He never thought it would be possible to pack so much into three hours. He'd seen everything from carnival games- Dinky now had a plush manticore toy bigger than she was; only Derpy could somehow manage to knock all the bottles over with one toss in an obviously-rigged throwing game- to historical displays to racing and flying competitions. It had become obvious to him that Canterlot was a city with a long and colorful history, but to see it put out on display like this was almost too much to take in.

He, First and Noteworthy were listening to Twilight give her own perspective on one of the historical events being displayed- she tended to be a bit dry and clinical in her lectures, but she really did know her stuff- when the blaring of horns interrupted her. A quartet of armored pegasi, wearing full regalia, hovered overhead; as one, they began speaking, their voices amplified through what was probably some sort of spell. “Attention, citizens of Equestria and guests!” they announced. “Please be aware that Their Royal Highnesses, the Princesses Celestia and Luna, have convened a celebration ceremony at Equinox Square at three o'clock this afternoon. The Royal Sisters, Princess Cadence, and many other celebrities will be in attendance. The event will be standing-room-only, so be sure to come early to find a good spot!” With that, the quartet of pegasi assumed a formation of some sort and streaked off, probably to repeat the announcement elsewhere.

“We are definitely going to want to see that,” Noteworthy said. “It'll be the only public appearance by all three Princesses before the Renewal itself! Do you think we should head over there now to get good spots?”

“You don't need to worry about that.” Twilight smiled. “The other Bearers and I will be attending in an official fashion, and any friends of Derpy's are friends of ours- so I'm sure we can get you and the others front-row access.”

“Tsk tsk tsk. Look at this. My own sister, abusing her position to get favors for friends.” Everyone turned towards the source of this new voice- a tall, broad-chested white-coated unicorn, decked out in a military dress uniform with no small number of ribbons and medals attached. His playful voice and grin showed that he was joking. “I thought Mom and Dad raised you better than that, Twily!” he teased.

“Shiny!” She galloped up to the newcomer and pulled him into a tight hug that he eagerly returned. “It's great to see you again, big bro. How have you and Cadence been holding up?”

“Not bad, not bad at all, really. She and I finally got back in town last week after we managed to work out that agreement up in Stalliongrad. It's beautiful up there, the architecture and history are like nothing else in Equestria... but it's great to be home.”

“It's great to have you back too.” Twilight smiled. “Oh, where's my manners? Everypony, this is Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard and my Big Brother Best Friend Forever.” She grinned. “Shiny, these are some new friends of mine by way of Derpy Hooves. This is Noteworthy, First Response and Story Seeker.”

Shining's eyebrow raised. “Story Seeker? First Response? I've been seeing your names come up on some of the paperwork this morning.”

“Um.” First lowered her head a little. “Nothing bad, I hope? I mean, that napkin got away from me in the wind; I don't want a littering fine!”

Even Story felt himself begin to sweat at the stern look the Captain held- until he broke out into a laugh. “Sorry! I couldn't resist doing that. No, no, nothing bad at all. Let me just say that you two really should attend the ceremony today. I'll leave it at that.”

“Shining!” Twilight prodded her brother with a hoof. “You shouldn't do that to my friends! Not when they don't know what a joker you are.”

“Aw, you're no fun, Twily.” Shining grinned. “Okay. To make it up to you two, I'll clear you and your friends to sit in the VIP area. I bet mingling with the likes of Sapphire Shores, Vinyl Scratch and other celebrity ponies ought to make you happy.”

Story had no idea who they were, but First and Noteworthy certainly seemed thrilled, so he went along with their reactions. “Well, that's more like it,” Twilight said with a grin.

“Aw, you know me, Twily. I have my fun, but I make up for it.” He smiled. “It was good seeing you and your friends, little sis, but there's still a lot of preparation to do, so I've got to get going.”

“Okay, Shiny! Be sure to give Cadence a hug for me.”

“Always willing to do that!” With a wave, the stallion cantered off. Twilight turned towards the others with a sheepish grin. “Sorry about that,” she said. “Shining Armor is a great guy, but sometimes he likes to play a joke now and then.”

“If that's the kind of way he always makes up for it later, he's welcome to do that anytime!” Noteworthy guffawed.

Story took advantage of the moment to recall the map he'd mentalgraphed and the graffiti report. The Princesses told me I could duplicate what my phone could do... let me see.... After a moment, he found that he could place markers of a sort on the image of the map. There, that's helpful. Now, if we are where I think we are....Another marker, a red “x”, showed up; after a moment, a thin red line made its way along the map, snaking through the streets, connecting the “x” with the nearest locational marker. When he brought his attention back to reality, he could see that very same thin line stretching away from him into the distance. Awesome! My very own trip-directions spell. Man, where was this when I got lost in Pittsburgh three years ago?

There was a flash of light just off to his side; Twilight had summoned what looked to be a golden desk clock, which she was levitating in front of her face. “Oh, ponyfeathers,” she murmured. “Everypony, I need to go- the girls and I need to get prepped for the ceremony. I'll see you all there, right?” The others nodded, and she smiled. “Excellent! Until then, enjoy yourselves! It was nice meeting you!” She gave them a quick wave before she and the clock both vanished in a burst of purple light.

“You know, I've got to learn how to do that,” Story said quietly.

First chortled. “Yeah, let me know when you do. You could really help me cut down on my morning commute!”

The three shared a laugh at that before Noteworthy glanced up at the clock. “Sorry to skip out on you two,” he said, “but Amethyst wanted to hit up a tour of the Creamy & Crisp Bakery that starts in a few minutes. Plus I've learned that she can get a bit spendy with the bits in places like this if I don't keep an eye on her.” He grinned. “I'll catch up with you two at the ceremony!”

He waved to them and then trotted off. Story stared off after him, then shook his head after a moment. “Do you also get the feeling that we were deliberately left alone together?” he asked First.

“Note never won awards for subtlety.” First chuckled. “Well, we've still got some time before the ceremony... what do you feel up to doing?”

The red line that he knew only he could see shimmered at the edge of his vision. “Okay, this'll sound a little weird, but....” Time to tell a story, Story. Or, you know, lie. “I overheard a conversation in the stairwell of the inn last night, that there was somepony going around painting strange symbols all over the place. The way they were described made me want to go have a look at them- sort of like a little mystery!” One I really need to solve, and one I wish I didn't need to drag you into, but it'd take longer to get you to stay behind- and I'd really feel more comfortable with you watching my back.... “What do you say?”

“You're right! It does sound a little weird.” She grinned. “But now you've got my curiosity piqued. Let's go have a look.”

They chatted along the way, with Story fighting the urge to break into a gallop. He had a real lead now, something he could possibly bring back to what used to be the Princesses, something that could put him ahead of the clock he could practically hear ticking down. Balancing the social responses of a normal pony with the increasingly-urgent need to investigate was getting harder all the time. Dammit, I wish I could get First's help on this, he mused. She's smart, she's knowledgeable, she's quick-witted... and she'd think I'd gone completely insane if I even tried to explain what's going on, let alone who I actually am. I need to find ways to turn her skills towards my goal while making it seem like just innocuous sightseeing.

And hey, once I pull that off, I'll juggle flaming chainsaws. Piece of cake.

Somehow he managed to not let his distraction show as they walked, and in almost no time at all they made it to the first point. If he hadn't known what to look for, he could have easily missed it- a spot near the rear wall of a picture-frame store, with a couple of orange cones blocking it off and a mop and bucket left nearby. What had been an obviously determined effort to scrub the silvery lines and curves of the symbol away had failed completely. Story couldn't help but shiver at the bizarre, seemingly random complexity of the markings; it would've been at home in a Lovecraft epic. “Wow,” First murmured, looking the symbol over. “Do you have any idea what that is? Because I sure as hay don't.”

“Me neither,” he answered. “Give me a second, and don't look directly at my horn.”

“Huh? Err, okay....”

flash

“There, got it.” The image of the symbol faded from his eyes, filed away in whatever supernatural “folder” his spell placed them into; with a quick mental exercise, he “tagged” the map marker for the spot with the picture. “Wow, what was that?” First asked.

“Basically a mental photograph spell. A little something I learned to keep from having to carry a camera around when all I want is shots for my own reference.”

“Huh! Useful.” First seemed about to scuff at the symbol with a hoof, then apparently thought better of it. “What do you think this is for?”

“I don't really know.” Need to think of an excuse to find them all other than simple curiosity. “One of the ponies I heard the story from thought it might be some kind of contest being set up by a local business, like a scavenger hunt.”

“Without notifying the city bureaus or the landowners, and risking fines? Huh. Well, at least it's not as bad as when somepony thought it'd be brilliant to have a pegasus crew dump three thousand advertising flyers over Neighbraska. The things got everywhere.”

“Sounds like an absolute mess.” He brought his mental map back up, and selected another point. “Want to find the others? If it is some kind of contest, we might be able to win it almost as soon as they announce it.”

“Hmm.” She rubbed the side of her muzzle with a hoof. “You know what? Let's do it. I'm really curious now.”

Despite the crowds, it didn't take them terribly long to get to each point so that he could mentalgraph the symbols. Each one was different, but all of them followed the same basic theme- seemingly random lines and arcs overlaying a circle about three hoof-widths in diameter. “Okay, if there's a pattern to these things, I sure as hay can't figure it out,” First admitted. “How about you, Mister Academic?”

“I haven't got clue one.” He didn't need to. The sisters would be able to figure it out. “Well, that's handled, we got some exercise, and we ate up nearly an hour! Now that's what I call-”

He froze. His right ear twitched, bent, caught a familiar voice. “Hang on,” he murmured towards First, before trotting forward a bit and turning a corner. A heated argument was being held in front of a hardware store; a blue-coated mare was alternating between shouting and growling at a peach-colored stallion in a smock- probably an employee. Over the noise of the crowd it was hard to tell what was being said, but one fragment of the argument did make it through.

“...she placed that order two weeks ago! She needs it today!”

“Look, lady, silver nitrate and arcanocite solution aren't the easiest things to get a hold of!”

“Your competitors at Soluble Solutions had no such problems! Perhaps she should have simply doubled the order there instead of entrusting you with such a critical shipment!”

“Jeez. Look, I'll check some of my sources in the city, okay? Whatever I can scrounge up I'll deliver to you. I can probably get you at least half of what you ordered.”

“...that will have to do. Be sure you have them delivered to her hotel room as soon as possible! She needs these substances in a timely manner!”

With that, the mare stormed off, and the employee stomped his way back into the shop, muttering imprecations. Story heard First trot up to him. “What was that about?” she asked.

“Huh? Sorry... I thought I heard a familiar voice.” It was familiar, actually; he knew he'd heard it twice, but could only recall the second time- just after he'd met Applejack. Then he remembered the graffiti report and the mention of a blue unicorn mare. Could that be her? he wondered. Is she the magician who's been trying to get rid of me? Fuck- I've lost track of her, and I wasn't close enough to make out any details. But I can come back here tonight, or check out that “Soluble Solutions” place- if she wanted deliveries, she had to leave them an address to deliver to. I've got no idea what “arcanocite” is, but silver nitrate could be part of what she's using to make these symbols permanent. It's a thin lead, but I should be getting used to that, shouldn't I?

“You okay there, Story?” First prodded him with a hoof. “That wasn't an ex-fillyfriend or anything, was it?”

“Huh? Oh, no, no. Thought it was a old friend of mine from college.” Dammit, I hate lying to her. “Sorry.”

“Don't worry, I'll let you know if your penchant for getting lost in thought starts to annoy me. Right now I kind of find it cute.” She winked. “Let's start heading towards the square; we have a bit of time, but I'd rather be early than late.”

“That sounds suspiciously like a plan.”

“I come up with those sometimes!” The pair trotted back towards the square, melding in with the crowds moving in that direction- until a guard made her way up to them. “First Response? Story Seeker?” she questioned.

“Yes, ma'am,” Story replied.

“I will be escorting you to the VIP area. Follow me, please.” The earth pony mare took position just ahead of them; her imposing presence created a natural path for them as other ponies moved to make way. “I could get used to this kind of treatment,” First giggled.

“You're not kidding!” He couldn't help but prance just a little as the crowd watched them follow the guard. Look on my privilege, ye average ponies, and despair. What's the old saying? “Cock of the walk”? C'mon, I've got to believe I've earned it, just a little.

Eventually they made it to the northern end of the square, where a large stage had been erected; a roped-off area nearby held a couple of dozen ponies- including the Bearers and the rest of his group of friends. “Oh, hey! There's our two lovebirds!” Pinkie called out.

Story almost tripped over his hooves in surprise; various chuckles and guffaws came from the group. “This is gonna be a 'thing', isn't it?” he asked First.

“Yeah, it sure looks that way.” She wasn't quite able to hide a smile.

The guard escorting them conversed with a pair of her comrades; one of them lifted the rope, and First and Story trotted through into the VIP section. “I was starting to worry that you two would be late,” Amethyst said, her tone teasing. Story got the implication; he spared a glance over at First, who was blushing through a slight smile. “Well, you know,” she replied in the same tone, “Story wanted to show me something, and it took a while longer than I thought it would.”

This time he did stumble, barely even noticing it in his shock as he stared at First; she gave him a playful wink. “I'll get you for that,” he chuckled into her ear.

“Is that a promise?” Her smile only got wider.

Fortunately there were no further embarrassments as he and First took their seats. He couldn't help but feel conspicuous as the crowd gathered around, but it seemed that their attention was focused mainly on the Bearers and the small group of ponies he didn't know; apparently they were celebrities from a number of different fields, from the musician Vinyl Scratch (whose club name was DJ PON-3, and didn't that almost send him into uncontrollable laughter) to the fashion critic Hoity Toity. Rainbow Dash was also going on incessantly about the Wonderbolts, who were apparently an aerial precision team that it was her life's dream to join. “You guys just watch,” the cyan pegasus insisted, “this is gonna be the most impressive ceremony ever!”

It didn't take long for the square to fill with excited, talking ponies. Even from his only slightly-elevated viewpoint, it looked to Story like someone had spilled a bag of rainbow-colored candies on a floor; he could only wonder what the place looked like from the air. The crowd's energy was so infectious that even he found himself fidgeting, anticipating what was coming up

His ears pricked as the clock tower bell sounded off the hour; the crowd almost immediately hushed, to the point where the only thing underscoring the bell's toll was the shuffling of hooves and the occasional cough. As the last ring of the bell echoed across the square, a low thrumming noise began to overtake it, coming from just above the stage, from two strange floating spots that had somehow formed without him noticing- one a bright white, the other a deep black. The sound built up into a rolling, almost subsonic hum that he felt as much as heard as the spots began to grow- but despite having no idea what was going on, he felt nothing but a sense of peace and belonging, apparently shared by everyone around him.

The spots continued to grow in size, stretching, forming into two large four-legged shapes- and then, in a flash of brilliant white light and a flare of darkness as black as the void, two ponies materialized on the stage. Something deep within Story brought him to bow his head, even as realization shot through his mind. The Princesses. It has to be them. My God... they're beautiful.

The two alicorns gazed at the assembled crowd around them with expressions of appreciation and motherly love. “My little ponies,” Celestia called out, her voice somehow amplified to reach across the crowds without being deafening to those up close. “It's so wonderful to see so many of you gathered here in this place, our capital, for this celebration. Have you all been enjoying yourselves this past day and a half?”

There was a loud cheer and a stomping of hooves in reply. Celestia's smile grew. “Excellent! Stallions and gentlemares, tomorrow will be a truly glorious occasion- for the first time in thirteen hundred years, the Renewal of the Covenant will be attended by both my sister, Luna, Princess of the Moon, and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. And it is my further privilege to welcome the rulers of the Crystal Empire, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and her husband, Shining Armor.”

In a bright-pink burst of light, two more ponies appeared on the stage. One was Twilight's brother, but the other was a complete surprise- a light-pink pegasus unicorn, differentiated from the two alicorns only by her more typical pony proportions. Both raised a hoof in recognition as the crowd cheered. “Truly,” Celestia said once the applause had died down, “are we blessed with such a wonderful confluence of events!” She paused for a moment as the crowd cheered again. “But there is another aspect to this ceremony, one that can sometimes be lost in all the grandeur. My sister will be glad to remind us all of what it is.”

She stepped aside for Luna to take center stage. “My little ponies,” she said, her voice somewhat more authoritarian- but in the manner of a stern but caring mother. “It has been an eventful two and a half years since my return. Adjusting to a new time, new ways, has been difficult... but with the help of my sister, and of many caring and dedicated ponies, I have come to see the joys and ways of this age.” She paused for a moment, looking around at the crowd as a handful of cheers and whistles broke out. “But there is one thing that is as true today as it was in ages past. The Renewal of the Covenant is not about myself or my sister, nor is it about royalty, or celebrities.

“No, my little ponies. The Renewal of the Covenant is about you. You, the citizens of Equestria, who work day and night to advance our nation's interests, to protect our lands, to bring joy and peace and friendship to all. Be you earth pony, unicorn or pegasus- or not a pony at all, but an immigrant from another land who has come to find a place amongst us- it is you who we, your Princesses, serve. This ceremony, this celebration, this day is yours!” There was another burst of applause and cheering, louder than the last. “And it is my pleasure to recognize two of Equestria's citizens who have exemplified the bravery and compassion all of us strive for every day and night. One, an unassuming historian whose quick thinking and bravery saved the life of an innocent filly; the other, a dedicated paramedic with a long record of excellence, who in turn saved our historian from a potentially fatal accident. My little ponies, I introduce to you Story Seeker and First Response.”

The lunar princess subtly motioned towards them, and both Story and First were quick to canter onto the stage, to the thunderous applause of the crowd. He would have expected to feel vulnerable, singled out, but somehow in front of all these ponies he felt... accepted. “My good ponies,” Luna said, giving him and First a broad smile, “please accept from your Princesses these tokens of our gratitude, memorializing your good deeds here in this city. Captain?”

Shining Armor trotted up to the pair, levitating a pair of silver-and-gold medallions in front of him. “First Response, Story Seeker,” he said, his voice also amplified like those of the Princesses. “By order of the Royal Sisters, I present to you the Solstice Star, in recognition of selfless efforts to protect and help your fellow pony.”

By some unspoken cue, Story and First both lowered their heads, and the medals slid down onto their necks. They waved out to the crowd in thankful acknowledgment of their cheers before Shining escorted them to the side of the stage so that all three Princesses could move to its center; as they walked, a speck of color out in the audience caught his attention.

There, about twelve rows back, was the very same mare he'd seen arguing with the pony at the hardware store. She was one of the few not applauding, she was staring directly at him, and her expression was anything but friendly- if hatred could fuel laser vision, he'd be a very messy collection of chunks at the moment.

He let his gaze slide right on by her. Don't let her know you think she's anything but another face in the crowd. Maybe you know who I really am, my dear, and maybe not. But what you don't know is that you're my target, too.

He took a place next to First as the Princesses stood together at center-stage. Something tingled along his spine, and he could sense a strange feeling of anticipation building amongst the crowd as Celestia lifted her head, opened her mouth...

...and broke out into song.

“In first light of morning,
The sun says hello
To each pony starting their day

The baker, the doctor
Dressmaker and plumber
Yes, my sun will light up their way

From morning to evening
All days of the year
Equestria's ponies will know

The sun and the moon
Forever are watching them
Work, play, explore, learn and grow”

What happened next was something he could never have seen coming. Everyone around him- the crowd, the celebrities, the Bearers, the rest of his group- joined in on the song. And to his complete and utter shock, so did he.

“From morning to evening
All days of the year
Equestria's ponies will know

The sun and the moon
Forever are watching us
Work, play, explore, learn and grow”

Was he hearing music from somewhere? He was far too entranced to even check; he could only watch as Celestia moved back so that Luna could take the stagefront. Her voice was just as beautiful as her sister's as she began to sing her own refrain.

“In last light of evening,
The moon says hello
To each pony ending their day

If looking for parties
Or only their pillows
Yes, my moon will light up their way

From evening to morning
All days of the year
Equestria's ponies will know

The moon and the sun
Forever are watching them
Work, play, explore, learn and grow”

From wherever they were coming from, the lyrics to the refrain found their way through Story's mouth.

“From evening to morning
All days of the year
Equestria's ponies will know

The moon and the sun
Forever are watching us
Work, play, explore, learn and grow”

Now he was swaying. So was everyone else! On some level he felt like he should be worried, even afraid, about this overwhelming feeling- but the unbelievable sense of... togetherness, of belonging flowed through him like warmth from a cozy fire. He watched as Luna stepped back to allow Cadence to come forward. Her voice didn't quite have the majestic power of the alicorns, but that made it no less wonderful to hear.

“Come daytime or nighttime,
Your Princesses work
To keep our lands vibrant and free

They'll never stop wishing
For safety and plenty
For ponies just like you and me

In summer or winter
All days of the year
Equestria's ponies will know

That their Princesses
Forever are watching them
Work, play, explore, learn and grow”

Story found himself pouring his heart into what he somehow knew was the final refrain, as if from some deep, almost primal need to express gratitude for the Princesses and the duties they faithfully filled every day.

“In summer or winter
All days of the year
Equestria's ponies will know

That our Princesses
Forever are watching us
Work, play, explore, learn and grow”

The crowd broke out into raucous applause, their cheers and whistles echoing across the square. Story slumped in his seat, feeling overwhelmed and emotionally drained from the entire experience- and yet there was still that warm glow in him, that connected feeling fading but not entirely gone. “Wow,” he murmured quietly.

He felt First brush gently against him. “First time having that happen?” she asked.

First time knowing something like that was possible. “Yeah.”

“Me too. I've seen it before, sure, but I've never been a part of it. It felt even better than I heard.”

“Yeah, but... how...?”

“Nopony really knows! It just... happens, sometimes, when conditions are just right. I suppose it's just an effect of the magic of friendship.”

The magic of friendship. At any other time, in any other situation, the phrase would've made him laugh- but having just felt it himself, he could only give it all the respect it was due.

The celebration went on for two hours, with an aerial routine from the Wonderbolts- who could give the Blue Angels a run for their money in precision and skill, if not speed- a few songs from pop singer Sapphire Shores, and a quick fashion show from Hoity Toity; the most exceptional part of that event was the appearance of a zebra, a minotaur and a buffalo, each in what seemed to be modified versions of their own traditional garb. I'm starting to think that this place is never going to run out of surprises for me, he mused.

Eventually the celebration ended, with the Princesses and the Captain vanishing in a burst of magic and everyone else filing out in a gradual way. “See? Told you!” Dash said as she hovered overhead. “Most impressive ceremony ever!”

“Yeah, you know what? I'm not going to disagree.” Even if he'd wanted to, Story wasn't sure he could manage enough rational thought to mount an argument. Processing what had happened during that song was going to take him a good long time.

“Even the egghead agrees with me! I must be right.” Dash snickered. “But seriously, Story, congrats on the medal. You too, First. I like seeing good ponies get recognized for going above and beyond the call.”

The medal. With everything that had happened, he'd forgotten he was even wearing it; he reflexively levitated it up to have a good look at it. The thin disk was half-silver, half-gold, depicting stylized versions of the moon and sun, respectively, and in the center were carved artistic representations of Celestia and Luna forming a circle. “I almost don't feel like I really deserve this,” he thought aloud.

First bumped against him roughly. “Don't you even think that,” she told him sternly. “That might be true for me- I'm not really feeling comfortable with accepting a medal just for doing my job, especially since there's so many others just at my hospital alone who work just as hard. But you? Dash is right; you went above and beyond the call.”

“First, dear, I'll hear none of that from you either.” Rarity trotted up alongside the paramedic. “If for no other reason than I feel it due recognition for the hard work all those in your field do for everypony. But you went past even that for our friend here, from everything I've heard.”

“That's right!” Derpy had a broad grin on her face. “And if you knew about all the crazy stuff that goes on in Ponyville, you'd know that Miss Rarity here knows about that kind of thing.”

“Boy howdy, she ain't kiddin', First,” Applejack put in. “What'd ya call Ponyville, Twi? A 'nexus 'a weirdness'?” The violet unicorn chuckled and nodded. “So yeah, girl, take it from ponies who know- you deserve that medal as much as anypony.”

First blushed profusely, looking down at the ground with a shy smile. “Thanks, all of you,” she said quietly.

Story brushed against her side. “You know, being the one whose life you saved, I like to think I get a little input on the whole thing, right?” He grinned as she nodded. “So yeah, you deserve that medal as much as I do this one.”

“Thank you, Story.” She lightly nuzzled him. “I appreciate that.”

“See? Lovebirds,” Pinkie giggled, getting laughter from the others. Story rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it's a 'thing' now,” he said, his disapproving tone belied by his smile.

First brushed against him playfully. “It sure looks that way.”

(-)

Evening had fallen by the time their group left the movie theater. Story couldn't help but be surprised at the quality of animation they had in the cartoon they'd watched, Lady of the Flutterponies- it was easily comparable to anything in Disney's golden era, but had some of the whimsical humor and supernatural tones of a Miyazaki classic. It'd be a box-office hit if they screened that on Earth, he thought.

He was taking a moment to look at all the advertisements for other movies, just to peek a little further into Equestria's culture. By now he wasn't even surprised to find a close resemblance to movie posters from the 50's, complete with sci-fi pulp fare; he stopped at a particularly cheesy-looking one, entitled The Thing From Beyond Luna's Moon, showing what looked like a pile of slime with eyes and tentacles fighting off a squad of Royal Guards in the center of a city.

“Mister Seeker?”

He looked down to find Dinky standing next to him, her eyes fixated on the poster. “Oh, hey, Dinky,” he said. “You know, you can call me 'Story' if you want. 'Mister Seeker' sounds so... well... stuffy.”

She giggled at that. “Okay, Story,” she amended. “Can... can you lift me up? I wanna look at that picture.”

“Sure thing. Hang on.” He gently took her in the “grip” of his magic and lifted her onto his back, then stood sideways so she could get an up-close look at the movie poster. “How's that?”

“Perfect!” She took a careful look at the bizarre alien creature on the poster, with its multiple limbs swinging at the flying Royal Guards that swarmed around it. “Wow, that thing is creepy,” she commented.

“Yeah, it sure is, huh? I don't think I'd react well if it showed up for dinner.”

She laughed. “I don't think it would want Mama's dandelion casserole!”

“Nope! Looks more like it's interested in pony souffle! Om nom nom ponies.” He made exaggerated chomping noises in her direction, getting a squeal of laughter from the filly. “No! I'm not a tasty treat!” she declared.

“But your mother always calls you her little muffin. Therefore you must be a tasty treat! Om nom nom.”

More giggles came from the squirming pony before she settled down, looking intently at the poster; her gaze seemed fixed on the starry sky painted behind the creature. “Story, can I ask you something?”

“Sure thing, kiddo.”

“Do you think there really might be aliens somewhere?”

He paused for a moment, taken aback by the unexpected question. “I'll tell you what- let's go back outside, and I'll show you something.”

“Okay.” He trotted out of the theater with her still perched on his back, finding a nice place out of the way of the crowds and in full view of the night sky. “Do you see all those stars up there?” he asked her.

“Uh-huh.”

“How many do you think there are?”

“I dunno. Mama and I tried counting once; she lost count at thirty. I got to fifty!”

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. “Not a bad start. But let me tell you something, Dinky. I used to be interested in astronomy- that's the study of stars- and I read up a lot about it. And do you want to know what I read?”

“Sure!”

“I read that, in our galaxy alone, there are around three hundred billion stars.” Sure, that was his galaxy, and he had no way of knowing if he was still in it, or even in his own universe- but Dinky wasn't likely to fact-check him.

“What's a billion?”

“Okay. Imagine that you have a thousand, and you multiply that by a thousand. You have a million. Then you multiply that by a thousand, and you have a billion.”

Her eyes went wide. “...wow.”

“And that's not the half of it. Some very smart scientists came up with a theory that there could be two hundred billion other galaxies in the universe- each one with millions, or billions, of stars of their own!”

She stared at him, slack-jawed. “That... that's a whole lot of stars!”

“It sure is. Even I can't count that high. And you know what, Dinky? Each and every one of those stars could have a world that's a lot like this one. And each and every one of those worlds could have some kind of alien life on it.” He smiled. “Life like that slime monster, there. Or giant slug creatures. Or living, thinking machines. Why, I bet there could be a species out there that looks like a hairless ape, with hands like a minotaur, tiny eyes and a flat face.”

She giggled. “That sounds silly.”

“It does, I know.” He chuckled. “There are so many stars out there, Dinky, that I can't possibly believe that there isn't other kinds of life near some of them. I imagine that one of those silly-looking hairless apes could be looking at our star right now, wondering if there's anyone out there.”

Dinky was silent for a moment, staring upwards, and then: “Do... do you think they'd wanna be friends?”

Story's throat tightened for a moment, and he felt his eyes misting up. “You know what... I'm absolutely sure they would, Dinky. I bet they'd love to be friends with a sweet filly like you.”

“Dinky! Story!” They both looked up to see Amethyst beckoning them over. “Come on, we're heading out!”

He carefully levitated Dinky off of his back and onto her hooves, then let her trot ahead of him, lost in his thoughts. I really think us silly-looking hairless apes would love to be friends with you, Dinky, and all the other ponies.

I know I would.

(-)

“One heck of a day, huh, Story?” First grinned at him as she walked up to the doors of the Apricot Inn with him. “Let me tell you, this wasn't the sort of experience I expected when I planned this trip.”

“You know, I'd be worried if you had expected it.” He winked at her.

“You and me both!” They paused inside the lobby. “I'll tell you what- I'll stop by again tomorrow morning, same time, to have another look under that bandage. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good to me. Breakfast will be my treat.” He smiled. “Thanks, First.”

“You don't need to thank me, you goof. I'm happy to do it.” She playfully nudged his muzzle with a hoof. “You know, I've come to the conclusion that you're a pony who makes strange things happen around him.”

You don't know the half of it, First. “I'm finding that out myself.”

“Heh. Talk about self-discovery.” She gave him a grin. “Not that it's a bad thing, mind you. You've certainly made my time here a lot more interesting.”

“I can say the same for you.” He hadn't actually meant to say that out loud, but there it was, and it was certainly truthful enough. “Oh, is that so?” she replied, her smile becoming warmer. “That's sweet of you. I don't feel all that remarkable, though- just an ordinary mare going through life.”

“True, but then again isn't that the same for all of us? How special do you think I feel?” Aside from being a human walking around in the body of a pony, sure, but you know, besides that. “But here we both are, in the middle of all of this, just doing what we can to manage. Sometimes that's pretty extraordinary all in itself.”

She nodded slowly. “That's an interesting philosophy, Story. I think I see some merit in it.” She leaned forward, and- to his surprise- placed a gentle kiss on the side of his muzzle. “Just do me a favor and don't stop being so unique, hm?” she asked.

“I'll see what I can do.” He grinned. “See you tomorrow, First.”

“You too, Story. Sleep well.”

It wasn't the easiest thing to get his exhausted body back up to his room, but instead of undressing and flopping right into bed, he found himself standing at the mirror in the hall, looking at his reflection- at the body of an unassuming historian who definitely hadn't been expecting everything that had happened over the past two days. Out of some bizarre inclination, he found himself talking to that reflection. “Look, Story,” he said quietly, “I don't know if you can hear me, if you'll remember this when this is all over, but... I need to explain myself to you. My name is Jacob Doakes, and I'm... not from this place. I didn't ask to be put in control of your body, and I didn't like the idea at first once I realized that I was essentially hijacking your life- but the Princesses were right... it really was necessary. I... I've seen what happens if nothing changes, Story- it's a fate you ponies don't deserve in the least.

“I don't know just how strange and bizarre you might have found the events of the last couple of days to be. But let me tell you, from a complete outsider's perspective- this world you have, this civilization... it's amazing to me, Story. You ponies are like nothing I've ever known, and, seriously... I have to admit I've fallen in love with you guys. I just... I can't really wrap my head around how you live, but it's like nothing I've ever known before.” He let out a quiet sigh. “And I've seen how it ends. I've seen its destruction. And I can't let that happen, Story. Not just because of what happens to me if it does, but because you ponies don't deserve that. So I apologize to you for anything I may put your body through tomorrow, even if it means both of us die- but there's just too much at stake now to do anything less than whatever's needed to stop this.” He paused for a moment, looking over this strange body he was inhabiting. “And you know what, Story Seeker? I get the feeling you're the kind of stallion who'd agree with me on that.” He smiled, watching his reflection copy the movement. “So, hey, if we get through this and I'm no longer around... just do me a favor, look around you, and realize how absolutely wonderful this place is.” He went silent for a moment. “And now I'm going to put this body in bed and go to sleep, and that means more work for me to do in my real body. It's... complicated, and I won't bother you with the details. Just know that the guy who's been pulling your strings here isn't doing any less for you guys in his own body. So try not to hate me too much, okay?”

With a tired sigh, he trotted away from the mirror, undressed, placed his clothes atop his suitcases, and pulled himself into bed, then nestled himself under the warm blanket, rested his head atop the soft pillow, and let sleep take him away.