“Fluttershy, dear?” Rarity was up earlier than usual, especially considering the circumstances. Normally she would have waited until the last possible moment to get up and get ready- a lady is never rushed, neither does she miss her beauty sleep. However, this morning she needed desperately the time to speak with her friend. Currently, she was standing outside the door that the yellow pegasus and Pinkie Pie had shared for the night, Fluttershy having moved her belongings out of Rarity’s room. “Could you please come to the door and speak with me? I realize that it’s early, but we really must speak. Just you and me.”

After a few moments she heard movement on the other side of the door and waited. Shuffling her hooves, she ran through her apology plea over again in her head. She was granted a momentary reprieve when Pinkie answered the door.

“Rarity? What are you doing here this early? We were still asleep and I’m pretty sure it’s not time to go yet.” Pinkie Pie slurred, her characteristic bubbly nature denatured by lack of sleep. Rarity nodded and looked embarrassed.

“I know Pinkie. I’m terribly sorry to wake you, but I really need to speak with Fluttershy. Is she up yet? Could you get her for me?” Rarity craned her neck over the pink pony, doing her best to look into the room. Pinkie Pie shrugged.

“I think she should be up, I mean who wouldn’t be with that noise, but I don’t know if she wants to talk to you.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You were kind of a meany weany last night and she was really, really sad, I don’t think she’s in a talking mood. I mean, the way you treat Nathan is terrible.”

“I know, Pinkie, I know. I know you two don’t really agree with me. It’s why I want to talk to her really because…”

“Because you want to tell us all about how terrible he really is?”

“No!” Rarity caught herself, having yelled a little too loud. “I mean, no, Pinkie. That’s not it at all.”

“Well it doesn’t matter. Like I said Fluttershy doesn’t want…”

“Pinkie. It’s ok.” Pinkie Pie jumped a bit, Fluttershy caught her off guard and pulled her out of her conversation with Rarity. Turning, she left the door slightly more ajar and Rarity could see Fluttershy looking sleepy and demure standing there, having listened to the entire conversation behind the door. Fluttershy turned her attention towards the white unicorn. “I-I also want to talk Rarity. We need to talk. Pinkie?”

“Yep?”

“I’m s-sorry to impose, but if we’re not back in time to start packing, do you mind getting my things together for me? That is, if it’s ok with you?” Pinkie nodded and smiled.

“Okie-dokie loki! Don’t be too long though- I think Twilight will want to get an early start. We still need to find Nathan,” she looked at Rarity as she said this, her eyes echoing Fluttershy’s sentiment the night before, “and keep moving to Canterlot.” Fluttershy nodded back and walked out, gently shutting the door behind her.

The two mares walked in silence, down the empty hallways, through the lobby, and out the door of the inn. The sun was just starting to come over the mountains, banishing the night and ushering in another day. Rarity noted, slightly perturbed, that outside of the bubble surrounding Foalham clouds were beginning to gather in the sky. She shrugged away the thought- nothing that a few weather pegasi couldn’t deal with. After a few nervous glances between them, they broke the silence in unison.

“I’m sorry…”

“Rarity I…”

“Oh Fluttershy I…”

“What I mean is…”

They stopped talking and looked at each other, breaking into a slight fit of giggles. Rarity was the first to stop laughing, focusing on Fluttershy and sighing.

“Fluttershy, dear. I know that it’s been tough, the last couple weeks. Following the attack on Ponyville, I’ve been scared for you, and all of our friends. I’m not going to lie to you- Nathan always has, and probably always will terrify me. He is a giant, hulking, horrifyingly intelligent being that has proven himself not only a sneak but an outright liar…” Fluttershy opened her mouth, a cross looking expression covering her face, but was silenced by an outstretched hoof by Rarity. “…however, I… may have been wrong. About him. And you. In many regards.” She kept her eyes to the ground, unable to look her friend in hers.

“I’m never going to understand what you see in him. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, I doubt they fully understand it either. It’s strange to us. All of us. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong though. And my previous… opinions… of Nathan, well… I’m going to be honest; they were wrong, he saved our lives twice. Saved my life twice. Even after I have continued to treat him so uncouthly. Yesterday, the manticores…” Rarity sniffed, struggling to hold back the tears, “… oh Fluttershy, it was all my fault! All of it- them coming, us having to run, Nathan having to save us. It was me.” She began balling her eyes out, sitting in the middle of the square they had wandered through.

“Then on top of all that I tried to blame him and suggest he had been killed. Me! The element of generosity. You were right, yesterday Fluttershy. You always were my best friend. I completely understand if you don’t want to be my friend anymore. I don’t deserve it. This trip has simply been the Worst. Possible. THING!”

“R-R-Rarity, p-please don’t cry. If y-you cry, I’m going to start c-c-crying.” Fluttershy couldn’t take it anymore, and gave in to her emotions, wrapping her hooves around her friend and allowed a long stream of tears wash over both of them. Other ponies were starting to wake up, and file into the square, wondering what the commotion was. Neither mare cared. All that mattered was that they had each other.

“R-Rarity, I’m so s-sorry for last night. I understand how hard this must all be on you. I know that you were only looking out for me, and it wasn’t your fault yesterday. Those manticores would have come either way. Though you owe Nathan a h-huge apology for the way you have treated him, but for now, this is a good start.” Rarity nodded, finally looking her friend in the eyes, joy threatening to send them into another fit of tears.

“Friends again?”

“Friends.” Fluttershy agreed. The two hugged for a while more, content to soak in the atmosphere of their re-kindled friendship, until the ever-brightening orb in the sky reminded them that it would be soon time to continue on their journey to Canterlot.

“We should get back now Fluttershy. The others will probably be wondering where we are.”

“Ok, Rarity. Let’s go back. Together.”

It had been several nights since Discord had last visited Chrysalis' domain deep beneath the mountains. His powers exhausted, he had spent several nights within his own castle resting and regaining his strength, venturing out only to feed. With the current travel ban throughout Equestria, it had been more difficult, though not impossible, to find his preferred diet. Now, rejuvenated, Discord traveled down to the changeling kingdom, eager to discover what progress had been made.

Opening a gate in the throne room, he found Chrysalis in intense discussion with one of her minions. They were deciding how to best allocate their recent acquisitions, and Chrysalis seemed unsure of the correct course of action. Realizing Discord was suddenly in the room, they ceased their debate, and the smaller changeling scurried out the door. Discord noted that this one seemed to lack wings.

"Discord! We haven't seen you in several nights. To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?" Chrysalis managed to spit out something that could plausibly be called gracious. Discord smiled, finding the fear absolutely intoxicating.

"Oh I've just come down to check up on you, make sure you haven't screwed anything else up. It's been so quiet that I assumed that you weren't doing anything. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that you are actually ahead of schedule."

"How did you..."

"Oh puh-lease Chrysalis. Did you really think I would just leave you alone for days and trust that everything continues to go according to plan? I have eyes and ears everywhere."

Chrysalis glanced around nervously. While she was aware of the fact that Discord kept cast monitoring spells all over Equestria and abroad, affording him a sort of artificial omniscience, it had not occurred to her that many of the same spells may be in effect around her own kingdom. Realizing how foalish she was to assume such, she shook away the discomfort. Digging around in an alcove on the wall, she magically pulled out her clip-board. Putting on a blank face she spoke to him matter-of-factly.

"Yes. We are indeed ahead of schedule. A few nights ago we quietly took Cloudspeak. My intelligence in Canterlot reports that Celestia has no idea that the switch was made. This acquisition has further bolstered sample groups B and C. Through further testing, failure of adoption rates for lines one, two and three sit at five, ten, and twenty percent respectively. Line two is in full production now, and line three should be within two nights. Line four, I'm afraid, is so far unstable to the extreme. What we have been able to divert is quickly used up and FOA is one hundred percent."

"This news is good Chrysalis. I am more concerned about having enough for lines one through three. Shelve four for now, focus on the primaries. I need all rejection rates to be under five percent."

"Yes, Lord Discord. We shall begin the push in earnest." She put away her clipboard and looked out over the chasm, watching her growing army build before her eyes. The changelings had never been more powerful under her watch, and she glowed with pride to see them so eager to destroy the ponies, even under the current circumstances.

"Who was that, by the way?" Discord asked her, wrapping his tail around her mid-section and causing an involuntary shudder. Chrysalis looked over at the demi-god.

"Oh, Broken-Wing? He's an old friend. Closest thing I have to an advisor. Smart, but a bit rash." Discord smiled, his tongue rolling over his jagged teeth.

"Rash you say?"

"Yes. Even while the line two FOA was forty percent, he wanted to volunteer for enhancement. He's still trying to get me to let him go through with it."

"Why won't you let him? Does the cruel Chrysalis have a soft spot in her heart for one of her minions? My my. How times have changed. I remember that one time centuries ago you rounded up those ponies and..."

"No. There is no room for what's left of my heart for anyone. He's just more useful to me alive than a failed science experiment. Need I remind you how many lives we have extinguished in the last several weeks?" Discord cackled, enjoying the dark mood of the queen. She continued to look over the city, scowling.

"So, if he were to say, go down and hook himself in to line two right now, you would probably be pretty upset?"

"Furious."

"Oh, then I should probably stop talking, shouldn’t I?" Chrysalis felt her veins fill with ice. She looked back at Discord and shrieked.

"What?! No he wouldn't! You didn't..." She looked accusingly into Discord's eyes.

"Chrysalis, I am many things, but I‘m only a liar when it suits my cause. Right now, the truth is far too hilarious. I promise you that in no way did I put him up to it."

Howling, she burst through one of the arched windows on the side of her palace and flew down through the city to the slave pits and research center. Flying over the pits she growled down at the moaning and wailing ponies begging for their freedom. Colts and fillies ran around doing their best to keep occupied in their cages. Chrysalis was so angry she would have dumped a cage full into the surrounding acid pits if she had the time. As it was, she had to stop Broken-Wing.

Reaching the stalagmite that housed line two, she obliterated the door with her magic and rushed through to where the processes took place. She could see through the window that Broken-Hoof had already strapped into the harness and was walking into the gas chamber. A couple of the more intelligent changelings were overseeing the gas levels to make sure the proper dose was received.

"Get him out of there!" Chrysalis screamed, glaring at the technicians. "I want him out, now!" In broken language one of the changelings responded to her.

"Iz sorry, Queen. Too much gaz. Kill all if door open." Frantically she looked for the solution. Nothing was coming to her, and the changeling was right, if they aborted now, it would lead to the horrible deaths of dozens, including herself. She looked through the window again to where Broken-Hoof was seating himself in the restraining chair. He looked out at her, smug and calm.

"You stupid, stupid idiot. You planned this, didn't you? You did this on purpose, waiting for Discord to show up. You're going to die!" Chrysalis was panicking.

"I'll admit that I did plan it, yes. Come on Chrys, the FOA is less than ten now. I'll be fine, and you can beat it out of me after. Don’t be so dramatic."

The technicians glanced nervously between their subject and their queen, carefully monitoring rising gas levels. Broken-Wing's chest heaved as he breathed in the tainted air, filling his lungs with ancient magic and essences. The one changeling spoke to Chrysalis again.

"Iz sorry to interrupt. Final momentz. Need to do injection or subject diez." The changeling queen nodded, trying to regain her calm.

"It's too late for anything else now. Administer the dose. I’d suggest you not be careless. If he dies, all of you follow."

Sweating and trembling, the technicians triple checked all of the doses and pressed a button that sent all the fluid rushing through a hose into the harness being worn by Broken-Wing. He gritted his teeth and roared, intense pain wracking his body. The restraints on the chair barely held his growing and mutating body, groaning and creaking in protest. The primitive sensors embedded within the harness cracked and shattered, overwhelmed by the data.

Smoke began to fill the room, containment generators overloading and failing. Secondary systems kicked in, draining the gases out of the air. Chrysalis could only watch on in horror as her vision was obscured, listening to the bellows of pain echoing in the chamber beyond the glass. Suddenly everything went silent. The smoke in the room was still obscuring her view, so until the room it was cleared all Chrysalis could do was question the technicians.

"Well?!"

"P-pleaze. Queen. Gaugez show proper infuzion. Never smoked before. Unsure." She screamed with primal fury, and faced the window, pounding on it with her hoof.

"Broken-Wing? Broken-Wing can you hear me? Answer me you idiot!" Her repeated calls and pounding went unanswered. Slowly the smoke and gas was ventilated, leaving behind a large unmoving body. Refusing to see the corpse of her minion, Chrysalis spun around, focusing her grief on the floor. The technicians cowered in the corner, fearing for their lives.

Glancing over at them, she quietly spoke.

"Go home." Confused, they questioned their ruler.

"Queen?"

"I said go home. This is his fault. You remember that this is the day your queen spared your miserable lives." Not questioning her further, the two changelings ran out the door as fast as their legs would carry them. Keeping her attention focused on the floor, Chrysalis considered what to do next. With her trusted advisor gone she would be alone to deal with Discord. That's right! Discord is still here...

Straightening herself out, she began to walk out the door. Just as she was leaving she heard a thump. Spinning to examine the room she didn't see any changelings, but as she started to walk out again she heard another thump. Confused, she walked over to the viewing window. Broken-Wing's body was gone. She gasped, examining the chamber for any sign of who had moved it. A powerful black hoof shot up from in front of the glass and slammed against it, causing cracks to ripple across it.

Yelling, Chrysalis backed up against the far wall, horrified of what was coming for her. A few more slams, and the glass shattered, shards and splinters flying everywhere. The monster raised its whole being up through the window and rolled onto the floor, chest heaving, green blood pooling on the floor under its head. It groaned.

"This flying thing takes a bit to get used to. I hit my head twice. Do me a favor and grab some bandages will you?" Chrysalis went slack jawed and shook her head, unbelieving what she had just heard come out of the massive beast's mouth.

"Broken-Wing?!" She rushed up to him.

"In the shell. Well, sort of." He coughed. It would take a couple days for the final molting to take place and Broken-Wing to take his final form, but he was alive. Chrysalis was initially incredibly happy, showering the uncomfortable changeling with questions and attention. Then she scowled, hoofing him across the face.

"You stupid idiot! I'm going to kill you! Don't you ever do that again! You idiot! Get your own damn bandages you flippant jackass!" She stormed out. Discord was at the door smiling, craning his neck down to face the queen.

"He survived then? Oh good! I was ever so concerned." Chrysalis glared and blasted Discord in the face as she passed, and flew off towards her palace. Discord flared his nostrils, considering an appropriate retaliation for the queen, but shrugged and just kept chuckling.

Broken-Hoof just lay on the floor, the cuts on his head slowly healing themselves.

"Uh, can't really move here. Can anyone get me bandages? Or some water?" Discord roared with laughter and flew off himself.

Having rejoined the other mares, Rarity and Fluttershy quickly slipped into their traveling gear and strapped on their saddlebags. True to her word, Pinkie had packed Fluttershy’s belongings during her absence. Not as neatly as the Pegasus would have liked, but well enough that they could continue their journey without needing to repack.

“Where were you two?” Twilight asked the pair.

“Talking, mostly. There were a few things I needed to get off my chest. We’re good now.” Pinkie Pie looked at Fluttershy suspiciously, but she returned the stare with a smile.

“R-Rarity is right. Things are ok now. So, should we go find Nathan then?” Twilight glanced back at the yellow pony, and nervously rubbed her hooves together.

“Well Rainbow Dash and I were talking and… we can’t. We just don’t have the time. We don’t know where to even start looking. By the time we find him it could be far too late. I got a letter, and Celestia is expecting me there sooner rather than later.” Shocked looks surrounded her. Pinkie spun and glared.

“Twilight! We never talked about this! Celestia is expecting him too! How could you…”

“PINKIE!” Twilight yelled. “We can’t go looking for him. This is not open for discussion.” Pinkie’s glare remained, but she quieted and slunk to the back of the group. “I’m sorry everyone, Nathan will have to catch up on his own.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Applejack was as perturbed as the rest, uncomfortable with the thought of completely abandoning the human in the wilds.

“I don’t know. Celestia will have to find him. After we get to Canterlot.” Rainbow Dash looked over at Fluttershy, who was silent on the matter. The last few days had been an emotional roller coaster for her, and the latest slight against Nathan was too much for her. She lowered her head and walked off in the direction of the east gate of town. Even Rarity seemed upset.

No further arguments apparent, the group quietly wandered out of town towards their next destination- Manyhooves. The guard at the gate thought to question the group, but thought better and kept his comments to himself. Following up the rear, a pink mare glanced back at him and mouthed ‘thank you’ to him. His confusion rolling off, he went back to his duties.

Soon after, plodding along a pathway that Twilight had chosen, Pinkie heard a voice coming from the bushes just behind her.

“What happened Pinkie Pie? Why are you so sad? You’re usually happier than this.” She kept her eyes down, but responded.

“Oh it’s just awful. Not only did we have to abandon our friend on a farm just to the west of town, but now Twilight won’t even let us go back and look for him. I get that Celestia needs us there soon, but it just seems so meany weany and Twilight usually isn’t so mean. Well sometimes she is but only when something is really, really super serious and this doesn’t seem that super serious at least not to me I mean why are we trying to get rid of him most of us like him, and Fluttershy like likes him and I… I…” She stopped mid-sentence and glanced towards where the voice had come from. “Wait… bushes don’t talk. Well at least they normally don’t talk there was this one time one did at least I think it did but it could have been something inside the bush I guess and…”

“Pinkie.”

“Sorry, Nathan! I know I’m prattling but…” She stopped a moment, slack jawed realizing the name she had just said. Carefully peeling back some branches she glanced into the bush, and confirmed that it was in fact the human speaking to her, having made himself a little tent for the night. “Nathan! It is you, you made it! Girls! Stop! Fluttershy! It’s Nathan!” She danced around, her glee infecting the other mares and bringing them back to see what she was going on about. Standing up and clearing himself from the bushes, Nathan was in the middle of repacking his bags when Fluttershy threw her hooves around him, nearly throwing him back into them. She showered the side of his face with kisses.

“You made it! You caught up! W-well actually I guess we caught up to you. This is amazing!” The other mares sighed in relief. Having Nathan back in the fold after the morning was a welcome comfort. Even if it was only for the protection he offered.

“Yeah Fluttershy. I’m ok. It wasn’t that bad, really. I just couldn’t find you guys after the manticore attack, and I didn’t know what direction the town was. I got lost in the woods, but a group of traders and soldiers took enough time to point me in the right direction. I didn’t want to cause a stir so I decided to camp outside of the town.”

“Good! See girls? I told you he would catch up. It’s all ok.” Twilight smiled at the human, obviously nothing would’ve happened to him. He wasn’t even upset at them!

“Nathan, I needed to speak with you as well. You see…” Nathan put a finger on her lips, quieting her. She still flinched at the contact, but the desire to strike the human had gone out of her.

“You don’t have to say anything Rarity.” Please don’t say anything you’re going to regret. “I do understand your feelings. It’s ok.” He smiled, a genuine, understanding smile. She nodded and walked back to the group. Fluttershy followed along, the short embrace having made her feel ok with the world again. Nathan was even reaching out to Rarity. She really wanted to just talk with the unicorn now.

“So girls, shall we go?” He grabbed his belongings and brought up the rear, Pinkie followed from the bush. The others nodded, and continued their march eastward. Pinkie gazed up at the human, a thought and an emotion caught in her throat.

“Pretty lucky you found a group of traders. I can’t imagine how long you wandered around alone in the woods for.”

“I know, wasn’t that lucky?”

“Celestia?!” The imposing alicorn standing before him narrowed her eyes, carefully examining the human, and watching for any sort of reaction. Glancing around the modest room, she could see that he was indeed alone, and surprisingly shocked to see an alicorn, let alone a pony, at this time of night. Still grasping the firearm in her magic, she started carefully lowering the firearm before speaking.

“Nice and easy, Ypsilon. I’m going to put down your weapon, and you’re going to back away from me. Slowly.” Nathan gently eased himself backwards; his eyes traced on the shotgun in front of him, and put a more comfortable distance between him and the pony wielding it. He contemplated running for the door, but the alicorn stood firmly between him and it, it would be simple for Celestia to open fire on him as he tried to escape. Swallowing, he felt his back bump up against the wall halting his progress. “Good.” As promised, the magical field enveloping the firearm gently floated it down, and placed it on the floor. Releasing her hold, the pony focused back on Nathan.

The two of them stood in silence, gauging their respective strengths and weaknesses based on sight alone, both watching for some sort of sudden aggression or attack. Nathan watched Celestia start to pace carefully, her graceful movements all but concealing her inner strength and power. Her expression was held in a state of indifference. His mind slowly conjured both questions and possible courses of action should the alicorn decide to end things here. Forcing wisdom to take control over rashness, he finally spoke to her.

“If you’re looking for the others they aren’t here. They’re still on the way to meet you in Canterlot. If you’re looking for me… well you’ve found me.”

“Indeed I have. Yes I’m aware the mares that have been your traveling companions have made their way to the next town and will be continuing on their way to Canterlot in the morning. But you know as well as I do that I’m not here for them.”

“I had a hunch. So, the great Princess Celestia, ruler of all Equestria, what do I owe the honour of your visit this evening? I can’t imagine that you came out here just to watch me sleep.”

“No, I did not. I wanted to meet you, alone, before you arrived in Canterlot. I wanted to see for myself what a human really was. I’ve heard much about what you can do- especially with that plaything of yours. I simply didn’t think the stories could possibly be accurate. I mean really- you can’t even use magic. Everypony can use magic. What could you possibly do that we ponies have to fear?”

“Then why even ask me to come to Canterlot? If you could have come the whole time? Are you even going to send me home?”

“Send you home? Of course not. I don’t know where your home even is, not only would it probably be impossible to find out where your home would be, it would also be definitely not be worth the effort. I would no more send you home right now then I could turn you into a rabbit, and that’s even assuming it’s possible.” Nathan could feel the anger building up inside of him. It was one thing to have his privacy invaded, but this? Being told to his face that she had no interest in doing anything for him?

“You… you… you bitch.”

“Oh? I‘m sorry?” Celestia didn’t even flinch.

“You’ve had us wandering the wilds, marching diligently to Canterlot, expecting us all the show up nice and promptly, threaten to send guards to escort me if needed, and NOW you show up? Why not just come to Ponyville? Why put us through all this garbage? WHY EVEN SEND A GOD DAMNED LETTER if you’re not going to do anything about it? Why put your personal students, your number one student, through such hardships? You don’t sound like much of a benevolent ruler if you ask me.” The alicorn kept pacing, her neutral features never leaving her face. Her continued silence frustrated Nathan.

“Aren’t you going to say something? Tell me why you summoned me? Blow off my head with my own weapon? Banish me to the moon? Anything?!” Celestia turned away from the window she was staring out of, and stared at Nathan.

“And this is supposed to be the destroyer? The thing my sister so terrified of that she’s scribbling away about it in war documentation, and locking down her government? I can hardly believe that you could have any sort of affect on pony society.” Wait, what? Sister? Much of the rage flooding away in his confusion, he could only watch the alicorn gazed out again over the snow covered fields, her eyes tracing the path of the battle to the edge of the woods, flecks of colour and compacted snow revealing the details. “However, even she would be hard pressed to deal with a manticore and come out nearly unscathed, and you conquer not one but three. Mostly unscathed.” She turned back, her eyes falling on the bandages covering his arm.

“You’re not Celestia, are you?”

“No. Gaze upon my cutie mark.” While the instruction to inspect the ass of the princess brought a mild blush to his face, he could see that the mark was actually a crescent moon against a dark inky background.

“You’re Luna. Her sister.” The alicorn nodded, and now that Nathan stopped to actually think about it, he could see that the dark appearance of the pony wasn’t just due to the dim lighting. She herself was dark all over. While the revelation answered a few questions, the suspicion quickly returned and a new set of questions bubbled to the surface. “Ok, so you’re Luna. Whichever princess you are, you’re still here, and that means Celestia could be here if she wanted to be. What is she playing at? What are YOU playing at?”

“You don’t trust easily, do you Ypsilon?”

“You keep calling me that. Ypsilon. Why are you calling me that? My name is Nathan.”

“It hardly matters.” Luna watched the human start balling up his appendages in frustration.

“It hardly matters? What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“It means that it doesn’t matter what I call you, what my sister calls you, or what you call yourself. Before the week is out, you will be in the presence of Celestia. And I promise you, whether or not that she knows where your home is, she will not be sending you there. She has even less interest in that than I do.”

“What?!”

“Celestia will have you stripped of your belongings and thrown into the crystal caverns below Canterlot. You should know that Princess Cadance was sent there once by the changeling queen.”

“She escaped though! Twilight told me so.”

“Yes. With Twilight’s help, with magic and with flight. You of course are capable of both these things? Yes?” Nathan let his eyes fall to the floor. By Twilight’s explanation the caverns stretched for miles under the mountains, and had never been fully mapped out. Even if there was an exit accessible by foot, it could take him months or years to find it. Assuming that he would even find food or drinkable water in there.

“So bringing us all to Canterlot?”

“Well, you, it’s just convenient for her. Either way she needs to get you there. If you do it of your own free will, well, she doesn’t have to worry about it. Actually, if you were to be killed along the way it would suit her just fine.”

“This is the Celestia that Twilight Sparkle rants and raves about? The kind, benevolent ruler? Why do I not believe you?” Luna shrugged.

“I care not whether you believe me or not. I’m just stating the facts as they are. You’re free to interpret what I say as you will. Whether or not Celestia is the one that Twilight holds so dear is not for me to comment on.” Her choice of words perplexed the human, but he let them slide, moving on.

“So, you’ve come here to gloat and rub it in my face on your sister’s behalf? Just to screw with me?”

“No. At this time, I’m just here to make sure that you’re safe, and that the mares you travel with managed to reach Foalham safely.”

“So they are all safe and sound then? I can trust you that they have come to no harm?”

“Currently all sleeping snuggly, not a scratch.” Nathan caught himself breathing a sigh of relief, doing his best to cover it up with a yawn. “The destroyer showing feelings for ponies? What a strange avatar of Armageddon.”

“Look, I’m not any sort of destroyer, or avatar of destruction or whatever. I’m just a human, and I want to get back to my home. And fine, maybe I do care about for those six. They’re not all bad.”

“Even La Tigra?”

“Even La… wait. How did you know about that? Have you been reading my journal? How long have you been here watching me?” Luna shook her head, an empty smile crawling across her face.

“No, of course not. I have been here since just after you woke. No, I know about that because the guards reported it. My sister has learned to conceal the pegasi guards during the day and they fly about reporting on Equestria to her. How did you think I knew where you and the mares were? Magic?” She laughed.

“Well actually…” Nathan closed his eyes and pinched his nose, refusing to answer the rhetorical question. More concerning to him was the fact that his private conversation with Applejack, and who knows how many others, had been reported to the princess. “Whatever. At any rate, there’s a reason you’re here. If it’s not to gloat over me, it means you’re either curious, or you need me. Either way- you want something from me, you’re going to return the favor.”

“My my, meet a princess for all of ten minutes, have no idea why she’s here, and already making demands? Maybe I was wrong, I should supplicate you as a diplomat.” The sarcasm rolling of her tongue, it was all Nathan could do not to snap. “However, your guess was accurate. I do need something from you, and I will entertain your request… for now.”

“I just want some questions answered. Twilight’s hid a lot of things from me, and I want information on Equestria.” To Luna’s surprise, he had gone over to one of hiqs bags and retrieved a small notebook and writing instrument, turning to a list of questions, as well as writing a few new things down. Keeps his thoughts organized and on paper… perhaps the rodent wheel between those odd ears of his isn’t broken after all.

“Go on, Ypsilon.”

“I told you, that’s not my name… however that is one of my first questions. Ypsilon? Destroyer of worlds? You can’t seriously believe that, can you?”

“No, I don't. I personally think you're just stuck here by some misfortunate accident and you're just trying to get by the best you can. My sister, though, does think you're some sort of world destroying super power, and has designated you Ypsilon. It's just a designation; I don't believe there is any significance to the word."

"Ypsilon though? This confuses me. Actually, it's bothered me since day one in Equestria. As far as we know, I'm the first contact that most of you have had with a human right? None of them live close enough to interact on any sort of regular basis, if at all?”

"Yes, that's correct."

"So, how is it that we can communicate flawlessly? You speak perfect English, but it can't be English because there isn't an England here. At first I was willing to accept it to be some sort of magic translation, but magic doesn't seem to work on me. Now, you use an ancient Greek term. What's up with that? The English I could accept as some sort of freakish parallel evolution of language, but not Greek too."

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have an answer for you. Equestria has primarily used the same language for most of the last thousand years. In fact, before becoming Nightmare Moon, I spoke an ancient Equestrian tongue, much like nearly every other pony at the time. The language we speak today entered popular use after my imprisonment. When I first returned I did have to use a spell to communicate properly.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question.”

“No, it doesn’t. Do you want me to make one up?” Nathan frowned and made a few more notes.

“No, ok, fine, next question. Equestria. While you all seem so innocent and cute, there are an absurd amount of things here ready and willing to kill you. Manticores, dragons, cockatrices, hell your entire society had to move because of wendigos. How do you all survive?”

“First, don't lump me in with those pastel petty princess worshiping ponies. I assure you that it has not always been this way here. Second, are you positive that the monsters have been attacking everypony and not just you?

"Actually, I've suspected that ever since the Changeling attack on Ponyville. Explains a lot, Including why three angry manticores would rather chase down one very resistant meal over six soft ones." Luna nodded.

"So you have started to figure out why my sister fears you- Equestria herself wishes your end. Your continued existence offends her.”

Nathan stood in silence again, his remaining questions seeming unimportant now that the full picture was starting to unravel in front of him. His amateur studies on Equestrian life, his curiosity. It all paled in comparison to what would soon be his fate.

“That’s… that’s enough. I don’t even care anymore.” He turned to face the princess. “Ok, you’re here, you’ve answered my questions. What do you want from me?”

"Equestria is hanging in a delicate balance right now. Changelings amassing power, your being here, the current state of affairs. I need help, from you. You're the only one with the power, ability, and lack of attachment. It may just save Equestria."

"I'm not sure what you take me for, but I don't see how I could help with something monumental like that."

"Oh, balancing Equestria and preserving her lies with me. I have a much simpler task for you."

"That is?"

"Why, defeat my sister, overthrow her rule, and crown me the new prime princess." The bedroom was silent. Nathan scanned the face of the dark alicorn looking for a hint, any hint, of a smile to indicate she was joking or trying to screw with him. All he saw, was a very serious pony squinting her eyes back at him, watching for his reaction.

"Y-y-you want me to do what?! Have you lost it? You want me, this random that shows up in your country one day, the one that the country wants dead, that half her citizens wouldn't mind seeing on the moon, to overthrow your sister?! Are you batshit insane?"

"Keep your voice down! My escorts are on the roof. Yes, Ypsilon. I want you to eliminate my sister."

"I'm not going to kill your sister for you. Nightmare Moon."

Luna seethed at the name, a bubble of blackest night emanating from her very body encapsulating the room in total darkness, the only light being a pale mauve glow wrapped around her horn. Nathan tucked into a tight roll, coming up beside the Pie Cannon. Grabbing it, he made sure a shell was chambered, flicked off the safety and leveled it at Luna.

"I am NOT Nightmare Moon. You WILL watch yourself human." Realizing herself, she forced herself to calm, allowing the darkness to evaporate, and took a few steadying breaths. "I haven't been her in over two years. You don’t have to try kill to Celestia. You wouldn’t be able to even if you tried- just like you can’t kill me, even if you were to shoot that thing at me now.”

“W-what?”

“We are alicorns. Beings that are without end. Sometimes we need to rest our physical bodies, but we will always return eventually. Assuming you killed me tonight, we’d just be having this conversation again in a week, except it would be in the depths of Canterlot, and you’d be lucky if I was even half as calm as I am now.” He lowered the gun, realizing the futility. Dropping it at his side, he stood slack jawed.

“Then why me? Why choose anyone? Why do you need to depose her?”

“I have my reasons. And while I don’t really care about you personally, you are useful. If anypony could possibly find a way to get rid of Celestia, it’s you.”

"Why should I help you? What could possibly convince me to help with your coup? You realize that afterwards that the entire population will hate me, and if Equestria hasn't killed me by then, they will, innocent or not.” Nathan thought about the possible results of such an act, and it slowly dawned on him what Luna was going to do. “Actually that's your plan, isn't it? That's why you need me. I overthrow Celestia, you 'kill' me, they love you and you take power. Though I'm hoping that you killing me is just sending me home." Luna squinted at the human again. For someone so oblivious to Equestria, he was clever. I knew it.

"I don't know how you inferred that from our conversation, but yes. I do intend to return you to your home in the guise of destroying you, after figuring out how to send you to said home of course. Know this though- unlike my sister, I at least offer you the chance to return home." The human slumped onto the floor, holding his knees against his chest, considering his options. Going home meant betraying his new friendships and getting involved in a high-treason coup that affected not only another country, but another species. Turning down Luna and going along with Celestia meant spending the rest of his days below Canterlot, however his soul, what was left of it, would still be intact.

“I’m.. I’m going to need to think on this. Please.”

“Of course Ypsilon. I would expect no less from the destroyer.” The words stung particularly, now that princess had made her request. “In the meantime, we should get you back together with the mares.”

“You don’t think you should just bring me straight to Canterlot? Get this over with?”

“Oh, no. My sister thinks this is going to take around a week, and if you show up any earlier she’ll be too suspicious. No, it’s better you rejoin the mares and continue with them.” While her logic was sound, Nathan was uncomfortable with the idea of being around them while considering Luna’s offer. Especially Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

“Ok, how do we get there then?”

“Oh, my guards will get us there. You can take my chariot. Get dressed, get your things, and we’ll get going.” A while later, they stood out in the field, Nathan fully dressed and packed, and watched as the chariot drawn by the princess’ two personal guards flew down from the rooftop of the farmhouse and settled beside them. Gently stepping in, he felt a rush of vertigo as the pegasi took off, rushing through the cold night air, Luna flying alongside.

Gliding over the forest, Nathan could see some of the landmarks he recognized from the map, and made note of the countryside ahead as they approached the shield that protected Foalham. Setting the cart down a five minute walk from the town, the pegasi waited patiently as the human slung his bag and case over his shoulder and stepped off.

"Thanks for the ride guys. That was one trip I won't soon forget." One of the ponies, the more friendly of the two, tipped his head slightly towards the human.

"Of course sir. Was a pleasure. Shame we won't remember it." Nathan arched his brow and was about to ask when Luna intervened.

“These two are my most loyal servants and escorts. After I went back to being Luna they were the only guards willing to take up the job of being 'Nightmare Moon’s' guardians. They have been with me ever since. We long ago agreed that should I deem it necessary, I would be free to wipe their minds. For our plan to succeed, it will be easier for them to not remember this meeting.” Nathan balked at how casually Luna was explaining this. How casually she explained everything.

“And you two are fine with this?" The gruff one looked up at him.

"It's part of the job. Luna is our princess. If she needs to wipe our memories once or twice, we can live with it. It‘s our duty." Nathan was still concerned, but if they were ok with it…

"Thank you Slatehide." Luna turned to Nathan. "And for the record this will be the first time I have ever done it."

Nathan finished organizing his belongings, and turned to the town.

“So, they’re in the town?”

“Yes, but it might be better if you just camp out in the woods to the east of town.” Luna gestured with her hoof in the general direction. “They will pass by there in the morning and you can rejoin with them. Give them a story about being given directions by some guard ponies. Remember- this is our deal. And you yourself realize what will happen if you get the others involved.” With that the princess stepped into the now empty chariot and bade her guardians onwards, back to Canterlot. Nathan sighed and walked towards the woods, trying to find some bushes to sleep in. He could get a few more hours before the mares came past, and it would give him some time to think about what it would be like to spend the rest of his life living in a cold uncomfortable tomb.

The seven began their trek across the frozen ground towards Manyhooves. While he initially insisted on scouting again, Twilight had convinced Nathan that after the previous day it might be better to stick together, even if it might mean being slightly less prepared. Reluctantly, the human agreed, but still kept himself armed. The morning had been warm and inviting, even considering the snow, and they had set off in good spirits, making excellent time. Twilight estimated that if they could maintain their current pace they would reach Manyhooves by mid afternoon. This brought a smile to Rarity's face.

"Oh really? I happen to know a fabulous spa in Manyhooves and the mares working there are just to die for! We should all go for hooficures." She glanced over at the human, her facial features suggesting that she had just imagined him sitting there having the mares working on his feet as well. "You can go find us an inn while we're there."

"Rarity..." Twilight prodded the white pony, a low warning in her voice. Nathan shook his head, and snickered.

"No it's ok Twilight, you girls should have a good time. I'll take it as a vote of confidence if Rarity trusts me to find an inn and not turn her room in to a death tr-ow!" Fluttershy shot a hoof into his stomach, narrowing her eyes. "Sorry, I meant just finding an inn." He looked down at Fluttershy and mouthed the word 'what?' at her. Rarity, unsure how to take the veiled compliment, stuttered a bit.

"Well, uh, th-that is yes. A lady always trusts her servants." She pointed her nose in the air and continued to trot on. Shrugging, the other six followed on. After stopping for a quick lunch, they followed along a narrow lake, watching the ice starting to break up.

"That's strange. Ah didn't think winter wrap-up was for another few months. Are we going to miss it?" Applejack looked legitimately upset, but Rainbow Dash laid a hoof on her shoulder and comforted her.

"No, you're right AJ. It is still months away. Something's affecting the weather." Twilight was mystified.

"Dash, what do you mean? What could be affecting the weather? How? I don’t see any pegasi or gryphons working the sky.”

“I don't know. All I know is that for some reason, the weather in some places isn't working right. The air here’s much warmer than it should be." The ponies all nodded.

Feeling the sweat starting to bead on his back, Nathan peeled off his jacket, feeling the warmth of the air lick along his bare arms. Nathan noticed that the mares had followed suit, taking a moment to store their various hats and scarves in their saddlebags. As they continued their slow march along the lake, they could see rainbow trout flashing under the surface between the cracks in the ice, excited by the sudden unexpected warmth penetrating the water. Nathan debated throwing a line in, but the mares save for Applejack and Rainbow Dash had been excited for their spa afternoon, and the time it would take to properly clean a catch would likely push their arrival time later than necessary.

Leaving the body of water behind, the temperature began to dip to what it should be, and they were forced to don their winter attire once again. Nathan slipped back into his jacket, a troubling thought occurring to him. Such spikes in temperature wouldn’t happen in nature, and even with the pegasi controlling the weather, it should be more gradual. For all intents and purposes something about the weather was… wrong. Setting aside his concerns for the time being, he followed along as the mares snaked through the trees and held slightly north, finding the chasm that Twilight had identified on the map the morning before.

The canyon ran for several miles from west to east, cutting a jagged scar along the northern edge of Equestria, hundreds of feet deep and several dozen feet across. Approaching the edge, Nathan peered down into the crevasse, mentally noting the slim chance of surviving a fall. While the snow covered the bottom, Twilight was quick to point out that just below the surface would likely be sharp rocks.

Far off in the distance they could see Manyhooves. The town sat perched on the southern side of the chasm on a rise that allowed the town's inhabitants unobstructed views of the foothills to the north. If not for the mauve oscillating bubble that surrounded it, they would have seen dozens of busy ponies going about their day. Nathan didn't understand how such a remote town could grow so large, and indicated as much to the mares. Surprisingly, it was Rainbow Dash with the answer.

"You're still thinking like an earth pony." Dash was looking down at the human and examining him closely.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that, Dash."

"Earth ponies don't have magic like unicorns or flight like us pegasi. They only got their earth pony strength to do stuff with. Yeah, they’re the ones who did up most of the trails and paths crossing Equestria. They were even the ones who did up the railway. They want to make things easier for themselves.”

"And this matters why...?"

"Any pony concerned with trade across Equestria, is concerned in the most efficient way possible- point A to point B. Two planes- forward and back, left and right. But that’s only for earth ponies. A pegasus however..." Dash pointed slightly north of Manyhooves, and then up into the sky. Nathan nearly keeled over from the shock. "... enjoys life in three."

Another similarly shaped purple orb floated a couple hundred feet in the air above Manyhooves. Judging by the size, Nathan estimated that the sphere held another town roughly the size of the earthbound one.

"Wha-what the hell am I looking at? Is that another town?" Rainbow Dash rolled around laughing, enjoying the expression on the human's face. The other ponies were similarly laughing, even Fluttershy giggling at Nathan's ignorance.

"Why do you think they named the town Manyhooves? The town isn't just what lies on the ground- it's also the buildings that float above in the clouds. In most places, Cloudsdale where Fluttershy and I come from for instance, pegasi cities are solely in the air. Manyhooves is a special case.

“Pegasus ponies and the gryphons have had relations for a lot longer than the unicorns or earth ponies. When Equestria was first established, the pegasi were the first to start communications and commerce with ‘em. We’re just cool like that. Manyhooves is the last Equestrian town before the border on the largest skyway. Originally it was just a cloud community, but an earth pony community slowly developed to aid in the dispersal of goods. Even Ponyville would be hard-pressed to match the level of cooperation the three tribes enjoy here. Celestia is actually considering running the next line of the railway this way to expedite the transfer of goods and services between the kingdoms."

"That's incredible Dash. Just remarkable. The earth pony part of town alone is at least the size of Ponyville, if not larger. Adding in the population of the pegasi, it must be one of the largest towns in Equestria. This far north? Trade or no that seems incredible.” Nathan was still blown away by a community of that size being in such a remote location.

“Many other cities are much larger. Fillydelphia, Manehatten, Canterlot... Cloudsdale, pony for pony, has a slightly larger population as well. As for the remoteness- trade with the gryphons is just that important. It’s not just pony trade either. The Zebras ship a lot of their goods through Canterlot this way as well. Even the changelings have sent the odd envoy in the past to do some trading. It’s the little border town that could.” Nathan nodded and turned to Twilight, a twinge of regret reading across his features.

“I owe you an apology it seems.” The lavender mare looked to the human, and quickly replayed the conversation in her head trying to figure out just what he was referring to. Finally giving up, she gave in to her curiosity.

“Why do you owe me an apology?”

“Yesterday I was giving you a hard time about what I thought was an obvious political shit-storm waiting to happen- a basically unprotected border with a neighbour that still has members that would eat you if given the chance. I never realized trade with such a neighbour would be so vital to so many ponies lives. There’s a reason for everything here, it seems, even if I don’t always get it. So, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry Twilight. For more than one thing, I imagine.”

Twilight was completely caught off guard by Nathan’s admission. She looked into his face, looking for the hint of a smile, the tell-tale crease of the eyes that marked a lie… for anything that would betray him being sarcastic. Anything. In truth, she didn’t want him to apologize. She wanted him, no, she needed him to be the jerk that he so readily admitted to being. It made it easier to treat him as they had, to distance herself, to allow Rarity to continue to abuse him. It made it easier to be happy that he would soon be Celestia’s problem. Unable to find a hint of deceit, and with even Rarity seeming to be more willing to work with the human, she was forced with the uncomfortable realization that Nathan really was sorry. Shaken, she could only accept his apology.

“O-oh I see. Well, thank-you. I can see how things might be confusing to you. It was very… pony like… of you to admit your mistake.” Nathan nodded to her, and then turned back to Rainbow Dash.

“Well, I think you mares have earned a day at the spa. After yesterday I’m kind of beat myself. Shall we go see what Manyhooves has in store for us?” In unison the mares agreed, and an hour later they arrived at the gates to town, eager for an afternoon of relaxation.”

Back in Ponyville, Spike had been enjoying the day to himself. Being winter, he only had a fraction of Fluttershy’s animals to care for, and with Twilight gone keeping the library tidy was much less time consuming. He had spent the rest of the morning hunting for gems in the snowfields, and had returned to the library to eat his meal in peace and quiet, something he got so very little of with the mares running around.

He laid out the jewels on the table in front of them, arranging them in various orders, trying to figure out the best way to eat them. After several variations, he finally settled on size from left to right. If Rarity had been there, as much as he fantasized over the beautiful white unicorn, she would have been so cross that he would just devour so many gorgeous gem stones, but he didn’t care. Rarity wasn’t here, and he was hungry. Plucking up a small emerald, he tossed it in the air, opening his mouth to catch it. It barely grazed his teeth, plummeting straight down his throat.

“Oh ho ho! That was so good! Don’t worry, though. The rest of you will be joining your friend very soon. That ruby looks like just the right follow up.” He carefully grasped the red gem between his claws and was about to bite down when three precocious fillies ran into the library, startling him and causing him to knock his jewels everywhere.

“What’s going on? Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo? What are you three doing here?”

“The same thing we do every day Spike! We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders! We can’t stop until we get those cutie marks!” Scootaloo informed the stunned dragon. Spike just rolled his eyes at the three of them.

“Well duh, of course that’s what you’re doing. What I mean is, why are you three doing it here? You know Twilight is out of town, and she won’t be able to help you with cutie mark books. I barely know much about them myself. I can’t imagine how you expect to get your cutie marks like this.”

“We know Twilight’s outta town, Spike. She’s not the only one though!” Applebloom jumped in, a devious grin spreading on her face. “We’re here because someone else isn’t in town either!” Spike just blinked at the trio with a blank expression on his face.

“Uh… yeah. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and your sisters are out of town too. Again, why are you here?”

“Spiiiiiike.” Sweetie Belle complained. “You’re forgetting the most important one of all! We don’t care about the mares, or any other pony for that matter!”

“What, Nathan?” Spike raised a confused eyebrow. “Yeah, he’s out of town too. So? What does this have to do with him?”

“Well, Rarity told me one day that Nathan took over Twilight’s old lab in the basement. When the changelings came, we heard he had to wreck most of it in order to fight them off, but we were thinking something might be still down there.”

“Oooooh no. No way. You are not going down there. He took anything he needed before he left, so you wouldn’t find anything anyways.”

“Ah don’t think it’d be such a problem. If all the good stuff’s gone, we kin jus’ look around and pretend. Beside, Twi’ll jus’ clean it all out when she gets back.” Spike scratched his chin, unsure what to do. It was true that the place was a wreck and the fillies couldn’t get into too much trouble, but still… would Twilight be upset with him? Seeing the indecision written on the dragon’s face, Scootaloo went in for the kill.

“Let us check it out, and we won’t tell Rarity when she gets back that you ate so many beautiful gems.” Blushing, Spike became instantly defensive.

“I… er… no that is… you wouldn’t…”

“Not if you let us take a look around we won’t.”

The last bit of fight leaving him, Spike nodded his head and slowly plodded over to the locked basement door. Retrieving a key from the bookcase beside it, he unlocked it with a click, and grasped the handle in his claw. Swinging the door open he turned back to the three friends.

“Alright, you can take a look. On one condition! You touch nothing, and I’m going to be down there with you.” Barely hearing Spike, the fillies barged past him and rushed down the steps.

“YAY! CUTIE MARK CRUSADER ARCHAEOLOGISTS!” They tore through the basement with reckless abandon, investigating every that looked even slightly interesting. Which, due to the bizarre manufacture of much of the materials in the basement, was basically everything. Spike wandered down behind them, shaking his head but smiling. They were right, the place was already a water-logged wreck and they could hardly do any more damage. The charred generator stood in one corner, turning with a squeal every now and then as the windmill on top of the library continued to operate. While Nathan had done his best to mop up most of the water, Spike could smell mould from one corner of the room, and he could only imagine what some of the destroyed cabinetry concealed.

True to his explanation, the Cutie Mark Crusaders found most of the basement devoid of anything useful to take or play with. They tried to decipher a few scribbles on the workbench, but the numbers and figures were just too complicated for them. Spike had a feeling even Twilight would have a difficult time fully comprehending what was written. He recognized some of the images though. Early design ideas for the Pie Cannon were scribbled on one part of the bench. The internal workings of the generator were detailed on another. Some of the pictures represented things Spike had never seen before though, and he suspected they were for projects Nathan had never gotten around to starting. Just as he was finishing inspecting the bench, Applebloom ran up to him.

“Hey Spike. Ah know you said t’ not touch anything, and we won’t, but there’s this thing under the bed. Can you come look at it?” She dragged him over to the bed Nathan had used during his stay in Ponyville and pointed out the object. Reaching under the bed, he wrapped his claw around it and brought it out for the fillies to see. Opening his palm, he could see that it was a shell for the Pie Cannon.

“Oh he must have forgot this when it rolled under the bed. Weird.” Sweetie Belle looked at the object and crossed her eyes.

“Do you know what it is Spike?”

“Yes, I do, Applebloom. It’s ammunition for that firearm Nathan carries with him. I assumed he had taken all of it with him. Guess he missed it. Looks a bit different though than the other ones. The others all have these little bean-filled sacks in them so that they don’t hurt anypony too badly. This one doesn’t have anything like that. Maybe it’s a dud?”

“Can we have it then Spike? If it’s no risk to anypony?” Scootaloo was eyeing up the shell and Spike swore she had just licked her lips.

“I don’t know… it could still be dangerous, and I don’t want Twilight to be angry…” While he was considering it, Applebloom had wandered back to the bench and was inspecting the drawings herself. She was doing her best to get up on top of it to get a better look when she slipped and knocked over a stack of papers covering a corner of the drawings.

“Applebloom!” Spike yelled at her.

“Ah’m sorry Spike! Ah was just trying to get a better look. Hey, more pictures!” Spike and the other two crusaders walked over to the bench and helped Applebloom up. Spike looked at the revealed images and kept glancing back and forth between them and the shell in his hand. There was the Pie Cannon, and ponies… and… Slowly, he started to understand just what he might be seeing and his eyes went wide with the kind of horror usually reserved for the most terrible of monsters. He spun on his feet and stared at all three of the Crusaders.

“This is bad. Very, very bad, and Twilight‘s going to kill me.”

Having booked the mares in for their spa afternoon, Nathan gathered up all of their belongings and had begun his search for an inn or hotel. Rarity had been insistent that in a town the size of Manyhooves, a nice hotel should be readily available, but he was unsure if any such establishment would even hear him out, let alone allow him to stay. Really, the quality of the place didn’t matter anyways to him- the size of the beds would be such that he would hardly be able to sleep in it. Maybe one had a Celestia sized suite. He mentally decided that he should begin his search for one such hotel.

“Hey wait up!” Rainbow Dash came flying up from behind him, slowing to a hover just beside him. Nathan glanced towards the cyan pegasus and shot her a knowing look.

“Not even on vacation, eh Dash?”

“Hey, it’s not like I’m one of those lame ponies that needs to be pampered. I’m totally awesome just the way I am. They’re all just going to talk about girly stuff anyways, and that’s totally not my style, y’know?”

“Dash, you are a girl.”

“So? Like I care what the latest fashions out of Canterlot are, or what being a model was like. Get me tickets to a Wonderbolts show and a bottle of Sweet Apple Acres cider any day.” Nathan chuckled.

“Oh, giving me tips for when you and I go on our date?”

“What? Gross! I don’t want to date some human. That’s so weird.” They shared a laugh. “Though, I guess, if I was going to date a human, I could do much worse than one as amazing as you. I at least have some idea of what Fluttershy sees in you.”

“Amazing?”

“Oh yeah! You’re almost as cool as the Wonderbolts! Fighting stuff, saving the day, you’re super strong, and even if you ARE wearing Rarity’s fancy fashions, you totally make them look cooler.”

“Well thanks, anyway Dash. It’s almost been amusing, how much of a mystery everypony treats me as.” Nathan shot Dash a sideways glance.

“Huh?”

“You all constantly treat me as this complicated, deep individual. Whether or not you like me or loathe me, you all think that there's another fold to me, another thing that none of you think you can understand. That there’s something there waiting to come out. It makes me feel special, it’s very warm and fuzzy. The truth is, I’m a very simple person Rainbow. Any human would feel different or special if they were here. I have a few quirks and I’ll admit there’s sides of me you haven’t seen, but where I come from, I’m just an ordinary guy. Nothing special.”

“You’re so all over the place though! You can be so smart one day, then so dumb the next. Happy, sad, mad, and excited in the same hour.”

“That’s called being human, Dash.”

“Seriously? Your whole race is like this? Dude, that’s kind of scary.” Nathan thought about it for a moment then replied to the pegasus.

“No, not all I guess. I imagine most though. People aren’t defined by their dominant trait like ponies are. There are no cutie marks on Earth, nothing that signifies what our primary talent is. Humans are much more diverse than that- to put it in terms you would understand, me being an amazing racer doesn’t preclude me from being intelligent. We can be all sorts of things at once. Doesn’t mean they’re all good, mind you.”

“That’s just weird. I’m confused though. You constantly say that humans don’t have cutie marks, but you do have one. I’ve seen it before, and Pinkie talks about it constantly.” Nathan squinted his eyes at Dash, trying to figure out what she was referring to. Realizing what she had seen, he allowed them to relax again.

“Oh, you mean this.” Nathan set down the saddlebags he had been carrying, took his jacket off and rolled up his sleeve. On his shoulder was the tattoo of a particularly grim phoenix hatching from its egg only to incinerate the nest around it. He grimaced, painful memories flooding back with it. “It’s not a cutie mark, Dash, it’s a tattoo.”

“Yeah! I totally thought you were like Fluttershy when I first saw it- an animal lover or caretaker of some sort. It explained why the two of you hit it off so well. However, after I started thinking about it, it just seemed off. So much going on- I didn’t know which part was the important bit. So explain these tattoos to me. They aren’t like cutie marks?”

“No. They don’t just appear. There are humans whose job it is to make tattoos. You go to one, and they use a needle to permanently draw it onto some part of your body. They tend to be very personal choices, as they are permanent and difficult to remove. They may have something to do with your career, but they can just as easily refer to a pet, a family member, loved one, or place you really like. It would be like if you got a cutie mark of Cloudsdale.”

“So, you chose this tattoo?”

“Yep, sure did. What do you think?” Nathan pointed it in the direction of the Pegasus. Dash inspected it closely for a moment.

“I think it’s AWESOME! As much as my cutie mark is cool… yours is so awesome.” Nathan laughed again, rolling his sleeve back down.

“Well thanks Dash. I’m glad you like it.” Arriving at the hotel, Nathan looked back at Dash.

“Wait here, I’m going to go see if these guys can help us.” Exiting a few minutes later, Nathan had a piece of paper in his hand indicating a hotel a little ways down that would have the necessary suites. He beckoned the cyan pegasus to follow him again, and they kept walking in silence. Reaching the second hotel, Nathan was pleasantly surprised to find the staff friendly and cordial, and wasted no time in booking them rooms for the evening. He had rented out three rooms for the mares, letting them decide on the room assignments later, settling on a fourth room for himself, complete with Celestia sized bed. Sleeping arrangements complete, he stashed all their bags with Dash’s help and the pair started to return to the spa. Dash kept looking uncomfortably at the human, finally spitting out her thoughts when Nathan shot her an irritated look.

“What did you think was up at the lake today?”

“With the temperature? I have no idea Dash, I was going to ask you about it.”

“Yeah, I don’t know either. I have some suspicions. Nothing really firm though.”

“Care to share?”

“…no.” Nathan stopped walking, and examined the clearly uncomfortable mare closely, while she avoided eye contact in return. Sighing, he dropped it and they continued walking. “Sorry.”

“It’s ok Dash. I can understand being nervous about suggested something without knowing for sure. As chief weathermare of Ponyville, I trust you to know what’s going on better than I do.” Swelling with a bit of pride, Rainbow Dash smiled.

“You’re just buttering me up, aren’t you?”

“Maybe. Did it work?” Nathan chuckled and dipped his head in a small bow.

“…Kind of, yeah.”

The pair shared a laugh, then continued down to the spa. Their friends would be soon finished, and Nathan was looking forward to having at least one drama and adventure free night.