Saturday, the sixth of February. How the time flies.

Ryan was leaning on his dresser and staring at his mirror, trying to think about how it was almost his eighteenth birthday. How he was getting close to the point where, in America, he would be a legal adult. Eighteen years had passed since he first came into this world. He wondered what kind of mark he had left.

That wonder didn’t last, though. He knew exactly what kind of mark he had left. It was the kind of mark he hoped that no one would ever have to learn about, the kind that he hoped would fade into history along with the dozens of nameless faces he had killed. The faces were the only thing that he would ever be unable to forget. He tried and he tried, but still, they persisted to haunt him.

He had awoken that morning in a sweat, almost shouting out. The nightmares were still coming, stronger than ever before. Every single person he had killed was coming back to torment him, coming to destroy what was left of his sanity. Ryan tried to fight them, but in the deep recesses of his mind, he was incapacitated by the memories.

The previous night had been bad; in every way, his failures came back with a force. Narendra had Ryan strapped down and made him watch as he killed everyone Ryan loved. He started with Harris, blowing his head off with his gun. Then, he moved onto Catherine and Nadine, to whom he cut with his razor all over their bodies. He never made a particularly deep cut, though, instead simply nicking the skin all over. He then threw them into a cesspool, where he released waste upon them. They soon after began to rot away, screaming Ryan’s name, asking him why he wasn’t saving them.

The unnamed girl from the compound was next. He pushed her to the floor and stomped on all her joints, breaking them. Ryan tried to fight his restraints, but he was immobile. He could only watch as the sick man broke her down until she turned to dust, floating away in the breeze.

Joey came up next. But Ryan couldn’t watch, so he closed his eyes in the dream. At first, he was thankful that he was able to keep himself from watching this time, but it didn’t last long. He could hear the boy crying. He could hear him screaming for his mother, but Ryan stayed silent and sat there, waiting for that unmistakable bang. When it finally came, Ryan felt all his strength sap away, and he simply fell down and lay where he was, unable to move.

The voices of the fallen came back as he lay there, with Narendra laughing at him in the background.

“You are weak,” a whispery Catherine told him.

“Pathetic,” Nadine added.

“Why wouldn’t you save me?” Joey asked. “You said you would protect me. You said you would protect me!”

That was when he woke up, and went over to the mirror to try to keep his mind away from it all. He was failing.

“What am I doing?” he asked the mirror. “What’s wrong with me?”

He should have been doing something to redeem himself for everything he did out there. hye should have been trying to improve, to become a better person. But he wasn’t doing anything at all. He was just coasting along, waiting for life to be the way he wanted. He made his cave better every so often, preparing himself to hide away from his troubles.

But hiding wasn’t going to make the nightmares stop. They would continue to eat away at him until he was an old man, or until something finally managed to kill him. He would never have any level of peace, not even when he was old and alone. He would have nothing to lean on but his own knee, nowhere to sit but the cold, stone floor.

Yet he had no idea what he could do. He was a lost cause, no matter what the ponies thought. There was no way to make amends for his killings, the lives he ruined. He couldn’t fix it, and he couldn’t face what he did. His only chance, even if he knew it was hopeless, was to hide, die in seclusion, and hope that no one ever found his body.

He knew all this. And yet, he chose to live. Because of that one promise he made, seemingly so long ago, to his best friend.

“The one thing I have left...” Ryan thought solemnly. “Is the promise I made to my friend.” He had to uphold it; if not, what else did he have?

The only way he was going to get his mind off of everything from the past was to get it back in the present. So, he got into his clothes, brushed his teeth, and went up the stairs and to the kitchen. When he arrived, he found no one there and nothing moving. Given that it was around five in the morning, he wasn’t expecting anything else.

He wasn’t feeling hungry, so he decided to just search for something to do. He checked the dishes, but they were clean and put away. The floor was spotless, as was the table and the counter. He moved out into the storefront, but that was neat and tidy as well. So with nothing else to do, he got down to do some pushups and situps to start his day.

It worked nicely; the rhythmic movements were good to empty his mind and get him into a kind of zen. He kept up his work for almost half an hour, until he felt the burn grow to be too much to handle.

Now, though, he was exhausted and spent. And he grew hungry. He stood up off the ground and walked back to the kitchen, where, as he expected, there was still nothing there. Like a car on cruise control, Ryan mechanically went about making himself a batch of eggs to start the day. He would have wondered why ponies ate eggs, but he really didn’t care about that stuff any more.

Breakfast went along in a desolate silence, nothing but the sound of chewing and arms rubbing against a table giving any indication that something was alive in the kitchen.

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

Discord had actually not disliked his stone prison this time around. Perhaps it was because he chose to be there.

But no one cared about whether or not he liked it. Discord, and probably Celestia, knew how he got out last time, and knew that he could do it again if he wanted. Celestia was making it worth his while to stay, though. She... well, she really wanted him to stay there. So she made sure he didn’t want to leave.

At the moment, Discord was toying with different things in his own head at the moment. He had been hearing lots of interesting things lately, some of them about Ryan, others about unrelated events. He had heard about Ryan’s new drinking group, referred to as Soarin’s drinking circle by one pony and Fancy Pants’ drinking circle by another. Stick Big Macintosh in there, and that’s it. It was good to know that he had friends.

He was also hearing ponies talk about where the human may have come from. Some believed that there was a far away land where humans lived alone, and Celestia was too scared to send anyone there to investigate. While it is true, there is a far away land that Celestia is too afraid to send anypony, Discord was fairly certain that there weren’t any humans there. He was scared of that area too; whatever was there had slain the master of Starswirl the Bearded; so why would anyone know what was there?

But that meant nothing to him; Discord was more interested in what was here. He had been hearing about Starstep and Luna, mostly rumors with little basing on facts. Some were actually true; they slept next to each other; but most were nonsensical ninniness. He was interested, however, in how Luna would react to the rumor that she had become pregnant. Celestia had told him that one, though she snickered a good bit as she spoke...

Back to now.

Discord was watching as a rather large and impressive pegasus guard was preparing himself to talk to a very nice-looking little pegasus guard. Of course, the magical armor that these guards wore made them look the same, unlike Luna’s Guards’ armor, but still. It didn’t alter anything but mane and coat color. So it was quite entertaining to Discord to watch this powerful-looking stallion stammer just thinking about talking to the mare.

Discord decided that he would give him a bit of a helping hoof on this one. Who knew, maybe it would blow up in the stallion’s face. So, when the stallion finally picked up the courage to go talk to the mare, Discord waited for him to be about to talk to her. As he approached, Discord turned the floor beneath the both of them to a frictionless surface. The stallion slid and collided directly with the mare, sending them both stumbling to the floor.

He watched in silent hilarity as the stallion tried to explain and apologize with the mare laying on top of him in a very compromising position. He was completely red in the face as he stuttered his response, but the mare seemed to be perfectly understanding. She just hopped off of him and went back to where she stood. The stallion watched her go for a moment, then, with a defeated sigh, went back to his own post. But as he walked by the mare, she nipped at his tail and gave it a good tug, eliciting a yelp from the stallion.

Discord left as he noticed her giggling and girlish expression. Sometimes, the guards were known to play all kinds, ALL kinds, of games when they were stationed in places where no one went.

So Discord simply chuckled at the lesser-known antics of the guards and thought about his own past here. Sure, he had once been a tyrannical ruler over a world where chaos ruled. But he hadn’t always. Before him, there were the Great Ones, who came after an unknown being. And during their rule, Discord was just a regular Spirit of Chaos, not the powerhouse he was now. He took part in less harmful antics back in those days.

He remembered when he first met Celestia and Luna. They were both much younger in those days, and sure as hay better looking than they were at this time. Celestia hadn’t lost much, in Discord’s eyes, though. Ah, the days they spent together, rolling around in the grass, playing hide-and-seek. Before the Great Ones disappeared, he was really into her. Then, though, when they disappeared, everything changed...

As Discord continued to think, he got to thinking about his first time meeting everypony he knew. The current bearers of the Elements of Harmony had hardly been friendly to him, nor he to them. The guards were all fearful, and rightfully so. Most of the servants knew he wasn’t going to harm them, simply make their day harder, so they lamented ever meeting him. He had left a rather negative mark on his image with ponies.

And of course, he remembered when he first met Ryan and Harris. He felt a sharp sting in his gut, like the guilt of his own failure had come back to stab him where it hurt the most. The two boys had been wonderful young men. If Discord had been better, they would still be. Their lives could have some semblance of normalcy now, they could be living happily with their families. Discord had no idea if Harris made it home, but he certainly knew that Ryan was nowhere near his.

Making sure no one was around, Discord physically moved his stony head to look up at the sky. Given the month, and that it was like half-past five, he could still see the stars. He had noticed Ryan look up at them the few times he recently checked on him, and he could see why. While Discord thought Luna to be a less pretty mare, her skies were phenomenally beautiful. The stars were always arranged differently, making various shapes in the sky. Some shapes were always there, mostly for navigation purposes, but others were absolute works of art.

And there was one star that stood out. Discord had never noticed it before, but it shined brighter than just about all the others. It even blocked out some of the stars near it, it was so bright. There was something about this star, something he couldn’t quite place. It seemed special somehow, like he should keep an eye on it.

It also reminded him of Ryan, though he wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because he was already thinking about the boy. So he decided that he might as well take a look at how Ryan was doing today.

Ryan was just leaving the Boutique, heading off to who knows where.

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

Ryan had a nagging feeling that he was being followed, but he ignored it and went along on his way.

He figured he could try to negotiate the purchase of some more dynamite today to store in the cave for use later. The more, the merrier, and the more matches and fuses he had, the better. They had all kinds of uses other than explosives, after all. Maybe he could make a rocket with it, and get himself a steel tube? But then again, he could just buy fireworks instead of making his own warheads. But where’s the fun in that?

And he hadn’t the slightest idea of how to do that at the moment, so he put the thoughts into storage for now. He could also put going to the mines on hold, since they wouldn’t be too inclined to sell him high-explosive so early in the day. There was just something suspicious about people buying dangerous materials in the darker hours of the day.

Ryan walked on, feeling the cold in his bones, through town and to the park. Everything was still this morning, nothing moved or made noise. It was an eerie thing for Ryan; he noticed that it was like that a lot. But maybe it had always been like that, and he only noticed it now because he had been in an environment where there was constantly some noise of something dangerous.

Ryan walked through the gates into the park and the sensation hit him again. He decided to look around this time; no one. At least, that was his first impression. Now, he definitely knew he was being followed, and he was going to find out who it was.

The best way to do that was to go and sit down with his back against a wall. If he could see everything in a one-eighty in front of him, he would certainly spot his pursuer. So, he walked over and sat down against some statue, facing out. And he saw nothing.

“HIYA RYAN!”

Ryan felt his heart jump as his head shot up, looking above. It was Pinkie Pie, hanging off the statue above him, with her face mere inches from his own. She wore her classic smile, and her poofy mane seemed to defy gravity and stay high up in the air.

He took a deep breath to calm down. “Hey, Pinkie,” he replied. “What brings you out so early on a morning like this?”

Pinkie let herself fall from the statue and onto Ryan’s lap, somehow landing with almost no force. She then rolled off of him and into the snow, getting it all over her coat and in her mane, making her look like a snow monster. When she sat up, she just smiled at him.

“You!” she said loudly. Ryan raised an eyebrow. “Well, I was going to the bathroom and looked out my window and thought, ‘Ryan is always up early, so he’s probably up now!’, so I ran outside and went to Rarity’s, and sure enough, I saw you there! So, I decided to follow you here, but you figured out that I was following you, so I decided to drop in and say ‘HIYA RYAN!’”

Ryan chuckled and ruffled her mane, getting some of the snow out. “Well, I guess that explains it perfectly,” he said. Pinkie chortled. “But it’s awfully cold out here. Do you need a jacket?”

Pinkie shook her head. “Nope, I’m good!” she said. Ryan could see her shaking a little, though.

With a roll of his eyes, he lifted her up, set her aside, and stood. Ryan removed his outer coat, one that Rarity recently made for him to “stay in style”, and put it on Pinkie. It didn’t fit great, but it stayed where it was, which was good enough. Pinkie held it tightly to herself, appreciating the gesture.

“Thanks, Ryan,” she admitted. “But won’t you get cold?”

Ryan chuckled. “Sure. But I come from a place where it get to the single digits in the winter and triple digits in the summer, not including wind and humidity indexes. I can handle a bit of cold.” It was only twenty-seven out at the moment. Ryan could cope; New Jersey tends make you learn to.

Pinkie stretched herself out as she stood. “Well, why don’t we head to Sugarcube Corner? Neither of us has anything to do right now, right?”

Ryan shrugged and nodded, and followed her to the bakery. She always seemed to know what was going on, regardless of how much she was told. Did she know about the cave, then? Or his plan to leave Ponyville and live quietly on his own? Ryan couldn’t risk her finding out, so he decided that he had to act like there was nothing to hide.

At the sugarcube corner, Pinkie quietly unlocked the door and slipped in, making sure no one was around as she entered. When she confirmed that no one was there, she ushered Ryan in and pointed him to a table by the window. Ryan sat there, curious, and simply watched as the pink mare moved about in total silence, checking whatever she was looking for around the room.

Ryan’s curiosity grew to a need to ask. “What are you looking for?” Pinkie didn’t answer. “It someone’s birthday?”

Pinkie, who was running by, turned and shushed him harshly. “Don’t be so loud!” she said in a loud whisper. “I’m getting the party for Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s tenth anniversary ready!”

Ryan nodded his appreciation. When his friend’s parents celebrated their twentieth, it was a big deal. Something about multiples of ten and five seemed to be very important to anniversaries. No one made a big deal about the big forty-three, but the fortieth was huge. Ryan never did get it, but then, he had never been, married.

“Got it,” he replied.

Pinkie checked a couple more things, some of which were spring-loaded, some rolling, and seemed satisfied. When she was done, she let out a big sigh of relief and joined Ryan at the table.

“Phew!” she said. “Glad that’s taken care of.”

“I bet,” Ryan replied. “So what do you think they have planned for their anniversary?”

Pinkie grinned. “Well, I know that Mr. Cake go them a week-long trip to the Phillipony Islands. And Mrs. Cake got her husband some really, really nice bottles of wine. But I don’t think they leave for the trip until tomorrow, so the party is gonna be today.”

“Nice,” Ryan said. These ponies went all-out when it came to important dates and gifts.

They sat at the table in silence, waiting for the Cakes to wake up. Ryan wasn’t sure he should be there for the little party, unless others would show up, but Pinkie didn’t seem to mind. He glanced at the clock; it was about seven. He had loads of time before he needed to go out, so he could wait.

“So when is your birthday?” Pinkie asked suddenly.

“Huh?” Ryan replied. “Uh, my birthday is on Wednesday.”

Pinkie’s eyes shot wide and she gasped loudly. “You’re birthday is on Wednesday and you never told us?!” she said in shock.

Ryan shrugged. “It didn’t seem that important,” he replied. “I turn eighteen. It would mean something back home, but since adulthood is at sixteen here, I didn’t think it mattered.”

“Doesn’t matter?!” Pinkie replied, almost seeming angry. “Of course it matters! It’s the day of your birth! Why wouldn’t you want to celebrate that?”

Ryan didn’t answer that. “Well, I haven’t had a party in a while, so I guess it slipped my mind.”

Pinkie looked like she would faint. “How long had it been since you had an actual birthday party?” she asked incredulously.

Ryan thought back. “Last time I celebrated my birthday was in eighth grade, so... three years, I want to say?”

“I can’t believe this! It’s not okay! You should-”

There were some hoofsteps from upstairs, drawing Pinkie’s attention away from Ryan for the time being. Ryan looked that way as well, wondering how the Cakes would react to Ryan’s presence in their home without their knowledge. The noise became louder, and soon, the parents came down the stairs, yawning and mumbling about coffee.

Pinkie ran up to them and shouted, “SURPRISE!”

The mare and stallion jumped up at the sudden pinkness, fully waking up as party noise-makers sounded and lights turned on, and streamers and banners fell into place. Ryan looked around for how she did it, but saw nothing.

“Happy anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!”

The terror and startledness of the cakes seemed to dissipate as they realized what was happening. They looked warmly at each other, then back at Pinkie. Ryan stayed back as they walked up to her and hugged her close, appreciative of the pleasant surprise on their anniversary. It was enough to bring a smile to Ryan’s face.

They never seemed to notice him, so when they moved away for Pinkie to show them the cake she baked them, Ryan slipped out the front door and took one last look through the window. The couple was already eating some cake while Pinkie danced around and sang for them.

Ryan just chuckled and walked on, happy that someone was able to find something or someone meaningful in life.

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

Discord was never sure what to make of Pinkie Pie. She was even more random than him.

But that wasn’t eh object of his concern. He was busy watching Ryan walk away from the bakery and off to find something to do for the day. He could probably have stayed for the anniversary party, but then again, it wasn’t really his place. He wasn’t affiliated with the Cakes, so it would be weird for him to celebrate.

But of course, Discord also found out that it was Ryan’s birthday on Wednesday. He would be eighteen, the age of legal adulthood in his home country. It was an odd thing to think about, him still being a child in the eyes of their law.

But he was anything but a child. He had gone through the battle against Human Traffickers before he turned eighteen. That made him an adult; it forced him to grow up. Even in his world, there must have been only a handful of children who matured the way Ryan did. It made Discord feel guilty again.

“I put a child through that,” he realized. He wanted to throw up.

And to make matters worse, he had the Wraith to deal with now. All of this, all these trials, before he was even an adult.

“I wonder if they would make an exception for him?” he wondered. They certainly could.

He decided that he should keep an eye on the boy-to-be-a-man for the next few days, to see if anything significant happened to him. It was the least he could do, especially if it meant possibly keeping him safe.

He could at least make this passage into adulthood less unpleasant.

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

Luna was going through her library, looking for spell-books. She had been dealing with a few things regarding the Southern Gryphon Colonies lately, and she needed a spell to help her relax.

Starstep helped her search, though he had to disagree with using magic to deal with stress. He was more into the natural way of relaxing, just taking some time off to sit down and unwind.

“I really think this is silly, princess,” Starstep said. “Just unwind the normal way, and you’ll be fine. It doesn’t take that long.”

“I’m sure you would love to see me unwind,” Luna replied. “And I’m sure you have a very natural solution for my stress.”

“Well, yes, princess, I would love to see you unwind. But I think undressing would be more fun.”

Luna dropped the book she was holding up and spun around to look at her guard, who looked back at her with his tongue sticking out. She chuckled and rolled her eyes, tossing her book at him.

“Well, you keep searching. Maybe I’ll try your method over where you can’t see me,” she said tantalizingly.

Starstep tossed the book back to where Luna had taken it and kept on searching, while Luna went to her bed and hopped onto it. She pulled up her covers and wrapped herself up, getting all warm and snuggly, and closed her eyes. She had to admit, it was easy to relax this way. Having found this, she could tell Starstep to finish up.

“Starstep!” she shouted. “You may cease your search. Come and join me in here.”

Luna couldn’t even see outside her cocoon if she opened her eyes, so she didn’t see that her sister had just walked in, barely keeping in her laughter at her sister’s state. As Starstep walked in, he noticed, and couldn’t help but chuckle himself. Celestia saw him and nodded toward her sister, urging the guard to jump on her.

Starstep silently obeyed and flew up into the air. “Okay, here I come,” he said casually. He flew down to her and tackled her on the bed. Celestia could hear a loud “Oof!” from the cocoon.

Luna reacted by opening her cocoon with her magic and pulling Starstep inside, pulling him close and locking him in place. “You thought you could get me, little guard?” she asked, still oblivious to her sister’s presence. “I knew you would try something, so I was prepared!”

“Were you prepared to see me here?” Celestia asked.

Luna yelped and spun around, using her magic to lower the sheet over her eyes. When she saw her sister, her face turned a deep purple, and Starstep stuck his face out right in front of her.

“No,” Luna said meekly. Then, she practically exploded out of the cocoon, sending Starstep flying off. “W-what brings you here?” she asked, flustered.

Celestia still giggled. “I have a message for the both of us,” she explained. “I thought I would wait to open it until you could see it as well.” Celestia lifted a small envelope out of her chest piece as she spoke.

Luna looked at it; there was no return address. “Well, let us see what it contains.” she said.

The princesses stood next to each other before the envelope in the air, wondering what the letter would say. When they opened it, though, instead of a letter, there was an explosion of confetti and streamers from the envelope. The princesses reeled back, and when they recovered, before them stood Pinkie Pie with a massive grin on her face.

Luna was bewildered, but Celestia was simply amused. “Pinkie Pie,” she said, stepping forward to greet the unexpected guest. “What brings you here?”

Pinkie Pie looked around for a moment, then turned her attention to the princess. “I’m here to invite you all to a very special party!” she announced.

Luna raised an eyebrow at the pink mare. “Party?” she asked. “What kind of party do you speak of?”

Pinkie reached back into an unknown space and pulled out three pieces of paper. “It’s Ryan’s eighteenth birthday party!” she shouted. “We’ll be celebrating it on Wednesday, which is his birthday, since you would never celebrate a birthday on any other day. Except maybe a half-birthday, which is just as awesome, since it’s like-”

The princesses let Pinkie go on as they both considered. Celestia would love to get away from everything to celebrate the birthday of Equestria’s only human resident. It would be easy enough to make an excuse to skip out on her duties for that day. She might even be able to claim diplomatic reasons, like negotiating with another species.

Luna immediately decided to go. Ryan was one of her closest friends; the only one she would say is closer is Starstep, and that’s... different. It’s a little more special. And she did sort of owe Ryan for not seeing him as often as she should.

Luna cleared her throat. “We would love to go, Pinkie,” she interrupted. “Sister?”

“I would certainly enjoy a party,” Celestia replied.

Pinkie leapt up into the air and more confetti exploded from behind her. “Great!” she shouted.

Starstep, meanwhile, was just laying on the floor where he hit the wall, watching the whole spectacle. If Luna was going to a party, especially for Ryan, it was a safe bet he would go too. Unless Luna didn’t want him there, though he certainly hoped that was not the case. He didn’t know Ryan particularly well, but he had had some friendly enough interactions. Maybe he could-

“And here’s an invitation for you!” Pinkie yelled in Starstep’s face, interrupting his thoughts. She shoved a piece of paper onto his forehead and hopped off.

He removed it, and sure enough, it read, “You are invited to celebrates Ryan’s super duper eighteenth birthday!” he hadn’t expected an invitation; it was a nice surprise. Pinkie bounced off into Luna’s library while the princesses talked and Starstep lazed against the wall.

Luna looked to her sister. “So, how long has it been since you went to an unofficial birthday party?” she asked.

Celestia sighed. “Far too long,” she said. “And neither of us has celebrated our own birthdays in some time. It will be nice to attend a casual party this time.”

“Quite,” Luna said. “What kind of gift do you think you’ll get him?” She had to think of her own as well.

Celestia pondered this. “I’m not sure,” she replied. “What does one get a young human male for his birthday?”

“Not a clue,” Luna replied. “Pinkie, what do you think- where is she?”

“I’m in here!” Pinkie shouted back.

The princesses turned towards the library and walked on in, looking for the pink mare. They didn’t see her at first, which was unusual, considering the dark blue tone of the room. They walked around the center book column, but they didn’t spot her.

“Pinkie?” Luna said. “Where did you go?”

Pinkie Pie walked out from the other side of the book column with a look on her face. It was hard to place just what the look was, but it seemed to be a combination of awe, humility, and a massive amount of excitement.

“I was hiding in the books, of course!” she said. “You got some neat stuff here!”

“Why, thank you,” Luna replied, feeling proud. “What did you like the best?”

“I liked the thing about other worlds a lot!” Pinkie said excitedly. Luna looked confused. “There’s so much to learn from other cultures!”

Luna nodded her agreement and Celestia smiled. “Very true, Pinkie,” Celestia responded. “I am glad that you think so.”

“Yeah, and there’s so much to do with other worlds too!” Pinkie shouted. She looked at her wristwatch, which came from nowhere. “Ooh, I gotta go! See ya!” With that, she ran out of the room and out of Luna’s chambers, back to Ponyville.

The princesses remained where they were, thinking. That seemed a bit out of character for Pinkie, but who were they to judge? Especially with a random mare like that, you never know what you’ll get. One thing she says might be really deep, another might have no meaning whatsoever. No one could say what went on in her head.

Luna’s head shot up. “Shoot!” she said.

“What?” Celestia asked, alarmed.

“We never asked about what gift she would get for him.”

Celestia chuckled. “Well, I’m sure we’ll think of something. Come, we can begin now.”

“Wonderful!” Luna replied. “Starstep, you’ll be coming with us!”

Starstep got up from where he lay comfortably and went along with the princesses on the quest to find something to get Ryan. But what does one get a young human man with no particular or known desires?

Something that has meaning always works.

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

Wednesday came, the tenth, and as Ryan turned eighteen, he felt no different. It was just another day in his life. Not particularly worth celebrating, in his opinion.

He got up that morning and made himself up, getting his usual clothes on, his necklace, and his jacket and scarf. As usual, he carried his KaBar knife and M1911 on him. One never knows, after all.

When Ryan exited his basement home, he found himself in an empty home. He had actually remained down there much longer than usual, until about half past seven, trying to think about whether or not he should do anything today. He had at least expected to catch Sweetie Belle on her way to school, but neither she nor her sister were anywhere to be seen.

“Odd,” Ryan concluded. But weirder things had happened; he didn’t think anything was wrong.

He took little time preparing for his day, As he would simply be hanging around the library today. The only ponies who showed up when it was this cold were either Twilight’s friends, or ponies who had something too important on their minds to care about what Ryan looked like. Which was just as well; Ryan was never all that caring of what he looked like anyway.

When he left the Boutique, he made sure to lock the door from the inside as he left so that no one would try to steal anything while no one was home. It wasn’t so much that Ryan suspected the residents of Ponyville of such acts, but you never know who might stroll through town. And as Ryan walked to the library for work, he kept his eyes open.

He was about halfway to the library when he felt like he needed to stop. He took a quick look around to see if there was anything of interest. He already had a feeling of what was causing him to stop, but he wanted to make sure he got his eyes on target first. It’s always important to have a tactical advantage when you know a conflict is coming.

And, sure as cold air in February, there he was, leaning against a house. The Wraith was just standing there, not looking smug or angry, just neutral. Ryan stood his ground, watching for movement. When nothing happened, and the Wraith seemed to be out of it, Ryan decided he should just leave the being to his thoughts.

“Now hold on there,” the Wraith said.

Ryan stopped and looked back, sticking his hands into his pockets. “What?” he asked. “I need to get to work.”

“Yes, yes, you always say that,” The Wraith replied. “That’s how you get the money to set up the cave so that you can run away later.”

“Yeah, it is,” Ryan said with a hint of annoyance. “So what do you want?”

The Wraith shrugged as he pushed himself off the wall. “I don’t really know,” he replied casually. “At this point, I’m just waiting for things to fall into place, honestly.”

Ryan grew suspicious. “Oh?” he asked. “And what, pray tell, does that mean?”

“Just that I’m getting what I want,” the Wraith replied.

Ryan took an aggressive stance. “Wanna bet?”

“Actually, I would love to. But I have no money, so I can’t.” The Wraith moved away from the wall. “I’m already getting what I want, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“What do you want?” Ryan asked, getting defensive. “You’ve been following me for months, and I still don’t know.”

“In due time,” the Wraith said with a malicious grin. “You’ll find out when the time comes.”

“I don’t like that answer,” Ryan warned. “What’s your game, Wraith? Why are you harassing me?”

The Wraith let out a deep, throaty laugh. “Oh Ryan, you think I’ll just tell you? That could compromise the entire thing!” As he stopped laughing, he stared into Ryan’s eyes. “All you need to know is that when I get what I’m after, YOU won’t be in the picture any more.”

Ryan swallowed. Despite his best efforts, the Wraith was getting to him at the moment. Did he plan to kill Ryan? Was that why he was trying to get him to go out into the forest and live there? And what was he? These questions and more swirled through Ryan’s mind as he attempted to make sense of what the Wraith was saying.

Ryan put his hand on his knife. “Try anything, and I’ll kill you,” he warned. “Leave my friends alone and fight me like a man.”

“Why would I fight you like a man, when I am most certainly no man?” The Wraith asked incredulously. “And they’re your friends?”

“Yes,” Ryan said, cutting off the Wraith. “They are. And you are never to go near them.”

The Wraith put his hands up. “Earth to Ryan, you can’t stop me. No one can.”

Ryan ripped his knife out. “I’ll take you out right now.” He was dead serious.

The Wraith looked aggressively at him. “What, like you took out Narendra? Or his many cronies and friends? Imagine if Narendra’s son came by and killed the ponies around here. He would be no different than you.”

“You’re wrong!” Ryan said. “Those men killed and enslaved other human beings! These ponies have done no such thing. There is no justification for hurting them.”

The Wraith got a look in his eyes at Ryan;s words. It was a drastic change, going from aggressive and perhaps arrogant to enlightened and almost glad. Ryan had no idea what to make of it, and kept his hand on his knife. The Wraith resumed his neutral expression from the beginning, though not perfectly. There was still that inexplicable look in his eyes, and it made Ryan uneasy.

“Remember all that was said here, Ryan,” he said, stepping away and toward an alley. “And always remember what once was.”

The Wraith disappeared into an alley, leaving Ryan alone in the middle of the street. The young man looked back at the alley, contemplating whether or not he should pursue the being and fight him. But the Wraith was right; he was no man. Fighting him like a man would be foolhardy at best. So Ryan just put his knife away and turned right back around and resumed his walk to work.

It was quiet as usual, but there was something amiss at the library when Ryan arrived. He saw some movement in the window as he approached, like someone was watching for him. It also didn’t help that all the other windows had their curtains drawn, making the inside of the library unseeable. His suspicion was further aroused by the presence of tamped down snow, as if a dozen ponies had been walking there in the last few minutes.

Cautiously, he stepped toward the door. He placed his hand tentatively on the door knob, waiting for some kind of prank like an electrified knob. When no shock came, he braced himself for an impact, be it pony or machine. He wouldn’t put it past Twilight to ask Rainbow for help pranking him in some way that might hurt. He opened the door slowly and entered, waiting for-

“SURPRIIIIIISE!”

Ryan shut his eyes tight as the lights in the library turned on, temporarily blinding him. After a rapid recovery, he looked about the room. There was a mass of ponies in the room, all of whom he knew well, from the Elements, to the princess, to his drinking buddies and the other Wonderbolts. Cinny was inside as well, along with Luna’s guard, Starstep. And they managed to get the Cutie Mark Crusaders up early for the party.

Ryan swung his head back and forth, confused. “What?”

From the middle of the crowd, Pinkie hopped forward. “Welcome to your fantastic eighteenth birthday party!” she shouted enthusiastically.

Ryan blinked a couple of times, then looked around again. There were streamers and balloons everywhere, banners that read “Happy Birthday!”, and sweets of all sorts. On one of the several tables in the room, there was a huge cake with an image of his head in frosting, smiling and in front of his home. Ryan had no idea how Pinkie managed to get that image, but it made him feel warm inside, seeing it.

Ryan smiled. “Wow,” he said. “I, uh, didn’t expect this.”

“Of course not, silly!” Pinkie responded. “If you expected it, then it wouldn’t have been a surprise party, and then it would just be a regular birthday party, but you weren’t planning one, so I had to make it a surprise or else you wouldn’t be interested, so I thought that the best way to get you here was to make sure you didn’t KNOW you were going to be here! So I had to plan it in a way that you would never find out-”

Just as anyone else would or had, Ryan let her continue, only partly paying any attention. He was more concerned with the crowd, which was now talking amongst itself. Soarin’, Fleetfoot, and Spitfire were talking to Rainbow Dash about stunts and training requirements to enter their group. The girls were talking to Celestia, Cinny next to them. The CMC were making trouble, as usual, trying to find their special talents. At some point, Pinkie stopped talking and moved away, over to the girls, and started up a conversation with Cinny.

Ryan walked further into the library and over to Mac, who sat quietly in a chair, out of the eyes of the others. As Ryan approached, Mac looked to him and nodded. Ryan nodded back and took a seat near his friend.

“So,” Mac said, starting up a conversation. “You turn eighteen today.”

“Yeah, but I guess I saw it coming,” Ryan replied. “Recently, at least. Before, I wouldn’t have expected it.”

“Ah can imagine.” He added a little nod to his statement. “Ah remember when Ah turned eighteen. It was a fun day.”

“And what did you do that day?” Ryan asked, his curiosity piqued.

Mac chuckled. “Well, Ah already knew Fluttershy by that day. She gave me some nice presents.”

Ryan grinned at his friend. “Well, it sounds like a good time. If only I were so lucky.”

Mac grinned. “Ya never know what can happen.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

They continued talking for a short bit, sharing stories of their lives before they turned eighteen. Ryan talked mostly about his friends from school, though he felt less longing for them this time. He told Mac about all his crazy adventures with his friends, ones he rarely told other people. When he got the Australian strip club, Mac seemed particularly interested.

Eventually, Mac found himself called over elsewhere, and Ryan let him go. Before he had a chance to find someone to talk to, Pinkie showed up in front of him again.

“Hey, Ryan!” she greeted enthusiastically. “How’s the party?”

“Great as always,” Ryan replied. “I appreciate you doing this.”

“Yayzees!” Pinkie said. “And I bet you can’t wait to get your presents!”

Ryan looked surprised. “Now that was hardly necessary,” he said. “I have everything I need already. No one had to go and do that.”

“Nonsense!” Pinkie responded. “Every birthday party has to have presents! Without them, it would be like, a regular party, and this is special, ‘cuz it’s your birthday! You managed to survive for eighteen years, so of COURSE you get presents! It’s like a prize!”

That was quite a way to look at it. “Uh...” Ryan had no idea what to say. It was true; it was amazing that he survived this long. “Okay?”

“Right!” Pinkie shouted. She looked around. “I don’t want to keep you all to myself, but I do, but that wouldn’t be polite to the other guests, so you should go talk to CInny!” Without waiting for a response, Pinkie got behind Ryan and started pushing him towards where Cinny was.

Cinny was talking to Fancy Pants’ wife, Fleur, in the corner. The two of them seemed to be laughing about something, though with all the noise, Ryan couldn't tell what. As Pinkie pushed him closer, he took the steps on his own. When he was mere feet away, still unable to hear, the two mares noticed him approaching and hushed up. Ryan raised an eyebrow at them as he came to a stop.

“Hi Ryan,” Cinny greeted.

“Yes, hello,” Fleur agreed. “I don’t believe we formally met the last time we met. I am Fleur De’Lis.” She stuck her hoof out.

Ryan took it in his hand and shook it gently. “And I am Ryan. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Fleur looked surprised and took her hoof back as Ryan let it go. “Cinny, you never said he was such a gentlecolt. From the stories you told me, I thought he would be some unrefined barbarian, like my husband in his ‘Stallion Cave’.” Ryan never thought Fancy to be a slob in private, but looks can be deceiving.

“Oh, trust me,” Cinny replied with a giggle. “He has his moments.”

“And I’m sure that those moments are ever more... enhanced, when he is out of the public eye.” Both mares giggled wildly as Ryan simply stood there, confused. “Well, I should make sure Fancy doesn’t do anything silly. It’s a wonderful party, Ryan.”

“Thanks,” Ryan replied, still unsure. As Fleur left, he turned to Cinny. “Should I be worried about something?” he asked, worried.

“Oh, no.” Cinny waved her hoof through the air. “It was just girl talk.”

“That’s what scares me.” Ryan looked back to where he had been sitting; still empty. “Care to sit?”

“I’d be delighted.”

The pair walked over to the chairs and sat down. Cinny seemed to have trouble getting comfortable, so Ryan looked around. The party was going nicely, everyone was having a good time. All the most important ponies in his life were there at the moment. The princesses, all his friends. It made him feel like he was in a good place, like he was actually somewhere he could be without the risk of violence rearing its ugly head. It was, perhaps ironically, a peaceful party for him.

Until he looked out the window. There, just outside the window, the Wraith was standing there. He was just staring into the room, still with that neutral look on his face. It would be easy for somepony to spot him there, forcing Ryan to explain everything. Not only would that possibly get him in trouble; it would ruin the party.

But then, as quickly as Ryan had noticed him, the Wraith vanished. Ryan glanced around to see if anyone noticed. Most of the ponies were talking about something, not paying any heed to the window or its recent inhabitant. Celestia, though, when Ryan looked, wore an odd expression. But she wasn’t facing the window, so she couldn’t have seen him.

Cinny was still having trouble getting comfortable. “You know, if it’s that hard, you can always sit on my lap,” Ryan offered. “It might be easier than squirming about that chair.”

“You just want me in your lap,” Cinny replied quickly with a grin. Ryan smiled back; if she wanted to play this game, Ryan would happily oblige.

“Well, why wouldn’t I? You’re so soft, and warm, and cuddly.” He leaned toward her. “So how about it?”

Cinny laughed. “I’ll stick to where I am so that you don’t stick me, thanks.” That was not bad, not bad at all.

Ryan tried to think of a response to that. “You can be sticky wherever you want , I guess. I won’t judge.”

“I happen to enjoy being sticky to one spot. I find that I feel more relaxed,” Cinny said.

“I imagine most people would be relaxed after becoming sticky. It does take some energy, after all.” He leaned back in his seat. “I think that BOTH of us know all about that.” Cinny’s face turned red at Ryan’s insinuation at their respective private moments by themselves. She looked away from him, trying to think of something witty to come back at him with.

While she looked away, Ryan’s thoughts wandered back to the Wraith. What did that bastard want, exactly? What was he after, and why did he want it from Ryan? Ryan supposed that he was a good target for the Wraith, given his state, but he felt like he could take the Wraith now. And how close was he to getting what he wanted? And most importantly, would he go after the ponies after he got it?

“Ryan?” Cinny asked. Ryan snapped his attention back. “Ryan, are you okay?”

Ryan smiled lightly at her. “Never better,” he lied. “Why?”

She looked unconvinced. “You just had this look on your face, like you were worried about something.”

“Nope,” Ryan replied, a little too quickly. “Just kind of blanked out for a second while I was waiting for your witty response.”

Cinny gave him a look. “Yeah, yeah,” she said. “I’m amazed that nopony has smacked you for the things you say yet.”

Ryan chuckled. “Well, I’m just not that smackable. But one pony has hit me before.”

“Really?” Cinny asked. “Who?”

Ryan looked around for the subject of their conversation. He spotted her with her sister and Starstep, talking to Fancy Pants, Soarin’, and Mac. Ryan would have been concerned, but he knew that the guys would never sell him out or tell the princesses things princesses shouldn’t hear. For a moment, he just stared at Luna until she turned around and noticed. When she saw, she excused herself from the conversation and came over.

“This one, right here,” Ryan started as Luna approached. “She decided to hit me right across the face with her hoof when she first saw me again here.” Luna didn’t hear him as she came up to the pair, so Ryan stood up and went to hug her. “This lady-” he poked her chest. “Thought that the best greeting for meeting a long-lost friend again was to hit him across his face.”

Cinny looked wide-eyed at Luna, who was grinning at Ryan. “Think of it as me hitting you to make up for all the times you should have been hit,” she said, successfully justifying herself. “You deserved every bit of force behind my hoof that night.”

Ryan chuckled and sat back down. “Even so,” he said.

Luna used her magic to pull over a cushion from somewhere to sit on. “So, what’s going on over here?” she asked. “I was trying to learn about your various exploits from your ‘drinking buddies’ over there, but they were tight-lipped about the whole thing. Even Fleur couldn’t get Fancy to spill.”

“If you couldn’t get the information out of them, what makes you think you can get it out of me?” Ryan asked. “None of my buds will fall for their ladies’ feminine wiles. Their wills are too strong for that.”

“Really?” Luna asked. Her horn glowed for a second, then stopped. “Well, I just told all the mares what you said. We will see how long your buds last.”

“They can handle it.” Ryan was confident in his friends’ willpower.

Luna put on a determined face. “Cinny?” she said.

“Yes?” Cinny replied.

“Why don’t you try out your ‘feminine wiles’, as Ryan out it?”

“On who?”

Luna smiled. “On him, of course!”

Ryan didn’t see that coming and wore a shocked expression. Cinny turned red again, not having expected Luna to say something so direct. Luna just laughed as the two tried to figure out how to respond. For Ryan, this was one of the few times he might have actually lost at this game.

But maybe not. “I know Cinny has acted extra feminine at the bar to get customers to buy more drinks,” Ryan said, throwing her a silly look. She blushed even more. “But you might need to coach her to do it outside a professional setting.”

“I can do it easily!” Luna shouted. “You will learn from the best!”

“You know how she became the best?” Ryan asked Cinny. She shook her head. “She practices on Starstep every day.” Luna’s lead on Ryan came to a screeching halt, keeping her from speaking for a moment. He wasn’t out of the game yet.

And it didn’t help her when Starstep came over. “Yeah,” he said, inserting himself into the conversation. “She practices on me a lot. And I must say, she is getting rather good at the art of seduction.”

Luna’s face turned red under her coat, giving her a dark purple shade, and she shot her guard a death glare. He just chuckled and moved toward Ryan and Cinny for safety.

“Well, you would only let me practice on you if you enjoyed it,” she said back. “I suppose you rather like the idea of spending time alone with me?”

“We do spend time alone. Every night.” Starstep had her there. “And I do enjoy it, especially how you nuzzle into the back of my neck.”

Luna had trouble responding. “Well, I have to make sure I’m behind you. I know what lay on the other side of you, and I would rather not have to avoid being stuck on your standard-issue spear.” Ryan whistled, Cinny laughed, and Starstep sighed. He definitely lost.

Starstep looked accusingly at her. “Well, just remember; YOU issued it to me.”

Everyone had a good laugh at the end of it, and conversation shifted from innuendos to all kinds of other things. That was good, because, as much fun as those conversations are, they can get old if no one gives up. And in the game of innuendos, you either win or turn red from embarrassment. And if you won’t give up, it means you are in the latter, and you’re only digging yourself a deeper hole.

“So what’s happening in the world of a princess?” Ryan asked. “Crazy adventures, international conflicts, taxes?”

Luna laughed. “Mostly that last one, but some of number two. Unfortunately, there are no adventures for us; that is the job of the elements now.”

“What kind of conflicts are there?” Cinny asked. “I’ve never heard of any conflicts that recently.”

“Ah, mostly problems in the Southern Gryphon Colonies,” Luna said with a wave of her hoof. “They demand our help, even though they rejected it for so long. We said no, and now, they won’t stop asking.” She looked to Starstep. “We are not currently in a position to provide them any aid anyhow.” Starstep’s face took on a somewhat sad look at her words.

“That’s a shame,” Ryan said. “So much work was put into making that region stable. It’s too bad you can’t respond properly at the moment.”

“Yeah,” Starstep said, keeping Luna from letting the talk go on. “But shit happens. We all have to accept it sometimes.”

“Amen to that,” Ryan replied. He looked back to Luna. “So what else is going on the world of Luna and Celestia?”

Starstep and Cinny looked uncomfortable at hearing Ryan refer to the princesses without titles. Back home, sure, Ryan might have said Mr. President if he somehow met the president, but he generally didn’t give people their titles unless they were in some official capacity or they had some level of granted authority over him. The princesses had no such authority.

“Nothing much,” Luna said. “We’ve been studying different kinds of magic, different policies, seeking new technology.” She looked hopefully at Ryan. “You wouldn’t be willing to aid with that last bit, would you?”

“Not a chance,” Ryan responded. “The only tech I could possibly tell you about is either simple, and you already have it, or it’s simple and, thankfully, you don’t have it. The mechanics of certain items are easy but deadly, and I cannot, in good conscious, give them to you.” Luna gave him puppydog eyes. “And no amount of that is going to get you anything; it’s the thing I am trying to protect, after all.”

Luna tsk’d at him. “Fine. I suppose we can let it go.”

“Good.” Ryan stood up. “If you’ll excuse me, I should go see some of the other guests.”

The ponies nodded to him, and he walked off to find someone new to talk to. It was his party after all, he should speak to all of his guests. At the moment, he was looking for Fancy Pants and Soarin’, whom he spotted speaking to Spitfire and Fleetfoot. As Ryan came closer, he overheard their conversation.

“I would be delighted to make you new uniforms,” Fancy stated fancily. “I would hate to change your color scheme, but I could certainly make you sturdier outfits for better flight.”

“Great!” Spitfire replied. “We could really use something like that. Our current uniforms are good, but the designer has been... disagreeable lately.”

Ryan came up to their side. “Yes, I find it rather frustrating when an associate is disagreeable as well,” Fancy replied, just spotting Ryan. “Rather like my friend here.” He put his foreleg around Ryan’s shoulder. “Tell them how you handled the last situation where you dealt with a less-than-agreeable pony.”

Ryan thought back. “Well, the first one that comes to mind was that guy who tried to mug me and Rarity some time ago.” Back when they first visited Canterlot. “I took out his hind leg.”

“That’s an odd way to put it,” Spitfire replied, looking unsure. “But I guess he did have a knife, from what I’ve heard. You were justified, even if not totally within accepted boundaries.” Ryan shrugged.

“Screw accepted boundaries, he saved my girl!” Soarin’ interjected, throwing his leg around Fleetfoot. “If not for his disregard for publicly held standards, I don’t know what would have happened. So thank you.” Ryan wasn’t sure exactly how to respond to that, so he he just smiled and nodded.

They kept chatting for a while, mostly about stunts and air shows. Ryan told them about their eerie similarity to the Navy Blue Angels, leading the conversation toward the previous military services of the individual Wonderbolts. Spitfire turned out to have been with the 14th Tactical Combat Support Battalion, well-known as the Tomcats. Fleetfoot had been with the 17th Cargo Group, resupplying units around the world in emergency situations. They were the masters of the globe, and had some of the best geographical knowledge of any service branch.

They all talked for a while longer, mostly about the Equestrian armed forces. Ryan learned that the Royal Guard was mostly just distinguished soldiers who had retired from frontline service for one reason or another, and didn’t want to stop serving. They generally didn’t do a ton in Equestria, but if the nation was invaded, they would act as the primary blocking force to keep invasive forces out. Few enemies would ever try to invade Equestria, like the Changelings, but it never hurt the ponies to be ready.

The conversation came to a stop when Celestia picked up a glass and tapped it with a spoon to get everyone’s attention. Everyone but Ryan and Luna immediately snapped to attention like their mother was chastising them, something Celestia clearly found amusing.

“I just thought I would offer up a toast,” Celestia began. “To Ryan, on the day he becomes an official adult. Though he has had many trials so far, may he forever be able to live how he chooses.” Everyone gave a cheer and got a drink to down. “May may you be strong and swift in whatever trials come in your future, Ryan.”

“Thank you, Princess Celestia,” Ryan replied, raising a glass. “I will do my absolute best.”

After the toast, conversation started up again, though Ryan decided to take a moment away from his. He made his way to Celestia, politely going past ponies and trying to avoid being bowled over by the CMC. When he did finally get there, he met Celestia with a little grin.

“Those kids are gonna grow up to be interesting young ponies,” he commented.

“Indeed,” Celestia agreed. “I remember when I first started teaching Twilight, she was much more neurotic than I had anticipated. To this day, she is still rather crazy about some things.” She giggled at the memories.

“I bet you have all kinds of stories about her that you intend to tell her first coltfriend,” Ryan said, nudging her.

Celestia snorted. “That may be some time from now, the way she studies. But when she does, hoho, am I going to go all out. I’ll be sure to get her mother in on it, as well.”

“And what about Nightlight?” Ryan asked. “He’ll never let anypony date Twilight. If it were my daughter, I sure as hell wouldn’t let some guy just start taking her out.”

“You males and your possessiveness,” Celestia commented, getting a snort from Ryan. “It’s true! And you never know when to stop. You’re all so stubborn.”

“Maybe so,” Ryan said back. “But I’d rather be stubborn about protecting my daughter than have her be at risk because I’m too easygoing.”

“Bah, you don’t know what you speak of,” Celestia replied with a roll of her eyes. “Anyhow, don’t you think now is a good time to open your presents?”

“Well, I want everyone to enjoy the party before-”

“Of course it’s a good time!” Ryan tensed up as the high-pitched voice loudly struck his ears from behind. Pinkie bounced forward. “It’s never a bad time to open presents! Let’s get started!” She left the pair standing there to bounceabout and inform everypony what time it was.

“Well, we still have a minute,” Ryan said casually. “Mind if I ask you something?”

“Shoot,” Celestia replied. Ryan wondered if she normally spoke like that, or if she was trying to make him feel comfortable.

“Well, I got to thinking about some things from back home,” Ryan began. “And I got kinda curious. What kinds of enemies do you most typically fight here, with your military? We find ourselves in a battle with groups and organizations now rather than with nations that much. That could change soon, I think, but even so. So what threats do you typically face?”

Celestia took on a look that looked hard and contemplative. “Well, we haven’t had to battle a nation in some time,” she began. “The Changelings attacked us, but we didn’t counter-invade them for it because their defeat was so crushing. Before that, the last fight we were in was with the Southern Gryphon Colonies.”

“I’ve been hearing about problems down there. Care to elaborate?” Ryan asked.

Celestia gave him a look of mock suspicion. “That’s not common knowledge. How would you know about that?”

Ryan grinned. “Call it intuition.”

Celestia laughed. “Very well. After the rapid defeat of the government, we found ourselves battling loyalists and power-hungry groups. The loyalists are mostly gone now, but other groups are generating serious issues. And we simply cannot provide aid to them at the moment.”

“I see,” Ryan replied. It gave him an idea of what kind of enemy was down there. But before they could continue, Pinkie bounced on back with the rest of the partygoers on her heels.

“Present time!” she announced.

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

Discord watched with interest as Ryan sat down and the various boxes were brought forth. He could see how obviously uncomfortable Ryan was with the situation, but none of the ponies seemed to care. Friends will be that way at times.

The first gift Ryan opened up was from the Wonderbolts, in a medium-sized box that looked like it must have weighed a good deal from how Ryan picked it up. When he opened it up, the first thing he pulled out was a printed piece of paper that read, “One Favor From the Wonderbolts”. All things considered, it was pretty huge. The second thing he pulled out was a cotton Wonderbolts suit. It was more than one piece, Spitfire explaining how they had trouble figuring out exactly how to make a single-piece suit.

“How did you know my measurements?” Ryan asked. They had asked Rarity.

Discord thought it to be a good gift. Few ponies ever got to wear those outfits, and nopony ever even wore them for Nightmare Night. Given the nature of earning it, it meant a lot that the Wonderbolts were willing to give one to Ryan.

“You’ve certainly come quite far, kid,” Discord thought.

The next one came from the CMC, and Ryan opened it with care. The other ponies in the room were all prepared to dive for cover if it exploded, but the little girls all looked innocent enough. When Ryan opened it, nothing happened, and most of the ponies let out sighs of relief. The little ones were somewhat miffed at that.

They had each made Ryan a special card for his birthday. The drawings on them were crude, of course, and the writing was in crayon. But when Ryan opened them, Discord saw a little flicker in his eyes. He actually liked the poorly made cards, and a lot. He read each one aloud, and the CMC girls beamed with pride at how much they made Ryan smile.

Next came Luna, Celestia, and Starstep. Their present was pretty big, standing at about half of Ryan’s height. He stood up to open it, and when he did, the look of surprise on his face was extraordinary.

“How did you..?” he asked, looking to the trio. He pulled out several steel rods, a baseplate, and one last rod with a banner wrapped around it. When he unravelled the banner, he held it high.

“We thought you would like it,” Luna said. “It seemed like it would fit you.”

They had gotten him an American Flag, and not a small one. He held it up high to look at it with a light behind it, amazed that the princesses had gotten him one. They watched with silent satisfaction as Ryan admired the flag.

“Thank you,” he finally said after a minute.

“You’re welcome,” Celestia replied. “You come from that land; you have to represent.”

Ryan felt his chest swell with pride. “And I promise you that I will.” Celestia looked warmly upon the boy as he spoke.

Discord felt like he was being stabbed in the heart. These ponies were all giving him really incredible gifts, now, it was the turn of the Elements of Harmony. Each of them gave Ryan something that corresponded with the pony. The gifts were all thoughtful, but were not quite as impressive as the flag from Celestia and Luna. His drinking buddies had all banded together to get Ryan some insanely expensive bottle of whiskey, comparable to Macallan 55. And yet here was Discord, one of Ryan’s closer companions, doing nothing.

Well, he couldn’t let that be. He had to give Ryan something good, something to outshine everything else he got that night. The primary reason was so that he could beat Celestia and Luna and shove it in their royal faces, of course, but he also had an obligation to his friend.

“But what would he want?” Discord wondered. He had to think fast, too.

Then it came to him in an “Ah-ha!” moment of unmatched power and size. Quickly, he thought the magic over in his mind and how he would go about it. When he got it, he looked back into his mind’s eye to see what was going on. Cinny was giving Ryan her present.

“Well, I have a couple parts to mine,” Cinny explained. She handed Ryan a small envelope. “This is the first part.”

Ryan used his finger nail to get the lip of the envelope open, then tore it open and pulled out its contents. It was a small piece of official-looking paper, fancy print and everything/ Ryan read it aloud.

“Reservations for two to Hinny of the Hills in Manehattan,” Ryan read, impressed. He had heard the ponies talk about it, and even rainbow Dash loved it. “Wow, where did you get this?”

Cinny brushed her mane aside. “I know some mares,” she said like it was nothing. “And the second part of your gift is three nights of drinks on the house at the Salt Lick.”

Ryan smiled eagerly. “Oh, wow, thanks. I’ll be sure to use that in no time.”

Soarin’ decided to get a word in. “What, not gonna wait for our Saturdays, Ryan?” he mock-asked.

Ryan leaned over to get a look at him. “Ha, you bums can buy your own!”

“We’re bums?” Fancy Pants asked with a chuckle. “Says the man who barely has a job!”

Everyone started laughing, including Discord in his stony prison in Canterlot. It was great to see them all having so much fun together, to see Ryan actually enjoying himself. Some of the ponies were almost dying of laughter, some rolling and others struggling to breathe. Ryan sat in his seat, just-

Frowning. Why was he frowning?

“Why are you frowning, Ryan?” Discord asked himself.

Indeed, why was he frowning? Discord had spotted the Wraith before, sitting outside the window like a creeper, but Ryan seemed to ignore him. He also saw his encounter from before, which not even Discord could quite understand. But he thought that Ryan managed to get past them. Was he faking everything right now? Was he still the soulless husk of a human being that he was back when he had the eponies calling him Harkness?

He couldn’t be sure, because when they all looked back at him, he put on a smile that looked completely genuine. He was thanking Cinny with a tight hug and a little nuzzle on her cheek. He threw in a suggestive phrase quietly into her ear to turn her face as red as possible. She pulled her head away in embarrassment.

“What, can’t I just hug my good friend?” Ryan asked. “Or am I just too sexy for casual gestures?” Everyone laughed again, though Cinny just looked at him with what could be described as mildly frustrated, immense amusement. She punched him in the shoulder and left his embrace.

“Only if you give me enough of that free booze will you be that sexy,” Cinny replied.

Fancy Pants jumped in. “Burn!” he shouted, pointing right at Ryan, who laughed in his seat.

Overall, the situation was a bit confusing for Discord. He was glad that Ryan seemed to be enjoying himself, but he wasn’t entirely sure that he actually was. But there was one way to know for sure. With a bit of focus and a pinch of magic, Discord sent Ryan his birthday present, one that he knew would make Ryan feel something.

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

Ryan sat in his seat. He was enjoying himself, to be certain, but he was having trouble getting his mind off of the Wraith, among other things. This game he was playing, what was the intended end? Where would he stop, and where would Ryan be able to stop him?

His conflicted mind was becoming increasingly difficult to deal with as the party went on. He liked it, but he wished that he had some peace to think for a bit. He needed it really badly. Even Discord, wherever he was, would be able to help him right now. Ryan wished that his old companion was here.

“I loved the gifts, everypony,” Ryan said. “And this party is tons of fun. What say we get to some games of-”

Suddenly, Ryan felt something yank on his hip, and his gun came flying out. He thankfully didn’t have around chambered, or something may have happened, but it was still a cause of concern. Everyone in the room flipped a shit when the gun came flying out, diving for cover, as it landed in the center of the room. Ryan, too, dove behind his chair, grabbing Cinny and pulling her with him.

When no loud BANG came from the firearm, Ryan risked a glance over the chair. The gun was spinning in the center of the floor, a bright outline forming on the handle. As soon as it started, it stopped spinning, and everyone risked their own heads to look. Ryan stood up and advanced on the potentially dangerous firearm, ready to jump aside in the event that it started acting on its own again.

Trepidatiously, Ryan leaned forward and inspected it for damage or risk before picking it up. Then, like it was a child, he cradled it in his hands as he lifted it up. That was when he noticed something new on the handle. It was an inscription, freshly burned in.

“What fun is there in making sense?” Ryan read aloud.

He knew exactly what that meant. There was only one being in this world or his world that would say something like that. Somewhere, somehow, Discord was watching Ryan right now, and he probably had been since he left Ryan out in that field to be found by the CMC.

“You sly bastard,” Ryan said to himself. The ponies came out and saw his grin.

“Ryan?” Luna asked. She walked up to look at the gun. “What just happened?”

Ryan held the gun by the barrel so she could see the inscription. “Just a word of wisdom from an old friend.” Luna didn’t get a clear enough look at it before Ryan put the gun away. She couldn’t see what it said, but whatever it said, it had made Ryan a very happy young man. If it did that for him, then she supposed it was good enough for her.

She looked to her sister. “Well, I suppose that is a good enough note to end our visit on,” she said. “It has gotten late, and we must raise the moon and lower the sun. It was a wonderful party, Ryan. We loved seeing you.”

Ryan smiled somewhat sadly at her. “Well, I hate to see you go, but duty calls. Guess I’ll see you ladies and stallion later.” He tossed a salute to Starstep as he walked by.

The princesses said their final goodbyes and made their exit, leaving the mortals to their party. The whole event quickly took on a much more relaxed tone, a change that Ryan didn’t see coming. They all seemed to want to be as well-behaved in front of their rulers as possible, even when the princesses didn’t give half a damn. It was an interesting bit of psychology.

So, the party went on, and before long, the night began to take over. Everypony was beginning to tire out, and there was much more sitting around now. The atmosphere had gone from fun and nice to casual and simple. Ryan preferred this to the way the party was before, since it fit more his style. It had still been nice, though.

Ryan talked some more with Cinny and his friends, but before long, everyone was beginning to show how tired they were getting. No one seemed to want to leave, as there was still plenty of food to be had, Ryan not being an exception. He was eating a slice of the marble cake Pinkie had made, even when he knew he would regret it later. Pinkie came by to get her own slice of cake.

“Hiya, Ryan!” she greeted. “How’s the party?”

Ryan took a bite of his cake. “It’s gfreat,” he said with a full mouth. “I’ve had a great time.”

“Good, good,” Pinkie said. She was looking at Ryan suspiciously. Uncomfortable with the look, Ryan changed the topic of conversation.

“How can you live in a bakery and eat so many sweets, yet not be overweight?” he asked. “You’re slim enough for me to pick up, yet you eat a metric ton of sweets every day.” Pinkie smiled and giggled, twirling a hoof through her mane.

“Well, I exercise, and I keep fit,” she said. Before long, though, her look resumed. “Anyway, can we talk outside?”

Ryan was confused, but he agreed to talk to her. They walked outside quietly, so as to avoid being noticed by any of the other partygoers, making sure to shut the door gentle as one holds a newborn. When they were outside alone, Ryan tried to gauge what Pinkie wanted to talk about. It didn’t look good.

“You’re not very happy,” she said.

Ryan blinked. “What?” he replied. “Of course I am, this was a great party.”

Pinkie shook her head. “No, you can’t think that! I saw you a bunch of times today looking like a sad pony, and I couldn't figure out why! You must not like my party!” Her mane was beginning to flatten out.

“No, no, no, that’s not it!” Ryan replied quickly, trying to keep her mane poofy. She looked sadly at him. “I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

Now, Pinkie looked curious. “Like what?” she asked. “What could be on your mind right now that would make you sad?”

As much as Ryan wanted to answer that, he couldn’t. He would have loved to get this off his chest, to be able to work with his friends to take down the Wraith. But that would only put them in harm’s way, an unnecessary and unwise thing to do when he was the only target. He hated the idea of lying to his friend, but it seemed to be the only option.

“Just some old memories,” he said.

Pinkie’s mane came back up, but she still looked sad. “Old, or make you feel old?”

Ryan sighed. “The latter.”

“Why do you still think about all that stuff?” Pinkie asked. “It’s all in the past, you can’t change that. So why do you think about it?”

“I don’t know,” Ryan said. While he had lied, what he said was completely true. “I feel like I don’t have any right to be forgiven for everything that I did. What kind of man am I, that I would have done those things without thought? Why didn’t I think about it at the time?”

Pinkie went to him and put her hoof on his shoulder. “No one can answer those questions, Ryan. It’s like asking what makes cake so tasty-” she let her tongue stick out. “Don’t question it, just accept that it is. You can’t change the past.”

“I know that,” Ryan said, putting his hand on Pinkie’s hoof. “But what does it say about me now? I still did those things. Horrible things. Will I do them again?” He shook his head. “I can’t just accept something that I don’t know like that.”

Pinkie pulled herself up and gave Ryan a big hug. “I know,” she said. “But I can tell you that you aren’t that man today.”

“How is that?” Ryan asked.

She pulled away and looked him in the eyes. She saw a beautiful shade of hazel, lights shimmering in the deepness of his eyes. They were watery from tears, tears of uncertainty, regret, pain. She wanted nothing more than to see those tears go away forever. To see her friend smile genuinely for more than a second. She wanted to just see him happy.

“Because,” she said. “I know you. And because we’re friends.”

Ryan could feel his face grow wet from the tears falling from his eyes. He pulled Pinkie in for another hug. She believed in him. They all believed in him. They all saw him as a good person, as someone they could depend on to do what was good.

He pulled away from her. “I can never forget what happened,” Ryan said.

“And you shouldn’t,” Pinkie replied. “But don’t let it make you a frowny-faced man ever again.” Ryan smiled at her and picked her up, and Pinkie Pie giggled ferociously as she moved through the air. When Ryan put her down, she looked at him, then back to the library, then back to him. “I’ll be right back!” she said, and ran into the library.

Ryan waited outside patiently, his emotions just beginning to calm down. He had learned a lot just now, about himself and about the others. They all loved him; he had never really thought about it that way. They all cared about his well-being, they all wanted to see him as happy as he wanted to see them.

And he learned that the Wraith could fuck himself. He was wrong about Ryan, he was wrong about everything. The Wraith was trying to beat Ryan in a game of wits, nothing more. Ryan knew he could outwit him, just like he used to outwit his friends back home.

And he learned a little something about life, too. Nothing is set in stone, nothing is unchangeable. He could always beat his past by being better in the present. If you let the tragedies of the past define your life, your future will be just as tragic.

Pinkie came back out. “Come on, Ryan! We need to get to the train station!” Without waiting for a response, she grabbed Ryan’s wrist and dragged him along to the train.

“What?” Ryan replied, confused. “Where are we going?”

“I have an extra special gift for you!” Pinkie replied happily. “But it isn’t in Ponyville, so we have to take the train!”

Ryan took Pinkie’s previous advice and just accepted it rather than question it. They ran almost full sprint to the train station, and when they arrived, the train was getting ready to leave. Ryan had no idea the trains ran this late, but who really knew? This could be part of Pinkie’s plan.

They got onto the train just in time and they were off to Canterlot, Ryan learned. Pinkie didn’t seem like a Canterlot mare, so he had no idea what to expect to get when they arrived. She might have had some kind of extra special present for him, probably some sort of food. They also could have been going there to do something, but Ryan had no idea what.

Though when Ryan thought about it, Pinkie had already given him an incredible gift. She hammered the truth that he wasn’t a monster into his head. She made him realize that he wasn’t such a terrible being, that he could be redeemed. That anything could be redeemed.

Pinkie had been talking about something the whole time, though Ryan wasn’t paying attention to that. He hadn’t even noticed. He was looking out the window as they passed over the countryside, on the mountain. These lands held infinite possibilities. There was untold glory for those who sought it, riches for those who wished it, and power for those who lusted for it. While there was so much opportunity for evil, the opportunity for good was so much greater. Just like back home.

He looked up to the sky to count the constellations. But he didn’t see any; rather, he only saw a single, bright star.

“How did I forget about that?” Ryan wondered. The star shone brightly in the night sky, outshining everything around it. It was the most powerful light in the sky at the moment, a beacon for wise men to follow. When a comet not too far off flew straight at it, the star didn’t lose a single bit of its light, and outshone the comet with ease. Ryan turned his attention back to Pinkie and realized she was talking.

“Sorry, Pinks, I didn’t hear that,” he said apologetically. “I was off somewhere else.”

“Now, how could you be somewhere else if you were sitting right there the whole time?” she asked. “Unless you used the mirror pool, but until just now, you didn’t know that existed, and the only way you could have found out would have been to have heard it from me! And I would have said, ‘No, Ryan, don’t use it!’, and you would have listened, ‘cuz you’re a good listener most of the time! Other than now, but I think you get the point!”

Ryan smiled. “Yeah, I get it,” he said. “What were you saying?”

“I was talking about the importance of cake to the royal family!” Pinkie replied in a bubbly manner. “Throughout their history, cake-eating has been a tradition, but it was a well-kept secret, so nopony but a select few great bakers knew!”

“I guess you were one of them?” Ryan asked. Pinkie nodded.

They sat in silence for a moment, something Ryan thought to be impossible with the pink mare. She just sat there, twiddling her hooftips, looking at them like she was discovering some new piece of physics or chemistry that would change the world. it was amusing to watch, her fascination with her hooftips Ryan wondered what made them so fascinating. But that wasn’t important.

“Hey, Pinkie,” Ryan said, grabbing her attention.

“Hm?” she said, looking up.

“There’s something I want you to have,” Ryan said. He reached down to his waistline and pulled out the knife, still in its sheath, and put them on the table.

Pinkie looked at it, then back to Ryan. “I don’t know,” she said. “Doesn’t that mean a lot to you? And what would I use it for?”

Ryan pushed it forward. “A knife can be used to cut anything, regardless of what it was made to cut,” Ryan began. “I don’t think I need this knife any more, and when I look at it, I see the things I did with it. I want you to take it; to redeem it, give it some level of value that it never had before. Use it for something other than its intended purpose; I want you to make it the Good Knife of Pinkie Pie, instead of it being the Bad Knife of Ryan.” He looked her in the eye. “Can you complete this task for me?”

Pinkie looked back down at the knife with a look of uncertainty. Then, steeling herself, she slowly put her hoof on the knife and slid it toward her.

“I can,” she said with determination. “And I will.”

Ryan took his hand off the knife and let Pinkie put it wherever she put all the things she carried. It was weird for Ryan to let the knife go, since it was one of his main weapons. One of the first weapons he had learned how to protect himself from and use from his sensei was a knife. It felt like he was giving a part of himself away. But at the same time, he was a Karate Ka, an empty hand fighter, and it seemed fitting for him to be rid of the blade.

The rest of the ride was spent in further silence, and when they arrived in Canterlot, Pinkie wordlessly led Ryan through the city. It was quiet and mostly dark, something odd for a city that Ryan had seen bustling before. He had gone out at night, sure, but he was buzzed or wasted when he did. Thinking back, Ryan felt some shame at letting himself get so drunk.

Pinkie took Ryan to the palace, where they stopped at the gate. “Pinkie, why are we here?” Ryan asked.

She looked around; no guards. “Because,” she began. “Your gift is inside. We need to get through without being seen, or it’ll ruin the surprise!” She spoke in a loud whisper and through clenched teeth to emphasize her meaning.

Ryan shrugged and let her lead him inside. She seemed to know her way around surprisingly well, evading guard patrols with ease. When they were nearly caught in the courtyard, Pinkie shoved Ryan into a bush that was too small for him and hid behind him. Somehow, they weren't seen by the guard, and they managed to continue on.

She seemed eager to avoid the castle garden for reasons she refused to explain, but Ryan didn’t pursue it. Maybe there were more guards out there, and maybe the princesses were doing something outside. Luna could still be playing with her stars or something, who knows? Ryan let Pinkie lead the way through the palace to wherever their destination was.

It took some time, but eventually, they arrived at a large set of double-doors with a moon symbol on top. Ryan could only assume that it was something of Luna’s.

“Is this it?” Ryan asked.

Pinkie nodded. “Yeah, but we gotta be SUPER DUPER quiet,” Pinkie warned. “Luna’s probably asleep.”

Ryan took a moment to process that. It was Luna’s bedroom, where she slept. He had never really thought about it, but he supposed that even the princess of the night had to sleep sometime. Pinkie slowly opened the door and the pair took a look inside.

Luna was snoring peacefully on her bed, not shockingly next to her favorite guard. Now that Ryan had seen it himself, he could easily use that as ammo the next time they had a go at it. But Pinkie didn’t give him much time to look at them, as she pulled him on through the room to what appeared to be a library.

Inside, he looked around. Obviously, there were books of all kinds all over the place. There were books on foreign culture, books on history, science books, math books, and old tomes of stories. Some more recent additions were self-help books on interactions, and even one on maternity. Ryan knew that it was about Luna trying to be a motherly figure like Celestia, but that still only added to his arsenal.

“Did you bring me here to get a book, Pinkie?” Ryan asked. “Because I don’t think Luna is gonna appreciate us stealing her stuff.” Pinkie started to respond, but was interrupted by another voice.

“No, she won’t.”

Pinkie and Ryan both froze and looked to the source of the voice. It was Starstep, having gotten up from his place next to Luna, looking haggard and sleepy. Ryan wasn’t terribly worried about getting in trouble, and he knew Pinkie would be exempt from any consequence, but it was still an uncomfortable position.

“Don’t worry, Mustang,” Pinkie said, shocking Starstep with his old callsign. “We aren’t here to steal anything.”

Still surprised, Starstep looked at the duo before him calculatingly. They said that they weren’t there to steal anything, and he could trust them. And he didn’t particularly care if they borrowed a book, so long as they brought it back eventually. But if Pinkie said they weren’t here for a book, why would they be here?

“Ah, do whatever,” Starstep said, giving up. “Just don’t break anything.”

“We won’t!” Pinkie replied. Starstep walked off and went back to bed. When Starstep was gone, Pinkie turned to Ryan. “Are you ready for your present?” she asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Ryan replied.

Pinkie turned to the center column of the library and took a good, long, hard look at it. After a minute, she seemed to realize something, and started reaching through her nonexistent pockets for something. What she came out with was some weird rod that seemed to glow as she held it.

“What on Earth is that?” Ryan asked.

“I borrowed it from the Doctor,” Pinkie replied, pointing it at the column.

After she answered, she walked up and pressed the tip of the rod into the column of books, resulting in something Ryan never saw coming. The column began to disappear, simply fading away into oblivion. Behind it, in the floor, there was a spiral staircase that led down through the floor to an unknown depth.

Pinkie bounced onto the stairs. “Come on, it’s down the stairs!” In disbelief, Ryan followed her down the steps.

At the base of the stairs, there was a small room, lit only by a single candle. It would have been a fire hazard, had the room not been made of stone, or not had a small body of water in the center. Pinkie trotted over to the pool and urged Ryan over. Curious, he followed her.

“Here it is!” Pinkie shouter, the sound reverberating in the room.

After the recovery of his ears, Ryan looked at the pool. “A pool of water?” he asked, confused.

“Not just any pool of water,” Pinkie said. “Take a closer look.”

Ryan looked hard into the water. He wasn’t seeing anything, just an empty, dark pool of liquid. There were some ripples here and there, and he could almost see the bottom. It was smooth tile floor underneath, but he didn’t see anything special.

“I don’t see-”

“Of course you don’t!” Pinkie said, like it was nothing. “You aren’t trying to!” Ryan frowned as he looked back into the pool. He looked hard for something, anything, that might be there. But there was just the blackness of the water, with a few more ripples than before.

But the ripples were coming more and more, distorting the water more with each pass. Ryan didn’t look away from the pool, as he might have risked missing something. Soon, an image began to form, with colors and distinct shapes. Before long, it was there, and Ryan could hardly believe his eyes.

There was his mother and his father, sitting at a table in the family room of the house, watching TV with nearly emotionless looks on their faces. On the table, there was a picture of Ryan, clad in colors, flowers, and hopeful scribblings. His parents were almost unmoving, and when they did move, they just moved their heads to look at the picture.

The room was just how he remembered it, with a big TV by the window, it had always been poorly placed. There were Chinese-style lamps hanging from the ceiling, and a brown ceiling fan in the center of the room. The couch his parents were sitting on was the same old brown thing they had been sitting on for years. Other than the picture, everything was the same.

Ryan reached his hand forward and poked the water, creating more ripples. As the ripples moved out from where he touched the water, something happened. His parents started looking around, like they had heard a noise. Ryan could tell that they hadn’t, because he could hear everything that was going on. They both turned their heads and looked in the direction of the invisible eye that was watching them.

“Hey,” Ryan said, forgetting himself for a moment.

“They can’t hear you,” Pinkie said, though RYan didn’t hear. He was too transfixed on the pool.

Ryan’s mother stood up and walked around the couch, using it as support, toward where the invisible eye was. If Ryan could place it right, the eye was on top of some stained-glass work that she had made many years ago. Gently, as if the glass was a baby, his mother dragged her fingers across the surface.

“What are you doing, honey?” Ryan’s father asked.

She shook her head. “I’m not sure,” she said. Her eyes started to tear up. “Something just feels... right, over here.”

Ryan had been holding his breath, and when he finally took breath in, it was with a loud, short gasp. Tears began to flow from his eyes as his mother’s hand moved to where he was touching the water, and then remained. Her fingers began to close around that spot, as did Ryan’s. Ryan’s tears fell into the pool freely, unhindered, going hitting the water and creating more ripples. The waves no longer hindered the image, which became that of his mother beginning to cry.

“When will you come home, Ryan?” she asked.

Ryan started to sob. “I don’t know,” he said, with a shake of his head. “I don’t know.”

Pinkie watched on as Ryan spoke mutely to his mother through the pool, feeling tears of her own well up and begin to fall, heavy, like raindrops on an icy day.

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

Starstep went back to bed after seeing the duo in the library without another thought. Well, he had one.

“Maybe they’re seeing the pool?” he thought. He wouldn’t put it past that pink mare.

He crawled back into bed and pulled the covers over himself, eager to get back to sleep. His movement, however, stirred the princes of the night, who turned around to see what was going on. As she awoke more, she started to give Starstep an unhappy look.

“Why are you moving about?” she asked. “I thought that you would be as exhausted as I tonight.”

He shrugged. “Eh,” he said simply. “I just heard some movement. Pinkie took Ryan up here, they’re in the library.”

Luna nodded and rolled over to go back to sleep. But, suddenly, she jolted upright and looked frantically around.

“The library?!” she shouted.

Starstep looked grumpily at her. “Yes, the library,” he said. “What’s all... the...” As he trailed off, he realized just what was wrong.

Without waiting for him, Luna sped off into the library and found her column was missing. She should have known better than to think Pinkie Pie couldn’t have found the pool, that mare can do anything. As soon as she saw the opening, she flew straight down and rushed to the pool room.

When she got there, she didn’t quite get what she was expecting; Ryan was just sitting there, barely touching the surface of the pool water with his fingertips. Pinkie Pie was some distance behind, sitting and crying silently. When Luna approached, Pinkie turned around and put her hoof to her mouth to tell her to be quiet.

“We can speak like this,” Luna said mentally.

“He’s with his mom right now,” Pinkie explained quickly. “He hasn’t said a word since it started.”

Luna looked away from the mare and at Ryan’s back. Against her better judgment, she moved herself to be to the left of Ryan, to get a better look at his face. What she saw surprised her, yet somehow, she expected it. His face was wet and shiny in the candlelight, his eyes were reddened, and his body was stiffly in place. He didn’t even notice Luna walk not four feet from him, nor the extra ripples in the water when she poked it.

She moved away from him and back to Pinkie Pie, where she gave Ryan one last glance. He was in a world entirely his own right now, a world where no one could hurt him. He had everything he could have wanted, the world belonged to him. It seemed fitting for his passing into adulthood.

Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, was on her way up the stairs. When Luna noticed she was leaving, she asked why.

“This is his moment,” Pinkie replied softly. She said nothing else as she left the room and went up the stairs.

Luna looked back at Ryan, and, silently, she went up the stairs as well, leaving Ryan alone to be with his real family.

Author's Notes:

Sorry it took so long; had some family troubles come up.