Karon woke up in the soft glow of early morning. He could feel the still form of Twilight lying next to him sleeping. He must have slept at least 18 hours from the looks of it, but he still felt tired. He turned over his way too heavy body and observed the peacefully resting unicorn.

Her mouth was slightly open and air pushed through the gap as she breathed. Her stomach expanding a little with each turn. Had she been next to him the entire time he was sleeping?

He gently poked her ribs to wake her up. She didn't react so he poked her again a little harder. She grumbled in displeasure before her eyes fluttered open looking confused.

“Good morning sleepy-head.”

“Says the human that slept through the entire day and night.”

“You're still in my bed so I assumed you did as well.”

“No, I went downstairs for supper and most of the time I was reading.”

“Then why are you in my bed now?”

She looked down a little uncertain before facing him again, a tone of scholarly detachment forced into her speech.

“I didn't want you to feel lonely after all that you've been through. I thought you might be in shock and needed support.”

“No pony should try and lie to an expert liar; even you can't deny that is nothing but a bad excuse.”

“First of all, it sounds exactly like the usual path of reasoning Twilight would follow, and secondly, what the hell do you mean not even I? I thought you were the dry witted amoral part wanting instant gratification while I was the main character.”

“Really? I thought I was the centre figure and you the secret insecurity somewhere in the back of my mind.”

“No way, I am clearly the good hearted protagonist figure between the two of us, while you are the snarky observer meant to give questionable advice and spontaneous comic relief.”

“That's absolute nonsense, I am clearly the world-wise savvy part while you are the socially awkward part meant as comic relief and dispelling tension concerning our otherwise dastardly behaviour.”

“Impossible, that scenario does not compute with our already established form of behaviour and judgement calls.”

“Does too!”

“Does not!”

“Okay, I might not know which part you are but I still know what part I am.”

“Then who are you?”

“The sexy one.”

The very confusing internal conversation must have lasted longer than Karon had thought because Twilight was staring at him nervously. She put a hoof on his forehead and looked inquisitively in his eyes, expecting a response of some kind.

“Sorry, got lost in thought. Well thank you for ... that, but nothing is wrong with me. If I were to go into shock every time a new magical training bent and twisted my being to suit it, I wouldn't have lasted this long.”

“Why do you keep acting like horrible things are supposed to happen to you? You don't have to continue doing things that hurt you.”

“Pain is a part of life. I will not be intimidated by it.”

“I don't think I will ever understand how you humans can talk about bad things like they aren't bad at all.”

“We humans?”

“I read about your history remember? I don't think anypony else around here would even understand if I tried telling them about the things I read that you've done to yourselves.”

“Twilight, I told you yesterday about how ponies were created and what came before them. You think that the Everfree forest is a terrible place, but do consider that it was how your world worked before your existence, and it is how most worlds work. You were created specifically to be too connected to your world and each other to be capable of such deeds, but we are not.”

“Most creatures are not given that privilege. We are simply given free will and then allowed to learn by ourselves through trial and error. Through the mistakes made from our own frailty of spirit and heart, and through the regrets or pride we carry with us. You can perhaps spurn pain Twilight, but we cannot. It's the only way we truly learn.”

She didn't like what she was hearing, that was clear. He was describing an existence outside of the bubble of innocence ponies had been born into, and Karon wondered if perhaps the beings that had created the ponies had made a mistake. The ponies might be sweet and genuinely caring, but by making their entire world into one grand picture of childlike naivety and innocence, they had robbed them of the chance to truly grow.

“Bah, it's not my place to judge such things. It's beyond my scope, all things considered.”

It was at that point he decided not to push things with Twilight any more. He might hate when any creature made a willing decision to live in ignorance because truth hurt, but it was different here. They had been made to be such, maybe their souls would move onto another place when they had enough of the sugar coating or something. It didn't matter, if he forced his own awareness and the knowledge therein on Twilight, it would break her.

Besides, maybe there were truths to be learned here as well.

“Sorry Twilight, I get carried away at times, and I give way too much of a one sided picture of myself, I think. So how about we talk about something a little more ... casual.”

She had been about to rise up from the bed before he spoke the last part. She lied down again and looked a little surprised.

“Like what?”

“How are you holding up?”

“Uhm, fine I guess,” she laughed a little nervously.

“You can do better than that. It's not like things have been uneventful since I got here.”

“Well, to be honest I don't know. I mean I'm very happy you're here and decided to make a home, but I still feel like it's my fault.”

“That is getting annoying. I like it here so get over it and take the credit.”

“You can't deny that without me you would still be back in your own world in your own home.”

“This is my home. Besides, if I was still be back on Earth I'd probably be extremely bored. This last week has been quite exciting.”

“Well, there always that,” she agreed with a smile.

They lied there, face to face staring into each other’s eyes, both wearing smiles as they enjoyed the moment.

“So anything else on your mind?” she asked after a few minutes of silence broken by the awakening birds outside in the tree.

“How about we discuss the future?”

“That sounds interesting. What did you have in mind.”

“Simple, you tell me something you want to do in the future then I tell you something. I'll match the level of embarrassment what you say produces.”

“That sounds less appealing, but still it seems like a great idea.”

It had certainly been.

They spent the entire morning together there on the bed, slowly opening themselves up to each other. This was a bit ironic since Twilight had been temporarily housed within Karon’s mind, but this was different. There was no magic or life threatening danger involved, just two friends confiding in each other. Revealing their hopes and dreams on a beautiful morning, it was ... nice.

“Fluttershy's influence is beginning to show.”

“It's only fair they have some influence on me considering how much I must have had on them.”

“Have, present tense. You still influence them and they you.”

More than nice, it was pretty damn funny too. During their talk he told Twilight about his dreams of one day becoming a wizard, learning the secrets of the universe. He told her of his desire to walk on a path leading him through the unknown mysteries and hearing their whispered voices, of his need to walk that road. Through darkness and light, between worlds and distant stars, he wanted it more than anything.

But he also told her about how he hoped he one day might learn how to sing properly and play the lute. How he secretly wished he would get the chance to smack a goddess on the ass, and perhaps worst of all, he told her he wanted a kitten he would name master Purrlin.

She didn't get the reference.

Twilight on the other hoof was slow in at the start, keeping it strictly to her academic hopes. Like wanting to write a book about the magic of friendship and all that she has learned during her time in Ponyville. Or how she one day perhaps would go back to princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns and take up teaching.

But after Karon revealed he wanted to learn how to sing and she forced him to demonstrate his talent so far she had fallen down into a fit of hysterical giggling and opened up more. Telling him she wanted to learn how to be as skilled with other ponies as Rarity was and learn how to bake as well as Pinkie Pie.

She also told him of her worries for Spike's future once she was gone, at this point even Karon had enough sense to move closer and hold her for comfort. It might be nice to actually get some time with Twilight, especially in such an intimate manner, but he couldn’t relax completely and enjoy it.

He had lied to her.

And he couldn't blame it on severe exhaustion and sleep deprivation either. He had been planning on lying to her before even entering the library. While they laid there, the conversation drifted into more and more ridiculous topics, like how weird it would be if Karon grew a unicorn horn because he could do magic. But most of his attention was focused inwards, at the internal struggle this one tiny little lie had brought.

“The amount of time and energy you spend on these little conversations is silly. You don't need to second guess every single choice you make; stress will wear at this brand new body you know. Well it's not so brand new anymore I guess since that whole squashing our face incident.”

“You do love the sound of your own voice don't you?”

“We both do, it's why we talk so much.”

“Not going anywhere close to that, let's stay on topic. Did we make a mistake in lying to her?”

“Nope, definitely not. It was the best choice we could make considering the situation, Twilight might have warmed up to us a lot, but she would most likely turn on us in a second if she knew what was really happening between us and Rarity.”

“I doubt she is capable of doing that. I am more concerned about her misinterpreting it as something sinister or doomed to bring misery upon Rarity.”

“First of all, you are forgetting that quote about a woman scorned and her fury. You know she has a thing for you in some way, maybe it's just a sort of academic curiosity and she has fallen for the idea of a male that can best her in pure intellect. Doesn't matter, it has happened. And secondly, it is very possible that us and Rarity will end in misery, but cowardice has never been a valid excuse for anything.”

“It still feels wrong, we owe it to Twilight to be truthful.”

“We are a trickster you idiot. We can't have a guilty conscience whenever we decide to lie or manipulate someone or somepony. Just make sure it's for a worthwhile cause and then let things go as they go.”

“You're right, I've set my path. Might as well go through it to the end.”

He had been diverting his attention between his inner musings and Twilight's somewhat humorous description of how Karon would look as a pony. For some reason she had decided he should have a green mane instead of charcoal since that would be the colour of his coat.

“I am having trouble understanding the reasons behind why my hypothetical mane would look like seaweed, but I'm sure they are perfectly sound.”

“Of course they are, but it's not like I expect a human to be able to understand the complexity of a pony's life,” she said it with a mocking tone and one eyebrow raised up in challenge.

“I think I understand perfectly.”

“Sure you do.”

“You have always felt an inner attraction to the colour green, and so you project it onto my hypothetical pony body. It's a mental Freudian slip, really.”

“I do not! Green is an awful colour for a mane!”

The window was open and down on the street below it a certain pony heard everything and gave off an indignant “humph”, before discreetly hurrying towards the spa for more orange hair dye.

“Are you sure, you don't find it tantalizing?”

Karon moved her face closer to Twilight's.

“Invigorating?”

Twilight looked at him with a face that said he wasn't as funny as he thought.

“Exhilarating...?”

He was mere inches from from her lips now, but her eyes had the same scepticism still.

“Maybe I would be more impressed if your breath didn't smell like dog for some reason.”

Karon right hand slipped, and since he had been supporting most of his weight on it his head followed after and he banged it into the bed frame.

“Ouch! ... Uh, no reason. No reason at all ... hehe, uhh.”

He rubbed his sore spot and winced a little. “Well, this was nice, but I really should get going now. Lots of things to do, fixing my debt with Applejack and talking with Rarity. Oh and visiting Zecora, you know, busy busy. Anyway gotta go!”

Before Twilight could respond Karon grabbed his tattered clothes and jumped down from the platform and ran out the door. She listened as he quickly grabbed breakfast in the kitchen before the front door opened and closed with a bang followed by the distant sound of the human cursing as he realized what he'd just done.

He had ran out stark naked into the middle of Ponyville with his clothes and breakfast in his arms.

Twilight shook her head and mumbled to herself as she opened her book once more and began reading.

“Why can't I ever met a pony that isn't crazy?”

                               **********************************

Applejack had been out bucking apples with her usual gusto, never stopping for more than a few seconds to catch her breath. She smiled up at the tree with its bountiful yield of apples before spinning around on her front hooves and delivering a swift firmly planted kick on the tree.

The entire thing shook and every single apple on the tree fell down into the carefully positioned baskets with satisfying precision. Not a single apple fell outside, but that wasn't surprising. Applejack had been doing this for many years now and knew how her trees liked to drop their fruit.

She wiped her forehead with one of her hooves before speaking out loud to no pony special.

“Whew! That sun is mighty hot today, wonder if princess Celestia would mind if ah asked her ta turn it down a notch.” She chuckled a little at her own joke. The sun might be strong today, but it was nothing the sturdy farm pony hadn't faced before.

She was about to buck the next apple tree when she heard hoofsteps coming from the road behind the hill, but they sounded a tad bit strange, not like ponies usually did. She had a sneaking suspicion about who it might be and she crept between the apple trees until she had a clear view of the road.

Yup, as sure as rain, it was Karon the human, but for some reason he was not wearing the robe Rarity had made him. Instead he was walking around with his upper body unclothed. Applejack wasn't sure how a human was supposed to look like without clothes but he sure looked strange.

All his muscles looked really weird, starkly contrasted beneath the flimsiest of skins and shaped in lots of odd patterns around his arms and stomach, but despite the bizarre sight she could see clearly that he had a lot more physical strength than she first thought he'd have.

Being a magic user and book worm like Twilight had made her think he would be just as out of shape as the unicorn. Not that there was anything wrong with Twilight's physical condition, she just wasn't the athletic type. Karon obviously was, or maybe all humans were like that?

“There's definitely something fishy about all this, ah better keep a close eye on that one. Make sure he ain't trying any funny business.”

Applejack did not like sneaking, so she decided for a more direct approach.

“Hey there! Coming ta work off ya debt or are ye thinking of running back inta the forest?”

Karon stopped and turned around, watching as the earth pony walked over to him in a determined manner.

“It will be a long time before I want to go back in there. So yeah, I'm here to settle my debt.”

“Well that's dandy and all but Ah'm fraid ah can't just leave mah work like that, ya need to find Big Mac and ask him ta help ya out with whatever you're planning.”

“Sounds good, where can I find him?”

“Ah reckon he's in the barn, working.” She nudged her head in the direction of the large red structure.

“I'll get to work then. It shouldn't take that long but you'll notice a definitive improvement.”

“Ah hope so, otherwise ya'll be repainting the house instead.”

Karon gulped a little at the rock hard gaze of the farm pony. Of every pony he had met so far, Applejack was the greatest threat to him. Not that there was anything he was planning that she might mess up, but the risk was still there. She would see through his usual methods and smoke screens with ease, best if he simply tried to avoid her as much as he could.

He turned around as respectfully as he could and began walking towards the barn. He could feel Applejack's focused stare the entire way. The barn door was ajar and he knocked loudly on it before stepping inside.

“Big Mac, you here? Applejack said you could help me out with improving your distillery.”

There was a rustling coming from the pile of hay at the far end of the open space, after a few moments of movement a large block of a head belonging to a red coloured pony with a mane matching the hay popped up.

Judging from the hazy expression and blank eyes he had most likely been taking a nap.

“Were you sleeping back there?”

“Nope,” the stallion responded with a slow drawl, his facial expression not changing.

“Okay ... Anyway I could probably use some assistance, so if you're not too busy could you lend me a han-, I mean hoof?”

“Eeyup.”

Taking that as an affirmative, Karon walked out from the barn towards the house and its cellar. He heard the big stallion following right behind him, his walk somehow having the same slow drawl as his speech.

They both went down the stairs to the cellar and its improvised distillery. The unicorns that had set it up certainly had only the most rudimentary knowledge about making alcohol. Though there were some very good side effects of having unicorns designing the still, it worked completely by magic. The entire thing was enchanted, but unfortunately the Apple family didn't know how to use it properly.

It was a reflux still, which was good. It meant there could be some very fine products being made there in the future.

“Okay Big Mac, I'm going to teach you how to work this thing properly, then we will make a batch. First, let's get the yeast and sugar, it's important to get the right measurement, and making sure the water is pure is also a priority.”

Karon spent the remainder of the morning instructing the large stallion in making high quality whiskey. Thankfully, they had a ready supply of all the ingredients needed, including malt, so Karon demonstrated by doing.

“So you see it's important to control the temperature. By doing that, we can separate the more desirable components from the less desirable ones. Anyway, usually you should let the fermentation take place for at least a week, preferably a few more days besides that, but since I can do magic and the still is enchanted we can cheat this one time, but it's best if you let it happen naturally.”

Karon manipulated the flow of time a little within the steel barrel they had mixed it all in, and what normally took seven days, instead only took seven minutes. With Big Mac's help, he then dumped it all into the still and activated it by touching a crystal, then they sat back and relaxed while keeping a check on the temperature.

“From what I could taste of the batch you gave me, you like adding some apple essence for taste right?”

The pony responded with a sagely nod and only said, “That's right.”

“Well we can do that, but I will be heading out to ask the zebra Zecora to teach me about the local flora. Given time, I might come up with a few herbs that could be added for flavour or effect to the drink.”

“Eeyup,” was the only answer Karon received, so they spent the rest of the time in silence until the crystal shone red and gave off a light chiming sound to inform them it was done.

They went over to a tap that had been thoughtfully placed in and each poured a mug. Karon took a sip and made a pleased sound. It was far from the work of art that Varsif produced, but it was still far better than what Applejack had given him before.

“Now that's some mighty fine daniels you made here.”

The stallions eyes had been ignited with a spark and he was slowly pouring the content of his mug down his throat, making a pleased sound before going over for a refill. Feeling happy to have found a potential drinking buddy, Karon followed suit and refilled as well.

“This particular sort is called whiskey Big Mac, and it is too fine to be enjoyed in a dank and dark basement. Let's go upstairs and find a nice spot to lie down and enjoy the sun and drink on.”

“Sounds good ta me,” the stallion responded and headed up the stairs with a happy Karon in tow. They both found a secluded spot on a hill under an apple tree and sat down, enjoying the warming sun and whiskey.

There is always a certain joy in drinking, but when you have made it yourself, there also a large measure of pride and the feeling of hard work well done mixed in.

Maybe it was the excellent whiskey that was to blame, or maybe the stoic calming presence the large pony emanated. Either way Karon closed his eyes and leaned his face towards the sun before he told the pony.

“I'm in trouble Big Mac.”

“How's so?”

“I think I might have fallen in love with Rarity, and I think she might have fallen for me too.”

The stallion only responded with a wisened hum, so Karon went on.

“It was not something I planned and I still have difficulty actually believing it. I'm used to having control, over myself and others, so finding myself unable to do anything but respond to a feeling I didn't expect in any way is ... disturbing. It's extremely cliché I know, but when you dedicate yourself to the life of a manipulating bastard with some kind of obscure future in the wise folds of magic, you can't let emotions sneak up on you.”

“Sounds like yer being afraid to me.”

“Of course I am, but unlike most regular folk that have nothing else to worry about besides a broken heart, the consequences of me losing control and giving in are far worse. We can't be allow ourselves to be left at the mercy of our desires, they can only fuel us not guide us.”

“So what's ta problem?”

“Well, I don't think the emotional part is that bad, it was just unexpected. The real bad is that Twilight might have got a thing for me to, but I doubt it's serious. Most likely just a feeling of intense gratitude because I saved her that's she's mistaken for love or something. It's not like I expect Twilight to have all the thousand nuances that are the intricacy of our hearts pinned down. She barely has any social skills at all as far as I can judge. But I lied to her, she managed to find out about me and Rarity's growing feelings and confronted me about it. First I told her I wasn't sure, which was true, but yesterday I lied and told her I had no such feelings at all and was going to tell Rarity that today ... Which I won't.”

“That doesn't sound right.”

“Tell me about it. I don't want to hurt anypony, but I can't see any other options. Either I confess to Twilight and she will hate me for it, or I deny all feelings for Rarity and tell her off. In which case she will most likely hate me since she knows I do have feelings for her.”

“Hmmm, Well ah think it's a simple situation is all.”

“Oh really,” Karon said with a look of extreme disbelief and scepticism.

“Since ya haven't done anything with Rarity, an' ya don't know fer sure if it will even work with ya two, Ah think ya should just go ahead and see if things will happen. If it does, ya can just tell Twilight ya were wrong, but didn't tell her until you weren't sure ‘bout it. Because ya do wanna be with Rarity right?”

Karon could just stare at the pony who's appearance screamed uneducated hill billy. Yet here he was, putting Karon's difficult situation in the most simple way with an equally simple solution.

“You know what Big Mac ... you might be the wisest of us all.”

“Eeyup.”

They both fell silent after that and simply enjoyed the beginning of the afternoon and the pleasant spring day. That is until they heard a shout followed by some sort of commotion from the farm.

They looked at each other before rising up and hurrying towards it, but despite their quick pace, Big Mac managed to maintain that slow drawl in his walk.

“How does he do that?”

“I'm not sure, but I think we might have just met the ultimate Zen master.”

“Huh, now that you mention it he does remind me a little of Hong Ma.”

When they arrived at the farm, they saw Applejack standing at the porch facehoofing as Pinkie Pie zoomed around the outside lifting up and looking underneath every possible object she could find.

“Pinkie, what are you doing?”

“Hi Karon! Hey Big Mac! So I was talking to Applejack about maybe getting some more of that yummy drink you brought for the last party, but then I heard her whisper something about losing all her marbles so I decided to help her look for them!”

She thoughtfully lifted a basket of apples and locked underneath it.

“Not there either,” she said sounding surprised while Applejack just shook her head, hoof still on her face.

“Sweetie ah haven't lost any marbles, is just ah'n old saying s'all.”

“But I heard you-”

“What Applejack is saying...” Karon said as he kneeled down next to Pinkie, his hand on her head and large grin unseen by her, ”...is that she never had any marbles to lose in the first place.”

Big Mac gave off a good natured snort while Applejack glared daggers at the grinning human. Pinkie Pie on the other hand just sounded more confused than she had been a moment ago.

“But, why did she say she lost her marbles if she didn't have any? *Gasp* Were they imaginary marbles!?”

“No I just think Applejack must have been confused when she said that. Maybe she overworked herself. The sun is very strong today after all, and she might not have drunk enough water for today.”

The party pony shot forward in a pink blur and grabbed Applejacks face, squeezing her cheeks together. “Oh no Applejack you should get inside quick and lie down! I know, I can stay with you and sing get better songs!”

Applejacks eyes grew considerably bigger at the suggestion and a sweat began to noticeably shine on her forehead. She stepped back from Pinkie's hooves and quickly said.

“That won't be necessary Pinkie, ah'm not sick, ah was just uh...”

“Could you imagine a life like hers? Hard working and honest, not willing to tell a lie.”

“I'd rather not, it will give me nightmares.”

“I'm sure Applejack was just mumbling to herself Pinkie, but she has certainly earned some rest just to be safe. You can take over for the rest of the day right Big Mac?”

“Eeyup.”

The orange earth pony looked to be struggling with herself if this counted as something dishonest but didn't appear to find any fault in it. She was about to respond when her eyes turned to slits and she gave Karon a look of suspicion.

“Now hold on just a minute, did ya finish working off yer debt?”

Karon turned his head towards Big Mac and asked with a self satisfied smile.

“Well Big Mac, did I help improve your product?”

“Eeyup!”

Applejack didn't lose her suspicious look at that, so Big Mac gave a tiny sigh and gave Applejack his half full mug of the whiskey. Pinkie sniffed the air loudly as she looked on the mug with glowing eyes.

Applejack sniffed the whiskey too before taking a careful sip of it. She looked down on it surprised, afterwards before she turned it upside down and drank the rest in one big gulp.

“Oh my, ah don't like to admit it, but this is better than mah old stuff.”

Pinkie's ears had sloped down when Applejack drank all of it but smiled again when she remembered Applejack was supposed to have the rest of the day off for resting.

“This is gonna be the bestest day ever! I can tell you stories, and bake cupcakes and tell jokes and bake stories, no wait I can tell stories while baking! Or maybe I can tell joking stories that are about baking. That’s guaranteed to make you laugh.”

Applejack's eyes flitted back and forth in an animal gesture of panic. Karon considered leaving her hanging but decided he needed to get some points after that marble joke.

“That's a shame Pinkie, because I was hoping you would help guide me to Zecora's place, you know since I was hoping she could teach me about the local herbs so I could expand Applejack's inventory. Maybe I will be able to come up with tens or hundreds of new kinds of booze.”

Pinkie looked almost like she was having an orgasm at the thought, her tongue hanging outside her mouth and panting heavily at the possibility.

“Are we the one that's going to be responsible for introducing alcoholism into pony society?”

“Looks that way.”

“Yupp, we're definitely going straight to pony hell.”

“Doesn't matter since we will be greeted as heroes down there. After we are done with Equestria, I have a feeling they will be receiving a lot more newcomers than usual down there.”

“Mwhehehe, I'm pretty sure they have no pony hell, but it would be kinda funny though.”

“You think you can manage without her Applejack?”

“Ah'm certain, you go help him out sugercube. Ah'll be just fine on mah own.”

She flashed Karon a grateful look before heading inside the house. Big Mac remained standing where he was and waited for Karon to add something.

“Well then Big Mac, it's been nice meeting you. I'll see you again sometime soon.”

“Eeyup,” was his only response before heading out towards the apple trees to continue his sister's work.

“So Pinkie, you ready to go?” Karon asked before finishing his whiskey as fast as he could. Pinkie was eyeing the mug greedily and he was very sure that a drunk Pinkie was something he did not want to have to handle unless he was drunk too.

“Yuppie duppie guppie!”

“Well then, lead on.”

“Ooooh, we can play follow the pony!”

Before he could interject and suggest something else she had bounced away faster than should be possible. Karon was forced to follow after her on an extremely unconventional route, under fences and over rocks, one time she bounced up into an apple tree before jumping down. Stopping to make sure he did the same.

Which was the reason the one hour walk turned into a two and a half hour chase, Karon trying as best he could to keep up with the hyperactive pony. The first hour was fairly easy all things considered, but once Pinkie entered the forest that quickly changed. He had no idea how she could act just as carefree and silly inside of it as she did in Equestria but she did. Giggling every now and then while bouncing between the trees and occasionally bursting into songs whenever she came across something noteworthy.

Eventually Karon stumbled out of a thick cluster of bushes and found himself in front of a hollowed out tree, not entirely unlike the Ponyville library. It had a few windows in the sides of the tree and a front door made out of wood.

Pinkie stood in front of the very naturalistic home and waved at him happily.

“We're here!”

“Yes I can see that Pinkie, is Zecora home?”

“I don't know, I haven't knocked yet silly, I was waiting for you to finish the game.”

“How thoughtful.”

“That was ... considerate of you,” he said before going over to the door and knocking on it respectfully. If he was going to ask the zebra to teach him about this worlds version of herbology with no bits to pay her for it, he would need to act carefully.

There was half a minute of silence before the door creaked open slightly and a zebra head became visible in the gap. Well this worlds version of a zebra anyway. Besides the colouring and the stylish hair her, head didn't look that different from regular ponies.

Her eyes went up until they meet Karon's and widened slightly.

“One such as you I have never seen, from your appearance no name I can gleam.”

“Hi Zecora! This is Karon, he's a human that's decided to live with Twilight and he wanted to come see you. I'm sure you'll become the best of friends because he's super duper nice.”

The zebra relaxed visibly when the pink pony popped up in front of Karon and she opened the door fully, letting the two of them inside. Pinkie trotted inside as happy as ever, while Karon adopted a more solemn approach and gave the zebra a respectful nod as he passed her by.

“What is it that you came here to seek? I am asking only if you know how to speak?”

“I came to ask for your guidance and teaching in learning more about this world's flora and its herbological uses. From the accounts of Twilight and other ponies, you are a true master of the art.”

The zebra looked a little surprised. “You came here to learn of plant and potion? I do admit I find this an interesting notion. Perhaps I shall do what I can to teach, but first your help I must beseech. In this forest I live next to many a beast, and on me they would very much like to feast. For my help I require this, help make the beasts, my presence miss. Only when my home is safe from harm, will I succumb to your charm.”

Karon considered this and found it very reasonable. He would be worried about all the predators too if he lived inside the forest. The question was how?

“Deal, I will find a way to do this.”

“How much time do you need, before you are ready to perform the deed?”

“Give me half an hour to figure something out, and a genius plan that will knock your socks off I will bring about,” Karon responded, slipping into a tacky rhyme without thinking.

The zebra raised an eyebrow at this, but it looked to be more out of surprise and amusement than from insult, which was good. He sat down on the floor and began thinking deeply about the possible solutions to the zebra's problem.

He might have been a bit optimistic about the time frame. It took almost an hour before he had sketched out a working plan. During that time, Zecora had gone back to her potion mixing with the pink bundle of sugar and randomness hanging over, and sometimes on, her shoulder. Constantly asking questions and suggesting she maybe should add a little sugar since sugar made everything better.

It was while she was in the middle of one of these grand tributes to the many functions of sugar that Karon got up and interrupted them both.

“Okay, I think I might have figured something out.”

The zebra stopped stirring in her large pot for a moment and Pinkie Pie temporarily ceased with her chatter. “I might be able to cloak your house with a glamour. It's a bit of magic originally from the fairies of my home world, but it should work here too.”

“From your looks I would never have guessed, that to you the gift of magic has been blessed.”

“I know, both the looks and the brains. I have absolutely no shame at all. But to stay on topic, it should be fairly simple to perform, and I will also bind the spell to an object so that you can either have a unicorn keep it charged or have it lie out underneath the sun or moon. Do you have any object that you are sure to keep?”

The zebra didn't respond, she turned around and began rummaging through a large chest before taking a small pot of some kind and placing it on the table next to Karon.

“In this pot my first potion I did brew, do you think for your work it will do?”

Karon checked it over carefully. It was some kind of steel alloy with unknown components in it as well, but what was important is that it would be able to hold the enchantment, and it could.

“This will work nicely, if you want I can start right away.”

Zecora nodded in response and Karon walked over to the centre of the hollowed out tree and sat down cross legged. He closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, slowly stretching out his senses and began waving a beautiful pattern of energies, invisible to all but him.

It was in truth not that complicated. He would cloak the large tree in an illusion making it appear like it originally had been. Just a regular, normal tree, no scent, sound, taste, sight or feeling would ever reveal that there was something more to it.

The lines of energy sank into the bark of the tree and surrounded it in a dome, with all the lines travelling downwards from the top and upwards from the bottom to meet in the centre. Joining together in the small pot Karon held in his hand. With a kind of clinking sound the lines connected and the magic took hold. For a moment the world felt like it had taken one step to the side then hastily stepped back. It was a normal experience where illusion magic took place and meant it had worked perfectly.

Karon took the pot and placed it on top of the chest Zecora had brought it out from before motioning with his hand towards the entrance. The zebra and pony took the hint and walked out from the house, curious to see what he had done.

Karon followed after and stood next to them outside as they surveyed the illusion, it was perfect. They couldn't even see the open front door, all they saw was a grand tree. Untouched by any attempts to civilize it.

“This is good work indeed, and I think all beasts it will mislead. But how will I not be fooled the same, since I cannot even see the door from whence we came?”

Karon put his hand on the small zebras head and connected her mind to the illusion while doing the same for himself. Both he and Zecora got that same feeling of the world side stepping before the real hollowed out tree came into view once more.

“There, now you and I can see it. If you want anyone else to be able to see through it, have them touch that pot and they will connect to it.”

The zebra looked extremely pleased with his work and turned to him with a knowing smile.

“You have held your end of our deal, so my secrets of plant and stone I will now reveal.”

They both walked into the house again, Karon feeling very eager to finally get started on learning something that would be so useful. Pinkie Pie on the other hoof was just as eager, but it was eagerness for finding a way into the house since it appeared only as a normal big tree to her.

It took thirteen tries that ended with her running into a wall before she came through the open door, having refused help from Karon or Zecora, since that apparently would be cheating.

It was a little after four in the afternoon when they began the studying. Pinkie Pie jumping back and forth sniffing the samples as Zecora explained about the basic families and groups of flora that could be found in Equestria and beyond. She then went into the basic properties of each of her samples and how they could be mixed to produce a specific effect and in what manner the potion should be consumed. Either by an infusion, rubbing the coat or taken with food. Some plants, specifically different kinds of moss, should be burned and the smoke inhaled for example.

There was a lot to memorize, but Karon was already familiar with many names and families of the plants after his late night studying at the library, so he managed to keep up. The practical demonstration and work helped a lot too.

It was late and darkness had fallen upon the forest, more than it's usual gloom in any case, when Zecora stopped herself and searched through her many samples.

“It seems I must have forgotten to collect new flowers, I have now been distracted for many hours. Remain here and try out something new, I will collect the flowers and then mix a special brew.”

Karon nodded, his attention fully on the small bubbling pot in front of him. He was trying out mixing a potion meant to give clarity and help achieve insight into a problem. He could certainly need it for dealing with his troubles with Rarity and Twilight. Big Mac might have given reasonable advice, but it was still a bit complicated.

Unfortunately, Pinkie Pie had been mostly ignored during all those hours of teaching and she was running out of things to amuse herself with.

“Whatcha brewing there!” she loudly asked right next to Karon's ear, he yelped from the sudden assault on his eardrums and accidentally spilled the carefully prepared potion.

“Pinkie! I had been working on that for almost an hour!” he shouted angrily.

“I-I'm sorry....” She said while backing away carefully, looking very sad after his outburst. Her usually poofy hair becoming a bit straighter and clinging to her face as if to comfort her.

Karon felt a stab of guilt in his heart, making the normally overjoyed pony sad was almost as bad as making Fluttershy cry, and now he had done both in less than two weeks. He quickly got rid of his scowl and walked over to the pony and tilted her chin upwards so she looked into his eyes. Her pupils had dilated to an enormous size and she looked very fragile, hell all ponies looked fragile when in a vulnerable state. Maybe it was some kind of natural defence mechanism, making predators feel so ashamed for making them afraid or sad that they gave up and went away.

“It's no big deal Pinkie, I'm not mad at you. Do you want to help me mix up something else?”

“Are you sure you want me here?”

“Course I am. You're one of my best friends after all.”

After Karon had said that, Pinkie's hair immediately went back to its usual tangled mess like a lightning strike had hit it. Her eyes also went back to their usual sugary mania with a blink before she smiled a smile that looked to stretch out from her face.

“How is that possible?”

“Because it's Pinkie.”

“It can't be that simple.”

“Oh yes it can. What do you want instead, some elaborate plan and detailed operation for all of it?”

“No that would be-”

“Mission Impossible, Pinkie Pie style!”

“Don't you da-”

“DUN DUNDUN DUN DUNDUN DUN DUNDDUN DUN DUNDUN DUDUDUUUUN DUDUDUUUUN!!”

Happily going back to his work with an equally happy pony beside him, Karon kept on repeating the theme to mission impossible for a long while as he searched through Zecora's books for a replacement for the clarity potion.

Finally Pinkie Pie found something that might work.

“Yeah, I can see why you would notice this one.”

She held up an open book, displaying a page with a coloured illustration of a reddish pink moss, beneath the image a description called it Hermatite moss and praised it for it's ability to bring a crystal clarity and focus to the thoughts of whoever inhaled the smoke from the burning moss.

“Well it looks like it might work, and it doesn't require careful brewing. If Zecora has any we can just dump it on the fire and breath a bit of the smoke in.”

Karon barely had time to look around before the pink pony presented a hoof covered in a light pinkish moss. It looked almost like the image in the book. Maybe it was just a very young sample, or maybe it had gotten old and worn out, it felt very dry to the touch, but it was just a lot more pink than the image had been.

“Yeah this might work.” Karon said before removing the large cauldron and putting on a few more small logs. He looked at the small sample of the moss and doubted it be enough to have any noticeable effect.

“Hey Pinkie, was there any more of this stuff where found it.”

“Uhu.” She said and nodded before pointing to a large vase, Karon walked over to it and pulled of the stubborn lid. It was so tight and the air inside to stale he guessed it was completely airtight. Inside the vase, that was almost as big as Pinkie or Zecora, there was moss almost up to the brim.

Smiling, Karon took two fistfuls of it and walked over to the fire, carefully dumping it so the fire would filter all smoke through it while also eating at it.

The pony and human sat down next to it and watched as an oily white smoke began rising from the fire, it did not take long before the entire room was filled with the smoke to the point it was hard to distinguish everything in it.

Half an hour later of breathing in the smoke Karon began feeling a little strange.

“You know what's funny man?”

“No, what?”

“This feels exactly like the first time we smoked peyote, it also smells like Varif's weed used to.”

“Ooh yeah, that is funny!”

Karon started giggling while he considered that.

“Oh man that was some crazy times, remember whe-...Hey, look at that mask on the wall! It's so silly.”

“Bwhahahahaha, you're right. Hey wait a minute ... I think it's making faces at us!”

“No way! We can't have that. RETALIATION!”

Karon stood up and walked over to the mask hanging on the wall. He stared at it before he started making faces back at it.

“Blergh!”

“Blaaah!”

“Urghhhh!”

“Trrrrpt!”

The last was a contribution from Pinkie Pie, she must have noticed what he was doing and decided to help. She had her tongue out and flapping at it before stopping and curiously began poking it. Not the mask, her tongue.

“Heh, what are you doing Pinkie?”

“ma tnge fls fnny!”

“What?”

“MH TUNG FLS FNNY!”

“Oh....” he responded before carefully poking at it as well.

She was right, it felt really strange.

“Hey Pinkie!”

“Wfht?”

“You're a horse, I should totally try riding you!”

“Ofkie dofkie lofkie!” she responded with her tongue still out and waggling.

“Tshhhhhhh, I bet Pinkie likes to do most of the riding herself.”

“Hahaha, you are so depraved.”

“You would know.”

Karon carefully sat down on Pinkie's back, that was after he was done slowly running his hand over her coat. It felt ... really odd, good odd, but still REALLY odd.

Karon had never ridden a horse before, and no pony either. So he did what he thought was proper to get going.

“To eternity and beyond!” he shouted and smacked Pinkie's ass to get her going.

“HEY!”

“Oh sorry my mistake. I mean uhrm ... RUN LIKE THE WIND BULLSEYE!” he corrected himself and slapped her on the ass once more, and just like he had imagined she got back on her hind legs with a dramatic neighing sound.

Thing was, Karon was barely in a sitting position, and the soles of his feet were still firmly on the ground. So when it happened he was thrown off Pinkie Pie and landed on his back.

“What was that for!”

“No one smacks Pinkie Pie's ass without buying her dinner first!”

“Oh man I'm so hungry. What I wouldn't give for a cupcake from Sugercube Corner back in Ponyville right now.”

For a brief moment it was like the entire world held its breath in fear of what just happened. At first Karon didn't get why it did that, but then he looked at Pinkie Pie. It was like seeing the sun rise up in the morning, a realization slowly dawning. She whispered to herself.

“Ponyville....”

“...Subercube Corner...”

And finally, as her face lit up in the most primal and fierce power of all.

Hunger.

“CUPCAKES!!” she finally screamed triumphantly, and with a speed rivalling Rainbow Dash on her best day, shot out from the house in a pink blur. Heading straight towards Ponyville.

Right then Zecora stepped inside in the fume infested house and saw Karon lying on the ground giggling. She sniffed the air before giving him an enigmatic look.

“I fear I know what you have done, for that smell comes from the pink moss of fun.”

“Bwhahahahaha, you call it the moss of fun. That is some crafty thinking there.”

“But I see not what might cause, Pinkie Pie to run off without pause.”

Karon's giggling increased in volume and he muttered something between the giggling.

“What you just said I did not hear, please tell me what made Pinkie Pie disappear.”

Taking a deep breath of air Karon managed to get out before falling back into a fit of giggles.

“PINKIE GOT THE MUNCHIES!”   Next Chapter: Chapter 16: Somepony think of the muffins! Estimated time remaining: 20 Hours, 39 Minutes