Karon woke up to the sounds of bird chirping and found himself smiling as he stretched his arms and looked out the window. The sun looked to be pretty high in the sky so it definitely wasn't early in the morning. He glanced over at Twilight's bed and found it empty, she must have let him sleep in. He groaned and got out of bed. He should have told her that Rarity was expecting him around noon, hopefully he wouldn't be all too late.

He hastily put on his robe, pants, socks and shoes and jumped down from the platform with a whoop. He felt young, strong and full of energy and wanted to make use of it. Maybe he should go for a run or something if he still had time before going over to Rarity's.

He was still smiling.

He noticed and carefully removed it and adopted a solemn look of careful contemplation instead. If he wasn't careful, all of this sugary happiness would infect him too deeply and he would turn into some kind of happy, squealing, daw'ing pony lover. Why did that sound so awesome?

He did a little morning stretch before opening the door and walking down the stairs to the library.

Twilight was standing over at a writing desk, most likely finishing that report on humans Celestia wanted. He needed to come up with a nickname of some kind for the princess to use around Twilight.

“One thing at a time.”

She was fully concentrated on the task and hadn't heard him come down. He briefly considered frightening her but thought better of it. Instead he walked into the kitchen and found Spike standing on a stool mixing some kind of salad. He looked up as Karon entered and greeted him.

“Oh hey Karon, I thought Twilight said you were going to be sleeping in today.”

“No, I have business with Rarity today, she's expecting me around noon at her boutique. You wouldn't know what time it is?” Spike didn't answer instead he just pointed over his shoulder towards an old clock hanging on the wall.

It was ten.

“Strange, maybe I'm just not used to the sun being so strong.”

“Well then, looks like I have plenty of time. Is there anything around for breakfast?”

“Hold on,” the little dragon said and jumped down from the stool and walked over to the fridge. He took out a wrapped sandwich and walked over with it to him.

Karon accepted it with a nod and looked inside it before eating, just as well, there was a dandelion in it beside the lettuce. He removed it discreetly before Spike noticed and put it in his pocket.

“So you're heading over to Rarity's huh? For what exactly?”

The question sounded harmless but Karon saw that worried little wrinkle between the dragon eyebrows.

“Must be worried about getting competition.”  

“She agreed to help me in creating a few sets of clothes and perhaps give me a haircut or something. I honestly have no idea how I look at the moment.”

“That explains it. Rarity is the best at that kind of things. Well, see you later bro.”

Karon nodded and went back out into the library and looked over at Twilight, then went to the front door and called back at her.

“I will be going out for a look around the area before going over to Rarity's. You can find me there later if you have any news.”

She looked up at the human standing in the doorway, surprised that he wasn't still sleeping, but gave a smile in response and said, “I'll come find you when I get a response from Princess Celestia about you being here.”

Karon nodded and stepped out. He hoped he would have time to prepare before meeting the princess, because he had no doubts she would want to speak with him sooner or later. If Lyra had told the truth, then Luna and probably Celestia as well did not hold his kind in high regard.

He would not spend any amount of time locked inside the moon if he could do anything about it.

It was a beautiful day outside, he used to prefer sleeping during the day and enjoy the quiet silent nights instead of the hectic time when the sun was up. He still did, but if all of Equestria's days were like this, he might change his mind.

He turned the down the street and headed off west, the sun at his back casting a long shadow in front of him. He passed by some ponies on his way and most of them gave him a courteous nod, and those that didn't know of him just stared as he went by.

His spider sense began tingling, or rather the mage equivalent thereof. He was more or less a prodigy with sensitive magic and right know he clearly felt how someone was following him. The mental energy used up as someone focuses intently on anything is easy to pick up on for someone like him, especially if it is him it's also directed at.

He tried to catch a reflective surface so he could look behind him but couldn't find any. No matter, he didn't feel anything dangerous coming off the stalker, so she or he was most likely just curious.

He kept on walking, ignoring the itch between his shoulder blades and eventually ended up on the outskirts of the town.

Maybe he should visit Fluttershy. He had given her a apology for leaving the spot she told him to wait at, but he felt like he owed her a little more considering the panicked state she'd been in when she'd come flying to the library yesterday. However he decided to save that visit for later. Right now he just wanted to explore the area surrounding Ponyville. He was really curious about the Everfree Forest and knew it should be somewhere west of Ponyville.

It sounded as good an idea as any other so he kept on walking, following the dirt road stretching over the hills and between trees spread out sporadically. As he passed through a small cluster of trees he emerged out from them seeing a short but empty field stretching before him.

On the other side of the field stood a forest, its trees dark and tightly grown side by side. Where the field and land behind was vibrant and colourful, the forest and even the sunlight shining down on it before him was gloomier, and there was mist between the trees hiding whatever was inside.

Karon looked to his left and right. The empty field before him stretched from side to side for what seemed to be forever, as if the land of the ponies wanted some sort of invisible border separating their home and that of the Everfree Forest, and as if they wanted nothing to do with its darker nature and untold mysteries.

How could he resist having a look?

He crossed the field of grass and stopped before a small opening between two large trees. It certainly looked foreboding, but he was a student of the magical arts. Dark mysteries and ancient seats of power were his bread and butter and did not deter him at all.

He went trough the opening and was quickly devoured by the ancient forest as the mist swallowed him up, and darkness surrounded him. He stood still for a few minutes and waited for his eyes to adjust.

Whatever forces that made sure even the nights in Equestria were bright either did not work or choose to not work in the forest, because even after his eyes had adjusted to the gloom it was still pretty dark. And so with a lack of other options he merely shrugged and began walking forward, making sure he did not trip over any exposed roots or walk into a low hanging branch.

The mist made it hard to see, and in the distance he could occasionally hear strange sounds breaking the otherwise silent forest. Maybe predators of some kind?

He stopped and briefly considered the indications of that possibility.

Twilight had mentioned several different kinds of creatures that could be encountered in here that would probably consider him food despite being an unknown. She didn't mention if they were intelligent or not, but he would guess a no to that question. That meant that they could be fooled a lot more easily than ponies, but they would probably have heightened senses, so using some kind of invisibility technique would be too risky and far too tiring.

However, animals usually had a flight or fight reaction to most situations. He had no intention of fighting anything inside a place that would breed such dangerous creatures, so Karon would have to make them fear him.

Easy enough.

He faced a tree standing to his right and put both of his hands on it's trunk and relaxed his mind. He gently allowed his awareness to encompass the trees and he soon felt himself form a connection to the collective consciousness of the forest around him. Each tree, bush or other plant life connected to each other forming a massive union of what could be called minds.

It wasn't anything like the minds of mammals or reptiles, but it was still a mind, and one that could be communicated with.

Karon felt a brief resistance as the forest fought back against this intruder, but it calmed down when it realized it was not under attack. The forest mind did not experience emotions as other life forms do, but it still had a sense of what we would have called curiosity and allowed Karon to continue.

He searched through the collective of minds until he felt a stronger concentration of mental energy. He didn't know where it came from exactly, but he knew that it belonged to a tree, a very old tree. He got the sense of almost endless seasons flowing around him. Rain falling down on him from the thick clouds above. The sun fighting through the perpetual gloom to reach the tallest trees stretching up in hope of capturing some of the light. He felt winters and summers pass by in endless cycles.

He felt all of it and in turn he allowed some of his own memories to be felt by the tree. The sudden change from the dark and warm existence in a womb, the harsh light in his eyes and soft cooing of a parent. His legs giving out underneath him as he tried to stand for the first time, his mouth trying to form his first word unsuccessfully.

He didn't dare give more than early childhood memories, but it was enough for the tree. It was satisfied that the creature before him meant no harm. They had connected their lives for a brief moment and had judged each other to be worthy.

Karon sent one last feeling of being honored in thanks and shifted his awareness back to his body. The connection to the forest was still there in the background, and it provided him with protection. As long as that connection remained he had the blessing of the entire forest and nothing in it would dare touch him. Any animal that discovered him would immediately feel a sense of dread should it ever even consider harming him.

Nature's wrath is terrible.

With new confidence Karon set off deeper into the woods at a steady pace, despite being slowed down by the terrain. He would have become exhausted quickly if he had been in his old body, but with his new one, he instead felt a kind of burning joy at pushing it beyond what was comfortable.

To his surprise, he eventually stumbled out of the mist and found a trail. It looked to be regularly used despite the location.

Either it must led to some water hole used by the animals, or it was the trail leading too and from Ponyville. He considered going deeper into the forest, but he felt he had explored enough for today. The forest would remain and he had nothing but time on his hands. He could come back tomorrow or the day after that.

The question is, which way leads out and which way goes deeper in?

“Hmm, well the sun is hiding behind all those dark clouds above, so I can't judge by that. And I haven't gotten used to this planet's magnetic field yet so I can't sense which way is north or south. Maybe the forest knows?”

“So ask it then.”

He brought the connection with the forest up to the forefront of his conscious and probed for some sensation of where the forest felt that the road led. It was an odd question for the forest because it did not understand at first. Eventually though it sent back a feeling of ending, where the forest's awareness stopped.

“That way.”

Karon sent another feeling of gratitude into the forest's mind and headed off left, following the trail. He heard creaking around him from time to time but whatever creatures were watching him must have gotten the forest's point because they remained hidden.

Eventually he saw a bright light in front of him and the forest opened up to reveal the serene landscape that was Equestria once more. He took a look behind him before stepping over the invisible line separating the two lands, and as soon as he did, his connection to the forest cut off.

Karon wasn't surprised by that, but he increased his pace just in case some kind of predator had followed him to the edge and was eyeing him hungrily now. He couldn't sense any danger, but he had been wrong before.

He saw Ponyville in the distance and decided to run the last stretch. He had no idea what time it was, but he hoped he wasn't late for his appointment with Rarity. A gentleman does not keep a lady waiting after all.

He began jogging at a medium pace. Despite his new body and it's superior state in regards to his old one he was beginning to feel pretty tired. He needed to try and learn his limits so they wouldn't take him by surprise if he ever needed to push himself in the future.

As he was closing in on Ponyville he began thinking back to the Everfree forest.

“It certainly was a lot darker in nature than what I have seen of Equestria so far, and I am not just talking about the light when I say that.”

“I know, it is a lot more similar to Earth.”

“I just don't understand the relationship between the forest and Equestria. They are so close together, yet that invisible line was not just a visual helper. There was an actual border of some kind separating the forest's awareness and Equestria.”

“You have been in this world for little more than two days. There are a lot of mysteries waiting to be discovered and solved, and some of them might be a lot darker than you first imagined.”

“Yes, I thought this world would be easily understood because it seemed so innocent and almost naïve in it's design.”

“You are a student of the arts and mysteries. You of all people should know that nothing is what it first appears to be. Maybe this world isn't as innocent and naïve as you believe.”

“Maybe not.”

Karon had been deep in thought and hadn't noticed he had passed into Ponyville already, in fact he could see Rarity's boutique from where he was standing. He bent over and put his hands on his knees, breathing deeply trying to steady his heartbeat. He remained like that for a couple of minutes before he straightened up and wiped the sweat from his face. Rarity might not appreciate him stinking up the place, but he had no other options right now unless he chose to postpone his visit.

He walked to the door and was just about to knock when something suddenly slammed into him from behind and flung him straight into the door, smashing it open as he was thrown inside.

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

Rarity had spent the entirety of last night coming up with ideas for Karon's clothes. It was so exciting! She had never before made anything like this, well unless you counted that outfit for Spike when he acted as narrator during the Hearth's Warming Eve play.

But that had been after an already created design and she had just followed the instructions. No this was entirely different! She didn't know what exactly the humans considered to be attractive in their fashion, but she had to assume it was close to their own standards for beauty.

After all, she had seen that he had been wearing a robe almost identical in design as some of the unicorns that had magic as their talent often liked to wear. So she had chosen to focus on recreating and improving some of the usual designs popular among such unicorns and make something that fitted Karon.

She had only seen his robe and that had only been in plain old black. Not many ponies wore that colour and they definitely did not use it exclusively. She hoped that Karon didn't mind wearing something a little more colourful. She didn't think she could stand making clothes with nothing but black.

She had gone to sleep with grand ideas floating around in her head and slept contently knowing she would have ample opportunity to present all her ideas in the morning.

As soon as she had woken up, she had taken care of all the work that needed her attention as quickly as she could. After that had been taken care of it was around eleven and she had spent nearly an hour after that fixing her mane, foaling around with different clothes she perhaps could wear and other activities in preparation for Karon's arrival.

He had so far acted like a perfect gentlecolt, besides that little slip up last night, and she wanted to look her best for his visit.

She had just managed to apply her mascara in a perfect amount when she heard the front door bang open with a loud crash and something yelped loudly in surprise and pain. She turned around and ran to investigate, stopping herself briefly to look in a mirror before giving a satisfied nod then running out to the store.

She gasped when she was meet by the sight of Karon lying on the floor groaning in pain and behind him stood Scootaloo wearing a helmet and balancing on that little scooter of hers. Flanking her was Sweetie Bell and Applebloom, both of them wearing determined expressions.

All three of them looked up and saw Rarity standing there with her mouth open in surprise. They quickly circled around the still groaning Karon and positioned themselves between him and Rarity as if protecting her.

Rarity snapped out of it and looked down at the fillies with their back turned to her.

“Girls no,no,no what did you do!?”

“Helping you sis! We were just passing by on our way to the clubhouse when we saw that thing lurking about outside your store! Scootaloo went right into it and it fell trough the door. If you hurry and get help before it wakes up we can catch it!”

All three fillies looked at each other with perfect synchrony and loudly shouted.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS THING-CATCHERS!”

Rarity's eyes shouted just how furious she was with the little fillies, but she didn't want to act unladylike in front of Karon, no matter of dazed he appeared to be.

“Girls, you simply must stop acting before you think things through! This is no 'thing', this is Karon. He's a human currently staying with Twilight and he came here because he wanted me to help him in designing some clothes!”

“Ya mean it can talk?” Applebloom looked confused as she shifted her glance between the slumped form of Karon and the scowling Rarity. “Then why didn' it say something?”

Rarity felt it was very hard at the moment to act with the proper grace befitting a lady, but she tried to answer in as calm a voice as possible. “Did you stop to ask him what he was doing?”

Applebloom scrounged her face and carefully thought back before she answered. “Oh yeah, that's right. We never did.”

She turned towards Karon and said in a very neutral voice. “Ah'm sorry.”

Karon only groaned in response.

She looked at Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell and nudged them both when they didn't say anything.

“I'm sorry mister, we didn't know you were a friend.”

“Fine I'm sorry too, can we go now? If we can't be thing catchers, then we should go back to what we were doing before getting here,” Scootaloo said in an inpatient tone.

“Yeah!” both her friends exclaimed at the same time, and all three of the formed up and shouted, “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CAVE-EXPLORERS!” Before they turned around and rushed outside.

“We'll I'm glad that's over so we ca- ... Wait what did they say? Girls! GIRLS!”

Rarity ran out of the shop and set off after the little fillies as fast as she could before they could get away. Karon was left on the floor inside the boutique and groaned a final time for good measure.

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

It wasn't as bad as he made it out to be. Sure whatever it was that had hit him in the back hurt like hell at first, but the pain quickly receded. No, he decided to remain on the floor and act incapacitated because he could hear from the tone of the voices that what attacked him must have been children of some kind.

And right now what he wanted to do was not child friendly. If he got up he knew he would have to act like a gentleman should and communicate peacefully with the little monsters. So he continued groaning and didn't look up as Rarity spoke with them. He could hear she was angry but held back. Maybe it was his presence here or something else, either way he was disappointed. He had hoped for some kind of punishment.

“Karon ... Never have any children. EVER!”

“I wasn't planning to.”

“I am not joking. If you spawn a little monster like these kids I...I will commit suicide.”

“But we're the same?”

“Exactly.”

He heard the little monsters run out of the store with Rarity following after them and groaned a final time before he pushed himself off the floor. He looked behind himself and saw Rarity running after three little pony children of an indeterminable age, one of which was riding some kind of bike or skateboard.

“Now I've seen everything.”

“You do know that saying that is like challenging the universe to fuck up your day right?”

“No, that's when you say that it couldn't possible get any w-”

“Don't you dare say it!”

“Hehe, just kidding.”

He groaned again, this time it was real.

He looked around the boutique. It was spacious and there were several mannequins shaped like ponies. Some of them were empty, some of them had clothes of different kinds on them, but all of them were pretty colourful and ... Well, frilly might be a bit strong but they had definitely a distinct feeling of old French aristocracy over them. All that was missing was a huge wig.

“Oh look, on the top shelf: a huge white frilly wig.”

Karon really hoped that Rarity would be open to suggestions when it came to designing clothes because he would not wear anything like that even if his life depended on it. He began taking a closer look around the shop when he heard the sound of somepony entering the store, he looked and saw Rarity coming inside with a tired expression.

“Is something wrong my lady?”

She looked at him with gratitude, happy the little incident hadn't made him lose his chivalry.

“No, no, nothing wrong at all. Those three were just about to go into the Everfree forest to find some caves to explore, but no matter. That's all taken care of now.”

She walked over to the closest mirror and took a look in it. She looked a little displeased at the sight but Karon couldn't see anything wrong with her looks. She looked just as stunning as always.

“Well, well, well, even you seem to have fallen for her beauty.”

“I can appreciate it for what it is. Stop jumping to conclusions.”

“She's already managed to get one biped to fall in love with her, why not two?”

Karon didn't answer. Instead he decided it was high time to really put some effort into his flattery.

“Surely my lady, you are not worried that you are not yet prepared to receive guests.”

She turned around facing him and looked a little worried despite his words.

“Well, all that running did ruin my mane a little.”

He smiled at her until she met his gaze.

“Nonsense my lady. It is impossible to improve upon perfection.”

“Oh that struck gold.”

Her pupils had dilated to almost double their usual size and her eyes practically glowed with joy after he'd said it. She trotted over and briefly stroked against his side as she passed him by before turning around and said.

“You are an absolute jewel, but come, I want to show you all of the designs I was busy drawing last night before going to sleep. I'm sure you will love all of them.”

He followed after the now giddy little unicorn as she walked into a different room. He saw there was a lot of drawings scattered here and there all over the room, among what seemed like every kind of implement available. Organized chaos ... Now he was really beginning to like Rarity.

“I take it that this is the room you use when searching for inspiration, am I correct?”

She turned around and stared at him in surprise.

“Why yes it is. How could you know that?” He smiled at her and stretched his arms out and moved them across the view of the room.

“I would recognize the seat of inspiration no matter where I found it. Few people can truly see the patterns where others merely see a mess,” he said the last part with a wink.

Her look of surprise turned into one of shock and she began eyeing him carefully, almost warily.

“You are the first one to ever see it that way besides myself. Why even Twilight thought that it was just untidy when she first saw it.”

“I do not doubt that. Twilight is an excellent practitioner of the magical arts, but her approach to things is a scholarly and very rigid one. But I ... I am an artist. And I have no trouble in recognizing another artisan no matter what art they practice, especially not one that is as obviously brilliant as you are lady Rarity.”

At first Karon got worried he had laid it on too thick because she looked worried and was staring at the floor distantly, her hoof thoughtfully placed underneath her chin. He didn't want to pressure a response from her but after a few minutes of silence it was getting unbearable and he gently cleared his throat.

Her head snapped up and she looked at him.

“Is everything all right? You looked worried my lady.”

“Oh I'm terribly sorry about that, it's just ... I've never meet anypony that could see right trough me the way you do. It is honestly a bit unnerving.”

"It was never my intentions to make you uncomfortable. Can you forgive me?”

“Darling, there's nothing to forgive. I'm just being ridiculous standing here worrying for nothing. Give me a moment.” She straightened her back and her horn began to glow as several sketches floated off the ground and settled on a desk next to the wall.

Both of them walked over to it and Rarity let Karon pick them up and look them trough.

“She certainly is creative.”

The designs were mostly different variations of robes and mantles. Some consisted of different pieces supposed to go together, while other designs were just a normal robe but with patterns of all kinds in almost every colour combination that existed.

They looked kind of nice, with the exception of all the colours and the occasional laces. He would not wear anything with laces, period.

“These are very imaginative lady Rarity. I would like to make a few adjustments but otherwise I think we are almost ready to begin sewing. Maybe half an hour of discussion and then we will be ready to begin."

After three hours they hadn't gotten any further.

“You can not be serious! Nopony mixes black and red for an outfit. It's just depressing to look at! And the shape of those shoulders are just ridiculous! They should be much more closely fit. And the other outfit is even worse, just look at it! We would have to use double stitches for that, which would ruin the whole thing! I don't know what kind of garish clothes humans wear, but around here nopony would ever be caught wearing something so dreadful!” Rarity was screaming at Karon, who in turn had gotten sore in the throat from all the screaming he'd done himself.

Things had gone well at the start, but after a few small disagreements of proper clothing design and what was appropriate they had both realized something.

The both of them were incredibly stubborn.

Rarity believed firmly that a light colour scheme of at least three colours and a closely fitted upper piece with a wider lower piece was the most desirable way to make Karon more presentable. Karon on the other hand wanted a one piece robe with no more than two colours mixed in and preferably a hat of some kind to go with it.

They had now been arguing with each other for over two hours about the pros of their respective ideas and the cons of the other's. And they were getting tired, but neither wanted to give any ground after fighting for so long.

Finally Karon relented.

“Fine! If you are so set in making me look like an exploding rainbow, then we'll do that ... lady Rarity.” It was incredible that he had managed to keep this up for so long after everything else he had done during the day. But now he was feeling exhausted and his mind was becoming so groggy that he was worried that he might start slurring or something else very ungentlemanly.... The shouting didn't count.

She looked over at him with suspicion in her eyes. “What do you mean by that exactly?”

He took a deep breath and calmed down, she was doing him a favour after all.

“We can compromise. I say we make a one piece set robe, but we can use three colours for it with a matching hat with two colours. We design the robe with a fitted waistband so it looks similar to a two piece set and also matching boots. Does that sound agreeable ... my lady?”

He almost growled that last part.

At first Rarity's eyes shone in triumph but they hastily narrowed as she pointed at him with her hoof and asked.

“What colours?”

“Black, red and gold.”

“Never! Light blue, yellow and deep blue hems.”

“Purple main colouring, maroon centre lines and black hems!”

“Ridiculous! Red main colouring, pink hems and sky blue intersections!”

“Ha laughable! Dark red main colouring, dark green centre lined stripe and golden hems!”

She was about to shout something back before Karon raised his hand and stopped her.

“The hat can be in red with a golden cord along it's base.”

“What kind of hat are you proposing?”

Karon grabbed a sketch and pencil and hastily drew a copy of the hat Gandalf wore. He had wanted one for quite some time since he knew how much playing to the stereotype would piss of his old master.

“Ugh, that's the same kind of hat that insufferable Trixie wore.”

“Who? Never mind, do you agree to this?”

She hummed gently to herself and put her hoof under her chin again. Her eyes flickered up and down the hat as she imagined it in different colours together with the main outfit.

“Red in colour but with a band around the base in black but with golden string sewn in a pattern.”

“Really you're thinking black? Okay then I ... wait, in what pattern is the thread sewn?”

“I was thinking perhaps a triangular knot pattern?”

“No way, criss cross side stitches!”

“You are the most insufferable creature I have ever encountered before!”

“I get that a lot. I mean ... If you say so lady Rarity.”

They looked at each other, both still breathing heavily from the shouting and Rarity's skin – coat – whatever it was – shone a little from the exertion. Her cheeks were reddened and her eye's were shining more than they usually did.

She stared at him with a gaze he couldn't decipher the meaning of and looked about to take a step towards him before she froze and took a step backwards instead.

“I can begin working on it later tonight if you want it ready by the morning,” she said it in a tone that indicated she wanted to make peace with him.

“If you have the time, I would appreciate it greatly,” he said it in the same tone as she had, and gave her a knowing smile. She smiled back at him and once more they stared into each others eyes.

This time Karon broke away first.

“But I hope you will be free this evening?”

She tilted her head a little to the side before asking.

“Why, I might be. What is it you are asking me exactly?”

He laughed a little before responding. “I am afraid much of the surprise party Pinkie Pie threw went unappreciated from my side. I want to make amends, so I am planning on throwing her a surprise party this evening.”

She looked a little disappointed for some reason when he first said it, but she quickly turned her face into a smile again.

“You are a true gentlecolt Karon. Not many would bother to even try, especially not since Pinkie isn't even aware that you didn't enjoy her party.”

“She might not be, but I am. That is enough for me.”

"Yeah right. No hidden agenda behind a veil of chivalry at all."

“Well, I certainly couldn’t forgive myself if I missed a party for such a noble cause. Where is it going to take place and when exactly?”

“I have yet to work out the details. I was planning on taking care of that after my visit here but I had not anticipated on staying this long.”

She blushed a little and turned her face away. “Well, I am partially to blame for that.” She looked back at him. “I was busy taking care of a very difficult client of mine.”

Karon laughed and shook his head. “That sounds absolutely dreadful. There is no excuse for such behaviour when in the presence of such a divine creature as yourself. Do you think you can ever forgive such a foal for his actions?”

“Well I might eventually, but he would have to earn it.” She smiled at him and he smiled back, he liked Rarity. She might at first only appear to be a superficial drama queen, and she was to some extent, but there was also so much more complexity to her than that.

“You LIKE like her.”

“This again. I am not interested in a relationship with a pony.”

“You say that now, but it's been four years since you last had sex. Wait another month or two and we'll see how you feel about it then.”

“You are a disgusting little man you know that.”

“Right back at you. Oh wait I am you.”

“Well lady Rarity, I hope that this client of yours will make amends soon. Maybe he will be at the party tonight and you can see him there.”

“Well, I guess I could come, if only to give him a chance to apologize.”

“Excellent, I will make sure Twilight sends out invitations when the place and time is set.”

Rarity nodded with a smug look on her face and walked him to the door, before he left he turned to her and asked.

“Oh and I was wondering if you happen to know where I might find a high quality supplier of fine spirits.”

She arched an eyebrow at this, but then her face split into a grin that could have rivaled Karon at his worst. “Oh you naughty thing.”

“Ok, that was HOT.”

She cleared her throat and leaned in closer, Karon could feel her breath as she turned her head up towards him.

“You should go see Applejack out at her farm. I know by way of a few clients of mine that her family is responsible for supplying some of the restaurants in Canterlot with such wares.”

He gave her a wink and silence formed the words “Thank you” with his lips.

She just stifled a laugh in returned and waved him off.

“To Applejack's it is.”

He began walking towards the southwest. Twilight had told him that the Apple family farm was in that direction, and so he followed the road that was supposed to take him there. The sun was creeping slowly towards the horizon and he needed to pick up his pace if he wanted to pull this whole thing off. He began jogging once more. His legs felt tired but there was still a lot left in them.

After running for a short while and passing by more of the almost identical hills and trees, he saw huge acres of nothing but apple trees stretching over and around many hills all around. In the centre of it all stood a barn and a house. He assumed it must be the Apple family house and ran a little faster towards it. He rounded a fence and came across a small road leading through the apple fields towards the house and set on it.

The house was rapidly becoming closer so he stopped running and walked the rest of the way at a slow pace, taking in the scenery.

He saw what looked like an ancient pony with lots of wrinkles and white hair sitting in a rocking chair on the porch and looked out at the fields stretching off into the distance.

He walked up to her as she saw him coming and asked in the most respectable tone he could muster.

“Afternoon ma’am. You wouldn't happen to be Granny Smith, the elder of the apple family?”

“Ah'm Granny Smith alright, but who are you coming here asking questions? Ah ain't ever seen one of your kind here before.”

“No, I don't believe any of my kind has ever been here before. I am a friend of Applejack's and came here hoping to discuss a little business with her.”

“Ye're a friend of Applejack's? Why didn't you just say so from the start!”

She gently got out of the rocking chair with what sounded like the worst case of arthritis he had ever heard. It wasn't even supposed to be something one could hear! She slowly made her way to the front door and opened it before shouting in a voice far louder than someone that fragile should be able to produce.

“APPLEJACK, YA GOT A VISITOR HERE FOR YA!”

She smiled at him- even her smile squealed with old age- and slowly walked back to her rocking chair.

A few seconds later Applejack came trotting out the front door. “Now what the hay is ya'll shouting about?” She stopped as she saw Karon standing on the porch.

“Hello there Applejack, I was wondering if I could take a minute of your time. I have a proposal for you.”

“Say what now?”

“Business, I have a business proposal.”

“Ya do? Well then step inside.”

He followed her indoors and leaned against the door frame as she turned around.

“So, what are ya suggesting?”

“I am at the moment planning a surprise party for Pinkie later tonight since I was to overwhelmed by everything to enjoy her's properly yesterday.”  

“No, you just want too see Pinkie Pie get drunk.”

“Hush you.”

“Anyway, I was told by Rarity that your family was responsible for the distribution of fine spirits around these parts.”

“Why that gossipy... Where did she hear of that? Never mind, why would ya want that for.”

“Well it is customary to include fine spirits in any party where I am from. It helps people relax and open up to each other. Anyway, would it be possible for me to procure a few bottles or caskets or whatever else you use for storing it?”

“Well ... Ah guess it won't hurt for ya to take a look at it. But ya said you would be paying for it? Ah thought you just arrived here and didn't have any bits at all?”

“Just show me where the brewery is and I will explain there.”

“Alright then.”

“Let's hope you're right now.”

Applejack went over to a door under the stairs and opened it before heading down into a basement, Karon followed closely behind and came down into a small but clean brewery.

“As I thought.”

“Would you mind me having a look at the wares first?”

“'Course, here ya go.”

She went over to a large crate and opened it before picking up a bottle from it with her mouth.

“How sanitary.”

She went over to Karon and gave him the bottle, his eyes widened and he almost dropped the bottle in shock when he took a look at it. It had an amber liquid in it and a black label that said in silvery letters, 'Applejack's Daniels'.

“...What ... the ... fuck....”

“Yeah, if I ever needed a definite proof of the close relationship between Earth and Equestria, this would be it.”

Applejack was looking at him with a confused glance.

“Somethin' the matter?”

“Oh no, it was just ... Well, it reminded me of something that's all.” He cleared his throat.

“Well I think this would do nicely, would it be possible for me to take say, twelve bottles with me.”

“Ah guess, but how are ya planning on paying for all of it.”

He gently shook the bottle in his hands.

“Would you mind me having a sip of this, I wish to confirm something.”

“Have a go.”

He nodded and unscrewed the bottle and took a sip. Strong, burning with a woody taste mixed with the sourness of apples. Definitely whiskey.

“Just as I thought, you're distillery process is flawed.”

Applejacks eyes narrowed and her tone became dangerous.

“What do ya mean it's 'wrong'? Are you saying Ah'm cheating in ma work?”

“No nothing like that, but let me ask you, how did you come across the way of making this? Since it's called Applejack's daniels I assume you are the creator of this brand.”

“Well ... it all started when ma granddaddy ate a bunch of spoiled apples. After that, he began letting them spoil on purpose and try and make a drink out of it. After a while he asked a bunch of unicorns for help an they helped set him up with this contraption here, but he passed away before he could start using it, so ah did it for him and got into the business of selling.”

“Interesting, well the process of making whiskey is simple in theory but more complex in practice.”

“Whiskey? What is that.”

“Why this type of drink of course. What do you call it?”

“Ah call it a daniels. Thats why it's called Applejack's daniels.”

Karon's left eye began twitching.

“Uh ... sure, okay. Well making 'daniels' is more complicated than what it seems, at least if you want to make it really good. If you give me twelve bottles I will help you improve your recipe and process. If you are satisfied with my work afterwards I can also help you expand upon your product base, creating new kinds of spirits. Especially after I have familiarized myself with the local herbs and plants.”

“We'll, it does sound like an honest deal, so why not.”

She spat in her hoof and stretched it out towards him.

“Why not?”

He spat in his palm and gave her an icky high five.

“We'll that's settled then. Where do ya want it delivered?”

“Do you think you could deliver it to the library? I am thinking of setting up the party there, and be discreet. I don't want Pinkie to find out.”

“Ah'll be in an out without anypony the wiser.”

He nodded in return and after having said goodbye to Granny Smith, headed off towards Ponyville again. Now he needed to find a way to distract Pinkie and later lead her to the library, and also get to Twilight so she could magically send out invitations to everyone in the town. Oh and also get some pastries and such for food.

Karon might be talented at many fields of magic but mass teleportation of party invitations was an area he freely admitted to sucking at.

He saw the sun was beginning to set and started to feel stressed, and so took of at a run, but halfway towards Ponyville his instincts screamed at him to duck, so he flung himself abruptly to the side and heard a crash behind him. Just where he had been standing a moment ago was now a very dazed Rainbow Dash looking confused at hitting the ground instead of him.

“I take it you're ready for round two?”

She shook her head and sprung up into the air with a grin.

“Hey if I wanted to I could take you down in ten seconds flat!”

“My, my that is big talk coming from someone who can't avoid crashing into the ground. My advice is to try steering.”

She didn't respond other than ram into him again. This time though she caught him unguarded and went right into his stomach.

Karon felt all air punch out of him and clutched the pegasus tightly to him locking his arm while he began waiting for air to seep back into him. But she had obviously learned something from last time and was expecting it. She started squirming in every possibly way. She didn't weigh much, but she had very strong muscles and a sleek body, and eventually he lost his grip and she shot up into the air.

Karon briefly considered cutting her flying ability off again but decided not to. This was a contest of the body, not the mind.

He fell down on his knees and put his hands over his chest and hoped she would take the bait.

She did.

She might have expected him to try and grab her again but he had also learned from their encounter. She loved to fly up and dive straight into people. It was her attack of choice he figured. So when he saw her set off towards him, he tipped back on his back and spread his legs apart while shifting his body so she wouldn't come crashing straight into his crotch.

Instead she dove right over him but was caught between his legs when he slammed them together. He twisted over so he was lying sideways with Rainbow Dash waist firmly locked between his legs. Her wings were still free and she began flapping them furiously, Karon's eyes narrow and he shaped his hand into a fist with his thumb stretched straight out and punched into the intersection of muscles right beneath her left wing.

He had been right. They were similar in the location of their nervous system. And he had just punched into a cluster responsible for her wing. She screamed out in pain as her body arched itself before becoming very still. Normally he wouldn't like the thought of hurting a pony, but Rainbow Dash had chosen to play the offended warrior.

The martial world is painful. That had been one of Karon's masters first lessons.

“Do you surrender?” he asked the pegasus.

She began struggling again for a moment, but it was half hearted and she sighed and nodded her head. He let go of her and got up on his feet, he looked down as the pegasus flapped her wings a few times before rising up in the air.

She looked sad.

Karon smiled at her and asked in a voice that made it sound like a question. “Better luck next time?”

She looked at him surprised but then smiled and nodded, thinking perhaps that he understood her better than she first thought.

“You know, you got some pretty sleek moves, where'd you learn that?”

“A grouchy old man in the middle of the woods.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, anyway Rainbow I was wondering if I could ask you a favour?”

“I don't now, depends on what you want.”

“I am planning a surprise party for Pinkie Pie. I was hoping someone could distract her for a while then take her to the library.”

“Your planning a surprise party for Pinkie? Why?”

He briefly considered giving the same excuse as he had to the others but decided that Rainbow Dash was the kind of prankster that might appreciate his little scheme.

“Hehe, well I want to repay her for that party last night and also ... I'm planning on getting her drunk.”

Her mouth fell open at the words and she just stared at him before she began laughing.

“Ohhh, that is so awesome! Of course I'll help with that. I've never seen Pinkie drunk. I'll bet it will be the best party ever.”

“I was hoping the same. So, do we have a deal?”

“Hay yeah. So, when do you want me to bring her over?”

“I'll send you a message. You'll understand when you get it.”

She shrugged in reply, “Okay then, see you later.” She shot off with what looked like a rainbow trailing after her.

Karon smiled and headed of towards Ponyville again.

“Pastries and Twilight left. I know there were plenty of left overs from the party yesterday which should still be at the library.”

He jogged the rest of the way and opened the door to the library breathing heavily and sweating, Twilight wasn't in the main room so he headed up the stairs and found her reading a book lying on her bed.

She looked up when she heard him enter and give him a quick glance.

“What happened to you?”

“A lot of running, among other things. Say, do you still have all those left overs from last night?”

“Yes, I didn't know what to do with it all so it's all stored in the fridge and freezer.”

“Excellent, I will bring them out and set up some tables and maybe put up some decorations.”

“What for?”

“I'm throwing Pinkie a surprise party as thank you for yesterday.”

She looked at him suspiciously but he only returned the glare with a smile.

“Anyway, Applejack should be over soon with some wares I ordered, and Rainbow is out keeping Pinkie distracted. I'll set up everything, but I need you to magically send out invitations to everypony in town that might want to come.”

“You're really taking this seriously aren't you?”

“I will allow you to organize all that's left if you help me.”

“Oooooh, sneaky.”

She looked at him with eyes saying she knew exactly what he was doing, but she still made some kind of annoyed sounds before adding.

“Fine! But there better not be some hidden agenda behind all of this.”

“Twilight I would never ever not do anything like that.” He smiled before he took off towards the kitchen leaving Twilight going over what he had just said.

He had began setting up tables she had stored in a small compartment in the second library room downstairs when she trotted down to him.

“Okay I'm ready to send out the invitations, when will the party start?”

He considered the questions for a moment before answering.

“In an hour, that should give us enough time to set it all up.”

She nodded and walked back up the stairs but stopped halfway up and looked down at him.

“Maybe you should think about showering first before anypony shows up.”

He looked at her with a puzzled look before he sniffed his cloth.

“Mother of god!”

“Yeah you're probably right, can you handle the rest of the set up while I do that.”

“Sure, the invitations will just take a few seconds to send out.”

He nodded and headed up the stairs after her, there was a bathroom entrance from her bedroom, he had no idea how the plumbing worked in Equestria but the hot water was lovely all the same. He spent a while soaking himself in the blissful heat before finally stepping out and drying himself with a small towel Twilight had given him.

He had put his clothes in a large bowl of water – he could clean them properly later – when he froze in the middle of picking them up.

There was a mirror on the wall.

There was a lot of condensation on it so he couldn't make anything out but he knew that if he wiped that away he would see his new self. He stepped forward and his hands shook a little as he slowly drew his hands over the reflective surface....

It was him all right, but he still looked different. His hair was shorter and lighter, his old hair had been straight and pitch black. This was wavier but charcoal or dark grey in colour.

His beard had the same colour but was shorter, now neatly cropped so it only draw a broad dark line across his jawline and stretched up from his chin in an O up too over his lip.

“Damn you fine, sexy.”

“Thank you, but I don't get the point of this.”

He was referring to his eyes, his old eyes had been a cold gray. These ones were of a strange almost orange or yellow colour.

“Amber, that's the word you're looking for.”

“Thank you. So what do you think?”

“Could be far worse. You could have ended up looking like Loki.”

This made him laugh at first but he stopped when he realized he DID look a little like him, the haircut, the beard, the strange eyes ... Of course Loke's eyes had been black but still...

“Maybe you should stop thinking in terms of Loke and more in terms of what he is.”

“Which is.”

“A trickster.”

Karon thought about this and realized he was right. If there was one thing that these changes had produced, it was the image of something  mischievous about him. When he looked in the mirror he saw someone that seemed to reflect and encompass all the virtues and sins of what one might expect from a trickster.

"He shaped me for what he wants me to become."

“No, he shaped you for what you already are, you simply now need to begin growing in it.”

“You're right.”

“Of course I am, I'm you.”

He smiled at himself and looking in the mirror he knew that that smile was something that belonged on that person. The person in the mirror looked like a trickster, but when he smiled there was no question about it. Karon took a deep breath and turned away, he walked over to his wet clothes and poured a little energy into them, heating them up until they had dried sufficiently for him to wear them.

He put them on and headed downstairs, where he saw that Twilight had finished everything and was now standing in front of a large crate next to Applejack.

She did not look happy.

“And what exactly where you planning on doing with this?” She motioned towards the crate with a hoof.

“Well, primarily it's for drinking but I guess you could use them as paperweights. Why do you ask?”

“This is why you asked me about the lack of alcohol at last night's party, because you planned to acquire some for now?”

“Yes.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because it's a party. I'm sorry Twilight, but from where I'm from a party isn't really a party without a drink or two.”

“Well this isn't ho-.”

“Apapapap, don't be like that now. This is my party and I take full responsibility for all that occurs because of my planning. Besides Twilight, you have to give me time to get used to your ways, I'm still getting adjusted to all of it.”

“That was just low. Really? You played the guilt card.”

Twilight looked away in shame before responding in a hollow tone.

“I know. Do whatever you want.”

Karon felt a twist in his heart from what he'd just done. He walked over to her and fell down on his knees and looked her in the eyes for a moment. Her eyes were full of so many emotions, pain, regret, sadness, anger. He looked at her for a while then did something entirely unexpected. He stretched out his arms and pulled her into an embrace.

Applejacks mouth fell open at this and Twilight's entire body had become rigid, he remained like that for a while until she finally relaxed and hugged him back.

He heard her sniff a few times, that was when he chose to speak.

“Stop blaming yourself Twilight, you are not responsible for my actions. I chose this even if I didn't know it at the time, and I don't regret it. I have more now than I ever had back home because my life there was so hollow, I couldn't feel how much was missing. I don't regret meeting you, or coming here meeting everypony else. So Twilight...”

He leaned back out from her and took her face in his hands and looked her deep in her eyes, a tear was trickling down her muzzle.

“...Thank you.”

She sniffed a few more times before smiling at him.

He gently squeezed her cheeks before standing up again, Applejack looked a little teary eyed as well.

“Nice speech, did you mean any of it?”

“More than I thought I would.”

“Enough of this weepy business. Twilight and Applejack could you welcome everypony while I send out a message to Rainbow to head over here in a short while.”

They both nodded and positioned themselves at the front door while Karon headed into the other room downstairs, what he called the little library. He stood in the middle of the room and folded his hands together. Hopefully this wouldn't take too much time.

He created a mental projection and shifted his awareness to it. Everything came out blurry and without sharp edges but it would work for now.

“Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash....” He repeated over and over until he felt a twinge coming from afar.

He set off after it, passing trough walls and other physical object like a ghost flying off towards the setting sun. He got the sense he was near Rainbow Dash and turned north, and when he got to a lake he could sense her close by.

He floated around in random directions before he picked up the sound of the thoughts of the pegasus he was looking for. He couldn't make her out very well but he felt her mind all the same, so he floated over to it and with painfully slow movements grasped her head with his hands.

Instantly he felt his mind connect to hers. She must have felt something as well because he mind began buzzing and her physical body moved around. But it didn't matter, he had hooked unto her mind.

“Rainbow Dash, this is Karon, you can bring Pinkie Pie over to the library now.”

“What they hay! How did you do that?!”

“You would need to read books to understand, so I wont bother trying to explain.”

“Now hold on just a second! Do you think I can't h-”

“Yes, yes I know I know. Now get moving, we're expecting you shortly.”

He broke off the connection and allowed his mental projection to disperse and was flung back into his physical body. His head snapped backwards and he fell down on the floor, but that was as much damage the sudden transition would do. Well, that and a headache, but that was nothing a little whiskey wouldn't cure.

He stepped out of the room and into the main library. It was full of ponies and all turned to look at him. He waved to them all and spoke loudly.

“Rainbow Dash should be here with Pinkie Pie in a few minutes. Everypony prepare yourselves!”

The ponies moved around a bit and formed a semi circle around the entrance waiting for the guest of honour to arrive. Karon went over to a table where someone had arranged a lot of cups and all the Applejack's daniels bottles. He grabbed one in each hand and went to the front of the gathered ponies and waited.

After a few minutes of waiting they heard the sound of a bouncing pony, unmistakably Pinkie Pie, and everyone went quiet and tensed up.

The door creaked open and in bounced the pink pony but immediately fell flat on her flank as all the ponies and one human screamed at the top of their lungs.

“SURPRISE!”

Pinkie Pie's face began almost glowing and her smile was huge as she looked at every pony gathered before her eyes went to Karon standing in the middle of them.

“A PARTY! But ... What are we celebrating?”

She looked thoughtful when she asked but in reply Karon merely lifted the bottles in each hand and shook them.

“In about half an hour Pinkie, that won't matter at all.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 7: Should have stayed drunk... Estimated time remaining: 25 Hours, 8 Minutes