Darkness surrounded the three young fillies as the world around them changed. Safe and sound in their little capsule, they slept millennia after millennia as the last remaining words of the mother and grandmother lingered in their minds.

It was warm and cozy inside the little capsule and they didn’t witness the many wars and natural catastrophes the planet was stricken with as Light and Darkness balanced each other out, now that the planet lost the alicorns who, in their might, controlled the sun and the moon.

Suddenly their warm and cozy darkness was replaced with blistering cold and sunlight as the capsule was opened from the outside. The shocking change to their situation prompted little Celestia to wake up. The capsule was open and she looked up blearily to see who opened it. An icy cave or glacier surrounded the capsule from what she could see. The excited smile of a mare approached the three fillies as the darkness was broken from the slight glow of the mare’s horn. The glow of her horn revealed her as a unicorn,
“Master Star Swirl! There are three little fillies inside this capsule!”

In the distance, Celestia heard somepony speaking, a stallion it sounded like,
“What? There were ponies in it? Amazing! I just thought it would be a container for goods.” Master? Star Swirl? Celestia shook her head a bit, a certain dizziness took hold of her. The long slumber in the capsule took its toll on her and her tummy began to rumble, demanding food. One thing she knew for sure despite the hunger and beginnings of nausea: Luna and Cadance needed protection now. She was responsible for them. Jumping up, she confronted the mare and raised her head and unfolded her wings to their full span, shielding her niece and younger sister from the gaze of others.

The mare gasped and she stepped away, eyes wide with surprise,
“No… This can’t be!”

“What?” the male voice then asked as it approached them in the dark, “Clover, what is it?”

As hoofsteps approached the capsule, the mare looked into the darkness,
“Master Star Swirl… Wings AND horn…”

He stepped into the light slowly and Celestia could see an elder unicorn looking down to her as his eyes analyzed her, taking in every detail. Her eyes grew stern, ‘If this pony is the other one’s master, maybe it is stronger or of higher class.’
“Indeed,” he paused stroking his beard, “This young filly is one of the ancient alicorns. I’ve searched all my life for them.”

Those words alarmed Celestia even more and she charged up her horn as she lowered her head defensively in a protective stance. Noticing this, the mare arched her eyebrows and stepped back,
“She’s protecting her younger siblings, I guess…” the unicorn mare then stated as she retreated to the side of the old unicorn stallion. The mare seemed to be a scribe or researcher in Celestia's eyes. Her attire was simple, much in contrast to her master who was cloaked in rather attention-drawing blue attire. A big, pointy hat rested on his head and the bells, on it’s rim as well as on his cloak, jingled with every step he took.

“Of course…” Star Swirl confirmed, “Somepony must have put them into this capsule to escape whatever fate the alicorns faced. This is a whole new world for her and she has no one but these two other ponies…”

The young princess’ ears dropped. That old unicorn was right. She had no one else in this world except Luna and Cadance. Her mother, her father, her older brother… All the other alicorns were gone.
“Tis dangerous to tell others, master…” the mare now said while levitating a warm blanket around the three young ponies. Worry was in the mare’s voice. “The nobles and rulers might feel threatened in their rule by these three fillies. The nobility and royalty could mean them harm.”

Star Swirl, however, looked into Celestia’s eyes before he simply shook his head as a kind smile formed behind his beard,
“How could they? These young maidens are goddesses among mortals. Come, let’s get them out of the cold and get them something to eat. A frozen glacier is not the place for three little ponies, even if they are alicorns. Also I guess this young lady has lots of questions to ask about the world such as we have several about the past…”

As Clover attempted to levitate the two younger foals, Celestia intervened aggressively and dispelled the magic, levitating her only remaining family herself. With a friendly nod, Clover let her be. What the unicorn mare didn’t expect was the sudden gasp of Celestia when she first laid eyes on the stars of the night sky. Clover couldn’t tell if it was sadness or the beauty of the stars that touched Celestia. She had no way of knowing why, but the tears were in Celestia’s eyes, flowing like a waterfall, ‘ My family, all of them. Every alicorn . . . They light the sky. It’s like an eternal funeral pyre.’

The wood in the fireplace crackled and hissed as the fire slowly devoured it, delivering warmth in the night. Sitting at her scribe desk, the mare read a few lines of her old journal with the light of the fireplace and a candle as her sources of light.

In front of Clover rested a black book with stars on the leather book jacket at the far side of her desk. The only unfinished work he passed on to her. 'Star Swirl …' Her former mentor, long dead now had passed it to her so that future generations could finish his work with the brilliance he didn’t possess. But despite her age Clover had never achieved his kind of skill. How often did he rage in front of her and the young fillies that he couldn’t see the solution to this riddle?

Celestia often looked up to the elder unicorn, to observe his efforts and see his frustration. Clover always wondered if the young filly might have known something, but held it back so Star Swirl could find out on his own. Maybe she was sparing his dignity. Then again, Clover was uncertain if her mentor would have been grumpy or thankful if a young alicorn would had helped him with his work.

Dipping the quill twice into the ink, Clover began to write down her thoughts. The ink made a sizzling noise as the magic in it worked itself into the pages. A spell to conserve the paper and ink for several generations to come before the book needed to be restored. One of her master’s most useful spells.

What if a filly could be more than others think of her?
What if a filly strives for greatness?

Looking out of the window, Clover saw Luna looking up to the moon. Her love for the nocturnal celestial object grew with every passing night, as much as Celestia loved the warm light of the sun with its life-giving rays. Both fillies had studied the magic spells the unicorns performed to move the two bodies. While never being a part of the celestial ministry, Clover knew through her former mentor that each celestial object needed several spells at any given time to move. Several hundred unicorns were used to perform these spells. And now these two fillies had learned all of them, ‘Are they trying to enter the ministry? Or are they…’ Clover’s thoughts went in an odd direction, ‘No, it couldn’t be. It would be so wonderful though. And yet… These two fillies show such strong magical potential despite being so very young.’

Celestia, although much younger than Clover, surpassed her by far. Clover often wondered if perhaps these were the powers of the ancient legends. The third one still in her cradle, Cadance, was still very young, ‘Maybe alicorns age differently than normal ponies and her body first needs to accumulate enough magic power to grow.’

However, the slow rate of aging left Clover no other choice than to deduce that alicorns either have a rate of aging beyond the grasp of the pony mind or perhaps that they could choose their age after a certain amount of time. When faced with the question of age, Celestia could only shrug. She couldn’t say how long the capsule was buried under ice and dirt. It never meant much to them. They were here and enjoyed being with other ponies.

This was an untroubled 15 year span for the ponies. It was a time where Clover witnessed the three young fillies, who she learned were actual princesses, grow up to some degree. It still took her by surprise every time she thought of it. Among themselves, they never behaved like royalty, but more like family.

During these years Celestia took it upon herself to teach Luna the manners an alicorn princess would need,
“A princess must eat her Alfalfa before dessert."

“But it’s dumb and gross and I hate it and it’s a stupid color and besides… You never eat your Alfalfa!”

‘That filly…’ Celestia thought before she shrugged, ‘Oh well… lead by example…’ And with that she leaned forward and took a bite out of her own Alfalfa and chewed it. Luna's stern face returned to smiling again. Her sister was not being hypocritical about her own rules. Peeking over to her younger sister, Celestia grinned a bit, still chewing on her own Alfalfa.

Her own playfulness took hold of Celestia and she raised both hooves to towering above her head,
"Bleh! Alfalfa monster!"

This earned her a laugh from Luna, who turned away and raised a hoof in defense,
"Ewww!!! No!!!"

Yes... These were untroubled years…

The days seemed to blur into one another and eventually there were the days where Clover had more and more problems getting up. Her legs ached more and more with every passing month. Age finally took its toll on the mare. It didn't occur to the fillies immediately and Clover was happy about that. Yet she still managed to notice the occasional worried glance from Celestia. However, no matter how bad her own health was, Clover worried more about the fillies under her care, 'If I'm gone, what about them? They're still so young...'

And then a most dreadful evening took place.

As Clover walked in slowly with every step a minor struggle, she noticed the worried glances of the two princesses. Although Cadance had become a little filly by now, her aunts were quite more mature, almost young mares, by pony standards that is. Maybe by alicorn standards they would still be very young.

"Thou two make strange faces... Do I look that old to alicorn eyes?" Clover asked.

Startled like being caught red-hooved, both of the sisters gulped,
"N-Nay! Of course not!" Luna stated.

Giving the dark alicorn a smirk, Clover shook her head,
"Yes, I do, Luna. I don't blame thee for worrying about me." sitting down to the edge of her bed she gave them a smile, “Thou three are the answer. The answer to the question: ‘Are alicorns only fairy tale and legend or are they still present to watch over us?’ Thou can not imagine how much it meant to Master Star Swirl and me to find thou three. But now I want thee to leave this place and find thine own place in this world. Thou can not stay in here forever.”

This frightened Luna visibly; resting a hoof on the old mare, Luna looked up to her almost pleadingly,
“Can we not continue on being thy friends? I have had such fun while playing with thee and Tia…”

“We ARE friends!” the old mare smiled as she turned over to hug Luna, “Nothing of this shall change that, Luna. But I believe that thou three were left here for a reason. And even if it takes an eternity, thou owe it to thyself to find out that reason." Luna didn't fully understand what she meant, but nodded and gave Clover her bravest smile. It was a smile Celestia couldn't share so easily.

In the previous 15 years, Celestia had learned to see the flame of life in every pony. It was a faint magic, only effective within a few inches and it only illuminated the pony a tiny little bit. Approaching the mare who took care for the three of them for so many of her years, Celestia could see the flame flicker and rapidly grow weak. Clover was nearing the end of her journey on this world.

Smiling at them, Clover rested her head down on her bed,
“Thou three will become a shining example for us ponies. We will try to emulate thy greatness. We will fail at first. We will stumble and fall down several times along the way… But sometime in the far future, we will be worthy as thy companions. In the end, thou shall guide us to achieve our own greatness as well.”

Gulping, Celestia slowly shook her head. Tears ran down her cheeks. Even now, in the final moments of her life, the old mare kept her smile and courage. Just like the white alicorn she knew that her life would end very soon. The courage touched the young princess,
“Clover…”

But the lavender unicorn mare only shook her head with another gentle motherly smile,
“I don’t regret finding thou three… For a mare like me who devoted herself to the studies to enrich this world with wisdom and knowledge… Who never was part of a herd… thou three were the daughters I never had. I only regret mine eyes never beholding the world thou will build…” Taking a final breath, Clover smiled before exhaling for the last time. All was silent in the room. The flame Celestia saw in the mare flickered one last time and vanished completely. Clover the Clever was dead.

Luna bowed her head down, tears running down her cheeks,
“May thou rest peacefully…” it was then when Celestia approached her dead body with a saddened face that Luna arched a brow as she looked up again, “Tia? Thou know that we cannot bring back those who have passed into death?”

“I know, my sister… I shall not try such heresy.” Celestia looked down to the dead mare, “I shall make a vow to thee, Clover the Clever… In every generation there is a mare… that outshines her fellow ponies like a beacon… I vow to thee that I shall look for such fillies… And the stars are my witness: I will guide them to greatness if I find them… ”

They didn't pack much. Only a few rations for the journey and some books. Celestia treasured the books Clover held dear and one half of her saddlebags were reserved for them. It was the best she could think of at the time. Somehow, this mare and her mentor needed to be rewarded for their dedication and sacrifices. Ponies needed to know about their doings.

And so the years and centuries passed by. Three young spirits helping out whoever crossed their paths, bringing order to those who didn’t have it. Soon the rumors about them reached the farthest villages of Equestria. For some they were guardians… for others, they were good spirits, not really belonging to others… They were the mares that controlled the sun and the moon with the power of hundreds of unicorns, using their power to do well for everypony.

As the pink cotton candy clouds filled the skies from the horizon stretching over the ruined chaotic landscape, a strange noise became audible. Turning around, the two young alicorn mares and the filly witnessed a blue box appearing.

Outside stepped the yellow coated hoof and a stallion with silver mane looked at the skies, before his eyes rested on the alicorns,
“Ah! Just in time I think. Your highness? I’m here to help!”

Celestia arched a brow,
“Highness? Nopony hath addressed us as such in a long, long time… Who are thou?”

“I’m a traveler through time and space that just happened to find three descendants of the ancient alicorn race." the stallion said, "But please… Call me the Doctor!” stepping to their side, he looked at the unfolding chaos before giving them a smile, “Let me help you clean this mess…”

The cotton candy clouds rose up and formed the gigantic body of a Draconequus. Two shining red eyes stared at the two alicorn mares. It was a sight that tore through the hearts of the princesses. Their former friend and playfellow had lost all of his inhibitions and unknowingly was losing those who tried to save him from his own self-destructive path. It hurt to see him like that, but for the sake of all of ponykind, Celestia knew he had to be stopped. As the giant figure of cotton candy cloud achieved solid form, its eyes narrowed angrily and looked down to the mares.

“Thou think thou could stand up to me? EQUESTRIA IS MINE!!!”

Determination was set into the expressions on the faces of the two mares,
“Nay!" Celestia shouted, "Not if I can help it! Luna? Let’s go!” the dark blue mare nodded and nudged young Cadance to enter the booth.

Facing the Doctor, the young Celestia looked into his eyes,
“Doctor… The word for healer and wise one, throughout the world. If thou really wish to help us then help us to find the means to cure this land.” With a nod she and the Doctor entered the blue booth and it disappeared mere seconds before a gigantic claw of cotton candy cloud smashed the ground it was standing on.

* * * * *

Equestria, today.

Rachel Higgins slumbered peacefully in her cabin Nr. 36-A. A mere bag of holding assembled into a closet room gave her a complete cabin with bathroom, bedroom and living room. For once, Discord's work turned out to be useful and pleasant at the same time. Like this, the base could hold several hundred ponies if needed. And the room to make that happen would fit into a locker room with several hundred lockers. In the next moment the whole base began shaking as loud dub-step music hammered through the ventilation system. In an instant Rachel was sitting up in bed, her right eye twitching angrily like she was seconds from a nervous breakdown,
“VINYL!!!!” dressing as quickly as she could Rachel stormed down the corridor as the loud music continued, “I swear, I’m going to kill that unicorn!"

As she arrived at the base’s kitchen, Tyler and Flynn were already standing outside the door. Flynn was rubbing the back of his head in pain,
"What? Is she in there? Well, what are you waiting for?" she yelled over to them to be heard over the loud music.

Tyler, however, shook his head,
"Don't open that door! Trust me, it's not safe!"

Shaking her head, Rachel signaled for him to speak louder,
"What is it, Jones? You have to speak louder!"

Ignoring the warning look on Tyler’s face, she opened the door. A pressure wave slammed her away from the doorway and nailed her against the wall on the other side of the corridor. Rachel tried to push against the music, but the pressure on her pressed her against the wall and she couldn’t move against it. Tyler and Flynn held their ears as Tyler magically closed the door. He noticed that with the pressure on the door he had to use way more magic than usual. When the door was closed, the pressure on Rachel was gone. She suddenly slumped to the floor, reeling from the intensity of the music.

Taking a deep breath, she shook her head,
"What are we going to do about this?"

As if on cue, the power to the corridor ceased and the music came to a sudden stop.

Casting his gaze to the ceiling lights, Tyler nodded,
"Sam finally turned the power off."

From the inside of the kitchen, Vinyl's voice became audible now,
"Hey! Who killed the wubs?" The three humans nodded at each other and stormed in.

* * * * *

Half an hour later the human Rangers were standing in Tyler's office as he and Vinyl were sitting at his desk. Folding his hands together, Tyler gently shook his head with a sigh,
"Vinyl, don’t wash the dishes so loudly.This is the third time this week and there are complaints of wubs louder than anypony can stand coming in on a regular basis. I know you like your music and are used to this... But please... Think about your fellow Rangers.”

The unicorn’s jaw hung open in disbelief,
"Aww ,come on! It's the best way to wake up in the morning! You guys should be thanking me!"

Hearing Vinyl’s words, Flynn and Sam had to hold Rachel back and cover her mouth before she could reach the self-assured unicorn. Tyler’s eyes flickered their direction and he gave them a brief nod of his head towards the door. The two men had to struggle to get Rachel out of the office. Tyler gave the mare in front of him a stern look,
"Vinyl, there are 350 ponies in this facility living under the ground. Life underground is difficult enough without any extra stress. This is not the time to party like we do in Ponyville. I have to ask you: Do you take this seriously?"

The unicorn mare looked up, shocked,
"Wha-? Of course I do! I volunteered for this!"

Tyler closed his eyes and arched his brows then sighed and nodded,
"Indeed you did, but you deprive the other personnel of their sleep and thus they work less efficiently. I can't let you continue with this. Either you limit the volume of your music, or I’m going to have to ask you to leave."

Vinyl looked down, 'This is not between me and Octavia anymore, this is getting serious. My career as an agent depends on this!' Gulping down a big lump in her throat, the mare took a deep breath and closed her eyes,
"I... I understand. I won't do kitchen duty anymore... And my wubs will be limited to the bass cannon testing ground."

As she was about to head out of the room, Tyler arched a brow and smiled,
"Vinyl."

With a sigh the unicorn rolled her eyes and looked back,
"Yes?"

Tyler stood up and headed for the window of his office. Looking down to the command center he continued talking,
"You are doing too much of everything. It’s in your nature, you’re a pony of passion. That’s not a bad thing, don't forget that. I want to see the report about that cannon of yours by the end of the week. Do you think you will have it ready for a test run by then?" As he glanced over to her with a smile, her eyes grew determined once more and she nodded. With a nod of his own, he looked out again,
"Then you're dismissed."

Not very long after Vinyl had left the office and the command center, Rachel went up the stairs to Tyler's office and opened the door,
"And? Was the problem resolved?"

Tyler continued to look toward the command center, smiling,
"I didn't throw her out, if that’s what you’re asking.. She may have her flaws, but she still is a great asset to this facility. I don't think she needs anymore disciplinary inquiry. Oh, and Rachel?"

She arched a brow,
"Yes? What is it?`"

Tyler chuckled a bit before he put on a wide grin,
"Next time when you come in, would you knock and ask for permission to enter? I thought you were in the military."

The comment caught her off guard. It stung more than she would have thought. She gritted her teeth angrily. Although he was right, it was only too obvious that he intended to mock her a bit about her minor mistake.
"Yes, sir!" she said with a defiant undertone in her voice before walking back to Flynn and Sam. Looking back to Tyler’s office, Rachel arched a brow. "The way he sometimes talks... Flynn, doesn't that remind you of something?”

Grimacing a bit while not understanding, Flynn turned around a bit,
"What do you mean? Is there something wrong with the way he talks?"

Rachel frowned and rubbed her chin with her hand,
"Hmmm... Probably nothing, but I somehow always had the feeling that, for a civilian, that guy knows way too much about military organization."

Sam shook his head,
"You forgot he served in a war in the Amasian Enclave on this world already. And that he is the Strategic Advisor for Canterlot."

Folding her arms, Rachel cocked her head and arched her brow,
"Sam... It's not that simple. I’m not talking about stuff he might have taught these ponies from the 'Art of War'."

Shrugging now, Flynn opened his arms,
"Then what do you mean, Rachel?"

With a sigh, Rachel rubbed her neck.
"Jones knows CQC. As a matter of fact, I'm sure of that one"

Sam now arched a brow,
"CQ what now? Isn't that from this video game?"

Rachel rolled her eyes,
"It IS a real term, OK? Jones knows CQC, which basically means he, at one point in the past, had contact with someone in the military. Or served in the military for some time. Someone who can keep up with a marine isn't an amateur in unarmed combat."

Flynn thought for a moment,
"Now that you mention it... I think the one time when he punched you was a CQC punch. Swift, controlled and precise... But I'm not sure... I mean that was quite some time ago.”

Rolling his eyes now, Sam shook his head,
"Well, that's not unusual anyway. Every country has a military back home on Earth."

With a nod Rachel raised her right index finger to punctuate her point,
"Yeah, that's true, Sam, but not all teach CQC. Some use other martial arts. So my guess is either he learned that from some US-soldiers or... mercenaries."

Flynn and Sam looked at her before they both smirked at each other. Sam was the first to shake his head,
"You're jumping to conclusions. Also, what would it help now to know if he had a military training at some point in time?"

Flynn nodded in confirmation,
"Yeah, what's next? Legendary Soldier Tyler Jones or something? Come on, he's just the first guy who stumbled into this world. As far as I'm concerned right now, he just wants to live here and protect the ones he loves. That's not a bad thing in my book. I don't care too much about his past right now, we have other things to think about, like a vacation."

Sam grinned widely,
"Oh yeah! Our first few days off from this facility! Lyra, Pinkie, and I will go on a boat trip on the lake again. A few hours of privacy for a little picnic…”

Flynn nodded to this,
"Sounds good. Rainbow and I will hang out with Scootaloo. To make up for all the time we're not there for her alone. Truth be told, I can't wait to see that filly smiling again.

Both men now looked to Rachel,
"What about you, Rachel?" Sam asked.

"Yes, what are your plans?" Flynn added.

Rachel raised her chin and smirked,
"I'm going to spend one day with Octavia to have a little stroll through Ponyville. She said she could point me towards some nice musicians that aren't all about preying on females. A little social development, you know? A girl can't pet her weapons all the time."

Come noon, the humans were packing some personal stuff. Shortly after, the friends stood in the elevator going upwards of the facility. Together with some other ponies who also decided to take their first vacation. On the last checkpoints, each Ranger had to sign a consent form not to talk about the projects in the facility and had to perform one last Changeling test.

As soon as they were out of the facility, Sam stretched a bit and looked over to Lyra,
"Damn! It feels good to be in the sunlight. Don't you think so?"

Lyra had her eyes closed and nodded with a smile as she let the sun shine onto her face, "Finally some natural warmth and not from magic heaters. This feels soooo good!"

Flynn cracked his knuckles again,
"Man! I'm tempted to run down to Ponyville right freaking now."

Tyler held him back,
"Save your strength for the real deal. You don't want to go down there and be out of power for your girl, do you?"

Flynn gave the comment a smirk,
"Point taken..."

* * * * *

Meanwhile in Ponyville library, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were conversing as Rainbow borrowed the latest issue of Daring do: Daring Do and the Coin of Ashalon.
"Rainbow, how do you keep track of Flynn? I mean he's gone for so long, how do you, as the Element of Loyalty, know that he stays faithful to you?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow just snickered,
"Ha! Flynn is faithful to me. I have my ways of knowing that. I mean it's not rocket science. Maybe you would prefer it to be that complex, Twilight, but frankly? I just look for the way he looks at me when we see each other again. I can just tell he's been pent up for all those weeks if he looks at me with that glance only human males have.”

Twilight cocked her head with an unbelieving smirk,
"His look? Oh please..."

Shrugging a bit, the cerulean mare smiled,
"Well... And his behavior. A faithful man will come at you. If he's done something wrong like breaking something, Flynn usually avoids me. That's when I know I have to make him spill the beans." It was at that moment that the door to the library was tossed open and Flynn stood in it. Both mares blinked in surprise before Rainbow smirked a bit.

His eyes pierced through to Rainbow and stabbed down to her rump,
"So here you are..." without hesitation Flynn approached Rainbow and lifted her up until she rested on his shoulders.

While Rainbow laughed wildly, Twilight shook her head a bit in disbelief,
"What the hay?"

Her Pegasus friend looked over to her with a happy smile,
"Told ya!" While Flynn carried Rainbow outside, Twilight blinked a bit trying to process what had just happened, ‘It was like he was claiming her…’ Slowly a smirk came to her lips as she realized the true meaning and what these two were up to now.

Just as she turned to her books again and levitated some back into the shelves, the sound of another pair of boots came to her notice. Tyler stood in the door and like Flynn before, he eyed her with greed in his eyes. Taking a gulp, Twilight attempted to smile,
"T-Tyler..." With quick and determined steps he approached the librarian and within seconds, she was in his arms. A short surprised yelp was the only thing she could do before his lips pressed down to hers. Twilight's eyes widened. Standing on two legs, she had his right arm wrapped around her and aiding her balance while his left hand began kneading her rump. Her cheeks began burning as she started to give in. Yes, he wanted her. He had been faithful, no unfaithful male would express this much need.

A sudden harrumph from Spike brought the two of them back into the library,
"Would you two like some privacy? Good! I'm at Sugarcube Corner." with that the baby dragon left the library.

After a long and passionate kiss, Tyler grinned at her and caressed her cheek,
"Twilight? I'll stay the night over at Sweet apple Acres to spend some time with Applejack and Appleseed. Tomorrow I'll come over to you, OK?"

Giggling, Twilight narrowed her eyes a bit down, eying him seductively,
"I see. Spending some time with your daughter, hm? Well, our sleepover day is tomorrow, so I think that's OK. I'm sure I can think of some errands for Spike between now and then. We might have the library all for us."

Letting his hand slide over Twilight's rump ever so gently, Tyler grinned,
"I hope so..." As she returned to standing on four hooves, Twilight could not help but notice the bulge in his crotch. Somehow it was a pity she had to pass this to AJ, but today the library had a bit too many customers. It was funny though. Although humans didn't undergo the hardships of a heat cycle, they could behave the same when deprived of sexual activity for a longer duration. That might be some nice info for Princess Celestia as well, but not truly worthy of a friendship lesson.

* * * * *

Half an hour later Tyler held Appleseed up, who laughed as she looked down to her father,
"There you are, my little girl! Who's a cutie?"

Applejack smiled at him,
"She sure likes yer voice. It always takes Granny or Big Mac twice as long to get her to sleep."

Tyler nodded while tickling the little belly of his daughter, what was rewarded with lovely foal laughter,
"That's why I was talking to her while she still was in your womb, AJ. She probably knows my voice so well now that it calms her."

Apple Bloom cocked her head,
"A foal can hear the voice of a pony while still in the belly of her mother?"

Nodding his head, Tyler stroked the filly's mane,
"It sure can, Apple Bloom. It's the same with human babies.”

Kneeling down to the little filly, Tyler gestured to her with a head motion to come closer as he held Appleseed in his arms. Slowly, the young filly approached her niece and Appleseed looked up to her aunt with big eyes. Then the little foal stretched out her little hooves and grabbed Apple Bloom's face. Laughing in delight, the little foal then let go and Appleseed looked up to her mother who smiled down with a nod.

Somehow Apple Bloom got the idea that being with a special somepony wasn't just being nice to that one pony you like the most or kissing and doing weird adult stuff. It was sharing a bond and cherishing the fruits of each others love. Seeing Applejack nuzzling Appleseed while Tyler held her in his arms felt familiar to her and there was this nostalgic feeling that she had experienced this once before. And feeling it once again, felt good. It felt right.

An hour later Appleseed was in her cradle and Apple Bloom in her bed.

Taking off her Stetson, Applejack took a deep breath,
"Whoa Nelly... This sure was a stressful day."

Tyler nodded,
"You’re telling me, I was about to drown in work in Canterlot. Good thing Shining Armor nudged me in the right direction."

Chuckling a bit, AJ shook her head,
"Ah'll thank him later for keeping yer feet on the ground. But as for yerself... Whaddya say, big boy? Yerself, me, and some mugs of cider in the barn?" wiggling her eyebrows a bit, she grinned seductively, "Ah'll get ya thinkin' about other stuff in no time, Sugarcube..."

Closing his eyes, Tyler shook his head with a chuckle,
"You certainly know how to put that into the nicest words, don't you?" standing up, he tickled her ear before he lowered his voice, "Waking up in one of my mares in the morning sure will be something that would get me to think of other things.”

* * * * *

Early the next morning, Tyler woke up in the barn of Sweet Apple Acres to the crow of the farm's rooster. The previous night with Applejack had been great.

Now he woke up as something licked his cheek,
“Honey… I told you I’m not that much into that tongue-erotica…”

“Oh! You’re awake! Morning, sweetie!” in an instant Tyler’s eyes popped open as he looked to the origin of the all too familiar voice.

The crystal blue eyes of Pinkie Pie batted as she looked seductively at him. In the next moment Tyler’s scream echoed over the farm, causing Winona to howl along.

Storming out of the barn, he made haste down the streets as Pinkie looked after him with a giggle,
"Oh well... Back to work!"

Mere minutes later, Tyler, still untidily dressed, reached the outskirts of Ponyville while running, 'This can't be happening! This can't be happening!!! I would never betray the girls like this!' As he reached Ponyville, he found a crowd of ponies arguing and feuding. Shaking his head not understanding, he then noticed that Flynn and Sam approached him with Rachel and Grinko. “Folks, what is going on here?”

“You tell us!” Sam growled, “I woke up next to Bon Bon and Fluttershy!”

In an instant, Grinko had grabbed Sam and growled at him,
“You what?!?”

Flynn shook his head,
“Well… I for one woke up besides Rarity, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so bad in my life… Where’s Rainbow?”

While still growling at Sam, Grinko turned his head slightly aside,
“She’s fine, she’s in Fluttershy’s… bed…”

Flynn’s jaw dropped and he pointed a finger at Grinko,
“Why you dirty little furball! If you touched her…” the three men and the Masar began feuding and arguing about who betrayed who in their honor or friendship.

The blasting, eardrum-shattering, bellowing report of a gunblast behind the four males shocked them out of their aggravated blaming.

Rachel stood behind them holding a shotgun and blew the remaining magic dust out of the run,
“Boys… and their precious little toys… As you can see, every pony in Equestria is all out of order right now. Something must have happened."

Sam nodded although still a bit grumpy,
"She's right, arguing won't help us right now. We should head for Canterlot and ask the princesses what's going on."

On the way to the train station Tyler shook his head in anger,
"I swear if Discords is behind all this, I’m going to shave him, tell the Elements to turn him back to stone and tell Celestia to send him to the sun!"

Flynn stopped on the spot, turned around and walked back, much to the wonder of the other Rangers,
"Hey! Flynn! What gives?"

As he turned around for a second, he shook his head, his face showing determination,
"I'm getting Scootaloo! I won't leave her in this mess!"

A sudden worry began to grow in Tyler and he looked back to Sweet Apple Acres, 'Appleseed...' ,
"He's right! I'm heading back to the farm to get Appleseed. And Apple Bloom as well... I can't leave my daughter unattended!" with that he made haste towards the farm.

Sam and Rachel looked at each other and nodded,
"That leaves us to get Sweetie Belle. Come on!"

Ten minutes later the Cutie Mark Crusaders were fetched from their homes and with the Rangers in the train. All three fillies were in pretty sad moods.

With her lip pouting out, Apple Bloom looked down,
“Why is mah sister actin’ like this all of a sudden?”

Sweetie Belle's eyes filled with tears, her face showing both confusion and despair,
“Applejack is not my sister! And why is Rarity ignoring me?”

Rachel and Flynn comforted the three fillies as best as they could on the ride to Canterlot. Since the conductor was quite useless as so many of the other ponies right now, Sam helped out with the engine.

As Rachel and Flynn looked at each other, they nodded,
“It seems the ponies without cutie marks are not affected by this.”

Flynn nodded while stroking Scootaloo’s mane,
“True, but what about us? Why are we not affected by this? I mean we have cutie marks as well”

Rachel thought for a minute and looked on the ground,
“Hmmm… I think it's because we have racially unique ways that we earned our cutie marks. Plus, the human mind is completely different to the pony mind. Maybe it’s a mindset thing or something. Or maybe it only affects ponies with cutie marks. I don’t know.”

Once in Canterlot, the Rangers and the Cutie Mark Crusaders made haste to enter the castle and for a brief moment the three fillies almost forgot the strange situation in their excitement to meet the princesses. Tossing the doors to the throne room open, they found the two regal sisters at the windows looking outside.

A sigh of relief escaped Tyler,
"Thank God you two aren't affected by the menace out there!"

Both alicorns looked a little startled at the humans. They appeared to hadn't expected them here.

"Tyler? What are you doing here?" Celestia asked while her eyes slowly widened.

Luna's eyes, however, narrowed a bit, 'Curious... It seems their cutie marks haven't been affected by this either... Maybe it's because of their unusual earning... Or the human mind is not affected by this spell.'

Scootaloo now gently tugged on Flynn’s shirt,
“Dad? Will Rainbow Dash be OK again?”

The question got to Flynn once more.

The bond between him and the little Pegasus grew with every passing day since she had begun calling him like that,
“Of course she will be, sweetheart. All of the others will be OK again... The Rangers will see to it.”

It was then when Tyler spoke up,
“Don’t be too quick with promises, Flynn. First we need to know what caused all of this crap!” with that he turned to the white alicorn, “Celestia, can you tell me why the fuck I woke up next to Pinkie Pie instead of Applejack?”

Sam nodded,
“It’s a wonder Fluttershy didn’t have a heart attack when she…” Tyler’s statement finally sunk in and he then turned to Tyler, “You what!?”

Tyler immediately shook his head,
“Let’s not start this again, man! I was sleeping in the barn. I was prepared to get a certain Manehattan filly trying to nibble on me or AJ’s broom slapping me… But waking up next to Pinkie? Yeah, I dare you to even try explaining that to your herd mates!”

Flynn folded his arms,
“This is a complete mess! It’s like the memories of every pony in Equestria are messed up!”

Tyler faced the two regal sisters again,
“So! What do we do to correct this mess? Beat up Discord or something?”

Both Celestia and Luna shared a look, before Celestia shook her head,
“You Rangers will do nothing. We will watch this and let the situation solve itself.”

The gathered Rangers cocked their heads, Celestia’s words causing them to look at the princess in confusion,
“What?”

The white alicorn continued,
“This is not Discord’s doing. I myself have sent a book to Twilight that caused this. It is a book written by Star Swirl the Bearded that contains an unfinished spell. Now she must correct the spell in order to undo the problem she caused.”

Not believing his ears, Tyler stared at her while shaking his head,
“Celestia… Why? What madness drove you to do that to Twilight? Or to do that to the ponies of Equestria?”

“This is Twilight’s final examination for her advanced studies. As of now, you Harmony Rangers are under stand-down orders. Do you understand?”

While the others nodded, Tyler stared at Celestia.

The Princess of the Sun approached him and stabbed him with her strict look,
“Do you understand, Ranger Tyler?”

Tyler gritted his teeth. Of all the things she asked of him this was the first time he strongly disagreed. Now, in this moment where all of Equestria was vulnerable as a raw egg he had to sit by and do nothing.

Just before Luna was about to say something he nodded,
“Understood… The Rangers will not interfere. With the ponies all going loony, there is little we can do anyhow…”

As he turned around, Celestia’s strict face returned to normal,
“Tyler,” as he halted, the princess sighed, “Have faith in her.”

Tyler nodded and went to the gardens with the other Rangers and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Both princesses looked after them,
“He doesn’t seem to like thine order, my sister…” Luna said flatly, “He didn’t like it at all… Maybe we should have told him about this earlier. Then again, he might have warned Twilight Sparkle about the task waiting for her.”

“He’s just worried for Twilight and the others.” Celestia answered, “Did you see the look on his face? He was expecting a fight, was even willing to fight me in order to save this country.”

Luna arched a brow,
“A human like him against an alicorn… Under any circumstances that would be quite a sight… But isn’t that why thou and I love him?” with a nod, Celestia approached the window and looked outside, “Tia? Art thou thinking about her again?” Luna now asked while cocking her head.

“Yes, I am, Luna. It’s fascinating how much Twilight resembles her. The same thirst for knowledge, the same wish to please to her mentor.” With a smile Celestia looked down, “Luna… We’ve exchanged some memories in this one year after your return. I’ve shown you how I teach Twilight… Do you think-“

“Nay!” her sister interrupted her, “What you did was precisely what you had to do, there was no other way.”

Looking up to her younger sibling, Celestia’s ears stood up, erect,
“Luna, how can you know that? I mean… It is possible that I failed somewhere. Look at the Rangers. They unite the ponies with their willpower and strong minds. Maybe I could have lead her that way as well.”

Coming to the side of her sister, Luna smiled as she looked down at Ponyville with her, “Because I am myself again and not an uncontrollable war maiden any longer. Thou taught her well. She was able to defeat me, Discord and Queen Chrysalis. And she chose wisely in the Crystal Empire, sending Spike to the rescue, all of these things perfect examples of thy teachings. The Rangers are a powerful force, yes, but our Elements of Harmony are what forged these Rangers into what they are today. Thanks to the Elements they are protectors of the values of Equestria.”

Luna’s reassurance made Celestia smile again, ‘Now… now after all these years the day has finally come; the day I can fulfill that ancient promise I made to Clover the Clever.’

Twilight had been carefully prepared. Since that fateful day in Canterlot, when Celestia witnessed the powerful magic coming from the young filly, she had prepared Twilight step by step to be prepared for this one day. Nopony knew that the School for Gifted Unicorns exclusively served Celestia as a tool to find unicorns worthy of her time. For four centuries the school had brought forth great unicorns of good and remarkable potential and it filled Celestia with joy to see the magic grow inside the unicorns with each passing generation. It was a nice diversion from her younger sister’s banishment. In hindsight, Twilight was found just in time to be shaped into a good and proper student to face Nightmare Moon.

There was no doubt in Celestia’s mind that Twilight would pass this test. Since the beginning of her studies, the princess had strengthened the mind of the young unicorn mare. But for the last preparations, Twilight’s heart needed to be strengthened and this could only be done among other ponies. Not failing her mentor, Twilight was successful. Each and every success and test mastered filled the princess with joy and pride. Now all the efforts Celestia brought up to prepare Twilight seemed to be brought to the test.

* * * * *

Strolling through the royal garden, Tyler saw Rachel coming over from the Cutie Mark Crusaders,

"I'm trying to keep the little ones busy to divert their attention from all this crap. But honestly? I can't do that forever. I'm a marine, not a kiddie counselor. Flynn went over to the headquarter. I don't know for certain, but if the ponies there are suffering as the rest of Equestria, it must be terrible. Maybe you should take a look later on as well while I take care of the fillies."

Nodding his head Tyler looked over to Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo,
"Yes, of course. Since we're not allowed to interfere, let's just minimize the damage to the HQ. You may not be a counselor, but for now you are another girl for the girls, do your best."

Giving a sigh, Rachel nodded,
"I'll give it a try for the little ones."

Looking over to Grinko, Tyler smirked a bit,
"So… You and Fluttershy, huh? Do you two-” before Tyler could end the sentence, Grinko raised his paw.

Growling a bit, the Masar wrinkled his nose and shook his head,
"Although I respect you as a friend, Tyler Jones, I won’t dishonor Fluttershy by talking about our more intimate moments. My lair mate and I are bonding and learn much from each other. And more you don’t need to know."

Tyler smiled and patted Grinko's shoulder,
"I wasn't going to ask about that now but fair enough. I know how sensitive she is to this topic... or rather... I can imagine. And I expected nothing less from you and your honor, Grinko." looking down to Ponyville, Tyler heaved a deep sigh.

The entire situation was dreadful,
"I guess in this case we have to hope that our girls find a way to fix this on their own, huh?"

The Masar nodded calmly and folded his arms,
"There is strength in their hearts. They can handle this. I have faith in them, but still I don't like doing nothing."

Grinko’s statement earned another nod from Tyler,
"You and me both. This uncertainty is agonizing." with a sigh he then headed towards the garden exit, "I'm going to headquarters..."

* * * * *

While walking down the streets of Canterlot, Tyler saw the full extent of the problem. Ponies of every kind were doing things horribly and were most upset about it as were their customers.

Arguing and feuding ruled the streets and with a deep breath Tyler went on as Discord appeared near him, munching a bowl of popcorn as he hovered beside the human,
"Wonderful, isn't it? The only downside to it is that it this is not my doing."

As Tyler approached the military facility, his eyes narrowed,
"Yeah... Quite a pity..." the situation at hand was bad enough, that Draconequus wasn't helpful at all and his gloating brought Tyler to a foul mood.

As they entered the elevator to go down into the depths of the facility, Discord took another bite of his popcorn,
"You know you should lighten up, Tyler. It's not everyday that you have to stand back while others do the work..." Tyler's fists clenched together, 'That asshole is not responsible for this. Keep calm and soldier on... Keep calm and soldier on...' His mind repeated this mantra over and over again trying to ignore the former Spirit of Chaos.

It was then when he overheard Discord during one particular sentence,
"Oh and Twilight is weeping so hard about what she did to her friends..."

Tyler's pupils shrank to tiny dots, 'That does it!'

In the next moment he grabbed the Draconequus and slammed him against the elevator wall,
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!"

It was in this moment that a pressure wave from Tyler's body forced the elevator doors out of their hinges and tossed them into the room,
"Fucking stop your attempts to cheer me up, Discord! You suck at this!"

But the Draconequus simply smirked as if Tyler could never hope to harm him,
"I never intended to cheer you up... But you needed to blow a fuse or two..."

Looking around, Tyler saw the damage he had caused. The elevator walls were dented heavily in several places and the doors were torn right off the wall, 'If that would have happened while in a crowd of ponies...'

Tyler gulped and patted the shoulder of the Draconequus,
"In that case you did well, Discord... But that still doesn't mean I approve of your methods."

Sneering, the former Spirit of Chaos vanished in a flash and reappeared inside the room a few meters from Tyler,
"I only promised to use my powers for good... The methods for these good results were never part of that agreement."

While most Rangers now were arguing and feuding in the several departments, Tyler was happy that it wasn't like unauthorized ponies were inside the facility. Maybe whatever happened was contained in here because of the security systems, so that whatever spell swapped the ponies had to swap all Rangers now. He then approached the so called 'Speed Testing Ground Alpha'. As he entered, he arched a brow because there was only a ladder inside this room.

After climbing it up, he saw Flynn tying his shoes,
"Flynn? What are you doing here? And why are you all alone?”

Stretching and jumping a bit, Flynn just looked straight forward,
"There’s nothing I can do right now for Equestria, so I’m going to train.”

Looking around, Tyler noticed the shape of the hall. It was perfectly round as is rose high above the two Rangers. It reminded Tyler of some sort of missile silo or a colossal smooth-bore cannon pointed straight up. With enough speed a motorbike could ride up the round walls and stay there for a few seconds.

The ceiling was about one fifty meters high and Tyler arched his brows,
“Flynn… Are you trying what I think you are?”

“Yes, I want to see how fast I can go. Also I need stronger shoes. What better way to test them than with this?”

Flynn began to run and quickly gained speed. Tyler climbed down again.

On his way up to the exit, he met Rachel again,
"Tyler! The weather… It’s changing again!"

Arching a brow Tyler looked down to her,
"Is it changing for the worse or the better?"

Rachel nodded with a wide smile.
"Better! Much better! Rainbow Dash is at it again!"

Her statement caught Tyler’s attention immediately,
“Oh? That is good news! Alright, you keep watching Ponyville, while I tell Flynn. I bet he will be more than thrilled that his girl is back to normal.”

"What's he doing anyway? Running?"

A quick nod was Tyler's response,
"As I left him, he was doing that, yes..."

Rolling her eyes, Rachel shrugged,
"Typical for him... Well, lets see what progress he makes. Ponyville isn't going to run away."

Tyler arched a brow,
"Where are the Cutie Mark Crusaders? And my daughter?”

"Oh, they are fine. Princess Celestia is having a tea party with the fillies and Princess Luna is taking care of Appleseed. If you ask me, Luna is having fun with that.” Rachel said casually.

Narrowing his eyes a bit, Tyler smirked,
"Yeah, you're probably right. Come on, let's tell Flynn to lift his mood."

They went down to the Testing ground once more. As they entered, there was a harsh wind coming from the ladder and the air was filled with a roaring sound.

Rachel held her ears,
"What is happening?"

Tyler shook his head and slowly approached the ladder. As he looked up, he saw a ring of energy above him. Or was it fire?

It was way too fast to make it out. Shaking his head in disbelief, he stepped away from the ladder,
"Oh, you have to be kidding me… That fast?”

Looking up, Rachel witnessed the ring of speed herself,
"Flynn is worried like all of us, Tyler… Running is his way of stress relief if he can’t fly.” she said as the two of them left the room.

Tyler looked at the door, worried,
“I thought so… but this…? This is he running on anger!”

Rachel folded her arms,
“Now don’t tell me you’re not angry about all this? We left Ponyville in a bad state and were told to hold still. I know at least you and Sam must be mad as hell about that."

Tyler looked at her and nodded, she had a point. He entered the track room again and yelled up to Flynn, enhancing the volume of his voice with magic. He wasn't sure if Flynn heard him, but then the ring slowly descended.

Flynn began to slow down after a while. He lost more and more height in the tube and began to audibly and visibly slow down. The pacing of the footsteps became slower and after five minutes he was slowing down almost beside them and came to a complete halt. His clothes were ripped to shreds, his body steaming and smoking, his shoes were completely broken.

Both eyed Flynn with wide eyes,
"Damn, Flynn... How do you feel?"

Breathing deeply, Flynn already seemed to be in control of his breath again,
"I feel… I feel tired actually and I'm hungry... God I'm hungry."

Tyler grimaced at his fellow Ranger,
"Man, you should feel like… total shit!"

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Flynn shook his head,
"You have no idea how much it hurts while running. But now while I'm standing still again, the pain is gone, but the hunger is rising. I think I can't overdo it or I'll begin to starve."

Tyler nodded and looked at Flynn's body,
"Yeah... seems plausible... Your body speeds up its regeneration AND metabolism. You should absolutely watch what you are doing."

Rachel arched a brow at the steaming skin. Would it even be safe to touch his skin right now?

But this wasn't the reason why they were coming,
"The weather is changing back to normal. Rainbow is back in the skies."

The news slowly brought a smile on Flynn's face,
"Finally some good news, folks... Fuck yeah! Um... I'm going to hit the shower, you go up now, I'll catch up with you guys."

By the time they were coming out of the facility again, the ponies normalized as well and the city of Canterlot was on business as usual. Already night time had begun and the streets were filled with the usual chatter instead of fighting and feuding. The checkered clouds in the skies were gone and Sweet Apple Acres was good and well again.

But then they noticed Sam storming right at them.

Out of breath, he huffed a few times before he shook his head,
“These little fillies... Apple Bloom! That girl went down to Sweet Apple Acres again once things began to return to normal. Shortly after that the other two followed her."

Tyler frowned at the information,
"Those silly little fillies... What about Appleseed?"

Sam shook his head,
"Still with Princess Luna. She stood guard next to your daughter the whole time."

Tyler visibly calmed down,
"One less worry at least."

Yet once more Sam shook his head,
" One more thing... About Twilight…"

Tyler smiled and looked around,
"Yes, yes… What about my little girl? I bet she’s beaming like she could take on the world right now. Judging from Canterlot and the surrounding towns, she must have done it, huh?”

Yet Sam wasn't sharing his joy in this,
"That's just it, Tyler! She’s an alicorn now.”

Tyler stopped on a dime instantly.

As he looked around, Sam continued before Tyler could ask him about it,
“Wings and horn, yes… Like the princesses. Princess Luna stated that Twilight passed the test and became royalty. And Princess Celestia simply vanished. Due to her sister, she's having a talk with Twilight in Ponyville now."

A sudden churning feeling in his stomach compelled Tyler to sit down, to digest this message, “Are you… Are you sure?” Sam nodded, Tyler took a deep breath, “This is deep.”

* * * * *

The rest of the night the Harmony Rangers spend their time in the headquarters. Although the stressful time was over for the most of them, Tyler slept lightly and agitated, waking up several times. In the darkness of his cabin, he sat on the edge of his bed torturing himself on how to react to this newest development. The next morning came and with it the coronation of the new princess.

Standing in the back rows of the crowd, the Harmony Rangers were in a rather humble place to be, not seeing the entire throne room.

Flynn shook his head, grinning while he did it,
"Celestia knew this was going to happen! Why else organize everything for a coronation?"

Rachel looked over to Tyler,
"Why exactly are we back here again and not with the others in front?"

Tyler looked over to Rachel,
"This is Twilight's achievement, not ours, not my own. I won’t steal her glory. And neither will any of you."

Arching a brow, Rachel slowly shook her head,
"But still, as her herd mate, you should be there in the front rows."

"Perhaps, but this is her moment and I refuse to do anything that could spoil that for her." Tyler responded.

"So basically, you’re afraid you could detract from her because of your presence?" without waiting for a response she slapped the backside of Tyler's head, "That’s bullshit and you know it! You might as well say that you not being down there would spoil it for her. You did nothing for this, this IS her glorious moment anyway. You just don’t know how to react to all of that, do you?"

Tyler took a deep breath,
“I am mortal, Rachel. I know I don’t talk much about that shit because I cherish every day with my herd mates… But I will die one day. Either in the heat of battle or peacefully in my sleep, or I’ll just drop dead one day while I work in the fields with Applejack, if she lives that long. I’ve thought about it for quite some time now and I think Luna will be the one most devastated when I die, since I’d have probably outlived AJ and Twilight. Now Twilight will outlive me. Imagine the pain that will cause to the three alicorn mares in my herd. It will be like a blow with a sledgehammer.” closing his eyes, Tyler shook his head, “I doomed them to grief the moment I started something with them…”

Rachel and the other Rangers looked at each other before she slapped the back of his head once more,
“You are a moron, Jones! Live your life without thinking of that bullshit!"

Lyra took another note,
“First specimen’s behavior confirms, Human males sometimes are stupid.” looking down at Lyra, Tyler arched a brow. The unicorn simply shrugged, “What? You don’t eat cake while thinking about how it makes your rump get fat! If Pinkie did that, where would be her fun in it?”

“You guys have good points…" Tyler said as he watched the coronation took place.

It was then that Princess Twilight entered the room.

Sam arched a brow now,
"Besides, if it works for Twilight, the most powerful unicorn in recent history, then why shouldn’t it work for a human who’s as powerful as she is?”

“I would never want that.” Tyler said with a somber tone.

Flynn grinned widely,
"To be immortal? How so? I thought everyone would love that. I would love that!”

But Tyler shook his head,
"Only fools see it as an absolute blessing. Me being immortal? I can adapt to a lot but that would probably be impossible! Loneliness, boredom, repetition, and worst of all: routine… that scares me…”

Lyra cocked her head, thinking for a minute,
"But you wouldn’t be lonely with your herd mates would you? I mean... Alicorns are immortal as well, Tyler."

He nodded,
“True… At least in this case we would share eternity forever…” he shook his head once more, stronger this time, “No… I would see generations born, grow old and die over and over again. I don’t know if my mind could bear that for an eternity… And Appleseed… I would have to bury my own daughter… No father should ever do that.”

Grinko growled a bit,
"Silence now! Pay attention to the coronation!"

As Twilight gave her speech to the crowd of ponies, the Rangers came a bit more out of the background. Tyler, however, at one point vanished.

Rachel noticed it first and nudged Flynn, who simply shrugged, "Bathroom maybe?"

During the cheers for the new princess and the short parade in her honor, Tyler was nowhere to be seen. As the newly crowned princess took off and roamed the skies for her first flight, she suddenly noticed something straight ahead of her levitating in her path.

Tyler smirked a bit while he folded his arms,
"Everything’s just fine, hm? Maybe we should-"

But he shouldn't end his sentence. With wide eyes Twilight saw the obstacle before her and lost her balance in midair, "WHOA!!" in the next second, both of them collided in midair and fell to the ground, “Tyler?!? What are you doing???”

Holding his head in minor pain, he looked over to her,
"I was going to have a little talk with you. I thought you could fly with these wings."

"Gliding flight, yes… Liftoff and landing, no!" Twilight responded, perturbed.

Milliseconds before they would have both smashed into the ground Twilight's magic levitated them to a steady hover in midair.

Exhaling in relief, Tyler closed his eyes,
"That was a close one. Good thing you have alicorn magic now. I almost had an accident in my pants. So if you didn't take off by yourself, how did you get started in the first place?"

While Tyler was levitated down to the ground, Twilight teleported herself right next to him, "Shining Armor. I asked him to toss me like Cadance. It would have worked if someone wouldn't have blocked my way."

Sitting on the ground, Tyler grinned a bit,
"Note to self: Get you to Rainbow Dash for a thorough flying tutorial…" his grin withered and he looked at Twilight, "And you? You have some nerve, girl! Who are you to decide if everything is fine with you being a princess? That's a bit hasty, you know? I for one need some time to adjust to that."

His tirade caught Twilight by surprise and she looked at him with a gasp.

Tyler only shrugged,
"What? Did you really think you would become a princess all of a sudden and everyone would be fine and dandy with it all at once? Maybe this is how ponies work; but we humans? We are different."

Slowly Twilight took a step back as tears welled in her eyes, her lips started to quiver,
“Tyler… Does this mean that you… that you don’t love me anymore now that I’m a princess?"

Now Tyler was caught by surprise,
"What the...?" realizing what she meant only made him roll his eyes, "Twilight… You know…? Sometimes you are just plain dense!"

The statement left Twilight dumbfounded,
"Huh?"

Shaking his head, he smiled down upon her as he took her cheeks into his palms,
"Until now we have two alicorn mares in the herd, why should it matter to me in a bad way when the unicorn in our herd ascends to alicorn status?"

Raising a hoof to her mouth, Twilight attempted to search for reasons,
"Because…"

Tyler rolled his eyes and gently flicked her muzzle tip, prompting her to stop in an instant,
"Oh, shut up, girl. As far as I’m concerned, you still are my little Twilight. No wings are going to change that. I just need some time to get accustomed to them. And if you start to get bitchy all of a sudden, I’m going to pull you down to the ground again, you hear me?”

Twilight smiled again, this time with confidence,
“It’s a promise!”

"There you go… Congratulation for passing that test, Twilight… I am so proud of you.”

Sharing a hug now, both of them stood together for what felt like an eternity. Twilight wasn't even sure how long she was in his embrace, but she could be in his arms for the rest of time, as long as it would always feel so good. Accepted. Yes, she felt accepted now despite a major change in her life.

Rubbing her muzzle into his chest, she wanted the moment with him to last forever,
"Thank you, Tyler. Thank you for believing in me."

Placing a kiss in her forehead, he looked deep into her eyes,
"Alright... Now dry your tears and let’s head back to the others."

As they headed back over to Canterlot again, Tyler looked over to Twilight, 'I love her as much as the others, but could I, given the chance, really join them? Could I really choose between them and ...?'

His train of thought was interrupted by Twilight suddenly,
"Tyler? Why exactly were you standing in the back rows at the coronation and not in front?"

'Oh dear...'

Author's Notes:

proofread by Truthseeker