Antonius woke up before sunrise, but he stayed in bed to avoid waking up Stormy, who was lying half on his shoulder now. He used the time to plan his next steps.
Today, they would be in Ponyville again to give Stormy an opportunity to spend some time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. In the meantime, he would... do something else. Perhaps one of Twilight's friends needed some help. Or he would just look for a quiet place and work through the base's data.
His maintenance had to wait until tomorrow. Time was not dire as long as he didn't have fuel, after all.

When Stormy finally was awake, they got ready for the day and went to the dining room. The ponies and dragon were already present.

"Good morning!" they greeted.

"I hear you want to visit Ponyville again today," Celestia told Antonius,
"your chariot is ready and waiting. Have you planned anything special for today?"

"No, not exactly," he said,
"Stormy wants to spend time with her friends, and I'll find something useful to do."

"If you run out of useful things to do, we at Sweet Apple Acres can always need some help," Applejack said,
"you can also have lunch with us, if you like."

Okay, so they would stay in Ponyville until lunch at least.

"Umm... if you would like some tea in the afternoon, you could come to my cottage," Fluttershy offered.

Until tea. Well, guess Stormy would get enough time with the other fillies.

"Thank you, both of you. I'll accept your offers."

After breakfast, the ponies got ready to leave. Antonius went to Luna, saluted and asked with a smile:

"Any special orders for today, Princess?"

"Don't exaggerate my role that much. Just have fun," Luna smiled in return.

The chariots took them to the Ponyville market square where they parted ways. Applejack took Stormy along to the Crusaders' clubhouse and Antonius started strolling through the town.
He had just decided to go find a quiet place and work through the base's data for an hour before going to Sweet Apple Acres to help there, as he heard a panicked scream:

"The Horror! The Horror!"

A Horror? Here? Now?
Shit.

The scream had come from behind a house. Antonius immediately charged. Once he had reached the house, he whipped out his chainsword and activated it. He dashed around the corner, waving his roaring sword and shouting

"Begone, foul creature!"

To his surprise, he just saw three mares - the same mares he had encountered when he had first come to Ponyville. They stared at him, frozen in shock.

"Where is the Horror?" he demanded to know.

They did not answer, they just fainted. Antonius quickly looked around and examined the ground. No traces of Horrors. He also couldn't hear any noise those daemons usually made.

Shit. False alarm again.
They had meant 'horror', not 'Horror', although he wasn't able to find something that deserved the name 'horror', either.

He deactivated his sword and put it back to his hip.
Now, he had to deal with those three unconscious ponies. He approached one of them and carefully shook her. She opened her eyes, stared at him for a second, and fainted again.
Oh great. He obviously needed help.

Hmm... Lyra lived nearby. Perhaps she could provide this help. Antonius picked up the mares and went to Lyra's house.
He carefully knocked at the door with his boot - his hands were full of ponies - and waited. A few seconds later, Lyra opened the door and greeted:

"Oh, hello Antonius! It's nice to..."

Then she burst into laughter.

"Ha ha! You made them faint again! How have you done it this time?"

Antonius quickly told her the story, which made her laugh even harder.

"Could I perhaps come in and put them down?" he asked slightly impatient.

"Of course, put them onto the couch!"

Once he had done so, Bon Bon appeared in the door to the living room.

"Lyra, what ruckus are you making a... Antonius?" she said with surprise.

"Yeah, he who makes the mares faint," Lyra fooled around.

Great. Now even normal ponies started with that stuff.

"Huh? What have you done?" Bon Bon asked.

Lyra told her the story. Then both of them laughed.
Antonius cleared his voice.

"Sorry, Antonius," Lyra smiled,
"but that is too funny. You really should be more relaxed. If there is a something dangerous around here, Twilight Sparkle and her friends usually deal with it."

"It is not my nature to sit back and let others do the fighting for me," Antonius stated.

"Still, you should take it easy, even if you want to set a good example for the PDF you are going to command."

"So you already know. How?"

"Newspaper. Let me ask you a question: Will there be troop entertainment? I can play my lyre quite well."

"Troop entertainment? Not really, no."

"Pity! Then I won't be able to join, since I'm not much of a fighter. Hey, you could still test us! I bet this will be fun!"

"Lyra, are you mad?" Bob Bon asked.

"Come on, Bon Bon! You will like it! Let's go to the garden!"

Antonius was sure this would be another derailed test, but being picky would not help him, and if he could do her a favor, then be it. So, the three went to the garden.

Antonius took position at one end of the small lawn, the two mares went to the other end.

"I'll go first!" Lyra shouted and started running towards Antonius.

As she came closer, she slowed down until she stood in front of the Space Marine.

"Umm... Antonius?"

He looked down at her.

"Yes?"

"How is a nice little unicorn mare supposed to attack somepony like... you?"

Antonius started smiling.

"I don't know... magic, perhaps?"

"Magic? I can play my lyre with my telekinesis. In addition to that, I can use my horn to light dark places. I don't think I can play or glow you into defeat."

"Then, you could improvise, or, if you don't want to try anymore, you can surrender."

Lyra thought about that for a second, then she tentatively knocked at Antonius shin armor.

"Hmm... that's really hard... I think I'll surrender," she finally said, then she walked to her friend.

"Your turn, Bon Bon," Lyra told her cheerfully.

"I have no idea why I let you drag me into such things..." Bon Bon mumbled.

"Because we are friends!" Lyra cheered,
"and now: avenge me!"

Whoa. Lyra obviously liked drama, too.

Bon Bon sighed, then she smiled at Lyra and charged at Antonius.
He just extended a hand to grab her once she was close enough. He did not expect this head-on attack to be promising.

When Bon Bon was close to his hand, she made some kind of sliding backflip, bringing her hind hooves directly under his arm. Then she bucked, hitting it and forcing it upwards a few centimeters.
Antonius could hear his armor's servos as they compensated the hit. To add insult to injury, Bon Bon slid under his legs and was now behind him.

Antonius was baffled. That was an unconventional and highly effective attack. He had underestimated that pony - thoroughly. A mistake. A mistake he would not repeat.
His transhumanism kicked in and he made a dodge roll. Right in time, for as he looked back, he saw his opponent bucking the air where he had been standing just a fraction of a second before. He finished the roll and attacked immediately.
Bon Bon tried to dodge, but now that he was fully alert, he quickly caught her. She tried to escape his grasp for a second, but seeing that to be useless, she relaxed and said:

"Okay, you got me. I surrender."

Instead of putting her down, Antonius held her at eye-level so that he could face her.

"What the hell, Bon Bon?" he asked,
"that was a surprisingly good attack. You do have some sort of combat experience. How so?"

She tensed a bit and gave him a forced smile.

"Well, a mare has got to be able to defend herself, right? " she said.

"Your attack was designed to be aimed at creatures bigger than you. Do such creatures appear that often around here?"

Her smile became even more forced.

"Umm... yes?"

"Well," Lyra, who had walked up to them, told Antonius now,
"with all the creatures in the Everfree, it is really possible that such a thing could happen. And I know Bon Bon very well, she likes to be prepared for everything..."

Now she turned to her friend:

"...but I had no idea that you could fight like that! Awesome! Can you teach me how to do that?"

"I can try - a bit at least," Bon Bon answered.

Antonius put her down.

"My congratulations," he said,
"you appear to be a capable fighter. If you would like to join the PDF, I will put in a good word for you."

"Awesome!" Lyra shouted, but then she continued in a much calmer way:
"But... that would mean that you'd go away..."

"Don't worry, Lyra," Bon Bon reassured her,
"I won't leave. I have my sweets shop, and I am contend with it. Sorry, Antonius, but I'll stay in Ponyville. No hard feelings?"

"Not at all," Antonius answered,
"I just mention that possibility when I find a pony that looks promising. I'm not here to conscript anyone."

"Glad to hear that. Now, let's go back inside and look after our three guests. Perhaps they have woken up by now."

The mares were still unconscious. Lyra and Bon Bon needed a few minutes to wake them up.
Then Lyra said:

"Okay, to prevent something like that from happening again, we should properly introduce you first. Antonius, these are Rose, Daisy and Lily Valley. Girls, this is Antonius."

"Greetings," Antonius said.

The three mares mumbled greetings in return and huddled together on the couch.

"So," Lyra stated cheerfully,
"now that that is done, you do not need to be afraid of Antonius anymore. See, he's just a normal pony... on a second thought, no, he isn't a pony at all, but... well... you know what I mean."

The mares just nodded in return.

"Oh, come on," Lyra continued,
"he is not that scary."

"Oh, yeah," Rose finally said,
"I'd like to see you when a freaky giant jumps around the corner, screaming and waving this huge, roaring sword-thing! Oh, no offense..."

"None taken. It was not my intention to startle you. I thought you were in danger and wanted to help. The 'screaming' was to draw the attention of the attacker," Antonius clarified.

"In danger? Attacker?" Lily Valley asked,
"sorry, uh... Antonius, but why did you think we were in danger?"

He cleared his voice, then he quoted in a matter-of-fact tone:

"The Horror. The Horror."

The three stared at him for a second.

"Oh, my bad," Lily then admitted with a sheepish smile,
"but one of my lilies broke off. That IS a disaster, after all!"

"I discern that our definitions of 'disaster' are not quite the same," Antonius stated drily.

Now Lyra and Bon Bon fetched Cookies and other sweets, probably to create some kind of 'cozy get-together'. Despite this catering, Rose, Daisy and Lily soon left to attended to their flower-business again.

"Well, that certainly was an interesting incident," Antonius opined when they had left.

"Yeah, but I don't think they've gotten used to you yet," Bon Bon said.

"Might need a few more... months," Lyra smiled,
"hey, you could buy some flowers from time to time - you should take along some cushions, though."

Bon Bon chuckled for a second, then she nudged Lyra:

"Lyra, that was rude. Funny, but rude."

Lyra just smiled and asked:

"Antonius, why are you in Ponyville today? Can we help you in some way?"

"No, thank you," Antonius answered,
"I'm just... dawdling away to give a filly under my care, named Stormy Skies, an opportunity to spend time with her friends."

"Hey, that's really nice! Do you know where to go for lunch?"

"Sweet Apple Acres."

"Tea?"

"Fluttershy."

"Dinner?"

"No plans yet. Is that an invitation?"

"You bet!"

Okay, so he would stay the whole day in Ponyville, since he didn't want to decline Lyra's invitation. This pony had been very useful up to this point, and if he could do her a favor by just having dinner with her and her friend, he certainly would do it. This invitation had to be extended, though:

"May I bring Stormy along?"

"Of course! We'd like to get to know her. By the way, is there any pony food you can't eat?"

"None that I know of. Just dish up whatever you want, I'm sure there will be no problem."

"And after dinner, we could read another story about humanity - or two."

A smile crept onto Antonius' features. Her enthusiasm for mankind really was commendable.

"Certainly possible," he said.

Lyra was all smiles.

A few minutes later, Antonius said goodbye and took the road towards Sweet Apple Acres. Once there, he would help Applejack and later find a quiet place to work through the base's data.

When he arrived at the farm, he was greeted by Applejack:

"Hello, Antonius! You're coming right in time!"

"More Apples to harvest?" he asked.

"Yes, but Big Mac and Granny Smith are already busy with that. I've got a field to plow today and could need a little help. If you would rather help harvesting apples..."

"No, plowing is fine - I think."

"Good! Just follow me."

A short time later, they had reached the field. There was a primitive plow, not much more than a plowshare with an attached yoke.

"There we are," Applejack said,
"I'll pull, you'll push, and we'll have this field done in no time!"

She put the joke on and started pulling.

"Umm, excuse me, Applejack," Antonius interjected,
"but there is no handle I could use, and this plow is so small, I'd have to skid around on my knees to push it effectively."

Applejack stopped.

"Hmm, guess you are right," she admitted,
"but if I bind a rope to the joke, we could pull together, don't you think?"

"Worth a shot."

Now Applejack looked a bit uncertain.

"Do you mean it's worth a try, or do you mean you'll shoot me if..."

"WORTH A TRY! Worth a try, damnit!" Antonius exclaimed.

Applejack sighed.

"Sorry. I know you're our friend, but honestly: the events of yesterday have left a bit of an impression."

"What do you mean? My fight against Celestia?"

"Yeah! I mean, she's our Princess, and she didn't stand a chance!"

"Well, it was a fight without offensive magic. I'm sure it would have been harder for me if she had been allowed to use her powers."

"Maybe. It just was so... creepy. She could barely defend herself and you didn't even give her time to catch her breath."

"Please remember that she told me not to hold back."

"I know, I know. Still, it was impossible to see that and not get afraid of you."

Wonderful. Simply wonderful. Twilight and her friends were the only ponies able to wield the Elements of Harmony, and the most important ponies he had to stay on good terms with. And, what had he done? Frightened them. Well, done, really.

"Applejack," he said calmly,
"I'd need a very, VERY good reason for attacking a pony. As long as you don't get crazy and state that you want to annihilate mankind, we should get along fine. Now that I think about it, even then I would probably first try to find out why the hell you would say something like that and try to get rid of this reason."

"Hmm. Well, we should better get the rope."

They went to the farm and searched for a fitting rope. It did not take them long to find one and they returned to the field. Once back, Applejack tied the rope to the joke.

"Okay, Antonius, are you ready?" she asked as she put the joke on.

Antonius grabbed the rope and answered:

"Ready."

"Then, let's go."

So Antonius started pulling. Just a second later, he heard Applejack shout:

"Stop! That doesn't work!"

Antonius looked back and had to agree: When the rope was taut, the joke was lifted so far above the ground that Applejack could barely stand on her hind hooves.

"Hmm. Crap. How about that: I pull and you take care that the furrows are straight?" he suggested.

"You would still pull the plow upward."

"We could counter that by placing you as weight on the plow."

"Me? As weight? You mean I'm supposed to just sit there while you are doing all the work? No, that's not how I was raised."

"Well, honestly, I'm doing quite a lot of things I wasn't raised for as of late."

"Oh, right. Hmm, okay, let's try your idea."

Applejack jumped onto the plow and Antonius grabbed the rope again.

"Giddyap!" she suddenly shouted.

He immediately turned around to face her.

"Just kidding," she quickly added.

"To make one thing clear, Applejack: I'm the human, you're the pony... but I'm also the one drawing the thing you are sitting on... crap."

Applejack laughed.

"I take it that in your Imperium ponies usually draw humans?"

"Well, equines are used as draft animals and mounts, at least where they still exist."

"Whoa, hold on a second: Those equines put up with that?"

"Yes; they are just animals, nowhere near as intelligent or sapient as you are."

"Just animals?"

"Livestock, to be exact."

"Oh. And I thought being seen as a pet was unfortunate."

"You are neither livestock nor a pet. You're an alien. That's actually worse," Antonius grinned.

"Well, in Equestria, you are the alien," Applejack smiled back.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled.

"Joking aside, do you want me to pull the plow now?"

"That's not necessary. Let's get going."

When they had finished plowing the field, Applejack told him:

"Not bad. Your idea worked well."

"Hmm. I hope it wasn't too exhausting for you," Antonius quipped.

"Nope," she smiled,
"I would let you ride back to the farm as a reward, but I'm afraid I might end up as pancake if we tried."

"Probably."

"Then, let's use our hooves and... feet, right?"

"Right."

"Could you please take the plow?" Applejack asked with a sheepish smile.

"You are really pushing it today, hmm?" Antonius laughed and grabbed the plow, lifting it without much effort.

Together, they returned to the farm. Once the plow was stowed away, they helped harvesting apples, enabling Granny Smith to take care of the lunch.

Right on time for the meal, Stormy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived.

"Hello, Stormy," Antonius greeted her,
"having fun?"

"Oh, yeah!" the filly answered,
"it's great here! How long can we stay today?"

"The whole day. We've been invited for dinner by Lyra and Bon Bon. Until then, you can spend time with your friends. What are you doing, anyway?"

Antonius noticed that Applejack, Big Mac and Granny Smith quickly covered their ears. He immediately got to know why.

"WE ARE TRYING TO GET OUR CUTIE MARKS! YAY!!!" the four fillies shouted.

"Umm... okay," Antonius said.

They had not really answered his question, but what could four children do? Play. Probably.

After lunch, he asked:

"Stormy, you would rather spend time with your friends than have tea at Fluttershy's, right?"

"Umm, yes, if I may," Stormy answered.

"Of course. Just be back in Ponyville for dinner. We'll meet at Lyra's house. Have fun - and take care."

"Don't worry, Antonius," Apple Bloom assured him,
"nopony ever got hurt while we were crusading."

"Yep. They just had to duck, or roll, or something like that," Sweetie Belle added with an innocent smile.

Before Antonius could ask what exactly she had meant, the fillies were already running into the orchard.

"Hmm. Well, they are having fun and getting some fresh air," he mumbled.

"I already told you that you don't need to worry," Applejack said,
"you'll see, when you meet them again, they'll be perfectly fine. Now, do you have any plans what to do until tea?"

"I'll look for a quiet place to work through..."

He was interrupted by a scream:

"ANTONIUS!"

That was Pinkie Pie. A moment later, the pink menace came running through the farm's gate and shouted at Antonius' face:

"Antonius, you must come with we! Hurry! It's super urgent!"

He jumped to his feet and they rushed back to Ponyville. Pinkie led him directly to a house that looked like oversized pastry.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Sugarcube Corner," Pinkie explained without slowing down,
"I live and work there."

Hmm, what cruel fate could this place have fallen prey to? It looked pretty normal - aside from the fact that it looked like pastry.

Pinkie jumped into the house and Antonius squeezed through the door. Once inside, she ran to a table and shouted:

"Quick, Antonius, come here!"

He had already drawn his sword and was at the table within a second. Still, he could neither see nor hear anything even remotely dangerous - except Pinkie, perhaps.

Pinkie grabbed a cooking spoon and scooped up some batter from a bowl that was standing on the table. She held it out to Antonius and said:

"Try it!"

Antonius just stared at her, gobsmacked.

"That's it?" he asked incredulously,
"that's the emergency? Are you kidding me?"

"Not at all, this is an emergency! The batter will deflate if it stands around for too long!"

Throne on Terra, that pony was... indescribable.

"Pinkie! That is by no means a real emergency! Trying some batter, that's..."

He sighed.

"Okay, you know, all right..."

Well, now that he was here, he could also try that damned batter. He put the sword back to his hip, grabbed the cooking spoon and tried.

"Good; high nutrition value. Wrap batter?" Antonius asked.

"Not exactly. It's a variant for another dish. Thank you for trying, now I know it's okay."

"Well, anytime, but next time, just tell me what's going on in the first place, okay?"

"Okie dokie lokie!"

Now Pinkie started pushing Antonius towards the door.

"You know, I am really busy at the moment. Thank you for your help! See you soon!"

Antonius left Sugarcube corner. What a strange incident. Perhaps now, however, he would find some time to work through the base's data.
Or not.

"Hey, Antonius!"

That was Rainbow's voice. He looked in the direction where it has come from and saw her approaching quickly.

"Hello! Good that I found you. Rarity is looking for you. She's quite frantic," she told him.

"Frantic? Do you know what happened?" Antonius asked her.

"No. I guess it's nothing too important, but you still should visit her."

So Antonius went to Rarity's boutique and knocked, Rainbow in tow.

Rarity opened the door and exclaimed:

"Antonius! It's a good thing you are here! I need your help!"

They entered the house and Rarity explained:

"You know that I promised to design clothes for you. Unfortunately, I ran into a problem: I don't have a fitting mannequin! Could you perhaps step in?"

"RUUUUUN!!!" Rainbow Dash screamed and darted out of the boutique.

"Hmpf. Rainbow did that just once," Rarity told him,
"and it wasn't that bad for her. Getting her to stand still, on the other hoof... well, be that as it may, are you going to help me?"

"You didn't have a mannequin when you made the pajamas," Antonius stated.

"Yes, but pajamas are not meant for public use, these clothes are! Furthermore, I was in a bit of a hurry back then."

"Another suggestion: I'll help you build a fitting mannequin. Agreed?"

"Oh, that's a splendid idea! Let's see what we need... wood and foam should suffice to build an improvised mannequin. Could you go to Applejack and ask for the wood? I'll take care of the foam in the meantime."

A short time - and an amused Applejack - later, they started their work. They built a wooden frame and covered it with fitted foam until the resembling shape looked approximately like a Space Marine.

Rarity took measurements and Antonius cut the foam until she was content.

"Well, not bad, I have to say. It will certainly be enough to complete your clothes. Thank you for your help, Antonius," she said.

"No problem. I have to admit, though, that this is one of the stranger things I have done up till now," Antonius answered.

"Strange or not strange, the main thing is that it works. Oh, and we are just in time for you to go to Fluttershy for your tea. Goodbye, Antonius! I hope to see you again soon!"

Antonius said goodbye and left for Fluttershy's cottage.

He knocked at the door and waited, but there was no response. Perhaps he was a bit early?
His indoctrinated alertness made itself felt. He carefully pushed against the door. It wasn't locked. He suppressed the urge to grab his chainsword and slowly entered the cottage.
It was, all told, nice and cozy. Unusual were the accommodations for various animals that were virtually everywhere.

"Fluttershy? Are you here?" he asked, but did not receive a response.

He looked around the house.
Still no sign of Fluttershy, so he took his auspex and scanned the area for vital signs.
There was a pony vital sign - below him.

Below? A basement? Probably a basement. He looked for stairs that led down.
When he could not find any inside the house, he examined the outside. Same result.
So there was a pony in a non-accessible basement. That did not really make sense.
He entered the cottage again and thought about his findings.

A secret passage? That would be an explanation, but why should Fluttershy, of all ponies, have such a thing?
Antonius remembered the old proverb 'still waters run deep', but what could she been hiding? A dark secret?

The vital sign started moving. It came upwards until it was directly in front of him, behind a shelf below the stairs to the first floor. Said shelf swung open like a door and revealed Fluttershy. Her eyes went wide as she saw him and she froze.

"Excuse my intrusion," Antonius slowly said,
"but nobody answered the door and it wasn't locked."

Fluttershy did not answer. A white bunny on her back darted him a nasty glance, though.

"You have a secret basement? That's... well... a bit unusual, isn't it?" Antonius continued.

Still no answer.

"Oh, come on, Fluttershy! You're not some sort of crazy serial killer or something, are you?"

He had meant it solely as a joke, but Fluttershy turned around and dashed down the passageway again.

Now, Antonius was curious and squeezed through the shelf-door. Going down the stairs, he stepped into a basement full of... knitting???
So Fluttershy's dark secret was knitting. Antonius almost wished he was a bit more surprised by that.

He took a look around. No Fluttershy to be seen.

"Fluttershy," he said,
"please come out. Why are you hiding at all? Is knitting illegal around here? If it is - which would be really strange in my opinion - I promise I won't tell anyone."

No response. At least not from Fluttershy. The white bunny he had seen earlier appeared from behind a tree-like something and tried to shoo him away. He ignored the animal and asked:

"So, umm, knitting is you hobby?"

Still no reaction. Antonius took a look at the different knitting works.

"Not bad. You got talent. Hey, this one is very nice," he said and stepped over to a small, round, blue, different something with two big eyes and four wings lying on a shelf.

"Do you sell them? I would buy one for Stormy - if I had money, that is."

A heap of knitting yarn started moving and revealed two eyes.

"You like my knitting works?" Fluttershy asked in surprise.

"Sure, and again: excuse my intrusion. I thought something might be wrong," he answered, then he mumbled:
"Well, at least I did not charge through the door this time."

Fluttershy slowly came out of the heap.

"Oh, it's okay, I think, I just don't want anypony to know that I have this room," she said.

"For any particular reason?"

"Don't you think this is a bit... strange?"

"I'm positive this is one of the least strange things I have seen since I'm on this planet."

"Well, I still don't want anypony to know. Please keep it a secret."

"No problem. Just out of curiosity: what is this?"

"That's a parasprite. They real ones are cute, fluffy, adorable, eat everything in sight and multiply at a terrifying rate."

Antonius took a look at Fluttershy, then he eyed the knitted parasprite again.

"Oh, okay..."

"Do you want to have it for Stormy?"

"Actually, yes, but - as I said - I don't have money, and I thought you wanted to keep your knitting a secret."

"You don't need money. It's a gift. About my secret: Just tell her you bought it in Ponyville."

"Without money?"

"Umm... right."

"I'll tell her the truth: It is a present from you. I don't think she will ask where you got it from."

"And if she asks?"

"Then I'll tell her I don't know."

"That'd be a lie."

"I'm not the Element of Honesty. I may lie. Or do you want me to tell the truth?"

"Umm... no. I think this little lie will do no harm. Thank you."

"No, thank you," Antonius answered and carefully picked up the parasprite.

They went upstairs again and Fluttershy told the bunny:

"Angel, next time remind me to lock the door - and the windows - before we go down again."

Then she turned to Antonius:

"Oh, right, I did not introduce you yet: Angel, this is Antonius, Antonius, this is Angel, my pet bunny."

The little brat stuck out his tongue.

"Pleasure," Antonius commented mockingly.

"Now, Angel," Fluttershy scolded him,
"don't be rude to our guest."

It was truly unbelievable how such a little creature could sport such a death glare.

"Angel! Sorry, Antonius, Angel can be a little... complicated sometimes. Perhaps you two could try to become friends while I prepare the tea, okay?"

She left the room and the Space Marine and the bunny were alone. Antonius put the parasprite on a table and sat down next to it.

"And? Are we going to befriend each other?" Antonius asked.

Angel came closer - and stuck out his tongue again. Unfortunately - for him - he had underestimated Antonius' range. Antonius quickly closed his hand around the bunny's body and picked him up. A fair amount of surprise was added to the creatures glare.

Antonius wondered what he should do now. Then he had an idea: Test number one!
So he started scratching the back of Angels nose. It actually worked: The glare vanished and was replaced with a content grin. Antonius even opened his hand and Angel kept sitting on it, enjoying the scratches.

A short time later, Fluttershy came back with the tea and some cupcakes.

"I see you get along now," she said with a smile,
"Oh, do you want to have a pet of your own? There are bunnies, cats, cute little..."

"No!" Antonius interrupted,
"no pet, Fluttershy. I have neither the time nor the urge to have a pet! Furthermore, I'm not really the type to have a pet."

"Umm... okay, but that would be much more believable if you weren't cuddling Angel."

Antonius looked down on his hands.
Crap.

He stopped scratching the bunny and got a disappointed look in return. So, he continued scratching him.
Fluttershy giggled.

"Just tell me if you change your mind, I have a lot of animals here and I'm sure they would love to be your pet!"

"Agreed. By the way, where do you get them from? Angel here, for example?"

"Angel? Oh, I found him a few years ago. The poor thing had gotten lost and was sitting all alone in front of a cave of some predator. Bones everywhere! Luckily, I was able to rescue him without the creature noticing."

Finally, Antonius got his hands free again and they had tea.
At his request, Fluttershy told him about the adventures she and her friends had had up to this point. They really experienced quite a lot, to put it mildly.

Time flew and it slowly got time for dinner, so Antonius picked up the parasprite, thanked Fluttershy for the present and the tea, said goodbye and went to Lyra's house.

She welcomed him with a smile, and a delicious scent of food was in the air.

"Hello, Antonius! Dinner is ready in about half an hour. You did not bring Stormy?" she asked.

"I told her to be here for dinner. She should arrive any moment." Antonius answered.

"Does she know where we are?"

"She's with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They know where you live, don't they?"

"Of course they do. Well, let's give them a few more minutes. Come in in the meantime."

Lyra led Antonius into the living room, then she asked:

"Antonius, may I ask what it is that you are carrying along in your hand?"

Antonius opened his hand and showed Lyra the knitted parasprite.

"A little present for Stormy. I got it from Fluttershy."

"Ah! This is so cute! I bet she'll be happy. Knitted parasprites are okay, live ones - not that much. Pie gobbling pests. Umm... you need a gift wrapper. Just a second..."

Lyra fetched a little box and a ribbon, then they wrapped up the parasprite and put the box on a nearby shelf. Now Lyra shuttled between keeping Antonius company and helping Bon Bon in the kitchen.

A few minutes later, they heard a knock on the door. Since Lyra was not available at the moment, Antonius went to answer the door.
Fortunately, it were the Crusaders, Stormy included.
Unfortunately, they were covered in tree sap.

"Hello, fillies," Antonius greeted them,
"may I ask you how that happened?"

"Long story," Apple Bloom told him,
"I guess we won't get our marks in ornithology."

"This happened when you were climbing trees to watch birds?"

"No, it happened when we were falling from trees while watching birds," Scootaloo added a bit miffed.

"Are all of you all right?" Antonius asked.

"Hmm. Just a bit sticky," Apple Bloom answered.

Stormy looked really guilty.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"No real harm done," Antonius reassured her, bent down and patted her back.

On a second thought, that was not the most intelligent thing to do. Now, Stormy stuck to his right hand. He got up again, the little mare stuck to his palm.

"Well, that's sort of suboptimal..." Antonius mumbled.

At that moment, Lyra joined the group.

"Hello, fillies! Did you have a nice... time... huh? Is that tree sap?"

"It is," Sweetie Belle told her.

Lyra went up to Stormy - still hanging under Antonius' hand - and smiled:

"Hello, you must be Stormy. I'm Lyra. It's nice to meet you."

"Hello," Stormy returned a bit embarrassed.

"I guess she should wash herself before dinner," Antonius suggested.

"No problem, the bathroom is upstairs. Wait, I'll show it to her."

Now Lyra turned to the Crusaders:

"What about you three? Do you want to join us?"

"Umm... I think that is a good idea," Apple Bloom answered.

"Okay, then let's get Stormy off Antonius' hand."

Lyra engulfed Stormy in her magic, the Crusaders grabbed the little mare's hooves and they carefully started pulling. After a few seconds, Stormy came loose, only to stick to the Crusaders.

"Well, that could have gone better, I suppose," Lyra laughed,
"now follow me, then you can get rid of that tree sap."

Antonius took a look at his hand and realized the fillies were not the only ones who needed to wash themselves.

"Sorry, Lyra, but where can I get rid of this?" he asked, showing her the stained gauntlet.

"Oh," she answered,
"going upstairs with us wouldn't be the best idea since you're a little... big. I'm not sure if the floor can stand your weight. You best go into the kitchen, but close your eyes!"

"Huh? Close my eyes?"

"Yeah, dinner is supposed to be a surprise!"

The ponies vanished upstairs and Antonius went to the kitchen, where he knocked at the door.
Bon Bon opened the door and asked:

"Oh, hello. Can I help you?"

"Actually, yes. I need to get this tree sap of my hand."

"No problem, just come in and use the sink."

"Do I have to close my eyes?"

"Why would you have to do that?"

"Lyra told me dinner's supposed to be a surprise."

Bon Bon sighed.

"Well, just don't look into the oven and everything should be fine."

Antonius resisted the urge to look into the oven and was soon back in the living room. A few minutes later, Lyra and the fillies also entered the room.

"There we are," she said,
"as for Stormy, we were able to get rid of the sap, but I think she needs some preening, or something. Her feathers are a bit jumbled."

Antonius took a look, and although he was not an expert in pegasus feathers, he could see that Lyra was right; Stormy's normally smooth wings looked a bit like an exploded chicken. He carefully stroked them to correct this, with only limited success.

"What about you three?" Lyra asked the Crusaders,
"do you want to have dinner with us?"

"No, thank you," Apple Bloom answered,
"my family's waiting for us at the farm. Oh, we should get going. Goodbye Stormy! Hope to see you again soon! Goodbye, Antonius and Lyra!"

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle also said goodbye and the three fillies left the house.
Lyra went into the kitchen, and soon she and Bon Bon appeared again with the advertised dinner.

The ponies had cooked and grilled vegetables, Antonius got a round, flat piece of baked dough with a obviously tomato-based topping, scalloped with cheese.

"That's a pizza, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah! You know pizza? Great! Now, try it and tell us what you think."

Antonius tried.

"Superb. And the second dish I've gotten that has the nutrition value of Space Marine food. How did you achieve this?"

Perhaps now he would be able to solve this conundrum, although he doubted that.

"Sorry, Antonius, but I don't know," Bon Bon said,
"we've got the dough from Pinkie. She didn't tell us how she made it, but she assured us that it would be fine for you."

So, that's what she had made this 'variant for another dish' for. Not bad. Quite the opposite.

"Sorry for the lack of meat, but none of us had the heart to touch that stuff, not even with magic. It's just too... yucky."

"Don't worry, it's fine the way it is."

While they ate, they talked about this and that, and Antonius caught himself enjoying the time he spent here.

After dinner, Lyra fetched one of her books. They had just read for a few minutes when there was a knock on the door.

"Hmm, who could that be?" Bon Bon asked and went to open the door.

She returned with Princess Luna, who looked quite serious.

"Antonius, I need to talk to you. Please come and join me for a walk," Luna said.

Oh, what was the matter now? Antonius quickly got up and he and Luna left the house.

Outside, it was about to get dark. When this little gathering was over, he better had to take Stormy and head back to Canterlot.

"Antonius," Luna started,
"we have a problem."

"Has Chaos returned? Now?" Antonius asked.

"No, nothing that bad. Just something annoying, pathetic, obnoxious. It is still a problem, though."

"Luna, what happened?"

"Blueblood happened."

"Huh? That princelet that was supposed to cause no trouble?"

"Exactly. He has spread the rumor that you are the vanguard of an invasion force, and that everything that happened up to now was staged to make ponykind bow to your kin."

Damned. If the ponies believed that nonsense, it would hamper his efforts to create the PDF and prepare them for the return of Chaos.

"How far has this lie spread?" he asked,
"how many ponies do believe it?"

"At the moment, just a few. I assure you, I am NOT one of them."

"I know that, Luna."

"It also reached my sister's ears. She does not believe it either, but I could see her face. She thought about it for a few seconds."

"Well, I cannot demand blind faith in me. I only can assure you that Chaos is very much real. You all just have to believe me."

"I do, Tony, I do. I suggest we return to Canterlot as soon as possible to clear up any doubts."

"Reasonable. I would like to also 'clear up' this Blueblood in the process, but that would only cement his accusations."

"I feel the same way, but you are right. This battle must be fought without violence."

"Okay, then let's return to Lyra and Bon Bon. I just need a few more minutes, then we can return to Canterlot."

Antonius and Luna went back to the ponies' house.

"Has something bad happened?" Lyra asked immediately.

"Nothing we can't handle, but we need to return to Canterlot. We just have time to give Stormy her present."

"Present?" Stormy asked excitedly.

"Present," Antonius confirmed and gave her the box from the shelf.

The little mare opened it and started beaming:

"This is awesome! And cute! Thank you!"

She got the knitted parasprite out of the box and cuddled it.

"Where did you get that from?" Luna asked him quietly.

"A present from Fluttershy," he answered.

Now everyone said goodbye and Antonius, Luna and Stormy left and boarded a chariot Luna had ready.
On their way back to Canterlot, Antonius thought about different ways to dispel any doubts Celestia and other ponies could possibly have.

Politics. Intrigues.
He really preferred war.