I blinked as I woke up the next day confusion clouding my mind. During the night I wasn’t sure if I had my usual nightmares or not; if I did they just blended into the rest of the despair from the day before. Next was the fact that because of said despair I didn’t remember anything beyond the meeting from the previous day. To top it all off I was definitely not in my bed or even my own cottage for that matter.

Sitting up and looking around I saw a cozy room with wooden floors and walls. Beneath me was a comfortable red couch with a wooden back to it with two large chairs facing it diagonally forming a triangle. On the floor there was a round green throw rug and off to my left was the entrance to another room. From what I could see it was a kitchen. In front of me on the wall beyond the seating area was a door and window looking out into town.

The look of the town made me pretty sure I was back in Ponyville. Standing up I began to take a look around to find out where I was and, as I realized my weapons were missing as well as my trenchcoat I started looking for them too. Behind the seating area were a couple of shelves holding mementos, pictures and trophies. Walking over to them one of the pictures caught my eye; that of a younger looking Tough Hoof holding a trophy in his hooves with two earth ponies standing on either side of him.

These must be his parents, I thought, And I guess that makes this Tough Hoof’s house. How did I get here? Moving away from the pictures I came to the trophies, one of which was the trophy in the picture I had just seen. As I looked them over I noticed one common theme; they were all martial arts tournament trophies. Many had pony figures on them though some had what had to be gryphons and minotaurs on them.

There was no sight of my coat or weapons though, at least not here in this area. Before I could leave the room however I suddenly heard voices outside the door which opened shortly thereafter to reveal Tough Hoof and Windfall talking as they walked inside. Tough Hoof was saying, “That’s a really interesting story and…oh looks like he’s awake.” Windfall looked at me and before I could say or do anything came over and wrapped me in a big hug.

Right then that hug did make me feel a little better. Part of me wanted to be upset because that meant she continued to get through my defenses but at that moment I didn’t give a shit. She let go and took my arm with one of her wings, leading me over to the couch where she sat me down. Tough Hoof sat on one of the chairs facing the couch while Windfall sat to my left on the couch. Even after living with Windfall since coming to Ponyville it looked weird to see ponies sitting on furniture. They sat like I would expect a pony to sit it was just the fact that the furniture looked like human furniture that made it weird.

Tough Hoof cleared his throat a little nervously, “Windfall has filled me in on your…um…state of mind.” He looked a little crestfallen, “I realize that maybe I was a bit lacking in trust after your trial but I still am your friend John or at least I want to be so understand you can tell me anything.”

Windfall shook her head, “He didn’t tell anypony including me.” Her face scrunched up unhappily, “John also claims that nopony is his friend because he doesn’t want any friends.”

Tough Hoof nodded, “Ah yes I believe he and I spoke on something similar before now. I still can’t say I understand why though.”

Windfall snorted, “Because he doesn’t want it derailing his plans for self destruction.”

At that point I finally chimed in, “Not entirely true Windfall.”

Windfall looked surprised to hear me talk, “Well sweet Celestia up in Canterlot he is still with us. Wasn’t sure if you were or not since you were being so quiet.”

I grunted, “I don’t talk unless I have something I feel I should say. My being suicidal is not the only reason I don’t want friends though it is perhaps the biggest reason I have.”

Tough Hoof leaned forward in interest, “So what other reasons do you have John?”

Leaning forward and resting my elbows on my legs I sighed, took a deep breath and told them, “Years ago not too long after I started my vigilante ‘career’ I ended up making a lot of friends. In most cases however it did not end well. Many of my so called friends were only getting close to me to use me for their own ends and once they were done with me they discarded me. It didn’t end well for them. As for the rest, the ones who actually did give a shit about me…most of them ended up dead. Given what I was doing I suppose I should have realized how stupid getting close to people was. My enemies sought to use my friends against me whether as blackmail or by hurting or killing them to get at me. Whichever way they ended was painful to me but…I didn’t learn my lesson until around the time I decided I wanted to die.”

Tough Hoof put his forehooves together in front of his face like someone might do with their hands when they are thinking, “So the reason you are avoiding friends is partially because you don’t want to let that stop you from suicide and partially because you’re scared of the pain having friends might cause is that right?” When I had answered with a nod he leaned forward, smiling reassuringly, “John, Equestria is a peaceful place for the most part and whatever enemies you’ve made in the past are not here nor will they be able to get here so you needn’t worry about us dying on you. As for us just becoming your friends so we can use you I assure you that is not the case. We genuinely want you be your friend and make you feel welcome here and knowing what we do now we want to help you even more.”

He got off the chair and came to sit beside me, putting a foreleg around my shoulders like an old friend would, “I also hope that as you come to see us as friends we can help you find a reason to live again.” I went to protest but he held up a hoof to stop me, “Ultimately that is your decision however I am just telling you what I hope to do. Whether or not you believe it we do care about you John and we will try to help you whatever it takes.”

Then they both hugged me and I let them. When they let go I asked a question that had been on my mind, “I don’t really remember anything after some point during my visit with the princesses so what did happen and how did I end up here?”

Windfall looked happy enough to answer, “Well we tried to get you to talk a few times but you just stood there not responding which was starting to really freak us out. Sheeva took a look into your mind and told us that you were drowning yourself in despair and that we likely couldn’t get you out until you came to grips with it. After that Celestia used her magic to heal my injuries and asked me to thank you for helping me. Then we brought you back through Canterlot, took the train back here and since our house was so far away we went to Tough Hoof, explained the situation and asked him if he’d let us stay the night and here we are.”

A new voice broke into the conversation, “Speaking of how far away your cottage is I talked with Celestia about that and at her suggestion I moved it to the edge of Ponyville.” We all turned to see Sheeva hovering near the back of the room. Now that we knew she was there she floated over to sit cross-legged in the air above the green rug. “At least you won’t have so far to go every day now.” Her face changed to one of concern and caring instead of her usual slightly sarcastic self, “I’m glad to see you back to reality and letting others help you, however slightly that is.”

I shifted a little in my seat to face her more squarely, “At the moment there is little else I can do except go through my daily routine. Thank you for moving the cottage closer, it will make things rather more convenient at least.” Turning to Windfall I asked, “Any idea where my coat and weapons are now?”

Instead Sheeva answered the question, “I took them from you before you left Canterlot Castle. Don’t worry I put them back in the cottage for you. Oh and I almost forgot, Luna wanted me to pass on this message to you; she’s upset at not being told about your desire to die however she intends to help you however she can when she isn’t busy with her royal duties. Sounds like you made another friend whether you like it or not.”

I managed a slight upturn of my mouth, “Well it does seem like I have a way with people who live incredibly long lives.”

Sheeva gave a genuine laugh of pleasure at that, “That does seem to the case doesn’t it? First me, then you married Tala’keer and now you’ve made a friend of an alicorn princess. I’m almost afraid to ask what long lived being you’ll manage to befriend next.”

Tough Hoof and Windfall exchanged confused looks with Tough Hoof asking, “I didn’t know you were married John. If that’s the case then don’t you think suicide would hurt her?”

I sighed, “If she were alive I wouldn’t be suicidal.”

He looked incredibly sad and ashamed for a moment, “Oh, I’m so sorry John.”

“It’s ok. Maybe someday I’ll tell you the whole story. Sorry I missed work yesterday by the way.”

“It’s ok. I was a little upset that you didn’t show but I was more worried than anything else. When Windfall brought you here last night she explained about your meeting with Princess Celestia so at least you had a good reason to not be there. Speaking of upset you might want to explain that to Faint Heart and Mrs. Heart since they wandered where you were. They were pretty worried for you too.”

The thought of causing them to worry didn’t make me feel good at all, “Yeah I guess I better do that. I’ll do so today at work.”

“Glad to hear it. We’re having a little tournament tomorrow by the way. There will be different levels of competition, like the beginners level for Faint Heart. Now don’t worry too much because for her level we aren’t being real serious or anything. We can see how well she’s learned what she’s been taught and usually they have a lot of fun.”

I stood up to go see my cottage and to get a change of clothing, “Alright, I will do my best to get her ready. I’m going to go change into some new clothes then I’ll meet you at the dojo.”

Windfall got up as well, “I’ll come with you John. No offense but I intend to keep an eye on you for the time being and I will not take no for an answer.” The only real answer I could give to that was to sigh and set off, following Sheeva to the new location of my cottage with Windfall hovering beside me. To be honest I was happy to see Windfall flying again if for no other reason than because she seemed to be really happy to be able to fly again.

As we walked through town ponies reacted to me as they have been since the trial, running away and hiding. Sheeva seemed to go completely unnoticed, something Windfall caught onto, “John, why does nopony seem to notice Sheeva?”

“It’s not unusual for her to make herself invisible to the rest of the world actually. When we first met there were a few times people around me thought I was a crazy person because I was arguing with someone they couldn’t see or hear. Now that I think about it a bit more I guess I could qualify as crazy since Sheeva is often literally a voice in my head.”

“I see,” She said then went quiet again as we got back to our humble little home. Walking inside I could see that Sheeva did indeed return my coat as it was draped over the back of the chair by my computer. A moment spent searching inside the coat then into the gun lockers proved the return of my weapons as well. Windfall went into the kitchen area and began going through the fridge while I went upstairs and changed clothes.

When I came back down Windfall looked over at me and frowned, “I thought you were changing clothes John?”

“I did. All I own is several pairs of the same thing.”

“From what I’ve heard you might not want to tell Rarity that. I’ve heard she can be a bit crazy when it comes to clothing and fashion.”

“I’ll do my best not to tell her then,” I said. Windfall trotted over to me with a plate of veggies and fruits in her teeth which she gave to me then went back to grab one for herself. We spent a few quiet moments just eating on the couch which kinda made me homesick for the times I used to eat and watch TV with my family back on Earth. It didn’t last long at least and we finished pretty quickly.

I took my two pistols and knife and put them on the inside of my coat as per usual then went to leave. To my surprise Windfall came trotting out with me. She must have seen the look on my face because she replied before I even started asking the question, “I’m going to go watch you tonight. It’ll be fun for me to get out some more and to see what you do when you are at work. It'll be a good chance for other ponies to see you in a different light as well”

“It’d be a nice change of pace compared to ‘Eeek! He’s a monster! Run away!’”

Her wing gently petted my arm, “Most ponies are afraid of new things they don’t recognize, more so if that thing is dangerous which you’ve proven you are.”

By this time we were making our way down the street walking side by side, “You and Tough Hoof would be the exceptions then huh? Neither of you have shown much fear of me and you’ve even gone so far as to be annoyingly persistent about friendship despite my telling you no repeatedly.”

With a chuckle she replied, “What can I say? I’m a stubborn mare. Also unlike the rest of the town I have the advantage of having been rescued by you in the Whitetail Woods so I know there is more to you then the killer you’d love us all to think you are.”

“What makes you think I want everypony to believe I’m a killer?”

“You never hide the fact that you are willing to resort to violence as a solution as a start. Add to that the fact that you don’t want friends and so would do whatever it took to push them away from you.”

“Those are both true though I’m still not sure I’d go so far as to say I want them to think I’m a killer. Yes I do have no problem killing certain kinds of people and have done so many times. The problem with them thinking of me as a killer is that it gives them the impression that I will kill indiscriminately and for the most part that isn’t true.”

Her head turned to regard me quizzically, “For the most part?”

Inwardly I sighed and though Dammit I didn’t mean to give that away. Out loud I said, “I don’t want to talk about it ok? Suffice it to say something happened and for a while I stopped caring about anything, kinda like how I don’t care if I die.”

A frown appeared on her furry face, “Ok I’ll drop it but only for now. Later I want to hear the whole story.”

I snorted, “Good luck getting it.” About that time we got to the dojo and went inside. It was rather empty except for Tough Hoof and one or two other ponies. The other ponies waved at me which I returned but Tough Hoof was frowning at my coat.

He trotted over, “John please tell me you don’t have any weapons under that coat.”

“Ok, I don’t have any weapons under my coat. Now would you like me to tell you the truth?” Tough Hoof looked so upset by what that meant that even I had to try to put his mind at ease, “Look I’m not going to suddenly lose my shit and try to use them on myself. If that was likely to happen do you honestly think Sheeva would have returned my weapons to me? Until I find Wilhelm and kill him I won’t try to take my life of that I can promise you.”

That calmed his down a bit but he still didn’t look fully convinced, “Why do you need to carry weapons with you anyway? Unless something from the Everfree forest attacks we’re perfectly safe here.”

“I’ve gotten used to people trying to kill me at any time and any place so I always carry weapons with me. At this point I feel naked without a weapon on my person.”

“Forgive me but is that a bad thing for humans? I’m sure you’ve noticed that ponies usually go around naked.”

“Ah right, good point. Yes humans aren’t generally into being naked with a few exceptions. We don’t have fur to protect us and…well our reproductive organs aren’t hidden like yours are. Perhaps a better way for me to say it would have been to say that I feel exposed and vulnerable without a weapon on my person.”

“…Oh, I see. Yes I suppose that makes some sense then. You promise me that aren’t going to use those weapons on yourself or anypony else?”

“As long as Wilhelm is alive and nopony here does anything illegally harmful to anypony else then I promise.”

He sighed while looking a little deflated, “I suppose that’s the best I can hope for.”

Before he could say anything more the door opened and in walked Faint Heart and her mother. Mrs. Heart looked at me, “Oh good, you’re here today Mr. Tracker. I wasn’t sure since you were gone yesterday and Mr. Hoof didn’t know why.”

“I…apologize for that though to be honest I didn’t know I wasn’t going to be here either. You see I got a sudden summons to see Princess Celestia yesterday before I even got here and I didn’t have time to swing by and let Tough Hoof know.”

“Oh my, you got to meet Princess Celestia? Well that certainly makes sense then. Forgive me if I’m prying too much but I hope it wasn’t something bad?”

“She just wanted to assess me after the incident with the Diamond Dogs.”

“I see.”

Faint Heart walked forward, “I’m glad you’re back Mr. Tracker. I really missed getting to have class yesterday.”

Kneeling down I replied, “Oh you enjoy our class?”

She gave me a rare smile, “Uh huh! It makes me feel so much less afraid.”

At that moment I wished I could have given her a smile to show how that actually made me feel good but it wasn’t quite enough to get my lips to move into a smile. Still I said, “I’m glad to hear that Faint Heart. Are you ready for our class today then?”

All enthusiasm she said, “Yes!”

“How about the tournament tonight?” I glanced over at Tough Hoof, “You were told about that right?”

Mrs. Heart answered, “A little. Faint Heart isn’t going to be doing any serious fighting yet is she?”

Tough Hoof answered, “Oh no Mrs. Heart. For her level it’ll be a more informal thing where we can see how well she is learning what she’s been taught. We’ll all be on hoof to make sure nopony gets hurt or anything serious.”

I said, “Well then we better get to work right Faint Heart? C’mon let’s stretch by doing some of those basic punches I showed you.” Tough Hoof moved on to his other students while Mrs. Heart and Windfall watched Faint Heart and I. After going through the punches she knew I expanded her repertoire until she could do crosses, hooks and even an uppercut.

With the tournament drawing close and ponies beginning to come in I let Faint Heart rest a little and get some water while I went and helped Tough Hoof and other instructors set up mats and seating for everypony. Some of the ponies I’ve gotten to know a bit at the dojo waved at me when they came in which I returned. Once we were finished I headed back out to where I typically taught and I saw Windfall and Mrs. Heart talking with Twilight and her friends.

Faint Heart was even talking, hesitantly but still talking to a small group of fillies; Applebloom as well as the orange pegasus and white unicorn I saw with her at the trial. Twilight looked up at me and waved while smiling, “Hello Mr. Tracker, glad to see you up and about after yesterday.”

“Just call me John; I hate that ‘Mr.’ stuff. Mr. Tracker was my dad and he would have told you that it was his dad.”

“Sorry,” She said with a sheepish grin.

Of course I asked the obvious question, “So what brings everypony here?”

Rainbow Dash answered, “We’re here to watch the tournament duh!”

Rarity rolled her eyes and said, “Some of us simply wanted to take the opportunity to check in on how you were doing darling.”

Applebloom also chirped, “And Faint Heart here’s a classmate of ours so we came to cheer her on!”

The orange pegasus also spoke, “We’d heard that she’d started taking martial arts and we wanted to see her in action.”

All I could reply to all that was, “I see.” Looking at the two fillies I didn’t yet know I asked Applebloom, “So who are your friends Applebloom?”

She pointed a small hoof at the unicorn, “This is Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s younger sister.”

Sweetie Belle waved and said in a voice that squeaked, “Hi there!”

Applebloom then pointed to the pegasus, “And this here is Scootaloo.”

As she spoke I noticed Scootaloo’s voice rasped similarly to Rainbow Dash’, “I’m the second most awesome pony in Equestria, nice to meet you.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Who’s the first most awesome?”

“Rainbow Dash of course!”

Rainbow grinned, “You got that right Scootaloo.” I face palmed; the world, hell the galaxy didn’t need two of them and yet here they were, one of whom was part of the future generation ensuring it would continue. Rainbow kept going, “I was trained here you know so I’m looking forward to seeing if anypony can even come close to my level of awesome. I doubt it though.”

Before I could reply Tough Hoof came out and welcomed everypony, telling us the tournament was about to start. We broke up, Faint Heart coming with me and everypony else going to the seating area we had set up beforehand. Being that these were ponies they didn’t need seats so the floor where they were to sit was simply marked by tape. Their seating area was on three sides of the room around the center which was covered in mats. The remaining side was for the staff and the students though there was one chair which had been provided for me.

While we waited for everypony to get seated I leaned to the side and said to Faint Heart, “This is your first fight so don’t worry about how you do ok? Just try to use what I taught you as best you can and do your best to roll with the punches. If you feel you’re getting hit too often and you can’t take it yell for me to end the fight and I will.”

She looked up at me, “Shouldn’t I try to win?”

“Winning or losing isn’t what’s important here. What is important is that we can see how far you are coming along but we don’t want you to overdo it. Just go out there, try your best and try to have fun ok?”

With an slightly confused look she said, “Ok.” Any reply I would have had was interrupted by a small commotion from the entrance where I saw Princess Luna walking in, ponies bowing and trying to move out of her way so she could get through easier. I couldn’t hear her very well but she was smiling at the ponies around her and saying something after which they would stand up, smile back and go back to getting to a seating spot.

Luna looked over at me and waved and spoke loud enough for me to hear her, “Good evening John. I have heard that you were teaching one of our young ones and trying to help her build confidence. This is a good thing to hear and I came tonight because I wish to see how that is going.” She turned her attention to Faint Heart, “Good luck little one.”

Faint Heart looked like she really could faint as she whispered, “Princess Luna spoke to me…” It was really cute and I almost chuckled, more when Princess Luna sat down with Twilight and friends and I got a brief glimpse of the looks of the ponies behind where Luna sat. Like the movie theaters back home they had the look of someone, or in this case somepony who knew the really tall person with huge hair was going to sit right in front of them and ruin their view.

By this point there were very few ponies still coming in so Tough Hoof went out to stand in the middle of the room and began to speak, “Thank you everypony for coming tonight. We’ve been looking forward to the chance to show off the things we have learned and for you to enjoy the show of skill. We’ll start things off tonight with the beginners fights; please be sure to be polite and encourage them. Beginners, please come out to the mats!”

Faint Heart got up and hesitantly made her way out there with the other beginners where Tough Hoof assigned them to another beginner to spar with. He was certainly careful about trying to keep them in similar age groups as well as amount of time having been taught. After all was said and done there were about five different pairs of ponies facing each other on the mats, Faint Heart facing off against a unicorn filly with a tan coat and a long golden mane.

Tough Hoof looked around then shouted, “Begin!” My eyes were glued to Faint Heart and her opponent though it wasn’t much to look at towards the beginning. That was ok since it was her first fight but my mind was more on her accidently hurting herself or something and I was ready to step in and end the fight if need be. Perhaps that was me caring more than I wanted to but I was her teacher and I felt responsible for her.

At first the fight went pretty evenly with both fillies taking clumsy shots at each other but I was happy to see Faint Heart trying to use what I showed her. Clumsy her attacks may have been but I could still see when she tried to throw a cross, jab, hook and even one or two uppercuts. The attacks were clumsy as one would expect from someone’s first fight where they were unfamiliar with using those attacks against another person.

Eventually however she began to control them better and use them more effectively though neither pony seemed to be getting hurt. However when Faint Heart began to get better with her punches the other filly suddenly switched to kicks. Her kicks were as clumsy as their punches had been at the beginning but it threw Faint Heart off balance. Having never practiced kicks she didn’t know much about them and wasn’t expecting them resulting in her taking a buck to the side of her face and falling onto the mat.

I was out of my seat instantly and when Faint Heart didn’t stand up I ran over to her, my stomach tighter than a knot and filled with ice at the same time. The other filly was practically crying, looking over Faint Heart and saying over and over that she didn’t mean to hurt her. My mouth was on automatic as it spoke the words ‘It’s ok, it’s ok’ over and over. Kneeling down and leaning over to check on Faint Heart I was relieved not to see any signs of bruising meaning she hadn’t taken the full brunt of the hit.

Using my fingers I gently prodded her face to see if any bones had been broken despite the lack of bruises. Thankfully there didn’t appear to be any broken bones either however I began to notice that Faint Heart was quietly crying. Before I could say anything she suddenly got up and bolted from the room. In one motion I was up and sprinting after her; the sound of multiple ponies running behind me could be heard but I didn’t pay it any attention. Reaching the front classroom where we usually practiced I saw Faint Heart curled up in a corner crying.

Kneeling down next to her I said, “I’m sorry Faint Heart, I should have stopped the fight earlier. No strike that I should have simply told Tough Hoof not to have you fight in the first place.” Even as I said that part of me was pretty angry at Tough Hoof for not having given me more notice of the tournament so I could have prepared her better even if the fight wasn’t supposed to be a serious one.

Sniffling she replied, “I-I’m not really hurt actually.”

“Then why are you crying sweetie,” her mom asked bringing me to notice that she along with Windfall, Twilight and her friends and Applebloom and friends were standing to my right.

“B-because I lost,” she cried, “I didn’t do a good job even though Mr. Tracker tried to teach me.”

That surprised me, “Wait so you’re crying because you think I’m upset with you or something?”

“Uh huh.”

“I’m not upset with you, not at all. If anything I’m proud of you.”

Her little head lifted up to look at me, “But I lost even though you showed me these moves.”

I tried to look comforting and reassuring though I doubt I pulled it off, “That’s ok it was your first fight. Trust me when I say that for your first fight I thought you actually did pretty well. For me the most important things were that I could see you trying to use what I taught you and that you are ok. If you want to blame anyone for you losing then blame me because I didn’t prepare you for an opponent trying to kick you.”

She looked like she didn’t quite believe me so I said, “Faint Heart, I know how crazy a fight can be. More often than not it’s chaos and unless you are used to it you can easily forget what you need to do. With that in mind the fact that I could tell you were trying to use what I showed you makes me very proud of you. If that’s not enough for you let me tell you that even now, after ten years of using what I’ve been teaching you, I still lose fights. You have nothing to be ashamed of, nothing at all.”

Slowly she got to her hooves, wiping away her tears, “Really? You mean it Mr. Tracker?”

“I mean it Faint Heart.”

Another voice came from behind me, “Indeed he does and he is correct.” Turning we saw Luna standing there, a smile on her face for Faint Heart who looked at Luna in awe. She went on, “You are doing well for one so young and I am pleased to see that you are learning much.”

Scootaloo chimed in excitedly, “Yeah you were totally awesome! I mean not as awesome as Rainbow Dash but still totally awesome!”

Applebloom came in, “Yeah, you gotta show me some of them moves!”

Sweetie Belle squeaked, “Me too!”

A huge smile lit Faint Heart’s face, “Ok!” As she began to show off her moves and the other began to copy her and generally have a good time I watched her mother tear up a little and smile.

Mrs. Heart came over to me, “Thank you Mr. Tracker for helping her. I cannot tell you how it makes me feel to see my little filly interacting so openly with others her age.”

“I’m glad I could help,” I said and I meant it too. As I watched the fillies having fun and Mrs. Heart being happy about the whole thing I felt warmth fill me and a big, broad, real smile crossed my face that I just could not get rid of.

Windfall noticed and said, “John I’ve never seen you smile like this before.”

Luna also noticed, “It is good to see such a smile. Pray tell what has made you smile so?”

I answered honestly, “I’ve always hoped that my actions as a vigilante improved the lives of others by taking away those who would harm or use them. It is hard to really point out whether or not that has been the case most of the time. Right now however I can honestly say I have made a positive difference in this young filly’s life, and it feels so very good.”

Windfall gave me a hug and Luna smiled wider as she said, “I too and very happy to see you make such a difference, both because it is good to see our citizens happy but also because this is how things will get better for you.” After that I said nothing just continued to smile as we all did as we watched the fillies continue to mock fight and talk and laugh. Eventually we made our way back to the main room to watch the rest of the fights.

Wilhelm managed a sigh of relief as his FTL drive disengaged and he returned to normal space still alive though his head was still throbbing from when it had hit the bulkhead. His sigh quickly became a gasp of near panic as normal space had a blue and green planet looming right in front of his ship. Fingers moving quickly he attempted to get the ship’s main drive to activate and take him into a stable orbit but the instruments were not working optimally thanks to the near destruction of the jump through the storm.

Cursing he attempted a reboot which slowly began to bring various affected systems back online but by that time fire was flying up the viewport. With re-entry buffeting the ship and it still being affected by the jump error messages began to appear on his console as parts began to give out or systems would overload. Unable to maneuver the ship he went for his last option; a set of emergency thrusters that was designed to slow a crashing ship down enough to make the impact survivable.

The thrusters activated with what felt like a kick in the rear and he was able to turn his attention to what he could see outside the viewport. A night sky was visible as was a small town below though as he fell closer to the surface he realized he was going to miss the town. Consulting his console it looked like he was going to come down in a forested area outside the town. He gripped a set of crash webbing securing him to his seat and hoped that the ship could be fixed and that the town could help.

Windfall and I had said our goodbyes to everypony and were walking back to our cottage. Windfall was smiling, “That was a lot of fun tonight, watching everypony show off their skills.”

It felt normal for me to ask, “Did you ever think of taking martial arts?”

“Not really, but I enjoy the spectacle. By the way John I’m really proud of you for helping Faint Heart tonight and I know her mother is happy for the way you’ve helped her gain more confidence overall.”

“I am glad I was able to help,” I replied though I was stopped from saying anything more by the night sky getting a little but noticeable brighter. Looking up along with Windfall I saw a blazing object coming down though the light surrounding quickly went out. It didn’t take long before the object came close enough for me to see that it was a ship. A ship! Looks like it’s in trouble though. The thrusters are firing so it may survive the crash which means I may be able to get a ride off this planet if it can be repaired!

Windfall’s gaze followed the crashing ship, “Looks like it’s going to come down in the Everfree forest!” True enough it did exactly that, leaving a pall of smoke rising into the sky. Using that I programmed into my gauntlet a direction towards the pall then ran back towards my cottage with Windfall yelling ‘wait’ and flying after me. Once inside I took off my coat, checking to make sure I had my knife, Glock and Tala the desert eagle before I went over to the weapon lockers.

Opening one I found what I was looking for, a SPAS-12 which I pulled out thankfully without Sheeva suddenly popping into my head or magically stopping me and began loading shells into it. Once loaded I grabbed a pouch which I filled with more shells before grabbing a harness, putting it on and hooking the pouch to it. Windfall watched all this and asked, “What are you doing John?”

“Getting ready to go into the Everfree forest. You said it was dangerous right? Well I’m going in there to find that crashed ship!” Throwing my coat back on I grabbed the gun and ran outside and in the direction of the pall of smoke. Windfall followed though I hardly noticed as the ship was the only thing on my mind. Ponies in the town got out of my way quickly enough as I went running through towards the forest. At that moment, the prospect of getting off world made each footstep feel almost like running on air.

Sheeva gave a contented sigh as she lay surrounded by energy, relaxing in it as a human might enjoy relaxing in a bath only without the need to get naked. She had felt John’s happiness at having helped the little pony Faint Heart and it made her happy that he felt that way. “Looks like my plan is working after all,” She murmured to herself. Just then a magical warning she had put in place went off in her mind and she frowned, opening all three eyes.

Using a bit of energy and focus she was able to see John running with a gun in his hands, Windfall following him. “Where are you going John,” She wondered. Pulling her sight back a bit she looked around in the direction he was going until she saw the pall of smoke. Zooming her sight in she saw it coming from a structure that had been partially cut out of a cliff face and partially built against the cliff.

Adjusting her sight even further she saw a hatch open from the ship that had crashed and was causing the smoke. A wobbly figure half fell out of the ship and her heart froze as she recognized him as Wilhelm. If he was in Equestria that meant John might find him and if he did then one way or the other that was going to be end of John. Her sight shifted back to see John running and sure enough it was directly towards where Wilhelm now waited causing her to use a word she often heard humans use, “FUCK!”