John read the bottom of the letter he’d received that morning for the 10th time, absorbing the fact that Celestia now had some deal of trust for him. Despite that, his mind still lingered on what that meant; for one, he felt good that even the Princess of a whole country would put trust in him, on the other end, he was afraid that he would let her down.

“Calm down, you’ll do fine! I‘ll be here to help in any case,” Spike called from the stove, knowing the contents of the letter already.

“Right…“ he put the letter on his pocket and turned to more pressing matters in his mind. “Is it ready yet?” John stared at the contents of the pan in Spike’s claw with delight, the sound of his stomach showing his lack of patience.

“Hey, you can’t rush perfection!” retorted Spike who flipped the contents with a spatula. After deeming the food cooked to perfection, he moved to John who had been sitting at the table, and put a pair of pancakes on his plate.

“Thank you, mighty dragon overlord, for the nourishment thou has given us on this day; Spike‘s Super Special Service of… Something... I'm too hungry to think of something clever,” he said, glorifying Spike before shoving his make-shift fork into the pancake in the top.

“Oh, stop!”

“Okay,” he concurred, stopping the praise and picking the fork back up.

“No, I meant, stop!” Spike exclaimed, taking the plate from John’s path before he began digging in.

“S-Spike?” he looked at the cook with watery eyes, but Spike kept an unnerving still face, and put the plate on the other end of the table before returning to John.

“Go wake Twilight up, tell her breakfast is ready and that I made her favorite! A daffodil sandwich!” he showed the simple meal to John who only recoiled at the strange food.

“Well, alright, let’s test the Princess’ trust. I’ll go get her out of bed, let’s see how it goes. Wish me luck, I guess,” he made his way outside the kitchen and down the stairs towards the basement. Reaching the bottom, he opened a door leading to a strange room where he found a bed with a single shelf besides it, in the opposite corner laid flasks of different sizes as well as a strange machine, lazily shoved to the side to keep out of the way.

“Um, hey, Twilight?” John called out carefully, the figure of Twilight stirred slightly at the sound of the disturbance, she turned lazily towards the voice and returned her gaze to the side of the wall after noticing him.

“What,” she replied lifelessly, her voice coming in a raspy tone.

“Breakfast is ready… Would you like some? Spike made your favorite; daffodil sandwich!” he said with mock excitement, hoping to get Twilight out of her bad mood, or at the very least, get her out of bed.

“Oh, yes! And then everything will be alright after I eat it, and my problems will be all gone?” she replied sounding cheery, but instead of her face reflecting her happy tone, it showed an angry glare, her eyes were puffy and red, marking obvious signs of previous tears.

“It’s just breakfast…” John said tilting his head to the side, keeping himself from staring at her too much.

“Sure, I’ll fix myself something later.”

“I’ll just go then…”

“Close the door on your way out, and stop making too much noise, I have a headache.”

“Guess the cider gave her a hangover,“ With a heavy sigh, he returned to the kitchen where Spike waited for him, his thoughts on Twilight and her current mood, he shoved the thoughts to the back of his head as he entered the kitchen and smelled the pancakes once more.

“So, what happened?” Spike asked nervously, the thoughts rushing back.

“Well, I can tell the Princess that I got her to get a hangover, she should be proud of me!” he replied sarcastically as he took the plate once again and brought it to himself, grabbing the fork and cutting a piece of the pancake.

“So, what do you have planned for today?” Spike began, trying to change the topic. John stared at the piece for a second before he put the fork down and turned to Spike with a serious stare.

“I plan to go fish in a nearby river,” he said keeping an eye on Spike.

“What? But why? You’ll be killing animals!” Spike replied looking slightly surprised.

“Listen, I love your food, but as an omnivore creature, I don’t think I can survive on this stuff alone. I’m sure there isn’t other kinds of foods that can be give me the nutrients needed to have a balanced diet, or at the very least, something that will keep me going in the long run, you know?” he explained while Spike stared at him incredulously.

“I think you’ve been reading way too many of Twilight’s books,” he guessed.

“And you might be correct. Anyway, just think of me as a bear, only 1000% less dangerous.”

“Will do. Anything else outside the killing of innocent creatures that might give Fluttershy a heart attack?” he snarkily replied.

“Drop it,” he groaned annoyed, having already been told of her love of practically anything alive. “Anyway, I’m planning to go talk to Ditzy and the girls first, I haven’t really seen them much since the Empire, and honestly, I haven’t really done much since I got back here, heck, all I know is the way to Sugarcube Corner and back! And even that‘s really vague.” he informed Spike with a frustrated groan. “How long have I been here in Equestria? Two weeks?”

“About so. Hey! I thought the Princess forbid you to leave? Something about keeping Twi’s condition and well… Yours, a secret?”

“Well, yes, but when I wrote to her yesterday, she send me this, you know? The letter that you read,“ he pulled out the scroll from his pockets once more and read.

‘John, I believe that you have been hidden from sight long enough, I see no more danger than you could face outside a misfortunate pony crash’ he quoted from the scroll. “And for Twilight, well, the Princess gave her something to help her… Episodes,“ he groaned as he remembered when Twilight had one days ago. It had been pure chaos.

“I guess I must have skimmed that,” said Spike embarrassed.

“Enough talk, can I eat now?” John groaned.

“Eh, I’m not stopping you,” Spike replied smugly before turning his back on him.

“Jerk.”

“THUD THUD” came the sound of knocking, forcing John to drop the fork again.

“For the love of- Spike, can you open the door?”

“Sorry John, I’m a bit busy with the dishes, can you take it?” he said before turning back to the pan he was holding. “I’ll get you this time, smudge!”

“Dammit, fine, but I’m taking the pancakes with me.”

He headed towards the entrance, plate in hand, he felt a bit unnerved at having contact once more, but he kept to his wits and opened the door. He found himself staring at a pair of beige Earth ponies, each donning a pair of shades and snazzy suits.

“Um… Can I hel- Argh!” he found himself grabbed and shoved inside a bag before realizing what was happening, the sound of his plate breaking being the last thing he heard before hitting his head on the door and passing out.

“M-my pancakes!”

A few seconds later, Spike headed to the door after hearing the sound of the plate, he noticed the door open and the pieces and became alarmed, running outside in search of John, but finding nothing out of the ordinary. The misfortune of waking up early meant that no ponies passed by the library to see the event.

“John… John? Are you there?” he called hopeful, but found no sign of him.

“I gotta tell Tw-” he stopped himself, remembering her current state. “Oh no! I- I gotta handle the situation myself!" he stopped midrun, reminding himself of his leads.

...

"Maybe Applejack can help! Yes!"

~~~~~

“And there you go, perfect!” I looked into the mirror once more and smiled as my tiara and I looked good for another day at that boring school. It didn’t help that Cheerilee would get on my case for forgetting today, but I suppose that talking about my amazing tiara again might solve the issue.

“Ms. Diamond, your father waits for you, he will not start breakfast until you are there,” I looked at the maid -who’d decided to come in unannounced with a scowl, causing her to back off a bit before I replied.

“Very well, tell him I’ll be down in a minute,” she bowed awkwardly and left my room. We seriously need better help. I reached for my saddlebags and made my way downstairs to the dining hall where daddy was already waiting with a smile on his face.

“Good morning sweetie, did you sleep well?”

“Good morning daddy! Yes I did!” I lied, I’ll never understand how he can be so chipper in the morning, it takes me ages to get properly awake. It’s probably the age.

“So sweetie, I heard that today is ‘Show and Tell’ at school, do you have something in mind?” I frowned, I vaguely remember telling him I didn’t, guess he forgot. It might be his age after all.

“Yes, daddy,” I replied miserably.

“Well, no need to worry, I got something to help your ‘Show and Tell’, Diamond.”

I look up to him surprised. “R-really?”

“Yes, it should be waiting in the kitch-”

“Let me go you damn, relatively dirty ponies!” what?

“Um… Daddy?” I turn to him worriedly.

“D-don’t you worry, Diamond, your daddy will take care of this,” he got off his chair and headed for the kitchen where I could instantly hear his shouting after the door closed.

“What is the meaning of this!? Why is he tied up!?”

“You told us to bring him to ya, boss,” responded one of the guards.

“Yes, but I never told you to pony knap h- Whatever! Untie him!” I heard the rustling from the guards in there and then-

“Back off! Who are you!? Why did you kidnap me!? How did you even know about me!? And you better have answers! I have a princess, and I’m not afraid to use her!” I had to raise my eyebrow at that statement, it was quite bold for some random to be talking to daddy that way.

“Listen, I…” the voices became a hushed whisper, until a roar broke the silence.

“… Your name is ‘Rich‘? … Boss? Oh god, please stop, my gut hurts!” wait, what?

“The name is Mr. Rich! And I wasn’t planning for this to happen, it just did! Okay? Look, I just need your help,” it became silent as they lowered their volume, I tried my best to catch what they were saying, but they were no longer yelling, I turn to my muffin that seems to be getting cold, so I bite into it, deciding to leave daddy taking care of whatever was happening.

~~~~~

“Okay Spike, calm down, and explain again,” Applejack said with a kept, yet frustrated tone.

“John… Has been pony knapped!” Spike replied with rasped breaths, he’d managed to keep himself together after he ran out to get the mares, but after arriving back to the library, he’d landed on the floor exhausted. Applejack had finally managed to get something out of him.

“Alright Spike, thanks kindly, you go ahead and take care of Twi while we go search for him, alright?” he nodded and left for Twilight’s room.

Right about then, Rainbow Dash landed in front of Applejack, her usual smug smile was replaced with a doubtful look, she stared into Applejack’s eyes and shook her head, her ears drooping slightly.

“Ah’ see…” she turned to the other mares that awaited for further instructions and put her most confident face on. “Alright girls, it seems we’re gonna have to look ourselves,” she took out a map from her hat and set it on the library floor. “Rainbow and Fluttershy, Ah’ need y’all to check the outskirts of Ponyville. Fluttershy, since you know the Everfree better than anypony outside Zecora, you’ll have to go there,” the squeak of fear on Fluttershy was not unexpected, but she complied with the suggestion and left for her spot.

“Dash, Ah’m going to need ya to search the outer parts of Ponyville, it hasn’t been over an hour yet, so if John was pony knapped by some outsider, ya might be able to catch them.”

“Aye, aye, cap’n!” she saluted Applejack and dashed out of the library in a flash.

“The rest of you, ‘Ah need you to check North, together, Ah’ll check South on mah own, got it?”

“You meant Pinkie and I, right?” cut in Rarity, looking distressed.

“What’s the matter, Rarity? You may not like him much, but Ah’ didn't take you for the heartless kind.”

“Of course not! It’s not even about him! It’s just that… I mean…” she pulled her to the side and whispered to her ear. “I love Pinkie, you know that, but spending extended periods of time alone with her isn’t really something I’d want…” she finished, her mouth set into a pout.

“Y’all are talking about the time Ah’ ran away and you were forced to use the tracks, correct? “ she guessed, causing Rarity to glare at the reminder.

“Yes… Don’t remind me…”

“Yeah, Ah’ can see why you’d say that…” she concurred.

“Does that mean I can go with you?”

“Nah,” Rarity’s face returned a shocked stare. “Together you and Pinkie will cover more ground, Ah’ll be running the whole time, so walking with Pinkie might be better for you.”

“I suppose…” she sighed and moved with the waiting Pinkie who currently had a pillow on her head. “What’s that for, Pinkie?”

“Huh… I have no idea!” she replied instantly, mulling over the question for no longer than a second, Applejack in the meantime, was deep in thought, her hat resting in her haunches.

“This is bad… Somepony knows about John being back in Ponyville, we need to find him as quickly as possible,” she put her hat back on and rolled the map into her saddlebags before heading out. “Alright ponies, we have a rescue to do! And remember, if you ask somepony, keep it plain, we don’t want more fellas to know of him. Let’s go! Yeehaw!” Pinkie and Rarity nodded and set off in the opposite direction. “Don’t worry partner, we’ll find ya,” she said to herself once the other two had gone, getting ready to trot into town.

“Find who?” the farmer lost it at the first step and fell on her face, bringing a predictable moan of pain with it.

“What in tarnation!?” she turned around just to find the mail mare Ditzy, idly gliding in the air.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Applejack! I didn’t mean to! The door was open, an-” a hoof stopped Ditzy in her tracks, Applejack rubbing her muzzle slightly with the other, nursing her pain away.

“That’s alright, Derpy, it was an accident. Now if you’ll excuse me, Ah‘m in a rush.”

“I’ll help you. What are you looking for? If you don’t mind telling me, that is…” Applejack’s mind quickly thought of what she needed to do and reacted instantly; she needed to obey the princess‘ request. “Ah’ better be careful of what Ah say though, otherwise we might have some problems.” she figured. “Well, suspicious activity from somepony is all I can say, if you can keep up, you can look from the air while Ah’ look from the ground, would that be fine?” Ditzy seemed to think it over and nodded her head rapidly in agreement, the pair leaving soon after.

“I guess I’ll talk to John about Twilight later, then,” thought Ditzy a bit disappointed.

~~~~~

“So, you are using me for your daughter’s benefit?” John told the sharply dressed pony towering over him, he wasn’t too keen on helping a stranger, much less after said pony had had him kidnapped and back against a wall on the floor.

"Not to mention I'm running out of cliche lines to use."

“I’ll pay you, please. You are probably the most interesting thing I can give my daughter to use.”

“’Thing’? I’m not sure I liked that tone, Mr. Filthy. Name is John,” John replied offended .

“It’s Ri- Sorry, JOHN, look, please, I plead you,” John looked into his eyes, seeing the genuine hope.

“I don‘t know…” John replied unsure, he was having second thoughts by the way he‘d asked him, another thought making its way into his head right at that moment. “Wait… How did you know about me? I’ve been in hiding for a while.”

“I was spying on you, but that’s not important! I‘ll pay you a handsome amount! How does 4,000 bits sound?” John‘s ears perked up and he looked at Rich trying to read his features, his drooped ears told the whole story.

“Sounds like money…” he replied astutely.

“Well, it’s a lot of money, I can tell you that,” Rich replied, guessing John’s dilemma with the amount.

“Well, I guess, I DO need to get some money…” he thought of Twilight and the orders he’d been given by Celestia when he‘d arrived. ‘She wants you to get a job to help me.’

“I guess the girls can wait for now.”

“Okay, Mr. Rich, I’ll do it, if only for the money,” he got off the floor he’d been sitting on and moved to Filthy with an extended arm. “You have a deal, and whatever the job is, I hope the pay and your daughter are really a beautiful bunch,” he joked.

“She is ten,” he deadpanned, while John coughed into his hand to avoid the awkward subject.

“G-good, I‘m not interested in ponies anyway, makes it easier on me… Don’t give me that look, you’ve been spying on me after all!” John responded defensively.

“You can’t blame me for wanting to know about something that might have actually been dangerous! In any case, you do not have to worry, I only was made aware of your return about a week ago, but surprisingly, nothing else. Something suddenly blocked my unicorn’s view of the place,” John mentally thanked Celestia for her protection on that end as they headed for the single door and found themselves in a wide dining room.

“Woaah! This place is huge!” it was a grand hall, chandeliers hanged from the ceiling, each light-bulb shining as bright as the others, the windows had immense brown curtains, matching the simple, yet elegant mosaic tiled floor, the table itself was long and polished. John imagined a good number of stuck up ponies sitting around it easily, at the close end there were two seats moved, a more adorned misplaced chair stood alongside a smaller chair where a purple-ish filly with a tiara sat, staring intently at John.

“Um , daddy? What is that..?” she asked, pointing a judging hoof at John from the other side.

“‘He,’” Rich corrected. “is John the human, and he will be your show and tell project,” he gladly explained his daughter, she left her seat and trotted to her dad, whom she hugged before tiphoofing to his ear and telling him something John was unable to hear.

“Yes, Diamond, he is not dangerous. I would have not allowed him to do this if that were the case, and the Princess would have kept him jailed or some other shady punishment.” he laughed along his daughter, while John remained with a stoic look.

“Ha… Hahahaha, can we not talk about my would-be punishment with your daughter please?”

“Alright then. So sweetie, are you ready for school?” she nodded non-enthusiastically and left the dining hall, looking back at John with an unsure stare.

“Um… Nice daughter you have there.”

“Thank you,” he moved closer to John and whispered. “And if you do something to her, you can kiss the money, and maybe something else goodbye. Capiche?” John gulped suddenly terrified of his tone.

“G-got it!”

As he was directed to the front door, a reasonable question filled his head.

“Are you sure you aren’t a mob boss?”

~~~~~

Ponyville was apparently more than just a hick town.

As soon as Diamond and John had left the building, he’d noticed the area around the house, which looked much bigger than it appeared from the inside. There were multiple other houses next to it that lacked the grandeur of the mansion they’d just been in, but still showed an air of class.

“Nice place you have,” he praised Diamond Tiara as they moved.

“Thank you,” she replied with a serious tone before trotting ahead.

“Hey, wait!” he didn’t have to run much to catch up to the filly who held a steady pace, they made their way down a hill, where the now familiar—if somewhat generic thoughts on John‘s part—sight of Ponyville waited for them. "So, before I forget... My name is John, an-"

"I'm Diamond Tiara," she replied quickly, forcing John to switch the conversation.

“So… I’m surprised that Ponyville has such a rich-looking area,” he continued, casually trying to form a conversation.

“It’s a state built specifically for entrepreneurs who want to keep an eye on their investments, in this case being father‘s business with the Apples,” she responded mechanically.

“O-oh, I see…” he said before adding. “You know, you don’t have to be so curt or anything. I mean, you have a creature you have never seen before and you aren’t asking questions? We can be friends!” she stopped and turned back to him with a raised brow.

“Friends? Father has told me to keep a professional behavior when taking part in any sort of business,” she replied in a practiced fashion.

“But this time you are supposed to showcase me, if I‘m correct, so it wouldn‘t hurt to ask me some questions, you know?” he said, a bad feeling building up in the back of his mind as he did.

“So, you don’t mind if I act like my usual self while we are out here?” she asked holding a knowing look.

“U-um… No?”

“Good. I don’t like those formalities,” she fixed her tiara and smiled smugly. “Come on, we’ll talk as we walk,” John was taken aback by her change of tone, but followed without question.

“So, where are you from?”

“Um… Earth?” John replied with effort.

“Excuse me, but is that a question? Or an answer? And where in Equestria is that?” she asked annoyed.

“Er, well… A little of both, and you can say it‘s REALLY far away…” he replied with a hint of sadness.

“Cadence said that I might lose some of my otherworld memories… Guess it’s happening faster than I thought…” John thought frustrated, cursing himself for forgetting his list.

~~~~~

“Grr!” John threw the parchment to the trash, where it barely missed the can.

“Why can’t I remember shit!?” he looked at another piece of parchment in front of him. Different details were written from his life back on Earth; friends, family, hobbies, achievements and others. Most of the spots remaining blank.

“Um… John? You need help?” asked Spike who‘d just arrived, looking worried.

“That depends. Can you tell me my life story? That would be nice to know,” Spike raised a brow and returned him a grin.

“No, but I can tell you what you told us all before, not that it’s much… But you did tell us something, remember? Like, something about your sister Frankie, and other things li-” Spike was suddenly engulfed in John’s arms, suddenly being crushed by him.

“W-what are you doing?” he let Spike go and softly set him down, looking down at him with a warm smile. “Er… You are welcome, I guess?” he continued, looking confused.

"Go make me some tea, please," he asked, and Spike nodded and left the spot.

"... Geez, that was awkward," both of them thought at that moment.

~~~~~

“If it hadn’t been for my willingness to share my story, I wouldn’t have been able to write down what I have so far… I need to buy him something as th-”

“John!”

“Woah! Yes?” he responded to the voice, he turned to the side where he saw Diamond Tiara glaring at him.

“We are here,” she snarled, pointing a hoof at a strange church-like building; it had a bell on the top, and a fenced playground was visible as part of a swing set came into view, there were also dozens of little-r ponies running about outside, one of them hesitantly running towards them.

“H-hey Diamond Tiara!” the gray filly called.

“Hey, Silver Spoon!” Diamond replied, the other filly visibly appearing to relax.

“Bump, bump, sugar-lump, rump!” they both said once Silver Spoon got close, doing a strange dance, much like Twilight and Cadance had before.

“Geez, are suggestive secret dances a thing in Equestria?” he thought, slightly disturbed.

“So… What is the human doing with you?” John looked at the pony Silver with interest.

“And how do you know about me?” the filly seemed to hold an air of self-importance that Diamond Tiara had, making it easy to see that she was one of the rich ponies in the state, which didn’t surprise John in the slightest. “Even here cliques exist, I suppose.”

“I was in town when Mayor Mare told us about you, so I’m not so surprised, but it‘s weird seeing Diamond with you though,” she moved to him and poked him a bit with her hoof. “So, where are your tentacles?”

“E-excuse me?” John asked with genuine confusion, the filly backed away slightly after seeing his reaction.

“I-I heard rumors that said that you had tentacle-like appendages which you used to save the Crystal Empire,” she replied steadily, looking up at John.

“Where in blazes did you hear that!?” John asked, trying his best to get around the concept.

“Tabloids,” she replied cheerfully.

“Of course.”

“Silver Spoon, what did I tell you about the tabloids?” Diamond asked sounding irritated.

“Not to trust them, they are trash. I know. Sorry,” right then, the sound of a bell broke them out of their conversation, the ponies playing quickly running inside, the yard was soon left free from the fillies and colts running about.

“Huh? What’s that?” in the distance, three ponies were visible, one of them appearing to be riding a "Scooter?"

“Yes! We made it!” said the orange one before running inside the building, the other two remained on the pulley, breathing heavily.

“Ah’ knew we shouldn’t have taken that shortcut…” said the southern accented filly.

“It was YOUR idea!” reprimanded the white filly.

“Ahaha… Come on! We’ll be late!” she said cutting it short, and together, running into the building. It took John a few seconds to recognize them. “The Cutie Mark group thingie…”

“What’s the matter?” asked Silver Spoon.

“Nothing, I was just realizing that you go to the same school as those three fillies,” John said interested, but Diamond only rolled her eyes.

“Ignore those blank flanks. Anyway, you wait out here, I’ll call you when it’s your turn, got it?” she ran ahead along with Silver Spoon and the pair disappeared into the building, leaving John confused over the odd title for the group. A few seconds later, a magenta colored mare came out, she stayed in place, shifting from side to side awkwardly before finally speaking.

“C-can I help you?” she called out to John who was taken aback by her sudden call.

“Er… Well, I’m just sorta waiting… I’m one of those kids’ show and tell and well…” the mare beamed slightly and approached him in a much more relaxed manner.

“I see… I apologize if I’m acting a tad awkward, but you have to understand th-”

“This is the first time you’ve come across something like me,” he finished for her. “I know, Miss…”

“Cheerilee."

"I'm John. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. And I’m the teacher here, pardon my rudeness, but may I ask, who even dared ask you to be their project?”

“Diamond Tiara, I believe,” he replied, the kept smile on Cheerilee’s face drooped a little at the mention of the name, but returned nearly instantaneously.

“I see,” she grabbed John’s arm and pulled him by the door, where she sat him on the stairs leading to the classroom. “Would you like anything while you wait? Any questions, perhaps?”

“Yeah… What’s a blank flank?” he asked. Cheerilee sighed and gave John a blank stare.

“Maybe we can talk about that after class, would that be alright?” he noticed the gloomy look she’d acquired and frowned, only nodding in agreement as she returned inside and closed the door.

~~~~~

Applejack and Ditzy had searched for nearly an hour, their questions to other ponies were reduced to simple ‘suspicious activities’ which didn’t leave them with much wiggle room for answers, after a few more minutes of searching, Applejack stopped, taking out her map and checking the area.

“So, what exactly re we looking for, again?” Ditzy took the time to ask as they had stopped for a rest.

“Eh, A-Ah’ told you; suspicious activities,” Ditzy twisted her mouth doubtfully, trying to find an angle in which to ask her a question. It was widely known that Applejack was a terrible liar, as such, many ponies tried to take advantage of it. To their dismay, she had learned to avoid lying by diverting the questions away with simple neutral answers.

“Well, yeah, but it would be far easier if I knew what I was looking for, you know?” Applejack eyed her with some doubt, not wanting to divulge more than she had to.

“Sorry Derpy, but it’s not for me to tell, Ah’m sorry if Ah’m not being too helpful here,” responded Applejack with an apologetic droop of her ears.

“Well… I guess that if you really can’t, I can understand,” Ditzy responded disappointed.

“Thank you, it really is important,” she looked back at the map and nodded. “Alright, nothing suspicious here… The last part to check has to be: the school grounds. Dang it, Ah’ gotta reconvene with the girls…”

“I’ll go!" DItzy suggested excitedly. "Then I can just fly back and tell you if I saw something, how does that sound?” Applejack gave Ditzy a smile.

“Well sugarcube, that’s a mighty fine idea. Thanks for the help, Ah‘ really appreciate it,” she waved her goodbye and made a trot back into the center of town.

“Yeah… Bye, I guess,” despite her reasons, Derpy seemed disappointed by her lack of trust. “I guess I did agree to just look for anything suspicious…” she said to herself, as she flew towards the school grounds.

~~~~~

Thirty minutes had passed since John began his wait by the steps, he admired the view of the town which lacked any sort of activity by the school due to its placement, the clear skies, the gentle breeze that blew softly through his hair and… He was bored out of his mind.

“Ugh! Who could have thought that waiting would be so boring,” he exclaimed sarcastically to himself.

He stared into the sky once more watching a Pegasus idly fly by, his eyes suddenly felt heavy, and soon, he found himself closing them and laying back on the steps.

…

“What are you doing?”

“I’m resting my eyes, what does it seem like I’m doing?” he replied annoyed to the assumed pony suddenly talking to him.

“It looks more like you are sleeping to me, like always,” the pony replied, getting a grunt of annoyance from John.

“Back off, I’m waiting for Diamond to call me,” there was silence afterwards for a full minute, but the voice returned to his annoyance.

“So is this what your life has come to? Living a simple life without cares? I suppose that’s to be expected for some creature that has nothing going for him, right?” this brought John to open his eyes and a furious scowl to his face, to his surprise, he found himself staring at Ditzy Doo who flew in place right in front of him.

"J-John?" she seemed surprised, seeing him laying down on such a random place.

“D-Ditzy? What the…” she remained shocked for a while longer before jumping in front of him.

“What are you doing out? I thought you were meant to be a secret to everypony!” John realized what she meant and put a hand in her wither, softly pushing her off. “What are you doing? We have to get you back hdasdfdkf!” he put a hand on her muzzle to keep her quiet.

“Ditzy. I know what I’m doing, and I’m allowed to go outside now, so don’t worry,” he removed his hand before continuing. “The better question is; what are you doing here? I don’t think you were searching for me, were you?”

“Well, I’m actually on the look-out for suspicious activity…” she got her face close to him. “But don’t tell anyone, Applejack said it’s secret or something,” John raised a brow, trying to imagine what Applejack could be looking for, until it finally hit him.

“This won’t end nicely… Will it?”

“What do you mean?” Ditzy asked legitimately confused.

“Just… Tell them that you found me, and that they should meet me here after school,” her eyes grew in size as she realized what he’d meant the pieces falling into place in her head.

She took off, stopping to John one last time to say: "Alright... But we really need to set some time to talk, I have so much to tell you!"

"Will do," he said with a smile, waving her bye..

“May Celestia have mercy on you, John,” she thought uncomfortably, feeling bad for what would happen before flying towards the center of town, where the six mares were more than likely waiting for the messenger.

Author's Notes:

Yes, nothing relatively bad happens in this, I'm trying to put some sort of "slice of life" stuff, I mean, that's one of the tags after all.

I DO plan to have some meaning for this short arc, so that's something, right?

Also, I wanted to use Diamond Tiara, because... Reasons.

Hope you enjoyed!
-Bubbles in the Butt Pony

Spoiler Notes 22 - 5/15/2018

I legit forgot this chapter.

Written to have Diamond Tiara in it, maybe? Probably. It's really been a while since I last worked in this story.