Forty-eight stitches. Thirty-seven minutes. Twenty-one splinters. Nine incisions to remove the more stubborn pieces. Eight splinters made of thorns. Five splinters that broke or split. Three bottles of disinfectant. Three bags of gauze... Too many tears to count and more blood than they could have imagined was possible to lose and survive.

Applejack had given up on screaming some time ago, though whether it was due to her vocal cords giving out or simply surrendering to the pain was anyone’s guess.

Sadly, the lack of screaming had given way to uncontrollable crying until it exhausted her into sobs and whimpers. Maybe the alcohol helped, though not nearly enough.

Even drunk as she was now, it didn’t seem to do much to ease her pain, and even if she was sober enough to walk, there was no way she could without ripping everything open again. That was, of course, only if she could bear the pain.

She was alive, thankfully, but about as helpless as the night of her magic exhaustion.

Zecora had surrendered her room, taking another to recover in for the night. After that swap, and Twilight replacing the bloodied bedding, left Lumberman to rock Applejack to sleep with only Luna and Celestia in the room to watch as most of the others kept quiet in the study.

There, in Lumberman's arms, slowly being lulled into any form of comfort, with a drunk and battered voice, Applejack kept repeating herself.

“I wanna go home… I don’t wanna be fearless no more... Let’s go home, Woody… I wanna go home.”

As if to distract from such a depressing sight, Becky made herself known as she walked into the room.

“Excuse me, sorry it took so long. The hospital wouldn’t accept a letter from Twilight saying that Nurse Redheart could fill the order for the medication I requested. Twilight had to teleport back and grab…”

She swallowed hard, her nerves and emotions finally catching up to her. It had been challenging to keep any of her thoughts together. Recalling the last few mind-numbingly painful was frankly lowballing the horror show they’d witnessed.

“I guess she… I don’t know what she did, but when she got back, she handed me the pills and said she had to wash the urine off her hooves. I got the meds now, and Starlight took Nurse Redheart home. She's... so fucking mad right now at them.”

Somehow maintaining her usual composure, Celestia bowed her head respectfully.

“I will address them personally if they need to be educated on what it means to obey a royal decree.”

Becky nodded, still shaken up from the whole experience.

“Right… I’m just gonna..." She showed the bag of prescription pills again and then walked over, setting each pill bottle down for Lumberman to review. “Alright. These first three pills are broad-spectrum antibiotics. She gets one of each every eight hours. The next two are painkillers. The first one she can have one every six hours, and the second is strictly for before bed and after she wakes up. Probably best if she has it with food, and… sorry, but no alcohol with any of these. The last two antibiotics won’t work with alcohol, and the first painkiller could be toxic if mixed, so we're gonna need her sober.”

Applejack sobbed a little louder and weakly clung to Lumberman’s arms, still wrapped around her chest.

“I wanna go home, Becky… Make Woody take me home.”

Becky leaned over and caressed her hand down Applejack’s forehead and over her mane.

“I’m sorry, AJ. We need you here tonight so we can keep an eye on you. For now, I need you to take these pills when you think you can stomach them and get a lot of rest. Okay? If in the morning you don’t have a fever and we don’t see any bleeding, then we’ll make sure Woody drives you home himself.”

Applejack didn’t respond with anything other than clinging tighter to Lumberman’s arm and curling into him. The lack of any kind of verbal response only serving to further dampen the already bleak atmosphere.

Becky sighed and tried to think of some words of encouragement, but there was nothing she could really say at this point. Honestly, in this situation, what could she say?

“Just keep an eye on her, James. We’re going to start Benny’s meeting here in a minute. They know you won’t be there for it, but we’ll fill you in later.”

Lumberman nodded but said nothing, never taking his eyes off the still sobbing and likely traumatized pony.

There was nothing more Becky could do; thus, she stepped out to the hallway and left.

Celestia followed close behind and waited until they were out of earshot of Applejack’s room and motioned for Luna to close the door.

“Becky,” Celestia spoke softly, but a royal authority was still present made Becky stop and turn around. “Make no mistake, we are grateful for everything you and your friends have done for Applejack, but I’m withholding further judgment until I understand why you waited until after cutting her to give her pain medication. Not before.”

Becky took a deep breath and wiped another tear away she had been trying to hold back.

“Yeah, that seems like a really shitty thing to do. But I’m not familiar with all the medications you have here. Everything I’ve seen so far is either for a headache or meant to knock a pony out. And if they’re anything like the ones I do know, they can take up to an hour to work. Alcohol works a lot faster, even if it is a blood thinner. But those slivers had to come out.”

Celestia didn’t appear to be getting the answers she wanted.

“Had we taken her to the hospital—”

“They don’t know anything,” Becky snapped back but caught herself. “Sorry… but even with the books they’ve been looking over, they wouldn’t know what to do. And the last time we were there, they had questions they thought were more important than the patient, and Nurse Redheart had to chase them out. That and I knew something was going to be bad with the slivers if they came from a Timberwolf.”

Her response struck a chord with Celestia, leaving her somewhere between reacting to the insult of being cut off and still needing to know why Becky made her choices, but also knew Luna would intervene if she got loud.

“Continue, please.”

Becky’s response wasn’t as fast, looking as though she was getting a little sick at having to revisit her recent endeavor.

“I wasn’t going to say anything during the surgery, as Applejack was hard enough to keep control of. But, the reason it got harder and took longer with most of the slivers as we went along, is because they were growing. I don’t know if it’s because Timberwolves can pull themselves together with some kind of regeneration or if they grow faster when separated from the body, but had we waited longer, who knows how much more damage they could have done."

There was so much that still needed to be addressed. Mixing modern medicine with alien, pony biology, and magic. How could she explain her best judgment call boiled down to gut instinct and an educated guess?

"And if you’re wondering why we didn’t put her to sleep or use anesthesia, it’s because you only use anesthesia for major surgeries since there’s a chance the patient doesn’t wake up. It’s rare, but so is sepsis, and you always avoid the solution with the most risk. And I needed her awake to make sure she didn’t go in shock, which is always a risk when someone loses a lot of blood, and I don’t know how much that is for a pony her size. Also, apparently, there isn’t a single fucking doctor on this goddamn planet that could tell me because, holy shit, Cerb was right. The doctors here don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.“

A terrible reality she had been avoiding finally became clear.

“And I’m leaving my life in their hands… Not even hands. Fucking hooves. My life is in the hooves of your best and brightest that… Oh, my god.”

Unable to bear the weight of this realization, she slowly leaned against the wall for support before sliding down to the floor and breaking out into sobs.

Luna grumbled angrily and teleported out, returning instantly with Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, unaware she had even left the study.

“What the? What are we—”

Luna used her wing to turn Rainbow Dash’s head to see Becky.

“Becky could use your help getting back to the study. She’s having a hard time dealing with ignorant ponies that think they know better than her medical expertise.”

Rainbow Dash wasted no time fluttering over to Becky’s side and reached up to take Becky’s hand into her wing, ready to lend a comforting word as she escorted them back.

“Hey, Becky. Come on. Don’t you waste a second of your time listening to any pony that thinks they know more than you about this doctor stuff? You’re a million times smarter than those dummies.”

After Becky and Rainbow Dash had closed the door behind them to the study, Luna shoulder-checked Celestia out from the center of the hall and into the wall.

“Are you demented? Honestly, Tia. Even after a thousand years of being imprisoned on the moon, I have not forgotten the concept of tact. I would’ve hoped being one of the few ponies in Equestria to know anything about humans, you’d know how to present yourself.”

Unsurprisingly, Celestia immediately pushed back and growled under a hushed voice.

“These humans are different from the ones I knew.”

Now visibly angry, Luna went nose to nose with her sister.

“Then don’t talk to them as if they were. We, and I don’t mean the royal we, have no idea what’s causing all these disturbances. And until we do, we are going to need their help.“

She raised a wing and pointed it at Celestia to stop her from making another snide comment.

“And do not think we do not feel the same about Applejack’s suffering we had to witness. Had we been able to simply use our magic to remove the splinters without risking taking off more of her hoof in the process, we would have avoided this whole miserable experience. Becky and the others made the right decision back in there. I think the simple fact that you did nothing to stop them is proof enough that you are doing nothing more than looking for a reason to drive a wedge between them and us.”

Celestia slapped Luna’s wing away with her own; offense etched deeply into her features.

“You wouldn’t understand. I’m trying to protect them. All of them. All of you, as well.”

Luna scoffed and turned up her nose as she started to head toward the study.

“You are right, dear sister. I don’t understand why you keep such precious secrets from us. We are not like Spike, who needs to be protected from the harsh realities of life.“

She stopped and looked over her shoulder with disdain, “We are the ones you are supposed to keep your secrets with so we can protect each other.”

Celestia stood and tried to repress the venom she wanted to spew out.

Deep in her heart, she knew her sister was right. Even if she was sheltering her own pain from others, that was her secret to keep, and the lesson she learned from it was one that made her a hypocrite for enforcing. But she was getting close. So much closer, she could feel the shackles beginning to loosen. Once freed, everyone would get what they wanted. What she knew they really wanted.

Having finally collected herself, Celestia walked gracefully towards the study, leaving four smoking hoof marks on the floor behind her.

Benny had been waiting impatiently and stood up as soon as Celestia walked in.

“Good, now we can get this over with… I’m going to start this out with my deepest apologies to everyone. First to you, Twilight. Then to all of my friends who have been putting up with my bullshit for all these years.“

He paused briefly to allow Celestia to take a seat before continuing.

“I say this because of my past and what happened to me at the castle in the Everfree… I dunno, they got connected.”

There was a mix of odd looks exchanged around the room. Most confused was Cerb, yet none made an attempt to interrupt.

Seeing that he still had the floor, Benny took a deep breath.

“For those of you who don’t know, there’s an old folk tale saying that when Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon, part of her dark magic stayed behind and haunts the Castle of the Two Sisters…. those stories are true.”

Twilight shot up from her seat with the quickness.

“Are you saying the Pony of Shadows is still out there?!”

Benny shook his head disappointedly.

“I’m getting to that. Just let me tell you what happened.”

Pinkie trotted next to Benny and laid a hoof on his knee as she sat on the floor next to him.

“We’ll both tell you what really happened.”

Benny shouted from behind the other side of the trap door.

“God fucking damn it, Pinkie! What did I just say?!”

On the other side, Pinkie pulled her ear away from the trap door and shouted back, “You said, god fucking damn it, Pinkie.“

Frustrated at Pinkie screwing around and her rather poor attempt at a voice impression, Benny looked around for anything to trip the trap door again. Instead, he was distracted by a torch being snuffed out farther down the hall. Then another hissed as it was extinguished, and a dark whisper echoed from the advancing darkness.

Benny was alone; he was sure of that, but whatever this was, it wasn’t natural, and it was getting closer.

At first, the whispers were muffled, indecipherable words until it went silent and spoke clearly in a demonic voice.

“Petty Officer Yale… do you still dream of boats?”

On the other side of the trap door, Pinkie was waiting for Benny to make some joke or holler comically back at her, but he was oddly silent.

“BenBen? Are you still there?... Benny Ben BenBen? Benny Boy?”

Stricken by his fears, Benny couldn’t answer. The only thing audible was his heart thumping in his chest. Mercilessly, a black mist continued to roll in behind him, bringing in a rancid stench of spoiled food and feces blowing in on an ocean’s breeze.

He was scared stiff, unable to move or even call for help as the sounds of water thumping and splashing against the hallowed hulls of a boat filled the air. A stronger breeze drifted in as all the horrifying memories came flooding back.

The ominous voice spoke again.

“Do you miss Lucy?”

Two large eyes of a brilliant, shimmering white opened in the darkness as a mouth filled with what looked like rolling clouds of grey smoke opened, revealing the silhouette of teeth befitting a bear trap.

“You don’t even know her real name… Let’s go ask her for it.”

The fear of reliving this nightmare snapped Benny out of his frozen state, shouting in terror at the approaching mist.

“Pinkie! The Shadow Pony is real! Get your fucking ass over here!”

Pinkie grinned at what she thought was a weak prank being shouted at her on the other side of the trap door.

“Classic Benny,” she rolled her eyes and sighed as she faced the wall towards Benny. “That’s just an old ponies tale Granny Smith used to tell Applejack, Silly!”

Benny moved closer to the wall as the Shadow of Ponies lurched forward, and he made one last cry for help.

“Pinkaaaaaaaay!”

Pinkie could tell that wasn’t a scream Benny would joke with and frantically searched for the lever.

“Benny! I’m sorry! I’m on my way! I just need to—” In her frantic search, she tripped the lever and spun the door back around. “Alright, whoever you are! You… Benny?“

She shook her head out of the daze and looked around for Benny in the strange new place she found herself in.

The air was hot and thick, with a putrid stench worse than what she found in Benny’s fridge. The rancid odor was only made worse by the humidity that made the air so dense she could literally taste the foul smells around her.

As her eyes adjusted, there wasn’t much to see.

Between the faint light from a ladder well behind her and a flashlight a human was holding towards a door on a wall in front of him, she couldn't see anything to scare Benny. The wall wasn’t normal, though. Actually, the whole room wasn’t normal. The walls on either side of the human curved in towards the floor. They weren’t even covered on the inside. The metal rails, which were also odd for a room to have, had been stripped. And strangely, the metal outer walls echoed in the sounds of water splashing.

Pinkie thought the best course of action to find Benny was to ask this new human and trotted up to him.

“Um, excuse me, mister human man-eww!“

She raised her hoof to see what she stepped in, but it was too dark to tell, and continued on.

“Sorry to bother you, but I’m looking for my friend Benny. I call him BenBen, but that’s because we're such good friends, and-oou, nice boots. My other buddy Cerb has a pair just like those.”

She tried to make her way to the human and talk to him face to face, as any polite pony would do when making a new friend. But she hit an invisible wall. Some type of invisible dome shield was warding her off.

She edged around as far as she could, looking for an opening to ask the human for help, but before she could get another word out, the light reflecting off the wall revealed the new human was Benny.

He was in a different set of clothes with bulky gear all over chest, back, and hips. He even had a new bigger, funny-looking metal club-thing with him. He also had a helmet on, but she didn’t know why since he wasn’t rock climbing or biking.

Meanwhile, Benny stared unblinking at the door, too frightened to move.

“I don’t want to be here.”

A dark voice spoke up from behind to antagonize him.

“What’s behind the door, BenBen?”

Pinkie jumped back and huffed.

“Excuse me, mister, whoever you are. Only me and six of his friends can call him that.”

The bodiless voice changed its tune to sound merry and gloated.

“Ohh? That’s right… they called you Pencil? Didn’t they? Mmm. I can see those memories oh sooooo clearly. You were a... Yeoman? Yesssss... A glorified secretary. Just a pencil pushing papers.“ His voice quickly grew dark and scolding. “But you weaseled your way in with the big boyz, didn’t you? You were gonna be a hero just like your bigger, stronger friends.“

The dark mist drifted around Benny. Its bitter cold contrasted with the smothering heat that ran a shiver over his skin.

“Now, you’re hiding from your fears like a coward.”

The Pony of Shadows’s mist dashed overhead and manifested itself into form, smashing its hooves into the wall, fracturing the structure. Its head spun and twisted upside down to face Benny as it pressed the rest of its body up into the ceiling. A flowing mane of darkness and smokey grey waived out, and its horn extended from its head, ending in a fine grey tip that reflected what little light was in the room.

Pinkie jumped on the shield and pounded her hoofs down.

“BenBen! The Pony of Shadows is real!”

The Pony of Shadows flexed down on the wall, further caving it in, making the entire boat shake and rock forward as it roared.

“What’s behind the door, Pencil?!”

Pinkie called out, frantic to warn her friend of the trap he was falling into.

“Don’t listen to him! The Pony of Shadows is trying to scare you, BenBen! Your fear only makes him stronger!”

The Pony of Shadows growled, dismissively ignoring Pinkie completely, focusing all his attention on the still-cowering Benny.

“Why are you hiding Lucy? Hmm? How about I help you tear down these walls you’ve put around her to keep me out!”

The Pony of Shadows flexed down on the wall again. As the boat shook and started to rock to and fro, several of Benny’s haunting memories were knocked loose, sending echoes of voices throughout the room.

“Yale, it’s not your fault.”

“I’m sorry, but you are no longer fit for duty. We’re sending you home.”

“There was nothing you could do.”

“You couldn’t have saved her.”

“Let her memory go.”

“Let it go. Move on. I did it, you can do it.”

"Pencil... she's gone. Let her go."

“Let her go. Let her go. Let her go. Let her go. Let her go. Let her go. Let her go."

Benny dropped to his knees and buried his face in his hands, unable to block out the voices of the past.

“I can’t let go.”

The sound of metal warping and snapping in his nightmare whined and cracked as the Pony of Shadows cackled. Rivets were popping free and sprang out as the metal frame fractured until it shattered, and the broken pieces of scrap metal and tinder fell away from the memory Benny sealed away.

Benny couldn’t help but look up and see what he tried to forget.

“No! Stop!”

The Pony of Shadows floated down and boasted as he sneered down on Benny.

“Your fears are so rich! Once I harness your fear, you will bow to my will, and together we will bring back the night eternal with our Queen. Then you will reunite me with the rest of my body in Limbo. There, the Pillars will pay for their betrayal... But first, we will destroy the pink one.”

Benny turned to where the demonic manifestation was staring and saw Pinkie pounding on the invisible shield screaming for him. At no point in time had he known she was there. He couldn’t hear her or the banging on the barrier separating them.

With tear-filled eyes, he shouted for her to escape. Selfishly, not for her safety, but to hide his shame.

“No! Don’t look! Pinkie, run away!”

The Pony of Shadows was reveling in his imminent victory when the sound of another falling piece of metal drew his attention behind him. He turned to take in the source of Benny's fears.

It was Benny kneeling over bloodied corpses, futilely stuffing as much gauze over a small child’s chest as he could. His voice, with all his panic, was unconvincing while trying to sound optimistic.

“It’s okay! It’s okay! Stay with me, sweetheart. You mind if I call you Lucy? Yeah, Lucy, just like on your shirt. We’re going to get you out of here, okay, Lucy? My buddy Yooper, he’s gonna go get us help. Then we’re gonna get you off this boat and somewhere safe.”

The small child reached out her hand, further opening the cuts in her arm, and spoke in labored breaths and muffled gurgles.

"Madad... Kripaya..."

Benny took the child's hand in his as she slowly exhaled, and her grip went limp.

“Yeah. Madad kripaya. That’s right. You’re gonna be okay. Hey, maybe when you get better, you can be friends with Mylee. I’m gonna be her daddy soon. You got pretty brown eyes just like her. I’m sure you two... Come on, Lucy… Ya gotta keep… Lucy? No-No-No-No-No-No. Stay with me, Lucy! I’m here to save you.”

Shockingly, The Pony of Shadows backed away from the horrifying scene.

“What madness is this? No! I don’t want this! This… Put your walls back up! Stop remembering!“

He turned around to see Benny was no longer frozen in fear but was writhing in anger.

“Your fear? Where did it—”

Benny pulled back the pump-action and pushed it forward, racking in a round into the chamber.

“Not laughing now, are ya mother fucker?”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Each shot ripped through the Shadow's body, making him wince and stumble back.

“Rah! Fool! You think your weapon is real?!“

The Pony of Shadows closed the holes in his body and turned the shotgun Benny had just unloaded back to mist.

“Bringing you here was a mistake.”

Benny pulled out his 9mm sidearm and fired off four rounds before black tendrils shot out from the tattered wings of this new foe. The tendrils wrapped around Benny’s arms and legs, slowly tightening down on him like steel cables.

Unwilling to surrender, Benny raised his arm to try and take sight with the pistol again, but that too turned to mist. Now defenseless, the tendrils pulled tight as the dark pony walked closer to stare over his victim, glaring down with glimmering white eyes.

“If I cannot take your fears, then I will take whatever magic you have and—“

He started to wince and cringe, urgently retracting his tendrils, but they wilted and evaporated to mist.

Gawking at what remained of his now useless appendages, utter bewilderment overtaking his anger at being injured.

“What in the blazes are you?”

Benny looked at his hands where he was held and had felt next to nothing from the hold. Then, he made a fist and held it high above his head in a display of justice and power.

“Fucking of light in the darkness, damnit. I am the strongest man with anti-magic hands of destruction you some of that bitch!”

A crash came through the barrier, and Pinkie stood tall on her hind legs in a black trench coat, dual-wielding party cannons in each forehoof.

“And I am Pinkie! The Earth pony with enough C4—”

Pinkie was hit in the head with a large book of ‘Social Hierarchy and the Dynamics of Griffin Military Chain of Command,’ forcing her to stop her storytelling.

“Ow! What’d you do that for? I was getting to the really good part!”

Benny sat down, ready with another book of ‘Familiarity Linked Magic,’ in both hands, to throw.

“Fucking of light in the darkness, damn it? Duel-wielding party cannons? You know how hard it is for me to talk about this, and you’re over there making shit up? And you’re not even making it believable! I don’t swear or talk like that.”

Pinkie slouched back against the desk with her forelegs crossed.

“But the rest of the story is soooooo sad. Probably the shortest fight we’ve ever had. And I didn’t even get to do anything.”

At speeds to match a Sonic Rainboom, Rainbow Dash embarrassingly facehoofed.

“Pinkie, if you haven’t noticed, half of us are crying, and you’re telling jokes? Learn to read the room, would ya.”

Benny sighed, now questioning why he agreed to make the Pinkie Promise if she was going to be like this.

“Everyone shut up. And Pinkie, stop making shit up.”

The Pony of Shadows Blah-Blah-Blah.

“What in the blazes are you?”

Benny gave no explanation and lunged forward and punched the demon's chest. The Pony of Shadows was pushed back as its exterior cracked. Said cracks started to spiral out, beams of light bursting out, with the illusion began to crumble around them.

“No!” The Pony of Shadows cried out, enraged and reeling in pain. “Stay back!”

Rearing back, the terrifying specter quickly materialized an armored crest of black and smoke over his chest, which fanned out around his sides, flowing like his mane. He jumped back over the debris of the wall torn asunder and stomped his forehooves. As the crash came down on the floor, Benny lost his balance as jagged blades extended from the armor towards him.

Still off-balance, Benny dove forward to avoid the blades, only to feel one cutting down from under his pinkie finger to nearly the center of his forearm. However, the pain now coursing through his arm only served to fuel his anger as he pushed himself up, the illusion of his uniform and armor evaporated, revealing his normal clothes.

The blades retracted, and the Pony of Shadows fired a stream of dark magic from his horn down on Benny.

Not even bothering to dodge, Benny effortlessly took the blast as if he were running towards the vent of an air conditioner and swung for the demon's left leg. His punch struck hard, knocking a chunk of the exterior away, releasing blasts of white light, black mist, along with puffs of green and violet magic.

Harsh shrieks of pain filled the room as the Pony of Shadows collapsed on its crumbling limb, allowing Benny to release the rest of his rage uncontrollably on the shadow’s body. Each hit managed to further fracture more of its exterior, releasing the life force that gave it power.

Blow after blow, the body fractured and fell apart until the rest of the exterior hit the floor, shattering like burnt glass.

From the shattered pieces, the black mist swirled together into a dark sphere, and its voice called out from the core.

“You may have weakened me, but my brethren will return and consume this world in darkness. You will never—”

Benny punched the sphere, sending it back with a crack running down its center and bouncing off the hull of the boat. The illusion further shattered, revealing the stone wall of the castle, creating additional cracks that splintered out.

Benny swung with a left hook, sending the spectral sphere careening through the illusion of another hull of the boat and into a stone wall, shattering with the fading death scream of The Pony of Shadows.

Behind him, the invisible shield faded, and Pinkie fell flat on the floor.

Finally able to reach Benny, she ran up to his side and stopped when she saw what he was staring at.

Slowly, the illusion around them was fading out in puffs of black mist. The rancid smell of spoiled food started to leave them as more of the illusion faded. The stench of human waste drifted out with the draft that carried through the castle returning. Last to go was Benny's worst memory, still holding Lucy in his arms while his old chief stood over the other bodies and held out his hand.

"YN2 Yale... Come on... Let’er go.”

Pinkie looked at the memory of years ago, then up to Benny. Seeing his reaction and the vanishing nightmare, she made the connection of his past and did her best to hold back the terror she was still wrapped up in.

“Was that her?” She asked with genuine empathy. “The one… that you couldn’t talk about?”

Benny was still shaking, overwhelmed with all the emotions that came with being forced to relive that day again.

“I couldn’t handle it. She was just a kid. She was being shipped off to another country to be sold as a slave... But the pieces of shit that were transporting her abused her and the rest of the women on the way."

He held that pain in, doing all he could to stop it from pulling other haunting memories that still left him feeling disgusted with his past. A familiar hurting and shame that was no more beyond his control than the girl he called Lucy had suffered.

"But then their engine broke down, and my team was sent in to seize the boat they stole… They saw us coming and then…“

He started to whimper as the anger and old emotional pain spiked.

“They fucking butchered all of them. The dumb fucks thought they could hide the bodies and get away if they played dumb. But I found her, all by accident… and… just looking at this poor kid. The whole time I couldn’t stop thinking about my fiance's daughter... I was gonna go home and get married, have a kid of my own… But I couldn’t save her... I blamed myself, and I couldn’t get over it.”

Becky stood up, red in the face and her cheeks glistening with the remainder of tears left behind.

“Stop. I need a minute.”

Kelly stood up and followed in the same fashion, escorting Becky out of the study with Rainbow Dash and Big Mac in tow.

Benny looked around the room at everyone's reaction to his story, which was hard to take in.

“Hey, uh, Pink… Could you… Uhh… Go grab me a bottle of the JD Honey?”

Cerb quickly raised his hand, “Make it two.”

As Pinkie silently trotted out of the study, Rarity laid a hoof on Cerb’s hand.

“How much of this did you know?”

Cerb sighed and dried his eyes.

“All of it… I mean, of what happened to him years ago. Not the stuff at the castle.”

Chris sat angrily in his chair, glaring harshly at Benny.

“Why didn’t you tell us? We could have helped you work through it. And you were engaged?”

Still shaken up from the memories, Benny took a deep breath and huffed, “The engagement was a secret because I never asked her father, and we didn't want to have it get out without me… doing the whole bullshit tradition. And I didn’t exactly tell Cerb what happened. He came to my place after me and Tiffany broke it off, and then literally beat it out of me.”

Cerb rolled his eyes at the description of events.

“He punched me first. And I didn’t beat it out of him… I slapped it out of him.”

Celestia was taken aback by that revelation.

“Your friend was suffering after having to go through that horrific event, and you assaulted him?”

Benny raised his hand and waved off the accusation.

“He didn’t know what happened. He thought I was falling apart because of the breakup. Actually, he helped me get over most of it, and he probably saved my life by doing what he did.”

Pinkie opened the door and led in the rest that had stepped out. Then, after a quick cooling spell from Twilight on the bottles of whiskey, everyone settled in for the rest of the story with boxes of tissues being passed around.

After Benny took a few good chugs from his bottle, he continued.

“Well… needless to say, that’s what ruined my life. I fell into a deep depression… I couldn’t eat right. I couldn’t sleep without having nightmares of Lucy. I got sent back to the States because I couldn’t do my job anymore. I became an alcoholic, ended up ruining my relationship with Tiff because I couldn’t look at Mylee without breaking down or lashing out and throwing shit… and I’m ashamed to admit it, but… If Cerb hadn’t shown up and forced me to tell him what really happened and told me what—“

He shook his hand, held it up, and then took another drink from his bottle to make it look like that's what he was trying to do.

“He offered to help me cope. If he didn’t, I probably would have done something stupid.”

Only his human friends knew what that meant and felt a new spike of pain dig in.

Chris sighed, doing all he could, not letting other miserable memories revisit him.

“Hey, we’re glad you stuck it through. Better to be the Stranded Seven than the Stranded Six.”

“Yeah,” Benny nodded in agreement. “But that’s why I didn’t tell anyone else. I thought I failed as a sailor, a would-be husband and father, and almost failed myself out of life. And every time I thought about Lucy, it just brought me back to the dark place in my head, ya know... So, I took Cerb’s advice to just get the fuck over it… Which for both of us really just meant pushing through life the best we could and bury the memories. Thus the wall metaphor I can only guess The Pony of Shadows broke down.”

Hearing that, Twilight remembered Benny had only faintly told her about Cerb’s advice.

“The scars heal over the wounds, grass grows over the graves, and every day, the bad things that happen to us move farther and farther away.”

Cerb shot a look at Benny, who sighed and took another swig from his bottle before explaining himself.

“I only told her that you helped me through a bad spot in my life, and those were the words you told me. I didn’t tell her anything else… aside from the part where I punched you… getting thrown to the floor and you slapping me on the chest, saying I was being a little bitch.”

Sniff, who had been standing for most of the story, put his hands on a desk and glared at Cerb, then turned to Benny.

“Let me guess. He wrapped you up in a chokehold and slapped you in the chest?“

Sniff watched Benny nod and point a finger gun, meaning that knew he was correct. Somehow, Sniff wasn't all that surprised.

“Jesus… Justin, the schoolyard bully at his finest... Well, that makes two lives you pretty much saved by being a prick.”

In response, Becky threw her box of tissues at Sniff.

“Hey! He’s not a bully anymore, but he’s still our prick.”

“Guys!” Benny shouted. “Let me fucking finish, and then you bring up old shit… Anyway… so, after I told Pinkie pretty much everything I told you.”

Pinkie was hugging Benny’s leg and crying literal fountains of tears.

“I’m so sorry, BeeeeeenBeeeen. Waaah-haaaaah-haaaah!”

She cried out in an exaggerated fashion, which was to be expected of her.

“I understand why you didn’t want to talk to me about this! I’m such a bad friend for pushing you so hard! I owe you, like, a bazillion apology cupcakes!”

She cried out exaggeratedly again, “And a piiiiiiie-ey-ey-iiiiiiie.“

Moving in closer for further emotional support, she inappropriately buried her face in his crotch.

“You can pick the flavor if you want to.”

Wordlessly, at first, Benny pushed her face out of his crotch.

“Pinkie, stop. You did what any good friend would do. You don’t owe me any cupcakes. Okay?”

Pinkie wiped her eyes dry… ish.

“Okay.“ She sniffed to clear her nose. “Two pies, and I pick the second flavor.”

Benny rolled his eyes at her nonsensical attempt at negotiating.

“Fine, yes. Two pies. We’ll deal with that later.”

Pinkie stepped back and blew her nose clean in a handkerchief that came from somewhere Benny didn’t care to question. He was safe, the threat was over, and the next thing they had to do wasn't too far away from them for her to report to.

“Okay. Two pies. Now, let's go tell Twilight what happened.”

Benny panicked and reached out to pull Pinkie’s tail back to him.

“No! Please don’t.”

Pinkie stared at Benny and had a brief thought if this was what it's like when others stare at her when she says things they don’t understand.

“What? Why not? You just defeated the Pony of Shadows in five minutes and forty-seven seconds! That should have taken at least two episodes!”

Benny had to think fast to keep her quiet.

“Two episodes? Is that with or without Lauren Faust?”

Pinkie rolled her eyes at what anyone else would say was a weird question.

“Of course, without Lauren Faust. She hasn’t-No! Stop that! You’re just trying to confuse me again! We’re telling Twilight!”

Ignoring her request, Benny went for it again.

“About Lauren? You think she doesn’t know already?”

Pinkie groaned, both at the question and the obvious out-of-date reference.

“It’s been over four years. I’m sure she-No! Benny stop that! Why don’t you want her to know what happened here? This is huge!”

Benny dropped to his knees, splashing the pools of Pinkie’s tears up over the both of them as he pleaded.

“I can’t deal with this, Pinkie. I just want to forget this happened. I’m over it. I can move past it. And Cerb’s still out there. If they knew this just happened, it will ruin everything…”

Benny took another drink from his bottle.

“And then the rest is really fuzzy for me. I remember I convinced Pinkie to make a Pinkie Promise with me because I was cognizant enough to remember she wouldn’t break it. And I, in turn, Pinkie Swore I’d come clean about it after we got back.”

Twilight looked at him, puzzled.

“What do you mean the rest is fuzzy?” What happened?”

Pinkie sprang up and took the bottle out of Benny’s hand.

“You wanna know what happened?“

She, having managed to rip the bottle from Benny’s hands, took a good chug from it, practically downing a tall glass's worth in a manner of seconds.

“He went totally bonkers on me! First, he started crying, and then he was shaking because he was all scared that I was going to tell you. Then he started laughing like some loony-toony crazy pony!”

Benny hung his head, embarrassed, and promptly snagged his bottle back.

“Yeah. That’s…. pretty much what happened.”

This was so much to take in, but if Benny and Pinkie were being honest now, one thing seemed to contradict them.

“If you didn’t want us to know about this until after we were back from the Everfree Forest, why did Pinkie tell me exactly what happened? That you fought and defeated The Pony of Shadows?”

With the question asked and having the opportunity to answer it, Pinkie made a contorted face.

“He was laughing and crying and wouldn’t let go of my tail, plus he looked all creepy and sad. I told him I didn’t want to lie to you, so he said I didn’t have to. He said to make the story sound funny, and you wouldn’t believe me. Eventually, I had to give in, but then, he just kept laughing anyway! He was laughing the whole night!”

At the mention of laughing all night, Big Mac snorted.

“And I can vouch for that much of the story. They had taken longer than what they said they would to do their rove, so I went looking for ‘em. When I found ‘em, I thought Benny was drunk. We tried to take him up to the beds to sleep it off after a while. But we only made it as far as to where Twilight found us the next morning in a hallway.”

Benny went to take another drink but put the bottle down instead.

“Even if you had believed her and knew I was lying, I didn’t want to deal with talking about Lucy. I can’t explain how much that fucked me up or excuse putting everyone in danger because of it. Although focusing on the laughing part, the same thing happened to me the first night we were here. And I think I figured out why that happens. Why a lot of what happens to us happens the way it does.”

Everyone about jumped out of their seats at the revelation, but Twilight was the first to ask, “What is it! What did you figure out? This could be the key we’ve been looking for!”

Benny sighed, trying to focus his thoughts amidst the alcohol and exhaustion.

“I’m not saying I got it all figured out, but let’s take a look at what we do know.“

He took a deep breath, knowing he would have to make them open up their imagination to really understand.

“Cerb and I both got into fights and took on magic attacks but felt nothing from them. From that, we determined that we’re magic-proof. At least we would be if not for the fact that Kelly was hit with the Elements of Harmony and was at least mostly healed. That, and I’ve seen Rarity move around Cerb’s arm when he was asleep.”

Those were observations just about all of them were aware of, but he knew no one else had caught on yet.

“You know what the difference was in both cases?“

He waited for a moment to pass to let everyone dwell on it. Sure enough, no one gave a hint that they were catching on.

“During Cerb’s fight, he was angry that no one would trust him to go out into the Everfree. I was pissed off that I had to see that shit again. After we got mad, we took on magic blasts like they were nothing. Plus, Cerb broke those chains on him like I broke The Pony of Shadow's body. Both of those were constructs. Manifestations of magic assembled into something tangible. We broke them easily, but every time magic has had any influence on us, it’s been after Kelly was scared for her life because she thought she was dying, and Cerb having a night terror.”

Chris was the first to put it together.

“So, our emotions dictate how resistant to magic we are?”

Instantly, Benny raised his hands in a fit of frustration.

“It’s a fucking trope! Which makes sense for where we are. Think about it in cartoon logic. Characters get pissed off, and they power through impossible odds. Characters get scared, and their powers fail. Just think about, and sorry to all the ponies here because you won’t get these references... when does Goku finally get the power to go Super Saiyan?”

It was true. The ponies had no idea what he was talking about.

“He got pissed off! When does the Green Lantern lose his powers? When he lets fear overtake his will. Oh! Actually, I got one for the ponies and our two bronies, who I’m sure I know what I’m talking about. When Discord came back, what made Twilight lose her powers?”

The question was for the whole room, but after Twilight thought for a moment, she asked, “Are you talking about when he took over Ponyville and made all of us fight each other? Because I didn’t lose my powers, we just couldn’t use the Elements of Harmony.”

Benny grumbled, accidentally fucking up that example.

“Sorry, I fell asleep through that episode, so I'm probably remembering it wrong.”

Thankfully, Twilight went on to further correct him.

“And I wasn’t scared. I was sad because I thought I lost all of my friends.”

Benny threw up his hands in defeat.

“Okay, fine. Your friendship is our anger, and our fear is your sadness. Same concept, but if I’m right, that’s why I took the magic blast with no damage, but the actual blades he shot out cut my arm. Then think back to Kelly being stabbed. The spear wasn’t made of magic, just metal. Cerb was scratched up by the Timberwolves because even if they are constructs, they are constructs made of actual wood. And for taking the punches from Onyx, just a theory, but Earth ponies are magically gifted with strength. Which Cerb neutralized by still being pissed off. But... I think our emotions are also why we were brought here.”

Benny stood up and started walking around the room, gesturing his hand to all his friends.

“We all have shitty lives, our pasts suck, and we’re all haunted by our tragedies, loneliness, and misery. The Pony of Shadows must have been the one to bring us here. He probably knew that we’d have to go through the Everfree Forest to find Becky’s cure, and was going to attack whichever one of us went there so he could feed on our fears and misery to bring back… well, I’m pretty sure the Queen would be Nightmare Moon, but I don’t know what he meant by the rest of him being in Limbo or what the Pillars are.”

Celestia cleared her throat, only having had a first hoof encounter with one of them.

“Ahem. The Pillars were a group of heroes spoken in legend. My sister and I were very young and only knew Starswirl The Bearded. We never meet the others.”

All of the ponies gasped, and Twilight actually jumped out of her seat.

“The Pillars are real!?”

Luna nodded, but not very confidently.

“Yes, at least as far as we know, but they vanished long ago. Around the same time, Starswirl disappeared, it seems. But if The Pony of Shadows wanted you here for revenge against the Pillars, might that mean they are still alive?”

Suddenly, Chris had a question only a brony could think of.

“Hold on, if The Pony of Shadows was a part of the dark magic left behind from Nightmare Moon being banished, why would he want revenge on the Pillars and not Celestia or the Mane Six?”

Cerb capped his bottle and set it down, now heavily invested in another question.

“Why would this Shadow Pony fucker want to bring us here if what he saw in your memory scared him? He even said he didn’t want it. And then he tried to drain all the magic you had when you don’t have any? And from the sounds of it, just touching you was enough to hurt him?”

Becky just realized another plot hole.

“Not just absent of magic, anti-magic. Unless he faked it, I’m pretty sure you punched him to death. And I know villains can be short-sighted and stupid, but bringing us here is like bringing a gun to a pillow fight, but then giving the gun to someone else to use. Not only that, if he only wanted us for our fear and misery, why put us here in Ponyville and not at the castle with him? We would have no idea what was going on or not meet all our kick-ass friends. We would have been a hell of a lot more scared and way easier targets.”

Sniff, still knowing next to nothing about the lore of this world or how it worked, easily saw through the failed logic.

“Yeah, putting us here was the worst thing he could have done. Not only are we all friends here now, all our lives are so much less shitty because of it. I mean… aside from Benny waiting until after the bad guy showed up to get help, all of our situations are better than where we started from. Cerb’s getting therapy, Becky’s getting cured, Chris is—“

He knew what Chris was most likely doing beyond what he actually already told. However, that didn’t need to be mentioned right now.

“—actually getting out and making friends on his own. Kelly is—“

He looked at Kelly and realized just how close she was to Big Mac. Even from the first night they were here, she sought him out. In some ways, he blamed himself if she was fucking around with Big Mac, but he wasn’t any better and still had to keep cover for Chris.

“I think Kelly is learning better respect for her own boundaries.”

From Sniff’s look and his phrasing, Kelly wondered if he knew or suspected anything between her and Big Mac. Fortunately, Becky didn’t offer any kind of noticeable reaction.

Regardless, Chris looked around the room, noticing one friend not with them who wasn't mentioned.

“What about Lumberman?”

Sniff shrugged, thinking that there wasn’t much for Lumberman to work on.

“I dunno, he’s always been pretty squared away. Well, squared away ever since we adopted him.”

Shining, who had been quiet this whole time, looked around the room and realized they were one short on assessments.

“Sniffy. What about you?”

Sniff thought for a moment, wondering, with his recent developments, if he really was getting better. If anything, his depravity was technically getting worse, even if his morals and boundaries were still intact. But as he looked up with his conflicted mind, he laid eyes on Twilight.

From across the short divide, Sniff locked eyes with Twilight, who smiled with a glint of pride in her eyes. Of all the ponies he met, she stood out as something special to him.

“I think she’s helping me learn how to be a friend who isn’t afraid to be kind without the fear of always judging myself. Because maybe it's not always selfish to make others happy when you think that’s what you have to do to be happy yourself.”

Pinkie took another chug from Benny’s bottle and offered it back to him.

“That still doesn’t explain why you were laughing it up all night, BenBen.”

Benny took the bottle, looking disappointed at the fact he was pretty much nearly drained.

“Oh, yeah, well, I still stand by the whole emotions being a factor in our magic resistance thing. But as to why I was laughing like a jackass. Mind you, I was being a little bitch and scared about dealing with nightmares being magicked in front of my face.“

He took another sip from his bottle and smacked his lips, obnoxiously, wondering if anyone had caught on to his little hint. However, it was clear they hadn’t, so, why not keep them fishing for it?

“Pinkie… Which Element are you?”

Pinkie giggled at the silly question.

“Uh, hello? Pretty sure everyone knows I’m the Element of Lau-Oh, my gosh! You laughed because of me?”

Benny nodded before pointing to Cerb.

“And who were you next to after Pinkie scared you away from the hill?”

Cerb looked at Fluttershy and Rarity sitting on either side of him, and the crushing weight of reality settled uncomfortably on his shoulders.

“Generosity and Kindness… Which is why I gave them compliments... and thought the kind thing to do was give Fluttershy a hug.”

Benny raised his bottle, now letting his frustrations continue his obnoxious declarations through half-questions and observations.

“And last but not least, Lumberman got scared in the forest and started blabbing about things he didn’t want to. Probably because that was on his mind, and he was honest about it while with…” He kept his bottle raised high and motioned it around the room, egging on anyone to answer the rhetorical question. “The Element of Honesty, ladies and gentlemen, fillies and gentlecolts, we subcame to the effects of the Elements we were surrounded by. As far as I can tell, in our weakened emotional state, we were overcome by the effects of the strongest forms of magic this world has to offer.”

Twilight looked impressed and somehow surprised it wasn’t Chris who had put it together.

“That actually makes perfect sense.”

And yet, it was Chris who came back with a retort surprisingly quick.

“Not entirely, because if fear makes us susceptible to magic, why didn’t Benny go dark and evil when he was scared of facing his fears against the Pony of Shadows?“

It wasn’t a rhetorical question, and he gave the room a moment to think it over before Chris asked another.

“Why didn’t Sniff take on any of the traits of the Elements when Celestia scared him back at the house when she yelled at Pinkie? And Becky wasn’t scared when she puked in front of Twilight and Rainbow Dash before Cerb carried her back in.

He looked at Becky, letting her know he was looking for clarification.

“Were you scared of anything when that happened, Becky?”

Becky looked at Rainbow Dash.

“No... I was happy at the time.”

Chris scanned the room again for any other examples he could think of.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great theory and works in a lot of situations, but I think we’re still missing something if we have all these inconsistencies.”

Twilight, as was typical when met with a problem she couldn’t solve, dropped her head on her desk.

“Goddamnit. I swear… the more we learn, the less we know.”

Undeterred, Luna stood up and addressed the room.

“I think that is only partially true. This is all very important information that I’m sure will help us sort things out. More importantly, Benny is to be commended. Not only for conquering his fears but also for defeating what could have been a very dangerous adversary.”

Despite the pep talk, stating that out loud presented another problem Luna was presented with.

“Although it will be rather difficult to interrogate him now that he has been so thoroughly defeated. And if there is nothing else left to discuss, I think we could all use a break. I also think my sister, Twilight, Shining, and I need to discuss the implications of The Pony of Shadows revealing himself and how we are to address this issue.”

Benny raised his bottle and took a drink, already having his fill of this debate but not of the booze.

“Well, if it’s all the same to everyone here. I’m tired and mentally drained after all of this. I’m gonna get drunk and get back to this new program Pinkie is putting me on after I sober up.“

He went to take another drink but lowered the bottle. Another oversight was suddenly realized.

“Shit… I was gonna drive home. Is it alright if I crash here tonight again, Twilight?”

Twilight tried to smile but gave up on that venture and simply nodded.

“Yes, all of you are welcome to stay. There are plenty of rooms, so if the plumbing breaks, I’m sorry in advance. Just pick another room, and we’ll take care of it later.”

Luna stepped over to Sniff, lighting up her horn.

“Peter, dear.” She returned his phone, levitating in her aura. “I made sure it stayed clean for you.”

Peter took the phone back and put it in his pocket, not wanting it broadcasted for everyone to know she had it. He didn’t need anyone asking any questions.

“Thanks… I’m gonna go check on AJ and Lumberman, come to think of it. See if they need anything.”

Twilight trotted up to Peter and caught him before he got to the door, as he was the last one to leave.

“Peter, I’m probably going to be a while, and I’m sure you’d like to talk some more.“ She sighed with a clear expression of regret. “This has been probably one of my top three craziest days I’ve ever had. And I’ve saved the world more times than that. So… if you end up going to see Oven Fresh after this, could you tell her that I’m sorry for the way I acted? I’ll apologize to her face to face when I’m not so busy, but I know you said you would see her. And if you stay there for the night, that just means she’s that good of a friend, or more, if it ends up that way.”

With no time to prepare something better, that sounded like the right thing to say. Yet, it still felt wrong for some reason. Was she pushing him away or pulling him too close? How close was too close to keep Celestia in good graces? Whatever the answers were, why did she want him to stay for her sake and not his?

“But my doors will always be open for you, and any room you want here that’s not taken, you’re more than welcome to. Even mine, if you’re feeling lonely, I mean.”

Sniff nodded, grateful to have a friend like her—still unable to see the deeper emotions she was trying so hard to hide.

“Thanks, Twiggs. Breakfast tomorrow?”

Twilight smiled, still wishing he would stay.

“Sure. Maybe at Oven Fresh’s? Say, seven?”

Sniff chuckled, thinking how serious she was taking this, making amends approachable.

“Sure. I’ll make it happen.”

As the door closed and only the four royals remained, Luna started the conversation.

“Today has revealed many new concerns. I, for one, believe I may need to rethink my initial opinion that perhaps Trixie’s dream may not have been unfounded. From what she described, as Twilight has informed us, there are too many correlations between what she claimed to have seen and the abilities of The Pony of Shadows.”

Celestia saw fit to take advantage of the situation.

“I think it would be best if she returned to us. Not only do we need to take a closer examination of her dreams after this new discovery, I believe the spell she used could be what we need to allow the humans a way home. For some reason, she seems to be the only one to make it work, if even accidentally. But… if Benny is correct about The Pony of Shadows wanting them for their negative emotions, it is clear that if their nightmares could be harvested… I don’t believe even the Elements could combat dark magic with that much negativity in its reserves.”

Shining looked between the other royals, completely confused.

“Uh, I think I might have missed the part of Trixie’s dream you’re talking about.”

Knowing what a mess of a story that was, Luna sighed.

“We will fill you in on the details in a moment, but I would like to propose a solution to reduce the risk of our new human friends being exploited for their pain and misery.”

Celestia turned a sharp eye to Luna, already knowing by her sister's tone it was going to be something to aggravate her.

“And what might that be?”

Luna glared back at her sister.

“Remove this ridiculous secret decree that we are not to become too attached, as you put it, to our new friends.”

Celestia grit her teeth as her anger started to flare.

“Now is not the time, dear sister.”

Luna did not back down and firmly asserted herself.

“No, dearest sister of mine. As you have heard today, they have been sent here with a near-bottomless well of darkness, haunting their nightmares and hindering their ability to move on to a better life. If they are to become less of a threat to us and not be used as the new source of power to our unknown enemies, it would behoove us to help them rid themselves of such darkness. Which is exactly what everypony but you has been doing, even with our hooves tied.”

Twilight and Shining, being familiar with sibling rivalry, could see the tension between these two, especially as Luna continued to lay into her elder sister.

“And we have heard no reason not to be allowed closer.“ Luna glared so harshly at Celestia that it could have been taken as a challenge... which it was. “Unless you care to offer one… Dear sister.”

Celestia stared back, accepting the challenge, but offered no retort.

Having won the mini-war of secrets, Luna smiled and leaned back into a more comfortable stance.

“Well, then. If there has been no opposition offered, we shall put it to a vote. Shining, as the only royal present to represent the Crystal Empire, you will be voting on behalf of Princess Cadance. And the votes are to be as follows.”

She held herself in a tall and posh manner, clearly gloating over her proposition.

“Yay for those in favor of restricting our attachments... and Nay for those against the restrictions, who prefer getting as close as we wish to our new human friends to help them become happier, more emotionally positive, contributors towards the safety of Equestria… Those in favor?”

Celestia stewed in her anger, knowing she had no support in this cause, yet still chose to stand her ground.

“I vote… present.”

Luna rolled her eyes.

“Very well. Those against? Nay.”

Shining refused to look at Celestia as he could feel her stare burning into his core.

“Nay.”

Twilight looked up to her mentor and was conflicted between earning her praise and following what she felt was right… or was it something else she was feeling?

“I have been entrusted with taking care of our new human friends. And after everything I’ve seen with them… all of their kindness, dedication, restraint, and the trust they have put into us… I vote nay.”

Luna didn’t even make a slight attempt to hide her gloating and cheered, “Wonderful! That makes one present, zero yays, and three nays. The nays have it. We shall alert our new friend’s caretakers of the new change in policy after this session has adjourned. In the meantime, let us revisit what we know of Trixie’s dream and figure out how to locate her. If dark forces are at work here, it may be why she has been hidden from me. She may even be in danger.”

Celestia, despite her current disdain for the present company, she did have one other concern.

“We cannot overlook the correlation between the arrival of Equestria’s newest inhabitants and the rash of blood-related injuries. What happened to Applejack was undignified and unforgivable. Whoever is behind making any of our subjects suffer so greatly will pay dearly.”

For a moment, Luna was pleased to see the sister she remembered and adored back in her company.

“For this concern, you will find no division in our support, dear sister. We are a durable breed. Even in a weakened state, Applejack has proven this to be true. She will be avenged.”

The room was crowded with humans and ponies alike. All the attention was on Applejack, barely conscious and still clinging to Lumberman’s arm.

Everyone who entered was either silent with a nod or gave a simple one-worded greeting, then stood silently by and waited. It was as if they were all thinking the same thing, but no one could put any words to it, let alone speak at all.

This day had drained them. Many had old issues revisiting them as they had woken up. Others had new problems to work through, and many had worried about unknown dangers they were destined to fight, some already fighting them.

For the last few days, others had to stay back and worry about the great unknown that lay beyond the Everfree Forest, where loved ones might not return from.

Then the warriors returned to all their relief but had brought back new concerns. One couldn’t hide his wounds and roughed through them with only mild annoyance. The other, now virtually crippled from the torture needed to save her. But all of them endured it with her, with each other, for each other.

Everyone still standing had taken their turns, holding and comforting her or assisting with the next extraction. It was a wonder how she even endured the procedure, much less somehow managed to stay sane.

Then the final bombshell, being not only Benny’s near-death experience but the source of all his misery for the past few years, had come to light.

Now here they were… back with Applejack and Lumberman with no good news to pass on.

Leave it to Sniff to find some way to break the ice.

“Every horse with a crown is finishing up with a follow-up meeting. We’re not waiting on them, just wanted to stop in and see how you both are holding up… See if there’s anything we can do.”

One of Applejack’s hooves twitched, and she winced in a sudden jolt of pain.

“Woody… the pills are making me sleepy. I wanna go home… I wanna be in our bed.”

Lumberman took a deep breath as he lightly brushed the poor pony’s mane.

“Just homesick. Applejack’s as tough as nails… She’s like Cerb if he was more of a woman, but not ugly and wore a bomb ass hat.”

Everyone chuckled at the light jab, but it was short-lived, and the room went silent again.

After a moment, Lumberman turned to the room.

“We’re fine for now. I’m gonna stay with her tonight. Not that she’d let me go.“

He chuckled as Applejack tightened her hold on his arm again. However, any humor was short-lived. Regrettably, he let some of his worries and hurt show through in his voice

“But, uh… Granny Smith needs to know she’s okay. At least one uh y’all gotta go let her know.”

Big Mac immediately stepped up.

“If anyone’s going, it’s me. Lumberman, Granny said yer an honorary member of the Apple Clan. That means she trusts ya like family. I’m sure she’ll rest easier knowing yer taking care of ‘er.”

Kelly laid her hand on Big Mac’s neck and rubbed it gently for support.

“I’m going with ya Big Red. I got a lot of experience given these kind of talks.”

With everything major more or less settled, Cerb felt it was time to leave and set the pace for the others.

“Hey, I’m in the same room upstairs if you need me for anything, man. Benny’s getting shitfaced, but even a drunk squid can still do his job. You need any of us, just holler.”

He stepped up and gently laid his hand on Applejack’s shoulder.

“Even a Lioness needs her downtime. Heal up fast, warrior.”

After his farewell, Cerb pushed his way out the door and motioned for everyone to follow. Taking his lead, everyone filed out after giving the well-wishes, except for Sniff, who stayed behind.

Quietly, Sniff approached the bed and squatted down once they were alone.

“Hey… I know we didn’t say nothing ‘bout what was discussed in there while you were taking care of our badass little Apple Hat… A lot got talked about, but just about all of it contradicted itself and left us with more questions than answers. I’m sure part of you is itching to find out but believe me, it’s all shit that can wait. I don’t want you thinking we’re leaving ya in the dark or that you’re missing out on anything more important than what you’re doing right now.”

Lumberman swallowed hard and nodded.

“Thanks.”

Sniff stood up and took a deep breath, knowing his plans looked as cowardice, just as they always had.

“Yeah, no problem, man. And, uh… I gotta head out into town. Everyone fucking forgot about Spike some fucking how.“ He gave a heavy sigh, already questioning what his mind was telling him to do. “So, I’m gonna go deal with that mess, send him back, and then I gotta fix some other bullshit out in town and—“

He started to tear up and breathe a little heavier.

“You know I always got yer back, but I kinda hit my limit with some of the shit today, and I’m gonna go have a few drinks and be back in the morning, ya know. Or noon. Just...”

A soft whisper came from Lumberman.

“So’kay. We all deal, man. Just be safe out there.”

Sniff started to collect himself, but it was a paper-thin show of it.

“Yeah… if anything comes up or they ask, I’m gonna be at the bakery in town or back at the house. Walking, not driving… Take care, Applejack.”

When the door closed behind Sniff as he left, Applejack stirred with a low groggy voice.

“Let me lay down, please.”

Lumberman pulled his hand free, stood up with Applejack in his arms, and pulled the covers back with his foot. He laid her down on her back and helped her roll to her right side so she could hang her hooves over the side if she wanted. After he got her situated, he went around the other side of the bed, snuggling up nice and close to her with the covers for them.

“Woody?” Applejack’s weak voice spoke up. “These pills make me feel funny, but I’m still hurting so bad. Can you stay with me?”

Lumberman chuckled at the question as if it wasn’t obvious.

“Of course. As long as you want me here, I’ll be there with ya.”

Applejack curled in around Lumberman’s arm draped over her, nuzzling his hand under her, and started to whimper.

“I don’t want you to ever leave me, Woody.“

She started to sob, though it wasn’t from the pain.

“And I’m sorry I got so many stupid splinters… I just wanted to get back home to ya faster so we could go to bed early and sleep in late.“

She started to sob harder, knowing how much this was going to change everything.

“Now, I can’t make yer special meals no more.”

Lumberman hugged her tight, “Shhhh-Shhhh. It’s okay, Apples. I’m gonna be with ya every day. And we’ll go to bed early, sleep in late, take as many naps in the day as ya want. And all the belly rubs you want. You can pay me back when yer all healed up, and I’ll thank you every time with another belly rub.”

Applejack started to chuckle amidst her sobs.

“I wish I could have more than just belly rubs with ya, Woody,“ she said with a bit of a drunken slur, the pills really starting to kick in.

After she made that confession, her sobs stopped, and she gave a few short heavy breaths.

“These pills make me feel funny… please take me home tomarruh.”

Lumberman was about to ask what she meant by more than belly rubs, but the sound of her sleeping put that question on hold until the morning. But that was if he was going to even ask. She was on painkillers, after all.

Big Mac and Kelly stood in front of Granny’s door, blaring music from a record player that sounded like a knock off version of Jelly Roll Morton - Black Bottom Stomp muffled from behind. After three knocks on the door, the locks unclicked on the other side of the door that opened to a very angry Granny Smith.

Glaring through the crack, she whispered, “Big Mac?... Where’s Applejack?”

Behind her, the record scratched to a halt as Apple Bloom’s voice sprang up.

“Granny? Is that Big Sis? Is she okay?”

Both Big Mac and Granny Smith held their tongues, worried about Apple Bloom finding out her sister wasn’t there and what questions would follow. Thankfully, Kelly spoke to handle the situation.

“That you, Apple Bloom?”

Knowing her intervening wasn’t going to be well received in this family affair, she held up her finger to her lips at Granny Smith, silently telling her that she had this under control. More or less, keep quiet, or the bad news was going to come out around those who didn’t need to hear it.

“What are you doing in there? I thought you had your own room?” Kelly asked, sounding innocent enough to not rouse any suspicion.

Apple Bloom pushed her way under Granny’s legs and popped her head out into the hallway.

“Granny ordered us dinner and said she wanted somepony to keep her company and play cards with till Applejack came back.”

Kelly played the part of a good friend who thought everything was fine, all too convincingly.

“Awe, shoot. I guess she didn’t make it over after all. Well, sorry, but she’s probably gonna be stuck up in Twilight’s castle all night. You should of seen how mad she was. Screamed her pretty little head off being told she was gonna be stuck up there all night with Twilight going over books and all sorts of—“ She tilted her head back and looked down both ends of the hallway, then leaned in to whisper. “A bunch of super-secret princess stuff.”

Annoyed and disappointed, Applebloom groaned, her massive bow actually slumping like her ears.

“Awe, she always gets to do the super-secret, cool stuff.”

Kelly shrugged, still playing up that everything was fine, outside of her own annoyance.

“Well, that’s how it goes sometimes. Heck, they even kicked us two clowns out. Told us to talk to Granny about a bunch of historical claims for yer house’s prior damages, additions to the farm, just all of the most boring stuff you could think.“

She looked up at Granny, her expression saying she needed help and to play along.

“Hey, do you think these are the kinda legal documents and tax exemption forms are something the kids could help out with, or would they rather think of a new way to dig up some dirt on Sniff?“

She panned down to Apple Bloom with a look of disappointment.

“Since she never got any juicy details the last time.”

Granny thankfully caught on and played her part.

“Apple Bloom, you mind taking Sweetie Belle over to yer room and work on yer spying plans for—”

“OkayThanksBye!” Apple Bloom spat out as she dashed over to her room, dragging Sweetie Belle along with her.

Kelly waited until Apple Bloom’s door closed, then, relieved, she immediately dropped the happy facade.

“Sorry… my mom used to say she was going over really boring paperwork and threatened to have me read it for her when she didn’t want me bothering her.”

Somewhat doubting, Granny Smith nodded.

“Uh-huh… did it work that good on you?”

Kelly faked a smile and huffed, “It did until I thought if I said yes, she’d want to actually spend time with me… Can we come in?”

Hesitantly, Granny Smith invited them in but locked the door behind them, already expecting to hear some terrible news.

The question, however, was, how bad was it?

“Now, if you came here and can pull off such a good lie like that out there, that means either nothings wrong, but ya still got bad news.“

Granny took an uneasy seat in a rocking chair across from the bed. Her worry and old age clearly taking their toll.

“Ugh… or it’s so bad you had to lie to get her away from us.”

Kelly was already tearing up again and pulled a tissue from a nearby box as she took a seat on the bed next to Big Mac.

“A little of both, I guess.“ She took a few short breaths, wondering how honest she should be about what all happened. “She’s safe, and she is still up in the castle. Lumberman is taking care of her. She’s not sick or… She’s just going to be in a lot of pain for a while.”

Stunned, Granny clutched her chest.

“Oh, no. So that scream’n?”

Big Mac hung his head low.

“We never left her side, Granny. I wish it were me instead ‘uh her, but… I don’t know what’s happen’en anymore.”

Kelly laid a hand over Big Mac’s hoof.

“We’ll tell ya as much as we can, but it’s going to get confusing. Just know that Applejack’s going to be okay.”

Becky followed Rainbow Dash out with their towels.

“No, it’s fine if you wanna drink. I would if I wasn’t going to be checking up on Applejack.”

A clearly inebriated voice called from the far end of the pool.

“Yo!” Benny called out to the new arrivals. “Adult swim! ‘Em I right?”

Pinkie waved them down, a rather large bottle clutched in her hoof, “Don’t worry! We got plenty of booze to go round! Come on and join us.”

With no other options for something better to do, Becky and Rainbow joined them at the far end.

Once situated, Rainbow Dash quickly cracked open a bottle of JD Honey.

“So… we got five days left to see who can have the shittiest week. Any takers?”

Taking a swing of his whiskey, Benny threw his head back and laughed.

“Oh, shit… there’s a challenge any of us could win on accident.”

Unamused, Becky gave Benny a concerned look.

“Ben… seriously. Are you going to be okay? I can’t believe… Jesus… I’m sorry. I don’t even know how to approach what you’ve gone through. Between what happened with the kid and what that led to… But you got singled out and almost killed by a giant dream demon after he brought everything back up. I’m hoping you’ll tell us if you need to talk this time.”

Benny took a long sip from his bottle and passed it back to Pinkie, which she promptly placed in her mane like a cup holder.

“You know… the stupid thing is. I was actually jealous of Cerb getting help from Fluttershy and Rarity. Not only that, I probably could have avoided the whole thing by accepting help from Twilight, Pinkie, Cadance, or Shining… I had just as much help offered as he did… but it took a fifteen-foot tall Freddy Kruger wannabe pony almost skewering me through the chest or lopping an arm off after showing me something even he couldn’t handle to accept help… but only on the condition that I have at least one more day not to get help.”

Benny did a good job of hiding it, but he wasn't only drunk; he was still hurting.

“And now that I got it all out in the open, along with a magical Earth pony that can pull C4 out of pockets that doesn’t exist because I told her in passing that C4 is more explosive than gunpowder... I’m actually looking forward to it. And, oh sure, yer Rainbow Dash can fly faster than sound and make tactical rainbow nuke strikes… but does she know who Lauren Faust is?”

Utterly perplexed, Rainbow Dash looked to Becky, then Pinkie.

“Egh… Pinkie, do I know who Lauren Faust is?”

Pinkie took another sip from the bottle and shrugged.

“I don’t know. That’s the first I’ve ever heard that name.”

Benny took a long pause while Becky fell into an unfortunate giggle fit. Then, like he had a stroke of genius, he grabbed another bottle, took a nice long chug, capped it, reached into his shorts next to them, pulled out his key ring, and held it up for Becky.

“I will trade you my car for your pony.”

Chris sat with his back up against the headrest and Starlight lying with her back against his chest.

“What a shit day… and it started out so great.”

Starlight yawned as she pulled Chris’s hand around her tighter.

“I know, and after doing what we could for Applejack, then everything Benny told us, on top of being soooo fuuuucking tired… I feel bad just thinking about doing anything with you when both of them are going through everything. That, and now I’m so scared for you.”

Chris massaged her chest gently for a moment.

“What are you scared of? Benny took out The Pony of Shadows, and I’m pretty sure you guys just committed Timberwolf genocide. I think we’re safe.”

Starlight groaned, surprised Chris didn’t see what she was seeing.

“That’s just it. In one fell swoop, Benny took out a demonic construct of nightmares and shadows by himself. And today, in less than an hour, we destroyed all those Timberwolves so easily… Nothing ends that easily. Not when it’s the end of the world at stake.”

Chris pulled Starlight up higher against him and placed his chin in the crook of her neck and shoulder.

“Not always. Twilight and the others took out Nightmare Moon the same day she showed up. Chrysalis got taken out the same day once Twilight figured out what was going on. Yeah, even Discord took a day… Where is he anyway?”

Starlight groaned again, not sure if the Spirit of Chaos being around would help or make things worse.

“I don’t know. Twilight said he was going off to repair the damage done to the strings that make up the different realities or something. Though it would have been nice if he had been here to help Applejack… or make all the Timberwolves disappear… I really don’t get that guy.“

She took a deep breath and started to appreciate just how tired she really was. Not just tired though, even for as bad as it was for so many others, tonight was supposed to be special for her and Chris. Even just knowing she felt bad about that made her feel worse. At the same time, there was no reason to make Chris go without just because she was spent.

”You know, I’m probably going to clonk out here soon. If you want to go drink with Benny or see one of the girls tonight, you don’t have to stay here with me.”

“Hmm,” Chris pretended to think out loud. “Nah, I think you could use the company tonight. Besides… I’m an optimist, and I think we’ve only got good things lying ahead of us… That and I might get horny tonight.”

Starlight snorted and tapped Chris on the head with her hoof.

“Stop that.”

Chris traced his left hand up Starlight’s neck and his right down her stomach and ran his fingers between her breast.

“This coming from the mare who I had to chase out of the shower because you just had to fit in a blowjob before you left.”

Starlight giggled and spread her legs for Chris.

“You’re such an enabler. Here I am, trying to sleep and be considerate of our friends, and you’re feeling me up and trying to get me aroused.”

Chris spread his fingers around Starlight’s outer lips, spreading her open as he pulled his other hand up and wrapped his arms around her.

“It is a bit early to chance fooling around, and you're tired anyway. How about tomorrow? After Benny starts whatever the fuck Pinkie has planned for him and Applejack is feeling better and we know she’s okay?”

Starlight turned herself around and gave Chris a loving kiss.

“It is early, so how about you make yourself more comfortable, and let's call it a night.“ She gave another quick kiss to his lips, wishing she wasn’t so damn tired. “We can do something nice for Applejack and Lumberman in the morning, then find someplace nice and quiet to try a few more firsts with each other?”

Chris grinned, getting undressed under the covers pulled over them.

“Any idea what we can do for them?”

Starlight hummed and pulled herself in closer, bringing the pair chest to chest under the sheets.

“Actually, I think I have something in mind, but I’m probably going to need Twilight’s help to figure out how to make it work. I’ll find out in the morning.”

Chris kissed the end of her muzzle.

“Sounds like a plan.”

They both settled in for the night, but after a moment, Starlight had a question to ask before they both fell asleep.

“Would you be mad if I sucked your dick while you’re asleep? Is that weird to ask? I feel like that’s a weird question to ask.”

His room was mostly dark. The curtains had been drawn shut, and with the day coming to an end, only a soft glow of light trickled in, barely making the two mares in their pajama bottoms visible.

Fluttershy sat on the bed next to Rarity, waiting for Cerb to come out of the bathroom.

“Do you think he’s okay in there?”

Rarity sulked, knowing the answer wasn’t going to be a simple one and the wait wasn't making it any easier. It wasn't this dark when they returned to their room with him, and so she turned on a light on the nightstand.

“Fluttershy… it hurt Justin watching Applejack getting hurt and suffering through that whole… horrific endeavor. And then, Benny having to relive his nightmares and watching his friends having to suffer along with him… But you and I both know what crushed his spirits tonight.”

Fluttershy sulked just as deeply as Rarity.

“Were we blind to it? He even admitted to me that he felt the closest to us when he was in his darkest moments. And if what Benny said was true, and Cerb was afraid that what he felt for us wasn’t real, that he was afraid this was too good to be true…”

Now that Fluttershy had become so close to Cerb and felt so much for him, the fear of it not being real, it struck her with a fear that hurt to the core. If this was what Cerb was going through, it only made her want to comfort him more, but she was scared that comforting him in yet another dark moment would only cause further heartache.

“Was any of the progress we made with him real? What if his worst fears are true?”

Rarity scoffed, offended by the possibility that anything they shared wasn’t genuine.

“Nonsense. There isn’t—”

“Rarity,” Fluttershy softly spoke her name in such a way that it begged the question, “Do you think Justin is asking himself the same thing right now? We have to give it some serious consideration, even if only to disprove it. We can’t ignore what must be tearing him apart inside.”

From inside the bathroom, the toilet flushed, and soon the water from the sink was running, though the faucet ran for far longer than one would need to wash their hands. After the water stopped, a long awkward pause held in the air as the silhouette of two feet standing behind the door stood motionless.

Eventually, the handle turned, and Cerb stepped out in a new bathrobe with the bottle in hand, about a third of it gone.

“Sorry that took so long. I must have eaten something that didn’t agree with me.”

That was a weak and pathetic lie that Rarity wasn’t going to accept, even for his sake.

“Justin, dear… I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you recall, I happen to have a rather sensitive nose. So I’m certain the only thing that wasn’t agreeing with you in there is what’s still weighing on your mind.”

Cerb tried to wave off her concern.

“No. No. It’s just with everything that’s happened today, plus my sides still sore, and—”

Fluttershy hopped off the bed and marched over to his side to take his hand in her wing.

“Justin, we are just as worried about Benny’s theory as you are. So please… just sit and talk with us about it.”

Seeing they weren't letting him out of this so easily, Cerb raised his hand with the bottle and pointed towards the door.

“We didn’t get a chance to talk to Lumberman about all of this. Maybe if he—”

“Justin, please,” Rarity called out from the bed. “After everything we’ve been through? We risked our lives for each other, including you. I don’t care what Benny’s theory is or what anypony else thinks.“

She hopped down from the bed and took Cerb’s other wrist in her fetlock.

“The Elements of Harmony are powerful, but I assure you that what we have is stronger. And as much as I hate the thought of even humoring such a ludicrous idea that I’m sure you’re worried about—“ She gave a deep sigh and started to pull him towards the bed. “—I suppose we have to talk about it.”

Cerb followed without any resistance. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed with his two mares at either side of him, he sulked.

“I’m not scared that it might be true.“

He felt a sting in his heart when he heard the two give a sigh of relief.

Why couldn’t they wait to hear him out?

“I know it’s true.”

Rarity gasped, “Justin, no. Please don’t think that just because—“ She searched desperately for anything to cite but hadn’t had the time to think it through and mouthed silent words until denial took over. “There simply has to be another explanation.”

Fluttershy was in just as much of a panic.

“Well, m-m-maybe that was only the first time we met.“ She started to frantically pant. “We-we-we still had so many other good—”

“I don’t care,” Cerb huffed, making the air in the room run cold. “I don’t care if what brought me so close to both of you was the work of your rainbow magic. Or that just because when I was scared that… it let all of the best parts of you imprint on me. If I'm weak to magic when I'm scared… I'm glad it's you two I'm weak to."

In an instance, Fluttershy leaned over and hugged Cerb tenderly, careful not to put pressure on his side or tear the stitches. She needed this just as badly as he did.

"Justin, we had no idea this could happen. We were afraid you would hold it against us."

Justin quietly slung his arm around Fluttershy.

"Maybe it's this world's way of putting me in a chokehold and forcing me to face my problems."

Rarity leaned in and nuzzled under Cerb's arm as he invited her in.

"We’re happy to help you with whatever we can.“ She breathed in his scent. “And we’re glad you haven’t changed your opinion on us.”

Cerb stroked Rarity on her side, watching her drink in his touch.

“Not in the slightest… I still think you’re gorgeous.“ He turned his attention to Fluttershy and stroked her just as lovingly. “And you’re still the sweetest thing, Flutters.”

She giggled and sniffed to clear her nose, being a little choked up over how happy she was, knowing she still had him like he was.

“You’re just saying that.”

Cerb chuckled to himself, giving Fluttershy the coochie-coochie coo rub with his finger under her chin.

“No, you are, but unlike that Red Honey Sweet Licorice Root, I wouldn’t spit you out?”

The two mares giggled and nuzzled in again.

After a moment of moving past their worries, Cerb took a deep breath and sighed.

“Well, I imagine you’re both tired, but if I could get some work on my leg, I would greatly appreciate that. Maybe work on this bottle a bit more together, then how about we hunker down for the night?”

They all agreed and got started to get themselves ready. Fluttershy went to her saddle to fetch the oil, Cerb disrobed and got into bed while Rarity uncapped the bottle and took a long dainty sip of the honey whiskey. After each had a good sip, Cerb was able to relax as the two ladies of his life went to work on his leg. But unlike before, Cerb made no attempt to cover himself.

There, even in the dim light of the room, there was nothing they couldn’t see, and after a few minutes, Fluttershy noticed that he had yet to even attempt to protect his modesty.

“Um, did you want me to get you a towel? Or maybe a shirt?”

Cerb looked down at himself once and then laid his head back down to take another sip.

“No… there’s something oddly comforting in not having to hide myself with you two. You don’t make it awkward or make me feel like… I dunno. It’s like no matter what I do, you both see me for everything that I am, and you’re not afraid to accept it.”

Rarity took a selfish glance up, “I don’t think there is a part about you we don’t like. Even the annoying parts from time to time also have their charm.”

Cerb could tell where their eyes were wandering, and it seemed to excite him for some reason. Actually, part of him wanted them to take an interest. There was something about their affection that made him feel all the things he thought he wanted back in his life.

Actually, looking back on all his short-lived relationships, weekend flings, or one-night stands, maybe this was giving him a chance for something more than his previous failures ever offered. Then again, how long had it been since he wasn't too afraid to be close and not hurt or scare someone off? In some ways, as he thought about it, he sympathized with Chris again.

While Cerb had at least experienced having lovers and Chris hadn’t, they both were alone and felt isolated. Then suddenly, Chris's infatuation with his fantasy characters made a lot more sense.

Much like himself now, after realizing his desperation for having someone to love, he was able to see the attraction to something that seemed impossible or too good to be true. Something beyond the understanding and acceptance of others who already had it.

Only now, this impossible fantasy was real and presented him with a temptation that was actually within reach.

Was it wrong to want something someone said you shouldn’t, even if it could make you happy?

“Hey, Rarity?” Cerb quietly called out to her.

Rarity jerked up at his call.

“Yes, dear?”

Cerb moved some of the covers on his left side over and stretched out his other leg the same as he had for his right.

“Do you think you could give this side a little attention? Pretty sure I’ve been overworking it since coming down the hill and all the walking back we did.”

Rarity gave Fluttershy an inquisitive look but received no indication not to comply.

“I don’t see why not.”

It took only a moment for Rarity to get started. Tentatively, she went to work on him in all the same areas Fluttershy had been on the other side.

After a few practice strides, working on his pelvis and upper thigh, he felt her hoof slide further down his leg.

“No, I’m not worried much about down there.“ He pointed out in a circle around his pelvis and inner groin. “That’s where it all ties in together, I think. Kind of like what Fluttershy said about the tension pulling on everything around it. If you could work on that, if it doesn’t bother you, to be so close to… you know.”

Maybe he was goading her in or pushing her goodwill, but the nervous smile she gave told him that she was excited to be in the position he requested, if perhaps only a little apprehensive.

Now, while part of it felt wrong, and there was a tinge of guilt, he could see that they were both enjoying themselves. So, even if none of them were ready or willing to call a spade a spade, it was still harmless. Maybe he was even getting closer to seeing how far the next date could go.

Then he felt a surprise nudge.

Shocked, Fluttershy quickly pulled her hoof back.

“I’m sorry. I felt tension in your lower abdomen, and I didn’t mean to… It’s not so sensitive that I hurt it, did I?”

Cerb looked down at himself and saw he was nearly at full mast.

“No, not in the slightest. It is sensitive, but not to the point where it’d be painful with anything you're doing. If either of you thinks that’s an area that needs to be worked on… Then I trust you with whatever you want to do.”

Despite his words and her own prior excitement, even Fluttershy knew this was pushing it.

“Are you sure? Before you—”

“It’s fine,” he reassured her. “I’m… done being scared of myself for you. I’m done being uncomfortable in my own skin around the both of you. I’m in your care, and I don’t want to have any sensitivities get in the way or make either of you feel uncomfortable… I trust you with my life.“ He gave them both an honest look of vulnerability and acceptance. “But if you’re not comfortable, then yeah. Obviously, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Fluttershy looked at Rarity, silently requesting how to proceed, but the eyes looking back at her were just as wanting as hers, and she had her answer.

“Just let us know if it gets too sensitive or becomes uncomfortable.”

For the two working together, the temptation was nearly enough to override all the harsh things they had to deal with that day. For Cerb, he felt his guilt mix with the relief that came with being touched again, more than just a massage was supposed to be, at least.

It was hard for him to really tell if he was doing this for them, or himself, or if they only agreed for his sake... and, he was getting lost in his thoughts again.

After he stopped thinking about it and close his eyes for a while to see how they would continue, he felt a little too good.

"Okay, I think that’s enough for now."

The two stopped but kept their hooves on him, then Fluttershy asked, "Did… we do okay?"

Cerb reached out, taking each by the fetlock, and pulled them down next to him.

"Yes, I got no complaints. I'm just ready for bed. But tomorrow, at some point, I will return the favor to you two. I can't be getting all the attention all the time after all."

Rarity, both knowing better and already looking forward to it, nuzzled in for the night, bringing her muzzle to rest over his shoulder.

"If that's what you think is best."

Fluttershy was a little disappointed to have to stop giving the new massage she contemplated offering but was willing to settle on just staying close to him for the night, much like Rarity.

"You said earlier that you… might want to try being closer, or doing more, when we got back? What exactly did you have in mind?"

That was something Cerb had said, but he hadn't put any thought into it and went off the cuff instead.

"Well… if it's not pushing any boundaries too far."

Fluttershy watched Cerb turn his head towards Rarity and then saw one of Rarity’s ears fly up from the down position before disappearing behind Cerb's head.

Curious as to what she just missed, she was blindsided by Cerb turning to her and silently setting his lips to hers.

Her eyes shot open, and her breath held still in her throat. He was kissing her!

No warnings or time to prepare. What was she supposed to do? Wait! No! He was pulling away already. Blink! Speak! Kiss him back! RE! ACT! DAMNIT!

Cerb grinned but wondered if he went too far based on Fluttershy's reaction, which could best be described as short-circuiting.

"Was that too much?"

...

Breathing? Check. Eyelids blink test? Check. Heart rate? Good. Still pumping strong. Memory scan? Name, location, recent events… just kissed by Cerb? All systems are go for speech-based reply! Fluttershy, go!

Her mind finally rebooted; Fluttershy blushed and turned her eyes away for a moment but then brought them back to him.

"No… not too much at all." She leaned forward just enough to return the same gentle kiss back to him.

"Kisses are a great way to show somepony how much you trust and care about them."

Rarity chuckled and traced a hoof over Cerb's chest.

"And where was that kiss after our date?"

Cerb gave a low laugh and turned back to Rarity.

"A gentlecolt doesn't kiss a lady on the lips on the first date, no matter how lovely she is."

Amused, Rarity tapped Cerb playfully on the forehead.

"Gentleman. And don't think I haven't forgotten our arrangement."

Chuckling, Cerb playfully winked at the posh pony.

"Neither have I."

Fluttershy blushed again and giggled.

“Then why did I get a kiss? We haven’t been on a date.”

Cerb smiled and fell into a quick string of thoughts until the words finally came to mind.

“We had plenty of dates. Every day in the Everfree was a date. Long walks, getting to know each other, picnics… We were just too busy to notice it.”

After the two girls shared a short laugh, they all made their peace for the night, and nothing else was said, despite the rising romantic and sexual tension growing.

It was a secret game of everyone wanting this, but they weren’t telling him, and he wasn’t telling them, but he accepted this. Although, a new problem entered his mind.

If this was a secret game, how could he approach it without picking one and not hurting the other? Even worse, what if it means losing both of them?

After discussing the immediate concerns and the vote had ended, things slowly degraded from finding mutual ground to bickering. Eventually, tensions were nearing the tipping point.

Twilight forced herself between Celestia and Luna as they nearly butted heads.

"Both of you stop! This isn't helping anypony."

Sadly, Luna was still too focused on her sister to listen.

"If this is any pony's fault, it's yours. You had a thousand years to deal with The Pony of Shadows, but you abandoned the castle just like everything else you can't control!"

Celestia immediately snapped back at the cheap shot.

"I should have sent the castle along with you! I left that wretched place behind because it was so dark and gloomy that all it did was remind me of you!"

Luna stepped back; her scowl washed away with the harsh words thrown at her.

"Tis a grand thing to finally hear the truth."

Words were rarely so misspoken by Celestia, yet in a moment of anger and frustration, she said possibly the one thing she shouldn’t.

"Lulu, that's not what I meant."

With true royal elegance, Luna buried her emotions and spoke candidly.

"I suppose I should be grateful to know the solution to ending your misery is removing that which reminds you of it. We can easily accommodate such necessities."

"Luna, please," Celestia tried to step closer to Luna but was blocked off by her sister's wing.

Standing firm, Luna was more distant to her sister than the space that separated them, maybe even more so than the countless miles that once kept them apart for countless centuries.

"There is no need nor presidence to do so. This meeting is to discuss The Pony of Shadows and its origins. If anything is clear, whether it was a part of me or part of the darkness that I allowed into me, it is clearly the source of Trixie's visions. The swirling darkness and shifting dark metal extensions that flowed with the void are clearly a stronger version of its form after absorbing the nightmares of our human guests."

Shining jumped back into the conversation to help keep it on what he had only been informed of.

"We still have to figure out where the lightning bolts that turn into pillars of light and the black crystals are coming from."

Twilight decided to let a buffer of more important issues give the two sisters time to cool down.

"It's possible we have an ally in Purgatory or some other dimension that intervened. It might be that the lightning and pillars were meant to alter the human's course to Ponyville instead of to The Pony of Shadows directly. As they said before, it would have made so much more sense to send them directly to the castle where they could have been frightened much easier and been all alone.”

This seemed to put an end to the bickering, at least temporarily, as Twilight was now the focus of attention.

“And the dark crystal pieces could easily be an additional ability gained after taking in enough power. Or even a concentrated form of the dark magic like what King Sombra used. However, our biggest issue is figuring out how the humans were brought here and if there are more extensions of The Pony of Shadows out there. Just as important would be if there are any ponies or other Equestrians that might be helping them to achieve their goals."

Luna gave a nod and turned away, still bitter from her sister’s words.

"I agree with Twilight. The humans will be safe under our care, supervision, and counseling. And since Celestia clearly has nothing to do with them directly, she will be best suited to dealing with the tasks that merely require a smile’s worth of confidence. I, however, will make preparations for dealing with the issues left lingering from the castle dear sister cannot be bothered with."

Flinching at the blunt and cold words directed at her, Celestia again tried to approach her sister but came to realize now was not the time to make amends. Instead, she turned to leave.

"Even with you here, it appears that I am still alone.”

Luna offered no reply to her sibling, who simply continued to walk away, the rift between the two only growing further.

Knowing this was only going to complicate their efforts, Twilight ran to catch up with Celestia.

“Princess, wait. I think we need to work together on this.”

Celestia stopped at the door and turned to Twilight with no pity to spare. In her eyes, there were a thousand curses screaming to be let out and a raging fire barely being held back. But from behind her lips came no words.

No apologies or calls for calm and patience, that things would be okay in due time. Not even any harsh words of spite. She said everything Twilight never wanted to hear, yet nothing at all, and then walked out, leaving the others to their own devices.

After that treatment, Twilight sulked away from Luna and Shining, blindly following the scent of clovers, and came to rest on the chair Sniff would sit in.

She wanted to cry again… but couldn’t put the reason behind it.

Celestia was angry; that much she was sure of. There was no doubt that her vote and then Celestia losing so easily didn’t help, especially since Twilight still voted against Celestia even after the majority of votes would have won. If anything, when given the chance to help her beloved mentor, she was rejected before she even voted.

At least Luna could put aside her anger, and she came to comfort Twilight.

“You mustn't blame yourself, Twilight.”

In turn, Shining quickly came to join his sister’s side as well.

“Twiley, I’m sorry, but sometimes these issues have to burn themselves out. It doesn’t matter who tries to stick a hoof between them; no offense Luna, but nothing is going to change the way you and Celestia feel until you've made your peace with each other… And Twi, who got you those flowers?”

Twilight took a long, drawn-out breath through her nose, taking in both the fragrance of the roses and the clovers from the chair.

“Peter got them for me. He thought he was the reason I got angry at him before I left for the Everfree Forest. It was all a big misunderstanding, but he wanted to make it up to me. He even—“

Twilight noticed the other gifts still covered. There was even a small layer of dust starting to form. How distracted was she earlier with Sniff?

"Oh, no… I was talking with him earlier when he was having trouble dealing with other ponies that wanted to be friends or something more than that. He was so worried that I was the only one he wasn’t afraid of that happening to, but he was going to get somepony hurt. On accident, of course, but it was only if they fell in love with him and he couldn’t return how they felt.”

Feeling more and more like she was failing as a friend, she stared at the still uncovered mystery items.

“We got so wrapped up in it that I guess we forgot to look at what else he gave me.”

Shining looked at the cloth covering her gift on the table.

“Well, let’s have a look. At the very least, I’m sure it’ll help cheer you up a little.”

Doubting the potency of anything Sniff would have gotten her, Twilight rolled her eyes.

“I just hope he didn’t get me some stupid gag gift. I’m really not in the mood for—“

Shining pulled back the cloth, and Twilight immediately lost her breath. Luna’s eyes went wide in shock at what she saw. They both were awestruck at what was unfolded before them.

Then there was Shining, slowly turning pale… er?

“Please don’t gossip about this to Cadance. We’ve had a rough couple of days, and knowing a human could pull this off isn’t going to do me any favors.”

Twilight carefully pulled the table closer to her so she could properly admire the work of beauty.

“Fuck… Why would he—” Her voice wavered, so close to crying at the sight revealed.

Before them was a metal book stand large enough to handle even the most challenging of tomes. Blackened steel spirals woven into an intricate pattern with a fine polish that made it shine brightly with an unnatural glossy finish. Silver had been etched into the spirals and melded the seams together as an elaborate running of designs and markings that matched her cutie mark.

Everything about it was more art than function, despite it being entirely functional.

But in the center was a plaque, from which, Twilight read aloud:

From behind, Shining put a hoof over Twilight's shoulder.

"That is the most heartfelt gift I have ever seen and the most loving words I have ever heard… and I will pay you ten thousand bits if you let me give this to Cadance as a gift and say I made—"

Smack!

Luna pulled back her hoof from slapping Shining up the backside of his head.

“Have you gone as daft as Celestia? You have reaped what you have sown for your poor choices. Don’t you dare try to rob Twilight of what she has so rightfully earned.“

She turned to Twilight and spoke in a motherly voice.

“Pay no mind to your inconsiderate brother, Twilight. It is clear that your efforts to aid our new friends has won you the heart of the fair stallion, Peter. And what perfect timing for such a confession of how he must truly feel about you. You are free to embrace him with open wings and… Twilight? Are you not pleased by this?”

Twilight carefully inspected the fine craftsmanship and silently read the inscriptions over again to herself.

“How did I not see this coming? I screwed everything up.”

Shining and Luna turned to each other with puzzled looks at each other while Twilight pulled a small decorative box out from behind the metal book holder. She opened it and silently read a note, then lowered it to look inside. Again, she raised the note, then read it over again, sobbing even deeper.

Shining finally stepped up as the big brother.

“Twi? What does the note say? “ He stepped back as the note was levitated in front of his face for him to read.

“If ever you find yourself lost in a book, or end up reading when you’re alone, you'll always find a friend inside."

"Bookmarkers," Twilight uttered the words like she was reading a goodbye letter. "Beautiful bookmarkers of all of us. Our cutie marks… Even the ones Rarity gave Peter and every human else."

Shining returned the note to Twilight as she shifted through all the bookmarkers.

"Twi, if Sniff is anything like Cerb or Benny, I don't think I need to give the big brother talk."

His comment caused Luna to playfully nudge the co-leader of the Crystal Empire.

"He already dared to step between me and my anger. So bravery will not be a problem. And if he can fight half as well as Cerb, it might be best to let this play out without having him apologizing for pummeling you."

Shining rolled his eyes at the notion.

"Bah. I could take 'em… Where is he, anyway? I'd like to be there to see my little sis seal the deal and finally have her very own special somepony."

Twilight returned all the bookmarkers and the note to the box, then started to make her way to the door.

"Peter and I are just friends… He's not going to be my special somepony.”

Realizing too late how much worse things were made by all her praise, Luna called out to Twilight.

"Surely gifts of this measure can only be—"

"I'm going to bed, Luna," Twilight answered through the pains of her heart breaking. "I'm having breakfast with Peter and his special somepony in the morning… Oven Fresh will be good for him…”

Both Shining and Luna could only look on helplessly as Twilight started to leave the room, trying with all her might to kill the desire her heart so desperately wanted.

“She wasn't afraid to fight for him. Wasn't too self-conscious to accept him… She fought for him like he fought for me, and I kept him at hooves distance. Just like Celestia wanted… Just like she does with me. I’m so stupid."

With only a flash and pop, but no other words spoken, Twilight teleported to her room.

Well... lord willing Applejack is on the rebound. Although, those pain pills could be trouble.

Can't skip over Celestia being... uh... what do you all think? Was she being a bitch, or rightfully concerned over what they put Applejack through? Outside looking in, she probably looks like a clueless bitch. So... yeah... there's that. At least Luna is still stepping up to the plate and putting her sister in check. Shoulder check, that is.

Then, I'm sure a lot of you had to have known that Benny actually did fight The Pony of Shadows. Although, the kind of implications that must impose now... that's going to be interesting to watch develop.
(Side note* I laughed a little too hard having Pinkie get whacked for fucking up the story.

Kelly and Big Mac talking things over with Granny, that was rough.

Chris and Starlight were cute and awkward as always. Though, that does make me wonder. What do you all think about Starlight's last two questions? I'm sure you all got answers for her.

HOWEVER! It wasn't a terrible night for everyone. At least Fluttershy and Rarity are getting sooooooooo much closer to Cerb. Not only that, he's... damn... he's really trying to give them what they want. Well, at least what he thinks they want and are comfortable with. Remember though, be careful what you ask for.

Unfortunately... Twilight might have a hard time getting any sleep. Not to mention that breakfast tomorrow is going to be either tense or be full of each other expressing a lot of emotions, one way or another.

But first, we have yet to finish up the night, so strap yourselves in ya lucky fuckers. Coming next week. Chapter 65. Where Some Learn, Others Have Forgotten.