As the memories of our fillyhood flashed before my eyes, I couldn't hold back the single tear that sneaked its way onto my cheek... followed by another.

I close my eyes and sigh, taking deep breaths, before turning to face Sean. Remembering that he asked a question, I give him an answer.

"Yeah... yeah, we're still friends. And we always will be."

He nods his head, smiling. Then he gently scratches behind my ears, winning a weak smile from me.

"Then... why be mad? We should go find her."

I sigh, shaking my head.

"There's no way we'd be able to... she's currently being guarded by a zebra that has some kind of voodoo magic on her side. If we got too close, she'd just send us back again... and there's no telling what she'd do if she saw you of all people!"

He shrugs his shoulders. "Well... friends don't quit."

"There's dangerous creatures in that forest, though! I can handle them, but what about you?"

"You can handle them. So, I not afraid."

"But..." I begin, but he seems determined.

I then sigh, shaking my head. "Listen... I'll go find her. You stay here, and-"

"No. I go with." he interrupts.

"But... what if somepony sees you?!"

With another shrug of the shoulders, he replies, "Late at night. Ponies mostly asleep now."

He does raise a fair point, to be honest. Four eyes would be better than two... but even still, I can't help but wonder, and I ask him in person, "Why do you want to search for her?"

Then his next words catch me off guard. "You both are my friends."

I blink owlishly at him. "We're... your friends?"

He nods his head.

"But... all we did was hide you from the public eye! Heck, we whisked you away from your world! From your family!"

Closing his eyes, he sighs. "Well... not quite."

"What do you mean, 'not quite'?" I ask, now confused.

"Long story. I tell when both of you back together." he replies.

"Fair enough... then tell you what. How about we come up with a plan first, should a pony spot you?"

He rubs his chin in thought. "Are ponies all that there are?"

I shake my head. "Not exactly... to be honest, you kinda resemble a Minotaur... but missing your horns and your fur."

He then smiles. "Then I a minotaur to them."

I deadpan at him. "I said kinda. You lack the fur!"

"Shaving accident."

"And the horns?"

"... BAD shaving accident."

"Your face is also a lot flatter than theirs."

"... REALLY bad shaving accident."

"You... know what? Fine, then! Besides, most ponies around here probably don't know what Minotaurs even look like!" I concede. To be fair, though, I highly doubt most ponies in Equestria know what a Minotaur looks like, save for the princesses!

"So now we go?" he asks.

I nod my head. "Yeah... I guess we go, now."

And with that, I put a hoof on the door and close my eyes, taking a deep breath. Then, after saying a silent prayer to the Makers that nothing bad happens when I open up the door, I... well... open up the door.

Princess Celestia would be standing at the other side... FUCK!

"Hmm... I see. So this is the anomaly my sister mentioned." Princess Celestia says, as she eyes Sean up and down.

I sigh in mental frustration, nodding my head. "Yes, Your Highness... a-and I'll explain everything once we've managed to rescue Lyra from the Everfree Forest."

Princess Celestia raises an eyebrow. "Oh? You mean you haven't rescued her yet? I thought my sister said that you already went to save her..."

I place my hoof in my face and groan. "I tried to, but then a strange Zebra got in the way!"

"A... Zebra? Within the Everfree Forest?!" she asks, showing signs of surprise.

I nod. "Yes, Your Highness. She seemed to have extensive knowledge of that place. Far more than anypony I know, in fact. It's almost like she was born and raised within it!"

She rubs her chin in thought, before mumbling, "... So she is still around... color me impressed..." She then looks my way and frowns. "But I digress. If you need to return to the Everfree Forest, I can send in a small squad of soldiers to assist you."

I raise a hoof up. "As much as I appreciate the suggestion, Your Highness, I already have enough assistance." I then gesture towards Sean, who's only staring worriedly at Princess Celestia.

"Very well, then... in that case, I shall return to Canterlot for the time-being. However!" She looks sternly between us. "Once I return next time, I would like to have answers as to why you've hidden something this big behind mine and my sister's ears."

Her stern gaze is enough to break my defenses. Instinctively, I bow my head to the ground and shiver in fear. "Y-yes, Your Highness!"

She then nods her head and looks up at Sean, who appears to be doing a bow of his own, though only half as low as me.

"Hmm... you do not bow completely... why is that, if you don't mind me asking?" she asks him.

He leans back up and smiles nervously at her, scratching the back of his head. "P-permission to give the blunt, honest truth?" he asks her.

She tilts her head confusedly at him, before nodding her head. "Of course. 'Tis not an issue to me, personally, though most in Canterlot would've found it to be considered an insult."

"T-true, but... w-well..." he begins, before his legs begin to shiver.

He then clears his throat, while I listen in on his next phrase.

"Bon-Bon worked really, really hard to clean this floor, and... I'd really rather not risk pissing myself on it, right now."

At that, both Princess Celestia and I just stare slack-jawed at him - myself wondering why in Tartarus he used that kind of language in front of the Princess, and Princess Celestia for... some reason.

Then Princess Celestia covers her mouth and begins to shake. Finally, she bursts into a fit of laughter... something I for one didn't think I'd live to see, let alone hear.

She grips onto her chest with her hoof and keels over, letting the laughter out of her system, before tears begin to form in her eyes. To be honest, I can't tell if I'm looking at the Princess of the Sun, or a filly that just watched the funniest thing in the world fly by.

Is... is our ruler truly that humored by... vulgar language?

...

I've honestly given up at this point.

"Oh... oh, dearest me! I hope I did not leave that sort of impression on you, young one! It's just that... well, there are some kinds of risks involved with summoning beings from another world, let alone universe!" she clarifies once she's able to breathe again.

She then turns around and begins to head out. "But don't worry... you have nothing to fear of me. I only wish for what's best for my subjects... and seeing how you're amongst us now, that also goes for you, too. Be well, and good luck finding your friend."

As Sean and I make our way over into the Everfree Forest, he looks up and around the surrounding area. I, however, begin to grow a bit more curious about something else that occurred while the Princess was present.

"So you can speak fluently, now? How is that so? You were speaking almost like a Cave Pony since you've learned, up until that point!"

He scratches the back of his head, seemingly as confused as I am. "I'm not sure, really. It's... probably gonna sound strange, but to me, it felt as if she were slowly radiating some wisdom towards me... intentionally or not, I can not say."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "So she used her magic to help you better understand the Equish Language?"

He sighs, shaking his head. "Actually... it may seem a bit odd, but I don't think she was the one using magic here."

"What do you mean by that?" I ask, now growing even more curious.

He rubs his chin in thought and looks up. "To be honest... it may have something to do with that conversation Princess Luna and I had while you were out. I felt as if I were reading into her knowledge on the language, all while merely looking into her eyes."

"Wait, so you can read minds?"

He shakes his head. "Not exactly. Close, but... I think it's more along the lines of 'I can expand my current knowledge of a subject at a prolonged glance, so long as I have the basics figured out'... if that makes sense."

"Erm... not really."

He then places his hand on his forehead and hums. "Hmm... think of it like this. You and Lyra taught me the basics. You gave me the pieces of a puzzle, but it wasn't formed yet. I had a bunch of pieces still scattered around on a table. When I saw Princess Celestia, no, when I looked her in the eye, those pieces quickly merged into one within seconds. Before I knew it, the whole puzzle became one clear picture."

I rub my chin with a hoof. "Hmm... that would explain why you spaced out there... but how are you able to understand all this?"

"My wi... erm... my former wife's teachings, mostly. She helped me understand the theories and principals of all kinds of strange things, including magic and magic theory. Granted, none of it was real in our world, but it was still a fun thing to do together." he says with a smile.

Then it hits me. He said former wife... does that mean that...

"I... had no idea. I'm... I'm sorry." I tell him.

He shakes his head again. "Oh, don't be! It's... not really my wife, or rather, she was only partially my wife... I'll explain when we get to Lyra."

I sigh. Guess that's all I'm going to get from him for now... but it'll have to do.

To be honest, though, I'm actually glad to know I'm not dealing with a total nimrod for once. My life has been revolving around Lyra for so long, I guess I'm just not used to having a civilized conversation with someone of an actually adequate IQ, let alone someone that's, up until this point, been mumbling and speaking like a Neighanderthal.

Then, as we both begin to say something else, we're cut off by the sound of a growl.

Author's Notes:

Yes, this one was kinda rushed. I wanted to get something out for the New Year, though!

Don't worry, I'll try harder on the next chapter!