‘It's been a month since I found myself in Equestria. So much has continued to happen that I've decided to start this journal of my stay here. At this point, I'm fully convinced that not only is this not a dream, but it is in fact a completely different world. I have never tasted water so pure. The air I breathe seems to carry more oxygen, and fewer pollutants. I've never felt healthier. My diet probably goes a long way to help as well. The rest of the ponies, like Fluttershy, have grudgingly allowed me to continue to fish, but aside from that the majority of my caloric intake comes from fruits and vegetables.

While their diets consist chiefly of fruits and vegetables as well, my new colourful co-habitants of this town seem to take in an alarmingly high level of cakes and sweets. I have yet to see any I would consider overweight. Hell, that damn Pinkie Pie can consume an entire cake to herself and still want more. I'm no biologist, but I would guess their metabolisms work very differently. It could be environmental- I've noticed my fat burning off faster since I started living here, but that again could be chalked up to diet and my employment at Sweet Apple Acres. I'll attempt to continue taking observations of the ponies and the surrounding area. Even if I never get home, wherever home is, the information could be valuable to the ponies themselves.

The six mares I initially encountered upon my arrival have gone off to the Everfree forest a couple of times in the last couple weeks. According to a shop-keep that would actually converse with me they seem to be favoured students of what passes for government here, Princess Celestia. Is she merely royalty, or also a deity? More research is needed. Apparently both her, and her sister Princess Luna are over a thousand years old. If this is true I'm leaning towards living deity. I’ll admit this is somewhat troubling to me. If this is the being I am trusting to decide my future, it could go very badly.

Back to my original train of thought- the six of them seem to be very close and Fluttershy has explained to me about the "Elements of Harmony" in more detail. Crazy powerful magic. May be able to harness their power to get home. Again, more research needed. That is, assuming they would let me get near the elements or let me use them. Not sure why they are going out into the forest, but they seem dutiful about it.

Things have been going better the last couple weeks. I haven't been knocked unconscious by anything or anyone since leaving the hospital. I’ve started trying to incorporate more of their speech conventions into my vocabulary, but it’s difficult to convert fully. I guess I should have written “anypony”. A few minor inconveniences have come up, and apparently I've become the favoured target of Pinkie's and Dash's pranks.

Bend me over a barrel and flog me with a stick the two of them can be real assholes when they try. At least for Pinkie it's all in good fun. Dash, on the other hand... let's just say that if I wasn't trying so hard to fit in I'd have put my fist through that uppity pegasus weeks ago. Maybe I'm the holder of the seventh virtue- patience. So much damn patience. Obviously that's not the case... But sometimes I swear that woman (Mare? Woman? Can I use both interchangeably? Probably not to their faces.) needs a good slap. It’s ok though, things have improved. I’ll write about that in a bit.

For now though, well, what else can I say about the last few weeks, journal? Some stuff has been great after all...

Nathan had just finished clearing out the rest of the equipment cluttering the basement of the library. It had taken him the better part of the weekend, but he had managed to set himself up a small sleeping area, complete with a bedside table and oil lamp, a small personal workshop with some leftover tools, and a leftover ingredient rack after sorting away Twilight Sparkle's personal supply. He only had a small bedroll at this point, but it was better than sleeping on the floor. He mentally reminded himself to start saving for a proper bed. You know, after I pay for food, supplies, rent, new clothes. He sighed, realizing buying a bed might be a long-term goal. Oh well, at least he had a roof over his head.

His meals were simple affairs- Fluttershy had picked up some vegetables and buns from the market and brought them by for him. It wasn’t the balanced meal he needed in the long run, but for the time being he would make due. He appreciated the fact she had gone out of her way to take care of him. Even if she was the only friend he made in Equestria, he was content. The first night he had slept like a log. The last few days of adventure had taken their toll, and he had gone to sleep well before his door was locked, and awoke long after it was re-opened. Aside from Fluttershy, the only visitor he had had was Spike, coming down at one point to make sure he wasn’t breaking anything. The small dragon seemed more tolerant of the human’s presence, and had attempted some small talk. Having nothing in common though, the effort was ultimately wasted.

Nathan was disappointed to find that the “equipment” that Twilight spoke of was mostly empty cabinets and meters. The had some wiring inside, but no precision instruments, servos, capacitors, inductors, power sources or circuit boards of any kind. For all intents and purposes, none of the equipment should work, and in fact Nathan doubted if they ever had done what Twilight Sparkle had intended them to. With a bit of work and basic carpentry skills, he had managed to set himself up a drafting table at least, and as soon as he could find some paper and writing utensils he could start working on some projects he had in mind. Not having the magic of the unicorns, the strength of the earth ponies, or the flight of the pegasi, he found himself at a distinct disadvantage, and fully intended to rectify that as soon as possible.

As he mused over whether he should make any last minute adjustments to his set up of the basement, he heard the door gently click open. It’d probably be a good idea to get a lock for the inside of the door too. I’d like some privacy down here he thought to himself. At this point however, his “guest” was already making her way down the stairs and turning her away would be rude. Turning to face the approaching pony, he caught a look of slight wonder on her face.

“Good afternoon Twilight. I’ve got all your equipment and materials organized in this corner of the basement out of the way. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve appropriated a few things in order to furnish out my home.” The sound of the word “home” had a nice ring to it, and Nathan had started to feel at ease for the first time since arriving. “I haven’t used any of your ingredients though, and they’re all stored away in that one cabinet. How are you today? Done working in the library for the evening?” A slight smile crept on to his face. Relations were at best strained with Twilight, but he was genuinely trying to be friendly.

“Oh sure, that’s fine. It seems so neat and tidy down here for once. You could probably show Spike a thing or two about organization. I appreciate you respecting my property, I was concerned you would use up all of my reagents. You may certainly use that furniture.” She was still marveling at how a weekend of work had turned a normally cluttered environment she couldn’t stand into a clean, orderly and functional workshop and bedroom. “Now that you’ve had a couple days to settle in, I was wondering if we could talk?” Nathan bristled a bit at the thought. He knew she was sending letters to her Princess in Canterlot to find out what to do with him, but would they have arrived so soon? Was he being kicked out again? No, she was being too friendly. Then what?

“I thought we’d already talked enough- outside the other day. You made your opinions and ideas pretty clear. I just wanted to say I respect your decision and won’t make any trouble. I’ll have rent for you too as soon as Applejack pays me.” He hung his head, exhausted from two days of organization, and really wasn’t looking forward to the assumed fight incoming. Twilight’s eyes went wide, then returned to their original size, a sad expression covering her face.

“Oh, Nathan, no I’m sorry. I know we’ve been kind of hard on you, and I know that you understand it, but I wanted to say… I don’t like this. I really don’t. I wish we could just trust you, and move along. I can’t though. The others look to me for guidance and support, and I need to keep their best interests at heart. If I was listening to Rarity, I wouldn’t have even let you stay down here. I’d like to get to know you better though. For now, though, this is the way it has to be. In the meantime, feel free to ask me anything you would like. I know all sorts of stuff about Equestria, and would be glad to educate you as best I can.” Pleasantly surprised, Nathan allowed the smile to cross his face again. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad.

“Thanks, Twilight. I appreciate the sentiment. I know it must be difficult for you too, and I’ll do my best to make it as easy as I can. I did have some questions though, about Equestria and the way things work around here in general since you’re here though. Did you have time now?” Twilight cocked her head and considered the request. Initially she had only said it to be polite, but now confronted with it, she was taken aback. Finally she nodded. She didn’t have any plans until later that evening anyways.

“Ok, so first off… your ‘equipment’. It’s non-functional. At least as far as the way I understand it. They consist of empty cases with the odd rough wire running inside them. Does this stuff actually work? Do they do anything?”

“Oh of course they work… for me. As a unicorn, I have control over magic. Our horns act as a magical outlet of sorts, and by focusing on it, we can project fields of energy to perform various duties and tricks. Nearly all unicorn ponies can do things like telekinesis, and most of us can perform small illusions, like making small objects appear and disappear, but each one of us has greater control over some aspect of their life, dictated by their ‘special talent’. Rarity for instance can use hers to find gemstones in the ground and in rocks.”

“What does yours do?” Twilight blushed, usually not comfortable expanding on what she considered boasting. Being that Nathan was new to town, and magic in general, though, she humored him.

“Actually my special talent is magic. I can do all sorts of things. Even learn other unicorns’ spells and use them myself. I spend a good deal of my personal time researching new spells and abilities to put into use. For instance, I designed these cabinets with the concept that they would be able to identify various aspects of a ponies state of being. Heart rate, nervous twitches, breathing, perspiration. All identifiable by these machines. However, they only work if I am magically willing them to. It’s not so much that they actually work, as much as I will them to be functional. Without my direct control, they aren’t much more then, as you put it, a couple cabinets with some wire in them.”

The revelation was stunning to Nathan. That their technology was based on magic wasn’t shocking. He had surmised that from the first time he had seen a lantern light up without any manual outside influence. However, that their technology was just a psychokinetic extension of their will was… frankly disturbing. The implications were myriad. Because they felt something should work like it does, it did work that way. That would go a long way in explaining other unbelievable facts of life around here. Weather control for one. While the pegasi didn’t have the same magical control, they still had passive magic that allowed for them to control and walk on clouds. Which was impossible, but they did. They must think they should be able to. Nathan struggled with the idea. Seeing him deep in thought, Twilight inquired.

“Something wrong? You seem distraught.”

“What? Oh, no nothing is wrong. I’m just thinking about technology and magic here. The way it works and how it differs from where I’m from. It’s going to take me a while to get used to it. Oh! Hey Twilight that reminds me. I saw you have a telescope- one of these nights would you be ok with me coming up and using it? I wanted to view the star field surrounding Equestria.” Twilight wrinkled her nose and thought about it for a moment.

“Sure. I guess that’s ok. One of these nights when it’s nice and clear. I’ll let you know what night works for me.”

“Sounds good Twilight. One more thing- books. I need some research material. I want to know the history of you ponies, your monarch, the creatures and monsters that live in the forest. Anything that might pertain to me.” Twilight smiled and nodded. Books! He certainly knew the way to her heart. She started bounding around the room as Nathan looked on, bemused.

“Oh of course! Sometime this week we’ll set it all up, and I’ll get everything organized and we can go through it together and Spike can help and you can help me fill in my human research and…” She stopped herself and sheepishly looked at the ground. “Oh heh heh. I get excited when people talk about books. We can do some reading another day.”

“Sure thing Twilight. I’m going to get back to work now. Still have a bit of organization to sort out before I go to bed. Thanks again for the place to stay. You might not trust me, and I might not trust you, but I think we can work through this.” Twilight flinched when Nathan mentioned he didn’t trust her. Well what does she expect? I’m just one step above a prisoner here.

“O-Ok then. I’ll just be going” Twilight started to make her way up the stairs. Nathan felt a little bad about hurting the unicorn’s feelings, but shrugged and went back to work. If he let it get to him every time he said something upsetting to one of the ponies, he’d be buried in remorse by the end of a week.

'Being able to relate to each other has gone a long way in nurturing a growing respect between the two of us. Twilight has stopped locking me in the basement at night, and Spike has been generous enough to bring me down lunch on days I don't work. It's just an excuse to ask me about my projects, but I appreciate it nonetheless.

Twilight also has allowed me to use her telescope as I requested. I'm not at astronomer by any stretch, but I thought I might try and find some constellations I was familiar with. Big and little dippers, Cassiopeia, etc. I ran into a problem though, one which I had not anticipated. They're there. Every single one of them. Which means, unless I'm mistaken, I'm viewing them from a similar position as North America. So, is this a different dimension? Far in the future or past? I have yet to figure it out.

My projects so far are ongoing, but I'll write about them later. I should tell you about my farm work first'

The midday fall sun was beating down, licking its rays over Nathan's skin, leaving an ever darkening tan. He had been working at the orchard with the Apple family for a little over a week now, and finally had gotten the hang of it. It was monotonous work, but he performed it gladly, happy to have income.

Nathan would start a bit earlier and place out the bins under the trees they were to harvest that day, and then Applejack and Mac would go out and buck them. It was a simple system, but so far it had worked out well. While Nathan was grabbing bins, Applebloom would run around and pick up any stray apples that had been missed or dropped. Unlike her older sister, the juvenile pony had taken a liking to the human immediately, and enjoyed playing out in the orchard while they worked. Currently school was on a break, and she had much more free time to hang out at the farm and pester Nathan with questions.

The first couple days of work had been difficult, but by the time he got through them he almost felt transformed. The air was so clear, the water so clean. This first week alone he'd dropped close to ten pounds and was feeling the best he physically had in years. Work on the farm had definitely been in his best interest. By the end of the week he was collecting bushels faster than the larger earth ponies could produce.

Their work days shortened, the family had much more time to catch up on maintenance and repairs that had plagued the farm for months, as well as more time for idle chatter that normally would be focused on getting in the day's quota of apples. After another successful day Applebloom ran in the house and retrieved a quartet of chilled bottles of apple juice. Note to self: they can somehow chill food and drink, I'll have to ask about that. The four of them- a colt, a mare, a filly, and a human sat around a picnic table and drank deeply.

After a while, their respective thirsts quenched, Applejack sat in quiet contemplation. It had only been a week working with the human, but being so close to him for even this length of time had been a constant reminder of the situation she was in as his employer, and her anxiety had continued to grow. Perhaps answering some questions would help to calm her. If not for herself, but to get Rarity off her back. The white pony had been directing snide comments at Applejack anytime they were within earshot of each other, and she was sick of it. Caught in her thoughts, Big Macintosh began to speak.

“First week in the orchards. Ya worked hard.”

“Thanks Big Macintosh, I appreciate that. It’s been good working here, and I feel great.” Applejack wondered if that was true.

“Ah can't imagine it's as fancy as what you used to do.. What'd Fluttershy call it? Enj.. enjasneer? That it?" Nathan chuckled.

"Engineer, Applejack. I'm an engineer. And no, it's not as fancy but it's rewarding work and it's been a long time since I've felt this good. I'm glad you took me on. I hope you’ll keep me on for the rest of the fall too. I could use the income.” Applebloom chuckled and shook her head.

“Big Mac wouldn’t fire ya. Especially after how hard you’ve been working. They wouldn’t have hired ya in the first place if they were going to fire ya. Right?” She looked up at Big Mac, and to her dismay rather than his customary smile he wore a nervous look and kept glancing between her and Applejack.

“Applejack why’s Mac looking so…” Looking at her sister, she could see a matching disposition. “Hey what’s going on here? Ah thought an Apple was supposed to be honest. What are you guys hiding?” Nathan saw the matching expressions on the older ponies faces, Mac refused to meet his eye. “There was something more to this arrangement than simple charity wasn’t there?”

“…Eeyup.” Nathan had learned since his hospital visit that Mac was usually a pony of few words, tending to only speak to confirm or deny. You didn’t need to live in Ponyville for long to realize something was up. Nathan raised his eyebrow.

“Ain’t nuthin’ upstanding about what we did.” He hung his head low, Applejack grimaced, and Applebloom was almost beside herself in a fit of disbelief.

“W-what do ya mean big brother? Of course it was upstanding! Applejack told me how you offered him the job yourself and everything!”

“Eenope. At the hospital, most a’ what Ah said was jes’ hogwash.” Nathan just laughed, drawing confused looks from the ponies.

“So why did you hire me then?” Applejack kept her eyes to the ground.

"Sorry Nathan. Big Mac and Ah had a talk after we hired you; he didn't have the most... generous reasons to hire you. He figured that since we needed the help, we should hire you, being the outsider. Iffin something happened, or you weren't very good, we could fire you without feeling guilty. Ah mean, you've done a great job, better than expected, but that was our thinking at the time." Applejack grimaced a bit at this.

"Eeyup." Big Macintosh turned a darker shade of red. Nathan continued to laugh.

"What, you're embarrassed for making a good business decision based on the strange 'predator' from another land? Jesus you ponies are too innocent. Too funny." He rolled his Ahead back and continued to laugh deeply. Applebloom shook off her earlier discomfort and laughed along with him, mostly because she felt there was a joke she had missed, and it felt better to laugh with the human than dwell on the dishonesty of her siblings. Applejack wrinkled her nose and a cross look enveloped her face.

"Well Ah'm glad you find it funny. Ah’m sure Mac has felt just awful about it all week, and it hasn’t been the best experience for me either. Who you calling innocent anyways? This the way things work where you're from? People just get fired for whatever reason? Who the hay is Jesus?!" Nathan tried his hardest to stifle his laughing in the face of the agitated mare but it was proving difficult. Between giggles he responded to her outburst.

"I-I'm sorry you've felt bad Applejack. Don't w-worry about me though, it's fine. To answer the rest of your questions: yes that's how it's done, yes you're all innocent compared to what my home is like, and as for J-J-Jesus, that's a much longer conversation, that you probably don't care about right now." At this point Big Mac was chuckling too, amused at Applejack's look of exasperation. Applebloom spoke up first.

"Oh Applejack, you should see the look on yer face. He just told you he was content and ye'r taking it like a slap in the face. Ye'r being ridiculous!" Applejack still looked like she wanted to argue, but she ended up blushing and staying quiet. Two ponies and a human laughed, while Applejack muttered to herself.
As the previous merriment died down, Applebloom had some questions of her own.

"So uh.. Mister Human.."

"Nathan, please Applebloom. Call me Nathan."

"Right, Nathan. So.. can you tell me about yer world? What the ponies are like? What's yer cutie mark anyways? Are all humans like you? You sure grew a beard fast. How did you do that. Where is that cutie mark anyways?" At the last question, Applebloom had hooked a hoof into the top of the human's pants and was attempting to pull them down to get a look at his hindquarters. Blushing he quickly grabbed them and kept them from being hoisted down.

"A-Applebloom, you can't just pull my clothes off. It doesn't work like that!" Applebloom shot a questioning look.

"Why not?"

"Well... humans aren't like ponies. We don't have a covering... coat. We don't have coats like you." Applebloom looked confused but nodded. Nathan shot a concerned look towards Applejack. Fluttershy had told the earth pony about their conversation in the forest, and Applejack, knowing her sister's insatiable curiosity, had approached Nathan and asked he try not to tell Applebloom too much about where he was from.

Applejack was pondering the appropriate response to her sister's inquiries. It didn't help that Big Macintosh had leaned in, also eager to hear about the world of humans.

"Applebloom, Ah'll allow Nathan to answer yer questions on one condition. You have to Pinkie Pie promise not to tell anypony else about what he tells you. Not even the other crusaders. Do ya promise." Applebloom's internal struggle was visible. Her curiosity was fighting with her desire to share everything with her fellow CMC's. Finally she nodded.

"Fine, Ah promise."

"Good. Now Nathan, you can tell her whatever she wants to know, but you might want to... gloss over a few details." Nathan nodded and proceeded to fill in the trio of ponies first hand what his world was like. He avoided talking about wars and weapons as much as possible though. He used a piece of charcoal recovered from a nearby fire pit to draw a few pictures, giving the ponies a visual aid for several points.

He finished his explanation, sat back and drained the rest of his bottle. Wish this was beer he thought to himself. Probably don't have alcohol here.

"Wow!" Applebloom's eyes were wide as saucers, amazed at the story she had just heard. "Wait, you just talked about all humans.” Her face turned to a look of puzzlement. “What about the ponies in yer world? Do you not live near them?" Nathan struggled to find a satisfactory answer for the filly.

"There are ponies where I'm from yes... but they're different than they are here." he hoped that would be enough. Of course, it wasn't.

"Different? Like how?" Now Applejack was interested. She too had been wondering what his ponies were like, and why Nathan had been so uncomfortable with the pony folk he had met. Failing to find an escape route, he just sighed, and let it out.

"Where I'm from, the ponies... are just animals. No intelligence, no talking, no magic or flying. Just grass eating animals." The three apple farmers gasped. Seeing the obvious hurt in Applebloom's eyes, Nathan quickly added "That's not how I think of you though Applebloom... that's just the way things are where I'm from. I'm sorry if that hurt your feelings." Again, inadvertently hurting one of the ponies. Man I am such a dick.

"Ah.. Ah'm ok. Ah know you were just answering my question. Ah.. Ah should go though, Ah have homework to do." Applebloom finished her drink, got up and ran to the house. Nathan caught a stream of tears flowing out of her eyes as she turned and reached an arm out after her, grasping at the empty air between them.

"Applebloom..." He closed his eyes and shook his head. What a great end to the week- now he was making children cry. Applejack saw the pained expression on Nathan's face and offered a meek smile.

"It's ok. Ah know she was asking too many questions. You probably didn't need to stomp on her that hard though- why lie about the ponies in yer homeland? Even if maybe you don't like them.. or us.." Nathan looked up, realizing the implication behind Applejack's words. Already stepped on one Apple filly's toes- hooves?- today. Might as well make it two.

"Applejack... I'm sorry but liking or not liking has nothing to do with this. What I spoke was the truth. The ponies where I come from have less intelligence than your dog. They can't do anything that you can here." The words hit Applejack like a sledgehammer, and she took a moment to swallow the bile welling up in her throat.

"Y-ye'r serious ain't ya?" Nathan nodded slowly. He felt terrible. Applejack struggled with the thought, then allowed her frustration to pass. "Well it's not like it's like that here, and you seem to be trying to get to know us. You don't hate us for being ponies or anything?"

"No Applejack of course not. You've been kind enough to me, regardless of motive. I'm glad to have an acquaintance here I can count on. You and your family are great." He walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eye. “Applejack, you shouldn’t regret a good business decision, especially when it benefit’s the employee as much as the employer.” Applejack had to force down a tear of gratitude.

"Ya darn critter, y'know just what to say to brighten a mare's day don't you? Ah reckon Big Mac here made the right decision hiring you."

"Eeyup." The red stallion smiled in his sister's direction.

"That's all the work for this week though. We've gotten so much done we can take the weekend off and catch up on repair work. Thanks for the hard work. Here's your pay." Applejack grabbed a bag of bits out of a sack next to the house and threw it to him. Having no context he didn't know if he had received fair pay, and politely pocketed the bag without looking inside.

"That's more'n we'd normally pay for the work you did, but we figured you needed a bit more to get settled."

"Thanks Applejack. I'm going to head down to the market to pick a few things up. See you guys on Monday?"

"Eeyup." Big Mac replied.

"Oh before I leave, what's this cutie mark everyone keeps talking about?"

'Before I had left the farm, Applejack explained to me the cutie marks and their significance. They manifest themselves as the tattoos that adorned both flanks of mature ponies, and usually pertain to whatever special skill or talent that makes the pony unique. It's very perplexing really... the cutie marks don't appear until later in their lives, but almost always pertain in some way to their name, and whatever occupation they end up holding. I'm really not sure whether the chicken or the egg is coming first here, but somehow the adults just seem to know the right name for their foals. Probably more of this passive magic. Applejack still seems to be a mite nervous around me. Big Macintosh and Applebloom don't seem to share her disposition though, so I imagine it's probably Rarity continuing to talk to her behind my back. Probably burns her up thinking one of her best friends is employing me. Oh well, she's a bitch.

With the money that Applejack gave me, colloquially known as bits, I was able to purchase a couple weeks worth of food, pay Twilight some rent, and a bunch of supplies for my projects. At this point I've also managed to purchase a bed, and sleep comes more easily now.

I've almost finished a windmill I plan to install on the top of the library, with the intention of generating a bit of electricity. I noticed during early testing that I was getting a much stronger charge than I expected. Conversing with Twilight, I've come to the conclusion that the magical fields encompassing Equestria are somehow boosting the effect.

I'll be putting in the windmill tomorrow, and should have a small generator going within the week. I've detailed some of my designs and diagrams here in case I need to redo them, or make alterations. There's one other project not listed here, but I'm not writing that one down. I don't need Twilight reading this and getting nervous about my work. (While you're down in my room reading this Twilight, and I know you are, please don't make a mess or touch anything.)

As with everything else here in Ponyville, the chilled drinks was of course a work of magic. They have large ice-chests of thick metal, and a unicorn in town (the appropriately named Frostmane) uses his magic to create blocks of ice which he sells. Twilight had an ice chest she wasn't using so I annexed it and set up a fridge for myself.

Speaking about that windmill again, that reminds me. I need a strong Pegasus to put it up there for me. I think after a couple weeks ago I could probably twist Rainbow's wing into it. Like I mentioned before, things between of have gotten better. That confrontation was a long time in coming.'

Pinkie Pie was waiting in a bush outside the library. Being a Saturday morning she didn't have any work to do, so she decided she would have a bit of fun. Peering out of the foliage, she waited for the human to come out. The door to the library finally creaked open and Nathan stepped out into the sunlight. He heard the bush behind him rustle, and jumped.

"Hiya Nathan! Whatcha doing today? Going out for a walk?" Nathan gave a short yelp. Oh no, here it comes, another Pinkie prank. Looking around, for once he didn't see Rainbow Dash anywhere.

"Uh hey Pinkie. No Rainbow Dash today? No pranks?" He was still looking all over, waiting for Pinkie to do... well whatever she was planning.

"Nopers! I just wanted to go for a walk with you. I want to get to know more about you. I I never got to throw you that party I never got to throw you! And I always get to throw everypony a party, even if you’re not an everypony or even an anypony. Nathan relaxed slightly, hoping the small party pony was being sincere. Even if she was planning a prank, he knew the bubbly creature didn't have a malicious bone in her body.

"Ok Pinkie, we can go for a walk. I'm on my way down to the lake for a bath. I finally found some soap, and a knife sharp enough to deal with this beard. It's no razor, but it'll do."

"Oh that sounds good. I need a bath too. I normally just us my bathtub but going in the lake sounds fun. Can we stop By Sugar Cube Corner on the way? I'll grab my stuff too!" Nathan wasn't sure how awkward it was going to be having a bath near Pinkie was going to be, but he agreed to her request. After a short stop at the bakery (during which the Cakes hid inside a large mixing bowl) the pink pony and human were on their way to the lake.

They walked in silence for the first few minutes, but Nathan kept catching Pinkie glancing up at him and wanting to talk. A large brush and soap-on-a-rope clenched in her mouth prevented any sort of conversation. Finally, feeling sorry for the naturally chatty pony, Nathan reached down and grabbed Pinkie's bathing supplies, freeing up her mouth. I'm so going to regret this he thought to himself.

"Thanks! So, can I ask you something?" Nathan chuckled. Wasn't that the predominant question of the month.

"Why should you be any different Pinkie?"

"Wha?" a confused look crossed her face. Nathan returned the look with a nod.

"Sorry Pinkie, of course you can ask me something." Her characteristic smile returned, then she became very serious.

"Why don't you want to be my friend?" Nathan stopped walking and looked down at the suddenly sullen pony. She was under the impression he didn't care for her. Nathan felt sort of bad by this. "Rainbow Dash and I try to include you in our fun, and pull a few pranks, and you get so upset."

"Pinkie, I never said I didn't want to be your friend. I'm just getting settled, and I know you mean well, but Dash doesn't. She leaves a bad taste in my mouth every time you two try to play a joke on me." Pinkie took a moment to process this thought and then responded.

"We just want to include you! Really! What's wrong with the odd whoopee cushion, or putting some black ink on Twi's telescope before you use it?"

"Nothing Pinkie. Those are fine. I even had a good laugh with Twilight the first time you got me with the telescope. But sticking a rock in my way while I'm working so I trip and have to spend five minutes refilling my bushel of apples? Starting a rumour I had kidnapped Scootaloo and eaten her? Which, I might add, started a town-wide panic until Scootaloo showed up asking what the commotion was about.

"Those aren't harmless pranks Pinkie. I could have been hurt by every one of them. It's hard enough living here with the moniker of 'predator' hanging over my head."

"B-b-but I didn't do any of those pranks... they were all... Dash..." The revelation finally dawning on her, Pinkie went silent again

"My point exactly. Do you really want to be my friend Pinkie? Just like that?" Pinkie brightened again, a big grin on her face, tempered by the look of dead seriousness on Nathan's face.

"Yupperoonie! I'd love to be your friend."

"Then be my friend Pinkie. I would like a friend too, but I won‘t let Dash bully me in the name of whatever misguided fun or concern she has."

"Okie-dokie-lokie! We can be friends then. Yay! Oh look the lake! Bath time!" Carefully scanning the hills to confirm there weren't any other ponies in the area, Nathan turned to Pinkie.

"Do me a favour Pinkie? Can you close your eyes while I take my clothes off?"

"Why?"

"Just... please Pinkie?"

"Oh fine. I don't understand why you where clothes all the time anyways. Seems silly."

"Trust me Pinkie, the alternative looks even sillier."

Carefully stripping, he hopped into the lake then called after Pinkie Pie. The two of them cleaned up, and Nathan managed to shave down to a light stubble. The relief of a clean face did wonders for his stress. Cleaned up, the two new friends continued their conversation.

"So I've already heard from the others what your home is like, but I want to know more about you. I know you don't remember much, but what do you plan to do while here?"

"Try and live a quiet relaxing life until I get home. If I never get home, well, working the orchard has been pretty good. I'm also trying to put together a bit of my world here too. Whatever I can do to be comfortable."

"Wow! You're taking this whole 'I'm no longer on the Earth I remember and grew up with' thing pretty well. I'd probably be much more frightened."

"Wait Pinkie, w-what did you just say?" She couldn't have just used that word...

"I'd be really scared?"

"No no, the other thing!"

"What other thing? Oh I forgot, what were we talking about? Oh Rainbow Dash and her pranks right?" No Pinkie, that's not what we were talking about at all... Nathan shook his head, letting the utter confusion slip away. Must be that 'Pinkie Sense' Twilight was talking about.

"Don't worry about Dash. Next time I see her I'll talk to her about not playing anymore pranks on you." She looked sad and deflated, like the air had been let out of the balloons adorning her flank. Nathan shook his head.

"No Pinkie, pranks are fine. Just no cruel pranks."

"Oh good!" She was smiling again.

As the two splashed around the lake, absorbed in conversation, a figure cloaked in a dark cloud moved closer and closer. At the last minute Pinkie turned to see the figure burst from the cloud and bee-line straight to where Nathan's clothes were.

"Rainbow Dash stop!" Pinkie Pie screamed, but once again it was too late. The cyan Pegasus had already scooped up the crudely fashioned clothing, and proceeded to toss it up a nearby tree. Getting caught on some of the branches, little rips formed all through the outfit. Rainbow Dash was back up on her cloud, laughing with all four hooves in the air.

"Hahaha you should see the look on your faces. That was too funny. Now you won't be able to wear those stupid clothes. Hahaha you're such a sucker. This so so funny right, Pinkie Pie?" Pinkie wasn't laughing though.

"No Dash." Dash slowly stopped laughing. "This isn't funny." Nathan was barely containing his anger.

"Wha... oh Pinkie, not you too. First Fluttershy, and now you? He's just a big dumb predator. Why do you care about him?" Pinkie summoned her courage, and as evenly as possible replied.

"Because he's my friend."

"What?"

"Nathan is my friend! He needs those clothes. That was cruel. You bring them back right now!"

"Pinkie, why does need them? They're just dumb clothes. They don't even fit him right, and he wears them all the time." Nathan had heard enough. He couldn't bite his tongue anymore. he turned to Pinkie Pie. The anger had drained from his face, and he looked down at the pink pony.

“No Pinkie, it’s ok. Dash is right. I’m just an animal. You don’t need to feel sorry for me or be my friend. I don’t have any feelings.” Pinkie Pie stood there with her jaw open. What was Nathan saying?

“Of course you have feelings! Everypony has feelings! Even if they’re not a pony!” She looked up at Rainbow Dash. “Dash- look. You’ve hurt his feelings!” Nathan shook his head and sat lower in the water, staring into the lake, away from where Dash was in the tree. Pinkie Pie ran over to the shore and started yelling at the cyan pony. “Rainbow Dash! Look what you’ve done. You’ve made Nathan cry!”

Rainbow Dash glared down at Pinkie. However, as the party pony’s accusatory eyes burned into her soul, Dash slowly let her indignant attitude drop. The feeling of remorse overtook her and she gazed out into the lake, observing the now emotionally distraught human sobbing to himself in the water. Dash sighed, and slowly started to flutter over to where he was sitting.

“Nathan? Nathan look I’m sorry.” Nathan didn’t move or do anything, he just sat there, alone. Rainbow Dash flew closer. “I just wanted to have some fun. I didn’t think it would hurt you so much. I don’t want to be a bully.” Fearing the worst after receiving no response, Dash flew up right next to Nathan. “Nathan? Can we t.. AUUUGGHH”

Her sentence was cut short as Nathan burst from the water, leaping onto the stunned Pegasus and dragging her down into the lake. He held her head under the water for a few seconds then let her back up.

“I’ll show you a prank! How do you like this prank?” He forced her head back underwater. He repeated this a few times, each time Rainbow Dash managing to fragment out a sentence.

“Hey what… are you trying to do… are you going to drown… me or something?… I can barely breath… stop it!!!” Finally Nathan let her go, and she rocketed back up into the tree, shaking off as much water as she could. Anger covered her face. Nathan stood there laughing.

“Hahaha I can’t believe you fell for that. Seriously? ‘The big bad human is crying to himself because I took his clothes’? Dash you’re a riot.”

“Yeah well! I didn’t think you’d try and drown me! That wasn’t nice!” Pinkie Pie was laughing now too. After a few moments, even Dash couldn’t suppress a giggle. Nathan let the laugh die away before speaking.

“No Dash, you’re right. It wasn’t very nice. Neither are most of your pranks on me. As you can see, my clothes are in tatters, and unlike you I need clothes.” Pinkie Pie was still giggling, and Nathan wasn’t sure why until he took stock of his situation again.

“Hehehe! Oh you were right Nathan. It is more ridiculous without clothes.” She had trotted back over to wear Nathan was standing, as he blushed and tried to cover himself. She crouched down on her forelegs, and poked one hoof towards it. “Oh wow, look at that thing! Can I to-”

"No!" he yelled at her. Seeing her yelp and jump back, he softened his approach. "Sorry, Pinkie. No, you can't. I'm sorry for yelling." Looking up at the mare also laughing in the tree.

“If I had one of those following me everywhere, I’d wear clothes too. I’m so sorry let me get your clothes for you.” Dash deposited them on the shoreline. Nathan sighed and shook his head. This is becoming a bad habit. Just need Twilight and Rarity to have a show and I’ve collected the whole set! Damn.

"Ok, I'm sorry. I'll be more considerate in the future. I just wanted to have fun, and you were such an easy mark. I was wrong though. Can we move on?"

"Yes Dash, we can move on."

"Oh good." A smile played across her lips. "If you need a favour sometime let me know. I'll do something to make it up to you."

"Ok Rainbow. I'll call you up sometime. I'm going to head out now though. You have a good day." With that he walked back to town. Rainbow Dash flew down next to Pinkie Pie, who was still wrapping her head around the "show".

"So your new friend knows a few pranks of his own I see.

"Yepperoonie. He seemed really angry at you too initially. I was surprised he let you off with a little joke. You need to be nicer to him. He's a good human. You'll see." Rainbow Dash nodded. He was kind of impulsive like her, and he could stand up for himself. Kind of like her...

"Hey Pinkie... do ya... do ya think he'd be my friend too?" Pinkie Pie shot a knowing look over at her friend.
"I think he already is Dash."

'I'm sure by now you can gather I'm starting to make a few friends here. Overall the ponies are still terrified of me, but there are a few that seem to tolerate my presence. Pinkie Pie has quickly become my best friend here outright. She's still bummed we never had that party, but we've had a couple more lake adventures since then. Dash is still an asshole, but I think that's her way of trying to get to know me. Twilight and Applejack have built working relationships with me, and that's good enough for me. Fluttershy and Rarity though? Those two are as frustrating as ever, for totally different reasons…’

It was the fourth time that month he had gone down to Carousel Boutique looking for Rarity. As much as he disliked the unicorn's attitude, no one- no pony? he still hadn't gotten used to some of their conjugations- had as much tailoring skill as her. In fact, as far as he knew, no one else in Ponyville made clothes period.

Every time Nathan had visited previously, he had been met with the same hostility as he had the first day he met Rarity. True to her word, so far she had been too busy to bother with a wardrobe for the "disgusting" human. Last time she had reminded him that even if she didn't have any other work she would be hard pressed to come up with a good reason to make them anyways. Today though, Nathan had a plan.

Approaching the door, he heard both the boisterous Rarity and another voice, one he recognized. Perfect! Two birds with one stone. He gently reached out and proceeded to knock.

"One moment darling!" she called out from behind the door, unaware that she was sparing such politeness for Nathan. He snickered a bit. The look on her face when she realized who was at her door was always worth it.

The door emitted that characteristic glow for a moment and swung open. "Now, what ca-" she stopped mid-sentence and allowed her cool exterior to dissolve into disgust. "Oh, you again! How many times do I have to yell at you?" Peering past the agitated pony, Nathan could see, as he had guessed, Fluttershy sitting at the table having tea. Ignoring Rarity, he waved at the Pegasus.

"Good morning Fluttershy." A smile played across her face, but wad quickly replaced by trepidation, seeing Rarity so upset.

"Oh good morning Nathan. I haven't seen you in a week or so." In fact, it had been nearly a month. The last time he had seen her was the day he had been the day she brought him food to hold him over. Warned off by Rarity, she had been avoiding him for the last couple weeks, but she seemed so happy to see him. Nathan was at a loss to explain why. While he contemplated the situation, the hot-headed unicorn in the doorway snapped his attention back to reality.

"Don't you ignore me! Brute! Ruffian! What have you eaten today? More bear? Some defenseless cow? Maybe a pony?! Why are you even here? I told you- I am never going to drag myself low enough to make clothes for the likes of you. Now, be gone!" Time to bait the trap...

"Sure thing Rarity. I'll be going now. I just wanted to come by and let you know I won't be needing your services after all. Twilight told me about some tailors in Canterlot that could make me some clothes. I’ve contacted one and I’ll be heading there next week. I won't bother you anymore." Rarity looked perplexed. A month of this human asking for her services, and now he didn't need her clothes?

"O-oh. Well good. I'm glad. I was getting tired of your incessant visits. So then, I bid you a good day." Nathan smiled and nodded.

"You too Rarity. I'm actually glad you turned me down. You couldn't handle the job anyways, so you forced me to find someone who could. Bye now! You too Fluttershy."

"Bye Nathan!" Fluttershy called back. She looked like she had more to say, but stifled it. Rarity harrumphed and closed the door. Nathan could hear a faint 'good riddance' come from inside the Boutique, turned and started to walk away. Five, four, three, two, one...

He heard the door behind him slam open again. Gotcha. He put on the most surprised face he could and spun around, seeing a clearly worked up Rarity. She was positively bristling, snorting through her nose.

"I'm sorry..." she spat between clenched teeth, "... what did you say?"

"Whoa Rarity. What did I say about what? That you couldn't handle my wardrobe requirements? I'm sorry I didn't think you could."

"Didn't think I could? Didn't think I could?!" She was fuming. "I can create anything for anypony anytime I want!"

"Oh you can? Well I just thought that with, you know, how much you have turned me away, I just assumed it was too difficult for you."

"Too difficult?" she screeched. "You are looking at the premiere dress maker for miles, possibly in all of Equestria. I can make anything. Your bits! Where are they?!" Feigning as much shock as possible, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a bag of coins.

"These you mean?" Magical light surrounded the bag, pulling it over to Rarity.

"Yes, yes those. Good. Now come back tomorrow and I'll show you just what I can and cannot do. Now go!" Game. Set. Match.

"Are you sure you can handle this Rarity?"

"Yes! Go! You too Fluttershy, I have work to do." Fluttershy gave a shocked 'eep!' and exited the Boutique as fast as her wings would take her. She landed next to Nathan, and they watched the door slam shut. Fluttershy smiled and blushed at Nathan.

"Well that was... sudden. D-did you want to walk me home? That is, if it's ok?" Nathan smiled back. Finally, a chance to talk to her. Fluttershy was trying her hardest to contain her glee. She wasn't doing very well.

"Sure Fluttershy, that would be nice. So, how was your tea with Rarity?" Fluttershy looked amused. She thought for a moment, and then responded.

"It was... it was nice. Short though- I'd only been there for half an hour before you knocked. We had just been talking about how busy we've been lately. We haven't had time for a spa visit. Oh.. and we talked about you." Nathan laughed, and doing a prissy little strut, throwing his head back. He started doing as good an impression of Rarity as he could, with an added accent.

"Goot day to you darlink. How are you this fine mornink? Vhere have you been lately? I hope not too busy- ve have much to catch up on. Vhat sort of rumours can we make up about the human? Oh I know! He ate the Cake's babies! I heard he ate Scootaloo!" Fluttershy laughed at the over exaggerated impression. She became serious again before laughing though.

"Oh N-Nathan she's not that bad. She's just scared of you and what you might do to me... I-I mean us. She's scared what you can do to us. You have to admit you didn't make the best first impression." Nathan thought back to the hospital prank again.

"No you're right Fluttershy, I didn't. I'm sorry for that." She nodded.

"I know. It's ok. Rarity will come around eventually. She's my best friend. We need to be strong for each other. I have a feeling she knows more though. About you I mean. You've really never met her before?" Nathan considered the question.

"No. As far as I can remember I've never met another magical talking pony. You were the first I really got to know. Speaking of, there's something I wanted to talk to you about. We spent three days together in the forest, another two in the same room as the hospital. I thought we would be friends by now. Or at least talk to each other more. Are you avoiding me? Did I make you mad?" Fluttershy had a shocked look on her face. That's how he was taking her not being around him?

"O-oh no. No no no. I haven't been avoiding you because I don't like you. I've been not looking for you because I don't want you to feel like I'm bugging you too much. That and Rarity keeps sending everyone to me for pet-sitting. I didn't think you would think I'm mad at you! I'm so sorry." Nathan was smiling again.

"It's ok Fluttershy. Nothing you could possibly do would make me feel bothered. If you want to hang out some time you just let me know. We can... I don't know. Go for a picnic, or for a walk like we are now." Fluttershy was blushing.

"Oh I would like that. I'm sorry you thought I was mad at you. Don't worry about Rarity. She'll come around eventually."

The two of them continued their walk through Ponyville. Several minutes went by, with neither of them talking. The townsfolk had started to get used to the human, and managed to continue working, even with him passing by. Octavia was practicing in the park, Cheerilee was taking a group of foals on a field trip, Pinkie Pie was carting a wheelbarrow full of flour to Sugar Cube Corner. Applebloom, with the rest of the foals, waved at Nathan, and he politely waved back

"What's the flour for Pinkie?" another pony called out.

"Oh Derpy wanted a pony-sized muffin, and I thought 'what better way to make a pony-sized muffin, than to make a muffin the size of a pony!'" Nathan shook his head and laughed. Pinkie Pie logic at it's finest. Fluttershy herself was suppressing a giggle. The town was definitely bustling today. Winter was going to blanket the land soon, and most of the pony folk were doing their best to prepare the village. Finally, Nathan broke the silence.

"It's beautiful, you know?" Fluttershy had that cute confused look on her face again.

"I-I'm sorry?"

"The town. Ponyville. It's beautiful. I'm glad that of all the places I could end up, it was here. Of all the ponies that I could meet, it was you." Fluttershy was beaming.

"Oh Nathan, I'm so happy. I was getting worried you didn't like it here. The other girls have said you spend a lot of your time working. You do like it here right?" Seeing the hopeful look in her eyes, Nathan had to bite back his initial response. No, Fluttershy, I don't like it here. I don't belong here. I'm probably doing some sort of irrevocable harm to your kingdom just by existing here. In the end, the best he could manage was a half-truth.

"Yes, Fluttershy. I like it here. Better than other places I could wind up. Until Celestia gets back to us, I don't think I'm going anywhere anyways." Fluttershy nodded, oblivious to the lie. They had finally reached her cottage and were leaning against one of the fences watching a couple of chickens chase each other around.

“I’m glad you’re here. You’ve shown me something different from the ponies. I should get back to work th- OH!” Fluttershy had a look of realization cross her face. Her eyes were wide, and she was having trouble forming her words.

"What is it Fluttershy, you forget something in town?"

"N-no I was just thinking of that poor tailor in Canterlot." Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry?"

"You know! You had Twilight contact a clothes maker in Canterlot for you. Now that poor pony won't make a sale!" Nathan tried to stifle his giggle, but it was no good. It rolled into a deep belly laughed, he clutched his sides and fell on the ground, laughing the whole way.

"Oh Fluttershy. There IS no Canterlot tailor."

"You mean you..." His sides hurt so much from laughing he could barely respond.

"Yeah! And she bought it hook, line and sinker!" Now it was Fluttershy's turn to laugh. Both friends rolled around, and found themselves staring up at the clouds. It might not be home... but sometimes all it takes is a friend and a laugh to make it feel like it
.

The cloth flew all around the room. Ideas were flowing in and out of Rarity's head. These would be the most magnificent clothes that human had ever laid eyes on. Couldn't handle it? Please. This would be foal's work. Opalescence made her way down the stairs, looking questioningly at her master's current project.

Seeing the cat's confused look, The unicorn informed her.

"Just putting together an outfit for that beastly human. He was going to go to a Canterlot pony because he didn't think I could handle it. We'll show him though. Still, I wonder who was going to do the work? Probably one of those new designers out of Marelan, but I can't imagine they would want anything to do with..." Finally putting two and two together it hit her like a sack of bricks. All of the cloth dropped around her and she closed her eyes.

Opalescence meowed, an even more confused look on her face. Rarity looked down at her pet.

"Oh Opal... I think mommy just got played for a fool."

'Even though she figured out what I had done, she was still a good sport about it and made the wardrobe for me anyways. She was sure pissed off though. Oh well. The clothes were nice enough. A bit more... classy then I would prefer, but good enough.

So, a month has passed and I've made a couple new friends. I'll finish that one project next week I hope. Hopefully this Princess Celestia will get back to Twilight Sparkle soon. As much as I have been enjoying my stay here at times, I want to go home. Something just isn’t right about me being here.'

Deep below the ground, Queen Chrysalis was still licking her metaphorical wounds. It had been months since the wedding and her failed take-over of Equestria, but she was still distraught over how everything went so wrong so fast. If not for Twilight Sparkle, no one would have been the wiser. She would someday get revenge, but for the time being she had been too busy dealing with her subjects.

Let down by their perceived all powerful queen, many of the changelings began to question their ruler. She had already brutally put down one such rebellion, and the more loyal of her subjects had filtered through information that another one was coming. It was difficult to plot revenge when your own subjects were untrustworthy.

So it was she spent another night on her twisted throne, plotting how to re-establish her rule, surrounded by her guards. As she sat their in silence, a myriad of plots clicking through her head like clockwork, she heard the garbled cry of changelings across the subterranean city. Concerned, she leapt from her chair, peering out the window of her citadel.

A dark cloud blew across the spires that marked her city. Randomly at first, then building and funnelling into a distinctive pillar, aimed directly at her throne room.

"Guards!" she cried out. "Protect your queen!" The changelings complied, moving into defensive positions, several taking the form of threatening monsters. Their efforts were in vain as the cloud blew through them, knocking a majority of them unconscious. Seeing her protectors defeated, Chrysalis shrieked. "What are you? What is the meaning of this?!" She herself morphed into a juvenile dragon, magical green fire licking the ground where she stood. A rumbling laughter escaped the smog.

"Hahaha, you always were good for a laugh Chrysalis." She squinted her eyes, claws at the ready.

"That voice... I've heard it before..." Her pondering was met with further laughter.

"Well of course you know me. I was counting on it. Here, let me slip into something... more comfortable." The cloud cover slowly dropped, rolling into the corners of the corners of the room and dissipating. As the last of the darkness fell away, Queen Chrysalis' eyes went wide, and she shuddered. The shock forced her out of her concentration and her own draconic shroud fell, leaving her perforated black form behind. He stood in front of her, fully three times her height. Each appendage ended in a different claw or hoof, his tail matched nothing else, and his face was twisted in a sickly cruel grin.

Discord.

"Y-you?! This is your doing? Where did you get this kind of power?! Why are you here? How are you here?! I thought..." The sickly visage demi-god in front of her curled his lips around his cruel looking teeth, his breath carried the odour of death.

"Oh my dear, sweet Queen Chrysalis. The how’s and whys aren't important. What is important is that I'm here, and I have an offer you simply... cannot... refuse."

"What? You come into my kingdom, assault my subjects, invade my throne room, and you have the audacity to ask me for something?! Why shouldn‘t I just have you imprisoned?"

"Oh of course. When have I ever cared for etiquette? You know me better than that. I mean it has been hundreds of years, but still. Now, listen. I've got a few endeavours on the go, but I'm short a few...hooves. The way I see it, I have the magic and the ability to strike back at those pesky ponies you and I hate so much, and you have the army I need to move forward with my plans. What do you say Chrysie?" Queen Chrysalis was furious.

"W-w-what? You want my changelings for an army? Don't make me laugh. I don't think you understand where you are. This is my domain. I am queen here. Why would I help you? What possible reason could I have?"

The grotesque being's lips were still curled in that sickly grin.

"Actually there are two reasons. One: from what I hear, the way things are going, you might not be queen much longer." Chrysalis flinched. Discord was right. "Two: well, do you care for this changeling over here very much?" His claw waved in the general direction of one of the now recovering guards.

"No not particularly. But wh..." The question was lost in her throat as the demi-god snapped his finger. The changeling looked uncomfortable for a moment, his body trembling a bit, before finally succumbing to the magic and exploding, leaving gore covering all in assemblage. Chrysalis was stunned. The once grinning demon now wore a deadly serious look.

"B-but you've never... why... the ponies..."

"What about them?! I'm tired of playing by their rules. I've learned a few new tricks , and I'm putting them to use. Playtime is over, and as you've seen this offer is non-negotiable and not to be refused. I’m done bucking around. Now..." he swung his claw out to the trembling monarch. "... do we have a deal?" Hanging her head low, Chrysalis held out her fragmented hoof and shook his claw. Shudders overtook her body as she realized just how much power he had attained. The energy positively flowed off of his body.

"Ok. You win. My army is yours to command. Let us crush Celestia and her little ponies."

"Oh I knew you'd see reason dear. Now then, let's go discuss the arrangements." Once again the laughter started. Things were still moving along perfectly. For tonight he wouldn’t have time for dream-walking, but as it stood this was a much more important victory. For once in a long time, his laughter was genuine. He was enjoying his newfound power, and he would be sharing it with those ponies before long.

It had been a long time in coming, but Discord was finally ready. By his claw, Celestia would fall, and Equestria would follow her into a shallow grave.