Celestia made her way alongside her escort of Guards through the doors of the Emergency care section of Ponyville General, and went through the doors into the waiting room. At the moment, the only difference was that the brown colt and his mother were gone, likely so that they could rest, while the few ponies that remained were now looking at her.

"Princess?" Twilight spoke.

"He's going to be out shortly. I had a little conversation with him, but I'm afraid I don't have too much time to talk right now. I had to move around some meetings for the Day Court before coming here, and I should get going." She smiled at her former student. "Goodbye for now, Twilight."

The two alicorns shared a smile before Celestia walked towards the exit.

\\\\\\//////

Jason felt the last shard finally exit his body and heard the high-pitched ring as the needle clattered to the ground. He gave a sigh of relief before scooping all of the shards up with his magic, and placing them in the Bio-Hazard container in the corner. The unicorn grabbed his bag from the table and looked inside. Thankfully, right in front of him, was his Stetson. He placed the leather mass atop his head and pushed down with a hoof. Jason stared at the stump briefly before going back to his bag. His Vault 101 Utility suit was stuffed in unceremoniously, showing him how torn it became during the small fight. Blood coated both sides of the fabric, and a massive chunk was noticeably torn off. The right sleeve.

With a sigh, Jason lifted the bag and hooked it up to his side before going towards the door. A white mare with pink hair approached from the other side and nearly collided with him as the door opened. She gaped at the sight of him, opening and closing her mouth while failing to make any kind of sound.

"'Scuse me." Jason said to her before scooting past her and walking out into the white hallway.

He looked around for a sign and found one that pointed towards an exit. Jason followed the arrows and turned around the corner, occasionally watching as a doctor turned their heads to watch him walk away. Inside some of the rooms were barely any patients at all, only a few in full-body casts and hooked up to I.V. bags. After a near minute of walking, a set of double doors met his gaze, and he bent his head down to push them open without having to use magic.

When he passed through the doors, a small mass of fur met with him, and began to bark happily.

"Glad to see you too." He said with a smile as Dogmeat began to lick at the side of his face.

Jason looked up from his companion to see the room full of familiar ponies, mainly Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy.

"Shoot, son," Applejack started, "heard you were walkin' 'round, but Ah thought the Princess was bein' generous. Didn't expect to see ya already walkin' on outta here."

"I don't stay down easy." Jason stated.

"Well, it's good to see you're alright." Twilight said with a warm smile. "Rarity also waited out here for a little bit, but she went back to her home with Sweetie Belle."

He nodded.

"Alright then. Twilight, I need to get my things from your place. I'm moving out."

Twilight gaped for a few seconds before responding.

"What!? You've only just started learning magic! And I still don't know some of the most basic things about you or your homeland! Why would you want to leave?"

"Because I'm going to be looking for a job soon, and I feel like I've already overstayed my welcome. It's time I got productive." He turned to Applejack and Fluttershy and nodded. "You two have a good day." He said before walking towards the exit.

Twilight looked between him and her friends before saying her goodbyes and galloping after him. When she caught up, she tried to talk to him.

"Princess Celestia went in to see you. What did you two talk about?"

"We talked about me almost dying, and that I should see about getting a job." He somewhat lied.

"Well, do you know what you'd do for a job? I mean, Ponyville has a lot of opportunities, but are you sure there's something here for you?"

"Never know unless ya try." He replied dryly.

The two continued on for several silent minutes before they were out of the hospital. Twilight took the opportunity to talk more about what had just happened.

"So, the doctors said that you really saved Sweetie Belle with whatever you did. When did you study medicine?"

"My father was a doctor, and taught me a few things while growing up."

"Well, Sweetie Belle talked about how you got her out of a bear trap and gave her some new medicine. What was it?"

"Stimpack. It basically works by stimulating the cells in a certain area, and increases the rate at which your body heals in that area."

"Oh, so it's like a health potion?"

Jason sighed.

"Yeah, I guess so. But it needs to be injected into the desired area."

They walked along an empty path for a few more minutes before Twilight spoke again.

"Thank you for saving them."

"Don't mention it. I did what had to be done."

'You wouldn't be thanking me if you knew how I saved them.' He thought to himself.

"How did you do it?" She asked.

'Just fuck me, right?'

"I'd rather not talk about it."

Twilight quickly gathered what he implied, and splayed her ears onto the sides of her head.

"Oh..." She waited a few seconds. "You know, my brother's a Royal Guard. I understand if you... you know..."

"You really don't want to understand anything about me. You'd be happier that way." He replied.

They walked along in silence until they were met with the structure of Twilight's Castle. She opened the doors and allowed Jason to go straight to his room. From the doorway, she watched as he pulled out the massive bags and strange objects before pulling them all onto himself. Within minutes, he had taken every one of his belongings. He went towards the door, and stopped to speak to Twilight once again.

"Thank you for letting me stay, honestly. But it's for the best if I just left. Goodbye."

With that, Jason walked out the doors to the Castle, Dogmeat at his side, and began a lonesome trek to Ponyville.

\\\\\\//////

Applejack happily strode up to the gates of Sweet Apple Acres and breathed in a mighty mass of the scent of fresh, delicious apples. She heard barking from the path, and galloped through the gates to meet a familiar mass of fur.

"Miss me, girl?" Applejack asked Winona.

The female dog began to lap at Applejack's face for a few seconds before pausing and sniffing at the air. She then hopped down and started to sniff at her master's forehooves, pressing up against her.

"Aw, ya smell Dogmeat there, girl?" She asked with a teasing tone.

Winona continued to sniff as her backside began to shift around underneath the apple farmer. Much to her curiosity, Applejack watched as Winona continued to sniff forcefully, backing up into one of her legs. She then widened her eyes in horror when she felt something moist and warm grind against one of her legs.

"Whoa, down girl!" Applejack half-shouted while backpedaling away from her dog.

The canine began to whine and drag her rear across the ground while licking her nose. Applejack stared at her now wet and mottled right foreleg with a disgusted look.

"That season already? Shoot. Guess ya found a good choice for a partner this season, hey Winona?"

Winona barked happily and ran around in a tight circle as Applejack cringed at the feeling of her wet fur against the breeze.

\\\\\\//////

Jason sighed as he looked around the small town, watching as so many faces were blending in to one another, smiling away through the day. He felt some kind of glee at the sight of everyone still being able to feel safe, despite what had recently happened. Some ponies stopped talking to watch as the strange unicorn with massive amounts of stuff in giant bags simply paraded through the streets. They gave no hint of warning or fear, only curiosity. It was nice. Relaxing, even.

After walking for about 40 minutes through town, Jason decided he should try and ask for directions as opposed to trying to find someplace to stop for the time being. He looked around the next area and found an Earth pony mare with an orange mane and carrots for a mark (he refuses to even utter the word "Cutie" even in his mind) talking with another mare with a blonde mane, grey fur, and yellow crossed eyes, with a mark of... bubbles. Jason slowly approached and coughed lightly to get their attention.

"'Scuse me?" He asked in a low tone.

The two turned to him, and the blonde one went wide-eyed. She raised a hoof and spoke in a slightly bubbly voice.

"That's him! That's the unicorn I was talking about!" She spoke.

The other one gasped and went up to Jason.

"Oh my gosh, are you really the one who saved Love Tap's kid, Button?"

Jason blinked a few times.

"Wait... Button? Yeah, I remember him. What about, his mom, you said?"

"Oh wow! I heard you were in the hospital! How are you even walking right now?"

"How are you awake!? I saw them bring in emergency equipment to bring you back!"

"What can I say, I'm hard to keep down. I wanted to ask for directions to someplace I can spend a few nights, or maybe someplace I can look for a job. Do you know anywhere that has rooms for rent?"

"Oh, that's so weird!" The orange-maned one said. "Tap's husband, Prime Property, actually has a small bed and breakfast right here in Ponyville! You could probably get them to give you a room with a view for saving their colt! They're right down that corner, then it's the longest building to your left."

Jason nodded before getting ready to set off.

"Thanks."

"Wait," The blonde one stated, "what's your name?"

"I'm the Wanderer. I know it sounds like a title, but I'm not comfortable with others knowing my name." 'Shouldn't have given it to Celestia, but no, I had to go and be all trustworthy.'

"Well I'm Ditzy Do, but most ponies call me Derpy."

"And I'm Carrot Top. Thank you, again, for saving their colt. I've never seen Love Tap so upset. I was convinced that she was about to charge those Diamond Dogs herself!"

With that, Jason nodded once more and began to walk around the next bend. Carrot Top certainly wasn't lying when she said it was a long building, that's for sure. It looked to be around 200 meters of a two-story complex with wooden doors, all numbered, and one main part that rose its shingled roof a few inches above the others. He made his way to the section that seemed to be separated from the rest, assuming it was where the owner would likely live. When he came to the door, a fine red one at that, he knocked a few times before hearing something shuffling on the other side.

The door opened to reveal a stallion with a dark grey coat, a red mane and beard, and a mark that held what looked to be a piece of paper with a house on it. He eyed Jason with grey orbs that studied him carefully, before he spoke.

"Whaddaya want?" He asked with an annoyed tone, sounding almost like a Ghoul. "I've got company 'ere talkin' ta me about some stallion I don't even know about, so you better hope my boss gets here before I-"

"Woah, woah, calm down, Matters, I'm sure the boy doesn't mean any harm." Another, more appealing male voice came from the side.

Jason looked over to see a light-brown stallion with an orange mane, green eyes, and a mark with a scroll with checks on it walk up to him, while "Matters" went inside.

"Sorry about him, he doesn't like social interaction."

'Someone I can identify with.' Jason thought to himself.

"I'm Prime Property. Owner of Quality Property Bed & Breakfast (Trademark). Can I help you with something?"

"Prime Property, huh? I'm the Wanderer. Are you Button's father?"

Property widened his eyes and examined Jason.

"Are... you... y-you..." He looked up at his face with watery eyes. "... you saved Button... are you, really him?"

Jason felt something warm inside his heart grow as he nodded.

"Yes."

The stallion practically pounced on him, gripping his forelegs around Jason tightly while fighting back tears.

"Thank you." He whispered. "I don't think I could have lived with myself if he was hurt."

Property jumped off and backed away from Jason, wiping his eyes with an elbow.

"Um... yeah, don't worry about it. I saw someone that needed help, and helped. Speaking of which, I think you could help me."

"Of course. Let me guess, you need a room for the night? You're from out of town, right?"

"Actually, I just wanted to know where I could see about a long-term residence. I don't think I could afford staying here for a few months."

"Please, let me repay you. My son's life for a room for a few months? I'd give you the whole complex if you'd ask!" He joked.

Jason managed to smile while nodding before looking towards the rest of the complex.

"Do you know if I could get one in the next few hours?"

"Tell you what, I'll get you a key right now."

Property went into the main building, closing the door behind him... somehow, without magic. He came back out a minute later with a key in his mouth before tossing it to Jason, who caught it with his magic.

"Room's upstairs, number 101."

Jason chuckled a bit while shaking his head.

"Something funny?" Property asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, it's just... lived my whole life in a place known as '101'. Just... funny."

'In the same sense as beating you to death with your lover's internal organs.' He thought to himself.

"Well, enjoy your-" He looked to Jason's side before stopping mid-sentence. "Oh... you have a dog. I'm sorry, but dog's aren't allowed on the premises. You'll... have to find somewhere else for him."

Jason looked back down towards his companion, who looked up at him with the Puppy Eyes, ears against his skull. He gave a sigh before turning back to Property.

"I think you could leave him with Miss Fluttershy, out by the Everfree Forest. Whenever a guest with pets stay here, they usually go straight to her, considering how close we are to the town's edge." He offered.

The Wanderer looked back down at Dogmeat, who had perked up already, barking in confirmation. Jason reached out with a hoof and began to pet him.

"You sure he can't just stay with me in the room? I'll look for a job and be out towards another place in a short while, anyways. I doubt any other residents would notice for long." Jason urged the owner, putting in some of his skills in sweet-talking.

"Well," The stallion droned, debating in his head, "I guess, if he's been trained, I could, make an exception. Just this once, though."

Jason smiled widely as he felt the joy of another successful conversation.

"Thank you." He said while turning to the stairs.

"Thank, you." Property replied. "Also, you can call me Prop. I'm sure my wife would love to meet you."

The conversation dropped there as Jason looked up at the wooden staircase and breathed deeply.

'Shit. Forgot about those.'

\\\\\\//////

Luna trotted along the halls of the Royal Palace, examining several documents and news articles from across the eastern-most parts of Equestria. Diamond Dog gangs had risen against their own military, attacking some of their own towns and villages, alongside Equestrian soil. Some reports detailed burn victims that had massive chunks of flesh and muscle expertly attacked. A few speculations rose that they were raising armies of unicorn slaves, but were shot down by teams that investigated the burns at hospitals, and said that they were too precisely seared to be any kind of spell, unless Arch Mages were siding with the Jaws.

She switched between these papers and several from the Night Court, going through several demands by Nobles and requests from the outer towns. Luna had decided to send more wings of specialist teams to guard the towns, not bothering to hesitate on the statistics. She would not loose anypony so soon after her return. Not under her gaze of the shadows.

Still, some good news was surely to be found somewhere in Equestria, she had hoped. Cycling through even more articles of current events, she found almost nothing to look into. Until she found one from a small town on the opposite side of the Everfree Forest. Hayton. There were some reports of monsters and wild animals trying to attack the town in an effort that, when studied by local wildlife experts, was to claim more territory for expanding numbers.

Out of nowhere, however, there were praises being sung about a different creature from the Everfree. One that breathed beams of fire that tore through Timberwolves like tissues, and had the might of ten Manticores. Apparently, somepony tried to get a photo of it, but ended up scaring it away, before it began to head back into the forest, never to be seen again. The photo was colored, somewhat, and allowed a strange thing to take shape. The only thing Luna could be certain about was that it was tall...

... and green.