"Justin, Rarity, Fluttershy?" Cadance spoke merrily from behind the door. "May we come in?"

Cerb opened the door and was greeted by Cadance, Shining, Flurry Heart, and Luna surrounding the doorway.

"Evening, ladies. Shining. I take it you're all about to leave?"

Standing behind the others, Luna spoke in nearly as merry a voice, "Indeed. We all wished to give you a proper farewell and wish you the best of luck."

Shining smiled proudly, "Not me. I'm staying behind."

Cerb looked down, both confused yet also happy to hear the news.

"You are?"

"Yep," Shining answered, practically beaming with pride. "We were all so impressed with your planning methods, I figured there would be a lot more to learn."

Cadance nodded a bit too aggressively and failed to hide a guilty smile.

Cerb couldn't help but notice and decided to beg the question, "And?"

Shining rolled his eyes from one side over to his wife.

"Annnnnnd, Cadance wanted to make sure that if anything were to happen, I'd be around to jump in if needed."

Cadance still couldn't lose her smile but did her best to apologize.

"Please don't think my over concern to be anything more than a friend who wants to make sure you and everypony else stays safe. We all know you'll be safe together out there, but being around all your friends and seeing how worried they were—"

"It's fine," Cerb said, cutting her rambling short. "Big Mac just did the same thing for the same reason, more or less. But I'm glad to see another pony like you looking out for me."

Without warning, Cadance stepped into the room.

"Well, then—" She gave Cerb a big goodbye hug. "Thank you again for the wonderful time with you and all of your friends."

Cerb hugged her back, laughing a little at her sudden outburst of affection.

"Heh. Of course. And thank you for all the help. I'm looking forward to picking up where we left off when me and Becky come to visit."

Squeezing back one last time, Cadance said, "I look forward to seeing you both there, too," as she pressed tighter and inhaled his scent, making her ear twitch.

Fluttershy instantly noticed the telltale sign and reached over with both forehooves to pull Rarity's head into eyeline with the sight. Of course, by the third twitch, Rarity recognized the sign as well.

Caught unprepared, Fluttershy whispered, "What do we do? She's about to leave."

Rarity slipped out of Fluttershy's hold and whispered back, "I don't know. Maybe I can sneak out and talk to her privately before she leaves?"

Free from the embrace, Cadance raised her daughter up to Cerb's chest height.

"Say goodbye to Justin, Flurry Heart. Can you be a good girl and give him a hug goodbye?"

Flurry Heart gave Cerb one long look up and down before angrily shaking her head, "Mmmmph. No. Dolly."

Shining tried to dad his way through the embarrassing response.

"No, hunny. Becky is downstairs. Give her friend Justin a hug, and then you can say goodbye to Becky."

Flurry Heart again shook her head in detest, "MmmmMMmmMmm."

Cadance warmly spoke to her daughter, "Now, now, sweety. No goodbye hug to Justin, then no hugs from Dolly."

Cerb played along, faking an excitedly concerned voice.

"No hugs from Dolly? Oh, no. Dolly loves hugs from Flurry Heart. But if I don't get a hug—" He looked Flurry Heart in the eyes, switching to an exaggerated sad face. "—Then how is Dolly going to get a hug?"

Suddenly, Flurry Heart looked like she was in a panic. Mumbling and groaning in frustration over the fear of not being able to say goodbye to her beloved Dolly.

"Uh, oh," Shining called out as he started to walk further down the hall. "Mommy and Daddy are going to leave. You better give your goodbye hug quickly, or you're going to miss Dolly."

Rarity groaned quietly from the bed, "Ass-flavored cupcakes. Shining is going with her to the train? How am I supposed to—"

Cerb almost shouted as Flurry Heart lept out and wrapped herself around his neck.

"There it is! See? I like hugs, too."

Rarity cooed loudly at the sight of seeing Cerb holding the young foal.

"Awe."

Cerb gave Flurry Heart a few soft taps of his hand on her back and bobbed her up and down in his arms like one would do with a toddler.

"Okay, Flurry. You be a good girl now, okay? Back to mommy." He pulled back his hand and leaned forward for Cadance to take her. "Hug time over. Flurry?"

He turned his eyes up to Cadance, "I think we oversold it on the Dolly hugs."

Cadance chuckled before lighting up her horn to take her daughter back.

"Come on, sweety. Time to go give Dolly a hug. Okay?"

Flurry Heart's voice squeaked as she struggled to hold on as Cerb started to pull her away from his neck.

"Big Dolly, Big Dolly, home. Big Dolly play."

Cerb was unprepared for such a quick turnaround from the filly and snorted out a laugh, "Wow. That didn't take long to win her over."

Cadance finally used her magic to retrieve her daughter.

"You're not joking. Come on, sweety."

As Flurry Heart was hauled away in Cadance's aura, she cried out, "Nooooo! Dolly! Big Dolly! Mama! Big Dolly!"

Sad to go but excited to see another attachment that would bring Cerb to the Crystal Empire, Cadance cooed in cute baby talk, "I know, sweety," she said, consoling Flurry Heart as she brought the filly out in front to prevent the inevitable escape attempt. "Big Dolly will come to visit us. Don't you worry."

Luna giggled as Cadance passed with Shining in tow and stepped inside the room.

"My, my, Justin. You are just full of surprises. Is there anypony you can't win over?"

Cerb shrugged with a goofy grin. "I dunno? I'm sure Onyx probably has some sore feelings about me."

It took Luna a moment to go from a knowing nod to full-on laughter once she picked up on the play on words.

"Don't you worry about him. He seems to be only angry at himself for not putting up a better fight. And I'm sure he'll be fine after a good night's rest."

Cerb smiled but couldn't tell if she was messing with him.

"Be fine? Is he still hurting from the fight?"

"Onyx Armor is perfectly fine," Luna stated with a careless smile and her head falling back as she spoke. "He was given a thorough evaluation by Nurse Redheart and the rest of the staff at the hospital. There was some concern that you might have inadvertently done something with your anti-magic properties, but he's perfectly fine. Just a little sore, is all." She closed her eyes and chuckled for a moment. "You did deliver a mighty blow, but it is more than likely the real injury was done to his ego."

Cerb tried to smile, but he honestly did feel bad now that some time had passed.

"For some guys, that can be worse than wounds that leave a mark. I hope he doesn't hold it against me."

Luna went on to boast, "He'll be a good sport about it. He wouldn't hold such a high rank if he did not. And he certainly won't if he doesn't."

That wasn't all too reassuring, but Cerb nodded.

"I understand. And thank you for all the help with everything, Princess."

Luna tried to look cute and gave a coy grin, "Oh, please. I think we're all passed the formalities in such private settings, Mister Cerberus."

Cerb snorted and facepalmed, "Okay, Lulu. You got me."

Looking far more comfortable with herself, Luna stepped forward and gave Cerb a gentle hug.

"Justin, the name Cerberus fits you well. You're strength you've shown us is only surpassed by the power in your heart. Take care of yourself and keep our little ponies safe, would you, " she gestured with a slight tilt of her head to Fluttershy and Rarity.

"Of course," Cerb answered as he returned the gesture. "At this point, there isn't anything I wouldn't do for any of you that I wouldn't do for any of my friends downstairs."

A deep breath gave off the sign that Luna was about to say something important.

"Then I'd like to ask for one particular favor before departing," she said before pulling back from the embrace.

Cerb steadied himself for what odd favor she was going to ask of him.

"So long as it's something I can actually do and isn't too crazy."

Luna drew another deep breath, preparing herself to ask for a favor she knew might not sit well.

"Please continue to let Fluttershy and Rarity assist you with avoiding any future nightmares like that of what I happened upon." She paused for a moment to gauge his reaction. "Your discomfort towards the arrangement has been noted, and we cannot, in good faith, pressure or demand that you do. However... As a favor to me, one of which you can be assured I will reciprocate in kind, please..."

She leaned in closer and lowered her voice, "It seems clear that Kelly knows not of the severity of which your nightmares have manifested from."

Cerb's eyes went wide, and he felt a knot instantly start to tighten in his stomach.

Luna firmly continued, "It is my duty to police the dreams of those in this kingdom. Nightmares are easy to find, and they always take precedence. But yours... To be honest. What I observed of your dream was like searching for creatures made of mist that were hiding in a fog. Blurred memories of figures without faces. Noises of... muffled... pain. Violence... Explosions and the world around you being torn apart and crashing down... It was a conflict the likes of which I could not lie convincingly enough to say I have experienced... But what you felt in that dream, I felt. And I'm am truly sorry for all that you have experienced, Justin. But… I am not strong enough to face that again."

A serious look of concern washed over Cerb.

"How much did you feel?"

"For your sake," Luna looked away, ashamed of her shortcomings, "I hope your resistance to magic holds no sway over what I experienced from your dreams and that I felt every ounce of pain and fear and hopeless, heartbreaking misery. Fore, if that were not the case and there was more to experience from the horrors you suffered... Let us say that I would hope that the comforts Fluttershy and Rarity provide you would keep me safe as well if you were not to accept them."

Whatever guilt and shame Cerb had rid himself of earlier that day had found their way home.

"Was it really that bad for you?"

Standing tall, but not as proudly as others would have expected, Luna coldly stated, "I am the keeper of dreams. Nightmares do not conjure themselves in my sleep unless I deem it so."

Again, Luna looked away with the same guilt and shame, "Or at least that was what I thought until I woke this evening. So, with pompous posturing and all levity cast aside, if you were to forego their assistance and I was to fall into your situation, I would most certainly be accepting... That, or pull whatever remaining favors I could to have all of your sleep schedules match mine so that I could join you."

Cerb only felt worse now, but he played it off as best he could.

"If your plan was to guilt-trip me into agreeing to this, it's working."

Luna chuckled again, but it wasn't enough to mask what she was struggling to hide.

"Heavens, no. But perhaps one day in the future, if such a favor is required and other methods were to fail me—"

"Heeeeey, come on, Lulu," Cerb forced a laugh as he spoke. "What are ya doing to me here, now?"

"Joking, of course." She smiled back, a bit more honest in its presentation. "Fare thee well, my Wandering Warrior, friend. If you require anything, I am but only a dragon's breath away."

Cerb drew a blank and had to think about what that phrasing implied.

"Oh, right... Spike and the magic fire breath. Gotcha."

Luna smiled and bowed, "Right you are. And until we meet again, sleep well."

"You too," Cerb said with a slight bow of his head. "Same goes for you, though, if you need anything. I don't get dragon fire mail, but we'll get that worked out."

"Goodnight, Justin."

"Night, Lulu."

Peering passed Cerb through the doorway, Luna gave her last farewell, "Goodbye, Fluttershy, Rarity. Take good care of this stallion. His future is in your hooves now."

Fluttershy happily answered, "We will, Princess."

Rarity answered just the same, "Of course, Princess."

With that, Cerb closed the door and walked back, stopping at the foot of the bed.

"Well... how much of that did you all hear?"

Fluttershy nervously adjusted her wings.

"We weren't trying to listen—"

"Everything but what she whispered to you," Rarity answered.

Again, Fluttershy adjusted her wings and started kneading her hooves into the mattress, "We weren't trying to, but we totally heard everything except the whispering part."

Vaguely, Cerb asked, "And?"

"And?" Fluttershy asked the same question back.

Cerb thought it was a rhetorical question he was asking but clarified, "Your take on it?"

"Justin," Rarity started to speak but then moved over and started to pull the covers back. "So long as we can help and you are willing to let us, we will. And when the day comes when you have moved beyond this phase of your life, we can all celebrate that together."

Cerb agreed but then realized something.

"Right. Umm... how do we do this?"

Rarity stared blankly at Cerb for a moment but didn't seem to understand the question.

"I'm certain this is not your first time using a bed, so if you're planning on making a joke about silverware, we're not going to get it."

Cerb laughed, "No. Sleeping arrangements. So far, you both have passed out on my lap while I fell asleep sitting against a wall, or I wake up with both of you as a pillow or a leg warmer. There hasn't been much of any preemptive thought put into this."

Fluttershy barely managed to avoid another blush.

"Oh, yeah."

Rarity wasn't as successful with hiding her blush.

"So much for silverware."

Cerb started to draw in a sigh, but it came out as a yawn.

"Well, obviously, I can't complain about either method, given the results. Although, now that we're all lucid and conscious, what's the most comfortable way for you to sleep?"

The two mares looked to each other, silently asking the other the same question they both were thinking, but Fluttershy was the first to answer.

"I'm not sure about Rarity, but I normally end up sleeping on my back."

Rarity answered without much thought to it.

"As do I."

Cerb shrugged, "Same here. So... I'm guessing me in the center?"

Fluttershy replied with a half-grin and a shrug, "That's how it usually ends up with us."

Rarity jested her view on the situation, "Seems our fates have it destined to have that trend continue."

At least the two mares were being cute with their predicament, which made Cerb chuckle a bit.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Fluttershy started to fluff up a pillow.

"Rarity and I both talked about this same issue with you not having nightmares when we would travel together. But we didn't know if you needed both of us with you to make sure they didn't happen. So, tonight was going to be just me with you to see if you only needed one of us."

"But then... it seems that wasn't going to be the case for us," Rarity sighed, but still wore a smile as she did. "And now that we know how badly it can affect Luna..."

Cerb started to understand where they were coming from.

"Even with your best efforts, it drew us all back together. Gotcha."

With only a few more adjustments, the three were lying in bed, Rarity to Cerb's right and Fluttershy to his left. Together they lay, somewhat uncomfortably, under the same blanket.

"Comfy," Fluttershy asked.

Rarity followed up with her own concerns, "It's not too hot with us under the same blanket with you, is it?"

"I'm fine," Cerb answered but immediately pulled his shirt down for probably the fifth time. "Just not used to sleeping with a shirt on while under a blanket."

Rarity asked, "Then why are you wearing it?"

Cerb replied like he knew his answer was going to sound stupid.

"I just figured you wouldn't want to be rubbing up against me. "

Rarity huffed, "Honestly. You and your friend's obsession with staying covered and thinking that there's something wrong with your bodies. Everypony has a body, and if you've seen one, you've seen them all. I can't imagine it must be so drastically different for humans... Is it?"

Fluttershy rolled over on her side to face Cerb.

"Justin... We've already slept against your bare skin in this same bed last night as well as on the couch at Rarity's. We don't mind it at all, although it is a little uncomfortable feeling the shirt's fabric when I brush up against it."

Rarity added, "Same for me. This is everyday breathable cotton. If one is to wear any covering to bed, the choices are silk, satin, or at least cotton with a higher thread count and a completely different weave."

"Oh, my god." Cerb sat up, pulled off his shirt, threw it to the foot of the bed, and flopped back down." - Shirts off. I'm more comfortable now. You both good?"

Fluttershy looked his torso up and down, then asked, "Are you going to keep your shorts on?"

Cerb did a slow turn to Fluttershy, looking her dead in the eyes.

"Wut?"

Fluttershy cocked a half-grin and shrugged, "I've already seen you without your clothes on, and if your shirt made you feel uncomf—"

"No, the shorts are fine," Cerb answered firmly. "The fabric's fine. They feel fine. I want 'em on. That's comfortable to me."

Rarity rolled onto her side to face Cerb and asked, "Is it because they help keep everything in place?"

Cerb did the same slow turn to Rarity and asked the same one-worded question.

"Wut?"

Rarity quickly offered her defense.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. After what you told me about male and female undergarments and having to create new ones for you and your friends, I figured out that your anatomy extends from the body instead of... Umm... You know? I can't actually say how that's different from a pony stallion anatomy outside of the sheath."

"Yeah, that's the only difference," Cerb informed her. "Mostly. Or, sorta. Actually, I don't know what they look like either, to be honest. But, yeah. That's why I'm keeping the shorts on."

Fluttershy cowered back slightly as she apologized.

"We're not trying to be rude or make you uncomfortable."

Rarity rolled onto her back again.

"It's as you said. We're actually all clear-minded and conscious before going to sleep with each other. We can finally ask questions about what each other wants or needs instead of being too worried about an injured friend or making sure that you were safe or weren't going to hurt yourself again."

Cerb unconsciously flexed his hand, putting tension on the stitches and glue over the wound.

"Sorry."

Rarity complained in a weak voice and bopped him on the chest with her hoof.

"Stop apologizing so much. I know you're all very particular about staying covered and hiding that part of yourself. Which is fine. I think that since we don't understand your reasoning, and as Rainbow Dash so harshly informed us, those are simply things one does not question."

Fluttershy jumped in to finish the thought.

"We don't understand how it's wrong or why you think it is. But because it's so natural for us, we can't help but feel that you shouldn't have to. And, well, for as uncomfortable as you get, if even only talking about it, we feel like it's something we can help with. No pony is bothered by the way your body is built, even if it is different. You're not bothered by our bodies, are you?"

Cerb's personal defenses were feeling less viable as he started to hear their side.

"I'm not, but—"

Rarity laid her hoof on Cerb's hand under the blankets.

"Then it's fine, darling. You don't need to explain yourself if you don't feel like doing it right now. If you're going to sleep better with your shorts on, then keep them on. There are so many more things that we can have a positive conversation about with much more important topics than... Well, fashion will always be an important topic to me, but you know what I'm trying to say."

Fluttershy raised a hoof and gently rubbed over Cerb's shoulder, "I'm sorry for bringing it up. I won't talk about it unless it's something you want to help me understand better later on. But I hope that you will at least allow me to have the chance to examine you again. I didn't have a lot of time to do a more thorough examination. Or maybe I was too worried about what I saw with your leg to notice anything else."

Since they weren't harping on his clothing options any longer, Cerb sighed in compliance, "It's fine... I'm not used to people being... Well, let me start over. I'm not used to the kind of... gratuitous amounts of generosity and kindness you all keep showing me without expecting something in return. Because back home, we have to be careful about people posing as a friend and playing favorites or giving gifts. Not without them demanding something they know you wouldn't want to do without being guilted or shamed into it."

That was something Rarity understood and could relate to, sadly.

"We should be more aware of things like that. We run into the same issue with other races and kingdoms. Griffons may have been the worst."

Fluttershy started to fidget with her wings under the sheets.

"The dragons had a terrible problem with even allowing for a culture of kindness and friendship."

Rarity gave her pillow one last fluff. "Spike, of course, would be the exception, but he was raised with Twilight, so one would expect as much."

Fluttershy pulled up the covers and tried to get more settled in.

"I remember that with the Yaks. Anything we did, they took as an insult. Then, anything they did was the best, and thought we were trying to be rude if we didn't tell them how it was the best."

Rarity groaned, remembering one more bad species interaction, "Don't forget about your minotaur friend, dear."

"Uck," Fluttershy grunted her disgust. "Iron Will might have meant well, but what a jerk. He could have lots of friends if he wasn't so selfish and full of himself."

Cerb cocked an eyebrow.

"Is that the one who taught you how to fight?"

Fluttershy calmly answered, "No, not fight. It was more like he taught me that I needed to act like I was the best and everypony had to do what I told them. If they didn't, I should make them pay for it if they disrespected me or didn't give me what I wanted. I can tell you more about him later if you like, but I think I'm ready to go to sleep now."

"Me too," Rarity replied.

Cerb yawned and placed his hands over his midsection, about ready to fall asleep himself.

"Yeah. We'll have plenty of time to talk over the next few days. Goodnight, girls."

"Goodnight," They both answered in unison.

"Awe, come on," Apple Bloom wined. "Why can't we stay at home?"

Sweetie Belle wasn't trying to fight the new arrangement. "Apple Bloom. It's not a big deal, honestly. You were already staying here, but at least now we can have a room to ourselves. You did say Granny snores at night."

Granny leaned in, squinting one eye and staring her down with the other. "Oh, really? Little miss kicking in her sleep."

Irritated for being held up this long, Applejack barked, "Simmer down, you two. Now Lumberman, here, did y'all a favor by paying for the second room so y'all can have some privacy."

Apple Bloom groaned, "More like so you two can have some privacy."

"Hey, now," Big Mac scolded. "It's not just Lumberman and Applejack staying at the house tonight."

Apple Bloom hunkered down a little.

"Why isn't Miss Kelly staying at the castle with all her friends?" She looked down the hall to see Kelly still sitting in Lumberman's truck. "I heard she hit Cerberus and didn't even help any pony today."

Before any of the other Apples could lay into the filly, Lumberman came at her with his own counter.

"Do you know why that is?"

Apple Bloom looked up at Lumberman, "Well, I figured—" She suddenly realized she started answering without knowing anything outside the rumors she heard. "...I don't know."

Lumberman pushed on, sounding more like a big brother again.

"What do you know?"

Apple Bloom didn't look as confident now.

"I heard that—"

"I didn't ask you what you heard," Lumberman cut her off with a dark tone. "I asked you, what do you know about Kelly and all this."

"I dunno?" Apple Bloom answered.

Lumberman nodded.

"I see... So, you don't know why Kelly hit Cerb or why she was away from all of us today. Right?"

Apple Bloom sulked, suddenly feeling like she went through a whole lecture from Big Mac.

"No... I don't know nuthing."

Lumberman knelt down closer to Apple Bloom's level.

"Well, I think you know she's a good friend and that she's had a really hard time since she got here. Right?"

Apple Bloom answered, sounding more regretful.

"Yeah, I know she did."

Trying to settle down the rising emotions, Lumberman put his hand on Apple Bloom's shoulder.

"Kelly is in a lot of pain and is worried the same thing could happen to Cerb when he goes out with Fluttershy. She hit him because she was angry and afraid that something terrible would happen. I'm sure you can understand why."

Apple Bloom practically shrank under Lumberman's questions.

"I do."

Lumberman asked another question, though in not as harsh of a tone.

"And do you think Kelly is the only one that was affected by what happened to her? Your brother and sister were there when Kelly was hurt. So was Granny. Do you think they might be hurting because of what happened?"

This was a grilling session Apple Bloom wanted out of but knew she put herself there.

"I know Big Mac got hurt fighting off all them guards and Applejack—"

Lumberman cut her off, raising his voice with an apologetic tone.

"That's not the kind of pain I'm talking about. There over that."

Big Mac grumbled, rubbing a hoof over the right side of his ribs.

"Well, mostly over it."

Lumberman shook his head slowly.

"Look, AB. What I'm trying to get you to see is that just because you're upset and you don't know what's going on, you can't go off on family like that. You got to be careful with what you say and how you're going to act up around 'em. You have no idea what Kelly has been through or what all us adults are dealing with. And you're probably not going to know until one of us tells you. But right now, we're taking care of it all the best we can. And we'd like to do that with just us adults. Do you understand?"

Apple Bloom swallowed hard and stared at her hooves.

"Yes, Mr. Lumberman."

Lumberman finished with a proud smile. "Good. Glad to hear it. Now stop moping around and enjoy having a hotel room to yourselves. You're living it up like a rock star with one of your best friends. Throw a party. Break some furniture—"

"Alright there, Woody," Applejack shouted, pushing Lumberman out of the hallway. "You were doing great till ya told 'em to start tearing up the place."

Lumberman let Applejack push him out, laughing the whole way.

"Oh, come on? Yer raising the kid without all the fun parts. Hard work and morals? Where's all the wanton destruction and poor life choices?"

Applejack grunted as she drove her head into Lumberman's backside to usher him out.

"If I didn't know you were just cracking jokes, I'd have half a mind to boot yer ass clear out in-tuh the Everfree and lead the rescue party the wrong direction on purpose."

Sweetie Belle hollered down the hall, "Don't worry, Applejack. We'll be good and won't break anything."

Lumberman turned just enough to face them while not tripping over himself as Applejack continued to push him along.

"That's right. Be good, you two. Have a good night."

The two fillies shouted back, "Good night, Lumberman."

Not fully trusting the two, Applejack spat out over her shoulder, "Just stay outta trouble for the next few days and stop with the back talking and all them speculations."

It didn't take long until they were all piled up in the truck again. Big Mac, still stuck in the back seat, Lumberman driving, Kelly in the passenger seat, and Applejack in the center seat.

Lumberman looked at the dashboard.

"Well, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to be doing this," he complained.

"It won't be but for a few days," Applejack apologized.

"Nah," Lumberman laughed. "Driving my truck, I mean. Not unless there's a gas station that sells diesel anywhere nearby."

"Diesel?" Applejack cocked her head to the side but then cringed and face hoofed. "How abouts from here on out the next time you go throwing out words you even think I ain't never heard before, you follow it up with an explanation? That way, I'm not stumbling through every other conversation like I was born yesterday."

Lumberman chuckled.

"My bad. Diesel is the fuel my truck needs to run. I got a funny feeling there ain't any nearby, so I might be shit outta luck... Shit outta luck means I have no luck at all."

Applejack rolled her eyes and laughed for a moment.

"Well, I figured that much." She looked over her shoulder to her brother in the back seat. "Hey, Machintosh. 'Ole Woody here's been teaching me all sorts uh new words and uh whole bunch uh new stuff I ain't never woulda known of. You been learning much from Kelly with all the time y'all been hanging out together?"

Big Mac leaned his head over the front seat with a coy grin and asked, "Ya mean like them swear words? It uh been a bitch of a time if she hadn't."

"Bitch of uh?" Applejack started cracking up. "Shoot. Just a bitch, or a trifling ass bitch of a time?"

Kelly had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud.

"Lumberman! What have you been teaching this poor innocent young pony?"

"What?" Lumberman playfully asked. "She asked me about my mom. What was I supposed to say?"

Kelly threw up her hands as if giving up and let them slap down on her lap.

"Well, shit. Can't argue with that logic."

Applejack piped up, excitedly pointing to the center console, "Hey, Woody. Play some of that Rucker fella's music for Big Mac. Not that sad one, but that other one."

A short ride and two songs later, they arrived back at the Apple house. They all made their way to the front door, but Kelly started to slow down and was trembling in her knees. The lack of her footsteps following along had Lumberman and Applejack turn back to see a fear-stricken Kelly. She was holding tightly to Big Mac's mane and unable to move forward.

Lumberman let the door close and reached for his keys.

"Hey, y'all. Maybe Kelly shouldn't have to stay the night here. Let's head back to Benny's so she—"

"No," Kelly weakly mumbled. "Cerb is passing back there tomorrow... I'm not staying there. Or the castle."

Applejack looked up to Lumberman.

"Were there any more rooms open back at the hotel?"

"No," Lumberman sighed. "I was lucky to get the last one because Helix Ray is staying at the castle tonight. Two of Luna's guards took the last room. Not sure why they don't just stay at the castle, though."

Kelly swallowed hard.

"I'll be fine... Just don't expect me to do the dishes any time soon. " She tried to force a laugh, but it came out more like a choking sound. "Sorry... Gallows humor... It's funnier when Cerb does it, I guess."

Big Mack softly spoke to her, hunkering down so she could mount him again, "Come on, Miss Kelly. Just hold on tight and close yer eyes. I'll take ya upstairs and help ya get settled in fer the night. Ya don't have to see the kitchen again if it's gonna upset ya like this."

Kelly all but whispered, "Thank you."

Lumberman went and opened the door again, letting Big Mac in first with Kelly on his back. Then, true to his word, Big Mac went straight for the stairs and carried Kelly out of sight.

After watching her brother disappear up the stairs, Applejack quietly asked, "Do you really think she's gonna be alright? I mean, she sounded so much more confident at the dance when she had our one-on-one conversation wit me."

Lumberman sighed, "She'll deal. And while I'm sure bringing her here for the night was a stupid idea in hindsight, this has a lot more to do with Cerb than anything else. But, uh—" He looked down at her with an apologetic gleam in his eyes. "If she's really this worked up over everything, I think I should see if she's gonna need me close by tonight."

"Heh," Applejack lowered her head with a slight blush. "I take it she might need some comforting to sleep tight?"

"Wouldn't be the first time." Lumberman's world suddenly took a 180 in his mind. "Well, probably not now."

"Why's that?" Applejack asked, following Lumberman's line of sight up the stairs to see Big Mac carrying a glass of water on a tray in his teeth. "Oh... Right."

She chuckled to herself as her brother walked out of sight again.

"Sure is a lot of that going around these days."

"Broken spirits and broken bodies," Lumberman said quietly.

Applejack hated to ask, but, "So, then—" She was hoping somehow she'd be able to have him stick around for another night. "Would it be too much to ask for some company tonight? Cuz, well... I probably would' uh asked ya anyway, but after seeing Kelly like that..."

Lumberman hung his head, half wanting to grin and half fighting off letting his own hurting heart show through.

"After seeing Kelly like that and knowing she ain't gonna try to lean on me... I'd welcome the company myself."

Applejack leaned in hard against Lumberman, rubbing her neck and shoulder against his right side.

"I'm sorry, Woody. Seems like fer every celebration we find, there's just another touch of misery that has tuh up and rear its ugly head."

Lumberman guided his hand over Applejack's cheek and down her neck.

"I hear ya, Apple Hat. But I'm sure there's someone out there that's got it worse than us."

Applejack harrumphed, "I sure hope not."

"Flathead!" An Earth pony stallion's voice barked into a prison cell. "You gonna eat, or you just going to let this bread go to waste?"

"Hey," Another pegasus guard shoulder-checked his aggressive partner. "Don't you think he's suffered enough? Poor guy took a beating before he even knew that he made a mistake. He doesn't need your constant badgering and harassment."

"Mistake?" The Earth pony guard huffed. "We're called the royal guard because we're protectors. Not murders."

The pegasus guard moved closer to the prison bars.

"Spearhead. I got your back, even if not everypony else does. I know you didn't mean to let any of this happen. But you got to eat more than only a few bites a day. Once your court marshal is over, and the Princesses hears the whole story, I'm sure they'll have you out of here and back on the guard in no time at all. With back pay! But you got to stay strong until then."

Spearhead looked up from the corner of his cell. Despite how much time had gone by, he still looked rather beaten up; bruises and poorly kept bandages covering much of his exposed body did little to offer a positive outlook.

"She's doing better, I heard," he said with a heavy heart. "There was a local newspaper from Ponyville yesterday... She danced with Luna, it said... But word is getting around; she took a potion before that... She can barely walk, is what the other guards are saying."

The Earth pony scoffed, "And whose fault is that?"

The pegasus shouted this time, angry at his comrade's treatment, "Shut up! I was there for the brief, and we were all told how dangerous they could be. It was made very clear to us how important it was that she talk to the humans. All of them! And I was there when the other humans showed up. And you know what? The big one? He's bigger than Tirek and scarier than the changeling invasion was," he finished off his rant with a jab to the Earth pony's chest with his wing.

The Earth pony jabbed the pegasus back even harder with his hoof.

"Yeah, I heard. That doesn't explain why Swift Hoof stabbed the smallest mare of their herd when the big one wasn't even around! So, not only does none of that matter, their trio of stupid nearly killed an innocent victim of circumstance, disgraced our ranks, and his failure to lead them on their mission ruined their careers and put them in the hospital! Which is where they still are! Swift Hoof was a good pony until he fell under Flathead's ranks!"

"And so was Iron Sparks!" The pegasus shouted back. "One of the best weapons experts of any of the unicorns in our ranks! And he didn't even do anything! And he's in this just as deep as Spearhead, now! You going to insult him, too?"

The Earth pony was nose to nose with his fellow guard.

"He assaulted the Element of Honesty! You call that not doing anything?!"

Spearhead weakly spoke up between them, putting a stop to their bickering.

"We had no idea what we were getting into... The humans barely even looked like what we were told they would. Her head was too small, her body too big, tiny eyes... Even the way she smelt when we walked in the Apple house was enough to make me not question what she was at first. Swift Hoof and Iron Sparks were scared after all the horror stories of Sunset Shimmer were put in their heads... What were we supposed to do when she wouldn't listen to our orders and threw herself on Big Mac?"

The Earth pony snapped, "Well, certainly not stab the poor thing."

Spearhead tried to wet his dried, cracked lips.

"Sunset Shimmer took out over two dozen guards without even being noticed. Not even Celestia was able to stop her. So, before we left, everypony that went out there that day was told just how dangerous the humans could be if they were in allegiance to her."

The Earth pony reflected on that, remembering the stories he heard in the past about the wanted mare whose name still haunted the halls of the Canterlot Castle.

"But, they weren't."

"No pony knew that!" Spearhead admitted. "But what would you have done if you were in Swift Hoof's armor that day?"

For the first time, the Earth pony didn't have a retort. There was no easy answer to give. At least not without admitting that he may have spoken too hastily.

He looked again at the piece of bread he originally used as an excuse to harass his former comrade, "If you can only ever manage a few bites of anything, we'll get you something better to eat."

Spearhead lowered his head and laid himself back on the stone floor next to his bed.

"Thanks... but no thanks. I don't have much of an appetite these days. Maybe when Swift Foot and Iron Sparks wake up, we can share one last meal together... I'll eat then."

Discord hollered over the clamoring of construction equipment his doubles were using to repair the damage done to the dimensional strings.

"Keep working hard, boys! We're making good time!"

"You're time, sir," Another copy of Discord offered, serving up a plate of green flakes. "Banishment reserves. Taken from the year of Nightmare Moon's imprisonment on the moon."

"Why thank you," he complimented himself in a roundabout way before daintily pressing the chip to his lips and tilting his head back, turning the chip into a liquid so he could drink it like a glass of wine. "Mmm, yes. An excellent choice, indeed."

A short distance away, another copy of Discord was examining a level placed over a collection of strings.

"Uh, foreman Discord! You might want to take a look at this?"

"Huh?" Discord questioned himself. "Oh, what is it now?" He dropped another piece of time onto the serving tray and shooed his serving double away. "I swear, if I have to interrupt myself one more time while entertaining myself—"

He bent down and looked over his double's shoulder, examining the bubbles and lines on the level.

"Are you even holding it right?"

The copy turned around and sneered harshly, "I don't know. Are you?"

"Excuse me!" Discord huffed angrily. "Need I remind you who you are talking—" Discord sighed and facepalmed hard. "I've been here so long, even I need a break from myself."

With a snap of his taloned claws, all of his copies disappeared in a puff of magic smoke.

With some level of quietness restored, he picked up the level and went back to examining its measurements.

"Hmm... That doesn't seem right," he said to himself while looking over the peculiar anomaly. "What could be pulling this barrier so far off alignment? It's almost like more strings are pulling on—"

A new set of strings he hadn't noticed before suddenly came into view. He reached for a pawful of them, but the strings were somehow intangible. He swiped at them a few more times before standing up with an angry grunt.

"Alright, what's the big idea here?" He complained to himself, eyeing the complex set of strings. "You're not attached to any adjacent dimension. You're not a pocket dimension or a dream realm. You're not even forming anything physical, magical, or metaphysical, but you're still bound to something here... But just barely."

He stood there pondering before moving on to the only next logical solution.

"Well... better go investigate."

Discord extracted a claw from his paw and tore a gap open along the lines of the strings, and dove in headfirst. Upon entry, he searched for any irregularities, but only one thing came off as out of place in this void of swirling prismatic colors.

"Why does everything here feel so familiar?" He asked as he continued to examine this confusing dimensional location. "This is most certainly a reality based on Harmony, but it looks and feels just like Equestria."

He raised a pair of binoculars to get a better view, making a series of adjustments to various nobs and dials built into it.

"Friendship, Love, Light, Dark, a touch of my favorite Chaos, aaaaaaaaaaaand Astral and Ether… And few others, but who even cares about those? All the magic needed to construct a physical reality... but... nothing? There's more than enough magic here to put together at least a dozen realities. What kind of broken reality is this? Even my Chaos dimension makes more sense than this. Even the time here is all wrong."

Discord reached out and started to pluck small pieces of time from the reality around him.

"Twenty years, five years, this piece is years from now-no.... They're all five years from now? But also older?" He plucked another piece of time that was moving out of place. "This is... current?"

He took a closer look at the piece of time.

"Current, and from the Equestria I know... but it's also... It's like something has been infused into it. What in blazes is going on here?"

For some reason, all of these oddities got Discord feeling practically gitty.

"I've never seen time attached to anything without an external force holding them together, and why haven't I ever thought about doing this?" He slid the piece of time under a microscope he pulled from nowhere to get a better look. "Time infused with bands of preconstructed physical reality. Hmm, that almost looks like it belongs to a unicorn. Oh, and constructed with Light magic, and-GAH!"

Discord jumped back and blasted the microscope with a burst of chaotic magic. The microscope was destroyed entirely, but in the small cloud of smoke it left behind, the shard of time remained untouched. The little piece of magic had him panicking from what he saw was undamaged. He shook his paws frantically, trying to rid himself of any remnants that might have rubbed off on him from holding it.

After a few more shakes, he pulled his arms back, letting his paws detach entirely, and he backed away while taking in his surroundings wild-eyed.

"Forget this place. I'm heading back where it's safe!" Discord shouted as he raced back to the tear in reality that he had left open.

He stopped just a few feet short, frozen again with a greater sense of fear. He gazed off into the distance, focusing on something still unseen but clearly recognized.

"Hopelessness. Hmph. You belong in this void."

"Hopelessness?!" Trixie shouted. "And this isn't the void, you idiot! It's Canterlot! Get me out of here!"

Trixie stood in the center of Canterlot, or at least in her dream; that's where she was. Only in this dream, Canterlot was having its final stand against another onslaught from the darkness.

All Trixie could do was watch Discord fly off into the sky into the tear in reality, vanishing as it closed behind him.

Trixie turned around to the wall of fire being used to hold back the approaching darkness from under the mountainside where Ponyville once stood.

"Stupid jerk," she grumbled as she rubbed the sore spot on her head where a few strands of hair had been removed. "You just show up in my dream unannounced, pretend not to see or hear me, and then-rip out my hair!—and fly off without me, calling me hopeless because-apparently! I belong here!"

A group of ponies rushed to the ledge Trixie was standing by and looked over it. They were a mix of guards and civilians. They had all ran over to see the advancing wall of darkness breaking down magic barriers and overtaking flames. A series of gasps and worrying questions floated from them.

One of them cried out, "It's never gotten this far before!"

Another asked, "Why didn't the shields hold?"

Another white stallion wearing golden armor with Twilight's insignia on his chest huffed and puffed as he made his way over to join them.

"Because I'm getting too old for this," he wheezed. "We knew the shields and barriers could only hold it off for so long... We can only make so much harmony on our own to enforce it."

A mare turned around to address the armored stallion, speaking with a thick Southern accent.

"Can't you fuse with Justin again? That worked last time."

Trixie's eyes went wide when the mare came into view. The voice should have given it away, but what she saw made her hesitate.

"Applejack?"

The armored stallion removed his helmet to reveal Shining Armor. It was most certainly him, only much older. His mane and tail had been greyed out, and he looked just as old as Applejack, or at least appeared to be.

"We tried." His legs buckled and started to falter, but Applejack caught him just in time. "He's too old, now. All of them are. All of us are. We need to think of something else."

Trixie ran up next to them, circling around and examing their elderly appearance.

"Why are you two so old? Is this the future? I mean. The distant future? Nothing I've been shown has been anything more than just a few years at most or a few years in the past. How were you able to make it this much longer than all the others?"

As she continued to move around and examine them, she was barely able to listen in on their conversation. She was too caught up in amazement of the idea of an elderly Applejack. As she made another pass, she locked up her legs as she rounded Applejack's backside and tripped over herself.

Trixie screamed in confused horror, "What in the?! Where's your—"

Trixie's eyes remained focused on the empty space under Applejack's tail. The area was smooth and closed, with no sign of genitals or a tail hole. Her eyes glanced down low enough to see that not only were there no teats under Applejack's belly, but Shining Armor's underside was baren as well.

"What the hey? Trixie belted out as she backed away hurriedly. "How do you ponies go to the bathroom?"

The sound of wings flapping over the ledge rose up with Princess Luna carrying a human on her back, flying overhead and landing roughly on the cobblestone.

"Somepony help Kelly. Please! Quickly!"

The group of ponies rushed to Luna's side and helped remove the human from Luna's back. Trixie walked over close enough to see a human female, but by the looks of her, it was a much older version of the human Kelly. At least what she imagined was an older version of the Kelly she met. This one, if it was Kelly, had graying hair, looked weathered, tired, and was sweating profusely. Then Trixie noticed the human's left leg... or what was left of it.

The elderly Kelly struggled to speak.

"I'm sorry, Lulu."

"No," Luna replied, forcing an optimistic tone. "I should have been there sooner. You did the right thing running back to help everypony."

Kelly forced a laugh, "You're always late... Just like you are for movie night."

Luna took Kelly's hand in her wing and brought it to her cheek, "Just late enough to have an excuse to stay longer."

"I know," Kelly whispered with tear-filled eyes.

Luna did her best not to fall apart, watching her old friend suffering.

"Now, hold on tight. Once we have everything under control and push the Darkness away again and get your leg fixed up, we'll find new movies to watch. We'll binge-watch them together until you're well enough to come live with me in Silver Shoals. No more time apart. No more waiting."

Kelly raised a weary hand up to Luna's face, running her fingers gently over Luna's fur.

"Remember the first night we spent together? Just you and me?"

Those words said all the wrong things to Luna, and she finally let her own tears fall.

"Big Mac was so jealous."

Kelly spoke in a whisper, "And all the rumors."

Twilight's royal Canterlot voice called out from the center of the city, "Everypony! Final protective lines! This is not a drill! Battle stations! Defend the city at all costs!"

Cautiously walking up, Applejack softly spoke, "Princess. We have to—"

Luna quickly looked up to Applejack, silently asking for the impossible.

Applejack reached up and gripped the neckerchief her grandmother used to wear. She seemed to wrestle with her thoughts but was interrupted by Shining.

"Luna, take care of Kelly," he instructed her. "Applejack, help me to my station. Everypony else, you know where you need to go."

A sudden flash from a teleportation spell revealed three fully grown Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Apple Bloom's voice cut out as she rushed over to her sister, "Applejack, Princess Twilight needs you back at—" She came to a stop at the sight Luna had lying in her forehooves. "Kelly?"

Applejack shouted, trying to draw her sister's attention away from the tragic scene playing out.

"Apple Bloom! Help Shining to his battle station. Scootaloo, guide the others to where they're needed. Sweetie Belle, take me back to the castle with Twilight."

Sweetie Belle saw Kelly's missing leg and the darkened stump that remained.

"What about Kelly? She's—"

Applejack screamed, "That's an order! Luna's taking care of her, now do as your told! All of you!"

Scootaloo bravely sounded off and turned to the small crowd.

"Yes, mam! All of you follow me. The western perimeter needs more support."

Sweetie Bell moved next to Applejack with her own tear-filled eyes.

"Hold on, Applejack. There's a lot more bad news waiting for you in the castle."

As the flash of light removed Sweetie Belle and Applejack, Apple Bloom helped Shining Armor to his feet and pointed him in the right direction.

"Come on, old fella. Justin's watching over us. Let's make'em proud."

The thundering sound of cannons started in the distance, followed by explosions cracking off under the mountainside of the city. The flashes of flames rising up and multi-colored lights of spells being cast soon joined in concert. Luna, however, didn't move an inch.

Kelly's fever was escalating, affecting her worse than the pain and blood loss, making it difficult to speak.

"I wish our harmony hadn't been, so one-sided."

Luna pulled Kelly up closer against her chest.

"Just because we're built differently doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it."

Kelly tried to laugh.

"If you were, you would have loved it."

Luna squeezed tighter, "I loved you. That should have been enough."

Kelly's voice grew quieter.

"I blame that stupid Crystal Ring of Harmony. Fucking useless. Nothing but bad advice when it could talk."

Crying through her friend's terrible sense of humor, Luna agreed, "The worst advice. You know what we should have said? ... Kelly?"

Before Trixie could react to another death in her dreams, the whole world stopped, and the same unspoken words of a silent voice invaded her mind. She clenched her teeth, waiting for the pain to set in or for the words to drive her mad, but this time they came in softly. They came off as something with a deep remorse and regret with bitterness and resentment.

The familiar voiceless words of another Trixie started to send her words.

"You're world survived longer than any other that had come to face the Darkness. Using what remained of the Ring of Harmony to reinforce Shining Armor's defensive magic, and using your own magic of love and friendship to create your own harmony to power it."

For the first time, another voiceless speaker could be understood without the mental static.

"The differences between us were too great. Our bodies, not truly alive. Flesh without blood over bodies that were more of animated fantasies. Harmony allowed us to exist, but with so much going to the barriers, it would never have been possible to sustain life for Equestria while protecting it. In doing so, ten humans gave up their lives to extend ours. Little by little, with every fusion, they lost a little more of themselves. What little magic they held, was leeched away to replace the harmony we needed."

"Uh? Hello?" Trixie called out in the still scene she was trapped inside. "Can either of you hear me yet?"

"Is that her?" The new voiceless body asked.

Trixie started to dance in place, "Yes! I'm here! Help me! What is the fusion you're talking about?! How can—"

"I am all but certain," The other Trixie answered.

Trixie rolled her eyes and groaned, "Buck me in the guts. What is this going to take to have anypony hear me in this place?"

"If she is here, then we both hope she can hear us, and she needs to know that the humans are the key. They always have been. Equestria and its entire existence depend on them. She cannot let the others make the same mistakes of our worlds. Fear, prejudice, jealousy, and pride will all try to be used to divide them. Their passion gives us power. Their love gives us life. And their devotion gave us strength."

"Luna. Do not remove yourself too far from the Crystal Ring. The more you do, the closer the other Echoes will be to discovering you."

"Princess Luna?" Trixie spoke the question aloud. "She... Does she not have a crotch, too? How is that even a thing?"

"Apologies. Understanding how things truly are, what the Crystals all are bound to. It is difficult not to overpower the Harmony side of us. Even more so since it seeks redemption."

"Your Ring of Harmony was weakened from the years of sustaining the barriers. Much of you has replaced the broken pieces that hold it together. The Rose has been more understanding for me. Order also makes my stance more convincing as well. I think it makes both of us that much stronger to be able to resist being lost altogether. Likely the other Echoes rid themselves of their bearers."

"My Kelly wasn't like the ponies of my Equestria. She wasn't pulled together by strands of magic, only imbued with it. But amazingly, she somehow made what we shared feel real... But using the Elements to allow me to become the new Ring of Harmony made me feel like I lost a part of that... You were lucky to share with your Chris what I could not. Just as my Trixie was unable to with our Chris... But I understand now why she fought so hard to save him and why he did not survive long without her."

Trixie huffed. "Again, with me and Chris?"

The voiceless words of Trixie came out, ripe with the same pain and remorse as Luna's, "She did what I could not... Though, I suppose I really lost Chris when I didn't fight for him and let Twilight come between us. But with our help, our new Trixie from the Tree of Harmony, she will be free to avoid our tragedy and save them from the Void. Maybe even stop it, once and for all."

"The Chrystal side of us still struggles to understand how they are to succeed without the guiding Words from beyond. They have never been broken other than to summon the ten chosen. And that would only strengthen their claim to obey, given how far from the Words we have fallen."

"Even now, we continue without them. But what good were the words after the humans arrived? The Rose side of us remembers hearing the Words, even when we were without the power to craft them into action. Nor could we have fathomed a way to correct the path we had strayed from."

"The words still come. Even now, the Tree of Harmony is without the means to follow them. Surely the Rose side of you must hear them."

"We both do, just as we are certain the Tree of Harmony continues to shape the world it is bound to. But, if it is as blind as we have become, that will grant us more time."

"The others seek to return to the old ways. They will resist our efforts to no longer have them enforced."

"For Celestia's sake," Trixie groaned. "How much more complicated can all of you ghost copies make this?"

Slowly, the dreamscape began to fade away, returning to the barren landscape of the desert where Trixie was still hiding. As the relief of not relieving another nightmare set in, she noticed the silent voices were gone. Unfortunately, the static of indiscernible voices started to drown out the world around her. Again, she fell to the ground, holding her head and screaming in vain for them to stop.

Eventually, Trixie opened her eyes and found herself again in the confines of her cramped little wagon. She rubbed her eyes of the sleep and rolled out of bed. When she stepped out, she was greeted by the rising sun. Her head still ached, and her stomach growled from hunger. The nightmares she had to suffer through were not nearly as frequent and troublesome as those from when she was in the cities. Still, these new static voices had longer-lasting effects of suffering through. So, a dilemma had presented itself. Stay in the safer desert and suffer the migraines and hunger, or return to the populated areas to work and eat, but deal with the more vivid world-ending nightmares.

"Why was life so much easier being evil?" she sighed. "Not that I'm acting like much of a hero right now. Running away from nightmares and living off the discount scraps from a Las Pegasus food cart." Her stomach growled again. "Arg... I can't stay out here forever. Maybe just go back long enough to resupply and find another spot out here where I can avoid all the invisible dream ghosts."

Once again, she latched up her wagon and headed out towards the nearest town.

I wanted to put more into this, but there wasn't much I thought I could have worked in. Putting Cerb together with Fluttershy and Rarity had to happen. Not just for plot reasons, I needed to set up that every once and a while, plans characters make aren't always going to follow through. Some will have ideas that turn out to be wrong. Nothing has to be outrageous, but in life... not everything works out like you plan. The same thing is gonna happen here.

Otherwise, I needed to touch back with old Flathead/Spearhead. Now that the dust has settled and hindsight starts to fall into that 20/20 view, some clarity can complicate things and show where mistakes were made.

Then, of course, there's good ole Trixie. Never a dull night's sleep. Nice to see the Crystal Rose of Harmony isn't alone. Aside from the Trixie that it shares the body with. Although... who are the other Echoes?

Otherwise, stay tuned for the next advancement in this story. Chapter 48. Can I Get A Hell Yeah!.