A knock, patient and persistent, came from my bedroom door as I was in the middle of waking up. “Who is it?” I asked, still groggy from a very comfortable night’s sleep. I had dreams of huge raging fires, peaceful and serene. It was a very confusing combination.

“It’s Rarity~” came the voice from the other side.

“Come in.” I said as I started getting out of bed. When I saw her with a box in her magic, motion back to normal, a thought occurred to me. “How did you even get in here? I thought I locked the doors last night.”

“I let her in,” Searing said from the doorway. “I’ll just go look for a place of my own now.” She left Rarity and me to go on her quest.

Before doing anything else, Rarity said “Please, allow me to be the first to say-”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY YANG!” Pinkie shouted from the doorway, startling me to full wakefulness. “Just had to. Back to party prepping!” She zipped out of sight in the opposite direction of the stairs.

A white hoof stopped me from investigating. “Don’t try to figure it out, Yang. It’s not worth it.”

“But. . . But. . . How?” I stammered out.

“It’s Pinkie Pie, dear.”

“Right. Pinkie.” I took a few breaths to calm myself down and collect my thoughts.

“Anyways, happy birthday, dear. I have the dress you asked for right here.”

I accepted the box from Rarity, set it on the bed, opened it, and pulled out the dress. The front and back were black while the sides had a fire-like look to them, a mix of reds, oranges, and yellows. “So, can you tell me a bit about this dress?”

“Of course, dear.” Rarity gently took the dress in her magic and started explaining it. “The sides are made of satin, magically recolored to what you see now, a gentle fire that shines and shimmers in the light. They frame the front and back, made of a luxurious cotton and spandex mix, cut to match your curves, and framed by they satin fire. The skirt, a circular one, comes down to just below your knees, which is the shortest length I felt you would be comfortable with.”

“Well, you’re not entirely wrong. . .”

Rarity continued as if I hadn’t said anything. “Moving upwards, I gave it a high neckline, as that fits your personality better than a lower one that would show off your chest, lovely as that would be.”

“There’s nothing for my shoulders though.”

“All the better to draw attention to your curves. Going straight up would not have flowed well with the rest of the design.” She turned the dress around. “And back here, I put a low profile zipper, going from the neck to the small of your back to make it easier to put on and take off. Most of the time, it will be hidden by your hair, but even if it’s revealed, the low profile and folds of material keeps it out of sight.” She floated a smaller box out of the one the dress was in and opened it. “I also made some undergarments that you could wear with this dress.” The pieces in question were black and joined the dress. “Finally, I made some simple shoes to go with it.” A pair of open top heels came out. “I kept the heels short and simple, so you shouldn’t have any problems walking with them on.”

“Wow. That’s a lot of thought you put into this.” I collected the items from Rarity’s magic. “I guess this is the part where I put it on.”

“Of course, darling.”

I sighed. “Well, I may as well take my shower since I’m up already.”

After my shower and putting the ensemble on, I came back to my room, Rarity organizing my clothes. “Rarity?”

“Just a moment, dear.” Rarity hummed a bit to herself for a few seconds as she finished what she was doing. “There we go. All neatly organized.” She turned away from her finished task and looked at me. “Oh my.”

“Did I do something wrong?” I looked over the simple dress, trying to see if something was off.

“Oh no dear, quite the opposite. You look even better in it than I imagined! Everything is just perfect! Tell me, how does it feel?”

“It feels very nice. It fits perfectly. The shoes are easy to walk in as well. But. . .” I could feel the blush coming on.

“Well?”

I took one more breath before admitting what was getting to me. “It just feels strange not wearing something on my legs. I did it before, yeah, but it still feels kind of weird.” I looked at a thoughtful Rarity for a moment before I realized something. “I’m complaining about that to someone from a species that doesn’t normally wear anything.”

“I’m. . . Not quite sure what to say to that. Hmmm. . . Have you tried simply not thinking about it?”

I gave Rarity a flat look. “Okay then. Don’t think about pink elephants.”

An upset look of understanding came across Rarity’s face. “Point made. Look, Yang, if you just let yourself enjoy the party, you’ll forget about the issue. Really, it’s quite minor. Now, come, come, there’s a party waiting for you at the Olive Branch Cafe.”

I looked at the fountain on my desk that had come from there after I beat Tirek. “It’s been a while since I’ve been there.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s not keep everyone waiting.” Before following Rarity out, I put the Ember Celica away in a drawer. I didn’t want to wear them to the party.

To say I was somewhat nervous on the walk to the cafe would be like saying the sun was a tad bright. The heels were so far past the bottom of what was bothering me that they weren’t even on the list. The sensations in my legs from wearing the dress was becoming very much a non-issue, along with my exposed shoulders.

The thing that was bothering me most of all was ponies stopping to look at me. It was like they’d never seen me in a dress before, which was very true. I even saw a few bits get exchanged upon my being seen. “Bets on me wearing a dress? Meh, weirder things have happened. Like Pinkie Pie.”

It felt like Rarity was leading me on a somewhat circuitous path to the cafe, having a one way conversation with me that I was tuning out. Something about what celebrity did what with who and the scandal of it all. Some things really weren’t all that different compared to Earth.

Finally, we arrived at the cafe. The first thing I noticed was the lack of outdoor seating. After that was a sign on the front door that said “Reserved until 2 PM” in big bold letters. As we approached, a mare opened the door and welcomed us inside. The interior had a myriad of colorful decorations, tastefully placed and very cheerful. There was also a stack of presents off to one corner, colorful and neatly stacked on a table.

“Hey, it’s the birthday girl!” Gilda announced before doing a double take. “And she looks great.” A chorus of agreements came from the gathered guests, some of them employees, others business partners, a few friends from around town, and, much to my surprise, Celestia and Luna.

“Thanks, everyone,”I said before I approached the royal sisters. “I didn’t think you two would be here.”

“How could we not be here?” Luna asked. “Attending a celebration for someone who’s saved Equestria multiple times in one year is simply good visually.”

“And we are totally not using it as an excuse to take the day off from court,” Celestia added. The sarcasm was so clear, I wouldn’t have been surprised if a bird flew into it.

“Enough with the greetings,” Pinkie suddenly said. “Let’s get this party started!”

For over an hour, there were lots of party games going on. They were simple, what one would call childish, but they were lots of fun. I also got repeatedly complimented on the dress, and Rarity was never far from me, claiming rightful credit for designing and making it.

During the last game, I decided to ham it up and go overdramatic, after getting a few tips from Luna. “And so another has fallen,” I dramatically said as Berry Punch left the competition. I let everyone tremble for a bit before continuing. “And now, your glorious leader will make her next declaration.” I gave the arrow on the piece of cardboard in my hand a good flick. “What’ll it be? What’ll it be?” The arrow came to a stop. “The wheel of fate demands. . . Right foreleg green.”

I had lots of fun watching everyone try to contort to the move on the mat. It turned out that that would be the last call for the round, as someone slipped, causing nearly everyone to fall. “Ha! Ah’ve still got it!” Granny Smith said from her place in the middle of everyone. I was amazed that Pinkie and Discord, out of everyone playing, had lost.

After everyone got untangled, except for Discord, who looked like a gordian pretzel, complete with salt flecks, Pinkie made an announcement. “May I have everyone’s attention, please?” Everyone turned to the party planner, except Discord as he tried to untangle himself. “It’s time for cake!” At Pinkie’s cue, the cafe staff rolled out serving carts. As that was happening, I was lead to a small table, set up just for me. Right as I sat down, a covered cart was rolled up next to the table, the covered item on top expertly moved into place in front of me.

The rectangular cover was lifted, revealing a gorgeous masterpiece of a cake. The icing, while mostly white, also had hints of orange and yellow swirled in it. Wafer cookies and bits of red candy decorated the sides, the candy creeping up to the top of the cake like fire. There were a few odd things I noticed, though. “Why am I at the narrow side? Why are the candles in a long triangle? And why is nobody in front of me?” I figured that it had something to do with the question I just had to ask. “Pinkie, aren’t the candles supposed to be lit?” All eighteen were present, but no flame sat atop them.

“I kind of ran out of cake budget, so I couldn’t afford the flames,” Pinkie sheepishly admitted, earning a number of confused glances her way. “How about pretending they’re burning and blow them out anyways?”

I gave Pinkie an unamused glance before turning back to the unlit candles. “May as well.” I inhaled, closed my eyes, leaned forward, and blew on the candles for a few seconds. “That did not feel like a normal breath.” I opened my eyes and saw that the candles were lit. The icing had also changed, my burning heart emblem looking burned onto the top cake. A clearing throat drew my attention forwards to Discord, who now looked like a grilled gordian pretzel, just as he coughed out a cloud of smoke and fell down. Everyone else was staring at me, except Twilight, who was writing something down. “What happened?”

“You breathed fire,” Gilda said, shocked like everyone else was. “Since when could you breathe fire?”

“This actually supports a theory in the realm of magic theory,” Twilight said from behind her scroll before I could answer. “The theory states that a foal’s magic never really firms up until they’re-” A silvery bubble appeared around Twilight, quieting her, though she didn’t seem to notice, as she was teleporting more scrolls in and apparently reading off of them.

“Apologies, everyone,” Luna said, her horn glowing. “To simplify the theory, Yang has developed what looks like fire magic after being in Equestria for a year.” I looked at my hand and saw it ignite. Instead of panicking, I was mesmerized, though I kept my hand a safe distance from everything, especially the dress. “There should be nothing to worry about though. Yang’s prior experience with music magic should be helpful with her getting it under control quickly, even if it is different.”

I turned the flames on my hand off, and started getting curious. “Can I?” I snapped at the flames on the candles and they went out like a light. “I am going to have so much fun testing this out. Safely.”

“How about we call that a present from the planet?” Pinkie suggested. “Or however you want to think of it.” She turned to me. “Ready to cut the cake, Yang?”

I looked up from the distraction of my own thoughts. “Huh? Oh, yeah, sure.” I found the knife, picked it up, made sure not to let the magic flow into it, and started cutting the cake. “Come on, no fire, no heat, no magic, just focus on the cake cutting.” I managed to hold my focus long enough to cut the end in front of me into serving size pieces before my magic set the blade on fire. “Dang it. Well, at least there’s no embers.”

Celestia took the knife from my hand and cut the flow of magic to it, the blade giving off visible heat waves. “Do you mind if I cut the rest of the cake for you, Yang?”

I briefly considered the options, and quickly chose one. “As much as I want to cut it, I don’t think I should.”

Rainbow came up next to me and put a foreleg across my shoulders. “Good choice, there. You get the honor of Princess Celestia cutting your birthday cake for you. How many ponies can say that? Aside from Twilight, anyways.”

Celestia spared a glance to the scroll lined bubble before turning back to the cake, the knife cool enough to use again, and started cutting and serving the dessert, revealing the strawberries inside. There was one corner that she cut out larger than the rest, set on a plate, and set in front of me. “Happy birthday, Yang.”

“Thanks, Princess,” I said before cautiously picking up a fork. It did not ignite, and I gave a sigh of relief. “Maybe if I don’t think about it, it won’t flare up?” I quickly cut off a piece of the cake, making sure to get a good piece of strawberry in it, and took a bite just as quickly.

The rich vanilla of the cake combined with the juicy strawberry was spectacular on its own. The infusion of orange and pineapple with a hint of honey made it even better. There was also a slight hint of a burnt flavor to the icing that somehow complimented the whole thing really well. “Well, how is it?” Pinkie excitedly asked.

I pretended to scrutinize the cake in front of me from multiple angles. “I’ll have to try another bite.” I cut off another piece and took a bite of it. It was just as good as the first one. It didn’t take long for me to finish the piece of cake, none of which landed on my dress, amazingly enough. “Uh, Pinkie?”

“Yes, Yang?”

“I think I got some experimental teleporting cake. It just vanished.”

Pinkie lifted up a floorboard and pulled out a pair of safety goggles, detective hat, and a combination lab coat and detective cloak, put them on, and began inspecting the plate in my hand. At the same time, the whole room began to dramatically darken. “Hmm, this certainly is peculiar. There are traces of cake, icing, and strawberries here, but it looks like it’s been moved about.”

“I’m telling you, it teleported.”

“A distinct possibility, my dear Yang. Let’s investigate it.” Pinkie pulled out a bubble pipe and started blowing bubbles. “But where could it have teleported to? And who could have made it look like it was eaten normally?” Someone whistling caught our attention, and we saw Celestia making the sound, trying to look innocent.

Luna got in on the act. “Sister, what did you do to Yang’s piece of cake?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Celestia said without making eye contact before whistling again.

A few snickers came from the crowd as the act went on. “Maybe we could figure out where it went by following another piece of cake?” I suggested.

“A brilliant idea, birthday girl!” Pinkie said before cutting out a small piece of cake and putting it on my plate.

As everyone watched, I ate the piece of cake, then looked down when my fork hit nothing but plate. “It happened again.” I looked up to Pinkie. “Did you learn anything?”

“I know exactly who the cake culprit is.” She went around, scrutinizing everyone. “In fact, they are in this very room. It could be any of you.” Celestia got extra scrutiny. “Especially you.”

“Hey!” Celestia said with false indignation.

“The culprit. . .” Pinkie disappeared under the floorboard she had gotten her costume out from. A second later, she opened the front door from outside. “Is Discord!”

The draconequus, framed by sunlight, was dressed up like a burglar, and even had a giant bag over his shoulder, labelled ‘totally not teleported birthday cake’ in big bold letters. “Uh, sorry?”

“No apology will save you this time, Discord!”

“Well, you won’t get this cake back so easily, Detective Scientist Pie!”

“Le gasp! You force my hoof, vile cake thief. I have no choice now, but to use my secret weapon!” Pinkie zipped into the crowd and got Fluttershy to help face Discord. “Now, do the thing, Flutters!”

Fluttershy put on a sweet smile. “Mr. Discord, please return the cake you stole.”

Discord recoiled in slow motion as if he had gotten a solid uppercut to the face, then landed like a ragdoll, dropping the cake bag in the process, cupcakes spilling out of it.

Pinkie investigated. “He turned the cake into cupcakes. And there’s enough here for everyone to take one home! Huzzah!” A collective cheer came from everyone present, except Twilight, whose silence bubble was starting to flow over with parchment. “But first, presents!”

I went over to the stack of presents and started figuring out just which one to open first. They all looked similarly enticing in their varying colors and sizes. “Which one, which one?”

“How about this one?” Applejack picked up an orange box with a red ribbon decorated with apples. It was big, but also fairly light.

I opened the box and inside was a hat like Applejack’s own, including the cut out portion of the front of the brim. I set it on my head and it fit nicely, if ever so slightly loose. “Very nice. Thanks, Applejack.”

“You’re welcome, sugarcube. Ah would’ve made a few more things for ya, but Ah didn’t know how to go about it.”

“That’s alright. Now, what’s next?”

“Mine next! Mine next!” Rainbow almost shouted before zipping in, getting her magenta and light blue present out, and giving it to me with a tad too much force.

“Alright, Rainbow,” I said, amused at her eagerness. I unwrapped her present and saw a boxed figure. “Belt Warriors 1 and 2?” The earth pony figures depicted on the box had similar green and black armor with red insect-like eyes on their helmets. While one of them had two stripes along the legs, ending in red hoof armor, the other had a single stripe and silver armor.

“There are comics with those guys in them and they fight evil monsters. Seemed like a good match to you.” Rainbow seemed quite passionate about them.

“Thanks.”

Fluttershy went next, and her present was a bag of homemade bear treats for Asada. They looked good enough to eat, though nopony else seemed to agree.

Twilight’s present was given to me by Celestia, as Twilight herself was now hidden by her pile of papers, inkwells, reference books and quills. The present was a book about me and my feats during my time in Equestria, right through the recent fight against the golem, though it made no mention of the rehab and therapy efforts afterwards.

Pinkie, surprisingly, had no presents, but said the whole party was like one big present, which I found myself agreeing to.

I was already wearing Rarity’s present.

Berry Punch gave me a bottle with a special 70 proof mix in it. The label simply called it “Everything a Pirate Needs”.

Derpy gave me a banana nut muffin from a batch she apparently had yet to make, making it super fresh, or something like that. She also gave me a coupon, from the Doctor, for three free Any Time Deliveries, which would cover about a week’s worth of meat orders.

Luna and Celestia had their present for me delivered and placed on the patio back home, which made me wonder what it was. It was something big, roughly the size of Twilight’s paper pile.

The party went on for a while longer, and more fun was had. Granny Smith won every game of Twister she played, causing some amused frustration among everyone there. I elected not to play on account of the dress I was wearing, a choice Rarity agreed with, though probably for different reasons.

After the party was over, Rarity helped bring the presents home with me. As we were walking, I noticed her starting to wobble a bit. “Are you okay, Rarity?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” she said as we brought the gifts up to my room, which did not look like I remembered it when I left. The furniture had been moved around and a big fancy wardrobe was in front of the closet.

I set the stuff I was carrying down on my unmoved bed and cautiously opened the wardrobe. “Rarity, why are there so many new clothes in here?” Many of the items were dresses of various styles, with all kinds of cuts, necklines, and skirts.

“Well, you said you wanted a dress, the ideas just kept coming, and I just had to keep making them, and then I decided to have a whole wardrobe put in up here for your clothes. I designed it ahead of time at Hammer and Nails, then I had Searing lead the crew to assemble and put everything in place. I wonder how long it took?”

“Two hours,” Searing said from the doorway.

I turned to Searing in disbelief. “You lied about looking for a house today?”

“Oh I found one today in a different part of town really easily. Even talked to the realtor and negotiated a price already. Didn’t even take an hour to seal the deal. It is a bit of a fixer upper, but nothing I can’t do myself.”

I gave her a short glare. “I somewhat forgive you now.” After Searing left, I turned back to Rarity. “When was the last time you got some sleep?”

Rarity gave me a confused look. “What’s sleep?”

I immediately decided to take matters into my own hands. “I’m not sorry for this, Rarity.” I put a finger on each of her eyelids, and I pulled them down like a pair of blinds. Five seconds later, Rarity was asleep standing right where she was.

After draping Rarity over my shoulder, I went out to carry her home. On the way out, I pulled Searing over for interrogation on the way. “Alright, I want answers.” It wasn’t a statement, but a demand.

“On the wardrobe?”

“Yes. Give me the story from the beginning.”

“Well, after you left me with Rarity for my uniform, she started asking questions about how I got here. I told her I was staying with you, and she got this glint in her eye. As she was making my uniform, she cornered the counselor, the nurse, and me. She offered me 3,000 bits and a free custom dress in exchange for my cooperation.”

“And you accepted.”

“I tried to talk her down, but she was full on crazy. I held out for fifteen minutes before the counselor and nurse started telling me to accept her offer. I caved under their arguments, Rarity’s craziness, and her offer. After I accepted, I got the counselor and nurse out, then she started coming up with plans that ultimately ended up with your new wardrobe.”

“And at no point did anything seem like it wasn’t right?”

“Every point. I didn’t like what was going on, but she was maniacal, and I knew she would get worse if I went back on it, so I followed through. I even checked the law books at Princess Twilight’s castle on if Rarity’s plan constituted breaking and entering, but I could let them in without it being illegal. I still didn’t like it, though.”

I sighed as I processed everything. The scheming, untold wardrobe building, and bribery really gnawed at me. Even though it was a gain for me, the way it was done was wrong. “Do you regret it?”

“Um. . . Can I say yes and no? Because the bits helped me get the house and it’s a really nice dress.”

“I think I get it.” We walked in silence for a bit before something crossed my mind. “Searing, do you know if Sweetie Belle came back to the boutique?”

“As far as I know, no. That’s her sister, right?”

“Find her and tell her the boutique’s safe again.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Searing left with her new task, clearly eager to get it done.

As I carried Rarity to her home, I thought about the day’s events. The dress, which I was still wearing, the party, the surprise fire magic, and all the presents. It wasn’t even four, and already it had been a busy day. “Maybe I’ll see what that Everything a Pirate Needs is like. Nah, it hasn’t been that bad of a day. I’ll figure it out later. I still need to see Celestia and Luna’s present.”

After putting Rarity in her bed, I saw a smile appear on her face, which put a smile on my face. As soon as I closed the door to the boutique, I saw Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle standing there. “Is Rarity okay now?” Sweetie asked.

“She’s asleep. Apparently, she’s been awake for over a week making dresses for me.”

“I thought she was just taking lots of short naps between my visits,” Fluttershy said. “I hope she wakes up tomorrow. It would be nice to go to the spa with her again.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come to your party, Yang,” Sweetie said. “Things just kept coming up, and I was really busy today.”

“It’s alright, Sweetie. Anyways, I’d better get back home. There’s something on the patio from Celestia and Luna for me, so I’d better go see what it is. Bye.”

It turned out to be a piano. A large, beautiful piano that also fit what few aesthetics of the patio were there, placed right next to the stage. According to the piece of paper that came with it, it was built to be incredibly durable, both against the weather and any brawls that might occur. The tuning, at least according to my music magic, was perfect.

“Now that’s really nice,” I mused to nobody. “I should send the sisters. . . A. . . Letter.” I remembered something and felt quite upset. After going back upstairs and changing to the combat outfit, sans Ember Celica, I started walking through town, my destination somewhere I’d only been once before.

Along the way, Rainbow flew down. “Yang, are you okay? I’ve never seen your hair burning like that.”

I pulled some hair around and saw that, in addition to the natural fiery glow from being me, there was also what looked like actual fire. “Totally fine, Rainbow. Just a bit upset right now. Which way to the place Rarity gets her gems from?”

“That way.” Rainbow pointed in the right direction with a wing.

“Thanks.” I left her without another word, not keen on talking further.

As I approached the wide, rocky expanse, I noticed a small pack of diamond dogs. Most of them quickly went back underground, but one of them, bigger and cockier than the rest, looked ready to start a fight. He also had what looked like heavy cobbled together armor on, each limb a different color.

I ignored him until he was in front of me, sizing me up as the others hid behind a rock and watched. “Bruticus don’t see why local pack is scared of you.”

“Well, if you get out of my way, you won’t have to find out.” Angry though I was, I still didn’t want to fight anyone.

“Feisty!” Bruticus threw a punch at me, and I countered with a punch of my own, stopping his massive fist.

“Move before I make you move.” I felt a corona of fire appear around my eyes as they finally turned red.

“Nope.” He got his other fist up and ready to punch me.

Before the punch could connect, I moved in close and threw a flaming uppercut to his smug jaw. “Then if you won’t move. . .” I moved back in again as he recoiled from the uppercut. “I’ll have to make it happen.”

A few punches and kicks to his legs and lower body later, and Bruticus was down on his back, not a single attack of his connecting. “This isn’t the end for AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!” His little triad ended when I heated the edges of his chestplate to where it was red hot, then pulled it off. After quickly absorbing the heat and cooling the armor, I swung the large piece at his armored head, resulting in a loud clang and his screaming stopping.

He was still alive and breathing when I tossed the chestplate aside and resumed my walk to a rocky cliff face. I could feel the fire on my arms and hear the music sounding of war drums. I spared only a glance to the diamond dogs that were retreating with Bruticus and his chestplate before forgetting them and going on.

Seconds after reaching the cliff, I let out an angry shout, let the fire consume me, and started punching the cliff. “WHY!” Punch. “DIDN’T!” Punch. “I!” Punch. “SAY!” Punch. “ANYTHING!?”

As I continued my violent venting over not mentioning the five bit coin again, I started fearing myself with the fire magic. “Power corrupts. Fire embodies rage and destruction.

“Fire makes food really good though. It can be constructive and make things delicious. Think of the smoker.

“Forest fires.

“Holding someone’s feet to the fire keeps them accountable, and that’s good.

“It’s a metaphor.

“Still works.

“House fires.

“Torches in ancient days. Fireplaces. Fire can be controlled.”

I was brought out of my self-argument when a stream of cool water fell on me from above. I also stopped punching the cliff, which now had scorch marks and imprints on it in front of me, plainly visible once the water stopped. As I caught my breath and turned around, I was suddenly enveloped in a Fluttershy hug. If the water hadn’t completely cooled me down, the hug certainly finished the job.

“A bit upset, Yang?” Rainbow snarkily asked, hovering behind Fluttershy.

I sighed. “Okay, I went right to explosive anger. And it was over something silly, really.”

“And what would this silly thing be?”

“I’ve been meaning to suggest something to Celestia and Luna, but every chance I’ve had, I forgot to tell them about it.” I looked at the scorched imprints on the cliff face. “I think that and the new magic might have made a bit of a volatile combination.”

“That does sound frustrating. What is it, anyways?”

“5 bit coins.”

“You too? Good to know I’m not the only one with that issue.”

“You? What?” Rainbow seemed like the last person to come up with any kind of ideas related to money.

“Seriously, do you know how much drag a big bag of bits can put on flight speed? I mean, awesome as I am, you wouldn’t tell with me, but I’ve seen it before.”

“That actually makes sense.” I looked down to the pegasus that was still hugging me. “Fluttershy, what do you think?”

“I think it sounds like a great idea,” Fluttershy said. “Maybe you should write a letter to them about it.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” I was suddenly struck by a yawn. “For later. I’m really tired now, for some reason.”

Fluttershy released me from the hug and backed up next to Rainbow. “Did I overdo it?”

“No, that’s impossible.” I let out another yawn and started the walk back. “I’m going home. Maybe I’ll see about getting this new fire stuff under control somehow.”

“Good luck!” Rainbow called out as I left the site.

I returned the wish with a single wave of my hand. “I really hope I don’t burn the place down.”

Author's Notes:

Yes, that was a drastic change in personality there. Yes, I do credit it to fire powers. Yes, I did name a diamond dog after an awesome combiner.