The light from the crystals had almost died down completely by the time they came for him. He was barely conscious, curled up next to Feather's body, to which he had crawled over without even realizing it. He didn't react to the sound of hooves walking towards him, and his vision was blurred from tears and exhaustion. On the floor, the pool of blood had dried. Karon's arm and leg were stuck to it, glued in place by coagulation.

He distantly felt a magic field envelope him, tearing him off the blood and up into the air away from Feather's corpse. He feebly tried to protest when he was moved away from her. He could have remained like that, silent, cold and tired, forever. But now he was being forced back into reality, and he didn't even have the strength to tell whoever was there that he didn't want to.

A small groan escaped his lips and he felt a stinging beneath his eyes. He would have wept more if he could, but his dry, bloodshot eyes had already given everything. The gentle swaying of his body as he was carried out the cave reminded him of how tired he felt, of everything, and how empty he was inside with nothing to distract him. As the sight of Feather's body grew more and more distant with each step his carrier took, his eyes slowly closed. By the time they had left the cave, he had fallen into a dreamless sleep.

He was brought out of the comforting darkness mere moments later, or that is what it felt like anyway. His mind was unwilling to return to wakefulness. The soothing deep it had been resting in just seconds ago was far preferable to the agony he was experiencing now.

It wasn't a physical pain, even though his body felt drained and weary. It was an aching of the spirit, an aching of the soul. Karon may have escaped the injury that would have ended his life, but now he carried wounds within him that had taken much of his desire to experience it.

However, the world has a way of turning no matter the desires of those living in it, and so Karon found himself unable to go to sleep, the sound of hushed voices nagging in his ears. He wanted silence and solitude, and possibly a very large amount of alcohol. Instead he got the concerned whispers of his friends.

“He’s been sleeping for more than two days now, are you sure the princess said nothing was wrong with him?” Lyra asked quietly.

“Princess Celestia assured me he only needed rest. She told me to watch over him and make sure he doesn’t do anything harmful when he wakes up,” Twilight’s voice responded in a hushed tone.

“But why would he want to harm us? Are you sure she didn’t say anything about what happened?” Lyra insisted. Twilight sighed but was interrupted by Pinkie Pie, chirpy in tone even when whispering.

“Karon would never, ever, ever hurt us. I mean...not on purpose.”

There was a slight silence that followed her words. Then Twilight spoke again, worry apparent in her voice.

“She told me to watch over him, and when he wakes up keep him from harming anypony, especially himself.”

“That’s what I don’t get. Why would he hurt himself?” Lyra continued.

“She didn’t tell me,” Twilight finished, and the room fell blissfully silent after that.

For some reason Karon felt too tired to go back to sleep, and it took him a minute to understand it was because his weariness was not wholly physical. Sleep had provided him with as much healing as it could, but the rest would be up to him. It was a prospect he wasn’t overly fond of, and the thought of getting out of bed and facing reality weighed heavily.

But there was something that kept him from surrendering to despair completely. A candle in a dark room, the light in the end of the tunnel, the solid rock in the storming sea, or any other of the multitude of overused metaphors. But in his case, it took the form of a pair of hopeful blue eyes, defying despair and pain.

He didn’t want to open his own eyes and face the world again, but he wanted to fail those blue eyes even less. He owed them.

So he tried to open them, slowly and carefully. There was a small crack of light that shone through at first, but his eyelids were stuck. He brought his fingers up and rubbed his eyes. The dirt and dried tears felt like a thick crust. For a moment he was reminded of dried blood, and in a panic he rubbed at it harder, desperate to get it away from him.

“Karon? Karon!” A hoof was put over his right hand and he stopped, forced himself to take a shuddering breath, and opened his eyes.

The light stung and the room was uncomfortably bright. Everything was white and the air smelled sterile and clean.

“A hospital then.”

“As long as it isn’t some kind of psych ward…”

He scrunched up his eyes and glanced around the room a little more carefully. There were two rather large white couches one either side of a corner. Upon them were several pillows and blankets, and apparently the ponies had slept on them. A window to his left was open, and a small breeze wafted the curtains – white, of course – forward. Other than that, the only notable thing was the first single-human sized bed Karon had come across so far, which he was occupying. And of course, the group of seven ponies standing around that bed looking at him.

Well, stare might be a better word for it. Twilight, Lyra and Rarity’s eyes were full of concern. Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked on him with a mixture of pity and thoughtfulness. Fluttershy eyes shone with unbridled compassion and Pinkie stared at him like he was covered in chocolate, that is, with great focus.

It was not something he wanted to wake up to. Not because he didn’t appreciate the concern, but because they would want an explanation. And since Celestia obviously hadn’t indulged them their curiosity, it would have to come from Karon.

“How do you feel?” Twilight asked him finally, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Karon shifted his gaze to her and she visibly flinched.

“Guess I don’t look so good.”

“Doesn’t feel like I do.”

“I’m tired, can we do this later...please?”

“Well I…sure, of course. We'll be right here for when you feel better,” she said and motioned her head towards the couches, which they all moved over to.

He took a deep breath and stared up at the white ceiling. The annoying brightness of it all was something Karon had never understood. Was it meant to give a sense of cleanliness? Was it meant to be bright and cheery? Why not use color therapy using the walls to aid patient recovery?

They were foolish questions, but it was just what he needed right now, something small, real and stupid. Every time his mind strayed back to what had happened, a lump gathered in his throat and he pulled the covers a little closer to himself.

It was a useful tactic in keeping his feelings under control, and so he spent his time thinking about regular things. Why was Equestria so colorful? What would happen if Pinkie developed diabetes? Did ponies even have diabetes? Why did they have such silly names?

The questions came and went in endless streams and the light dimmed with time. It must have been around noon when he first woke up, considering how bright it had been in comparison with the far more pleasant glow that entered through the window now.

The group of ponies had done very little during the hours he had spent coming up with more and more inane questions. A few times somepony had stepped out of the room, and once a nurse had delivered meals to everypony, Karon as well. Which he had proceeded to eat in silence with a mechanical efficiency.

It was somewhere around evening when Karon ran out of trivial things to consider and found in his mind a gaping hole. Not much remained now but the truth he had to face, and worse, had to divulge it to Twilight and the rest.

“Not that I think they can think less of me anyway.”

At least he felt calmer from those earlier questions. They might have been small and unimportant, but they had been a reminder that even the small things mattered. And it had given him some sense of relief connecting back to the ordinary and quiet parts of a life that had very little chance of ending up in a life or death situation.

“Twilight?” he asked, his voice hoarse from the lack of use.

He heard shuffling movements and soon Twilight came over to his bed, moving as silently as she could. Karon raised an eyebrow and raised his head from the bed, he saw the other ponies sprawled in different shapes on the coach, all of them asleep.

“Yes Karon?” she asked carefully, eyeing him with concern.

“Let’s get this over with. What do you want to know?”

“What happened to you?” she whispered, almost like he had told her something cruel. He looked into her eyes, questioning.

“What do you mean?”

“You…your eyes, everything. You look…dead.”

“Ohh, maybe I was supposed to be.”

“What does that mean!?” She whispered in a hiss.

“It means I fucked up again, and I wasn’t the one that paid the price.”

“What do-“

“Feather is dead Twilight…Feather Touch is dead,” he said, grimacing as the words left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“No…” Twilight whispered to herself, eyes averted from him. Her face muscles were twitching, like she had difficulty keeping herself under control.

“How?” She finally asked.

“I had More-than Tardy, then made a mistake and he flung a ball of fire at me. Feather pushed me away but it burned half of her into…nothing.”

“Oh Celestia…is he?”

“More-than Tardy is dead, as he deserves to be.”

“Karon I don’t know what to say…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry for me. I’m not the one that got burned alive.”

“It’s not your fault, you’re not the one that…did it.”

“I knew she might die. I knew you might all die. It was why I went alone...was supposed to go alone. But it took her with me anyway because I thought she could be USEFUL!”

He screamed the last word and the sleeping ponies on the couch all twitched awake with confused looks.

“Karon I…”

“No Twilight, I’m not interested in hearing it,” he said and threw off the sheet. He was dressed in some kind of hospitable gown, though to him it reminded more of a robe. He looked around and found his clothes neatly folded on a small table next to the couches.

Whatever Twilight was about to say next went unheard as she and five other ponies turned their heads in embarrassment when he tore of his flimsy clothing and began to get dressed in his usual clothes. The exception was Rarity, who had seen it all many times, and Pinkie, who was eying him curiously and looked like she would be giggling if the situation wasn’t so tense.

“Karon where are you going?” Rarity asked him in a tender voice.

“Away. I need time to myself.”

“Princess Celestia herself ordered us to stay close and make sure you wouldn’t-“

“I don’t care what Celestia told you! Don’t follow me,” he answered. He tried to contain the anger in his voice, but judging by their hurt expressions he hadn’t done a good job of it. He was about to walk out of the room when he stopped, his brows furrowed and he forced himself to calm down, forced the tension in his muscles to relax. Then he turned around and spoke in the most polite tone he could muster.

“I’m sorry, but I need to be alone. Please don’t follow after me. I won’t hurt myself or do something stupid. I just…want to be alone.”

“Pinkie promise!?” Pinkie Pie asked with a suspicious glance and narrowed her eyes.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” he dutifully said and made the motions at the same time. This satisfied the pink pony and she gave him a smile and happy nod.

“Okey dokey.”

He turned around and walked out the door before the others could raise any more objections. It wasn’t the nicest thing to do to friends who had apparently been next to him for several days waiting for him to wake up, but at least he had tried to soften it at the end.

“Next thing we know, we’ll be collecting bits for charity and volunteer at an animal shelter.”

“Just shut up.”

He walked through the hallways of the castle, ignoring the curious stares of the ponies he walked by. He recognized the place; it was he hospital wing where he had been put after the beating he’d received from the guard ponies.

Guard ponies that were now dead.

He stopped at a window and glanced outside. The sun was gone, its last remaining light spilling over the horizon. Soon Luna would raise her moon and the night would begin. It made him think back to the night when he was in the hot air balloon with Dusk, Twilight and the other guards he didn’t know the names of.

He wondered if they blamed him for their deaths, if they felt betrayed that he hadn’t led them better. He hadn’t spared the guards a second thought after their deaths. At the time it had made him sad to see them die, but it had been the sadness of losing an advantage, a set of tools that could have been useful.

It was the kind of thing More-than Tardy would have understood, and it was the way he would have felt. Karon hadn’t really considered why he did what he did. Sure it was important that More-than Tardy was stopped, but at what price?

Where was the line drawn?

“There is no line. You know that.”

“So how am I supposed to know what is right and wrong?”

“You can look at the results.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, cause, effect and result are connected. But it is the result by which one is judged, so look at the result.”

“I beat him. I did beat him.”

“Did you? Because to me it seems Celestia beat him with a trap that had been in place a long time. So what did you do?”

“I…I don’t know. I killed his army, I killed the guard ponies and I killed…Feather Touch.”

“So now you tell me, where did you go wrong?”

“I…don’t know.”

”Try harder.”

“I don’t know, that’s the point. I didn’t understand any of this from the start, I don’t even understand what I am anymore! That’s my answer.”

“Seems to me that’s the kind of thing you should know.”

“I am so fucking tired of this identity crisis bullshit! It shouldn’t be this hard!”

“But it is, so deal with it, preferably before you go off killing more ponies with your ignorance.”

That set a trigger lose within Karon. Something clicked and he realized he needed answers. Specifically, he needed answers from the alicorn that had set him on this path from the start. With new found purpose, Karon turned from the window and marched towards Celestia’s chambers, the day was over so she should have retired there by now.

He passed by several servants that scurried out of his way as he moved forward without stopping, determined to know just what all of this had been all about.

He moved agitatedly through the hallways with his jaw locked and eyes glaring. His hand opened and closed over and over again as he walked. The orange glow shining through the windows gradually died down with each one he passed, and soon the gold and fire of day was replaced by the silver and ice of night. When he climbed up the stairwell and reached Celestia’s chamber the marble was glowing in blue and gray. He knocked hard on the door and waited for a response.

When none came immediately he knocked again harder, and this time the door swung open when a pure white aura surrounded it. He stepped inside the room and noticed that she had replaced the sun crystals he had stolen from before, the room bathed in their light once again.

Celestia herself walked towards him slowly, moving in her usual serene and regal way, and it irritated Karon. To him it looked like a mockery that she could remain so unmoved by what had happened. By the fact that the most loyal and innocent servant possible had died.

“Karon, I see that you have awoken.”

“I want answers Tia. I’m tired of the bullshit and I’m done with moving around blind.”

Celestia looked on him with eyes full of compassion and sadness, then she gave a tiny sigh and nodded.

“Of course. You have served Equestria well and deserve to know.”

“Then tell me why you picked me to take care of More-than Tardy!”

“I didn’t.”

Karon’s mouth continued working but no sound came out at first. He gathered himself and suppressed his shock. An eagerness burned within him, an eagerness to hear it hadn’t all been for nothing. That Feather’s death might actually mean something.

“Explain,” he eventually managed to get out, his voice tense with anticipation.

“I elected you as court wizard only after I instructed you to help Luna find herself again. This was never about More-than Tardy, it was about Luna.”

“Wh-“

“Let me explain. When you first arrived in Canterlot I sensed an opportunity. I had feared for my sister and her recovery. She was still struggling in finding herself again, and the way that the world had changed. I don’t understand you completely, but I understand you well enough to know your nature. I ordered you to help Luna find her way again, and I ordered Feather Touch to become your personal servant because I knew she was perhaps the only servant loyal and trusting enough to continue serving you no matter the course of action you would take.”

“You were right about that,” Karon said, the acid taste of regret on his tongue. Celestia gave him a look of pity then continued.

“I was aware of More-than Tardy’s ambition for some time now. I have ruled Equestria for a very long time and can recognize the signs, I can read the patterns. But I would not be able to do anything about it against such an influential pony without evidence and…it is not the first time such a thing has happened. After Luna’s banishment as Nightmare Moon, there have been many more ponies vying for the throne in secret, more so than there had previously been. I constructed the trap beneath the castle and invented the legend of the talisman of the stars as bait. It was the perfect way to attract those who would threaten the rule of harmony together and in one place, and then let their own ambition become their ending.”

“That’s why you didn’t just apprehend him right away, you wanted him to gather all the dissidents and led them all together to a trap where they could be ended,” Karon gasped, understanding dawning.

“Yes, there have always been those who believe they could do better than my sister and I. Or those who simply wanted the power for their own without regards to the ponies around them. I could not allow such a thing to happen, the legend of the talisman of stars is the solution. More-than Tardy was a particularly devious one. He had made sure that should I try and attack him openly, it would seem like I was attacking an innocent pony. He would have turned my own subjects against me. I allowed him to gather supporters, and once he activated the trap, I could have seized the remainder of his supporters openly, having shown their true intentions with that very action.”

“So why did you nominate me as court wizard if it would have ended with More-than Tardy defeated without me? What was the point of all of this?”

 “I told you, Luna was. I nominated you as court wizard because I know your nature, and I instructed the elements of harmony to come to Canterlot and assist you in your work to try and balance that nature. I knew there was a chance that you would chase after More-than Tardy once you uncovered his plans, but that was never my intention. My real intention was for you to help Luna, to help her find herself. Through direct means…and as a result of your actions.”

“As a…”

Slowly, but surely, Karon’s mind processed the words and went through possible interpretations and suggestions to what they might mean. Finally, he arrived at the only conclusion that made sense, but it left him feeling utterly crushed.

“You nominated me as court wizard because you knew I would fuck it up…” he said out loud, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

“I nominated you court wizard because I knew your nature would drive you to perform radical changes. Hopefully not all too destructive ones, but changes that would shake the pony world. In combination with the attempted coup by More-than Tardy, I hoped it would be enough for Luna to be reminded what was at stake. That in the chaos you and your actions would cause, she would remember who she was and our duties.”

“I was just your pawn,” he spat out.

“It was never my intention for you to truly put yourself in harm’s way. You were to connect to my sister and through that connection she would be torn between her friendship to you and the consequences your actions would bring. In that conflict she would have found herself again…and she did.”

“Oh I am so glad your fucking schemes paid off. Too bad only a couple hundred ponies died in the process.”

“Karon please, I can only do so much in order to protect the peace and harmony on which Equestria is founded. I learned a long time ago that there is a price for such a thing to last, and I have seen the alternative. More-than Tardy and his minions choose their way. They choose to threaten and would have destroyed all that Equestria stands for. Just like Feather made her choice when she choose to follow you despite your methods, she choose to believe in you…just like you choose to oppose More-than Tardy. That was not me Karon, it was only you. Had you asked me for help, I would have given it.”

He clenched his hands into fists and the urge to punch something was almost overwhelming. It had been his own fault all this time. Tia had just used him to cause enough havoc to snap the Lunatic out of her self-absorbed depression. To upset Equestria enough for her to be reminded that she was meant to guide and protect them, not wallow in regret and pity.

It was Karon’s own doing to face off against the professor. He had wanted to, he had thought it was to be his entrance into the game of power. What was it he had thought now again?

“You must be willing to bet more than you’re ready to lose.”

“How wrong I was…”

The worst part was that he couldn’t blame Tia, or the Lunatic, or anypony. It had been all him this entire time. He thought he could be better than More-than Tardy, he knew that allowing him to take over Equestria was wrong. But at his core, Karon knew it had never been about stopping a villain. It had been about Karon wanting to show he was better, to challenge More-than Tardy and win. It hadn’t been a struggle of a hero stopping a villain…it had been about two rivals and their struggle for power.

Feather deserved better.

“You’re not like him.” He heard a faint whisper echoing inside his mind.

Was he not?

“Did it work?” he asked in a whisper.

“It did. When we returned from Phillydelphia and Luna learned of all that had transpired. How you had stolen my sun crystals and murdered over two hundred pegasi in Cloudsdale. How you had sacrificed several of her nocturnal guards in the attack. How you had taken it upon yourself to try and stop More-than Tardy without informing us…she was furious. She wanted to throw you down into the well of traitors to join the professors body. I stopped her and revealed my plan to her. She is very angry with me at the moment, but I told her of what I have seen so far, and she will understand why it was necessary soon.”

“So she’s back? Depression's gone. The Lunatic is back in her full glory.”

“The Lunati…Yes my sister seems to have made a full mental recovery and is in control of all of her power once more.”

“Why Celestia? Just to have your sister back?”

“No Karon. I have learned that as a ruler I can never make an important decision solely for myself, or my sister. But this wasn’t about my feelings for Luna, and the pain it caused me to see her having such a difficult time coming to terms with her new life.”

She walked over to her window and watched as the moon rose over the horizon, the silver orb casting its light over the land, and those in it preparing for sleep.

“I am very old Karon, as my kind was meant to be. We were created such so that we could see and experience more than the normal pony would, so that we would grow in understanding and power to better guide and lead them. It is how I can do whatever needs to be done in order to make sure harmony is maintained in Equestria. It is why I can send ponies to their deaths if it means that an evil is vanquished. But I never ask more than they are willing to give Karon…never. I have seen what happens when no pony is willing to sacrifice for others, what happens when everypony gives in to fear and doubt. I am an ALICORN, we were made to rule the ponies so that when their strength gives, we will be there. Yes, I can see your pain that Feather Touch died, but I told you, she made her choice. Just like Silver Steed, Dawn Hammer, Thorn Rose, Sand, Grape Sky, Merry Ash, Copper Runner and hundreds of other heroes that have given their life for the harmony and lives of Equestria over my years of rule. I know that harmony is not something that comes easy or cheap, and when evil comes to our land, sometimes it demands that we sacrifice to defeat it. And it breaks my heart every time such a sacrifice is needed, but the alternative is to see everypony suffer.”

“So is that what it comes down to in the end, simple math? One is better than many, common numbers?”

“Look outside to the ponies around you Karon. Look at all of them, and then tell me they are just common numbers.”

“It is easy to say such things when you are the one ordering others to their deaths Tia.”

Karon regretted the words as soon as they had left his mouth. Celestia seemed to die a little when she heard them, her usual bright shine of pearly white disappeared. The flowing mane of pastel colors stopped its eternal breeze and clung to her face like wilting flowers. For the first time Karon had ever seen her, Celestia didn’t look regal or powerful at all, she just looked…tired.

“If I could Karon, I would choose to die. I would wish nothing more than to give my life for a good cause and finally rest…finally…but I don’t have that choice. Few Alicorns remain, and none of them save Luna would be ready to rule Equestria. And she cannot do this alone. She needs me, as I need her. That is our duty, to keep on living, to keep on ruling. To guard and watch over each passing generation of ponies and protect them for evil, and ensure that harmony continues. It is the duty we were born into, as we realized in our travels. Our lives are not our own, we serve a purpose, and it is a good one. But don’t pity the dead no matter how early their life might have ended, as long as it ended for something greater. There is nothing worse in this world Karon, than a life that seems without an end…death is no pony's enemy; death is release.”

“I’m sorry Tia…I’m sorry.”

“We do what we must, and try to enjoy the time we have just for ourselves. There is no other secret Karon. Find what you are meant for, and no pain in the world will be able to break you completely.”

“I will remember that.”

Celestia shrugged and straightened her back, her colors returned to their usual radiant glow and her mane flowed in an eternal breeze once more.

“You asked me why I did it, why I risked so much to bring my sister back? It is because I need her. It is because I know how to read the signs foretelling of the future. And in them I see something terrible approaching, something that could mean the end of Equestria and all in it. I cannot face such a threat as the one I see approaching on my own, that is why I needed her back.”

“What is this threat?”

“I don't know, and that scares me. Luna and I have battled almost every single creature that exists in this world over the years. We know the smells, the feelings and the tastes that creatures leave trailing in the world around them. Both the visible world and the invisible one, but this threat...I don't recognize it. It is something new, something I have never encountered before. Except...”

“Don't do that, dramatic pauses are never good for anything.”

“I don't play to drama Karon, but to release such knowledge openly means that the world will react to it. YOU, will react to it. And right now I do not think that will help us at all.”

“So what now?” Karon asked, weariness entering into his voice. He didn't know how she had done it, but Celestia had managed to scatter all of his anger to the wind. Leaving him just as empty as he had felt when he woke up.

“That is, like always, your own choice. I will allow you to stay, and I will forgive you of all your crimes since they were done in the attempt to keep Equestria safe...just this once.”

“I don't know if I deserve it,” he said, staring down at the floor.

“It is in my power to do so, and it is my privilege to make that decision this time.”

The other meaning of her words went unspoken, but Karon heard them none the less.

“If you can forgive yourself remains to be seen.”

The silent message struck a cord within him, resonated with something that ran though the invisible strings of his being. What he experienced at that moment is commonly referred to as an epiphany. To Karon it seemed more like an obvious truth that suddenly became visible to him. He should have seen it sooner, but sometimes, wisdom doesn't come in slow unveiling or careful build-up, sometimes wisdom comes like a sledgehammer to the knees.

He didn't know.

He didn't know what he was, what he was supposed to do or how to attain this knowledge. He had been acting like he did, and at first it hadn't bothered him. What did it matter if he was fuzzy on the issue of self when he also found himself in a completely alien world? And when he had started caring, about himself and others, he had still acted in ignorance. Willingly ignoring the fact he didn't understand himself or what Loke had decided to turn him into...or perhaps, more accurately, what he had awoken in him.

That willful ignorance had led to the deaths of many, only a few which he truly cared about perhaps, but it was more than it should have been.

“Tia, when did you realize what you were meant for? When was it you truly understood what your purpose was?”

She looked a little surprised at the question, but didn't hesitate in responding.

“When Luna and I first saw the ponies living in harmony in Equestria, when we saw something we had thought lost.”

“But you knew from your birth that ruling the ponies was your set destiny. Why did you not do so from the start after you beat Discord?”

“We weren't ready for it. We were still so young, so inexperienced we hardly knew anything.”

“So...it was after you had experienced more, seen more of this world, that you came to know your place in it?”

“That...is one way to look at it yes. It is a certainty that we wouldn't have ruled as well as we have if we hadn't journeyed so far and gone through all we did back then.”

Karon turned his head and looked out the window, to the rising moon and the distant stars.

“I can't go on as court wizard Tia, of course, I think you never meant for me to.”

She nodded her head and gave him an apologetic smile.

“While you were unconscious I arranged for Minty Frost to become your successor.”

“Another part of your plan I take it.”

Celestia almost looked a little ashamed, almost.

“Celestia, I ask you this straight: would you have found yourself if you hadn't set out on your travels?”

“No, I don't think I would have.”

“How does that work? You were meant for ruling the ponies and instead you left it behind and went everywhere but here?”

“Karon, you can't teach yourself who you are, the world does.”

He considered that, it spoke against much of what he liked to think. However, with all excuses gone and his mental walls down he couldn't deny anymore that he was one exceptionally broken and confused individual. He had always known that really, but it's not the kind of knowledge you admit to yourself if you want the strength to get up in the morning.

“You know Tia, I never thought my life would have a happy ending. I always imagined I would die somewhere cold, uncomfortable and very desolate. Maybe get stabbed and left to die in a ditch, or get torn apart by some demon that got tired of my incessant attempts at summoning it. I still don't actually think it can end another way.”

“It can Karon, don't doubt it.”

He could still see Feather's blue eyes before him, she should have been screaming at him, accused him and cursed him. Instead she had been happy to sacrifice her life for his, to let him go on living while she died a gruesome death.

“No, I don't think I can avoid having my life ultimately become a tragedy...but I will try.”

“I owe it to her.”

“It brings me joy to hear you say that. And for your service to Equestria, I shall not only pardon your crimes, I shall also grant you whatever wish you of me.”

“A little money, a map of this world and one of those pegasi driven carriages to take me to...I'll decide that later.”

“You're leaving Canterlot?” She asked carefully, her voice spoke the question but her eyes told him she understood perfectly.

“No offence princess, but I don't want to remain in this place anymore than I have to.”

“If that is your wish, I shall grant it.”

“Thank you...Tia.”

He gave her a respectful bow for once, and turned around to leave. Before he went out the door Celestia called after him.

“You should go see Luna, she told me that you would know where to find her after you've woken up. I shall have the servants ready money and provisions for your journey and a carriage will be ready for you tomorrow.”

He nodded while walking and closed the door behind him gently.

“We would know where she's at huh?”

“I can only think of one place she could mean...well actually, two places.”

“And one is definitely preferable to the other.”

“Indeed, I still feel a need for excessive amounts of alcohol to wash all of this away for one night at least.”

“We have a destination then.”

He left Celestia's tower behind and went back to the hospital room he had woken up in. However, none of the ponies were there when he returned. After asking a few of the nurses about it he guessed they must have gone back to their rooms. Either they had gone to their separate rooms or they still all slept in Twilight's. No matter which, Twilight was the best choice, so he left the hospital wing and headed there.

He walked slower, calmer now. His earlier burst of determination was gone. The area around his heart ached with a dread cold, but he could bear it. It was a just thing, he was supposed to feel that way. If nothing else, it reminded him not to fall in the same trap of arrogance that he had earlier.

When he arrived at Twilight's door, he knocked on it, and a lump gathered in his throat when he imagined it would be Feather opening for a second. He swallowed it when instead, Twilight's usual purple aura swung it open and revealed her standing on the other side.

“Karon!” she exclaimed, relief visible on her face.

“Yeah it's me, are the others here?” he asked in a somber tone.

She stepped aside to allow him in, all the others were present in the room, looking at him indecisively.

“Are you...feeling alright Karon. Twilight regaled us of what you have told her and I'm terribly sorry to hear about Feather. She was such a dear,” Rarity said and took a few steps towards him.

He sighed and nodded, not feeling like he wished to go into it any more than he already had.

“Would you all mind going down to Pony Joe's and wait for me there?”

“Pony Joe's? Why?” Twilight asked and blinked a couple of times in surprise.

“Because we're going to celebrate. We vanquished the monster, saved the day, freed the hostages and all that. What is done is done, right now we all need it I think.”

“Need a copious amount of alcohol and a nasty hangover you mean.”

“It is implied.”

Twilight looked skeptical but caved in to the bombardment of happy squeals from Pinkie Pie raining down on her. They all agreed to go there and wait until he joined them, when Twilight asked why he didn't come with them directly he merely answered he was gathering a few others.

He watched the group disappear down one of the corridors, then turned around and began walking towards the nocturnal guards barrack. He briefly considered making a detour to Captain Nightchill's office but decided against it. There was a good chance he wouldn't survive that.

It seemed like only a few seconds had passed before he found himself outside the barracks door, several sound could be heard coming from within, indistinct muffled sounds of conversation and movement. Karon stood still outside, his hand outstretched

Then he braced himself and pushed the door open.

As soon as he stepped inside the conversations died down and every eye turned to watch him. They weren't openly hostile, but they vast collection of eyes said quite clearly they weren't happy about his presence in their home. Had he willingly sent their comrades to their deaths as revenge for the time they beat him up? Or had it just been combat and he got lucky while they hadn't? What had really happened during the secret operation in Cloudsdale? And what had really been going on with all those hostages they freed a few days ago?

The questions were quite clear on their faces, and it was the lack of certainty that kept them from looking at him like an enemy. Had they known what he really thought of their friends and fellow guards back then, Karon had no doubt they would have found a way to make him pay. But they didn't know, and he was glad for that, it gave him opportunity to do what he was about to do.

He looked around for the nearest uncluttered table and saw one that no pony was gathered around. He walked over to it and climbed up and the eyes of every pony inside followed him.

Karon looked out over the sea of ponies and had a brief flashback to the noble's party, when he had unleashed a party crazed pony on them all. He cleared his throat delicately and the sound of it could be heard across the entire room. Then he spoke in a loud, clear and as friendly a tone as he could.

“I would ask all of you to join me and the elements of harmony tonight at Pony Joe's in a celebration of the defeat of one of the greatest evil's Equestria has seen in a while. And to toast to the ones we lost to achieve it...drinks are on me.”

“I'll set up a tab in Celestia's name. That should shake the old schemer up at least.”

The guards were looking at one another doubtfully, and some hushed conversations began after Karon finished the short announcement. He looked around and spotted Dusk Keeper around one table, looking tired and worn, but staring at him with bloodshot eyes none the less.

Karon jumped down from the table and made his way to Dusk, navigating around the groups of ponies and table in the way carefully. When he reached the guard pony he looked down on him intently, taking in his appearance. Dusk seemed to be doing the same of him, and they both grunted nearly at the same time when they reached a conclusion.

“You looked like shit,” Karon said and tried to smile, but failed.

“And you look even worse,” Dusk replied, giving him a half looped grin that ended up looking like he had tasted something sour instead.

“What's wrong with you?”

“I killed my best and oldest friend after he betrayed me and everything we swore to protect. How about you?” The earth pony answered in an easy tone, trying to make light of the situation.

“Confronted More-than Tardy, made mistakes, Feather ended up paying for it and died. And now I've found it it was completely unnecessary and the professor would have died without my intervention anyway.”

Dusk shook his head bitterly and stared at the table like it could give him the answers to all his questions.

“You coming to Pony Joe's?”

“Why should I?”

“Because we can get drunk and wallow in self pity and remind each other that perhaps, it might all actually be worth something.”

He snorted and scratched his right ear absently, then he nodded and huffed.

“I'll be there in an hour or two, see if I can get some of the others with me, many were friends with the ones we lost in Cloudsdale.”

Satisfied with the answers Karon gave the pony a pat on the shoulder and left the barracks, murmurs and quiet conversations following him on the way out.

“Only one pony left now, and she is either already at Pony Joe's or at the pond.”

“Knowing the Lunatic I would say the pond. She isn't happy right now according to Celestia and I don't think someplace like Joe's is her usual place for emotional coping.”

“We'll have to introduce her to something new then.”

His destination set, Karon passed through the silver lit corridors and eventually left the castle behind him. Once outside, he looked up and saw the moon, full and shining strong, illuminating everything almost as clear as if it was day. It was framed perfectly by two clouds besides it, and all around the dark sky was lit by sparkling stars. Not shining with their usual, distant light, but instead seemed to shimmer in liquid brightness. He remained standing there, looking up at the night sky, wondering if perhaps the story telling that the stars were Celestia's tears weren't true perhaps after all.

It was a ridiculous thought, but looking up at the way the stars glistened that night, Karon believed it. Even if it only was for a short time.

He turned his eyes back down to the earth and path before him, leading him through the castle's gardens and to the main gate. The guards let him out without trouble and he walked down the street, passing by the occasional pair or lone pony. He received a few angry stares from some of them, most likely they had been guests at the noble's party. His only response in that case was to wave, he would have smiled but he couldn't really bring himself to it.

He walked down the road then turned off and headed towards the pond he and Luna had sat down at, in what seemed an eternity ago. It was funny how time seemed so relative, depending on how heavy the burden it laid of them was. When he exited the small cluster of trees and came upon the pond he was not disappointed, sitting right where she had sat the last time was Luna, staring up at her beautiful moon, deep in thought.

Karon went over and sat down next to her, just like he had done the last time.

“You have found me.”

“You wanted to be found or you wouldn't have told Celestia to tell me where you were.”

“I didn't want my sister to come interrupt my meditations. I am not pleased with her choice of actions at this moment.”

“I can understand that, of course. I'm not exactly pleased with my own actions right now either.”

“THAT I have no issue believing,” Luna said, a tinge of ice evident in her voice.

“I tried Luna...I tried. I'm just...I'm not ready for this. I thought I was, I honestly did. But it turned out I wasn't, I'm still too ignorant, still too limited...too arrogant.”

“At least you are willing to acknowledge your flaws,” Luna said.

“I don't think I could find a way to ignore them no matter how much I could try at this point.”

“You have caused much suffering through your actions to this land. Much terror has spread and the growing discontent among the nobles are partially your fault.”

“I know.”

“I could have accepted your methods perhaps, if the situation was dire enough. But I don't believe I have the ability to forgive you deceiving me into believing we had a bond of friendship between us just in order to further our sisters machinations. We can not, and shall not, endorse such cruel methods of manipulation and treachery. THOU TRICKED US INTO A LURID LIE AND USED OUR TRUST IN THEE ONLY TO DECEIVE AND CONTROL! WE OPENED OUR HEART AND REVEALED OUR PAST AND PAIN. WE NURTURED THE HOPE OF AN UNDERSTANDING ALLY AND FRIEND, ONLY FOR HIM TO BE REVEALED AS A TRICKSTER AND TREASANOUS SNAKE!”

She had shifted into her old speech pattern naturally as her tone rose and at the end, leaves flew in forceful streams as air collided and swept in a powerful gale around them. Karon remained beside her, facing the full force of her fury without blinking.

Well, maybe once.

“I approached and began befriending you on Tia's urging yes, but I didn't lie when I told you you were my friend. You still are, I like you Lunatic. Archaic screaming included.”

She calmed down noticeably but didn't look any less unhappy then she had a minute ago.

“And how can one trust the words of a liar?”

“You don't. Your choice of words was fitting. A trickster I am. Not only in name and deed, but in my very nature and energy. So don't trust my words if you don't wish to, but trust in what I do, my actions.”

“And what will your actions show me?” she asked, the tone of her voice making it very clear he should consider his next words carefully.

“That right now, I need a drink and a friend to share it with, possibly a friend who's shoulder I can cry on, but that will be a few glasses in I hope. Rainbow Dash will never let it go otherwise,” he said, the wry smile didn't quite make it all the way from his voice to his mouth.

Luna considered what he said for a moment, then turned her gaze back to the moon. Then she laughed and shook her head gently.

“It has been a long almost a year since I partook in such revelry, and then it was of a more innocent nature. But if you wish to have a friend for company this night, I shall try and fulfill that desire.”

“Thanks, thought you won't be alone there. All the elements of harmony and, I hope, a few of your guards will be there.”

“What for?”

“Making sure I never forget.”

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

There where a lot of ponies inside Pony Joe's when they got there. A steady pleasant buzz of sound hung in the room and happy conversations and laughter were mixed with somber discussions and bitter smiles.

A few of the patrons turned their heads when Karon walked in, but when he was closely followed by Luna almost all of the sound died down, and everypony turned to look at the newcomers.

“Hey 's the princess, remember us princess!? And she brought the humdon with her!” one stallion called out to her, waving his hoof happily. Karon recognized him as one of the patrons from their first visit there together. Luna smiled at the pony and waved a hoof back at him, which calmed down the members of her guard present, who looked to have been ready to march over and give a lecture of how to properly address royalty.

For the third time today Karon climbed up to a table, much to the annoyance of Joe himself if his face was anything to go by, and cleared his throat. However he remained silent after that, his mouth slightly agape, not sure exactly what to say.

Then he took a deep breath and just said the only thing he really could say.

“There are quite a few of you here tonight that came to honor friends that you have lost. They died fighting a great threat to Equestria and they did not die in vain. The threat was vanquished and Equestria made safe through their sacrifice...if you have not ordered a drink go do so now because I want to toast to these lost friends.”

A few of the ponies, sand colored eyes and dark gray coat so obviously of the guard, went to Joe and ordered something to drink. While they were occupied and everypony inside, even those who had no idea what Karon was talking about, were busy waiting for them Karon stretched out his mind and connected to Twilight's.

“Twilight I need the name of those guard ponies that died in Cloudsdale.”

He could see the displeased twitch her mouth made all the way across the room, but it still only took her a few seconds before she decided to answer him.

“Silver Prance, Dust Wind, Shield Trainer, Merry Spinner, Spear Chaser and Blue Glow.”

“Thank you,” he sent back and gratefully accepted a mug of some golden liquid Luna levitated to him with half a smirk, noting that he still hadn't gotten anything even after he told the others to. He accepted with a small, broken smile and turned back to the crowd.

He held the mug high and swept his gaze over the assembled ponies, they held theirs up in turn, even those that had just been there earlier for a regular night out. Ponies generally didn't need much of an excuse to be friendly towards one another, if a group of ponies honored fallen friends with a toast, they all joined in.

“To Silver Prance!”

“TO SILVER PRANCE!” the others echoed him.

“To Dust Wind!”

“TO DUST WIND!”

And so he went on, counting up the guards that had died in Cloudsdale and finishing it with a half whispered.

“To Feather Touch.”

No other pony besides Luna heard him but they all took a drink out of their drinks when they saw that Karon did. After a very long swig of the slightly burning drink Karon spoke to the crowd again.

“Oh and don't worry about paying, tonight Princess Celestia is paying for every single drink until closing time. Service to Equestria should not go unrewarded.”

The guards actually cheered, along with the regular ponies who's evening suddenly looked a lot cheaper.

Karon jumped down from the table and turned to Luna.

“As far as speeches go that was underwhelming, but I think they will overlook that fact now that my sister is so generously paying,” she finished with a giggle.

“Thought you might appreciate that. Let's go to the others.”

Twilight and the rest of the group were all standing around a large round table, most of them with a mug before them, with the exception of Rarity, who had a glass of wine, and Pinkie Pie, who had five mugs in front of her.

Judging by how fast she was downing the one she currently held between her hooves he guessed several of them were empty already.

“Ah like yer speech, straight to ta point and no funny business.”

“Thank you Applejack, it's the least I can do considering they died when I was leading them.”

“It's a right sad thing when something like this happens, but ah reckon they knew what they were getting into. It being their job an all.”

“Perhaps,” Karon said and looked down into his mug.

“So is this why you brought us down here tonight? So we could have a toast to the ponies that died fighting More-than Tardy,” Lyra asked and sipped her drink.

“Partially, and I just thought...we could all talk. Spend some time together.”

“That sounds like a yummy idea. I'm gonna go and get a few more drinks and then we can all talk about that one time Karon had to run out of a tavern naked!” Pinkie said.

“Wait what!?” Karon asked while his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably, “That has never happened to me!”

“Oh? That hasn't happened yet? How silly of me, I clearly need something to drink. Do you want anything, of course you do, be right back,” she said and shot of towards the bar where Joe stood.

And that was the beginning of a rekindling of a friendship that had become shaky to say the least.

They spent their time drinking together, telling jokes and regaling old stories and adventures. Luna joined in after a bit of persuasion and told the most incredible tales any pony, or Karon, could have imagined. If even half of what she told that night was true, then she and her sister had certainly earned their place as Equstria's rulers.

But Karon wasn't there just for reconnecting with his friends. He spent much time with the guards that had come, asking them to tell him about the guards that had died under his command. It didn't take much from his side before they all launched into their favorite stories of their now dead friends, and Karon learned much of what he had seen as faceless, nameless tools to be used.

Despite his state of near-drunkenness Karon memorized as many details about them as he could. Making sure he would not forget the ponies that had died simply because he hadn't even really tried saving them. When they asked about their friends death he intentionally remained vague, claiming much was secret, but letting them now they died facing an entire army.

He didn't mention they had been slaughtered nearly instantly and died a gruesome death. He didn't mention that they had been there in the first place just because they had given into their petty desire for revenge and beaten Karon in an alley. He didn't tell them he hadn't spared them a second thought when they had died.

No, he told it like as if they had been heroes. He hadn't saved them, he hadn’t even led them properly, but that was at least something he could do. Making sure they would be remembered with pride and as a source of inspiration.

Heroes that had died in service to Equestria. Heroes that had died protecting them from evil. Not scared and outnumbered, torn to pieces, dying entirely in vain.

That was all Karon could do for them now.

But when he noticed Dusk Keeper sitting alone in a corner, nursing a large mug he held in his hooves, Karon excused himself from the drunk guards, happily singing some military song, and walked over to him.

“Is something wrong?” Karon asked him.

Dusk merely shrugged and drank from his mug.

“Is it about Steel Runner?”

“What else would it be about?”

“Want to talk about it?”

“No I don't. No offence to you si....Karon, but you have no idea what he did means.”

“You're right. I'll be with the others if you change your mind.”

The pony didn't answer, he just took another swig of his drink and went back to his dark thoughts.

Karon knew he wouldn't get through to him, so he decided it to be best to just leave Dusk in peace. He returned to Twilight and the others, and found them all nearly wriggling on the ground from laughter at something Luna had said. The princess herself was swaying a bit unsteadily and many an empty mug stood before her on the table.

Karon actually cracked a real smile at the sight and chuckled to himself.

“If there is one thing we're good at, it's getting ponies drunk.”

He joined them once more and spent a few minutes listening to Luna's jokes, which were indeed hilarious. However the night had worn on already, and judging by how fast most ponies had drunk their poison of choice, Karon guessed Joe would have to close early. If nothing else because he ran out of alcohol. Celestia had been a very generous ruler tonight indeed.

Shame she didn't know about it yet.

So he interrupted Luna after she had finished her latest joke, this one she had apparently picked up from a zebra, and spoke loudly so the others would hear him clearly over the laughter and loud conversation around.

“I didn't invite you down here just to have a good time, I wanted to have a last night together with all of you before leaving,” he said.

“WHAT!? You're leaving...AGAIN!?” Twilight shouted and glared at him angrily, which only looked funny since she was swaying her head drunkenly.

“Yeah, I'm done here. Canterlot is nice and all but...too many memories. I think it's time for me to see what this world has to offer.”

“But you've only been here for a few weeks,” Twilight pointed out.

“Wouldn't you consider it a more prudent action to return to m...to return to Ponyville with us instead,” Rarity interjected hopefully, her eyes shiny and glowing, mostly from the booze.

“No Rarity, I'm sorry but I need to...do some things. Learn some things, and I can't do it in Canterlot or in Ponyville.”

“But that would mean I could never come visit you!” Pinkie shouted and pressed her hoofs to her cheeks in her version of outrage.

“I know Pinkie, but I'll come visit you instead...some day.”

“You better, or I'm bringing my superduper transportoconderanitation and find you, or maybe you'll find it, maybe it will find me,” she sank down into incoherent mumbling and the rest of the group pointedly decided to ignore her.

“When are you leaving?” Lyra asked thoughtfully, somehow sobering up in a matter of seconds.

“Tomorrow,” Karon said, and the ponies around the table went very quiet.

“Well...at least we got the chance to say good bye and...see you again,” Twilight said.

Karon nodded and took a sip from his mug. The rest of the night was pleasant, but not nearly as merry. And having done all he really could to limit the damage of his actions, he readily drowned it out with as much alcohol he could take. And it didn't take long before he crashed. The last thing he remembered was a pair of blue eyes staring at him.

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

He woke to find a pair of blue eyes staring at him, and for a second he thought he might be dreaming. That was until the pink bundle of hyperactivity the eyes belonged to let out a loud.

“Good morning sleepyhead!”

Karon winced and covered his ears and shut his eyes. The throbbing headache he experienced could have been much worse if the fragmented memory of the amounts of drinks he had had was anything to go by, but it seemed he got lucky...in this at least.

He looked around and found himself in a room he didn't recognize, the interior was bright red and blue in color. He was on a large bed with blue silk sheets and Pinkie was currently bouncing up and down on in an attempt to get Karon going.

“Where am I Pinkie?” he weakly asked and looked around for any kind of source of water.

“In my room silly, don't you remember me carrying you here?”

“No I don't,” he answered quietly and stumbled through a door that, praised the gods, was the bathroom. He went to the sink and greedily began drinking of the heavenly water it provided, savoring the cool in provided and the pressure it took off his tender head.

“What time is it?”

“I don't know, day,” she answered and popped her head in.

“Just great,” he muttered and splashed his face a few times.

“Do you know where the others are?”

“In their rooms of course, where else would they be?”

“If I knew I wouldn't be asking now would I...sigh, Pinkie could you perhaps tell them that-”

They were interrupted by a gentle knocking on the door

Pinkie looked curious and immediately zipped away towards it while Karon dried his face with a small towel, obviously made for ponies since it could have induced seizures in humans with all it's color.

He heard a short conversation and how the door closed again before he went out. Pinkie stood right next to the door and Karon had the feeling that if she were a dog her tail would be twitching.

“Who was it?” he asked her.

“Princess Celestia want's all of us to come have breakfast with her in the garden, at least that what the old grumpy servant McGrumpypants said.”

Karon's stomach growled happily at the news, but he shook his head in response instead.

“First I'll have to get back to my room and collect my stuff. I don't know if I will be returning to it.”

“Okey dokey lokey.”

“You really should leave out that last part, you never know who you might call.”

Pinkie only tilted her head and smiled at him in response. They both left her room, and while she bounced off towards the garden he headed to his own room. Judging by the light shining in through the windows it was late morning, which meant that the pegasi carriage he had asked for was probably ready for him by now.

This breakfast would be his last in Canterlot for a long time.

When he reached his room he found several packages on his bed. One was a large tube with a strap on it, inside of which was a large map off the entire world. Equus was written above it all, which made Karon wonder if the pony language he had copied from Fluttershy was translating it as an old predecessor to that modern language. Or if it really was written in Latin.

The other was a rug sack, apparently made out of leather, which definitely made Karon wonder were Celestia had gotten hold of it. Inside was a large bag containing lot's of the golden coins commonly called bits. There was also dried fruit in abundance, wrapped in paper, stowed away inside it.

But the strangest of all was a long, thin package. It was wrapped in black silk and was positioned a little away from the other, like as if had been carried there separately and not by the same pony that left the other ones.

He unwrapped the silk and his eyes nearly boggled out of their sockets when he realized what he was holding. It was the spear he had used to kill the wolves in the Everfree forest, the one that Eldros had allowed him to borrow for that very purpose. He looked around on pure reflex but saw nothing else out of the ordinary, just the spear, left on the bed.

“A gift for thy journey.”

A voice echoed inside his mind, sounding like it came from a great deep far, far away. Karon smiled a tiny smile and wrapped the upper tip in the black silk once more, he didn't want anypony accidentally getting hurt after all. He put the ruck sack on his back and slipped the tube's strap over his right shoulder. It felt...good. He felt ready, like he was doing what he was supposed to do.

He felt great.

Then he turned around and saw the door that had lead to Feather Touch's room.

His heart was stabbed with a dagger of ice and his lips trembled. His satisfaction was scattered to the wind and he was left once more in misery, trying his best to keep tears from entering his eyes.

“No...we have cried enough. She will not return no matter what we do, no matter how much be torture ourselves.”

“She shouldn't be dead.”

“But she is...all that is left is making sure it meant something, that it wasn't for nothing.”

“It was for nothing, it was a stupid mistake I made and now they are all dead.”

“Are we still talking about Feather Touch?”

“...”

“I mean it. Make something of it, she died believing it wasn't for nothing, that sacrificing herself for us wasn't a mistake. Are you going to spit in the face of that sacrifice?”

“Of course not!”

“Then stop moaning, we will carry this like we carry so much else. At least you've finally decided to take learning from it seriously now.”

“It's either that or keep causing it again and again.”

“Took you this long to figure it out huh?”

Karon didn't respond to that.

Instead he did took on last look around himself and sighed, then opened the door and left the room behind him. He walked through the corridors of the castle, slowly, savoring the sights, the sounds and the feelings it imparted on him. Canterlot was the center of Equestria after all, and the castle was the center of Canterlot. Canterlot was the heart of Equestria, and Karon had to admit that despite its flaws, it truly was the jewel of Equestria.

Coming from the perspective of someone who had seen only Canterlot and Ponyville in total of course.

He went out into the gardens and wandered around randomly, looking for wherever Celestia had decided to host her breakfast. Until he came stumbled upon a small clearing which all his friends and the two princesses were in, busy chatting and eating of the large spread before them. He could smell the food and his stomach rumbled again, reminding him that food was good for you.

He walked to the ponies and they all greeted him happily, the weather and the food was enough for them to decide that it was to be a great day indeed. Even though Karon would be leaving.

“Karon, please be seated and eat. We wouldn't want you to leave Canterlot on an empty stomach.” Celestia said and looked, well, regal.

“As if that's anything new.”

“I bet she cheats and uses magic for it.”

So Karon sat down on the large blanket they had put on the ground and began digging into the food. It was mostly fruit and pastries, but there was one plate of steamed fish, obviously prepared just for him. They ate mostly in silence, speaking up only to make a note on the weather or something else very trivial.

When Karon felt he had eaten enough, he leaned back on his arms and looked over at the others. They all looked back at him with varying expressions as they realized what was to come next.

“It's time,” he simply said.

“Are you sure you don't want to stay with us?” Rarity asked tenderly. “The past is after all, the past.”

“No Rarity, I need to leave, it's not much of a choice by now. I need it.”

She didn't look to entirely understand but she didn't say anything else.

“Well then...I guess this is good bye, for now,” he said and stood up.

He had barely gotten up on his feet before Pinkie had somehow managed to grab all of her friends and Karon and shoved them all into a huge group hug. He tensed up at first but gradually relaxed and put his arms around the mass of ponies. Pinkie let them go soon after and Karon took a step back and turned to Celestia.

“Where is the carriage?”

“I thought you might want to leave as soon as possible,” she answered and her horn glowed. A minute later a carriage drawn by two pegasi landed in the clearing and stood ready to take him anywhere he wanted to. Karon had no idea what his destination was to be, but since he had a map he could decide that on the move.

He breathed deeply of the sweet garden air, the aroma of uncountable flowers all around mixing together. He looked into the eyes of each of his pony friends one by one, then forced a smile and said.

“I'll be back some day.”

“Pinkie promise?” Pinkie asked.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” he dutifully answered her.

“You sure you'll be okay without me Lunatic?” he asked Luna as he turned to her.

“I'm certain I can make do without that insufferable nickname, and I think it best if you do not tarry. Our nephew is quite upset with you ever since the Noble's party, although he refuses to tell us why. And Tia here has yet to discover you bought Pony Joe's entire stock of spirits last night in her name.”

“WHAT!?” Celestia exclaimed and stared at her sister, for once, in shock.

“That's my cue to leave,” Karon said, and with one last look to his friends, turned around and walked towards the carriage. However when he reached it and was about to tell the pegasi to take off he was stopped by Lyra.

“Wait!”

He turned back and saw Lyra come running towards him. At first he thought she wanted one last hug or something, or maybe one  final question on humans...it's not as far fetched as it sounds.

Instead she stopped before him and said the last thing he would ever have expected.

“Let me come with you!”

He blinked, rapidly.

“What?”

“Let me come with you, wherever you're going. I want to go with you.”

“Uhm...why?”

“Because you're the only human I know of and most likely the only one I will ever meet.”

“Go home Lyra, this won't be a regular vacation or anything like that.”

“I know that! And...I don't exactly have a home to go back to.”

Karon rubbed his face in exasperation.

“Why don't you have a home anymore?”

“Well before I left for Canterlot Bon Bon kinda...told me my obsession with humans had gone too far, and either I left it all behind me and stayed or I left to Canterlot...And I wouldn't be welcome back.”

Karon sighed deeply, Lyra looked up at him hopefully and added.

“Please let me come with you, I can help!”

He was about to answer her that he seriously doubted there was anything she could do to help him. But he stopped, a voice, a memory came unbidden to him. A conversation once held in a dream that was not quite a dream.

“Then repay me by listening close. You are in this mess because you continue to be too thick-headed to face your own short comings. You still think you can handle everything the world throws at you on your own, you are arrogant. The reason you left me is because you can't even handle yourself, and that is why you will never be allowed to achieve true power. You need to first achieve a wisdom that will elude you for as long as you keep this meaningless game up. If you ever wonder why your life continues to be a tragic one just know it is because you still cling to the idea that it should be. Stop being such a self-obsessed moron and admit you need help to get over yourself. I would hate for you to end up as another cliché villain full of self-pity and hate. I have killed enough of those and need not know I helped create one.”

Varsif's voice echoed within Karon's mind as he looked down on Lyra, and he realized that perhaps, he needed help. And once that thought crossed his mind things felt a little lighter, a little brighter. Yes, things would be far better if she came along, not because she could help, not because she could be useful, but because she was a friend.

“Okay then, hop on.”

“Really?” she asked, surprised he had agreed so easily.

“Why not,” he said and helped her up into the carriage. He turned around and motioned for the pegasi to take off and they did, swiftly climbing through the air and leaving the ground below. He and Lyra waved to the ponies below, who waved back until the back nothing but a dot in the distant sky.

Karon watched the land below pass them by and thought about all that had happened in Canterlot. He had acted rashly, arrogantly and without real regard to the ponies that suffered. He had left Ponyville because he didn't want to cause pain to his friends there, but instead he had done it all the same in Canterlot, and to so many others.

They weren't the problem, he was. But Feather had died believing he was not a lost cause, that he was someone worth dying for. He honestly did not believe his life could possible have a happy ending, but for Feather's sake, he would try.

“Where are we going by the way?”

“I don't know yet, right now I'm just happy to be out of Canterlot.”

“You made a lot of trouble yes, speaking of which. What was that you did to prince Blueblood that made him so furious he would go to Luna about it?”

Karon grinned in raw pleasure for the first time in days and didn't answer, instead he merely watched the sky with twinkling eyes. Adventure awaited.

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

                                                                      (Four Days Earlier)

Prince Blueblood stretched out luxuriously and smacked his mouth a few times, content to sleep the day away in his comfortable bed. He shifted sides to make himself even more comfortable but frowned when he felt something beside him in the bed. He opened his eyes in a frown, not happy about having his perfect morning disrupted by something unexpected.

But he could only stare slack jawed when he saw the gryphon noble Vizzmizzi. And in turn, the gryphon opened his eyes annoyed and stared when he noticed Blueblood lying at his side. They both continued to stare at one another, and slowly the memories of the night before rushed back.

That's when they began noticing how sore they felt. And as they realized what had happened, both of them opened their mouths and screamed at the top of their lungs in horror.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

“INCONCEIVABLEEEEEEEE!

(Authors note: 481 pages later...whew I've written a lot, and still a long, long way to go. But for the moment I'm putting the story on hiatus. I'll be making a blog post for why and with more details if you want to know.) Next Chapter: Chapter 32: From Trottingham with love Estimated time remaining: 11 Hours, 5 Minutes