Sunlight streamed through the window of the private hospital bed. It was a familiar feeling to Aspect, he swore Tia rose the sun just to fuck with his ability to sleep in.

Wait…

The sun...was raising because Tia told it to? The last thing he remembered was…

“If I have to destroy it all to keep you from doing so yourself, so be it.”

...Yeah, not his...proudest moment.

A sound caught his attention as somepony next to him stirred. He cracked one eye open to see Rainbow Dash’s head on the bed next to him, snoring softly and drooling on the sheets. Her back rising and falling with each breath, her wings twitching on occasion.

...How long had he been out that she had come to see hi-

Aspect paused as he realized something quite vital when reaching out to ruffle her mane. He had hands. Oh, yeah...he was a human. That...was going to be hell to explain.

Then she yawned and her eyelids opened, her rose-hued eyes staring into his own.

“...hubbawha?” she blinked slowly. “Whazzat? You awake?”

“The last thing I remember was trying to blow up Discord,” Aspect, no, Christopher said quietly. “What...happened since then?”

“You’re awake!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, fully waking up. “Holy Horseapples. We thought you were gonna sleep forever… I-I mean. Not me of course. You’re almost as cool as me. I knew you’d pull through.”

“I...put my body through quite the strain,” Christopher explained. “If I were mortal, I’d be dead by now. That’s why I’m the only one that can wield the power I do. I needed to sleep to recover all the energy I’d expended.”

“Please, I beat Nightmare Moon and that weird Noodle guy, and all I did was walk it off,” Rainbow smirked proudly. “Yup, still waaay cooler than you.” Then she looked him over and her smile faltered. “But, you and I. We need to have some words. I’m sure you know what about.”

“Yeah,” Christopher sighed. “I...probably should have told you about this.”

“Oh, sorry Dash, should have mention I’m a different bucking species!” she snarked. “Yeah, you should have told me. What about Bon Bon? Does she know? Does anypony?”

“I kept it a careful secret until Discord happened for a reason,” Christopher carefully explained. “The last humans native to this world left ages ago, in a big ship that carried them across the ocean and out of sight. I searched for them for ages and never found them. What do you think the ramifications would be if somebody found out there was one left?”

“That nopony would know what the Tartarus you are,” Rainbow replied with a frown. “I… I don’t even know if I know you anymore.”

“Rainbow,” Christopher said softly. “I kept it a secret because there are those that remember. There are those that study the old tales. Lyra, Bon Bon. They knew about humans before I met them. And I keep the fact of my relationship to Celestia, my true relationship, a secret as well, for another reason. If there’s one thing I’m not, it’s a politician. Celly is though, and for all her age and wisdom, if I were to unmask myself...it might be like pulling down a house of cards.”

Rainbow wanted to be mad, but when he said that… she fell oddly quiet.

“...Rainbow, who knows?” Christopher asked.

She sighed and stood up. “You fought that chaos thing all over town, then collapsed.” She put a hoof on the bed and shook her head. “Most of the town saw you, and the princesses caring for you. But…”

“But?” he verbally prodded her.

“The Princess made a statement a few days ago,” Rainbow finally said after a moment’s pause. “About the attack by Discord. And about her father…”

“Oh,” Christopher said in a small voice. “Um, do you have…”

“Have what?” Rainbow tilted her head.

“A copy,” the human finished. “I...should see what she said.”

“Ah, well…” she looked around. “Sorry, not on me. But she mentioned her dad was an Alicorn that had been away for a really long time. Only us ponies in Ponyville know you’re a… skinny minotaur thing.”

“Still, this is going to throw everything into disarray,” Aspect groaned. “On the one hand, I didn’t want that...but on the other, I wasn’t going to let Discord run free again. He did enough damage last time. The longer he was loose, the greater chance he might turn the whole world into a place like Ponyville had become.”

“You think?” Rainbow snorted. “He… he made me abandon my friends… abandon you and Bonnie. You’re lucky he’s stone or I’d punch him at Rainboom speeds.”

“Oh I’m still of a mind to find wherever his statue ended up and give him a much more stern talking to than just trying to explode him,” Christopher agreed, with a look of rage, before he mellowed and looked at Rainbow. “Rainbow...I promise you, everything I did had a reason. Everything I kept from you, I did so that Celestia wouldn’t have to worry about the nobles trying to throw her off her throne. I honestly shouldn’t have told you I’m their foster father at all, but I cared too much to keep it from the Bearers. I never kept anything from you because I thought you couldn’t handle it, or out of malice. I swear.”

“I don’t care about any of that,” Rainbow said. “What I care about is that you… you couldn’t even tell me who you really were. I told you deep, personal stuff and you…”

“I did what I could to tell you the same,” Christopher replied. “My stories about the valley, my friends? All I did was omit the fact that I was a human. They were all truthful. One day, when I can stomach the thought of going back to Dream Valley? I’ll take you and Bon Bon there and show you where I lived. Where all the ponies lived. The monuments I put up to them all.”

“On one condition,” Rainbow finally said. “I’ll stay with you on one condition.”

“Name it,” the human replied without missing a beat, fully prepared to pay whatever her price was.

“No more lies,” she said with a firm nod. “I see you now. The real you. So, no more lying to me or to Bonnie okay!”

“Okay fine,” Christopher chuckled. “Permit me to reintroduce myself, then?”

“You may,” Rainbow said, giving a flourished bow. “Your princess accepts your humble request.”

“I am Christopher Gale,” the human began. “Wielder of the Sword of Balance. Ponykind’s sword against the darkness. Rebalancer of the Aspects that have gone astray. Foster father to Celestia and Luna, and actual father and grandfather to most of the current forces of the world. Current possessor of the Air aspect.”

“Eh, too long, didn’t read,” Rainbow shrugged. “Better question is, do I keep calling you Aspect? Or Christopher?”

“Whichever you feel comfortable with,” Christopher replied with a shrug. “It’s not like I can’t take either form. I’ve only had millennia to practice my formshifting.”

“So, can you only turn into this or a pony?” she asked him with a curious tone.

“Eh,” Christopher shrugged. “I mean, there are other forms I could take. Not Diamond Dog or Dragon though. I had nothing to do with either of them. I could be a Seapony, since I helped give them a king from my raw magic. Spent a lot of time around them to the point where it was just faster to become a Seapony and swim with them. I’ve got...quite a few forms in my repertoire.”

“Griffon?” Rainbow suddenly asked. “C-Cause you know… that’d be kinda awesome.”

“Yeah, I made them,” Christopher nodded once. “I could do that. Easily, they’re really attuned to Air, and I’ve only been holding onto it for a few thousand years.”

“Interesting…” Rainbow rubbed her chin before blushing slightly. “Y-You know, cause that’d be pretty cool.”

“Eh, I’ll think about it,” the human shrugged. “So...what did I miss?”

“Eh, not that much,” Rainbow said with a small shrug. “I mean, aside from the Princesses news. Bon Bon has been taking pretty good care of your house. Though your son has been crawling up the walls with worry. And the kids at school miss you too.”

“Ah geeze,” Christopher muttered as he started to push himself up from bed. “Great...I have work to catch up on.”

“Oh, and you also missed Twilight enslaving most of the town with a spell after she went completely crazy,” Rainbow shrugged.

“...What?” the human deadpanned.

“Something about a deadline and… what was it, Want it-something,” Rainbow said. “It was kinda funny. The whole town fighting over a doll.”

“Oh for the love of...Heartthrob came up with that spell in Dream Valley, and we quickly labeled it as some of the fouler magic we’d ever encountered,” the human groaned. “The Want-It, Need-It spell is the closest thing to outright mind control I ever saw a pony make. She quickly decided she didn’t want anything to do with a spell that instilled mindless devotion instead of true love.”

“Yeah well, dunno where Twilight learned it, but it was pretty funny,” Rainbow snorted. “Don’t worry, Celestia sorted everything out. And we’re pretty sure it was just all the stress of that event catching up with her.”

“Yeah...that wasn’t an uncommon thing in the days after Discord’s sealing the first time,” Christopher nodded once. “Some ponies just...snapped after so many changes to reality that sanity sort of...broke them.”

“Yeah well… luckily Twilight snapped back,” Rainbow shuddered. “In any case, I should go and get the others.”

“Yeah, I’ll just wait here while I try to figure out if I’m okay then,” the human replied, reaching over and tousling Dash’s mane. “I promise I’ll be right here.”

“You flippin’ better be,’ she nodded and prodded his nose with a wingtip before taking off out of the window. Apparently the door was too slow for her.

True to his word, Christopher simply sat on his bed as he ran through a checkup of all his magic, just to be sure he still had it.

About ten minutes later, the poor door to his room was practically bucked off of it’s hinges as Bon Bon flew in, throwing herself onto the bed and hugging the man tightly.

Bon Bon was an earth pony, her hugs were very strong.

“Can’t...breathe…” Christopher gasped. “I see...a light…”

“You idiot!” Bon Bon yelled at him, ignoring his plight. “What were you thinking? Using so much Runic magic. Were you trying to kill yourself!?”

“Tell Celly...to lay off the cakes...she’s getting fat,” the human groaned before his head lolled to one side.

Bon Bon looked down and released him. “Oh stop being so melodramatic. I know you aren’t that weak.”

“Dead humans don’t need to be yelled at,” Christopher muttered as he lay back on the bed.

“Yes they do,” she said and jabbed his shoulder. “Do you have any idea how worried we’ve all been? Not to mention what I’ve had to deal with for the last three and a half weeks while you’ve been napping.”

“Three and a half weeks?” Christopher sat back up. “I was out that long?”

“Give or take a few days,” Bon Bon said as she calmed down. “Running your house is like running a zoo. I have no idea how you do it, and your newest resident hasn’t been making it easy.”

“Newest resident?” the human asked, parroting her words back at her. “What newest resident? Have Artemis or Realm been acting up?”

Bon Bon blinked and looked at Rainbow as she entered the room. “Doesn’t he remember anything from after the fight?”

“I dunno,” the pegasus shrugged.

“Do you not remember?” Bon Bon blinked slowly as she turned back to Christopher.

“The last thing I remember from the fight is trying to blow up Discord with runic magic,” the human admitted. “Everything else turns fuzzy from there.”

“You mean you don’t remember us shooting Discord with weaponized Friendship? Or the fact that you have a new daughter?” Rainbow added.

“...What in the world happened to conclude the fight?” Christopher asked.

“I’ve only got second hoof details,” Bon Bon said with a sigh. “But at some point, Nightmare Moon got involved.”

“...And yet it’s daytime,” the human pointed out.

“When we used the Elements, it got her too,” Rainbow said with a puzzled expression. “Somehow… it revived her.”

“Then?” Bon Bon concluded. “You turned her into a filly. She is… less than amused. Oh, she also has Luna’s Aspect of Dreams.”

“...Because life loves being complicated,” the human sighed.

“Yup,” Bon Bon agreed. “Also… I, might have to go away for a while.”

“Oh?” Christopher asked.

Bon Bon looked at Rainbow and sighed. “My cover is blown as a Monster Hunter. I… don’t know if I can stay in Ponyville… S.M.I.L.E. is looking to relocate me to the Coltish Isles.”

“Let me put it to you like this, Bon Bon,” Christopher said in a low voice. “You might as well tell them that no matter where they relocate you, I will find you and take you back here. In a single. Day. If they even try to put you somewhere where I might not have access to you? I’ll make Discord look tame. By staying here, you’re keeping a bigger monster than they can ever hope to deal with, tame.”

Bon Bon snorted and smiled. “Figured you’d say that. So I told them where to stuff it already,” she smiled and flexed a hoof. “That said, they might try to memory wipe me, so uh… mind if I hide out in your house for a while?”

“Two seconds,” the human said, before sighing and looking away. “Or...it would be that quick if I were wearing my robe. I could put a mental reinforcing charm on you that they couldn’t get past.”

“Sounds good,” she smiled as she moved up next to the bed. “And yeah, we kind of had to remove it to dress your wounds.”

“So, what’s he wearing then?” Rainbow happened to ask.

“Not a whole lot if I’m honest,” the human replied. “I hope you saved the robe, it took me days to make it right.”

“We did, I washed and repaired it,” Bon Bon nodded.

“So… nothing then?” Rainbow mused, trying to peek under the sheets.

“Hey!” Christopher slapped the sheet back down. The pegasus giggled as she tried to nose back under it again. She was worse than a curious cat.

“I said quitit,” the human grumbled as he pushed her back a touch.

“Aww,” Rainbow giggled. “I wanna see how you stack up in this form.” Then she smirked and waggled her eyebrows. “Do I have to break out the schoolfilly outfit again?”

“I’m not gonna do it in a hospital, Dash,” Christopher grumbled. “Who knows when the nurse could walk in.”

“Ohh, Redheart is a pretty fine mare,” she said seductively, before Bon Bon pushed her from the room.

“We’ll take our leave. Is there anypony you wanna see?” the earth mare asked him.

“Not in particular, but if they want to see me, I won’t turn them away,” the human replied. “Hopefully I’ll be out soon. Keep the robe handy, I want to put it on and put the charm on you the moment I’m out.”

“Will do,” she smiled. “Oh, I’ll send Realm around okay? He’s been dying to see you.”

“That sounds good,” Christopher nodded once before he sat back on the bed and sighed.

Bon Bon opened the door, only to be bolwed over by three fillies that used her as a springboard and landed on the bed.

“See, I told you!” Scootaloo declared.

“Huh, guess you were right,” Sweetie added.

“That really you Aspect?” Applebloom asked.

“Hey hey, careful, easy there,” the human chuckled as he gathered the fillies closer. “Yes, it’s me. I’m a bit of a shapeshifter after all my time on this world. But this is what I originally looked like.”

“Coooool,” the trio exclaimed.

“Are you a monster?”

“An alien!?”

“No, he’s totally a superhero!” Scootaloo nodded.

“Sorry, just a standard old human,” Christopher chuckled, messing with each one’s mane a little. “Granted, I have a few magical artifacts here and there that help me a lot, but at the end of the day, all I want is to hold my family close and know that everything I worked for is still standing.”

“Well…” Scootaloo blushed a little. “We just wanna say thanks.”

“You really helped us out when that scary guy showed up,” Sweetie added. “Scootaloo woulda floated away to the moon.”

“And I woulda been a tree,” Apple Bloom nodded. “So thanks a bunch Teach.”

“I couldn’t let my three favorite students suffer, that wouldn’t be like me,” the human chuckled as he gave them all a brief scratch behind the ears.

“Man, Aspect’s too awesome,” Scoots smiled. “So how long until we can learn that cool glowy stuff you used?”

“How about never?” Aspect deadpanned. “Runic magic is fatal to non-immortals. It drains your life to cast. The only reason I used it is because Discord broke free and I needed to keep him occupied.”

“Awww,” the fillies chorused. Then they yelped as a flash of light filled the room and Princess Celestia appeared.

“Wow, the princess!” the trio gasped, switching targets and dogpiling the poor alicorn.

“Well, that takes care of my filly problem,” Christopher chuckled.

“And we’re escaping while we can,” Bon Bon nodded. “See you see Chris.”

“You keep watch over Bon Bon, Dashie, don’t let her out of your sight until I get out of here,” Chris called after the escaping mares.

“Will do,” she called and giggled. “A real close watch~” he then heard Bon Bon yelp and Rainbow get slapped.

“So what’s this I hear about a new tenant at my place?” the human asked the alicorn that was being mobbed by fillies.

Lighting up her horn, Celestia lifted the three fillies off of her and placed them on her back. “Yes,” she said with a tone that Christopher recognised as her ‘I’m mad but others are present’ tone. “All your doing I believe.”

“Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t remember the end of the fight?” the human dared to ask.

“Of course you don’t,” Celestia sighed and turned her head. “Would you mares please excuse us? I need to have a private word with Christopher here.”

“Awww,” the trio echoed, until Celestia floated out some bits to get ice-cream.

Chris never knew that the trio could teleport…

“Be honest with me,” he said to his daughter. “How bad is it.”

“I’m more annoyed you let the Nightmare stay, instead of destroying her once and for all,” Celestia said. “And on top of that, you allowed her to keep the Aspect of Dreams!”

“Like I said, I don’t...remember the end of the fight,” Christopher replied. “The last thing I recall was trying to blow up Discord…”

“And Ponyville, but we’ll discuss that later,” Celestia said sternly. “I’ve been spending the better part of a month cleaning up. Ponies here know about you now, though only a few know who you are. But I had to make some sort of announcement, so… Guess who has a father again?”

“I heard about that much,” Christopher nodded. “But you need to tell me what happened at the end. My memory goes fuzzy at that, probably because of all the magic I was using.”

Celestia sighed and nodded. “At some point during the fight, Luna got involved. And somehow, Discord reawoke the Nightmare inside her. But when Twilight and her friends activated the Elements of Harmony to seal away Discord, it caught the Nightmare too. One would have assumed they would destroy her again…”

“That didn’t happen for a reason,” Christopher spoke up. “I recall her, even in her Nightmare state, agreeing with Luna about one thing. That family and the world were important. She chose to stand with me instead of against me. She’s not totally irredeemable.”

“Well that remains to be seen,” Celestia said. “The other Aspects have been notified, all except Mortal Coil. And Yggdrasil has been oddly quiet for some reason.”

“Probably because I nearly went too far,” the human groaned. “It took Discord showing me a mirror for me to stop.”

“I don’t understand that,” Celestia frowned. “Why would Discord do that? Why would he stop you, and seal his own fate of being defeated. It makes no sense!”

“This is Discord we’re talking about,” Chris pointed out. “If not for the precautions I took to ensure that I wouldn’t fall to his magic, his plans might still be ongoing now.”

“And they would have if he just let you rampage as well,” Celestia sighed and rubbed her temple. “Regardless, the Nightmare is pi-- rather annoyed at you for turning her new body into that of a filly.”

“That...sounds like runic curse number 51,” Chris mused. “The deaging one.”

“Regardless, prepare for that when you get home…” she paused and looked at the door. “Also, regarding mIss Bon Bon…”

“I’m quite aware of who and what she is,” Chris said in a low growl. “And if your agents don’t keep their hooves off of her and cease any attempts to mind-wipe her, Discord will look tame. I can always go bigger and badder. Nothing is going to take the mare I love away from me, understand?”

“I understand fully,” Celestia chuckled and smiled. “Also, hearing how much you love her, that makes me rather happy.”

“Thank you,” Chris nodded once. “I also hear that your student rediscovered an old vile spell?”

“Ahaha….” Celestia chuckled nervously. “Please don’t hold it against her. She was holding back a lot after the battle with Discord. Having your heart crushed as hers was… it was not easy. But her friends are there for her.”

“Oh no, I’m fine with not punishing her,” Chris replied with a wave of his hand. “Heartthrob learned her lesson after a single day with that spell on when the Big Brother ponies came around. Devotion doesn’t equal love, and with so many wanting the same thing...madness that could not easily be undone reigned.”

“Yes well,” Celestia fluttered her wings a little. “And how are you feeling?”

“...Remarkably well rested after that,” Chris said after a moment. “I won’t know how my magic is doing until I get my robe back. Or Majesty’s tome. I’ll need to touch it to learn.”

“Both are waiting for you at home, and under some heavy seals,” Celestia added on. “The last thing I needed was Twilight learning about Majesty’s book.”

“There is a reason there have been no mortal runemasters,” Chris agreed. “Not since her.”

“Twilight would likely find a way,” the alicorn rubbed her eyes. “In any case. I need Alicorn Aspect to make an appearance in Canterlot soon.”

“Wait, what?” Chris blinked.

“Well I need my father to make an official appearance,” Celestia hummed, greatly enjoying the look on his face. “I can’t very well have announced you, and then you never show up~”

“You do realize, of course, that this is going to mean I am never going to get any sleep,” Chris muttered.

“Hmm, welcome to the last one thousand years of my life,” Celestia smiled as she teleported from the room.

Chris sighed again as he wondered when he would be free to leave.

He tried sneaking out, but Nurse Redheart was a formidable opponent… and apparently could call a filly-sized nurse that barked like a dog and wielded a very large syringe. So he elected to wait for the time being. For now. Maybe next time he’d try becoming something different.

That was an idea, maybe if he turned into a pegasus, he could sneak out the window…

“FATHER!” a massive voice boomed as Luna teleported into the room with a crack of magic and lightning. “FEAR NOT, FOR WE HATH RETURNED!”

“No, that’s okay, I didn’t need to hear today anyways,” Christopher whispered.

“MANY PARDONS...er, We mean, sorry Father. We were feeling rather excited to hear that you had returned to Us.” Luna rubbed the back of her head sheepishly as Redheart poked her head through the door and settled an icy glare on the loud Alicorn. “Again, very sorry,” she said in a loud whisper.

“Okay...better,” the human muttered. “Yes, I get it that I’ve been out a while. I knew going in that this was the price I would have to pay to fight Discord.”

“Then why do it?” Luna uttered. “Sister had a plan for Friend Twilight and the other Elements. Now…” The alicorn sighed as she flopped onto the bed, her twitching ears demanding rubs.

“Because I wasn’t just going to let him hurt ponies,” the human replied as he rubbed Luna behind the ears. “I wasn’t just going to be sidelined like last time. I would do my best to make sure that his chaos was at the very least combated if not contained.”

“Well, you did prevent him from extending his influence beyond Ponyville,” Luna sighed blissfully at the rubs. “For that, Tia and I are grateful, but We shall box thine ears if thou ist foolish enough to do so again.”

“I don’t have the tome or the robe right now, and Tia tells me he’s been beaten,” Christopher replied. “Granted, I have words for the stone bastard, but they can wait until I’m in Canterlot.”

“Yes well, Tia has his statue under lock and key so to speak,” Luna stated as she turned her head so he could scratch the other ear. “Mmmm, We have missed this~”

“I’m just going to say something that’ll make him think twice about pulling this sort of stunt again,” Christopher said in a chipper manner. “Have I ever told you I’m not as strong as I could be?”

“We believe thou,” Luna nodded as she let out a small sigh. “Tis too bad you do not have the Aspect of Combat anymore. Thou would have made short work of the vile chimera.”

“Eh, the world needed her more than it needed me to be a super-warrior,” the human shrugged. “In any case. I’m spent. I can’t even feel my connection with my sword. I need to get out and get home.”

With another crack of light, his world blinded for a moment. When he was finally able to see again, he was lying in his own bedroom, Luna looking down on him and a surprised Written Script sitting in her painting.

“...Okay, did not consider that,” Christopher blinked. “You know Redheart is going to be after me, yes?”

“We shall defend thee from that demonic Nurse,” Luna stated with a stomp of her hoof, cracking the floorboard under her.

“Hey, careful, this place has to last you know,” the human chuckled as he began looking around. “Now, where could they be?...”

“Where might what be dear?” Written asked. “Yes, I’m fine too, thank you for asking.”

“Just looking for the robe and tome and sword,” Christopher said to the painting. “Apparently Tia is about to introduce her father...or, well, the Alicorn form of him anyways. So I need to dress up, and I would rather not have Twilight find any of Majesty’s things, or made from them.”

“I have them here inside the Painted World,” Written explained.

“Oh, well that makes that...a little complicated,” Christopher replied. “I mean, yes, it’s safe there. But there’s really only one portal in, and even if we forgo that, I would still need your help to get in.”

“Mhm, so yes, they're perfectly safe,” Written smiled. “Also, I’m fine, thank you for asking.”

“I get it,” Christopher sighed. “I was out for a while. But I knew going in that fighting Discord was going to come with a price tag. I’m sorry I wasn’t here and that I sort of...can’t quite grasp that I was out for that long, and am still treating it like it was three weeks ago. But I wasn’t going to let him torment ponies like he did before. Like all the other monsters did before. Because if there’s one thing I do, it’s fight monsters, Written.”

“I know, good to see you’re as obtuse as ever,” she giggled. “It’s been… interesting here. Bon Bon has done a wonderful job keeping everypony in line so far.”

“Apparently she has her work cut out for her,” Christopher pointed out. “Do you know I don’t recall actually doing runic curse fifty-one to the Nightmare? Or any bit of the last part of the fight that resulted in her being her own entity?”

“ASPECT!!!!”

The house trembled from that magically induced roar.

“You may not,” Written chuckled. “But she sure does.”

“Yes, well...I just need my things and to be in Canterlot soon,” Christopher said as he stood up and neared the portrait. “Tia’s planning on introducing me.”

“So I heard,” Written mused. “And how are you doing Lulu?”

“We art doing fine mother,” Luna nodded. “Tis… weird, being separated from the Nightmare like that.”

“I can imagine,” Written nodded and looked at Chris. “Stop trying to climb into that painting. Hurricane has gone to fetch your things and bring them to you.”

“All right, fine,” Christopher grumbled as he laid back down in the bed. “So now it’s just a matter of who gets back first. Hurricane or Nightmare…”

Luckily for him, the old warmare was the first to return.

“Hey Monkey!” she called out. “Heads up!”

And like that, she tossed the sword, robe, and tome through the painting and right at him. Chris caught the sword by the hilt in one hand as the tome flopped onto the ground, and the robe fluttered on top of it. And instantly, he let out a sigh as he felt so much better.

“That’s the ticket,” Chris chuckled as the sword glowed faintly at being reunited with its master. “Okay then!” He put it down and grabbed his robe, shrugging it on and nodding once. “Remind me to see Rarity about some more clothes,” he spoke aloud.

“BALANCED ASPECT!” He heard a tiny voice roar from the other side of the door. “I’M ABOUT TO—”

*thump*

…

…

*tumpthumpthump*

“Unlock this door so I can destroy you!”

“I think not,” Christopher chuckled as he picked up the tome and put it away in his robes, before flashing into his pegasus stallion form. “Now! To my saddlebags, then to Canterlot!” he boldly proclaimed.

“I WILL END YOU!” Nightmare Moon roared again as she banged on the door with tiny hooves.

“And now, for my next trick!” the stallion chuckled as a gust of air suddenly grew in the room.

One moment he was there, the next, the door burst open in a sudden gale...revealing naught of the stallion.

“ALL. MY. HAAAAAATE!!!” he heard her voice on the wind.

“So in short,” Celestia said to the court full of Nobles and reporters. “After a very long sabbatical of travelling around the world, my father, as well as Luna’s, has finally returned to Equestrian soil.”

“Is he an Alicorn too?” one reporter called out.

“Yes,” Celestia nodded. “The very first male Alicorn actually.”

“And what of your mother?” another called out.

“She…” Celestia actually looked a little crestfallen. “Has been gone for a very long time.”

Several ponies smacked the reporter upside the head.

“In any case,” Celestia forced a smile and gestured to the large double doors. “I present to you, Balanced Aspect!”

There was a rush of wind from all around, and when the doors opened, Balanced Aspect was standing behind them, in his Alicorn form, shaking his head a few times. “I am never going to get used to wind-based transportation,” he muttered.

His senses were assaulted with camera flashes and a barrage of questions before Celestia got the ponies to settle down.

“Please, give him some space,” she chided them. “And one question at a time… starting with,” she pointed a a cute, bespectacled mare. “You.”

“S-So…” she asked demurely. “Are you, truly the father of our beloved Princesses?”

“I am indeed,” Aspect nodded once as he stepped forward.

“Are you really an Alicorn?” another asked. “It’s not some illusion or spell?”

“I truly am, though I do have a myriad of forms I can take,” Aspect replied. “I am, first and foremost, a shapeshifter. I spent ages learning how to control my own magic, after all, and using it to blend in with the species of Equus wherever I went, spreading harmony and understanding.”

That got them mumbling to themselves, before a noble spoke up.

“And if you are their father? Does that make you… King? Will you assume control of Equestria?”

“Ap! No!” Aspect pointed a hoof at the noble. “No, no, and no! I have not been here for the past thousand years. My duty is to the world, not Equestria. I traveled it and saw the sights, made sure everything was as it should be. I am not up to date on that which a ruler of this land would need to know. Celestia has been, and Luna is learning. They are your princesses. I’m merely an old warhorse.”

“War?” one pony asked. “What in Equestria is that?”

Celestia visibly winced.

“Something you hopefully won’t ever have to experience,” Aspect smoothed over. “Now. I am old, tired, and finally back. I’m trying to have a nice, quiet life. And what do I find but a troublesome chimera on my front lawn, turning the town upside down? So I did what I do best. I went out to fight the monster and keep him focused on me while the others worked out how to seal him away again. It’s what I do.”

“Isn’t that what the Royal Guard is for?” one snooty noble asked. “On that topic, the last few events have been handled by common civilians of all ponies. What’s the point of our tax dollars going to a Guard that can’t do a thing when we actually need them?”

“Do you know how the guard started?” Aspect asked quietly, in a tone that demanded others listen. “Nobles pledged their lives to serve in the protection of the Princesses and as enforcers of their will. It was respected both for the makeup of those that served showing how truly noble they could be, as well as how skilled they were. In the old days, a town was proud to have a Guard barracks in it, because it meant that no Manticores, Timberwolves, Hydras, or any other monster would dare threaten a pony. Nobles did this...because they knew that they should serve the commoners. Because when the situation is dire? Noble blood spills just as easily as any other. It became their job to make sure that there was no blood spilled.”

That got an eerie silence throughout the room, aside from Celestia’s hoof hitting her face.

“Tell me, what were any of you doing when Night Eternal gripped the land?” Aspect asked. “Offering shelter, burning lights, reassuring the commoners while trying to find a solution yourself? That’s what the nobles of my era would have done, rather than just leave it up to chance. What were you doing when Chaos gripped the world? Trying to make a safe place in the midst of madness, helping the less fortunate who had gotten mixed up in the mad draconequus’ machinations? Or were you cowering in your homes that all your money had bought you, with not a lick of courage to be found?”

Celestia opened her voice to say something, but a Noble beat her to it.

“Who do you think you are!?” he demanded. “Coming in here and telling us what to do? Why should we listen to the words of a total stranger?”

Aspect flared his wings as he stared down at the pony. “I am Balanced Aspect,” he intoned, and would not admit to using a bit of his attunement to Air to cause a brief rumble of thunder as he dressed this pony down. “Wielder of the Sword of Balance. It was by my hoof that all the old monsters, from the days of Dream Valley, the ancestral home of ponies, were slain and their essence reformed into gentler, kinder, guiding forces of this world. I was the one that tamed this world for you and your kind. I was the one that guided the ponies to this land when the Windigos came and froze Dream Valley. I was the one that blessed your kind with much greater attributes. Greater attunement to the earth, skies, and magic. I am the fulcrum upon which the world turns. You will be dust and irrelevant long before my time comes.”

“S-So?” the Noble said, standing his ground surprisingly enough. “You think having a pair of wings make you better than me? You don’t know me! You know none of us. You’re a relic of an era long past!”

“I would be happy to be that relic, to hang up my sword for good, were I certain that the nobles of the present era could take care of the present era,” Aspect replied. “I knew Princess Platinum. I knew the only Queen ponykind ever had, Queen Majesty. And they did more for their subjects than I have heard any of you do.” His gaze swept over the crowd. “Is there no noble here who can say that they have done this? That in the face of adversity, they acted in the other’s interest before themselves? That when they were faced with a choice between helping their fellow pony or themselves, they chose friendship over greed?”

“Some have,” Celestia whispered as the room stayed quiet. “I’ll introduce you later.”

“You alicorns…” the noble spat on Aspect’s hooves. “You think you’re so damned high and mighty. We unicorns ruled long before your freakish kind showed up!”

And Celestia facehooved for a second time.

“And lo, you and yours would summon the Windigos again,” Aspect intoned. “And freeze all Equestria with your tribalism. Were ponies not meant to walk together, in harmony? It is only through each other that we accomplish feats such as a kingdom of equality. You think you’re so special because you have a horn on your head.” Aspect smirked. “In my time, I knew pegasi and earth pony nobles. How the mighty have fallen, if they cannot open their minds.”

“Bah! Windigos are nonsense. Stupid stories to scare foals on Hearth’s Warming,” the unicorn fired back. “We can change the weather. We can grow crops. We have no need for anypony else!”

“A simple question I pose to you, then,” Aspect replied, flaring a wing to point at Celestia. “If the Windigos are nonsense, and nothing magical froze over Dream Valley...what is keeping Celestia from going back to her ancestral home? She is the sun. She could simply thaw it, if it were possible, and reclaim all of Ponykind’s ancient homelands. Except...the only thing that can thaw Windigo ice, is the Fires of Friendship. Not even Celestia can melt the solidified hatred that exists there.”

“Maybe because like our precious Guard,” he sneered. “Our Princesses are just as usele—”

And suddenly, the noble felt as though he were staring down a dragon that was as big as the palace, ready to pounce on him if he said one more syllable.

“Oh, I’m sorry, were you saying something?” Aspect asked as he broadcast his killing intent to the noble. “Do go on.”

Except every instinct the noble had was telling him to run away screaming his head off.

His legs trembled, refusing to move. And… yup, he just wet himself.

And nopony else in the room dared assist him. Except one.

“Now now,” the white unicorn said, stepping closer. “I believe your point has been made good sir, there is no need to continue this display any longer hm?” he brushed his electric blue mustache and smiled. “He was most out of line, insulting your daughter and our beloved Princess like that. On his behalf, I do apologise.”

Aspect relaxed just a touch, and the feeling went away, suddenly all smiles again. “There are a few things you don’t do around me,” the stallion agreed. “Insulting my children is one of them. Not that they need defending, but I did my best to raise each and every one properly. Hearing them defamed says to me that someone thinks I should have done things differently.” He huffed and ruffled his wings. “Try being a single father to two fillies that can’t stop pranking each other for a week at a time.”

“Father!” Celestia ruffled her wings and blushed.

“Hah! I imagine so,” the stallion nodded and looked at the petrified noble. “Somepony be a chap and escort dear Golden Hoof home eh. He needs a bath and a spot of tea I dare say.”

Two more nobles practically leapt at his word and did just that, as Celestia escorted the rest of the reporters away, leaving Aspect alone with this new unicorn. “Quite the display there, I nearly swallowed my monocle out of fright.”

“Trained under the martial artists of the old world,” Aspect rolled his neck. “They taught me that when you need to dissuade someone from attacking you, your presence is as just a potent weapon as your hooves. Broadcasting your killing intent can help you avoid a fight, or gauge how one will go.”

“Ahh, I thought that was Dragon’s Stance,” he mused as he took his eyepiece off and held out a hoof. “Fancy Pants, at your service.”

“Balanced Aspect, though you knew that already,” Aspect chuckled and shook the offered hoof. “I must say, you’re already setting a better tone than that other one.”

“Yes, terribly sorry for that one,” he sighed. “Though in his defense, you are an unknown being of great power. Our first instinct is fear, and some tend to lash out at fear.”

“Like I said, I am more than happy to just hang up my sword and be an old relic,” Aspect sighed. “I don’t fight monsters because I like it. I fight them because somepony has to. What I really want to do is be a teacher. Live my days brightening up young lives.”

“And I hear you’re doing a fine job of that in Ponyville,” the stallion chuckled, moreso at Aspect’s surprised expression. “I’m rather good friends with the Princess old boy. So I know a few things.”

“Well, I see that for once, I’m known for a good reason before I meet somepony,” Aspect chuckled. “I cannot count the amount of times the founders thought I was a spy for the others…”

“Hah! Don’t be surprised if that is still something you will have to deal with,” Fancy laughed. “You did admit to being a shapeshifter.”

“Yes, well, how did you think I was blending in if I couldn’t hide this?” Aspect asked as he touched his horn with a hoof. “Being an Alicorn would attract more than a little attention to myself.”

“Just a tad old boy,” Fancy smiled. “And don't worry about those dunderheaded nobles. Most, under that pride, self entitlement and wealth, are good ponies at heart.”

“Hmmph,” Aspect snorted. “Well, I just hope that others don’t dismiss the alicorn when he warns them about not being a self-righteous little...anyways. Let’s change the topic before my entire day is soured.”

“Fair enough,” the unicorn nodded. “What would you like to discuss?”

“Do you know of a good museum that deals in Unification-Era artifacts?” Aspect asked. “I’ve been meaning to donate quite a few of mine.”

“Hmm…” Fancy tugged thoughtfully at his mustache. “Let's see now. Perhaps the Central Canterlot Museum would be best.”

“Perfect!” Aspect smiled. “I wouldn’t just want them to be put somewhere and forgotten, you see. Somewhere where ponies might actually see them, that works for me. Almost everything in my saddlebags qualifies as an artifact.” He blinked a few times before adding, “And the saddlebags, now that I think about it.”

“Haha, I'd imagine you'd have a wealth of stories to tell,” Fancy Pants mused, before his eyes widened slightly. “Now there's an idea. Perhaps document your stories. I'm sure plenty of ponies would like to read them.”

“Assuming they would believe them,” the alicorn pointed out. “Or would even want to listen, considering all I’ve done. I’m not Ponykind’s sword against the darkness for nothing, you know.”

“The world is a vast place Sir Aspect. And perhaps you could use an assistant?” the stallion suggested. “A writer who could use their name to help push it out to more ponies?”

“I’ll...consider it,” the alicorn nodded once. “There are some tales that don’t need to be retold.”

“I'd imagine some are… quite violent,” Fancy agreed. A moment later, a weary-looking Celestia ambled back into the room and groaned loudly.

“You were the one that wanted to introduce me as an alicorn, I’ll remind you,” Aspect called to her. “In any case, this charming stallion and I have a museum to check out. I think it’s high time some of my armory and relics found a proper home.” The alicorn flared a wing, and from behind the door where he’d been standing, his saddlebags and sword floated out and settled across his back.

“What? You're leaving already?” Celestia asked him.

“Introducing me is half the battle,” Aspect quipped. “The other half is good publicity. What better way to do that than to donate to a museum?”

“I suppose,” the alicorn sighed. And here she wanted to spend the day with him.

“I have a lot of catching up to do,” Aspect returned, walking closer and nuzzling his daughter. “But I’ll come back eventually. You can’t have me for the whole day, but I’ll spend some time with you when my business is done.”

“Alright,” Celestia smiled softly. “Go and donate your toys. I'll be here making sure Equestria doesn't burn down.”

“I was unaware Pyro was in town,” the stallion quipped playfully.

“Cute, but leave my little ponies unattended for too long and who knows,” Celestia shrugged.

“We can be rather exuberant sometimes,” Fancy mused with a light chuckle.

“...Did we really need an Aspect of Fire then?” Aspect mused, before chuckling. “I jest, I jest. Okay then, Sir Fancy Pants. Lead on!”

“Right this way then,” the stallion nodded as he headed for the door. Today should prove very interesting indeed.

Author's Notes:

I half considered introducing a three week pause here, to match up with what Aspect went through.

And now things get...interesting again. There's a plot at work y'all don't know of, but you'll find out~

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