger with myself and shame for looking away. I knew what I needed to tell her and I couldn't just lie to her or withhold the truth, that's just as bad. So I finally gave her my eyes and quietly knelt down to her. "Twilight Sparkle... There comes a point where I can easily tell you warm lies that make you feel good inside, giving you the moment you're trying to create. But that isn't what a true friend would do, is it?"

Twilight clenched her eyes shut for a while, taking a few deep breaths before she looked back to me smiling. "Nope, you'd have to be a pretty bad friend to lie to someone's face."

It seemed that she started to grasp at what was happening. "And I'm a pretty shitty one at best." I added while watching her place a hoof to her own chest. "...There's this one girl I'm talking to. She's nervous about the whole love thing. But in recent days, we've started to see the value in the time we spend with one another. She's a good cook, well-learned, and... I want to try and see where this goes."

"And I suppose that it's some mare you've met in Canterlot?" She said sadly, still wearing her smile. "Somepony that you've been acquainted with for some time."

"Yes." I confirmed quietly as Twilight turned away from me.

"A mutual friend of ours."

"...Yes."

Her voice became shaky. "Somepony you've spent all night talking to... somepony who hasn't had love in so long, almost a thousand years worth of sadness... Somepony I know there's no winning against."

"Twilight─"

She turned me around using her magic and teleported behind me, I could hear her wings flapping behind as her hooves pressed into my back. "Oh no, mister. You better not disappoint that one. You need to hurry along and get back to dealing with that before you start breeding mistrust. You've been around for too long, she's probably not amused with you running along without her being there. Now skedaddle."

I tried to turn around to look at her before she dropped a paper napkin filled with cookies in my hand. I tried to speak again, but her fake laugh had already told the story of how she felt at the moment. She tried her best to smile, staying as happy as she could while her eyes clenched closed while she guided me to the front room.

"I couldn't be more proud of you! You've manage to open the heart of the high princess herself! I can't even begin to formulate the words it takes to say how happy I am for the two of you! At least I know that 'joke' she told me about you flirting with her wasn't completely unfounded! You two should have a wonderful life together, even if you won't reach a hundred years with her! I'm sure she'd be happy to take what she can get! Besides, it won't be long before the two of you can finally come out! And... and... I'm sure..." She quickly cleared her throat as she continued. "I'm sure she'll give you a much slower relationship, one that the two of you can truly savor! And you'll get to eat the food she makes every morning, you'll get to see the wonderful smile she shows to nopony else everyday, and she'll get to tell you stories by the fire every night, just like she did with me so many years ago! It'll be wonderful for you, so don't worry about little old me, I'm just a librarian in comparison to her! She's the everything in this world, the literal light that shines every morning of every day, so don't disappoint her!"

"Twilight─" I tried to jump in.

She casually escorted me out of the castle along with my bike. "You protect her no matter what, she needs that kind of emotional support in spit of anything that happens. Just be sure to tell her that you love her when the time is right. Don't play with her heart, she doesn't like to play games. She's a lot more dedicated to the long-run, so if you feel like you need to relieve yourself..." She finally snapped as she started to wipe her eyes, the fake smile on her face completely broken into several fragments as her lips quivered. "We'll keep in touch... I can do that much for you... If that's the only thing I can do for you, then fine. I can be your friend in that way."

"You don't mean that." I replied angrily, feeling a bit disappointed that she was just letting herself try to bargain off something of herself. "Twilight, you're much more than that to me, God knows it."

The purple mare quickly turned around, hiding her face from me as she hollered back to me. "Maybe my cookies will be a bit better the next time you visit. Maybe they won't be as salty or crumbly. Maybe one of these days I'll get it right."

Twilight continued to use her magic to hold me off, giving me a devastated farewell.

"I should've gone by my own heart and kept you instead of trusting fate to bring us back together. Maybe I should've been selfish that time."

"Twilight, I still love you!"

"I know that! But... it's not the same." She walked forward into her castle, closing the doors behind her as her ears folded back and her head dropped while she slowly staggered on. "I hate the love we share. All it does... is hurt."

With a low-pitch creaking followed by a booming thud, the castle doors closed and I was left on the outside looking in.

Canterlot Castle
Forty Minutes Later...

I had a lot on my mind during the course of my ride back. There was a lot of what-if's playing out in my head. What if I made the decision to come back here with the intention to tell Celestia that I was going to reject her and go back to Twilight instead? What if I was going to put my worst foot down and try to play the fences, who would I gain in the end and who would I lose by doing that? What if my assumptions of me and Twilight having this on-again-off-again relationship were a misunderstanding or were they a valid concern? What would happen if I just decided that neither would be someone I'd pursue and find an easy way out like Twilight was hinting at? Would Twilight be happy with my trying to play the fence with her, what if she welcomed that idea? What if Celestia somehow agreed to share me with the younger princess?

A lot of hypothetical thoughts, but only one became the reality I lived in. And when I entered into the castle, I had to face that decision head-on with the potential scorn of my older brother to follow. Maybe he wouldn't be the only one, maybe he wouldn't care. Maybe I was thinking too much on them and not enough of the high princess I sought out. Upon entering the living quarters, I was greeted by a quiet Celestia standing in front of her door, nervously breathing while staring a hole at the wall ahead of her, almost as if she was playing the role of a royal guard herself.

"Your highness." I called out to grab her attention.

She turned around and walked into her room, escorting me inside and closing the door behind us. "Did you talk to her?"

"...Yup."

She could already see it on my face how conflicted I was at that moment. The uncertainty of my decision weighed on my face heavily, causing her to inquire about her former student's status. "Is she─"

"She's hurting... And I am too." I quietly confessed, sitting on the floor in front of the flickering flames of her fireplace.

The mare placed a hoof on my right shoulder, crossing behind me as she nuzzled my left cheek. It wasn't as much of a show of affection, but rather a sharing of dismay. "Then I am hurting as well. Twilight is my most faithful student, my best friend, a daughter-like figure I've spent many years in raising to fulfill her aspirations. It's only fair that we hurt in this. But I do thank you for telling her the truth."

I then started to explain what really weighed on me. "She wanted to separate to give me the freedom to move quietly. She wanted us to find our way back together when all was said and done."

Celestia, in hearing that, backed away from me and sat next to me, just outside of her hoof's reach. For a moment, she fell quiet, only staring at the fireplace. "I know this is a conflicting time for you. Do you need me to give you the space to process this?"

I turned to her for some advice on that. "You've dealt with a lot of grief for a thousand years. How long do you think I'll need?"

"Something like this, a few days is fine. I know that I will need them when I visit her tomorrow. It would not be right if I didn't tell her that this was my proposal to you. And I'll also need to give her words of encouragement."

"Don't you think that's salting the wound a bit?" I asked.

The princess sighed, rubbing her hoof against her side. "Salt in the wound was a viable practice in place of medicines and magic a long time ago. But yes, it is. And I intend for that injury to heal, even if the treatment hurts terribly now. I can tell you from experience of both having a bad situation get worse and then become better over time, and having salt thrown on my back to heal the lashes I've endured. I want nothing more than to offer her the peace of knowing that she is still loved by you greatly. But I also want her to know that I'm more willing to choose her happiness than I would mine or yours."

"That last part, ouch." I muttered.

"More willing doesn't mean unwilling. But you do realize that she is my friend of so many years as you have been my courtly interest for a week."

"Yeah I know, pecking order." I said, openly acknowledging and accepting her reasoning.

"As long as you understand. But when I finish, I'll get back to you." She said as she walked over to the door.

"At least you're being upfront about it. Can't really fault that." I said, getting up and walking beside her.

The princess gave me a somber smile, but not displaying any signs of excitement. She opened the door for me to leave, pointing her hoof out the door. "Thank you. Now get in touch with your political contacts. Idle minds are Discord's workshops."

"Yes ma'am."

It was pretty much the same routine on my weekday schedule. Wake up, jog, breakfast, stand in one spot, and clock out. From there, I was given the opportunity to schedule a magic lesson with Alabaster. As per the order made by the neighborhood association of the back end of the mountain, I had to relocate our sessions to Canterlot's School for Gifted Unicorns. I had to go under the guise of being a pony touring the establishment before transforming back to train. However, that was already proving to be a task in and of itself due to the massive amount of magic power I had to use just to transform both ways in such a short period of time.

Essentially, it was a stress test to see how much mental strain I could put on myself before I was incapable of holding a spell by my lonesome. Add to that a series of counter and casting exercises and I had myself a full diet of low mid-tier magic lessons. It seemed all too well that my practice was going so smoothly.

But that was only because I was pushing myself to set aside my emotions, especially dealing with Twilight. I had to further enhance my focus by putting my all into each attack, counter, and spell I wagered my energy on. And it came to a resounding success. I apparently impressed him with my focus, seemingly able to multitask with much more consistency as opposed to my more recent sessions. Fair enough, I could also contribute that bit of improvement to Celestia's personal instruction.

After my session, I came back to the castle with the intention of eating my dinner, only to get a phone call from Alex. He stressed that I needed to talk with him as soon as possible. And he didn't mean over the phone. He meant to have me come by in person and update him on what was going on.

When I had crossed over, I was greeted by Alex sitting in my living room like he had been chilling there for a few hours. Stanton wasn't here, he had gone to Memphis with his team to finish the season, hopefully with a win against West Virginia. He had his cell phone in one hand and a small bowl of popcorn in the other. He was also watching the James Bond films on Cinemax, taking amusement in the way every goon was easily dispatched. As I hopped on the couch, I promptly asked him. "So which one is this one?"

"Die Another Day." Alex answered.

"Oh, the one with Hallie Berry?"

"Yup." He said as he watched the movie.

While we sat and watched, I checked the time on my phone. "You know, I was gonna head to the dining hall and catch me a bite before I came here."

Alex shrugged off my statement. "Man, fuck that shit. We got a whole supreme pizza from Dominoes set to come in any second now."

"They got rid of the old head chef and replaced her with someone much younger." I replied.

"Yeah, but you can always eat Equestrian cuisine whenever. You don't get a chance to munch down on a good pizza every now and then."

As soon as he finished his statement, there was a knock on the door. Alex quickly got up and answered the door. As soon as he did, he had the largest smile sat on his face as he paid the deliveryman and sat the steaming hot box on the table in front of us. He walked over to the kitchen and announced to me. "I brought Bud and Corona, call it."

"Tall boys?" I asked.

"Do you even have to ask?"

"Shit, I'm on board." I answered as my brother brought one to my attention. I cracked it open and took a good gulp of some old American lager, savoring the prickly yet slightly bitter taste of a cold beer. "Oh America, how I miss you at times."

"Lot more lax than Equestria right now, huh?"

"It can be." I said as I popped open the box and pulled me a slice of pizza out. As soon as the bottom crust fell to the top of my tongue, the top of my mouth welcoming the many toppings dressed on the top of the layer of mozzarella cheese, I was feeling more than just fine. "Oh yeah, I haven't had that in months."

Alex sat down next to me, grabbing a bottle of Corona and hitching back a slice of pizza. "Mel told us you finally got around to your Christmas present. Like it?"

"How could I not? I think the only one who'd probably throw a fit over the idea would be grandma. And she's dead, God rest her soul."

My brother scoffed. "Yeah... She'd be throwing a fit."

"Almost as much as mom did when she realized I was in the guard." I said, taking another bite of pizza.

"Yeah, though that could've been worse if dad had been his old self. You know, your disappearance made him a whole hell of a sad man. I don't think I've seen dad break down so bad, he just wanted a second chance to prove his love to you. He prayed and got what he wanted. That's probably why he didn't go off on you like you thought he would."

"Mel probably saw that from a distance and told him what happened to me." I mumbled before taking another sip of my beer. "God knows I didn't see it."

"And neither did I until a certain point." Alex, being the pizza lover he was, had started going into the box for his second slice. "Yeah, life's funny. Sometimes you'd say something and fate has a way of throwing it back in your face to see if you're gonna do good by your word. Doesn't always happen, but you better count your blessings for when it does."

"I'll keep that in mind." I simply replied before finding my beer can empty.

"You know..." Alex began. "I think Twilight had that same opportunity."

"Yeah, I heard you talked her into breaking up with me on the official tip." I replied as I walked to my fridge to see the beers lined up on the top row. "Hasn't exactly been uplifting, but it proved somewhat helpful."

"Yeah, I might have had a few other thoughts at the time."

"Like what?" I asked, sitting back down on the couch.

"Big brother thoughts." He answered quietly. "I watched her fight with her friends over how she was treating you the day before you came to. Twilight pretty much didn't even care about seeing you off the day you left, but since you found yourself damn near dying, she was starting to champion being around you. I know it wasn't really my place, but I had to tell her the truth about what I felt and what I believed was the best course of action."

"That wasn't the only thing on your mind, was it?" I asked, pointing a beer at him.

"Honestly, I was in my bag. I felt like at that moment Mel was the deserved winner of the 'Take Nondis Home' sweepstakes. She loves you, always have, even when she told me about why she separated from you before you disappeared."

"But isn't that the same thing that Twilight did?" I argued.

"The difference is that while Mel told me why she had to separate from you and how long she planned on doing so, not even Twilight's friends knew the reason why she didn't visit you. To me, it felt like it came from a dark place. Might not have been her true intention, but the optics weren't really all that great for her." Alex then polished off his first bottle of beer before speaking again. "There's also the fact that the two of you were pretty unsteady. Too many distractions, too much political and celebrity stigma, plus the whole forced marriage angle, just a lot of things that shouldn't go into a first-time relationship. You guys weren't ready and there was a lot of unnecessary stress feeding into you two. So that's why I did what I did. It wasn't to sabotage anyone, I just felt that you two needed to be apart from each other."

"And you wanted me to get close to Mel as a result." I stated, popping open my new can of beer. "Kinda suspect to me."

"Mel had given Twilight the reigns, I knew that. But recent developments and your being free from Twilight is what made her reconsider that stance."

"That's putting it mildly." I replied. "When mom told her to convince me to come back home, Mel didn't even hold back in trying to get me to sleep with her."

"And of course, you rejected her." Alex replied. "Well, can't say that the opportunity didn't come around. You said no, and that's final."

I paused for a moment, looking to my older brother. "Opportunity for what?"

"Dude, mom and dad were screaming their praises of Mel to the heavens for years. They've been her personal cheer squad. And for the longest, Stanton and I were right there holding her name up in the stands. She may not have given you the green light until you got back, but you could've been less of a horny-ass dunce and let her play things out."

"Alex, she was never going to give me that chance." I argued. "Even when she wanted to, she said no. I leave for nine months to another world, come back, and now she wants me to herself... long after I opened up the opportunity to do so. But I had a fiancée, had to prove loyalty to that."

"I know, I get it, I had to prove loyalty to my fiancée for a year before we could finally walk to the alter. But the difference is that we had a normal relationship, one that grew for years before I could man up and ask her father for his blessing to unionize. You just got choked out by her older brother over a one-off deal, separated for a month, and then thrown into a marriage process less than a month after you two reunite. That's a lot for a normal relationship, and I haven't even gotten into the political bullshit that came with it."

I sighed not because I agreed with him, but because I couldn't even come with a lie to convince myself otherwise. The way we came together was complete chaos. And I tried my best to wear that chaotic outfit with my best foot forward. "...Yeah, we could've started things a lot slower."

"Honestly, if anything, the two of you should've started things anonymously. If the two of you rejected that mess to begin with and get started on removing that bullshit law, You'd be a lot better off. I mean you wouldn't have been conscripted as a guard, but that option would have always been there, and I believe you would've enlisted either way. You wouldn't be Captain of the Guard, but you'd be a rising star in the ranks. Just the mere fact that you being the first human guard in Equestria would gain you a modest celebrity interest. I think your path would stay this way no matter what you try."

The irony is that Celestia and I have already started off on the quiet tip. And it won't be all sex and teasing on day one. Perhaps this time I should heed his suggestion and keep my current development under wraps until the rain clears. Yeah, that's the better thing to do for both of our sakes. It may seem cruel to move on when Twilight was looking forward to pushing ahead with our future, but I'd rather keep our friendship instead of letting unstable emotions and raw sexual energy drive us into a nasty mess. This also means that I can't get caught up with my dick in my hand hoping to find an easy way to get off, dragging Twilight to the front of my mind in doing so.

"In speaking of paths, Twilight gave me an interesting phone call last night."

I damn near dropped my beer. "Really, what for?"

"She says you broke off completely from her. She's pretty devastated."

I stared into the darkness of the can, seemingly digging for words. "Yup. Guess that's why you called me here, huh?"

"I just thought you needed some reinforcement. It's a hard decision to make when you break up with your first girlfriend of over six months. Feels like you've put together something great, only for it to go wrong. But I'm sure you don't need to hear any words of encouragement from me, you're a strong man. You got it."

"That's coming from the heart?" I asked.

"More like the soul." He replied. "You're my brother, and you ain't less than a man in my standard. You got strength upstairs, courage in the mid-level, just keep the beast downstairs caged when you need to and you'll be fine."

"Those almost sound like words of encouragement." I joked.

"Nope, just stating the obvious." He answered before picking up a third slice of pizza as soon as I started reaching for the box for my second. "So I'm guessing it's Luna that's got you all locked up now."

I chuckled as I shook my head. "Can't say. All I know is that it's better that I started this one anonymously."

Alex scoffed, dropping his shoulders in disappointment. "Well played."

I got back shortly after our dinner together and saw a quiet Celestia standing in the hallway, quietly brooding to herself. She observed her surroundings and came cross my walking towards her. She closed her eyes, dropping her head as she turned around and walked in a different direction. I couldn't even call out to her as quickly as she paced herself through the hall. She wouldn't even turn back to let me see her face. I see her talk with Twilight was obviously hurting her.

I sighed and moved on with my evening. I took a candid visit to the Canterlot streets, getting a better view of the glitz and glam of the Canterlot night life. I remained quiet in my travel, venturing further south until I had once again found myself on the very edge of the unsavory parts of the city. Of course, there was the main avenue reaching as far as the junction at the front gate. But just across the street, I could easily look up and see the multitude of cloths decorating the sky. It was what the locals called The Curtain. And if you reached that far, you either weren't paying attention or you knew exactly what you were going for.

The difference of the street was drastically different as well. On one side of the street, there was the rough cobblestone road, wasn't exactly the cleanest but it was orderly to an extent, minus the tossed away remnants of old food, garbage, and half-filled wine bottles you could easily bet was filled with urine. But on the other side, the sidewalk was cleaner, almost like it was frequently attended to in spots. The alleyways weren't as dark as the others, no need for them to be since all the debauchery was really more in-your-face than anything.

A massive roar came from further within, almost like it was a stadium nearby. And no doubt it was with the way some of the Canterlot homeless and refuse came crawling out like roaches to crowd the alleyway with their stinking unkempt selves. I could hear the murmurs form around me as others passed. It appeared to be a spectacle taking place tonight.

Somewhere in Canterrot...

Many excited onlookers gathered to a rather large old temple built to be an alter to the Equestrian god Faust. The large marvelous statues that once decorated the halls were broken and filed down to betting tables and payout desks. The gigantic rotunda that once shielded the inside from the elements was seemingly blown off, making way for the curtain to take it's place. And at the center of the enormous venue was a large gaping hole that had no railings or protections to stop the onlookers from falling in. Some even sat along the edges, risking life and limb for a good seat to see the action below.

But the bulk of the crowd was sitting in a hollowed-out, extravagantly illuminated cavern below, surrounding a massive ovular arena, a good ten thousand ponies cheered ceaselessly and passionately as a multitude of stallions and mares wearing decorative masks and disguises sat in the much higher-seated exclusive press boxes. Some of them had engaged in their secretive sessions of debauchery, mares on mares, stallions on stallions, siblings on siblings, even participating in even the most taboo and illegal of fetishes. One could even say that the sin taking place would even cause Caligula himslf to blush with embarrassment and envy.

Down below on the floor of the arena was two well-built unicorn stallions, one red, the other green, both sporting black manes with contemporary pompadours. They stood next on one another, wearing shades while facing opposite directions of the crowd. The two then moved in unison, pointing to the sky as they announced themselves to the crowd with incredibly flawless synergy.

"FIIILLLIIIEES ANNNNND GENTLECOLTS, MARES AND STALLIONS OF ALL AGES!" The green stallion boisterously announced before his counterpart proceeded him.

"HE'S SCOTCH AND I'M BOTCH, AND WELCOME TO CANTERLOT COLOSSEUM. *Ahem* THE REAL COLOSSEUM─"

"─WHERE YOU'LL GET TO SEE NONE OF THAT FAMILY-FRIENDLY FRU-FRU FLIGHT ROUTINE─"

"─BULLSHIT AND SEE SOME REEEEAL ACTION!"

"TONIGHT'S BOUTS ARE SURE TO PLEASE YOU, TEASE YOU, AND FOR SOME OF YOU DEMENTED ONES, GET YOUR ROCKS OFF!"

"THAT'S RIGHT YOU FILTHY SONS OF BITCHES! AND ALL BITCHES IN THE AUDIENCE, NO DISCRIMINATION FROM US. WE DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT YOU, WE KNOW WHAT YOU CAME HERE FOR!"

"♫INCESSANT VIOLENCE♪!" The two sung together loudly in harmony.

The two continued as fireworks sparked behind the two, sending the crowd into a raucous fury. The two continued to interchange dialog while finishing each other off. "THE STRONGEST STALLIONS LINED UP TO TAKE EACH OTHER ON FOR THE GLORY OF BEING THE STRONGEST SEED ON THE MOUNTAIN!"

"THAT'S RIGHT, ONE OF YOU LUCKY LADIES WILL GET YOUR CHANCE TO BID ON THE BASTARD WHO TAKES IT ALL HOME!"

"WANT KIDS?"

"HE'LL FUCK YOUR SOUL RIGHT OUT OF YOUR WOMB─"

"─FOR AS LONG AS YOU WANT HIM─"

"─OR AS LONG AS YOU KEEP HIM ALIVE─"

"─NO CONSENT REQUIRED!"

"LADIES, I KNOW YOU LOVE THEM DRUGS, HOW BOUT EM!?"

Under most circumstances, you would normally hear a bunch of boos and jeers directed at the red stallion, but it seemed like every other mare was jumping up and down with a smile on their life-worn faces. Then again, they were here for just that anyhow, and whatever money they had left to bet with to possibly earn more, they did with the intent on going on a massive binge later. But it wasn't just the mares who made their voices known.

"AND FELLAS, WE WON'T FORGET ABOUT YOU AND YOUR SENSITIVE NEEDS! WE GOT EVERYTHING YOU'D WANT AND THEN SOME!"

"WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A FINE LINEUP OF PRISTINE BITCHES YOU WON'T FIND OUT ON THE STREETS! ONLY FOR THE EXCLUSIVE VIP BADGE HOLDERS, YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CHOICE MARE, STALLION─"

"─HOW ABOUT BOTH─"

"─HOW ABOUT A BASTARD WITH BOTH ON 'EM?"

"THAT'S RIGHT YOU KINKY SOULS, WE GOT EM ON THE TRIBUTE WALL! YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND THEM!"

"LEAVE THEM A TIP, MAYBE A LITTLE MORE─"

"─A LASTING IMPRESSION─"

"─OR BID THEM OUT IN OUR EXCLUSIVE AUCTION SHORTLY AFTER THE CARNAGE, OVER AT THE ATRIUM!"

A voice then cried out from someone in the front row, loudly screaming at the two in the center of the arena. "BOO, I WANT SOME ACTION, FUCK ALL THESE ADVERTISEMENTS!"

"WELL YOU KNOW WHAT'S COMING NEXT, FOLKS!"

"I HOPE THOSE SEATS ARE COMFORTABLE!"

"FRONT ROW SEAT HOLDERS, IF YOU AREN'T WET WITH EXCITEMENT OR AROUSAL, YOU'RE GONNA BE WET WITH BLOOD!"

"I HOPE YOU BROUGHT TOWELS, FOLKS!"

"THESE BOUTS ARE ABOUT TO BE SOME OF THE MOST GRUESOME THIS SIDE OF THE ARIMASPI MOUNTAIN!"

"OH, AND FOR YOU HIGH ROLLERS IN HERE, WE DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT YOU!"

"THAT'S RIGHT! TONIGHT IS CHAMPIONS NIGHT─"

"─WHERE YOUR MOST PRIZED FIGHTER FIGHTS FOR THEIR LIFE AND DEALS THE FINISHING BLOW FOR THE GRAND PRIZE!"

"TONIGHT'S GRAND PRIZE IS A COLD HARD STACK OF CASH! TEN MILLION BITS ON THE LINE!"

"AND THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO GET IT: BRUTALIZE YOUR OPPONENT─"

"─BRUTALLY AND UTTERLY─"

"─VICIOUSLY─"

"─WITHOUT MERCY─"

"─UNTIL THEY VOMIT BLOOD!"

"ONLY THE MOST VICIOUS FIGHTERS─"

"─THE SAVAGES STILL STANDING HERE AT THE END─"

"─WILL CLAIM THE FAME AND GLLLLORY!"

"THE REST WILL BE LEFT FOR THE GORY, WHERE WE SATIATE YOUR BLOODLUST AND FEED THE WEEKLY BEAST BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES!"

"EVERYTHING YOU COULD HOPE FOR, YOUR DREAMS AND DESIRES WILL ALL COME TRUE WITH US, RIGHT HERE─"

"AT THE CORROTTO CUUUUUP!"

Sounds like a hell of a time. Honestly, just the roaring excitement and the unrelenting throng of homeless bringing about what little possessions they had for bargaining and waging, it was enough to drag me in. I wanted to see what this was all about myself. But I was still walking on two legs, there would be no way I'd get in there and see for myself what this place was all about until I changed over.

Everything in my mind was screaming that this was a bad idea.

But I knew that I would have to come back here eventually, no questions asked. I had to steel myself for what was to come for later. I had to do what needed to be done, for the sake of my mission. Celestia was just gonna have to punish me again, maybe I could even put the blame on her for ignoring me. Then again, she'd probably send me through every wall in the city for doing that.

To hell with it, time to change it up.

Celestia stood quietly in the confines of her own chamber, staring at the mare in the looking glass. She stared at herself, looking back at her past and motivating herself on how she can change her present and future for the better. She cheered herself on, even looking past the demon she hid within herself. But it didn't come without strife, as she could see the rug laid before her fireplace in the background. Quietly, an image appeared to her, a remnant of the past.

As her younger self stared into the flames, she looked down towards an early adolescent Twilight. Her eyes remained fixated on her book until she could remain fixated no longer. The young fillies' eyes grew heavier by the minute, causing her to nod off in an attempt to keep her eyes open. But inevitability soon reigned supreme and the young Twilight Sparkle started to snore softly. The regal mare chuckled to herself as she levitated the young unicorn into her bed for the time being. The princess, laying her to rest, kissed the filly's forehead and whispered to her student before catching a stray tear rolling down her cheek. She cleared her throat and quickly walked for the door, summoning a guard to take the young filly to her dorm where she could rest properly.

The mare sighed at the memory looking back at her and held her chest. "You've grown so much, more than I ever have."

She heard a knock at her door, distracting her for a moment. She then approached the door with a quiet gaze to the armored pony standing before her. The guard saluted and made his report. "Your highness, the castle is secure."

"Very good then." She replied quietly. "You are dismissed."

"Your highness, there is something I should inform to you as well─"

"It is fine, you are dismissed." She said, walking away before the guard called out to her.

"The captain. He's not here. We've got records of his departure from the grounds shortly after the dining hours but just an hour or two before the barracks initiated the light's-out curfew."

"I'm sure he made his way to Ponyville." She answered dismissively.

"Train station have no record of his appearance. But he's been sighted to the south... towards that area."

Celestia stopped in her tracks to turn her head at the guard. "The Corrotto District?"

"Yes, your highness." He replied. "He's been sighted to be alone."

The princess galloped for the balcony, hollering back to her guard just as her wings flew open and she readied herself to dive into her usual midnight flight. "Send no one for him. I will deal with him myself."

"As you wish, your highness."

I took a lot of time waiting in silence, standing amongst a dark corner before I could find some other alleyway outside of the curtain to hide in. As soon as the traffic waned, I went about my way to a secluded place to start gathering my wits and constitution. When I finally got my thoughts together, I started to place my stuff down. Removing every bit of evidence of my human self and relegating it all to being an arsenal for my magic to call upon. As I was taking off my shirt, I could hear a set of hooves getting closer to me. I briskly turned around to see a pair of lavender eyes looking at me from the darkness, they glowed brightly in contrast to the darkness. But the mane was a dead giveaway.

"Ah, fuck. You scared the shit out of me."

The mare remained hidden as she sternly spoke to me. "You are not going in there."

I rolled my eyes and lowered my head. "I'm sorry. But if it's to carry on with my mission, if it's for the sake of setting you free─"

"I'm saying this for the sake of your existence." She warned, walking closer to me until her face was showing in the dim lantern light of the back alley. "And if you valued your right mind, you would not come back here."

"I know I shouldn't, but I have to." I insistently rebutted.

"And you think you'll get out of there alive on your own?"

"I believe that what I've learned thus far has gotten me to where I can defend myself to some degree."

The princess scoffed. "You're naïve to believe that."

"Then I'm naïve for trying to save you." I replied while pointing at myself.

"Yes, you are." She said as she came into the light some more.

"So I should just give up on that then?"

"No." She quickly responded by putting a hoof on my arm.

"Then what in the hell you want me to do, lady? What do you want to do?"

The mare began to whisper in a low voice. "I want you to stay alive for as long as you can for me. I don't believe that I will be as traumatically devastated as some others you may know. I will be hurt, yes, but you already know who will be inseparable from your casket."

I took a deep breath, knowing exactly who she was talking about. "I know that. But it's a risk I'm willing to take."

The princess used her magic to slowly pull my collar down to where I was face to face with her. She continued to whisper at a low volume. "Listen to me, don't you put your life in danger on a slim chance. You cannot afford to compromise your health, we have a date the day after tomorrow in case you forgot."

"Well I'll be extra careful not to piss anyone off. I'm just going as a bystander." I answered quietly, looking around to see if anyone was eavesdropping on us.

"Not as an anonymous one. You know who pursues you in that form." She argued.

"I can still hide, just let me get a mask and a cloak and I'm good. There are very few that know what I look like as a pony. And you are as much an exception as the others. Now get out of here before someone comes by and sees us."

The princess didn't even seem to budge at my warning. "You speak as if I don't have my own disguise."

I paused for a moment to watch the princess summon what appeared to be a golden amulet with something that appeared to be an acorn grafted at the bottom along with a lightning-shaped twig attached to it. At the bottom was a single jade bead dangling from the bottom of the acorn shape. She then dangled the item before my face. "What are you getting at?" I questioned her.

Almost in a tone of submission, she started to lean herself against the wall, blocking my only way out of the narrow alleyway. "You don't know your way around my city like I do. I fly over it almost every night. I walk the crowded streets alone on others, completely unbeknownst to any random pony passing by me. And I have knowledge of every street, every corner, every alley, every venue, every owner of a certain turf, every. Last. Crime. Canterrot is not a place where you can just simply gaze around like a tourist, you MUST have purpose for your being there or you WILL end up dead."

I grew nervous as she continued to hold me hostage. "You sound like you're about to do something dangerous."

"The very idea of courting with you is dangerous, you should know that I measure my risks accordingly before taking them. And since you're so adamant in going, I will accompany you... just this once." I wanted to argue with her against that idea, but a hoof against my lips ended that thought rather quickly. "Now I won't foalsit you all night, so you better keep your eyes forward and let me do the talking. I will let you know when you can ask questions, so do not ask them out of term. Do not stare, do not stray, do not stagger, do not barter. I would surely hate to see you talking on someone's display case while being only eight to ten pounds for the rest of your miserable existence." She said before she put a hoof under my chin. "Have I made myself clear?"

While I could feel the metal of her slippers being ice cold against my jaw, I couldn't shake the growing heat that stirred beneath them. She was very serious about that last part, which meant that I had to comply quietly. "Crystal."

"Alright... now show me what you look like on all fours."

I managed to transform without Celestia, or rather with her holding her eyes shut and covering them with her wings. She wanted the novelty of seeing me at the same time I see her in her transformed state. I thought of it as something minor, but apparently she wanted that moment bad enough so I let her have it. As soon as I finished, I trotted right past her, she then instructed me to stand guard at the corner where we turned into our dead end. Eventually, she trotted next to me, feeling her way down the alley until she felt my standing next to her. Her eyes were closed as she counted out.

"Alright, we show ourselves on three. One. Two. Three..." We looked at each other taking notice of our respective forms. As far as her appearance was concerned, I admit that I felt my heart skip a beat in seeing her. It was strange seeing her at my height, if not a little shorter. She sported a cream-colored coat, a golden blonde mane with a blue streak running through her hair over her left ear. At the end of her mane and tail were braids, sectioned and tied off with purple scrunchies. Purple amethyst earrings dangled off her ears, matching with her scrunchies. But she couldn't change the one thing that drew me in the most, the lavender eyes she used to look right through me. What was most glaring was probably the absence of a horn on her head, but she kept her wings.

"Holy hell." I whispered to myself.

She turned to her back end and shook her tail playfully. "So what do you think?" Even her voice was different. She had a lot less of her usual mid-range alto and a lot more of a squeaky soprano, falling just shy of Pinkie's range. "The cutie mark might not be ideal, but nopony ever seems to catch it." I glanced back to see her mark, a yellow sun with a purple masquerade mask over it. If anything, no one would really understand it unless she explained it to them personally. "Heeelloooo? Equestria to Nondie, come in?"

I shook myself out of my trance, I finally found something to say. "Huh... well that's..."

"You don't like it?" She asked before placing a hoof to my chin again, turning my head various ways to get an in-depth look at my features. "You seem to be quite handsome in this form. And a unicorn to boot, you lucked out and got a whole different breed in contrast to Alex. He was an earth pony."

As my view was constantly changing from her moving my head so much, I started to comment on her appearance. "Pegasi, huh? Gotta admit it's an interesting choice to go by. What if an emergency came up and you didn't have your magic to save you?"

"Well tonight is different." She said, using one of her wings to prop my chin up this time. She leaned into me with a smirk. "You're here now. So you better do your job well, Captain. I'd hate to write you up for incompetence."

"Big pressure on me." I said dismissively. "Alright. You know the way, so lead."

She retracted her wing and sternly pointed beside her. "Walk beside me. I don't need you getting curious. I can keep a closer eye on you this way."

"To make sure I don't veer off?" I questioned.

She paused for a second and continued. "Yeah, no veering off. Now stay close and come with me."

As we walked, I could easily see the difference in the sky as it transitioned from the clear open night Luna graced us with, to a spattering of torn rags, to clouds of cloths, finally into the absolute covering of the curtain above. Thought it didn't look as abysmal at night in contrast to the day. Instead, it just partially reflected the orange glow of all the candle and torchlight. While we walked, a stallion whistled at Celestia, hollering at her. "Hey sweet cheeks, looking for a real stallion to perform for your boyfriend there?"

I wanted to look back at him and say something, but I could feel Celestia's words drilling into my brain a little louder. I simply ignored it and we walked on.

However, our guest was not so willing to listen to silence. He trotted up beside me, bumping me out of the way while inching closely to her, so close that she had to bump into a nearby vendor booth to stop him from sticking his muzzle against hers. "Hey, ditch this loser and we can talk, okay?"

Celestia gave the stallion a pretty smile while simply replying. "I don't think I'll ever fuck a limp-dick beta like you. Go for the brothel down on fifth, they've got some girls who'll do anything."

"But I want you." He argued passionately, placing his hoof on the back of her head, trying to pull her in.

She promptly headbutted him, causing him to fall over with a broken nose and very little equilibrium to stand on all fours. "Sorry, don't do soft-headed stallions. Toughen up first."

The pegasi princess marched on, using her right wing to drag me along. While the guy tried to climb back to his hooves, he ended up ramming his head into the nearby vendor stall, causing more pain and misfortune to himself before falling to the ground. Honestly I wanted to laugh, but I just cleared my throat and walked alongside the princess while keeping my eyes forward.

Unfortunately for me the closer we got in, the harder it was to keep my eyes fixated on what was ahead of me. Between merchants selling a variety of items, to even a fairly good looking mare walking by me with a musk so strong that it incited me to turn my head towards her. As she walked, she pried her way between Celestia and I, batting her tail against my muzzle. She gave me a seductive stare, winking at me before shifting her tail to the side for a quick glance. Unfortunately for me, my equine senses were easily overpowering my constitution.

And Celestia was easy to notice it, painfully shoving a hoof into my side. "You're fine to do that when I'm not around. But as long as you're with me, you keep focused."

"Fair enough." I groaned through the pain and kept walking. As we got closer to what appeared to be the town square, there was a series of vendors shouting out to the crowd.

"Fresh legs! Fresh legs, get renewed, rejuvenated, or reconstituted! Get your fresh legs today!"

"Tired of living life the straight and narrow!? We've got the change you're looking for!"

"Do you find your sexual impulses bothersome!? Well we'll get you set for life, no more late-night urges"

"Not enough bits for the trade!? Family struggling to make ends meet!? Come get appraised for a price today!"

"Fresh meat! Get your fresh meat here! Fresh off the cutting room floor!" That was the one that got my attention.

I found myself quietly gliding over to the stall that sold the meat and the griffon behind it. At the rack was a whole slab of ribs and some cut choices of steak. I sat in place with my mouth hung wide open, looking at the chops of meat before me. I looked at the selection and pointed at the smaller slices of meat on the significantly smaller bones. "Excuse me, but what are these here?"

"Chops of lamb, rabbit breast, duck, goat, chicken legs."

I nodded before pointing at the larger cuts hanging from above. "This stuff up here?"

"Ribeye, T-bone, pork ribs."

My inner-Texan quickly came to roost, I started asking more in-depth questions. "Got any country-style ribs and sirloins?"

The griffon at the stall nodded slowly. "Ah, a connoisseur. Rare amongst ponies that you would know of such fine cuts."

At that moment, I whispered the two words that any meat lover would orgasm at the thought of. "Wagyu beef."

The griffon didn't seem to understand what I was saying to him. "Uh, what's that?"

I started to explain, watching his talons dig into the wood of his stand as I did. "Imagine a cut of beef so high in marble content that it's literally in every other strain of muscle fiber. Where meat would appear red with this tiny line of marble on the outside, this luxury-end cut of beef has marble on the inside, so much that the meat appears to be snowed on. Fat content so rich that when you cook it, it falls apart in your mouth, melting until your tongue finishes where your teeth and beak won't even have much of a job. We're talking about beef. Flavored. Butter."

The griffon held his talons out, screaming at me. "Enough! Mercy! I'm supposed to be the one advertising, I shouldn't be here wanting to eat my own wares! I'm already impressed at your knowledge, you've even taught me something new about meat. So what's your name?"

I froze in place, just now coming to terms that I haven't even given my pony form a name to go by. "My name?"

The griffon smiled, pointing at me with pride. "I can't go without knowing the name of a prideful and knowledgeable connoisseur of meat. You must impart more of your wisdom, I must know a name to your legend."

I quickly thought of anything that would associate myself with the cutie mark on my flank. I took one glance back and saw the arrow planted in the bullseye of a target and quickly threw together a pony name for myself. "Sniper Shot. My friends call me Snipes, Sniper is fine."

"Sniper shot, possibly a hunter of these fine cuts of meat?" He questioned.

"Uhhh, yeah." To be fair, I have gone hunting on more than one occasion. And the last thing I hunted was an Arimaspi, so his assumption wasn't too outlandishly inaccurate, albeit erroneous. "Yeah, you could say that."

The griffon had a chuckle before turning around to leave his station. "Well if you excuse me, your story of fabled snowy beef has gotten me a bit peckish. I'll just see myself to someplace else."

As our conversation concluded, I started to set my eyes to one of the other stalls... immediately regretting my decision.

"Fresh legs, come get your fresh legs here!" I could easily imagine that statement being applied to a vendor at Six Flags. I can see myself walking up with a pretty chunk of change and a growling stomach, hoping to get my hands on a juicy turkey leg and a cold drink before roaming around the park. But that image was quickly supplanted by a more grisly one. Instead of carnival treats, there were several legs hanging on a rack. Multiple colors of legs remained dangling, some dripping of blood as they swayed in the wind like the meat that sat on sale in open market. "Forelegs, hindlegs, any leg will do! Special sale on changeling legs, will transform immediately when assimilated!" I could even see one amputee, his left hindleg wrapped in gauze, shopping for a replacement to be cut where his former leg ended. I quickly turned away to find myself looking at another stall.

"We've got the change you've desired, come and make a difference in your life today!" The female seller seemed cheerfully suggesting some drastic change in one's life, but in reality it was a impromptu medical station she would use to offer sex changes. Some who wanted the liberties of being free from the responsibilities of childbirth and the stigma of that process would walk away with a stallion's set. Many colts who were not happy with themselves could finally get the change they've been fighting for, despite the opinions of society. And there were the more exotic ones who sought to get the best of both worlds strictly for the pleasure of it, they would walk away with both. Granted, this and the meat stand were more normalized to me, but what I saw next was the complete opposite.

"Set yourselves free from those annoying impulses, become an ascended being! Focus on your life's work and live without distractions now!" This seemed to be a cult more affiliated to the desire of living without genitalia. But looking at the deeper connotations of his practice, it could easily assumed that the stallion was quite literally chopping off ponies' goods before selling it to the sex changer. But even then, it made me wonder what goes through someone's mind that they'd want to rid themselves of their more intimate experiences, as well as a body part vital to one's preservation of lineage. Just thinking about having my dick cut off gives me BME Pain Olympics flashbacks.... Next stall please.

"I see a mighty fine horn on you, good sir! You could become quite wealthy if it's of the best quality!" Much like the last guy, this seemed to be running in benefit of one of the other stalls. This one especially is one that seems to be in the business of collecting body parts and redistributing them to the various markets. Though this one seems to be collecting from living clients. My best bet is that they don't pay you what you're worth and sell you on your next drug binge. After all, what pony seeking wages for their family would give a part of themselves that could be used to accomplish those tasks efficiently and safely? This place is really only for the drug abusers who've ran out of houses to rob or worse... gambling addictions. I could even see someone trying to pay a ransom for a family member doing this as well, but that's even less likely. After all, there's got to be a better way to deal with that.

From there, I could hear a cavalcade of boos rain in from around the square. The ones who made their bets had thrown their receipts for their wagers on the ground and stomped them until their anger was satiated. Multiple calls for a rematch were heard around the place while another angry voice screamed into my ear. "Where have you been!?" Celestia asked angrily.

I pointed over to the meat shack and started to explain myself before she cut into me with some choice words.

"I don't wanna hear a word from you! I said stay by me, you wandered off to someplace because it sells meat. What if it was your meat they were trying to sell!?"

Honestly, that part didn't quite cross my mind. Who was to say that the griffon wouldn't take his sweet time trying to see what a human would taste like or even take me out back and butcher me like a lamb led to slaughter. It honestly felt like a trip to market for me, it honestly felt that mundane because of what I'm used to doing in the supermarket. If anything, had I just wandered over that without having any kind of knowledge of meat, I would've been either chased off or dragged to the back for dinner.

She used her wing to push me forward. "Now let's get a move-on! We don't need to stay here for an obscene amount of time."

"Wait." I called out, looking over at the place where throngs of disappointed bettors filed out crying over how broke they were. My eyes narrowed to see a familiar face draped in a cloak glancing around before walking in. Was that who I thought it was? Only one way to know. "Hey, can we check this place out first?"

Celestia gave the place one disapproving glance before pushing at me to go further on. "Let's. Go."

I then turned around to face her. "Look, I might have seen a potential contact. If anything, I need to get into that arena."

"That's not an arena, that's a church." She angrily replied.

"A church where they propagate death and destruction for one's amusement, well let us prey."

The next thing I felt was her teeth dragging my ear to the ground as she warned me angrily. "You have no idea what you're trying to get yourself into."

"You said that I had to come for a purpose, well I found quite a few." I replied, wincing in pain.

"You are not safe here, Nondis." She whispered.

"The name is Sniper Shot, your highness." I grumbled back.

"My name is Golden Feather, and you will do well to remember that."

After the tense display, I quietly pleaded with her to let me enter the arena. "Okay, Goldy. I might have seen a politician walk into here. And that someone might have been associated with Count DuMoneé. If I can get close enough to figure out what's going on, we can get our shit rolling tomorrow. The sooner we run into some vital information, the better we can respond to their next move. Now I know you may not like that idea, but it's the only major lead we've got that's still on the inside circle."

The disguised princess whispered as she let my ear free. "I know you want to hurry and get this done, but I cannot let you do this without you knowing of the potential dangers that this may entail. That assassin knows what you look like, and he will probably have a fairly good seat. I suggest you follow me for some window browsing for a disguise on top of your compromised disguise. Is that a fair assessment?"

I closed my eyes and bemoaned the idea of not being able to follow that hooded figure. But I did understand her reasoning more than anything, that Australian-sounding bastard did have a place of residence here. "...Okay, so what do you have in mind."

"Again, just follow me." She turned back to emphasize her final world. "CLOSELY."

After a slight detour to a lesser merchant towards the outside of the district, we got back in the thick of things and made our way into the temple-turned battle arena. It didn't take very long to see her react with disgust over what we saw. Of course the outside was a bit unassuming, but the interior was a lot more lively. It was almost like walking into a modern club. The place was quite literally decked out with neon lights and blue overheads. On the walls were magically-created holograms displaying the action down below. An albino earth pony stallion with blue eyes and a spiky blond mane carrying a pretty large sword on his back stood silently while his partner, a pink mare with a cute dress waved at the crowd eagerly. The walls with the betting numbers were glowing in magenta lights, the numbers changing with every bet placed. Another crowd started throwing their bets to the mares at the counter. Loud electronic rock music was playing in the speakers all around us, feeding the hype that was this arena. Maids in skimpy outfits, stallions getting drunk off of their ass, ponies dancing without a care in the world, and gladiatorial cage matches taking place in a grungy arena filled with thousands of rowdy fans.

It was awesome.

Celestia, who was staring at a broken statue of the deity that was once the purpose for this place even existing, did not appreciate what she was seeing. She whispered to herself. "If only you could see what has become of this beautiful monument. I'm sorry to have failed you."

I approached the disguised princess, becoming curious. "Something wrong?"

She gave a disheartened sigh. "Six hundred years ago, this place was one of the crowning jewels of Canterlot. This place was where royals were sanctioned. When you walked these aisles, you were seen with respect and admiration. A few royals were blessed and coronated here, Fair Charity, Blueblood, Mi Amore Cadenza to name a few."

"What happened?" I asked.

"A skirmish took place between us royals and fairly powerful senator who grew corrupted in his dealings. He tried to take advantage of a young Cadance, which reverberated with us quite soundly. The senator lost that battle... utterly." She walked further into the crowd, guiding me alongside her as she did until we came up to a massive opening in the floor, leading to the top of the enormous arena. As I could hear the combined cheers of over ten thousand voices, she pointed at the center of the arena. "That is where he lost his life. Vaporized into nothing but ash at the power of my fury."

"Holy hell." I whispered to myself, thinking back to the moment she blasted a changeling brute into ash.

"I've tried to lead efforts to repairing the temple, but the ground proved unsteady. So they condemned it. Eventually, the malcontent moved in, crime lords, gangs, organized underground movements started turning this place into an attraction for the bloodthirsty, the morbidly curious, and the politically corrupted. It didn't take long for some notable aristocrats and senators to draft legislation to funnel money into this place, becoming a black market for every politician to satisfy their fetish outside the eyes of the citizens who voted them in, not to mention their comparatively wholesome families. If anything, the extreme crimes of violence are nothing more than a curtain for what truly takes place behind the closed doors of the VIP lounge."

"Sounds pretty dark." I muttered.

"There are foals here too."

"In the audience?" I asked.

"No..." She answered quietly before pointing to me. "And visitors who are curious are often the first ones that find themselves fighting in that pit for their survival. So word for the wise, don't find yourself fighting in that ring."

Her answer just unnerved me. It broke all the immersion I had for this place. If anything, all of this fanfare being a distraction while the worst is going on, while underhanded deals are being made and the lives of innocent citizens are being toyed with, it's too cruel and hideous to ignore. No matter how much neon you dress it in, the feeling of the music pulsing through your chest, the excitement, the only thing that goes on here is something far worse than death itself.

The 'Rotty' sure has earned it's name.

"Follow me." She ordered. "You want to see where your contact might've headed, I'm going to show you."

As we went along, I found myself going down some stairs into a red hallway. Moving on, there was a wall of ponies, their forelegs and head protruding outward, their bodies were buried within. An effeminate colt looked at me with a smile before his pupils dilated, his chin shot to the air. He looked at me and stared with his mouth agape. Suddenly, he started to pant heavily while he bobbed up and down. His eyes locked on to me, his voice trying it's best to keep my attention. I grew uncomfortable and turned away, trying my best not to look at him. When we passed by him, he moaned loudly. "Join the VIP, daddy! I want you so bad!"

For the many onlookers, it was the majesty of watching the ones trapped in the wall getting whatever done to them on the other side without having to see what's really going on. I'm sure the facial expressions they display were more than enticing for the crowd. And I'm sure there's a fair share of stallions looking on with growing interest. For the most part, it's a hell of a way to advertise. But the stallion trying to get my eye wasn't exactly my draw.

We got to the end of the hall, splitting off into a T-shaped junction. On the left, I could see a hall with more stalls for placing bets, a few bathrooms, some condom dispensers, and even cleaning stations for some unexplained reason. On the right was pretty much the same except there was a portion of the hall that was guarded by two huge stallions, both of them capable of putting Big Mac to shame. I can only assume where they were standing was the VIP room, leading to the wall where the ponies lined up would be getting the business end of their esteemed hosts. Celestia guided us in that direction, giving me a better look at the red wooden doors completely decked out in solid gold trim. The two bouncers stared at us when we walked by, obviously taking a mental note that we were some new faces.

We left he hallway and found ourselves in the corridor leading to the arena. Around the entire place was a series of trusses holding up the floor of the former temple. Suspended from the top of the dome was a platform with four stallions using their magic to display the action on the ground floor. And just as we entered the lower bowl, the princess sat herself quietly while closing her eyes. I sat beside her, taking the available seat. "I take it that it's gonna get messy?" I asked.

"Messy is putting it mildly." She replied with a scowl on her lips. "If you find yourself being psychologically mortified at the sight of death, then closing your eyes is the best option. I can only assume that you've seen enough death to push through it."

I looked at the screen above, seeing a group of twelve masked ponies armed with spiked bats and chains stepping out to the floor. I shook my head. "Too late to think about that now. My eyes have to be open and ready to observe anything."

"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. That's how you stay alive, remember that." She advised as the color casters started to speak over the arena.

Scotch threw his hoof into the air, proudly announcing to the crowd. "Ladies and Gentlecolts─"

Botch started to fake himself crying, babbling his speech. "─We're sowwry!"

"We apologize for absence of tonight's planned action!"

"I want my bwiddie!"

"It appears that the opponent for our guys on the ground floor has a bad case of the shakes!"

"You all know the drill, so everyone can get their fill! Sing it with us! He's a─"

Before the word could even come out, the two just put their hooves to their ears already expecting the crowd to finish his sentence. And that they did, in earnest numbers.

Jeers and angry complaints started to rain from all over. But it appeared that the two announcers were very accustomed to the chaos. Without skipping a single beat, Scotch carried on. "We humbly apologize for that experience. And we know that you came for some much sought-after bloodshed."

"AND THAT'S WHY WE PULLED A FEW STRINGS WITH THE BOYS BELOW!"

"SO WE INTERRUPT YOUR SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING TO BRING YOU A SPECIAL EVENT!"

"SO NOW THESE TWELVE SONS OF BITCHES WILL BE ON A PLAY DATE WITH A RECENT ACQUISITION BY THE BESTIARY GUILD!"

"AND YOU LUCKY MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE WILL BE GETTING A SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK'S BEAST OF THE WEEK!"

"TONIGHT'S YOUR LUCKY NIGHT!"

"SO NOW WE BRING YOU THE SPECIAL TREAT, ONE YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!"

"THE ONE YOU DIDN'T ASK FOR!"

"THE ONE YOU'D NEVER THOUGHT OF!"

"KILL THE LIGHTS!"

On command, the operators did as told and the lights around the entire arena shut off. leaving the entire dome in pitch black darkness with the exception of the lone blue light shining from the hole above. Without warning, a large gate opened up at the center of the ring, slowly cranking out a large beast to rise to the arena. Music started playing over the sound system as the announcers shouted to the crowd slowly.

"LADIES."

"BOYS."

"TONIGHT'S EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK!"

"STRAIGHT FROM THE BOWELS OF HELL!"

"NAME STILL IN PATENT, BUT THIS BEAST COMES FROM THE RAILS OF THE SOUTH!"

"VENTURING NORTH FOR RICHES UNTOLD!"

"A BEAST OF LEGEND, SAID TO CRUSH ANYTHING THAT STANDS AGAINST IT!"

"AND IT'S RIGHT HERE FOR YOUR PERSONAL AMUSEMENT!"

"LET'S GIVE A WARM CORROTTO WELCOME FOR..."

The two seemingly stopped their routine to speak to one another, their whispers slightly overheard in the sound system before they came to a conclusion of for the name. Then they shouted in unison. "CYYYYYYCLOOOOOOPSSSSS!!!"

The Arena Floor

The lights slowly dimmed back in as the machinations of the ring came to a squeaky grinding halt. Everyone in the audience was captivated by this mass of fur just sitting in the middle of the ring. Everyone was questioning what they were seeing until one of the goons shouted to the announcer angrily. "Hey, what gives!? I thought we were promised a grudge match tonight! We wanted to get back at those two bastards that whopped our ass last week! What about them?"

Scotch quickly cut his mic off and started to speak to the group leader. "They were scheduled for a match earlier tonight. They advanced to the semi's later tonight. You're out of the bracket as of last week. You know what comes next. Three minutes and you're out."

"What if that thing starts killing my boys!? Minions ain't easy to replace, ya know!"

"Three. Minutes." Scotch repeated with some acidity in his tone, stepping up to the stallion with a scowl on his face. "Unless we have a problem. It's either me or that thing. Pick your poison."

The group leader spat in the face of the announcer and started walking off. Almost in a blink, the other announcer jumped in front and turned him around before he could even get a word in. Botch turned around to put away a bloodied dagger. The group leader grew confused before he realized that his throat had been sliced open. "I told you the next time you pull some shit like that, you were gonna get it. Now look what you got."

"I guess fate gave you the better option." Scotch looked on at the pony, wiping the fresh loogie off of his face with a handkerchief. "You can sit there and watch."

Botch called out to the others. "You other bastards won't get the same treatment, so I suggest you fuckers go out there and give these ponies a show. Live for three minutes and you can do whatever the hell you wanna do."

Scotch turned back on his mic, Botch following suit. "THE FIGHTERS ARE READY!"

"THE BEAST IS READY TO WRECK HAVOC!"

"THE SURPRISE EXHIBITION BEGINS..."

"NOOOOOWWW!!!"

The Arena Grandstands

Most of us watched as the group of eleven started charging wildly at the beast while their leader looked on what I assumed to be frustration that his match had turned from what was assumed to be a fair bout into a massive disadvantage. Celestia and I watched quietly as the crowd cheered for the monster to satisfy the carnage many of the onlookers sought. It was a moment of cognitive dissonance for me. I wanted to at least act like I was having a ball, but a lot of the things I've heard and seen put a hold on that. So I looked on quietly, staring at the large beast getting wailed on like a punching bag.

Little did I know what would come next.

A low and powerful growl started to shake the walls of the arena, causing many in attendance to marvel in silence over the sound they heard. Bits of gravel and dust came raining down from the ceiling as the entire complex, both above ground and below, grew no louder than a mouse squeaking. It was the calm before the storm. I stood to my hooves, in utter silence and delirium. While the others may not have know what was at the center of the ring, I knew. And the many terrible memories I had in trying to survive that hell came right back to me in all of it's gruesome detail.

The creature moved for the first time, raising it's massive claw high into the air, it's palm reaching back as the massive obsidian-colored claws shimmered in the lights of the arena. And then it fell, the sudden realization for the group had hit them harder than that one palm came crashing down. It was like watching a bug, a spider, getting obliterated by a house shoe. When it's palm raised back up, the victim was left as a pasty red and pink mess, some of their mane was lost in the clump of twisted meat, their life so easily snuffed out like a candle to a storm. The horror before them was real, just as real as it was for me.

The creature stood, a scarred and worn Arimaspi who looked just about done with everything.

The creature's lone eye darted towards it's next victim, it's large teeth brandishing like lengthy guillotine blades, the claws moved for the next kill. Blood and fur, that all that remained of the next one. And the other three after that, who fell to pieces as the sharp claws tore through them all in one single fell swoop. Limbs and heads had very little of a body to belong to after that strike. The front row behind those three were splattered in blood, as well as another five rows behind them. Those who craved the bloodshed cheered wildly as the others grew disgusted of the mess they found themselves in. Fair to say that some in those last three rows didn't anticipate the shower.

Without a shred of mercy, the creature lunged for his next target, trampling over another mispositioned victim. And easily did his teeth find it's mark. The remaining four didn't even dare to look at the clock above, they had to keep their eyes open for the threat before them. And the motionless leader continued to watch as his minions fell in rapid succession. The creature slowly turned to one of the other four, who split themselves in various directions to flee the beast. But their attempts failed, and it was all for one reason: they were standing in the ring.

None of them were trained to handle this kind of thing, not like we guards are. Every last one of them had a tombstone to their end, a cross by their name. Three more fell in seconds, while the last active member backed himself into a corner, crying out to the audience as he urinated himself. But his screams were snuffed out by the crowd, nothing could save him anymore. The creature reared it's claw back for the final kill, the poor bastard just closed his eyes, shivering.

A buzzer sounded throughout the arena, the clock on the screen reading out the time. 2:03 minutes remaining. That time blinked as the eleven lives who dared to challenge the beast were all drowned out by the crowd's raucous cheering. The two announcers walked over to the group leader, poking at him to see if he had become paralyzed with fear. The two shrugged as they pressed a button, causing a black collar on the creature's neck to glow green with a sickly glow akin to a changeling's transformation. It seemed to have been filled with a tranquilizer, one powerful enough to sedate the large creature where he stood. And as such, the Arimaspi was hauled off by a beast-tamers crew, who dragged him to the center of the ring and stomped on the ground to signal for the elevator's descent.

And just like that, it was over. The announcers called the match. "LADIES AND GENTS... WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?"

"MERCILESS BLOOD, BROKEN BONES, SHATTERED LIVES, WE REMEMBER THOSE WHO OFFER THEIR SERVICE." Both Scotch and Botch took off their shades and placed them on their chest, their voices becoming somber. "A moment of silence for the fallen competitors this round."

The crowd couldn't care less.

Botch then interrupted the moment at the last second, pointing at the immobilized leader. "Hey, what's with this guy!?"

"LADIES AND GENTS, IT APPEARS THAT THIS PONY IS IMMOBILIZED WITH FEAR, SO MUCH THAT HE HAS DIED WHILE STANDING STILL!"

"WHAT A BITCH!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT THAT SOUNDS LIKE EVERYONE!"

"YOU KNOW THE SONG FOLKS, SING ALONG! HE'S A─"

While Scotch continued to conduct the crowd as if he was leading a choir, Botch started to play as if he was crying again. "LIKE MUSIC TO MY EARS, BEAUTIFUL SWEET MUSIC! BRINGS TEARS TO MY EYES!"

Both announcers then put back on their shades as they continued with their broadcast. "UNFORTUNATELY WE DON'T HAVE ALL NIGHT TO SERENADE YOU TO SWEET DREAMS, BOTCH! WE'VE GOT CARNAGE TO COLOR COMMENTATE!"

"THAT'S RIGHT, BITCHES! SHOW'S ONLY GETTING STARTED!"

"BUT COME BY THIS FRIDAY FOR A MEGA-SHOWDOWN OF BEASTS, WHERE YOU'LL GET TO SEE THE TRUE DEBUT OF CYCLOPS─"

"Name in pending. BUT YOU'LL GET TO SEE THE TWO BEASTS OF THE WEEK COLLIDE AND FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO THE TITLE OF OUR BEAST OF THE WEEK!"

"NOW BACK... TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING!"

To say that moment caused me a bit of mental distress was a crucial understatement. If anything, I had to walk out and take a breather because of my seeing that creature so close to home. In my mind, the sight of that last guy resonated within me so vibrantly. I was in that same situation before, looking at a creature that size while backed into a wall. Terror was all I could feel aside from the quiet sense of resignation. If anything, my alternate fate played out flawlessly before my very eyes. That could've been me, should've been me, and it was up until I had lucked out and pointed a sword into it's palm. If it was any other weapon of a shorter length or lesser effectiveness, I wouldn't be here to watch this happen.

My mind swelled with memories of having to survive in that environment. My hooves itched, I ticked, I started looking every way to make sure I was going to keep myself alive. Visions of the trees, the forest, they clouded my eyes. The neon lights and sounds of the crowd were drowned out, replaced by the sight of tall verdant trees, thick stumps, scarce rays of the sun reaching the forest floor, the howls of those beasts hunting me down... or worse. I can see Tirek chasing me through the forest, with nails so thick that just the tips of them were enough to snap my neck with any slight adjustment. The breaking of the trees behind me as I ran. I had to survive all of that. I was trying to survive here in this place. I was trying to survive. Survive. Survive, I have to survive. Failure means death, death means no more anything, I need to do anything in my power to survive, I cannot fail, failure means death, death means no more anything, I need to do anything in my power to survive, I cannot fail, failure means death...

"How are you feeling?"

Those were the words that broke me out of my trauma for just a moment. The world of burning trees suddenly subsided. The neon, the elated crowd cheering throughout the arena, the lavender eyes looking at me with concern for my well-being. But even then, my memories still ran on loop in my head, ceaselessly. They ran without pause, seamless, back to the beginning again.

"You saw that thing. You know how I feel. How does it feel to have to kill so many of those things by yourself because you want to protect the others, only to find out that the only thing you can do at the worst possible moment is protect yourself, even worse... pray? Lady I had my fucking back against the wall and I was gonna be as pasty red as the rest of those guys─HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL, HUH!?" The disguised princess jumped back, but she slowly didn't back away like any other would've. No, she understood exactly what I was feeling. As far as myself was concerned, I had a sudden jolt of anger when I screamed at her, as if I had just snapped something loose. I wanted to go harder, but I had to practice control. Steady now, short steps, deep breaths... "I didn't know those guys but I could've done something if I wasn't like this! I don't know what their walks of life were like, but the visions... the fucking... the shits... watching THAT again, it's real fucking shitty, you know?"

For some odd reason while saying that, I started to laugh, trying to lighten the load myself when in truth it only comes across as deranged. It was interesting to know that I had an episode like that.

"This place gives me the creeps." Again, laughing lost-like. "You know... I watched a guy fuck a headless corpse, in broad daylight down the road from here... How the fuck did I even get here? Ha. I-I... I can't even begin to understand... Heard some excitement, got a little curious, saw a familiar face, Followed the white rabbit down into the mystic den, took the fucking red pill and now I'm here getting looks from guys who want nothing more than to either die or stuff my cock down their throats. Life is so... oh..." I placed my hooves over my face, laughing for a moment before I felt something other than the estranged sense of trying to bargain with myself. "...Gramps..."

I lost myself.

I was curled up against the wall, holding myself as my eyes clenched. My laughs turned to sobs, the pain, the hell playing out at random, over the slightest sight of something, something so powerful enough to trigger such an emotional response. I stayed holding myself, feeling like that was the best kind of comfort that I could offer myself. My mind was a mess, I knew I had to keep moving forward but I was so terrified of what was waiting ahead. I was so scared.

Celestia wrapped her forelegs around me, whispering in my ear. "Lets go home."

Canterlot Alleyway
Sometime Later...
***Point of Perspective: NONDIS***

I never really had a moment like that before. It was confusing, painful, and I was trying to bargain with myself. But in another vein of things, I've started to understand what my grandfather had to fight to keep a steady life. No doubt, I was more insightful on his conflict, but there was no way I could understand the pain of being a murderer on the level of killing kids.

But I understood why he did it, moreso now than before.

Live to die another day, or die this day and never see tomorrow, never see home again, never see the face of your beloved girl or your kids. I wouldn't want that existence, not that I have that much going for me at this current time anyhow. But the terror of being a victim and dying in this foreign land, watching these horrible things happening to your squadmates and possibly meeting that same end.

Granted, there were kids who walked up to solders holding grenades, grieving widows strapping themselves to bombs and seeking refuge from the enemy soldiers, it's a gray world with many different shades, there is no black or white. Each side could call for vengeance, and that's exactly what happened.

My venture into the nest of sin had shown many dark shades, but who's to say that there isn't a lighter one to each activity, each personality, each vendor? I had a casual conversation with a meat vendor like it was another day at the deli, but meat is morally frowned upon in this society. What about those who have lost their legs to tragedy, who's to say that vendor wasn't their last hope for a return to normalcy? Sometimes we're not happy with the way we're born, and yeah life can give some of us a leg up while others don't get that chance because of how they're born, go ask a girl in China how their parents had to make that choice. Who's to say that there are some who's sexuality interrupts their daily life, nymphomaniacs and porn addicts, maybe those who don't really see a purpose in sex or revolted at the idea of it? What if someone had to free a family member from bondage, or even look to donate themselves to better the lives of others?

What about those grays, the ones we don't see or find hard to reason with ourselves in seeing?

The arena, however, had very little light for as many lights and flashy props lined the ceiling and walls. There was a dark underworld with very few controlling the attention and fates of many. For all I know, that spectacle could be a distraction while some guy blows his load over a dude's face. Ponies are dying while some of the most obscure pieces of legislation are drafted right in that room.

That is the foreign land, filled with many dangers seen and unseen, packed to the brim with access routes that I have no knowledge of, rife with guerrilla tactics and sabotage, monsters prowling the woven red grass, the neon jungle whose concrete trees blot out the sun, that is my new deployment whether I like it or not.

But it wouldn't be tonight.

When we arrived back in the alley where tonight's venture started for the two of us, I had already started looking around for any onlookers who might spy on us. Celestia brought up the rear, but she didn't say a word to me until I was sitting in the corner. "Are you okay?"

"No. But I'm better." I said before I looked to her. She kept the pendant on her chest, looking back to see if there were any followers.

Her eyes narrowed while she stood at attention. "You go first. You should hurry, there might be followers closing in."

I wasted no time in following her orders, using my magic to transform myself back into what I normally was. After that, I popped open a barrel to reveal my clothes and weapons. As I started to dress myself, I heard the princess' hooves shift to a widened stance. "Halt! Who goes there!?"

While I started to put on my pants, I felt unrelenting resistance before I could completely cover myself. I looked down to see an aquamarine glow freezing my pants in place. I turned my head around to see an apparition fade into a silhouette of a unicorn mare. The voice giggled at me, cooing all the while. "Well well, is that an undressed human I spy with my little eye?"

"State your name!" Celestia called out.

The mare emerged from the shadows, her face was revealed in the dim alleyway lighting. It was Blue Royal who teased at the disguised princess. "Aww, and you're with another mare, I see. That's unfortunate. I honestly think you could do better."

"Excuse you?" The disguised princess barked back.

And just like your common pair of stray cats fighting in the street, tails puffed, slow movements, venomous hisses, and claws at the ready, they stared each other down. "Well I mean you don't look that bad for a wash-out. But that blue streak, what even is that? I guess you could get the attention of some random homeless guy but you're passable for a hussy."

That moment was like watching your dumb friend strike a match and throw it next to an open gas can. "...What?" Every consonant of that word appeared to be dripping with molten lead.

Blue stepped forward, not minding any confrontation with the mare before her. "Yeah, prostitution in Canterlot is illegal outside of it's designated jurisdictions, i.e. go cross the street and make your money there."

The princess quickly clarified her reason for being here. "Oh that's funny, cause my escort job is actually a whole different affair. See honey, I kill ponies, and I was asked to show him the ropes of the underground. So maybe it would be better to back off before you become an example of my newest masterpiece."

The mare took another step, leaving only a few inches between them. "Gotta admit, you have some serious magic affinity to be able to see through my cloaking spell. But I don't go easy on street-dwellers."

Celestia leaned in, leaving less than an inch between them. "Well I'm not easy... Bitch."

Yeah, time to intervene.

"Ladies! Ladies..." I said, jumping between them, trying to pry them away from one another while taking the moment to put back on my pants. "Okay, I see there's a lot of... debate. How about this, Blue and I will talk for a little while and then I'll─"

A gust of wind was the only thing that seemed to have made me jump violently. Looking over, I saw that the disguised princess was gone, I looked up to see her hovering above the alley. "Whatever! I'm done here, I did what I came here to do, I got paid, and now. I. Am. Out."

While the yellow pegasus flew off, Blue called up to her as she departed. "Don't forget to write, preferably after you bathe."

I quickly pointed my finger at the blue unicorn. "Lady, what the hell was that all about?"

The blue unicorn sighed while giving me an apologetic look. "I know it was a bit toxic, but I had some information I wanted to tell you, and boy is it confidential. I was gonna try and get you tomorrow, but seeing that you took a visit to our humble little mess heap, I guess it's fair to present that information today."

Well that's convenient, perhaps a bit too convenient that she'd pop up from nowhere. "Question, how did you even guess that I was here?"

The mare leaned against the wall, shrugging. "I dunno, maybe the sound of your voice?"

I stared at her dumbfounded, half-and-half between impressed and jarred. "Uh─"

"To clarify, we the members of Hooves For Humans have made it a study to identify your voice. Strange, yes. Stalker-ish, a tiiiiiiny bit. Useful, definitely. Even if you've managed to kill countless beasts and changelings, you still have a habit of getting hurt. So we try to keep an eye out for you in the city while making sure that you don't sound too distressed."

Well that's nice... in a stalker yandere kind of way.

I looked around, thinking of the possibility that there might be any other onlookers. "So... my voice grabbed your attention? How?"

She walked up to me and placed a hoof on my abdomen. "Well to be fair, it's awfully hard not to hear a pony having a complete nervous breakdown in the hallway not too far from the VIP room. Granted, those happen every other day, but when I heard your voice and saw the mare who was comforting you, I just had to find out if my intuition was spot on. And yes, it was on the money."

I looked away, embarrassed for her seeing that side of me. "Sorry you had to see that."

She quickly hugged me the best way she could. "We've all had our bad some days, and many of us had them because of the monster formerly known as my father. But if we work together, we can change it all for the better. Even my being violated by my father wasn't nearly as bad as the trauma he forced you to endure."

"I guess between us two, we have a lot of baggage." I muttered before kneeling down to hug her back.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad. But I think we can make it work." She said before changing her tune. "The senator we're trying to get more info on was at the arena."

"I know, I saw him walk in." I replied.

She gave me a smirk and a wink. "And there you go finding yourself in the right place at the right time. You must be pretty lucky."

"I'll say blessed, I haven't died yet despite how many times I could've." I answered to her, but also telling that to myself. "So... what do you have for me?"

"Whispers of a conglomerate in the senate. A network of legislators who pretty much help keep the place running. It appears that my father was a voice in that circle." The mare explained.

"And no way you can get in?" I questioned.

"Not even if I tried. They know what my father did to me, they're suspicious of my motives, so they'll keep me as a paying member of the VIP but nothing more than that. To even get on the board, you have to play dirty just like them."

"And I take it that they don't like his son, either?" I asked.

She looked away, appearing disheartened with her answer. "...They do, but..."

"They don't treat him right?" I concluded.

"It's not so much of how they treat him, but it's how he treats himself." The mare clarified.

For a brief moment I felt hesitant to speak on her family, but I also informed myself that any information on the final account holder would be beneficial. "I don't mean to be an asshole, but I heard a few swirling rumors of your brother's sexuality."

The mare rolled her eyes and scoffed angrily. "And that's what they like about him. He's the friendliest to them, doting on them, playing whatever role they want him to, it doesn't matter how disgusting it is. They tell him to bark, he'll whimper and yelp the whole night away. They say the word 'open', he gets this lost look in his eyes while his tongue is covered in drool, he just sits there, waiting for whatever they give him. He says it's for a good cause, but as far as I'm concerned it's only for himself. He loves the attention, he loves to be humiliated even more." Blue shuddered at the thought of her brother being the topic of interest. "Sorry, it's just not that great talking about my brother being bent over the table for a bunch of old perverted politicians."

At least that definitely confirms what the others have said, even from a family point of view. "I'm sorry to delve on it for so long, but I kinda need to probe, if that's okay with─"

"Ask away, I'm not here to judge you for wanting to know my brother's interests." She replied, apparently frustrated but accepting the circumstances.

"Was your brother in a wall at some point tonight?" I inquired, thinking about the stallion who eyeballed me in the hallway.

"No. He didn't show." She answered with a disgusted look, apparently aware of who I was talking about.

"So there's no way he can get in that circle either?"

"Oh no, he's in it. But only as a toy." Blue briefly explained.

"When did he get in?"

She went on to explain things further. "A week after my father did what he did to me. He did it as a sign of protest because he knew our father had treated him better, by a slim margin of course. The only reason why he had preference to him was because he could continue the family line. But my brother went against that idea by making himself a mare to all the other members. The others were so impressed by his spite that they let him on in, all for a price of satisfying their every perverted need in front of our father. And he showed that he was good for anything, worst off was the fact that he was skilled at it. My father despised that, hated him because of that, because he knew that his line would stop at the one whom all his socialite friends would call their own little cum dumpster. My brother made our father suffer quietly with that shame, and his never finding the opportunity to see me again pissed him off even more."

That just confirmed some information I got from Single File. "He wanted to see you again?"

"I knew what he wanted, so I hid off to a place he wouldn't expect. And I promptly sold the house off for a listing price of one thousand bits to my best friend." She quickly perked up and pointed at me while adding in an additional fact.- "Listing price was eight million, by the way."

I felt myself hawk back at the thought of blowing eight million on a house, but more on the idea that she sold it for not even a fraction of the listing price. If I had known anything about it, anyone really, someone would be in an eight-million bit estate on the back end of the mountain, living rent free in the neighborhood association's minds. "Isn't there laws against that?"

"Laws protecting the realtor, not the neighborhood watch. But since I own the company that holds the realty rights to the estate, I can put it on market for whoever's interested at the price that I set it at."

It must be hella incredible to have your cake and eat it too. "And you made sure your best friend was the first to know."

"Of course they knew, they were in the office while I signed the deed over."

"And your brother had no objections?" I asked.

"Not a one."

I wouldn't be surprised if he even thought of the idea. Just the concept of leaving the rapist politician homeless and socially embarrassed among his peers was probably sweet justice. Her brother may be an interesting find, I wonder if I got a chance to talk to him directly, would I find myself with a foot in the door to this inner-circle. And if I could, what exactly would I find there. As far as I can say, she's the only link between me and that inner circle. In other words, she may know something that I'm interested in. "So, this insider group, what exactly do they do that's keeping Processu Approbatio in place?"

"The law as it is defined to the public is a penal law for being involved with the princesses. It is also a way for the senators to gain power through the means of quietly phasing out the royal family. In short, it turns the rulers who do many things to protect their citizens to mere figureheads. Slowly, they add addendum after addendum to the law to strip individual freedoms away from the royals. And when they finish, the title would only be a ceremonial remnant while the parliament runs the country."

Hence the new bill they added to the national expenditure. At least that is starting to make more sense to me in an underhanded and cruel way. "So it's a quiet revolution, a power creep. I guess that mile they took a thousand years back started to turn into an empire."

"And while some are generations into it, others are indoctrinated into the idea of creating their own power because of what was created way back when. That arena is a shining example of how far their influence has come to affect the minds of the citizens. You can tell them anything as long as you have power to your name. And you can imagine how easy it is for the not-so-fortunate dregs of Canterlot to find a justification to upend the old ways of the country, or rather to displace the ones they feel do not represent their issues as easily."

I walked my mind back to something Celestia said about the temple. The primary complaint was that the floor was said to be too unstable to build on top of. That had to have gone to the parliament as a vote, and obviously struck down. But what if there was someone who brought about a secret ballot to re-purpose the property into something different, say an arena, while blaming the royals for the degradation of properties around the place due to a lack of action? It would be easy to manipulate the voters when one party is said to not get things done while the other marathon these developments with their names on the bill. It makes them look good and the opposition look bad. "I see, they're sabotaging the votes, in tandem with the favoritism towards the parliament members."

"You got it. So instead of being a chapel to bring salvation to the downtrodden and celebrate the installation of new rulers, it's a monument to the purpose of a new order. They give the citizens what they want to see, what they didn't know they wanted to see, feeding them things like drugs, sex, money, and the simulation of power by giving them the ability to decide another's fate."

It's almost like watching what a Roman emperor does to gain favor with the people, more bread and gladiatorial games. "In short, it's their no-royals-allowed secret club."

The mare gave me a glance before looking down the alley. "What are you doing this Friday night?"

"Recovering from a hangover, maybe." I said, scratching the back of my head.

She turned back to me, walking towards me with a smirk. "Well I'll need you to sober up and head by the bank. Make a withdrawal first, then come by later in the evening at around ten. You're getting into that VIP lounge."

"How?" I asked, throwing my arms out in front of me completely dumbfounded. "And how much is it even to get in, a thousand per month, two, three thousand?"

"Five hundred thousand a year." She said, almost as if that amount had very little consequence to her.

For me on the other hand... "What!? Lady, I don't even have that kind of funds!" I don't even see a hundred thousand with the way my pay goes out. I'm barely scraping at forty thousand right now.

"You do." She said with a wink. "Plus plenty of playground funds to mess around with."

I swear if I look at my bank account tomorrow and see that I had an overnight installation of that much money, I'm going to lose my shit. "What's these 'playground funds' for?"

"Cutting deals. Now from there, you should be able to hire a merc to serve as your champion, possibly one of the ones that I've informally introduced you to. If you want to hire a merc, head to Blacklight Hall. From there, you hire the guys who'll do your dirty work without getting yourself killed. And remember to always hire a merc when you drop by, the other members like to wager on blood and the mercs will openly oblige for a good amount of money. Some of them will even see the arena, hence the term 'playground funds' come to mind."

Translation: I'm betting someone's life while I'm in the boys' club. That's more than a world to take in. "I'm in it pretty deep, aren't I?"

The mare shrugged. "Just finding your way into Canterrot is crossing the line. There is no going back now."

Sometime Later...

When we finished, she put back on her concealment cloak and disappeared into the shadows as if I had never seen her. I then gathered my bearings and headed back westward towards the castle. And of course, the checkpoints are awfully strict at night unless you have some authorization, which funnily some politicians don't have a late-night pass through here. And with all honesty, even with my being captain of the guard, my access was limited since a changeling took my form and started dishing out orders. It's a good precaution but it still annoyed me a bit.

To my fortune, they had gotten word from above the rank and file that I was to be allowed in without a check. I just simply waltzed through the front door and looked up at the castle towers, thinking to myself how a parliament filled with old, wrinkly buzzards would even come close to the majesty of some eternally-young-looking faces of the royals who had infinitely MORE years of experience than any of them in ruling the land. Other than Shining and Twilight, I couldn't see how they'd supersede the others so easily.

The halls had a much different look at night. Instead of the hustling and bustling of guards, maids, aides, and politicians, it was a quiet and dark place filled with dimly-lit passages per request of the residential workers. The halls containing the princesses' residential chambers were on total lockdown, no one could leave or come in except the ones who lived there. And the other halls where the maids and workers would rest had very few rumblings at this time. All guards who were stationed but off shift were under lights-out protocol at the barracks. And the guest residence hall, where I stayed, was nothing short of a shadow demon's paradise.

There wasn't anything there, but the darkness beyond a certain point had sent a shiver down the back of my head throughout my spine. This sense of uneasiness made me instinctively walk a little faster towards my room. When I finally got to the door, I had unusual thoughts of seeing that last guy in the arena calling out to me. I could see him reaching his hoof out from those shadows, but joined with the others from missions and failures past, the wagon... Faces of the deceased looking over my shoulder wondering what I would do next. My head quickly shifted to the end of the hall where I could see a familiar nightmare walking closer to me.

I dropped my keys, fumbling with them trying to frantically find the one I was looking for. I cursed at myself, urging my hands to tighten up before the demon got closer. I could see the upside down smile staring at me on it's inverted head through the darkness, it's mouth coated with pitch black blood. The faint roar of an Arimaspi came from down the hall. The feeling of a changeling holding me down as they whispered into my ear. Looking above me, I could already see the corpse of Twilight hanging over me, the words 'NEVER TARDY' inscribed into her empty eye sockets.

Finally finding the key I looked for, I started chanting to myself. "None of it's real. It's just your imagination. Open the door."

But it wasn't that easy. My mind raced with the thoughts of my going through the door, finding another alternate timeline filled with whatever horrors sat in place. I can imagine it all, the various ends, the multiple tragedies taking place, the creatures that would hunt me down.

My mind screamed to me, pushing me to move forward. I leaned against my door, letting the momentum of the door swinging open circulate into my slamming the closed upon my entry into an even darker room. The only thing I saw was the one lamp on, sitting next to my bed. But an unexpected face sat on the edge of the bed, looking at me quietly with a concerned look. "Princess?"

Celestia, in her original form, stood from her bed and walked up to me. "I heard that you recently reported in."

A rush of relief came over my body, the goosebumps that once plagued my skin had subsided. My legs finally gave way to let me rest. On my knees, I felt more secure than I ever have tonight. The princess hugged me, quietly rubbing her cheek against mine. "Have you been up this entire time? What about the sun?"

"Honestly, I've been anxious since I left, been thinking about what would happen since I had left you alone there." She answered.

I tried to lighten the mood for myself, offering a sarcastic retort. "You show a lot of concern for someone who 'wouldn't be hurting that much if I died.' Kinda contradictory."

She broke away from our embrace and found her comfort to be satisfactory enough to give me a level-headed response. "You're my captain of the guard, my chosen champion, and why should I not have concern?"

"Fair enough."

The mare didn't smile, but she exhibited joy in speaking with me. However, that joy came with a side dose of reality as she observed my current mental state. "I talked with Luna for a dream scrub, she's agreed to oblige if you would take the time to thank her personally in the morning. I'm sure she has much more to say after."

"One can bet." I replied quietly.

"Are you okay?" She questioned with a sweet motherly timbre.

I closed my eyes and saw her afterimage, focusing on that made me feel a lot more secure. It was a wonderfully warm feeling, like the moment of us sitting in front of the fireplace. "I'm better. Thanks for asking."

She seemed to have drawn from that moment as well, reciprocating the same warmth that I embraced. "You know, I can't stop thinking about Thursday... well, tomorrow officially since it's past two in the morning."

"Yup, late nights, early mornings." I said, opening my eyes to look at the time on my phone, reading out 2:44 in the morning.

The princess walked past me, taking her leave. "Try to sleep in a little, tomorrow's a busy day."

Before she could leave, I called out to her. "Tia."

The princess froze, glancing at me with shimmering lavender eyes. "Yes?"

I looked away for a moment, trying to recount what I had done earlier tonight, the embarrassing display I had given her and how I snapped at her. "About earlier, I kinda yelled at you and─"

"Make it up to me later." She whispered with a gentle smile. "I might not have had fun roaming around that particular district, but I did like a few things... like how I got to hold on to you when you were hurting. Not that I take any pleasure from your being in pain, I just appreciate the vulnerability. You really do have some trust in me."

At that moment, I felt like she had done her best to return the favor for what I did when we were in her room a few days ago. It was strange, but it was also nice to know that she was the one there to give me some encouragement. Honestly, she might have gotten significant points with me on that. "Thank you... for being there."

The princess glanced at me, stopping herself from moving towards me again. Instead, she turned around and waved at me before opening the door. "Well, I have an early early morning. I'd best be off."

...I really don't wanna say it, it's too soon and I don't even know if it's real. But I suppose if I get a chance to see her again, then suffering through the nightmares might be worth it. I have to take my time though. "Goodnight, princess."

No doubt, she's trying to pace herself as well. "Goodnight, captain."

The door clicked closed after she softly closed it upon her leave. I was left in a dark room, only illuminated by one softly glowing lamp. Thoughts of her had initially dominated my mind, but other things had started to creep their way in. For starters, I could never look at the parliament or the ponies in this castle the same way.

They say if you give greed an inch, it'll take a mile. Well they started off with the mile, and the entire country is what they'll take next. It wasn't just a marriage law I was fighting, it was an ever-expanding loophole with black-hole like properties. It was the wrath of a thousand nobles and aristocrats, the manifestation of the greed born from a plethora of senators and representatives. It is in essence the attempted abolishment of a long-standing structure proven to be stable for a chance to create something new. It is a division that could ultimately thrust the country into a violent conflict. Another civil war, it wouldn't be unlikely.

The blood of millions over the past millennium, and here is where history may repeat itself. If Celestia was the first to lead what is now in my eyes a rightful crusade against the parliament, then it should go without saying that they would be the ones to finish it using Shining and Cadance's offspring as a compass. It's as they say, it's the birth of a one true Equestrian heir. If power is shifted to them at an impressionable age, then they would be used as a tool to reformat the system to their desire. They'd lose all their inherited power by the age of twenty, being nothing more than a pony cosplaying as royalty.

An interpolitical struggle with Princess Cadance possibly giving birth to the end of the stability of this entire nation's future.

And I might have just thrown my hat into the arena. "It's getting real now."

So who's not six-feet under, sound off? I'm glad to be strolling around in this plagued world without having experienced it (yet). And I do sincerely hope that many of you are in the same camp as I am. I had a few associates and friends who managed to battle the dread and came out a bit different, albeit a little changed here or there. Wish gigs were still a thing, definitely need the money.

Meantime, I've finished the next chapter. Will be going through that one a little more before dropping it. But let's talk about the present. Yeah, it finally happened. He may feel like he might have made a mistake or several, but that personal issue didn't seem to nearly amount to the juggernaut that was his mental stability. I tried to allude throughout the story that he may have built up some issues, between fighting with himself, dealing with some unsettling nightmares, the experiences that left lasting impressions on him, et cetera. It just took one specific trigger to finally snap him over the rail. It happened already once before, but now it's a little more hard stuck.

As you can tell, I might have had a little too much fun writing this underworld of Canterlot. To be honest, I was always intrigued by the one location in the MLP movie, Klugetown.

Just the thought of being in a place like that and seeing the girls interact with that kind of atmosphere, where their own body parts could be appraised for monetary gain, that kind of place seemed so wild being put in juxtaposition to Canterlot. Even the two locations are built similarly.

And then I thought about the idea where there could be something akin to that kind of gritty, unpolished, atmosphere being hidden under a kind of blanket, out of the world's view. It reminded me of something, a game I played when I was twelve and also managed to see revamped as of recent.

Without even realizing it, this world started to come to my mind OFTEN, many wild ideas running to the front of the line as I had this place drafted so long ago, about seven months before I went back in and took some inspiration from FF7's infamous Wall Market. Add a little bit of dirt, some unsavory elements, politicians looking to hide their vices, a few bouts of political red tape, and of course I got this miniature Klugetown sitting like a genital wart on the body of Canterlot itself. And unlike most of the city, it would be the one section that still had lights burning past 1 in the morning.

No doubt they know of the place, but it's so often seen as taboo to the waking society. And in typical fashion, you'd get a lot of what you don't see in the day trade. You have this tiny little sector that accommodates to the morbidly curious, those sadistic tendencies, the unmentioned elements of society that many would rather keep silent about. And in terms of why it hasn't been shut down as quickly could only be contributed to the one reason why it would even exist: A rich guy and a politician looking to scratch that itch in a place where the sun doesn't shine. And with the market being there, you will have customers who will try to fuel it with their patronage.

As far as the interactions between Nondis and Celestia, it may seem a bit out of character for Celestia to speak so vulgarly. But in this chaotic environment, she's well-practiced in the art of blending right in with the regulars. I didn't want her to feel like she had to try hard to blend in, even when not wanting to, but rather that she's even used to doing it with the exception of a few red lines she set aside for herself. And as someone who's used to going undercover in many instances of travel (MLP Comic 65), she guides the newcomer on how to not get himself killed. And as a previous chapter already showed, Nondis is very aware of the consequences should he fail to do so.

Now on to the controversy that is the breakup. I know that there have been many calls to reunite the two in the future, but after doing some thinking, it would've not been as ideal, not without starting over first. But usually starting over is a way of drifting apart because of how close or how much you know of each other in spite of hitting that reset button. In terms of what the future may hold in store for the both of them, only time would tell if they would ever find some way to talk this through or if it is truly a mutual severance. In far too many cases, it would be a severance and sometimes quite bitter.

The cold reality is this: She dumped him in a hospital bed while he couldn't even move much of his body, let alone walk. Much of her intention has gone unexplained to him up to the moment he decides to revise his status with her. And in turn, he realizes that something like this may happen again. Compare that to someone who just outright tells you what the deal is instead of hiding those details.

Ask yourself: I had at least a month (or however long) off from someone and another person tells me what we're doing from the start. They seem to have a lot of their stuff together aside from some trauma they want to actively work through. Do I move on to that or do I work on the fifty percent chance that what I dedicate towards is all for naught?

Again, if you feel like this is the end for you, I do appreciate you coming this far. You didn't have to, but you have my heart and gratitude in doing so. If you're sticking around to see how this ends, I promise that I will attempt to do my best to reward you. Having that said, I will be hiding in a bunker for the next week. I pray I can make the payoff worth the risk.