Cerb and Benny jogged their way up to the front of the group traveling out. They had only gotten as far as entering the town and would soon be marching through the very center of it. As they made their way in, the normally quiet streets were lined up with ponies cheering them on. Something none of the humans had expected.

Benny waved to another group of ponies, who were wishing them good luck, while he spoke discreetly to Cerb next to him, "You'd think we were celebrities or something."

"We kinda are," Cerb replied. "We're the Stranded Seven, remember?"

"Fucking, Sniff," Benny chuckled. "Everything and his dick is a sales pitch."

"Yeah," Cerb groaned as he waved to a group of fillies holding a good luck sign. "I'm afraid to find out what stupid question he asked that pissed Twilight off. Because I swear to God, if he was throwing a sales pitch for a one-night stand..."

"Doubt it," Benny said, trying not to laugh. "I think having the chance to help others without the possibility of getting his dick wet has changed him."

Cerb had a hard time imagining Sniff changing his ways, even if it didn't come with sniffing up a ponies skirt.

"The dudes addicted. And I'm not saying I think he'd be looking to sample the locals this early in the game."

"The fuck you talking about?" Benny asked.

Cerb gave a little shrug with his answer.

"Word around town is that some of the ponies have become interested in some of us. And yes, I mean that we've been catching eyes by some of the single ladies out here." They both eyed the line of mostly female ponies greeting and wishing them well on their journey. "Of which there are plenty."

Benny shook his head, "I'm never eating cookies again."

"I'm sure it's more than just her," Cerb suggested.

Benny chuckled again, as their situation honestly was becoming more comical by the day.

"Jesus... Next thing you know, I'll be sharing my bed with one or two of 'em."

Cerb cracked a grin, holding back his laugh, and raised a fist.

"If I didn't know you any better, I'd drill you right in the middle of the street."

"I'm just playing, man," Benny said with a laugh. "You inspire me."

"Oh, ha-ha," Cerb mocked the compliment. "You must be so proud of me getting two off the bat."

"No," Benny was very serious this time with his tone. "You're getting help and getting better. I give a fuck less about how you're doing it right now. It's better than what I'm doing."

Cerb gave Benny a concerned look.

"And what are you doing?"

Benny reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of headphones to dangle in front of Cerb.

"Not much." He put the headphones back in his pocket, "Getting over it is easy... It's getting past it that's the hard part."

About the time they finished their little exchange, that the smell of freshly baked breads filled the air. Outside of a small shop stood Sniff with Oven Fresh, each of them laughing over something and snacking on fruit-filled scones. Upon seeing them, they both jogged out and joined Benny and Cerb, marching along with them.

"Rough morning," Cerb joked.

Sniff smiled but was clearly not interested in catching any flack from anyone over the implied drama.

"Yeah. Let's not get into that right now."

Benny smirked, "Nothing you can't fix."

Oven Fresh could sense the tension between Sniff and his friends and moved to distract them.

"I made you something for when you get hungry on your way through the Everfree."

A small basket of the same scones they were eating levitated up into Cerb's hands.

"Wow. Thank you," Cerb said, eyeing up the goods. "I doubt these will last long with us."

Sniff used the switch in conversation to keep the positive shift going.

"She's amazing. You guys will love 'em. But, you guys stay safe out there. I'm gonna hang back and do my thing."

"Yeah, no doubt," Cerb responded half-half heartedly joking.

Benny and Cerb quickly sidetracked themselves off to the side, letting the others pass them.

Moving past the previous jokes, Benny asked, "You gonna be good while we're gone?"

"Pft," Sniff jokingly responded. "Worry about yourself out there. Now come here."

Sniff gave the two a quick hug and pat on the back.

"Seriously. You two stay safe out there. Don't be out there putting that immortality to the test. Your legacy is secure. Believe me."

Cerb played down the compliment and moved back to take his place at the front of the formation, "Yeah, yeah."

Benny called out as he followed behind Cerb, "Hey! House is open for ya if you wanna network or whatever while we're gone, man. Improve our brand or something."

Sniff didn't have a follow-up to that and simply waved as he watched them leave.

Oven Fresh could only assume that he was worried about them and leaned in against Sniff.

"I've heard a lot of rumors about your big friend there. If even half of what I heard is true, I feel sorry for anything in the Everfree dumb enough to get in his way. But I'm sure you already know that."

"Yeah," Sniff agreed, dropping his hand down and resting it on Oven Fresh's neck. "Immortality doesn't mean invulnerable. I just don't want to see him hurt again."

"Peter?" Twilight's voice sprang up behind him.

Sniff did a slow turn to see the Princess standing with an unexpected smile to greet him.

Happy to see him, Twilight spoke with a warm tone.

"You ran off so fast this morning, we didn't have a chance to finish our conversation."

The drastic change in her voice from the last time they spoke put him on edge, as he was expecting a quick shift back to anger at the drop of a hat from the princess.

"Twilight, I—"

"Don't worry," Twilight spoke up, playfully taking advantage of his uneasy state to keep him guessing. "I won't be gone for too long out there. But I would like to finish up what we were talking about and finish up the rest of our plans for my tour when I get back."

She glanced over to Oven Fresh, who was both standing with some trepidation yet putting herself protectively in front of Sniff's legs.

"I was told Peter came out to make sure some of the food supplies were going to be ready for us. I'm glad to know you were the one he went to provide food services for us. I'll be sure that you're well compensated for all of your assistance."

Not letting either of them get another word in edgewise, Twilight started to trot off back into the mass of marching ponies.

"Keep an eye on Peter while I'm gone, would you? He's a real chatterbox, that one." She started to raise her voice the farther out she got. "Oh, and feel free to use the castle while I'm gone, Peter! Spike could use the company!"

Sniff tried to figure out what that exchange that just happened was.

"Uh... Okay?!... Bye!"

Oven Fresh watched Twilight trot away like nothing was wrong and then turned her attention back to Sniff.

"She's is either really fast at forgiving you... or she's plotting something super vindictive and is luring you into a trap."

"The calm before the storm?" Sniff asked like he was watching an inevitable semi-truck barreling down on him.

Oven Fresh had the same thought in mind.

"Ooooh, yeah."

The uneasy feelings Twilight left Sniff with already had his mind working on a recovery plan.

"God, I hope you're wrong."

Rarity's voice called out from their side, "Good morning, Sniff."

Fluttershy's voice floated by as she came in with the rest of the group, "Good morning, Sniff. Good morning, Oven Fresh."

"Yo! Sniffy!" Shining shouted. "Good morn... Ehh! Cute mare you got there. Better watch out there, miss. This guy is a party animal! Total bro!"

Just behind them rolled up Lumberman and Becky in the truck with Big Mac, Starlight, and Chris in the bed of the truck.

Lumberman shouted out through the passenger window, "Look out! Poacher on the loose!"

Becky stuck her head out the passenger window to taunt him, "Figured you were hungry, Sniff. But not that hungry."

Big Mac shouted as he passed with a friendly wave, "Hi, Sniff. Ya best be treating Oven Fresh all nice like."

Adding further clueless insult, Starlight added her own compliment as she leaned over the side of the truck bed as she passed by.

"Hey, she's cute. Good for you, Sniffs."

Chris was the last to wave them off.

"Have fun you two! And thanks again for the bread, Oven Fresh. Sniff wouldn't stop talking about your buns! Said he loved 'em!"

Honk! Honk!

Sniff facepalmed, utterly embarrassed by the barrage of comments thrown at him by his friends.

"Ignore my friends, Ovens. I'm sorry if they said anything that you may have found rude or inappropriate."

Oven Fresh giggled, "They seem fun. And besides, all they said is that I was cute. You think I'm cute, don't you?"

"Ovens," Sniff began to chuckle. "You still got the silver, don't you?"

Oven Fresh looked up to Sniff with a flirtatious smile, "Psh. I think we both know you gave the gold to Dinky to win the crowd over. Being adorable isn't the same as being cute. You're having dinner with Gold tonight."

Sniff huffed out a laugh.

"Wow. And here I thought I had you fooled the whole time. But it was you leading me on."

Oven Fresh grinned and motioned for him to follow her back into the bakery.

"I lined up two dates with you in one day, and you're only now figuring that out?"

"Alright," Cerb called out to the ponies. "Y'all can rest up here before we move out into the forest. Bathrooms are in the back if you need them."

With the ponies only granted a short break, Benny and Cerb walked into the house to grab a few final items.

Cerb opened a cupboard door and pulled out two of the firearms.

"Kimber for me, and Shockwave for you." He handed the shotgun to Benny but held onto it as Benny tugged on it. "Are you going to be good out there with this if you have to use it?"

A flash of anger rose up in Benny's eyes but fell just as quickly as it came.

"I'll be fine."

Cerb held tight to the shotgun as Benny tried to tug it again.

"I got Fluttershy to keep me grounded while I'm out there and Rarity to keep me from losing my shit at night. You've been slipping these last few days and pulling away from the help being offered. I need to know you're not slipping so far down that this thing isn't going to be useless in your hands if you need to use it."

"I saw Kelly ripped open and bleeding out like a stuck pig," Benny snarled before ripping the gun from Cerb's hand. "I'm fine. Just..."

Cerb grunted, "Stop digging up the graves."

Benny tucked his gun under his arm and prepared a good retort.

"I'm not as lucky as you to have two—"

Before Benny could complete his response, Cerb reached out and forced Benny into a hug.

"Anger's a better motivator than depression. I need you squared away out there. And I'm sorry I've been too distracted to be there for ya, man."

Benny didn't fight back, despite how angry he was at the moment.

"I got stuck with Pinkie, you asshole."

That statement came so far out from left field that Cerb lost his composure and was slowly cracking up.

Benny finally returned the hug but felt the urge to add a little more on.

"She's fun and goofy, but Goddamnit. She's so much weirder in person, bro."

A few minutes later, the two finally emerged from the house, neither of the guns in sight, and Benny was still going on his tangent, "But, nah, I can't help but get a kick out of all the goofy shit she says or does. And don't worry about the whole lever thing. I put a stop to that."

Cerb replied with a mock angry voice, "About fucking time. I mean, I get it. Shit's funny from the outside looking in, but God only knows what woulda happened if... Guh... I'm not even gonna say it."

"She committed a felony?" Benny joked.

Cerb suddenly realized something.

"Ya know, I think I know why you two get along so well."

Benny returned with a puzzled look.

"Why'z that?"

Without skipping a beat, Cerb smiled and answered, "She's you, freshmen year of high school."

Still confused, Benny asked, "What?"

Cerb's smile turned to a shit-eating grin.

"If you took Home Eck."

"Oh, blow me," Benny half-laughed in return.

Cerb wasn't done and was living in the moment to explain himself, "Dude! You were the biggest class clown. And you constantly did and said the dumbest shit just to get a laugh."

Benny rolled his eyes and flipped Cerb off but did so by pressing his hand into Cerb's face as they walked out together.

"Did you ever see me making cupcakes, though?"

Cerb pushed Benny's hand away and continued gloating about how right he was.

"No. Your vice was all them damn Little Debbie snacks. Ya, fat fuck."

Benny couldn't deny that bit.

"Fudge Rounds."

"Pecan Spinwheels," Cerb added.

"Honey Buns!" They both shouted together.

Benny tilted his head back with a blissful smile, "Pop 'em in the microwave for a good twenty seconds and dunk'em in a glass of milk," he loudly proclaimed, complete with hand gestures to illustrate the act.

"Alright," Cerb eyed over the eager masses of ponies still standing in Benny's front yard. "Back to business, but if the lever shit's really over with. Tell 'er we're cool. Just not to expect any bearhugs from me or being allowed in the same room together for more than three seconds."

Benny stood with his arms crossed, not taking Cerb seriously.

"Yeah, yeah. Little cry-baby, bitch."

Cerb had a quick laugh before addressing the ponies finally.

"Hope you all had a good little rest. But if you got tired just walking from the castle to here, then you better saddle uptight. Our base of operations will be the Castle of the Two Sisters. And that's at least a good three-hour trek. And if you're lucky or lazy, or lucky because yer lazy, that's where you'll be camping out." He tilted his head up and off to his right to shout. "Rainbow!"

Rainbow Dash circled in from overhead and landed in an action pose in front of Cerb.

"Rainbow Dash! Reporting for... Shit... Sorry." She dropped the cool pone act and stood at attention. "Still working out all the theatrics. Old habits. It won't happen again, Si- ... erb."

Cerb just shook his head, "Yer making me nervous here, Dash. How about you go burn off some of that extra energy and take your teams out to set up your first three overwatch positions out to the FOB."

Rainbow Dash stopped just short of saluting and corrected herself.

"Right away, Cerb," Rainbow Dash crouched down to take to the sky but was called out of action.

"Hey!" Cerb shouted, stopping Rainbow Dash from taking off. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Rainbow Dash froze, not sure what she might have gotten wrong. "I... umm."

Cerb smiled a sly grin.

"You really just gonna take off without saying bye to Becky?"

Becky came walking up, shaking her head at Cerb.

"You get just a little bit of power, and it all goes straight to your head. Asshole."

"I stopped her, didn't I?" Cerb said, trying not to laugh.

"Come here, Rainbow," Becky said, trying not to sound as sad as she really was to watch her favorite pony leave.

Rainbow Dash met Becky for a hug as she leaned down to bid her fair well.

"I won't be gone for too long. So try not to have too many parties without me."

Becky chuckled, but the humor didn't take away her concerns.

"You stay safe out there. Okay? And make sure Cerb doesn't do anything stupid, like take on a whole pack of Timber Wolves or pick a fight with a Manticore."

"You got it, Becks," Rainbow Dash gave Becky one final tight squeeze before letting go. "You know, as fast as I am, I could always pop in for a while whenever I get relieved."

"No," Becky declined the offer reluctantly. "I'll be fine here. I need you out there watching over those two."

Rainbow Dash looked back over to see Fluttershy was now standing by Cerb's side.

"Yeah, they look like trouble just waiting to happen. Don't they."

Fluttershy rolled her eyes and gave a soft smile, "You know me. Always jumping into danger, never thinking things through."

Rarity's voice sneaked in from behind, "Goodness, me, Fluttershy. Is that a hint of sarcasm I hear? How welcomingly becoming of you." She took her place next to Cerb and smiled brightly, possibly trying to hide that she had just as much worry for Cerb as Becky did. "But really, you stay safe out there, Rainbow. I expect to hear nothing but you complaining about how boring this whole endeavor was from you when I see you again tonight."

Becky nodded, "Boring sounds good."

"Boring, smoring," Rainbow Dash joked. "I'll get my fill of fun and excitement sooner or later when I'm not foal-sitting the Big Guy, here."

Benny budded in, "Okay, okay. Enough with the long goodbyes. We're burning daylight."

"Roger, Benny. Hear you loud and clear," Rainbow Dash sounded off with a salute before bolting up in the air. "Overwatch mobile! Teams one, two, and three! Get to flapping and form up! It's go time, baby!"

Upon her command, pegasi all around Benny's yard began to take off towards the clouds, their figures growing smaller and smaller with their ascension.

Three formations of three flying ponies lined up in a triangle shape and started their flight over the Everfree.

Benny gave a nod to Twilight, standing not too far ahead of them.

Twilight returned the nod, recognizing her queue to issue her own orders.

"Onyx Armor, move forward with your recon teams. Shining Armor, ready the main body to move out."

As the many bodies busied themselves, redistributing their supplies and making last minutes adjustments to what appeared to be mostly camping gear, a gap cleared to show Lumberman still sitting on his tailgate with Chris and Starlight.

Cerb gave a nod to Benny.

"Welp... Best get this last bit out of the way before Kelly shows up with a dart gun and tranqs my ass."

"Nah, yer good man," Benny played off the joke. "Pinkie might have one, but I don't think her and Kelly are so tight that she'd loan it out."

In the center of the commotion of busy ponies, the last few met up before Cerb and Fluttershy would head out on their own.

"So," Lumberman started in cautiously to the farewell. "Ready for your big adventure in the spooky pony woods?"

"Just about," Cerb answered, masking some of his own concerns. "Just gotta get my bag from Big Mac, and well be on our way."

"I dig the new uniform," Chris complimented.

"Thank you," Rarity played herself off as modest. "I could make you one if you like."

Chris smiled but had to decline.

"Naw. I'm not the action type."

Big Mac's voice came into the conversation, "Ready for your bags, Mr. Cerberus?"

"Just a sec, Big Red," Cerb answered before turning back to the others. "One day in. One day out. Three days at most if we really have to scavenge."

Stepping in with open arms, Lumberman said, "Easy day, man."

The three guys had a quick bro hug and prepared themselves to watch Cerb march off one last time.

Chris stepped away to give Cerb room.

"Good luck, man. You too, Fluttershy."

Knowing it was time, Cerb called over to his big red brother from another mother, "Mac! Bag!"

Big Mac trotted over and presented the large military-style bag on his back. It looked to be mostly empty, with only a few of the smaller sections filled in with who knows what.

Cerb felt it over and looked into some of the sealed-up sections.

"Food. Water." He pulled out a rigger's belt and strapped them on. "And now I just need.... fuck."

"Ferget something, numbnuts?" Benny chitted, holding out a long wooden handle.

Cerb turned around and instantly took the handle in his hand.

"I didn't forget it unless I would have left without it. Now, may I please take your ax with me?"

Benny let go of the head of the ax, thankfully held in a leather holster. Cerb made a quick adjustment to his riggers belt and attached the holster over his right hip.

Rarity eyed the tool and started to grow concerned.

"Am I to assume that is for going to war, or are you planning on building us a log cabin to sleep in tonight?"

Cerb sounded off as if he was surprised by such an accusation.

"What? This? No. This is for... really big sticks."

Far be it for Lumberman not to call it like it is.

"Really big sticks with four legs and fangs?"

Cerb answered with a more clear and serious tone, "No, actually. Got the old 1911 to put Old Yeller down. This is for chopping firewood."

Cerb pulled another bead from one end of a string tied around his wrist to another group of beads.

"Alright, let's take a breather."

Fluttershy hovered down to the grass-carpeted flooring of the forest.

"We can keep going. I'm not tired yet."

"I know," Cerb replied while looking at his watch. "We're covering a lot of ground, but I'd rather not wear us down too fast."

Fluttershy took a seat on the grass and watched Cerb remove his oversized backpack. Her mind was a wildfire of thoughts and questions, different fantasies she wanted to have play out. She had done it. Alone time with Cerb. No pony around to distract them. No awkward date setting. Just the two of them alone... and no courage to start a conversation.

"Really sucks not having a radio to check in with Benny and them," Cerb commented while looking over his map. "They should have reached the castle about an hour ago." He continued to look over the route he was sure they were still on and did his best to guess their location. "In the real world, no one goes out without good comms."

"Do you want me to put up one of the smoke kites?" Fluttershy asked.

"No. No need for that," Cerb replied as he folded up the map. "With all the ponies together and Benny there with 'em, I can't imagine anything would pop up they couldn't handle."

"Yeah," Fluttershy fished around for a good response to his concerns. "Not like the two of us."

Could have been worse.

"You worried?" Cerb asked, casting a hint of doubt.

"No... Just," Fluttershy held a nervous pause. "Nervous, I guess."

Cerb pulled up his map and looked it over again.

"We should be in the clear. The closest thing to us are the Pukwudgie things. Creepy little shits look like a nastier version of Critters... Crites? Whatever they were called. Stupid horror movie. Forget I mentioned it."

Cerb continued to look over the map until he noticed how silent Fluttershy was.

"Flutters? What's got you nervous?"

There was the question laid out for her, and her mind instantly went to all the wrong thoughts. "Lay down. Take off your uniform. Let me touch you. Hold me close to you. I want to show you what a Wonder Rush is. I think I love you. Rarity and I want to be with you, and you're practically all we think about. There's no pony out here, so we can kiss all we want, and only we will know about all the wonderful things we can do with each other. Please tell me you love me," Was a shortlist of things she wanted to say.

"Umm," Fluttershy was suddenly as shy and timid as the day she met Twilight for the first time. "Being alone with you."

"What was that?" Cerb couldn't understand anything after the 'umm.'

"Being alone... with you."

"Eh? Flutters?" Cerb walked over and took a knee in front of the once positive and excited pegasus. "What's wrong? Do we need to go back or something? If you don't think it's safe, we can turn around right now and—"

"No!" Fluttershy shouted as she reached out and grabbed Cerb by his shoulders in a panic. "It's... I... I don't want to mess this up."

"Oh," Cerb sighed and moved to sit next to her. "I get it. You find out where you're going and who you're going with. Try to think about what all you can overcome and how your gonna dominate once you get out there. And then you're face to face with what you're really up against, and you realize just how not ready you really are. Doesn't matter how much your friends talk you up and tell you how you'll do just fine..."

"But you're still so terrified," Fluttershy finished Cerb's unfinished words.

"Yeah... But," Cerb perked up in his tone again. "You got me here with you, and I got you watching my back. You just gotta channel in some of the Iron Will Rage if anything tries to take a bite outta my ass."

It was clear that Cerb was talking about something completely different than what she was worried about, but the sentiment still carried over.

"I won't let anything hurt you, Justin. Not out here, not anywhere else. You don't know how much stronger I feel when you're with me."

Cerb snorted, "I dunno. I think that head butt to the chest and mule kick gave me a pretty good idea."

Fluttershy giggled, realizing that maybe this wasn't going to be the lovers' trip she hoped for, but she could still enjoy her time with Cerb all the same.

"I can't wait until we start training again." She leaned her whole body weight against Cerb. "You know, we're technically still both two out of five."

It took some mental flexing and short-term recall for Cerb to realize he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Two out of five, what?"

"Our first time sparring," Fluttershy answered sweetly. "The first match, I never said stop, and you never said I lost."

Cerb gave an amused snort, "Yes, I did."

"Nope," Fluttershy chirped as she patted him on the back with her wing. "You said 'maybe if I get mad,' and stopped."

Cerb couldn't believe she was trying to pull this on him.

"I stopped because you totally lost that first round. You even said we should do a best two out of three."

Fluttershy nodded, "I know. And that next match was our first two out of three."

Cerb shook his head, trying not to laugh but also not believing she would try and pull this junior-high level of logic on him.

"No way. And, hey. Why did you ask for a best three out of five after that?"

"I didn't expect to lose the first match," Fluttershy tried to weasel her way back into proving herself right. "I was halfway to losing at that point. So when we get back, I still have to pin you one more time. Then you owe me a favor of anything I want."

"Good grief," Cerb sighed through an open face smile. "You know I was toying with you at the end once I got a hold of ya. Right?"

"Oh, yeah?" Fluttershy playfully tapped a hoof into Cerb's side, just enough to make him flinch. "Next time, I'll make you my little plaything."

"Ha!... Phrasing."

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's go. First stop is another hour's walk from here."

Becky, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom were busy sorting through a new collection of dishes and cookware.

Looking over the new wares, Becky complimented Granny on her selection, "These dishes are so cute."

Apple Bloom piped up, not looking so confident in Becky's claim, "They look like plain old dishes tuh me."

Kelly, mustering the strength to enter the kitchen to help, found herself hung up on what the proper phrasing she should use.

"Those old dishes weren't old hand-me... hoof-me downs? We're they passed down from generation to generation?"

Granny snorted and fell into a short cackle.

"Shoo-wee. Heavens no. The good stuff's tucked away somewhere the munchkins, and Big Mac, can't get to 'em. When all the kinfolk round-up, all uh hootin a hollering, can't much expect but tuh lose a dish or two."

Smash! The sound of a drinking glass breaking on the floor alarmed them of what should have been expected.

Apple Bloom apologized as fast as she could.

"Sorry, Granny."

"Alright, missy," Granny huffed. "Outside with ya. Yer done helping us."

"Awe, but I can still help," Apple Bloom pleaded.

"Darn-sarnit, Apple Bloom," Granny turned and barked at the filly. "If ya keep on helping like this, we'll be buying another set 'uh dishes before the house is all put back tuh-gether. No, go outside and play with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Build yerselves a snowpony 'er something."

Apple Bloom gave Granny a funny look, "But there ain't no snow on the ground, Granny."

"Hey, Apple Bloom," Becky called out, suddenly having a fun idea. "How about you and the Crusaders do me a favor and go do some spying on Sniff for me."

"Spying?" Apple Bloom was suddenly intrigued by this request. "What we gonna be spying on Sniff for?"

"Welllllll," Becky did her best to try and manipulate the filly's interest. "Starlight made a bet with me that Sniff would spend all day flirting with every pretty mare he came across. I bet her that he would go look for an apology gift for Twilight."

"Apology gift?" Apple Bloom's eyes lit up. "What did he do?"

Becky played blissfully ignorant.

"You know what? I wasn't able to find out. But if you girls can figure it out, there just might be an extra reward in it for ya."

Apple Bloom was practically dancing in place.

"Really?! Granny, can I?"

"Hmm," Granny turned to Becky, who gave her a little smile and a wink. "Fine. Just don't be starting up no mischief."

Apple Bloom took off and was already at the front door when she shouted back, "Thanks, Granny!"

After the door shut and the faint sounds of Apple Bloom calling the other Crusaders away from Applejack and Lumberman faded, Granny shook her head slowly.

"Tsk, Tsk... You know yer only asking fer trouble if yer asking them three to get involved."

"Nah, Sniff will be fine," Becky played it off like she wasn't worried. "I happen to know that they're amazingly skilled at sticking out like a sore thumb." She held out her hand and wiggled her thumb for Granny to see. "Sniff will catch on right away that he's being followed."

Granny huffed, not sure how Becky would know that about her grandchild and the other two, "You think so?"

"Yeah." Becky remembered how bad the Crusaders were from literally every time the show had them doing it, but decided it easier to keep her explanation short and sweet. "Word gets around about them following Big Mac or whoever else. The way they move around is easy for us to notice. Plus, I guess Twilight tried to spy on Sniff once already, and she totally blew it."

"Well, hee-hee!" Granny had a good laugh at that update. "Whoo, doggy. Twilight's about as quick as a whip and smarter than 'uh stack 'uh books. But I swear, sometimes, that pony has about as much common sense as our farm has pineapples."

"I'm guessing that's about as many snowponies Apple Bloom will be building today?" Becky joked.

Granny had a good loud laugh at that.

"By Celestia, if we don't end up having ourselves a blizzard today."

"So, what would you like to do while they're all away, now?" Starlight asked Chris as he folded up his clothes.

"Well, Cheerilee said she would wait til Monday to have me come in and meet her students. Derpy, Prim Posey, and Berry Punch work today, and Cream Heart has to make sure Button Mash has somewhere to go for her to be free... Might just head back to Benny's place and get some things sorted out over there." An obvious question finally hit Chris. "Hey... Do you think you can maybe make more gas for our generator?"

Starlight shrugged, "Uh... Maybe? If it's anything like alcohol, probably."

Chris thought of all the fun they could have if three was a stable source of power again.

"Well, if you can, then that would really help us out. I could charge my phone a lot easier, and we could all watch movies any time we wanted."

"Oh?" Starlight made flirty eyes to Chris. "You thinking about a dinner and movie date night in the near future?"

"Oh, indeed," Chris made flirty eyes back to Starlight. "That's actually an awesome idea. And if worse comes to worst and they all bail on me, we can just watch something together."

"Don't say things like that, Chris," Starlight tried laughing it off. "Any one of those girls would be lucky to have anything more than the dance they had with you. Have a little confidence in yourself."

"Hey, I'm trying here," Chris returned the banter. "It's just... Yeah, they like me. But they don't know me like you do. I'm comfortable with anything we do."

"Really?" Starlight asked, somehow surprised. "Well, I'm not saying I don't feel the same way about you. You're my first real friend since I was a foal. Okay, yeah. Maybe Trixie, but me and her aren't nearly as close as me and you. I feel a lot more comfortable and trust you a lot more than I do her."

Chris turned around a did a goofy happy dance, giddily clapping his hands together.

"Ooou, I'm your favorite. I'm Starlight Glimmer's most special friend."

Starlight rolled her eyes and grinned, "Oh, why thank you, Chris. It's so nice to know how much you really appreciate our friendship and everything I do for you."

"Awe, come on, Glimmy," Chris chitted playfully as he tossed his clothes in a bag. "No matter what happens. Whether every mare in town turns me down, or I get sent home with a harem all of my own, you'll always be my favorite pony."

"A harem?" Starlight gawked. "Wait? That means you'd have a bunch of wives, doesn't it?"

"Now who's not sounding confident?" Chris asked before sticking his tongue out at her.

Starlight snorted out a laugh, "So, lemme guess. You're trying to be the new Sniff for Equestria. Is that what you're going for?"

"Heh, no," Chris dropped the playful act and looked a bit more serious. "Just one. Call me cheesy, but I don't think I'd be able to handle a harem. All I really want is one real relationship. I just want one special pony."

"You really are such a sweetheart. You're going to make some pony very happy."

"Yeah," Chris agreed but clearly wasn't feeling it. "Not that having more than one wouldn't be hawt, but come on, look at me. I'd be lucky to keep the interest of even one for more than a day."

"Might be hawt?" Starlight scoffed, knowing how human stallions could be with multiple human mares. "Are you saying you wouldn't want to have more than one special somepony?"

Chris raised an eyebrow, wondering how that might actually work in this world.

"Is that even a thing here?"

"Having more than one special somepony?" Starlight thought about that. "I dunno. I'm not exactly what you would call a love expert. I've seen some girls follow and hang all over the same stallion before, but I don't think they were all a big couple together or anything. How would that even work?"

"It depends," Chris started to think of a good explanation, but all he could really think of was any number of Anon stories full of tropes and sex scenes. "Actually, I can't think of any good examples."

"Yeah. Seems like it would be a big hassle," Starlight started to think out loud. "You'd have to alternate between them or try to share your attention between them all at the same time. And that's hard to do with even just friends. I don't know how you'd be able to say you really love some pony and then turn around and say that same thing to another. Even harder if there's more than two... Do they have harems where you come from?"

"Kinda?" Chris faltered hard if his goal was to avoid this topic. "But it's super rare and doesn't even happen in my country. I think it's actually illegal to be legally married to more than one person. Ya know what, let's just say it's more of a fantasy than anything else. Actually, let's not talk about it."

"No?" Starlight asked, wondering why Chris became more distant the more they talked about it. "I'm sorry. I was only trying to joke around with you. We don't have to—"

"No, it's fine," Chris cut her apology short. "Look. Some things seem nice and very appealing about having more than one lover to share your life with, but I've never even had a real date. I'll be happy if I'm lucky just to hold someone close to me and..."

"Chris, it's okay," Starlight tried to comfort him and laid her hoof on his hand as he stood there. "Let's not worry about that right now. Let's go back and see if we can get this gas thing figured out for you. I'm sure I can make something work to give you and your friends the power you need to make your stuff work and recharge."

"Yeah, let's do that," Chris picked up his phone and dropped it in his bag. "Benny left me the keys to his car. I'll drive us back. Play that song again you like so much."

As Starlight was following Chris out, she remembered the spell book she was looking over before Twilight interrupted her.

"Actually, I might have another solution for some of your smartphone problems."

"So, you've lived here in Ponyville your whole life?" Sniff asked over a cup of coffee.

"Yep. Born and raised here," Oven Fresh stated as a matter of factly. "This bakery is actually my dad's. Well, used to be. He let me take over when him and my mom moved out to Canterlot to be closer to her work."

"Oh, really?" He inquired, watching her work the dough with her hooves and manipulating the many cooking aids and ingredients with her magic. "She a baker like you?"

"Pft. Not even close," Oven Fresh laughed off the question. "Please, if you ever see my mother back here, don't let her touch anything. She's about as good with my spatula as I am with her sword."

Sniff got a bad feeling of an overprotective parent lurking just behind him.

"Sword? What is she, a knight?"

"Not yet," she answered without even batting an eye. "So, a little back story. My mother is a pegasus in the Lunar Guard, but my father is just your run-of-the-mill unicorn who loves to bake."

"Wow," Sniff raised his coffee. "That's a match I didn't expect to hear. By occupation, I mean."

Oven Fresh carried on after an adorable chuckle.

"Well, years ago, my father still lived out here, running this bakery. But, he wasn't happy with what he was making, so he closed up the shop to go learn more in Canterlot. Aaaaand my father likes to tell the story that he rushed in to stop another unicorn attempting to escape the Night Guard while stealing some jewels from the palace."

This story had Sniff genuinely interested.

"But?..."

Oven Fresh knew she had him hooked and started to play up her storytelling skills.

"Buuut, my mother tells another story of hearing a young stallion scream like a little filly. Then sneezing, a fireball, and then she just followed the screams until she came across two unicorns running around on fire."

Sniff about choked on his coffee.

"Okay. Hold up. Woah. Go back. What happened?"

Oven Fresh could see her story was just as entertaining to him as it was to her when she first heard it years ago.

"Sooooo, according to the official report, which my father denies every time my mother's friends try to remind him about it. He was leaving his night class, carrying his homework above his head while nose-deep in his book. He didn't see the jewel thief, and the jewel thief didn't see him. And, of course, narrow sidewalks, so they collided right into each other. Well, part of dear old dad's homework was working with spices. So, my dad finally opens his eyes and sees a pony who's up to no good with a bag full of stolen jewelry. He screams at the top of his lungs and drops all the ingredients he was carrying over his head, like an idiot. Well, two of his ingredients rip open. Ground pepper and hot pepper dust."

Sniff chimed in, "That's where the sneeze comes in."

"Yep," Oven Fresh giggled. "But, not just any sneeze. As I was told, by the report from the thief, my dad freaked out even more when he inhaled the hot pepper dust. His face turned beat red, and he must have been trying to grab the pepper dust with his magic, but instead, he sneezed out a fireball that exploded everywhere and set them both on fire."

After some of Sniff's laughter died down, he had to ask. "So... what do you really think happened."

"Well, when I was growing up, I, of course, had to believe my dad. Daddy's little girl and all. But after my mother got yet another promotion and had to work longer hours, my dad decided to move. I ended up doing most of the packing. And while packing, I found an old box with a mostly burned student baker's apron that still smells like hot peppers. Under that was a court order to report as a witness to a burglary, signed by the one and only, Corporal Cirrostratus Cutter. I just her call her mom, though."

"That might be the greatest love story I ever heard." Sniff chuckled.

"What about your parents?" Oven Fresh asked, still hard at work. "They have a hilarious love story? Maybe some grand misadventure?"

Sniff’s whole demeanor immediately shifted down to something he tried to mask. "My folks?"

Oven Fresh heard an odd shift in Sniff's voice before a sudden silence took over him. She looked back up to see him looking disappointedly in his cup of coffee. It would seem that this wasn't a topic he wasn't going to enjoy getting into.

"Oh! Hold that thought," Oven Fresh spat out, trying to change the subject. "One thing I didn't tell you is that, for some reason, only me, my dad, and my grandmother can recreate that fire spell that stopped the burglar."

Sniff heard her new addition to the story and welcomed the change of conversation.

"Hmm?"

"Well," Oven Fresh trotted over to an oven she hadn't yet started, smiling as best she could. "No pony really knows why, but it never really seems to work correctly except for just us three. Well, probably because it's not even really a spell, technically. Air quotes. But—"

Oven Fresh opened the oven door and channeled some magic into her horn. Before it finished reaching its full glow, the aura dissipated, and she drew a deep breath. Amazingly, as she closed her eyes and blew, a thin stream of fire trailed out with her breath and into the awaiting oven, spouting out a small pillar of flames inside.

With the fire started and the topic safely shifted away, Oven Fresh stood proudly in front of her other special talent.

"Yep. Spells need a unicorn to channel their magic to create the desired effect. But, by some fluke, we make this work only after we stop the flow of magic. Well, actually, I have to focus my flow of magic to pull away from the fire. Otherwise—" She grinned sheepishly. "—Fireball."

Sniff darted his eyes back and forth between the pillar of fire still burning and his Gold medal cute award winner.

"That's so hot."

"Well, yeah," Oven Fresh shrugged with a naive grin. "The fire burns a little hotter than what I need it to bake with, so I need to let it—" It might have taken a moment for Oven Fresh to catch on to what Sniff had implied, but for the first time between all the playful flirts, Sniff caused her to blush. "Oh, my gosh. I must have breathed a little too hard on that one. My cheeks are burning right now."

Sniff cheerfully gloated, "Oh. And would you look at that." He drew an embarrassed glance from Oven Fresh. "Dinky takes the silver in being adorable, and little miss Oven Fresh steals her second Gold."

Fluttershy bit yet another branch off from one of the many stalks Cerb had piled up as she continued to trim them down.

Cerb grunted as he strained to pull another root from the ground, "Come on ya rotten piece 'uh shit.”

Fluttershy cautiously instructed him with a half-mouthful of something, "Don't pull too hard. Try to save as many of the roots as you can."

Another sharp tug and the plant was pulled out, roots and all. Cerb tossed the plant onto a pile and took a look at Fluttershy.

"Are you eating this stuff?"

Fluttershy froze.

"Umm..." She paused as she pulled the last piece of one of the branches into her mouth. "Only a little. But just the branches. We don't need to save those," She swallowed hard. "I can't help it. They just taste so good. Try one."

Cerb plucked one of the smaller branches.

"Sure, why not." He started to chew on the branch but promptly pulled it out and spat. "Holy shit. It tastes like someone mixed honey with molasses and tried watering it down with more sugar... Does Pinkie Pie know about this stuff?"

"I think she does," Fluttershy thought about it. "Red Honey Sweet Licorice Roots are a lot sweeter than most sugars. Some ponies bake with it for certain recipes, but not many do because it's almost too sweet."

Cerb licked his lips and spat again.

"Too sweet is an understatement. I think I'm getting a sugar high just tasting it. How can you eat it?"

Fluttershy shrugged with another branch dangling from her mouth.

"I dunno."

After one good look at her, Cerb couldn’t pass up this opportunity and shot her a coy look, "Wait... That's your secret, isn't it?"

Fluttershy cocked her head slightly, "Secret? What secret?"

Cerb went back to pulling another root out as he started to explain, "Well, secretly, deep down inside. You're really this bloodthirsty rage beast of war and destruction."

The stick fell from Fluttershy’s mouth as she went slack-jawed.

"What!?"

Cerb turned back and shot her a sly grin, "But you munch down on these things and yer just as sweet as pie, now."

"You..." It took her a second, but she finally got the joke and snickered at the thought of her being some brutal tyrant. "Well, now that my secret is out, I guess there's no need to keep up my shy act. Back to burning villages and..."

Cerb snickered, watching Fluttershy draw a blank.

"You have no idea what a warlord really does, do you?"

Fluttershy giggled, "No, not really. I'm horrible at being bad. But that should be enough of these roots. You can help me trim them down, and then we can move on to collecting the next ingredient on our list."

The two sat down and continued to strip down the small plants. Fluttershy held them in her wings and nibbled off the nubs as best she could, only stealing a few bites here and there. She was, however, rather impressed at how well Cerb was able to work his boot knife. It was a constant fixation of hers to watch how smoothly he was able to pull the blade back towards his thumb but never managed to cut himself.

She finally saw an opening for a conversation starter.

"It's amazing how well you can keep control of your knife. Can all humans work tools like that?"

Cerb took a moment away from his work to explain.

"It's not that hard, really. Hands are all we really got to work with. So, it eventually becomes second nature for us. Not that we don't cut ourselves if we're not used to handling certain kinds of knives or if they're dull or too sharp, but I've also done a lot of training with knives."

That sounded like another conversation to get to know her stud better.

"What kind of training? Like cooking or wood carving?"

Cerb bluntly answered, "Combat training. We... Actually, I might as well show you this." Cerb stowed his knife and reached behind his back and pulled out the pistol tucked away in the back of his pants. "Most of our combat training is how to use a weapon like this."

Fluttershy stepped closer to examine the odd-looking club.

"How do you use it?"

Remembering his training, Cerb started to clear the gun.

"Okay, so." He pulled back the action slide and ejected a round in his hand to show her. "This is a bullet. It may look small and harmless, but it's actually extremely lethal when put in the right hands."

Fluttershy heard the words, but they didn’t sound right coming from him, and she asked, "Lethal, as in—"

"Yeah," Cerb answered as he showed off the unspent round. "The part that's dangerous is the small metal part sticking out of the shiny shell part. "

He brought it closer to Fluttershy to see, but she reared back and cowered in the grass.

"No. No," Cerb tried to calm her down. "It's completely harmless when it's not in the gun."

He held up the pistol and waved it a few times.

"Think of it as a spell waiting to be cast, and the gun is a unicorn's horn. And the only way it can be cast is to pull this trigger right here."

He lightly tapped the side of the trigger.

"But it also has a safety switch so that the trigger can't be pulled unless I want it to."

That was way too much technical knowledge for Fluttershy to understand, but she trusted Cerb enough to come back in for a closer look.

"You don't plan on using it out here, do you? And, how does something that small become so dangerous?"

Cerb scrunched his face a little before he answered, "No. Not unless I absolutely have to. And let me show you how it works."

It didn't take long for Cerb to break down the gun and show all the inner workings of the pistol and explain how the whole thing functioned. He even convinced her to sit in front of him and showed her how it would be used. After the quick run down, he reloaded it and tucked it away in the back of his pants.

Everything was explained in a way that Fluttershy could follow along with, but one question had been stuck in her mind.

"Was that the same weapon that almost..." She couldn't finish that sentence.

Cerb coldly answered, "No. This is more of a backup weapon. Kind of like how a knife would be a backup for a sword. The gun that shot me was a lot bigger and a lot more powerful."

Despite all the explanations, something still wasn’t adding up for Fluttershy.

"Why... Why would you want to keep something like that if you know what it can do?"

Cerb shook his head slightly, wondering if he had told her too much but not enough for her to understand how he could hold onto a gun himself.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any better options. As amazing as my world can be, and how safe my home town is, there are dangers so much worse than a gun like this that we have to deal with. And sometimes, the only way to stop a killer from killing more people is to kill them before they kill you or somebody else."

Suddenly, Fluttershy was faced with a question she never thought to ask. One she couldn't fathom having to ask. Not for one that seemed so loving and protective of life as Cerb.

Shaking internally, Fluttershy asked, "Justin... Have you ever... killed?"

Cerb contemplated if a lie would be a better choice than the truth.

"Flutters," Cerb paused to think of the best phrasing and hoped for the best. "—out of the seven of us still alive, I'm the only one that's had to kill another person."

Fluttershy started to speak, but she was stammering and becoming hysterical as she started to back away.

"But-But, you... You're... How can... You're a. You..."

Cerb was disappointed but couldn’t blame her for what he figured she was going to say and spoke up to beat her to it.

"Got what I deserved by going to war? Should have been killed, myself? Do you think I'm evil now? Are you gonna run away and leave me here out in the middle of nowhere?"

Fluttershy stopped her retreat and suddenly didn't know what to do.

"No, but! You murdered your own humans."

It was clear that Cerb spoke too soon and had to clarify some things.

"I never murdered anyone. Murder is what they did to those people in the towers they took down. Murder is dragging women and children and butchering them in front of the whole town to watch. Burning people alive. Drowning them in cages. Burying them up to their necks in sand and beating them to death with stones and hammers. Every single person I killed, were those people, while they were trying to murder their own people, or me, and everyone else I went out and served with."

Fluttershy wouldn’t accept that explanation.

"But... killing is wrong. It doesn't matter—"

"Of course it matters," Cerb barked. "It's the same question I asked Celestia. This wasn't some simple friendship problem where people came over and started a fight or tried to become the kings of my country. Those psychopaths got together and declared that anyone who didn't buy into their way of life had to die. We tried to reason with them. We tried to offer them a way out. We did so many fucking backwards-ass stupid things that only got more and more of my brothers and sisters killed out there trying to convince them to stop. But they wouldn't. They wanted us dead more than they wanted to live. Hell, for them, dying while trying to kill us was an honor. Some were so dedicated to the cause they strapped bombs to their bodies or even their kids so they could get close enough to take out as many people as possible."

Fluttershy sat there, violently shaking, unable to move, gripped by the terrors Cerb was expounding.

Cerb, himself, was having a hard time retelling what he went through, even tearing up as he continued.

"I've tried so hard not to bring this shit up because I knew, I fucking knew, you wouldn't be able to comprehend the kind of shit we have to deal with. Not that you could understand what it means for people to die, or get murdered by someone who just wanted to act out as evil as they could. Sometimes our world is horrible, and we don't have a choice. Not until people like me stepped up. Military, police, anti-terrorism units. People like us carry the burden of going out to where all the bad shit happens and put our necks on the line and face death, up close and personal. Either the people we care about die, we die, or just like me and so many others out there, we come home with the nightmares of having to do what we did to keep everyone else safe."

Fluttershy thought he had to be lying.

"How can there not be another way? One without killing each other?"

Cerb hated how hard it was coming clean with her, but had to be honest.

"I wish there was, Fluttershy. I really do. But for us, we don't have it. And it's not for a lack of trying. But more often than not, all the well-wishers and do-gooders that march out into the mouth of the beast preaching love and peace... They get murdered in ways worse than the people fighting to stop them. Fuck... There's even been people murdered while protesting us by the very people they were trying to stop us from fighting. All because the distractions they made, made it easier for them to sneak in or because they just didn't care, and those retards just got in the way."

The horrors of the human world were becoming too much for Fluttershy to handle.

"How can you live with this?" She barely managed to mumble out through her sobs and quaking muscles. "Even if you had to kill other humans. How can... How can any of you live in a world like that?"

Cerb threw up his hands and rhetorically asked, "Where else can we go? That is the world we live in. The only world we live in. We can't just pack up and jump to another dimension and run away from all the death and suffering. Us being here, now. We didn't choose this. Hell, not even you or your most magically inclined friends know how we got here. This is all by chance. And it's a chance no one else back home has.“

The emotional toll was starting to undo Cerb’s strong front he had put on.

“And even if we did... knowing what you know now..."

Fluttershy looked up at Cerb. His tired, sad eyes silently pleading out to her for some compassion and understanding. Eyes of a man that had yet to discover the truth of Fluttershy and the other mares knowing what caused him and his friends to be stranded here.

Cerb was nearing that point of accepting abandonment yet again.

"—would you even want me here? Let alone anyone else?"

There it was. The big question she almost ran away from.

Cerb was a warrior from his world. A killer who fought and killed other killers. But if what all he said was true, and there were other humans so evil that they sought out to murder others and couldn't be reasoned with, then what choice might he of had?

The biggest issue of all, even if he was a killer living in their world... He could no more be held to Equestrian standards than any of the carnivorous creatures she took in. War and death and killing to survive was in his nature. But if he could change his eating habits just to appease her...

Cerb hung his head low.

"Just... Please help me with gathering the stuff for Becky, and then we can go our separate ways after that. I'll figure something out to help Luna... Sleep during the day or move to the Crystal Empire, where she can't be bothered by me. Just please don't let Becky suffer because of me. She's nothing like me. She's never hurt anyone. She shouldn't die just because you hate me now."

Fluttershy softly spoke, "I don't hate you, Justin... I just don't understand how... I'm sorry."

Not that he would have admitted at this point, but Cerb was growing desperate.

"Fluttershy... Let me ask you something." He waited for Fluttershy to give him her attention. "Imagine the Sombra guy comes back and is looking for revenge. He captures me, Rarity, Twilight, Becky, Kelly, anyone you can think of. He's about to murder us, and you're the only one that can stop him. And the only way you can stop him is to use the Crystal Heart weapon thing. But, after fighting Twilight or whoever else, he's so weak that if you use it on him, it will permanently kill him. You know it, he knows it, we all know it... But if he'd rather risk dying trying to kill everyone than save his own life and surrender. Can you honestly say the right thing to do is to let your friends die because it would be wrong to kill him? And don't say that's not a realistic scenario. Chris showed me what happened when he came back. He almost killed Twilight with the trap that could have cut her in half had she moved the wrong way at the last second. And Spike isn't a pony, so he's probably not as durable as you are. So, he could have fell to his death, too."

"I would..." Fluttershy started to speak but didn't know how to answer.

Cerb could see Fluttershy struggling, and he moved in with another tactic.

"I don't know if Cadance and all you together killed Sombra at the end of that episode or if you just banished him to some other realm. But we don't have those options in our world. But at least Cadance and I have one thing in common... We both knew that saving the lives of those we cared about was more important than trying to save the life of the one trying to murder them."

Fluttershy whimpered, "I was too far away to fly out and save Spike. It was the light and love from the Crystal ponies that defeated King Sombra... Was I wrong for not stopping them if it meant he—“ She tried to shake the reality of that day from her head. “Maybe I could have saved him?"

Cerb saw how close she was to understanding.

"What if stopping the others from killing him meant he killed your friends? I know these aren't simple questions to answer. But like it or not, even in this world, you run into situations where it's life or death. And maybe saving the most lives means ending another. Either by not saving them or ending it yourself. And I know, without a doubt, I value your life, and everyone else's back there in Ponyville more than Sombra's. More than my own even."

Fluttershy tried desperately to reason with Cerb.

"But... all life is equally valuable."

Cerb asked, "Would you give up your life to save me or anyone else back home?"

Fluttershy was quick to answer. "Of course, I would. Why would—"

Cerb spoke up to correct her.

"So, not all life is equally valuable then... If all life was equally valuable, it wouldn't matter who died, would it? If your life was so equal to another's, there would be no need to devalue yours by ending it.“

He could see she was at least understanding his views better now.

“That's the hierarchy of the value of life... Everyone is worth saving; then mine is worth giving up to save another's. And anyone willing to murder the innocent or me, they all forfeit their value... But even then, ending their life is the last option to take."

Fluttershy seemed to have calmed after that. She still looked uneasy, but the terror and heartbreak weren't working her over any longer.

There was nothing more Cerb could say to help her understand but needed to convince her to trust him.

"I promise you I have no intent or desire to murder any pony or any other... whatever comes our way. Whatever happens from here on out, just like I was trained back on Earth, I will use only whatever force is needed to stop a fight or monster. Whatever other creatures show up that try to hurt you or anyone else, I'll use the same non-lethal techniques I was teaching you."

That last bit brought a smile to Fluttershy, and she looked as if she was finally coming back around to him.

Cerb wanted to put all of her concerns at ease but had one final declaration to make.

"And just to be clear, this gun, my knife, this ax I'm carrying... I will only ever use them as the last possible method to save someone. And even then, if I can do so without killing them, I will do everything I can to make sure they won't die... Can you still trust me so we can move on from this?"

Fluttershy sniffed to clear her nose and started to dry her eyes with her wings, giving herself time to think about how she should reply.

"Fluttershy," Cerb's voice started to waver slightly. "I can't help but imagine you must think I'm some kind of monster for being able to do what I've done... But I swear to you I'm not. I don't celebrate the things I've had to do. I wish I never had to pull the trigger or draw my knife all the times I did. And I hope to God you believe me, because..."

Fluttershy stared at Cerb, his face turning red from what he had worked himself to. Down to something pale and sickly.

Cerb stood there, powerless and defenseless to the reality he was now facing all over again.

"I didn't realize just how much I need you in my life until I thought I was about to lose you."

One of the things I tend to overlook is the playful banter characters exchange based on who they're with at the time. And for our humans, how much shit-talking they'll do. Also... I really fell in love with the Oven Fresh character. She was supposed to be there just for a gag, but my God, how drastically my story shifted as soon as I put in with the crowds at the welcome party and needed to give him a place to go.

But the real meat and potatoes of this was most certainly Fluttershy finally gettings some alone time. Or was it Sniff and Oven Fresh? Chris and Starlight? Becky and Kelly interacting with the Apples?

Egh. It was all good. I loved writing all their interactions.