I felt like absolute garbage the next morning. Not just because of the mild hangover, I could've dealt with that no problem, but there were side-effects from being fed on like that that I didn't think I'd been fed on enough to actually encounter, but there it was. I awoke to shallow breathing, a sense of exhaustion despite a significant amount of sleep, and a feeling of not wanting to do much of anything at all. My bladder was screaming at me, and it took me a minute to decide whether I wanted to actually get up and take care of it.

So very slowly, I extricated myself from the way I'd been holding Spike. He was still sound asleep in my forelegs, and while he was a pretty heavy sleeper, I didn't want to jostle him about and make him wake up just yet. From what I could tell with a quick glance through one of the windows, it was definitely still very early. It was possible that played into some of my physical exhaustion, but I'd gotten a whole lot more sleep than he did. He didn't need to be waking up just yet.

Worse than that, apparently I'd been overheating, curled up on the couch. I wasn't sure if that was also a side-effect, but considering how out of sorts I felt, I wasn't going to dismiss the possibility. I still had my clothes on, I felt gross, my fur stunk of alcohol thanks to all my sweating...yeah, a visit to the bathroom was definitely in order. My mouth tasted off and I was sure my breath was atrocious.

Turns out that when you're in that state, getting shit done is a lot harder than it would normally be! Who knew? I could barely focus on brushing my teeth, let alone taking a shower. Eventually I just sat there for a significant amount of time, I don't know how long, I was dazed and just hanging my head, letting the hot water soothe my worn-out body. Eventually I just laid down and let the water soothe me into a state of mild bliss. I could've fallen asleep right then and there.

It was only when I heard the sound of hoofsteps and the door opening that I perked my head up and forced myself to stand. Just as I'd predicted, Fluttershy's head peeked in at me, and I stood there, staring back at her. We both stood there like deer in headlights, though I was sure that I looked a whole lot more out of it than she expected.

"Um...a-are you okay, Twilight?" she asked, looking me over. "You've been in here for a while."

"Whuh? What time is it?" I asked quietly.

"It's almost eight. I heard you start the shower around six-thirty," she said, sounding particularly concerned. "I was getting worried since you've been in here so long...."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about me," I said, forcing myself to stand up straighter. "Just drank too much last night, ran into an old acquaintance I could've gone without seeing again, put me in the wrong mindset this morning...y'know, that kind of stuff. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," she said, looking back towards the door before slipping away from the curtain, the click of the door shutting barely heard over the noise of the water. "Mind if I join you?"

"Uh...I mean, you can if you want," I quickly answered, moving to give her some room. "Buuut, if you think anything is going to happen...."

"I wouldn't think of it," she said as she slipped into the shower behind me, smiling. "I can tell you're not in the mood. Did you wash already?"

"Nah, just kinda been lazing around in here."

"For almost two hours? Who was this old acquaintance?"

"Just, uh...just someone I really didn't want to meet again," I said, rubbing the side of my head. "It's really hard to think right now."

"Then don't. Just relax," she said, making some noise behind me as she reached for some of the bottles on the alcoves in the wall. "I'll take care of you."

"Oh no, you really don't-"

Her hoof came down on my back, and when I looked back at her, she smiled. "Just relax, Twilight."

I was quickly beginning to learn that Fluttershy was a brand of kindness in the world that people like me felt awkward around. Maybe because she and I were polar opposites, maybe because I just wasn't used to it, but she tended to shower her love and affection on you, and sometimes it just felt off to me. At the same time...it was something I could get used to. I had to believe that, because I was pretty sure Fluttershy wasn't going to change. That was just how she was.

I closed my eyes and let her do her thing, the sensation of her hooves working over my mane and tail hardly noticeable as I began to drift off. Her touch was soothing, and even though I felt sore, I knew the soreness wasn't real. It was just a symptom of what Chrysalis had done to me. Soon her hooves were working over my back and sides, scrubbing the soap through my fur with a brush while I drifted off into blissful relaxation.

One of the first things Celestia had taught me before our lessons really got a chance to start was how to clear my mind. It took some work to do, since I'm not exactly the type to relax when I could be thinking about stuff, or learning, or anything of that sort. I'm a pretty active pony, I'd like to think. Just shutting down and making an effort to think of nothing at all, before Celestia's lessons, seemed pointless and a waste of time. More than that, she told me to take the time to just rest instead of studying as much as possible.

Without getting into a bunch of metaphors about streams and clearing out the garbage you've dumped into it or some shit like that so it flows pure and at full strength, it does help. Much like a pony that works out, your brain needs time to recover from working itself out just as much as your body does after a long day of exercise. Meditation only helped me even more after I got that down.

Thus it was that I fell into that kind of trance-like state while she worked me over in a far less carnal way than I would've liked any other time. She didn't hesitate to wash every part of me, something that was equal parts shameful and relaxing, and by the time it was over, I was on my back, the shower water running down over my lower half, soapy water running past my head and through my mane on its trip to the drain. I laid there and idly watched her wash herself, content to let time pass by without a care in the world.

I was still laying there by the time she was done, already out of the shower and drying herself off. She'd turned the water off on the way out, likely her subtle way of telling me to get up and get moving. All was silent when I finally sat myself up and got to drying off, the bathroom door hanging open. I didn't even bother to throw my clothes on when I finally felt presentable enough to go back to the living room.

Spike was still asleep on the couch, probably because I wasn't up and about enough to wake him up properly. Much like myself, he wasn't a fan of mornings. I would even go so far as to say that if I hadn't drunk plenty of alcohol and hadn't been fed on by a changeling the night before, I probably still would've been really out of it, waking up at the time I did. Fluttershy had what smelled like hay bacon cooking in the kitchen, but at the moment she was walking lightly around the living room, setting feed out for her animals. One of them even made a point of using Spike's back as a perch, a little squirrel munching on a food pellet with five more piled in front of itself.

With nothing else to do, and not really having the mindset to go out and get some exercise in, I sat down on one side of the couch and picked up the remote, turning the TV on. I had to turn the volume up in order to hear it over the munching and chittering and general noise-making of small animals, and I flipped through several channels before settling on the morning news. There aren't usually a lot of good shows or movies on around that time of the morning.

"-and the New Yoke Titans win a heated game this weekend, thirty-six to twenty," the newscaster said, the immaculately-groomed stallion tapping his papers to organize them before continuing. "And now we're moving on to today's news, a gruesome and disturbing discovery made in a steel mill in the southern district, our reporter Katie is live on scene. Katie?"

That got my attention. In the past year, there had been three infamous incidents that've gone down in New Yoke, an alarming trend that always seemed to take place within gang territory. My ears were perked and I tried to pull the world around me into better focus, if only so I could get more of the details. Hopefully they didn't skimp on it.

"Thanks Page," a griffon chimed in when the camera switched over to her. "Directly behind me is the location of a grisly conflict. A steel mill belonging to the Minoan Smelting Company was the site of a violent encounter at approximately 10PM last night. Witnesses report a lot of screaming and gunfire, but no one directly witnessed what happened. All anyone knows is that it ended in just a few minutes, and no one was seen fleeing the crime scene."

The camera feed switched over to what I guessed was a pegasus doing a sweeping overhead view of the mill. I couldn't make out any details from that distance, but from what I could put together, police were still on the scene, investigating. I sat back and relaxed while Fluttershy moved to stand just to my left in front of the couch, watching the TV with me.

The camera feed switched back to the reporter suddenly, and I could see the police scrambling around the area in front of the mill's entrance. "Currently no one is allowed inside, but the police have divulged some information. There were approximately twelve victims, but the bodies are missing with no signs of the bodies ever being moved, suggesting some high-level magic was at work. Furthermore, there are full sets of clothes left behind that seem to match the coloration of a local gang that goes by the name of the Vultures. Almost all of the uniforms had strange, large puncture holes piercing them in various places. Further information is pending a more thorough investigation."

"Oh, goodness," Fluttershy said, looking down briefly as a squirrel rushed up her foreleg to sit in her mane. "That sounds horrible."

"That's the fourth incident in New Yoke this year," I explained quickly, frowning. "Exact same MO too. That's a nasty pattern."

Fluttershy's wings flitted nervously against her sides. "I'm glad I don't live in any of the big cities. I'm content to stay here with my animal friends."

"Maybe you're a rare variant of the crazy cat lady," I teased, lightly nudging her wither with my hoof. "The delightfully attractive animal lady."

Even as Fluttershy gave me a nudge with her wing and walked past to check on breakfast, I was thinking about what could've actually happened there. The overall lack of evidence, the bodies and and discernible sign of how the bodies could've up and disappeared seemingly into thin air told me that both the Mafia and possibly some high-level magic was involved. If that was the case though, the cops would've picked up on it by now. Magic's hard to miss unless they somehow had the time and the means to throw expensive mana crystals around to scramble the magic signature. Those are hard to get your hooves on though, unless you're a Magus.

My head wasn't in the right place for that sort of thing though, so after struggling with my thoughts for a few minutes, I resolved to lay down on my side of the couch and veg out until Fluttershy put breakfast out about ten minutes later and called me in. The smell of cooking food had managed to rouse my son from his slumber thankfully, so I didn't have to shake him awake. I could only be thankful that Fluttershy didn't make a point of prodding me about exactly what had happened the previous night when I went out.

I could see the concern in her eyes whenever I looked in her direction. I can't measure up to Gadget's ability to read body language, but I'm at least good enough to survive being right in the middle of a country-spanning criminal organization. I'm pretty sure I can read ponies well enough to know when a cute pegasus is worried about me, even if I'm not used to someone being concerned with my well-being. Well I mean, aside from Celestia-you know what? You know what I mean!

When breakfast was over, I retired to the couch yet again while Fluttershy went to her usual tasks for the day. I offered to help, but she rather firmly insisted that I needed to lay down and recover from being so out of it. Thus, for the rest of the morning, I laid myself out on the couch and let Spike use me as a big fuzzy cushion for him to laze on while he watched cartoons. The last thing I saw on the TV was Wile E. Coyote getting a healthy dose of slapstick karma before I passed out again, Spike laughing up a storm on top of my barrel. He always loved those cartoons.

Don't know why he just doesn't go get himself a meal at a restaurant, with all those billions of bits he must have stashed away somewhere.

I recall dozing off several times. At some point, I woke up to Spike playing with some of the mice, poking them on their noses and giving them tiny, careful scritches. They responded by swarming him and covering him in mousey fuzz. He never stood a chance.

It was mere chance that I woke up just after noon, and I decided that it was time to get going, regardless of how I felt. I could sleep some more when I got home, I figured. I could tell from the looks Fluttershy was giving me that she didn't really want me to go, but what I couldn't tell her was that I had business to attend to. Sadly, I couldn't hang around trying to break my record of six times in a row with her. Shame, I know.

The last thing I got from her was a hug in her bedroom as I was packing my things back into mine and Spike's suitcases. It made me feel at least a little better despite my predicament at the time. Unfortunately she still had things to take care of around her cottage with her animals since I didn't help her out, so Spike and I had to walk back to town on our own. It did at least give me time to reflect on my stay.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were both the easiest to get along with. Rainbow Dash herself was a more pure-hearted mare after my own heart, posturing and utterly confident in her capabilities and then some. She was easy for me to get along with, and if she lived in Canterlot, she'd probably be the kind of pony I could get along with in my free time. I'm just making a guess at that since I never really had friends like that back in the day, but the point remains.

Fluttershy, meanwhile...well, what do I really need to explain? She's just plain adorable, and intoxicating to be around. The sex is nice, but there's something relaxing about her presence, too. I'm not gonna say that I loved her like that or anything, but...well I mean, c'mon. You start having sex with someone, your feelings towards them are going to change, especially with someone as eager as her. Whether that change is romantic in nature or just a more intense kind of friendship, who's to say?

When it came to Rarity, however...ugh. I really wasn't sure what to make of her. I suppose she did at least try to understand, but I think her attempt didn't get past the reading stage. She knew me already, how could she ever believe what that book told her about ponies of my particular disposition? I couldn't comprehend it, and I didn't think I ever would for that matter. I decided not to think about it, and deal with it next time I visited.

Pinkie was an enigma. I had absolutely no idea what to do about her. The mystery of the way her mind worked was dangerous for me to investigate, not just for my own safety but for hers as well, to say nothing of the secrets I needed to keep from her and everyone she knows. I'd need to be careful down the line, if I ever dared to venture into the anomaly that was her mind. Other than that though, she was...well, she was nice, I guess? Honestly she and I didn't get a whole lot of time together, on account of that whole food poisoning thing.

Speaking of food poisoning, there was Applejack...the most stubborn pony I'd ever met. I mean okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but most ponies I've ever met at least know when to stop and, y'know, find another way to get their tasks done. There's a limit to pride that one should be self-aware enough to understand, but Applejack had gone well beyond that limit, and I don't think she fully understood just how many her stubbornness had caused trouble for. Maybe my actions gave her a nice wake-up call.

That being said, I really did still feel bad about what I'd said when she was kicking me off her farm. Not just for her, but for Big Macintosh and Granny Smith as well. I was quite sure that despite them seeming to understand my outrage, that threat cut deep. I was threatening their livelihood, threatening something that had been a part of their branch of their family for generations. Even if my threat was empty...that was malicious of me. I need to have better self-control than that.

Wouldn't you know it, too? There was Applejack, waiting for me at the train platform, hat tipped forward over her face. She looked nervous and ashamed, with the way her ears twitched and her head hung lower than normal.

I turned my head to look back at Spike. "Honey, could you go and sit on one of the benches? I need to have a talk with Applejack. Adult stuff."

"Okay," he mumbled, climbing down off my back, using the saddlebags as a foothold. "Can I have my comics?"

I nodded and used my magic to pull open the saddlebag on my left, pulling three of his comics out and floating them over to him. "Here ya go! Just wait for me over there."

I watched him walk off, and turned my attention back to Applejack, standing out as she usually did with her stetson. She must've heard me talking to Spike, because I could see her looking in my direction, her forehoof tapping at the wood underhoof. I could already tell she really didn't want to talk to me, but if I were a betting mare, I would've guessed her grandmother sent her to track me down. How she knew I would be at the station was beyond me.

"Hey," she said slowly, pushing her hat up to sit properly on her head. "Been lookin' for ya."

"All day? You should've just checked at Fluttershy's house," I said, quirking a brow at her. "You knew I was staying there."

"Yeah, well..." she mumbled, looking away. "Maybe wasn't...lookin' as hard as I should've."

"Uh-huh. So why were you looking for me?" I asked, motioning to one of my eyes with a hoof. "Come to give me a parting gift? How did you even know I was leaving today?"

"Wh-no! Ah wouldn't...look," she said, holding a hoof up. "I took mah sweet time gettin' over to Fluttershy's, but when I got there, she said ya already left for the train station, so I had ta book it over here to say I'm sorry! A'right?"

I stared at her in silence for a moment. "You're apologizing?"

She gave me a funny look. "Well yeah, why wouldn't I? What, you think ah ain't the apologizin' type?"

"No, nothing like that!" I said, quickly shaking my head. "Just didn't really expect it. I mean, after what I said...."

"Yeah...about that," she said, her body visibly tensing. "Granny was pretty sure you didn't mean it. Was she right?"

"Of course she was," I said, my ears flattening against my head. "Doesn't change the fact that I said it."

She stared at me for a time, our silence contrasted only by the scant conversations going on around us. There weren't a lot of people at the station. I looked up at her and she was still staring at me, all accusing and shit. I felt real self-conscious the longer the silence between us lasted.

"Sorry," I said quickly, clearing my throat. "I'm...I'm really sorry I said what I said. I didn't mean it."

"S'alright, ah guess..." she muttered, looking around the platform for a moment before looking back at me. "How 'bout we try this again?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Ah-hem! Howdy! Name's Applejack," she said, holding a forehoof out to me. "I run Sweet Apple Acres, and recently I really messed up bein' way too stubborn for muh own good and wound up hurtin' lots of ponies in the process. Ah might've also been forced ta do community service, so I can't even use all that free time a good friend of mine managed to get for me, despite me bein' all pig-headed about it."

I stared at her hoof for a moment, then took it into my own. "Name's Twilight Sparkle. I'm arrogant, occasionally short-tempered and the scheming type. I threatened a friend's livelihood in a moment of anger and felt like garbage after I'd cooled my head. Hopefully, she can forgive me for that."

"Ah'm sure she can," she said, shaking my hoof a lot less vigorously than she'd done when we first met. "She's pretty easy-goin' like that."

"Pff! Could've fooled me," I responded, returning the hoofshake. "That was a lot easier than I expected."

"Ain't worth draggin' it out and holdin' grudges."

Next thing I knew, Applejack was pulling me in for a hug, and I had no chance of resisting with how it took me by surprise. Even if I'd expected it, all a strong pony like Applejack needed was a good grip on me. What was with these ponies and invading my personal space? I thought Pinkie was the only one I had to worry about on that front!

The embrace was only mostly one-sided. My hug in comparison to hers wasn't anything special, but that might've been because I was marveling at just how inadequate it made me feel. Not because I was a horrible pony, but because I could feel every muscle in her foreleg flexing with enough power to snap me like a twig. They were corded and bulging and wow she would've broken me if Big Mac hadn't stopped her.

It was kinda hot too. Not gonna lie.

While she had her foreleg around my neck, I just kinda...I dunno, had mine resting kinda on her wither, gently patting just behind the base of her neck. I mean, I got the gesture for what it was, but it was a bit awkward. I wasn't really used to just up and getting them, least of all from a pony like Applejack. Fluttershy did not and still doesn't count, we were doing far more intimate things together than just hugging!

Of course, it wasn't meant to last, despite Applejack holding me for much longer than I would've normally felt comfortable with. Damn Ponyville mares makin' me soft. She let me go a few seconds past socially acceptable and took off, saying something about needing to be somewhere. I think it was another farm she had to do work for or something.

The moment the train arrived, Spike and I were aboard as soon as we possibly could be. Credit where credit's due, Ponyville can be a relaxing place. I just didn't allow it to be, mostly because I was just so intent on being my kind, helpful self. I hope you can taste that sarcasm. S'like bile in my mouth, you think it tastes bad to you, you don't even know....

As the train began to move, I resolved to sit on my ass and do absolutely nothing next time. Like many other resolutions, I likely wouldn't stay true to it, but what can you do? At least Spike was content to stay quiet and read his comics. My muzzle was bothering me as well, which prompted me using one of my painkillers. The relaxing, light-headed sensation it afforded me made the train ride go by very quickly, probably because at some point I just closed my eyes, leaned against the wall, and let the tension in my muscles fade away as much as I could. It was just a shame that that relaxation didn't last long. Towards the end of the trip, I couldn't get that incident in New Yoke out of my head.

New Yoke was quite a city, on par with Manehattan, but known more for being a center of commerce than anything else. Big businesses paid out the ass to advertise on massive billboards, in the new subways and train stations, that sort of stuff. It was also one of the few cities the Mafia didn't have in their iron grip. Not completely anyways.

The gangs of New Yoke were a wily and diverse bunch, scattered and small in size, but numerous in number. Racism and blood-feuds spurred all of them into action, though some were formed just to protect their neighborhoods, and not always with any degree of success. These days though, even those gangs have evolved into something that no normal person could ever respect. Or would that be devolved? They went to shit, there we go.

While I would've preferred to leave it to Shady, I had no solid idea of where he was at the moment, or what he was up to. I needed to keep my hooves out of any possible messes we could wind up in, but investigation was my realm of expertise. It kind of had to be, considering my history. I can hold my own just fine, but I'll always prefer not having to fight fair in the first place by outmaneuvering my targets.

Stalliongrad doesn't count. Ruby Red had an unfair advantage on me.

Aside from all of that, I needed the practice. If Stalliongrad was any indication, I was rusty just from being out of the game for a few years. I needed to get back in there and get myself straightened out...and maybe investigating a curiosity on top of getting in with some of the local gangs could help. It certainly wouldn't hurt, and it'd put my mind at ease.

Those murders were abnormal, not only in their scope, but their MO as well. The method of killing was a mystery to me, though that was due to a lack of knowledge of the crime scene. The moving of the bodies would've taken some extremely careful telekinesis or teleportation, but if it was the former someone would've seen them removing the bodies even if they did it all at once, and wounds that size would've left a huge blood trail for the police to follow. The latter possibility would've at least left a magic signature behind they could've traced...but of course, if it had something to do with the Mafia, they could've paid off some of the cops on their bankroll to cover it up.

Then again...there was always the possibility that figuring this out could get me the kind of credibility I'd need with the local gangs to get things moving. It was a better start than my more general idea of intimidating them into cooperating. That would've involved firebombs, shutting down businesses and doing whatever I could to get their attention...you know, if I couldn't get an audience with their leaders first. Not the cleanest idea, but without the veritable network of connections I once had, I had to do things the hard way.

For how disgusting the Mafia was and still is to me, there were perks to being one of them. If I tried making use of those old contacts now, I might tip someone off. Someone might talk, and then that other person will talk, and then other will continue to talk until someone important catches wind of me getting up to something. Next thing I know, I've got ponies at my doorstep kindly asking to come inside so they can ask me a few questions that I wouldn't want to answer.

None of that mattered until my muzzle was back in shape, so I put it out of my mind. As our train pulled into the station, my focus was more heavily centered on the unusually rowdy crowd that had gathered outside, already in the process of bum-rushing the side of the train. I could see cameras, microphones, and a whole lot of curious ponies of the reporter variety gearing up to say hello. Given the fact that there were only three other ponies in the train car aside from Spike and myself, I had the sneaking suspicion that they were there to talk to me.

I say 'talk' in the loosest sense of the word. It's more equivalent to a pack of howler monkeys shouting at you until you say something they can make even more noise about when they get back to the people they work for. You know, things like 'get that stupid fucking camera out of my face' or 'how do you fuckwits not have anything else to do with your lives on a Saturday besides follow me around?' The kinds of things they can edit back at their workplace and deliberately take it out of context and then present it to the public like it's fact.

Did I mention I hate mainstream news sources?

While I had dealt with this kind of thing previously, when Celestia had first accepted me as her student, Spike was another matter entirely. His experiences with the media only ranges from television to a single encounter with a journalist that wanted to know about home life for a young dragon in Equestria among the nobility. You didn't exactly see any dragons among the Canterlot elite, let alone one raised by ponies. I stuck around so he didn't ask any really shady questions, but that aside, that's about all the experience Spike had at the time. What we were about to walk into was a bunch of those journalists, except with zero concern for the wellbeing of the child that would be riding on my back.

I quickly gathered our things and let Spike climb up onto my back. I would've let him walk if this was going to be a more leisurely stroll, but with that big crowd outside, I didn't want to take any chances of getting separated from him. I could see the concern on his face when he took notice of the crowd past the windows, but I couldn't teleport out of there without the possibility of having to fill out a damn form about it, so through the crowd we would wade.

The moment we stepped off the train, the resounding snap and flash of numerous cameras began to go off, which caused Spike to hide behind my neck, if only to spare his eyes the agony of dealing with them. I, however, had no such luxury aside from raising my foreleg. Then there was the shouting and clamoring to get my attention, which was obviously grating on its own, but with the way Spike was gripping at my mane, it was upsetting me in an entirely different way.

I pushed through the crowd while cameras flashed and reporters shouted over each other to try and get my attention. Multiple microphones were shoved in my face, and I recall for a brief moment wondering why it took them that long to start making a fuss. They all wanted to know what I'd gotten up to in Stalliongrad, several accused me of being at fault for what happened in Stalliongrad, and a few of them just wanted to know what I was up to in Ponyville. That second one didn't realize how right he was, and I wasn't going to tip him off.

Then one of them shoved a camera in Spike's face.

I will never apologize for turning and shoving that guy. I don't care if he didn't mean to do it, or if it wasn't meant to be malicious, that's my son he was harassing. A child. He got exactly what he deserved, and he can harp about 'assaulting the press' all he wants. Fuck that guy.

Speaking of shoving ponies, I kinda had to do more of that just to get through them, cameras snapping off around us as we went. I kept a firm hold of our luggage with my magic as we went, my teeth clenched in irritation from the fact that they were actively following me. Spike didn't seem very happy about it either, though maybe he was just clinging to me because he'd never really seen me get aggressive with anyone before. Pushing him around when he was testing his boundaries and giving him a smack when he was very young was one thing, if only because I think he remembers leaving deep bite marks under my fetlocks and he knows it was exactly what he was asking for, but witnessing me shoving another pony to the ground and everyone getting into an uproar about it is a genuinely scary thing for a child to witness, let alone be in the middle of it.

It sure didn't get the guttersnipes off my ass, that was for damn sure.

Unfortunately, reckless teleportation was pretty dangerous as well as a hassle if anyone caught me doing it, so I couldn't do that. Thus, I had to walk at a brisk pace and hope beyond all hope that they'd take the hint. I could hear the cameras still going off behind me, but I think they got the message to keep their distance after I shoved that guy and pushed my way past them. They want to hassle me and try to get an impromptu interview with me? Do it when my son isn't riding on my back, you fucks.

They lost interest as we made our way out of the train station and I paid for a cab. Guess they had better things to do...that or someone dropped them a tip, for some reason or another. I'd been too busy to deal with the nobility or go to any big soirees or parties, so I couldn't even fathom who might want to sic the paparazzi on me. All it takes is a 'reliable tip' from the right person, and suddenly you're the center of attention for a day, for reasons you may or may not understand.

All of that was assuming they were sicced on me. It was entirely possible that they were just slow on the uptake and decided to get an interview with me long after the incident with Nightmare Moon, or even the stuff that went down in Stalliongrad. Real quick on the uptake there, know what I mean?

When we arrived at our new house, I felt the sigh of relief building within myself. Then I remembered that we never actually got around to furnishing it beyond the bare essentials. I'd put in orders for a few beds, some tables and chairs for the living area and the kitchen, you know, the important stuff. Beyond that though, the place was looking pretty sparse. At least it was finished though! Guess that's what happens when a hero hires a full crew to get a place fixed up ASAP.

That being said, I really wasn't feeling up to going out and hunting for a bunch of furniture. I was still kinda out of it from what Chrysalis did to me, and the idea of having to run around haggling with shop owners and getting all that stuff done actually made me want to faceplant on the floor and not move until someone came to collect my body. Anything would've been preferable to running around and taking care of all that bullshit.

Still, I resolved to power through it. If nothing else, I wasn't going to let that uppity bitch win by keeping me down. I don't know what kind of victory I thought I was going for, but looking back on it, I'm pretty sure it was a pyrrhic one. Maybe. Am I remembering the definition of that correctly? All I know is I felt like shit by the end of the day, but that parasite didn't win either.

Maybe I should go grab a dictionary....

Okay, whatever. Anyway, after dropping our stuff off, I spent the vast majority of that day walking around with Spike, looking for decent furniture without having to buy anything opulent. Problem with that is, opulent is kind of the style of Canterlot. Good luck finding anything that doesn't at least have some kind of faux-gold trim or filigree, or silver if you're some kind of cheapo. Of course, that's only an issue if you stay in the kinds of areas I stuck to with Spike on my back. While I would've preferred more 'basic' furniture, unfortunately as a noble I had to keep up certain appearances. Thus, I needed to get the fancy shit in case of visitors.

Dinner tables, cushy and opulently-designed chairs, cabinets, dressers, ugh! So much crap to buy, and it wasn't cheap! Well I mean, not cheap when it comes to furniture in general. A normal pony would buy some chairs of decent quality for their dinner table, maybe a set of four, for maybe two-hundred bits total, or somewhere in that ballpark. I was paying two-hundred per chair. That should put into perspective the quality of furniture I was forking out the cash to buy.

To say that I hate shopping is an understatement. You have all these mares walking around like 'oh gosh, look at this dress, I gotta have it, and I need to pick up some toothpaste and maybe look at some other stuff' and they'll make a whole day out of it. Me, I make a list of what I want, I go out, I get what I wanted and/or needed, and then I go home. Going out shopping without a plan absolutely drove me up a wall. Guess that's what I get for forgetting to plan to furnish the damn house or hiring someone to do it for me.

It was only about halfway through the day that I remembered that Gadget was supposed to be renting a room from me. That presented a problem, but nothing that couldn't be solved by a quick visit to the castle. As it stood, she was probably still in basic training, or boot camp, or whatever you want to call it. That meant she was still shacked up in the barracks for the time being. I made a point of picking up a catalog from the store I was in at that moment, already planning to go and pay her a visit, if I was allowed.

Unfortunately, if I wanted to pay a visit to Gadget, or at least attempt to, that would mean I'd have to spend some time in Day Court. It was impossible to get into the castle without being seen, and someone of my stature among the nobility would be expected to make an appearance if we wound up at the castle. Since I didn't have a foalsitter on-hoof either, that would mean I'd have to bring Spike along. I wasn't looking forward to such a prospect.

It was late when we arrived, having spent the majority of the day out and about. The sun was beginning to set, and it would only be a matter of time until Luna would have to put the moon up into the sky. It felt weird, not immediately thinking of Celestia when it came to that, but apparently that was one thing I was quick to adapt to.

With Spike laying comfortably on my back, I marched confidently into what remained of the Day Court. Some days, Day Court was a series of scheduled meetings between members of the public and Princess Celestia. Other days, like today apparently, were days where the nobility could gather with the civil servants of Equestria and have more casual conversations to air less pressing issues and grievances. Because this is the nobility we're talking about however, these days usually devolved into lots of brown-nosing, making deals on the side, and political and social maneuvering around each other to try and get a leg up on any and all competition.

I knew how to play their game, really I did. I just often chose not to. I'd wade in in order to get some information or check in on what's going on with the different families just to keep myself present in the minds of the nobility that were higher up on the ladder, but for the most part, my presence was usually only because Celestia was there. What kind of 'faithful student' would I be if I never showed up for her Day Court?

Making my way through the crowd proved to take longer than I would've liked. Numerous ponies stopped me so they could converse with me, always trying to get closer to the Princess's prized pupil in hopes that it would give them some kind of edge. It was practically a game to them. Unfortunately, I saw the one pony I didn't want to see, and hoped wouldn't be there since it was so late.

There was Blueblood, coming right at me, with a mare at each side. Fuck my life.

Author's Notes:

OH MAN THIS IS LATE

Oh well shit happens. Also For Honor. And getting an Xbox One on the cheap and picking up a LOT of old games I never got to play that I can finally play now.

(oh god breath of the wild comes out on the third)

Seriously though, sorry about that guys. I'll try to get myself back on schedule, but I can't make any promises. I've kinda grown up predisposed to gaming over just about anything else. By the way, my birthday was on the 26th, and I'd planned to have this out that day, buuuut things didn't quite line up!