Karon woke up to the most predictable of situations. If a male goes to sleep with a female beside him, he WILL wake up spooning her, it's in the rules. But Karon was certainly not complaining, it was very comfortable to have the soft mare in his arms. Of course, there are other things a male usually wakes up with, with or without a female in his arms, and at the moment, that put Karon in an awkward position. He couldn't really help but notice that the current position they were in was perfect for....

“You're not exactly doing your best to control the situation are you?”

“I am! I haven't tried anything yet have I?”

“It's that 'yet' I find so worrying. This isn't one of the usual girls you've been with; she's a high class pony belonging to a culture that seems to have some very strange ideas regarding that part of a relationship. You're supposed to formally court her remember?”

“Sigh, fine. I'll try my best at the gentleman routine. If nothing else it might be entertaining.”

“For Rarity perhaps. I still remember that image of us in a jester’s suit.”

“I'm NOT putting on a jester’s suit!”

“Of course we're not, but weird pony influence on us aside, checking Twilight's library for books on pony courting is a good idea. It would also probably be good having a little talk with her about what happened yesterday, since we still live there and all.”

“Oh fuck...”

“What?”

“We forgot about Spike....”

“Oh fuck indeed.”

“What should we do?”

“Not say a single word about this. It's supposed to be a secret even from him, ESPECIALLY from him. It is but a youthful infatuation he has. I doubt he is old enough to properly understand real love, but still ... it will hurt him a lot if he finds out. So shut up and don't give any clue as to what's going on, hell avoid him all that you can just to be safe.”

“This will not end well....”

“Then we will have to make do with a brief time of enjoyment with Rarity before it all comes crashing down upon us.”

“Do we still have any second thoughts regarding the fact she isn't human?”

“Why would we? What does form mean to us, a trickster. Our own form is no longer what we were born into. Take what you can gain from whatever source it may be. Fuck humanity and its little self-deluded nonsense of right and wrong. Humanity is just a stage to grow out of anyway. I am Karon, the only trickster in all of Equestria and I am going to enjoy myself. If anyone has a problem with that, they can kiss my inhuman trickster ass.”

“Nice, now try saying it to Twilight's face.”

“...There's no rush.”

“Right.”

Karon went back to enjoying the soft presence that was the sleeping Rarity. He sat up on his elbow and looked her over with a critical eye, observing her shining white coat and the cutie mark upon her flank. Her glossy, almost liquid like mane, and the still long and dark eyelashes despite the lack of mascara.

Yes, despite not even being a primate, he could see no wrong with what he was doing, and even if he would have....

Trickster, he's allowed.

His hand began stroking Rarity all on its own, his fingers drawing lines down her side, her flank and neck. She didn't move at his touch and slept on peacefully, dead to the world around and the smiling human beside her.

He remained as such for a while, enjoying the warmth of her body and the softness underneath his fingertips. Outside, the sun was rising steadily and the world was waking up in its presence, and within the boutique so had also Rarity.

She had woken up moments ago, but found herself at a loss for what to do, so she did nothing. She pretended to still be asleep. Not knowing what was proper to say in a situation like this was enough to make her hesitate. The feeling of Karon's, fingers was it? Stroking her was strange, but not entirely unpleasant.

Her predicament was cut short when Karon decided to speak.

“Good morning Rarity.”

She opened her eyes and turned around. As she did so, Karon moved back a little to make some space between them.

“You knew I was awake?”

“Your breathing pattern changed.”

“Oh how, observant ... so, I hope you slept well.”

“I did, woke up a few times from you poking me with your horn, but otherwise it was fine.”

“I'm terribly sorry I didn't mean to do that, I'm just not used to ... uhrm, this kind of sleeping arrangement.”

“It is all right Rarity, waking up like this made up for it.”

She coughed delicately in her hoof .

“That is quite kind of you to say. Perhaps we should get out of bed now. It is morning after all.”

“If that is what you want us to do.”

“Yes, yes we should definitely get up now.”

She turned around and slipped out of the bed, leaving a bemused Karon as she walked behind her screen and took off the silk pyjamas. Why she felt a need to do it behind a screen was beyond Karon's ability to comprehend. She was naked most of the time after all.

Karon rose from the bed as well and put on his socks and boots. His robe was still in the library. There had been no point in bringing it since it would have scared the ponies half to death with the caked on blood all over it.

Never mind that he had walked right into town wearing it.

Rarity came out from behind her screen and looked him over, twisting her mouth a little when she was reminded of the abuse her creation had been put through.

“Karon, would you mind if I perhaps started working on some new designs for you? Since you insist on wearing clothes all the time, not that I am complaining, it would be good for you to have some alternatives to pick from.”

“I am flattered you would put down so much time for me Rarity, but just a regular shirt would suffice until I can get the robe fixed.”

“Darling, let me take care of that. Just bring it here and I will see what can be done.”

“As you wish, but Rarity, if you wouldn't mind me making a suggestion. I would prefer if you kept this shirt a little less flashy than the robe, I attract enough attention as it is.”

She sighed and sounded disappointed. “Well, I guess I can try and make something both fabulous and discreet. Oh I know, I would love to try out one of those human designs you spoke of, what did you call them? Asian? I will get to work right away!”

Karon didn't really hear what she said after that, Rarity had disappeared into her own little world of fabric and style. Chatting to herself as she went through the possibilities she had available before her.

“Please don't let her make me a kimono....”

“Who are you praying to?”

“Anyone, at this point I would pray to Celestia if it worked.”

He decided it might be best to leave her alone for this, their last discussion regarding designs for his clothes had not gone too well so this time he would just let her work and hope it turned out all right.

As long as it wasn't anything pink....

Karon went downstairs instead and looked around for the kitchen with the intent of at least being worried with a full stomach. The kitchen turned out to be very large and in the far back of the building, having enough space in it to contain several families if needed.

Karon rummaged through the fridge and, to his great surprise and joy, found an entire basked filled with eggs. His worry of having to wear a shirt belonging to an 80's glam rock band made room for the satisfaction of discovering ponies ate more than just vegetables and fruit.

He found a frying pan and some vegetable oil and happily began frying several eggs. He couldn't find any salt, but that didn't matter. If ponies could eat eggs, there were certainly other things they ate as well besides the usual vegan diet.

After frying five eggs in total, he decided it was enough and scooped it up onto a plate and sat down at the dinner table. It seemed ponies did use sitting implements besides piles of hay, but it was only in the forms of very low stools. Karon had to cross his legs when sitting on it, but at least it made him sit at the right height for the table.

Karon ate all the eggs greedily with a spoon he had located in a drawer, and in less than three minutes it clattered down on an empty plate. Karon dared to lean back a little on the stool and smacked his lips happily, it had hardly had any taste but it didn't matter. He was happy his palate had expanded with this discovery, especially since he was never ever going back into the forest with the intention of hunting anything.

He could hear the sound of a sewing machine at work coming from upstairs. Rarity must have figured out a design already, and Karon couldn't decide if that was a good or bad sign.

But he had other things on his mind too, like money, or bits as it is called here.

He should visit Applejack and ask if she had a projected sales improvement. If she had, he could ask for a small advance on the other drinks he could teach them to make. If other ponies loved his whiskey as much as Big Mac had, then surely they would love Vodka or Gin as well.

“Karon the trickster, corrupting ponies one bottle at a time.”

“It wasn't like I introduced it entirely, I just made it better.”

He was getting a bit tired of acting like a charity case. Sure, ponies here didn't think much of showing this level of generosity to strangers, but it still irked him. The thought of being dependent on a bunch of small pastel ponies was ... irksome.

“Pride cometh before the fall.”

“You know, the real one is 'Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.'”

“Not improving your case.”

Shaking his head, he considered what else he should get done before the day's end.

“So, try and get some bits from Applejack ... and I promised Lyra a little time for another human 101 class.”

“Checking Twilight's library for books on pony courting.”

“Damn, there was that. Hope she isn't mad still.”

“We'll see when we get there. Something else?”

“We need to see Zecora. We kinda disappeared on her last night.”

“Crap, I hope she won't take this as reason to discontinue my lessons.”

“Daaw, wittle Karon scawed teacher is upset wif him?”

“Be quiet.”

“What is the first thing on the list then?”

“Twilight and the book searching. Might as well take the potentially most painful route first.”

“Your confidence in your new found friends is inspiring.”

“Like we wouldn't do some very nasty things to us if we were in their shoes.”

“True, but they're better than us.”

Karon didn't really have a reply to that.

Instead, he got up from his low seat and walked back upstairs to the hard working Rarity. He found her crouched over her desk, a couple of needles hovering above her and a very intense look on her face as she directed the fabric being sewed.

“Did you want something Karon?” she asked without taking her eyes of her work.

It was pretty damn impressive watching how Rarity could so easily divide her attention despite being so focused on what she was doing. She was definitely more than just an air headed diva no matter what impression she might at first give off.

“No, I was going to tell you I will be heading over to Twilight's now and to take care of some business after that.”

“Wonderful! That will give me just enough time to finish. Please make sure to stop by in a few hours when I'm done.”

She didn't see his nod before he turned around and walked down the stairs and out from the boutique. Outside it was just another sunny day in Equestria. A few stray clouds in the sky looked to have slipped by Rainbow Dash's attention. Most likely from laziness, but it didn't matter much since they wouldn't move on their own.

He began walking towards the library, and for once the ponies that saw him didn't find anything worthwhile to stare at from his appearance. Maybe he should paint himself green and put on a saddle just to make sure he didn't disappoint anypony?

Despite the lack of attention from the inhabitants, Karon found himself feeling a little nervous. Even if the ponies out and about didn't think last night’s incident worthwhile to gossip about, that didn't mean Twilight would take it any less serious. She had shouted him down once yes, but she had had plenty of time to think of something creative to make the lesson stick if she wanted.

After all what could he do? Attack her? Obviously not, so that left him at her mercy.

“Maybe we should have brought flowers or something?”

He came up to the library's front door and hesitated for a brief moment before stepping inside. The usual creaking of the door heralding his entrance. Inside, the library was illuminated by the sun shining through scattered windows as usual. Books were strewn around here and there and several new piles were present since the last time he had been there. Twilight had obviously kept herself busy.

The unicorn herself was on the floor, sleeping with her head resting on an open book. She must have fallen asleep last night studying, and for his own sake, Karon hoped it was more comfortable than it looked.

“How do you gently wake up a unicorn so she's in a good mood?”

Karon looked around himself looking for anything that might work. Of course, being a library all he could see was books, and the ways one could use those to wake somepony up was limited to mostly unpleasant kinds.

Instead, he settled for a very small illusion. He laid his hand on Twilight's head and shaped a tiny string of magic. It gently settled on her mind and for a few seconds the sound of birds chirping and the wind brushing the trees was all she could hear.

She stirred and opened her eyes, blinking a few times when the sound abruptly ceased as she woke up. She groaned when she rose up from her position on the floor and looked down on the book and then at Karon.

“Ugh, what time is it?”

“No idea, late morning.”

She groaned louder this time. “Why did you wake me up so early?”

“I ... uh....”

“Good question. Why didn't we let her sleep?”

“Well ... because I....”

“You want to ask for her help in looking for books on courting so you can use them to court Rarity?”

“No...”

“So you woke her up despite it being obvious she had been up late to ask her if she is feeling any kind of resentment or anger towards you?”

“No....”

“You're your own particular brand of stupid you know that?”

“I'm starting to realize it.”

“Wait, I know!”

“I came to apologize to you.”

Twilight blinked as if she must have heard wrong.

“Wait, you woke me up early in the morning just to say you're sorry?”

“Yeah uhm, I couldn't stop thinking about it and needed to apologize as soon as I could.”

“That's ... very thoughtful of you. I didn't expect that, thank you, and I'm sorry about what I said last night. This shows that you can be a lot more responsible and mature than I gave you credit for.”

“Wohoo! Am I good or what!?”

“Don't worry Twilight, we all make mistakes sometimes.”

“Don't push it.”

“I guess ... So was that all you wanted?”

“Yes, I am going to go through the books and see if I can find anything interesting.”

“Okay, just ask if you need any help. I'm going to go and wake up Spike. If I don't, he'll just sleep through the entire day.”

She left him standing on the library floor and walked up to their room. Karon waited until she walked through the door and quickly turned around and began looking through the bookshelves for anything regarding pony courting.

Thankfully, Twilight kept a constantly updated index of the contents of the library, and even though it didn't have any specific section for courting, it was easy to figure out where it should be. He looked around carefully before he came across a promising title.

The Art of the Gentlecolt - A Guide for the Aspiring Stallion by Sir Gentle Hooves of the Royal Canterlot Court.

Karon had just enough time to cloak the book in a hasty veil before he heard Twilight reappear from the bedroom with a very sleepy Spike in tow. The book now appeared to be one of the books on plants he had read before heading into the Everfree forest.

“Find anything useful?” Twilight asked him eyeing the book in his hands.

“Yes, since I am now taking lessons from Zecora in herbology, I thought it best to make some studies on my own as well.”

“So she agreed to help you? That's wonderful, just as long as you promise not to ignore your studies in magic. I still want to read anything you have to write on the subject.”

“Of course. I wouldn't dream of ignoring the possibility to write something new about magic that unicorns might learn from.”

“Never gonna happen.”

“Sounds great, do you want any breakfast? Spike can make you some if you'd like.”

“No, that's okay I already ate.”

“Oh, I thought you said you came downstairs to apologize as soon as you woke up?”

“Uh Twilight I'm pretty sure Karon never came home last night. His bed wasn't touched upstairs.”

“Is he subconsciously aware of what's going on and trying to sabotage for me?”

“He is a dragon, so who knows what he is really capable of?”

She looked surprised at what Spike had just said before she looked at Karon questioningly.

“Is that true? Where did you sleep?”

“LIE! LIE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER LIED BEFORE!”

“Outside ... it's spring and it was warm enough.”

“You didn't have to do that, you could have come home.”

“If you slept outside then why aren't you dirty?” Spike asked and pointed at the relatively clean Karon.

“The little traitor!”

“Grass is pretty easy to brush off Spike. Anyway, I need to speak to Applejack about her sales. See you later!” Karon said quickly before turning around and walking out the door, he gave Twilight a hasty wave before closing it behind him.

“Spike is going to be a problem.”

“Just avoid him as planned, and we should be fine.”

“I live in the same house as him.”

“We'll figure something out. Now let's get to the farm, we need to see if Applejack is willing to give us an advance on the sales.”

Karon walked until he reached said farm. His skin was beginning to feel very sensitive from all the exposure to the sun and he tried to stay in the shadows of the apple trees surrounding the farm house. Outside it he could see Big Mac carrying two large baskets of apple on his sides, held in place by a strap stretching across his back.

Karon walked towards him and shouted a hello as he got closer. The large farm pony turned his head towards the sound and saw Karon coming closer, he stopped and waited patiently until Karon had made his way to him.

“Morning Big Mac, have you seen Applejack around?”

“She's in the house helpin' granny with lunch.”

“Good, I need to talk to her, but ... afterwards, do you have time for a short break? I have some news regarding Rarity.”

“Eeyup, just come find me in the barn when yer done.”

“Thanks,” Karon replied and walked into the house. He could smell that they were cooking soup of some kind. He followed the smell into the kitchen and politely knocked on the door frame. Inside the kitchen, Applejack turned around to face him while Granny Smith kept on stirring the pot.

“Good morning Applejack.”

“Morning to yerself, what brings ya out here?”

“I was wondering if it would be possible for me to receive a small advance on the sales of the new alc-..booze I mean.”

“Normally Ah would never pay for somethin' that hasn't even been sold yet, but ... that new trick ya taught Big Macintosh for brewin' certainly helped out a lot. So, if ya promise me yer other stuff will be just as good, Ah can give ya a small advance.”

“If your clients will like the new stuff as much as you liked the improved whiskey, I can promise you they will like what else I can teach you to mix up.”

Applejack looked at him steadily, but could detect no trace of deception. He spoke the truth after all.

“Alright, hang on a second and Ah'll get yer bits.”

She walked out the other door and came back a few moments later, a small purse clinking in her mouth. She dropped it into Karon's outstretched hand and took a step back as he opened it and looked inside.

“Ah know it ain't much, but it's the best Ah can do until we get some new orders.”

“It's more than I could expect. I promise you your sales should increase when your customers get a taste for the new wares. If you wish, I could write down the new recipes and you can start brewing when you wish to.”

“Sounds just dandy to me.”

Karon did so, writing down recipes for making basic vodka, mead and gin on the note handed to him. He left it at the table and with a nod towards Applejack set off towards the barn, intent on finding Big Mac and hopefully receiving some good advice. The stallion hardly seemed the type to know much about courting, but something was better then nothing, even with the book Karon was still carrying.

He walked into the cool and shaded barn and found Big Mac in the back, piling apples into a large crater.

“Hey there, got a few minutes?”

The stallion nodded and took off the harnessed baskets and sat down on his back legs, looking somewhat like a very large puppy. Karon walked up beside him and allowed himself to fall into the pile of hay, making himself comfortable before beginning his update on the Rarity situation.

He explained what had happened and that he was now supposed to be formally courting Rarity without actually knowing what that entailed. He had a good idea of what that meant for a humans, but ponies were still different despite the similarities that could be found.

“And then there is the whole deal with Twilight. She has been acting really strange, at least I think it's strange compared to her normal behavior, and don't even get me started on Pinkie Pie ... Man, are all ponies this complicated? Is there something I missed?”

“S'not ponies that are complicated.”

“Please, enlighten me then. Why are they all so hard to understand.”

“They're mares.”

Karon went silent at the simple explanation, thinking hard at the implications and tried to pierce the depth of that simple tidbit of perspective.

“Mares ... Frigging mares,” Karon snorted, “You're right, I forgot that they're not only ponies, they're female ponies.”

“S'all right, happens to the best of us.”

“Well, that certainly put things into perspective, you should form your own little following Mac, spreading the teachings of a wise farm pony.”

“Nnnnope.”

“If you say so, well I guess there's not much else to say. Men have tried understanding females for centuries upon centuries and still haven't gotten anywhere, I might as well give up straight away.”

“Eeyup.”

“By the way do you know anything about courting a pony?”

“Nnnnope.”

“Yeah, that would have made it way too simple. Well, thanks for the help anyway.”

“Any time,” the stallion replied as he got up and went back to preparing a new shipment of apples.

Karon walked out from barn and cringed a little when he felt the sun's harsh glare upon him once more. His skin had begun reddening and he thought this was a good time to see if Rarity had finished his new shirt. If Equestria's sun remained as strong as this every day, he would need it.

He began his walk back to Ponyville and Rarity's boutique, darting from shadow to shadow in an attempt to remain outside of the sun's reach. It didn't really work, but it did decrease the time it took for him to return to the little town and the waiting sanctuary of the boutique. Karon half ran when he got closer to it and more or less stumbled inside in his haste to escape the sun. The novelty of walking around shirtless had worn off completely at this point.

Inside the boutique Rarity stood in the main room, admiring a dress on a mannequin.

“Uhrm, am I interrupting something?”

The unicorn turned around at his voice, and her face split into a huge smile and a very distinct squealing sound was heard from her.

“Oh your timing is just perfect, wait here!” she said and hurried up the stairs. She returned a mere heartbeat later with a bundle of cloth levitated before her. Karon took it from there and unfurled it, holding it up for scrutiny.

“So ... What do you think?”

It was certainly not what he had been expecting. For one, Rarity had actually used black as the main color, which surprised him. He thought she had some kind of principle against using it. He put down his book and pulled the shirt over his head and put it on. The sleeves went down to his elbow and he could see now that the front had been sewn so it crossed over his chest in a line from his right shoulder to his left hip. It had a strip of orange cloth sewn along it that continued to both his shoulders where it ended in two small shoulder pads.

It was quite nice actually, the fabric very smooth and...

“Is this silk?”

“Yes, yes it is. So ... what do you think?”

“It's lovely, though I admit I am surprised at your choice of color.”

“I admit I am a bit surprised myself, but it goes so well with your mane and eyes I just couldn't help myself.”

“Well I'm glad, this is perfect. I am almost disinclined to bring you my robe now.”

“Oh you're such a flatterer, but seriously now, you must promise to bring me your robe. I couldn't allow such a fabulous work of art to be forgotten.”

“I promise.”

She looked him over once before her eyes found the book he had put down on the floor.

“So what is that book you brought with you?”

Karon sputtered and hastily bent down and scooped the book up, pressing it tight against his chest. The veil he had cast had dissipated long ago and it's real cover was now visible to all who looked upon it.

“Oh nothing, just a book on plants for my studies with Zecora. Speaking of which I have an urgent appointment I need to keep. Thank you so very much Rarity. You truly are an artist of your field.”

He gave a quick bow to her and walked out the store, book still pressed tight against his chest.

“We are doing to many hasty exits lately. Ponies will begin to think we're rude, especially Rarity.”

But Rarity thought no such thing. She might not be a bookworm to the same degree as Twilight, but there was not a single book in the library regarding high society and proper mannerism she hadn't read, and she had recognized the cover of the book immediately when she saw it, but she had enjoyed Karon's reaction. He must be taking courting her seriously indeed if he was doing proper research on the subject. Oh how spectacular all of this was.

Karon on the other hand remained in darker thoughts, still grumbling over how difficult everything had to be, but regardless of how Rarity had reacted to his behavior, he still had two things left to do on his mental checklist, see Lyra and visit Zecora.

“Wait, mental checklist? DAMN YOU TWILIGHT!”

Never minding freaky pony influence, Karon decided to see Lyra first. She was closer and seeing her would probably be faster than the visit to Zecora. So he headed towards her house, book in his hand and a new shirt mercifully sparing his skin from further irritation from the sun.    

He passed by many ponies on his way, giving him brief nods and looks as they saw he was wearing a new outfit. Black was uncommon for ponies to wear, so it attracted a bit of attention, but it was still better than going without anything or dressed in a blood drenched robe.

Lyra's house came into view as he rounded a corner, its yellow facade standing out next to the mostly white color of the houses around. He walked through the little gate in the white picket fence and knocked on the brown door.

This time, Lyra was the one who opened and immediately brightened up when she saw Karon standing before her.

“Oh you came by already. Come inside, I have tons of questions prepared.”

“Awesome...”

He stepped inside and looked around as he followed Lyra into her room. The house looked very normal in Karon's opinion. A few paintings hung on the walls and a large cupboard stood up against one wall.

But Lyra's room on the other hand looked exactly as anyone would expect from a paranoid conspiracy theorist. Books were strewn around everywhere, and diagrams and notes could be seen on practically every surface of the room. At the far corner of the room stood a lyre in pristine condition, bravely defying the entropy of the room around it.

Lyra motioned for him to take a seat on her bed as she collected a few seemingly random notes from around the room and levitated them before herself.

“So, could you first of all tell me about this clowning research you mentioned?”

Karon sighed and threw himself into another conversation of the things his race had managed to come up with. It lasted a little more than an hour and during that time Karon tried to explain such things as cloning, gene splicing, basic biology and evolutionary theory. Lyra in turn explained pony research into biology and the differences became apparent pretty quick.

Humans had taken a very dry, factual approach in the last few centuries towards the natural world, while ponies remained a species that lived within it instead of trying to pick apart and analyzing pieces of it. Nearly all of their research related to life was from an insider perspective and how it affected them as living creatures, keeping it on a practical plane.

It was interesting to hear and it showed ponies weren't so far behind or unaware as Karon had first thought, they just didn't feel the same need to tinker with everything as humans did. They wanted to know about the world in regards to how they lived within it. Humans preferred the approach of breaking down so they could make a useful tool out of whatever they were researching. Ponies were satisfied with knowing and living, but humans couldn't really be satisfied with just that. They also wanted to influence things the same way ponies naturally influenced and worked with nature, humans just sucked at it more.

“Wow, I never expected humans to be so ingenious. I knew you were smart and invented a lot of things but still, I don't think ponies ever would have survived if we lived in a world that worked entirely on its own.”

“Let's hope you will never have to find out. Are you satisfied for today?”

“Oh yes, but you have to promise that we can do this again soon. I will only stay satisfied for a day or two, nothing else really measures up against the way you satisfy me....”

“Was that innuendo intentional?” Karon asked with a suspicious look.

“Perhaps.”

“I thought ponies were supposed to be all innocent and painfully oblivious of such things.”

“No we just consider such things to be very private and special, but I think your human ways have rubbed off on me a little, especially since you got here.”

“Well if you want to know more ... while Twilight was in my world, she got the chance to read a lot of books written by humans on a lot of subjects. You should ask her about it sometime, be sure to make specific mention that you are interested to hear ALL about a book called the Kama Sutra....”

“Oh please by all the stars in heaven let me be present during that conversation!”

“That is so amazing! She was not only in your world, but also got to read books about humans. I'll be sure to ask her about it the next time I see her. What was it called again? The Kama Surta?”

“The k-a-m-a s-u-t-r-a,” Karon carefully said, making sure she remembered it.

“I can't wait. Can ponies die from embarrassment?”

“If they, could I think Twilight would have after she realized she had sent a letter to Princess Celestia explaining that very book.”

“You're right. Oh this will be awesome on so many levels.”

“Excellent, now make sure you don't forget it. Anyway I need to visit Zecora now so I should probably get going.”

“Okay that's fine. I have enough to go through for the rest of the day. Remember to come visit me whenever you want, if I'm not home Bon Bon will know where I am.”

“Sure, until next time then.”

Lyra walked Karon to the door and waved him off, waiting until he disappeared out of sight before going back to her new notes.

Karon walked straight out of Ponyville and towards the only road going into the Everfree forest. He was confident he would be able to find his way to Zecora's house, especially now that he could use the forests awareness to track down his enchantment.

He passed through the invisible line separating Equestria from the ancient forest and followed the dirt road. After about half an hour's walk it disappeared beneath the grass and he had to rely entirely on his memory and the forest to guide him right.

Fortunately, he managed to make his way to the zebra's home without any incidents and he knocked on her door. He heard a clinking of potion bottles before she opened the door wide and smiled as she saw the human outside.

“Have you come for more of the pink moss of fun, if you have I am afraid you will find none.”

Karon cleared his throat self-consciously. “No nothing like that. I just wanted to apologize for the way things went last night and wondered if our agreement still stands.”

“For as long as my house remains out of the beast's view, I will teach you how to make a wicked brew.”

Karon smiled back at the zebra and only replied. “So, what can you teach me today?”

He remained inside Zecora's home for the rest of the day, spending hour after hour going through recipes and new plants.

Under the careful supervision of Zecora he mixed several potions meant to produce a variety of effects. For example, a mixture of hacked Loto root and weeping tulip could be used to cure a pony from laughter that wouldn't stop, and applying a lotion from the sap of an ironshoe tree worked miraculously for sores and bruises.

Many tricky ways of using the bountiful nature of both Equestria and the Everfree forest were revealed to Karon and slowly he began seeing the patterns between them.

Judging time within the Everfree forest was very difficult, but from the purple looking sky above, Karon guesses that the Equestrian sun was beginning to set. He finished the potion he was working on and thanked Zecora for the lesson before he began his journey back to Ponyville. Even though he would have loved to go on for many more hours, he needed to find a quiet place where he could read through his book on courting.

He passed through the now familiar environment of the Everfree forest and found himself walking on the dirt road once more. It did not take long for him to reach the edge of the forest and he passed through the border without even making note of it anymore. As he had suspected, the sun had begun to set and had taken on a more orange tone.

Deciding that this was as private as it would get, he went towards the nearest tree and sat down against it, opened the book and began reading. It was pretty thick and the text was small and stylish, but there was an uncertain amount of daylight left, so he needed to go through as much of it as he could.

He had barely reached the tenth page when he heard somepony shout his name from afar. He looked up, annoyed and saw the whole pony gang as he had come to think of as the six friends coming towards him. With them, were also two of the little monster children that had attacked him a while ago.

He quickly cast a veil over the book again and laid it down on the ground before rising up and waiting for the group to reach him. They all had different looks upon their faces, but one thing they all had in common was the aura of fear and worry that clung to each one of them.

“What's the matter?” Karon asked as soon as they were within talking distance, the first one to respond was the small white unicorn child.

“It's Scootaloo! She's lost somewhere in the forest and we don't know how to find her!” Next Chapter: Chapter 18: Mist and shadow Estimated time remaining: 19 Hours, 47 Minutes