The final day of February, the twenty-eighth, Sunday. Ryan could feel the winter starting to fade away and give to springtime weather. Back home, there was maybe a week of transition before it got unbearably hot.

He was sitting in the train to Canterlot with Fancy, Soarin’, and Mac. They couldn’t meet the previous night, so Fancy offered to have them out for a day in the city. Mac had been unsure, but after some prodding and pestering by Ryan, he agreed to come along. They had the option of flying in by carriage, but that would have cost even Fancy an arm and a leg to do.

So there they sat, a famous group of ponies and a human, like anyone else. Everypony around them couldn’t help but glance over every now and then, not that the group really minded. This was what happened when they took public transportation. Even the gun on Ryan’s side did nothing to deter anyone. Of course, most of them had no idea what it was.

They were chatting about ponies and persons of other species that they knew. Ryan talked a lot about the Elements of Harmony, taking the occasional jab at Mac about his sister. Mac would respond with some bit of unexpected wit each time, though, something he said he got from his own bouts with Granny Smith. Fancy talked about ponies none of the others knew, and Soarin’ mostly talked about the wonderbolts.

“How is Fleetfoot doing?” Fancy asked. “You haven’t mentioned her yet.”

Soarin’ grinned. “She’s doing great,” he replied. “She’s been getting better and better lately, outdoing most of her previous records. I noticed that she’s been in a really good mood, and it’s just been rubbing off on me.”

“Does this have anything to do with your future proposal?” Ryan asked.

“I don’t see how it could,” Soarin’ replied. “Though she might have a feeling that I’m gonna do it soon.”

“Are you?” Ryan asked.

Soarin’ nodded emphatically. “Hell yeah, and I can barely keep myself from flying next to her during training! The time seems perfect.”

Ryan looked out the window at the approaching city of Canterlot. “I would have thought that the best time for that would be at the Grand Galloping Gala,” Ryan said. “Can’t wait?”

“There’s definitely that,” Soarin’ said. “But I think that there’s gonna be a lot going on at the Gala, and I want the focus to be on us.” Ryan couldn’t help but notice that Soarin’ threw a mischievous glance toward Mac as he spoke.

“Well, that seems like a great idea,” Mac said. “Ah can’t wait for the wedding.” Now Ryan noticed that Mac wasn’t going to pursue the Gala thing. He and Fancy decided not to pursue it themselves.

“So, you guys all have lovers,” Ryan said, getting blushes from all of them. “And I’m just sitting here, wanking and waiting.” Soarin’ sputtered out some laughter, along with Mac, and Fancy just put a hoof to his face.

“That isn’t something that we ever needed to hear,” Fancy said.

“And yet, here you are, hearing it.” Ryan looked back out the window. “Amazing how time goes along. Time waits for no one, which is why it’s so good to have friends who don’t waste it.” Ryan smiled at his friends.

“You got to go after what ya want, or it won’t be there long,” Mac said. “If you just have the courage to jump, the parachute’ll open.”

“Amen to that,” Soarin’ said.

They were silent for a moment. Everyone was thinking about how they had spent their time in the world thus far. Three of them had found love and pursued it successfully, and those three were successful in the rest of their lives as well. Ryan had wasted a good bit of time, pursuing Narendra, but that was all in the past. It was time for him to stop wasting his time.

“Hey, you guys remember Starstep, right?” Ryan asked. His friends all nodded.

“Yes, the chap who guards Princess Luna, correct?” Fancy asked.

“Guardin’ nothin’, she don’t need protection,” Mac said. “He’s there ‘cuz he like her.”

“Well, yes, didn’t you see their banter?” Fancy asked.

“Ah saw it, but that ain’t what Ah meant,” Mac said. “He’s in love with her, hooves down.”

Fancy looked unsure. “Now, I’m not terribly sure-”

“I am,” Ryan interrupted. “He’s totally hot for her. Trust me; I know things about those two.”Everypony there raised an eyebrow.

“Oh?” Soarin’ asked. “What kinds of things might you have?”

“They aren’t in a relationship,” Ryan explained. “But from what they tell me about their various antics, Starstep is absolutely in love with her. I can’t tell if she feels similarly to him, but-” Ryan leaned in to whisper- “if they sleep in the same bed, they are clearly more than just friends. I don’t know how it works here, but you don’t just sleep next to your opposite gender friends back home.”

“You do have a point,” Fancy conceded. “Has he tried to pursue any kind of relationship?”

“Besides being her personal guard? No,” Ryan said. “Would you try to become the special somepony of an immortal princess, one who has seen millions of ponies, who has likely been proposed to by thousands and rejected every one, who has more power than just about anypony else other than Celestia?”

Fancy blinked. “When you put it that way, no,” he said.

“Me neither,” Soarin’ said. “Fleety has seen thousands of ponies and been proposed to as many times, but I don’t feel intimidated by her.”

“And you shouldn’t, when you love someone,” Ryan said. “So what say we go find our friend Starstep and see if we can’t help him out?”

The stallions all smiled devilishly. “Aye!” they said.

“Good,” Ryan said. “Now the trick is to find out where he is.”

When they arrived at the city, Fancy took the group through a special exit from the platform into Canterlot. It was made as a way for ponies to pay or a quicker way off the train platform and find transportation through the city more easily. It’s good to have a rich friend.

They took a very nice cab cart into the city. It was still like Ryan remembered it; the political capital of Equestria. He could see snobbery all over many of the ponies’ faces, which Fancy seemed to find frustrating. He was certainly a politically significant pony, but he wasn’t much of a fan of politics. He preferred to stick to his designing.

The cab dropped them off at a nice hotel, assuming that they would be staying the week. Fancy would obviously be sticking around, but Soarin’, Mac, and Ryan all had to leave later to get home. For all of them, there would be an unhappy pony waiting for them at home if they walked in late.

“So, where shall we look first?” Fancy asked. “If we are to find our Starstep, we must think about where he would be at the moment.”

“I remember running into him in a bar last time I saw him without Luna around,” Ryan said, remembering the only time he ever saw Starstep without Luna. “But odds are that he’s hanging around Luna at the moment.”

“Sounds like something we could have some fun with,” Soarin’ said mischievously.

“Now, now, Soarin’, we’re going to talk to him about pursuing his love,” Ryan replied. “We want him to express his feelings. As his fellow stallions, it is our obligation to aid him in his quest for love.”

“Who are you and what have you done with Ryan?” Mac asked.

Ryan rolled his eyes. “You see, Mac, you already have a relationship with Fluttershy,” Ryan explained. “Because it already exists, I can do what I do to you, since it won’t affect your chances of either finding love, since you already have it, or damaging the love that already exists. I might even go so far as to say that I’ve helped you out!”

“Oh?” Mac said with a laugh. “And how might that be?”

Ryan shrugged. “You know. I mention some things. You two start thinking about some things. Things happen later...” He trailed off and didn’t finish.

Mac raised an eyebrow. “Ah’m gonna go with the assumption that ya don’t follow me all day and spy on me and Fluttershy,” Mac replied. “And Ah’m gonna deny your allegations regarding your role in our choice of... activities.”

“Fellows, it isn’t classy to talk about these things in public,” Fancy said. “If we are to talk about such things, we should keep it in the dark, so as to keep it more private.”

“Sounds good to me,” Soarin’ added, fearful of being added to the conversation.

The started walking through the city to get to the castle, seeing some sights along the way. They stopped by the Museum of Magical History first, easily walking past the guards with Fancy next to them. He told them how he had special connections to the owners of the museum, so he could take anyone in without issue. The museum featured all the most prominent ponies in magical history, shockingly not having much from the princesses.

They actually had little to do with any magical research. The only extent to which they showed up in the exhibits were in mentions that they either provided approval, funds, or materials for the experiments. And, also surprisingly, several experiments featured were wildly unethical by anyone’s standards. The only reason they were featured was because their results wound up aiding later research and because they set precedents for experimental ethics later. One of them had an eerie similarity to the story behind HeLa cells.

After that, they continued on their way, stopping at several pubs on a side street. They were extremely nice; positively slathered with class. Fancy had been to a couple of them himself, and even Soarin’ had been in the fine establishments. They were the kinds of places that famous or powerful ponies apparently frequented, as they never told anyone who was in their clientele.

Fancy and Soarin’ explained how there were actually quite a few places in the city like that. With so many important ponies in the city, and then so many nobles, they had to be that way. Otherwise, the paparazzi and ponies looking for something would be able to find them in their downtime. Ryan thought that they could actually use that, probably tonight.

Next, they visited a couple of odd gift shops. One was called Enchanted Comics, and not one of the stallions nor the man thought it to be a fine establishment. The guy at the desk seemed seedy, and he kept trying to send them to the “Adult Section”. As they were leaving, Ryan thought he saw a couple of familiar tails behind a shelf in that section. The ponies they belonged to sounded like they were trying to explain why they were there.

The last place they stopped by before they made their way to the castle uninterrupted was a very odd store, selling knick-knacks of all kinds. There were snow globes, some with special properties, strange amulets, bracelets, and other jewelery, and much more. The owner wore a fez and an outfit that Ryan would swear was traditional somewhere in his world.

“Ah, I never would have expected the famous Fancy Pants to come here!” the clerk said. “And with famous company to boot! How can I help you on this fine day?”

“We are just browsing, my good stallion,” Fancy said. “Just seeing if something catches our eyes.”

The clerk nodded. “Well, simply see me if you find anything of interest.”

The group split up and explored the unusual store, checking for anything that looked cool. Ryan started in a section labeled “Fire and Ice and Elements Galore”. It tons of interesting stuff, though none of it, Ryan could afford at the moment. There were special fire starters, sort of like lighters, but without fuel. There were also small sticks that could apparently put out a fire without issue, just sucking it in and storing the flames within. As awesome as it was, Ryan had no practical use for it.

He left that section in search of his friends. Given the prices of the items in that area, it was a safe bet that Ryan couldn’t get anything else in the store. Mac probably couldn’t either, and even Soarin’ would be hard-pressed to buy a few items in there. The odd nature of the items combined with the price made Ryan wonder about the legality of the store.

Ryan heard some arguing from another area of the store. It sounded like Fancy and Soarin’, and given Mac’s quietness, he could easily be there as well. Ryan made his way in the direction of the argument, hoping that it wasn’t his friends there and hoping that it wouldn’t break out into anything more.

When he arrived on the scene, his fears were realized. Mac and Soarin’ were on either side of Fancy, who was having a very serious argument with some guy and his buddies. The guy and his buddies wore similar outfits to the clerk, telling Ryan that they worked here. They looked even more seedy than the clerk, though, and as Ryan got closer, it became that much more obvious that the store wasn’t exactly legitimate.

“We can sell what we want, Fancy Slacks,” the biggest one said. “It’s a free country.”

“What you are selling is illegal, and for a good reason,” Fancy replied aggressively. “Items form a sanctioned nation are one thing, but drugs? You are poisoning our society with this garbage.”

“We aren’t the ones looking for it,” the big guy replied.

“You are providing it, which is that much worse,” Fancy said.

Ryan walked over and placed himself between the quarreling groups. His friends seemed happy to see him there, but the other group did not seem to be so. They tried to tell him to move out of the way, but Ryan did not. Instead, he turned to the big guy.

“What’s your name?” Ryan asked. He received no answer. “Fine,” he said with a sigh. “How do ponies know you?”

“Ponies know me as Matias,” he said.

“Well, Matias,” Ryan began, putting his hand on his side, by his gun. “You must understand that when something like that is written into law, it is because the majority of ponies want it that way.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Matias replied.

“Well, that is how this system of law works. By doing what you are doing, you are not only breaking the law, you are defying the accepted standards of society. This makes you an outcast. You don’t want to be an outcast, right?” Ryan had guessed correctly when he thought that saying that would get to this guy.

“If no one finds out-” he leaned in close to Ryan- “That won’t happen.”

“Well, now, that’s where the problem is,” Ryan said. “What happens when someone does find out? Odds are, you go to jail, ruining your family’s good name forever. Not that you could do much worse to it than you already have, but being a convict can hardly help.”

Matias got mad. “Why, you little-”

“So I’m going to give you a choice!” Ryan said loudly, smiling wide. “You see, I have this thing on my side-” Ryan pointed to his 1911- “And it really is quite an item.”

“Let me guess,” Matias said, rolling his eyes. “You give it to us, we leave?”

“Not quite!” Ryan replied. “You see, what it does, is it creates a small explosion, sending a small piece of lead flying out the front close to the speed of sound. If you don’t leave, that little piece of lead will be yours, and I might even add in another one for free!”

He pulled the gun out, one hand on the handle, the other straddling the barrel like he was holding a cleaning cloth. Matias looked down at it and saw Ryan chamber a round, and began to question whether or not he should challenge the human. Ultimately, he chose against it.

“If I do not attack you, you cannot hurt me,” he said.

“Wanna bet?” Ryan replied.

Matias frowned. “Yes,” he said. “And I will not fight you here. We would like you to leave our store now.”

Ryan put the gun away. “We weren’t planning on staying,” he said. “But remember; if you don’t leave today, the guards will make you tomorrow.” With that, Ryan and his buddies left the store.

As they left the store, Mac looked back. “Ah don’t think that’s the last we’ll be seeing of those guys,” he said.

“I bet,” Soarin’ replied. “What should we do about that?”

“Wait and see,” Ryan said. “We just need to let them do what they will. We’ll see it coming. And we’ll be ready.”

They made their way straight to the castle. After the encounter in the sketchy store, they weren’t too keen on finding anything else like that. There were other stores like that around, too, and it was easy to tell. They were usually located in alleyways and up on the second floors of buildings. Ryan was constantly watching for anyone who might approach them.

When they arrived at the castle, the guards gave them some odd looks. They had yet to actually see, or even hear about, this group of ponies and human. It was odd to them to see the famous ponies Soarin’ and Fancy Pants hanging out with the human and farmer brother of the Element of Honesty.

“What business have you here?” one of the guards asked.

“We came to see a friend in the castle,” Ryan said. “His name is Starstep, and he’s the personal guard to Princess Luna. Is he in?”

The guard nodded. “Yes, he is here. Ordinarily, I don’t just let ponies in to see one of the princesses in her downtime, but I understand that you and Princess Luna are quite familiar.”

“You could say that,” Ryan said. “And we’re here to see Starstep, we’ll be taking him from the princess for a time.”

The guard looked confused, but didn’t ask. “Alright, go on in.”

“Thanks,” Ryan replied.

The group entered the castle like they owned the place, ignoring any other guards they walked by. The guards hid it well, but they didn’t like the group acting so lax. Most ponies were always watching the guards, being sure to behave; these guys were just too casual. Of course, there had to be a reason for that.

The guys randomly walked through halls, trying to figure out where the princesses were or where the guards’ barracks were. They actually didn’t run into many guards after leaving the public area of the castle, which wasn’t very easy. They had to explain the exact nature of what they were doing, and of course, they lied about that, and had to be obviously willing to turn around. By looking like they were willing to wait until another time, it takes away the urgency, and one can do a lot more when they really aren’t supposed to.

Eventually, they found their way to the throne room, where Celestia was inside, talking to a group of gryphons. They seemed to be really going at it, and the guys were all ready in case something broke out. As capable as the guards were, the guys had their own, very specialized individual talents and capabilities that could prove useful.

“We need help!” a gryphon shouted. “This is your fault, you must help fix it!”

Celestia sighed frustratedly. “I grow tired of this,” she said. “You attacked Equestria. We responded, we stayed after it was done to help. We fulfilled our obligation; you must handle this on your own.”

The gryphon spat at the ground. “Bah!” he said. “You are just weak.”

The guys all looked at each other; this was not acceptable. These gryphons deserved a serious ass-whooping. They couldn’t legally give it to them, however much they wanted to, but the least they could do was shut them down. So the guys approached them from behind.

“I don’t think you understand how the world works,” Ryan said.

The gryphons startled and spun around. Ryan had his hands in his pockets, surrounded by his stallions, smiling calmly. The gryphons looked tense, ready to attack. They were incredibly mad, by the looks of it.

“Who the hell are you?” one of them asked.

“That’s not important,” Ryan replied.

“I demand a name from those who think they can speak to me.” The gryphon was apparently quite the asshole.

“You can call me Harkness,” Ryan said, going with safety. “And you need to understand how this stuff works. You guys were foolish; Equestria didn’t have to stick around after they beat your sorry asses, yet they did. If anything, you owe them for doing that much for you.”

“We owe nothing!” the gryphon shouted.

Ryan shrugged. “Whatever. But you can’t come here and be a bitch about it. Learn to deal with it yourself, you sorry bucket of KFC.” The gryphon looked confused. “Now get out of here before I deep-fry you and eat you. It’s been too long since I ate me some good fowl.”

The gryphons all went very pale, and it got worse when Ryan flared his canines. They turned to Celestia and murmured something Ryan didn’t catch, but whatever it was, Celestia grinned very lightly, trying to hide her enjoyment. The gryphons left immediately after, throwing Ryan a nervous glance as they went.

Celestia sighed with relief. “Thank you, Ryan,” she said, sure that the gryphons wouldn’t catch his name.

“Don’t mention it,” Ryan said. “Have you seen your sister and Starstep around?”

Celestia thought. “Well, I haven’t seen them since I raised the sun earlier. I imagine they are still in Luna’s bedchambers, playing their silly little games.”

“Muchas gracias, mi princesa,” Ryan said.

“Eres bienvenido,” Celestia replied with a smirk. The guys turned to leave. “Oh, Ryan, one more thing.”

“Yes?” Ryan said with a turn.

“If we need to deal with them again, can I rely on you to take care of it?” Celestia asked. “You seem to be the best-suited for it.”

Ryan nodded. “You can count on me.” Celestia smiled sincerely at him as he led his buddies out.

They made their way back to the private areas of the castle, this time taking the time to explain why they were going there. Some of the guards were hesitant, but they all knew who he was and let him pass. The halls took some time to get through, as they were extremely wide and had many different rooms coming off of them. When they eventually found their way to Luna’s chambers, they stood still.

“Who wants to knock?” Ryan asked.

“What the hay kind of question is that?” Mac asked. “She knows you best. You knock.”

“I don’t want to be that guy who knocks on her door and interrupts!” Ryan said. “She already has a green light for hitting me. And I’ve bothered her plenty lately.” Ryan looked at each of his friends. “Soarin’, you do it.”

“What? No!” Soarin’ shouted. “Why would I do it?”

“Because you’re a pegasus, and so is Starstep! You have a connection there!” Ryan shouted back, receiving a deadpan stare from Soarin’.

“Why not have Fancy do it, then?” Soarin’ recommended. “He has more connection than me to the high life in Canterlot. He’d be good for it.”

“I cannot recommend that,” Fancy said. “I have few enough acquaintances who would be willing to take the flak for me pestering the princess, and I would like to maintain them.” While Fancy went on, the door opened, and Luna came out to see what the noise was. “They would have some trouble if they lost their connections.”

“Well, I don’t want to get smacked by Luna again,” Ryan said. Luna kept quiet. “If she’s in sexy time with Starstep-”

“Can I help you?” Luna asked suddenly and with some annoyance.

The guys all hopped up, not having noticed Luna there. The stallions all went and hid behind Ryan, who stood stock still out of fear. Luna glared at him through narrowed eyes, and Ryan swallowed hard. He tried to move back a bit, but the guys behind him kept him in place.

“Heeeey, Luna,” Ryan said with a nervous smile.

“Sexy time?” Luna asked.

“Uhhh...” Ryan replied. “Nnnnnnno?”

Luna put her hoof to her face. “What do you want?” she asked.

“Is Starstep here?” Ryan asked.

“Yes,” Luna replied. She turned around. “Starstep!”

“Yes?” Starstep replied from inside.

“Ryan and his friends are here to see you!” Luna shouted.

Starstep came running. “What? Why?”

“We want to talk to you,” Ryan said. “Come with us.”

“Can’t you talk here?” Luna asked.

“This is a stallion’s conversation,” Ryan explained. “No princesses allowed.”

Luna huffed. “Well, I suppose I can let him out,” she said. “I want him back by ten!”

“Don’t worry, wify, I’m sure we’ll have him back for playtime before then,” Ryan said. Luna glared at him even harder. “Let’s go, Starstep.” The guys started walking away, and Starstep followed behind with trepidation.

“Where are we going?” Starstep asked.

“Somewhere we can talk, man-and-stallions to stallion,” Ryan said. “And where we won’t be eavesdropped upon by unruly and crazy princesses.”

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The guys brought Starstep to one of the establishments Fancy had mentioned earlier. They really didn’t want to be bothered by anyone while they had this conversation, and they knew that if they did anything in public, Luna would find out about it for sure. Even with this, there was still that chance, but at least it made them feel safer.

The pub they were in was a very nice place. The cushions were extremely comfy, and the stools that they had for other guests were padded and easy to sit on. Ryan had grabbed one when they decided what table they would sit at and dragged it over while his buddies made sure Starstep was stuck in the corner and couldn’t get out without their sayso.

The conversation started normally, with them talking about whatever was happening in their own lives. Fancy and Soarin’ were hinting at their personal love lives, talking about how well they were doing and the importance of openness in their relationships. Starstep didn’t catch it from them, so Mac put himself out there and talked about the first date he had with Fluttershy. He had to be pushed there by Apple Bloom to be courageous enough to do it.

“So that was when mah sister brought Fluttershy along,” Mac concluded. “She had me chained down and told Fluttershy that Ah needed help. After that, she left us as alone as she could to make sure Ah asked her to dinner.” Everyone laughed.

“Wow, dude, I wouldn’t have guessed that even YOU were that shy,” Ryan said.

“Yeah, well,” Mac replied, putting his hooves up to say whatever.

“That’s really something,” Starstep said. He seemed to be thinking about something; it was the time to strike.

“So, Star,” Ryan said, getting the guard’s attention. “You got any mares that you’re angling towards?”

“Uhh, no, not really,” Starstep replied. He refused to look at Ryan as he spoke.

Ryan glanced at each of his friends. Star wasn’t about to tell them on his own, and it was painfully obvious that it embarrassed him. As much as it hurt them to put their fellow stallion in a tough position, if they wanted him to at least pursue happiness, they had to give him the push. Ryan leaned forward.

“Star, we all know who she is,” he said.

Starstep raised his head. “What?!” he asked urgently.

Ryan nodded. “We can all see it,” he said. “I’ve known since before I was even in Equestria. It really wasn’t that hard to tell.”

Starstep looked at everyone around him. They all gave him sympathetic looks, understanding what he was going through. He gave them a defeated sigh.

“So you know..?” he asked with the tiniest glimmer of hope.

“The princess in your fairy tale,” Ryan finished. Star groaned. “Look, we aren’t here to step on anything.”

“Yeah, we want to help you out,” Soarin’ added. “We all know what it’s like to like a girl from afar and not be confident enough to pursue her or be afraid.”

“I remember when I first met Fleur, I was terrified,” Fancy said. “She was the prettiest mare in my university, and she was incredibly smart. She handles most of my finances now. I was just an average stallion at the time, I did well in my classes, but I had little going for me. When I finally picked up the nerve, she said yes, because I was the only one, ‘Grow the pair she wanted’, she said. Of course, I had to make a lewd joke at that. She loved it, and now, we’re married with plenty of kids.”

Starstep blinked. “Uh, wow,” he said. “But, and I mean no offense, this is a very different pony we’re talking about. She wouldn’t say yes to me.”

Ryan shook his head. “No, no! That kind of thinking results in missed opportunities! Back in the Air Guard, didn’t you learn not to let such huge opportunities to bag your objectives slip by?”

Starstep hung his head. “No, and I suspect that you guys don’t know how that ended,” he said.

Ryan waved his hands. “Let the past stay where it is; behind you. Look forward, never back.”

“Mares are special,” Mac said. “Ya have to have the confidence to ask them if you want them to even respect you.”

“Luna and I respect each other,” Starstep said, slipping and saying her name. “We always have.”

“And that’s important,” Ryan replied. “You respect each other. You have to ask now; because she respects you, she has to at least give you a chance! And even if she doesn’t, even though I would bet a thousand bits she would, if you two really are friends and do respect each other, you’ll STAY FRIENDS!”

“That isn’t guaranteed,” Starstep replied. “What if she thinks it’s too weird? What if she doesn’t want me around because she thinks I’m looking at her a in a way that isn’t professional?”

Ryan gave Starstep a deadpan look. “Star, you’re relationship is ANYTHING but ‘professional’,” he said. “If you think it is, then you need to go around and see how the other guards. And Luna doesn’t really need protection; she keeps you around because she likes having you around.”

Starstep looked extremely uncertain. “I... I don’t know...” he said. He put what were probably his elbows on the table. “I mean, we’re great friends. Doesn’t that mean I’m in the ‘zone’?”

Ryan breathed in slowly and blew out his breath. “Star, if there’s one thing that I wish all people could understand, it’s that the ‘Friend Zone’ isn’t real. It’s a pathetic excuse people use to get out of asking someone to be closer with them. When you love someone, or have ANY romantic interest in them, you SHOULD be friends first. If your wife isn’t your best friend, then what the hell is she? You have to have friendship and everything that comes with it to be intimate on any level.”

“Ryan is right,” Fancy said. “I trust Fleur with everything that matters to me; her our kids, and everything else. We built our relationship, just like friends build their friendship, through trial and error. And we came out stronger than I ever imagined.”

“Exactly,” Ryan said. “One of my closest friends went straight into the USMC out of High School. But he knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, so he wanted someone he could care about and who could care about him nearby to be there for him. He married his best friend; an when I saw my friends... under special circumstances, not long ago...” Ryan had to pause. “They talked about how happy they were together. You never have to look far or focus on romance. Your best friend is just as good a candidate as anyone to be your love.”

Starstep shook his head. “I’m afraid...” he said. His shame was getting to be too much. Time to man up.

“Of what?” Ryan asked. “What’s the worst that can happen? She says no. End of story.”

“But what if she doesn’t want me around?” Starstep asked.

Ryan sighed. “What I said about respect; if she has respect for you, she’ll keep you around and if she has enough, even give you a chance. If she doesn’t want you around any more after, then she never respected you enough in the first place, and you should be out of there for your own good.”

“If there ain’t any respect, y’all can’t expect to live a happy life,” Mac said.

Starstep looked defeatedly at each of the stallions and man before him. He was trying his best, but there was nothing he could do. They had him beat at just about every corner; he had no cards to play. He hoped that it wasn’t as obvious to Luna as it was to them, because that might be bad. Of course, with that concept of respect, it could be good...

He shook his head. “Ah, I don’t know,” he said. “Let’s order some drinks.”

“Sounds good, brother,” Ryan said.

They got their alcoholic beverages and spent the rest of the time exchanging other stories, mostly listening to Starstep’s old stories, since he wasn’t a regular part of the group. He told them a dozen hysterical stories from when he was in the Thirty-fifth Joint Strike Force and the One-seventeenth Nighthawks. The thirty-fifth was a battalion-sized unit that was kind of like the US Army Rangers. Only they were predominantly for air-based combat and operations.

Eventually, the night, as all others, came to a close, and it was time to go. Ryan said that he would cover Starstep’s tab, but Starstep refused. In response, Ryan got up to go to the bathroom, and instead went and found the waiter and paid him the entire bill. He had almost no cash left after that, so when he returned and told everyone, he got pats from all but Starstep.

They all left and said their goodbyes, the guys heading toward the train station and Starstep heading back to the castle. It was already ten past ten, so Luna would probably be slightly miffed at him for staying out. But it wasn’t like she was his wife or something.

“Wife...” Starstep thought.

He immediately crushed any thoughts about pursuing her. She was a princess, and he, a guard. He didn’t know how it had worked out with that Shining Armor fellow, but he was afraid that she would say no because of an immortality issue or something. But if it worked for Shining Armor, it could work for him, right?

“Now I’m working against myself,” Starstep thought.

Could he try to express his feelings for his princess? Should he? The guys had certainly made some excellent arguments for it. Starstep had yet to generate any good arguments against it. To be sure, there was massive mutual respect between Starstep and Luna, and loads of trust. More so than most couples out there, and they weren’t even together.

Starstep sighed. “Why is life so complicated?” he wondered aloud. He walked the rest of the way silent and empty of mind.

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

Ryan and the guys walked with pride. They had just shredded any arguments Starstep had for not pursuing love. They could see it in his face the entire night after they finished talking about it. Overall, it was a good night.

The street lights were dim and worthless on the walk back to the platform. The train wouldn’t be there for some time, though, so they could take their time. Not that they wanted to take their time walking through dark, dangerous street at night. Who knew what unsavory characters would be out?

... They knew exactly who. They were just waiting at this point.

They were halfway to the train station when they were finally confronted. Ryan had been expecting as much on the walk, though his buddies seemed to have been taken by surprise when they were surrounded. They were startled, but no one was that scared; there were four of them, and there were four baddies. Not a problem.

“You got some stones, Matias,” Ryan said, addressing the leader. “In the middle of the street? Props to you.”

Matias walked toward them from a shadow. “We don’t want you telling anyone about us, so we’ve come to silence you.”

“No shit,” Soarin’ replied, getting low. he could propel himself up and get the drop on them. “We thought you were coming to give us some fucking gift cards.”

“Now, boys, I don’t believe violence is necessary,” Fancy said. “Though if I am wrong, I suppose that I am ready for a fight.”

Mac grunted. “Y’all ain’t as ready as me,” he said. “Ah’ve been waiting for a fight for a while now. Gettin’ ancy.”

“You can’t win,” Matias said, signaling for his boys to close in. They inched their way toward the group, hooves scratching against the cobblestone street. “Just let it happen.”

“Well, this may seem out of character,” Ryan said. He opened his left palm and punched his fist into it. “But it’s been too long since I’ve killed anything.”

“That makes you sound psychotic,” Soarin commented.

Ryan shrugged. “You know my story. Would you expect any less?” Ryan said it to scare them, but he was more than ready to fight to kill if it came to that.

Matias didn’t seem to care, though. “ਨੂੰ ਖਤਮ ਕਰੋ!” he shouted. Punjabi

The action started right off. Matias’s goons rushed the group from multiple directions, trying to get them off guard. Soarin’ shot up into the air and rocketed back down to tackle one of them and went into the fight. Mac and Fancy, with their massive sizes, were able to take the brunt of the others’ force and toss them back, giving them time to get ready for their own fight.

While they went at it with their own targets, Ryan moved in toward Matias. The stallion was watching for him, though, and pulled out a knife with his hoof. Ryan slowed his approach to a halt, unsure of how exactly the stallion was holding the blade at all.

“Well?” Matias asked.

“Well what?” Ryan responded.

“Aren’t you going to-”

Ryan didn’t let him finish and attacked while he spoke. It took Matias off guard just a little bit, and that little bit was enough to give Ryan the window he needed. He closed the distance, taking away the resch that Matias would need to effectively use the knife. Matias tried to move back to get the knife in front of him, but Ryan stayed right on him.

Ryan started off with a closing right elbow strike to the center of Matias’s body, keeping his left hand up to block the knife arm. As Matias fell back, Ryan reached around and grabbed his mane, then swept the hind leg as he pulled it away from Matias. Matias rammed full force into the ground, but managed a small roll away and got up quickly.

Ryan was already on him again and landed a right roundhouse punch with a left middle block, then a left punch, then another right punch. When Matias was good and broken of mind and body, he stepped back with his right leg, then brought it back around in a wide roundhouse kick to Matias’s chest. When his foot landed, Ryan threw an uppercut at matias’s chin, jarring his jaw and skull for maximized concussive force.

To end the onslaught, Ryan stepped into Matias, brought his right foot in between Matias’s hind legs and behind the left hind leg, then propelled himself forward and into Matias with another elbow, sending him straight to the ground. Matias lost his breath when he landed and was wheezing loudly and painfully on the ground when Ryan lowered himself down to him and kicked away the knife.

“I could have disarmed you,” Ryan said, speaking loud enough so that Matias could hear him through his own wheezing. “But then I would have had an obligation to go easier on you. I can’t legally go all out if I now have the weapon, at least in my country. I think. So I let you keep it, and I got to teach you a lesson you won’t soon forget”

Ryan stood up and looked over to his friends. They were just wrapping up, dropping their opponents into a pile in the middle of the road. Without looking at him, Ryan picked up Matias by his hind hooves and dragged him over to the pile, ignoring his protests of pain on the way. he drapped him on top and left him there.

“What do you suppose we do with them?” Ryan asked.

Fancy’s horn lit up. “I just alerted the authorities that they are here,” he said. “They have all the drug information and the confrontation just now. These heaps of garbage will en put away for some time.”

“Nice,” Ryan said. “How did you do that?”

“I have special connections,” he said, winking. “You never know when you’ll need favors or assistance.” Ryan took a note of those connections before continuing with his own thoughts.

“Alright then,” he said. “I think we’re done here. Let’s head home.”

“I shall at least accompany you to the train,” Fancy said. “I can’t just leave my friends alone, not after such a riveting experience!”

“One that Ah don’t think we’ll be telling anypony else of,” Mac said with emphasis.

“Yeah,” Soarin’ replied. “I don’t want Fleety fretting over me. We’ll be doing that plenty soon enough.”

The guys all shared a chuckle and went on their way, happy to have helped a friend this night and happy to have kicked some serious ass on the way home.