Of all the things she could have noticed and all the questions she could have asked, Benny had to try and explain this?

Looking down at the pink pone, Benny was angry at himself for not hiding it better and sounded just as disappointed for having to deal with it.

"What did you say?"

Hearing Benny's question felt like all the balloons on Pinkie's cutie mark had floated into her chest and burst.

"You just... I mean—"

Desperate, she dropped the fake smile and went straight to desperate pleading.

"I'm sorry, BenBen. I see you happy and smiling when you're with your friends or talking to somepony, but as soon as you think nopony can see you—" She dropped down to her belly and looked up to Benny with the saddest eyes the concentrated pink fluff of chaos could produce. "I thought I could make you happy while you're here. But then, every time I see you looking so sad when no pony else is around... Am I doing something wrong?"

Benny facepalmed and turned away in disgust at himself, uttering his shame and disappointment quietly, "God fucking damn it. Just…"

With a heavy sigh, Benny decided to do what he could with the shit situation he found himself in and hollered up the stairs, "Yo! Cerb! I'm heading out back to burn the trash! I got it from here!"

Cerb shouted back, "Read you loud and clear, Squid!"

There on the floor, Pinkie lay motionless like a puppy waiting for punishment from Benny.

Benny hoped this would take care of both issues and said, "Pinkie... grab a bag of trash, and we'll talk outside."

No words were spoken on the short trek from the house. Not until Benny passed the first bath tent and saw the backhoe parked next to the hole Pinkie dug for Cerb.

"Pinkie? What is that, and where'd it come from?"

"That's uh—" Pinkie was still just as much in the dumps as she was while in the kitchen and was slow to find the answer. "Cerb was digging really slow, so I thought that would be faster to use something with a backhoe."

"Yeah... I could see that," Benny admitted but decided not to pursue the 'where' question, knowing he wouldn't get a good answer anyway.

On the way, Benny grabbed an armful of sticks to make sure the fire would burn nice and hot. All the better to rid them of the evidence of animal slaughter committed in the pursuit of a meal or two. At least, that was the plan.

Starting with the first bag of mostly paper garbage under the pile of sticks he threw on, one match was struck, and the fire was at a steady blaze in only a few short minutes.

Having that time to mull over his thoughts, Benny reasked Pinkie's question.

"So... you want to know why I'm so sad all the time?"

Pinkie had been unusually quiet waiting, and sounded just as depressed as she looked.

"I just want to see you smile, BenBen. I hate seeing any pony or human sad." She lowered her eyes to the fire billowing up in front of them. "And seeing you sad is painful."

"Do I look that bad?" Benny asked, half-joking.

"No. I mean, yes. I mean, no. I..." Pinkie was getting too caught up in the semantics and had to reorientate herself. "It makes me sad to see you so unhappy, but... I feel my heart hurt when you look away, and you remember all your bad thoughts."

Benny started to apologize.

"I'm sorry, but you're not going to be able to fix this for me."

"What do you mean I can't?" Pinkie protested with hurt in her voice which was undeniable. "You haven't even let me try. How can you say I can't?"

"Don't think you can't help, Pink. Believe me, you do," Benny countered with a weak smirk. "If you haven't noticed, we all have a lot of issues."

Pinkie forced a grin.

"Well, that's kind of why I'm here, silly."

"Yeah," Benny answered with a weak laugh. "That you are..."

A moment of silence fell over the two again. Benny was still trying to figure out his own mental mess while Pinkie was fidgeting and struggling to find the words to start the conversation up again.

Benny finally broke the silence as the flames died down.

"It only happens when I'm alone." He threw the first bag of spoiled food on the fire. "That's why I listen to my music so much... Call it music therapy. Helps me not to focus on the bad memories."

"About the lady?" Pinkies asked, though her voice trailed off as she was still cautious not to bring up what he told her the night Kelly was stabbed. "Like those kinds of memories?"

"Those and more than a few others," Benny replied.

"I, uh... I want to help, BenBen," Pinkie offered cautiously. "But I don't want to make you mad or make you sad again like last time."

Benny didn’t have any sudden reactions to the reminder, choosing to quietly watch the flames dance before responding.

"Maybe with time, I can open up more... But despite everything I've been able to get over, there's so little I've been able to get away from… Some things are going to haunt me no matter what I do."

"You're haunted?" Pinkie exclaimed. "Like people ghost?!"

Benny rolled his eyes and rocked his head back with a sigh.

"No. Not real ghost. It's just an expression. You have to know that."

Pinkie shrugged.

"Yeah, I figured as much. Just had to be sure."

Benny chuckled.

"Pinkie, do you think about these jokes you make, or is it more of just a stream of consciousness, and you let the words happen with you?"

"Hmm..." Pinkie hummed quietly with a smile as she thought. "A little from column A, a little from column B."

Benny snickered.

"Yeah, I figured as much. Just had to be sure."

Pinkie doubled over laughing, rolling in the grass. Benny couldn't help but think how contagious her laugh was. In only a few short moments, he was laughing along with her.

Sniff and Twilight exited the boutique, with Twilight gingerly trotting off ahead.

"Thanks again, Rarity. I'm still waiting to hear back from the other kingdoms to see if they'll send any representatives over for the exchange. Hopefully, they'll get here in time for you to get everything completed for the tour."

Rarity followed the two out to the door.

"Of course, darling. I always enjoy a challenge."

Sniff started up another conversation with the Princess as they started off for the hospital.

"So... Feeling any better about this whole setup?"

"Yes," Twilight answered with the utmost cordial of a response. "With any luck, this could really help improve international relationships with the surrounding kingdoms in ways the older trade agreements never could have. Maybe even better than our original outreach to teach them about the magic of friendship."

Sniff chuckled to himself.

"I think you might be setting your expectations a little too high. We're not giving them the cure for cancer."

"Cancer?" Twilight tilted her head.

"Oh, crap," Sniff replied. "Uh... Cancer is a disease for us?"

All of Twilight’s nerd senses were tingling.

"Like Becky's lungs?"

"Sorta," Sniff answered but quickly thought to correct himself. "Actually, no. Becky's condition is genetic. Something she was born with that only gets worse with time. Cancer can be something people are genetically dispositioned to but is also caused by harmful environmental conditions or toxins."

Another cause for concern for Twilight to grow weary about.

"So, any human can have that disease?"

Sniff answered with no enthusiasm.

"Yes, and it's actually a general term for any number of the different types of cancers there are."

Growing more curious about yet another hardship his species had to deal with, Twilight asked, "Well, how many are there? And how does it affect those infected with it? And is there a cure?"

Sniff looked down at the Princess, a neutral expression on her face, but also appearing deeply attentive to what he would say next.

"Man, " he shook his head, laughing a little at her thirst for knowledge. "I might have to start carrying around a notepad of my own just to keep track of your questions."

"Sorry," Twilight apologized with a bashful grin.

"Nah, you're fine," Sniff went on to say. "Let's see. Umm... As for how many? Probably in the hundreds. Each one forming in different parts of the body... As for how it affects them... That's a little harder to explain. Might need Becky to give a better description of it. But essentially, the cells in our body will start recreating themselves with faulty genetic codes, which changes how they work or make them not work at all. Normally, the body will see those bad cells and shut them down before they do any harm. But when the body doesn't, or can't, those bad cells start to spread and make whatever organ they're affecting stop working."

The darker the explanation became, the lower the tone Twilight’s voice took.

"What parts of the body can they infect and cause to stop working?"

Sniff answered blankly, "Literally any organ. Skin, eyes, bones, muscles, intestines, heart, lungs, the brain. There's no restriction to where cancer can form or spread to."

Another heavy dose of the human's reality hit Twilight.

"But if the cancer can stop those vital organs from working?" She left her question open for Sniff to answer.

"Yeah," Sniff bobbed his head with his response. "Cancer can be fatal if left undiagnosed for too long or if it goes untreated."

Sounding more optimistic, Twilight asked, "So, there is a cure?"

"Not always," Sniff answered. "There's a bunch of medicines and treatments or surgeries we have that can reverse certain cancers, or straight up, cut them out of the body. But not all types can be removed or treated. Cancer is still one of the biggest killers we deal with."

Any optimism she had was gone, and with a heavy heart, Twilight asked, "Just how common is death where you come from? I know you and your friends all shared your stories about friends and family members you've lost... but... is it that common for other humans?"

"Depends," Sniff answered briefly before taking a moment to think on how to best explain this to her.

"Some people can go late into their twenties or thirties before they have someone they personally know die. Others might lose their whole families when they're just kids. Or, be like some of us where we started losing most of our friends and family in our late teens or twenties. But in a world full of billions of us, death is just another part of life... as backwards as that sounds."

Twilight was silent and seemed to be walking on autopilot.

Sniff raised an eyebrow to his now silent companion.

"Twigs?"

Twilight repeatedly blinked before shaking her head like she was waking from a dream.

"Peter... I'm sorry, but after all the jokes you've played on me, I'm having a hard time believing everything you've just told me now. If you're trying to have another laugh at my expense, please tell me that it's just a joke."

"No," Sniff calmly answered. "Cancer's a real thing. I'm serious. You can ask Becky about it later. I promise this isn't another stupid test."

"Right," Twilight answered, still sounding like she was in doubt. "Given Becky's condition, I can believe that. But I was referring to the.... billions of us part you mentioned. There can't possibly be that many of your species. That... I mean... how?"

"Really?" Sniff scoffed with a relieved smile. "Out of all the things you've come learn about us, that's a shocker to you?"

Again, Twilight didn't answer.

Sniff sighed, knowing his prior antics would leave her doubting him at some point.

"Yes. I'm telling you the truth. There are billions of humans back on Earth. I don't know how many of you ponies live outside of this town or Canterlot, but we've spread across every continent and island or landmass big enough to live off of."

The logistics for this to work was nearly shutting Twilight's brain down, and her reply was glitching like a broken record.

"That's... That's... That's...."

"Twilight," Sniff spoke with a calm yet firm voice. "Come on. Use your words. This can't be that big of a deal."

Twilight looked up to Sniff with eyes that shone with the same awe-inspired wonder of seeing the strings that bound the many dimensions together with Discord.

"Peter... There isn't a species in all of Equestria that has a population that high."

Sniff smiled but also looked like he thought Twilight was messing with him.

"Really?"

"No,” Twilight declared but then had a technical footnote to add. “Well... Maybe ants or some other insects. But certainly not any of the intelligent species."

At this point, there was no reason for Sniff to think he was getting joked with, but he still seemed as surprised as she had been.

"Seriously? Which one has the most?"

Twilight was still trying to process a race with such a high population and struggled to pool her thoughts together.

"There are ponies that live outside the borders of Equestria, but even still, our census has us only in the tens of thousands at most. The Griffons might have surpassed us in numbers many moons ago, but they likely haven't recovered enough to bring their numbers up out of the single thousands. Yakyakistan has even less. And the dragons, even for as strong as they are, they might only be able to match the kind of numbers Yakyakistan has been able to manage."

Twilight raised her wings to massage her temples, trying to further explain her world's populations.

"There are other kingdoms farther beyond our borders. Minotaurs, centaurs, and the many other races in Abyssinia. Some of them might be in the thousands, but many are only in the hundreds, according to everything I've read. But even collectively, all our races combined wouldn't even come close to reaching a million! And your race is in the billions!"

Sniff took in her exposition and thought on it before raising his eyebrows and shrugged.

"Okay. I guess I can see the shock value in that."

"Shock value!" Twilight protested. "That's theoretically impossible for a species of your size to be so numerous! And for there to be over billion!"

Twilight suddenly realized she was missing some clarity on the subject.

"Just how many billions, exactly?"

Sniff thought back to one of the marketing ploys he gave about expanding a company's market to new demographics.

"Umm, I remember looking it up, but don't remember the exact estimate. Just a little over seven billion. And, no. Not joking."

Twilight was still trying to wrap her head around a population that large living together.

"I just... What keeps your human society unified?"

Sniff started to laugh again.

"Okay, Twigs. You have no idea how big of a conversation you just accidentally started. Believe me, I don't care how long this walk is gonna take us. Between there and back, I don't have the time to even properly begin to explain how un-unified, if not segregated, we are."

Twilight was still couldn’t get over the logical discrepancies and continued to pry.

"But... How can there be billions of humans if they're not even harmonizing with each other? That's the only reason Equestria has been able to grow and be as successful as we are."

There honestly wasn't enough time for Sniff to even scratch the surface of this topic, but he could think of one thing to calm her questioning for the time being.

"Chris said that your kingdom formed a long time ago after feuds between all three pony types stopped and they all started to work together and did the whole friendship is magic thing. Right?"

If this was leading up to an explanation, Twilight would humor him.

"Yes, but that was very long ago, and dealt with the mistrust between the different types of ponies. You're all human."

Sniff played coy and answered, "True. But we're not all the same race."

Twilight almost yelped out her reply in surprise, "You're not?"

"No," Sniff stated bluntly. "See, for all of you, you have five races of ponies. Earth, pegasus, unicorn, zebra, and alicorn. All are easily distinguishable from one another by your physical traits. And as far as I can tell, you all seem to have the basic body types, just like us. But you all also have the same different colored coats and manes. Except for the zebra's, I think. But otherwise, you can't look at a pony's fur by itself and say what type of pony they are. For humans... Some scientists say there's only three races of humans from origin, but more specifically, we have about eight major races of origin with major populations to influence the gene pool. And if, no offense, you consider alicorns as outliers, since there's, like, all of four or five of you, that really leaves only four pony races."

Twilight struggled to follow along but thought she could see what he was getting at.

"Eight races would be double the amount of races we had trying to work together, but that can't explain why humans can't achieve it."

"Also, true," Sniff agreed. "However, while all eight races have the same basic human form, our skin color, and some facial features are pretty much unique to each race. That's why the seven of us here don't have the same skin color, and our faces are so different from each other."

Twilight's nerd powers began to reactivate.

"That's... so incredible. I can't believe I didn't realize that the physical traits you all have were all products of racial diversity among your species."

Sniff was happy to see her finally starting to get it.

"Yep, and now, you break up the billions of people into smaller groups of millions and give them all different countries and kingdoms. Then give all those nations different environments to live in and languages to speak. Keep in mind that they all have their own cultures, customs, traditions, social value systems, religious beliefs, as well as some wealth and resource disparities. Take all that on top of looking differently from one another in ways that go far beyond just a horn or wings... It's actually a wonder our species hasn't died off because of how different we are from each other."

Twilight was able to follow that logic, although it didn’t explain seven contradictions she could already point out.

"But... Then how did you and your friends get together and become so close?"

Another simply phrased question that Sniff had to give a complicated answer to.

"Well... over the last century or so, a lot of our countries were able to get together and find enough common ground to stop going to war with each other all the time. Especially our country, America. America's been called the melting pot of the world. All different races and cultures moved there to find a better life. And no, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Lots of prejudice and atrocities happened amongst the groups. And not all the prejudice is gone, sadly. But overall, the overwhelming majority of us get along because we have common values we share. Kinda like how you ponies come together for friendship."

That gave Twilight a little more hope, so she asked cautiously, "So, humans can find harmony together?"

"We do, and we don't," Sniff regretfully admitted. "Part of the problem is that while so many of us share common values, our population is so big, and we're spread out so far that different societies and social norms form that still keep us divided. Or at least to a certain degree. But for me and my friends, we all lived in the same area, spoke the same language, and... I dunno what actually brought us all together or even really kept us all so close."

Twilight made a sour face and questioned his memory.

"You don't know why you all became friends?"

"No," Sniff refuted himself momentarily. "It's more of... I just went into that whole big speel about how similarly-minded groups stay and work together. But all of us are so... drastically different from each other."

Twilight didn't seem to agree.

"I don't see much of a difference in how you all act. You all seem just as accepting and friendly as the next."

There was so much more to it than that, and Sniff wasn’t entirely sure how to put it into words.

"Yeah, there's that. But... we all came from entirely different social groups when we were younger. Very different backgrounds and family dynamics. Our music interest, genres of entertainment, athleticism, education, and even our fields of occupational interest were, and in a lot of ways still are, so different. Even thinking back to the conversations we've had over the years about how we became friends, we all had completely different reasons for hanging out with each other."

Twilight walked a little closer to Sniff and offered some friendly insight.

"You know, in my experience, it's the differences in us that makes us appreciate each other."

Sniff looked down at Twilight and her cocky grin and shot her one back.

"Sorry, but I think we're a lot different from you in that regard."

Twilight thought Sniff should know better by now.

"Uhh, hello? Equestria to Peter? This is the Princess of Friendship you're talking to. I would think I have a pretty good idea on how friendship works."

Sniff couldn’t ignore that fact, but he still scoffed out a playful laugh before further trying to make his point.

"I don't think our differences, or any type of appreciation for the things we didn't have in common, is what made us such good friends."

Now it was starting to get to Twilight, and she asked, somewhat indignantly, "Then what do you think brought you all together?"

"Honestly?" Sniff reflected on the shared past he had with his friends. "One by one, our lives started falling apart. And each time another piece fell, we were there for each other to pick up the pieces. And... if anything, especially for me and Lumberman, it's that we cared about each other in spite of differences we had."

Twilight replied slowly, "I... don't think I understand."

One quick memory check of this princess and her best friends, as he remembered being explained to him by Chris, gave him the answers he needed.

"Twilight... can you honestly say that you like any of your friends because of something they do or something they are, that you're not?"

Twilight scoffed.

"No. I don't just like them because they have a different background than me or happen to have different interests. They're all amazing ponies."

Sniff countered, "And what about their bad habits that you don't share?"

Twilight practically sneered out her response.

"What kind of bad habits?"

Having her in the proper defensive mode, Sniff had her right where he wanted her.

"Uh, let's see. Rarity has her vanity. Pinkie Pie has almost no understanding of personal boundaries or socially acceptable behavior. Rainbow Dash is quick to anger, and Applejack has her pride. Fluttershy—"

"Hey!” Twilight snapped at him. “No pony is perfect, you know. And I seem to remember a lot of bad habits you showed up here with."

Sniff answered as if he just caught her in his trap.

"And we all overlooked them, didn't we?"

"Well—“ Twilight could tell she walked into some kind of logic trap but didn’t know what it was yet. ”Yes.... I mean. Wait? What kind of point are you trying to make?"

Dropping the I gotcha attitude, Sniff explained, "We all, at some point, have to acknowledge our faults. Either the ones we gave up or the ones we haven't learned to stop doing. And believe me, all my friends had major faults that should have kept us apart while growing up. But, I think the fact that we knew how different we were from each other and didn't care is what made us realize how good of friends we were. If it meant overlooking so much bad and still caring enough to be there for each other, we had every reason to stay."

"Well..." Twilight realized she didn't have any direction to take from this part of the conversation.

Sniff had a slight shift in his posture, standing a bit taller for some reason, and started to go into some back story.

"Did you know that when we were growing up in grade school that Cerb was a bully?"

That statement made Twilight jump slightly, and she took a step away from Sniff.

"Cerb? A bully? But... he's so nice and gentle with every pony he meets?"

Sniff huffed.

"Yeah, now he's all nice. But growing up, that dude was a menace. Teased just about anyone and everyone. And he was constantly picking fights. And I mean fistfights. Chris was an even bigger dork as a kid. Not that I don't love the kind of dork he is, but he got no love from the other kids besides us. Oh, and Lumberman? When he finally showed up... Just the most obnoxious belligerent punk you have ever met."

Twilight looked on in disbelief. What Sniff was describing was nothing like how they presented themselves now.

Sniff continued with one more admission of fault.

"Even me. I was an elitist, for lack of a better word."

Cautious of where this story might lead, Twilight softly asked, "So, what brought you all together?"

Time for another trip down memory lane with Sniff to narrate.

"Benny, Chris, and Becky had been friends from the get-go. And back when it really started, I had nothing to do with them. And since I assume, that's the hospital just ahead of us," Sniff pointed to a large building with the words Ponyville Hospital written in big, bold letters. "I'll sum it up as it's because Cerb picked a fight for all the wrong reasons but saved Becky from getting seriously hurt, if not something worse."

Twilight opened her mouth to ask a question but for some reason, failed. Either she couldn't remember what it was she was thinking or lacked the words needed to articulate her question.

For Sniff, it looked like he had left a little too much unsaid or too depressing of an ending and offered something to cheer her up.

"Let's just say Cerb found his purpose in life that day." He glanced down to verify her smile and gave her a wink. "It's actually a good story. The best parts are with me, obviously. But that's a story for another day."

Twilight slowed down and seemed to get lost in her thoughts but smiled even brighter at the funny correlation she had just realized.

"I'm guessing it was fate that must have brought you all together. The rest of the girls and I all have a backstory linked together from Rainbow Dash coming to Fluttershy's rescue. This can't be a coincidence."

"I don't know what to say," Becky was becoming more anxious the more she contemplated the offer she was given.

Across the table, Shining Armor made another attempt to entice Becky.

"I have the utmost faith in my sister to take care of you and your friends. But as of right now, she seems to have her hooves full. And the Crystal Empire has doctors with knowledge of ailments from over a thousand years ago, as well as some of the best modern doctors and medical knowledge."

Cadance interlocked her fetlock over Shining's hoof.

"We're hoping that Cerberus would be willing to join us as well. And if you were to join him, we think he would be more comfortable knowing that he had a friend there with him that he trusted. Plus, from what we've come to know of him, we're certain he would rather be there to ensure you had a friend that you could trust and watch over you."

Unseen by any of the others in the room, Becky had her hand held tightly around Rainbow Dash's forehoof under the table.

Rainbow Dash could easily see why and was ready to help her out.

"Excuse me, Princess. And you to Shining. Umm—" Rainbow Dash had to think of what to say to help her friend out of this situation. "The thing is, Becky, has barely had the chance to get settled in properly. She barely even knows anypony. And neither do any of her friends. Plus, after what happened to Kelly, I've been the only pony she's really been able to trust enough to be away from her friends with."

Was that really the best she could come up with?

Cadance happily countered with a better offer.

"We'd be more than happy to have you come along with us as well, Rainbow."

Rainbow Dash could have bucked herself for not seeing that coming.

"And-and I'd love nothing more than to come along. But what with being the weather mare and Wonderbolt training—"

Shining was quick to add on to the deal.

"I have nearly an entire platoon of former and reserve guards in Cloudsdale that direct the weather who could fill for you while you're gone."

Cadance spoke up again to sweeten the deal.

"And we wouldn't want you to lose any of your training time for the Wonderbolts. We have a reserve unit of the Wonderbolts we could have you train with while we're tending to Becky."

Rainbow Dash was searching for another excuse, but Cadance had something else to add that she knew would be tempting to Rainbow Dash.

"Plus, since it's a reserve unit, they'd be training with active-duty Wonderbolts. So, you'd be training alongside them, not just under them."

Rainbow Dash was being offered up her greatest weakness, to train with the Wonderbolts. Fly with them. Learn with them. Get one step closer to her dream... but her loyalty was already with Becky. There was only one trump card left for Rainbow Dash to play.

With no sound of urgency in her voice, Rainbow Dash gave her last excuse.

"I have a lot of laundry to do?"

Suddenly that trump card was feeling more like the Joker card. Or maybe even that rules card that no one ever reads. As a matter of fact, name any card that’s useless. That was the card she just played.

Before Rainbow Dash's last rebuttal could be countered, two loud beeps from a vehicle could be heard just outside. Then another beep followed by one short beep and one long beep. Then it was as if someone was playing drums on the horn.

Becky stood up from her chair.

"Uh, Princess, excuse me for a moment. That isn’t normal for my friends to do. Can you follow me out, Dashie?"

Practically jumping out of her seat to fly ahead, Rainbow Dash eagerly answered, "Yeah, of course.”

Cadance and Shining turned and looked at each other. They were in a battle emotionally over being more concerned for what trouble Becky's friends might be in or if they were going to fail to convince Becky and Cerb to join them in the Crystal Empire. Either way, they would have to see what the commotion was.

Outside, the beeps hadn't stopped. Only short breaks taken between the next set of randomly spaced-out short and long beeps. Thankfully, the cause of the disturbance was comical at its worst, hilarious at its best.

Rainbow Dash fluttered in mid-air over the steps outside the castle doors, biting her lip and trying not to laugh. Becky had her phone out and was recording the circus act taking place in front of them. Even Cadance and Shining had to stop and take in the sight.

What they saw was nothing more than Applejack, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Lumberman taking turns pulling Flurry Heart away from the driver's seat, only to have her fly off or teleport back and play with her new favorite toy.

*Honk! Honk! Honk-Honk-Honk-Honk! ... Hoooooooooonk!*

"Need a little help there, Apples?" Rainbow Dash asked, with no intent to provide any.

Looking toward the sound of the voice, Lumberman saw the crowd of useless onlookers.

"The one thing that can't be turned off on my truck is the damn horn. And Flurry Heart is just in love with the thing now."

Despite the disappointment of the failed attempt to convince Becky to join Cadance and himself in the Crystal Empire, Shining had to laugh at the display.

"Okay, Flurry Heart. That's enough. Come to Daddy."

Between the sporadic beeps from the truck's horn, Flurry Heart managed to hear Shining call out to her. She looked up to see the audience she had created, and her eyes immediately lit up.

A quiet pop and a flash had Flurry Heart teleport out in front of the truck and had her flying up to the steps with her forehooves stretched out.

Shining called out in a cutesy voice, "Awe. There's daddy's little girl."

He reared up with his forelegs opened wide to bring her in for a hug.

Flurry Heart flapped faster and started to veer right.

"Dolly!"

With a dull thud, Flurry Heart plowed into Becky's chest and wrapped herself around her favorite living doll, nuzzling in close and cooing with all the fun-loving baby noises one would expect.

Cadance giggled and gave a playful nudge to Shining.

"Daddy's little girl?"

Becky cradled Flurry Heart and slowly rocked her side to side.

"It's okay, Shining. We all know you're her favorite dad."

Shining looked away with a bashful smile and shrugged it off like it was a compliment.

"Well, I am a pretty cool dad, after all."

Cadance chuckled and let the joke fly over his head.

Rainbow Dash was laughing to herself but was then fixated on how attached the royal foal and her best human friend were.

"You know, Becks. If you ever do go to the Crystal Empire, Sun Burst is gonna get fired if you keep that up."

"Whaaaaaaaat?" Becky jokingly replied, feigning surprise. "No... No... Maybe... Does that pay well?"

Cadance snickered.

"Well, unfortunately, Sun Burst has been doing a fine job. So I can't very well just replace him. However, if you do decide to take us up on our offer, I'm sure taking on some foalsitting responsibilities while you're there would warrant some compensation."

Lumberman walked up the steps and gave a confused look between Cadance and Becky.

"Going where?"

Becky readjusted Flurry Heart in her arms and had to push away one of the hooves pawing at her face.

"Cadance and Shining have offered to help find a cure for me and help Cerb with his nightmares."

Lumberman raised his eyebrows.

“Oh?"

Becky intentionally waited to tell him the kicker.

"In the Crystal Empire."

Lumberman tried to remember what Chris had mentioned about that place.

"And that's where... exactly?"

Rainbow Dash finally fluttered down to all fours next to Becky.

"It's on the northern edge of Equestria. You'd have to take a train ride there. And that's about a day trip in itself."

Lumberman said, not knowing how to approach this, "Are you cool with that?"

A bit bashful, Becky decided to come clean with her thoughts on the offer.

"I dunno. I mean, part of me really wants to—" She glanced at Cadance and Shining with a smile. "—but at the same time... I'm honestly scared to be so far away from all of my friends here. Even if I did have Cerb and Dash with me."

It was a sobering moment that Becky should have owned up to earlier, but at least now she was speaking honestly with them.

"Cadance, Shining." She cordially addressed them and readjusted Flurry Heart, who seemed to be settling in for a nap. "I would love to go, but there's so much that needs to get sorted out here. Once everyone gets settled in and we're a little more stable, I'd be more than happy to take you up on your offer. And I'll be sure to talk to Cerb about coming along. Lord knows he could use the help."

With a graceful bow, Cadance and Shining accepted her request.

As Cadance rose up, she did her best to salvage the situation.

"I'm sorry if it seemed like we were pressuring you. We understand you're still adjusting to this new world. And given your rocky start here, I'd imagine the number of ponies you can trust is still few and far between."

Benny had escorted Pinkie back into the house and came across Cerb going over a small pile of clothes and random gear.

"Hey,” Benny spoke up to get Cerb’s attention. “Trash is burned, but I left the pit open in case we need to burn anything else. And uh... you gonna tell me anything about this secret mission of yours?"

"Oh, it's no secret," Fluttershy answered. "I'm almost out of all the ingredients for Becky's tea. I asked Cerb to help me gather some more."

Benny felt like he'd been duped by Cerb if that was the case, but had to ask, "So, you need Cerb to hold the basket while you pick the flowers and whatnot?"

Cerb answered on her behalf.

"There's more to it than that."

Fluttershy took a seat on the floor and began to explain.

"Well, normally, this is something I can do on my own since I wouldn't need to carry much if it was just for myself or some of my animal friends. But the blend I make for Becky requires a lot more of some the harder-to-find flowers and herbs. And if she's going to need it for more than a couple of weeks, it's better to stock up on them now before their growing season ends."

Benny nodded, thinking he was following along.

"Okay… So, where they at?"

Cerb stood up and shook out a pair of his old fatigues.

"Some of the items are in the Everfree forest, some just outside of it. And given how thick the trees grow, it's not possible to see what she needs from a flyover. The search has to be done on foot. So, our mission, as I have chosen to accept it, is to seek out, locate, and extract all identified items listed by our local herbologist."

Benny deadpanned.

"Dude..."

"Relax," Cerb chitted his friend before wadding up the clothes and tossing them to the floor. "Fluttershy says it would be an overnight hike. Two days tops. And she already knows the safest routes to take."

"Justin," Benny used a serious tone as he addressed Cerb by his proper name. "Don't you think this is being at least a little bit reckless? I may not know as much about that forest as Chris or Becky, or even any of the ponies, but that place is where all of the worst of the worst is."

Fluttershy was more than eager to explain.

"Only certain parts of the forest during certain times of the year are actually all that dangerous. If you know where you're going and what to look out for, that is. And while I have no doubt that Cerb could handle himself, I would never do anything to put him in danger."

Confrontations like this were something Cerb expected and already had a response.

"And I'm not just jumping out into this without some recon first. We'll talk it out with Chris and everyone else, see what the threat levels are, what to look out for, recent events, you know. Do a mission plan the proper way."

Benny wanted to cringe.

"Swear to God, if you say BAMCIS."

Fluttershy cocked her head to the side.

"What's BAMCIS?"

Benny sighed, hating the fact that his old military days were coming back to torment him all over again with acronyms.

"Begin planing. Arrange Recon. Make your Recon. Complete the plan. Issue the order. Supervise."

For Cerb on the other hand, this was his calling, and he was happy to have it back.

"It's an old military acronym for preparing people to get ready for a patrol or other missions. Lets everyone know who's going, what they're doing, how they're getting there, what capabilities and equipment they have, primary and alternate routes they'll be taking, emergency procedures, and anything else that could be important."

That wasn’t anything Fluttershy remembered being discussed earlier, and was again confused.

"All that just for a hike?"

Cerb scruffed up her hair a little as he started to explain.

"For us, it's a lot more than just a hike, Flutters. You got all them Timberwolves out there and whatever else. We're new here and have to be extra careful. That's all."

Benny, seemingly giving up on talking both of them out of it, if he knew Cerb like he did, asked, “And when are you planning on doing this?"

Ready with the answer he knew was going to need more explanation, Cerb answered, "Tomorrow at the earliest, Monday at the latest."

Fluttershy stepped back into view but didn't try to stand out.

"The batch I made for Becky was small because I didn't know how well it would work, and it was only supposed to be enough to last for two weeks. But for the amount she needs to take to keep her coughing fits down, she's going through what I made her much faster. If we have trouble finding some of the less common ingredients, she could end up running out before I can make more after we get back."

Sniff and Twilight were exiting out the front doors, and Twilight looked rather relieved and more at ease after first arriving.

"Well, that went much better than I had expected.”

"Yeah," Sniff agreed. "And sorry I couldn't help too much with the more scientific terms they were throwing out. I don't know nearly as much on the specifics of medicine and surgical procedures as Becky does."

Twilight shrugged it off.

"It's perfectly fine. I wasn't of much help either."

Sniff took a deep breath and blew out the air like it was overwhelmed.

"Poor Becky is really going to have her work cut out for her if she agrees to help with everything they're asking for."

That might have been putting it lightly, but Twilight was still trying to focus on the positives.

"I just hope the doctors are right, and your human medical practices will be applicable to ponies."

Sniff put his hands behind his head and stretched.

"I think most of that will only apply to prescription medications. Surgery should mostly be the same, so long as you understand the organ placements and layout of the veins and arteries. Knowing where to cut and how to patch things up when you're done can't be much different."

Twilight rolled her eyes as another issue spang into thought.

"I'm more concerned with any of you getting sick while you're here. Don't get me wrong, another serious injury like Kelly's would be horrible, but with Doctor Horse learning from all those books and Becky's help in the future, I'm not so worried about how that would turn out. Not to mention, we can still use the Elements of Harmony as a last-ditch resort."

"Do you really think that's such a good idea?" Sniff asked, drawing a snarky look from Twilight. "I'm not saying no, or that any of us are ungrateful, but using the elements was supposed to only involve the six of you. It took your friend and another Princess to make it work. And it still only partially worked while taking all of you out in the process. What if the next time it kills you or one of the others? Or heaven forbid, one or more of you end up dying, and it still doesn't work?"

Twilight started to answer but didn't sound so sure of herself while saying it.

"I highly doubt that's ever going to happen."

"I dunno," Sniff carried on with a surprisingly even tone. "It seems like there's so much more at risk with this stuff. Yeah, any of us dying would be terrible... but all of you are far more important in the long run. If any of you were lost because of one of us, I can't imagine we'd have an auspicious future here. Let alone whatever evil forces would try to swoop in if they thought the protection you all provide together was compromised."

An unexpected snicker escaped from Twilight before she spoke with a surprisingly amused tone.

"Not that you don't make some good points, but—" She rolled her eyes once and back up to Sniff. "Auspicious? Really?"

Sniff cracked a smile and shrugged.

"What? It's a real word. I promise."

Twilight chuckled.

"Of course, I know it's a real word. But if I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were trying to sound smarter than me."

"Au contraire, mare friend," Sniff replied with a terrible French accent but then switched to that of a British intellectual. "I am but merely attempting to convey, with the utmost levels of my most scrupulous use of scholarly vocabulary, to match your luminous intellect without any indignation or prejudice towards your studious nature."

Twilight threw her head back, laughing hysterically. Sniff joined in, but he was laughing more at her reaction than the joke itself.

After the shared bout of laughter, Twilight tried to catch her breath.

"Oh, my goodness. You are too funny, Peter."

It was a real joy for Sniff to see Twilight happy, and he was getting better at making it happen.

"I'm just glad you knew what all those words were," he joked. "I don't think anyone but Chris would have been able to follow along with that whole spiel."

Twilight chuckled again.

"Believe me; it's the same thing with all of my friends."

Sniff replied with a grin, "Just one of the many toils of living your life as a nerd."

“Gah,” Twilight groaned through a smile. "I still can't believe how versatile you are. You're smart, you're funny, you're great with ponies of all different social backgrounds and standings, and you do it without looking down at anypony you talk to. I don't know of any pony I've ever met to be as well-rounded as you."

"Egh," Sniff shrugged. "I think part of it comes with just being a people person."

"A... people person?" Twilight asked.

There were going to be a lot of these hiccups in conversations when he kept using so many idioms and turn of phrases, Sniff reasoned. But, at least, it helped with introducing more dialog to exchange for productive conversations.

"It's an old saying that means someone is the kind of person who is really good with people in general. Just another way of saying I have good social skills. I think for you—" Sniff ran through the shortlist of pronouns he could use for Twilight. "—the term would be an Equestrian pony or pony horse... Kinda hard to really narrow that one down since I don't know the plural word for pony that doesn't end in with an S."

Twilight hummed for a moment as she thought about that.

"I think Equestrian pony would work best.”

Due to a later-than-expected trip to bed, Kelly was finally waking up. And to no surprise, her room was empty. She fumbled around the nightstand next to her bed and look at her dying phone.

"Shit... I really slept in," she muttered to herself.

Kelly pulled back the covers and shifted her legs over the side of the bed. On inspection, her left leg seemed to have a lot more function returning to it, while the right wasn't as sore as it had been the night before. She lifted her shirt to see the bruising had rescinded some but was just as sore to the touch as ever.

She slowly got dressed and made her way out to the hall and straight for the stairs. She made it down the first flight of stairs before realizing that either a night of dancing was a terrible idea after all, or that anything more than a few steps without a few shots of the hard stuff was going to make walking too painful. Or, in other words, she still needed Big Mac.

"Hello?" Kelly called down the next set of stairs. "Mac? ... Cerb? ... Anyone?"

Applejack's voice hollered up from the ground floor.

"Hold on, Kelly. We'll send Big Mac on up for ya."

"Thanks!" Kelly yelled down.

Within no time at all, Kelly again enjoyed the leisure of an escort to wherever she needed it with the aid of Big Mac. Even if it was just back down to the main dining hall for the afternoon.

Kelly addressed the room before she even left the stairs, "Afternoon, everyone. We got anything planned for the day?"

Lumberman looked up from a pile of papers he was taking notes in.

"I have to finish my estimates I got drawn out for fixing up the Apple house. Granny Smith should look over what I got drawn out to give her okay." He glanced over with a mock glare to Granny. "Instead of just say whatever I think is best is fine with her."

Granny returned the same mock glare.

"If you keep thinking I'm gonna understand them lines and numbers, you ain't spent enough days on the farm with old Granny."

That was a lazy lie if Applejack ever heard one.

"Don't play so nieve Granny. You can read them schematics just fine."

Becky took a sip from her special tea and cleared her throat.

"Cerb and Benny went to go clean up the house and burn the spoiled food. Sniff is out working with Twilight on the hospital stuff for us. Chris is out with Starlight doing god knows what. And we're just sitting around here waiting. Well, I'm waiting for Rainbow Dash to get back. She said she had to go pick something up before she was going to take me around to see more of Ponyville."

Kelly turned to Big Mac.

"So that just leaves us with nothing to do for the rest of the day. Not unless you got more work on the farm to do."

"Nope," Big Mac answered with a proud smile, suddenly melted to worry as he remembered Kelly's request. "I mean. We got everything done for the day, Kel."

Kelly laughed quietly at Big Mac's overcorrection.

"You don't need to expand yer vocabulary for everything." She playfully pinched his cheek. "But I appreciate it."

Much of the time that followed was idle conversations about the renovations to the Apple house and future plans for the farm. Only after Twilight and Sniff returned did the conversation shift.

Kelly, after being run through the list of topics covered by Sniff and Twilight’s time at the hospital, did her best to sum it all up.

"So, for the rest of us, we get paid by the hour to be treated by the hospital?"

"Yes," Sniff answered. "Basic checkups are only five bits, which even I think is too much, but they wouldn't go any lower than that. Non-invasive treatments, meaning no surgery, is ten bits per hour. Low-level treatments of open wounds are thirty bits per hour. And emergency and any high-level services or procedures are fifty bits per hour."

Lumberman grimaced as he spoke up.

"I really don't understand the logic behind any of this. Why are we getting paid to go to the hospital? That sounds like something that's ripe for exploiting their services."

Twilight was understanding but had good reason to go ahead with it.

"I understand what you mean. But with the growing concerns of more serious injuries we might encounter while you're here, or even after, if the forces that brought you here continue to affect us, we need to know how to treat these injuries."

Kelly, out of nowhere, asked, "They're not going to open me up again, are they?"

Twilight shook her head.

"No. Nothing like that at all. They would only work with Becky directly or take what they've learned while providing treatment to your injuries. For any of you here, for that matter. It would be valuable first hoof experience they wouldn't be able to get anywhere else."

Becky shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"I think they're offering me way too much to help with training them on the study material I gave them. I'm a college dropout. I don't have a degree, or even the full course of classes attended to properly qualify me to teach them."

Another valid point Twilight was ready to address.

"That was also discussed well in advance of us arriving."

Sniff leaned forward in his seat to address this portion.

"Becks. Look. I came at them the same way you are now. But they made a good point... They don't know a damn thing about open operations. Anything you know, from a technical standpoint, puts them decades ahead in terms of research and training." He made an open hand gesture to emphasize his point. " I mean, this is like finding someone who only knows aromatherapy and crystal energy resynchronization, then teaching them the miracles of Penicillin and open-heart surgery."

Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Technically, crystal energy resynchronization is more of an act of sorcery for magic-related hexes or misaligned properties due to an enhancement spell than it would be a medical treatment."

Everyone looked at Twilight like you would at someone who said bloodletting was good for removing evil spirits from the body.

Such attention left Twilight cringing in her seat.

"But we've since improved on correcting such synchronization issues more effectively with spells and potions, so the practice is kind of outdated anyway."

Sniff dropped his hands to the table.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say, Becks, is that we are currently stuck in a world where even the best doctors know as much about stopping a bloody nose as they did closing a stab wound... Which is nothing. Even if you get them a third of the way to where they need to be, that's a gap they probably couldn't hope to close in their lifetime."

Becky slouched in her chair.

"Fine… I'm not against helping. It just... doesn't feel right to get paid for all this."

Twilight bowed her head to show her respect for the consideration.

"That's very generous of you to say. But it would also be terrible for us to learn so much from all of you without giving something back in return."

"Alright, Alright," Kelly called out with her hands raised. "Enough of the who feels worse and who's doing more. We get it. Everyone's awesome and doing more than they need to."

The sound of the double doors opening interrupted the medical review and was replaced with the sound of eight hooves and four feet walking in. The return of those from the Human Embassy was about to shake things up.

Benny was the first to round the corner into the room.

"Oh, good. Everyone's here.“ He noticed on a second look that one of them was missing. “Awe, shit. Where's Chris? Is he not back yet?"

Right away, Kelly knew something wasn’t right.

"No. Why? What's up?"

Not hiding his frustration, Benny started to give them all the update.

"Well, as it turns out, Becky is gonna run out of her tea soon. And now these two—" He turned and pointed to Cerb and Fluttershy. "—want to go soldiering through the Everfree all on their own to get more."

"What!" Nearly every voice in the room cried out.

From day one for Lumberman, that place scared the shit out of him after he found out what was in there, and he wasn't going to support it.

"Hell, no!” He shouted from his seat. “Not wandering off in there was like the first thing they told to us, not to do here."

Applejack joined in.

"Darn tooting. The Everfree is no place for anypony, or any human unless they been learned in the ways of how that forest works and what goes on in there."

Fluttershy interjected as if this wasn’t a big deal.

"But I do know the ways of the Everfree and what goes on there. I have to go there all the time."

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing and shouted, "Yes, Fluttershy! You! You go there! All the time! Not Cerberus. He doesn't know the first thing about the Everfree!" She quickly turned her attention to Cerb, worried she may has spoken too soon yet again. "Do you?"

In truth, there wasn’t much Cerb could vouch for.

"I only know what Fluttershy has told me," Cerb admitted. "But, she knows the terrain and the threat conditions of the area. She also knows how to avoid them and where to locate the items needed for Becky. Plus, given the sheer volume of items needed, and the topology of the terrain, I am the one best suited to carry the items back."

Cadance, sounding very concerned, tried to reason with him.

"Justin, please be reasonable. I simply cannot allow you to needlessly put yourself in danger. Even if it is for Becky's sake. Especially when Shining and I have already offered you both full access to all of the Crystal Empire's medical services. What you're suggesting isn't just dangerous; it's unnecessary."

Luna's voice made itself known from high above.

"We agree. This would be unwise. We are also certain we can provide whatever is needed for Becky." She started to make her way down the stairs. "And if not, we have plenty of others we can send out on your behalf to obtain them."

Cerb was growing impatient at not getting a chance to explain himself better but still spoke with a calm and firm tone.

"I'm more than sure I can handle this. Especially if I have Fluttershy there with me."

Fluttershy couldn't help but blush, so she did what she could to make herself small.

Luna, meanwhile, reached the bottom of the stairs and worked her way between the two tables in the dining hall.

"We have no doubt that you were a valiant warrior where you come from, but the Everfree is not a battlefield you march into. It is a home invasion, where you are the intruder. And the beast there do not take kindly to intruders."

"Princess," Cerb spoke firmly, but dutifully. "I've fought in the open fields, conducted home invasions looking for terrorists down entire city blocks, and I'm no stranger entering a forest where creatures own the land. I'm certified in enemy evasion, wilderness survival, tracking, hand-to-hand combat, knife combat, firearms in multiple calibers and platforms, and had many years to harden these skills. I only need a few hours to prep my marching orders and put together my plan of execution... Or am I to be detained if I attempt to enter the Everfree?"

Benny stepped out in front of the group and put himself between Cerb and the others.

"Woooooah. Time out. That's really pushing it."

"No," Luna's answered firmly. "We will not force you to stay out of harm's way if you are so determined to do so. However, while we have depended on Fluttershy on many occasions, we believe it best not to rely solely on her alone. Celestia has provided four royal guards to aid in providing your protection while you all are with us. They can provide you safe passage if you insist on this excursion."

"Umm, Luna," Fluttershy was surprisingly confident in her tone. "The ingredients I need are very specific, and there are many flowers and herbs that can be mistaken for them. Also, even if they find the plants, some have to be picked in a certain way to keep the healing elements viable. And that's only if they can tell if it's in full bloom or ripe enough to pick."

Luna's eyes furrowed, but she came back just as resolute.

"Very well, you may accompany them. But you will have royal guards accompanying you."

Fluttershy shook her head.

"Princess Luna, I'm sorry. But it's difficult to travel quietly enough to not draw attention just by myself. Cerb knows how to move silently, and makes even less noise since he only has two feet touching the ground, unlike a pony that has four hooves. And the guards will make even more noise with their armor. If not for how much I'm going to need carried back, I would do this myself. I only need Cerb to travel along to carry the load for me."

Perhaps that was another avenue to approach for stopping this nonsense, so Cadance asked, "How heavy is it going to be?"

Thankfully, Fluttershy had already discussed this with Cerb in the attic and had a good idea about the content's weight.

"Given how much I'm going to need and how much we can find, the load would likely be a hundred and twenty pounds at the lightest. But there are certain herbs that are much harder to find, so we would be sure to grab as many of them as we could. That could put our carry load up to a hundred and eighty pounds, and I don't think any pony could carry that much and still not draw attention to us."

Cadance was right on her theory, and Twilight spoke up to capitalize on it.

"Well, there's your problem right there. I know Cerb is big, but you can't expect him to carry that much weight for you."

Cerb responded with a calm and collected rebuttal.

"The trip is only supposed to take one day out and one day back. Maybe an extra day if we max out my normal combat carry load, which is two hundred pounds. And before you say that's too much for a trip like this, it's not. Doing day-long marches with that kind of weight, if not more, was part of my routine training. It won't be a problem for me."

For a short while, no one spoke. It seemed like all of the most pressing concerns were already put down. Even the entire collection of royals continued to try and think of any other arguments to persuade the two of them from doing this. But knowing so little, there was nothing for them to harp on.

Giving up on reasons and logic, since that failed, Becky offered another suggestion, "How about just no."

Cerb looked at Becky with an excitedly confused expression.

"Yeah, just no," Becky restated. "I'm scared to leave town at this point, and you want to go back to being a Marine again and get yourself all fucked up?"

Cerb took offense but managed to restrain himself.

"This isn't Afghanistan, Becky. I don't have a million Taliban gunning for me and anyone that looks like me."

"No!" Becky shouted. "It's totally different this time! You don't have your body armor and machine guns. And you don't have a goddamn clue what’s out there!"

Giving up on reasons and logic, since that failed, Cerb offered an alternative to Becky's suggestion.

"I'm going."

Kelly threw herself into the argument.

"Becky's right. You're not going. We can't risk you running off and getting yourself killed. For fuck's sake! I was almost murdered while washing the goddamn dishes! And you think this is somehow anything short of suicide?"

Cerb was starting to grow too frustrated to keep his cool.

"And who's gonna try and s—"

"Justin!" Fluttershy's voice rang out, shutting him down. "Could you..."

She cleared her throat and lowered her tone back to the normal shy voice they all knew.

"—maybe step outside for a moment?"

Cerb looked down at Fluttershy, not sure what she might be thinking or wanted to say without him there.

"Please," She asked him again, a confident smile returning. "You asked me to trust you, and I did. Could you please trust me for just a little while so I can talk to them?"

Cerb sighed, realizing how close he was to really losing his shit.

"Fine. Do what you can to make 'em all come to terms with the fact that I'm going." He turned and started to walk out to the entrance he just came from. "One way or another, I'm gonna get that shit for Becky."

A collection of worried and angry stares followed Cerb as he entered the hall. They all waited until they heard the front double doors open and close before addressing Fluttershy.

Twilight was the first to speak.

"Fluttershy, you have to see how bad of an idea this is."

Cadance added her concerns as well.

"He isn't well enough to be out on his own. He needs help."

Luna was the last to cast her doubts.

"What would even give you the foolish idea to agree to this?"

Despite the concerns and pessimism, Fluttershy calmly addressed the room.

"Please, I need you to listen to what I have to say about this.“ She took a second to make sure no one was going to try and talk over her before continuing. “Cerb is more than just a warrior from the battles he's fought in. On our first day of him training me how to fight, I sort of got angry during our last sparring match—"

"He what?!" Kelly shouted.

Applejack spoke up with a completely different concern.

"And just exactly how angry did you happen ta get in yer little sparring match?"

Fluttershy hated having to admit this, but she needed to if she was going to prove her point.

"Iron Will type of angry."

Applejack stood up from the table on full alert.

"Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy quickly raised her voice to silence the growing concerns all her friends were about to share, "He overpowered me!”

All the ponies that heard the story or witnessed the fabled Iron Will incident with Fluttershy were left speechless. Only Becky understood the reference but had no idea how to feel about it. It didn’t seem possible for virtually anyone to overpower Fluttershy if she was mad enough.

With the criticism put on hold again, Fluttershy continued to explain.

“We both slowly worked up how strong we were willing to push each other. But in the end, once he saw how strong I could be, he took our match seriously, and... I don't think I could have seriously hurt him even if I tried. In fact, I think he could be stronger than you, Applejack. And as far as fighting, he might be better than Rainbow Dash."

All three Princesses exchanged worrisome looks. The rest of Cerb's friends, still in the room, seemed to do the same.

Luna took the lead for the next question.

"Fluttershy, we need you to be completely honest with us. Did Cerberus hurt you?"

Fluttershy gasped, sounding insulted at the question even being asked.

"What?! Not even a little! He could have thrown me on the ground but made sure I never fell. He showed me one of his joint manipulations and stopped before it even started to hurt. And even when we wrestled, he never squeezed too hard or did anything to put me in danger. In fact, I didn't realize until the end and had to give up that he was pretty much toying with me."

Again, the royals were speechless.

Fluttershy had more to say and stood tall and resolute.

"He could have hurt me at any time he wanted to. And even though he could be dangerous, just like every pony in this room could be if they wanted to be, he chose not to... He's kind and gentle, caring, protective, and after everything that's happened to him, he feels that if he isn't fighting for someone, he has no purpose."

Sniff shouted as soon as he heard her reasoning and stood up from his chair to protest.

"No-No-No-No-No! I don't know if you heard that from me and him talking or if he told you that one on one, but that is not a good reason to help get himself killed out there."

"Peter," Luna calmly spoke to lower his anger. "If you would calm yourself, please."

Sniff stared intently for a moment but took his seat again. He knew well enough that he wasn’t calling the shots here. But being in the room was a courtesy that he had to respect.

"Now, Fluttershy," Luna addressed her subject firmly. "We have only begun to learn of his hardships and issues, and you come to us with the request to put Mr. Cerberus through the dangers of the Everfree Forest?"

Finally, they were asking the questions Fluttershy was waiting for.

"I don't plan on putting him in any danger. The paths I take are the ones with the least amount of predators and other scary things. I wouldn't take him anywhere I would go alone by myself."

This inquiry was a losing battle for everyone who didn’t want to see this trip happen, but Twilight had to dig for some flaws.

"Fluttershy... How often have you traveled these paths to know they're safe?"

Another easy question for Fluttershy to answer.

"I've had to take these paths since before you even moved to Ponyville, Twilight. That's how I know where to find everything we need. And I've had to go on my own almost every time. But if your concern is if Cerb would be safer with a royal guard, I know that won't be necessary."

Twilight didn’t like how confident Fluttershy answered that, so she asked, "How could you possibly know that?"

"Well," Fluttershy, for the first time, looked unsure of herself as her ears folded back and she sulked in her stature slightly. "—there's only one way for me to prove it, but even I'm not going to like it."

Cerb had found himself conversing with the guards after having to wait to be called back in, if that was even going to happen now.

"No, I get it," Cerb argued, clearly frustrated. "There's all sorts of creepy crawlies and dangerous monsters in there. I just don't care. There's shit in there Becky needs, and I'm going to get it for her. One way or another. And I got a plan to make it as safe as possible anyway. They just don't even want to hear me out on it. They think I haven't put any thought into this at all."

Helix Ray was surprisingly supportive.

"Well, I'd go with you if you want me to."

Cerb grumbled something before clarifying,

"That's not the way it was explained to me."

Suddenly, the double doors opened, and everyone from the dining hall was walking out together.

Cerb didn't even wait for everyone to make it down off the steps before he asked them, "Well? Are we in agreement?"

Luna spoke with a touch of repressed anger under the tone of defeat, but also had the hint of a smile in the corner of her lips?

"Mr. Cerberus. Fluttershy has presented herself, as well as yourself, to have the most favorable set of circumstances for this endeavor. However, we have only one concern remaining that can only be resolved by means that we do not wish to humor... But Fluttershy has given us her word that you will bring no harm to anypony in the process."

Benny stood next to Sniff and Twilight with his arms crossed.

"Justin, I'm telling you right now. I'm one hundred percent against every part of this, and I'm asking you not to go through with it."

Indignantly, Cerb asked, "Go through with what? "

He finally saw Fluttershy exit, the last one to walk out, so he had to ask her, "What did Fluttershy say in there?"

Fluttershy lowered her head.

"Justin, I'm sorry. This was the only thing I could think of."

Cerb turned back to Benny.

"I'm not playing the fucking guessing game. What did she say?"

Shining spoke up off to the side next to Cadence.

"Cerberus. We'd like to talk to you first. We can explain everything."

No one tried to stop Cerb as he walked over to listen to this explanation, with Benny and Sniff following close behind.

"What's going on?"

Cadance sighed before being as blunt as she could.

"Either you go with how many other guards that Luna sees fit, or Fluttershy goes with however many guards Luna sees fit. But the two of you won't be going out there together by yourselves unless you can win two out of three sparring matches against three ponies of her choosing."

Cerb couldn't believe what she was telling him.

"You're fucking joking."

Benny hoped hearing the truth would set him straight.

"That's what Fluttershy suggested. We all said no."

Sniff was just as bent out of shape over the whole thing and said, "Ain't nothing good about this. Just let it go and let them all take care of it."

Fluttershy spoke up behind them.

"It won't work with the other ponies joining us.“ She walked up and took her place next to Cerb. “The hardest flower to find is impossible to pick by ponies without ruining them. Sanequinaria Canteradensis is the ingredient I use that allows the tea to work for as long as it does. The other ingredients would only work for only a few minutes at most, but with the Sanequinaria Canteradensis, it can work for hours with the low doses I used. With larger doses, it could work for days or maybe even heal some of the scar tissue."

"Wait," Sniff had a sudden change in tone. "You didn't say any of that in there when we were talking."

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy shied back. "I thought you all knew I was working on something to help with Becky's condition. That's why I was making the tea in the first place."

Benny sighed and collected his thoughts.

"Okay, so that changes things... Fuck."

To really drive this home, Fluttershy had a point she needed to make very clear.

"The problem with those flowers is that, while any pony can pick them, something happens to the Anther, the part that holds the pollen. It always breaks the hollow tube inside. When that breaks, it loses almost all of its healing properties. I took one that wasn’t damaged to Zecora once, and she told me that the one flower I brought her that wasn't damaged was over a thousand times stronger than the three dozen she used for her potion she was making. But I didn't pick the flower myself. I was talking to some hummingbirds where I found them, and they told me they know how and where to poke inside the flower to stop the healing fluids from draining if the tubs are broken. These flowers are very brittle and sensitive. Even if a strong enough breeze blows them over, it can still damage the Anthar, and it wouldn't pollinate anymore."

"Okay," Benny was waiting for the complicated part to come up. "So why can't the others go with you?"

Fluttershy looked concerned about what she was about to say.

"Well, the hummingbirds are very skittish around ponies and will fly away. If not for the fact that I can talk to them, I never would have known any of this. Also, because there are larger predators that would normally come after a pony if they were hungry enough, but they would go after a hummingbird once they saw them... Which is what happened to me. Thankfully, I was able to fly away in time and save them, which is while they'll help me. But Cerberus would be much too large for any of the predators, and would actually help to keep them away. And since Cerb isn't a predator or a pony, we're much more likely to get the flowers we need at their most potent."

Sniff hung his head and groaned.

"The more ponies around, the more noise they would make to attract the even larger predators out there to stop you from getting the most important ingredient... Well... Shit, I change my vote."

Benny threw up his hands.

"Fuck it. Me too."

Cadance and Shining, at this point, had given up on using this as an opportunity to talk Cerb into heading back to the Crystal Empire with them. The best option would be to support him and hope to win him over by having his back. Plus, the more successful they were, the better chances they would have at helping Becky.

Shining was the first to speak up on this tactic.

"If it were Cadance or Flurry, I know I would go."

"Justin," Cadance laid a wing on Cerb's shoulder. "I am scared for you. After everything I've come to know about your past, I'm worried about what could happen to you out there." With a slight turn of her head, she made a gesture to stop him from making a comment. "But I also know how much you care about your friends. So I'm sure you would be able to overcome anything that comes along your way. But when you return, Shining and I would like to offer you and Becky something."

Just out of earshot, Luna was giving her orders to three of the Solar Guard members. Captain Onyx Armor, you will go first to test his strength. Staff Sergeant Thunder Glide, you will test his speed and resilience. Lastly, if it comes down to it, Corporal Helix Ray, you will test his ability to combat magic."

Becky, also in with the group of royal guards, had only one request, "Just don't hurt him, please."

Kelly, oppositely, scoffed, "Pft. Not unless you have to. I'd rather see him hurt than carried back in a body bag."

Luna already had something planned out, but she addressed the two girls with the part she was the least sure of, "And what about you, ladies? Do you agree with Fluttershy? That your friend wouldn't try to hurt any of our ponies? Not even to save you, Becky?"

Kelly drew a deep breath. She respected Luna too much to lie to her, so her response came out as honest sounding as it was regretful.

"If he was fighting to protect any of us, like from me being stabbed again, he'd destroy them... But this? No. He knows better than to actually hurt any of them. Pretty sure he knows how bad it would be to even risk it. So it's a safe bet he'll back out from this."

Right on cue, Cadance spoke up as she approached from behind.

"Princess Luna? Cerb said he is ready and wants to know if this is going to be the same as sparing with Fluttershy, or if weapons are involved? Because he thinks using weapons would be too dangerous for whoever you pit against him."

Kelly jerked her head back and grumbled, "Son of a bitch."

Becky facepalmed.

"Goddamnit, Justin... Luna, I am so sorry about all of this. But I agree, giving Cerb a weapon of any kind is just asking for an accident to happen. And I can't even begin to imagine what would happen if he was cut open or stabbed like Kelly was."

Luna looked and sounded relieved as she answered, "I had no intention of risking Cerb's well-being. I intend to keep him safe through this trial. But if you would, please wait here while we discuss amongst ourselves about how we wish for this to move forward."

Luna, Shining, Cadance, Twilight, and Fluttershy all gathered just far enough away to keep their conversation private.

Twilight still didn’t know how things were allowed to get this far.

"Are we sure about this?"

Behind them, Rainbow Dash's voice yelled out, "They what?!"

The group turned around to see Becky trying to calm down Rainbow Dash. Most likely, freaking out upon returning to the news of the proposed venture into the forest. Nothing they needed to concern themselves with at the moment.

Cadance gave another reason; even if she was biased, she actually did agree.

"I think Fluttershy is right. Cerb needs this. And I'm sure he'll be safe in Fluttershy's care."

No matter the votes from the others, Luna had the final say in this.

"There are other reasons I would like to see how Cerb handles himself if forced into a conflict with one of our ponies. Reasons that still need to be discussed with you, Twilight. But for now, Fluttershy, could you please explain what the rules are in simulated combat with Cerb?"

Well, this certainly is looking like it might be heading into some troopy territories. Maybe. Hard to say.

Anyway. The long conversations between Sniff and Twilight I, at one point, considered cutting out. Mostly because it is kind of lengthy, but the facts Sniff brings up and the points he makes are working towards a bigger picture.

Otherwise, it looks like Benny is slowly getting on the right track with some help from Pinkie. Which is nice.

But the bombshell of this chapter was Fluttershy's request for anything she wanted from Cerb. Sure, a living human daki pillow for the night was on a lot of your minds, but no. That'd way too brave and bold for Flutters... On the other hand. One day out, one day back. With an extra day, tops... having him all to herself. Pretty clever, right?

Also, the real world flower I based theirs on is the Sanguinaria canadensis. I guess the Sanequinaria is better than the Sanguinaria.

Oh, well. Does anyone want to make a bet on how these fights are gonna go down?

Actually... probably best to wait and see these contenders before the step up to Cerberus.

We'll have to wait to see in the next submission: Chapter 44. The Flawless Plan.