Fluttershy sat there, awestruck by Cerb's confession. His words hit her so hard that she thought that she must have misheard him.

"You... need me?"

It was now or never for Cerb to explain why he needed her.

"You don't know how hard it is for me to stop from falling apart. I've spent every day after getting out, struggling to keep everything under control. More than just the nightmares, I had anger issues and suffered from paranoia. At any moment, I would slip back into a flashback like I did when you were trying to clean my face.”

Cerb paused as he tried to calm himself down as countless memories kept playing in his mind on a twisted loop.

“I couldn't hold a relationship, and I was constantly drunk. I couldn't function... I've gotten better since then, but only by shutting everyone out and closing myself off. Yet, when I’m around you and Rarity, I feel like all of that starts to go away. But that's also what scares me."

Confused by what he was trying to tell her, Fluttershy asked, "You're scared of getting better?"

"I'm scared that this is all too good to be true. You... both of you. I'm scared that you'll realize... what you know now, and leave me."

Fluttershy's heart was torn. In one way, what Cerb had done in his world was worse than anything Discord had ever done here. Yet, like Discord, Cerb had chosen to reform himself and just needed help putting himself back together. But also... did any of her feelings for him change knowing this?

For Cerb, he knew losing Fluttershy and Rarity meant more than just the return of his nightmares. Losing them meant losing hope.

"I'm terrified of the idea that either of you will give up on me. Because if both of you think I'm not worth saving, then how could anyone else? I might as well be dead."

Fluttershy's heart finally broke as she could feel the desperation and loneliness in his voice.

"Justin, I'm so sorry," she cried out as she ran back to him and threw herself in his arms. "I'm not afraid of you. You're not... you're... you—"

She didn't know what she was trying to say and could only sob out her apology.

"I'm not going to leave you. I can't understand how your world could be so horrible and make you... why you had to... I don't care. You had to have a good reason to do something like that. But if you keep your promise not to do any of those evil things those other humans did, I'll never leave you. You're a good stallion, Justin. I love you!"

Grateful and relieved, Cerb hugged her back as tightly as he could.

"I love you too."

Before she even knew what was happening, he was down on his knees, and they were wrapped around each other in a tight embrace. Cerb had his face buried in her neck, taking in deep shallow breaths and doing his damnedest not to fall apart.

Fluttershy was still sobbing, soaking in all of her frenzied emotions. The lingering fear of being so close to a killer. The hurt and feelings of betrayal for him, letting her think he could never commit such atrocities, and an overwhelming sense of relief that she still had him in her life. All of which was overshadowed by her sudden dread of realizing that she had just confessed her love to him.

Her sorrow-filled sobs turned to long gasps with all the fears of what that meant now. She just told him that she loved him, and he had reciprocated. Yet, was it true love? Did he only say it back to her as a courtesy? Was his love platonic, or did he confess that he was in love with her as well?

Finally, the last question she didn't know how to answer... Did her infatuation turn into true love, and she didn't realize it until now?

"What do we do now?" Cerb's question finally pulled her away from her thoughts.

Fluttershy closed her hold on him a little tighter.

"I don't know."

Cerb curled his fingers into her lower back as he held her.

"I don't know how the others will react when they find out."

Fluttershy answered without the ability to filter her thoughts, "I'm more worried about what Rarity will think."

Cerb curled his grip around her and pulled her in tighter, tremors starting to build in his hands.

"It's going to hurt her... I know she's not going to want to hear it."

"No... Justin, she—" Fluttershy mentally froze on what to say next.

"I don't want her to hate me because of what I am," Cerb quietly confessed. "She's going to be afraid of me just like you were."

"Justin," Fluttershy could barely muster the breath it took to say his name. All the questionable hope she had evaporated, knowing his primary concern was how Rarity would react to his confession of being a killer. And to that...she didn’t have a straight answer.

What she did know now was that his love for her was platonic if that's what he was concerned about. Knowing this, she reasoned it would be for the best if she took some more time to sort out her own feelings for him.

"I'll talk to her. She won't leave you. She loves you just like I do, I know she does. Whatever you need, we're here for you."

"Thank you," Cerb all but whispered, yet still loud enough for her to hear.

Still holding him close, even after everything he admitted and the disappointment of not winning over his heart, there was something deep inside she couldn't let go of. His strong arms were comforting and made her feel safe. His touch was gentle and caring. Whatever he was before in his world, it couldn't be what he was now. Whatever he was now, she knew, without a doubt, he was hers.

"Awe, crap," Sniff just realized the time. "I forgot I got forced into a favor."

"You what?" Oven Fresh asked.

Sniff grunted out in frustration, "So, my dumb ox of a friend tagged me for treating the entire staff of the local spa to a personal massage by yours truly."

Oven Fresh was rightfully confused.

"You're getting a massage from the entire staff of the Ponyville Spa?"

"No," Sniff was reluctant to answer. "Believe it or not, it’s the exact opposite. Over a dozen ponies are to be serviced by me."

"Hold on," for a second time, Oven Fresh was sure she wasn't hearing Sniff straight. "You're going to the spa to give the masseuses…a massage?"

Sniff shrugged hard with his arms extended far to his sides, "Welcome to my life."

Before Oven could ask further about her companion's... unique problem, the door opened, allowing the most unlikely of patron(s) to enter.

"Good morning," greeted a wobbling "pony" with clown-colored hair, a Groucho mustache, and glasses combo with a long trench coat, standing three fillies high. "How are you both doing today?"

"The fuh...?" Sniff whispered in amazement at possibly one of the oddest looking ponies he’d ever seen...and that was including Bulk Biceps

"Good morning," Oven Fresh greeted the new customer, unphased by his/her/its eccentric appearance. "What can I get for you today?"

"Oh, just looking," answered the fake male voice of what could only be Scootaloo. "I'm new in town and heard this is where all of those humans I heard about, like to come and buy bread. I wanted to see if the rumors were true."

"Oh? Wow." Oven Fresh was ecstatic to hear. "Word must really travel fast. And yes, you're actually lucky enough to be here when one of the most handsome of humans was grabbing his breakfast." She motioned to Sniff. "And, yes. I've been the primary provider for freshly baked bread and other goodies."

"Well, golly," the new ‘patron’ proclaimed. "I can't believe it."

"Yeah," Sniff said, having gotten over his surprise and now able to clearly see right through the disguise. "Looks like you came to the right place... What brings you into Ponyville?"

Scootaloo suddenly became confused about what to say now that she couldn't follow up on the script she was given.

"Oh, umm..."

Apple Bloom whispered just loud enough for Sniff to hear, "Ask if he's been flirting with anypony."

Sweetie Bell also tried to make a suggestion in the same clearly audible whisper, "No, ask him if he's looking to buy a gift for a princess."

Not being oblivious to the obvious, Sniff looked to Oven Fresh. Somehow, she was patiently waiting for some follow-up to what her new patron was going to say. Then it dawned on him that this was a world based on a cartoon, a children’s cartoon, to be more specific, meaning Oven Fresh was completely fooled by the utterly pitiful disguise.

"Parton me, my good sir," Sniff excused himself, deciding to play along with whatever scheme the pint-sized ponies were up to, "Please, feel free to look around. I've sampled just about everything this wonderful bakery has to offer, and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Miss Oven Fresh and I just need to step into the kitchen and pull something from the oven. We'll be right back."

He motioned to move back behind the counter, figuring if they were naive enough to think their ploy would work, he might as well act the part of being clueless and opted to keep their attention with some requests related to what they were clearly snooping for.

"Oh, and I'm also new in town. Perhaps, you can point out all the hot spots where I could find some attractive mares or gifts for ponies that rule over this kingdom. I’d really appreciate it."

Oven Fresh did a double-take between Sniff and the Crusaders in a trench coat, "Peter? What are—"

"Yes, Ovens," Sniff quickly cut her off to keep the distraction alive, "I know. What am I waiting for? Nothing at all." He rushed behind the counter and ushered Oven Fresh into the back. "I'll help you back in the kitchen while your customer picks something out."

"Oh. Uh? Yes!" Scootaloo replied, not sure which request she should be more excited to hear about. "I'll look over everything until you’re done in there."

Once back in the kitchen, Oven Fresh looked more than a little confused and angry with Sniff after the little show he’d just put on outside.

"Okay, Peter. I don't know what kind of mare you think I am. But I don't much care for—"

"Shhhhhh," Peter immediately hushed her. "Do you know who those ponies are?"

Oven Fresh was stupefied for the moment, not understanding the question.

"Ponies? There's only one pony—"

"Shhhhhh," Peter hushed her again. "Stop... okay, listen. This is going to sound a little crazy to you at first, but hear me out."

She stared him down, still lost, getting more upset over how he had just acted up, not helped by his constant interrupting.

"Peter. I don't know what’s got into you all of a sudden, but—"

"That's not a pony out there," he impatiently informed her. "That is most certainly the three pony kids of Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash."

"The Crusaders?" Oven Fresh whispered in secret. "No, No, No. The Crusaders are three fillies, not one—"

Sniff wasn't going to let this trope go unchallenged and hurried into his explanation, "They're in costume for some reason. Sitting on each other's shoulders. Why? I can't really say for sure, but—"

Becky's words quickly came to mind, "Figured you were hungry, Sniff. But not that hungry."

Chris's taunts from earlier that morning rang clear in Sniff's memory, "And thanks again for the bread, Oven Fresh. Sniff wouldn't stop talking about your buns! Said he loved 'em!"

"Those motherfuckers," Sniff quietly spoke to himself, astounded to realize one of his friends had to have set them up to come and pester him.

"What was that last thing you said?" Oven Fresh asked, even more confused with the progression of things.

Sniff took a deep breath and did what he could to collect himself.

"Okay, so remember when all my friends passed us this morning, and they were saying how cute you were and acted like they knew I was trying to get with you?"

Oven Fresh did remember but now questioned if that was his intent, given his phrasing of the question.

"Yes?"

"My friends," Sniff strained his voice to control his anger, "—all wanted to poke fun at me for how close we are. I think they sent the Crusaders to see if I'm out running around trying to date a pony or buy a gift for Twilight to help patch things up between us. I can't imagine—"

A series of points started to connect in Sniff's brain as he lined up who all was where and who would have sent the Crusaders out his way.

"—Nevermind. I’m pretty sure they were sent here for me to mess with them, not the other way around."

For some reason, Oven Fresh still seemed lost as to what was going on and wasn't liking how it was looking.

"Peter. I know a lot of things about you are strange, but you're starting to become more than I think I can handle."

Sniff figured he could get her to follow along with just a few simple instructions.

"Look. When we go back out there, just act like I was helping you take something out of the oven. Then look at your new customers' head, front legs, and back legs... and honestly, how often do you have pony customers walk into your place on only their hind legs? Or wear a trench coat on a warm sunny spring morning? Heck, how many ponies do you even know who wear anything other than a neckerchief or one of those cute little skirts and saddle things? I’m pretty sure, what's her name, from the welcome party? I can’t remember, but she was the only one there wearing one. And that skirt didn't even cover her butt cheeks."

Oven Fresh, now less confused and more amused, tried to cover her giggles at her friend’s frustration, only for them to come out louder as snickers.

"You don't remember her name, but you remember her butt?"

"Fuck me sideways," Sniff sighed. "Yes, that caught my attention. Okay? But when we go back out there, just keep an open mind about that... I don't even know what they're trying to pass off as, but look for three ponies pretending to be one person-pony... thing."

"Fine," Oven Fresh agreed, with a hesitant yet amused roll of her eyes. "But if you cost me a sale, you owe me."

"Of course," Sniff happily agreed, fully confident in how things would transpire.

"Maybe one of those saddles and skirts you like so much?" Oven Fresh added with a smirk.

Sniff stopped short of heading back out to the sales floor and did a slow turn back to the smug-looking mare.

"Ovens... I wish there were a million more girls like you back home in my world."

Oven Fresh closed her eyes, walking out to the sale floor with the cutest little laugh.

"Sorry, Peter," she raised her tail as she passed him, sliding it down his forearm and over the back of his hand, "There's only one mare out there like me."

Just a few steps ahead of Sniff, Oven Fresh stopped just outside of the sales floor and looked over her shoulder back to Sniff again, "And she has dinner plans in Ponyville tonight."

Sniff didn't take his eyes off the cheeky unicorn and felt a hint of betrayal in his gut as she gave him a wink before continuing out with a confident saunter in her step.

"God damn, she's good at playing this game," he spoke quietly to himself before trying to realign his weakness. "I’ve got to ask one of these horse wizards if there's a spell to turn them human…“ He ran that thought over in his head again and realized turning her human still meant he was having sexual thoughts about a pony. “Goddamnit."

While Sniff was still trying to deal with his own issues, Oven Fresh was busy apologizing to the customer she still couldn't believe to be the CMCs.

"Sorry about that. Peter, one of our new human visitors, wanted to see how ponies make our bread. So I offered to show him how I do things back there."

She turned back to Sniff as he finally stepped out of the kitchen, and she gave a taunting wiggle of her rear to catch his attention.

"Did you like how I do things back there?"

God damn, he admired this mare’s game, but he wasn't about to be played.

"Ovens, please," Sniff stood next to Oven Fresh and let his hand rest over her lower back, right where it met her hips. "You'll have to excuse my new friend here. She is completely enamored with how easily impressed I am. But enough about me, what can we do for you? And, Rusty Cars? Isn't that your name?"

Scootaloo's eyes grew wide, realizing they never had a cover story or even a name established.

"Who? Me? Oh, no. My name is... uh..."

"Really?" Sniff said as he didn't give her a chance to gain control of her own narrative. "Because my good friend Chris knows every single pony’s name out here. Even the Princesses don't know how he does it. But I very clearly remember him telling me there was only one of you in all of Equestria with that hair, that mustache, and who wears a stylish, all-seasons trench coat. And that's you, my good sir."

Well, Scootaloo couldn't chance going against that much certainty.

"Oh, right. Sorry. I thought you said something else. That's me, Rusty Cars."

"Rusty Cars?" Sniff faked confusion. "I said Crusty Bars... If you're not Crusty Bars, I might have to get one of the royal guards up in here to see if you're an imposter."

"Oh, no-no-no." Scootaloo almost fell off of Sweetie Belle's shoulders as she frantically pleaded, making Apple Bloom struggle to keep her balance, causing all of them to sway. "I was just saying what I thought you said. I mean. Yes. Crusty Bars... No need to bother the guards."

Sniff embellished hard on being relieved.

"Oh! My goodness, gracious. I am so glad to hear that. Oh, while you're here, though. You have got to try one of these delicious scones."

"Why thank you," Scootaloo replied, quickly realizing how ill-prepared they were for this. "But you said you were looking for—"

"No, no, no, Madam," Sniff cheerfully protested. "A lady of your caliber and notoriety simply must share a scone with me. Tis your own tradition."

"Yes!" Scootaloo shouted, thinking now she had to eat the scone. "The tradition of the scones. How could I not... do that?"

Oven Fresh started to see past the poor disguise. That had to be Scootaloo under that mustache; she’d recognize that voice crack anywhere.

Sniff continued to lay it on thick.

"I'm so honored to share this time-honored tradition with you. Sharing a scone with a noble, such as yourself."

Oven Fresh perked up, deciding to play along and see just how far Sniff was planning to take this charade.

"A noble!?"

Sniff sounded elated to announce her.

"Why, yes. Her nobleness, madam Rusty Bars."

Oven Fresh thought to herself. "Wait a second. Didn't Peter first say, mister and sir? Why is he calling her madam now? And he just changed her name again. Why isn't she... he... Oh, my Celestia!" She noticed Apple Bloom's hooves and tail under the trench coat - "It is the Cutie Mark Crusaders! They must have no idea what he's talking about."

Oven Fresh trotted out from behind the counter to mockingly bow.

"Madam Bars. I haven't seen you in so many years.”

Scootaloo yelped in surprise, “You haven’t!?”

Oven Fresh rose her head from her bow, “Not since you visited my mother in the Canterlot hospital after you saved her from that gargoyle attack."

Sniff snapped his attention to Oven Fresh.

"Really? I thought your mom was some hardcore Lunar Guar-uh, wizard?"

Oven Fresh stood up and turned a knowing grin to Sniff.

"Oh, yes, she is. She may not be a unicorn as skilled as Twilight Sparkle. But she is still very powerful. But..." She turned to Scootaloo with loving eyes. "I cannot thank you enough for all you've done for my family. Could you please tell Peter the story of how you saved my mother from the clutches of those dastardly gargoyles?

Sniff stepped up to the CMCs with a scone in each hand.

"Well, before we start off this story, please take your pick of one of Oven Fresh’s wonderful scones. My treat."

Scootaloo fixated on the scones, and her stomach grumbled in response.

"I didn't have anything to eat today, and those look really tasty." She eyed the blueberry in particular - "Can I have that blueberry one?"

"Certainly," Sniff answered, still holding the dishes out in front. "Why don't you just go right on ahead and snatch that little bugger up? I'd set it down for you, but we sadly don't have any tables available at the moment. We really need to fix that, Ovens."

Scootaloo went to reach for the scone, but the confines of the trench coat reminded her that Sweetie Belle would be filling that role in this outfit.

"Yes. Tables would be a good choice. But since I can't lean over and eat it off the plate, I need to use my right hoof to take it out of the dish on our-I mean my right side."

"Oh," Sweetie Belle said a little too loud under the coat and moved to act as instructed after a not-so-subtle nudge from Scootaloo’s hoof under the trench coat.

Honestly, watching the act unfold was an impressive/amusing sight to behold. Sweetie Belle's forelegs barely reached past the cuffs of the trench coat sleeves and flailed about, trying to locate the scone. The act was made more amusing by Sniff impressively holding a straight face while continually moving the plate, making it look as though he was trying to help her find it.

"Oops, almost had it-wait. Hold it. No, let me come to you when you come to me when-no. Up. No down. No, your other down. No, that's my down. Reverse left. You do see where the plate is, right?"

After toying with the fillies long enough to where he could hear the filly's stomach roar in desperation, Sniff dumped the other scone with Scootaloo's and stacked the plates together.

"Here."

He grabbed Sweetie Belle's hoof and guided it down to Scootaloo's reward.

"I remember hearing your hoof-eye coordination was a little off after your accident. A story for another time, I suppose. But you have to let Oven Fresh here know how good of a job she did. I know she would love to have a noble's opinion on her scones."

"Oh, indeed," Oven Fresh declared as she trotted up next to Sniff. "I hope you don't mind me watching you enjoy one of my baked goods. I do work so very hard on them."

Sniff shrugged with a grin, "That's all part of the tradition… Letting good company know that they enjoy the scone as a sign of respect. Very noble of you, my good sir." Sniff complemented with another intentional swapping of gender.

Scootaloo gave Sniff a funny look. "Hold on. Are you call me a mam or-ow!"

Scootaloo's question was interrupted by Sweetie Belle misjudging the distance to Scootaloo's mouth and jabbing the scone in her eye instead.

"That's not where food goes, dummy!" Scootaloo scolded the hoof operator.

Sniff did his best to hold back from laughing, stopping at only the biggest smile he could keep without losing his composure.

"Now that you know it looks good, you should probably take a bite, Scooter."

Scootaloo scowled at the foreleg still wavering around her face, completely missing another name change, this one making it rather obvious she’d been caught.

"I'll bite it when I'm good and ready. Once my stupid hooves figure out what they're doing."

Sniff sighed as he prepared another name change while he feigned a disappointed look about him.

"Okay, I'm sorry, Misses Busty Star. I completely forgot about your terrible sconing experience, that we need not mention. This must bring back so many terrible, terrible memories. I cannot apologize enough for our rudeness. Here, let me help you to the door. I'm sure we will meet up some other time, and we can talk about whatever you like. I hope you enjoy your scone."

"Don’t forget to stop in another time and tell me how it was," Oven Fresh added as she watched Apple Bloom's hooves feel around for the step down at the doorway.

As soon as the three had wandered out of sight, Sniff returned to Oven Fresh, a look of smug satisfaction stretched across his face.

"Well... today can only get more interesting after that."

"Really?" Oven Fresh asked, still a little giddy over the CMC's spying debacle. "Why do you say that?"

"Because," Sniff drew a deep breath and released it through a proud smile. "If I were to say the opposite, then I would be proven wrong."

Oven Fresh giggled and shook her head.

"You know what, Mr. James? I can't help but get the feeling that maybe you just so happen to know what you're talking about."

Sniff kept a steady pace as he neared the entrance with the new mare that just so happened to tag along with him and Oven Fresh.

"You know, first of all, you're not nearly as cute as Oven Fresh. So I can't even be excited that you're stalking me now."

"I'm not stalking you," Lyra chirped. "And I'm way cuter than Oven Fresh. No offense."

Oven Fresh gave a happy sigh, "Lyra, honey. I'm not offended. I'm humoring your presence by not tossing you out into an open alleyway between buildings."

"Oooou! ♬Cold-blooded♬," Sniff egged the two on.

Lyra swung her head away and clicked her tongue at Oven Fresh.

"Sorry, bread mare, but I'm not going to be bothered by the off-colored comments from somepony still in the silver tier. Come at me when you get your gold back."

"Is that so?" Oven Fresh asked, now getting more annoyed at the mint-colored pony’s snark. "Peter? What was that discussion we had this morning about? Oh! Right! Dinky is actually adorable, and so the gold goes back to its rightful owner." She dropped her gloating grin to glare over at Lyra. "I'm still rocking that gold I got from day one. But Peter danced with you, and he didn't even bother to offer a courtesy bronze. Try getting on my level."

Sniff placed a hand on both their shoulders and pushed them apart for some much-needed distance.

"Hey, easy now, you two. We've already had two of you crazy ponies beat the crap out of each other over something about as dumb as what your both talking about." He inadvertently cracked the biggest shit-eating grin. "Not that I don't appreciate the attention. But come on. And also... you still didn’t explain why you’re stalking me."

"I'm not stalking you!" Lyra yelped.

Sniff couldn't drop his smile, "Well, I'm a big boy now, Lyra. I don't need a foal sitter today. And if I did, I’ve got Oven Fresh here with me. So, why are you following me to the spa?"

"Uh, because I work there," Lyra answered sarcastically before turning a curious look towards them. "And why are you both going there? Some kinda couples outing or something?"

Oven Fresh drew in a deep breath to correct the record but was beat by Sniff's explanation.

"No. The staff was kind enough to help Cerb out last night. He's got some muscle and nerve damage in his leg. They helped take care of it so he'd have an easier time walking around and marching through the forest with Fluttershy. So, as a thank you, I'm giving all the staff there a massage to show them how much we appreciate their willingness to help us."

Lyra's excitement grew.

"Wow! I don't think I've ever got a free massage there before.“ She cocked an impish grin to Sniff. "Are you any good?"

"Apparently," Sniff answered while staring down at his fingers as he wiggled them freely. "Funny how I used to say 'magic fingers' as a joke. But it's starting to look that way."

"Magic fingers?" Oven Fresh asked, remembering his hand falling on her hip back in the bakery.

"No, at least not literally magic," Sniff spoke up to correct himself. "Twilight and everyone else says they are but... well, if you heard the rumors, we're immune to magic somehow. So, there’s nothing mystical about it. Honestly, I don't know what it is about us you ponies like so much when it comes to back rubs."

"Well, I don't know about a back rub," Oven Fresh admitted. "But day after day, always on my hooves, running back and forth from the sales floor to the kitchen, those fingers of yours felt pretty magical to me. So, it looks like I'll be scheduling an appointment with you today."

Sniff could feel this out-of-hand situation getting further out of control.

"Hold on now. I don't work there. This is just me doing them a favor. I don't think—"

"Independent contractor," Lyra interjected. "Not just anypony, or even a human in your case, can provide services for Ponyville Spa. Even if you're not getting paid, this should be considered as cross-training or a cultural enrichment exchange like we do with the Grand Equestria Pony Summit gatherings. I'll talk to Aloe and Lotus so they can let you bring in Oven Fresh for a hooves-on-training exercise. Well, hands-on for you, tall, dark, and handsome."

Oven Fresh's demeanor changed to surprise.

"How do you—"

"Know so much about this stuff?" Lyra presumptively answered, enjoying being able to flaunt her superior knowledge. "I was a delegate for last year's Grand Equestria Pony Summit. I helped with coordinating different music venues for other delegates and community leaders to take part in. I was also responsible for making sure we could learn more about each other's music."

"Morning, Lyra," Bon Bon greeted her as she exited the spa and held the door open for the three, though Oven was still stunned at Lyra’s surprising pedigree.

"Morning, Bon Bon," Lyra returned the greeting with an overconfident smile. "Oh, I'm probably going to be a bit longer than what we thought today. Sniff is going to need my help getting set up for demonstrating something with Aloe and Lotus today."

"What?" Bon Bon blurted out like her day was just ruined by the change of plans. "But we said—"

"Plans change, Bon Bon," Lyra shouted back as she made her way inside. "Don't look so down. Smile, maybe!?"

Bon Bon watched all three walk up to the check-in counter before stepping away and putting on her best fake smile as she trotted back home.

Her plan was to review some more of the notes she took down from Cerb's briefing the day before and then try to locate the other human, Chris, for some additional reconnaissance. There was more she wanted to know about human-pony interactions. But those plans were going to change when an old and unwelcomed face made itself visible, leaning against her front door.

"Morning, kid," the unicorn stallion greeted her in a casual tone that was unpleasantly familiar. "Nice place, ya got here. Real quaint. Normal. Good cover. It works, kid."

As professional as Bon Bon was, she didn't bother holding the fake smile as she came closer to the stallion. He had a bristled face that seemed to match his bushy eyebrows and springy salt-and-peppered mane, which seemed slightly more faded than his coat from the last time she saw him.

"Why are you still here, Agent Furlong?" Bon Bon grumbled. "Ponyville is a nice place with nice ponies. The agency should have sent somepony else if they wanted an agent to blend in."

That was almost funny enough to make the secret agent smile for once.

"Agent Drops, I'm hurt," he feigned insult as he followed Bon Bon back into her house without even asking.

Bon Bon feigned concern in return, "Oh, are you now? Please let me know where. I'd love to help by stepping on it."

"Now you watch your mouth there, kid," Furlong darkened his tone at Bon Bon's blatant show of disrespect. "You might have been out of the agency for a while now, but I know you didn't forget how to talk to a superior. You weren’t around when I dropped off your packages, so I decided to stick around."

"Oh, dear, me," Bon Bon only doubled down on the mockery. "It's been so long; how could I forget rank and the proper etiquette a pony should show when walking into another branch office and addressing the Chief of said Hidequarters while in her private office."

"Private office?" Furlong scoffed. "And just who is walking into whose... Hidequarters?"

Bon Bon stood in front of him, unmoving and unblinking. As angry as she still was, she realized that he must not have been given the word.

"Well, if anything, I can say you still know enough not to go around opening other agents' orders, but since I was wrong in thinking you didn't have the amount of respect it took to not go snooping through my orders, here."

She picked up an envelope from her countertop with her teeth and spat it out at him, making it a point to cover it with as much spit as she could.

Agent Furlong looked over to the envelope he had delivered with another small package that morning. He raised it with his magic and pulled out the invoice, and started to read.

"Peanut butter. Nutty-peanut butter. Peanut butter and wafer. Sunny-D?"

Bon Bon groaned, "Yeah, I still don't understand that one. Just—"

"And what's a Nutty-Buddy Bar?" Furlong asked, interrupting her.

Bon Bon tried to continue. "Furlong, flip to—"

"She wrote them down six more times?" Furlong interrupted again.

"Flip to the third page!" Bon Bon shouted. "The invoices are how I'll be sending my findings to the Princess from here on out. You're only the delivery stallion."

Furlong cocked an eyebrow with an insulted expression plastered all over his face, only this time it was genuine.

"Directly to the Princess? There's no way—"

"Read it!" Bon Bon shouted again.

Furlong didn't see the point in arguing what he didn't know yet and flipped to the third page as directed.

Furlong lowered the letter.

"Chief, I apologize for my previous behavior. It won't happen again."

Bon Bon gave an exasperated sigh, "Agent Furlong. Neither one of us wants either one of us here or involved in this. But you have your orders, and I have my ultimatums. So, I'll be as civil and professional as possible if you can do the same. But we need to stay focused and watch out for each other. This is bigger than Nightmare Moon and more dangerous than Tirek or the Changelings. If these humans are not here looking for friendship or a way home… they might be the definition of unstoppable. And even if Celestia would never allow for it, they might be unkillable."

The sun was still rising, and the day only growing warmer, but Furlong felt a shiver run up his spine, and his blood ran cold.

"They... What? But? The human, Kelly?"

Bon Bon shook her head and turned away to pull out some more files she had procured.

"Doctor Hooves and Nurse Redheart were there with Celestia after the incident with Spearhead, Iron Sparks, and Swift Hoof injuring the human target, Kelly. She might be an exception to this, but the big one?"

Furlong gulped.

"The human they call Cerberus?"

"The very same," Bon Bon confirmed as she dropped down a series of X-rays of two different humans.

"Right now, I believe it only to be the target Cerberus. But given his designated threat level in correlation to his size, it's possible the second largest one, target Chris, could be just as big of a problem. Apparently, Cerberus even sighted Chris as the member more experienced or capable in Earth pony-styled combat."

Furlong looked over the X-rays, trying to understand what exactly he was seeing.

"What am I looking at? What are all the bright white spots over the target's chest?"

"Not over his chest," Bon Bon said, with great worry drenched in her voice. "They're in his chest. And his foreleg… arms, I mean. As well as a large amount also in his right inner thigh."

Furlong lowered the X-rays.

"What are they?"

BonBon pointed to the largest concentration of white dots.

"Shrapnel. Pieces of metal that pierced his body and got stuck inside."

Furlong felt another shiver run up his spine.

"That would explain the scars I heard about."

Bon Bon raised her voice, "It's more than that. I was able to sneak into the hospital last night after their examinations and got copies of their medical reports. Cerberus should be dead according to these X-rays and the medical books provided. Even Becky's explanations indicate she doesn't understand how he's alive. And from all the documentation she’s shared with the hospital, they know far more about these types of blood-related injuries than even our leading physicians. His injuries defy even their own medical science."

Furlong was starting to put it all together.

"But, wait... if they're stronger than us, can't be hurt by magic... and even conventional weapons can't stop them?"

Bon Bon pulled back the X-rays and sternly informed Furlong the truth, "Princess Celestia wants them kept placid and calm until we can get rid of them."

Fluttershy was sitting in Cerb's backpack with her forelegs draped around his neck and her chin resting on his head.

After they finished up their conversation and packed up the rest of the roots, Fluttershy wasn't feeling up for walking or flying, so Cerb offered to carry her. For some reason, he finally noticed just how incredibly lite she was compared to the other ponies. He figured it had to be some type of pegasus magic that made them so much lighter.

Of course, that made him wonder why his anti-magic properties didn't dispel that feature, but remembered the incredible strength she had while wrestling with him and gave up on any of it making any sense.

Still moving along, Cerb rolled his eyes up as if he could see the pony resting over his head and asked, "Are you sure you want me to keep telling you these stories? They don't get any better."

"I want to help you, Justin," Fluttershy said with some sadness in her voice. "I don't like any of these stories you're telling me, but I want to understand what you went through. All of it. The good and the bad. And after everything you told me, I can start to see why you might have to do anything to stop them."

Cerb continued on, "Well, you told me before that in a situation like this, you would fight until someone was able to stop you. What if you were with Kelly, but it was Applejack who got stabbed? Because I don't think Big Mac understood at the time just how close she was to dying."

"I..." Fluttershy didn't want to think about how far she could be pushed, not after what happened with The Mane-iac and all that crazy villain did was hurt a firefly.

"Don't put a lot of thought into it," Cerb suggested. "You're a little too good for what I had to do. Make that impossibly better."

Fluttershy gently nuzzled his cheek, "Don't be so down on yourself. But, also... keep going."

"Alright," Cerb grunted, climbing over a log. "So, we kick down the door and charge in. The lady behind the door is screaming still, 'No guns! No guns! Please leave!!"

As terrifying and sad as some of these stories were, they were also exciting at times, and Fluttershy couldn’t help but still be drawn in.

"And you knew she was lying because you watched the two that shot at you run in there."

Cerb sort of grumbled his first few words as he recalled the memory.

"Yeah, but there was still a way we had to do things. So we made sure the first room we entered was clear, started to pull the kids out that were in there, and tried to get the woman out. But she just wasn't having it. Then before we even could realize just how stupid what we were doing was, one guy, who decided to stick behind, just unloaded his AK through the bedroom wall."

Fluttershy gasped, "Oh, no! Did anyone get hurt?"

Cerb strained his voice and steadied himself as he pulled himself up a steep hill through the thick brush and trees.

"Believe it or not, we all hit the deck, just like I did with you and Rarity. None of us were hit. Can’t say the same for the woman who was screaming at us. She got shot."

Fluttershy squeezed a little tighter around Cerb, "Oh, no!"

Cerb tried to continue explaining as he climbed up further, "Oh, yeah. But we were just as freaked out as you at the time. We all took our positions, covering every side of the room while trying to pull her to safety. Our pointman started moving up to the bedroom door to clear it, but the guy had tunneled through the wall and popped out from a cupboard in the kitchen. No one even knew he was there until he started shooting at us again."

Cerb paused as he climbed over a particularly large rock.

“Luckiest day of Collins's life, though. He got shot three times in the back, and each round hit him right in the steel plate. The next four shots zipped by and hit the wall, but that's about as far as he got before I got my gun up, and... well, Collins is still alive today because of me."

Fluttershy reluctantly asked what she already knew the answer to, "You shot him?"

Cerb gave a little snort through his nose, "Me and three other guys. But I was the first."

That seemed a bit excessive to Fluttershy.

"Was that necessary? All of you shooting him?"

Cerb reached the top of the incline and wiped his brow.

"No. But we all had less than a second to react. No time to call out who was going to pull the trigger first. We all did what we were trained to do and were able to all walk out alive that day."

So, maybe that was a happy ending to the story, but it wasn’t just the story itself that Fluttershy wanted to know.

"Do you ever... umm... feel bad about—"

"I'm not happy about it if that's what you mean,” Cerb answered. “I'm not sad or angry with myself that I did, either."

That was an answer, but not what Fluttershy was looking for exactly.

"But? How can—"

Cerb pulled out his compass, trying to get his bearings straight, as he did his best to save Fluttershy from saying anything she wasn’t comfortable with.

"I'm happy that I was able to keep my squad members safe. I'm sad that that's what I had to do. And I'm angry at the people who didn't leave me a choice. Some Marines learn to love it, while others convince themselves they don't feel anything. That punching out their lights is like punching in a time clock. Others... others break down and drive themselves crazy, asking if what they did was the right thing or if they had a family..."

Despite the decidedly grim subject matter, Fluttershy couldn’t help but be enthralled by every detail, but it didn't tell her what she really wanted to know.

"How do you feel about it?"

"Me?" Cerb asked, knowing he wasn't going to get away with anything except a straight answer. "If anything... Fluttershy... I feel like every night, any one of them is waiting for me to fall asleep so they can sneak in and slit my throat. I'd say it's safe to say that paranoid is how I feel. Paranoid and scared out of my mind that I can lose someone else. But even with all that, I'm glad that what I did kept my friends alive out there. I don't regret what I did. Just that I had to."

"You've seen what happens when a life is taken from both sides. Both having it taken away, and being the one who ends it," Fluttershy explained as she tried to logic out what he must be going through. "I think that could give anypony reason to fear for their life or somepony else they know and care about."

"Yeah," Cerb strained another deep breath. "But I've also seen my own life be taken. I can't explain the feeling you get when you finally come to terms with the fact that, if even for only a moment, you were no longer alive. To have your life taken away, and then given back, but knowing you had no control over it. It’s like your life wasn't even yours to begin with."

"I think we should take a break," Fluttershy stated as if it were part of another conversation.

"I'm sorry," Cerb apologized without hesitation. "I know this must make you feel uncomfortable."

"No, silly," Fluttershy spoke up with a much happier tone than she'd had for the last few miles. "I mean, take a break from walking. You're getting tired, and you didn't take a break at the last checkpoint."

Cerb half expected some follow-up apology about how hard it was for her to listen or that she didn't want him to worry. Instead, he was utterly unprepared for a pair of lips softly pressed into his cheek.

After the surprise kiss Fluttershy gave, she hopped up and let herself out of her comfy carry bag she had been perched in.

"You just wait right there, mister. You need to take your own advice and not wear yourself out. I'm going to set up a blue smoke kite to let them know we're going to be stopping early tonight. Rarity should know we're going to need her earlier than she was expecting."

Cerb stood there, wondering why and how Fluttershy was suddenly taking over this whole operation.

"Wait, what do you mean we're stopping early tonight?"

"Justin," Fluttershy turned back to Cerb, sharing the sweetest innocent smile. "I'm your caretaker just as much as you are my protector out here. If I'm not making sure you're properly taken care of, then how can you keep me safe?”

Fluttershy wordlessly made Cerb take a seat on the ground and rest for a moment with only the slightest guidance with one of her wings against his chest.

“Right now, you're so mentally overwhelmed that you've been neglecting your body's need for rest. If you injure your leg any more than you already have, how are you going to keep me safe if we come across some creature that I can't keep calm or fight off by myself?"

Cerb groaned as he tried to stand back up, "Flutters, seriously, I'm fine."

"No!" Fluttershy shouted but was quick to catch herself from letting her emotions get out of control and calmed her tone. "Justin... I'm not sure how I'm supposed to talk to you when it comes to how good or bad off you are with everything. Physically, you moved slower from our first checkpoint to the second, even though you said carrying me wouldn't slow you down. And mentally, you say you're fine now, but that's only after you told me how hard of a time you have trying to keep it all together. And-nd-nd, now I'm not saying that you're lying to me. I don't even think you're lying to yourself. I think it’s more that you don't have a good understanding of yourself."

Now less certain of how he should be responding to all of this, Cerb asked, "So, what now? Am I in timeout?"

"Of course not," Fluttershy answered before pulling a small cloth sack from her satchel and trotting over with it in her teeth. "Wer wust dauken—"

She sat the cloth sack down at Cerb's feet and freed her lips.

"—Plah. Fpt. Sorry, I don't imagine you have a good understanding of muffled Equestrian, so I should probably stop talking while carrying something in my mouth. But what I'm saying is that we're just going to take a little break for now. Let you get rested up, and then turn in early for tonight. That will give both of us a chance to recover from whatever we do get covered today and still have time to discuss things and figure out what's the best step forward for the three of us."

"The three of us?" Cerb repeated that last part again.

Fluttershy answered as if it were self-explanatory, "Yes. You, me, and Rarity. Like it or not, we're all in this together. She needs to know everything you told me. That way, if it ever becomes a problem or somepony else finds out and wants to make an issue about it, we can be honest and tell them that we've known the whole time. I don't think there's any pony that would question you if Rarity and I have been helping you heal from all of that horribleness. All we have to say is that you've been an outstanding stallion with no reason to cause concern over."

Trust her as he did; part of him wanted this to be known by as few as possible and let Rarity know as little as possible.

"Fluttershy—"

"Justin," Fluttershy called his name out like he hadn't spoken.

Cerb returned his view to Fluttershy, sitting quaintly in front of him with a scone held out in one of her wings.

Fluttershy smiled that sweet innocent smile that let it be known she wasn't changing her mind on anything.

"Twilight and all the rest of the girls know that you and your friends are slow to trust others. You all have your secrets that you can all share as you please. So there is no reason to worry Twilight, or anypony else over what we're perfectly capable of helping you with. And if we can't, we can always ask for help from Princess Cadance. She really likes you, and she certainly cares about you. Probably about as much as either Rarity or even me. Wow..."

Fluttershy hadn't thought about just how strong of a bond Cerb was able to make with so many as quickly as he had.

"Even Flurry Heart had a hard time letting go of you last night?"

"Yeah," Cerb quietly agreed. "Like I said... almost seems too good to be true."

There was some serious consideration to Cerb's claim that Fluttershy had to admit seemed too convenient for his benefit. Maybe all of the human's benefit. But that would be ignoring all the benefits that she, and virtually everypony they've interacted with, had been making.

Perhaps Cerb didn't realize how much of an impact he was having on others around him? Maybe that's why he was second-guessing all the kindness and acceptance he was being granted. He still needed to discover the value he has from others around him. That he still had a purpose that made others appreciate him.

This seemed like the perfect time for her to try and bond with Cerb over something he could better relate with, so Fluttershy started to explain her thoughts in an almost sorrowful voice, "I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit for just how important you are to all your friends around you. I think that you and I share that, but with different views on the same problem."

Cerb turned his eyes up from his half-eaten scone back to Fluttershy, curious as to what similar problem they could possibly share.

Opening up like this was embarrassing, making Fluttershy look down and away from Cerb, "About two years ago, all of us girls and Spike went to the Castle of the Two Sisters. We went there to start cleaning up and begin some renovations for it. We didn't finish, and I think we kind of gave up on it. But when we were there, we got transported into one of Spike's favorite comics about the Power Ponies. We all took the roles of different characters in the stories there. We even all got their powers. I was Saddle Rager... fitting name, right?"

The two both had a short laugh, but she continued.

"The whole time I was there, I just wanted to hide. Not only did I not want to fight anypony there, I thought I would only get in the way and probably make things worse. But then the villain of the story, The Mane-iac, was trying to aim her cannon at our friends, but a firefly got in her way, and she slapped the poor thing out of her way to see better.”

Cerb could already see where this was going, knowing Fluttershy’s boundless compassion for all animals. It also helped that Fluttershy’s tone became slightly more hostile, looking about ready to shout as she recalled what happened.

“I mean? Who would hurt a harmless little firefly? He didn't even know he was standing in her way. And so I started yelling at her. But the more I yelled at her, the angrier I became, and that’s when things got really out of hoof.”

Fluttershy looked down, almost ashamed to talk about the next part of her story.

“Apparently, Saddle Rager turns into a super-strong monster when she’s angry, and that’s what happened to me in the end.”

Cerb didn’t say anything, focused on trying to imagine the sweet little pony in front of him as some kind of giant rage monster...and was having little success.

“The Mane-iac must have considered me a threat by then because she tried shooting me with the canon instead. It hit me, but I was so angry that I threw it back at her and lost control of myself. Had she not been knocked off when I threw the laser at her, I probably would have smashed her just as badly as I did her cannon."

"That sounds pretty awesome," Cerb meekly said, not sure if she was trying to impress him or if there was another point she was trying to make.

Fluttershy huffed out with a weak laugh.

"That's what everypony else thought. But... I didn't realize just how important I was to everypony else back then. I mean, I knew they all cared about me, but I couldn't for the life of me understand why they gave me so much credit and put all of their faith in me. Even when they knew I wasn't doing my best and kept focusing on all my past mistakes and shortcomings... I was looking at myself in the light of what I wanted to focus on... Which were probably the worst parts of me. You know... just how angry and violent I could be. All of the damage I could do or ponies I could hurt."

Cerb could see the correlation now.

"And you think I'm doing the same thing."

Fluttershy quietly reflected on all the warmth and comfort Cerb had given her when they were together.

"Everypony knows how kind and sweet we can be. But all of our friends also know how powerful and destructive we can be if it means helping those we care about. While those aren't bad things by themselves, we still can't help ourselves from thinking that they will define us... They don't. They're just a part of everything else that defines us. And they might even be some of the best parts. Not just for the bravery it takes to put ourselves in danger, but also the dedication we have to risk everything. Even if it means hurting ourselves or what others think about us, so long as our friends and loved ones are safe.”

Again, Cerb was surprised by how well Fluttershy was able to pick apart his issues and explain them. Even more surprising that she was able to relate to his issues like this.

A quick look at Cerb’s warming expression let Fluttershy know she was making a real connection with him.

“I think everyone around you are the ones who should be feeling like you're the one who's too good to be true. And for all the dangerous things you're capable of doing... I don't think they know how lucky they are to have you as a friend that's willing to do whatever it takes to protect and defend them."

Cerb tried to hide his overly pleased smile as he popped the last bit of scone in his mouth.

"You know... the more you make sense and end up making me feel better, the more you're kinda proving my point."

Fluttershy giggled, "Well, if that's the case, how about you show me a little appreciation and take a break while I send up this kite so we can turn in early for the night?"

"Damn it," Cerb chuckled. "That's playing dirty. But fine. If Nurse Flutters says we're going to bed early tonight, I guess we're going to bed early."

"That's more like it," Fluttershy beamed, proud to have taken control of the situation as she had planned. "Otherwise, I'd have to pin you down and make you listen to me.”

Fluttershy started to trot off to grab a kite but stopped before opening the bag and shot Cerb a flirty look, "Not that I wouldn't have minded," she ended with a wink.

"Hey-ya, Benny," Twilight spoke up as she entered the large study room that they now shared for running this exercise when they wanted privacy. "Any new reports come in?"

"Nothing we haven't already heard," Benny groaned as he mulled over his notes. "Everything's blissfully quiet out there. What little everything that is moving is so far out of the path those two are on that it's getting annoying hearing how safe they are."

"What about their last check-in?" Twilight asked, sounding more encouraged. "Anything to report on that?"

"Nah," Benny closed up a notebook and dropped his pen. "Nothing other than Cerb showing off."

"Showing off?" Twilight asked, thinking that sounded a little out of character from what she knew of Cerb.

"I don't know," Benny groaned, leaning back into his chair. "Cerb met them at the checkpoint, but he was carrying Fluttershy around in his backpack. Then, he didn't even do a handoff of the roots he picked up. He just waved and kept on marching through. Said thanks and see you at the next checkpoint."

Twilight shrugged, "Maybe he's just overly motivated?"

"Maybe," Benny sounded rather unconvinced. "Here, do me a favor."

He opened up his notebook and started to write something down.

"Next checkpoint, let the Overwatch Team that goes out know to give Cerb this letter. I want him to send me a sitrep on his status. Force him to take a breather so he doesn't burn himself out."

"Princess! Mr. Yale!" Onyx called out as he neared the room. "Status update! Blue smoke!" He pushed his way up into the room and saluted. "Rainbow’s Overwatch Team Two was the closest and were dispatched to make contact."

"Blue smoke," Benny stated loudly and clearly enough to let Onyx know he was making a statement and not asking a question.

It took Onyx a second to think about how to respond.

"Uh?... Yes. Blue smoke."

"Not red or purple?" Benny asked a very rhetorical question.

Onyx felt like he must have made a mistake but didn't know what it was.

"No... sir."

"Okay," Benny stood up and ripped his note out, folding it as he walked towards the door, noting how visibly nervous the soldier was.

"Relax, Onyx. They're just sending a message, probably. There's no need to run up in a panic. I don't want to hear you freaking out like this unless you see red or purple up in the sky. Got it?"

Onyx almost saluted Benny but caught himself and nodded instead.

"Yes, sir. Understood, sir."

Benny turned and motioned for Twilight to follow.

"Hey, you mind dropping this note off? You're the fastest thing out here until Rainbow gets back."

"Sure," Twilight perked up and trotted over to his side. "I'd like to see how they're doing myself, anyway."

Benny and Twilight escorted each other up to their not-so-secret Command Operations Center.

"Attention on deck!" Onyx announced to everypony as Twilight entered the open spaces of where the Elements used to be stored, causing them all to immediately stand and salute.

"As you were," Twilight directed the few still up and working. "Onyx, can you show me where the signal was sighted?"

"Commander Princess Twilight," Pinkie called out in her most military-themed voice from the far side of the room, still looking out the window. "Blue smoke signal has been spotted North by Northwest. Bearing three, three, five. Distance is six miles."

She turned back to Twilight and Benny as they approached and lowered her binoculars, sat on the floor, and rubbed her chin, pondering deeply.

"Although it could also have a bearing of three, two, nine, and a distance of six point two miles. Dashie said there was going to be some crosswinds expected from the north and east by southeast. That's making it kinda difficult to pin down where the smoke is starting from."

Twilight was astonished at Pinkie's precision and professional delivery of the location of the smoke.

"Pinkie, that's incredibly specific. Especially for something that far out. How did you know how to measure all that?"

"I showed her," Benny said as he took hold of the binoculars. "Rainbow Dash was tasked with setting up markers every half-mile in the sky with clouds making horizontal lines. Makes it a lot easier for us to judge distances since we don't have any range finders."

Pinkie was pleased to inform Twilight of that item.

"It's a laser beam that can measure the distance of your target."

"Did I miss that part?" Twilight asked, trying to remember everything they went over. "No. Wait, that's right. I guess I was just confused by thee..." She was now distracted by the sight of Pinkie and Benny sharing the binoculars, pressed cheek to cheek. "Yeah. You know what? Doesn't matter. I'm going to go check up on those two and deliver your note. Benny, you're in charge while I'm gone. Pinkie, keep up the good work. I should be back in only a few minutes."

Eyeing the location of the smoke, Twilight teleported out.

"So, nothing else is wrong?" Thunder Glide asked.

"Nope," Fluttershy answered without much expression. "We're not so pressed for time that we—"

"Fluttershy? Cerb?" Twilight called down from just above the treeline. "Everything okay down there?"

Fluttershy quietly spoke up, not sure why Twilight would have been dropping in now, "Twilight?"

Twilight landed next to Fluttershy and gave a quick nod to Thunder Glide and the other pegasi that she was assigned.

"You two didn't stop at the last checkpoint, and the report said that Cerb was carrying you. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, of course. At least mostly," Fluttershy was reluctant to be completely forward with Cerb's current state of mind. "Cerb is holding up amazingly well, but I'm still concerned about him overexerting himself after we only last night noticed his leg injury. So, I was going to have Thunder Glide pass on a message to let you know we were going to stop at least two hours earlier than we had planned and ask you to let Rarity know so she can be ready to join us."

Twilight didn't think that was going to be an issue for Cerb but was pleased to know the update was this underwhelming.

"Oh... That's not such a bad idea. And I'll make sure she knows. How's the exercise been going for you two so far?"

Cerb had silently crept up behind Twilight and wanted to see if he could spook her.

"Pretty good."

"Gah!" Twilight yelped and jumped forward just far enough to turn and see Cerb grinning something fierce.

"Don't do that."

"Sorry, Princess," Cerb shrugged. "Surprised to see you out here, away from the COC where I thought you’d be. What's up?"

Twilight rolled her eyes, unamused by the prank.

"Yeah, well, I'm overall in charge. So, I can go anywhere I want, whenever I want."

"Yes, mam," Cerb replied, ending with a mock salute.

Twilight returned an equally dismissive salute with her wingtips.

"That, and Benny asked that I give you this note, requesting a sitrep." She handed him the note. "Besides, this is all training for me and everypony else. And I wanted to get some one-on-one time with all of you to see how things are going."

Cerb took the note and opened it.

"Wow... real professional BenBen," Cerb groaned as he returned the note to Twilight. "Can you lend me something to write on. Cry Baby Benny wants a sitrep, I'll give 'em one."

Twilight gave Cerb a notepad to hold onto and left him to write his report while she caught up with the others, both of which didn’t take long. After all was said and done, Thunder Glide flew off as Twilight teleported out with the sitrep, leaving Cerb and Fluttershy to continue onwards.

Twilight teleported back in and went straight to Benny with Cerb's reply.

"Here you are. Not sure what any of that means, but they're just fine. Fluttershy does want him to stop two hours earlier than what they planned on. She’s worried about his leg getting hurt."

"Ah, that makes sense," Benny said as he opened Cerb's reply.

"So?" Twilight asked excitedly. "What's it say?"

Benny had to assume that Twilight was, and needed to be, out of the loop on this.

"It's all slang. Most of it I can't even explain in its own context. Basically, he started doing something but probably did it wrong, got Fluttershy worried about it, and they're going to take care of it tonight. The last thing is easy to explain, though. His 'six' is his back, and 'covered' means Fluttershy and Rarity will be taking care of him. Carry on smartly is him telling me to keep doing what I'm doing and not freak out over it."

Twilight couldn't help but think that was a lot of slang to say so little.

"Oh... Why not just say that?"

Benny shrugged, very effectively playing dumb.

"I dunno. He probably feels like an ass because of it. Embarrassed. Doesn't want us to be concerned or screw up the mission trying to overcompensate for him when Fluttershy, Rarity, and him have it all taken care of on their end... Plus, he just likes messing with me when he talks like that."

Twilight grinned and had a good little chuckle, "I swear. Sometimes you all remind me so much of Pinkie Pie. Always making jokes. Even at the worst of times."

Pinkie chirped excitedly as she hugged around Benny's midsection from behind, "You hear that, BenBen? It's like we were made for each other!" She gasped. "And we are together!"

Despite all that had been happening, plus his own misgivings and hesitation in reaching out, Cerb's conversation rang loud and clear. He remembered Pinkie's persistence to help him as she hugged him, humming something all to herself.

"You know what, Pink?" Benny sweetly asked as he cupped his hand under Pinkie's cheek, rubbing up and down her jaw to where it connected to her throat. "Maybe you're right."

Not my biggest chapter, but what a lot of content, right? Big changes with Flutters and Cerb.

On a much lighter note, though... Sniff saying no to cartoon logic and showering Oven Fresh how to see past it. Probably the most fun I had writing in this story was messing with the CMCs. If not that, having Lyra and Oven Fresh getting catty with each other was great. "Get on my level," still gets me.

Outside of that, though. Can't have too much fun without a little more drama. That's why Bon Bon is here. Although, I still had to throw a little humor in there.

What else? Oh! Thank god Fluttershy has such a big heart, but having that conversation with Cerb wasn't easy to put together. Especially when coming from the point of view of someone who had to pull the trigger or know's what it's like to deploy and not have everyone make it back. Finding that balance of offense and defense. When to shoot or hope you're wrong about what they're doing. Then how to process it is something altogether in and of its own.

Also... Way to go Flutters for putting your hoof down. And Cerb... smart choice not fighting her on it.

Next, let’s do a little break down for anyone who didn’t catch all the military lingo in Cerb's sitrep (that's short for a Situation Report):

Benny. Almost FUBAR'ed (Fucked Over Beyond Any Recovery, as well as a few other variations) with the one that almost scorpioned me (Fluttershy pinned Cerb down and almost made him scorpion himself: Having his foot bend so far back it taps the back of his head). Did a breakdown and dry-fire (Did run through of the operations on how the gun works and how to use it) with the 1911 (The model of the gun). Had to verbal powerpoint (Anything powerpoint is a long and drawn out informative lecture, and never fun) my KDR (Kill to Death Ratio) with Uncle Sam's Misguided Children (A another name for the United States Marine Corps.). No joy (Not so technical terms for “things didn’t work out as planned.”) at first but unfucked it (fixed it) after I broke it down Barney Style. (Explaining something so overly simplistically that even a child/marine could understand it) Now she's picking up what I'm putting down. (Understanding what is being explained) Need Diamonds (Nickname for Rarity) early so we can all play The Wizard (A nickname for the a psychiatrist, because fixing what’s mentally wrong with a person must mean they were using magic) and vow not to 86 (kill) anything without cause. Keeping it all on the DL.(Down low, secretive) Best to eat this soup sandwich (Something so poorly put together that it essentially falls apart by design) with them first before going to All Hands. (Everyone in a command/everyone involved) My 6 is covered, (to have one’s back protected, being looked out for) so carry on smartly. (To continue in a professional manner and acting properly as if nothing is wrong)

All that to say so little, but just enough to... dare I say? Given Benny a reason to maybe even reach out for once?

Who's to say? You'll just have to stick around until next week and see what happens in Chapter 51. The Power of Touch: Is That How You Really Feel?

Spoiler: I want to hint at a real spoiler for the next chapter, but I'm not going to. Sorry, not sorry. No spoilers. Starlight said not to.