Rob felt much better having rested on a bed rather than hay. After passing out as soon as Paladin mentioned where the beds are, he could rise early enough to see the sun rise. 'Didn't Paladin, err David, say something about a princess pushing it or something?' Rob thought watching the ball of flaming gases rise slowly over the distant horizon. He was startled to here David rise from his bed at this hour. "Well, good morning sleepin' beauty." Rob said laughing silently. David’s main was, once again, frizzled like a feral cat.

"Shut the hell up." was David’s weak comeback. "The only reason I'm up so early is to get ready for the Summer Sun Celebration with Twilight." David heard his stomach rumble in protest of his lack of dinner last night. Or lunch. Or anything since the party Pinkie Pie had for the two when they came into town. He stood up and walked to the kitchen with Rob close behind who also was hungry from the last night of burning the midnight oil of his hunger.

"So... any idea as ta what ta make fer breakfast?" Rob asked. "I haven't seen head or tail of a meat product anywhere here." Rob was a man who loved his meat. There was nothing better in the world than his father’s tri-tip every Friday night. And that was all the reason to worry as his friend stayed silent at his question. "Uh, David...?" Rob asked letting his worry show.

"From what I've watched, there is no meat in Equestria, at least for eating." David said grabbing bread to make breakfast sandwiches. He looked at Rob who seemed like someone told him that a dear family member had just passed away. Too tired to care, and hungry, he continued to make a sandwich as Rob remained silent. After making four sandwiches, Rob finally cracked.

"WHAAAAAAAT?!?!" Rob yelled so loud David flew across the room crashing into the opposite wall. "How can there be no meat?!?! What hell have I been forced ta live in!?!?" Rob wailed as tears ran down his face. David rubbed the spot on his head that no doubt will form a lump when he noticed Rob lying in the middle of the living room, forelegs over his face, sobbing quietly. Remembering the crash, he looked at the wall that stopped him. With the exception of a few cracks, the wall was mostly intact. Sighing, David turned his attention to Rob, who was still sobbing quietly.

"Good God, get over it. It's not like you could eat it anyway. No canines." David said walking back to the kitchen half of the room. Rob continued to mutter incoherently to the floor as David put the sandwiches on two plates, put one down in front of Rob, and then returned to the other two for himself. Sniffling, Rob nibbled at them, too hungry to complain that it was just flowers and lettuce. David had eaten his two as Rob finished his first, no longer crying. "Glad to see you got over it." David said dryly.

"Whatever..." Rob mumbled. “Didn’t you say somethin' 'bout being fast last night?" Rob asked, desperate to change the subject. David thought for a moment before remembering the events at Twilights library yesterday.

"Oh yeah! It was awesome! This is what happened..."

Yesterday, at Twilights (Soon to be) Library

"Well, you can start by moving those boxes of books over there and unpacking them for Spike." Twilight said. She was glad Paladin had decided to stop by to help. Between having Spike still be a baby dragon and Twilight's strain on her horn from when she used too much magic, having an extra pair of hooves was a nice change of pace. Paladin grunted lifting the box Twilight asked to move.

"What in the name of Celestia, how many books are in here??" Paladin asked walking with the box resting on his back and outstretched wings.

Twilight blushed slightly. “Oh, I don't know... 30? Or so?" Twilight said with a sheepish smile. Paladin set the box down next to a table and began to unpack, counting in his head as he went.'There is no way in hell that was 30 books' Paladin thought to himself. Twilight shuffled uncomfterbly in an attempt to get Paladins attention, to no avail. 'Calm down Twilight, don’t panic. Just think of something to talk about. Easy' Twilight thought to herself. "So... what did you do in Neighvada?" Twilight asked awkwardly.

'Shit, what would be believable? Think damnit!' Paladin thought for a moment. "I, uh... had my own library. Small, not as many books you have. This must be all the Royal Archive." Paladin said after a moment. He noticed Twilights eyes lit up at the mentioning of 'his' library. It wasn't all a lie, David had a LOT of books back on Earth. He wasn't as much of a bookworm as Twilight, but he loved books nonetheless.

"Really? That’s great! And you're right, this is all the Archives. I copied or had copies made and brought them with me. I am staying in a library after all." Twilight said smiling. Paladin was about halfway done with the box when he lost count.

"Dang it." Paladin muttered and started over. Spike, who had been MIA since Twilight told him to move the books elsewhere, went up to Paladin. He looked over the large pile of books on the table, eager to help, but afraid of all the books he would have to carry.

"So, uh, how many books do you want me to take?" Spike asked, not having really talked to Paladin. When he kept on counting he remained silent and looked to Twilight and shrugged.

"HA! 42! I knew that wasn't 30 books!" Paladin said triumphantly. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Ok, you got me." She said half kidding. She smiled as Paladin turned a light shade of red. Desperate to get the topic of conversation off him and his outburst, he noticed Spike.

"Oh, hey there Spike. What do you need?" Paladin asked. Glad to finally be noticed, Spike asked what he had about how many books to take. "Oh, uh, take as many as you can, I guess. I'm just unpacking them." Paladin said. Spike took an armful of books and walked upstairs to place them in their respective shelves. "Was that the only box? Or are there more with 42 books?" Paladin asked with a smile.

Twilight giggled. "There is one more box. That will be all the unpacking." Twilight said. She watched Paladin walk over and lift the large box with more ease than last time. 'Funny and strong...not to mention not bad to look at' Twilight thought to herself. Paladin noticed her staring and cleared his throat. Twilight looked at him and blushed.

"Like what you see?" Paladin asked with a smirk. He thought she couldn't get any more red. Twilight laughed nervously and started stammering. “I was just kidding." Paladin said, much to Twilights relief. He was about to talk about what kind of books were her favorite when he heard a scream outside. Instinctively, Paladin ran outside and saw Spike hanging from a branch high in the tree. 'What the hell?' Paladin thought as Spike fell. After a blur and intense feeling of speed, Paladin saw he caught Spike and flew to the door in a matter of half a second. Spike was still yelling until he opened one eye and noticed he wasn't falling anymore.

"Thank you so much Paladin!" Spike said hugging the somewhat surprised stallion. Passerby ponies cheered at Paladins incredible speed. Paladin looked around and realized it was for him. Not the most social of ponies, Paladin put on his best fake smile and ran inside, slamming the door.

"That was incredible!" Twilight yelled, hugging Paladin.

Paladin hugged her back and said, “Well, I, uh... knew I was that fast. Besides, I couldn't let him fall. But... why was he up there?" Paladin asked, wanting to change the subject. Spike looked at the ground as he explained.

"Well, after having to work so much, I thought I would take a nap. You know the rest..." Spike trailed off. Twilight just smiled.

"Spike, if you’re feeling tired just tell me. You've earned a break."

Spike yawned in response. "In that case, I'm going to take a nap." He then went up to his bed.

Real Time, Back in the Apartment

"...And the rest was just putting books back, getting paid, and finding you." David concluded. Rob had finished his other sandwich by now and found David’s tale somewhat unbelievable. David saw his friend doubted him. "How can I prove it to you?" David asked unamused. Rob thought for a moment.

"I got it. Ya can fly out that there window; ta Twilights place and back again as fast as ya can." Rob said. David looked at the window.

'I guess that it's big enough.' He thought. "Challenge accepted." David opened the window and fluttered out. Rob then poked his head out. In a white and black flash, David had flown to the tree down the road and back in three seconds. Rob sat with his mouth agape. 'Aaaaand, cue gloating' David thought smugly. "I'd like to see you do that in three seconds, land roamer." David said. Rob glared at him.

"Ya know, back on Earth, ya walk on the ground right?" Rob asked, irritated. David ignored him and his reality reminder. After all, They were in Equestria, not Earth. David remembered what he had to talk about with his friend last night but was too tired to remember.

"Rob we need to talk. It’s important." Rob saw that his friend was serious.

"Sure thing. Whatcha need?" Rob asked.

"We need to talk about tonight. We have two options as I see it. Option 1: we follow the Mane 6 as they discover what Elements of Harmony they are. Or Option 2: We follow the Mane 6 without them know and when they get close to where Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia are and go ahead of them. I think we should go with Option 1." David said. Rob seemed slightly puzzled, but was able to follow along with the ideas.

"Well, why not shadow them? It seems simpler." Rob said. David bit his lip. He was thought it would come to this.

"That’s just the thing. If we go ahead, somehow defeat Nightmare Moon and rescue Celestia without the Mane 6, we would take the whole story and buck it." David explained.

"First of all, wouldn't we be messing with the story anyway? And second, why the hell did you say 'buck'?" Rob asked.

"That is a good point. But with Option 1, we would mess with the story less if we didn't interfere too much. And buck is the same as... you know." David said. "I have no idea what would happen if we kept the Mane 6 from discovering their Elements of Harmony. The would could implode for all I know. It would be like high-fiving the guy who was about to invent the high-five. The whole world. Poof. Gone." David explained.

Rob sighed. "Fine, we'll go with Option 1." Rob said. David felt a large weight lift of his chest.

"Good." He said. "All we have to do now is help out with setting up and wait for the shit to hit the fan." David said. David went to the library to help out Twilight and Rob went to Sweet Apple Acres to help the Apple family set up shops to sell their apple goods and treats. As the festival began and the sun set, David gulped. He found Rob and gave him one last run-through of what was going to happen. "The curtain will open, Celestia won't be there, and Nightmare Moon will appear. Just stay quiet and submissive and let me do the talking, got it?" David asked.

"Sure thing David." Rob said. The mayor finished her introduction and the curtains swept to either side revealing an empty balcony. Everypony gasped and the two braced themselves.