“W-what are we doing here?” Cotton asked as I knocked on Vinyl and Octavia’s front door. I had quickly sent Derpy and Dinky back to secure the house with my bags, but Cotton didn’t feel comfortable enough to be away from me yet.

“I have to borrow something from a friend,” I replied as the door opened and a wooden bat swung just past my face, grazing my chin. “Or not…”

“Oh, dear sweet Celestia,” Octavia blurted as she noticed who she almost hit. “I am so sorry Christopher, I thought you were one of those bugs.”

“N-nope… just me and a new friend,” I replied with a sheepish smile, raising my hands placatingly.

“What?” Octavia asked as she looked passed me and noticed the cowering filly at my side.

“O-oh, I am so sorry,” Octavia continued as she put the bat down. “It’s just, when those bugs started to eat the houses, I began to worry that they would get to my instruments and…”

“I understand,” I quickly interrupted, noticing a few of the nearby Parasprites looking towards me. “I just came to see if you had a trumpet I could borrow?”

“A trumpet?” Cotton asked as she and Octavia looked at me in confusion.

“Uh… I have one, but why do you need it?” Octavia answered. “This doesn’t seem to be the time to be learning an instrument.”

“Trust me,” I replied with a nod, holding my hand out. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Pinkie Pie said something of the same sort too,” Octavia commented before wondering back into the house.

“I’m sorry we didn’t believe you, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight apologized to her friend. “We just thought you were messing around when the town was in danger.”

“It’s alright girls,” Pinkie Pie replied as she drew her friends into a hug, causing a random burst of noise from the instruments wrapped around her.

“Well, now that we know what to do,” Rarity began as she pulled away from the hug. “We should get the rest of these dreadful things out of town before Christopher returns or…”

Rarity was suddenly interrupted from what she was saying as a loud tune began to play in the air. (Zoot Suit Riot)

“Hey, I think that’s Chris,” Rainbow Dash called as she flew into the air and looked towards where the music was coming from.

All the others simply watched in fascination as Christopher made his way towards them, playing a trumpet loudly as he led another group of Parasprites towards the Everfree.

Even though he played nothing but a trumpet, the mares could hear several different instruments playing along to the upbeat tempo, something that tended to happen every now and then in Equestria due to the magic in the air.

But this was the first time any of them had seen this effect happen to Christopher.

“Zoot Suit Riot!” Chris sung out, pulling the trumpet away for a moment.

“Riot!” a call answered from a filly that followed closely next to the human, a look of fascination on her face.

After the call, Chris went back to playing the trumpet as he finally walked up to the group of shocked mares.

All they could do was watch in shock as the Parasprites continued forward, spinning around one another as they danced to the music in pairs instead of merely hopping like they had for Pinkie Pie.

After a few minutes, the last small insect disappeared into the forest as the trumpet gave one final blare of a farewell.

“Damn that felt good,” I chuckled as I finally pulled the trumpet away from my lips, filling my lungs with breath properly. “I haven’t played like that since high school, and even then, it didn’t sound that good. I also didn’t expect so many to follow me.”

“That was amazing!” Cotton proclaimed, looking up at me with a big smile. “Can you show me how to play?”

“Sure,” I replied, giving the filly a smile before turning to look at my friends. “I think that should be most of them… I hope.”

“Y-you just…” Twilight began as the girls slowly began to recompose themselves. “Music… Perasprite… magic…”

“That. Was. AMAZING!” Pinkie shouted as she began to hop up and down excitedly, a wide smile on her face as some of her attached instruments made a racket. “I didn’t know you could play instruments too!”

“First chair back in high school,” I replied, allowing an embarrassed glow to appear on my face. “Four years in a row.”

“That’s all well and good darling, but…” Rarity began herself, a slightly uncomfortable look appearing on her face.

“Who’s the filly?” Rainbow Dash asked as she began to get closer, causing Cotton to quickly move to hide behind my legs.

“Cotton,” I replied with a little more force than I intended as I held a hand up to prevent anyone from getting closer. “And I’ll explain everything back at my house.”

“O-okay…” Applejack replied as all the others shared a slightly uncomfortable look with each other.

Except for Fluttershy.

She was simply giving a small smile in the direction of Cotton as the filly watched the six of them from behind one of my legs.

“We…uh, tried to set up a welcome back party,” Twilight began to explain with an awkward smile. “To welcome you back, but…”

“But then Fluttershy found those bugs and things kind of went downhill from there,” Rainbow added as Twilight trailed off and looked down sadly.

“It’s okay,” I replied, giving everyone an appreciative smile.

“I bet you all learned a big lesson today though, right?” I asked, looking from Pinkie Pie to everyone else.

“Yeah, we did,” Twilight laughed uncomfortably as she and the others shared a small laugh.

“Well, I gotta head home and I’d recommend the same to the rest of you,” I voiced while looking back at the town. It didn’t look as bad as I thought, but there were definitely going to have to be repairs done.

“But what about your welcome back to Ponyville party?” Pinkie asked as her instruments gave a loud guffaw, causing Cotton to jump slightly.

“Just make sure your own homes are in order first,” I said while holding up the trumpet. “I gotta return this and then I gotta head home.”

“But what about the filly?” Rainbow Dash asked, causing Cotton to shake slightly.

“Go check your house first,” I grumbled as I picked up Cotton and walked away.

Luckily, no one tried to follow, so Cotton was able to calm down and enjoy the new view.

“S-so, this is where you live?” Cotton asked as she looked at everything around her.

“Did you live in a place like this?” I asked, hoping that she wouldn’t become uncomfortable with answering.

“N-no…” Cotton replied, with a frown. “I lived in a place with a whole bunch of really big buildings and it always smelled funny.”

“I used to live in a place like that,” I said as I filed away what she said. Celestia had asked that I question Cotton subtly to learn more about her, both to catch the monsters that used her as well as find her family. “I like places like this better though.”

“Even with all those weird bugs?” Cotton asked, looking up at me with confusion.

“Even with the weird bugs,” I replied with a laugh as I reached Vinyl and Octavia’s home.

After putting Cotton down, I knocked on the door and waited for an answer. When there wasn’t one, I tried the door and found it locked.

“I guess they must have gone out for supplies,” I shrugged, before looking back down at Cotton. “Are you ready to see my house?”

“Yep,” she replied as I leaned down and picked her up. As we walked, I looked down at the filly and sighed internally at how small she was. Even though she was as old as the Crusaders, she was the size of a filly a few years younger and was still malnourished.

The doctors said that it was important that she not spend to long walking around until she had reached a proper healthy state and had given Derpy a small supply of pills and a recommended diet before we had left the castle.

Walking through town, I gave a good look around.

While several buildings were defiantly in need of some repair, there weren’t all that many ponies out and about.

The few that were out and about seemed to be the local construction ponies too, just getting the major issues fixed.

“Welcome back, Reaper!” one called out as I passed by, giving me a quick wave as I walked by.

“Reaper?” Cotton asked as she looked up at me. “W-why did that pony call you that? I thought your name was Christopher.”

“It’s like a nickname,” I replied while waving at a few passersby. “It’s just what some ponies have started calling me.”

“Should I call you that too?” Cotton asked as we passed the center of town. I could see the mayor surrounded by a group of ponies who all seemed to be in a tizzy.

“So that’s where everyone is,” I commented as I made sure to keep far from the group, noticing how scared Cotton had become when she noticed all the ponies.

“No, there’s no need to call me that if you don’t want to,” I answered after we excited the area. “Chris, Christopher, Reaper, you can call me whichever feels right to you, okay?

“Just don’t call me mister,” I added on. “It makes me sound old.”

“Okay,” Cotton replied before rubbing against my chest a bit.

“Well, there it is,” I said as we turned a corner and the house came into view.

“That’s where you live?” Cotton asked as she looked towards the house.

“The best part now is that I own it too,” I replied with a growing smile. Celestia said that she had sent my new box to my room herself, so I knew the papers should be there. As well as my gun and a slew of bullets.

When I had asked Celestia how she got so many bullets, she told me that she used a special duplication spell on a bullet she kept with her and swore upon her crown that no other being could do what she did.

Going off a hunch, I activated my soul vision while walking up to the building and while I couldn’t see anyone, I could see a large group of flames within the house, muted heavily due to the walls.

I was really beginning to like my new skill.

“Why don’t we go in from the back,” I voiced, thinking that a surprise wouldn’t go well with Cotton right now. “My friends might be planning a bit of a surprise.”

“Oh… uh… why?” Cotton asked as I moved to the back of the house.

“Because my friends are weird,” I whispered, opening the back door and slipping inside.

The moment we made it inside, I found Derpy and Dinky in the kitchen, the older mare setting up a few things on the counter.

With a silent nod, Cotton hesitantly made her way over to the mare and her filly while I made my way towards the living, keeping low.

“I thought you said you saw him, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight whispered to the prismatic mare as she and about two dozen ponies tried to hide in my living room.

“Maybe he slipped in the from the back,” I whispered as I snuck into the room, shifting my voice slightly. Cotton waited around the corner with Derpy.

“No, I had Pinkie Pie lock it,” Twilight replied as she remained focused on the rooms main window.

“Uh… Twilight, I never locked that door,” Pinkie Pie chirped as she popped her head out of the chimney.

At this, everyone in the room turned to see me crouching just a few inches from Twilight.

“Boo!” I chirped causing the mare and several others to jump in shock. Some tumbling over furniture, and others just staring at me in surprise.

“Awww, you did it again,” Pinkie pouted as she removed herself from my chimney, not an ounce of soot visible on her. “How am I supposed to throw you a surprise party if you keep ruining them?”

“Sorry, but no surprises today,” I replied, addressing the room instead of the pouting mare.

“Would that have anything to do with the filly that was with you earlier?” Octavia asked as everyone, came out of hiding.

My guest seemed to consist of my herd, my friends and a small gaggle of foals… and Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara.

So, there were a good number of individuals in the room.

“Filly? What filly?” Rachel asked as she looked back at the foals. Aside from a missing Dinky, the crusaders where there and an obviously irritated Diamond Tiara.

“Everypony, if I could have your attention please,” Derpy’s voice called as she entered the room with Dinky and Cotton beside her. “I would like to introduce you all to Cotton. I’ll be taking care of her for a while.”

At this, the room broke into a mix of greetings, and even though it was a nice gesture, all it did was cause the filly to run and hide behind my legs.

“It’s alright Cotton,” I promised, kneeling down and taking the filly into my arms. “No one here will hurt you, I promise.”

“We should really stop leaving him alone,” I heard Gilda whisper to those around her.

“Anyways,” I called out as I stood up fully and looked at the crowd. “Cotton will be staying here for a while. So please be sure to welcome her as you would anyone else.”

After that, everyone gave a somewhat hesitant wave and another greeting.

Shrugging it off internally, I set Cotton back down with an ear scratch, the filly taking a position besides me as she eyed everyone in worry and fear.

“Let me introduce you to everyone,” I said as I led her around to everyone. Each gave a smile and a proper welcome as they introduced themselves to Cotton and welcomed me back.

“Cotton,” Dinky’s voice called as we made our way towards Zecora. Turning to look, I saw the filly and the other crusaders standing a few feet away. “Would you like to meet my friends?”

“Uh… I don’t…” Cotton began, looking up at me.

“It’s okay, Cotton,” I replied as I kneeled down. “Like I said, no one here will hurt you.”

“O-okay,” Cotton nodded as she hesitantly moved to meet the group.

“Just don’t leave the room,” I told the fillies as I noticed the almost boiling stares coming from most of the mane six as they stood beside my chimney.

“I’ll be just over there, Cotton,” I told her as I pointed to the girls, deciding that I should talk to them first.

“You wont leave… right?” She asked as she stood between me and the crusaders.

“Promise,” I smiled as Cotton suddenly rushed forward, kneeling down, she gave me a hug before carefully moving to meet the other fillies.

Standing back up and giving Zecora an apologetic smile, I moved over to the girls and was immediately assaulted with a flurry of whispered questions.

“Okay, okay, just calm down,” I quietly said as the room looked towards our group. After a few moments, the room turned to do their own thing of chatting and eating small snacks.

“Christopher, what happened?” Twilight asked, voicing the main question.

“Its… uh, bit of a story,” I sighed heavily. I was trying to think of a way to tell all of them what happened without actually telling them. I knew a few of them would make a scene if I said the wrong thing and I didn’t need rumors spreading about Cotton.

“Somepony hurt her, didn’t they,” Fluttershy’s quiet voice answered, drawing the looks of her friends. She had an almost emotionless look to her face, but I could see a bit of sadness in her eyes.

“Yes,” I nodded, drawing the wide-eyed look of the others. “If any of you feel that they may make a scene, please leave before that happens. I will explain more later, but not with so many around.”

Almost immediately, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash left through the back door. Their impassive looks changing to scowls as they exited.

Rarity looked towards Cotton, who was watching a strange reenactment of an adventure the other fillies had been on. She nodded once as she levitated a cloth to dab at her eyes before also leaving.

Applejack and Twilight turned away and began to whisper to one another as they made their way to a snack table.

Fluttershy flew up to me and kissed my cheek before making her way over to the group of fillies and watched over their little show.

“Heard what happened,” Gilda said as she walked up to me, Rachel and Valiant with her. “I overheard the princess and Derpy last night and told them. I hadn’t had the chance to tell the others though due to those damn bugs.”

“I also got a letter about it,” Valiant added as she spared a quick glance towards Cotton. “Princess Celestia wants an eye kept on her and to be notified if anypony comes asking about her. Things like that don’t happen in Canterlot and not be found without powerful ponies covering it up.”

“It doesn’t matter who it is, I’ll make sure they get what they deserve if I have too,” I commented. “So, I can count on all of you to keep an eye out then?”

“It’s a small town, so the news is gonna get out fast,” Gilda replied with a shrug. “So, you’ll have a whole town keeping an eye out for her soon enough.”

“Just gotta make sure no bad rumors start then,” I sighed. “The wrong thing said will just hurt her.”

“Ponyville is a good place, Chris,” Rachel said as she placed a paw on my shoulder.

“Right, right,” I mumbled as Rachel gave me a hug and Valiant and Gilda gave my arms a small punch.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Filthy Rich said as he made his way over to me with his daughter.

“No,” I replied as the three took their leave and decided to join Fluttershy. “Not that I don’t mind the company, but I’m surprised to see the two of you here.”

“Well, I just wanted to welcome you back to Ponyville after hearing what happened in Canterlot during the Gala,” Filthy began to explain. “Little Diamond here was beside herself with worry.”

“Daddy?!” Diamond shouted in embarrassment, glaring at her father. “You said you wouldn’t say anything!”

“Oh, it was a slip of the tongue sweetie,” Filthy apologized as he nuzzled his daughter.

“Uh… thanks,” I said, giving the two a nod.

“I would also like to congratulate you on your new position in town,” Filthy continued as he looked back at me. “Ponyville has been in need of a Warden for some time now and if you didn’t know, it’s the first step in getting some much needed expansions.”

“Oh, thanks,” I replied with a nod.

One of the things that Celestia told me during my training was that a Warden was needed if a small town had hopes to expand. It apparently had something to do with nobles or something that I really didn’t understand.

“I was just talking to the mayor the other day about it and I can guarantee you that she will be making a trip to see you soon if you don’t visit her first,” Filthy added with a chuckle. “Now, I hate to chat and run, but I need to return to the house before my wife requests far more than just a few repairs.”

“But daddy…” Diamond whined as she begrudgingly followed her father. She stopped for a moment at the door to wave goodbye before leaving though.

“This town is weird…” I mumbled as Zecora took this chance to greet me.

She said nothing as she looked me over for a moment, seeming to focus on something before giving me a nod and a smile.

“I am glad to see, that you are who you are supposed to be,” she told me.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” I asked looking down at her.

“When one takes the power of another’s soul…” Zecora began with an uncomfortable look. “They don’t always come back completely whole.”

“Oh…” I replied with my own uncomfortable nod.

“I do not know if you have been told,” Zecora began, looking at me with a stern expression. “But accepting another’s soul in such a way can be more idiotic then bold.”

“So, you read the papers too then,” I sighed.

“I was trained by one of the strongest Shaman of my kind,” Zecora began, tapping me in the gut. “I can easily see the slight alterations in your own soul that tell me that you almost died.”

“Oh…” I said, adapting wide eyes. I had forgotten that Zecora was a shaman.

“There is much I would still like to discuss,” Zecora said while giving a smile. “Come see me in my home when you have the time.”

With another nod, Zecora made her way out of the room and out of the house.

“That last part didn’t rhyme…” I said, my eyes locked on where Zecora had once stood.

If Zecora wanted to see me at one point though, I wasn’t against it. As a shaman, she could probably teach me a few things about my magic as well.

“Uhm… Christopher?” a voice called, drawing my attention to Aloe and Lotus. The two are stood behind me, both looking at me with obvious uncertainty.

“Ladies,” I nodded, turning to look at the two of them. “Nice to see the two of you.”

“It’s nice to see you to, Christopher,” Aloe said, giving me a smile as her sister began to look uncertain.

It was kind of obvious that there was something the two of them wanted to talk to me about, and I had a slight feeling that I knew what it was about.

“We were hoping to talk to you about something,” Lotus voiced, as a sad look overtook Aloe.

“This is about my job, isn’t it?” I asked, taking a shot in the dark.

The flinch the two mares gave told me all I needed to know.

I had missed a lot of work, even if it was excusable. I was also now feared by a good portion of ponies outside of Ponyville, and the spa was actually part of a chain franchise that was based somewhere else. While the spa in Ponyville did good business, it didn’t do well enough to fully support itself without outside help.

“We don’t want to do this…” Aloe sadly began. “But we are being forced to let you go by the owner.”

“I understand,” I replied, kneeling down and giving the two mares a hug. “If you haven’t already heard, I have a backup job now.”

“Oh, and what would that be?” Lotus asked as Aloe wiped a tear from her eye.

“You’re looking at Ponyville’s new town Warden,” I replied as I grasped the coin attached to my swords pummel. Celestia told me to keep it close by at all times since the coin was basically a badge of office. It could also do a few other things, but that wasn’t important at the moment.

“So, you’re not mad?” Aloe asked with a confused frown, her sister sharing her expression.

“No, I’m not,” I replied with a nod. “I honestly can’t thank you both enough for giving me the chance you did to begin with. So, I owe you both a good couple of favors, so don’t be afraid to ask, okay?”

Both sisters looked at me in complete shock for a few moments before looking at each other. After a seemingly silent conversation, the two rushed forward and wrapped me in a hug.

“Okay, Cotton,” I said as I led the filly to my man cave. The party was over and aside from the other house residents and Fluttershy, everyone else had left. “There is still one other individual left for you to meet.”

“W-who is it?” the filly asked, a slight bit of worry in her tired voice. It was getting late in the day and she had had a very intense couple of days.

“My pet,” I replied as we stood outside the door to the room. Before the party had begun, Derpy had locked Geralt inside the room because he tended to get a little too excited around mass amounts of guest. “His name is Geralt.”

“What is he?” Cotton asked, looking a bit less worried, but scared all the same.

“An Everfree Cave wolf,” I began, chuckling a little when I saw Cotton’s confused expression. “Just think of a pony sized dog.”

“T-that’s really big,” Cotton stuttered as she shrunk herself slightly.

“I promise,” I began taking a knee and looking down at Cotton, with a smile. “He’s completely safe and won’t hurt you.”

“O-okay,” Cotton nodded after a moment.

“All right then,” I said while standing back up and slowly opening the door.

Immediately, the large wolf rushed out of the room and reared up, greeting me like most dogs did when their owners left for a few hours.

This was one strange wolf.

“It’s nice to see you too, Geralt,” I greeted, ruffling the wolfs muzzle a few times before the wolf noticed our guest.

Before he could even move, I grabbed the back of his neck with on hand and wrapped the other around his snout.

Geralt immediately glared at me and began to growl as he noticed what I was doing, but a stern gaze from me caused him to silence himself soon after.

“Now than,” I began, looking the wolf in the eyes. “We have a new guest in the house and I’m expecting you to be on your best behavior, am I clear?”

Geralt simply growled as he looked at me with a clear “I’m not an idiot” look.

“Okay then,” I nodded, releasing the snout and letting the wolf drop back to the ground while still keeping a firm grip on the back of his neck for the moment.

Cotton involuntarily moved back, away from the wolf as he landed on his paws.

“Cotton, this is Geralt,” I introduced as the wolf looked at the filly. “Geralt, this is Cotton, our new house guest.”

“He’s really big,” Cotton almost whispered as she looked at the wolf.

“It’s okay, Cotton,” I said while using my free hand to beckon her closer. “Hold your hoof out so he can get to know you.”

“W-what?,” Cotton asked, turning her attention from the wolf to me. “Why?”

“It’s how canines get to know people,” I replied. “Or ponies in this case.”

While it took a minute or two, Cotton held out one of her hooves.

Geralt immediately leaned over and began to sniff the appendage. As he did his things, several odd expressions crossed his face before he simply began to rub his snout against the small hoof.

“He’s really soft,” Cotton commented as I released my hold on the wolf, watching as he laid down and allowed Cotton to pet him. “And really fluffy.”

“He’s just a big old fluff ball,” I said, giving the wolf an ear scratch. “He’s also one of my friends, so if you ever feel afraid, you can count on him to protect you.”

“Bark!” Geralt added, giving a nod to show that he would.

“Okay,” Cotton answered almost absent mindedly, still petting the wolf.

“Come on, let me show you where you’ll be sleeping until we can get you a proper bed,” I said, pointing to the stairs. I had talked to Derpy at the party and we had decided that Cotton would have the last free room of the house and would be sharing it with Dinky.

Until we got an extra bed for the filly though, she would use my room and I would take the couch again.

Making it to my room, I showed her the sparsely filled master bedroom as well as the path to the bathroom. I also showed her the door leading to the attic, Derpy and Dinky’s room and the room she would be sharing with Dinky soon.

“So, me and Dinky will stay in here?” Cotton asked as she looked over the empty room.

“If that’s okay with you,” I voiced. There was only one other free area in the house and that was a hidden basement I stumbled upon.

Defiantly not going with that one.

“Thank you,” Cotton said as she came over to me and hugged my leg, a small sob escaping her.

“It’s no problem,” I replied, reaching down and picking her up to give her a proper hug.

“Awww,” Derpy’s voice echoed as she entered the room, a small tray on her back. “That’s so cute.”

I just gave a small chuckle as I set Cotton down and watched what Derpy was doing.

On the tray were a few small pills and a glass of water. Most likely, it was the medicine the doctors had wanted her to take.

“Can you handle pills?” Derpy asked the filly as she set the tray down.

Cotton simply nodded her head as she quickly took her medicine.

“Okay then,” Derpy smiled as she took the tray. “I’ll make you and Dinky a snack and after, it’ll be time to get ready for bed, okay?”

“Okay,” Cotton nodded as Derpy gave her a small smile and left the room.

“Is there anything else you want to see?” I asked the filly while leading her out of the room.

“No…” Cotton said, with a slightly blank look, her eyes roaming the upstairs hall.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, easily noticing the look.

“Nothing,” Cotton replied as she began to head back down the stairs.

I just let out an internal sigh, knowing that life was going to be complicated for a while.

“That poor filly,” Fluttershy almost sobbed as she nuzzled my chest. It was late into the night and everyone else were in their rooms for the night with the exception of Dinky, who joined Cotton in my room.

“Can we not talk about that for now?” I sighed heavily, scratching at one of the mare’s ears absentmindedly. “I just want to think about something happy for a bit.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy responded as she looked up at me. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Why don’t you tell me about what happened while I was gone,” I replied. “I’m sure more happened outside of the Cake twins being born.”

“Oh!” Fluttershy chirped as she looked up at me with a new smile. “I watched the Crusaders the other night.”

“Really?” I asked, slightly surprised. “How’d that turn out?”

“It was… difficult at first,” Fluttershy replied as she thought about it. “But after we saved Twilight and Elizabeak from the cockatrice, everything turned out fine.”

I wanted to say something at that, more out of concern for her safety than out of the fact I basically knew what happened.

“Now, the Crusaders call me “The Stare Master”,” Fluttershy giggled. “I think it was good practice for when we have our own foal.”

“Right,” I replied, sighing internally. I had forgotten that the mare was dead set with getting pregnant soon with all the excitement that had been going on.

“The week after the Running Of The Leaves is when I enter my secondary heat, so you had better be ready,” Fluttershy told me with a deadly serious look. The creepiest part about it was how her eyes looked red for a brief moment as she said this.

“Scouts honor,” I replied with wide eyes, throwing up the hand symbol.

“Good,” Fluttershy smiled as she snuggled back into my chest.

“Uh… anything else happen?” I asked.

“Uhm… Rainbow Dash went to the hospital again when she hurt her wing doing a stunt,” Fluttershy replied without moving from my chest. “She found a book series she liked while she was there too.”

“Oh,” I nodded, staring up at the ceiling. I was kind of surprised that I had missed out on the sleepover and Hospital Infiltration incidents, but things do happen when I’m not around.

“Oh, I just remembered,” Fluttershy suddenly chirped, lifting herself from my chest and looking at me. “Cider season is right around the corner. Sweet Apple Acres makes the best cider and with Applejack being in the herd, we can probably get some!”

“I love apple cider!” I couldn’t help but voice out, remembering how I would buy gallons of the stuff when it was in season back in my world. It accounted for a good three quarters of my liquid intake for the time it was more readily available.

“So, does Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy giggled. “She drags me to the line that forms outside of Sweet Apple Acres almost every year.”

“And Nightmare Night is soon after that?” I asked, going over the calendar in my head as Fluttershy gave a nod.

By what I was able to piece together, about a week after the start of Cider season, was Nightmare night. A week or two after that, was the Running Of The Leaves followed by Fluttershy’s uterus.

After that though, I would have to leave for the tournament.

Being the Equestrian representative for the crown, I had to travel with Celestia to the location of this year’s tournament a good two weeks before the actual event. Celestia said that most Rulers arrived at that time to go over rules, prizes, as well as several other things that I kind of tuned out due to boredom.

“So, now that you’re the new town Warden, what do you have to do?” Fluttershy asked out of the blue.

“Basically, whatever I want unless I’m needed,” I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Twilight had told me a little more about Warden’s in a way that I understood.

Wardens were typically nobles that lived in the towns and cities as representatives to Canterlot and the government. They originally stemmed from the first noble rulers of the area until the land was taken back by the crown and given to the government.

Obviously, the nobles didn’t like losing their land, so they came up with this whole idea that every town needed a proper representative of the government. It just so happened that these representatives happened to be nobles who may or may not belong to the families who originally governed the land.

It made me wonder what the princesses had to do to get me the position.

“Tomorrow though, I have a busy schedule,” I said as I looked up at the ceiling. “Me and Derpy have to take Cotton to the hospital to set up a few things before she goes to work. After that, I should go see the mayor about whatever she may need and then, I have something I need to talk to Twilight about.”

“What do you need to talk to Twilight about?” Fluttershy asked as she looked at me with confusion.

“I have an idea for something that should be a major boon for me in the tournament,” I replied with a smirk. “I just want to talk to Twilight to see if my idea is even possible before I invest too much time into it.”

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked with eyes full of curiosity.

“I’ll tell you after I speak to Twilight,” I replied, kissing her forehead before leaning back in my chair. “Now, let’s get some sleep.”

“Hello again Cotton,” Twilight greeted as me and the filly entered the library. The mare stood in the middle of the room, reading several books at once while Spike was nowhere to be seen, possibly at school.

“H-hello…” Cotton meekly replied.

“Good afternoon, Twilight,” I replied while setting a small stake of papers down on a nearby table. It was a mix of medical forms from the hospital and a small stack from the mayor that I needed me to look over.

“Fluttershy stopped by earlier and said you wanted to talk to me about something?” Twilight voiced as she used her magic to mark and set down her books.

“Wow!” I heard Cotton breath as she watched Twilight’s magical abilities.

“Yes, I do,” I said while moving to a small stool to take a seat and placing Cotton on my lap. “While in Canterlot, I had to get a fitting for the armor I’ll be wearing to the tournament and while discussing some things about what I wanted with my armor, I came across something that I found interesting.”

“And what would that be?” Twilight asked as she summoned a roll of parchment and a quill, preparing herself to take notes.

“Well, you know how regular guard armor is enchanted to help guards look similar to one another?” I asked.

“Yes, its been a common practice for centuries,” Twilight nodded. “The princess told me that it was to help hid the identity of a guard so that their families couldn’t be targeted.”

“Right,” I agreed. “Well, I was told that the enchantment is applied directly to the armor and is possible because of the material it’s made out of. But what I found out was that it wasn’t always directly applied to the armor and used to be applied though enchanted gems.”

“They actually still use the gems in some cases,” Twilight added as an afterthought. “They hold a better charge then the armor.”

“Exactly,” I nodded as a smile began to develop on my face. “What I wanted to ask you was if you knew exactly what limits enchanting a gem can have.”

“Your going to have to be a bit more specific than that,” Twilight replied with an uncomfortable laugh. “Gem enchantment is a very large field of study, and while I do know a lot on the subject, I don’t think you want to sit here for several days going over what I already do know.”

“Well…” I said taking a moment to take in what she said and thinking of how I wanted to reply.

“You know how I can form items with my magic?” I asked, crating a small throwing knife in my hand as an example.

“Which is actually quite fascinating,” Twilight nodded as she took the blade in her magic and looking it over. After a few moments, it dissipated as I stopped focusing on it.

“Well, I can’t help but notice that it tends to take a good amount of concentration to do things like that, especially since I can’t cast spells like you or other unicorns,” I explained. “What I was wondering was, is it possible to use an enchanted gem to… I guess, store the items image in a way where all I have to do is supply the magic, allowing me to focus on other things fully.”

“Of course,” Twilight replied as if it were common knowledge. “Its actually how some unicorn officers carry their own weapons.

“One issue I know about though, is that there is a limit as to what can be stored,” Twilight continued as she summoned a few books from the shelves and looking through them. “Anything too large tends to degrade the gem and causes it become inactive quickly due to the amount of magic that has to be forced into the gem at a continues stream.”

“How large are we talking?” I asked, feeling a small prickling of disappointment. The idea I had was pretty big and I was sure that, even if it is possible to do what I had planned, it would take a lot of time. Too much time to repeat for every time the gem is used up.

“I think we have a process that could create something about as large as a pony right now,” Twilight replied while looking inside one book specifically. “And even then, the gem’s used for items that large are exceedingly rare and only last a few hours.”

“Damn,” I grumbled with a heavy sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Cotton asked.

“Well, I had a few ideas that I wanted to try with gems, but if the biggest thing I could get is pony sized, it really cuts back on what I had planned,” I replied.

“There are some theories that say that larger things could be crated with gems that were magically infused naturally,” Twilight began. “But natural magic stones haven’t been easily available for over a millennia.”

“So, if I can get a naturally occurring magical gem, it should be able to withstand holding something larger?” I asked, a small inkling of an idea popping into my head.

“Its just a theory right now,” Twilight replied as she looked over her books. “But with a high enough quality, you could probably fit something as large as a dragon and not worry about degradation. But the only kind of gem that I can think of that would be anywhere near that kind of quality…”

“Would be the Elements of harmony,” I finished, things finally clicking into my head and a plan quickly forming.

“What did you have for an idea to begin with?” Twilight asked. “Maybe if we work together, we can come up with a way to circumvent any restriction depending on your idea.”

“Sorry, Twilight,” I quickly said as I stood up, holding Cotton to my chest as I rushed to grab my papers and head for the door. “But I gotta go!

“Come to my house in a few hours with those gem enchanting books if you can though!”

“But what about-“ Twilight tried to call as I rushed out of the library back towards home.

“Where are we going?” Cotton asked as I rushed down the street.

“I need to head somewhere for a little while,” I said as my house came into view. “Derpy should be done from work, so do you think you can stay with her until I get back?”

“B-but where are you going?” Cotton asked as she looked up at me in worry.

“Not far, I promise,” I told her as I stopped outside of my front door. “But it will be too dangerous of a place to bring you.”

“Will you come back?” Cotton asked as she looked up at me from my arms.

“I promise,” I replied before walking inside.

“The staircase should be back over here,” I told Geralt as the two of us circled the old castle courtyard.

Geralt simply growled from behind me as I made my way towards the chasm’s side. After traveling the side for a few moments, I found the staircase leading to the depths and quickly began my decent.

After leaving Cotton with Derpy, I took Geralt with me and headed strait for the castle in the Everfree with the Tree of Harmony being my objective.

This would be the second time that I had gone to the tree, but instead of leaving something this time, I was hoping to take something.

“It really is cold in here,” I quietly commented to myself while we entered the large cavern that held the tree.

Walking up to it, I inclined my head to stare into the branches, specifically the sharp ends that would possible shift to hold all the elements someday.

My eyes then fell to the small box I had placed during my first visit at the base of the tree. It held my element and I had placed it here for protection, and if the small crystal roots that held the box sealed meant anything, the tree liked it.

“Are you really not even going to come in here?” I called as I turned to see Geralt standing outside of the cave entrance. He had done the same thing last time and I attributed it to the tree.

“Now then,” I sighed looking around the cave floor. My main hope was to find some shards of the tree on the ground, and I was sure that they could be used to make what I wanted.

But as I looked, I found nothing but dirt and smooth earth.

“Damn,” I grumbled before looking at the tree. The damn thing was made out of crystal and was obviously magical, so if I could use a pierce of it, I could probably make a very strong enchanted gem.

Walking back over to the tree, I looked up at it, trying to think of what to do.

“Uh… look… uh,” I began, addressing the tree, as if it were sentient.

Which it could very well be.

“This might seem weird but… can I get a branch?” I asked, looking at the tree with a bit of hope… and humiliation.

For several minutes, all I got back was the sound of the wind.

After a few minutes more, I began to think that this was a lost cause. But then I noticed something in the trunk of the tree.

There was a small bulge in the trunk I hadn’t noticed earlier and it seemed to be calling out to me.

“What in the?” I asked as I reached up to touch the bulge.

The moment my hand came into contact with the tree, I found myself in a completely new place.

“What the hell?!” I shouted, looking around my surroundings.

No longer was I in the cave with the tree, but instead, I found myself in a large crystal room. Six large chairs sat in the middle of the room, surrounding a large table that had a map of the world of Equestria.

“Is this where I think it is?” I asked as the creak of opening doors drew my attention to the rooms entrance. Turning towards the sound I watched as a set of double doors opened to reveal… nothing.

Past the double doors was nothing but an endless black abyss.

“What are you looking for?” a voice suddenly asked from beside me, shocking me and causing me to jump away.

“Who the hell?!” I shouted turning to look at who was with me.

“Oh, pardon my manners,” Slenderman said as he looked down at me, adjusting his tie as he stood fully.

“Oh, dear sweet go, I’m going to die!” I shouted as I tuned to bolt, only to run into Slenderman in the process.

“Please, Christopher, there is no need to run,” Slenderman said in a voice that was neither male nor female. “This is simply a form I believe better suits the purpose of our meeting without me being a blob of light.”

“And it knows my name!” I shouted in fear, my fight or flight response shifting to fight.

In an act that would disappoint my own mother, I began to blindly punch at the creature, not even bothering to add magic to the mix.

“Perhaps the blob of light would have been better,” Slenderman stated to them self as they effortlessly parried each strike with a single long finger.

This continued for a few minutes before I lost my footing and tripped forward.

“Careful there,” Slenderman said as it caught me by the back of my shirt before I could hit the ground. “This place may not be real but I would still feel bad if you got hurt.”

“Not real… what?” I muttered as I was placed back onto my feet.

“Yes,” Slenderman said as they brushed some dirt off my sleeve. “I made this place using some of your own memories so that we could talk properly. And I have to admit, I may just keep a few of these designs”

“But I was just in front of the Tree of Harmony,” I mumbled, hesitantly looking up at Slenderman. “Are you telling me that you are…”

“I am what they call the Tree of Harmony,” Slenderman replied, giving a shrug. “Or at least, that’s what the ponies call me.”

“WHAT?!” I shouted as I looked at Slenderman with a different look of fear now.

“You had a request of me, correct?” Slenderman asked. “Well, I’m willing to fulfil your request, for a price that is.”

“Wait, really?” I asked, my nerves settling slightly.

“Yes,” Slenderman nodded before beginning. “While you can’t have one of my branches, I am willing to gift you with three gems that should more than suit your purposes.”

“And in return?” I asked.

“For each gem, I will require you to do something for me,” Slenderman began to explain. “First, with the gems, you will receive a box. Under no circumstances are you to ever open the box.”

“And what am I supposed to do with it?” I asked.

“You will give it to… well, you don’t need to worry about that for now,” Slenderman waved off. “The box isn’t large, so just keep it with you at all possible times.”

“What else?” I asked, confused already.

“For a second gem, I ask that you relay a message to the alicorns Luna and Celestia,” Slenderman continued. “You will receive it along with the gems. It is not meant for your eyes.”

As Slenderman stated the last part, I felt a dull chill go through me and all I could do was nod.

“And for the final gem,” Slenderman began as they leaned in close to my face, a smile filled with razor-sharp teeth appearing on its otherwise blank face.

When I opened my eyes again, I was already back in front of the tree, a small crystal box in front of me.

Without saying a word, I opened the box and took out its contents.

Three dark red crystals, a fist size blue box and a small scroll were the only things I found inside.

A blue ribbon was wrapped around the scroll and had a golden seal with the image of the tree on the front.

“Just what have I gotten myself into?” I sighed as I pocketed the gems and box.

“Time to go Geralt,” I called as I exited the cave. I had some things to do.

Author's Notes:

Hello once again.
Like always, quote the title.

Hope you all had a good holiday and I wish you all a happy new years.