The days were becoming short and the air frigid.

The month of November went by pretty quickly. Nothing much happened. Ryan went out and saw the cave a few times, just to get the route there down. Whenever he went out there now, though, he went with his gear and weapons. He spotted multiple kinds of wildlife out there; some of which were more than a little dangerous; and he needed to be prepared.

Whenever he went out, he would always get on the search for Discord. He remembered Discord disappearing on him some time ago, and with the magical, crazy nature of the forest, it seemed like the most ironically logical place to search. He would head out to his cave, then, from there, branch out further into the forest to look. He was always careful to avoid the black sections of the forest.

He saw the Wraith more than once during the month, but they never got close to each other. The Wraith would just stand of fin the distance, looking. Whenever Ryan went out to the forest, the Wraith would be standing just behind the treeline, like he was waiting for Ryan to leave the safety of the town. Every time he left, though, he went through the forest mostly unhindered. But the Wraith never followed him into town.

With the end of the growing seasons, Ryan no longer had a job on the farm, either. Without anything to do on Thursdays and Fridays, he had to find other work, but unfortunately, no one would hire him unless he told his story. Ultimately, he had to just go to Twilight and Rarity for more work. His new schedule went to Mondays and Tuesdays at the Boutique and Wednesdays through Fridays at the library. Thankfully, Twilight’s questions were spaced out and easy to answer now.

Of course, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Ryan was still going out on Saturday nights to drink at The Salt Lick with Fancy, Mac, and Soarin’. They all met there at eight on the dot, every weekend where everyone was available. As of yet, all weekends had been pretty fair game. No one missed a day.

Until this weekend, on Saturday, the first of December. The trains weren’t running today and the majority of the pegasi were forbidden from flying because they planned a major snowstorm. The winds were whipping by, yanking on the plants, trying to rip them out of the ground by their roots. Any clouds underneath the stormclouds were blown away and disintegrated by the powerful gusts. From the dark gray overcast fell countless icy knives, each one tearing away at the skin and fur that it came into contact with.

It was on this weekend that Ryan decided to make another trip out. Donning all his gear and taking small sums of food and water, he silently set out of town in the morning while Rarity and Sweetie Belle slept. He left no note to explain his absence, nor any indication of where he was. He also wore the scarf under his cloak, around his neck, for added warmth.

As he fought against the gusts on his way to the forest, he thought about why he decided to head out on this particular day. “I need to know what it’s like in extreme weather.” he had reasoned. Well, he was regretting it now. The weather was outright dangerous. From the road, he could hear the branches of trees on the side of the road snapping and crashing to the ground, even over the howling winds.

Ryan could barely see fifteen feet in front of him, let alone see the treeline. He was forced to rely purely on the memory of which directions he went at what points along the path as he walked along, coat held close and hood tied tight around his head. As much as he would have liked to wear his aviators to keep the snow off, it was much too dark for them at the moment. It was a miracle he could see in front of himself at all.

After around half an hour, he found himself stepping onto a portion of the path that had more weeds growing on it. The only reason he could tell through the snow was that some of the weeds were actually roots that jutted out and threatened to send him stumbling to the ground to be buried in the snow. When he leaned over to investigate, with gloved hands, he found a root and ripped it out with all his might. Upon close inspection, he found that it matched the size of the roots of some of the plants of the forest.

He continued forward, laser-focused on making it through the storm and into the cover of the trees, where the snow would pelt him less severely and he would be granted a short respite. As he walked, he could tell that he was starting to enter the forest by the slowly dimming light around him, his visibility creeping closer and closer with each agonizingly long step.

His visibility didn’t die altogether, but it was close enough that the farthest thing he could see was the back of his hand. Deciding it was finally dark enough, he went into his cloak and pulled out a medium-sized wooden stick and a lighter he had recently bought (how ponies used it was beyond him). With a flick of his thumb just under the stick, the flame came to life and ignited the end of the stick, creating a controlled inferno on the end of the stick.

Ryan held it in place and placed the lighter back on the tac-vest and looked around briefly; there was nothing there. The snow fell in greatly reduced quantities, allowing for the light to dance around the area and illuminate the darkened forest. As he scanned the area, he checked for any potential threats, be they wildlife, freakish plants, or even the Wraith. Oddly, he didn’t see anything. The Wraith had been there every time he recently went into the forest. Maybe he felt like sleeping in today.

Ryan held the torch out to his side as he continued forward into the dark forest. He had to hold it out to his side, or he would be blinded by the light in front of him. He kept the torch moving to be able to look all around himself in the event of an attack by any unsavory creatures.

He made his way slowly through the forest, the snow crunching under his boots and his right sleeve wet from the heat of the torch melting the snow from earlier. His breath came out in a fog in front of him, the only sounds hitting his ears those of his own breathing and the wind above the trees. The leaves rustled seemingly peacefully, betraying the scene outside the forest. It was so isolated, so quiet. It was exactly what Ryan was looking for.

After a time, Ryan finally made it to his cave. Over the last month, he had added a door to the front with a makeshift fence of large branches he had gathered from around the site. The door itself was actually just a massive, partially rounded boulder that he rolled over from about fifty feet away over the span of two weeks. It was a genius contraption, really; all he had to do was push it forward to open, then push it back into place to close.

When he arrived at his soon-to-be home, he took it all in in a moment of objective observation. The door functioned. The fence kept animals out, he hoped. Inside, he had gathered firewood and such for warmth. He had no flintstones, so he would have to find a way to light the fire without a lighter; he didn’t want to have to go back to civilization just to light a damn fire.

He walked over to the entrance and leaned over the fence, checking the inside of the cave for bears or other dangerous animals. When he saw none; it was a fairly small cave; he went to the rock and shoved it forward to get inside.

Once inside, he opted to leave the door open and simply look around. He had the wood on the side, and a little circle of rocks in the center where he would put it to burn. On the other side, he had a pile of rocks, not too far from the fire pit, where he could leave clothes to dry if they became wet. There was nowhere to store food, but with how he planned on living, he wouldn’t need one. The only part he was unsatisfied with so far was the lack of a decent place to sleep.

He didn’t plan on staying in the cave for the moment, seeing as he had to experience the weather out there to know who to survive it and hunt in it. He had to figure out where the little animals hide, how to catch and kill them, what kinds of plants he might be able to take an deat. For that one, he would have to take samples back to town and ask about them. So once he got a decent look around, he turned right back around and walked out.

Outside, he looked back at the door with a contemplative look on his face. “Should I close it back up?” he wondered. “Nah, I’ll just come back. It shouldn’t lose much heat between now and then.” As much as he didn’t actually understand the physics of heat involving caves, he thought that it would be cold enough already that it wouldn’t make a difference. He could just use the lighter to light some logs later anyhow.

Torch still in hand, Ryan looked around for a direction to walk in. He had traveled far during November, usually coming up with nothing. But there was one thing he did find that was pretty huge; a lake, off to the north of his location. It was only about two kilometers off in that direction, easy walking distance. Figuring it was a good place to start, Ryan held his cloak close and his torch tight, trudging along through the frozen forest and silent darkness.

As he pushed through the inclement weather to get to the lake, the canopy above started to thin out in some places. He had noticed this the last time he came out, how as you go farther in, the forest gets to be less difficult to see in. Through the openings, he had a clear view of the tearing winds and freezing snow above.

He was only about halfway there when something in the sky caught his eye. Ryan dropped low to the ground and threw his hand into his cloak, placing it as gently as possible on the Automag. Eye up high, he moved his head left and right to see if he could spot the sight again.

Sure enough, he did. It was a blur, through all the snow, but it was definitely there. There were at least four colors trailing after an unseen object flying through the sky. The flight pattern was erratic at best, with the object going up and down, left and right, all over the place. Ryan took his hand off the Automag as he tried to discern exactly what it was.

That wound up becoming unnecessary; the object, in its uncontrolled, random path, dove right at the ground, not far from Ryan, and, right as it was about to slam into the snow, it pulled up and went straight back up. When it flew down so close, Ryan could clearly see the form of a pony, trying its best to keep stable in the howling winds. That could only be one pony. Ryan sat back as Rainbow Dash continued to try to fly, though he couldn’t help but worry that she was going to go down soon.

He saw the trail continue through the air, but now, it was accompanied by a hoarse voice. “Dammit dammit dammit dammit!” With nothing to do, Ryan could only watch as the trail went off. “AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!”

The trail made a straight line, seemingly out of nowhere, and made a beeline for the ground, just to the north of where Ryan was. Alarms went off in Ryan’s head, and, like an ambulance makes its way to an injured person, he hauled it in the direction of the trail.

In the distance, he heard a loud crash and the sound of massive branches snapping off of trees. He double-timed his pace as he moved through the forest, pushing aside any branches or bushes that got in his way. “Dammit Rainbow.” he thought unhappily.

He covered the second kilometer in half the time of the first, arriving at the frozen lake and finding the sight less than encouraging. To his right, he could clearly see where Rainbow had crashed through the trees, as there was a massive hole in the canopy and branches all over the ground and ice. Looking out, Ryan tried to find where the foolish little pony might have landed.

“Oh no...”

He could clearly find where she landed by following the broken ice with his eyes. In the lake, about twenty feet, lay Rainbow Dash, unconscious and at least half-submerged in the freezing water. On the ice next to her, Ryan could clearly see blood against the whiteness, and it looked like the amount was going to be increasing soon. She had a wing bent at an angle that was likely not normally possible, and he reyes were both closed like she was just taking one of her regular naps.

Ryan dropped his torch and stripped down, setting his cloak, scarf, and jacket out on the ground, laying them out to be easy to put on once he came back. He left everything else on as he walked out onto the ice.

Before he even out all his bodyweight on the ice, it crackled and crumbled under his foot. The shock of the freezing water engulfing his foot forced him to take in a sharp breath, trying to ignore the new sensation of pain in his foot. He could tell that if he didn’t do this quickly, his foot would be lost and maybe fall off due to Frostbite.

He looked down at the water; it was so cold, his foot actually felt warm. “Fuck.” he thought as he lifted his other foot and stuffed it under the water. If one foot was in, might as well just take the water route. It was safer anyway.

With both feet submerged up to the ankle, Ryan set out to wading over to Rainbow's position out on the ice. As he advanced through the ice-cold lake, the water steadily grew deeper, getting to just above his knees by the time he was halfway out. If it continued like this, Ryan wouldn’t be able to reach Rainbow Dash in time and they would both wind up freezing to death out here. Thankfully, the water didn’t get too much deeper; only to about his waist, freezing his groin; and he was able to get close enough to reach for the unconscious mare.

But the world had already made very clear its distaste for Ryan’s attempts at helping others. Suddenly, the ice that supported Rainbow and kept her from going under cracked and collapsed under her, sending her beneath the glass-like barrier.

“NO!”

Ryan lunged forward, going under himself, as he reached out for the rainbow-maned pony who hated him without personal reason. As his face went under, he could feel the sting of the cold as it sapped at the heat in his face, trying to stop him in his tracks. Ryan fought through it, though, and continued to reach out to Rainbow Dash, quickly finding her mane in his hand. With one strong pull, Ryan yanked her back and rose out of the water, dragging her with him.

With his face out of the water, Ryan was able to reopen his eyes and make a quick assessment of the situation. His hands continued doing their job, pulling Rainbow out and holding her up above the water in both arms in a one-person carry and keeping her as tight against his chest as possible. He could feel her, barely breathing, completely unknowing of what had just happened.

Pony in arms and rapidly losing body heat, Ryan started back towards dry land. As he walked through the unforgiving lake, his mind turned toward how he was going to get back to town in time. There was no chance. As he pushed his way out of the water, he realized that he had dropped the torch without keeping track of where. By now, it was covered with snow and would never be found.

Acting quickly, Ryan dropped the unconscious Rainbow Dash onto the jacket, which was in turn on the cloak, and went about wrapping her up in a bundle to keep her warm. Once he had the jacket zipped up around her and the cloak tightly wrapped around her body, he picked her right back up and held her close to his own core to keep as warm as possible. Unfortunately, he hadn’t thought that anything like this would happen, so he didn’t wear a long-sleeved shirt, and his arms were already feeling the numbness of the cold ebbing through the skin.

He looked along the ground for any hint of his previous footsteps, finding them in an instant thanks to the dragging nature of his walking through the snow. Once he spotted them, he rushed over and reentered the forest.

He trudged along, trying his best not to fall over or hit the mare on any branches around them. Ryan was growing worried; the biting breeze and cruel snow were driving a little too much warmth from his body. He might have to drop her and run...

Ryan stopped dead in his place. He could feel it, that sensation that there was something trained on you, ready to strike at you. He had seen what was out here; manticores, those freakish bee things, timberwolves. He hadn’t seen any spirits, but they could be just as dangerous. They were all prepared to come out and kill him, and they would no doubt all be ready to eat him since there was almost no food nearby.

A branch snapped to his left. Ryan whipped his head around to get a good look at whatever had failed to sneak up on him, prepared to drop the mare and pull out his Automag if he had to-

That smile. That fucking smile. The Wraith just smiled at Ryan, teeth bared and unusually sharp, malicious and deathly. He was standing there, just beyond the trees, watching Ryan as he carried the mare out. His arms were crossed and he had on short sleeves and shorts, like the cold didn’t mean anything to him. But of course it didn’t; when you’re born in it, it’s a part of you.

Ryan took the image with a dose of adrenaline and sped away along his chosen path. He wasn’t sure where he would go, but he did know that he had to get away from the Wraith. It had been the Wraith who had knocked Rainbow out of the sky. It had been the Wraith that tossed Rainbow into the lake. It was the Wraith who had used it as bait to catch Ryan off guard and unprepared.

The Wraith chuckled loudly at Ryan as he just stood there, holding the freezing pony in his arms and not moving. “Well, what are you doing?” he asked. “I think it would be safest for you to run.”

Without hesitation, the boy began to sprint through the forest, panting out visible breaths and taking dry air back in. The snow sandblasted his arms, tearing away at the skin and latching on like leeches. The water from earlier was already frozen on his arms and torso, and was freezing on his legs as he ran. In the cloak and jacket, Ryan could only hope that Rainbow wasn’t feeling the same way as him at the moment.

It took Ryan nine minutes of agonizing pain, running through branches, being lashed by wind, and blinded by snow to cover the two kilometers to his cave. Upon closing the distance and spotting the cave, he felt like an idiot for not having thought of it sooner. At least, not consciously thinking of it.

As he approached the entrance to the cave, which was wide open, he looked around for any sign of the Wraith having followed. When he spotted nothing, he spun back around and ran into the cave.

Inside, Ryan promptly went to work. He dropped Rainbow, still in the clothes, next to the fire pit and removed the protective layers. As he removed them, he could see the relieving sight of her chest moving up and down, signifying breathing, weak, but still there. With that bit of reassurance, he went over and pulled some firewood out of the pile and dropped it into the pit. Not wanting to take any risks, Ryan checked Rainbow again to make sure she was at least stable. He was able to confirm that she was stable, though still weak, and so went for the lighter on his vest.

But it wasn’t there. Eyes wide and hand trembling, Ryan realized that it must have fallen off his vest back in the lake. The torch was gone too, so there was no easy way to light a fire to get the wood burning.

“Shit!” Ryan cursed loudly, angry with himself for losing such a vital tool of survival.

He started to pace. If he didn’t get a fire lit soon, both Rainbow and he would freeze to death in that cave. There was no water in there, and without fire, they couldn’t access any safely. Ryan’s clothes, from himself and Rainbow, were still soaking wet, and there was little hope that they would provide much warmth any more. He had to think of something new. He had to be versatile, like a Navy SEAL.

Ryan set his hand son his hips and found that his right hand his his Automag. Still angry, he yanked it out of its holster and got ready to throw it across the cave.

But he didn’t. “Wait a minute...”

The Automag is a pistol. Pistols area type of firearm. Firearm... fire...

Ryan ripped off his vest and threw it aside, keeping the Automag in hand. Leaning over the fire pit, Ryan released the magazine from the gun and emptied it. Five round, plus the one in the chamber. The powder inside the rounds was what propelled the bullets forward. If Ryan could use that ignition to make a good enough spark in the wood, he might be able to light a fire.

Ryan emptied all the rounds from the magazine and lined them up. He had to work fast. Opting for safety, Ryan unchambered the remaining round from the Automag and held it by the end of the barrel, like one would a hammer. Than, one by one, Ryan hammered away at three of the rounds before him on the ground, being very careful not to hit the primers on the end of each one.

He managed to knock the bullets loose from the three rounds, and, very carefully, he removed the lead and moved the empty casing into one of the logs. The one in the center had a perfect little hole in it; not too big to spread the flame everywhere but not so small as to not allow oxygen to get to the fire; and so Ryan dumped the powder from the three rounds into it.

Now, though, he had a new problem. How was he going to ignite the powder? His mind raced about, trying to think about how that would happen. He remembered the way that machine guns overheat if fired for too long and the muzzle flash that came out of the end. That muzzle flash was the explosion of the gunpowder! And it was hot enough to make a gun barrel overheat! If Ryan could maneuver the Automag so that the muzzle flash hit the powder, it might be enough to make it catch and light the wood.

Now down three more round, Ryan loaded up the other three into the gun’s magazine and loaded the magazine into the gun, but without pressing the button to release the slide and chamber the round. Before getting into position, he looked over at Rainbow one last time; she looked all right. Her breathing was still going. Then, turning back to the fire pit, he positioned himself just right so that the bullet would ricochet off the wall away from them.

“Not bad.”

Ryan’s heart rate spiked at the unexpected guest’s words. Now, really pissed off, he glared up at the Wraith, who was positioned at the door to the cave.

“I don’t know that I would say it’s a great idea, but I would never expect less of you than to fire a .44 Magnum in close proximity to a pony. But hey: No one ever said you had to care.”

The Wraith was still smiling, something that only fueled the rage in Ryan’s mind. “I am firing it.” he replied, voice seething with hatred. “But not at anything in the cave.”

The Wraith didn’t seem to understand as Ryan moved himself one last time until it was too late. Ryan placed himself directly behind the fire pit and positioned the Automag to be pointing right up at the entrance, straight into the Wraith’s center of mass. With a malicious smile of his own, Ryan clicked the little button and sent the slide forward, then fired off the massive bullet right at the Wraith.

The round hit home, slamming into the Wraith’s chest and sending him flying out the door in a mess of blood and force. The loud BOOM of the Automag’s .44 Magnum round reverberated through the cave, blasting into Ryan’s eardrums. Rainbow didn’t even flinch at the noise; at least she wouldn’t remember what that felt like,

The flame from the muzzle flash passed over the gunpowder, lighting it in its little cave and creating a small inferno inside. With nowhere to go, the heat had to spread anywhere it could, be it out the hole or into the wood and setting it on fire. Thankfully, probably at least partially due to the odd physics of this world, the log caught and went up in a blaze. After just a moment, the blaze spread to the other logs and set them up, throwing blissful warmth all over the cave.

With no Wraith in sight and no more cold eating away at him, Ryan was able to fall back on his ass and just take in a deep breath of relaxation. It felt good, really, what he just accomplished. He had carried that mare, who was heavier than she looked (though none would say that to her face), all the way from the lake to the cave, two kilometers. He managed to light a fire using just a gun. And he shot the Wraith right in the chest, sending him back outside where he belonged.

He figured he should probably go up there to make sure the Wraith was down, or to find out if he would have to put the other two rounds in the Wraith’s skull to get him down. it would be the best way to make sure he and Rainbow would be safe in the cave. After that, he could seal off the entrance and go about finding a way to get back to town.

Thinking about Rainbow subconsciously made him turn around to take a quick look at her. He didn’t feel too worried; she was sleeping peacefully, her eyes gently shut and her hooves still on the ground. her mane was still wet, but being so close to the fire, that would dry out soon. She still looked like a drowned rat, but Ryan would just let her know later. She looked so peaceful...

Too peaceful, Ryan thought. He moved closer to get a better look. He rside was bleeding, as he had seen before at the lake. That wasn’t so bad, though, so she shouldn’t be going into shock. No doubt the cold had something to do with it, and that probably gave her hypothermia, but the cloak and jacket should have kept her warm enough that it wouldn’t put her to sleep. And he was fairly certain that there was no sleep from hypothermia, only death. What was wrong?

But looking at her still body, he finally noticed what was wrong.

She wasn’t breathing.

“Oh no.” he said, moving next to her. “No no no no no no no no!”

He put his fingers on her neck, right around where he learned the pulse would be; it was extremely weak, if it was even really there. Her chest didn’t rise up and down, and her body was completely still. Everything wasn’t peaceful; everything was in shutdown mode.

Ryan acted fast, placing his hands just behind the haunch of her exposed foreleg. Going through the procedures he learned in his Rescue Diving course, he started to press away on her body, forcing the heart to start moving the blood around. After thirty compressions, he moved his mouth up and placed it directly into hers and let out a massive breath into her airway, filling her lungs to capacity.

He repeated the process more times than he can recall. The entire time he treated her, he had no idea how it was going to end up; CPR isn’t to restart the heart, it’s only for getting oxygen to the brain. If he was lucky, then restarting the brain and getting oxygen to her cerebellum would make her brain restart her breathing, but if that wasn’t the problem, or that part of her brain suffered damage from a lack of oxygen for a quite frankly unknown period of time, she was doomed to die.

Thirty compressions.

One massive breath.

Thirty compressions.

One massive breath.

It went on and on and on. Ryan was starting to feel lightheaded. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep it up much longer.

When he came up for a breath, exhausted and ready to pass out himself, the most beautiful sound at that moment, the greatest thing he could ever have heard, hit his ears. “Not now, AJ, I want to sleep.”

Rainbow Dash had just spoken. Albeit not exactly to Ryan, but she still spoke. She had no idea what was happening, and likely wouldn’t for a long time, but she was alive and well. She was drying off quickly and getting warmer, and her brain function had hopefully been fully preserved. Who knew how this world worked about that stuff.

Ryan fell back and sat down, gracious for the respite and a chance to just sit. Now, he knew that there was nothing wrong. He knew, for a fact, that Rainbow was good. he was already nice and dry, and his clothes were on a rock right next to the flame, drying off. At the moment, even though he was in a cave in the middle of a hazardous forest with a flying mare who hated his guts and a demonic beast potentially still outside, he felt like he was in heaven. All seemed like it would be all right.

But he knew better than to leave loose ends untied. Begrudgingly, he grabbed his Automag, two shots left, and made his way to the entrance to look outside. If the Wraith was there, he would shoot him. If not, he would just close up the entrance and wait the night out. His watch read five in the after noon; time flies when you’re busy.

Ryan poked his head out of the cave, Automag right under it, and looked around. He could see a pool of blood on the ground, but no body. The pool turned into a trail that led west, into the trees, and got thinner and thinner as it approached. The Wraith had already healed; he must have had some kind of spell for it. It would explain how he had two eyes.

Ryan walked away from the entrance to the cave, but kept it in sight, just in case the Wraith decided he would go in after the sleeping mare. It was cold, and it had already gotten pretty dark again, but he could handle it if he was only going to be out for a short time. It was nothing that a quarter of the world back home didn’t do every winter.

Ryan walked over to the edge of the trees and stood, looking out for any sign of his nemesis. There was a bush that had clearly been moved, as all the snow had come off of it. Behind it, Ryan could barely make out the form of footsteps in the snow. The Wraith must have run off. Deciding that it was safe, Ryan turned around and went back into the cave.

The Wraith watched from just above the entrance as Ryan went back inside, escaping the unpleasant cold air. Ryan had actually managed to shoot him this time, something he hadn’t really seen coming. It was no problem, though. The Automag would never be able to kill him. He wasn’t really sure anything could.

But this did signify something very different. Ryan was advancing, just as planned, even if a bit ahead of schedule. He had had a bit of a hiccup today, but the Wraith knew the real Ryan. He knew the Ryan who had died in Sumatra, and the Ryan who took his place. he knew that the last Ryan was never going to be able to live in a society of peace and prosperity. And he knew that that Ryan was the one who was weak enough for him to overpower.

“In due time.” The Wraith jumped off the ledge he was sitting on and landed silently on the ground, then walked off into the distance, eventually entering the dark section of the forest.

Ryan sat back down next to the fire, wondering what his next move should be. He hadn’t actually eaten since just before he left, so that was a priority. Taking a look at Rainbow, sleeping peacefully now on the ground by the fire, he went over to his vest where he kept the food and water and pulled some of each out. What he had was a simple bottle and a few candy bars, which he downed faster than he had expected.

Once he was done, he checked his clothes, finding them to be completely dried off. He wasted no time in getting them on and shaking them out to get back used to the feel of wearing them. With the vest on underneath and the now almost empty Automag back in its holster, Ryan threw on his cloak and jacket over it and started walking around the cave.

He looked down at Rainbow, wondering how she had gotten herself out here in the first place. Her side still bled, but it was slowly getting better. Nonetheless, it would be better if she received some kind of medical attention soon.

He sighed. “All right. Come on.” he said, not expecting a reply. He leaned down and picked her up in his arms and moved the cloak over. “Let’s head out.” Tossing her over his shoulder and then throwing the cloak over her, he carried her out of the cave and back into the wilderness. But this time, he didn’t forget to close the door.

With so much extra weight, the walk back to town took almost twice as long as the walk here in the morning had. The snow wasn’t even falling that heavily anymore, and it still took him that long. he had to be constantly on the watch for the Wraith, since he could be anywhere, any time. The crunch of the precipitate under his feet and the constant need to push the branches out of the way only added to the boy’s discomfort as he made his way back.

Eventually, he exited the forest and found the welcome sight of Ponyville in the distance, with hospitable lights in windows and young ponies heading inside after a day of playing in the snow. If only Ryan could have had such a good time in the snow today.

Deciding that it was safe now, Ryan moved his cloak over so that Rainbow was no longer underneath it. If anypony wanted to know why he was carrying her, he could easily make up a story to explain. He would have to make sure it didn’t implicate him of going into the forest, so it would probably have to be the kind of story that would require Rainbow to explain it later.

Alas, no one asked him any questions as he walked through the town. Ponies would stop and look, some growing wide-eyed, but none stopped. At first, Ryan was concerned, but as he went along, it was clear that no one suspected him of doing anything. That was all Ryan could have asked for.

Ryan stopped when he got to about two hundred feet into town. “Where am I going?” he realized. As always, he had no real plan for this, he just kind of went along with it. He thought about where he could drop Rainbow off to stay for the night. There was certainly Fluttershy’s, but she was all the way on the other side of town, and this mare was just getting too heavy. Rarity’s wouldn’t work, seeing as that was where he lived, and Rainbow probably wouldn’t remember what happened out there.

Should he try Pinkie’s? No, the Cakes owned that place, and they might not have room. Not worth the risk of having to walk all that way. There was no chance of bringing Rainbow home, for obvious reasons. Applejack might take her, but that walk was even longer than going to Fluttershy’s.

“Oh!” Ryan said loudly, mentally smacking himself. “I’ll head to the library.”

With a new objective in place and a reason to complete it, Ryan set off for the library, eager to dump his heavy cargo and get back to the boutique for some rest. As he walked along, he thought over the day that had tired him out so very much. Overall, it was pretty productive; he found his cave in really bad weather and navigated the forest in said weather. He proved himself to be very physically fit, which would be necessary for living out there. He had a fire, which he forgot to put out (it was in a cave, who cares anyway?). The only thing he missed was looking for food out there. Well, he could do that another time.

Before long, the Golden Oaks Library came into view in all its splendor and warm-looking glory. As soon as he laid his eyes upon it, the boy quickened his feet and ran to the door, but couldn’t stop himself. Instead of knocking, Ryan simply braced himself as he rammed right into the thick, oak door, being sure to keep Rainbow out of the way.

As he hit it and came off, Ryan pulled his hand over to his shoulder, straining against Rainbow’s body, and held it tight to try to cut off the pain. “Ow.” He took in three deep breaths, listening for any chance of the library’s door opening for him to enter.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long. “Hello?” a little boy’s voice said as it opened up. Spike stood in the doorway, looking at Ryan’s feet. When he looked up, his face instantly lightened up. “Hey bro!” He put out his fist for a fist-pump.

Ryan nodded. “Hey. Sorry, but my hands are kinda full.” He jerked his head at the unconscious Rainbow Dash. “Mind if I come in?”

Spike looked up at the mare and went into full panic mode. “Oh man, yeah, get inside!” Ryan walked right in and went over to the fireplace to drop Rainbow. “Twilight, we got an emergency! Come quick!”

Once Ryan dropped Rainbow down by the fire, he felt a burning need to leave and avoid being a part of explaining what had happened out in the forest. But he was doomed to have to explain, as Twilight ran down the stairs and stepped right in front of him.

“What is it Spi-”

“Shit!” Ryan couldn’t get out of the way, and bowled over the lavender mare in a mess of arms and legs. As he jumped up, he tried to run away, but to no avail.

“Hang on!” Twilight said, grabbing Ryan’s pant with her magic. “What’s going on?”

She held tight. “Are you that desperate to get into my pants?” Ryan asked, cocking an eyebrow at the mare. He caught the mare totally off guard, and she let go of him instantly.

“No!” she shouted. “But I do want you...” She paused, giving Ryan a look that made him uncomfortable. “TO EXPLAIN THIS TO ME!” She shoved a hoof in Rainbow’s direction.

Ryan sighed. “All right, fine. But don’t be so freaking loud.” Twilight ignored his request and sat herself down, eager for the whole story. The story didn’t take too long, though, and Ryan skipped over a number of parts, all including the Wraith and his irritating presence, plus the reason he was out there. When he finished, Twilight looked worriedly over at her friend.

“Oh my.” she said. She stood up and walked over, her magic poking and prodding at the Rainbow-maned mare, looking for her wound. When she found it, she immediately went to work. “I’m glad you were out there to help.”

“Yeah. Ironic, that I was the one to save her life.” Twilight cringed at the truth of the statement. Turning around and heading towards the door, Ryan went to leave her with, “Farewell.”

“Hold up.” Spike said out of the blue, all eyes going to him. “What were you doing out in the forest in that kind of weather anyway?”

Ryan desperately wanted to simply tell him that it was his own business, as Spike would respect that. But Twilight would never let him get away with it.

“I was out doing strategic recon.” he said half-truthfully. “I want to know what all weather is like out there if I want to keep looking for Discord.”

Spike bought it, but Twilight didn’t. She had never pursued him after his clear lies, though, and by the looks of it, she wasn’t about to now, either. “Alright.” Twilight said. “You can head on out if you need to.”

Ryan nodded and gave her a light bow just for giggles. “Of course, dear princess.” Twilight gave him a funny look as he left, unsure of whether that was a backhanded compliment or a front-handed insult.

Ryan shut the door behind him as he left the library, glad to be free of that burden. He took a look at his watch; it read eight o’ clock. It was pretty late already, and Rarity would be mad at him when he got back. But that’s what bars were there for; that way, you don’t have to go back to an angry woman until she’s asleep.

Twilight lay next to Rainbow, looking hard at her, willing her to wake up and talk. “Come on, Rainbow. Wake up!” She desperately needed to get Rainbow’s take on what happened, even if she had to explain to the athletic mare the nature of the events.

“You want some hot chocolate, Twi?” Spike asked as he walked toward the kitchen.

She thought. “Yes, I think I would. And make one for Rainbow.”

Spike nodded and went to work in the kitchen. He donned his little apron, which he had been ridiculed by Rainbow herself for wearing, and finished up the drinks in no time. Everyone knows that real men can wear aprons comfortably; ladies dig the aprons.

Spike brought he drinks back and set one down in front of each mare in the room, then sat himself down next to Twilight. “So how long do you think this is gonna be?”

“Right now.” Twilight responded with a big smile.

Spike looked at Rainbow confused, but soon saw that she was rolling off of her side and onto her belly. “Wha..?” she said, rubbing at her eyes with a hoof.

“Rainbow?” Twilight started, getting the mare to look in her direction. “Rainbow, it’s Twilight. Are you okay?”

Rainbow looked at Twilight like she had six heads. “Yeah, I feel fine, just a little tired. Why?”

“How about the fact that you nearly died!?” Twilight shouted, shocking Rainbow into full awareness and surprise. Twilight glared at the mare as she waited for a response.

It finally came. “What?”

“Yeah, you almost died out there in that storm! What were you thinking, flying out there? Why would you do it?”

Rainbow’s jaw was hanging low, like she didn’t even remember doing that. Although, she definitely did. “I was training, and I just got lost! I landed a little in the forest, I think, and I don't remember anything after that.” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Look, I just wanted to strengthen my controlled flight capabilities. Besides, you were there to save me, so it wasn’t that bad, right?”

Twilight tried to respond, but her words failed her. No amount of berating would get through to her at the moment, no amount of possible other outcomes. But there was one thing that would get to her.

“I didn’t save you.” she said flatly. The truth would get through to her.

Rainbow’s face froze. “You... didn’t?” Twilight shook her head. “Wait... then who did?”

Twilight gave Rainbow a second to think about it, but didn’t want her to come to any wrong conclusions. “Ryan saved you.”

The words were like a whip across the face to Rainbow, causing her to physically reel back from the sound of them. Ryan? Ryan had saved her? The guy who killed forty of his own kind? The one who let himself die and killed his friends? The one who was more dangerous than any foe they had ever faced?

“You can’t be telling me the truth.”

“I am, Rainbow.” Twilight said authoritatively. “Ryan was the only one out there to save you. He pulled out of a frozen lake at the risk of his own life, wrapping you up in his clothes to keep you warm instead of him. He carried you back to a cave he saw on the way out there and made a fire to get the both of you warm. He fought off a bear to keep you safe.” That part was a lie, but hey? “He provided you CPR when you stopped breathing, and somehow managed to restart your heart. You would be dead and likely never found if it weren’t for him.”

Rainbow thought about the significance of what Ryan had done. What he did for her was beyond what anypony had ever done for her before, and she hated him. Didn’t he hate her, for hating him? Did he honestly not care about her hatred, or was able to forgive her and bring her back to town? He had little to gain from helping her, so why not let her die? Most importantly, would she have done the same for him?

Was he a better person than her?

“...” Rainbow thought. “I... I had no idea...”

Twilight crossed her forelegs. “Well, now you do.” She pushed the hot chocolate over to her friend, who, upon seeing it, greedily grabbed it and slurped it up. “You’ve treated him like garbage from early on, Rainbow. You’ve hated him without proper reason, refused to trust him. And now, here he goes, saving your life at the risk of losing his own. Doesn’t that say something about him?”

“Yeah...” Rainbow replied. She knew now; she knew that he was good inside, even if he didn’t let everypony know. “I guess he is a good guy after all.” Maybe it was time to start being nicer to him.

“Good.” Twilight concluded. “Tomorrow, I Think the two of you should talk.” Rainbow groaned. “None of that! You owe it to him, at least that much. I want you to find a way to make it up to him.”

“Can’t I just start talking nicer to him?” Rainbow responded. Twilight glared daggers at her. “All right, fine. I’ll find him tomorrow.”

A smile burst onto Twilight’s face. “Good! And I wish you luck.”

Rainbow Dash groaned from her spot on the floor, thinking about how awkward it would be while Twilight went off to do her own thing. How could she make it up to him? She didn’t really have anything to offer him. She could give him favors, but he was really, really independent. He wouldn’t take money, and that would be kind of weird anyway. Rarity would give him a kiss, but that wasn’t really Rainbow’s thing.

What did she have? A love of flying. Maybe she could give him a little show, do some tricks? “Not that kind of show.” she thought, knowing what Ryan would say to that. She could make it like a Wonderbolts show...

“Oh!” Rainbow said excitedly.

Spike, who was long forgotten by a random bookshelf, turned around at her exclamation. “What?” he asked.

Rainbow stood up and stretched. “I have two tickets for a Wonderbolts show on the fourth, this Tuesday! I can bring Ryan along.”

Spike blinked at her, understanding the sentiment. “Okay... but how are you going to get him up to Cloudsdale?”

Rainbow chuckled and shook her head. “No, it’s up in Canterlot this time. I think Prince Blueblood scheduled it to be up there or something.”

Spike gagged at the name. “Well, that’s convenient. And since you’re both pretty close to the Wonderbolts, you might even be able to get special treatment.”

Rainbow gasped and her countenance changed drastically from happy to ecstatic. “Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! Yes, we totally could!” She flew over to Spike and picked him up in a big hug. “Thanks!”

Rainbow dropped the baby dragon and flew off, eager to have the next day come as soon as possible.

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

Ryan got up the next morning feeling sore and exhausted. Wasn’t sleep supposed to take care of that? He must have overexerted himself the day before.

He sat up in bed and swung his feet around, his heels striking the ground with more force than was comfortable. He could explain all the problems he was having at the moment; Carrying Rainbow required a lot of strength, so he was sore. His exhaustion, though, came from Rarity the previous night. He had gone to the bar until after eleven, but she was still waiting for him to come back. When he did get back, he was in for quite the earful.

“Where have you been!? Sweetie Belle and I were worried sick when we couldn’t find you this morning! And what’s this about you going into the Everfree Forest during the strongest snowstorm we’ve ever had made?” How did she even know that? “Explain yourself now!”

Ryan had to tell her exactly what he told Twilight, only with dozens more interruptions and a lot more submission to her anger. Rarity actually smacked him upside the head once during her verbal assault, shouting how stupid Ryan was. He would have sworn that Sweetie Belle could hear everything, but somehow, she never came down. And it went on until well after one in the morning.

Now, he was told, he would have to check with somepony before going someplace. However, he countered with the fact that he was an adult in Equestria, and could go where he pleased. The counter to that was that, if it was dangerous, he still had to tell somepony so that he could do whatever he planned on doing safely. Why him? Wasn’t Rainbow the dumbass who nearly got herself killed yesterday?

“Ah well.” Ryan concluded. He could cope with the circumstances.

He got dressed, though only in his pants, and went up the stairs and made his way to the kitchen. It was just after seven in the morning, and he was starving. He had only eaten twice the day before, and light meals at that, so he could feel the weakness in hi sleg as he made his way up.

When he entered the kitchen, he was greeted with the presence of three little fillies and one little colt with a camera, which flashed brightly as Ryan walked in. There were several cheers from the small group as Ryan blinked away the blindness now afflicting his eyes. Once he recovered, he looked over the group and tried to figure out what was happening.

He just asked. “What are you doing?”

“We were having a sleepover last night!” Scootaloo answered loudly. “We were hoping you would be here so we could go over strategy with you for that game you taught us, but YOU weren’t here.” Ryan silently groaned to himself; he wasn't going to live this down for a while.

“Sorry, but I had some things to do.”

Applebloom snickered. “Yeah, we heard.” Ryan sighed. “Rarity really laid you out last night!”

“Yes, yes she did.” Ryan replied. A moment of silence followed. “You.”

Ryan pointed at the colt, Featherweight, if he remembered right. “Me?”

“Yeah, you. Whatup with the picture, bud?”

The colt swallowed hard under the scary human’s scrutiny. “Well, the savior of Rainbow Dash can hardly go without being known, can he? I’m just letting the ponies know what happened.”

He was never going to get any privacy. Ever. This was why Special Operations appealed to him; no fame, no personal credit. Silent professional, completely private life.

“Fine.” Ryan said with a defeated sigh. The colt smiled wide and ran out, leaving Ryan alone with the fillies. Turning to them, he decided that he should get back at them. “So, I guess you had him over?”

Sweetie Belle looked at him, confused. “What?”

Ryan threw his hands up. “Hey, I won’t judge. I know that you girls are growing up, you want to get to know the boys.”

“EWWW!” they all shouted in unison.

Ryan continued. “Don’t worry, though! Soon, your interest in them will become uncontainable, and you’ll actually WANT to spend lots of time with them! There’ll be lots of movies, dinners, walks...” The fillies were getting a little too comfortable. “Hugs, kisses, odd sensations...”

“Ahg, stop! You’re weirding us out!” Scootaloo shouted.

“What is all that noise!?” Rarity shouted from upstairs. With that, Ryan immediately regretted his little joke. “I’m trying to sleep! I was up late last night with Ryan!”

“Yeah, she spent lots of energy on me!” Ryan included loud enough for Rarity to hear.

A pause.

“Girls, tell him that he had better watch what he says, or he may find himself unable to ‘expend energy’.”

Ryan gulped hard. “Okay!” he said with a clap of his hands, ready to change the subject. “So, uhh... what’s up?” With nothing else ready to distract them, he just gave them a nervous smile.

The fillies looked to each other, trying to figure out what they would do. “Well,” Sweetie Belle started. “We were gonna go and try to get our construction cutie marks!”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea!” Ryan replied, throwing his arms out to emphasize his statement. “I think you should go about that sooner rather than later; the sooner you get your marks, the better!”

“Yeah!” Applebloom shouted. “Come on, girls, let’s get movin’!” The southern filly ran off out the kitchen and out the front door, eager to start the day.

Sweetie Belle followed right behind, but Scootaloo waited for a moment before leaving. “Hey, what’re you waiting for?” Ryan asked.

Suddenly, she ran up to him and hugged his leg as tightly as her tiny body could manage. “Thanks for saving Rainbow Dash.” she said, nuzzling his leg.

Ryan leaned over, wearing a little smile on his face, and patted the filly on the head. “Don’t mention it.”

With that, she ran off after her friends, ready to face the future with more gusto and more certainty than Ryan could ever manage. He always had marveled at the child’s ability to rush into the future without hesitation, without any worries about failure. They seemed like an unstoppable force, one that, as they changed into adults, they simply lost to the wind, replacing wonder with treachery.

“I’m glad they like you.” Ryan turned around to see Rarity coming down the stairs. “It’s nice to see them look up to anypony with so much admiration.”

Ryan breathed in deep, unsure of how to respond. The truth never hurts. “Well, I kind of wish they wouldn’t. I’m not that great of a role-model.”

“Nonsense!” Rarity exclaimed. “You’ve only been helpful to us, and we’ve learned a good bit from you. I’m certain that you’re a fine role-model. It’s not like you’re telling them to go out and commit crimes.”

Ryan chuckled. “No, I suppose not.”

Rarity walked into the kitchen and went through her fridge, looking for food. She decided on a head of lettuce, and walked back to the table with it in her mouth. Ryan decided to follow her into the kitchen and leaned up against the wall, then remembered that he had yet to eat as well. Quietly, he walked over to the fridge and went through it, eventually settling on some kind of breakfast pastry that looked like a croissant.

He sat down and started chewing away. “So, Ryan. Plans for today?” Rarity asked.

Ryan wasn’t that into small talk, but he could manage it. “Not sure. I could go around and find stuff to do, but that hardly qualifies as a plan. Maybe I’ll head to the gym.”

“Ooh, that sounds great!” What? Rarity hated the idea of being sweaty and nasty. “Maybe you’ll run into Rainbow Dash. She’s going to be looking for you.”

Ryan’s ears perked at that. “What? Why? And how do you know that?”

“Twilight sent me a message last night that I read after chewing you out.” Spike’s message delivering ability must have been a really handy thing to have. “And I would bet that Rainbow wants to thank you. You know, for saving her life.”

“I’ve saved lives before, and I didn’t ask for thanks then either. Besides, she doesn’t exactly like me. I can’t say that I expect real gratitude.”

Rarity leveled her gaze at him. “Now, Ryan, just because she didn’t like you doesn’t mean that she can’t be genuinely gracious that you SAVED HER LIFE. Just listen to her when she finds you later; I’m sure it will be from her heart.”

Ryan stuffed the rest of the pastry in his mouth. “All right, fine. I guess I’ll head to the gym later, see if she finds me there.”

Rarity beamed at him. “Splendid! Now, you get going. I have work to do, and you’ll only be in the way.” Rarity used her magic to lift Ryan up and toss him to the basement door.

She hadn’t controlled the throw much at all, and Ryan went stumbling down the stairs through the door, grunting and groaning all the way. At the bottom, he hit with a loud and unceremonious thud, landing square on his chest. Once he was set to go again, he got up and got himself dressed.

He donned his usual outfit, which was everything minus the cloak and the armor vest, and set out into town. Outside, he could see that no one was around or about today, as it was cold and snowy. Where, then, were the fillies going to get their construction cutie marks? He ignored the question and opted to go to the park and just sit down for a time before going to the gym. In the park, he could sit quietly and be in a peaceful place.

The walk to the park was short and silent, with not a flake of snow coming from the sky. Today, it was completely clear, not a cloud in sight. It was quite the change from yesterday, when it was dark and forbidding, ready to step out and kill whoever crossed it.

“Quite the transformation.” Ryan thought to himself.

In the park was exactly what he was expecting; his bench, the same trees, and total silence. It was all he could ask for, all he had been asking for. That was what he was preparing to live in the forest for. A place where he could be secluded, quiet, and alone with his crimes.

But, as always, things just wouldn’t go the way he wanted. “Ryan!”

Ryan sighed, knowing exactly who the loud, scratchy voice belonged to. He hadn’t expected to deal with this so early. “Hello, Rainbow.” he responded, going to his bench and taking a seat. “What brings you out so early?”

Rainbow had been flying about twenty feet off the ground and made a dive-bomb for where Ryan was just standing. “Hey.” she said as she landed.

After landing, she just sort of stood there, in her scarf, saddle, and boots, staring at the human in front of her, trying to formulate what she wanted to say. Meanwhile, Ryan simply waited, starting back at first, then looking away to take in the scenery as Rainbow thought. She couldn’t have been more thankful for that. The less he looked into her eyes while she talked, the easier it would be.

“So.” she started.

“So.”

Rainbow fiddled at the ground with the tips of her hooves, her eyes following suit. “So. I, uhh... Twilight told me... Uh, she said that you kinda... saved me.”

“Yeah.” Rainbow’s gaze shifted to Ryan’s face. He was so casual in his words, and it even showed on his face. How was he so cool about it?

“Umm... yeah. I wanted to thank you, for that. You know.”

“Okay.” Ryan replied, not sure if the mare was telling the truth.

“You think I’m lying.”

Well, she guessed it. “Honestly? Yes.”

“Why?”

Ryan gave her a flat look and crossed his arms. “Let’s see; you hate me, for one. You said how you want me to go away and never come back. You haven’t respected me in the slightest, and you’ve been outright afraid of me. I would bet that you’re only thanking me because you were told to.”

That last one hit Rainbow like a slap across the face. “Hey!” she said, losing her cool. “I’m trying to thank you here! You saved my life, I can be grateful for that, can’t I? Just because I was bad to you before doesn’t mean I can’t thank you and start being better, okay?”

Ryan blinked at the mare, who now stood huffing and angry before him, like she was ready to pounce on him and eat his face. “Hmm.” he said. She was angry. At him. For not believing her. Maybe she was genuine. “I believe you.”

“Well, I-” The anger came to an abrupt end. “What?”

“I believe you. I can see that you’re serious. I can also see that you’re swallowing a lot of pride by doing this.” Rainbow’s face turned slightly red and she turned away. “You’re a good pony for that.”

The red got a little deeper. “Thanks.”

“Yeah.” Ryan said with finality.

But Rainbow stuck around. “Yeah.” Curious, Ryan raised an eyebrow at her, though she didn’t seem to notice. “And, uhh, I wanted to really thank you for saving me. I’d be dead in a lake right now if it weren’t for you, after all.”

Before she had a chance to reach into her saddle and pull something out, Ryan had to get one word in. “Well, I can’t promise you that I’ll be very good, but I can certainly try my hardest.”

Rainbow’s face turned completely red and her hooves failed her for a moment, going completely astray and missing the intended target. “Hey!” she shouted.

Ryan couldn’t keep himself from laughing and smiling at her dismay, and very quickly, the laughter became contagious and spread to the mare. “Very funny.” she said between chuckles. “But seriously, I wanted to give you this.”

She pulled her hoof out, holding (How, for God’s sake?) a small slip of paper. “What is it?” Ryan asked as he took it from her. It read “WB 12/4”.

“It’s a ticket to the Wonderbolts show up in Canterlot this Tuesday. I thought you might want to go see them in action, and since I’ll be there, I can help you navigate the stadium.”

Ryan opened his eyes extra wide and looked at the ticket. Rainbow had given him something of actual value here, both monetary and sentimentally. This had significance.

“Wow, thanks.” he said, pocketing the ticket. “That means more than I think you know.”

Rainbow smiled at him, but not with her usual, cocky smile. It wa as gentle smile, one that displayed care and compassion, one that conveyed a feeling of friendship. Ryan hadn’t seen a smile like directed at him in a long time, really. And you know what? It felt pretty damn good.

“Don’t mention it.” she said. “Meet me at the station Tuesday morning at eight. Twilight and Rarity both know that you’ll be missing work on Tuesday and Wednesday, so don’t worry about them.”

Ryan stood up from his seat and stretched out his legs. “I’ll see you then.”

Rainbow hopped up into the air. “See you then!” And she sped off, clearly in a much better state than when she arrived.

With a ticket in his pocket and a schedule for the week, Ryan took off from his seat in the park. For some reason, he felt a need to go and work out. Right now, he had to go to the gym, get stronger. It would be useful for later.

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

Discord felt more than a little bit happy that Ryan accepted the ticket and the apology. In fact, he was so happy that he decided to play a little prank on Luna. Nothing huge, just pick up Starstep in his sleep and put him under her covers in a compromising position. Odds were pretty good that Ryan would have a name for it.

Other than that, he was having a ball, playing around with the residents of the castle. He hadn’t actually been watching Ryan as intently as he probably should lately, barely taking so much as a look at him during November. Ever since he shot down Celestia on Nightmare Night, he had pretty much decided that he would have to give the boy some time before he took a look at him again. He had really hoped that he would take on the call.

Even so, he had been fairly justified in not opting to take it. After all, he had gone through enough at the hands of terrorists in his life. He had no reason, desire, or obligation to anyone to have more done to him. Celestia thought that he could handle it, but she had yet to actually see these gryphons in battle. They were ferocious. Maybe not as clever or trained as Ryan, but still ferocious.

Ryan was in a tough spot at this point. Discord knew that Celestia would continue to believe that only Ryan was able to do this. She had been that way since the olden days; when she got on something, she stayed on it for the LONGEST time. That was part of why Discord had always been at odds with her; she was so resistant to new ideas.

Which was why Discord found it odd that she was so willing to go straight to Ryan instead of trying out her special mission tems for the rescue. Sure, the Nighthawks were gone right now, but she still had other Air Guard Assets; the 22nd Rapid Acquisition, Prosecution, Termination, and Objective Reconnaissance battalion was a good one to go with. Or the 35th Joint Strike Force. Those were her top two pegasus assets, her favorite overall, yet she refused to use them. Of course, they did require rather large teams to operate effectively, so maybe those units weren’t the best for the mission.

But back to Ryan! He was going to have to deal with indirect, pestering requests from the princess for a while at least, was Discord’s bet. They would be really annoying too; Ryan wouldn’t be able to outright say that he wouldn’t do it because Celestia would make the “request” in a public place with other ponies. He had to control his responses more than any other time, and word them more cleverly than ever before.

“‘Tis a shame.” Discord thought as he watched Ryan walk to the gym. “Celestia just can’t seem to see the value of the assets she already has. She needs to learn to be more like her sister; flexible and agile, open and adventurous, accepting and loose. If she were, she would be happier and have peace with those stupid gryphons.”

As he thought on the actual wording of his thoughts, another little prank came to be in his head. “Ooh, now THAT should be fun!” Happy with Ryan and how life seemed to be going, Discord reeled in his mind’s eye and prepared to torment poor young Starstep once again.

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

Tuesday came by like any other day, though when Ryan awoke, he knew that it would be different from any other day. Rainbow was bringing him to Canterlot to see an airshow, bringing along an attitude that wouldn’t make the human feel like he had to just leave and stick to his cave. It was set to be an interesting day.

As per the norm, Ryan was up fairly early, right around six, so he got changed as quickly as he could and set out. Since he knew it was cold, and would be especially so up in the mountain city, he opted to wear his armor under his vest and jacket. While it wasn’t massively warm, it did provide something, and Ryan didn’t expect to be needing a lot up there once they were inside the stadium.

As Ryan exited the boutique, he set the beret on his head and headed out to the train station. It was early and cold, so, as always, there was no one out. Lately, he had become fascinated with how such a populated town could seem so empty to anyone who wouldn’t know better. The lights were all off and there was no movement save for his own through the snowy ground. It was like the world of Fallout, almost.

Ryan arrived at the train station in not time and found himself surprised to see Rainbow Dash already there, waiting impatiently for the train. Or him. He wasn’t entirely sure.

“Morning, Rainbow.” he greeted as he stepped up onto the platform.

Rainbow yawned loudly, an action that spread easily to Ryan. “Yeah, morning.” she replied.

“You arrived here early.”

“Well, I don’t want to risk missing the train to the best airshow ever!” Rainbow shouted excitedly. “I mean, why did you come so early?”

Ryan stuck a finger in his ear, wishing the ponies weren’t so loud all the time. “Well, I’m always up early. I just planned on waiting here for the train and you to show up, but I guess now I’m just looking for the train.”

“Yep.”

Ryan looked around and found a bench and sat. Who wants to stand for an hour and a half while they wait for a train? Feeling the same way, Rainbow decided to take a seat next to him on the bench, playfully shoving him aside so she could lay down and nap. She fell asleep almost instantly, so Ryan was left alone for the rest of the wait, feeling awkward as Rainbow moved around in her sleep and set her head on his lap.

“This is weird.” he concluded quickly.

The horn of a train blasted in the morning air, causing a stir in the sleeping Rainbow, but failing to wake her up. “Get up, Rainbow.” Ryan ordered, poking her in the ear. “Time to get going.” Rainbow just mumbled something and rolled. Ryan sighed. “Wonderbolts.” he said, leaning right into her ear.

Her eyes shot open and she burst into the air, striking Ryan in the nose as she rose up. “Where?!” she asked. She looked around for a second, then turned her attention back to Ryan. At first, she was a bit peeved, but when she saw that she might have nearly broken his nose, her anger ebbed away. “Sorry.” she said as she came back to the ground.

Ryan rubbed his nose tenderly. “Don’t worry.” Ryan told her. The Wraith had done worse to him. “I’m good.”

Rainbow let out a sigh of relief, glad that she hadn’t inadvertently angered the human she was trying to make amends with. Knowing that Ryan wasn’t hurt, she turned around and took in the new scene. There were lots of ponies on the platform now, many with bags and suitcases, other, like her and Ryan, with only what they were wearing. They were all dressed for the cold weather, wearing scarves and boots and saddles. Some were even snottily dressed, like they were actually from Canterlot or something.

The train began to come to a stop, screeching loudly as it did so. In an effort to ignore it, Rainbow turned her attention to Ryan. His clothes were very different from anything the ponies were wearing. He wore his jacket, but he must have had something under it, because it looked really bulky and almost jagged in spots. He had long pants on, courtesy of Rarity, and he wore a pair of shoes that he had said once offhandedly were made for running. It was a very unique appearance he was giving off.

Rainbow was about to ask him about it when the train ponies shouted out, “All aboard!”

While Rainbow was looking away, Ryan stood up and stretched his back. “Well, we should probably get going.” he said as he walked toward the train.

Rainbow fell in line next to him. “Oh man, I can’t wait! This is always one of their best shows of the whole year!”

Ryan assured her that he would agree as they entered the car and looked for a place to sit. There were very few seats available in the car, many being occupied by groups of four ponies or more. Eventually, after moving all the way to the back, Ryan and Rainbow were able to find themselves a place to sit. After they were seated and the car doors closed, the train got moving and they set off to the city, one pony very much excited and one human curious as to what awaited him up there,

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The train ride had gone well enough, Rainbow explaining to Ryan everything she knew about the Wonderbolts and their training methods. She talked nonstop about how incredibly fast they were and how tough they were when it came to flying. She then went on to tell him about her own training methods, and how she was trying to match the Wonderbolts before she considered actually trying out.

When the train reached the city and everyone disembarked, Rainbow took the lead throguh the city. Ryan had no idea where the stadium was, so it was probably best to leave it to her. Initially, they had to walk through a less-than-nice section of the city, where they were surrounded by sketchy-looking ponies and gryphons who always had their claws and hooves or horns hidden. Ryan kept his hand on his Automag just to be safe.

But that area didn’t take very long to get through, and soon, they were in the nice, snooty, overindulgent section of the city. “I think I might have preferred the other area.” Ryan thought as he compared the two. At least the other area was full of the kinds of people/ponies/gryphons that he was familiar with.

Neither Ryan nor Rainbow seemed to be well-dressed enough to fit in around here, if the looks they were getting were any indication. Rainbow was adept at ignoring them, but Ryan kept finding his own gaze meeting those of the jackass ponies around him, more often than not getting them to look away. It seemed like his little fiasco here when he arrived with Rarity had been long forgotten.

The stadium came into view in all its cloudy and stony glory. “There it is!” Rainbow squealed as a fangirl would.

Ryan thought he should make that known. “You sound like quite the fangirl.”

Rainbow looked up at him with a mock frown. “Well, every mare can have at least one thing that makes them lose it.” She started trotting forward, requiring Ryan to jog alongside her to keep up. “Mine is watching all those Wonderbolts fly around in their tight spandex.”

“The mares or the stallions?” Ryan asked without thought.

“Trade secret.” Rainbow replied, getting Ryan to throw his hands into the air and give up easily. It wasn’t really his business anyway.

When they arrived at the stadium grounds, there was a massive line in front of the gateway in. Ponies were crammed into that line, at least two hundred, all wearing various Wonderbolts paraphernalia. Some wore silly hats, others had flags with their favorite stars on them. There were saddles, scarves, pony coats, ponies with painted faces, and little ones with dolls and such. There was no chance they would get in any time soon that way.

Ryan was about to point this out when Rainbow grabbed his arm and started pulling him in another direction. “Come on, we can get in the special way! That’s what these tickets are for!” Wait, really? They didn’t say anything but “WB 12/4” on them. How could they tell?

His question was answered when Rainbow brought him up to a door with a very large unicorn bouncer in front of it. The magic from his horn glowed a dark blue around the horn and the tickets, somehow checking for authenticity. “Go in.” he ordered. Rainbow squealed again, rather girlishly, and dragged Ryan through the door.

Through the door, Ryan noticed an instant rush of heat from above, implying magical heating, just as he had suspected the place would have. It was a good thing he didn’t bring his cloak, or he might have to leave it somewhere. Rainbow, on the other hand, had to take off her saddle and hang it in some closet for later retrieval, then removed her boots and scarf. When she finished with that, she beckoned to Ryan.

“Come on, let’s go! I’m starving!”

Ryan followed Rainbow through the building, going up a flight of stairs, down two halls, and through one last door. Through that door, there was a very nice room with lavishly decorated dining tables and the wondrous smell of well-prepared food.

A waiter came over to them as they entered. “What can I do for you?” he asked in a less-than-friendly tone.

“We’re here for our special seats.” Rainbow said, flashing her ticket. Ryan pulled his back out as well to avoid causing any trouble.

The waiter looked unsure. “Well, I’m glad to see you have the tickets, but this area requires... formal attire.”

Rainbow’s face deflated. “What?”

Before the waiter had a chance to speak, Ryan cut in, knowing that the mare might cause a scene if it went on to any length. “Well, I’m sure you have clothes for rental, right? Most high-class places where I’m from had such.”

The waiter blinked, then nodded. “Uhh, yes, we do. If the lady would go left down the hall and enter the first door on her right, there will be a changing room with outfits.”

“Go ahead Rainbow.” Ryan said. “I’ll get us our table.” Rainbow wanted to protest, but she knew that this was the only way to get in, so she just stalked off, grumbling the whole way over the fact that she had to make herself “pretty”.

Ryan turned back to the waiter, who still looked unsure. “Well, she will be taken care of. But what of you?” he asked. “We have no formal attire for you, sir. I’m sure you understand.”

Ryan nodded. “I do understand. But please, understand this; what I am wearing IS formal attire. At least, in the human world.” Ryan patted his clothes. “If this isn’t to your class standards, I must say that I find it personally offensive that you would say such things about my race, and I might not be liable to remain here if that is the case.”

The waiter’s eyes bulged from their sockets, exactly the reaction Ryan was looking for. “Oh, my, I am terribly sorry! I just thought that with how similar you seem to be to us, that you had the same fashion! I’m dreadfully sorry.”

“Think nothing of it.” Ryan replied. “But may I enter, is the question?”

“Oh, of course! What is your reservation?”

Ryan thought. “Uhh, try ‘Rainbow Dash’.” The waiter pulled out a list from his waiter uniform and looked it over, nodded, and had Ryan follow him to a table next to the window.

Ryan thanked the waiter and took his seat, glad that he was able to lie his way in. While he waited for Rainbow to show up, he figured he would take a look around, face his seat in the direction of the door like his dad always did back home.

Around him, there were only the highest-class, snottiest ponies one might encounter in Canterlot. Most of them had their menus out and some other form in their hooves, chatting incessantly about one thing or another. None of them looked in his direction, probably not noticing his presence, which was actually a welcome change. There was one in particular, though, who just got under Ryan’s skin for some reason. He was a tall white stallion with a blonde, wavy mane and tail, and wore this ridiculous looking pony suit that only covered his chest. His cutie mark was that weird symbol that you see as a compass on really old maps, but Ryan doubted that that was what he did.

Choosing to ignore the presence of the stallion, Ryan looked out the window at the grounds. Outside, there was what was obviously a racetrack, so that might make the extra forms gambling forms. Rich people and their rich people habits are always the same, it seemed. Also outside was a series of cloud hoops, some of which were white, others which were clearly thunderheads. There were all kinds of interesting obstacles out there that would demand the most of the Wonderbolts flight team. It was no wonder they were the best.

‘So what do you think?”

Ryan turned his head around to see Rainbow Dash wearing a simple white dress walking up to the table. “Of the grounds or you in that dress?” Ryan asked, getting a small blush from the mare. Not sufficient. “‘Cuz either way, I would say that lots of ponies would love to be all over it.”

Rainbow’s blush became a full-on flush on her face, and when she walked over, she gave Ryan a strong punch in the shoulder. “Cool, Ryan. Cool.” Ryan chuckled as he rubbed his shoulder. Damn, she hit him hard. “But yeah, it’s a pretty awesome track. I really want to run it someday.”

“I bet you will, as long as you keep training.” Ryan said simply.

Rainbow grinned at his compliment, obviously enjoying the lack of hostilities. Ryan had to admit that he was enjoying it himself. He picked up his own menu and started going through it. There were, of course, all sorts of vegan options on it. Salads, steamed vegetables, and other things Ryan had never heard of. But there was one thing on it he hadn’t seen coming, one thing that stood out; a slab of beef.

“Is that beef?” Ryan asked.

Rainbow took a second to reply. “Uhh, yeah. They have that for visiting gryphons.”

Rainbow sounded uncomfortable. “I guess that you would be uncomfortable if I ordered it, then?” Ryan asked. He didn’t want to impose.

“No, no, you can order it.” Rainbow said. “I promise not to freak out.” Ryan gave her a look of uncertainty. “No, really. Go ahead, I know you eat meat.”

Well, she did say he could order it. Once Rainbow had decided what she was going to get, Ryan waved over the waiter and they placed the orders. After jotting them down on the paper, the waiter walked off without taking a glance back at Ryan like Ryan had expected him to. Ryan was a strange being to them, so a strange appetite must make sense.

His stomach growled. “This may be awhile.” Ryan thought, looking around at all the other patrons. Given that most of them had ordered first, it was a good bet that they would be first.

He stood from his seat and looked around. There was a salad bar, albeit lightly done, over at the other end of the room. “I’m gonna hit the salad bar while we wait for the actual food.” Ryan said.

“All right then.” Rainbow replied. “While you’re there, could you grab me some bread?”

“Sure.”

Ryah walked off to the other end of the room and took inventory of what they had. There was indeed some bread, which Ryan took immediately and placed on a small plate for Rainbow. After a bit more scanning, Ryan was able to pick out some more bread for himself, some lettuce, tomatoes, and mashed potatoes. There were also little ketchup packets in a tray on the end of the table, of which Ryan grabbed several. You can never have too much ketchup ready.

It didn’t take long for Ryan to get the food. But on the way back, he noticed that there was a stallion, that annoying looking white one, talking to Rainbow. Rainbow’s face had a very distinct look of disgust and disdain on it for the stallion, who had his own look of smugness about him. He kept trying to put his hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder, which she would swat away. Amazing, how much can happen when you’re just going to grab a plate or two of salad items.

Ryan got close enough to hear and slowed down to get the full story. “For the last time, Blueblood, I’m not interested!” Rainbow almost yelled.

“Come now, miss Dash. You must admit that it would be most enjoyable.” Oh boy. “I can assure you that I have the greatest abilities of anyone here. I can make you feel like a real mare.”

“No, you ass!” Rainbow cursed. The one called Blueblood feigned offense. “I don’t want you, and I never will. So leave me alone!”

Ryan was right up behind him now, ready to act. All he needed was one cue. “Come now. I’m royalty! I can give you anything.”

“I’m not a prostitute.” Rainbow growled, baring her teeth.

“Well, then, let me tell you this last thing.” Blueblood lowered his voice dangerously low. “As royalty, I get. Anything. I. Want.”

And that was the cue.

Blueblood had been aggressive, and now, it seemed like it was paying off. After he said that, he noticed the Rainbow mare’s eyes shoot extremely wide, clearly realizing that she couldn’t say no. But at the same time, something cold and circular seemed to be poking the back of his head.

“What do you want?” he asked without turning around. “I’m trying to talk to this mare.”

“I don't give a fuck.” came the response. A male voice, probably another stallion trying to take his mark.

He wouldn’t stand for it! “What do you want, you repugnant knave?!” Blueblood shouted loudly as he spun around.

But his eyes didn’t land on any sort of noble pony. Nay, nopony at all. It was a strange creature with a bizarre instrument in its grasp. “What I want is for you to stop harassing my friend.” it said.

Blueblood took in its full appearance, but focused more on its face and eyes. In the eyes, he saw more rage than he had ever seen before. But it wasn’t a powerful rage, like an inferno that would burn down all of Canterlot. It was a frozen rage, the kind that kills silently and with no visible aftereffect.

“And who are you, to determine what I am doing, or who I am doing it with?”

“I’m Ryan.” the creature replied, placing two small plates on the table where the mare was sitting. “And I’m the guy who won’t tolerate ponies like you existing in the same world as me.” Blueblood was about to respond when Ryan cut him off. “As such, I will give you a choice. You can either leave her alone and go back to your own business, where neither she nor I will be around to speak to you. Or, you can defy me, and we can find out what the inside of your skull looks like.”

“I refuse to-” He stopped. Wait, did Ryan just threaten him? For real? “I... I refuse to let you speak to me this way!”

Ryan cocked his head to the side. “Really?” he said. The human leaned in close, just close enough for his breath to cake Blueblood’s face. “What’re you gonna do about it, bitch?”

Whoever this guy was, he was clearly very unafraid of Blueblood. But at the same time, he didn’t know who he was. “Do you know who I am?” the stallion asked confidently. He had him now.

“Do I give a shit?”

So rude. “I am Prince Blueblood, nephew to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! You bow to me, respect me, and do not hinder me! I am your ruler, and you will treat me as such!”

Ryan furrowed his brow, his eyes becoming slits on his face. “All right.”

Before Blueblood could react, Ryan brought his hand back and then threw it forward, striking him across the muzzle with the instrument in his hand. As Blueblood fell back, Ryan followed the strike with a knee to the chest, raising Blueblood into the air, then put his hand on his chest and shoved him back onto a nearby table, throwing him down on it full force. The table was smashed to pieces under Blueblood, splintering and cutting his back. The couple sitting at the table screamed as the prince went down.

“Ahg!” he shouted as the pain shot through him.

He tried to get up , but the pain was too much, and a large weight on his side kept him down. “You know what makes me really angry? Ryan asked, grinding his foot into Blueblood’s side.

Blueblood couldn’t respond. “What makes me angry is people in positions of power who think they can do whatever the hell they want. You think you can take what you want from us. You think you can abuse us, treat us like garbage. Well, guess what?”

“You only have power because we give it to you. If people, or I guess ponies, were to just stand together and say ‘No’, you would have no power. They wouldn’t listen to you. They wouldn’t follow your law. They follow your law because it’s worked so far. But what you do, taking advantage of that? It makes me very angry.”

“Ryan, stop!” Rainbow yelled from the sidelines.

Ryan let up and took his foot off the prince. Looking around, he could see that everyone was watching him kicking the crap out of the prince, some with looks of fear, others with looks of glee. He stepped away from the pathetic prince and walked back over to the table, where Rainbow was waiting for him.

“Consider yourself lucky, Prince Blueblood. I let you go this time. But if you try anything again, I will hurt you. For real.”

Ryan took his seat and started eating his bread, ignoring the looks of those around him. At first, Rainbow looked around, worried that they might be kicked out for what just happened, but when no one moved to come at them, she sat down, though she still felt uneasy. After a few minutes, she decided to do what Ryan was doing and ignore the other ponies. Pretty soon, they were unlooked at and no longer noticed.

Rainbow chewed slowly and quietly on her food. “Uhh...” She wanted to muster up the courage to thank Ryan for doing what he did, but for some reason, it was really hard at the moment. “Thanks.”

“Your welcome.” Ryan replied. “He had it coming.”

The mare chuckled lightly. “Yeah, he’s had it coming for a while now.”

She went on to explain the events of the last Grand Galloping Gala to the human, telling Ryan about how Blueblood had mistreated Rarity there and how generally he was a total ass. She also told him about the other adventures they had, from Fluttershy’s insanity to Rainbow’s own disappointment at not being noticed by the Wonderbolts. Ryan listened quietly, occasionally throwing in his own comment here and there. It was a pleasant conversation.

“MARES AND GENTLECOLTS!”

The announcer was loud and sounded large, like an announcer at a good sporting event. This had potential to be pretty good.

“WELCOME TO THE CANTERLOT RACE! TODAY, WE GET TO SEE WHO IS FASTEST; SOARIN’, SPITFIRE, OR THUNDERBOLT!” He then went on to tell the crowd about the obstacle course above the track, which would be featured after the race.

As soon as he was done talking and the crowd started cheering, the Wonderbolts came out to race. Rainbow Dash started screaming for Spitfire, trying to demean the other two fliers at the same time. Of course, Ryan had to root for Soarin’, them being drinking buddies and all.

They were buddies. Friends, even. Ryan had saved his girlfriend from imminent bodily harm, after all. He did it because he was angry at the Wraith, though. Right? So did that make them friends? He remembered seeing Nadine again in the alley, and he attacked because of that. At least, that’s what he thought he did. Why did he help? What drove him to do that?

His thoughts were interrupted by the horn blowing and the racers speeding off down the track. They were fast, to be sure. From the distance Ryan was watching at, he could see them, but from down low, they were probably just blurs to the spectators. As they passed by the crowds, hats were lost and the winds from the pegasi tore at the ponies, causing them to list to the side from the force.

The race didn’t last that long, only about six minutes. A pony can only fly so fast for so long, one would suppose. The winner was Spitfire, followed very closely by Soarin’, and then by Thunderbolt. All three of them were very amiable afterwards, hugging each other and waving to the crowds, who was clearly very satisfied with their performance. The only ponies who were unhappy were up with Ryan and Rainbow, and they were only unhappy because they lost their bets and their money.

The following stunt show was a sight to behold. The Wonderbolts made the tightest turned imaginable, going more than ninety degrees on numerous occasions. They shot through hoops and closing doors made of the thunderhead clouds, flashed by each other less than an inch apart. It was astonishing that they never struck each other or screwed up in the air and got hurt. No wonder Rainbow wanted to join.

Then, an intermission came, along with the food. The waiter, a unicorn, carried the plates on his back under a dome, head held high, and eyes closed. That last part was really unnecessary though.

“Lunch.” he said simply, setting the plates down with magic.

“Awesome.” Ryan replied, taking the dome off his dish. What he saw turned his mouth into a lake; a beautifully cut and cooked steak, seasoned with pepper and onions, the juices culminating at the base of the cut of meat. The smell wafted off of the delicious meal and into Ryan’s nostrils, immersing them in the familiar taste and smell of cooked meat. It had been so long since he had a decent meal... he would have to savor this.

Rainbow scrunched her nose at Ryan’s food, but when she opened up her own, her mouth practically became a waterfall. In the center of her plate was a Bloomin’ Onion, like at Outback Steakhouse, surrounded by several very well-seasoned sections of assorted cut veggies. When Ryan looked at her plate, he found his own mouth watering, but not nearly to the extent to which it watered at his plate. Without waiting to be polite, they dug into their meals and made quick work of them.

Ryan let out a large belch at the end of his feeding. “Sorry.” he said. “I just couldn’t help myself.”

“Oh, no prob-” Before Rainbow could finish her sentence, she let out her own behemoth of a belch, attracting the attention of more than a few other tables and waiters. She slapped a hoof to her face, which was completely red, and her eyes darted from left to right, gauging how bad it was. As she saw how many ponies were looking at her, she started to sink lower and lower into her seat.

“Bahahahaha!” Ryan couldn’t help himself, it was just too funny. Here was the ordinarily socially uncaring Rainbow Dash, shrinking away because of a mannish belch, the likes of which she made regularly. That girlish fandom in her was coming out a little strong, it seemed.

She frowned at him, her embarrassment getting worse with every laugh. “Oh, stuff it.”

“I would, but it might come back out if I did.” Ryan decided to go with light teasing, seeing as they were in public and Rainbow was clearly embarrassed.

Gradually, Rainbow regained her comfort and was able to once again ignore the other ponies, getting them to, once again, ignore her and Ryan. And after a minute of calming chuckles, Ryan was able to continue their conversation.

“So, how long is the intermission?” he asked.

“They’re usually about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Wonderbolts have to eat too.” Her words made sense, a sense that, for some reason, most people don’t seem to have. Famous people aren’t superhuman, or superpony. They’re just like everyone else, just talented in certain areas.

Ryan leaned back in his seat and threw his hands behind his head. “Well, since we have time to kill, what do we do?”

Rainbow shrugged. “I don't know. Talk?” She looked around. “I don't think our premo seats will still be open if we leave.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

So they sat there, talking about various things. At first, it was all about Rainbow, but later on, it became about Ryan and his world. Ryan ended up telling her about the US Navy Blue Angels, and how closely they resembled the Wonderbolts. They even had the same color scheme and similar flight stunts, something Rainbow found fascinating. The conversation quickly turned to other forms of flight, and eventually to the fastest planes around.

Unfortunately, Ryan didn’t notice a certain white stallion coming up to them from the side, positively steaming from anger. He stomped over, completely unnoticed by the distracted pair, and placed himself beside the table, releasing loud huff to announce himself.

The conversation ceased, with Ryan just tilting his head to look at the prince. “Problem?”

“There is a problem.” Blueblood responded maliciously. “YOU are the problem. You have no business being here, and neither does your pathetic marefriend.”

“Hey!” Rainbow said, flying up into the air.

Ryan put up his hand to stop her. “Well, let me correct you on some things. We aren’t together. This trip was a gift from her to me to make up for some things that are all in the past now. Second, she isn’t pathetic, and I won’t tolerate you berating her so unjustifiably.” Ryan ended the statement with a strong air of finality on the issue. If Blueblood decided to keep it up, he might have a little something coming his way that Ryan knew all too well he would get in trouble for.

“Yeah!” Rainbow interjected. “I’m gonna be a Wonderbolt someday, so don’t think you can treat me like that! I’m the fastest in Equestria, and never forget it!”

“Who gave you that nickname?” Blueblood asked, taking up a defensive stand. Ryan knew that something was coming, he knew that Blueblood was about to do something he would regret. And by God if Ryan wouldn’t make sure he did regret it.

“Your friends, or your local peasant stallions?”

Rainbow’s jaw dropped like a sack of grain at his words. She had no response to him; that one would stoop so low as to say that to a mare with no backing whatsoever was almost unheard of. The other ponies around had heard him as well, and many of them found themselves slack-jawed ta his boldness. Most of the mares were clearly pissed, and they looked like they were ready to jump on him and beat him.

But Ryan had another idea. “Alright.” he said, standing up casually. “I’ve had enough of you.”

Blueblood turned to him to berate the peasant some more, but when he faced him, he found himself staring down the tube of the object in Ryan’s hand. He wanted to let the human know how pathetic he looked, holding that silly thing like that in a threatening manner, but something stopped him. For just a split-second, he saw the Rainbow mare’s face change from a look of fury to a look of horror. It was enough to make him think for a moment.

A moment too much. “Ryan!” the mare shouted.

The open tube had been pointing directly into Blueblood’s eye at first, but Ryan moved it at the last second, pointing it slightly upward and away from Blueblood’s face. Then, before he knew how to react, an ear-pounding BOOM roared through the room, and he found himself being hurled back by the top of his head.

There were screams from all around the room, ponies running every which way and knocking tables over. The Rainbow mare had dove away, covering her ears with her hooves. Blueblood would have covered his ears with his own hooves, had his head not demanded that they go there to apply pressure to a massive pain up there.

“I don't know if horns grow back on their own, but you better hope they do.”

Blueblood felt his horn; it was gone! Shattered, blown to pieces! A large chunk of it was sitting right in front of his head, a chunk that he found himself oddly fascinated with. There was a piece of him, a part of his body, sitting there, no longer attached to him. Out of it, some kind of strange, golden liquid, one that almost looked like a magic aura, flowed freely, pooling around the horn. As he noticed that, he noticed the feeling of something trickling down his own forehead.

It was the very same substance, and when he looked at his hooves, he noticed that they were covered in it. The pain in his forehead, clearly centered around his horn, was subsiding to the shock of seeing a piece of him so far from where it was supposed to be.

Blueblood realized what was going on; that instrument had smashed his horn off. He had no idea how, but it had done it. And it could probably do the same to the rest of him.

Blueblood looked up at the human, a renewed sense of fear in his eyes, and trembled. He had never been so afraid, never encountered something so barbaric, so powerful. This human put fear in him. And it had no fears of Blueblood. Nor, likely, of the princesses.

“Please!” he shouted, pushing himself back ineffectively. “Don’t hurt me!”

Ryan cocked his head to the side, then put the pistol against his hip. “Why?” he asked, a tiny grin splaying out on his face.

He pulled the gun back up and aimed it at Blueblood. “Maybe I should? he said. Blueblood whimpered. “Maybe I can just kill you, save someone else the trouble later. I could, you know.”

“Please!” Blueblood begged. “Please, spare me! I won’t do anything else, I swear!”

Ryan sighed. “I know that you’re just saying that, that you aren’t serious or truthful. You know it, too. So don’t lie to me about this. You need to offer me something real, an actual reason for me to let you live.”

Blueblood tried to think of something, anything, that would get him out. Then it popped into his mind. With a new sense of power, and a passion to get back at the human, he said, “You’ll go to prison for the remainder of your days.”

Ryan didn’t move. He didn’t speak. Blueblood had him! Even the rainbow mare, who was peeking at them from under the table now, could obviously see the severity of these consequences. There was no way for Ryan to get out now.

“Back home, they would give me death.” he said in a stale voice. “You guys really don’t know what real crime and punishment is, do you?”

And the fear was back. “No! Y-you can’t do this!”

Ryan simpered at him. “Wrong answer!”

And with that, the final shot from the Automag was loosed into the world, the .44 magnum bullet whizzing towards its target. It hit home, smashing it to pieces and sending bits of it all over the place. The target crumpled under the destructive power of the bullet, falling apart and going limp on the ground.

Blueblood stared up at the human, terror across his face. “Well.” Ryan said, holstering the gun. “I guess I missed.” The human smiled sneered at the prince as he fainted on the ground in front of the tableleg Ryan just destroyed.

Goal achieved, Ryan took a look around. How had so much damage been done to this room in that fight? They hadn’t even moved from this area. It must have been the other patrons. Of course, Ryan would probably get most of the blame.

While he surveyed the damage, Rainbow came out of her hiding spot and stood next to him. “Wow.” she commented. “You, uhh... really know how to be scary.”

“Thanks.” Ryan replied without thought.

“I thought you were gonna kill him.”

The boy laughed heartily. “You know, I just might have.” The Prince was still breathing, but that wasn’t the point. “Come on, we should probably leave.”

Rainbow nodded. “That would be best.”

They made their way out of the stadium, moving through panicked crowds and angry fans who were missing the second half of the show. Apparently, the sound of the shot had rang throughout the whole stadium, and everypony was told to evacuate. Ryan could only hope that he would be able to get out unnoticed, as he had no desire to deal with the shitstorm that was about to ground all his flights out of the city.

Too late, though. “You there! HALT!”

Rainbow spun around and Ryan halted his movement. “Gah, fuck.”

He turned around to find himself face to face with a dozen royal guards, all in their impractical golden armor and carrying their primitive spears. After counting them, Ryan determined that he would be able to take them, if he was so inclined, and if he was willing to sacrifice any of his 1911 ammunition. He still had all fourteen shots left.

“Don’t move.” the obvious leader ordered as he approached.

“Do I look like I’m trying to leave?” Ryan asked back sassily.

Rainbow gave him a disapproving look, though it went unnoticed. “We have reports that you were involved in a fight in the stadium and that you are the source of the explosion.”

“That is correct.” Both the guard and Rainbow reeled back, stunned at his giving up the information so easily.

“Uhh, right. We need the details.”

Ryan was about to start talking, when, of course, a very angry, very nasty-looking prince came out of the building behind them. “Arrest him!”

“When did I tell you you could get up?” Ryan asked without turning.

The guard looked confusedly back and forth between Ryan and the prince, trying to figure out who would speak to the prince in such a way. “What’s going on here?”

And off Blueblood went, whining about how Ryan beat the shit out of him and then smashed his horn. But it didn’t stop there. He started making crap up, saying that he pulled a knife on the prince, and that he stabbed him with it. Sure, he had a knife, and the thought crossed his mind, but that never actually happened. At the end of his tale, the guard looked shocked.

He turned to Ryan, unsure of how to safely do this. “You are coming with me.” he ordered.

“Uh, how about fuck you?" Ryan replied. Now, he had no intention of being taken by authorities.

The guard furrowed his brow at the human. “I’m not asking.”

“And I’m not telling.” The guard raised an eyebrow at the odd phrase, but ignored it.

“Guards!” he shouted, getting his spear from where it hung on his side. “Arrest him!”

The guards started moving in around Ryan to capture him. Ryan, in turn, moved himself into position, namely by shoving Rainbow away and getting as low as possible. He considered grabbing Blueblood, but figured that kidnapping would only make the inevitable punishment from Luna that much worse. It ha been a while since he last saw her; this was NOT how he wanted to see her again.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?”

Two royal Canterlot voices boomed through the air, deafening all who stood in the general area. Many ponies were as affected by them as by the gunshot, and dove for cover, sticking their hooves in their ears. The guards all ceased their actions and stood at attention, whereas Blueblood looked elated that the cavalry had arrived.

The two princesses floated down from the sky, eyes aglow, wings flared. When they landed, they were indisputably unhappy with what was going on. As they stomped over to Ryan’s position, they took careful note of all parties involved.

And Luna was incredibly displeased. “Ryan. What have you done here?” she asked. Then, in the blink of an eye, she and her sister were before him. “Why are you involved in this mayhem?”

Ryan went to speak, but again, found himself interrupted. “Auntie, he assaulted me!”

“Shut it, Blue.” Ryan ordered in his most commanding voice. Blueblood’s jaw shut instantly, hesitant to continue. He hadn’t heard him talk like this; he was serious now. Even Luna had to admit that it was intimidating. “Let me tell you the truth of the matter.”

Ryan went on to explain how Blueblood had been harassing and trying to intimidate Rainbow into going home with him, and how Ryan responded the first time. Luna did not seem to care, though Celestia clearly showed some level of concern in her face. When he went on to explain the second confrontation, Luna started to look a little less than furious, but still more than angry. Celestia, on the other hand, looked like she was ready to shank someone.

“Blueblood.” the princesses said, murder in their voices. Ryan swallowed hard; it was probably directed at him.

“Yes?” he replied shakily. Whoever you are, wherever you are, when you’re around two very powerful, very angry princesses who could literally murder you and get away with it, it tends to put your own lack of power into perspective.

“Go to the castle. We will speak with you later.” Blueblood’s eyes shrank to pinholes, and he sprinted off, tail between his legs, leaving a trail of that weird stuff behind him.

“As for you.” the princesses said to Ryan, still together.

“I was defending Rainbow from your rapist of a nephew.” Ryan said, still smoldering from earlier.

The princesses were silent for a moment. “I understand.” Luna said, her eyes losing their glow.

Celestia sighed, her own eyes calming down. “Yes, I as well. We will address this problem later.”

Ryan was surprised, to say the least. He thought that shooting a member of the royal family would have consequences. He had severely injured the prince, possibly crippling the one thing that might have made him special. But then, from the reactions of the princesses, Ryan could tell that this guy was problematic. Maybe it was a fitting punishment.

“Rainbow Dash!” Luna shouted.

She shot back over in the air, looking ready for a fight. “What is it, princess?”

“Can you vouch for everything Ryan has said?”

“Yes.” she replied without hesitation. “He’s telling the truth; he doesn’t have reason to lie. You can trust him.”

Ryan looked up at the rainbow mare, a smile creeping onto his face, then turned back to the princesses. “I hope that I can go now.” Ryan said.

Luna nodded, but Celestia shook her head. “I am sorry.” she said, causing Luna to spin around to face her sister with accusing eyes. “But I need to get an official statement from you.”

When she said “I’m sorry”, Ryan felt himself tense up and prepare to flee the scene, but when Celestia finished her statement, he let out a pent-up breath he didn’t know he was holding. Still, though, he couldn’t help but suspect something.

“Okay then.”

Celestia nodded. “Come with me, we shall do this elsewhere.”

Ryan glanced at Rainbow and Luna, both of whom gave him reassuring smiles and encouraged him to follow. Rainbow helped a little, but with Luna’s reassurance, RYan knew that it would be safe to go.

“Lead the way.” he said, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Celestia turned around and started walking off with Ryan behind her. As they furthered themselves from the large group of ponies still exiting the stadium, Celestia slowed down, allowing Ryan to start walking next to her for a time. Neither spoke as they walked, Ryan waiting for Celestia to initiate and Celestia trying to determine what she was going to say.

When Celestia deemed that they had distanced themselves enough from everypony, she had them stop. Now, they were standing outside the Wonderbolts Entrance, where there was normally beefed up security, and there were mirrors all over the place.

“Let’s sit.” Celestia said, walking over to a wall and planting he rhind on it, sliding down to the ground and into a sitting position. Ryan shrugged to himself and decided that he may as well sit also. Ryan walked to a spot about six feet from the princess and dropped to the ground, legs crossed.

“So we’re here.” Ryan said, crossing his arms in his lap. “But I’m not sure what needs to be said.”

Celestia breathed deeply and quietly for a minute, looking at the ground. “You know why I brought you over here.”

“It seems pretty obvious.”

She sighed. “I know that you don’t want to do it. You don’t have any obligation to me, my subjects, or even Luna.”

“You’re right.” Ryan said. He put his hands on the ground and started to push himself up, looking away. “I don’t.”

“Please.”

Ryan stopped. He looked at the princess before him, sitting against a concrete wall, a bastion of light against a gray canvas. Her face looked not serious, but sad. She was sad, sad about Ryan and Blazer and everything that was happening. She could hide it from everyone else, but Ryan could see it plain as day.

“Please... we need help.”

“What makes you think I can help?” Ryan said, standing all the way up. “Why do you think I can do anything?”

Celestia looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Because you have more to lose in this fight than anypony else.”

Ryan took in a deep breath and let it out slowly and deliberately. “If there is one thing you need to know about me, princess,” Ryan started. He lowered his voice to a whisper, just barely audible over the chaos not too far away. “It’s that I have nothing to lose any more.”

Celestia stared into the human’s eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Then, sighing deeply, she stood up, and looked down at Ryan sadly. “If only you could see.”

“I can see.” Ryan said, his voice like a razor. “I can see that I’m done here.”

He started to walk away without the princess, but she trotted to catch up to him. “Very well.” she said in defeat. “I can’t make you do anything.”

Ryan nodded his head slowly. “I’m glad we understand each other.”

There was a pause, an unusual stop in conversation that told Ryan exactly what the princess was thinking. “I suppose, then, that we have nothing else to discuss.”

“We don’t.”

Nothing else was said, no more words exchanged between the two that day. They just walked back to Luna and Rainbow in silence, doing their best to hide the growing tensions between them. When they came back to Luna and Rainbow, they were greeted with oblivious smiles and pleasantries.

Rainbow flew up and tapped Ryan on the head, pushing on the beret. “Hey, so is everything done?” she asked.

Ryan looked at the princess, then back to Rainbow. “Yes, I would say that it’s finished. Unless something comes up again, then I’ll probably have to restate my story.”

Celestia flashed a look, just for a split-moment, of disappointment, one that Luna just managed to catch. She figured it was probably just something about Ryan wanting to further injure Blueblood, something she understood perfectly.

She walked up to the boy from behind and tapped his shoulder, and when he turned around, she grabbed him in powerful hug. “It is good to see you again!” she said, squeezing him as tight as she could. He was lucky that her forelegs weren’t designed for the motion, or it might actually be bad.

“Good to see you too.” he strained out. When he finished, Luna dropped him, and he barely managed to catch himself when his feet hit the ground. “How’s life?”

“Life is nice.” Luna replied. “I trust Ponyville is treating you well?”

Ryan looked at Rainbow and smirked. “It seems to be getting better over time.”

Luna beamed at him, oddly excited about his comment, and was about to continue speaking when a guard ran up to the group from the crowd.

“Princesses, your presence is needed at the castle. The leader of the Southern Gryphon Colonies is scrying us through the mirror. He needs to speak with you both.”

Luna frowned frustratedly at the guard. “Very well. Sister?”

Celestia was already in the air. “Yes, I am on my way there now. Don’t take too long.”

With that, the princess of the sun was gone. “Well, I suppose I should go.” Luna said, just glad to say goodbye. “I’ll see you again soon, I hope!”

She jumped at Ryan and hugged him around the neck, a hug which Ryan returned heartily. “Yeah, I hope so too.”

At the guard’s urging, the princess disengaged herself from the human and took some steps back, waving to him as a teleportation spell flashed into being and she disappeared.

With nothing keeping them there and no reason to stay, Rainbow grabbed Ryan by the arm and started dragging him off. “Let’s head home.” she said.

Ryan went with her without question, but wondered why she wasn’t eager to stay. They trotted and jogged away from the insanity of the stadium, angry fans still yelling every which way and guards trying to keep the peace. As they got further and further away from the stadium, the sounds faded away more and more, eventually leaving them with the standard noises of any big city.

They reached the train station quickly, though because they were missing the second half of the show, they were over two hours early to get their train.

“Rainbow, we’re kind of early.” Ryan said as they walked onto the platform.

Rainbow shrugged. “Yeah, well, they’re pretty lenient. We can just board the next train that shows up.”

Ryan could accept that; terrorism didn’t seem to be a huge problem here. While they waited, standing there on the platform, surrounded by less-than-lavishly dressed ponies of varying colors and sizes, Ryan tried to think of anything that could make sense of everything that was happening. Life was becoming weird to him; not weird in a “something is fishy” kind of way, but in a “I don’t know what’s going to happen next” kind of way. Nothing seemed to make any sense, nor did it become any clearer as the days went on.

The blaring horn of the train yanked him from his thoughts. “The train’s here, let’s get ready to board.” Rainbow started moving toward the edge of the platform where the doors to the car would be. Ryan followed soon after, trying his best not to run into any other ponies on his way there as everypony converged on that one area.

The train came to a screeching stop and the doors flew open on the other side, letting the passengers out before the crowd rushed inside. Once they were gone, those doors shut and the doors on Ryan’s side opened up, and he and Rainbow were shoved inside by the mob of voices and bodies behind them.

As soon as they were in, Rainbow led the way to a table where they could sit comfortably for the rest of the ride and claimed it. Ryan quickly took the seat across from her to avoid getting separated by aggressive ponies looking for seats. These ponies were no better than the people back home.

The seating and luggage storing took only minutes, and soon, the train was off, horn blowing and wheels grinding against the tracks. As the train lurched forward, Ryan looked at the window at the passing landscape. The forests and mountains in the distance were really quite glorious from up in the mountain city, and they reminded Ryan of a few places back home.

Home. He hadn’t been giving it that much thought lately. He was from the United States of America, a land with enormous geographic variation, tons of people, and all sorts of stuff going on. Here, he was in a peaceful land, one where he could sit aside and let things happen. Back home, he wanted to be a part of his land, to defend the freedom he had grown up with. He always felt a strange obligation to.

But here, he had no such obligation. Why? Just because it wasn’t America didn’t mean he couldn’t still defend freedom. What was it that was stopping him? Where did his loyalty truly lay, anyhow? He had no desire to affiliate himself with the politicians in his government, that was for certain. Who was he loyal to? The people of the United States, that was true. But there was more. He had always hated that people out there suffered for what they believed in or for who they were. His loyalty was to his country, sure; but his true loyalty was with the well-being of the people. Of all people.

And he did have an obligation to those people, at least, in his mind. Back in the day. He had wanted to protect them, and by killing Narendra, he did do something. But the reason... his reason had nothing to do with people. It was all about him. Was he truly loyal to them? Or was he only concerned about himself?

“Ryan?” Rainbow said, waving a hoof. He didn’t respond. “Yoohoo! Ryan, you in there?”

Ryan flinched back into reality. “Huh, wha?”

She chuckled. “You kind of spaced out there.” she said, looking at him oddly. Her countenance took on a look of concern. “You okay?”

Ryan took in a deep breath, then nodded. “Yeah. I am.” he said. There was a strange hint of ... something, in his voice. Like he was done with something, that he didn’t want to talk about something any more, as if he had been talking about it. “I’m good.”

“Okaaay...” Rainbow said, leaning back into her seat. “So how did you like the show?” she asked.

Ryan took off his beret and set it on the table, the item catching Rainbow’s eyes. “I thought it was pretty epic.” he said, getting an approving look from Rainbow Dash. “But I have to ask.”

“What?” Rainbow replied, confused.

“Why so ready to leave at the end?” Ryan asked. “You love the Wonderbolts.”

Rainbow blinked, then shrugged. “Well, I’ve seen them a lot, and I didn’t want us to get in trouble.” Ryan only looked half-convinced at her, raising an eyebrow. “Aaand, you gave me a show by beating up Blueblood. I’ve always wanted to see him eat it.”

Ryan smirked, letting out a small chuckle. “Well, I’m glad I could please you.” he said, receiving a sheepish smile from the mare.

Rainbow didn’t continue; she just looked at the beret on the table. Eventually, she mustered up enough courage to bring it up.

“So, what is that, exactly?” she asked.

Ryan looked at it, then back to Rainbow. “I thought I explained it.” he said. Rainbow didn’t look up. “Well, it’s the beret worn by US Army Special Forces. I got it from Narendra just before we killed each other.” Rainbow poked at it. “The guys who go through the training and earn the right to wear it are some of the best. Not as good as SEALs, of course. But still; some of the best.”

Rainbow kept poking it, moving it around and looking at the various spots on it, trying to find anything other than the insignia on the top. She even flipped it over, though Ryan didn’t really care that much. She could handle it if she wanted to; it was never his anyway.

“You can try it on if you want.” Ryan said casually.

Rainbow staggered in her seat for a moment, surprised, but then, a big smile splayed out across her face, and she grabbed the green beret and threw it onto her head. Wearing it, she looked like a parody of a Special Forces soldier, wearing a goofy smile and looking like she felt a new sense of toughness. It was honestly adorable, the way she puffed out her chest and looked all confident.

“This feels really cool.” she said.

Ryan didn’t respond at first. He had to think about her statement; it was pretty cool, actually. Ignoring how he got it, wearing the signature item of the Green Berets is pretty special. That you would be allowed to wear it shows something in you, something that either someone saw in you or something that enabled you to get your hands on the beret. And in all honesty, Rainbow had that something. She had it a lot more than Ryan.

She put her hooves into the air. “Mess with the best, go down with the rest.” she said.

Ryan laughed lightly at her display. “Very nice.” he said. “It looks good on you.”

“Thanks.” Rainbow replied with a smile.

She went to take the beret off. “Actually, wait.” Ryan said, freezing the mare’s movement. “Why don't you keep wearing it? I think it suits you.”

Rainbow blinked several times, shocked. Ryan was letting her continue to wear the beret, the symbol of being one of the best. He was passing that symbol to her; he respected her. And he said she could keep wearing it.

“Wait, does that mean...” She felt herself swell up with pride. “When can I wear it?”

Ryan grinned at her and leaned back in his seat, looking to the ceiling. “You’ll be able to wear it any time you feel like it.”

Rainbow smiled at the human before her, and though she knew he couldn’t see it, she mouthed one phrase to him: Thank you.

And the rest of the ride was spent in silence, a silence that spoke with greater strength and finality than any words ever could have managed.

Author's Notes:

This ended up being 5000 words and three days longer than I anticipated.