The rest of the party had gone fine; Rainbow gave a half-assed apology that had little meaning behind it, so the drama was gone. Ryan talked about his time with Fancy Pants and how they had planned to have drinks together with Macintosh, something that surprised them all. Rainbow pouted intensely and stared jealously at Ryan when he told the group about talking with Spitfire, something that gave Ryan more pleasure than he was sure it should have.

The whole thing died down at around eight, so everyone went home. Celestia excused herself most elegantly, while her sister remained, insistent on walking home with Ryan. Starstep knew that he wouldn’t be needed, so he went off with Celestia to give his princess some privacy. Rarity simply left before Ryan, saying how Sweetie Belle needed attendance, to which Applejack and Rainbow agreed to in regards to the other crusaders. Fluttershy and Pinkie just walked out together after a short goodbye, leaving Twilight, Ryan, and Luna.

Ryan excused himself so that Twilight could tuck Spike in, something the little dragon hated her saying in front of Luna and Ryan. Luna followed him out, eager to talk.

Ryan took the lead out the door into the darkened town, about ready to go to sleep. As Luna exited, she shut the door behind her and trotted up to catch up to her human friend, paranoid of leaving him alone. Ryan tried to pretend not to notice.

She walked next to him, trying to think of something to say. “So...” she began.

“So.”

Luna opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came at first. “So. You... are... living here.”

“I find your powerful observation skills intimidating.”

Luna frowned at him. “Ha ha. Funny.” Ryan smirked, but it faded quickly. “What do they all think of you living in Rarity’s basement?”

Ryan shrugged. “Well, Rainbow is the only one who thinks it’s bad. But she’s kind of annoying, so I don’t really care. Sweetie Belle has yet to learn, so my bet is that it’ll be crazy when she finds out. She and her friends seem to cause all sorts of Hell when they want to have fun.”

Luna giggled. “Yes, I had heard that.” She and Ryan were silent for a minute. “You have no idea how much it means to me that you’re back.”

Ryan’s expression was motionless, like the Thinker; trapped in a state of eternal contemplation. “I’m... glad you’re happy.”

“You seem sad.” Luna pinpointed. “Will you tell me why?”

Ryan looked forward, then to the sky. It was beautiful, much more than he had ever seen back in the United States. Even Australia and Indonesia, and shockingly Vietnam, didn’t have skies like this at night. This land was a perfect escape from the modern troubles and hassles of his world. But it was missing something.

“I don’t know that I would say I’m back.” he replied.

Luna was saddened by his words, but understood. “I understand, I suppose.”

Luna let it go, and Ryan opted to do the same. There is a time and a place for certain kinds of thinking, and this was certainly not one of them. He took his eyes off of the heavens above and looked around at his surroundings at his new world. He was living with Rarity right now, but as soon as he could, he would be out. He still had to find a place in the forest, though, so it might be a while.

They spent the rest of the walk in silence, Luna simply happy to be with Ryan, Ryan trying not to think about anything. All he knew was that right now, there was no Wraith, no people trying to kill him, no bitches tripping at him, and no nice ponies trying to help him. It was all that mattered.

They reached the Carousel Boutique in a good enough time and simply stood in front of the entrance, starting at it.

“I guess that this is goodbye.” Luna said. She sounded sad.

“For now.” Ryan replied, getting a small smile off of her. It was enough to make him feel less shitty for the time being. “I’m sure we’ll get to see each other often enough. Not like I have any bad guys to chase after.”

Luna paused, a look suddenly appearing on her face. It wasn’t a look of shock or anger or surprise, though. It was more of a look that came from having an idea. Like if you needed to climb a broken ladder, then noticed that the wall behind had grooves on it. There was a way around the rough situation.

“Yes... you don’t.”

“Grammar.” Luna used her magic to knock out his knee, then caught him with it before he hit the ground. “Sorry.”

She put him back up. “That’s fine.” she said. Luna made circles in the ground with her hoof. “I guess I should head home now.”

As she spread her wings, Ryan got one last word in. “Yeah, Starstep must be pretty lonely right now.” She must not have noticed, for she simply raised herself into the air and flew away toward the mountain city of snobbery known as Canterlot.

Ryan watched her as she left, then went inside and made his way to the basement, where he removed his clothes and plopped onto the bed bare naked, uncaring of whether or not somepony walked in on him. Unless it was Sweetie Belle. That would be bad.

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

The next few days passed like nothing happened. Probably because nothing did happen. Ryan went to work, he ate food, slept, drank alcohol and a little water. He hadn’t gone for drinks with Macintosh because he was busy doing the numbers for the farm. Besides, they were going to have drinks with Fancy Pants on Saturday, so missing a round this week wasn’t so bad.

And today was Saturday. Ryan sat up in his bed in Rarity’s basement and let out a longwinded yawn, filling the room with his early morning noises. He swung his legs around and planted his feet firmly on the floor, rubbing his eyes, and stood. As he straightened his back, it made a long series of pressure-easing pops and cracks.

Ryan grabbed his necklace and gingerly put it on, keeping his hands on the Shen pendant the whole while. Once it wa son, he pulled the pendant a little ways away from his body and just looked at it. Spirit, is what it translated to. Kind of like in the sense of a soul, of being human. He had gotten the necklace from his sensei after passing his Black Belt testing; it represented a big part of him. At the same time, though, it didn’t any more. It was there, and yet, it was not.

Letting himself drift off into a state of no thought, he simply went about getting the rest of his clothes on. He put his pants on one leg at a time, then his shirt, and then his new jacket. He felt a little odd, wearing the symbol of the Navy SEALs, but he tried to let it pass. It was no weirder than wearing the Green Beret on his head. Though now that he thought about it, it was a little inappropriate. Not that that mattered to him any more.

It was the weekend, and that meant it was a perfect time for him to go out into the forest and look around a little. He didn’t have supplies to go camping and test out a night there or spend more than a day going through, but he knew that he could get decently far in in one day. Farther than most ponies were willing to go.

Ryan went over to the little closet Rarity had gotten for him to store his new clothes in, as well as what he was going to make his expeditionary outfit. He had managed to get his hands on ceramic plates to put into the work vest, so he had a light piece of armor for his chest and abdomen, which was nice. He also had that helmet, which he had poured green paint all over and then painted on dark splotches to make it camouflaged. Then, there was the cloak, which turned out to be great for retaining heat and keeping dry. All this, plus his makeshift tactical vest, sat at the bottom of the drawer, waiting to be used.

He didn’t take it just yet, though. It was only five thirty in the morning; he had woken up from another nightmare. As such, he had plenty of time to gather food and water for his journey out. Problem was, nothing would be open until around eight.

He sighed. “Well, I guess that I can just plan out my trip.”

Ryan went upstairs and, as quietly as he could, made his way to the kitchen, where there was a pad and a paper sitting on the counter. He ripped off a paper and took the pen and began to plan.

As soon as he sat down, he realized a few things. “I need a backpack for carrying crap.” he said, jotting it down. “Also gonna need to combine the vest and armor somehow.” He really just needed to get his knife and gun holsters on it. The rest was empty, since he had exactly been able to lug around an assault rifle or its ammo back in Vietnam. “Dammit, I’ll also need emergency medical supplies.” If he was hurt out there, he would need bandages and medical tape to get back. Even if he didn’t want to, he had made a promise to Harris.

The ideas kept on coming, and Ryan steadily began to realize that he maybe wasn’t quite ready to head out into the forest on his own just yet. Today would have to be a planning day, and on Sunday, he would head out. He would have to make sure that nopony followed him out there, or else he could end up having to rescue them again. Last time, he was rewarded with shredded arms and splinters.

Once he felt like his list was long enough for the time being, he stuffed it into his jacket pocket and decided to raid the fridge. It was already six thirty, the normal time for his breakfast before heading to school back home. Who would have thought that he would get any level of normalcy here?

He grabbed two pieces of bread and threw them into the toaster next to the fridge, which was connected to nothing, frustratingly, and waited. When they were done, the machine let out an unnecessarily loud PING, and the bread shot out. He didn’t manage to catch it, but just picked it up off the floor, dusted it off, put some butter on it, and munched away. It was actually nice to have a quiet breakfast.

“Ryan?” Though not for long. “Ryan, is that you, darling?”

He sighed. “Yes, Rarity, it is me.” She walked into the kitchen, mane looking frazzled and with a tired smile on her face. “What got you up? I hope it wasn’t me.”

She shook her head. “No, darling. I get up around this time every morning to prepare the shop. I’ll be open until noon today, since it is Saturday.”

Ryan nodded. “Nice.” He continued munching on his toast.

Rarity walked over to the fridge and pulled out a premade salad, then sat down next to Ryan and went about eating her own breakfast. Having already finished, Ryan just sat there, feeling obligated to stay in case Rarity wanted to talk. He doubted that she did, but one never knows.

By the time she was done, it was half past seven. Pretty soon, the stores would start to open, and Ryan would be able to go out and get his gear and supplies for an excursion into the forest. “Well, Rarity, I guess I’ll leave the shop to you, then.” he said, getting up. “Have fun, I guess?”

Rarity giggled. “Yes, I will. Enjoy your day as well, Ryan.” Ryan waved at her as he left the kitchen.

He went back down to the basement and went under his bed for his sack of bits. He had an account at the local bank, but he always had liked to have a cash reserve for emergencies. In the sack, he had one hundred and fifty bits, more than enough for what he wanted to get. He would spend the money on what he needed, then replenish it once he was done.

With money in his hands, and a plan in his pocket, he walked up the stairs and then out the front door of the boutique, feeling ready to face the day. Mostly.

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

The nine o’clock train blew its horn to signify that it was going to be heading out soon. Outside, ponies were scrambling about, trying to get all their things in order, some saying heartfelt goodbyes, others just waving at their loved ones. She loved ponywatching; one could encounter all kinds of ponies just by watching them live their lives.

“Hey, Spits! Earth to Spits!”

Spitfire turned her head to look at her teammate and longtime friend. “What, Fleetfoot?”

Fleetfoot had insisted that they go to Ponyville for some reason. Spitfire suspected that it had something to do with not wanting to stay in Canterlot; that night in the alleyway scared the living Hell out of her, and now she seemed paranoid; but she hadn’t actually said that. Every time Spitfire asked, Fleetfoot would just shrug it off and opt not to answer.

“How long do you think this ride will be?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe an hour, forty minutes?”

Fleetfoot nodded. “Alright then.” She didn’t ask anything else after that.

The train started to move, rumbling and shaking as it started its journey. Passengers buckled in to some seats in an effort to avoid being thrown about. Spitfire and Fleetfoot just sat, though. Being Wonderbolts, they had an easy time keeping their balance and catching themselves before hitting the ground.

That explained why Soarin’ floated back to their little table, rather than walk like the rules said to. “Well, ladies, it looks like we’re moving.” he said as he took his seat next to Fleetfoot. She smiled at him and pressed herself close to him, eliciting a chuckle and a hug from him. They had been going out for over a year, so it wasn’t exactly a secret. All the mares were jealous of Fleetfoot. Except Spitfire, at least. And maybe some others.

“We sure are!” Fleetfoot replied excitedly. “I can't wait to get there!”

Spitfire looked at her two teammates, but neither noticed. Well, now was as good a time as any.

“Fleetfoot, you seem awfully excited about this.” She nodded in reply. “What’s in Ponyville that makes you so excited? I know we’ve been there; it hasn’t changed that much.”

Now, Soarin’ had taken up interest. “Yeah, what’s there? I know the Elements of Harmony live there, but you’ve met them. Maybe you have a secret place there?” He raised his eyebrows suggestively at that, getting a groan from both mares.

“Soarin’ pie always seem to be on your mind.” Spitfire said.

“Yeah!” Fleetfoot agreed. “Besides, you’ll get pie later; it always tastes better when you’re hungry.” Spitfire physically gagged. “What? It’s an old family recipe. Apple Cinnamon with mountaintop grass.”

Spitfire shook her head. “Sure. Anyway, you still have to answer the question.”

Fleetfoot looked at her captain, then to her coltfriend, and sighed. “Alright fine.” Both ponies leaned in to listen. “In the alley, when... things were happening, I didn’t kick him into a dumpster corner. I was rescued.”

Soarin’s eyes shot wide. “Really?!” he said loudly. A few ponies looked over, but none paid him any mind. “By who?”

Fleetfoot looked a bit uncomfortable. “I don’t know his name. I just know that he looks weird, and I heard that something like him is living in Ponyville.”

Spitfire was suspicious now. “Hmm. What can you tell me?”

“Well, he was tall, like, really tall. He walked on two legs and had hands and a short mane, and he was wearing casual clothes when he ran in to save me. He ripped the stallion off of me, and when I finally looked back, he had stuck a really big knife in his neck. Before I could talk, he ran off, too fast for me to catch.”

Soarin’ wrapped his foreleg around his mare. “Wow. That was lucky.”

Spitfire could hardly believe he rears. “Luck my ass! I had spoken to him earlier!”

Her friends looked at her in shock. “Really!?”

She nodded. “Yeah, we bumped into each other and then walked to the park to get away from the attention all the ponies were giving us. We had a pleasant conversation, he’s nice.”

“Well, what can you tell us?” Soarin’ asked. “I have to thank him for saving my lady here.” He hugged Fleetfoot tight, getting her to squirm from the closeness.

“He’s living with Rarity, in her store, I think. And he just got a bunch of clothes from Fancy Pants, I think. His name is Ryan.”

Fleetfoot looked thoughtful. “Ryan...”

Soarin’ gazed out the window at Ponyville in the distance. “Well, I think I need to see this Ryan. He already seems like an interesting guy.”

Spitfire nodded to herself, agreeing with Soarin’, suddenly feeling eager to arrive in Ponyville as soon as possible.

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

Pinkie Pie was just walking around, milling about and making the day fun for everypony. It was no different than usual; the nine o’clock train had whistled its way in, dropping ponies off and picking up more. Ponies went about their days, doing work, shopping, and just having a pleasant Saturday. Pinkie was glad to see them all having a nice day.

“I wonder how Ryan is doing?” she thought aloud. She thought that she might want to go and check on him soon.

Until she heard three ponies behind her. “Well, where should we start? He probably isn’t there now, he would be doing something.”

“I don’t know. Find out who might know?” She recognized that as Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts!

“Maybe.” This was a male voice, Soarin’. “It’s a safe bet that Rarity won’t know, though.”

Pinkie turned around, excited, and ran up to the three pegasi without warning them. “HI! I’M PINKIE PIE!”

They all reeled at her sudden pinkness, startled, nearly falling over. Pinkie hadn't seemed to notice.

“Yes, the Element of Laughter.” The white-maned one, Fleetfoot, said. “Hey, do you by any chance know a being named Ryan?”

Pinkie gasped loudly and floated into the air a little. “Do I?! He’s one of my bestest friends! Of course, everypony is my bestest friend, but he’s special, since he’s always so patient with me and nice to me even though I know I bother him and he feels so sad all the time and-”

“Whoa, whoa! Slow down there!” Soarin’ said. “Can you just tell us where he is?”

“Nope.” A moment of silence. “But I can take you to my friends, one of them can probably tell you.”

“Great.” Spitfire replied, eager to get moving.

Pinkie turned around and started to lead the three Wonderbolts through the town. The nice thing about not wearing their uniforms was that they didn’t attract much attention. It seemed odd to them that there was a being who commanded more attention than them just by existing.

Pinkie Pie bounced along before them, humming a little tune, seemingly oblivious to everything around her. She wasn’t even looking at anything, her eyes were closed. How could she be looking for anypony if she couldn’t see?

She suddenly started to talk again. “We’re gonna see Flutters first. She likes to make sure Ryan is alright, so she has the most reason to know where he is.”

Fleetfoot nodded eagerly. “Sounds good!”

Soon enough, they were walking up to a cottage on a hill that had all manner of animals surrounding it. Chickens, birds, snakes, rodents, and even a bear sleeping next to the path. Pinkie Pie was unphased when she passed it, so the Wonderbolts tried to keep their cool as they passed. And Pinkie further proved her lack of care for the bear’s presence.

“FLUTTERSHY!” she screamed, waking the bear. The Wonderbolts crouched, ready to launch if necessary, but the bear just looked in their direction and then went back to sleep.

A few moments after Pinkie’s bellow, the door opened slowly to reveal a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. Spitfire recognized her as the mare who saved the day when Cloudsdale needed the water from the Ponyville reservoir.

“Yes?” she asked. She was reluctant to leave her home.

“Have you seen Ryan?” Pinkie asked innocently. The way Fluttershy reacted, though, you would think she asked if Ryan was alive.

“What? No, I haven’t. Is something wrong? Is he in the forest? Is somepony after him to hurt him? What’s wrong!?” She was in a panic.

“No, the Wonderbolts just want to-”

A rainbow blur shot out of the cottage, bringing with it a gust of wind almost strong enough to blow the Wonderbolts off their hooves and move Pinkie an inch in pace. “What!?”

ignored her friend and kept on talking. “They want to know where-”

“Here I am!” Rainbow said, rushing forward and saluting the pegasi. “Rainbow Dash reporting for duty!”

The pegasi looked at each other, then to Rainbow, then back to each other. “Sorry, Dashie, they’re not here for you. You still have to wait.”

Rainbow looked surprised. “What? What else would bring them here?” She turned to the Wonderbolts. “What brings you to Ponyville?”

Soarin’ answered. “We’re here to find Ryan. He saved Fleety’s life in Canterlot, so we wanted to say thanks.”

Fleetfoot poked his side. “I’m not sure about my life, but he saved me from being... well. Something unpleasant.”

Soarin’ pulled her in and kissed her cheek. “He might as well have saved your life. I can’t bear to think what it would have done to you.”

Spitfire had been watching Rainbow’s face while the lovebirds talked. It was a mixture of confusion, aggression, and shock. Rainbow Dash seemed to have trouble believing that this Ryan had saved Fleetfoot. What did that say about him? Or maybe say about her? One of them was different than they thought.

Fleetfoot shared her story with Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie, all of whom were horrified at what nearly happened. “Wow.” Rainbow said at the end. “I never thought Ryan would be one to just go in and save somepony.”

“Why not?” Spitfire asked. Moment of truth.

Rainbow was about to answer when Fluttershy, the shy, timid pegasus who never spoke out of turn, interrupted her. “He has a complicated past.” She gave a death glare at Rainbow for a moment, and once her point was had, she softened again and stepped back. “He’s a good guy, but he suffered a lot of pain and loss. It... did things to him.”

Spitfire could sense that this wasn’t a public topic, so she let it go. “Alright then. But where can we find him?”

Rainbow went into the air. “I saw him in town on the way here at the outdoors store. I think he wanted a tent and some other camping stuff. I didn’t press him for details.” Fluttershy nodded approvingly, further adding to Spitfire’s suspiciousness. “He doesn’t have work today, so he’s probably just going around town or getting ready to go into the Everfree.”

The Wonderbolts all blinked simultaneously. “What.”

“Yeah, he does that. No idea why.” Rainbow paused and put a hoof to her chin. “He did go in there when he first got out of the hospital...”

In all three Wonderbolts’ heads, questions were spinning. Where had Ryan come from? What was his past? Why the forest, and why had he been in the hospital? What in Equestria was going on in the world they were living in?

“Well, let’s go see if we can find him!” Pinkie announced. She started to bounce away, and all the ponies opted to just follow her since she had an inexplicable way of finding anypony anytime.

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

Ryan didn’t take long with his shopping; he never was one to spend a lot of time doing that. He just found an outdoors store, where he encountered Rainbow Dash, and grabbed what he wanted.

He just dropped it off in the boutique for tomorrow, giving a quick hello to Rarity, and decided that he would go investigate the treeline into the forest. There might be multiple ways in that were safe, and if so, he wanted to make sure he got to all of them. They could all lead to different areas if they existed, and that would mean possibilities for more places to make his home.

He started off in the direction of the forest, happy to make his way out of town. When Rainbow approached him earlier, she had been pretty clear in telling him that she wanted life to go back to normal, meaning that she wanted Ryan gone. He reassured her that he wasn’t there to stay, and that eventually, he would be well out of her frizzy mane. She just huffed at him and flew off.

As usual, he kept his eyes scanning the area as he walked along. He was always watching for people who wanted to attack him, even though he knew that he was the only person around. Now, though, he was also watching for ponies who wanted to talk to him. Over the last couple of days, word of his ass-shooting in Canterlot had gotten out, and ponies suddenly had a more curious interest in him. Especially that mint green one; she was awful about it.

Thankfully, word hadn’t gotten out about him stabbing the one guy in the neck and also talking to Spitfire, so he was in the clear. He desperately hoped that nothing big would be happening today. He just wanted to mindlessly look around and see what his prospects were.

His eyes continued to scan, checking every possible area. Except the sky, he soon realized. Looking up, he noticed a familiar rainbow blur up in the air, speeding about. Probably just Rainbow practicing her tricks again.

Ryan paid it no heed and kept on walking. Rainbow never wanted to talk to him, and he knew that she wouldn’t be that inclined to help him explore the Everfree forest, so he had no reason to call to her. At least he had that much from her; she wouldn’t talk to him unless she felt it necessary. That was more than he got from a lot of other ponies.

Wind started rushing toward the ground, getting Ryan to sigh and stop walking. “What do you want now?” he asked impatiently.

Rainbow landed on the ground next to him, looking excited and strangely happy. She was never happy around Ryan.

“Wait here!” she ordered, then flew off. Ryan blinked once, then shrugged and decided that he might as well. If it put her into a good mood, he might as well see what it was. He walked to the side of the road and leaned against a small tree and waited.

A few minutes later, he spotted a total of four pegasi flying in his direction, one being Rainbow Dash. The other three were unfamiliar; a blue one with a navy mane, a blue one with a white mane, and a yellow one with an orange mane. She was familiar for some reason.

It all made sense when they landed in front of him. “Here he is.” Rainbow said, pointing at Ryan excitedly. “Ryan... uh...” She took a moment. “I guess that we don’t know his full name.”

“And odds are, you never will.” He stepped forward off of the tree. “I am Ryan, and I only know one of you. It’s good to see you again, Spitfire, though I wasn’t expecting it.”

Spitfire smiled. “Me neither.”

“So what brings you all down here?” Ryan asked, already knowing the answer.

The white-maned pegasus stepped forward, accompanied by what was likely her boyfriend. “You saved me in Canterlot, but I never got your name.” she explained. “I wanted to come down here and thank you.”

Ryan tugged his Beret down a little. “Don’t mention it.”

“I have to mention it.” the male said. Ryan looked at him. “I’m Soarin’, Fleetfoot’s coltfriend.” Coltfriend? “You saved her from that bastard in the alleyway. I owe you more than I can ever repay.”

“No one owes me anything.” Ryan said. “I did that because I saw it happening, and because I know how terrible it was. I wasn’t going to allow it to happen.”

Suddenly, Fleetfoot ran up to him and gave him a crushing hug. “Even so... thank you.”

At this point, Ryan knew that his day was totally shot. He wasn’t going to be able to check the forest or treeline, it would all have to wait until tomorrow. Other than that, though, he really had nothing that he had to do today, at least until tonight when he was going to have drinks with Mac and Fancy.

“Alright.” Ryan said, returning the hug. “I can see that this meant a lot to all of you.”

Fleetfoot let go and went back to Soarin’, who was eager to get her back in his forelegs again, and planted a kiss on his face. Ryan turned his head to give them some respect, whereas Rainbow felt uncomfortable and simply excused herself and flew off. Spitfire shook her head as the two pegasi got more intense.

She walked over to Ryan, looking away from them. “So do you have anypony special in your life?” she asked.

“Nah, I got no one, the way I think it probably should be.” Spitfire gave him a look. “I can explain later.” She just nodded at him; it was obvious that she and her friends wanted to hear his story. “So Spitfire. Do you have a stallion in your life?”

She laughed. “You’re pushing on a pull door, buddy.”

Ryan looked her over. “Well, I guess you are flaming.” They shared a smirk as the oblivious lovebirds finished up their moment.

They turned back to Spitfire and Ryan. “Uh, sorry, I get a little carried away.” Soarin’ said sheepishly.

“Sometimes, he carries me away.” Fleetfoot nuzzled her coltfriend’s neck affectionately, making Spitfire feel lonely and Ryan feel like he wanted to sit in his ditch and just stay there, because he may have ruined relationships like this. He kept it hidden very well, though.

He tried to get his mind off of it. “Well, I have nothing to do today. I can hang out, if you would be so inclined.” He knew that he would have to tell at least part of his story, but he could gloss over parts of it to avoid the emotion. He was starting to get pretty good at that.

“Awesome!” Soarin’ replied, smiling a big, toothy smile. “We can check out the local bakery!”

Ryan raised his eyebrow at him, but before he could ask, Fleetfoot said, “He’s really into pie.”

Looking back and forth between them, Ryan deadpanned, “I bet he eats it for dessert every night.” Thankfully, no one got it, or if they did, they didn’t show it at all. If they had gotten it, Ryan would have been rightfully smacked or bucked for it.

They made their way to Sugarcube Corner, and along the way, Ryan told them about his homeland. They were fascinated with what he told them; technology, world cultures, global trade, sports, and all kinds of different hobbies people got. He refrained from telling them about military technology and conflict, though. No need to get into a discussion on that.

When they arrived at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie was inside with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, the three of them talking about the presence of the Wonderbolts in town.

“Isn’t it awesome that they came here?” Rainbow asked rhetorically. “They’re so cool, it just makes everything seem so much more awesome!”

Ryan shook his head at how little sense her actual statement made as he and the Wonderbolts silently listened.

“Yes, I guess it is pretty great. I hope it doesn’t get too noisy though...” Fluttershy was hiding behind her mane as she spoke, probably because she did not like how loud Rainbow had a tendency of being. “I suppose that we can thank Ryan for it.”

“Huh?” Rainbow replied.

“Well, if he wasn’t so willing to run in and help, they wouldn’t have a reason to be here right now. They would be up in Canterlot, doing whatever they would be doing, I guess.”

“Flutters’ right, Dashie! You should be nicer to him.” She looked behind her. “And now’s your chance.”

Rainbow whipped around, startled at the appearance of her heroes and Ryan. “Oh,hey. Didn’t know you were there.” She smiled nervously.

Spitfire just looked at her with a deadpan expression. “You really should be nicer to him, you know.” Rainbow’s nervous smile became a shameful frown.

“Trust me,” Ryan interjected. “Her jerkiness is nothing compared to some of the other people I’ve met. She could be called nice by them.”

“Really?” Fleetfoot asked. “Pray tell, who were these ‘people’?”

Ryan didn’t answer and looked at the other two before him. They were expecting an answer as well, probably the answer that Ryan was generally reluctant to give. Turning his head, he saw that Rainbow was looking at him expectantly as well, whereas Fluttershy and Pinkie looked like they were about ready to chew off the ends of their hooves.. He sighed, then walked over to a table and sat down.

“Well, I suppose I can tell you.” The Wonderbolts went over and sat with him. “But let me warn you, these people aren’t going to be pleasant to hear about.”

“We can take it.” Spitfire assured him.

“Alright then.” Ryan said. And once again, he began to tell his story, albeit much censored.

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

Luna was sipping her tea peacefully at a table on her balcony, watching the ponies below as they went about their daily lives. There were servants, carrying their trays and talking about castle business. Guards doing their rounds. That one guard who had the against-regulations relationship with a female server that was a big secret to the two of them. It was enough to make life feel good for the Princess of the Night.

Starstep sat across from her, not caring about the ponies below. He was watching her. She was so much happier now, now that she knew Ryan was alive and well. Her entire demeanor changed; she held her head higher, she had better posture, she spoke more assertively. He had never noticed the lack of these things before, but now that they were back, he could tell what Ryan’s “death” had done to her.

It made him happy to see her happy. His own demeanor had changed as well. Now, he found it easier to get out of bed (partly because she was up earlier and no longer waited for him to get up), easier to walk around, and felt hungry more often. It felt good.

“Starstep, what are you looking at?” Luna asked without looking at him.

“Just stargazing.” he said. He brought his hoof up and rested his chin on it. “In the middle of the day, there’s only one place to see the stars.”

Luna smiled. “Can’t get enough of the stars, can you?” she asked. “You seem to just bury yourself in them at night.”

Starstep chuckled. “Sorry about that, I’m usually asleep before that happens.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Luna replied, turning to look at her guard. “It’s good to know that somepony enjoys my night sky that much.”

Starstep smiled lazily. They weren’t having their usual banter, but this was still nice. It was less of the crazy kind of fun and more of simple relaxation, something neither of them had had in a long time. It was all so simple; no Discord, no worrying about Ryan getting killed, no griffons to worry about. It was like a slice of heaven.

“I could gaze into it forever.” he said. Luna smiled and it almost appeared that she blushed.

Their moment wasn’t meant to last. “Princess!” a guard shouted all the way from the door to her chambers. “Princess, your sister requires your presence!”

Luna sighed. “Alright, I shall get to her soon.” she replied in a speaking version of the Royal Canterlot Voice. She turned to Starstep. “I’m afraid that our relaxation cannot continue right now.”

Her guard nodded. “Well, I guess that I’ll just wait for you here.”

Luna stood and began to make her way out. “Yes. Meet me in my quarters tonight.” she said suggestively. Before Starstep could reply, she was gone.

Luna approached the entrance to her sister’s throne room with caution. Her sister normally did not call on her during the day unless she was either unhappy or simply needed her take on something. Luna could bet that her take wasn’t needed on something. Odds were that it was about Blazer and the griffons in the south.

She walked up to the door, which opened for her as she moved, and entered the room. Around her, there was nopony; not a single guard or server present. Celestia was a the other end of the room with a table before her. She stared intently at it, like she was trying to make a decision on how to proceed in a war. Which was exactly what she may have been planning.

“You wished to see me sister?” Luna said as the door shut behind her, locking her in with her sister. She walked up to the table and took a look at it.

“Yes, I did.” Celestia replied. “I need to speak with you about rescuing Blazer.”

Luna blinked. “What?” she replied. “Do you think we can do it?!” Luna was feeling excited now. If she could find a way to get Starstep’s friend back, it would make her guard’s life that much better.

Celestia took a moment to reply. “I do.” she said.

Silence. “Well?” Luna asked. “What is it?”

“Before I tell you...” Celestia said, drawing a frown from her sister. “I need you to know that there will be no obligations, no leverage used. Nothing will be underhanded or sleazy. It will all be of his own choice.”

Luna was growing worried. “Who is this that you speak of?” she asked. “I will tell you that Starstep is going nowhere. I won’t have his life put at risk by sending him down there.”

Celestia shook her head. “It is not him.” she said. She walked away from the table and looked up at one of the clear windows. It had yet to be filled with a stained-glass image. “I speak of Ryan.”

It was like a brick to the face. Luna felt like she was physically struck when she heard that. her sister wanted to send Ryan down south to fight in a war that was neither his nor theirs. She wanted him to fight griffons that were similar to the men he fought and died against; savages, monsters who kill because they can. She wanted to send Ryan out to fight another Narendra.

“No.” she said. “Absolutely not; I cannot allow this.”

Celestia sighed. “Sister-”

“No! I will not have him suffer at the hands of such beings ever again! I failed to save him once before, I will not fail again. He is not going.”

“Sister, do you understand what he is?” she asked. Luna scowled. “He is perfect for this. He knows how they operate, he knows how to fight them. He has never been seen or heard of by them, so they would never suspect him. He is the perfect warrior for this.”

“Do you think I have not thought about this?” she asked. “When I left him at the boutique, I thought about that. I quickly squashed those thoughts. How do we know it will work? Griffons have distinct advantages over him; claws, flying. Mountains are their home, not his. He will be in a position where he is more likely to fail.”

Celestia went back to the table. “Luna, I have looked over his past. He was never in familiar territory, he never knew what to do, he never knew how to do it. Yet he did. He accomplished his goal.”

“And what did he get from it?” Luna asked. “He would have died if not for Discord. His lack of experience got him killed in Vietnam.”

“And now, he does have experience.” Celestia walked up to her sister. “He isn’t the same as before, little sister. He’s more capable now; you know he can handle the griffons.”

Luna tried to argue, but nothing came. Her head hung low, she said, “I fear that he might not be able to handle the strain on his mind. What if he can't do it alone?”

Celestia softened her voice. “I know, Luna. But he will have to do that on his own.”

Luna thought about it all for a moment. Sure, Ryan could probably defeat the griffons. But where would that put him? In a position to take more lives? How would he handle that, after everything that has happened? He clearly didn’t want to kill any more. He only killed that stallion because he had a flashback, and he ran away from the scene. His mind was in a fragile state right now; could it take any more assaults?

Luna looked at her sister, tears brimming in her eyes. “I... I can’t ask him to do this, Tia. I just can’t.”

Celestia wrapped her wing around her dear sister. “I understand, Luna.” she said softly. “I won’t ask you to.”

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

Saturday night, and it was time to meet his companions to drink. Fancy Pants had arrived earlier and went to Rarity to discuss some fashion deal, leaving Ryan with Soarin’. Fleetfoot and Spitfire had left Ryan and Soarin’ together after meeting the other Elements of Harmony and agreeing to a day at the spa. With nothing else to do, Soarin’ asked to join Ryan and his friends to drink. Ryan decided that he might as well.

Now, the three stallions and human were sitting around the table, sipping at their drinks, sharing tales. Soarin’ had all sorts of stories from his job, from teaching at Flight Camps, to being on the Seventy-first Strategic Recon Battalion in the air guard some years ago in a war against the griffons in the south.

“So I was flying over these mountains with my zoom lenses when I spotted a camp in the valley. I had to fly a bit lower, which pissed off Fleetfoot something fierce when she found out, and I saw an enemy training camp. I called it in on my magic comms, and the Thirty-fifth Joint Strike Force came swooping in and took them out. I watched the whole thing happen; the action was non stop.”

“And what kind of intel did you get from the camp?” Ryan asked, pulling up his mug for a swig.

“Well, it was nighttime, so we found a whole lot. There was intel on planned attacks, developing plans, enemy movements, equipment, and all kinds of stuff. It was one of the biggest hauls we ever had. And I was the one who found it.” Soarin’ added that last statement with a puff of his chest.

“How did y’all get over them without being seen?” Mac asked. “I feel like you would stand out pretty bad, up there in the sky.”

“We of the Seventy-first had to wear black uniforms when we flew at night to avoid being seen. It’s how we got the nickname Blackbirds.”

“I say, I remember those! I was commissioned to make them for you fellows. I do hope that they served you well.” Fancy Pants said.

“Oh they did; never lost a single stallion. Or mare.”

Ryan wasn’t much of a part of the conversation from the start, but now he was looking for Cinny. He thought that she was working tonight, but he supposed that she might not be. It wasn’t so much that he wanted to see her, it was more that no one else served their group. When they got here, Mac’s and Ryan’s drinks were already out, so he thought she was here.

“Hey there, Ryan!” He turned around; there she was. Cinny walked up to the table, pad in hoof and pen in mouth. “What can I get you boys?” she asked.

Each guy ordered a drink, then went back to talking. Mac was being more talkative than usual, something that was fine with Ryan. It was all casual conversation, just guys talking about their respective lives. It was something Ryan hadn’t had in awhile.

Soarin’ and Fancy Pants had proven to be fine to drink with. They talked a little more than Ryan liked, but they didn’t ask him questions or pry at him for information. They all had a general idea of his history, but none of them would bring it up. They all showed him respect and had the integrity to continue doing so, and for that, Ryan had to admit to liking them.

However, he knew that he would have to be careful about how close he got to them, because eventually, he knew that he would leave forever. Be it by living in the forest or not.

Author's Notes:

It took some time, but here's the next chapter. I'll be more available now, so I should be able to get the chapters back out.