Ryan and the two ponies by his side walked silently up to the library door. Starstep approached and, before opening, gave a look back to Ryan. Ryan nodded to him, and the stallion opened the door and proceeded in.

Ryan hesitated. He was unsure of how exactly he should go about this. He knew that Discord was considered evil here. According to the way his world worked, Discord would be called a prankster and little more, maybe annoying or obnoxious. Ryan would be forced to find a way to explain the nature of Discord’s role in a way that didn’t also label him as a villain, or portrayed his world as worse than it really was. It was a great place, but Equestria seemed to have unreasonable high standards of public behavior. Then again, why did he care? Shouldn’t he just leave or-

“SURPRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE!” came an incredibly loud shout from inside as Ryan walked in. He yelped and fell back to the wall, heart pounding and mind racing. Before he could act, a pink fluff ball invaded his space and pinned him against the wooden wall.

Pinkie Pie; she had said she would throw him a party. “Hey Ryan! So do you like your party? We made it a special surprise, just for you, since we knew that Celestia and Luna would bring you here and that it would be fun to party in the library since it’s ironic and we all want to hear about how Discord is actually good and helped you out to not get killed in your world!”

Ryan blinked, mouth agape, completely stunned. How? How had she heard about the involvement of Discord? She hadn’t been there. The princesses wouldn’t have told her. Rarity had been with Ryan the whole time. Starstep would never reveal top secret information or even mildly secretive information without express permission. So how? HOW?

“Uhh... wut.” It was the most unintelligible response he had ever made. After regaining himself from the loss of his understanding of reality (it was pretty much gone now anyway), he gave her a more coherent response. “Yes? I guess?” This pony could violate every law of physics there was, as the stories had told him. Somehow, she was weirder than Discord himself. Maybe she should chat him up?

“Yayzees!” she replied enthusiastically. She didn’t move; Pinkie just kept Ryan pinned against the wall. With a roll of his eyes, Ryan put his hands on her sides and lifted her up to move her. “Wheeeee!” she yelled, snorting laughter as she went through the air. Ryan carried her over to the middle of the room and set her down.

He took a look around to see who had come by; it wasn’t a massive party. There were the elements, Big Mac, Cinny, a couple of random ponies, the princesses, and that mailmare Ryan had seen around, the one with the wall eyes. She just smiled innocently in the corner, looking at two books at a time.

Pinkie was back by his side. “I didn’t invite too many, since you seem pretty private, but next time, I’ll invite tons of ponies and you’ll make lots of friends, and then we’ll have fun and play games and eat snacks and bake foods and test weapons and tie you down and tickle you and play pranks on unsuspecting ponies and go swimming!”

Ryan hadn’t caught even half of her two second flood of words, so he just replied, “Sure.” He had no idea what he might be getting into.

The princesses walked over to him, Luna getting right up next to him and Celestia watching with a grin while Ryan shifted away a little but, suspecting the worst. “Well, seeing as my little pony has set up such a nice little event, I suppose that we should enjoy it before we get to the story of your life.”

“The story of the end of my life. The old one, at least.”

Luna smiled. “Yes, you have a new life. Try to enjoy it as much as you can. Few ponies or humans ever get a second life to enjoy.”

Ryan agreed with the sentiment, then went and sat down in a chair off to the side. He didn’t need to talk to anypony right now; the train ride had been taxing. If they wanted to speak to him, he would oblige, but he wasn’t going to look for conversation.

Before he even set himself down, there were three ponies sitting by him; Big Mac, Cinny, and Luna. All three nodded to him as he sat down, getting comfortable in what would no doubt be his storytelling chair, giving him time to think. He had a chance to think about how to explain Discord’s good nature, about how he might be able to bring Narendra into it to give a contrast. A sharp contrast.

His thinking time didn’t last, though. “So, Ryan.” Luna said, dragging him by the feet out of his own mind. “How did you enjoy Canterlot? Was it all that you thought it would be?”

Ryan considered. “Well, it was nice. Some guy tried to mug me and Rarity, so I pulled this on him,” Ryan tapped his Automag. “And I shot him in the ass.”

Luna’s eyes went wide, and she became totally silent for a moment. “Well. I trust he had a weapon?” When Ryan nodded and motioned that it as a knife, Luna visibly relaxed. “Good, then. I suppose that it was justified.”

“Was he a Miami gun thug?” Ryan asked jokingly. No one got it, so he waved it off. No matter; it was Justified.

Luna nodded, though she was looking at Ryan like he was crazy. At this point, he probably was, though. “What did you do in the city?” she asked.

Ryan shrugged. “Rarity took me out shopping. Alone, I went out to some pubs, where I saw Starstep. He asked me to stop by, though I’ll admit, I had planned on it anyway.” Luna turned around and looked at Starstep, who was having a pleasant conversation with Twilight. “I also had a nice conversation with Spitfire, the... uhh... something of the whos. I forget.” He smiled sheepishly.

“Wait, you talked to the captain of the Wonderbolts?” Cinny interrupted suddenly. Ryan nodded to her. “Wow. That’s really something.” When Ryan looked at her curiously, she went on. “Well, I am a pegasus, so they mean alot to me. I always wanted to meet them, just to see if they’re as cool in person as on stage.”

Ryan took a good look at her; sure enough, there were wings. He supposed that the last time he saw her without her uniform, he was drunk enough not to notice. “Well, you never know when you’ll meet them. And Spitfire was nice enough; pleasant to talk to.”

Ryan was already growing tired of recounting his relatively uneventful first days in Canterlot, so he turned it around on them. “Well, Mac, you’ve been silent. How are things?”

“What things?”

Ryan smiled at him devilishly. “You know. Things.” Mac steadfastly maintained his ignorance, so Ryan upped his game. “Things about the mixture of red and yellow paints? How they often make pink, with a little yellow left over? I’m asking you if you’ve painted any canvasses or walls lately.”

Big Mac blushed furiously, though his red coat did a good job of hiding it. Some guys have all the luck, don’t they? “No, Ah ain’t painted anything recently.”

“You paint, Macintosh Apple?” Luna asked, curious.

Ryan answered. “Oh, sure. He isn’t that great now, but by the time he’s learned; with some aid of course; he’ll be a master with his brush. I don’t know what kind he uses, though; wide or thin, long or short. They all have different effects, but the bigger ones tend to get better results faster for bigger projects.”

Big Mac sucked in a breath, thankful that neither mare present understood. “I like to use the long, wide brush. Get the job done fast.”

“Oh, so you’re saying that you’re really quick, then?” Mac frowned. “Remember, long, deliberate strokes are the key. Don’t just slap at the wall; that’s what the brush flick is for, but only artists tend to splatter the wall, so I wouldn’t expect that of you.”

Big Mac didn’t speak at all. He didn’t respond with words; just a glare that said Shut the fuck up already, do you want them to get it?

Ryan responded with his own look. Of course I do. Imagine what you’re sister would say if she found out you talked like this in front of the princess?

Big Mac sighed in defeat. Just don’t outright say it, please.

Alright, fine.

The females present were just looking at the two as they made their nonverbal exchange, wondering what they were doing that so raptly had their attention. They had just been sitting in their places, doing nothing, starting at each other. Luna looked to Cinny, who simply shrugged to convey her lack of understanding of what was happening.

Cinny coughed. “Well, I suppose that Mr. Macintosh has had a good weekend.” she stated, getting Mac to lower himself in his spot. “But there’s a bit more I want to hear about your time, Ryan.”

Ryan looked to her. “Shoot.”

“What were you expecting from Luna when you went to see her?” she asked. “I can’t even begin to imagine what happened between the two of you that separated you in such an emotional way, at least from what I heard from Rarity.”

Ryan was confused. “When did she tell you about it?” he asked.

Cinny waved her hoof. “A few minutes ago, but that’s not important. What did you think would happen?”

Ryan sighed and thought. “Well, I didn’t expect to get bitchslapped, that’s for sure.” Luna smiled sheepishly. “I wasn’t sure what to expect. I deserved to get smacked, I guess, but the closest I got to imagining her reaction was her saying ‘Hi’. I didn’t have any idea how she would react to seeing me.”

Luna piped in. “Yes, I likely reacted in the manner in which any would if they saw a dead friend come back to life.” She looked over to Starstep. “And I must say, I wish Starstep had told me about your visit. Maybe I wouldn’t have hit you.”

Ryan laughed. “If that train ride was anything to go off of, you would have done much worse than hit me.” Cinny was about to ask what happened, but Luna frantically tried to change the subject.

The party went on from there, with Ryan being forced up by Cinny and brought around to talk to everypony there. He had little conversations with the mares who made up his friends, and introduced himself to the two ponies he didn’t know. Their names were Caramel and Roseluck. It was odd, because Ryan had yet to actually speak to any ponies other than those he was already familiar with. They were nice enough, though.

They left together not long after, presumably to have a party of two. Once all the goodbyes were said, Ryan went back to his seat and plopped himself down. The others, including the princesses, all sat around him on the floor, looking expectant.

Celestia broke the silence. “Well, Ryan. We all came here to hear your story; I do hope that you feel like telling it to us.”

Ryan looked around at the group before him. They all wanted to hear his story so desperately, he thought they might explode. Rainbow looked like she was contemplating whether or not she would stab him on his way back to the boutique. Applejack seemed to know that this was coming from the start. Rarity and Luna looked like they might fall forward, as was the same with Twilight. Fluttershy looked terrified, and Pinkie was holding her close to comfort her.

“Alright.” Ryan said. “Here it is. It all began with Discord when he found the compound in Jakarta...”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“...And after he left me on the ground, that was when the fillies found me.”

As Ryan finished telling his story, he took in a deep breath and took a sip of water that Spike had retrieved for him while he spoke. Other than that, no one actually did anything but listen to him for the whole three hours it took him to retell the story, leaving out gruesome, unnecessary details and occasionally justifying what was happening. He hadn’t looked anypony in the eyes while he told his tale, careful to avoid having to break his concentration to say something else.

Once he set his glass back down, he took the moment to look at the ponies around him. All looked incredibly serious, especially the princesses. They had hard looks on their faces, like they were trying to figure out what to do about Ryan and Discord’s partnership. The elements were all silent, some looking unconvinced, other, confused. Twilight seemed to have the most trouble wrapping her head around it all.

“Wait. So... Discord actually helped you?” she asked. Ryan nodded. “But... he’s evil... why would he help anypony?”

“Evidently, he’s not as evil as you thought. Or, he’s just as evil, and you seem to have trouble understanding that he is much better than I. For you to call him evil is to call me a monster.”

“Whoa, whoa, there, sugarcube.” Applejack interjected. “Y’all ain’t evil. Ya didn’t do... what ya did... for the fun of it. Discord likes to ruin lives just because he enjoys it. Y’all’re much better than him.”

“Am I?” Ryan asked. “Did you ever at least try to see it his way, even if his way is wrong?” No one spoke. “Didn’t think so. Well, I’ll tell you this; he does what he does because, through all his flaws and his general lack of care for what you think of him, he’s always done his thing because he wants life to be more fun for you.”

“True, but we live peacefully and happily. He can see that, so why would he want to take that from us?” Celestia asked, thinking that she had a win. She didn’t.

“I’m not saying he’s right, or even that he’s sane on any level. Yes, he’s wrong, but it’s possible that his perception of reality is messed up. I always figured it was. If that is the case, and I bet it is, he doesn’t know that all your ponies are happy, and he seeks to give them a more enjoyable life, because he’s doing what he thinks would be fun for them.”

Celestia paused. “So what you are telling me is that Discord, ruler of Chaos and Spirit of Mayhem, isn’t evil? That he’s just a crazy old fart who thinks he’s doing the world a favor?”

Ryan raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, I wouldn’t put it quite that way, but I think that you have the general idea. He’s not evil; he just needs help.”

Celestia furrowed her brow, deep in thought. When she didn’t continue speaking, Luna decided to hop in. “Well, Ryan, I must say that I am glad that you had Discord there to help you.” The elements all gasped. “If he hadn’t been there, bad things may have occurred while I was absent.”

Ryan nodded. “Yeah, ‘bad things’ would have occurred. I would be dead, and Harris would be too. A lot of people would be slaves, also.” Luna smiled weakly. “Not to say that you weren’t important. If not for you, I would never have gotten out of Sumatra. You and Discord both saved me and Harris.”

Luna smiled a little bit. Just enough so that Ryan could see. “Thank you.” she whispered. This had clearly been bothering her for some time. Not about Discord, but about whether or not her help had been effective.

“I thank you.” Ryan replied. He paused. “There is one matter I would like to have looked into, if it could happen.” he said.

Celestia was still occupied, so Luna kept on answering. “Certainly. Depending on what it is, we will certainly try.”

“Discord is a part of this world.” Ryan began. “He brought me here to keep me alive. He actually failed Harris and I to some extent; if he had done what he could, we would have survived. To make up for that, he brought me here, and hopefully, he brought Harris home.”

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

Discord mentally face-palmed

“How could I forget?” he asked himself angrily. “I hope he’s alright...”

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

“I want to find him.”

Luna looked unsure of how to answer. “Well, I’m sure we could help. But I must ask why you wish to find him.”

Ryan leaned forward. “When I fought Narendra, one of the most important things to me was to find out why he did what he did. When I did, I was unhappy with his answer. I want to know why Discord brought me here. I have a feeling of what his answer will be, though I need to hear it from him. I don’t really know if I’ll be happy with it.”

Luna looked to her sister, who had listened to that particular part of the conversation, and both exchanged a hurried series of mental addresses. They were in conflict as to whether or not they should tell him. Discord was in stone for a reason, but now, that reason was in deep questioning. Was Discord reformable? Or would he create chaos and pandemonium again? And what would he and Ryan do together? They were clearly on at least partially friendly terms.

The exchange was short enough that no one noticed, not even Ryan. “Well,” Celestia began. It was her call. “I’m sure we can find him eventually. When we do, then we will try to get him to talk to you.”

The mares all gasped, it not having hit them as of yet that Discord was free again, while Ryan simply nodded. “Very well. I will wait until he is back.”

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

Discord could see the logic in what they were doing. But then, logic was never his favorite thing in the world.

He could very easily trigger something in Ryan. It had happened to ponies before; they see something related to old trauma, then they flip out and go crazy again. But Discord didn’t want to see Ryan hurt. As Ryan said, and it hurt a little to hear it, Discord was partly responsible for everything that happened. Nothing would mean more to him than to see Ryan back to where he was meant to be.

That brought up another issue, though, one that the princesses weren’t aware of. The Wraith was also trying to get Ryan somewhere. They had no idea that the Wraith existed, but Discord could see the problems that would come with it.

The Wraith was unlike anything he had ever encountered. It somehow knew that Discord was watching, even though he had all manner of magical protection to prevent being found. When it spoke to him, Discord caught a glimpse of its mind; a vast, unending expanse, with all kinds of knowledge, from basic spells, to the darkest of magics meant for pure evil the likes of which hadn’t been seen in millenia. He shuddered at the thought of it being used.

What frightened him the most? The fact that he couldn’t see or locate the Wraith at any point if it didn’t want to be seen. The Wraith could be watching Ryan right now, waiting to kill the princesses and all present. It could ambush Ryan on his way to the boutique. This being wanted something of Ryan, and Discord could see that it was willing to go to great lengths to get it.

He had tried to discern what it was, but there was something odd. The being, while its words were harsh and its actions tormenting, had no alignment. When Discord tried to determine its moral standing, it seemed out of place. Like it couldn’t have a moral standing. It was as if it WAS a moral standing; it defined its own ways. The creature was too much for anyone to handle, and Ryan would be fucked if it decided to do something to him.

Discord wanted to tell Ryan these things, but to do so would spit in the faces of the princesses and the rules Celestia gave him. If he did that, he would be permanently locked in stone, and that was a fate that few deserved (Narendra being a prime example). He did want to help, but as Ryan would say, he needed to look after himself first, or he wouldn’t be around to help anyone in the future.

Overall, Discord thought it a great idea not to be revealed to Ryan for a time. He would remain hidden in the castle garden, away from the world save for his magical eye, and be content to watch and maybe throw a spell here or there. And who knew? After all this was said and done, the princesses might allow him out for a bit, or at least to reform him (Ha! They could try.). Maybe it would all work out.

Of course, that was only if the Elements of Harmony didn’t lock him away against the princesses’ orders.

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

“Discord is free?!?!” Twilight shouted, prompting Ryan to stick a finger in his ear once again.

“Not so loud, please. I’ll get tinnitus at this rate...” Twilight apologized shortly. “No worries, I’m sure I’ll be alright.”

She nodded. “Alright. Anyhow, you never told us that Discord is free! We need to find him and stop him, before he does something bad!”

Before anyone could respond, Ryan jumped in. “Hold on. Do you intend to lock him in stone again?” Ryan asked cautiously.

“Of course!” Twilight replied. “He’s dangerous, and he poses a real threat to us all. If he’s out, he might do something!”

Ryan sighed. “First thing; you keep saying ‘something’. You have nothing to substitute for that ’something’, so don’t be so paranoid. Second,” He looked her dead in the eyes. “You say that a dangerous guy should be locked in stone.”

Twilight was unsure of where this would go. “Yes?” she responded, careful of what she would say next.

“Then why have you not locked me up?” Ryan asked, drawing gasps from all present. “I still have flashbacks, at night and during the day. You’ve noticed them, Applejack, I know this. As have you, Twilight, and you, Rarity. Some are only a second, others, several minutes. One was almost half an hour.”

Rainbow trotted into the fray. “Why is that important?” she asked. “What does that have to do with your danger factor?”

Ignoring that phrase, Ryan answered her coldly. “More than once, I’ve pulled my gun out, and more than once, I nearly fired it. When I shot that stallion in the ass in Canterlot, I saw him as someone else. One night, I saw a stallion try to force himself on a mare; when I saw it, I flashed back to Jakarta. Do you know what happened?”

Rainbow took a tentative step back. “N-no?” She sounded nervous; the others all looked nervous.

Ryan’s voice took on a dark tone. “I stabbed him in his fucking neck.”

All was silent. The mares, minus the princesses, looked at Ryan in horror. Starstep seemed to give him an unpleased, yet very understanding look, like he knew that it had to be done. Celestia had to hold herself in to keep from gaping at the human, while Luna just looked at him sadly. Ryan’s killing had been justified, but he still had to hope that he wasn’t in trouble for it. He wasn’t about to go around killing people who raped and murdered; that could stay with Blood Analyst Morgan in Miami.

He went on. “I killed him because I thought he was another man, one I know committed the same crime. If you really want to lock Discord away, you have to lock me away too. Even I can’t quite tell when something will set me off.”

Cinny walked forward and put her hoof on Ryan’s shoulder. “Ryan, I know that you think you’re a monster. We all know that.” She had decided on a more aggressive approach. “But these flashbacks aren’t in your control; they don’t make you evil. So far, the only violent one you’ve had was triggered by a violent crime.” She didn’t know that, but she was right. “We can work on this. And we don’t have to lock you up, or Discord, if we can help him too.”

Ryan turned his head to Celestia and Luna. Celestia spoke. “I suppose that we can try to reform him. I was considering that anyway, after what Ryan told us here. But I am not sure how well it will go. Once we find him, that is.”

Ryan nodded. “I think that should work. But what of me?” he asked. He wanted an answer to that one. “I’m more dangerous. What will you do with me?”

Luna looked sadly at him while Celestia answered. “Well, we have ponies who can help you to get over what happened.”

Ryan sighed and shook his head. “Sister, it isn’t that simple.” Luna replied for the human. “No pony has experienced what he has, nor at such an age. I saw it, and even I cannot help him. I do not believe that we have anypony to help him to get over it.”

“You can never ‘get over’ something like this, princess.” Ryan added. “People like to think that they’re better, that they can function the way they used to. But the thing is that when you experience trauma, it leaves a scar.” He rolled up his sleeves. “A scar that never heals, never goes away. It’s always there, reminding you of what you did or saw. The only people who can ‘get over it’ are complete psychopaths and sociopaths, and those people tend to end up in prison for their entire lives.”

No one spoke. They couldn’t argue what Ryan had said; they could never understand his pain and suffering. They could never even begin to imagine what it was like. But that wouldn’t stop them from trying to help.

Except Rainbow. “You sound pretty lame right now.” she said casually.

Everyone in the room spun around; except Ryan. He knew it was coming.

“WHAT!?!?” they all shouted, including the princesses. Rainbow was practically knocked back by the force, which included the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Ryan stood up. “ENOUGH!” he shouted before anything else went wrong. All present went completely silent. “I will speak.”

He walked over to Rainbow, who was crouched low, ready to fly away. “I know your type.” Ryan stated flatly. “You think that people can just forget these things, like a scrape on the knee or a bruise on the hand. But you don’t get it. I used to be like you.” He turned around. “I would look at returning soldiers and think, ‘I know they can recover. They just need a little push from us civilians to show them what life is like back home.’ That doesn’t work.”

“When a soldier came home, he was often scarred by what he saw, in a way we couldn’t understand. He woke up at night, had trouble doing everyday activities. Every time he saw a person, he would wonder, ‘Could they get killed as pointlessly as my friend in a random explosion?’ IED’s tend to change your perspective. I know a normal land mine got me.”

He breathed in deep. “When you see things in battle that you never see elsewhere, they don’t scar you just because they don’t happen that often. They scar you because you realize that THAT is what your species is; warriors who kill each other until one side is gone. We try to change that part of our nature, but it’s always there. And when you get home, when you look at yourself in the mirror, or people on the streets, you wonder; ‘Who among us is like that? All of us? A few of us?’”

Rainbow was frozen in place by now. “Every night when I go to sleep, when I see my own reflection, when I get up in the morning, I see Narendra and his men. I saw what they did to my friends; unspeakable things. And every time I do something, anything; from carrying shit to sitting down, I wonder. I wonder, am I so terrible? I killed forty people, and now one pony. I feel no remorse for their deaths. Am I like Narendra? Am I a monster in my own right?”

Luna tried to interrupt. “Ryan, you aren’t-”

“I’ve seen social Darwinism at its worst, yet I am still here. Does that mean that, in order to win, I had to drop down to their level? What kind of human being am I, that I was willing to fall to such a terrible place to get my pointless revenge? I didn’t even get to live to tell the families that I avenged their loved ones. So what was the fucking point!?”

Ryan placed himself right in front of Rainbow Dash. “You can never understand, because you have yet to see the true horrors of the world. I hope to God that you never have to experience it. That you never have to wonder if that piece of your kind is in you.”

Ryan didn’t say anything else. He just walked over to the coat hanger, grabbed his jacket, and left. Behind him, he could hear the beginnings of a conversation, not an argument, but he didn’t care enough to think about what it what it could be. Reprimanding or revelling, it didn’t matter to him. He just wanted to find that ditch and avoid having to see anypony again for the night.

As he walked down the street, he noticed how it was beginning to get cooler at night. It was probably right around sixty degrees fahrenheit right now, pretty standard for this time of the year. The wind was blowing gently in the night, carrying with it nothing but the emptiness of the broken soul who lonely wandered through the streets.

He walked until he was out of the town, where he decided to just sit down under a tree and look to the sky. It was really something, this night sky; so many stars, so much to see. Back home, you had to be out on the ocean in order to see anything like it. It didn’t remind him of home at all, something he definitely liked about this night sky. He could just sit there all night if he felt like it.

But someone else didn’t feel like it. “Ryan?” a young, feminine voice called from afar. Somehow, it wasn’t yelling. “Ryan?”

The boy turned around to see Luna walking along, looking about to find her human friend. She seemed to take her time examining the area, yet hurrying so that she couldn’t lose him. Her expression displayed immense concern, and her body language told the world how upset she was. When her eyes landed on Ryan, she seemed to practically melt from the loss of tension in her body.

“Ryan.” she said.

“That would be me.” he replied, turning his gaze back to the starry sky.

She sat down next to him and rolled onto her side, then to her back. “I don’t get how this can be comfortable for your spine.” she complained.

“Maybe because I’m not a pampered princess?” the boy joked back, earning a biting glance from the princess.

She calmed herself quickly after catching the joke. “Ha ha.’ she said in monotone. “You humans and your anatomy.”

“Yeah, I bet you know all about it.” Ryan replied, remembering Australia and the club. “Though I would think that you are better with equine anatomy, what with Starstep as your helper.”

Luna blushed just a tad. “Very funny.” she replied, unable to come up with a comeback. Both pony and person went silent for a moment.

Luna looked at her friend with a face etched with concern and sadness. She knew that everything Ryan had said in there was likely true, or close enough to the truth. She knew that he was unsure of himself or of the safety of those around him. Rainbow’s words were harsh and cruel; but they didn’t hurt Ryan the way the others thought they did.

“You know that she’s just being her.” Luna said, hoping to draw Ryan out. “She fears you. She doesn’t really know how she feels about you, so she wants to drive you out.”

“Well, she managed to do that.” Ryan said bitingly.

“No, she didn’t.” Luna responded. “You left because you felt exactly the way you just described. You just want to be alone.”

“Then why do you pester me, Luna?” Ryan asked, clearly unhappy. “I want to be alone. Is that so terrible?”

“Yes, it is.” Luna said back. “No one should ever have to be alone.”

“But I am, Luna. I am alone. You saw everything that happened out there, but you didn’t experience it. You don’t know what it’s like; waking up in the morning and wondering if you’ll let yourself make it through lunch. No one can understand me, and without anyone to talk to, I’m stuck in a hole with no way in or out. I am alone; none of you can reach me.”

Luna yearned to just grab him and hold him tightly, tight enough that he could never get away. She wanted to grab him and carry him back to the library, where they would all just hold him close and never let him be on his own. But that wouldn’t help. He would still be trapped in his mind, unable to find the way out to them. He would be hurting until the day he died, and they couldn’t help him.

It pained her more than a thousand years on the moon. “I suppose that you are right.” she said, feeling somewhat defeated. “But we can still try.”

Ryan sat up and looked down at the lunar princess. “You really aren’t going to give up on me, are you?” he asked.

She sat up. “I told you before; you are my friend. I will never abandon my friends.”

Both stood up. “I suppose I have to let you keep trying then, don’t I?” Luna smiled at him.

“Come.” she ordered, turning back to Ponyville. “Let us go back and partake in festivities.”

Ryan followed behind her, silent in the night, doing his best not to leave any imprints on the ground as he went. He didn’t want to leave any marks on this world. Not right now.

Author's Notes:

This chapter is dedicated to a dear friend of mine who dedicated himself to helping his fellow men before not returning home.