Thiemo yelped in pain again. The torture didn’t want to end today. “I sincerely apologize, sir. I just don’t know what’s wrong with me today,” said the young mare named Fine Cut. She was a young unicorn whose pink flank had the symbol of a scissors as a cutie mark on it. Her blonde and pink mane was hastily bound into a bun with a couple thousand needles stuck in it, ready to pierce into Thiemo’s legs.

The human managed to plaster a small smile upon his face and looked over to Rupie. “Could you please tell me again why I have to do this?” He wanted to make absolutely sure that he wasn’t enduring all this pain for nothing.

“For the fourth and last time, Princess Cadance has requested for you to be adorned in the appropriate attire for the event since you are representing her in this tournament this year.” That seemed to be a pretty big deal, at least judging by Fine Cut’s reaction. The mare had jumped for joy when he and Rupie had entered her little store to commission a suit for him. As much as the Element of Generosity didn’t like to admit it, she had no experience in making clothes for other species. In contrast, Fine Cut’s store was renowned for being able to make something for any species. For Thiemo, it had been quite evident by the various suits and dresses for griffons in the store window.

Still, at least he had the freedom to choose what he wanted to wear for himself, much to the displeasure of the fickle fashionista who had then declined to accompany him. His eyes had fallen on a dark suit with a bright grey stitch, buttons made out of silver in combination with matching pants and a red shirt. He didn’t know yet if he was going to wear the tie. Perhaps a bowtie might work.

Fine Cut had commended his choice, though Thiemo could well imagine Rarity wrinkling her nose in disagreement. With that, it had been settled and the designer, who was now pinning the pants which she had created during half an hour of waiting, had immediately started to take measurements. Very exact measurements. She said that she had to use her hooves to be really sure that she was measuring everything correctly, but Thiemo strongly doubted that. That led to her having to take measurements through his jeans. It didn’t help that Fine Cut was touching his legs while she carefully placed her needles.

“I know that you’d rather have gone to the preliminary rounds to see Princess Amaryllis and Auralia, but this has to be done,” Rupie added and turned back to the fashion magazine he had found beside the seating cushion for waiting customers.

“Don’t worry, sir, we’re almost done here. Then you can see the rest of the preliminaries,” Fine Cut said and smiled up to him. As Thiemo looked down at her, she quickly averted her eyes and placed the next needle with a crimson red face. A needle that, of course, pierced into his calf. Thiemo winced in pain again.

“Don’t be such a baby. If you’d hold still, this wouldn’t happen,” Rupie commented without looking up. “And take your time, miss,” Rupie told Fine Cut. “His marefriend is with his foal.”

“As you wish, sir.” The next needle dug into Thiemo’s flesh.

Just as Rupie left the room to take care of something, as he put it, Thiemo turned towards Fine Cut. “Do you really have to do this? My leg feels like Swiss cheese.” The mare, who obviously didn’t understand the comparison, just looked at him with big, emotionless eyes. Thiemo stroked a hand through his face and groaned. “Are we done here?”

“One more,” returned Fine Cut as she let the last needle disappear in the seam next to his left ankle. “Good, that’s it.”

As quickly as possible, Thiemo climbed down from the pedestal he stood on and disappeared in the changing cubicle. Waiting to be reunited with him were his clothes. He freed himself from the black pants, threw it to the outside between the curtains where Fine Cut caught them, and put on his loyal jeans, quickly followed the shirt, his boots, and then his coat. The latter had been fixed by Rarity that morning since she refused to let him leave while looking like a vagabond.

“Better,” Thiemo said and smoothened his clothes in front of the mirror. Then he began to look for Fine Cut or Rupie. His companion unfortunately hadn’t returned yet, and Fine Cut was neatly folding the suit and pants.

She noticed Thiemo’s look and smiled at him again. “I think it should be done by tonight.”
The human nodded and leaned against the counter Fine Cut stood behind. She disappeared for a moment behind a curtain that separated the store area from the work area and returned without any clothing. “Anything else I can help you with?”

Thiemo pointed at his own mouth. “What’s the deal with your smile?” The eyes of the designer widened, her cheeks once again turned red, and she averted her eyes. She mumbled something which seemed to be only meant for herself. Since he wasn’t going to get an answer, he decided to come up with his own conclusions. The most logical answer was that she found him attractive.

He almost had to laugh at that joke.

Ponies hated humans and didn’t even allow them into their country. The mare in front of him couldn’t be much older or younger than Lyra. Since the Crystal Empire had only been accessible for a bit over ten years now, which he had learned from Cadance, he very much doubted that there were ponies here who weren’t racist against humans.

While Thiemo mulled it over, he noticed a familiar feeling, and his head spun to the door where he expected Amaryllis to step through. His eyes widened, and with a very wide grin, he turned back to Fine Cut who shrunk at the look. “You’re a changeling, aren’t you?” Panic stood clearly in the mare’s face, and her eyes began to search for an exit. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“I have a visa!” she suddenly yelled. “Really! I have it right here!” Fine began to search underneath the counter while Thiemo watched her confusedly. “One second!” She was almost pleading. “Here…” She came back up and put a document in front of Thiemo so that he could read it. As usual, he acted like he knew what he was doing, took the parchment, and skimmed over the contents.

It actually was an official-looking document issued for the changeling drone Fine Cut. Instead of a picture, which would be rather pointless for a changeling, there was a sketch of her right foreleg with the exact position of where the holes had to be. Furthermore, there were things like immigration date, age, and so on. Thiemo had thought that the drones had no gender despite their voices which said otherwise.

“You know that I’m not a soldier, right?” he asked as he handed her back the document.

Fine rocked back and forth. “Uhm… I know. But we have to identify when we are being asked.” Thiemo just nodded. “How did you notice?”

Thiemo leaned further over the table and motioned at her with a finger to come closer. “First of all, if you suck the love out of someone, don’t look like you were caught with your hoof in the cookies jar.” He paused quickly. “But why? Isn’t there enough love in the air?”

Her face reddened again. “Each love tastes differently.”

Since she didn’t say anything else, he decided to leave it at that. “Secondly, ponies don’t really like humans. It really sticks out that you are friendly.”

She nodded. “But my job is to make clothes for other species. That wouldn’t work if I were unfriendly.” She had a point there.

“And thirdly, the love that you took was already meant for a changeling. Thiemo could only laugh as he saw her look of complete surprise. “I’m wondering how she’s doing right now.”

Amaryllis peered at the little filly to her left who trotted at her side. Unfortunately, Cadance had given an order today that made it impossible for Thiemo to watch the preliminaries, so now she would have to look out for Auralia. Since she had said goodbye to the others at the breakfast table, she had tried to think when she had already been completely alone with the filly. This, she had concluded, was the first time. Never had she said a word to the child of her coltfriend without him being there.

She had always dreamed of having thousands of children, just like her mother, but now she was already feeling nervous being alone with just one. How did Chrysalis and Echidna do that? The lives of thousands of their kin on their back? Amaryllis shuddered at the thought.

“Are you cold?” Ripped out of her thoughts, her look went over to Auralia, who looked up at her with large eyes.

Amaryllis considered what she should say. “No,” was finally the answer of her choice and left it at that.

“Why are you shaking then?” What should she tell her? Should she lie? Surely Thiemo had already told her one or two. After all, she couldn’t really say that she was nervous being alone with her. What impression would that make on the filly who had been entrusted to her? Not only by Thiemo but also by Applejack. “Are you nervous about the fights?” Amy had to keep it together to not thankfully fall around the filly’s neck for this escape.

But she had to play it cool. “I believe so, a bit. My fath… Shining Armor has put much of his very limited time into my training over the last few days. I think he at least expects me to make it through the preliminaries.” That wasn’t even a lie, even though he had never said it. It could be clearly seen in his eyes. If she could have read his emotions, they would have surely confirmed it. But as Chrysalis had taught her, the spirit of an alicorn was locked to them. It was the reason why Twilight Sparkle had even seen through her game, at least according to her.

Suddenly, Auralia jumped into her path, and they came to halt on the street. “So you want to impress your dad as well?” she shouted a bit louder than necessary, causing a few passers-bys to look over to them. Amy, still in the form of the white unicorn, just grinned awkwardly before she looked down to Auralia. “We should team up. I mean, I want to show my dad as well that I’m not a little filly that needs someone to look out for me.”

“And what do you have in mind?” Amy asked and raised a brow. It quickly went down again as she remembered Thiemo’s words about the gesture. Apparently it really ran in their family.

The filly shrugged. “No idea. I thought you’d have one. But if we win the preliminaries, it might be a really good start.” Amy thought to herself. Did she really want the recognition from her father? Without a doubt. She didn’t exactly know why, but she wanted the stallion who she had only known for a few weeks to be proud of her. How did Aura, who had travelled with Thiemo for so long, feel?

“We’ll come up with something.” Happily nodding, the young filly agreed and together they continued their way towards the stadium. It couldn’t be very far, but she immediately noticed that there was far less traffic compared to yesterday. Today, only the contestants that would have to fight, as well as their families, would be present. Twilight said she would come later, as well as Cadance. They all still had something to talk about with the others.

“That is… This is a lot to think about.” Shining Armor slumped down on the cushion and stared at the ground. Cadance was certain he was feeling the same way Twilight had when she had first told the younger alicorn about her other brother and his fate. But that wasn’t all. Cadance had decided to reveal the history of their race to her husband. The others who were present were silent. Rarity looked just as depressed and sought refuge next to Estoc, who had his eyes closed while his head rested on Rarity’s mane. The always cheerful Pinkie Pie was quiet and remained still, which said more than anything that could leave her mouth. Rainbow Dash reacted similarly, inspecting the others just like Twilight, unsure if she should say something. Fluttershy sniffled as one tissue after another was used. Applejack had pulled her hat over her face.

“I am so sorry, Shiny, I should have told you earlier,” Cadance told her husband and lied down at his side. “I know that this is a lot to stomach, but it is all in the past.”

“No.” Immediately, the looks of those gathered around the large conference table went towards the prince. “It has never stopped. The humans have been attacking Equestria’s coasts for months now. Raided camps and transports of all kind. And why? Because my mother didn’t want to tolerate them?” Twilight flinched as well at the words of her brother.

“Shining, I don’t think that mom would just do something like that. She surely had her reasons. And if I think about what happened during the Sibling War… She was right. The humans used magic as a weapon.”

“Under the leadership of Nightmare Moon, Luna, our aunt. Don’t you see it, Twilight? The alicorns are the ones who went to war. We have led our own race to doom. Fought our own family.” Twilight bit her lip. “We have… We have to stop this circle. If this keeps going, we are just heading for another war.” Shining Armor looked over to Cadance. “We have to establish contact with Ti.”

“Your Majesty!” Estoc jumped up. “You can’t be serious. Ti is a declared enemy of Equestria. Contacting them for the purpose of a support would be a hostile act against Equestria.”

“Estoc.” Shining grumbled the name so that the stallion immediately sat down. “You served under me in the Royal Guard. I know that your heart is in the right place, but you don’t see it. All this hatred against the humans won’t lead us anywhere. We have to do something before it will be too late.”

“I thought you hated humans?” Twilight asked.

Her brother snorted. “Of course, how couldn’t I? They raid our land, kill our soldiers at the coast and… they are cruel. But didn’t the same thing hold for the griffons?” Everypony present considered and eventually nodded. “And still we get along with them most of the time.”

“Maybe we should get Lyra?” Pinkie suddenly asked. “She’s super good with humans and probably knows a lot more about their culture than us. Or we can ask Thiemo.”

“No, I won’t let that little thief have a word in this matter.”

“Shining, I thought you just said—.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Twilight,” he interrupted her. “I don’t dislike him because he’s a human. I dislike him for what he has done. He is a liar, thief, and even a murderer. I don’t know why you trust him.”

“Blue Light,” Cadance said. “He trusts him, so I do as well.”

“How can the dead trust someone he has never met nor seen?” Shining Armor’s question was just. Cadance had never answered it to him as well, but she knew that she was right. She has seen the cutie mark on his shoulder. There was no doubt that there was a connection none of them understood.

“Who did he kill?” Rainbow asked curiously. “I mean sure, he’s trouble on two legs, I see that. But a murderer? I mean, he never tried to kill us, right?”

Twilight took over. “According to my mother, he stabbed a griffon pirate captain somewhere between Dragmire and Boarder and threw the crew who was loyal to him overboard.” Everypony flinched.

“T-That is… gruesome,” Rarity stammered. “What did the pirates do to deserve something like that? Aside from the obvious,” she quickly added at the end. “I mean, they were pirates.”

“If I would have to take a guess,” Cadance began and took over, “I would say that they tried to hurt Auralia. He loves the filly with all his heart. You could say that she was his whole world.” Twilight didn’t doubt those words for a second. After everything she had seen, she didn’t need to be an alicorn that could feel love to understand that.

“Well, at least Ah can be sure that Auralia is safe with him,” Applejack commented dryly. “Ah wouldn’t know what Ah’d do if somepony threatened mah family. Not after Ma and Pa.” Everypony present knew that Applejack’s protective instinct was very well developed. Apple Bloom could tell you a thing or two about that. What nopony knew was what had happened to her parents. Twilight had tried asking a few times, but the stubborn mare had always blocked her off. Big Mac didn’t even give one of his usual short replies.

For a moment, the room was silent. “I will write an edict. Someone has to take the first step, so why should that not be us? And while I am at it, I will call for Miss Heartstrings,” Cadance said to Pinkie. “She is an anthropologist and surely has a thing or two to say as well. Maybe I will send for a human who has lived here a bit longer too. Surely the word of another human gives more credence than that of a pony.”

Auralia stepped over the white line that marked the ring in which she would now meet her first opponent. Many eyes stared at her as she looked around, and for a moment she considered saying something to them. But she decided against it. She knew those stares. They all thought of her as a little filly that had surely just gotten lost. Even the referee checked his notepad multiple times but also said nothing. Then she saw her opponent stepping out of the crowd. He was a brown pegasus with cyan mane, who looked just as baffled as the rest of the contestants. Unfortunately, Aura couldn’t see his cutie mark, as he was standing directly in front of her.

“Uhm...” the judge began. “Are the contestants ready? Any more questions?” Auralia raised a hoof in the air. “Yes?”

“And I can really strike as hard as I can?” If she could still be able to hear anything from outside the ring, it would surely be mumbling now.

“Well, yes. The spell dampens everything quite well so that nothing more than some bruises should occur.” That was enough for her and she lowered her forelegs, ready to pounce at her opponent, but he had raised a hoof as well. “Yes?”

“Are you serious? That’s a foal! I can’t beat a foal!” he explained while he sat on his hind legs and pointed at Auralia with both forelegs. “This has to be a joke.”

Again the judge checked the sheets on his notepad. “I’m afraid not. The filly is correctly registered, has a legal guardian, so everything is fine.” The stallion snorted, which the judge took as a sign that he had finished complaining. “Then begin.”

Aura fixated on her enemy and did just like her father and directly charged at the stallion. However, he just flapped his wings a few times and was off in the air so that Aura slid past underneath him. Quickly, she stopped and looked around to see where the pegasus had landed again. “Umm… shoo…” he said and motioned to her with his hooves that she should get lost. In the corners of her eyes, she could see the spectators around her laughing, but that would soon be stuck in their throat. “Come on, kid, just get out of the ring.” She shook her head and the stallion rolled his eyes. “Or do I have to carry you out?” At his words, his eyes brightened, which had to mean that he had given himself an idea. “Come to uncle…” He slowly walked towards her with a fake smile on his lips.

This was her chance. She turned her back to him and waited. She heard him getting faster as he believed that she couldn’t see him. She felt it in the sand underneath her hooves as well. Then the moment came. As quickly and strongly as she could, she kicked out for the stallion who was approaching her from behind. However, her hooves only hit the air. Then she was suddenly pulled at her tail and raised into the air. “Hey! Let me down!” she shouted as she turned around and saw that the stallion had her tail in his snout. Thiemo had often done this when they met and had quickly learned that it wasn’t a good idea. Like a pendulum, she began to build up momentum, and before the pegasus realized what was going on, a little hoof cracked against his cheek with enough force that he did not just drop Auralia but went to the ground together with her.

They both landed on their backs in the sand, but unlike Auralia, the stallion was busy holding his badly aching snout. “Let’s see how you like this!” This time, she took his tail into her mouth. She began to pull, and with one quick throw, she sent the pegasus out of the arena. Aura just blinked and flinched as she heard him landing in front of the stadium. “Oops.”

Thiemo was still waiting for Rupie, who still hadn’t returned. Fine Cut had been kind enough to offer him some tea and allowed him to wait in her store for the soldier. “So you weren’t born with the tail?” Unfortunately, she had taken the chance to ask question after question.

“No. It is a mutation that I owe due to the radiation from a magic bomb test. If I get angry, I completely transform into a pony.” With a nod and without challenging the answer, she accepted it.

“So!” she suddenly shouted. “The pants should be finished then. Since you are still here, could you please try them on again?”

Thiemo rolled his eyes and put the cup of tea aside, grabbed the floating pants out of the air, and disappeared into the changing cubicle. He inspected it briefly. Unlike pants on Earth, there were only press buttons at the front to keep his best piece away from the outside. There was another button, this time a normal one, above the hole for his tail so he wouldn’t have to squeeze it through the small opening. It was a significant difference to the only slightly modified jeans made by Rarity, but a very welcome one. Thiemo considered if it would be smarter to wear these pants in the future instead of his jeans.

He jerked the pants and tried to close the button above his tail. “Ugh, now I think I know how women feel about bras.” And with that slightly mumbled comment, the pants were closed. In the same moment that he came out of the cubicle, Rupie opened the door to the store. A draft caught the curtain which then blocked his view as it hit Thiemo’s face. Confused by the loss of sight, he tried to reach out for the wall but only grabbed the air. He fell to the ground with a thud and felt as he struck something else, which then else fell to the ground. Quickly, one sound followed another: a shout from Rupie and a horrified gasp from Fine Cut. Just as Thiemo freed his face from the curtain, he saw a bowling ball, for whatever reason it was doing in such a store, slam on the loosened end of a board on which other end was a full pincushion. It flew into the air, where every single needle sprung free and headed for Thiemo.

The first one dug into the seam of his new pants at his right ankle, the second one next to it, and so on. One needle after another began to pin him to the ground until the last one eventually stuck at his left leg. Confused, he took down his hands that he had automatically used to cover his face and looked around. A single needle had dug itself into the crystalline ceiling but didn’t look keen on staying there much longer. He didn’t need to be a math genius to know with merely a look that he could cancel any plans for a future family if he didn’t get a move on quickly. True to the motto of women and Thiemos first, he left the damaged clothing piece that was shortly after pierced by the needle.

Thiemo looked over to Rupie, who just looked at him and had to hold back a laugh. It didn’t even take two seconds until the human noticed what was going on and covered his nakedness. “And that’s what all the fuss is about? I bet your mare doesn’t even notice you’re there with that puny thing.” Thiemo wanted to reply, but Rupie deserved to say that. After all, Theimo had hit him below the belt as well, literally.

Suddenly Thiemo heard another laugh, and his eyes wandered over to the store window. All he could perceive was a flick and a flash of light.

Author's Notes:

Happy holidays to all of you. Well, at least I hope you had happy holidays. Still, its Christmas and its a time for family. So you probably didn't. I hope this chapters manages to lift you spirit a bit. (And should there any typos, it would lift my spirit if you would point them out. JBL was very tired today ^^)

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

And give this story a try too:
The Elements of Friendship, Book I: Harmony