Michael and Twilight trailed behind the princess through the great halls of the castle. Twilight looked around at the ornate yet simple design of the interior.

"It feels like a lifetime ago since I've been here."

Michael nodded without thinking. He felt numb. Before they had left, Michael all but assured the Princess of Twilight's safety.

"I'm trusting you with the life of my star pupil."

Celestia words rang through his mind like a shot in a cavern.

True enough, Twilight was alive and unhurt, but this was not how things should have been.

She was supposed to be walking on four legs, not two.

She was supposed to have hooves, not hands or feet.

She was supposed to be a pony.

Instead, she was human.

He knew the reunion between Twilight and the Princess was going to be hard, but-

The ex-pony put a hand on his shoulder, "Michael, are you alright?"

He looked up to her as she walked alongside him, "Huh? Oh, yeah."

"Really?" She said, sarcastically, "Because you've been staring at the carpet for a while now."

Michael's eyes softened as he feigned a smile, "I'm fine. Just... tired. It's been a long past few days, y'know?"

Twilight looked away, "Yeah. It has."

It was a little while longer before they reached their destination. Celestia opened the mighty doors and motioned for the two of them to follow her in. The room was massive; all but one wall was lined with shelves upon shelves of books, the ceiling was glass, and on the remaining wall was a fireplace flanked on either side by glass doors leading out to a large marble balcony overlooking the palace gardens.

"This is my study," explained the Princess, "Please rest here while I get your friends."

Michael's dread grew.

"Her friends... Oh god, her friends..." He slapped himself mentally, "Get a grip, Michael! There was nothing you could have done!"

His doubt chimed back in, "But going back to the mansion? That was stupid! It was too risky and you knew it! But you chanced it anyway! What did you think you were? Some kind of super-spy?"

"But if you hadn't gone you would have never found out about the nanites!"

"And Twilight would still be a pony!"

"But the rest of Equestria wouldn't have been!"

"You couldn't have known that!"

The war continued as Michael walked over to the cart left by one of the servant ponies and poured himself some tea. Holding the saucer underneath the china cup, his hands began to shake. He forced them steady and took a sip of the tea, trying to push out the terror in his eyes and bring back at least some of the calm and cool composure he had only days before.

Setting down the teacup, Michael walked outside to the balcony and leaned on the marble railing. Crickets sang deep into the night as the moon and stars provided most of what little illumination was present.

He took in a deep breath, smelling the air, still fragrant with the scent of flowers in bloom. He needed to calm down and clear his head before he had to face Twilight's friends.

Michael felt the soft touch of a hand on his back and soon saw Twilight leaning on the rail beside him.

"What's wrong? You've been acting weird since we got here."

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Michael, please, what is it? You can talk to me."

He pictured himself right then and there and felt like he was staring at some gloomy teenager. Still, he let out a sigh and...

"...Your friends. They'll be here soon and, well..."

Twilight began to pick up on what he was trying to say. She looked at her hands.

"Oh, yeah, I hadn't thought about that,” she said softly.

There was a brief silence between them before Michael spoke up again.

"Twilight, I'm so sorry. This never should have happened."

Twilight was taken aback. It never occurred to her that Michael considered her being human as something he was responsible for. Like it was some malady he had caused her.

"You have nothing to be sorry about; this wasn't your fault. We were caught off guard and-"

He cut her off, "It doesn't matter."

"It does matter," She turned and looked out into the distance, "You know, a wise old stallion once told me that a cloud has two sides: a light and a dark with silver lining in between. So what if I'm human now? For the first time, I'm experiencing so many things I never would have been able to as a pony. Not only that, but because we went to the HLF's base, we found out about their plans."

"You might forgive me, but what about Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, and the others? You're their friend and because of me you're almost unrecognizable to them."

Twilight put her arm around Michael and closed her eyes, leaning on him, "But only on the outside. Don't worry; they’ll understand."

"Yeah," he laughed a little, his stress relenting, seemingly siphoned off by her touch, "I guess you're right. Besides, It's not like you being human is permanent."

Twilight remembered back to what Michael's sister told her. She leaned in a little closer…

"It could be..."

Michael's face went flush then turned red, but before he could respond, they heard the room door open.

"Michael! Twi! Where are ya?" Applejack's voice called out in its usual country twang.

Twilight opened her eyes and made a face as if to say "Of course they have to arrive now."

Michael sighed, "We're coming..."

As he turned to walk towards one of the glass doors, Twilight gently grabbed his arm.

"You should go in ahead of me and give them a heads up in case the Princess didn't tell them."

Michael nodded, "Yeah, good idea."

Stepping out of the dark balcony and into the room, he waved meekly at the group of ponies, Irene included.

"Hey," he asked, "Where's the Princess?"

Applejack stepped up, "She said she'll be with us in a minute. Went ta go get someone..."

Pinkie Pie looked around wearing a confused look, "Wait a minute; where’s Twilight?"

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash chimed in, "Wasn't she out there with you?"

Michael sighed, "Look, ladies, there's something you need to know."

"Well, what is it, darling?" interjected Rarity, "Whatever's the matter?"

Michael squirmed, "About Twilight, well-"

"Is she alright?" asked Fluttershy.

"Yeah, she's fine, it's just..." he said, trying to sound reassuring as he searched for a way to put it that wouldn't sound horrible, "She's a little different. I'm going to call her in now, so, and I mean this in the best possible way, you may want to brace yourselves."

The ponies all exchanged worried looks as Michael turned towards the balcony doors, "Twilight, They're, uh... They're ready for you."

"Alright..." She called back.

After a moment, Twilight stepped into the light.

The room was silent with everypony present in a state of shock. Not even a gasp emerged from the dropped jaws of Twilight's friends.

Michael cringed at the situation as a whole.

"Hey girls, how’s it going?" Twilight said cheerfully, trying to break the silence.

The deadness remained.

She sighed, "Look, I'm fine. I'm-"

"You're NOT Fine! You're a monkey!" burst Rainbow Dash.

"Hey!" Michael exclaimed, offended.

Rarity scolded the blue pegasus, "Rainbow Dash! A little decorum, please!" She turned to Twilight and approached her with a smile, "I'm sorry Twilight; She's just a little shocked. We all are."

"I know; I was too. Why don't we sit down and Michael and I can catch you up. There have been some startling developments in relation to my... transformation."

The princess and a smaller, dark blue pegacorn walked into the room.

"Yes, let's," said the Princess.

All of the ponies kneeled; Michael and Twilight bowed gently.

"Princess Celestia, You've arrived just in time." said Twilight, "Though, I wasn't aware you'd be bringing Princess Luna with you."

"Those in danger are as much her subjects as they are mine. It seemed only right that she be involved as well."

"Of course, your highness."

Luna took a slight step back behind her sister, "Those are humans?"

Celestia let out a small laugh, "Yes, Luna." She turned her attention to Michael, "Michael, would you mind coming over here for a moment? I'd like my sister to see what a real human is like."

Maybe it was Michael's imagination, but he felt like there was some amount of special emphasis on "real".

He walked over and bowed, "Hello, Princess Luna. I'm Dr. Michael Frost, Professor of Applied Mechanics at Princeton University."

The mare inched forward, then bowed, "A pleasure to meet you, Professor."

"The pleasure is mine, Princess."

Princess Celestia gave Michael a look that was part amusement, part indignation, "My, I don't remember such treatment when you first met me. Where's that cocky swagger from before?" she said, smiling.

Michael returned with a sigh and a look of tired resentment, "Princess, under normal circumstances I would be more than willing to entertain you with some witty wisecracks but, honestly, I have neither the drive nor the energy to banter with you." The last few words came out slightly punctuated, as if spat out. He motioned to the ring of pillows on the floor, "Can we just get this done with?"

Everyone except Twilight, Celestia, and Irene stared at Michael in absolute disbelief of his cavalier attitude towards the Princess. Even Luna was shocked.

But Irene knew.

"There's only so much a person can take..."

So did Twilight.

"...Only so much they can bend outside their comfort zone...”

And so did Princess Celestia.

"...Before they begin to break."

The three of them understood, each in their own way, with their own reasons, that Michael was pushing against his limits.

They knew that Michael was about to break. Next Chapter: Chapter 18 Estimated time remaining: 49 Minutes