The night passed and in the morning Applejack and Twilight got up. Although Tyler was in their bed when they all went to sleep, he wasn’t around now, what seemed a bit odd for him as he always got up together with them. It usually was their time of intimacy in the morning when they helped each other prepare for the day. He always took good care of their manes, something Twilight usually did herself, but enjoyed every time he did this for her. Even Applejack, who wasn’t thrilled much about brushing the mane, loved to get it done by Tyler. If her stallion cared about her outer appearance she wanted to look best for him.

But Tyler wasn’t to be found the entire morning. As he returned to them, around noon, he arched his brows at their question of where he had been.
“National security… I had a meeting with… some agents… Don’t forget that we’re trying to get rid of these Descendants. We can prove that every pony isn’t a Changeling now, but proving that you’re not a Descendant? That’s another story.”

Twilight didn’t bother to ask further on. Tyler had some business as the strategic advisor, maybe this was one of his duties.
“Well, the others are already going to the station, Tyler… It’s time for us to meet them there.”

After a nice ride on the train, where both the ponies and humans conversed about several topics, they arrived at Ponyville Station; however, the unusual large presence of the Royal Guard was alarming, causing Tyler to gulp.
“Something’s not right in Ponyville…” As they went down the streets in a hurry, they saw that the guard had its focus on Lyra and Bon Bon’s house. “Oh shit!” Tyler was fully alarmed now. Something horrible must have happened. As they entered the house, Bon Bon looked up to Tyler. He could clearly see that the earth pony mare was frightened and had cried for some time, her eyes were red because of this. “Bonnie! What happened? Come on, girl… Talk to me!”

Looking into Tyler’s eyes, the shocked earth pony shivered a bit.
“It’s… It’s Sam… They… they…” Nodding at her, Tyler stood up and went upstairs in haste while Rarity and Rainbow cared for Bon Bon.

Both Lyra and Sam were covered in blankets as a mare cared for the unicorn and a stallion for Sam. Both guards nodded at each other and then left the room. The mare spoke up first.
“It’s a most peculiar form of rape, Sir… Miss Heartstrings is OK, she discharged her horn once, probably at the attacker, but I can’t find trails of magic anywhere. She hit, but the hit didn’t seem to have effect. At least that’s what we found out questioning the two of them...”

The stallion nodded.
“In private conversation it became clear that the attacker was a woman. Whoever did this knew a spell to turn a pony into a human. There’s one other thing, though; we found trails of Changeling amniotic fluid. These are only a few trails, so probably one or two eggs. So we can deduce that there’s involvement of a queen…”

It all began to make sense for Tyler now.
“Shiria…”

Inside the room both Sam and Lyra embraced each other as they sobbed in unison.
“I’m so sorry, Lyra… I didn’t see behind her disguise. I… I betrayed you!”

Lyra embraced him even harder now.
“No, you were deceived. You only love me. And after seeing that it’s possible… You thought that I wanted to have sex with you in such a body…”

“I should have seen it coming… I should have seen through that disguise!”

“Sam, look at me!” With this their glances met. “There is nothing to forgive! There was no way you could've known about the disguise, and there was nothing I could do about it. Although, in that moment, I wished I could kill that monster!” Tears now began to roll down her cheeks. “I love you Sam! I love you so bucking much! And I won’t allow that Changeling bitch to destroy what we have!”

Outside of their room, Rachel shook her head and looked at Tyler.
“Why?”

Tyler shook his head as well, disgusted by this dirty deed.
“I don’t know what she intends to achieve with this, but next time I see her, I’ll have to talk with her far more seriously than before…”

Rachel’s eyes widened.
“Talk?!? Are you-” She was interrupted as Twilight poked her horn into her waist and pointed at Tyler’s right fist, which was clenched so hard, it began to bleed; The sight made Rachel gulp. The silent rage inside Tyler must have been tremendous in this moment.

As he left the room to get some fresh air, Twilight looked up to Rachel.
“He’s a very forgiving person, but I take it even he has his limits in forgiveness.” Nodding in confirmation, Rachel looked at the ground, where small drops of blood were sprinkled on the floor.
“You check on Tyler, we will care for Sam and Lyra… Uh, Pinkie?”

The earth pony looked up to her.
“Yeah?”

“These two need absolute peace and quiet now. I want you to watch the streets to CALMLY and PEACEFULLY tell them that they’re not accepting visitors right now. Do you think you can do that?”

The pink earth pony saluted now.
“Consider it done!”

* * * * *

Half an hour later, Applejack was bandaging Tyler’s bleeding hand with a small band aid.
“Ya shouldn’t get angry so much, Sugarcube. The harm has been done; ya shouldn’t punish yerself for this. So… That Changeling Queen is makin’ a mess again, huh? Tyler, maybe you were going way too easy with that bug the last time ya had the chance to deal with her.”

“Maybe… But, at that time, I didn’t have much of a choice.”

“Ah know… Yer always tryin’ to do the right thing… But maybe that would be the right thing to do!” She hesitated for a bit in her motion, then her eyes widened and she inhaled deep. “Ah… Ah think it’s coming!”

Tyler nodded, still thoughtful.
“Sure! Shiria has something coming our way, but-”

“Not the Changeling, sugarcube! The foal!!!”

Now his eyes popped open.
“Oh! Uh… Alright! Don’t panic!”

* * * * *

Five minutes later, Rainbow Dash kicked the door to the library open.
“Twilight! Come quick! We have a foal emergency!”

Twilight first looked up in surprise, then squee’d before she and Rainbow galloped out of the library.
“The day is finally here! Oh, how wonderful!” As Rainbow fetched Fluttershy from her cottage, Twilight gave the Carousel Boutique a visit to get Rarity.

On their way to the hospital the girls then fetched Pinkie Pie from the street, who was slightly angered.
“Hey!!! I need to stand guard for Sam and Lyra!”

But Twilight only shook her head.
“Pinkie! Applejack is giving birth!”

Now, Pinkie’s eyes opened wide, and she threw Twilight up, so the unicorn landed on her back, and Pinkie began to speed up really quick, prompting Twilight to call for help. Rainbow only rolled her eyes.
“That mare is so RANDOM!”

* * * * *

In the hospital, they were stopped by a snow white earth pony with a pink mane.
“STOP RIGHT THERE!!!”

Sliding on the floor, Pinkie Pie halted, Twilight, however, flew straight off Pinkie’s back and right onto the floor.
“Oof!!! Nurse Redheart, we’re here to-”

The nurse now looked down to Twilight with a strict face.
“I know, I know, you’re all friends to Applejack, but she’s in the maternity ward right now! Only herd mates and family members are allowed. The father is already there. Poor fellow…”

Twilight’s brows arched now.
“Poor fellow? Tyler? Why’s that?”

“I don’t know who was more under stress as they arrived here… The mother or the father… Mr. Jones is sitting in front of the maternity ward and got a mild sedative.”

Twilight smiled at this.
“Well, it’s his first foal as well… I’m a herd mate with those two; can you show me the way?”

Nurse Redheart nodded and lead Twilight while the rest of the Mane Six remained. Hours passed and more and more did the girls became unnerved. Rainbow finally slammed a hoof at her head.
“Ugh! This takes way too long!”

Pinkie Pie nodded.
“Uh-huh! We should be with Applejack and support her!”

Rarity however shook her head, waving her mane around.
“My… You can’t force a foal… or a lady for that matter. A birth is something quite stressful for a mare, even without all of us around Applejack. My mother told me this after Sweetie Belle’s birth. I say Tyler and Twilight are more than enough support for her right now.”

Fluttershy nodded as well in agreement.
“We should support the young mother on the farm in any way now. Applejack has so much to do with her little foal she can’t go and buck the trees on Sweet Apple Acres…”

The girls nodded as the door swung open and Twilight came out of it. Rainbow now landed and looked at her.
“Come on, Twilight! Tell us!”

Twilight beamed and jumped up, standing on her hind legs for a second and waving her front hooves in excitement.
“A healthy little filly!”

The girls cheered now, especially Rainbow, who then nudged Twilight into the chest.
“You’re mighty proud as well, huh? When can we expect something from T-Man and you?”

Twilight blushed. There was this topic again.
“I’m… I’m not ready for such studies yet…”

* * * * *

When Applejack woke up in her room, she was surrounded by the other members of the closer Apple family: Granny Smith, Apple Bloom and Big Mac. All three were smiling proud at her when Granny smith was raising her voice.
“There, there, mah girl… Easy now! Ya have a mighty darn marathon of birth behind ya! It’s no surprise ya passed out…”

Applejack looked around in anticipation.
“Where’s Tyler? Where’s mah foal?”

But Big Mac carefully held her back.
“Nurse Redheart took the lil’ thing to the foal ward, Tyler’s already there with Appleseed.”

Now Applejack relaxed and the memories of the newborn foal came back to her before she passed out. How Appleseed looked at her with those crystal blue eyes... and how Applejack herself, looked at Tyler in this moment, both of them, tears in their eyes.
“Sugarcube… This is the happiest day in mah life!” she had said to him. Now in her rest room, she needed to recover; to regain strength for her foal as the little one was building up strength.

Apple Bloom, however, bounced excited at the other side of the bed.
“Granny! Can we go and watch the foal? Can we? Can we?”

The old mare smiled, but pulled the little filly in.
“Calm down, ya little whirlwind! Yer more excited than an angered hive of bees!” Turning to the young mother, she smiled a bit. “Ya stay here and rest up, Applejack. We’ll go and watch that little wonder ya released into the world…” Smiling, Applejack nodded and tried to sleep a bit.

A few minutes later, five of the Mane Six and the Apple family were in front of the foal ward, looking at all the little foals. Nurse Redhearted arched a brow at Pinkie, who smiled innocently as possible as she pressed her nose against the glass. After a while, Tyler turned around with a foal carried in his arms, carefully, like holding the biggest treasure on the entire planet. “Hey…” With this he held the little foal up proudly and presented it to the girls. “My daughter!” With careful gestures did he caress the little cheeks before the little yellow foal with a golden mane, stretched her tiny hooves at his fingers and grabbed them oh so tightly while looking up to him with big beady eyes, prompting the girls to sigh in adore in a unified “Awwwwww….”. Tyler didn’t realize how the tears ran down his face. “She’s so beautiful…”

As the little foal yawned, Fluttershy gasped with a warm smile.
“Such a little bundle of love…”

Tyler now put down the little foal, prompting Nurse Redheart to nod with a smile. He then left the foal ward as the girls surrounded him.
“Way to go, T-Man!” Rainbow smirked. “I always knew you were a hound!”

While she patted him on the shoulder, Rarity looked up to him.
“I insist that you come with your fashion ideas for that small lady to me… Such a precious little thing needs to look good, does she not?”

Suddenly the door to the next hallway swung open and two members of the royal guard entered the hallway. As they spotted Tyler, their expressions grew grimmer.
“Tyler Jones?”

Tyler turned around and nodded at them.
“That’s me alright! What can I do for you?”

Both nodded at each other and their faces grew grim.
“Sir, you are under arrest!”

While the rest of the rest of the Mane Six gasped in outrage, Twilight stepped in front of Tyler.
“What’s the charge?”

The expression on the guard’s face remained stern as he muttered the term.
“Murder.”

Tyler stared at the guards with outrage in his eyes. However, he patted Twilight’s head and shook his own.
“I didn’t kill anyone, Twilight. I will go with them. It has to be some kind of mix-up. I’ll clear things up, don’t worry.” As they escorted him outside, a carriage was already waiting for him. Twilight and the girls ran after them, but already was the carriage bringing him towards Canterlot Castle.

Rainbow immediately turned to Twilight.
“Twilight! We need to inform the others!”

When the other Rangers heard about this not ten minutes later, they were visibly shocked.
“Ponyfucker could have killed a pony?” Rachel sneered upon this claim. “On a cold day in hell!”

Although Rainbow looked grim at Rachel for the minor insult, she and Flynn nodded.
“So… What are we going to do?”

“I say we wait!” Rachel explained. “Maybe it’s really a mix-up. Flynn? You, Sam and I should work a bit on you know what…”

Flynn arched a brow, but nodded.
“Understood…”

* * * * *

Meanwhile Tyler sat in a bullpen above the Canterlot dungeon when Princess Celestia came to his cell.
“Tyler… I am sorry for all of this. Please understand that I have to ask this: Is it true?”

Shaking his head, he looked at her.
“I didn’t do this. Celestia! I don’t know how they could even get the idea that I’m capable of doing such a thing.”

As he looked at her, helpless, she shook her head as well.
“At ease… I only wanted to look into your eyes…”

Tyler huffed and sat down on his bench.
“They say I killed two unicorns this morning and made an escape. But this is bullshit! I was never in that city!”

Celestia nodded.
“Do you wish for an attorney? As strategic advisor you have the right to-”

He simply waved the thought away.
“Twilight will be my attorney in this.”

“Twilight? Why her? You could have any royal attorney, if you want.”

“Twilight is the mare with the most dedication to detail. If anyone can find a way out, it’s her.”

Celestia now looked down, worry was in her eyes.
“They say they have witnesses who saw you doing that!”

“But Celestia! You know I would never-”

She raised a hoof, calming him down.
“This is why I asked Zecora to bring some Seeds of Truth. We will make everypony see if they lie or not.”

This visibly calmed Tyler down.
“Then my innocence already is proven… If I fear anything, it’s not the truth.”

* * * * *

At the following day at noon…
“…and these two mares are dead, both from Vanhoover and both unicorns. In this trial, we will deliver proof that this human, Tyler Jones, is guilty in two cases of murder in the 1st degree” The prosecutor was now ending his prosecution speech.
The photos showed the corpses of two unicorn mares. The bodies were without wounds, but their horns seemed burned. And the faces… many gasped at the pain-stricken faces the mares had in their last moments. Tyler didn’t even begin to imagine what ordeals these two must have been through.
Also Tyler didn’t witness every detail of the trial. This was all like a nightmare for him. A nightmare he couldn’t awake from. The prosecutor then continued. “…Also, it is known that only humans can absorb magic in all of Equestria! And the human with the strongest magical potential is and remains Tyler Jones! Thus, the motive becomes clear: In his greed he wanted more magic than these two mares could give and, in his lust for magic, absorbed all life out of them!”

“Objection!” Twilight shouted. “This is mere speculation! There are dozens of unicorns both civil, as well as members of the Royal Guard that can lay witness that the accused always asked for permission and never harmed one of them once! Even in this courtroom there are unicorns who served the Royal Guard during the Amasian Conflict. They can give testimony that the defendant had rather given his life than to take too much from one of his comrades.”

Celestia nodded.
“Sustained! Let’s stay at the facts…”

The prosecutor nodded at this.
“Very well then… you leave me no choice…” His voice now became less audible as he leaned to Twilight. “You lost before it even started… That man is guilty, and I’m gonna prove it!” Twilight gritted her teeth and was fighting the urge to buckle that stallion into the face.

The first witness was now called in, a yellow earth pony with a purple mane and a pillow as a cutie mark. As she took seat, the prosecutor nodded.
“Please state your name, Miss…”

“My name is Pillow Dream… I work in a workshop in Vanhoover… I produce pillows…”

“And yesterday morning you witnessed the murder of two mares, is that right?”

The unsure mare now nodded her head.
“Yes… I… I will never forget this…”

After several other questions the prosecutor nodded at Zecora and the zebra placed a flower pot in front of the mare.
“Very well then, Miss Dream… Can you tell this court who you saw killing your roommate, maybe someone inside this courtroom? And I like to warn you that the Seed of Truth won’t grow if you tell a lie!”

The earth pony nodded.
“The one I saw killing Dark Flutter and Night Flower?” She then pointed at Tyler with tears of anger in her eyes. “It was no other than this man! Tyler Jones!”

Tyler now stood up and pointed a finger at the mare. “THAT’S A LIE!!! I WOULD NEVER MURDER A PONY!!!”

But the Seed of Truth began to grow in front of her as she snapped back at him.
“Yes, you did! I saw you when you grabbed her horn and she collapsed to the ground, moments later, as if all life left her!”

The flower was now in full bloom, prompting Tyler to shake his head. No… This is impossible! All eyes locked on him as the crowd gasped.
“No… I… I didn’t do this!”

But as the second witness, a green Pegasus mare named Butter Star, was giving her testimony, the next Seed of Truth grew as well.
“...She tried to help Dark Flutter, but he kicked her in the stomach, so that she was out of air. He then…” The mare began to sob. “He then grabbed her horn as well and before I knew it she fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes! We two probably only survived because we ran away! Dark flutter and Night Flower were my herd mates. Next heat season both were planning to… to…” She then pointed her hoof at Tyler with raging hate in her tearful eyes and voice. “I demand that this human gets punished! You vile beast! You deserve the hardest punishment!!!”

Zecora looked at Twilight and shook her head; everything was fine with the seeds.

“The Seeds of Truth are fine and work,
I do not know what evil forces lurk!”

Twilight looked up to Tyler, her eyes showing worry and uncertainty.
“Twilight… You have to believe me!” Looking into hers, his eyes pleaded for trust. “You HAVE to believe me!” The unicorn looked up to him with a helpless expression. She believed in him, but Butter Star’s And Pillow Dream’s testimonies were the truth.

Now the prosecutor harrumphed.
“Tyler Jones… According to the servants in the castle, you couldn’t be found IN the castle during the events of these murders… Is this correct?”

Tyler gulped and glared at the stallion.
“This is correct!”

“And for the sake of fairness we want to grant you, can you tell this court where you were at this moment? Or if there were any ponies who could confirm your alibi?”

Now Tyler closed his eyes. Speaking the truth now would mean jeopardizing loyal agents to Equestria and the Descendants would gain valuable information about them. He couldn’t let this happen, he had to just stand there and take it. Speaking the truth now, even for a bit, would jeopardize at least one agent. Through such an agent, the Descendants would be able to inflict even further damage.
“I… No, I can’t!” A murmur went through the audience behind him. When he looked over to the princesses, he saw the mixture of doubt, disappointment and helplessness in their eyes, especially in Celestia’s. Her face was talking for itself. She felt betrayed by him.

The prosecutor nodded and turned his back towards Tyler.
“No further questions, your Highness…”

* * * * *

After these most devastating testimonies all three princesses counseled for the final judgment in this case. Celestia was trotting up and down, restless. There was hardly any evidence to counter the Seeds of Truth.
“I can’t believe it! Not Tyler! Could we be mistaken that heavily?”

Luna, however, stomped her hoof on the ground.
“Celestia! Thou know he didn’t do that! Thou know he remains silent to cover agents loyal to Equestria.”

Arching a brow, Celestia looked at Luna.
“Do I? Although his mind is easily to read for both of us, these testimonies can’t be ignored!”

Luna shook her head.
“I can’t believe thou are saying this! He wouldn’t willingly open his mind to us in such a way if he would fear that we find something that would prove his guilt. Why don’t we speak for him? We know he didn’t do that!”

“Prejudice!” Celestia snapped back to her sister. “Since your proposal at the gala everypony knows that you’re in his herd! And already they whisper about my relationship to him… If we speak up for him, distrust would grow, not only at him, but us as well. We can’t be judge and defense in one!” Luna grumbled at this. It was simply unfair that her love for Tyler should be a disadvantage. But Celestia continued. “Luna? The law must be obeyed! Especially by us! If there’s no proof of his innocence, then we have no choice but to-”

But now Luna turned around to interrupt her.
“Celestia! Thou are aware that the sentence for multiple murder is death?”

The white alicorn closed her eyes and sighed. Truly this was a dark moment for all of them.
“In over 200 years there was no case where the death sentence was needed… And now this should be the fate of someone who saved us? What can we do? Tell me, what shall we do?”

Cadance looked up and cleared her throat.
“Actually there is a way… If we can’t break the law… maybe we can bend it?”

* * * * *

A few minutes later both the Princess of the Sun and the Princess of Love now approached their seats. Luna, however, refused to accept the sentence. Celestia didn’t blame her; it was hard enough for her and Cadance to announce these words. Tyler was Luna’s first love and above all she couldn’t ask her sister to condemn him.
“Due to her relationship to the accused, Princess Luna refuses to lay down judgment on him, deeming herself incapable to stay impartial.” Celestia now looked down to Tyler with a very strict and hard look. “Tyler Jones! The evidence delivered here left this trial no other choice. You are convicted of the murder of two unicorns. You are aware that this horrific crime of multiple murders can know only one punishment: Death.” Tyler gulped. She was going to execute him? In the audience, there were the one or other smile of satisfaction, but Celestia raised her head. “However… This tribunal wants to remind every pony that Equestria is a realm where indulgence and gratitude are not simply wiped away. Due to your services for Equestria and its allies that saved countless of lives, the death sentence will be altered. Life sentence banishment from Equestrian soil!” Tyler stood there in the court room, staring at Celestia.

This can’t be happening…

While still better than execution, banishment was almost the same thing. He had family and friends here. A loud murmur went through the audience. Sam and Flynn held Rainbow back, so the angered mare couldn’t bash up some guards. Rarity, Fluttershy and Lyra seemed rather shocked by this judgment. Pinkie held the still recovering Applejack back, who jumped up and shouted her anger about this whole event. Rachel, however, narrowed her eyes, stood up and gave Sam and Flynn a sign to follow her as fast as possible before she left the courtroom. Twilight, however, stepped in front of the two princesses.
“Princess Celestia! This is more of a propaganda trial! There are too many unknowns! I demand an appeal!”

Captain Shimmerwind, being responsible for the security during this trial, stood between the princesses and Twilight and looked at the unicorn.
“You will accept the judgment the princesses have decreed, Twilight Sparkle!”

Turning back to her herd mate, the lavender unicorn had tears in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Tyler! I’m… I’m just so sorry!”

Tyler only shook his head with a smile.
“Nopony could have done more, Twilight… Thank you.”

While Tyler was being hauled towards the exit, Applejack struggled against the guards. If only she wouldn’t be so weak right now, she could struggle more and probably wipe the floor with those guards.
“No! He didn’t do that! Ah won’t believe it! No matter what the seeds say!” With desperate eyes she looked up to Tyler who now turned to her. “Sugarcube! Tell me ya didn’t do that! Tell me and ah’ll believe ya!”

Tyler knelt down to her and embraced her.
“I would never do that… But don’t mind me, AJ… Watch out for Appleseed! Let no one hurt our foal! I’ll find a way to return to you both. I promise!” With that he kissed her. “I love you, honey…”

The guards now dragged him away from her and Shimmerwind spoke up.
“Let the betrayal of Equestria be taken from our court. May his armor be taken from him, and his title of protector. Let him be stricken from our hearts and our memories, forever!” Twilight only stared at Shimmerwind with open mouth. She took it way too serious like she was enjoying getting rid of the one who served Equestria numerous times now. But maybe it was only the harsh disappointment that made the mare hard and unkind.

As Tyler was dragged away, he fought at the height of the doors and turned back.
“Celestia!” With a hardened glare the princess stared at him. Tyler didn’t blame her. This whole thing was crazy and she couldn’t simply overstep the law for his sake, even if she believed him. But he wouldn’t leave without giving her his final message. “Labor four…” This caused the sun princess to gasp and her eyes wandered around hastily after her hard glare crumbled apart. With this he was dragged away from the guards.

Twilight now approached Applejack who had fallen to the ground and cried bitter tears, heartbroken.
“This is the worst day of mah life!” it was then when governess Shadrane stepped closer to them and harrumphed…

* * * * *

In private, the other three Rangers deliberated each other.
“What shall we do about this, Rachel? We can’t just get him out of custody by force, even if we believe in his innocence!”

Flynn nodded.
“Yeah… Going against the authorities doesn’t look good.”

But the former marine only shook her head.
“This is way too simple! Two witnesses saying something ridiculous like this? You know that guy as good as I do. He wouldn’t even THINK to harm an innocent being. I think it’s time to get out the Big One… Come!”

Sam now held her shoulder to hold her back.
“Rachel… You know I’m with you in this… but aren’t you a bit hasty with getting that thing ready?”

The woman’s cold and icy glare stabbed at Sam as she first looked at his hand and then at him.
“We will see about that… Something is stinking here… If nothing happens on his way to the border, nothing happens. But I got a feeling in my stomach that something WILL happen!”

* * * * *

When Applejack and Twilight were brought to Princess Celestia’s chamber, both the princess of the sun and night stood in the room and Luna nodded at Shadrane, thanking her for bringing them so quickly. Celestia, however, looked at both of them like she didn’t have any right to speak to them anymore. With a sigh, she approached both of them.
“I have summoned both of you here to tell you how terribly sorry we are! We-”

“Oh… Buck off!!!” Applejack snapped at the princess with tears of anger in her eyes. “Ya both could have done something! Why didn’t ya do something?”

While Celestia looked down in shame, Luna stepped forth.
“Fair Applejack! The normal sentence for multiple murder is death! Banishment gives Tyler the chance to find proof of his innocence!”

Celestia then raised a wing in front of her sister. Applejack was right in a way. Both sisters could have done more, but the consequences would have been worse.
“He said ‘Labor four…’ He thinks we were infiltrated from inside and he had fallen victim to a plot… Never before was I forced to punish an innocent being…”

Applejack didn’t seemed satisfied.
“Ya should have stepped in, Celestia! Ya both have all the power this needs! Ah saw it in his eyes. The silent plea for us to believe him! He’s the father of mah foal! MAH FOAL’S PA!!! AH SHOULD BUCKLE YER FACE!!!”

But then Twilight intervened.
“No, AJ! He would never ask any of us to misuse our powers for his sake! I mean…” Twilight looked up to Princess Celestia. “…what kind of a princess would disobey her own laws? I believe he took the punishment because it was all we could do for him. He would never bring us into trouble.”

Applejack now looked down.
“Ah guess ya have a point there… But that doesn’t mean Ah have to like it!”

The Princess of the Sun now approached Applejack and raised the earth pony’s chin with her hoof.
“He’s on his own now to prove his innocence. I couldn’t do much for Tyler, but I can do quite much for you and your foal… If you let me…”

* * * * *

After an hour of silent transport towards the border the guards had taken Tyler to the southwestern edge of the Everfree Forest; probably to take him to the city of Las Pegasus, or one or another of the smaller cities to the south of that. What made him wonder was the slowing down of the wagon as they slowly, but surely, came to a halt. Yet they were miles away from the border, Tyler could see it through the tiny windows of the wagon. The door was opened and two of the guards looked at him with grim faces.
“You! Get out!”

Were they ordered to set him free? Maybe they got message that everything cleared up and the princesses stepped in.
“Why are we stopping?”

But Tyler was pushed onwards in a harsh manner.
“On your knees, criminal scum!” With these words the guards kicked into Tyler’s hollow of the knees, causing him to fall down.

One of the younger guards now intervened.
“Why are you all so unnecessary mean to him? I mean we’ll just take him to the border and make sure he doesn’t get back, right? Why are we even stopping now? I don’t get it…”

“Aren’t you the new cadet? Fresh meat from the academy, huh?”

“Uh… Yes! Ensign Bloom Wing, sir! But I thought-”

“You don’t have to think, boy! You’re not getting paid to think!”

The young guard stepped a bit away.
“But… these are our orders, sir…”

The other guards now nodded at each other as the unicorns charged their horns.
“Well… In that case it’s been an honor having you, Bloom Wing…”

“What? Wait! NO!!!” Tyler could only hear a sudden discharge of magic behind him, followed by some hooves clopping on the ground like a pony was stumbling, finally a thump and then silence. He didn’t have to ask or turn around; he knew the young ensign was dead by now and closed his eyes.

“Ensign Bloom Wing... Killed by the banished human Tyler Jones... Who we had to kill as he tried to escape...”

Tyler grinned with sarcasm.
“So the Descendants sent a firing squad to execute me instead of my escort to the border… How nice… You know you need more than magic to execute-” It was in this moment when Tyler heard a pistol being cocked behind him. “Clever Pony…” Tyler knew that the equestrian pistols were mere one-shots, but even a bullet from this weapon could end his life.

A crosshair aimed at Tyler’s head before it wandered to the unicorn guard behind him who aimed the pistol with levitation at Tyler’s head. With a broad grin did the unicorn mare push the barrel in his neck.
“We’ve waited long for a chance to catch you alone, Jones… She said she envies me for killing you, not being able to do it herself.”

Now Tyler arched a brow.
“Who is it? Who wants me dead?”

A sadistic giggle became audible behind him.
“Since you’re dead already, I think I can tell you. You’re not living long enough to tell anypony anyway! The one who wanted you dead is-” Now a shot thundered through the valley and Tyler’s eyes opened wide. He was still alive! The unicorn mare behind him, however, fell like a limp tree, her head fell victim to a magic detonation, causing a large scorched mark at her skull, which revealed the hit of a magic projectile delivering the lethal blow to her head. Tyler didn’t hesitate. In the very next moment a pressure wave slammed dust in a 90 degree bow behind him, blinding the Descendants. This gave him enough time to spin around and deliver lethal magic blows to all of them.

As he stood up, Tyler looked at the unicorn mare that was killed by the gunshot. Her skull was scorched and the flesh was blasted from the skull at the epicenter of the impact, revealing the bare skull. The awful smell of burned flesh rose up. A few minutes later, the other Rangers approached him. Rachel had something like a long rifle in her arms.
“That was a close call, Jones… You can thank me later.”

But Tyler gritted his teeth.
“If you had waited three more seconds, I would know who the infiltrator of the Descendants is by now!”

Rachel arched a brow and smiled.
“Would you prefer the gun pointed at your head again?”

“Hell no!” He then pointed at Rachel’s rifle. “And when did you get that thing? We don’t have an industrial complex for something like this… Who made this… this sniper rifle?”

Sam raised his hand.
“Guilty as charged… After your stories about this Amasian Conflict, I thought I might handicraft up something. A barrel and the trigger mechanism of Rachel’s old Beretta and here you go. It can’t fire beads like my Sarah Jane, but it’s alright for Rachel’s talent…”

Rachel smiled a bit.
“Yeah… Seems to me Flynn got the high velocity speed and enhanced regeneration, I got the ability to fire magic bullets, paired with enhanced sight… I call this little cutie ‘Waffles’…”

Tyler arched a brow.
“The eyesight of a Pegasus, huh? Sure, why not…”

Sam looked around at the dead ponies.
“Now you’ve killed for real… Tyler, what are you going to do? What are WE going to do?”

Tyler sighed.
“I cannot return to Equestria! Not like this! I have to prove my innocence.”

“And how do you think you can do that anyway?” Rachel interfered, “You have no possible idea who framed you! What if you can’t prove your innocence?”

“That’s right, no idea whatsoever… But there are some things not fitting into the greater picture here. An ally of Equestria gets besieged by strange sandstorms, Shiria returns to rape Sam and some ponies think I killed their friends. It occurred in the morning, so I couldn’t even say a Changeling was turned human like Shiria turned herself human to rape Sam… And a Changeling wouldn’t kill like this. He would have bitten her to death; I saw them kill on the battlefield! But the unicorn victims were perfectly untouched on the photographs. The more I think about this, the less it makes sense!”

Flynn nodded.
“So… What are you going to do?”

With a shrug Tyler turned to Flynn.
“I’m going into the West... If I understand the maps correctly, Zebrica and Saddle Arabia are my destinations to look for answers.” He then turned to the others. “I need you three to stay here. You need to find out more about the whereabouts of this incident. And as a personal request…”

Sam nodded.
“Mhm… We will tell them.”

“Thanks… Please take good care of them. Especially AJ and little Appleseed.”

Rachel nodded with a determined smile.
“You fuck ponies, but at least you try to be a good Dad. Don’t worry! I will see for their security in person.”

Tyler replied this with a nod.
“Higgins…We never agreed on much… but if you do this for me… Then I’m forever in your debt!” With this he grabbed her right hand with his right hand, pulled her in for a short embrace and patted her back with his left hand. Rachel was taken by surprise, but accepted it. “Yeah, whatever! You better hurry to come back before the little one starts to ask where her Daddy is!”

Tyler now nodded and went on his way into the west. Looking after him, Rachel folded her arms and shook her head.
“You know what, guys? There goes one fine piece of man… Unfortunately, he fucks ponies!”

While they were on their way home, Sam chuckled.
“You make that sound like a real pity, Rachel…”

* * * * *

Tyler now took a deep breath. For the first time since his arrival in this world, he was once again all on his own. It all began like this. A survival trip on Earth… But this was for the kick, for fun. He was certain of what to expect. Here, at the edge of Equestria, for the first time in a year… he felt alone. Worries went through his head. What about Twilight? What about Applejack? Appleseed… He took another deep breath. Stay focused… He disciplined himself. If you give yourself to fear, you die!

It was beginning to rain as he went west towards the coast. There went his dreams of going away with at least some dignity. No… He would have to hire on a ship while soaking wet.But as he walked through the rain, a familiar show wagon approached him on a different road from the north. At the fork in the road, both Tyler and Trixie met each other and the showmare arched both brows, not expecting him in the middle of nowhere.
“Tyler? What are you doing here in the rain?”

Tyler grimaced and forced himself to smile.
"That’s actually a long story… Maybe we can talk about it in the wagon? The rain isn’t going to stop so soon…” Trixie looked up, nodded and pulled the wagon off the road near some trees before they went inside.

Tyler then began to tell her what happened after their last meeting while Trixie prepared two mugs of hot chocolate while listening. The hot chocolate helped to warm up, and she enjoyed hearing about the many adventures around Ponyville and Canterlot. Tyler could see the wish in her eyes to have been there herself and the slight sorrow to miss the chance. But then he sighed and told her about the events of this day and the crime he was accused of
“Murder?” She asked in an outrage. “Who has the nerve to say so?”

Tyler shook his head with a grim smile. “Two mares from Vanhoover, but… I’m innocent…”

Trixie seemed far more insulted by this than he was.
“Tsk! Of course you are! Was there ever any doubt? Trixie did not…” She opened her eyes wide, harrumphed a bit and blushed. “I- I mean I did not bring a murderer to Equestria!”

With a sigh Tyler looked into his mug for a while.
“It’s not easy… Being surrounded by friends all the time and suddenly all of this is gone…”

The blue showmare and magician shook her head, a caring smile on her lips.
“Don’t worry… If it comes to being an outcast, I think, due to my past, I can relate a bit…” Taking another sip from her hot chocolate, she looked up to him. “You know, Tyler… Since I got to know you better, I wonder why I never asked you if you’re OK with me to become one of your herd mates…”

Tyler’s brows arched both as he began to smile.
“Trixie? I never knew you were interested!”

“Well, not at first. But I soon realized that I misjudged you as an individual.”

This brought another smile on Tyler’s face.
“Thank you…”

Trixie now slightly blushed.
“If… If you want to, I could make you feel better…” Just as she had said this, Tyler turned around to look at her, but the blue unicorn only fluttered her eyelashes. “It would be my pleasure to give you something back after all you did for me… So if you feel lonely…”

Tyler closed his eyes with a smile and shook his head.
“You? Offering me some sugar, Trixie? Yes, you’re quite a beautiful unicorn and I bet we could have a night to remember together… But not while my herd mates wait for me to prove my innocence. I won’t betray four mares and a foal for a beautiful unicorn mare who offers me shelter from the storm.” With this he took her cheeks into his grasp and hesitated for a moment, but kissed her after all. A lonely tear rolled down her cheek, climbed over his fingers and dropped to the floor. As their lips parted, he looked down to her. “You’re very lonely yourself, aren’t you? You wouldn’t offer this so easily if you weren’t so lonely. Tell you what: I won’t have sex with you, but if you want to repay me, you can ask anything else of me.”

Trixie gulped heavily before she nodded.
“I want to offer you a night with me…”

Tyler now arched a brow.
"Didn’t I just say that I-”

But she interrupted him.
“Sleep in one bed with me! I want to offer you the best comfort a showmare can offer you. Only for tonight…” Her voice, now a whisper, became pleading. “Please…”

Tyler sighed. I will have one hell of a time to explain this to Celestia and Luna… But since it would be no affair and only make-belief… He then nodded.
“Okay, Trixie… No sense to sleep on the hard floor anyway. We will share the bed tonight.”

While the storm was raging outside the show wagon, the showmare and the human were snuggled together under the warm blanket. As she felt his warm breath in her mane and his arm around her, she closed her eyes, ordering her tears to stay inside. In her mind, it was a real pity that she could only offer him shelter… or was it her very own loneliness? For Tyler it was more than this. For the first time he was separated from his herd, cut off from the harmony of his four girls who completed him. Maybe Trixie was not a pony to have sex with… at least not under these circumstances… but her presence right now gave him more than she could ever imagine. It was then when he took gentle hold of her ear to whisper into it. “It’s odd… Of all the unicorn mares I had the privilege to know… You are the loneliest… despite your big and golden heart. Once this all is over… Why don’t you come over to Ponyville so I can introduce you to some nice stallions?”

Again there was this feeling… this tremendously good feeling inside her chest.
“Why are you always so nice to me?”

Tyler smiled and looked up to the ceiling.
“Because we are friends? I already told you to be more confident because of this! You made a big impact on my life already.” He then sighed. “Yesterday my foal was born… A beautiful little filly, yellow coat, golden mane…” He remained silent for a moment, before his glance grew determined. “I’ll have to do everything possible to return to her and watch her grow up!”

Trixie now closed her eyes with a smile.
“I know you will find a way... As for me... I hope Princess Luna watches over my dreams tonight…”

Tyler arched a brow.
“Oh? Why’s that?”

A deep blush formed on her cheeks as she snuggled closer to Tyler, feeling his body heat.
“I want to ask her to be granted sweet dreams about someone I love, but can’t have…”

With a gentle smile, he stroked her silky light blue mane for a bit.
“Well, a girl can dream, huh? If she turns out to stay stubborn about this, send her into my dreams. I’ll tell her I’m fine with dreams.” He then bent over her and gave her a gentle kiss onto the cheek. “Sweet dreams, Trixie…”

* * * * *

In the morning Tyler got up early and searched the show wagon for some ingredients for a good coffee. There wasn’t much room in the wagon and everything felt cramped. Maybe this was her only shelter in her travels between towns and cities. Trixie woke up now, her mane unkempt.
“What…?”

Tyler now placed a mug of hot coffee near her while drinking his own.
“Rise and shine, Miss Magic!”

With a sleepy smile she nodded at him.
“Good morning…”

After a nice warm coffee Tyler looked out of the window. The warm rays of the sun tickled the skin of his hand.
“Do you remember my request of fireworks bright and shiny to blind?”

Trixie nodded, but didn’t seemed excited about the topic.
“I do… But these turned out tricky. And frankly, they turned out to be quite unpopular. Why?”

He gently touched the tip of her horn.
“Would you charge me some? I’m intending to hire on a ship, so some signal flares might be of great usage.”

Trixie frowned a bit in thought, but nodded.
“If you put it that way, it could be used as such. OK. Some rope-tying spells as well?”

He smiled.
“Whatever you’re willing to give.”

For the next hour they spent time together in silence as the magic slowly wandered from her horn to his hand and body. After that she stopped and rested.
“And done… 100 bright fireworks and twice as much rope spells.” Tyler nodded and seemed to sort the spells in his mind as she spoke up once more. “And you’re sure that-”

He then rested a finger on her lips.
“Don’t make this harder for the both of us. I mean, I had a talk with the four of them recently and they suggested many mares, even something as a concubine… But you deserve so much better as being a concubine.”

As he went out of the wagon, the blue unicorn stood in the door.
“Good luck with proving your innocence, Tyler… I hope we see again.”

He returned one final time and gave her a kiss on the forehead, right beside her horn.
“Thank you for offering me shelter and your honest advances. Goodbye, Trixie…” With this, he turned around and went along the way.

Trixie rose her hoof to say something, but halted and lowered the hoof again. A gentle smile was on her face, as she put on her cape and hat and went on her own way again.
“Well… The show must go on!” With this she pulled her wagon into the next town: Ponyville

Meanwhile, in Celestia’s office, Rachel, Sam and Flynn stood before Princess Celestia’s desktop, where Celestia and Luna were listening to their report.
“…I’m telling you, Princess: Jones was almost murdered by these ponies!

Celestia and Luna gasped upon this before looking at each other.
“Sister!”

“I know, Luna…”

The white alicorn now looked strict at the humans.
“Rachel Higgins, I think the mistake of banishing Tyler turned out graver than we first assumed… If the Descendants are involved, there was indeed a plot to take him down. Since the witnesses’ testimonies were so devastating, every step to prove them wrong would have looked like prejudice. Especially after the approval of the Seeds of truth. If we had spoken for him, they might have convinced others that we are not capable to lead this country anymore… With Tyler out of the way, they can claim that our human allies are a bunch of untrustworthy criminals…”

Sam nodded.
“You bet! Every pony out there has become wary of us humans. It’s like someone planned this all along in order to separate humans and ponies from one another.”

Now Luna nodded while looking at Celestia.
“Indeed… separated forces are easier to conquer.”

Going through her hair with her hand Rachel rolled her eyes.
“Alright… Let’s do this the right way this time. What about the autopsy?”

But both alicorns blinked at her with large eyes.
“Excuse me, Rachel…” Celestia said with a careful tone. “A… a what now?”

Rachel’s eyes slowly widened.
“An analysis of the corpse in order to find out what caused the death…” As the alicorns looked baffled at her, she slowly shook her head. “You banished Jones without knowing what caused the death and simply took these two witnesses for real?”

Sam held her shoulder now.
“Easy, Rachel! This is Equestria, not CSI Miami! They don’t have that amount of crime we know to know about these procedures…”

Rachel now sighed frustrated.
“Fine! We will investigate our way… Maybe we can find what others overlooked.”

* * * * *

Meanwhile Tyler had arrived at the city of Seasaddle and went directly into the port district. There was a sleazy bar, only called the ‘Teaty Twister’, which he entered and directly approached the bar. The odor of sweat, pipe smoke, grog and beer lied heavily in the air as the only human leaned against the bar.
“I’m looking for a ship that goes west. I want to hire on one. Which one can you advise?”

The bartender, a hefty Minotaur, now sneered upon him.
“They don’t have use for a landlubber like you! Go home under Mommy’s skirt where you belong."

Laughter now filled the bar and Tyler nodded with a growingly sadistic grin. They wanted to play rough? He could deliver. He then leaned to the bartender and pointed at the golden and shiny ring in his nose.
“You know what might look better on your nose?”

“No… What?”

Within a split second, Tyler had grabbed the ring and slammed his fist onto the bar, prompting the Minotaur to follow with a painful yelp.
“The bar.” The bystanders now grimaced and stepped back while the barkeeper gritted his teeth in pain. A bit more pull and the ring could have ripped through the nose. “Oomph!” Tyler now grinned widely. “Now don’t mess around with me!”

“Alright… ALRIGHT!!! The Aritania is a ship with a crew of bat ponies! It will set sail this evening!”

With a grin, Tyler patted the Minotaur’s cheeks.
“Thank you, my good sir. That was most amiable. Have something for your info…” With this he released the Minotaur and tossed a bit to him before leaving the bar. In a certain corner of the bar though, a group of bat pony mares witnessed the incident, one of them, a mare with a black mane and golden eyes was leaning back quite impressed and began to grin, showing slight fangs.

15 minutes later Tyler walked along the way alongside of the pier until he stood in front of a sail ship of dark wood. Bat ponies were working on it and maintaining the sails while others pulled in some goods and crates. The Aritania was a beauty of a sail frigate. He counted 14 cannon hatchets on each side of the ship, or what he could make out as such hatchets. He never was a sailor, but he saw the one or another sail ship back on earth and had the utmost respect for sailors. Sailing the seas was something entirely different than simply starting some engines. He knew at least that much.
“An impressive sight, huh?” a female voice behind him now announced.

“The Aritania, the pride of us bat ponies, the jewel of the Damitian Ocean and the only one daring enough to sail at the edge of the Maelstrom.” As he looked around, a group of bat pony mares approached the ship as well, with the one who talked now standing right beside him. “You’re that Tyler Jones guy, huh?” Before Tyler could even ask, she shook her head. “Not every guy is famed for having a princess in his herd and being banished for murder in the same week.”

Tyler nodded.
“You know me? Then you have the advantage. Who might YOU be?”

“I am Black Lily, Captain of the Aritania!”

“Oh, then you are the person I want to speak with!”

Arching a brow, the bat pony mare inspected his stature.
“Yeah, I saw you in the bar… You want to hire on my ship. Usually I don’t hire landlubbers, especially banished ones… But you have spunk! You know how to deal with an opponent who’s even stronger than you, saves me the time of babysitting you. I heard about your stuff in the Amasian Enclave, amazing stuff. Consider yourself hired!”

Tyler nodded, this went surprisingly smooth...
“Well then, Captain… permission to come aboard?”

Lily grinned again, showing fangs.
“Granted, Mr. Jones… Now be a dear and help your fellow crewmates with bringing these crates on board and under deck.”

With a brief nod Tyler turned to the crates.
“Aye!”

Several heavy crates demanded slight levitation, but Lily frowned upon this.
“If you go out of magic while that crate is in the air, you are responsible for any damage on crew and ship, Mr. Jones!” Tyler bit his lip, he wasn’t used to serve on a sail ship. In a way, Captain Black Lily was right. It couldn’t be advised to lift something with magic that the own muscles couldn’t stem.

Two hours later, Tyler came back on deck and helped as good as he could. Right now they were on open sea and the port was a tiny speck behind them. He wasn’t in Equestria anymore, so the Descendants of Tacitus couldn’t hunt him down anymore. He nodded in silent approval to his inner checklist before he looked up the mast to the crow’s nest. To his wonder it was not the Equestrian flag he saw in the port. A black flag with a white equine skull now waved in the salty wind. Tyler gulped for a second.
“This is a pirate ship?”

Behind him the sound of hooves became audible and Black Lily appeared, now in her Captain’s uniform and hat.
“I prefer the term privateer… We work for the Amasians from time to time; in the meantime, we’re doing deliveries. Spices from Zebrica, after all, are very valuable and because of this, Equestria allows us to lie at anchor for a few days per stay. So don’t expect us to attack innocent trading ships… If you have any problems with the ship, I suggest you jump from board and SWIM to Saddle Arabia! Otherwise, do your duty!”

Tyler nodded.
“Aye, Captain!” Pirate ship or not, for now, reaching Saddle Arabia seemed the most important thing to be. He only hoped that bat ponies followed the regular heat seasons. Being on a ship with a crew consisting mostly of bat pony mares would otherwise become a problem…

***

Meanwhile, on a blue and rather lively world…

It was a cloudy and windy day in Great Basin National Park and Agent Rick Marshall drove down the road to a camping place in a jeep that was offered him by the park staff. As he got out, several police officers and park rangers were at the place as well. The camping place looked abandoned and ransacked by the wildlife. A missing camper, how was this business for a federal agent?

As the police officers saw Marshall coming, some of them rolled their eyes.
“Oh, man…”

“What’s with the suit?”

“What the hell is the FBI doing here?”

The agent now got out of the jeep and approached the officers.
“Alright… Gentlemen! Agent Marshall, FBI. Please brief me on what you have.”

“A missing camper of foreign origin. The park rangers found the campsite yesterday. No one here. We checked the camper already. He checked in about a year ago, but never checked out.”

Marshal now arched both brows with a smile.
“Do I get this right? After a complete year you get the info that a camper here is missing and never got out of this park? What took you guys so long to figure this out?”

“I don’t know… I guess this is why they called in a pencil pusher.”

Marshall sighed. Another cop thinking that a snooty federal agent takes the case away… Same old story…
“Alright, Lieutenant… What do you have for me until now?”

“Fortunately his ID was in his tent, along with the purse, nothing much… Tyler Jones, Australian, 28, was here on vacation, obviously a camping trip.” The federal agent held the ID in his hand and looked at it thoroughly.

Another officer harrumphed and looked at Marshall.
“Do we know that he’s really missing? I mean, maybe he stood up and went elsewhere?”

Rick Marshall only rolled his eyes.
“Sure! Leaving his purse, his ID, the food and the entire campsite behind…”

The Lieutenant now narrowed his eyes and looked grim at his colleague for making such a stupid claim.
“Dumbass!”

Looking around, Marshall inspected the area.
“Lieutenant, what do you think happened to this man? A wild animal? Kidnapping maybe?”

“Crocodile Dundee got eaten by Yogi Bear? Nah, in that case there would be traces of a fight. But the park rangers state that there are no such things around the camping place. Only raccoon shit in his tent and there’s one other thing that doesn’t add up to this.”

Now the federal agent’s interest was piqued.
“What’s that?”

Stepping closer to a circular scorch mark in the ground the Lieutenant pointed at this place.
“This here! It’s like something took something out of the ground. It is molten sand and the guys in the lab can’t make out what caused it.”

“Well… A slight hole in the ground, what’s so special about it?”

“What’s special is that it’s perfectly geometrical and molten. Like someone took a burning hot ball of iron and dipped it into the sand to melt it. But to do this you would have heavy equipment with you and there are no traces of something like this, and there are no traces that it was burned with chemicals. No gasoline, kerosene, thermite or anything else. All this would leave traces, but nothing! And that’s what’s making no God damn sense! It’s like God himself just reached down to grab that guy and make him disappear!”

Looking at the ID again, Rick Marshall now shook his head. Who the hell were you in the first place, Mr. Jones?
“I don’t think that this would be a case for Agent Mulder… But you DO have an interesting case here, Lieutenant. That’s a given…” In that moment, his cell phone began to ring. “Excuse me for a moment…” As he looked upon the display, he saw it was his mother. Answering, he lowered his voice a bit. “Mom? Good to hear from you.”

“Rick…” At the other end of the line Rick could hear silent sobbing, what immediately rang alarm bells in his mind.

“Mom, what is it? Why are you crying?”

“It’s Flynn, Rick… He’s dead. He and his friends crashed in the Bermuda Triangle!” The message felt like a punch into the face and he bowed his head for a while fighting the shock.

As he looked up again with a gasp, he found his words again.
“Shit… Listen… Mom, I… I’ll be around this weekend, OK?” After a short while, he hanged up after a short “Bye…” and looked into the cloudy sky. Flynn… Little brother, you’re in a better place now… Aren’t you?

Proofread by Rythmns