"Get up." The room was still dark, the only light drifting in from under the door to the suite. Slowly opening his eyes, Nathan could see that there was no glow coming from behind the drawn shade, indicating that the sun had yet to begin its slow march to the apex of the sky. He shook his head, rattling loose the sleep. Who had woken him from his sleep? Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie? Princess Luna again?

"I said get up!" The now distinctly masculine voice demanded again, a hoof jabbing him in the ribs none too gently, causing him to groan in pain. Turning on his bedside lamp his eyes came to focus, identifying his interrogator as one of a pair of pegasi, both clad in rough leather armor, with malice lining their scarred faces. "Get dressed. We're all going for a ride." Nathan glanced to the Pie Cannon out of the corner of his eye, frowning when he realized it was far out of reach.

"Where are we going?" He stood up, dressing himself and doing his best to seem disinterested in the two threatening ponies.

"Doesn't matter. All you need to know is we're going for a ride." Nathan put the rest of his clothes on.

"And if I refuse?"

"Then we do this the hard way." The pair's faces turned up into snarls. The other one added to the conversation, flexing his wings.

"We love doing things the hard way." Nathan shrugged and finished getting ready.

"Ok, I get it. Hold on, just let me grab my..." He reached out towards his bags and shotgun.

"Ah ah ah. We'll be bringing you back. You can leave your belongings, all your belongings, here." Pulling his hand back, caught, he nodded and walked towards the door. "Wrong way. Open the window." He did so, peering down the four storied between himself and the ground.

"You know I can't fly right? That drop would likely kill me." The pair of pegasi snickered.

"Oh don't worry about that. We'll help you down. Put this on." One of them reached behind himself and grabbed a sack, tossing it to Nathan and pointing at his head. Nathan snatched it out of the air, wrinkling his nose at the fetid odour escaping the bag.

"What? No, I'm not putting this thing on my head and letting you carry me anywhere. You can just forget it." The smaller of the two cackled menacingly.

"We were hoping you would say that. Hard way it is!" A sharp pain resounded on the back of his head, and Nathan slumped to the floor.

A short while later Nathan was roused from his sleep, a bucket of water having been dumped over the sack surrounding his head and threatening to suffocate him. He could feel the rope that tied him to an uncomfortably shaped chair. A few moments later the bag was taken off, and he greedily sucked in the air, feeling his lungs fill with life giving oxygen. Relaxing and peering around the room he could see that the walls and floor were obscured by a mist, and the only light came from a pair of torch sconces in the corners.

The two pegasi who had been his 'gracious' escorts were standing near him, as well as a unicorn pony. And a Gryphon. A large, muscle rippling, suit wearing Gryphon that was nearly up to his chest in height. Jagged scars covered most of his exposed body and face, and his right claw was clad in a gaudy golden gauntlet.

"Good evening sir. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Baron Bronzewing, leader of the Wyrmcrush tribe. I trust you had a pleasant trip. I sent my most cordial servants to retrieve you. I do so hope that it wasn't a problem asking you to come by my home at this time of night. You just seemed so busy that I was afraid that I would miss you altogether if I didn't call for you just now." Nathan took note of the thick sarcasm and responded.

"Oh they've been perfect gentlemen. They even gave me a head massage before we left. The exfoliating properties of the bag they used is also to not be overlooked. They could open a spa if they wanted to- I would frequent it. Send my friends there. I can see it now- 'Jackass and Dipstick’s Spa and Resort.'" The gryphon laughed lightly.

"I've been telling them that for months!" Paying no attention to his henchponies' visual discomfort at being the butt end of a joke, the gryphon's expression twisted into a dark scowl. "So you think you're funny. I don't think you fully realize the situation you're in." Returning the unhappy face, Nathan shrugged.

"Well you've obviously brought me here to your cellar for some reason. Let's cut the horse crap and get to it. You could have killed me at any time, but you haven't yet, which means I’m probably more useful alive than dead. So, what do you want?"

"Don't think I won't kill you yet you cocky little tick. You mean no more to me than I care for my cattle. However, like cattle, you do have a use if properly...'milked'. You see I have a proposition for you." Nathan laughed.

"Sorry, I don't swing that way. You'll have to ask one of your buddies here for any 'milk'. I don't go for dudes." The gryphon took a step forward and backhanded the human. The impact bruised his face and cut his lip, blood dribbling down onto his shirt. If that's how hard he can hit with his bare claw…

"You'll shut your dirty peasant mouth and speak only when I say so. Now, if you're done being uncouth cur, can we get down to business?" He waited for Nathan's nod and continued. "Good. Now, you're on your way to meet Celestia in Canterlot yes? Oh you don't have to answer I already know the answer to that question. Of course you are. I've also heard rumours that you don't care for pony society in general. Now, I've been looking for someone in your situation for a while."

"What? A being from another world? You planned for this? How did you even know who I was or where I was?"

"Oh please. You don't think these three are the only ponies on my payroll, do you? I have eyes and ears everywhere. And no, of course I wasn't waiting for some 'being'. I thought that some disgruntled pony, like these two gentlemen, that had some pull in Canterlot would come along eventually and make themselves known to me. You're really just a bonus. You can get close to Celestial. More importantly, you can get into the caverns below the city."

"Whether I want to or not." Nathan muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" the Baron took another threatening step forward.

"Nothing. Continue, please."

"Now, there are several vaults down there containing some of the most powerful magical objects in Equestria- wands, scrolls, ancient jewels all from a bygone time. I am going to give you a device that we have recently obtained, that will grant you access to these vaults, and I want you to bring me as much as you can get your hands on."

"That easy? Just walk in and walk out?" The gryphon flashed a grim smile and nodded.

"Oh very easy for you I imagine. Mind you, there will be some of Celestia's most loyal guards down there, you will need a key that only Celestia has access to currently, and the device's effects are... relatively permanent." Nathan carefully eyed the gryphon.

"So you're expecting me to go in, disrupt Canterlot life, steal from Celestia and bring you back the spoils? Just like that? What's in for me?"

"Ah a mercenary. I knew you were the right one for the job. Sprinkles if you please?" The grim looking unicorn, with the altogether ridiculous name, cast a characteristic blue glow over the ropes, allowing them to fall away. Nathan stood but was stopped from moving by Bronzewing.

"Ah ah. I wouldn't step forward if I were you. You see, we ran into a bit of trouble bringing you up here. Normally we would just cast a spell to allow you to walk on clouds," the gryphon waved a claw through the floor dissipating the clouds and revealing a several hundred foot drop into the chasm below "but wouldn't you know it, our spells didn't work. You're standing on one of the few solid parts of Manyhooves' cloud district." The glare of the gryphon intensified.

"What's in it for you is I don't have the boys here push you off, and display your twisted broken body for those mares to find in the morning." Nathan started to laugh, drawing confused looks from the assembled creatures. No expression registered across his face, and the laughter was dead and mirthless. The pegasi took a few nervous steps away from the human.

"My goodness, I really haven’t encountered something this laughably adorable in a very long while." Nathan jumped over onto one of the pegasi and, ignoring his cries, retrieved the club from the saddlebag he had seen earlier and slammed it on the back of his head repeatedly. Sliding off the now unconscious pegasus, Nathan gripped the pony’s saddle, keeping him from careening over the edge. The other pegasus’ gaze swapped between his partner and the human keeping him on the edge. The pegasus watched the human’s fingers slip out of the harness, and as his colleague’s unconscious body careened over the building, the human commented.

“You should probably catch him before he hits ground.”

The other pegasus wasted no time in diving after his friend. The gryphon roared in anger, bringing down his gilded claw, missing the human but splintering the chair he was next to.

Sprinkles attempted a spell, smiling as fire engulfed the human. His smile turned to horror as the scene unfolded in front of him. Nathan stood tall, allowing the magical flames to roll over his body confident that they would likely have no affect. The flames reflected off of his half-lidded brown eyes, and the unicorn shuddered. Nathan threw his club, now torched and burning his hand, as hard as he could, catching the unicorn just below the horn and sprawling him out on the floor. Another blow came down from the Baron, this one actually hitting Nathan in the chest and pushing him back, winded. Gasping a couple times for air, he sprung onto the gryphon’s back. Standing on his back, preventing the gryphon from moving, and gripping both ends of the gryphon’s wings with unyielding hands, he forced the gryphon to heel. Raising his foot and leaning his bodyweight forward, he slammed it down in the joint connecting the gryphon’s back and right wing. The grisly snap, along with the gryphon’s howl, resounded throughout the keep.

Seeing as Nathan was distracted by the attack on his employer, Sprinkles had levitated the club in his magic and was creeping up behind him attempting to give him the same treatment that the human had given the pegasus moments before. Flaming pieces of wood are never quiet. Turning around, still half-straddling the moaning gryphon, Nathan brought up his hand and caught the club in mid-strike, grimacing as it burnt his hand further. The shock of being disarmed and within reaching distance caused the unicorn to freeze with his jaw wide with fear. Nathan ripped a handkerchief from the Baron’s jacket, and wrapped the end of the club in it, preserving his hand from further abuse. Grabbing the still stunned pony with his other hand, he tossed him roughly into the pile of splintered wood that used to be a chair.

Leaping over on to the safe ground, Nathan switched his grip on the club, gripping it under-hand like a knife. The human calmly walked over and pulled Sprinkle’s head by his horn up towards him and turned his head on his ear towards his lips. While Sprinkle cast spell after spell, all of which were nullified by the hand gripping his horn, the human whispered to him as if he was telling the unicorn a great secret.

“I really do not enjoy being burned.”

With that, he jammed the club directly into the right eye and a good portion of the face of the frantically struggling unicorn. The burning of the skin and boiling of the eye was overshadowed by Sprinkles’ screams. Digging the heated end of the club in and around the pulverized and ruined socket for good measure, Nathan left the pony to his agony, and walked back over to the gryphon that was steadily trying to limp away. Taking a long step across the permeable cloud layer, he straddled the beast again and gripped both the gryphon’s good shoulders. With his other hand, Nathan forced Bronzewing to twist his head and look up at him; the calm smile still played across his face.

“My dear sir, I’m deeply offended. By not only how you think I can be intimidated by a few ponies half my size, but also by how you think that even if I did care for those insipid mares, that you’d be able to scare me into supplicating.”

“P-p-please, don’t kill me, I-I’ll give you anything, so please just don’t kill me.”

"And I couldn’t possibly just messily dismember you, walk over your remains and walk out with the gold in my pockets? Just look at poor Sprinkles over there."

"E-even if you did kill me, and p-please don’t, I have several gryphons waiting outside of town for your friends to come through with explicit instructions to kill them all I-if I fail to report back to them." Nathan laughed, his grip tightening further on the gryphon. Bronzewing whimpered, and not just from pain.

“Again, the friendship. Always that idea of friendship. You creatures are just so cute. Even when you’re out trying to kill each other, or playing some foolish political game, you still hold friendship to be one of the prime motivational considerations. By the way, I still haven’t heard a legitimate reason for not killing you.” The gryphon frantically raked his mind for something, anything, that would force the human to spare his life.

"How could you even…? T-then you won't mind that they've been instructed to kill the yellow and pink ones first, and slowly pull them apart while the others watch, hearing their screams as they have their tails and manes pulled out first, and then their limbs and then their... urk!" Nathan had braced his hands around the beasts’ neck and was slowly applying pressure.

"Really, I’m starting to wonder whether your wings resemblance to poultry is more than just skin deep. This club over here does have a nice heat to it, and I haven’t had chicken ever since I’ve been dropped here." Bronzewing started to panic. He had expected to find a malleable, easily manipulated patsy. Had he known he had sent his pegasi to retrieve a psychopath…

"Kill me... and you won't be alive enough to do whatever else you want to. I-I’m sorry to have brought you up here. Please d-don’t kill me. I won’t bother you again." Bronzewing pointed downwards and brought Nathan's attention to the fact he was over top of the hole. The death of the Baron would send them both plummeting. Not to mention… Nathan allowed his grip to relax and he jumped back off of the gryphon, taking a seat on the floor next to the howling Sprinkles, still clutching his ruined eye socket. He tried to scramble away when the human came near, but Nathan wrapped his arm around him and smiled at him. His screams died away to a terrified whimper.

“I have no desire to die today. Do you Sprinkles?” The unicorn shook his head vigorously. “I didn’t think so. Actually, Bronzewing, I never said the deal was unattractive, merely poorly thought out. I really cannot blame you for your ignorance; after all we’ve just met and have barely made any effort to really know each other!” The Baron attempted to shake his head and dissuade the human from continuing, but Nathan just smiled. “No, no I insist my dear Baron. After all, you took the effort to invite me up here and have such a nice little soirée. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to go to Canterlot, key in hand, and enter the vaults. While I’m there I will grab as many magical goodies as I can, just for you.”

“Unless you have a better idea, the alternative is that I graduate Sprinkles from half dead to the more suitable promotion, me getting to see whether gryphon wing is similar to chicken nugget in my home, and whether gryphon magic will let them fly with one wing instead of two.” The gryphon frantically scratched at the ground, his painful wing reminding him of the ease at which the human could execute his suggestion.

"F-fine. You leave me with no choice.” His eyes focused squarely on the hole below him. Perhaps death would be preferable. “The key is yours.”

"Good. I thought you would see reason. Now Baron, why don’t you give me the device and explain what it does to me.”

"W-we came across some zebra traders who were carrying a few of these. Claimed they found them in the Everfree. Not that they're around to make any such claims now..."

"Oh knock it off Chrys. It's been a day since the procedure. You're being ridiculous- you can't stay angry at me forever."

"That's Queen Chrysalis to you, maggot, and don't you forget it! I can stay angry for as long as I like- that's one of the perks of being royalty- something that you will never be!" Broken-wing was still in the middle of shedding his new body's outer carapace, and it had been decided for the safety of all that he would stay confined to a single place until the last of the shell had fallen away. So it was he had spent the last day propped up in a corner of the throne room, taking verbal abuse from Chrysalis. Broken rolled his eyes.

"Yes your majesty." His voice carrying barely more sarcasm than disrespect. Spinning to face him properly, she grabbed the nearest object she could, a small stone, and took pleasure in bouncing it off his exposed head. He barely flinched, his new armor more than capable of protecting him. "Ouch."

"Oh don't whine you sniveling imbecile. Guards! Leave us!" The other channeling quickly departed, leaving the queen alone with her 'prisoner'. As the last flew out and sealed the chamber door, Broken-Wing sighed.

"I thought you would never kick them out Chrys. I was getting tired of playing the idiot." Chrysalis was not so relieved.

"I said you are to refer to me as Queen Chrysalis. Just because they aren't in the room and you have enjoyed a modicum of familiarity with your ruler, does not mean that you are not still in a world of trouble! You stupid ignorant whelp. If you were one of those snivelling ponies, I would waste no time in removing your head from your body and drinking your bodily fluids."

"Oh? I thought you said you would never be like Discord. Seems you share his wanton disregard for life more and more everyday. How many changelings have died on this mad-beings crusade for vengeance? How many have you personally commanded to submit to metamorphosis? Answer me this Queen Chrysalis." She shrieked, hurling another stone at his head, disappointed at the lack of effect.

"You dare not speak to me that way Broken-Wing! I have been the ruler of the changelings for centuries before your birth, and will continue to be long after your demise. You have no right to question me so, and your new firm will do nothing to stop my wrath should I see fit to add yours to the list of changelings that have perished."

"The way things are going I'll be surprised if you're queen for another month, let alone long after my death. Even if that's true, either way I have to die sometime. What do I have to fear? Some whiny royalty that can't control her own subjects let alone her destiny?"

"And what would you have me do? Organize my 'loyal' subjects into an army and march against a being with more power in his little claw than I have in my entire body? He's the key to finally ending the reign of that accursed Celestia and bringing her little ponies to their knees. I don't like his methods any more than you do, but they get results. As soon as Celestia has been eliminated, he will have no need of us and move on. He wants chaos, not a kingdom. This is Discord we're talking about."

"Then you're a bigger fool than I took you for. You're always taking stupid risks. Discord was right, you should have just killed Shining Armor and Cadance and been done with it. You would have demoralized both Celestia and Twilight Sparkle and her friends and our armies could have swept up the rest of the ponies with ease. This thing with Discord? More stupid risks and rather than just having your invasion foiled, it could end your kingdom."

"We don't do things that way anymore! It's been centuries since I last killed a..."

"What? A pony? Like the dozens that have been lost in the last month alone? Open your eyes Chrys! Discord is corrupting and altering you just like he corrupts and alters everything else. Would you have even considered this plan two months ago? Would you have allowed the death of a single subject? Even a pony?"

"Well of course not no..."

"Well two minutes ago you were threatening to execute and devour me."

"I..."

"Or was the attack on Ponyville not enough for you my bloodthirsty monarch?"

"Now Broken that's not..."

"'Fear me! I am the queen of the changelings! With my new ally Discord I shall not rest until every hill, valley mountain and river runs red with the blood of Ponykind!"

"That's ENOUGH!" She grasped Broken-Wing in her magic and pulled him close to her face, tightening her grip around his neck and slowly snuffing the life from him. Her frustration grew as the physically larger changeling just hung there, no form of struggle given.

"D-do it you coward." Broken-Wing heaved between breaths. "S-show us a-a-all how great you are. Take the easy r-route. K-kill me and let D-Discord rule you like the p-pet you are." Her eyes flew wide, shocked at the realization that she was fully prepared to Kill Broken just so she wouldn't have to listen to him. So she wouldn't have to listen to the truth. Slowly, she released her grip and lowered him to the ground.

"I'm sorry."

"Not as sorry as you're going to be when Discord turns The world into a ball of flames and you watch your kingdom fall apart around you as your changelings perish. We're all going to die. Do you get that? He will not stop short of total destruction." Chrysalis sat in silence, a myriad of thoughts flowing in and out of her head. How can he just sit there so calmly after I nearly killed him? Broken-Wing brought her out of her introspection. "Chrys..."

"Broken... I'm... you're right. However, we still need him. I want Celestia's head on a pike." Her evil glare had returned, matched by Broken's own.

"And you shall have it my queen, but afterwards, we'll have to deal with Discord, and we need a plan." Broken looked around nervously. Chrysalis inferred his trepidation immediately and shook her head.

"I located the sensors he placed in my throne room after your... procedure last night and had them removed. We're secure here. It sounds like you already have one in mind."

"I do actually. I've spent most of the last week studying Discord's history. Well what hasn't been lost in the annals of time anyways. His pattern of defeat is always the same. He causes chaos, gets cocky because he thinks he's won, and then gets his ass handed to him. Every time. I'm thinking we might be able to use this to our advantage." The changeling queen looked at her subject in a new light, understanding just how much more intelligent than his kin he was.

"So what's your plan?" She nodded for him to continue.

"After Celestia's defeat he's going to be intoxicated on success, and on top of that he'll likely spend most of his power during the battle to protect his investment from death. He will be vulnerable. That's when we strike. Hold back enough of our troops during the battle that we can make a strike against Discord soon after. He won't be prepared, and we can retake our destiny as the superior race." Chrysalis considered the plan carefully. Much more planning was needed, and they would require dozens of more soldiers to make it work, but the basic plan was there. They just needed to execute it. Her lips curled into a twisted grin.

"Alright Broken-Wing. Let's get down to business." The two continued to talk on well past the first rays of Celestia's sun bathed the world above them in light.

Applejack looked over, envious of Pinkie Pie's easy sleep. The pink mare had kicked off her covers and lay sprawled out across the bed in what Applejack could only imagine Rarity would consider an "un-lady-like" fashion. Clutched in her fore hooves was a stuffed animal facsimile of Gummy, and Applejack had to force herself not to laugh. Gently pulling the covers over her friend, she smiled and wandered over to the window, opening the blinds and gazed out on the street below.

While she had initially been uninterested in the visit to the spa, it and the following dinner had given her and the other mares the opportunity to just talk. It had felt good- no talk of changelings, humans or what in the hay Celestia was in such a rush for. Just five friends sharing the latest gossip and catching up on idle banter. If only that's all it was. With another long sigh she gazed through the oscillating mauve barrier and focused on the glow that would undoubtedly be Luna's moon. Even through the shield, the weight of the alicorn's ward pressed down on her. Judging her.

"Luna, Ah know you ain't here to hear me and Ah know you've always been a little... aloof... but Ah need somepony to talk to that might understand what it's like to be put in a tough spot by her friends and family."

The five mares were sitting in Sugar Cube corner enjoying some freshly baked sweets that Pinkie had lovingly produced that morning. They all wore smiles, enjoying each other's company as usual, but the normally jovial assembly was tempered by the question on everypony's mind. Who was he? Why had he come back? What should they do?

Fluttershy, or course, had done her best to put them at ease, answering most of their questions. However, lingering doubt still clouded the air. With the yellow pegasus still up in the hospital, the others were left to their imaginations. Applejack broke the silence first.

"So, as much as Ah enjoy cupcakes and spending time with y'all, we should probably get down to business. There's a reason that we're here, and Ah reckon the longer we leave it, the more awkward it's gonna be. So, somepony start talkin'." Twilight cleared her throat.

"Alright Applejack. Let's get everything out on the table." Pinkie Pie popped her head out from behind the counter.

"Twilight everything is out on the table. We have tea biscuits, pink cupcakes, blue cupcakes, orange cupcakes, peanut butter cookies, jelly cookies, three different kinds of punch, two cakes, and a watermelon!" Twilight stuck her face in her hooves and groaned.

"No Pinkie, I mean let's talk about all the information we have about the human." Pinkie giggled.

"Well why didn't you say that silly? I can tell you all sorts of things about him!" Rainbow Dash butted in.

"Oh yeah? From what? The hours and hours in the woods you spent with him?"

"Well no but..."

"Yeah whatever Pinkie, stop being so random. We need to focus on a solution here."

"But I..." Rarity cut her off.

"No, Pinkie, Dash is right. This isn't the time for your games. Now be a dear, and be quiet." Pinkie frowned and went back to work, a scowl painted on her face. "Now Twilight, you were saying?"

"Thank you girls." She nodded to them and stood up, beginning her characteristic pace. "What do we know so far? The human shows up just outside town a few days ago. He appears relatively un-threatening, but he spies on us. Also, regardless of the entire make-up of his diet, he consumes at least some meat, marking him as a predator."

"Right." Rarity swallowed the last of a cookie, and took over from Twilight Sparkle. "So we ask him to leave. Which, to my shock, he quite willingly does. I thought for sure that he would put up a fight. That brute could probably..." Applejack rolled her eyes.

"Rarity."

"Sorry. Anyways, the brute wanders off, and we think he's gone back home, except he hasn't because we don't know where home is. So , so far what's that? Unable to get home, dangerous predator. Now he's back."

"Well yeah, but Ah thought Fluttershy said he was okay. He did bring her back to us, injured and all. He could'a jes' left her there to die, or eat her if he meant her any harm." Rarity stood there slack jawed, Dash voicing the unicorn's thoughts for her.

"Applejack! How could you say that?! This is Fluttershy we're talking about!"

"Oh calm down Dash. I was jes' sayin'. Hyp-uh... hypo... jes' stating a possibility. Ah'm as glad as you are that she's still with us. Ah'm jes' pointing out that if the critter didn't care he wouldn't jump between her and a bear."

"Oh yes such a hero, killing a bear. Just like we would have done?" Her sarcasm forced Applejack to drop her head.

"Alright, maybe he's not exactly the gentlest of critters, but he still saved her. At any rate, Fluttershy said he's a pretty average human, maybe a little angry. Good sense o' humour though. We just don't know enough about his kind. Even Twi's fancy books didn't have anything on humans. Either way, he ain't from the Everfree. We can't send him back there."

"Well he simply cannot stay here. Right Twilight?" Rarity looked over to see the lavender unicorn lost in thought, a wave of nervousness washing over her as she caught that sparkle in her eye that indicated Twilight had formulated a plan. "Twi...light?"

"Hey Twilight! Wake up egghead!" Dash's shouting finally snapped her from her thought process.

"Yes that's it! My books don't have anything on him!" Her sudden glee was met by a myriad of confused faces. Even Pinkie had stopped what she was working on and trotted over.

"Come again, sugar cube?"

"Well that is... we don't know anything about him right? So we should ask Celestia about him! I can send a letter soon after he wakes up, and while we're waiting for a response, he can stay here!"

"What?!" The other mares responded with various levels of shock.

"No really! Hear me out. We can't just let him wander around Equestria alone. We don't know what he would do. So we keep him here, under our supervision, until Celestia can figure out how to get him home. I'm not using my lab right now, he can stay there. It has a lock on the outside so he would be restricted at night."

"Twilight, darling. I know that you have the best for us in mind, but are you sure this is such a good idea? What if he gets out of hand?"

"I'll prepare some extra spells just in case. Do you have any better ideas?" Rarity struggled with her emotions for a moment, the gave in with a sigh.

"No, I suppose I don't. You promise me you'll send the letter though?"

"As soon as he wakes up."

"Alright, Twilight Sparkle. As your friend I'll support you. I don't agree with your decision, but seeing as there are no alternatives at this point in time, I'm forced to go along with it."

"Ah'm for it. Critter owes me an apple anyways."

"Yeah I guess so."

"Okie-dokie!" Twilight's smile was bordering on creepy.

"Good it's settled then." The other mares started to leave, thanking Pinkie for the sweets and for being a good host. Twilight stopped Applejack before she could follow Rarity and Rainbow Dash out the door.

"Applejack wait!"

"What's up Twi? Ah thought we were done talking?"

"Well, um... I have something else to ask you, and only you." The look on Twilight's face and her nervous shuffling were unnerving Applejack. She knew she was going to regret whatever it was the unicorn wanted from her.

"Alright...."

"Well, even if he's living with me, he'll need something to keep him occupied. Something to keep him from wandering away from town or getting up to too much trouble."

"Ah guess so."

"So, I was wondering if maybe you could employ him at the acres for a bit? Just until Celestia calls for him." Applejack rubbed her chin.

"Ah don't know Twi... that seems like a lot of effort to go through just for him to work there for a couple days. Besides, we're barely paying off Granny's operation. Ah don't know..."

"Look, if he's only there for a couple days, you won't even have to pay him, Celestia will send him home and everypony's happy." Applejack let her gaze fall on the floor and traced the knots and lines in one of the boards. While she felt the help might be nice, she was uncertain the human would be worth the effort. That and being able to pay him. Horse apples. He won't be here long enough anyways. She sighed and looked back up at Twilight.

"Alright. He can work the acres. Jes' until Celestia calls for him. Let me go tell the others so..."

"No!"

"Beg pardon?" Applejack raised her eyebrow. Twilight giggled nervously.

"I mean no, you can't tell them. I need this to stay between you and me, at least until he starts working. Even better, maybe have Big Macintosh make the offer. That way they won't know I put you up to it."

"Wait Twilight that's..."

"Oh and we're going to need to control him so we can't pay him too much. That might work better for you too- cheap labour. Just enough that he can't afford to leave town, but he can afford his basic necessities."

"Now Twi..."

"Oh and make sure you don't tell him either. The human needs to be unaware of our plan or he might get out of control."

"Twilight!"

"What Applejack?"

"You're asking me to lie! Not just to our friends, but to the critter too. That's just... just... no! Ah'm not going to lie for you. You can ferget it!"

"Applejack please! It's for a good cause. Really just listen. This is just to make it easier for all of us."

"Twilight, Ah'm an Apple. We ain't nothin' if not honest. Ah'm not going to tarnish..."

"It's okay, Applejack." Both the ponies snapped their heads up as Pinkie Pie came walking down the stairs.

"Pinkie! How long were you listening for?" Twilight was wide-eyed and wore the blush of a foal having been caught with it's hoof in a cookie jar.

"Long enough. I think it's a good idea."

"Pinkie, Ah'd be lyin' and that's wrong." Pinkie placed her hoof on Applejack's foreleg, and looked her in the eye.

"I know Applejack, but not doing it would be even more wrong. It'll be okay. Trust me."

"Pinkie whaddya..." Applejack closed her eyes, and when she reopened them she saw the same saucers staring back. Pinkie, how can you be so sure about something so... crazy? Ah don't get you. Ah just... know you're right. Somehow. Applejack lowered her head and sighed. "Fine. You win Twi. Ah'll get him a job on the farm." Twilight's smile had returned.

"Oh Applejack I'm so happy! We..."

"Stop. Ah don't want to talk about it. It'd be best if you didn't come by the farm for a couple days." Applejack briskly trotted out the door.

Applejack turned her gaze from the moon, and back to the party pony still fast asleep on her bed, now having rolled over on her side away from the window.

"Thanks for listening Luna. Ah have to admit, I still don't understand why Pinkie talked me into going through with Twilight's plan. Gave me the opportunity to get to know the critter though. Really get to know him. It's as much as a curse as a blessing though. If Pinkie and Fluttershy knew... horse apples." She trotted over to the sleeping mare and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Sleep well Pinkie." Snakes she drools a lot, pillow's almost soaked through.

Turning to her own bed, she crawled in and tossed her hat on one of the posts. She rolled over and promptly fell asleep. Over on the neighboring bed, a pink pony sobbed quietly to herself, tears flowing over her cheeks and nose.

Why am I such a coward?

How hard is it to say it?

The quiet of the alleyway was broken by a pair of voices a few feet above the ground. The pegasi had, under a cheerful threat of dismemberment, been convinced to courier Nathan back to where he slept.

"Thanks for the lift boys. It was a good time, we'll have to do it again. Just set me down over there." Nathan pointed to a dark corner of the alley. Settling Nathan down onto the street, the pegasi quickly tore away from him.

Walking down the alley and stepping out onto the street, he could see, to his relief, that it was devoid of life, and if anyone had noticed his arrival they had long since left before learning the source of the commotion. A few of the windows were lit up, but he was fairly sure none of them belonged to his traveling companions. Mouthing a silent thanks to the gods of luck, he made his way quietly back to his room and rolled into the shower.

The warm water was amazingly comforting, and reminded him of being back home, just standing there left to his thoughts. There was something about a shower that was personal, private to him. It allowed him to reflect on his day, make plans for the next, consider his life. Now, lying on the floor of the tub, only one thought came to him. Well two, but trying to figure out how a hotel that size could produce hot water on demand using magic was a query that could wait for another day.

He stood up and forced himself focus on his personal hygiene, and ridding himself of the burnt, and bloody smell that hung around him. His clothes would need a good cleaning, but if he got started right after his shower, he reasoned that he could still have them clean and drying, and be able to get in another five or six hours of sleep. Just as he was finishing her heard a knock at the bathroom door.

"Are you assholes back again? I'm in the shower, just give me a minute." He heard the door click and slowly creak open, and he pulled the curtain aside enough to stick his head out. "I swear to god if you don't get out I will fu- fu- Fluttershy!" Rather than a pair of burly pegasi, his eyes were met by the sight of a single shy yellow one.

"Eeep I'm s-s-sorry! I'll leave!" She about faced and scrambled for the door.

"N-no wait Fluttershy! I didn't know it was you coming in! Don't go." She stopped mid-run and slowly turned back to face the human.

"O-oh, are you sure? Who did you think it was going to be? Pinkie Pie?" Nathan chuckled and did his best to placate the young pegasus.

"No, just some rather impolite room service."

"O-oh I see." She didn't. Nathan finished his shower while she patiently sat there in the middle of the bathroom. She was rather proud of herself- three months ago she wouldn't have had the nerve to walk into a stallion's bathroom while he showered, let alone remain there. After a while she heard the taps close and Nathan called for her.

"Fluttershy, mind passing me my towel? It's just on the rack there."

"S-s-sure." She carefully draped the towel on one of her wings and positioned herself so that Nathan could reach out and grab it without the fear of exposing himself. As he grabbed the towel, he brushed her wing and she felt an inadvertent wave of euphoria wash over her.

"Thanks Fluttershy. I'm going to dry off and slip into a robe. These Princess sized ones are ridiculous, but they'll do in a pinch. Mind waiting out in the suite?" Fluttershy nodded and wordlessly left the room, swaying in her step ever so slightly. Finishing up in the bathroom he joined her slightly after. She had taken the liberty to hop up on to the bed and was stretched out comfortably. She looked up at him, a broad smile playing across her face. The smile was lost as she finally got a good look at the humans face.

"Nathan! Your face! What happened?!" He shrugged sheepishly and looked at the ceiling. Come up with something quick...

"It was that bad room service I talked about. One of the other rooms had requested a wake-up call for late at night for some reason right? Well, they thought it was my room, so the late-night porter came up and woke me up while doing his rounds, and when he saw I wasn't a pony he flipped out and threw a garbage can he was carrying at me, hitting me in the face and getting crap all over my clothes. Now I have to do some laundry, and my face is swollen."

"Oh that's terrible! Are you okay? You're not injured?"

"No, my ego is bruised worse than my face. I'll be fine." Looks like she bought it. Not a bad story if I do say so myself. " So, what brings you to my suite this late at night Fluttershy?" He had pulled out a wash basin and was filling it in the bathroom while sticking his head out the door to look at her. She still wore a look of concern, but she smiled back and blushed.

"Oh um... well I was... I wanted to know... can we talk? If you don't mind?" She was wringing her front hooves together nervously. Nathan brought the basin back into the main part of the suite and began washing his clothes, trying to be as casual as possible in front of the obviously agitated mare.

"Sure Fluttershy, we can talk. You don't have to be so nervous with me. What did you want to talk about?"

"O-oh I'm not nervous!"

"Oh? Then I guess you're just pretending to make snow angels in my blankets?" She looked down and saw that her fidgeting had in fact messed up the covers. She clamped her hooves under her body and squeaked.

"Eep! I'm so sorry!" Nathan just laughed. He finished washing his clothes and hung them out on a line he had strung along the ceiling. Sitting on the bed next to the pegasus, he gently ran his hand along her shoulders, forcing another contented sigh from her.

"That's better. Just relax. Now, what did you want to talk about? It couldn't have waited until morning?" She sighed again and looked up at him. "Come on Fluttershy, relax. It's okay. Let's talk. What's up?

"W-well it could have waited, but I really wanted to talk to you alone. About what the plan is in Canterlot, and about us." Nathan smiled and continued his rubbing.

“How so?”

“Well… do you remember that day when you tricked Rarity into making you that first set of clothes?” Nathan did his best to hide the smile creeping across his face. Fluttershy giggled. “Oh you don’t have to hide it, it was still quite a funny moment, even if it did take advantage of her. Anyways. Do you remember what you said to me when you walked me home?”

“I do. I told you that if I have to be stuck in Equestria and I can’t go home, I could think of worse places to be than Ponyville.” She nodded.

“Yes. I’ve remembered those words. Those words have kept me going for the last two months. They’ve been the thing to convince me that everything is going to be ok.” Nathan frowned.

“Fluttershy, that was hardly me saying that I want to stay, that was me saying that there are worse places to be.” Like hell. Or the caverns below Canterlot. Same thing? Time will tell.

“I know that, but still, they give me hope. Then there was that one date we went on to the hills overlooking Ponyville. Even you have to admit that was a lot of fun.” Nathan’s characteristic smile had returned.

“Haha yeah. We went for a late night picnic while half of the town was asleep. I thought for sure Dash had spotted us when she flew past doing her night duties, and we started sneaking around just in case, skulking from shadow to shadow.” Fluttershy nodded.

“Mmm-hmm. We didn’t even get a chance to eat. You took one look up into the sky and just fell over, open jawed. I… I never did ask you what that was about. The look of sheer amazement on your face was enough for me. I was content to just lie on your arm and watch you gaze in to the heavens.”

“It was an amazing night, I’ll admit.”

“W-would you mind explaining it? I saw something that night in your eyes that I’ve never seen. Even in another pony.” Nathan shrugged.

“Well, I’ve told you about where I’m from right? Huge cities and populations? Millions of inhabitants in a small area? Even a town the size of Ponyville might have five, even ten thousand humans living in it, depending on what part of the world.”

“Yes.”

“Well, humans don’t see very well in the dark like other animals. Our eyes are designed for high-light environments. We need artificial light to get around. When you have that many people, you need that much more light. Even in lightly populated areas, the light ‘pollution’ as we call it conceals some of the stars in the night sky. The city I live in? Fluttershy, I barely see the stars.”

“W-what? You never see the stars? Ever? That’s so… cruel.”

“I see some stars, the brightest ones obviously, but until that night, protected from the light emitted by Ponyville, I had never seen such a sight. Even using Twilight’s telescope only showed me so much. That night, Fluttershy, that night I saw something that is probably next to impossible to find on earth, let alone have the opportunity to see it nearly every night.”

“R-really? So… in some ways Ponyville is better than where you come from? At least for you?” Nathan could hear the excitement in her voice, as hard as she was trying to suppress it.

“Yes Fluttershy. In some ways it’s better. In some ways, I do like it here with you. However…”

“And maybe when we get to Canterlot, I can show you all the sights of the city, my favorite places! Especially the gardens and all of the animals there. They’re all my friends and I know they’ll love meeting you.” He could see what she was trying to do, but he didn’t have the heart to stop her.

“Sure Fluttershy, anything for you. Whatever makes you happy.”

“Whatever makes me happy? What about you? What would make you happy? This isn’t just about me you know.”

“Isn’t it?” He raised his eyebrow, and stood up.

“What do you mean by that? Of course it’s about more than just me. It’s about us, it’s about my friends, and what they mean to me. What you mean to me. What you mean to them.”

“What do I mean to you though Fluttershy? What does it mean for me to stay here? Have you thought about what the consequences not only could be, but would likely be? Even in a best case scenario?” That was it. Any idle entertainment of the pegasus’ fantasies was over. She needed a reality check.

“Let me ask you a hypothetical question Fluttershy.”

“O-okay?”

“Let’s say, just for a moment, that I end up having to stay in Equestria. For some reason Celestia can’t send me home.”

“I understand that that would be upsetting to you, but at least you would be here with me?” Her hopes were dashed as soon as they were risen though, as he continued.

“Hold on there Fluttershy. I’m not saying that’s what is going to happen. I’m saying if it happens. Now, I’m trapped here. I can’t return home, I have no way of going back to my life, seeing any of my friends or family, returning to my job. I’m stuck in a land where nearly every social convention, piece of technology, hell the land itself is totally foreign to me. I’m starting to fit in better, yes, but no matter where I go I’m going to be, to somepony, a monster, or animal. You have accepted me, you care for me, and I’ll be honest I like you too, but that doesn’t change how others see me. Your best friend is terrified of me.”

“She’s getting better…”

“Yeah? Has a funny way of showing it. Maybe she is, but it will never be right between us. And what’s it going to be like in five years when your friends are all having foals? A little Twilight, a tiny Rarity, a mini Applejack? Look, I have no doubt in my mind that you care for me. I know that you want me to stay. However, you need to be aware of the facts- if I stay here with you, I am trusting that in a year you will still care for me. I’m trusting that the desire to be with me outweighs any desire to have foals. I’m trusting that this isn’t just a fling for you, and a desperate one in the face of my impending deportation. So yes, this? All of this? Being with you, talking with you? Letting you try and convince me to stay? This is all about you. If things don’t go right in Canterlot, I will never see my home again, and either way you’ll never want to or be able to see me again.”

Fluttershy’s lower lip was trembling. Nathan had spoken calmly and evenly the entire time, never raising his voice or doing anything to upset the pegasus, but being faced with the facts was almost too much for her to bear. She buried her face in the bed and brought her hooves over her head, trying to drown out the competing thoughts invading her thought processes. Failing that, she started pulling at her hair, intending the sharp stings of pain to distract her from her misery.

“Whoa whoa, Fluttershy! What are you doing?” Seeing the self-inflicted discomfort of the mare, he sat back down again and grabbed her up in his arms, pinning her hooves at her side and stopping her from hurting herself further. To his surprise, rather than tears or sadness, a quiet rage enveloped her face.

“Trying to get rid of the thoughts of everything I care about obviously. Why would I want to care for anything when all it does is hurt me? Why would I want to care for you, or the others, or having foals? They would all just hurt me.” The human looked down with concern.

“Uh… Fluttershy?”

“What, Nathan? Am I not human enough for you? Do I not walk on two legs well enough? Let’s just bind my fore hooves until I learn properly. Are the wings too much? Should I cut them off? Cut off my tail? So you not like straight hair? Do you prefer it curly? That why you like Pinkie’s so much? I could keep going on the hair if you want?”

“Wait Fluttershy that’s not what I’m saying. You’ve got me all wrong.” What the hell is going on here?

“Oh no, I understand perfectly well. You want a nice quiet human girl on earth that can give you babies, one that will swear her undying love for you and marry you and be happy forever. You want to go back to your miserable world of death and destruction, because that’s where you can excel as an engineer, creating tools of war for others to keep killing.”

“No Fluttershy, that’s not it at all!”

“THEN WHAT IS IT?!”

“Because I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but someday you’re going to regret me staying here and being with you, and you’re going to leave me high and dry and I’ll be alone in lollypop land and it scares me, okay?!” Fluttershy’s expression turned from anger to confusion. Too often in her life she was the vulnerable one, the innocent one taken advantage of by her situation. This strange about-face of situation was almost too surreal for her. She blinked, barely comprehending his words.

“What?”

“I’m scared. I have a lot of decisions to make in the next few days, and I don’t know what the right ones are. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. You’ve been so kind to me that I feel like I’m taking advantage of you just by being with you. Fluttershy, how can this be enough for you? How could I ever be enough? Can you honestly tell me, look me in the eye and tell me, that you’re okay with never having foals? Never having little ones to run around your hooves while you and your stallion cook dinner together? Being the social outcast of society just because you fancied the wrong species?” Fluttershy sat there in quiet contemplation, a few strands of pink hair flittering down onto the bed in front of her, finally giving up their struggle to stay in place after her earlier pulling. She managed to pull her sight back to the human.

“You’re scared of me leaving you?”

“Well… that’s not exactly fair to say. We were never together so… no. I’m scared of all of you just abandoning me someday. Right now I’m new and interesting. For your species I’m a novelty. Even Twilight can appreciate me as an object of research. However, what happens when she’s learned all she can from me? She doesn’t need me anymore, and she ignores me. Same with the others- I’ll pass along in terms of interst. Maybe you won’t treat me like that, I’d like to believe you won’t, but how long will it take if all of your friends think I’m not worth the time of day?”

“I… I…I…” She took a deep breath and replied as calmly as possible. “No. You’re right. This hasn’t been fair to you. I haven’t been fair. I’ve been treating you like an idle school-filly crush, and that’s not right.”

“I’m glad you agree.” Finally I’m getting through to her.

“So we should take things to the next level.” Oh come on!

“…what?”

“Would you be my colt friend?”

“Fluttershy I don’t think you’re really understanding me. I’m going home.”

“Oh no I understand, and that’s ok you can go home, but for the next few days you can be my proper colt friend and you can see for your own eyes how much I care.”

“Fluttershy I’m not even a colt…”

“I know, and that’s ok. Just for the next few days. Please? Say you’ll be mine?”

“I don’t know…” No, no, NO! You idiot! What are you doing? In a few days you’ll either be in the depths of the dungeon or going toe to toe with what passes for a deity here! What the hell are you thinking? Just say no! Don’t lead her on! SAY NO! “I don’t think this is a good idea… besides this is only for a few days, what will this change?”

“Maybe nothing, but wouldn’t it be better to try?”

“I wouldn’t want to tell your friends right now.” No.

“That’s ok, it can be between you and me. That’s all I care about.”

“You might dislike me a lot after we get to Canterlot. I mean about going home and stuff.” No.

“I can’t imagine anything you could possibly do to upset me aside from what you’ve already stated you’re going to do several times: go home.”

“You realize I’m not down for anything… physical in nature right?” NO. Fluttershy blushed.

“I know, and I understand I’m not really comfortable with that either. I still want you to be my colt friend. Please?” Don’t fall for those eyes, don’t let her get you. Those big, beautiful pleading eyes… Nathan sighed.

“Okay, Fluttershy, you win. For the next few days, I will be your ‘colt friend’.” NO YOU IDIOT! “But it’s only going to last a few days. You know that right?”

“I-It’s ok. Really. I want this.”

“Fine. Should we talk about this more tomorrow? I need to get some sleep. I’ve had a long night already.”

“Sure. Let’s go to sleep.” She trotted up to the head of the bed, pulled back the covers and slipped in. “Coming?” Nathan did a double-take and felt himself go slack-jawed.

“W-what are you doing?”

“You’re my colt friend now. I’d like to snuggle and sleep next to my colt friend. Did you forget already?”

“N-n-no but…” Didn’t think of all the implications, did you? Damn you’re stupid.

“Good, then come to bed.” He sighed and dug through his clothes and found something to pass as pajama pants and crawled into bed beside her. Just before he turned off the light she noticed, now that his chest was bare, the bruise that had been left by gryphon across his chest.

“W-what is that from?”

“Really, really impolite room service.”

While Rarity had raised an eyebrow towards the human and pegasus when they came down to breakfast, eliciting blushes from both of them, she thought better of asking where her roommate had gone in the middle of the night, and kept her focus on the current conversation. Twilight was going over the day's schedule, and had pulled out her map again.

"Now, as we've spoken about before, there are no towns or villages between here and North Gelding that are close enough to divert to, so we're going to have to spend the next couple evenings in farms and cottages along the way. This map isn't the most up to date," She looked over at Nathan, "however there should be several farms all along this area, and we can pick one to stay at as we go. Any objections?" All the eyes at the table glanced up at Nathan who had just stuffed a bread roll in his mouth. Realizing he was center of attention, he stopped mid chew and responded.

"Mwha?"

"I asked if there were any objections to the plan. We kind of assumed that you would have something to say." The human rolled his eyes and finished swallowing his food.

"Oh come on. I don‘t disagree with everything that you say." Twilight smiled.

"Well that's good..." Nathan grinned.

"Just when you say something stupid. Which is a lot." Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash started chuckling with Nathan.

"Hey!" Twilight did her best to look angry for a minute, then slowly joined in the laughter, each of the other ponies following in suit. "Okay, now that that's settled, shall we go? It's another long day ahead of us and I would like to get started as soon as possible." She looked out a nearby window, and sighed. "I thought it was supposed to be sunny this week. Whoever‘s responsible for tending these skies is sleeping on the job. Wouldn‘t be surprised if Manyhooves‘ version of Derpy is out there right now."

Finishing their breakfast, the seven packed their bags and departed, soon leaving Manyhooves behind them. Nathan gave a few nervous glances as they left town, eliciting a questioning look from Pinkie Pie. He smiled and nodded towards Twilight.

"Regardless of what she says, I'm still going to keep an eye out for dragons." Twilight cast a sideways glance over her shoulder at him.

"Nathan..."

"Oh relax Twilight. I'm just saying. It's all good. I'm allowed to be careful. Look, I don't even have the Canon out." He smiled and gestured to the still locked case. She shrugged and continued her easy trot with the rest following up the rear. Out of the corner of his eye, Nathan could see Fluttershy walking closely beside him. On the other side, Pinkie kept glancing between them, her look indicating she was searching for the answer to one of life's great mysteries.

"So you two are walking pretty close together today." Nathan shrugged and responded to the pink pony.

"Well we have been sort of a thing for a while Pinkie."

"Yeah, but something's different. Did you guys get up to anything last night?" Fluttershy blushed.

"O-oh no Pinkie, nothing like that." Pinkie sudden glare indicated she didn't believe the pegasus. Looking up at Nathan for confirmation she was slightly relieved to see him nod.

"It's okay Pinkie. Nothing happened. Really."

"Okie-dokie loki..." She still wasn't convinced but she accepted their explanation for the time. Trying to divert the conversation, Fluttershy brought up another topic.

"A-actually, speaking about last night, I was curious about something."

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

"You have that weird mark on your back... I noticed it before when w-we were in the Everfree forest and seeing you... without your shirt on reminded me of it." Pinkie's eyes narrowed but Nathan just smiled again.

"Seriously Pinkie, nothing." He turned his attention to Fluttershy "That's just a birth mark. Been there since I was born, nothing special." Pinkie expression relaxed, having realized what they were talking about.

"Oh yeah, I remember that! I used to see it every time we went to the lake I always just assumed that it was a bit of dirt or mud you couldn't wash away but then I thought no it's always there and oh my gosh is it pretty it's like a painter drew it on your back and then I thought maybe it was dried on oatmeal!"

"Oatmeal? Are you crazy?" Nathan snickered having remembered a story Pinkie once told him. Pinkie looked indignant for a moment.

"Hey! That's my line!" Nathan just laughed. Pinkie couldn't keep up her facade any longer and broke down as well. The laughter died away, and Rarity had a concerned look on her face.

“What is it Rarity?”

“Well, this birthmark of yours… does it mean that you’re dying of some horrid disease? Do all humans have these marks? Why don’t they just clean them away? I couldn’t imagine being stuck with such a thing.” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Rarity, that was rude.” Rarity looked apologetic for a moment.

“Oh I’m sorry darling, that wasn’t meant to be rude.” She looked at Nathan. “That wasn’t meant to be rude, you understand don’t you?” Nathan nodded.

“Of course Rarity. It’s fine. I don’t have a disease, and no not every human has one. They show up randomly. They’re completely harmless- just a part of your skin that didn’t form the colouration the same as the rest of your body. Unless it’s in a place that’s very visible, like the face, most humans don’t worry about them. They are removable, but there’s usually no point.” Applejack looked over her shoulder.

“On the face? That’d be a sight to see. So they can show up all over yer body? Do they all look the same?”

“Yep, anywhere on the body, but they usually have different shapes and sizes. The one on my back is fairly large, but it’s hardly ever seen so I don’t worry about it. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you mares had a few yourselves, unless they just don’t appear on ponies.”

Rarity stopped walking and spun around, the deep seated look of having been insulted etched on her face.

"Excuse me? I'll have you know that my coat is of the finest pure white, with not a blemish or off-coloured section to be found." The other mares, while not as offended, nodded to indicate similar feelings.

"Yes Rarity, but when's the last time you actually inspected your skin below your coat? Birth marks show up on the skin."

"Um well... that is to say... as often as... never?" She squirmed and craned her neck around her body trying to find any offending marks. "I suddenly feel so very unclean. Fluttershy, darling, give me a hoof?" The two took a moment to carefully evaluate Rarity's body. Nathan just shook his head.

"You two are ridiculous. Can we get going? Twilight said we have a long way to go today." Twilight silently nodded her agreement and the troupe set off, Rarity glancing at her own backside every few steps. The day, thankfully like the one before, passed relatively quietly without much excitement or drama. All of the usual conversations, gossip and interests came up. Nathan had been enjoying listening to Rarity ranting and raving about the latest fashions in Canterlot, and how she thought they were “just absolutely to die for” when he noticed Rainbow Dash had lagged behind the main group of mares and was in fact flying just ahead of him.

“You, uh, you okay there Dash?” The pegasus looked over her shoulder and snorted indignantly.

“Yeah, I’m totally fine. What’s your problem?”

“Well normally you’re in front of everyone else and doing loops and summersaults to keep yourself occupied while we walk. It’s not like you to be the slow one. That’s my job.” Nathan laughed and threw Dash a wink, trying to brighten the troubled mare’s day.

“Maybe I just feel like doing something different okay? I don’t need to show off for you or anypony else. And you remember that- it’s everypony not everybody. Learn to talk right.” She turned back towards the front and flapped a little harder, trying to keep up with Twilight who was leading the procession. Nathan noted the obvious strain in her flight, and frowned. Fluttershy looked concerned as well.

“W-what was that all about Nathan?” Nathan looked down at her and shrugged.

“I’m not sure Fluttershy. Something’s bugging Dash though. She normally hostile like that?”

“Well, she does tend to act rashly, but no, not usually so hostile. Do you know what’s up?” Nathan rolled his head back and gazed into the sky.

“Maybe. I don’t know. She doesn’t really seem to want to talk about it. Let’s just drop it for now.” Fluttershy nodded and smiled.

“A-alright. You usually seem to know that’s best.”

A few hours later, the procession came to a series of farms. A light snow had begun to fall, and they quickly sought out the largest one. Finding one with a particularly large bunk-house, they settled in for the evening. Having seen no signs of changeling activity, or other creatures for that matter, they had decided that the lock on the door was sufficient to keep them safe for the evening, and were looking forward to a good sleep after a long day of walking. While the mares prepared a meal, Nathan sat outside, enjoying the feeling of snow falling on his head.

“You’re so random. What is it with you and being by yourself?” Rainbow Dash had made her way outside and was stretching her wings.

“I don’t know. Sometimes I like to take the time to think. Nopony else to distract me. I’m sorry about earlier, I was just concerned.” Rainbow Dash shrugged.

“It’s ok, I understand. I’m just not used to anypony thinking I’m weak. Watch- to prove it, I’m going to clear up this weather.” Dash flew off into the air and began to make short work of the cloud cover. Before much longer she had cleared away the snow and the last rays of the sunset were pouring through the hole in the cloud cover she had made, bathing the farm in light. “See? No problem. Rainbow Dash does it again!” Nathan wasn’t convinced. As hard as she had tried to conceal it, he had seen the strain that the exercise had placed on the pegasus. Rather than question her directly, he inquired into something else that was bothering him.

“Thanks Dash, that was great.”

“Of course!”

“You shouldn’t have had to clear the clouds away though.” Dash looked down In confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Before we left Ponyville, Twilight told me you had said…”

“So what? Maybe I was wrong.” She snorted and looked away, taking an indignant pose again.

“I don’t think so Dash. This is your thing. What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing at all there’s nothing to not…” Nathan wasn’t going to let her get a word in edgewise.

“And then there’s your flying.”

“What about it? It’s fine.”

“Dash, we both know that’s not true. Now just…” A dark expression crossed her face.

“No.”

“What?”

“There’s nothing wrong and you’re not going to get me to say there’s something wrong. I’m not going to be responsible for Twilight and Rarity’s nonsense.”

“But Dash…”

“NO! Shut up. Just shut up. This is not happening, we are not having this conversation, I am not giving in. You just sit out here alone. I hope you get covered in snow.” She flew back in the bunk-house and slammed the door behind her. Nathan sighed and continued looking out over the farm.

Rarity blinked, her eyes adjusting to what she was seeing. She was in the middle of a kitchen preparing a meal, the aromas teasing at her nostrils, a glass of some unidentified liquid sitting in a triangular glass. She felt her body move of it's own free will, opening the oven and using a ladle to baste some sort of cylindrical food surrounded by roasted carrots and potatoes. Returning to her cutting board she chopped a few radishes, and then took the glass of liquid in hand and drank from it.

Wait, hands?

Catching her reflection in the glass she could see that she was no longer a pony, but a human. She attempted to scream, but no sound came out and her body continued cutting the radishes. Oh Celestia no. Not only am I one of those brutes, but I can't even move or talk. This is so uncouth. That drink was sort of good though…

Her host continued through her routine. Part way through finishing, two children ran into the kitchen, their faces stretched into beaming smiles. That she couldn't smile back at them was almost cruel. Their foals are absolutely adorable. Perhaps I misjudged these humans.

"Mother! Chloe and I were working on an art project for father when he gets home! Do you think he will like it?" The mother bent down, smiling herself, and took a look at what they had created for him.

"It's lovely Andrew." Rarity could see the artwork consisted of a few stick figures and some glitter, but she imagined that much like ponies that it was the thought that counted. Chloe nodded, and excitedly chipped in.

"Look! It's you and father, and here's me and Andrew."

"That's 'Andrew and me'." Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Mother."

"Now now Chloe, there is no excuse for poor grammar. You want to grow up smart right?" The little girl smiled.

"Uh-huh! I want to be the first woman chief of state!" The mother laughed.

"And we would be so proud of you, just like we're proud of this picture you drew, but you need to speak well for others to take you seriously." The girl nodded again, and bounded off happily.

"Awww mother, you don't really think she could be the leader, do you? She's just a girl." Rarity's host gasped and bore an upset look.

"Andrew you should be ashamed! Anyone can do anything they want to if they put their mind to it. Even girls. You and Chloe both have long lives ahead of you, and will both grow to do amazing things. Now, you run along and play. Your father will be home soon." Andrew looked perturbed from the stern rebuke he had received, but wandered off in search of his sister. The mother sighed and went back to her cooking.

I like this human. She has good strong maternal instincts, she had two lovely well adjust foals, and she seems to be a snappy dresser to boot. Are these really the people Mango warned me about? That seems highly unlikely.

From the front room of the cozy family home, Rarity heard the lock of the door turn over and click. Her host's heart fluttered and she ran a hand over her dress, smoothing out any wrinkles. Reaching into a cupboard, she pulled out a glass and a bottle of a dark liquid. Adding a few cubes of ice to the glass, she topped it up with the liquid and took both her drink and the freshly poured one and walked out into the living room.

"Hello dear!" She greeted the man walking through the door. He smiled back at his wife, set down his briefcase and took the drink in her outstretched hand. He took a drink and replied.

"Hello sweety. Bourbon on the rocks as usual I see. That's a new colour for your martini."

"Isn't it? Joan suggested I try adding a bit of pineapple juice to kick it up a bit. It's quite good. Would you like a drink?" The man shook his head and rattled his glass.

"No thank you Samantha, I'll stick with the manly stuff. Dinner smells good though. Roast?" She nodded.

"Fresh cut form the butcher this morning. By the time you get cleaned up it should be ready. Before that though, where's my 'dinner'?" She smiled and leaned in towards him, closing her eyes. He leaned down and kissed her passionately. For all of her misgivings about the humans, Rarity would have been lying if she had said it wasn't one of the most romantic things she had seen. Being part of it in spirit melted her soul. Breaking the kiss, the man smiled.

"I love you, Mrs. Wilson."

"I love you, Mr. Wilson."

"Now go get ready..."

"Father!" The two children ran down the stairs and threw their arms around him. He returned their hugs.

"Chloe! Andrew!"

"Look what we made you!" Chloe pulled out the picture. The man smiled and hugged his children again.

"Why don't you go with your mother and help her put this on the fridge. I need to get ready for dinner." Rarity's host and her two children walked back to the kitchen.

"Alright Daniel, we'll be waiting in the kitchen. Don't leave your family waiting too long." The man headed upstairs.

"Family."

"What was that dear?"

"Nothing. Be down soon."

Rarity sat up with a start. Looking around the bedroom, she could see Nathan, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were sleeping together in one corner, having pushed their beds together. They had split between two rooms, with Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack sleeping in the other. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had insisted on staying with Nathan, and Rarity had begrudgingly agreed to stay with them as well, choosing to stay near Fluttershy. The mares had pulled the covers off the human and he was shivering in his sleep. Rarity got up and placed a blanket over him, softly smiling to herself.

"You may be a ruffian, but... I think I've horribly misjudged you. Nathan. Sleep well."

She gracefully climbed back into her own bed, and Focused on drifted off to sleep. She found herself, to her embarrassment, hoping that her dreams would continue to be filled with her little human family.