"Nathan?!" Fluttershy pushed herself forward past the other mares and stood in front of the kitchen table, jaw working itself up and down several times while she struggled to say anything else. Sinking down to her haunches, she forced her hooves into her eyes and rubbed them furiously, to assure herself it wasn't an illusion nor hysteria induced hallucination. When she'd finished scrubbing her eyes out, she took another long look, gazing over his ragged body as the ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Is... is it really you?"

Nathan sat up a little straighter, the small chair creaking in protest from his weight, grimacing as he felt one of his ribs painfully shift slightly in his chest. "Unless you've all been lying to me, which I suppose is a distinct possibility based on the last few months of our acquaintance," he frowned seeing several of the girls flinch at the offhanded comment, "and there's another human running around here acting like an asshole, then yes, yes it's most definitely me. Hey, Fluttershy. miss me?" He smirked.

"Miss you? Miss you?!" Fluttershy’s words came out barely above a whisper, but her voice carried a quiet ferocity that forced even the human to flinch. "Twilight?"

Twilight Sparkle glanced over at Fluttershy, her own stupefied look washing off her face as she was forced to look over at the pegasus. "Er... yes, Fluttershy?"

"I realize that this is your parent's kitchen..." She stood up on all four legs, spreading her wings wide.

"Fluttershy hold on a second..."

Fluttershy wiggled her hips and flank slightly. "And it's a really, really nice kitchen table and I promise that as soon as I'm able to I'll pay you back..."

"No, wait Fluttershy...!" Too late, Twilight's request to cease failed to stall the normally timid mare. With a last wiggle, she sprang from her position, crossing the remaining distance between her and Nathan with a powerful flap of her wings. Wrapping her hooves around his neck, her body came crashing down on the table, shards and splinters of oak from the shattered dinette set and chairs flying to the sides and covering half the kitchen in detritus. Nathan gave a pained yelp as her body pressed in on his ribs, but if Fluttershy gave any indication she didn't show it. Now lying on the floor, he groaned softly as she peppered his face and neck with kisses.

"Miss you?!" Her affections were interlaced with her berating him softly. "Of course I missed you! We all missed you! Do you have any idea what we've been through? What I've been through?! After you... when we all thought you were gone... everything went wrong. First Twilight started acting weird, then everypony else, and the cultists, and....and..." The rest of her words were lost as she regressed into a sobbing wreck, tears running down her face and covering the human.

Nathan slowly wrapped his hands around her body and held her close. "Hey... Shhhh it's going to be ok. I'm right here. I'm here. Everything is going to be ok." He looked over at the other mares, tears gathering in their own eyes. Save for Pinkie. She returned his look with a flat grimace. Soon, Applejack and Rarity surrounded him and began hugging them both as well. Twilight sat off to the side. She was sniffling at the scene, however when the human looked directly at her she lifted a hoof to her nose to rub away an imaginary itch. With a scoff, Pinkie Pie gave him a flat look and left the room. If he wasn't mistaken, he could have sworn he saw a scowl on her face. Pinkie...?

Rarity broke him out of his confusion almost immediately, her own tears mingling with Fluttershy’s and AJ's. "You... you callous brute! How dare you go and... a-a-and put Fluttershy through what you put her through. She thought you were dead. We all did darling! I... I'm so mad at you!" She sobbed against him. How much was over Nathan and how much was just the floodgates of emotion opening was up to debate, but she wept openly and freely.

Nathan just smiled and shook his head, carefully holding Fluttershy. "Rarity you're always mad at me. That's nothing new. I'm sorry I put Fluttershy through that I just thought..." He was silenced as Rarity put a hoof up against his lips.

"No! No... I was wrong. About a lot of things. I was right about a lot of things too, but I was wrong about you. You're not a... bad stallion. Man. Whatever. I made a lot of mistakes. Mistakes I thought I would never get a chance to fix. Now you're here and... I need to be better. For you, for me, and most importantly for dear Fluttershy." Rarity offered a soft smile.

Nathan was a little taken aback. "Wow... I don't know what to say Rarity."

Applejack gently hoofed him in the chest, giving him an apologetic frown as he winced, but continued on. "Ah think what ya mean to say is 'apology accepted Rarity'."

Nathan nodded and smiled. "Of course. That's exactly what I meant to say. Thanks Rarity, apology accepted. For what it's worth I should probably apologize for anything I may have done or said." He turned his attention to Applejack. "That goes for you as well AJ, watch it with your hoof though. I'm really feeling the last couple of days."

The earth pony gave him another apologetic glance and smiled. "Sorry, Ah wasn’t thinkin'. And you don't need to go apologizin' tah me. After that talk we had on the cabbage farm, far as Ah'm concerned we're all square. At least... yer square with me. Ah... Ah suppose yer probably still pretty steamed at me though." She looked away blinking away a few tears.

Nathan shook his head and gently used a hand to bring her face back around to look at him. "No AJ... We've been square for a long time. You're ok. I can call you AJ right? Only your friends get to call you AJ last I checked.”

She sniffled and chuckled at the same time, a faint smile gracing her lips. "That's right. Only mah friends, and you remember that ya darn critter."

"I don't think I could ever forget." Nathan softly nodded his head before turning to look at Twilight. "Well? Why are you standing over there? Are you afraid I'll bite? I don't deserve hugs from you?"

Twilight frowned prior to working her jaw a few times, attempts to vocalize lost in her throat. Finally with a calming breath she shook her head and looked at the floor. "I have a lot to think about, and I'm not sure Queen Celestia would approve of my continuing association with you. I'm glad for my friend's sake that you are fine." Nathan narrowed his eyes slightly as Twilight stood up a little straighter. She's almost like a different mare...

An abrupt change came over Twilight. Any sign of tears or sorrow evaporated as if they had never been there in the first place. She cleared her throat and smiled. "As I told them you would be. Once again, proving me right. You know that the rest of them doubted me the whole time? They thought benevolent Queen Celestia would have anything other than our best interests at heart! She even protected us from Nightmare Moon!" She was positively gushing. The remaining mares were scowling, while Nathan was watching her carefully.

Rarity spoke first. "Twilight Sparkle! Are you still in so much denial you can't see what's happening?! What Pr- I mean Queen Celestia has done?! Have you gone insane?!" Her body was vibrating, an equal mix of fury and sorrow.

Applejack looked between Nathan and Twilight. Matching Rarity’s scowl, she took a few deep breaths before snorting. "Twilight, Ah thought we were over this. What in tarnation has you so twisted up?! If Ah didn't know any better I'd swear somethin' right funny was going on!"

"I am not wound up at all." Twilight stated matter-of-factly. "As you can see I'm am perfectly calm and collected. The only ponies here who seem wound up are you three. Four actually- Nathan seems permanently deranged."

"Ah ain't sayin' yer wound up! Ah'm saying yer twisted. Like somepony or something got ahold of yer brain and turned off every one of yer switches except for some cold logic mixed with denial. If Ah didn't know better Ah'd say..."

"Stop it! Fluttershy gripped her ears with her hooves, clamping her eyes shut. "Stop it stop it stop it! Stop fighting! Please I can't take any more fighting!" She collapsed whimpering, rocking herself in Nathan's lap.

The human glanced between the mares and held out a placating hand. "Hold on. Hold on! Alright, I haven't been around for the last couple of days, but it sounds like you had a rough time of it. I can sympathize, I haven't exactly been enjoying the countryside myself. Everyone deals with their issues in different ways. Some people lash out, others hide behind a curtain." He sighed before looking at Twilight. "Some shut down. You all look like bags of shit and Fluttershy here is clearly suffering. I think you owe it to yourselves and each other to take a breather and rest. We'll have plenty of time to talk later."

Rarity cast one last hostile look at Twilight before slowly nodding. "Fine. A lady does need her beauty sleep I suppose." Assuming my dreams are pleasant for once. She rose to her hooves, casting away the last of her tears. "Alright then, Fluttershy? Were you going to stay with... er... Nathan or are you going to come back to the room you're sharing with me?"

Fluttershy looked up at Nathan and went to open her mouth, however the action was interrupted when he carefully placed a finger on her lips and shook his head. "You're welcome to join me, however I've already looked through the house, and none of the beds are large enough for me. I'll be sleeping on the floor tonight and you look like you could use the kind of sleep you can only get in a bed."

Rarity clicked her tongue. "Are you sure we couldn't find something more comfortable for you dear? I detest the thought of you having to sleep on the floor, especially in your condition."

Nathan smiled, probably the first genuine smile he had ever shown the unicorn, and Rarity would be lying if she said it didn't warm her heart just a little, and shook his head. "No I'll be alright. I'll be right as rain tomorrow I'm sure of it. Well, my rib won't be, but it'll heal. Thanks for the concern Rarity. I'll make something work." With a soft nod the alabaster mare stood and trotted towards the stairs.

"Rares hold up a tick, Ah'm coming too." Applejack stood and followed after her. Turning back to the human she sighed. "You an' Ah still got a lot to talk about, but Ah'll leave well enough alone for tonight. We'll clear out and give you two some room." The three other ponies slowly made their ways upstairs, leaving Nathan and Fluttershy alone.

Fluttershy sat on the floor next to the human, wringing her front hooves together and looking towards the stairs. "I'm sorry I jumped on you. You're... you're not angry at me are you? You... you don't want me sleeping next to you because you're angry aren't you?"

Nathan smiled, leaning over to rub behind one ear. "No Fluttershy. I'm not angry with you at all."

"Then why send me away?!"

"I meant what I said. You need the rest. Hell we all do. Especially since..." He sighed and looked at the floor. "Look... It would be nice if you were to come sleep with me, but you're going to have a terrible sleep if you do and I don't want that on my conscious." Amongst other things...

Fluttershy looked up, a glint of hope in her eye. "R-really? You do care!" She wrapped her hooves around him again, holding back her weight so she didn't compress his ribs further. It didn't stop him from grunting slightly. "Alright, I suppose I'll go join the others and get some sleep then. O-oh!" She smiled and carefully laid one wing down across his lap, the journal slipping out. "I almost forgot! I kept it safe for you. As... as long as it was with me it was like you were still with me."

Nathan gave the pegasus a soft smile and softly ran a hand through her mane. "I really appreciate it Fluttershy. You've been a great friend..."

"Marefriend?"

"...Marefriend. You've made Equestria just a little easier for me. Thanks."

"Well... I would do anything for my friends. All of my friends. I'm not the bravest or strongest pony, but when I'm with my friends I feel like I can do anything. When I'm with you... I... I feel like no matter what happens, no matter if we go through a hundred trials... everything will work out ok in the end." She smiled, nuzzling his cheek softly.

Nathan returned the smile before standing and helping her up to her hooves. "Alright, time to get to bed. Do you mind if I take the journal tonight? I wanted to read what you've written, and I should probably write an entry myself."

Fluttershy nodded softly as she slowly sauntered towards the stairs. "That sounds like a good idea. Have a good night Nathan. I really missed you."

"And I you, Fluttershy." Nathan stood watching the mare depart. As soon as she was out of eyesight however, his smile dropped into a frown as a deep sigh heaved from his chest. "What am I going to do about you Fluttershy?" Walking to the living room, he carefully laid down his belongings- which at this point were the Cannon, a simple bedroll, a bag with a few supplies, and his journal. Re-purposing a pair of cushions from a couch as pillows, he settled in and started tending to his injuries.

Grabbing a roll of bandages, he stripped off his jacket and began the slow process of binding his chest while he browsed through Fluttershy’s writing. There wasn't actually that much there to read, and by the time he had finished cleaning up the last of his cuts, he was coming to the end of her contributions to the tome. Sighing again, wincing slightly as his now tightly bound ribs protested the movement, he grabbed a nearby quill and started penning his own entry.

Day... Ah hell I can't even remember what day it is or how long I've even been here for now. What does it matter anymore anyways? After two more days of plodding through the Equestrian countryside I've finally found the girls again. Except for Rainbow Dash, but we already know where she's going right? I actually made a couple new friends too, to my surprise. I know, horrifying right? But it's true. I'll jot down the rest of that later. Right now I need to think.

Rarity seems... better. She still looks at me like she's trying to decide if I'm about to pour acid on her or stab her in the flank, but she seems to actually care. How much is for me, and how much is making peace with Fluttershy is beyond my ken right now, but I'm not going to do anything to upset her at this point.

AJ is probably the best off out of the lot of them. I'm a bit concerned what sort of conversation she wants to have with me, but I have a feeling she's not going to be any happier once we've had it.

Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. I don't even know where to start with her. I know there is a reason for everything, and the fact the others stick by her even now is a testament to her strength as a leader and friend, but honestly? I probably would have kicked her to the curb long ago. That in turn might be a testament to how shitty I am as a friend.

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Fuck. I have no idea how to deal with this situation. Pinkie is angry with me. I don't know why. I'll have to ask her. After I talk to her about the rest of it... but how the fuck am I supposed to deal with this? Fluttershy is a wonderful, kind, caring soul. She's already teetering on the edge of insanity. I don't want to be the one to push her over the edge. What am I even worrying about anyways? I'll be dead or imprisoned by the end of the week anyways. Probably dead. Hopefully dead? Is that selfish?

For now though, I'd better get some sleep.

Finishing his entry, he gently laid the book aside, slipped under the covers of his makeshift bed. Based on the last few days, he was planning to sleep lightly, however his exhaustion and injuries finally caught up with him, and he fell into a deep sleep, that was uninterrupted for several blissful hours.

Pinkie Pie rose with the morning sun, long before any of her 'friends' typically woke. Considering what they had been through for the last week, everypony had needed to catch up on their sleep, and it was only by the virtue of retiring early the night prior that she was able to pull herself from her bed so early. Gazing over to another bed, she could see Rarity and Fluttershy peacefully slumbering in each other's embrace.

Fluttershy.

The sheer venom at which the word leaped into her mind shocked even herself, like an acidic burn on her frontal lobe that refused to recede and left a dull burn. She could feel her face flush with anger. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to cross the room and put her hoof through the pegasus' face. Fluttershy didn't understand Nathan. Not like she did. None of them did. Maybe Applejack, but that was different. Fluttershy was just a stupid silly filly who didn't deserve him. She was a leech. Pinkie could see it. Every time the buttery mare interacted with the human it was killing him inside. Fluttershy was a burden, one so easily removed. W-wait, what? Where did that come from?!

Pinkie felt her hair go limp, all the emotion taken out of her sails. Why would I ever think those things? I love Fluttershy! She's one of my best friends! So... so why does it feel like she's hurting me so much? I need to get some air. Silently gliding to the door, careful to let the other two sleep, she let herself out and trotted down the stairs. She failed to realize until it was too late that the living room, currently occupied by the other source of her pain, was in the direct path between her and the front door.

Taking a calming breath, she stepped into the room. There was plenty of room to go around Nathan, fast asleep on the floor, the barrel of the cannon, which when she thought about it was a funny colour now, sticking out from underneath a pillow. She proceeded to do so, swallowing her emotions and trying to focus on something, anything other than the one she... she... she couldn't talk to about things right now. It wouldn't be fair to him. Or Fluttershy. But didn't she deserve to be happy too? Couldn't they see how much pain she was in? Those selfish ungrateful... No, no Pinkie. Breathe. Deep breaths. They're your friends. They're both your friends.

She was about to leave the room when Nathan started to stir. "Mmm...nnn... Pinkie don't... please. I..." Hearing his voice Pinkie spun on her hooves and walked up to him.

"Yes? Don't what?" The pink mare cocked her head before her expression fell. "Oh... you're talking in your sleep." She traced a hoof along his chest and grimaced. "What happened to you? We were supposed to be there for each other." Sighing she sat beside him and watched his fitful sleep settle again. The sun cast through the windows, softly illuminating his cheeks and jawline. Pinkie sat motionless and just... watched. She realized that she had never really taken the time to just look at him. Much like herself, he always seemed to be going full speed, no matter what he was doing. To watch him just lay quietly, as perplexing as the concept was to her, was... nice. She couldn't help the smile that spread on her cheeks.

She was so absorbed in just looking at him she failed to notice when he started to look back, his voice stirring her out of her reverie. "Hey Pinks. Something on my face?"

She jumped, shocked by the sudden sound. Regaining her composure she shook her head, smile still firmly in place. "No. I just missed you, and... and everything was so busy yesterday we didn't get a chance to talk."

Nathan returned the smile, raising an eyebrow. "Really? I seem to remember a certain pink mare giving me the stink eye and stomping off to bed."

Pinkie's voice caught in her throat as she mulled over the appropriate response. "I'm... I'm sorry. I've been so hurt and angry. They didn't respond at all like you said they would. Dashie abandoned me. Fluttershy is... she's..." She sighed and stood on her hooves. "If you're awake I should go get her. She'll want to talk with you."

Turning to leave, she was surprised to feel his hand grip one of her rear legs. "Wait. Pinks. Pinkie. I want... no I need to talk to you. Alone. Please stay?"

She shivered as she felt his fingers fall away, brushing against her leg. "O-okay. What do we need to talk about?" Her mane was still limp against her neck. He knows... Oh no he knows. He's going to be so upset with me. He's going to yell at me.

Nathan sighed and looked her in the eyes, cupping her chin with a hand. "Pinkie. I promised you that when this is all over, I would be honest with you. I would tell you everything. There's a lot I need to tell you. I owe you a lot and I need to start showing you the trust you deserve.”

"Why not tell Fluttershy? She's your marefriend right?" The earth pony sniffled softly. "Couldn't you trust her?"

Nathan shook his head. "It's because she's my marefriend that I can't tell her. I don't want to see her hurt. She's... very special to me."

"Oh. Right. Of course." Pinkie flinched. That had come out more hollow than she had intended. If Nathan noticed the lack of emotion he didn't acknowledge it. Instead he reached underneath one of the cushions, pulling out a small box.

"Now, Pinkie, I'm trusting you a lot. You might be upset with me, and that's ok. Please, please bare with me when I explain this to you." Nathan looked nearly sick to his stomach.

Pinkie just bit her lip and nodded. "I'm your friend. I couldn't stay upset with you."

Nathan nodded and began to open the lid. "Remember back in Ponyville? When..." His words were suddenly cut short as he heard hooves descending the stairs. Wide eyed, he panicked for a moment before slamming the box shut and shoving it into Pinkie's mane. She yelped as he pulled her close to him suddenly, whispering softly in her ear. "Keep that hidden. Please. I trust you." Pinkie was really starting to hate those three words. Every time he said he trusted her she felt like she was becoming party to another deception. She didn't have time to dwell on it however. He abruptly released her just before the other four mares rounded the corner.

"Pinkie! Darling!" Rarity put a hoof to her own chest. "We were ever so worried when we woke up and you were missing." She eyed Nathan and suppressed a shiver before forcing a smile onto her face. "Good morning sir. You seem to be doing better after a good night's rest."

Nathan smiled. "Actually I am feeling a lot better, thanks Rarity." He raised an eyebrow as Fluttershy and Pinkie exchanged sub-hostile glares before the pegasus shoved herself between the human and the earth pony. Reclining against his shoulder she fluffed out a wing around his body. "And... uh... good morning to you as well Fluttershy."

"Good morning Nathan." She pecked him softly on the cheek,and he couldn't help but blush. Pinkie glanced between the human and pegasus for a morning before standing, shooting Fluttershy a scowl, and walking over to Applejack. Smiling, Fluttershy ignored the pink pony and kept her entire attention on Nathan. "So your sleep was good then?"

"Yeah not bad actually, all things considered. I thought I'd wake up stiff as a board, but I gotta admit Sparkle, your parents have some high end carpeting." Nathan smiled and looked over at the unicorn. "I could get used to sleeping here."

Twilight fumed. "Don't call me that! You don't get to call me anything other than Twilight Sparkle. Maybe Twilight. This is all your fault! Everything! I should be reporting you to Queen Celestia! You're the reason all my friends are sad! And how did you know this was my parent's house anyways?!"

Fluttershy leaped to her hooves and growled at Twilight. "Just who do you think you are Twilight Sparkle?! Just because Celestia. .."

"Whoa, whoa!" Nathan held up a hand, attempting to placate Twilight, while his other arm wrapped softly around Fluttershy. "Both of you. Whoa. Twilight I'm sorry, I didn't actually mean any disrespect this time. Fluttershy, it's ok, she has the right to be angry."

"She does?!"

"I do?!" Both mares spoke in unison. Looking over at the other three, Nathan saw similar looks of incredulity.

"Sure." Nathan nodded. "I've done a lot to be disrespectful of a few of you, I let myself into your parents home without asking, and I've kinda been a jerk. So, I can understand you being upset Twilight."

"W-well. Then. Yes. Of course." Twilight stammered softly before giving a curt nod. "Yes I am angry with you." She abruptly sat down as if the statement needed no further explanation.

"Right..." Nathan rubbed the back of his head as Fluttershy settled back at his side.

"Now, Nathan, darling" Rarity cut in softly, attempting to change the subject. "Everypony has been through a lot, and I understand entirely if you're still not up to it, but I think we'd all like an explanation for what happened to you. Rainbow Dash went looking for you in the bottom of the ravine and said she only found your pack and... well your blood."

Nathan looked between the assembled mares and clicked his tongue softly. They were all staring back at him expectantly, even Twilight was trying and failing to look disinterested. Pinkie, still bearing the hint of a scowl, as well as Applejack leaned forward towards him, and he was careful to avoid eye contact with either. Finally he sighed. "Alright, I suppose that an explanation is in order. It's actually not all that exciting.” The ponies all took a seat on the surrounding cushions, Fluttershy with her head in his lap.

"Right. So we were on the edge of the cliff, with Rarity and myself dangling in mid air..." He rubbed his chin, remembering the details. “I realized that with whatever weird Equestria voodoo was surrounding me, whatever it is, the chances of both of us crawling out of the ravine were pretty slim. Making a decision, I decided Fluttershy needed her friend more than she needed a short term coltfriend.”

“That's was still a very rash thing for you to do!” Rarity snorted. “Poor Fluttershy was nearly paralyzed!” Fluttershy gripped his leg tightly.

“It wasn't going to be a happy ending either way. I chose.” He sighed. “As I dropped through the ravine, I was pretty sure I was dead. I mean, you don't survive a drop like that. Much to my surprise, a powerful gust of wind from the blizzard caught me and tossed me over towards a snow covered pillar of rock. There was enough snow to break my fall, however I was still going a pretty good speed and I came down on my chest, pretty sure I cracked my rib right there.”

“That's awful!” Fluttershy murmured.

“Well if I didn't crack it there, the momentum I was carrying threw me off the plinth and into the canyon wall, wrecking my jacket, tearing up my body, and smashing my nose. Not pleasant. I was able to get a grip on the wall however, and rather than bouncing off, I ended up sliding to the ground. Probably explains the blood stain on the side of the ravine. I came to a stop at the bottom and ditched the gear I didn't need, made a change of clothes and hobbled into a nearby cave to sleep out the rest of the blizzard. I heard some growling or something before I passed out, but besides that that was about as eventful as my separation from you six got.”

“Wait. That's all that happened?” Pinkie narrowed her eyes at the human and he could see her brain ticking along.

“Well, after that I managed to find the south end of the ravine, which had a path, climbed out, and walked to Canterlot. Hard to miss the giant glowing ball on the side of a mountain when the sky's clear. Pegasus guard at the gate gave me a hard time, and I thought I was going to wind up in another fight, but he eventually let me pass.”

“Just like that?” Applejack raised an eyebrow.

“After I showed him the letter from the princess that had requested my presence in Canterlot...”

“You had that?!” Twilight scowled. “That was my property!”

“I figured I might need it.” Nathan shrugged. “Anyways, after I showed him the letter, and told him a passerby had suggested you were going to be here at your parent's house, he let me in. He did however point out my wanted poster. I found my wanted poster... they say some damn creative things about me. Grrrr!” He waved his hands in the air before laughing.

"That... seemed... rather anticlimactic and boring dear." Rarity rolled her hoof around slightly, trying to figure out how to best vocalize her thoughts. "Don't get me wrong, we're all happy you survived and that guard sounded fairly overbearing but... with everything the rest of us went through over the last couple of days, we expected you to have been through much worse. I think?"

"Oh Rarity why would you wish that on him?" Fluttershy admonished her friend. "Hasn't he been through enough?"

"I'm not wishing anything on him!" Rarity looked shocked. "I'm merely saying..."

"Something don't add up right with his story?" Applejack cut in. "Now, Nathan, Ah'm not sayin' yer lyin' but it seems to me that yer leaving a few details out. Like the timberwolves... or how you managed to get in the city without bein' caught." Nathan felt a cold sweat run down his neck. Before he could answer though, Twilight came to his 'rescue'.

"Actually getting into the city makes sense." The purple unicorn faced Applejack. "The wanted posters clearly stated he was dangerous and if it was his intention to go find Queen Celestia, who could assuredly deal with him, the guard probably decided the best option was to let him through. The only other place he might go based on the provided information was here, so either way the guard would have felt the situation contained and report to his superiors." Twilight finished her matter-of-fact train of logic with a curt nod.

"Well that makes sense I suppose." Rarity agreed. "But the timberwolves Dash saw? What about them?"

"I did hear growling before I passed out..." Nathan gave a half hearted shrug. "My bag was missing too after the blizzard so... there's that?"

Applejack frowned. "Well... Ah... Ah guess Ah just assumed more would have happened to you. Sorry to doubt ya." While she bowed her head low, Pinkie stood up and walked closer to Nathan watching his body language.

"Nathan." The earth pony tried to look him straight in the eyes. "Are... are you sure that's everything that happened? Nothing else?"

"Um..." Nathan scratched his chin and looked deep in thought.

Rarity looked back down to Nathan and yelled at him. “Don’t you dare do it- if you do I’ll… I’ll… I’ll hate you forever!”

“Come now Rarity, I thought you already hated me?” With a deft swipe of the knife he severed the rope. Falling backward through the air head first towards the ground, the last thing he saw before the blizzard obscured his vision were the twin looks of horror on Fluttershy and Rarity’s faces. Finally. This god damn nightmare is going to be over. I got to stick it to La Tigra one more time too. Stuffy ass bitch. However, rather than having his brains dashed out on the rocky outcroppings below, his descent was suddenly stopped as he found himself in the forelegs of a thestral, feet dangling in mid-air. “Who the... Stout Heart?”

“H-h-how do you know my... you know what you can t-t-tell me later. P-Princess Luna needs you alive. She asked me to watch over you. You're not as light as you look though.” The bat pony struggled under the combined weight of the human and his gear in the blizzard. “And... I can't seem to fly as well as normal.”

“No shit! I don't understand how you're even keeping in the air! Rainbow Dash could barely fly around me! Just let me go!” Nathan winced slightly as the blizzard whipped at his face.

“M-magic enhanced flight muscles. Being a lunar guard has its b-b-benefits. Mind you having to rescue a weird human in the middle of a blizzard doesn't... ugh... typically go under the 'benefits' column. And no I'm not going to just let you go. Do you want to die or something?”

“Maybe I do! Ugh whatever. Just...” Using half of one hand to protect his eyes from the blizzard, Nathan managed to pick out a snow covered butte a little ways ahead of him. “Just put me down over there. You're going to get yourself killed.”

“Fine whatever.” Stout Heart slowly brought him down towards the outcropping when a flash of light, marking a fireball being flung through the obscuring wall of snow and sleet, caught their attention a split second before whizzing passed the thestral's head. “WHOA!” He spun around in an evasive maneuver and dropped suddenly right before another pegasus' body sped towards them, attempting to ram them out of the air. The sudden drop in altitude saved them as the other pony sped harmlessly by just above them.

“What the hell?!” Nathan shouted as his 'pilot' drifted to the side towards the outcropping, skidding along the top with his feet before another gust of wind buffeted them and pushed them back up into the air. Having caught a glimpse of their assailant, the human quickly identified the attacker as one of the pegasi that had been acting as an enforcer for the gryphon in Manyhooves. “Yo! Stout! Bad news- the pegasus that just tried to slam into us seriously has a bone to pick with me.”

“How big of a bone?!” Stout Heart growled, struggling to find a safe place to land.

“I may have nearly killed one of his friends, and dug the eye out of the socket of another.” Nathan gave a sheepish smile. The thestral looked horrified for a moment before shaking himself. He'd heard worse stories from Princess Luna.

“Question! Would that be one of his friends?” The thestral beckoned with a rear hoof as another pegasus bore down on them.

Nathan sighed. “Yep... yep that's the one I threw off the side of Manyhooves.” He had all of a split second to frown before a hoof caught him across the face, cutting his lip open. On instinct he lashed out with a leg, catching the peagsus on the side and knocking him away. Unfortunately it also knocked himself and Stout Heart into a spin. As the thestral attempted to bring them to a stop, the first pegasus cut back through the blizzard and slammed into Heart's backside, forcing him to drop Nathan.

“Shit!” The human dropped a couple of feet, landing on the side of the ravine on a small ledge, while most of his bags tumbled down the rest of the way to the snow covered floor. Stout was able to regain his balance now free of his load and spun to face the pair just as one attempted another airborne bull rush. Slipping to the side with practiced ease, he was please to see, winded as he was from the exertion of carrying Nathan, that the pegasus was a lot slower than he was in the blizzard. His pleasure was short lived, as the distraction the pair had provided had given their unicorn friend the time to set himself up at the bottom of the ravine and lob a fireball at the thestral.

“Ack!” Stout Heart spun up out of the way, the torrent of flame passing beneath him, singing his tail as it passed. The human is grounded, I can't lift him out of here, and I can't take all three of them...

Just as the thestral was about to give up hope, Nathan shouted over the storm. “STOUT! COVER YOUR EARS!” Without a moment's hesitation, the pony complied just in time to protect his ears.

BANG BANG BANG

Nathan cracked off three shots of the Pie Cannon, catching (the now eye patched) Sprinkles in the side and dropping him to the snow hard. He struggled to stand for a moment before giving up and passing out. Taking a moment to reload, the human was distracted long enough for one of the pegasi to slam into him, causing him to drop the ammo in his hand. He watched helplessly as it tumbled to the ravine floor, lost beneath the snow, and struggled to keep a grip on his firearm. Swinging it around, he caught the offending pony on the chin and knocked him back into the air.

Stout was quick to capitalize on the reduced numbers of their attackers and dodged another attempted blow from the other pegasus. However this time, upon spinning passed his assailant, he brought his rear hooves up behind him and landed a solid buck to the pegasus' wings, cringing slightly as he heard one snap under the assault. The unfortunate target slammed face first into the ravine wall, sliding down passed where Nathan was standing, leaving a bloody trail all the way down, finally coming to a stop next to his unicorn compatriot.

The remaining pegasus took a moment to evaluate the situation. Before he could make any decisions though, a blood curdling howl cut through the blizzard, as a pack of timberwolves slowly stalked towards his friends. With a panicked look between them and his two intended foes, his resolve broke. “Look... look, we're just carrying out orders! We weren't even going to kill you! We were just supposed to rough you up! You... you can't let them kill them!”

“Oh?” Nathan raised an eyebrow. “For all the times you've tried to injure me I'd say it'd be poetic justice. What do you think Stout Heart?”

“What?!” The thestral spun and gave the human another horrified look. “You can't be serious! How could you in good conscious let a pack of timberwolves kill them?” He shook his head.

“You say that implying I care or have a conscious?” Nathan spared a glance to the other pegasus, who had gone white as a sheet and looked mortified by what he was hearing.

“No. We are helping them. Now!” Stout growled.

“You don't give me orders batman. In case you hadn't noticed, not a pony.” Nathan wrapped himself a little tighter into his clothes as the blizzard continued to bite. The thestral's glare didn't subside however, and after a few moments of internal griping he frowned. “Oh for fuck's sake fine. Let's go save the idiots.”

Carefully sliding down the steep embankment, he made it to the pair of unconscious ponies a scant minute or two before the pack would be upon them. “C'mon. Apparently my conscious will be angry with me if I don't do the 'right' thing.” He lifted the unicorn on his shoulder while the remaining pegasus and thestral lifted the other downed pony between them. They could hear the growls of the approaching pack grow louder as they dragged the dead weight into a nearby cave. Thinking quickly, Nathan took his food filled knapsack, rubbing it in the blood of the pegasus, before hurling it as hard as he could away from the cave entrance. They were safely deep within the cave when they heard the first sound of teeth ripping into the food and cloth. Nathan could have sworn he heard a scream, but with the howling of the blizzard it was hard to tell. Turning to Stout and their new 'friend' he frowned.

“Alright then. What are we supposed to do with the three of you?” The human sighed and pointed at the two unconscious ponies. “They're going to need time to recover, and your buddy won't be flying for a little while. As for me, I have to get to Canterlot.”

“We. We need to get to Canterlot.” Stout Heart corrected him. “I still can't believe you were going to let them die.”

“Whoa whoa whoa.” Nathan held up his hands and shot a glare at Stout. “First off, who said anything about we? I've already met your princess- which I'm going to assume you've forgotten. I know exactly what sort of games she's playing. I don't need or want an 'escort'. Second, you don't know anything about me. At all.” Stout opened his mouth to interrupt him, when the human clamped one hand over his snout. “And I swear to God that if you recite some half assed barely researched official propaganda like Princess Luna did I will punch you so hard right in the God damn mouth.”

"Well it doesn't change the fact that I'm under orders to watch over you on the way to Canterlot. Either I come with you, or I go hide out of sight and follow you there. Your choice. " Stout simply shrugged his shoulders and gave the human a dispassionate look.

"We'll discuss this later." Nathan growled and turned back to the other three. "You three on the other hand will not be following us anywhere. Next time you come anywhere near me I'll break your wings and leave you to die regardless of what some namby pamby guard says. Do I make myself clear?"

The pegasus nodded his head emphatically. "Uh... yeah... totally clear. Wh-where should we go though?"

"Don't know, don't care. Soon as this blizzard passes, I expect you to take your friends far away from me. On pain of not wanting to evoke my wrath. Until then, it's too dangerous to go out there with that pack of wolves."

* * * * *

The storm had passed a few hours later, and reinforced by another threat from Nathan the three would be assailants had left without any further trouble. The entire time waiting for them to leave, Stout Heart and the human had both sat on opposite sides of the cave, content to their own thoughts and company. As soon as they were alone, Nathan stood and started packing what remained of his bags.

"Where are you going?" Stout stood and stretched his legs before walking towards Nathan.

"Canterlot, remember? I know you're just a guard, but you can't be that dumb." He grabbed his firearm, slung it around his shoulder and started for the cave mouth.

"It was a rhetorical question, human. Well, you can't leave without me." Stout shook his head. "Princess Luna would have my hide tanned if I left you alone again."

"Wow. Oooooooooo." Nathan waved his hands in the air. "The big bad princess of the night is scary! She's given me a task and if I fail she'll have me torturrrred."

"You watch your mouth!" Stout stomped his hoof. "You couldn't possibly understand how great the princess is! She's given me so much! It's my privilege to serve her!"

"Privilege? What was all that about a tanned hide?" Nathan rolled his eyes.

"That was a matter if speech. She wouldn't actually. She's a just ruler. Maybe not the nicest, but she's just. You wouldn't understand anyways. All you exist for is to destroy, right Ypsilon?" Stout was snarling. "It's not my place to question her but I can't understand what she sees in you. You're just a disgusting brute with no sense of moral or conscious. What help could you possibly be?"

"Don't call me that! That's not my name. I don't care what stupid shit your little pony princess came up with. As for what she wants with me- it's the same as everyone else here it seems. She wants to use me then discard me as soon as I outlive my purpose. I'm sorry if I seem slightly hostile I don't take well to manipulation. Do you have any idea what she wants from me? Did she tell you?"

"No and I don't need to know because I trust her!" He growled back. "Something that, after watching you and Laughter for a day, is painfully lacking from you."

Nathan swung a fist and caught the thestral in the face, sprawling him out across the floor. "How much did you see? How long were you watching?! That was personal, private!"

"Private to her maybe! Not you! She's giving her everything to try and be your friend and you can't even give her a shred of what she wants from you." Stout got to his hooves and wiped the blood from his now cut lip. "What in Tatarus is wrong with you?"

"Wrong with me? Since when the hell did this turn into human psychoanalysis hour?" Nathan slammed one of his bags against the cave wall. "I thought you wanted to convince me to let you 'escort' me to Canterlot. You're doing a pretty piss poor job."

"Am I thought? You're not denying you're using that poor mare as a crutch while you lead another on in some disgusting mockery of kindness, which, I realize now that I've said it, is as ironic as it is sad. You need others. You can't be alone. We both know it- if only to stop you from doing something you'll regret!"

"I'm not using Pinkie, it's complicated! Fluttershy is... I don't know. Maybe I do need others." Nathan glanced back at Stout, most of the fight taken out of him. "Fine. You know what? I can't stop you and you'll just keep spying on me even if I said no. I could kill you though."

"You won't though." Stout rubbed a hoof against his body, wiping away a bit of grime.

Nathan raised his eyebrow. "How do you figure that? I thought you said I had no morals and only lived to destroy?"

"I did, but I've been observing you for a couple days and I know more than you think. I got you angry enough to lash out at me and you pulled your punch." Stout chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, that hurt, but I really don't want to be on the receiving end of anything you might dish out when you're actually trying to hurt somepony. Those three never stood a chance with or without me."

Nathan gave the thestral a long calculating look, trying to wrap his head around the myriad of pace and attitude changes coming from the pony. He finally settled on an appropriate response. "You know what Stout? I may have misjudged you. You're smarter than you let on, and you're not half bad." He stuck out an open palm towards the thestral.

"Err... thanks? I guess? What's with the hand?" Stout nervously offered his hoof in a similar motion, stiffening as the human grasped his hoof and shook it.

"It's called a handshake, though I suppose hoofshake would be more appropriate." He smiled at Stout. "It's how humans express their desire to avoid hostilities or work together. It's a good thing." He gently released the hoof and stood back from the pony.

"Oh. So we're friends now then?" The thestral examined his hoof and rolled his head to the side.

"No. But I won't try to kill you in your sleep now." Nathan laughed.

"You weren't going to try anyways." Stout actually managed to smile back.

"Eh, semantics. Well... should we get going then? I'd like to put a few kilometers between us and this cave before sundown. Still have a couple hours of light left." Nathan picked up his bags again and slung them over his shoulders.

"Actually, I'm quite familiar with this territory. If we walk through this cave we'll come out near Canterlot in a couple days. It'll be a bit of a trek, but no snow. Anypony else looking for us will likely be above ground too." Stout only had his armor with him, which he slipped back into.

"You're asking me to put a lot of trust in you Stout."

"Start by putting a bit of trust in me, and maybe it'll help with your 'friends'.”

Nathan took a few glances between the thestral and the entrance to the cave before sighing. “Alright. I can't imagine it could be any worse than wandering the countryside alone. Lead on.”

“Good.” Stout smiled and started trotting deeper into the cave. “A couple hours into the cave should take us to a water basin where we can camp for the night.” As the human followed him he suddenly looked confused and looked back over his shoulder. “What the hay is a kilometer?

* * * *

“You've got a funny way of trying to build my trust!” Nathan was shouting at Stout over his shoulder as the pair continued their breakneck sprint through the underground. He spun momentarily, cracking off a shot at one of the strange underground horrors that had found their camping spot soon after setting up, catching it on the beaked jaw. It spiraled into a stalagmite moments before dropping to the floor. The human resumed his running not waiting to see if any of the others were going to stop. He cursed under his breath as he felt the shotgun deteriorate further. “You might have mentioned that giant ugly penguins with crab claws would be in the god damn lake!”

“I didn't know!” Stout kept galloping, flapping his wings to regain his balance on occasion having taken a corner or hill too quickly. “There's never been anything like this down here!”

“Son of a-!”

* * * *

Several hours later, leaving the abominations far behind them, they exited the cave just as the sun was rising the next morning. A hasty conversation had determined that traveling through the night would probably be for the best, due to the now ever present threat of unknown abyssal horrors that might be lurking in the under-depths. That being said, following Stout Heart's directions had proved confusing and deposited them in the middle of a jungle.

Nathan took a confused look around and frowned. “Wait... what?” He glanced back at Stout, stepping hoof into the light, then back to the sweltering jungle stretching out in front of them. “Now... I sort of figured out that whatever it is about me is screwing with the weather in Equestria, but... uh... unless you've really taken me off the beaten path, and I'll resist making the joke about taking that left turn back in Albuquerque, should it be warm enough for a jungle? Is there even jungle in Equestria?”

“No... no there's not. Not normally.” Stout trotted around, inspecting the trees and foliage. “Hold on a moment.” Spreading his wings, he gave them several flaps before shooting into the air, straight up above the treeline. Just as he was about to break through the canopy he gave a startled cry and came straight back down, barely righting himself and narrowly avoiding a face first crash into the ground. “Oh... not good.”

“What's going on? You ok? What happened?” Nathan checked the thestral over for any sign of injury, nodding his approval at finding him largely uninjured, save for his pride, possibly.

“I'm fine. I'm fine. There's some form of magical barrier blocking me from going any higher than the canopy. It's not a physical barrier like the ones protecting the towns though. It feels like something else. Either way I have no idea where we are. This should have lead us out directly near Canterlot. I don't understand.” Stout glanced around frustrated. “Well... now what?”

“Well... I suppose we might as well set up camp here. I'm exhausted and I imagine you can't be fairing much better.” Nathan stripped off his jacket and set about building a fire.

“I just feel bad. I asked you to trust me and...”

“And it's ok. You didn't get me killed, and I can see that you're genuinely confused. For what it's worth I do trust you. At least enough I'm not going to kill you.” Nathan shrugged, planted himself next to the fire and took a bite of a piece of dried fruit. “Relax. Here, eat up.” The human tossed him a small bag of fruit, which Stout took gratefully.

“Thanks. I actually expected you to be angry. You almost always seem angry.” Stout chuckled softly. “I guess you're not all bad... Nathan.”

“Angry? Me?” Nathan gave a short laugh and shook his head. “Nah, you weren't that far off. I'm usually pretty angry. Fluttershy and Pinkie both call me out on it regularly. I also probably would have let the wolves snack on Sprinkles and the pegasus if you hadn't been there. Which... I suppose would be indirectly breaking my promise. So.... thanks.”

“So...” Stout gently tried to steer the topic away from an uncomfortable subject. “You already knew my name. I'm guessing we've met before and Princess Luna removed the memory?” He took a few bites of food.

“Mmf- yeah.” Nathan swallowed a mouthful and nodded. “A few nights ago. You and your buddy, Slatehide? Yeah him. Where is he by the way?”

“He's assisting the princess in Canterlot. She had initially sent the pair of us to watch over you, but he felt that I would be sufficient for the task. Being my superior officer I didn't have much say in the matter.”

“Superior? You two seemed to be fairly equally ranked from what I could see.” Nathan raised an eyebrow.

“While technically true, Princess Luna typically defers to his judgment before mine, by virtue of him having more experience. He was also the first one willing to join the night guard after the princess' return from banishment. While he could do to loosen up, I'd trust him with my life.” Stout finished off his small meal and gave a stretch. “Can I ask you something?”

“You just did.” The human chuckled at his own bad joke.

“You know what I mean.” Stout rolled his eyes. “Anyways- you and Fluttershy. What's up with that?”

Nathan narrowed his eyes and subconsciously felt his body shift into a more defensive position, pushing his shoulders out and frowning. “What about us?”

“Well... just... let's be honest here. She's the Element of Kindness, and you're... not?” Stout gave a sheepish grin. “I mean... do you love her?” To the thestral's surprise, the human's entire body sagged and he rocked forward onto his elbows, propping his chin up with his hands and gazing into the fire.

“No. No I don't.” Nathan sighed and shook his head. “I'm not even really sure how I feel about her now.”

“Wait... you don't care about her?” Stout tilted his head.

“No... No I do it's just... that's what makes it hard. She's so sweet, and kind, and gentle. Hell, I should tell you the story of when I showed up in Equestria and spent a few days in the Everfree. She was so damn mad when I saved her from a bear. She's the most caring individual I think I've ever met. Which is why I haven't been able to bring myself to tell her that I don't care about her that way. At all. She's already so delicate and fragile. I'm going to shatter her. It's going to happen one way or another, but every time I try she managed to talk me out of it.” Nathan rolled on to his back and gazed up at the canopy.

“But... but it should be easy for you. I mean, you don't even care for ponies that way right? From everything I've heard?”

“Well.” Nathan scratched the stubble on his chin with a hand and tried to figure out how to answer the pony's question. “That's... that's not entirely true.”

“Wait, wait, WAIT!” Stout leaped up. “You do like a pony? Like, romantically? But not Fluttershy?!”

“Maybe...”

“WHAT?! Then who?!” Stout took only a moment to put two and two together. “Pinkie Pie?!”

“Yes?! SO?!” Nathan sprang up and pointed a finger at the thestral. “What does it matter to you?! So I like her. A lot. I've got my own problems first. Besides, even if I did break it off with Fluttershy, which I should do anyways, who's to say Pinkie would want anything to do with me? It's not like she likes me like that!”

“How do you know though? That mare seems prepared to pour her heart out to you at a moment's notice. I'm sorry for eavesdropping but it's pretty painfully obvious to me that she trusts you more than her pony friends. Which when you consider that they're the Elements of Harmony? Is terrifying to me. You might not want to destroy anything, but if you don't watch yourself you're going to end up destroying the greatest symbols of hope and freedom of our kingdom!”

A flash of anger gripped the human, and for a moment all he could see were flames. “You think I don't know that?! I've already killed her!! What do want me to do, dad?! What do you want me to do?! I CAN'T BRING HER BACK!” Nathan was almost screaming at the thestral.

Stout backed off and frowned. “Wh-what? Bring who back? What are you talking about?”

“I... I...” Nathan took a few steps and slowly lowered himself to the ground. “It's nothing. I'm sorry Stout. That shouldn't have been directed at you.” He swallowed and shook his head. “I'm sorry. What should I do though?”

“You could start by speaking with Pinkie, see how she feels. Share more with her?” Stout shook his head. “I don't know, why are you asking me anyways? Does it look like I'm rolling in mares?”

“Well you started the conversation.” Nathan was still visibly agitated but he tried to shrug off his previous outburst. “Besides, you know what they say. Once you go black you never go back.”

“What?” Stout tilted his head, carefully sitting back down again. “I don't even know what that means. Go back to what? Are you implying that I'm black? I'm really more of like a... charcoal I think?”

Nathan buried his face in his palms and sighed. “Just never mind. We should get some sleep. Since we ditched the tent near the underground lake, we've just got a couple bags for pillows and my bedroll.” He tossed one of the bags to Stout. “I'm going to go get comfortable inside the cave mouth someplace so the sun doesn't keep me up all day.”

“You can sleep later Ypsilon.”

“I told you to stop...” Nathan's protest trailed off as he realized that Stout hadn't been the one to speak. In fact, Stout wasn't moving his lips. Or his body. Or at all. Gazing around, he could see nothing was moving, the bag suspended in mid-air. It was as if the entirety of the world ground to a halt suddenly. Reaching for his firearm, he jumped up to point it at the source of the voice... to find a pair of foals. “Who the hell are you?”

“Wow mister you sure are grouchy!” The filly bounced in place before chasing her tail. “Didn't your mama ever teach you not to use such language in front of foals? We could be impressionable!”

The colt put a hoof to his muzzle and sighed. “You are the embodiment of impressionable.”

“See?!” The female flopped on to her back.

“Specifically? No, I don't think she ever told me to be polite around foals. Children maybe, but not foals. I would be too, if I actually believed you to be juvenile ponies.” Nathan tightened his grip on the Pie Cannon and frowned. “Which, based on just about everything else I've seen, especially the time stop thing, nice touch by the way, I'm willing to bet you're not.”

“Oooooh! He's smart! WAAAAAY smarter than Loony Luna was... or OR Truthseeker. And Truthseeker is really smart! Remember what he said when he first met us? Huh? Huh?!” The filly was doing cartwheels and bouncing around the human. Nathan was torn between wanting to laugh, and wanting to put a slug between the bizarre foal's eyes. She came back up into a normal stance and put a no-nonsense look on her face. “'I have no time for foals like you! I am trying to learn how to see into the future!'” She broke down and giggled, snorts cutting through her laughter, and she collapsed and rolled around. “What a maroon! He would have figured it out wayyyyy sooner if he had just understood that the past is just as important!”

Nathan took a long hard look at the clearly befuddled colt and the giggling filly, standing open mouthed before finally throwing the safety back onto his shotgun and dropping it to his side. He gave the male a sympathetic smile. “I... I have a friend who's a lot like that. I can relate. Alright then, gun's down. You obviously want to talk... whatever you are. So let's talk.”

“You're not as reckless as you look.” The colt regained his composure, ignoring the filly. “If I was a pony and had no grasp of the fates I would have assumed that we'd be arguing for some time before you dropped your guard. But since I am in fact of the fates I knew exactly you would do so. My companion in her zeal for life in these new found bodies was exactly what was supposed to happen and thus it did.”

“Eh? Sorry?” Nathan tilted his head. “You're trying to tell me you can tell the future?”

“Or the past. Or present. Or what could be or might have been. We can see it all for we are fate incarnate. In a sense we know everything that might have been or might be known.” The colt took a deep bow. “We are no more a filly and colt than you are a rock. These bodies are... inefficient but necessary.”

“Well then. I supposed that isn't that surprising since Twilight showed me a few prophecies that have come true. Magic is as magic does I guess. But why appear to me as a foal? You could have shown up as another human. That would have really got my attention.”

“Simplicity. We've chosen a form with which to converse with material beings and it will be fine for this conversation or any conversations we may have in the future. It's also difficult to maintain two separate images for two separate locations at the same time.”

Nathan ignored the latter half of his explanation for the time being and began to pace in a small circle. “Will we have further conversations?”

“We know if it is so, but you at this time do not.”

“'Maybe, but I'm not telling nah nah.' Right, loud and clear. So what do you want with me then?”

The filly abruptly stopped laughing and rolled to her hooves. “Because you're the lynchpin, and your friends are going to need your help. Some sooner than others.”

“What?” Nathan stopped pacing and gave the female a hard look. “I'm going to be honest here and say that that doesn't really make sense.”

“What do you mean?” The filly tilted her head.

“Well first of all, I don't think they need my help. If anything I think I'm making things worse.” Nathan stuck up a finger.

“Which you are.” The colt nodded.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence there.” Nathan grumbled. “Second, the lynchpin for what? Look, you're these fate things right? Side note- if a few months ago you told me I'd be having a conversation with two foals who were actually some embodiment of fate itself, and that I'd think it was no big thing, I'd say you were insane. Anyways- fate things. Why are you telling me anything? If you know everything that's going to happen what's the point?”

“Dopey mopey.” The filly scrunched up her face. “We know everything that could happen. We're just here to help it along so things go the way they should.”

“Yes.” The colt nodded. “Most of the time, we would give vague suggestions to those we visited, veiled half truths and prophecies. It's not in our nature to give our followers the answers they seek. You're a horse of a different colour.”

“Because you're not a horse!” The filly was giggling again.

“Quite.” The foal grumbled. “You're not as easily coerced nor do you trust readily. You also don't spend much time thinking through a problem, jumping at the first solution and executing it. A direct approach is necessitated.”

“Alright, so you're trying to steer me towards something because I'm some sort of lynchpin for something? What does it matter though? Look, I'm no mystical expert or fortune teller, but I'm going to have to make the assumption that you're only taking an active interest in what's going on because it threatens you. If fate is real, which I'll play ball on that way for the purposes of this discussion, fate should just continue on. Regardless of who lives or dies, or how they live or die. Fate continues on.”

“Unless there's nothing left to live or die.”

“Unless there's... wait WHAT?!” Nathan shot the colt a glare. “Back up. BACK UP. Are you saying that because of me that everything in Equestria is going to die? I'm going to destroy the world? How? Why?!”

“I never said you would be the one to do it. In fact, I will promise you that you yourself, in none of the possible outcomes, will be directly responsible for the end of the world.” The colt nodded.

“Indirectly though?”

“Indirectly... you are the lynchpin. Your friends don't know it yet, but they're going to be relying on you. Or it's the end. No more Luna, Celestia, ponies, changelings. Nothing. Equestria will be a scorched ball of rock floating through the cosmos, eventually colliding with the sun.” The colt gazed up through the canopy at the rays of sunshine filtering through the unnaturally still leaves.

“Oh.” Nathan flopped to his backside and shook his head. “Maybe the destroyer is an apt name after all. How can I stop it?”

The filly jumped into his lap and squished his face between her hooves. “You could kill yourself!” She giggled and rolled away.

“Fates above...” The colt sighed.

“Is she telling the truth? Would that save Equestria?” Nathan glanced at his firearm.

“We cannot lie. Yes, it would, but your friends will all die, and with their deaths the chances of Equestria sustaining itself in the long run decreases significantly as the elements would have to manifest in new bearers, not to mention what it would do to Princess Celestia.” The pointed through the jungle. “Just over that way they've just escaped from the stronghold of one of our old associates, Truth Seeker. They've weathered several more trials and are nearly falling apart as a group. While five of them have made their way to the edge of the jungle and will soon enter Canterlot, Loyalty has abandoned their cause for the time being, admittedly due to our intervention. She has gone north to seek help for her friends.”

“They're all ok though physically right?” Nathan looked a little worried and studied the pair of foals. “|I already knew they had been having issues, mostly thanks to me, but as long as they're not hurt...”

“You would be surprised how little of their issues are due to your presence. However, they nearly died the past eve, or turned into mindless thralls. Our old friend Truth has been searching for the key to a prophecy and running ponies through an archaic test with no merit. The failures are turned into mindless beasts, not unlike the ponies and horses from your world. He has fallen out of favour with us. We wish for you to deal with him. Do so, and we will continue to aid you as we can. Don't kill him. Just remind him how little he truly is.”

“Really?” Nathan stood up and glared at the colt. “You want me to go kick the shit out of some ponies that made you angry? Aren't you the fates? Couldn't you have seen that happening?”

“We did! We also knew you would agree to exacting our punishment.” The filly was bouncing again, excited.

“And why oh why, am I going to do that?” Nathan growled at the vibrating foal.

“Because he was trying to twist Twilight to his cult and she was going to agree and sell out Pinkie Pie and Truth would have made her a mindless mud wallower first because he's actually scared of her because well you know exactly why you've seen her 'Pinkie Sense' you think she got that just for fun?!” The filly was giggling again.

“Oh. Really.” Nathan grabbed the Pie Cannon. The fury in his eyes as his face blossomed into a deep shade of red would have cowed a normal pony. Even this filly, as unlikely to be afraid as she was, couldn't help but tremble. “Where was his little compound again?”

“O-over there. It's beyond those trees!” She waved a hoof in a general direction. She cowered beside the colt.

“Wait.” Nathan spun back towards the foals. “Why didn't you talk to me before? A lot of this could be avoided if you had spoken to me earlier.” He threatened them with the gun. It wouldn't have done anything to them, but his rage wasn't going to tell him that.

“We have met once before.” The colt nodded. “When we next meet, if you haven't figured it out I'll tell you then.”

“That's pretty damn cryptic!” The human punched a tree and winced as his hand started to throb.

“So it is. So we are.”

“God dammit whatever. I'll deal with you two later.” He cocked his firearm, chambered it full with the strongest charged beanbags he had and crashed through the jungle.

“Wh-why does he scare me so much?” The filly was still nervously sitting next to the colt. “He's just a mortal.”

“He's a mortal we have very little control of. You know how well and what sorts of magic actually interact with his personal field.” The colt shook his head, pushing her out of the sight of Stout as time resumed its normal progression. “We know where his path intersects however.”

“Nathan? Ypsilon?!” Stout looked around the suddenly empty campsite, flopping over as the bag slammed into his face. All three of them, the two hidden harbingers of fate as well as the thestral night guard currently regaining his footing, could vaguely make out a very masculine and very infuriated voice yelling.

““We hath hearkened that thou was to bring harm to our little ponies. Whilst they may not have brought to thee in greatness harm… We art very able and very willing.”

“Really? Really?!” Stout dashed off through the jungle.

* * * * *

“Alright, now that we've thoroughly thrashed those unicorns...” Stout spat out a bit of blood and nursed a patch of fur that had been scorched by an errant lightning bolt. “Can you explain to me why it was necessary to dash off into the jungle and suddenly beat the apples out of them? And what in Tartarus was with the Old Canterlot speech?”

“Well...” Nathan sheepishly shrugged. “I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you. The speech sounded appropriate. Like a righteous God given fury. I don't know. You didn't have to come and help me either. What the hell was that all about?”

“That was me showing you I trusted you. Everything I've seen from you says that you would only attack somepony if you had reason to. Your reasons are usually pretty lackluster, but reasons. Try me. Give me the reason.”

“Alright.” Nathan nodded. “There was a sudden time stop spell dropped on top of us, and while you were frozen in place a pair of foals claiming to be able to see fate came to talk to me. They told me that these unicorns,” Nathan kicked one of their unconscious bodies, “tried to injure and/or kill and/or enslave the elements and they had barely escaped. I got mad.”

“Huh.” Stout rolled one of the bodies over and looked him over. “Considering you have romantic feelings for one...”

“Stout...”

“...and are friends with a couple of others I'd say you showed a lot of restraint. Not a single dead body. I'm impressed.” Stout kept looking at the one he'd flipped. “This one looks like he'd already taken a fireball or something before we even got here. Poor sucker. Never stood a chance.” Stout looked up to see Nathan staring at him like he'd grown a second head. “What? Something on my face?”

“Actually yes, you've got a bit of blood rolling down your cheek.” The thestral wiped it away with a wing. “But that's besides the point. I'm a little confused.” Nathan gestured to the room. “I thought Luna sent you to make sure I didn't do shit like this.”

“No, she sent me to make sure nothing happens to you. I'm just doing my job.” Stout grinned. “Ok, ok, I like a good scrap too. Remember- this was me putting my trust in you. I'd say it was well placed.”

“Alright it's official.” Nathan laughed. “You're my friend now. For what it's worth, trusting you hasn't worked out too badly either. You might be on to something. I'll be having that chat with Pinkie when we get to Canterlot.”

“You're pretty ok yourself human. A little horrifying. But ok.” Stout chuckled as they left the compound.

“I can live with that. Man, I need sleep though.” Nathan gave a loud yawn. “Shit... do you remember the way back to our campsite?”

“...really?” Stout sighed.

“Damn. Ok, well I still have the important stuff on me, so I guess we might as well just head towards Canterlot. Look-” He pointed at some damaged underbrush. “Looks like four or five ponies went this way at a good pace. I'd bet that's our mares. Follow the trail and it should lead us to them, which is hopefully Canterlot.” He started walking along with Stout falling in line behind him. “We'll put some distance between us and this place before bedding down for sleep first though. I'm not going to make it another twelve hours.”

“I can concur with you there.” Stout yawned behind him. “I'm looking forward to a good nap.”

“Me too buddy.”

“Buddy's now are we?”

“Yeah... you've earned it.”

* * * * *

After a well deserved, though uncomfortable sleep, and the inexplicable reaction to the jungle just suddenly disappearing as they pushed through onto the plains, the pair found themselves finally, finally, approaching Canterlot early in the morning. Rather than heading for any of the main gates, they had curled around slightly south and come up through one of the small suburbs, Cloverleaf. Having stumbled across some of the wanted posters Nathan was in a characteristically grumpy mood.

“Wonderful. So the girls, myself, and Luna are all wanted criminals now?” He growled at Stout. “There something you're not telling me here? Other than everything?”

“I... I don't understand.” Stout shook his head. “These posters are new. And they're referring to the princess as Nightmare Moon...” He leafed through the stack he had found and tossed them aside in frustration. “Please believe me, I don't understand. She's not. She's Princess Luna. She would never...” He was quieted as Nathan placed a hand on his back.

“Hey, it's ok.” Nathan nodded. He was frowning, but not angry. “I didn't mean to accuse you, I'm sorry. I believe you. Alright then, clearly, things have changed. I thought you said Slatehide was keeping an eye on things in the city?”

“I... thought he was.” He glanced off into the distance, barely making out the Lunar Spire from their position walking through the abandoned streets. “Never thought I'd be happy for a curfew. Not a pony in sight to worry about.”

“Tell me about it. Alright. Game plan. I think our first order of business should be...” Nathan was cut off as Stout suddenly shoved him into an alleyway.

“Pegasus guard! Keep out of sight!” Stout hastily apologized under his breath. Nathan hid behind a dumpster and watched.

“Night Guard Stout Heart?” The pegasus came in low and landed in front of the thestral, giving a polite bow. “Private Sleet, Pegasus Reserve Corps.”

“Private Sleet.” Stout nodded back. “Are you an official escort?”

“No, and keep quiet.” Sleet stepped closer to Stout and Nathan had to strain to overhear the conversation. “At this point I assume you've seen the wanted posters and the notices for curfew?”

“Of course. What is going...”

“Stop. Not right now. I can't explain here, they could be watching us anywhere. Listening in.” Fleet cast a few nervous glances at the sky. “Have you seen Ypsilon?”

Stout carefully examined the pegasus and frowned. The fur on the back of his neck was standing on end and something was not right. “Why do you ask? How do you know that name?”

“We've seen the changes Princess Celestia has gone through over the last few months. We've... been preparing for the worst. First Skylight, the curfews... we're scared. Luna needs help. We're going to give it to her.”

“Who? Who are you? Who is we?”

“We're...” Fleet went silent as he heard the flap of wings in the distance. “We never had this discussion. Stay safe. I'll find you later.” A moment later Stout Heart saw his fellow night guard approaching.

"Stout Heart!" Slatehide set down and trotted up to his usually more jovial counterpart. "Stout Heart, I need to speak with you."

"Can it wait?" Stout Heart glanced at the other lunar guard. "Private Sleet was giving me a report of the goings on in Canterlot. It does not sound good. How did you not hear about this? I've been waiting on you for days."

"I'm... I'm sorry I've made a terrible mistake and I fear for not only your life but Princess Luna's now." Slatehide looked at his hooves before glancing over at Sleet. "You should probably go before you're associated with us."

"Wait, what's going on?" Stout Heart narrowed his eyes at Slatehide. Sleet, for his part, was beginning to look worried. "What did you do?"

"I... I thought that Princess Luna was starting to slip back into being Nightmare Moon. Princess Celestia had me convinced of such. I was just trying to help!"

"Slatehide, what did you do?!" Stout Heart was clearly agitated.

"I sold you and Princess Luna out! I've been feeding her misinformation on Princess Celesia's orders! Now Celestia is about to make her move on Luna, she's actively trying to capture and imprison the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and she's gone totally nuts!"

"You did what?! Are you insane?! Princess Luna warned us of this! That's why we've been out here! Did you not figure that out?! Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Stout Heart took a step towards his counterpart.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think..."

"Of course not. You never think, always blindly following your orders. Now what? Are you going to confess to Princess Luna? That's what I would be doing."

"Unfortunately, that won't be possible." A third voice joined their conversation from above, forcing both night guards to jump back and look up. To their astonishment, two of Celestia's personal guards were approaching them, spears drawn. "As traitors to Princess Celestia, you have been sentenced to death. Immediately."

"On whose authority? The death penalty hasn't been used in centuries!" Stout Heart took a step back, glaring at the pair of newcomers.

"Princess Celestia's of course." One of the sun guards replied. "Now, are you going to come along or shall we execute you now?"

"Think about what you're doing! You're going to kill two fellow guards because the princess says so? Do you have any idea how wrong that is?"

"Still you question the might of Princess Celestia. She has decreed it, and so it shall be." The pegasus took a few steps towards the lunar guard. "Private Sleet, please assist us in detaining these two traitors. Should they resist, lethal force is authorized. Should you choose to stand against us, such force will be turned on you."

Sleet took a few nervous glances between the antipodes before taking wing. One of the solar guards threw his spear at the fleeing pegasus, striking him in the leg and leaving a long gash. The guard grunted in pain before disappearing into Canterlot. The pair of white pegasi shook their head before turning back to the black ones. Brandishing their spears menacingly, they took a few steps towards them.

"We will deal with him later. Now, are you two prepared to come along quietly? Either way you will be dead before our princess brings the sun down below the horizon, so the choice is yours. As neither of you are carrying any weaponry, this is not a difficult decision."

"Fantastic." Stout Heart muttered before turning to Slatehide. "You betray my trust, as well as that of Princess Luna, and all you're getting out of the deal is your head on a pike. Bravo. Good show. Asshole."

"I made a mistake, alright? I was fooled into thinking Princess Luna had become evil again. You saw the way she skulked about Canterlot at night, spying on her sister and sending us after that human."

"So now that you know she's not, and see what Princess Celestia is doing you come crawling back, begging for forgiveness? You sad pathetic little pegasus. If it wasn't for this pair of jokers attempting to take us in I'd have half a mind to buck you halfway to Trottingham and then drag you back to Princess Luna."

"Alright, time's up! Since you have refused to submit, your fate has been decided." The solar guard took a menacing step towards the two lunar guards before noticing Stout Heart laughing. "What is so funny?"

"Well, looks like we stalled you just long enough.." Stout Heart pointed towards Canterlot, over the shoulder of the guards. "It seems as though Private Sleet decided to get some reinforcements." Turning to look at what Stout Heart had pointed out, the guards saw the still injured private flapping towards them with Shining Armor right behind him. Focusing his magic, he conjured a sphere of protective energy, similar to the one he had erected around Canterlot during the wedding preparations, and enveloped the night guards in it. Skidding to a halt a few feet away, he growled at the assembled guards.

"Stand down, all of you, on the orders of Knight Captain Shining Armor! You will cease and desist all hostilities at once and settle this peaceably." Shining glared at the solar guards in particular.

"You have no authority over us Captain Sparkle. We are under orders from Princess Celestia herself. We are to detain this pair of traitors and take them to the princess herself. Any intervention on your part will be seen as acting against the princess and you shall share their fate, captain or not." The pegasus snorted and turned back to face the lunar guards. "Now, with that interruption dealt wi-URRK!" His words were cut off as Shining leaped over to the solar guard and delivered a buck to his side, sprawling him out across the ground.

"Orders from Celestia or not you have to know that this is wrong. I will ask you one more time to stand down, before I deal with you personally." Shining narrowed his eyes.

"Fool! You have sealed your own fate!" The guard gave a sharp whistle and out of seemingly nowhere several more solar guards appeared, descending upon the now heavily outnumbered and weaponless quartet.

"This is not going to end well..." Slatehide muttered. His concerns were short lived as out of the corner of his eye he saw the muzzle flash of the Pie Cannon.

BANG BANG BANG

Three loud cracks echoed through the streets, two of the shots catching the lead solar guard in the chest and putting him through a flimsy produce cart. The third slug sailed inches over Stout's head, forcing him to duck instinctively, as it found it's mark on the muzzle of one of the low flying pegasi, twisting him in place and dumping him roughly on the ground. Racking three more shells into the shotgun the human leaped off the top of the dumpster, bringing the firearm down like a club and caving in the helmet of a third guard. The sudden attack bought him a moment of confusion, which he used to line up another trio of shots..

Then all hell broke loose.

“It's HIM! Kill the destroyer!” Several of the remaining guards, a quick count determined nine, spun in place and almost as one bore down on his position. Their spears held forward like arrows of death they homed in on their target. With two more cracks of his gun he pulled another out of the air before rolling to the side. He managed to avoid the spears, however one of the solar guards lashed out with a rear hoof, smashing his face as he passed and turning his nose to pulp.

Shining Armor turned to help the human, however he and the other three were still faced with several guards. Grasping the sword out of one of the pegasus' scabbard, he deftly swatted away one of the spears that had been driven towards his face and twisted in place. The solar guard that had been threatening him brought back his spear, intending to catch the unicorn in his now exposed side. He wasn't prepared for Shining to twist fully around, slip within the reach of the pointed weapon, and deliver a headbutt to the pegasus' defenseless chin. The airborne pony folded like a card table and crashed to the ground, his spear rolling to the side. Grasping it in his teeth, he brought the shaft down on another assailant, the pegasi mare he had taken the sword from, dazing the pegasus long enough for him to deliver a solid left hook to her face, forcing the solar guard to drop the hammer she was wielding.

Dealing with his own adversaries- two skilled swordsponies with gleaming blades, Slatehide grunted as his own blade, pilfered from one of the now downed pegasi, clattered against theirs. While by no means green, Slate, like most of the other guards, hadn't seen any combat besides sparring and the odd tussle with a wayward beast. Fighting for his life against two guards that not only seemed, but were undoubtedly, superior to him gave him a sense of unease above and beyond the realization that he might just die, slashed apart by guards that should have been his allies. He dodged to the side, falling into a roll that brought him under two precision thrusts aimed at where his neck had been a split moment before, he slashed recklessly with the blade in his grasp, knocking the swords away but shattering his own. Moving two steps backwards he parried a third strike with the now ruined blade, spread his wings and catapulted himself skyward. That only bought him a second, as the two pegasi were on him just as fast. Dropping the useless slab of metal, he peeled off down the street.

Sleet was surprisingly holding his own against his trio of opponents. Armed only with another dropped sword, he parried and lanced his way around all three, leaping to the air to spin over a pair of spears only to land with his blade in position to receive and deflect a heavy hammer. He snarled as he danced back out of the reach of the spears.

“Sleet!” When Shining yelled at him, he lost his focus for a moment, long enough to catch the butt of a spear on the chin, knocking him to the side. He quickly recovered and sliced off a half meter of the offending slab of wood. “Quit showing off and finish up! Ypsilon is going to get skewered!”

“I'm doing my best boss!” Sleet called back, rushing one of the other pegasi and bowling him into a wall, taking him out of the fight. “You focus on helping Stout!” He rolled his blade aside in time to catch the hammer again, bringing it in close by hooking his sword on the head, before using his other hoof on the flat of the blade to shove the implement roughly back at its owner, striking her solidly in the head and sprawling her out on the street.

“Good job!” Shining covered Stout, still unarmed and doing his best to make sense of the chaos erupting around him. “Stout, what are you doing?” The unicorn staved off another blow directed towards the thestral and gave the night guard a rough check to the side of his body. “Grab something and start swinging!”

“Right... right!” Stout gripped a nearby spear, which he was clearly uncomfortable with and unused to using, and held it in front of him. Shining merely sighed and rolled his eyes, using the hilt of his sword to knock in the helmet of another pegasus.

Nathan recovered quickly from his broken nose, ignoring the pain and blood as he calmly cracked off another trio of shots, catching a pair of the pegasi off guard and slinging them through a nearby window, shards of broken glass clattering off their armor. While out of sight, they didn't seem to be returning to the fight, so he turned to face the remaining six. Several spears thrust towards his head and body, and he had to use the body of the Pie Cannon to deflect as many as he could, catching several in his arms and one to his shoulder. “Agh shit.” He opened the chamber, deflected a sword, slotted three more shells, twisted away from a spear, racked it shut and pulled the trigger.

The muzzle promptly exploded.

The repeated use and abuse of the firearm had finally become too much for the failing steel and the barrel spread out like the bristles of a chimney sweep. The resulting shot was enough to lightly sock one of the guards in the head, but failed to do more than bruise her cheek. Dropping the ruined weapon he frowned. “Well damn.” Two of the pegasi stepped in and brought their hammers around in a low arc, slamming his chest and throwing him to the ground. The crack of one of his ribs snapping was audible and even some of the solar guards faltered in their attack. The delay was long enough for him to scramble out of the way before the hammers came down on his head.

“Hey! Shining!” Nathan wheezed out, clutching his chest. “Sorry we couldn't meet on better terms. Could I get a hand here? You know where the girls are?”

“I'm on it!” Sleet turned and bucked his last opponent in the face, watching him crumple to the ground. Grasping one of the spears, he brought it around in an overhoof throw, piercing one of the hammer guard's legs, forcing her to drop her implement and scream in pain.

“Sleet!” Shining called again. “No permanent injuries!”

“Try telling that to the human with his chest caved in!” Sleet shouted back, dancing into the fray with the remaining solar guards. “I'm doing my best here!”

“I'm ok!” Nathan moaned, the trail of blood he spat up betraying his condition. “Don't kill them on my account! How the hell do you guys grip your weapons anyways?!”

“Enchanted barding clips!” Shining yelled, slapping another pegasus away with the flat of his blade. “Twily and her friend's are at my parents! Directions and small talk later!”

“If there is a later...” The human grabbed the dropped hammer and did his best to defend himself. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a grey shape followed by two glittering suns. Keeping his attention divided to the best of his abilities, as Slate flew low over top of him trying to lose his pursuers, Nathan brought the hammer up in an underhand blow and knocked one out of the sky, directly onto his compatriot. Both tumbled through the air and into a third guard, and it was only by sheer luck none of them ended up impaled on each others blades. The momentary save had distracted him from the pegasi attempting to kill him however, and another spear caught him in the arm, knocking the hammer loose and leaving a long gash in his arm. “Shit!” His desperate scramble to rearm himself was cut short however.

“THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH!” Out of nowhere, the Royal Canterlot Voice echoed through the street of Cloverleaf, stilling the combatants. Shining Armor, Slatehide and Stout Heart all dipped into low bows. Sleet merely stood in place. Nathan collapsed clutching his chest. “THE NEXT PONY TO RAISE A HOOF AGAINST ANOTHER WILL HAVE IT REMOVED FROM THEIR LEG.” None of them were in any position to test that threat. Princess Luna descended to the ground, planting herself directly between the combating factions.

“It's Nightmare Moon!” One of the solar guards shrieked. “Get the wounded and fly!”

“HOLD. She dropped a sphere of dark magic over all of the pegasi guards and smiled as one by one they winked out of existence.

“Are they...” Shining raised an eyebrow before breathing a sigh of relief as the princess shook her head.

“No Prince Shining.” Luna's mouth fell into a grimace. “I've merely placed them in a realm between shadows. I can't say the visit will be pleasant, but they will slip back into our reality in a day or two, no worse for the wear. Long enough to keep them away from my sister.” She turned to Slatehide.

“Slatehide.” She glared down at the stallion. The thestral kept himself flat to the ground, eyes on Luna's hooves. “You have disappointed me. I trusted you more than any other in the new realm of Equestria, and you have let me down. I should remove your from your post, strip you of my blessing, and have you summarily discharged out of the royal service.”

“Wait!” Stout bolted in front of his fellow night guard and dipped into another bow. “It is not my place to question you my princess, but please, don't punish him. He may have made a mistake, but I truly believe he had Equestria's best interests at heart.”

“Yes. That is my belief as well.” Princess Luna nodded and cast Stout a warm smile. “As proven by his willingness to turn against Princess Celestia when it became clear she was harming the kingdom as her madness progresses. While I am disappointed., and it is within my right to pass judgment, I will not nor was I going to. Your willingness to aid your fellow guard speaks volumes to your loyalty and wisdom Stout Heart. Rise, stand by my side. You as well Slatehide. We shall speak further of what your punishment shall be, but for the time being consider your transgressions forgiven.”

“Thank-you, your majesty.” Both lunar guards intoned together, taking up their positions flanking the princess, Slate looking slightly cowed and Stout beaming proudly.

“Prince Armor...”

“Please, Princess Luna. Just Shining. Or Captain Armor if you must.” Shining stood up straight, dropping his pilfered sword onto the street. “I really don't feel comfortable being called a prince, regardless of my marriage to Cadance.”

“Captain Armor then. My lunar guards fighting for their lives against Celestia's loyal, likely brainwashed, guards I can understand. What I am having difficulty grasping is why yourself and...”

“Private Sleet, reserve Corps. Ma'am.” Fleet bowed.

“...and Private Sleet would be combating them?” Luna narrowed her eyes at the pegasus and the easy manner with which he carried himself and the blade still attached to his hoof.

“Would you believe that I'm just trying to keep the peace?” Shining gave a sheepish smile.

“No, I most certainly would not.” Luna tapped an impatient hoof against the ground.

“Then it's a good idea that I wasn't going to say that.” Shining nodded to Luna. “Actually...”

“Um, sorry to break up the little pony guard get together.” Nathan interrupted Shining, spitting up another mouthful of blood. “But I'm fairly certain I'm bleeding internally and could really use a little help. At least a few bandages anyways?”

“Yp... Nathan!” Luna went wide eyed at the human sitting off to the side, cradling his chest with one hand while using his shirt to try to stem the blood flowing from his nose. She turned back to Stout and pointed towards Shining and Fleet. “Stout Heart, you and Slatehide get as much information out of those two as you can. I want to know what's going on.” As the four ponies trotted off to the side she sighed.

“What happened?” Nathan tried to chuckle, though the pain in his chest forced him into a wince. “Well, I was hanging out with Stout- who I'd like to say right now, before I die or something, is pretty cool for a pony and I really appreciate you sending him to watch out for me. Everything was going swell- we beat up some thugs, ran from some sort of subterranean crab penguins, met a pair of not foals, roughed up some cultists, then we arrived here, just in time to get jumped by oh... twenty or so of those solar guard assholes.” He coughed and wheezed.

Luna frowned and conjured up some bandaged, wrapping his wounds and binding his chest to the best of her ability. She made one attempt to ply her magic to his wounds but it was as ineffective as Sprinkle's fireballs. “I'm sorry, I can't do any more for your injuries. This wasn't supposed to happen like this. She's moving too soon.” While she gave no indication she had heard him speak of the foals, the flesh paling beneath the fur on her face was evidence of her feelings.

“I think I'll be ok princess.” He gave her a genuine smile. “Give me a couple of days to recover and I'll still help you with your plan. It's all coming together!” The blood rolling down his chin from his nose told her otherwise.

“Unfortunately there isn't a couple of days to be had.” She shook her head and cast her glance towards the castle. “Any minute now the Elements will be brought before Celestia and she will pass her judgment on them. She will not be kind. If they are to be saved I need to go now.”

“But you can't beat her!” Nathan protested and struggled to his feet. “You've said before she's the more powerful sister! You'll be slaughtered!”

“Be that as it may I have to try! You are in no position to question me either.” Luna snarled back at the human, kicking dust up in his face. “I shall go alone and face my sister. Should I fail it falls to you to carry out our agreement.”

“But if you're gone...”

“Princess Cadance would be an acceptable substitute. All of Equestria is relying on you Ypsilon. Do not forget that. Wait... where is your strange cannon?”

“I taxed it beyond what it could take. Blew apart in my hands.” Nathan shook his head. “Trying to rebuild it in Canterlot would be next to impossible what with the wanted posters everywhere.”

“Hmmm...” Luna retrieved the fragmented shotgun and turned it over a few times in her magic.”While my magic has no effect on you...” She kicked off her glittering shoes, relishing the feel of the ground under her bare hooves, and spun them around the firearm, carefully unweaving and reweaving the magics contained within. A flash of light later, and the Pie Cannon settled softly to the ground, fully repaired. Slipping back in to her now smaller shoes, Luna nodded in satisfaction.

“There you are. Good as new. Better, actually. There are powerful protective, as well as offensive, magics woven into the royal regalia. I was able to impart some of that into your weapon of choice.” Luna smiled as the human looked at his toy with wonder.

Lifting the firearm, he found the weight significantly reduced, however a pass of his hand over the now sheening blue-metal barrel revealed it to be much harder. The stock had been reinforced with a border of silvery steel, and he smiled as he opened the chamber to find it operated more smoothly than even when it was brand new. Pulling a round from his pocket, he almost grinned as he racked it up with a neat and satisfying click. The whole ensemble positively glowed.

“This... this is incredible. Nightmare Boom indeed...” He looked up at Luna and smiled. “I... thanks. I know it seems silly, but after my experiences here, you have no idea how much it means to me to have this thing back in working order.”

“I once waged war against my sister over a thousand years ago human. You would be surprised to know how comforting I have found having a trusted armament by my side.” She looked over to the other four ponies, with Shining and Fleet deep in a heated argument. “Listen to me, Nathan. I go to face my sister, and quite possibly my fate. You are to rest and recover. Go to the Sparkle residence, wait there for the Elements to return.” With that, she took to the sky, speeding towards Canterlot Castle.

“Princess Luna!” Stout Heart cried out. Getting no response from the long gone princess he turned to Nathan. “Where's she going?!”

“To fight Princess Celestia.” Nathan frowned. “She's going to get herself killed.”

“What?!” Stout took off for the castle, Slate close behind.

“Sleet!” Shining yelled at the pegasus. “Go to Cadance. Tell her everything that's happened here! That's a direct order!” He galloped off in hot pursuit of the two thestrals.

“Shining! What are you doing?! Argh FINE!” Fleet turned and headed in nearly the opposite direction, north into the Equestrian countryside.

Left alone to his wounds, Nathan struggled to stand, finally managing to get his feet underneath him. “Well... might as well go check out Twilight's place. Hope her parents don't mind a guest.”

"Nah can't really think of anything else that happened sorry." He shrugged and shook his head. "Sorry it wasn't more exciting than 'I walked to Canterlot'."

"No we quite understand. You can understand the earlier skepticism though right? A lot has happened to us." Rarity frowned, looking down at the floor. "More than one sleepless night for that matter." She shook her head and looked back up at the human. "Still! It's good you're here in mostly one piece. Right girls?"

"Eeeeyup." Applejack mimicked her brother, cracking a smile. "Sure as shootin'."

"Oh of course." Fluttershy stroked the human's cheek, oblivious to him flinching away or the glare Pinkie gave her.

"Whatever." Twilight huffed. "I should go see if Queen Celestia needs me." She briskly walked out the door, barely acknowledging Nathan.

"Sure..." Pinkie gave him a hard look. "Yeah we're happy." She also trotted out the door.

"Pinkie?" Rarity watched the earth pony go, perplexed. "Now what's gotten into her? I'm sorry Nathan."

"No, no it's fine. I should go talk to her though." Nathan stood as Fluttershy gently slipped out of his lap. "Sorry Fluts, we'll catch up in a little bit."

"But... but..." Fluttershy looked lost and confused. "I'm sure she'll be fine... wouldn't you rather stay here with me? I mean we can go walk through the gardens, I could show you some of my animal friends..."

"Fluttershy." Nathan stood in place, his face frozen in conflict. "Look I'm sorry, I really need to talk to her." Grabbing his gear he ran out the door. "Pinkie wait!"

"Nathan!" The pegasus gave a soft gasp and looked back at Rarity and Applejack. "Wh-what's gotten into him?"

"I have no idea." Rarity sighed. Turning her attention to Applejack she frowned. "So? How much of his story did you believe?"

"Rarity, Ah ain't heard a bigger load a horseapples since the last Apple family reunion when the tall tales started flying. Not to mention the little filly's room."

"I was afraid you'd say that." She sighed. "Also, eww and rude. I did not need that visual."

Nathan stumbled down the quiet residential street, still in pain due to his rib, the estates and summer homes of various nobility shimmering in the early morning light. A few curious ponies stuck their heads out of windows at the sound of his feet, but quickly withdrew at the sight of the 'monster'. Unsure of where the pink pony might have gone, he turned towards the castle. Finally he spotted Twilight walking down the main drag.

"Twilight! Twilight wait up!" The human called out. To his surprise she spun in place and fired a beam of energy directly at his torso. It dissipated quickly on contact, harmlessly petering out.

Twilight stomped towards him, snorted, lifted both forehooves to his chest before shoving one directly under his nose. "Look." Her eyes were flaring with hate and... confusion? Huh? "I have tolerated you long enough. I am going to stand in my rightful place by Queen Celestia's side. I will be telling her about you. You've already heard what happened to my brother. To traitors. Don't come anywhere near me or my queen ever again."

"But you love your brother." Nathan tilted his head. "You're just going to let him stay frozen?"

"I still love my brother. But he was a traitor. The Queen knows best. She saved us from AHHHHG!" Twilight suddenly crumpled to the ground, gripping her head. "No... that doesn't make sense... but of course it does, he was wrong... but he was my BBBFF... but she's always right!" She struggled for a few more moments before standing straightening out her mane, eyes bloodshot.

"Twilight I think you need..." Nathan closed the gap between them before she sharply cut him off.

"I don't need anything from you!" Twilight snorted again. "What did you even want anyways?"

"Uh... where would Pinkie Pie go in Canterlot? If she needed to go be alone or something?" Nathan frowned at the unicorn.

"Probably Doughnut Joe's. Fifth and Mane, business district." She glared back.

"Ok thanks Twilight. For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Nathan turned and looked over his back.

"For what? Other than everthing else?" She hissed through her teeth.

"Your apparent lack of care for your brother. He's a good pony. He'd be disappointed." He walked off, ignoring the frustrated screech and several lances of energy splashing against his back. He continued om his way, crossing into the business district just as the shops and bakeries were opening for business. Most slammed their doors as he walked passed, wanted posters and flyers prominently posted in every window. Closing in on Doughnut Joe's (prominently marked by a sign of the grinning proprietor) he was surprised to see the door open and the owner himself standing outside.

"Hey! Hey you!" Joe called out to Nathan. "Yeah you!"

"Oh boy here we go again." Nathan muttered before turning his attention to Joe. "Hi. I know, big scary monster, driving away business I'm sure. Look, I'm just looking for my friend, Pinkie Pie. Soon as I find her I'll be out of your mane."

"What? Nah you misunderstand me. I was actually hoping you'd show up. Pinks is an old friend of mine, she's been here a while. Bein' on the wanted posters she's scared off my business already but I ain't gonna turn her out. She keeps muttering something about 'Nathan' into her coffee. I'm guessin' that's you. I was hopin' you'd come in and talk to her." He gave a smile. "Y'know, you don't look anything like your posters. Can you really devour a pony's soul?"

Nathan could feel the universe toying with him in a sick sort of irony. So close to the end and now he meets a handful of ponies he actually liked from the start? It might have had something to do they were all male, but something told him it probably had more to do with him just having a run of bad luck. He started to chuckle. "Sure Doughnut Joe, I'll talk to her. Like I said I was looking for her anyways."

"Thanks. Oh and you can just call me Joe. All my friends do." The baker ushered him inside and closed the door. "I'll be in the kitchen frying up some donuts, but if you need anything just holler. There's a fresh pot of joe and a plate of my day-olds you can help yourself to." The amiable stallion trotted to the back of the shop, leaving Nathan alone. Across the diner, he could see Pinkie sitting in a booth, back turned to him. Grabbing a couple doughnuts and a cup of coffee, he padded over to where the earth pony was seated.

"Can I sit with you?" He looked down and gave her a soft smile.

"Sure, not like anything I say would change your mind anyways." Pinkie frowned and idly stirred her coffee, not even bothering to look up. "You'll just lie, avoid the question, deceive, twist the truth. Whatever you can that everypony never gets to see the real Nathan. Even after you convinced me to show them the real Pinkie Pie. Which, turned out to be another lie because it turned out awful." Her mane hung limp against her neck.

"Pinkie..." Nathan sat across from her and took a sip of his coffee. Holy crap this is better than Tim's! "I'm not lying or deceiving you. I'm not trying to anyways."

"Then what was that back at Twilight's?" She growled. "You cannot tell me with a straight face that that story you told us was the truth. You just happened to catch a lucky gust of wind that blew you onto a pile of rocks that saved your life miraculously? That busted nose is at best a day old. I could still see the blood. Why don't you come clean about Stout?"

"Pinkie I.. How did you know about Stout Heart?" He nervously glanced between her and the window, like a solar guard was going to come crashing through the diner at any moment.

"Did you forget who I am? I /know/ things. And the longer that I spend with you, the easier it is for me to see through your lies. I don't know how, but I can tell." She took a sip of her coffee finally and grimaced. "Not enough sugar."

"You're right." Nathan passed her the sugar and frowned. "I've lied and hidden a lot from you. For a while now. You're also right about Stout. That's what I was trying to talk to you about this morning. There's a lot I need to come clean with you about. I just... It wasn't the right time. With all of them there. There's a lot they wouldn't understand. Or believe. I was going to start with the case I gave you. That's probably where the lies started."

"I did trust you you know. I didn't even look inside." She gave a half smile. "Are you... Are you really going to tell me the truth? All of it?"

"Yes Pinkie, but it's going to be hard." He was visibly agitated. "I really need you to listen to me. I won't ask you to hide anything from the others but... I'd appreciate it if you didn't volunteer anything either until I'm ready to talk to them myself. Could you give me back my case?"

"Sure." She reached into her mane to retrieve the box. Her mane had curled up slightly again, and her hoof got tangled as she pulled it out. "Here we goOOPS!" The case clattered across the table, popping open and spilling its contents- thirteen shotgun shells, in multi-hued pairs, and a sheet of parchment which flitted through the air before Pinkie caught it with her hoof, glancing down at the shells. "Why did you have a case for them? That's funny there's no beanbags in them. Did you forget?"

"N-no Pinkie." Nathan started to hyperventilate. "I didn't forget. N-n-now you really really need to listen to me. Just wait and I can ex-"

"Silly filly I'll just read this paper." She put a hoof to his lips. "Then you can explain." Nathan continued to panic but Pinkie's pointed look brooked no argument.

First test was spectacular. Second test proof of concept was even better. With the size to effect ratio so high, manufacturing shells in bulk has been spectacularly easy. Considering how cheap oil is, convincing Twilight to refine and produce sheets of vinyl for casings was frightfully easy. That mare can do just about anything when she puts her mind to it. Pinkie even bought the story that she was helping me with my first test fire.

Now, should the six of them, weird friendship voodoo or not, decide to turn on me, at the behest of La Tigra or Twilight, I'll be ready. I've colour coded them so I don't have to scramble in the heat of battle.

Twilight Sparkle (lavender shells): Two buckshot, dense pack. While magic seems to be of mild threat at worst, her TK field could lift a boulder. Based on my research, buckshot to the head at close range to shred her horn should render her powerless. Should she survive, or first misses, second shot to finish.

Rainbow Dash (azure shells): Two buckshot, light pack. Quick and agile, nearly always in the air. Nearly unmatched overland speed. Light shot to shred her wings when she comes in close. She may still fight then, but hand to hoof a swift club to the head will drop her.

Rarity (white shells): One buckshot, dense pack. One lead slug. Not as adept at TK as her fellow unicorn, but strong enough. Shred the horn. Slug is probably unnecessary but would feel so good lodging one between her eyes.

Applejack (orange shells): Two lead slugs. Strongest of the six, highest threat. Those rear hooves could cave in my skull without a second thought. Straightforward approach would work best. Two slugs to the head.

Fluttershy (yellow shells): Two buckshot, light pack, light charge. Fragile and weak. I can't honestly see her threatening or attacking me. Leaving her wingless like Dash would be simple. Light charge so I might be able to avoid a fatality.

The entire time she had been reading the note in her head, her trembling had become more and more violent, tears welling in her eyes. She read the last entry out loud, casting a glance at a trio of pink shells. "P-Pinkie Pie. Pink shells: three lead slugs, h-hollow point, maximum charge." The tears dripped slowly onto the paper. "With her ability to do the most random things, know things that she shouldn't know, and unearthly speed, which I can't even quantify against Dash, Pinkie represents the m-m-maximum threat level next to the princesses, and even then I'm not sure. While I'd like to say that I'd only use these in self defense, the truth is that if.. if... if the six of them were going to try and turn on me I'd have to put Pinkie down first. Hard. Probably preemptively.

"After watching her ragdoll against the wall, she seems highly resistant to blunt force trauma. Maximum charge fragmenting slugs should be enough to shred her internal... internal..." She looked up at Nathan, a mix of emotions she didn't understand seizing her face. Rage, fear, sadness, nausea, even... "H-h-how could you? I thought we were your friends? I was your friend. You were going to... kill us?"

"No! No Pinkie you don't understand! It was different back then. I didn't know what to make of you, or them. I wanted to trust you but trust doesn't come easily for me. These were only a worst case scenario in case my suspicions were right!" He gathered up the scattered shells, all of them lethal, and returned them to the case.

"Your suspicions?!" She screeched. "Y-y-you thought we would try and kill you?!"

"Twilight already tried! Or did you conveniently forget that she tried to slug me in the head with a rock the first time I came to town?!"

"I WASN'T THERE!! I KEEP TELLING EVERYPONY BUT NO ONE BELEIVES ME!" She balled up the sheet of parchment and hurled it at Nathan, bouncing it off his head. "This is how you start telling me the truth? By telling me how you had a plan to slaughter us?!"

"In self defense!"

"That's not what you wrote about me!" She stood and pointed a hoof at him. "You would have eviscerated me as a pre- pre- ERRRGH! As a first strike against our friends. No, my friends! They were never really your friends anyways were they? Except Fluttershy. You love her!"

"No, I don't!" Nathan blurted out grasping at straws. "I don't love her!! I never have! I made a mistake ok? I made a lot of mistakes. I should have never made these." He shook the case in his hands. "I was wrong and I'm trying to do right!"

"Oh sure." Pinkie mirthlessly chuckled. "Do right. What else were you hiding? What other Equestria shattering truths do I need to know? Were you planning to overthrow Prin- sorry Queen Celestia too?"

"I... w-w-well..." Nathan stammered out.

"No." Pinkie's eyes shrank to pin pricks. "You were actually going to... You were going to try to kill Celestia? How? Why? No. I don't know or care why. There's something seriously, seriously wrong with you and I... I... I don't understand."

"It was.."

"A contingency plan, and a good one at that." Bronzewing strolled through the door of Donut Joe's, a swagger in his step. "I would expect nothing less from my top employee."

"I'm not your employee Baron Birdbreath, and this is a private conversation." Nathan growled.

"Let me guess." Pinkie sighed. "More secrets and lies?"

"His thugs were the reason I was bruised in Manyhooves." Nathan sighed. "I made a deal with the gryphon, since I was going to Canterlot anyways."

"After he so delightfully carved out the eye socket of my unicorn companion with a flaming stick. He lived of course." Bronze sneered at the pair.

"You did what?" Pinkie was trembling and backing away. "You... You ARE a monster. How could I have been so blind? I cared about you! We could have..."

"Pinkie wait I can explain." Nathan pleaded. He spun around, glaring daggers at Bronze. "What the hell are you doing you overgrown chicken? You're ruining everything!"

"No you already did months ago. It just took me a long time to see it." Pinkie backed herself towards the opposite door to the dinner just as Applejack burst in.

"Pinkie? Nathan? What's going on?" Applejack glanced between the pair and the gryphon. "Ah... Ah think Ah missed something."

"Oh charming." Bronzewing groaned. "Another filthy mudpony."

"Hey!" The farmer snapped back. "That's offensive and totally uncalled for!" Bronzewing just shrugged.

"Yeah. We all did." Pinkie sniffed and trotted out the door. "Ask Nathan all about it. Watch out though! There's two lead slugs with your name on them! Well at least your colour." She turned to look back at Nathan. "Don't come after me. Don't talk to me. I don't want to see you ever again." With that she ran off, bawling her eyes out.

"Wow... What happened? Ah ain't ever heard Pinkie that upset before." Applejack looked at Nathan and frowned."

"I'll explain in a moment. First I have an unwanted guest to deal with" He glared daggers at the bird. "Bronze what the hell are you doing here? You made a bad situation worse!"

"Hardly! I made it better!" He growled. "I heard your conversation with the mudpony. If you had been able to explain yourself you would still be friends, and you might have second thoughts. Now we just get rid of the other mudpony and we're in the clear!"

"You did what?!" Nathan marched up to Bronze and gripped his beak in his hand. "You are so lucky chicken, that I've actually decided to start keeping my promises, or I would snap your neck where you stand. Do you have any idea what that mare meant to me? Now you want me to kill Applejack? You're up a creek without a paddle you sad excuse for a bird." He roughly released the gryphon and watched him crumple to the floor.

"Nathan, what's going on?" Even Applejack was suddenly terrified of the human. He looked angry and hurt almost like... like a wounded rattler about to strike...

"Applejack look at me." She kept her eyes planted on the floor, trembling in place. "Look. At. ME!" Finally she brought herself to make eye contact. "Do you trust me?"

"Wh-what? Ah..."

"Applejack! Do you fucking trust me or not?!" Nathan was standing over the gryphon, one knee planted on its neck, Bronzewing whimpering in place. He barely noticed the bird though- his eyes were firmly on the earth pony.

"Ah... Yes. Yes!" She gasped as she met his gaze again. "Yes Ah trust ya ya stupid varmint!"

"Good. I trust you too. Give me a minute to deal with this clown and you and I are going to have a nice long talk." He turned back to the wheezing baron. "You on the other hand have exactly one minute to get out of my sight. I will still be doing your little job. I expect to be paid well. I will not, nor will I ever, be killing any of my friends and to have the audacity to ask me to do so in front of her isn't just insulting it's cruel.

"Your little trio of assholes have now tried to attack me twice. According to one of the flying dipsticks, it was on your orders. I want to know why. The answer had better be good or Sprinkles isn't going to be the only one short an eye."

"I... You're going into the crystal caverns below the city. I needed to be sure you'd be able to handle it." His whimpering cut off as Nathan applied more pressure to the neck.

"I put any more pressure down and you're going to start hearing vertebrae snap. Might not kill you, but I'd settle for full body paralysis. Try me again. Make it believable this time. You've said before I'm disposable. Which is true." Nathan snarled into his ear.

"I was paid to try to kill you!" The gryphon screamed. "More bits than I've ever seen in one place just to make sure you were dead and stayed dead!"

"Who?!" Nathan screamed back.

"I don't know! I swear! I promise!" He squirmed under the human. "There was just a bag of bits and note saying that they would be watching me! Don't kill me!"

"You're not worth my time." He stood up and took his knee off the bird before kicking it in the gut. Bronzetalon squawked and pulled himself into a fetal position. "My price just went up. I want that bag of bits, and any information on who is trying to kill me."

"That's... that's highway robbery!" The gryphon gasped for air as he writhed in pain.

"After how many times you've tried to kill me and threatened my... friends... you're lucky I don't change the deal further. Take it or leave it." Nathan cracked his knuckles before slamming a fist into a nearby table.

"Fine. Fine!" Bronze growled and stumbled to his feet. "What a dead man walking needs with so many bits is beyond me though. The minute the pink mudpony... WARK!" He suddenly crashed back to the floor as Nathan slugged him so hard his beak cracked.

"You have exactly ten seconds to get the hell out or I'm breaking a Pinkie Promise. Next time you call either of them a mudpony or some variation thereof, you won't wake up for a month. I hate racists."

Bronzewing opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it as spikes of pain from his cracked beak heated his face. With a grimace, and not a small amount of trembling, he turned and flew off. With him gone, it was like a light switch being turned off. Nathan felt his whole body shake before flopping to his backside. Burying his face in his hands he moaned softly. He almost. Almost. Felt like crying.

"Nathan? " Oh right. Applejack was still here. "What's going on?" The human turned to look at the pony and for the second time in less than thirty minutes he could see he'd scared an earth mare he considered his friend half to death. She trembled in place and cast glances between him, the open door, and the case of shells. "All Ah want to do is get as far away as possible from you."

"It's fine Miss Applejack." He shook his head and rubbed his face with both hands. "I won't hold it against you. Not after what you saw. I'm angry, violent, and I'm probably going to ruin everything. Door's there." He stood and collected his bag and shotgun.

"Ah said I want to run, not that Ah am. What's with the Miss Applejack nonsense now?" Applejack collected herself and took a few calming breaths.

“Only your friends are allowed to call you AJ. I'm pretty sure I don't qualify as that right now.” He shrugged.

"Ah'll be the judge of that. I said I still trust ya. What's in the case?" She was still visibly trembling, but to her credit she managed to not run.

"My back up plan for when the six of you turned on me." He clicked it open and tossed one of the orange shells at Applejack, which she caught with a hoof. "Lead slugs. With how well the ignition reaction works in Equestria that's got enough power to drop a charging bull. I made two of 'em, just in case I missed the first time."

"What?" She dropped the shell as if it had just given her third degree burns. “What in the hay? You were going to kill us?!”

“I already had this conversation with Pinkie. You saw how that went.” He looked out the door the pink mare had ran out of, the memory fresh. “And it wasn't that I was going to kill you. I made a plan based on my general reception by the ponies in Ponyville under the assumption you would finally decide to put me down. I probably would have if I were you.”

“An' I told you that ain't the way things are done in Equestria!” She thought for a moment about Baron Bronzewing. “Usually!”

“I know, Applejack, I know.” He gave a halfhearted shrug. “I made a mistake. A bad one. I was trying to fix it but I was too late. Sorry.”

Applejack stood there looking at the back of Nathan's head and frowned. Her own myriad of emotions was fighting with her body to do the right thing. What was the right thing though? A few months ago the right thing would be turning the human over to the authorities to be dealt with. Now though... She sighed and took a seat next to him. She carefully picked the shell up again and turned it over in her forehooves. “Enough stopping power to drop a bull ya say?”

“Yeah...” Nathan closed his eyes and grimaced.

“Well..” She took another look at it then replaced it back in the case. “Ah don't know whether to be insulted you had a plan to kill me and mah friends... or impressed you thought you needed something that strong to take me down.” She chuckled at the thought. She actually chuckled!

“Wh-what?” Nathan looked up at Applejack and tilted his head. “I thought you'd be angry at me.”

“Oh Ah am. Furious. Livid even. About a lot of things, and especially about you actually having a plan to kill us, and all the lies and deceit. However, yer tryin' now. Ah can see that. You could have snapped the head clean off that arrogant buzzard, and with what I know about you, and for him to suggest you plug me on the spot Ah could see you doing it, but ya didn't. Ah was so scared. So scared!” She sniffled, the first tears falling down her face. “But Ah wasn't scared that you were gonna hurt me, Ah was scared you were about to go down a path that none of us would be able to follow. Ah'm still scared you will. Yer tryin' though, by Celestia Ah can see yer tryin'.”

“I... thanks Applejack. I expected you to buck me in the back of the head and walk off without bothering to check to see if I still had a pulse.” He laughed a little, pulling the earth pony into a hug. “I'm sorry. For a lot.”

“Ah know. We should get going though.” She stood and gave him a sideways smile, wiping away the tears on her face.

“What? Where?” Nathan stood as well, retrieving the Pie Cannon (which he had stashed in the bushes just outside the diner). “Shouldn't you go talk to Pinkie or something? I think she's going to need a friend.”

“She does... but there's Rarity and Fluttershy for that. You need a friend that you can count on right now. So let's go hit them vaults and find whatever it is yer lookin' for!”

“Sorry, say what? Why in Equestria would you ever come with me Applejack?” Nathan shook his head. “It's going to be dangerous, and really really illegal. Do you really want to wind up on the chopping block again.”

“No, but ya'll got a plan right? You can't just be helping that gryphon because he's paying you well, right?” Applejack grinned.

“Well... no... I guess I have a plan...” Nathan nodded back.

“Tell ya what. Let's start walking, and you tell me yer story from the beginning. Tell me where you met this gryphon, tell me what really happened after you plunged into the ravine, tell me how yer gun got all prettied up like that. If Ah don't hear anything Ah don't particularly like, you got yerself a pardner. Pardner.”

“Alright Applejack. Let's start with that. One thing first though....”

The pair was long gone when Doughnut Joe finally emerged from the back of his diner, stacks of donuts on two platters. “Alright! Who's up for some fresh... ones...?” His jaw went slack as he observed the messed up and empty diner. “What in Equestria...? He picked up a note that was sitting on the counter next to a bag.

Hey Joe! Sorry about making a mess and leaving. If Pinkie comes back, tell her I said sorry. Either way, there should be enough bits in the bag to make up for the day's business and to clean up the mess!

-Nathan

Joe took a look in the bag and gasped. Forget the day... that was more bits than he pulled in in a week!

Author's Notes:

My editor seems to have disappeared, or moved on to better things. Thus, happy new years! Quality may suffer slightly in the future.