Following Pinkie into Sugarcube Corner, Fall looked at the menu and began to see what he could get to eat quickly and be out of Ponyville before word about him got out. It would be a terrible vacation if he had to look over his shoulders the entire time for the sun about to set his flesh on fire.

“Hey Harvest, is the trip you’re going on long?” Rainbow Dash asked him, causing him to refocus on the world around him.

“Oh yeah, pretty long, very far away,” he muttered still distracted before he realized what he had said.

“Oooo, we need to get you something big then, Harversty,” Pinkie Pie said, causing him to sigh internally at his slip.

“There’s no ne-” Fall began only for Pinkie Pie to disappear on him with Rainbow Dash dragging him off to a booth that was thankfully not in view of the street.

Settling down into his booth, he noticed it was really out of the way and the mare was giving him a glare.

Before he could even try to defuse the situation, the pegasus launched her assault.

“So who are you really?” she said sharply.

“What do you me-”

“I don’t buy the whole going off on vacation,” she snorted. “If you were really going on some trip, you’d have bags and stuff and an actual plan or stuff.”

“Rainbow Dash, I assure you,” he said in a tired voice, not really feeling the energy to lie. “I’m just a guy on vacation. A vacation I was forced to take after my boss literally shooed me out the door without any time to plan or pack; she didn’t even give me the chance to stop by my personal rooms to pick up anything besides my good looks.”

She rolled her eyes at him, clearly not convinced or impressed. “So you say,” she said, causing him to frown. These ponies today, they simply had no taste… “In any case, I don’t trust you.” She jabbed a hoof into his chest, making him snort.

“And is your trust something I should care about?” he brushed her hoof away. “As I’ve said multiple times, I don’t plan to stay here any longer than I need to.”

“And why is that, mister?” Rainbow Dash continued to glare at him. “Why are you so eager to leave? Why don’t you want to stay here?”

“Again, I don’t see how that is any of your business,” he shot back, eyes narrowed as he was tempted to lean on some of his power to cow her. Lords and Ladies of Loyalty were always a pain in the ass if they thought you were a threat; they would hound the perceived danger until either the danger went away, the danger was proven not to be a threat or their trusted friends convinced them to stand down. “So if you don’t mind…”

She continued to stare at him and seemed about to lecture him again when Pinkie Pie made her return with plates of what was clearly chocolate cake; oddly though, the insides seemed to be pink.

“Here you go Harvesty, and you Dashie,” she said as she put down the two plates in front of them.

“Thanks Pinkie,” Dash said, her concerns about him distracted by free goodies.

“Thanks,” he said as he began to put the food in his mouth, only to cough loudly.

“Are you okay?” Pinkie asked him as he thumped his own chest.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just went down the wrong pipe,” he lied as he spat out the food and quickly put it in a napkin, annoyed at himself for forgetting to fix his own taste buds so what he tasted wasn’t ash and gravel. One of the few downsides of being a Reaper was the inability to enjoy anything they ate.

Are you complaining about your lot, Fall Harvest?

Coughing again as he shook his head in the negative, he took the glass of water and washed his mouth out, then focused his magic inwardly, adjusting his taste buds to make sure this wouldn’t happen again.

Once he was certain he could taste normally, he took another bite, and his eyes lit up. “This is good,” he said. “Thank you very much, miss Pie.”

Pinkie beamed happily, and he sighed silently; hopefully now she would be satisfied once he finished his food.

An ear twitching as he spread his situational awareness out, hoping not to get caught off guard again like he had before, he spent the next several minutes quietly eating, enjoying the treats Pinkie had brought him. Finally, as he finished, he looked up at her. “Thank you again, miss Pie,” he said as he stood up. “I appreciate everything, but now I must be off. It’s a magical world, and I intend to go exploring.”

You got that from another, non-pony dimension, didn’t you?

Like I’m the only one who gets inspiration from things my fellow Reapers see in their off-time, he mentally shot back. Then he looked up, as he felt the presence of another Power approaching. There was also a smaller presence near it, not a Power but a mortal soul.

Turning his head to the door as it opened, he saw the two ponies enter, and let out a small smile; this explained what he had felt. As the small white filly rushed ahead to the counter, he let his eyes drift over the Lady of Generosity coming up behind her, appearing as her usual elegant self despite the look of resigned exasperation on her face, a look which shifted somewhat as Pinkie rushed up to happily greet her. He was about to make his escape when Dash called out, “Hey Rares, over here. Come join me and the new guy.” She then gave him a mischievous grin as Rarity turned to notice him. “What, I’m sure you can spend some more time here,” she said to him as the fashionista’s eyes went wide and all but darted straight to him.

“You just made a dangerous pranking foe,” he hissed at her as he wondered how quickly Rarity’s words would reach Canterlot.

“Bring it,” Rainbow Dash hissed back, then looked up with a smile as Rarity approached. “So, what’ve you been up to today?”

“Oh, just a few orders, watching over Sweetie Belle when she got home from school, and of course, laying eyes on this handsome young stallion here,” she said, the last in a rather seductive tone as she batted her eyelashes at him.

Fall’s eyes widened as it suddenly hit him. Oh buck.

Just one look, and she’s crushing on you. Helheim’s snickering was not helpful or appreciated.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure if Celestia’s rage would have been more terrifying than this or not. Either way, he needed to get out of here, now!

Just then, he felt a hoof on his wing, and he looked to see Rainbow Dash giving him a very serious look.

“Even think of trying to run or teleport away from my friend, and I’ll make sure you regret it,” she said in a quiet but very dangerous tone.

Reluctantly, Fall nodded, then turned back to Rarity. “So, miss…”

“Rarity Belle, darling,” she replied. “And you are?”

“Fall Harvest, miss Belle,” he said. “Just a normal working-class winged unicorn passing through town on vacation, nopony important.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’re anything but normal,” she said, still looking at him in that- gah! Mentally, he shook his head; she was way too young for him, and he desperately began to think in the hopes of coming up with some way of dissuading her from pursuing him. While he knew she was a good mare, he was not interested in somepony so much younger than him - say, there was an idea.

“Believe me, I am,” he said. “Not to mention the fact that, despite outward appearances, I’m old enough to be your father.”

That got Rainbow Dash’s attention, and she eyed him suspiciously. Rarity, on the other hoof, looked to be swooning even more.

“A mysterious older stallion that looks so young?” she flashed her eyelashes at him. “You must share your secrets with me; perhaps at dinner?”

“I am flattered, but I am afraid I must decline,” he said. “While I am certain you are a wonderful pony, I am not looking for companionship of the sort you desire to be; you deserve somepony who is… well, I don’t know quite how to describe them, but I assure you, whomever you find, they will be far more worthy of you than I am.”

Rarity looked somewhat taken aback by this, but before she could respond, he was already rising out of his seat, driven by a sudden urgency. “Miss Belle, miss Dash, Miss Pie, I bid you and your friends goodbye, I must be on my way now.”

With that, he hurried across the room, opened the door, and was just a few feet down the road when a loud voice sounded across from him, and he froze.

Turning his head to the side, he saw Twilight Sparkle staring straight at him before teleporting away and his senses told him that the other five Ladies that lived in Ponyville were in the vicinity. Knowing that things could get very unpleasant in the next few minutes, Fall Harvest shook his head and said,

“Shit.”