On Friday, the twenty-sixth of March, Ryan got out of work early because Twilight had some silliness to deal with regarding the Grand Galloping Gala. It was still like a week away. He never did understand girls and fancy dressing occasions.

Since he had no work to do, and none of his buddies were available, he decided to go out and do something with the cave. He could still build some furniture, and more dynamite wouldn’t be so bad. He might be inclined to use some of it today, actually. Ryan threw on his usual outfit; his scarf, jacket, necklace, gun, and other key items.

He carried a small amount of plywood in his hands and a sum of explosives on his back. The trek was easy, even with so many of the woodland animals starting to wake up. He walked like he belonged in the forest, like he was untouchable to them, so they didn’t bother him much. Not like it would matter; Ryan only ever went into the forest with his 1911 and his two magazines for it.

Ryan whistled a little tune as he walked, alerting everything around him to his presence. It was a better idea not to startle anything out here, because then he would actually have a problem with the creatures. It’s true for any animal; if you don’t startle them and they aren’t hungry, they won’t bother you.

To his right, there was a rustling in the bush. Ryan stopped in his spot and looked over n that direction, doing his best to look uncaring. The rustling increased in magnitude until, finally, something poked out. It was Sweetie Belle.

“What?” Ryan said, surprised at her sudden appearance. “Sweetie Belle?”

The filly looked up. “Oh, hey Ryan!” she said. “What’re you doing out here?”

“What am I doing out here?” Ryan repeated. “What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be in school?”

“No, Miss Cheerilee lets us out early on Fridays if we’re good. It’s how she gets her class to behave!” Sweetie Belle gave a huge, toothy smile at the end of her explanation.

Ryan looked about. “Where are Apple Bloom and Scootaloo?” he asked.

Sweetie Belle turned around. “Girls, I found Ryan!” she shouted. More rustling, and two more fillies popped out of the bush.

Scootaloo looked up. “Hey Ryan!” she greeted happily. “What’re you doing out here?”

“Yeah, Ah thought y’all had work at Twilight’s!” Apple Bloom added.

Ryan chuckled. “Well, the ladies are all freaking out trying to prepare for the Gala next week, so Twilight let me out early. I swear, I’ll never understand what these events do to people.”

Sweetie Belle groaned. “You should see my sister. She’ll be spending the next week spending sixteen hours a day in her studio, trying to make the perfect dresses for her and her friends. Her mane gets frazzled, and her pupils look like dots made with a pencil!”

Ryan chuckled some more. “Yeah, that sounds about right,” he said. “Anyway, what are you fillies doing out here?”

“We’re heading off to Zecora’s!” Scootaloo said excitedly.

Ryan raised an eyebrow at her. “And what could bring you in that direction?” he asked.

“We think that’s where Fluttershy is, and we need both her and Zecora for our next Cutie Mark plan!” Apple Bloom shouted.

“And what would that be?” Ryan asked with a smile.

“We’re gonna be veterinarians’ assistants!” Scootaloo said. “Administering medicine to little animals under proper supervision!”

“Well, I’m glad that you’re getting supervision for this,” Ryan said. “Need a travel buddy?”

“Maybe for a bit,” Sweetie Belle said. “Better safe than sorry.”

“Cool,” Ryan said. He picked his trail back up. “We’ll head about halfway there, then I’ll split off and go my way.”

They started along their way silently, the fillies constantly on watch around them for movement. Ryan used his peripherals to check for movement, but mostly just listened for anything. That was why he wasn’t talking; he wanted to hear anything that came at them.

Eventually, though, that was shot, and the fillies started talking, mostly in hushed voices. They could tell that Ryan was listening for threats, and they didn’t want to hinder his efforts. It didn’t help much, though, because even in whispers, their voices carried far enough to distract Ryan and drown out the sounds of nature.

He overheard some of what they were saying. They, too, would be attending the Gala the next week. Sweetie Belle had managed to get some colt to go with her, named Button Mash or something silly, and she was about ready to burst. She had apparently had a crush on him for a while. Apple Bloom was going to go with Spike, and Scootaloo had that Rumble character. It could be rather fun to watch them flounder about trying to act like adults when the time came.

The fillies kept on talking, and Ryan didn’t feel like it was his sort of conversation, so he kept his eyes scanning. Thinking about what he might see, he hadn’t had an encounter with the Wraith in some time. He knew that the rat bastard wasn’t about to let him live his life, so if he hadn’t seen the Wraith in a while, it was a safe bet he would soon. If the girls were close by, he would have to act fast and act hard to keep them safe.

They reached a fork in the trail and stopped. To the right, there was the path that led to Zecora and maybe Fluttershy. To the left, there was a path that led to the river, and beyond that, the cave.

“Here’s were I have to leave you fillies,” Ryan said. “You sure you’ll be alright on your own?”

“Yeah, we’ll be good!” Scootaloo said confidently. “We know the rest of the way. It isn’t far.”

“Good,” Ryan said. “Good luck with your marks.” He started down his path.

“Wait, where ARE you going?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Ryan didn’t stop, merely waved a hand. “I got some stuff I need to deal with out here. Just a few things.” Behind him, the girls shrugged and went along their way. They had no idea what the truth was behind Ryan’s forest trips, and they were never going to know.

Discord watched closely Ryan as he took his leave from the fillies. The man hadn’t exactly lied, merely played down what he was doing and gave no details. But was that lying? Meh, it didn’t matter.

Discord had been watching him for a few days now. With the Gala coming soon, he wanted to see how Ryan was going to act. While everypony who was going was fussing about, trying to prepare, Ryan was doing nothing special. Discord knew that he had a tux coming from Rarity, just standard bowtie tuxedo, but he one wouldn’t guess it from how he was acting. It was like nothing was happening.

Ryan walked through the forest as quietly as he could, barely making a sound. The birds were chirping, the little critters were scuttling and scampering about, and all was calm in the Everfree Forest. Ever since Ryan decided to make his permanent residence here, it really seemed to calm down. At least, whenever he was around it did.

The magic of the forest had a lesser effect on him than the other beings of the world. Discord, when he chose to, could physically see the magic running through the forest, as could Celestia and Luna. When Discord saw the magic, he found it odd how it flowed through him much less than others. It was like there was a barrier around him, protecting him from the magic.

He was an oddity in every sense in this world, not helped by the presence of the Wraith. Could the Wraith be keeping the magic off of him? Could he be doing some of the strange things that pertain to Ryan’s presence?

Discord might find out soon; the Wraith was following Ryan through the forest as he thought. The spirit of chaos knew tha the was grossly incapable of battling the Wraith and keeping him away from Ryan, so he simply watched as Ryan failed to notice the Wraith sneaking around not twenty feet behind him. Discord’s heart started pumping hard while he waited for the Wraith the make his move.

But he didn’t do anything. He only followed Ryan, watching him make his way quietly through the forest. It was like both of them were trying to make sure that there was no evidence that they were ever there, like they wanted to be hidden and secretive. Ryan, he understood, but this didn’t pertain to the Wraith’s usual prerogative.

When Ryan arrived at the cave, the Wraith stayed back in the tree line so as to remain hidden. While Ryan went to work, the Wraith merely watched, stroking his chin contemplatively. What he was thinking was anyone’s guess, but Discord’s was that he was thinking about how to hurt the young man.

Then, as an idea popped into his mind, he snapped his fingers and disappeared from sight. Discord did a quick scan of the area to see if he was nearby, but he didn’t catch anything out of the ordinary. A bear nearby just left the area, but if the Wraith was close by and Discord didn’t have powers of his own, he would ditch, too.

With no Wraith in sight, Discord refocused his attention on Ryan in the cave. He had dropped everything he brought with him and set down the dynamite for use, and was building furniture. He didn’t seem to be putting his heart into it, though, giving only a half-assed effort. There must have been something on his mind.

It took a bit of time, but Ryan was able to make several items; a crude nightstand for next to where he would sleep, a new bedpost, and a kill rack for when he went hunting. The rack was located near the fire pit so that when he needed to cook something, it would be right there for him to grab.

Once he finished with those chores, he stood up and cracked his back satisfactorily. He believed the furniture to be plenty adequate, even if those back home thought that he couldn’t do anything of the sort.

“I wonder if I should get a safe for my gun?” Ryan wondered aloud.

Discord put only minute thought into that before he thought it was a good idea. If someone were to be exploring the area and came across the cave, and Ryan weren’t there, what if they found the gun? It could be dangerous, especially to him, if they were an unsavory character.

“Nah,” Ryan said with a shake of his head. Discord was more than a bit surprised. “I shouldn’t need one by the time I can move in here.”

“Shouldn’t need one?” Discord wondered.

Why wouldn’t he need a safe place to put the gun? Did he intend to get rid of it? No, that didn’t seem like such a good idea. Some ponies would try to reverse engineer it to figure out how it worked. He still had ammo, so he might have planned on using it. But what would he use it on?

Discord couldn’t make heads nor tails of what Ryan just said, so he let it die. Who was he to question the ways of a human who temporarily went completely off the reservation?

Discord took another look at the furniture. His lack of skill really did show itself here, and some of what he made might not even be safe to use. The bedpost was only moderately safe because the nails pointed away from where he would be sleeping, so if it collapsed, he wouldn’t be impaled. If it collapsed, though, it would still hurt.

So Discord decided to do Ryan a little favor. When the young man wasn’t looking, Discord used his magic to adjust everything Ryan had made and made it safer to use. When Ryan turned back around, he didn’t even notice the differences. They were mostly little, regarding nail placement and size. It was the least Discord could do.

Ryan looked like he was doing a well enough job of taking care of himself, so Discord thought it would be a good time to leave the man to himself. With a swirl of light and not a sound, his mind’s eye returned to him in Canterlot, and Ryan kept on living his life.

Ryan was proud of the work he got done that day. It was a lot, but he managed it in the end.

He had some suitable furniture in his home to be, and it looked stable enough. The interior of the cave was starting to look like a place he could actually live in. Now, he just had to go outside and detonate some dynamite a ways away from the entrance so that he could collect rainwater not too far from home.

He picked up the dynamite he came with and went outside to find a spot he could decimate for his reservoir. He had to at least go to the edge of the clearing to avoid damaging the cave, and it might take some time, since he couldn’t do the whole thing at once. The shock wave could cause problems in a multitude of ways.

It didn’t take too long to find a spot that would work nicely; He denoted the area on the ground using sticks and rocks to mark the area he wanted. That wouldn’t be particularly useful after the first explosion, but it gave him something to shoot for. Once he had the zone mapped out, he pulled out some dynamite to stick into the ground in the middle. He intended to get it nice and deep, light it, and then haul ass away.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!”

Ryan stopped in his tracks at the scream. It was a feminine scream, and it sounded like more than one scream. It sounded from somewhere in the distance, toward the path Ryan shared with the Cutie Mark Crusaders on his way here. Ryan stopped to listen again, and sure enough, it came again. The fillies were in trouble.

“Girls!” Ryan shouted as he bolted into the forest.

Ryan sprinted through the forest at maximum speed, trying to reach the Crusaders before anything bad happened. He had no ide what it might be; the wildlife was just starting to wake up, and odds were, something big would be hungry. And big things like to eat little things.

There were more screams, and Ryan could make out the voices that they belonged to now. Sweetie Belle was the loudest, followed by Apple Bloom and then Scootaloo. As he grew nearer to the location of their screams, he could hear much more noise, like some kind of scuffle.

Ryan broke the tree line and saw his worst nightmare come to life; the girls were running in circles, trying to escape from a massive bear. Every time it drew close to one of them, it would swipe at them with its massive clawed paws. It nearly got them more than once, and quickly had them pinned against a tree.

Ryan didn’t wait to act; he ran out from his position and jumped in between the girls and the bear. The fillies were cowering behind him, wishing the bear away to no avail. In front of Ryan, the bear stood on its hind legs, growing to about eleven feet tall. It let out a feral roar as it came back down, making the Earth shake from its incredible mass.

Ryan stood his ground and looked at his opponent. There was something very off about this bear; its eyes were blood red, maybe tired. Its fur was strange and mangy, so it could have been rabid. The rabies possibility was further reinforced by the small sum of foam at the mouth. It growled, not hungrily, nut angrily at Ryan and the fillies.

Ryan looked for a weapon, any weapon that he could use to keep the bear at bay. A stick, a rock, anything at all that might help him to at least fight the bear off of the fillies. His eyes scanned the tree line for anything he could use to his advantage, a hole in the ground or some environmental hazard.

He found one; but it wasn’t the kind he wanted. Standing just beneath the trees was the Wraith, wearing a smug grin on his face and simply watching the events unfold. He had something to do with this. He was the one who put the fillies in danger. Seeing him there made Ryan’s blood begin to boil.

Though he made no moves to get closer or do anything. He just stood there, watching Ryan stand down his bear. The fillies were still cowering behind him, crying and sobbing about what they thought was to be their early demise. Ryan knelt down to be next to them, keeping his eyes on the bear the whole time.

“Girls,” he said in a loud whisper. No need to piss off Mr. Bear.

None of them answered; they were catatonic at this point. Briefly, very briefly, Ryan thought about running off, but tha thought was squashed in a heartbeat. The fillies needed him, and even if he got the bear to follow him, the Wraith would still be there, the Wraith could still pull something. That would be worse than anything this bear could do.

“Girls!” Ryan said again, this time getting them to look up at him. “Girls, I need you to listen to me very carefully.”

“R-r-r-Ryan?” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yes, it’s me. Now listen!” Ryan said through gritting teeth. “You will do what I tell you to, and you will do it immediately and without question. Understand?”

At first, there was no vocal response, but soon after, he heard Sweetie Belle say, “Yes Ryan.”

Ryan kept his eyes on the bear and on the Wraith. “I am going to tell you to run away from here. When I do, you will do so without hesitation and without question. You will run as fast as you can toward Ponyville and you will stop for nothing. Understand?”

She didn’t. “What about you?” Sweetie asked.

“Sweet of you to worry,” Ryan said. “But that’s not what you agreed to do. Do you understand what I told you?” Ryan asked with force in his voice. If he had to coerce the girls into running, he would.

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Y-y-yes.”

“Okay,” Ryan said. The bear was growing tied of waiting, and it was beginning to advance on the group in front of it. Ryan put his hand on his 1911 and prepared to yank it out and shoot. He could only hope that the twenty-one foot rule didn’t apply to bears.

“RUUUN!!” Ryan shouted.

As soon as he said it, Sweetie Belle got the girls moving toward Ponyville, and at the same time, the bear lunged. Ryan pulled out his gun, not his first choice, and took aim. Stopping power meant nothing to a bear, but if he were lucky, a well-placed headshot would at least stun him.

But he wasn’t lucky; the bear swatted the gun away, claws tearing flesh off Ryan hand as they passed. The gun landed fifteen feet away to Ryan’s right, toward the fillies.

“Ryan!” Sweetie Belle shouted as he lost his weapon.

The bear went for a swipe, but Ryan ducked down and rolled away sideways, trying to make it difficult for the bear to get him. When it recovered, it stood on its hind legs again, revealing an enormous hole in the ground where it had just landed. Ryan had gone left and now found himself even further from his gun than he would have liked.

“YOU HAVE TO GO NOW!” Ryan shouted, eyes still on the bear.

It went at him again, and this time, he ran in the same direction. It chased him all the way to the tree line, where, after briefly locking gazes with the Wraith, Ryan jumped up and kicked off of a tree to reach a branch. He had to grab on with his left hand, since he right was torn up and felt like it was broken.

The bear stopped underneath him, about fourteen feet below, and roared voraciously at him. Ryan risked a look away to see if the fillies were there; they were gone. The hoofprints didn’t go toward town, but they went toward Zecora’s hut, which was good enough. She would be able to protect them from the bear.

The bear stood on its hind legs again and tried to reach Ryan. At its max height, it reached up with his massive front legs, giving it another few feet of height. Ryan hadn’t seen that coming, so when the paws and claws came for him, he wasn’t quite ready.

The bear grabbed him by the foot and threw him away form the tree like a rag doll. Ryan slammed into the ground and rolled and bounced over toward his gun, grunting and swearing along the way. He was cut up on the way, and from the feel of it, probably had at least two cracked ribs.

He shot back up and tried to get to his firearm, but the bear reached him first. From behind, it brought its paw around and smacked him in the side, breaking any cracked ribs, and maybe one uncracked rib, and sent him flying again. The claws dragged along his side as the bear struck, leaving three large lacerations on his side.

Ryan managed to get up and move just in time for the bear to miss him when it came down. He rolled away, wincing from the pain in his side as his wounds rubbed against the ground. Far enough away, he got back up and ran to the tree line and leaned against a tree, eyes ever on the bear.

The Wraith tsk’ed him from behind. “You know, fighting a bear hardly seems like a good idea,” he said.

“Well it wasn’t my goddam idea,” Ryan responded raspily.

The bear locked onto its target again and ran toward Ryan with incalculable speed. At least to Ryan. Judging from its speed, Ryan knew that id he moved at just the right time, he would slam into the tree behind him, or maybe even veer off and hit the Wraith. He just had to time it perfectly. If he could give himself a chance to escape-

He judged it all wrong. The bear was upon him too quickly. Time seemed to slow down. As it raised its paw, images flashed before Ryan’s eyes. His friends back home. His friends here. The fillies, running away. It all meant the world to him, and here he was, about to lose it.

He put his arms up to defend himself, but to no avail. The bear’s paw and claws came down on him, striking him across the neck and slashing deep, ripping away the scarf from his neck. Ryan didn’t go flying this time, didn’t move much at all. His arms were swatted away and both made loud SNAPs as they left their spots. Ryan felt pinned against the tree, not by the bear, but merely by the force of its strike.

Ryan could feel his neck getting wet and tried to bring his hand sup to top the bleeding. With broken arms, though, he was hopeless to stop it, and slid down the tree behind him to the ground. His rapidly fading vision granted him the time to see the bear being pushed away by an unseen force. In the distance, he could just make out the sounds of shouting and yelling for him.

Just before his vision faded to black, he spotted movement by the end of the path, and he decided that if he died here, he could die proud of the fact that he died defending something worth fighting for.

Warm.

That was how he would describe it; warm.

It encompassed his entire body, like a little cocoon of heat. His eyes were shut, so he couldn’t see, but he could still feel a little bit. The cocoon was made of wool, it felt like. But there was something else to it. His right hand had some kind of tape and cloth on it. The same was for his side, and he felt something constricting his neck.

Ryan tried to open his eyes, but when he did, his eyes were greeted by a blinding light. He groaned in displeasure, wishing that the light would simply go away, but it didn’t work. He couldn’t turn his head because of the restrictive thing around his neck, so he could only shut his eyes as tight as possible.

He couldn’t move his right arm because it was tied down; his left side hurt too much for his left arm. He could still move his legs, but he felt too tired to do anything with them. His cocoon of warmth was nice, though, so not moving wasn’t really a problem.

He tried to open his eyes again, but the searing pain was just as bad as before. He barely caught a glimpse of what may have been the source, but it was obstructed by something. From the feeling on the sides of his head, Ryan guessed that something was wrapped around his face. If this was the Wraith’s idea of a joke, Ryan wasn’t about to start laughing. It would hurt too much anyway.

He could hear noises in the distance. Several voices, females, talking about something that sounded delicate. It was impossible to make out what it was, but Ryan was never one to give up.

He slowly tried to move his legs around to find a way out of his cocoon and off whatever platform he was on so he could stand. After a few minutes of moving at a mind-numbingly slow pace, he found the ledge and let his feet be taken off by gravity. Once they were on the floor, he tried to crawl off, but instead found out he had a hot date with a hardwood floor.

He landed on his side, making him hiss form the pain and grunt loudly. He couldn’t tell, but the conversation in the other room came to an abrupt halt. A moment, later, the carriers of the conversation rushed into the room to find Ryan on the ground, getting blood on the nice rug underneath him.

“RYAN!!” one seemingly shouted. Ryan jerked his head from the pain of the loudness of whoever it was.

He felt himself being lifted off the ground and floated back to his cocoon, where he was promptly wrapped back up and placed gently. He could hear a very quiet voice chiding the magic one for being too loud, and the loud one apologized for being too loud.

Ryan breathing was ragged and sounded awful. He couldn’t see the beings around him, but he could tell that they were giving him sad, piteous looks. One of them walked over to him and petted his arm gently, very gently, and he could hear her breathing like she was right next to his face.

“Ryan?” she said quietly.

“Gnngha,” Ryan said in response. It hurt to talk.

“Ryan, it’s Fluttershy,” the voice said. “The girls are here with me. You’re safe now. Nothing will hurt you.” Ryan saw a number of his things, including his gun, jacket, and other clothes, laying in a bloody heap on the floor in the corner. At least eh still had them.

Ryan moved his mouth as if trying to speak, but had to stop, as the pain in his neck was too great. His ragged breathing grew faster and less stable as he tried to do things, and he was already starting to panic. Fluttershy was able to keep him calm, though.

“Ryan, you’re safe now,” she said gently, still petting his side. It was a strangely comforting gesture. “Mr. Bear is sorry. He doesn’t know what came over him, and he promises that he won’t ever hurt you again.”

“I know exactly what came over Mr. Bear,” Ryan thought to himself.

He heard the clip-clop of another pony coming up to him. “I’m still looking into that,” she said. It sounded like Twilight. “I don’t know why Mr. Bear did that yesterday.” Ryan remembered. The Wraith, the bear, the fillies-

“Ngh!” he said, trying to speak.

“Oh, dear, please, don’t!” Fluttershy pleaded. “You mustn’t talk, it hurts you too much. You need to rest.”

Ryan had to know, though. “G-gurlsz…” he managed, nearly going into a coughing fit. Fluttershy gently put her hoof to his head and stroked his hair. Her hoof was surprisingly soft to the touch.

“They’re fine,” Fluttershy said. “They came back to Zecora’s to get me. When they arrived, in such a panic, I ran as fast as I could.”

Ryan felt relief wash over him, and suddenly, he felt much more tired. His muscles started to relax, and he felt like he was in free-fall. A few moments later, he was fast asleep and breathing peacefully.

The girls let Fluttershy check on him, then left when they knew he was okay. They made sure to leave quietly since Ryan was especially vulnerable to noise right now. He was laid out on Fluttershy’s couch, in the living room, so they had to go outside to talk.

Outside, they all exchanged worried, yet slightly relieved glances. Fluttershy, shockingly enough, was the least worried, though that may have been from the fact that she was the one to administer the medical aid. She knew what she was doing, but that didn’t stop the rest of the girls from worrying.

“So…” Rainbow Dash broke the silence. “What happened out there?” Everyone looked to Fluttershy for the answer.

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Mr. Bear says he doesn’t remember any of what happened. He remembered seeing Ryan on the path without the crusaders, then saw him again on the path without them a few minutes later. After that, he can’t remember anything.”

“Y’all sure about that, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked. “Ah mean, as trustworthy as Mr. Bear seems, could he have been hungry and you just saved Ryan from being eaten?”

“Applejack!” Fluttershy said defensively. “How could you? Mr. Bear would never hurt anyone! I know him too well, he would never be able to lie to me.”

“Well, what happened then?” Rainbow asked. “I mean, this doesn’t just happen randomly. He nearly died out there! Weren’t you the one who said he should have been dead by the time you got him here?”

Fluttershy sat down. “Yes… but I don’t think we can know anything until either tomorrow, when Ryan’s neck can be fixed, or when the crusaders can calm down enough to talk about it.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. They couldn’t know for now, and anyway, they had some other things to take care of. Soarin’ and Fancy Pants needed to be informed of Ryan’s condition, as did Mac. Princess Luna would want to know what happened, and she may want to visit. They would all want to know exactly how he was, of course.

“How bad are his injuries?” Applejack asked.

Fluttershy sighed. “Really, really bad,” she said. “He had lacerations on his torso, neck, and head, and nearly bled out. Both his forearms were broken, the ulnas were snapped in two.” The ponies shuddered at the thought. “He had a concussion, which is why he’s so sensitive to light and noise, and he had three broken ribs and two cracked ribs.”

“Oh my,” Rarity said.

“That’s not all,” Fluttershy said. “At some point, he sprained his ankle, and I guess luckily, the bones in his wrists were bruised instead of being broken. And thanks to Twilight’s magic and the magic of the doctors who came this morning, he should be healed up by the Gala.”

“That’s good,” Twilight said. “We wouldn’t want him to miss it.”

“Oh, dear, and Cinny would no doubt refuse to go!” Rarity added. “They are going together, after all.”

Twilight looked to Pinkie. Her mane was flat out, drooping and swaying in the light wind like the last time she was super sad. Her eyes were big and watery, and she looked about ready to cry.

“You okay, Punkie?” Twilight asked.

Pinkie nodded. “I just… need to get my head around this.” She said.

Fluttershy looked back to the door. “He needs to rest for now, so we should all leave him be,” she said. “We need to tell the others about his condition, and let them know they can visit tomorrow.”

“Are you certain it has to be tomorrow?” Rarity asked. “Cinny may want to stop by today.”

“I don’t know when he’ll be awake, but if she stops by and he is, I guess she can see him.” Fluttershy didn’t want to cause a fuss.

“Alright girls, we should get moving,” Twilight said. “Applejack, you tell your brother. Rainbow Dash, it’s up to you to tell Soarin’ about this with whatever method you can.”

“Got it,” both girls said.

“Rarity, you tell Cinny, and I’ll send a letter to the princess. I’ll tell her not to go into Ryan’s dreams, since the extra mental stress might be detrimental to his health.” Rarity nodded her agreement.

Fluttershy stayed where she was as her friends all ran off to go do their duties as Ryan’s friends and gather the others who were close to him. She was to remain nearby in case something went catastrophically wrong and Ryan needed immediate aid. From what she had seen, Ryan had no serious infections or illnesses from the exposure, which was a miracle, and he only had bodily injuries.

She desperately wanted to know so much about what happened to Ryan out there. She knew that the fillies were attacked, and Ryan ran in to save them like anypony would expect of him. But why did he stay and fight? After the fillies ran, he could have escaped, she knew he could. What drove him to go into a fight he knew he couldn’t win? What was so important that Ryan had to stay and risk death?

Fluttershy would have to find out later; right now, she just needed to make sure Ryan was comfortable and that he wasn’t at risk of serious complications.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryan crouched in the jungle, smoking a cigarette and watching the trees for movement. Who knew where they were, what they would try next… It was enough to set any man on edge.

He stood up and listened intently. The sounds of the jungle were uniquely quiet, yet so loud, like they were pounding in his ear. They were perfect for concealing the sounds of the movement in the night, perfect for stealth. The enemy was near, they were always near, but no one could ever hear them.

Ryan picked up his M16 of the ground and made his way back to his Marines. Vietnam was an unforgiving place, and any man separated form his fellow warriors for too long was liable to be shot or captured. As he walked back, he felt his helmet fitting snugly on his head, his only protection, against the enemy. His unit was given no flak jackets, as they were typically reserved for their pilots.

He entered the clearing where his unit was, a group of twelve Marines and a Sheridan tank that they were given after the Army decided it had too many of it. The tank had cage armor around it to protect it from RPG fire since it was a light tank. The guys wanted to airdrop it into the war zone like they heard it could, but its precious cargo was a little too important.

“Gear up, boys, we’re heading out!” Ryan shouted. He received a large array of “Oorah!”s from his men as they got to work.

Ryan walked over to the other side of the Sheridan, where the precious cargo was standing around. They were three individuals, and the Marines had no idea how they had found themselves in Vietnam in 1969. One young woman, mid twenties, maybe, with her little boy, and another young woman, probably not even out of high school.

The Marines had found them on a routine patrol, cold, wet, tired, and practically dead. No one could imagine why they were out there, and when they finally picked up the nerve to ask, the civilians said they had been captured by bad people and left to die in the woods after they caused trouble for the bad men. The Marines felt like they had an obligation to get the noncombatants out, so they offered them a way home. They were riding on top of, or in the case of the kid, inside of, the Sheridan.

“So, how’re you people doing?” Ryan asked. The ladies looked up, startled, but the kid just beamed at him.

“Awesome!” the kid said excitedly. “I get to ride in the tank, just like my grand dad did in Europe!” Ryan smiled at him, glad that the kid had no idea just what he was saying.

“We’re doing just fine, Sergeant,” his mother said as she put her arms around him and hugged him tight. “It’s been a long journey. We just hope to get home soon.”

“I can promise you; all of you; you’ll be home soon. We just need to get back to base, and a liberty plane will take you home.” Liberty planes were tha planes that brought the men home after their deployments were up. Draftees gave them that name because it meant no more war.

“That’s good,” the other girl said. “My boyfriend is probably worried about me. And he’s almost eighteen; he’ll want to know what it is like here.”

Ryan faked his next smile. If that kid was turning eighteen, he would, without a doubt, want to know about this place. Ryan had already been here for three years. That’s what happens when you enlist of your own will. Few people would be able to handle this kind of life, and even Ryan was approaching the end of his rope.

“And I do hope that you aren’t able to fill him in based on your personal experience,” Ryan said. He looked at his watch, not to see the time, really just to look like it mattered. “We’ll be moving out soon. Get yourselves up on the tank and get ready.”

“Yay, another ride!” the boy shouted as he jumped up and climbed his way into the tank.

Ryan walked off to check on his men as the women prepared to ride off on the tank. It was already late, the sun falling from its place in the sky, and darkness would soon take the jungle in its ghoulish hold. The Marines had to prepare quickly; the enemy loved to move around in the darkness.

It didn’t take long for the Marines to be ready, and they were moving back along the trail before anyone had a chance to complain. Not that anyone would complain; even if being on the move was tiring, everyone just wanted to get back to the base.

The trail was a scary place in the blackened night. Enemies, animals, plants, improvised bombs, everything about the jungle wanted them dead. The tank never went first, what with its precious cargo, it was always in the middle with men on either side of it. If someone or several someones had to die, even the draftees had to agree that the untrained women and child were not the ones to do it.

Ryan stood fifteen feet in front of the tank on every patrol. If they were ambushed, the enemy would try to shoot out the leader of the group, and if the leader made himself as open as possible, away from noncombatants, who could resist that kind of target? It would draw the fire away from the majority of the unit, letting them shoot back enough to keep the enemy away.

Ryan’s feet ached in his boots, and he could feel the sweat starting to lube up his socks. The weight of the things they carried was starting to get to everyone, but Ryan could start to feel it a bit more than the others. He could feel it especially bad when bullets whizzed by his head, he could feel the heat of the jungle sapping the strength from his body, he could feel his boots slogging through the mud…

He looked down at his boots. “What the hell?”

“Sir, we’ve hit a river!” one of his men called from the front. “We’ll need to cross if we want to get back to base by tomorrow!”

Ryan sighed. “The tank can cross it, however deep it is!” he shouted back. “We’ll have to provide cover while it’s moving. Try to find any areas where people can cross and get up there! The guys behind the tank will wait here while it moves across.”

“Yes sir!” the Marine replied. Ryan could hear, but not see, the Marines already crossing the river up ahead. Being one of the front men, Ryan had to get moving so that he could do the job he inadvertently assigned himself.

Ryan ran forward and saw his Marines slogging though thick, pungent-smelling mud, then having to walk on stones and rocks to get the rest of the way. The tank rolled along behind Ryan, and thanks to its floatation ability, it wouldn’t need to slow down. Ryan ran forward to make his ay across the river and provide cover.

He started trudging through mud and nearly lost his boots with every step. The mud sucked at his feet and he was forced to carry his rifle above his head in case he fell. By the time he hit the rocks, about halfway across the river, the tank was already caught up to him. He could feel the Earth shake from the weight of the tank that was now loudly next to him.

And then, all Hell broke loose.

“CONTACT!!!!”

The instant his voice hit Ryan’s ears, a fiery explosion lighted up the river from next to the tank. Ryan was thrown down onto the rock he was standing on, a loud ringing in his ear blocking out any other noise. He could feel an intense heat on his left side form the explosion, followed by the icy cold of the water swallowing him up.

When he stood out of the water, picking his rifle up, he could see flashes in the trees from enemy rifle and machine gun fire. Next to him, in the water, he could just barely make out the shape of the tank, track knocked off, sitting in the water. Then, a thought occurred to him; where were the ladies sitting when the tank was hit?

His worst fears were assuaged when he saw them shoot up out of the water, sputtering for breath, and swimming in his direction. Ryan got onto his knees on his rock and started returning fire into the trees, hoping to kill at least a couple of the fuckers out there before they had a chance to kill the civilians.

The ladies approached, and the mother looked like she was in a panic.

“My son is still in there!” she screamed.

Ryan looked a the tank, which was taking intense fire. No more rockets, thankfully, but there was at least some 7.62 fire.

“Get down low and stay behind a rock!” Ryan shouted.

He slung his rifle over his shoulder and made his way to the tank. Though it was only a few feet away, it felt like it was a mile out. When Ryan reached the side of the tank, he placed his feet on the twisted and burned metal to climb up to the top. Bullets slammed into the sides of the tank as he climbed up, all just barely missing him. But the bullets couldn’t remain intact, and super-heated shards peppered his face, stinging his eyes and singing his hair.

When he reached the top of the tank, he found the hatch closed. He slammed his fist against it, shouting for whoever was inside to open it up and get out. After what felt like ages, the top opened up, and a small boy looked up fearfully at the man in the darkness outside his Aluminum tomb.

“It’s okay, son, I’ve got you!” Ryan yelled. He reached down and grabbed the boy and pulled him up and out of the tank.

Ryan hopped off the tank with the boy and waded his way to the mother, who grabbed for her baby boy without regard for Ryan. Ryan handed him off to her without complaint and lowered himself as much as possible to avoid the oncoming fire.

“Alright, here’s the plan!” he shouted, getting everyone’s attention. “We need to get across the river! The only way we’re making it is if we get moving and stay low! Stick to the rocks, and-“

Mortar rounds started falling around them, one close enough to knock the group off its feet. Ryan fell back into the water along with the others, but when he resurfaced, he couldn’t see any of them. He whipped his head round, searching frantically for them, but couldn’t find them. While he looked, another Marine came up from behind him and grabbed his shoulder.

“Sir!” he shouted. “SIR!”

“What!?” Ryan replied, still searching.

“Sir, they started across the river when you were knocked into the water!” the Marine said. “We have to get out of the kill zone, NOW!”

Ryan looked toward the other side of the river, and sure enough, he saw them, heads barely out of the water, making their way across. The mother was struggling with her child, but she was managing. Ryan and his fellow Marine rushed through the water to get to their side and cover them with their bodies.

The civilians were moving slowly, unaccustomed to the situation, and were sitting ducks in the water. It was a stroke of luck that they hadn’t been killed yet. Bullets plunged into the water around them, but none hit their marks. Ryan and the Marine were almost there…

They were within vocal distance, finally. “Are you alright!?” Ryan asked.

“Please, help, we’re going to die out here!” the young girl screamed. “Help me, please, I don’t want to die!” When she finished screaming, the boy started to cry in his mothers watery embrace.

“We’re getting you out of here!” Ryan shouted. He and his Marine were upon the women and child now. “Marine, give us covering fire while we-“

Another mortar round slammed into the river next to them, knocking everyone off their barely held footing under the water. The river was deep here, and it was rough enough in the fighting that swimming it would be extremely difficult. When everyone resurfaced, Ryan called out.

“Everyone alright?!” he asked.

The Marine behind him saw the terrified look on the mother’s face and looked around to find the source. He soon realized tha tit wasn’t what was there, but what wasn’t.

“The kid went under, Sir!” he shouted.

“I’ll get him!” Ryan shouted back.

Without hesitation, Ryan dove into the cold river water and continued to dive down. The river was unnaturally deep here, deeper than it had any right to be. Ryan could just make out a shape at the bottom, only by the aid of the flashes from the battle above. Feeling his lungs constrict form the lack of air, Ryan kept going until he had his hands on the figure in the abyss. When he picked it up, it felt furry and soft, not like any boy he had ever grabbed. But it was all he had, so he took it and went up.

He shot back to the surfaced and sucked in a much needed breath of air. Instantly, he lifted up the figure into the air so it could breathe too.

The figure he lifted out of the water was Sweetie Belle, and she sputtered and coughed as she tried to take in air and survive her near drowning. Ryan took one look at her, then pulled her close and swam. He had to get her out of here, he had to get her away from all this. She had no business seeing this sort of violence.

He approached the shallower water and saw Fluttershy, carrying Apple Bloom and Scootaloo on her back. They all looked terrified, panic-stricken eyes surveying the battlegrounds for any signs of enemies. Ryan made his way to the muddy riverbank, doing his best not to be sucked in by the earth.

“Fluttershy!” Ryan shouted.

She turned. “Ryan!” she said. “Oh, thank goodness you got her out of the water!”

“Here.” Ryan handed Sweetie Belle off to her. “You take her and get someplace safe. I and the Marines will fight these guys off.” Fluttershy stood there for a moment, looking concerned. “There’s no time to wait, GO!” With the order, Fluttershy ran off into the darkness and out of sight.

Ryan unslung his rifle and pointed it in the direction of the flashes from the brush and let loose a hail of 5.56mm bullets. He had heard about a way to change one of the parts so that the three round burst setting became fully automatic, and he always used it in these scenarios. But however many rounds he put downrange, the incoming bullets never seemed to lessen.

Ryan’s Marine from the river came up to him. “Sir, we’re outnumbered too heavily! Radio’s dead, but we managed to get out a call for some Cobras before we lost it!”

Ryan looked at the Marine. “Nice work, Corporal Harris!” he replied. “We should be able to hold off until then-“

Seemingly from nowhere, a gargantuan barrage of bullets rained down on the pair while they spoke, littering the ground around them. Ryan dropped onto his belly to avoid the bullets, but the Marine wasn’t quick enough. Ryan saw his body jerk all about in every which way until it eventually fell to the ground.

“Marine!” Ryan yelled. He crawled over to the young man’s body.

He was beyond saving. The machine gun fire, as that was all it could have been, tore his chest wide open and shredded everything inside like it went through a blender. The colors of blood and organ tissue and muscle and bone mixed in liquid form to create a smoothie of evisceration inside the Marine’s chest. His head had been hit several times, leaving barely more than the stump of what was his neck and pouring blood into the foot-deep mud around them. When Ryan lifted his head up, mud poured out of the many holes in his body along with most of his insides.

Ryan dropped the body, hopelessly lost, and moved. He had to move, or he would die. He ran away from the dead Marine and toward drier land, where he would hopefully be able to get his footing and fight back.

He reached the drier land, but right when he did, it started pouring rain. The fire seemed to die down instantly at the falling water, though it may have simply been masked by the noise. Ryan kept his rifle barrel pointed forward, listening for either the sounds of his men, the ponies, or the enemy.

He spotted movement in a bush and pointed his rifle toward it. Ryan remained absolutely still; to move could mean to die. A bolt of lightning light up the night sky, and briefly, Ryan saw an enemy foot soldier in the bushes. He opened fire a that spot, but when the lightning flashed again an instant later, the soldier was gone.

Ryan turned in his spot and scanned the area. There was movement all around him, he could see it even through his rain-obscured vision. The enemy was everywhere, waiting for him, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

“Marines!” Ryan finally decided to shout. No one responded. “Sound off!” Still, nothing. He was on his own.

He kept turning in his place, searching the area for movement. Every time a bolt of lightning flashed, he saw an enemy, and every time, he opened fire only to hit the air. The enemy was fast, too fast, and Ryan hadn’t much of a chance if he waited for them to show themselves every time. He kept his eyes open, squinting to see through the drenched, murky night.

His eyes caught a bit of movement, just behind some bushes, and he let loose a hail of rounds in the general direction of whatever moved. The magazine never seemed to empty, and he just kept on firing until finally his gun jammed and the barrel evaporated any droplet of rain unfortunate enough to land on it.

Ryan sat back and sucked in air. The rain started to let up, and before long, the sun was shining again. The area was drenched from the rain, yet more blood ran through the ground than water. Ryan could hear Marines talking to each other in the distance.

“Sergeant?!” one shouted out.

Ryan waved his hand. “Over here!” he shouted back.

A minute later, a group of twelve Marines walked his way, haggard, exhausted, and some bleeding. They were all standing around at first, but then some of them decided to look around, find the casualties. The enemy usually carried off their dead, so that was out. They just wanted to find their Marines and the ponies.

“How bad was it?” Ryan asked.

One marine crouched next to him and smoked a cigarette. “We lost eight guys and our tank,” he said. “And we can’t seem to find-“

“Guys, I found the ponies!” a Marine yelled.

The Marine next to Ryan stood. “I stand corrected,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Ryan stood and walked alongside the Marine to the other one who said he found the ponies. Ryan would have to make sure he gave them a good meal and a warm place to sleep when they got back to the base, it was the least he could do. They were never meant to be here anyway, never supposed to…

Ryan felt his stomach lurch. “No,” he said.

Before him lay the bodies of the ponies, tattered and ripped and beaten up. He could tell Fluttershy, but only because she was the biggest. Bullet holes riddled her side, dozens of them, and the flesh seemed to peel away and reveal the sheening, clean muscle underneath. Bones protruded out of her sides and stuck up into the air. Her hooves had been shattered by bullets, with bits and pieces scattered here and there. The skin on her face looked like it had been peeled away to reveal the skull underneath, and an empty eye socket was all that there was to greet Ryan.

Her wings were featherless now, barren, skin-colored thing protruding off her back like cancerous growths. Her spine was broken and bent disturbingly far, and her tail had been so ripped up that little pink hairs decorated the entire area.

He knew who the other three were; though he couldn’t tell which was which. Little legs were sitting on their own, away from whoever had previously owned them. There was no colored fur to be seen, no identifying anatomical traits left. They were barely more than slabs of meat that you see on a grill.

“No…”

Ryan fell forward and vomited out all of the nothing he had been eating. Some of what came out looked like blood, but whether or not it was from the vomit or it was already there was hard to tell. The other Marines just stood there, looking sadly at the bodies, not doing anything. One of them finally knelt next to Fluttershy and examined her wounds.

“Bad news gents,” he said. “This was friendly fire. These aren’t 7.62 wounds.”

Time froze. Ryan looked up at the frozen Marine who said that, the one who knew exactly what had happened. Ryan still had his rifle in his hands, and he pic edit up to look at it more closely. The grooves on the weapon where his hands had worn it down were even more prominent now. The smoke from the barrel continued to flow until it was like a fire was inside the rifle.

Ryan stood up and time took its place once again. The Marines turned to look at their sergeant.

“Sir?” one of them said.

Ryan didn’t respond. His face had a catatonic look to it, a look of total and utter hopelessness and loss. He turned around and started walking toward the river.

“Let him go,” someone said. “Just let him go.”

Ryan walked to the river. Nothing else mattered; not the mud, sucking at his boots, not the water and blood filling them. Not the Marines watching him go, not the bodies he was leaving behind. All that mattered was the gun in his hand, the blood on his hand. He removed the helmet from his head and dropped it, where it slowly sank into the mud.

Ryan’s feet hit the water, but he didn’t notice. He just kept on walking, walking like there was someplace he had to go. The water rose up slowly, like it was trying to push him back, but he just kept on walking. He never looked back, his Marines never came to get him. The rifle seemed to fade away under the water, leaving him with only the blood on his hands.

There was no noise as he went further into the river. The birds weren’t chirping, the plants didn’t move in the wind. It was complete silence, muted. The icy water became colder, nearly frozen, but Ryan didn’t notice. He just kept on walking.

His head face was entering the water. The river calmed and became completely flat, with no evidence that anything had just happened. The tank sank into the river quietly and without fanfare, and everything looked like it was as it should be. But it didn’t feel that way, it couldn’t. Everything was wrong, no matter how hard the world tried to make it seem like nothing was wrong.

And at last, Ryan’s head dipped under the water, and all was silent and unmoving. He never resurfaced, he never came up. The Marines went back to their base, and the Ryan faded from memory.

He was just a colt to forget.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Gah!”

Ryan’s eyes shot open and he tried to get up, but the pain in his chest and abdomen was too much. He was forced to lay in his spot, sweaty and hot, and just live with the immense pain. He hissed through bared teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shut out the images.

“Ryan!?” Fluttershy said with alarm. She ran into the room form the kitchen with wide eyes and a frazzled mane. “Ryan, are you alright?” She flew over to the young man to check on him.

Unexpectedly, he grabbed her form her flight and yanked her down. She ‘eeped’ lightly as she was pulled into a tight embrace, so tight she could barely breathe. She could feel Ryan’s bot breath on the back of her neck and a wet spot beginning to grow on her fur. He had sporadic jerks, mostly bobbing, like he was crying.

“Ryan?” she said gently. He didn’t let go. “Ryan, you’re alright. You’re safe. You don’t need to worry…”

His grip lightened, and Fluttershy was able to slide off the bed and stand before the human. His eyes were red and exhausted, and they were wet with tears. He sniffed loudly, trying to keep his nasal fluids from ruining the couch, but it was not very successful. Fluttershy fetched a rag to help keep his little area nice and clean.

Ryan didn’t say a word while she worked, just stared at her with guilty eyes that were filled with pain. Fluttershy didn’t know why he would look at her that way, but she was determined to find out. As soon as he was clean and safe. When she finished, she tossed the rag into a can nearby and sat next to Ryan.

“Ryan..?” she said. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Ryan replied quickly. “Just a dream.”

“Nothing that’s ‘just a dream’ can do that,” Fluttershy said. She set her hoof gently on Ryan’s shoulder. “Something is wrong.”

“Fluttershy, I-“

“Young man, you are going to tell me what’s wrong right now.” Fluttershy stared into his eyes as she spoke with a determined gaze. “Tell me.”

Ryan felt mesmerized by the stare, like he was looking into infinity. Everything seemed different in her stare, everything seemed… safe. The world seemed to be protected in her stare. The world seemed less horrible there. If only he could stay there.

“Fluttershy… you don’t want to hear it…” Ryan said weakly, doing whatever he could to avoid talking about it.

“I do, Ryan,” Fluttershy said. “The only way you can get over your inner demons is by fighting them and kicking them out.”

Ryan gave her a pathetic, weak look, like that would convince her not to press more. He did his best to give her a look like he was an injured animal, trying to gain as much sympathy as possible. Fluttershy was to have none of it though. She had gotten this look countless times, and countless times, she was able to resist it.

Ryan closed his eyes and laid his head back. “I was crouching in the jungle, scanning the trees…”

Fluttershy could hardly believe what she was hearing, let alone picture it. The imagery he was describing was the most horrific thing she had ever heard. Nopony she knew of had ever suffered such nightmares, even returning soldiers from the front lines. The worst part was that she and the fillies were the source of the pain in this dream; they were the subjects of his terror. But with nightmares like this, they were never isolated incidents.

“And so I walked into the river. I didn’t know what else to do… I couldn’t g back to base. I couldn’t face my men. I couldn’t go home, not after that. I didn’t know what I would tell everyone, so I… I walked into the river.”

Fluttershy had maneuvered herself during Ryan’s retelling of his dream so that her head was next to him so he could lean into it and cry. He did, more than once, and each time, Fluttershy held him close and did her best to comfort him. It took almost an hour to tell Fluttershy the dream, but it was still early. Ryan had awoken at four in the morning.

“You aren’t there any more,” Fluttershy said. “You’re here with me. You’re safe. You won’t go back there, Ryan. You don’t have to and you never will.”

“I will go back there,” Ryan said. Fluttershy moved up to hold him.

“No, you won’t-“

“I will!” Ryan said. “Every night, every fucking night, I go back there. My friends always die, and it’s always my fault, just like everything else.” He sobbed into her shoulder. “It’s how it was, it’s how it is, and it’s how it will be…” Fluttershy rubbed his back gently, mindful of his injuries.

“It won’t ever be that way again,” she said. “You have control over your life, no one else. It’s up to you to live your life how you believe you should.”

“I know I have control,” Ryan said. “That’s why I’m afraid.”

Fluttershy moved back to look at his face. His eyes were red and shiny, and filled to the brim with the worst kind of fear. She could see his guilt in them, and she saw what was wrong. It was amazing that she never saw it before, that no one saw it. No one had ever addressed it before, and he had been suffering like this for the longest time because no one looked for it.

“You don’t believe in yourself,” Fluttershy concluded aloud.

Ryan sniffed. “There’s nothing to believe in, Fluttershy. Trust me, I’ve looked.”

“You’re wrong, Ryan,” Fluttershy said. She picked up his hand in her hoof. “I believe in you more than anypony else in the world.”

“I’ve failed,” Ryan said. “I failed to protect Harris from harm. I’m the one who attacked him. I failed to protect Nadine. She was raped and murdered. I failed to protect Joey. I executed him in my own arms. I failed my friends by not coming home. I failed my parents by going back on everything they taught me. I failed my god by throwing everything His lessons aside for my own personal gain. I’m a complete failure. How could anyone believe in me?”

“You aren’t a failure!” Fluttershy said loudly. “Twice now, the girls would be dead without you! I would be dead without you! Fleetfoot would have been terribly assaulted if not for you! Rainbow Dash would be dead without you! Rarity would have been mugged if not for you! Princess Luna would still be in mourning if you hadn’t chosen to come back and show her that you were still alive!”

“That was my fault to start-“

“You insist that you’re such a bad person Why do you keep doing these good things, then? Why do you keep helping ponies, if you’re so evil? Why do you go out of your way to make the crusaders happy and safe? Why do you spend time with us and smile and try to make us feel good about life? Huh?” Fluttershy leaned right up in Ryan’s face when she finished.

“Fluttershy-“

“You don’t believe in yourself because you’re afraid to,” Fluttershy said. “But there is no reason to be afraid of that!” She floated up and poked Ryan in the chest, getting him to grunt from the discomfort. “You made your mistakes, that’s true. But we all do. Who would have done anything better in you situation? Maybe some, but would they have tried to put a stop to the bad men and what they were doing? You never turned your back completely to what you believed in, Ryan.

You sought to protect the things you saw as worth living for. You still do. You take upon yourself to protect the good and innocent, to be the one who stands between us and the dangerous evils tha lurk out there. You take the hits so that we don’t have to; you make sacrifices that we can’t even begin to comprehend. If you do all this for us, Ryan, then tell me: What makes you so evil?”

Ryan blinked twice at her, trying to formulate a response. Nothing came to mind, though. Ryan hadn’t thought about what he was doing here much at all. Had he really done all those things she was talking about? Was what she was saying true?

“Fluttershy-“

“You just need to learn to believe in yourself again, Ryan,” Fluttershy said. She took a couple of steps back. “Maybe that’s why you were brought there?” With a question lingering in the air, Fluttershy took her leave of Ryan and went back to the kitchen, where she promptly went back to sleeping on her kitchen table.

It was silent when she left, and Ryan had nothing but his thoughts and that lingering question to think about now. Why did he do all those things here, he, the man who killed dozens of people? Why did he protect the ponies when it was anything but convenient for him? He almost died. He hadn’t gained anything.

He also hadn’t gained anything from killing Narendra. He hadn’t gained anything from killing his henchman, from doing so much damage to the Haqqani terror network in Southeast Asia. He never did know why he did those thing. Not before.

He did those things, he did these things, and he always would do those things because they were to protect the people who needed it. He did those things because there were so many people and ponies who couldn’t protect themselves. They needed someone, and no matter the personal cost, Ryan had always sought to fill the role of the guardian.

He had the abilities. He had the will. He had the stamina. He could do it; therefore, he did. He never really thought about it, never considered himself that good of a person. Could Fluttershy be right?

But no, Ryan knew that there was a reason for why he did these things, a reason that he could never identify until now.

He did these things because he loved to do them, he loved how he felt afterwards. He enjoyed looking at a world where people were happy, where there was less negativity to be spread around. He did these things because being good to others is its own unique reward. Doing good things for others is what makes life worth living, what makes the world worth living in, worth fighting for.

It wasn’t until now that Ryan understood the true meaning of that phrase. People throw it around all the time, sure, but they just want people to be nicer to each other. They don’t quite get what it really means. He did understand it now. He comprehended the true value of doing good in the world wherever possible.

Ryan had received many gifts in this world, gifts he could never repay, but Fluttershy may have just given him a gift that most people don’t even know exists; Now, he understood.

Fluttershy poked her head back into the room. “Oh, I had Rarity fix up the scarf,” she said. She walked out with it in her hoof. “I thought you would want that, since it’s really a very nice scarf.”

Ryan glanced over to her and shook his head. He tried to speak, but he had some trouble, choked up by emotions and residual blood, so Fluttershy trotted over. She leaned into him so that she could hear.

“Keep it,” Ryan said.

Fluttershy stepped back and took one look at the scarf, smiled at Ryan, then left the room. She understood; words weren’t necessary.

That day, Ryan woke up again at some time after eight. Fluttershy could be heard lightly snoring in the kitchen. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the world was starting to get into its day. It was a nice, peaceful morning.

Until the door nearly came down.

“RYAN!” a little voice called out from the other side of the door. “Ryan, are you in there?”

“Yeah, I’m in here!” Ryan shouted back, though his voice was coarse as sand. “Fluttershy-“

“I’m coming!” Fluttershy said, groggily bumping into the walls and things as she flew to the door. When she opened it, three differently colored little balls of blur ran in under her followed by a slow mountain named Big Macintosh.

“Morning, Shy,” he said slowly. “Y’all doin’ okay?”

Fluttershy smiled drearily and leaned on her colt. “Great now,” she said. She and Mac cuddled at the door for a moment before coming in. While they did that, Ryan had to contend with the three fillies bouncing up and down in front of him trying to talk at the same time.

“Girls, one at a time!” Ryan said in a loud whisper.

“Are you alright?!” Scootaloo asked in a panic.

“Yeah, thanks to Fluttershy’s amazing medical abilities,” Ryan said. He threw a look her way, getting a blush. Mac made it worse by nibbling on her ear affectionately. “Just recovering.”

“Does it hurt?” Apple Bloom asked. “Ah mean… are ya feelin’… good?” She smiled sheepishly at the end of her question.

“As good as a man in my condition can,” Ryan said with a smile.

Scootaloo couldn’t wait any longer. “Man, you were so COOL!” she shouted. She leaped into the air with the aid of her small wings. “First, we were like, ‘AHH!’, and then you were like, ‘Get behind me!’, and then we were like ‘AAAHHH!’, and you were like, ‘RUUN!’, and we ran and you stayed and fought a bear and saved us and then we came back and Fluttershy carried you here and fixed you as much as possible and it was insane!”

Ryan chuckled lightly. “I guess it was,” he said.

He looked over the little ones. Scootaloo was bouncing up and down excitedly, clearly still on the adrenaline of the near-death experience. Apple Bloom sat there with heeded glee, like she didn’t want to be too happy, but she couldn’t help it. Sweetie Belle was different, though. She just kind of sat there, quiet, looking down, and didn’t move to talk.

“Sweetie?” Ryan said. “Are you alright?” She looked up, and her eyes were filled to the brim with tears.

“I didn’t think you would wake up…” she said. The tears streamed down her face. “I-I though y-y-you were gonna die, and I d-didn’t want that, and-and…” Then, she broke down into tears in her seat and couldn’t talk. Her friends moved in to hold her and try to tell her it was alright, but they couldn’t get to her.

“Sweetie,” Ryan said. She looked back up at him. “Sweetie, come here.” With the help of her friends, she walked up to the couch and looked up at Ryan. “Can you climb up?”

Sweetie Belle made her way up. “I-I was afraid-“

“Ssshh,” Ryan said. He scooted aside so she could sit without hurting him. “I’m right here, and I’m gonna be fine. I have the best doctor in the world looking after me, and no one is gonna come after me again.” Sweetie Belle buried her face in Ryan’s chest. He grunted once, but held it back and took the pain.

“Y-you’ve been living with us for so long,” she said. “You always help me with my schoolwork and make it so much easier. My dad isn’t home very much… When you help me, I-I feel like I have a daddy to watch me and help me and care about me…”

Ryan nodded as she spoke. “I’ll be here for you for a while longer, Sweetie,” Ryan said. “Tell you what. After the Gala, we can go do something. Anything. I’ll be healed up all the way by then. It’ll be your choice. I promise.” Ryan made a note to chat with Magnum later about his frequent trips.

Sweetie belle pulled herself up and sniffed. “R-really?” she asked. Ryan nodded, and she dove into him for a hug. “Thank you!” Ryan felt like he would snap in two, but the filly’s hugs were worth the pain.

“Okay, girls, Ryan needs some more rest,” Fluttershy said. Her mane was even more frazzled than before. “Big Mac will talk to Ryan, then he’ll have to rest. Say goodbye.”

The girls all ran to the door, then turned and waved. “Later, Ryan!” they said in unison. Then they ran off, happy that their human friend was alright and would be good to go in no time. Ryan looked to Mac, who was watching Fluttershy go into the kitchen.

“That kind of energy has to be hard to channel,” Ryan commented.

“Eeyup,” Mac said. He looked at Ryan. “Ah need to thank you fer saving mah sister.”

“No, you don’t,” Ryan said. “I gained just as much as any of you did from doing that. I don’t need any thanks or reward.”

Mac smiled. “Doesn’t change the fact that you have mah gratitude and the gratitude of everypony in town again. At the rate your going, you’ll be more popular than the princesses soon.”

Ryan laughed. “Yeah, imagine that,” he said. “Thanks for coming.”

“Like Ah said; Ah had to thank you And what kind of friend don’t visit his injured buddy to remind him that it as drinking night. We’ll bring something real nice for you-“

“Absolutely not!” Fluttershy shouted, storming out of the kitchen. “No drinking alcohol in this house as long as Ryan is hurt! It won’t be good for him to drink in his state!” The stallion and human pouted at her.

“Come on, one drink won’t hurt me, will it?” Ryan asked.

“With how much blood you lost and still don’t have, yes, it will,” Fluttershy replied with finality. “Ryan will not be drinking tonight.”

“Alright, babe,” Mac said, grabbing her and hugging her. “But they’ll still want to visit him today. Ah think they said they would be here at around noon to see him.” Fluttershy tried to squeeze away, but it didn’t work, so she let Mac hold onto her.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll start preparing some refreshments and snacks for them.” Mac let her go and she went back into the kitchen.

“She’s so perfect,” Mac said quietly.

“You’re a very lucky stallion, Mac,” Ryan said. “Hold onto her; you won’t find another like her.”

“Ah plan to,” Mac said. He leaned in close to Ryan’s head. “And Ah plan to for a long time. That’s part of why Ah came to visit.”

“Oh?” Ryan replied. “And what, pray tell, do you need of a temporarily crippled human?”

Mac puffed his chest out and replied, “Ah’m gonna propose at the Gala.”

Ryan smiled. “About damn time” he said. Mac blinked at him. “I saw it coming, like, two months ago. What do you need me to do?” Mac glanced at the kitchen, terrified that Fluttershy would walk in and see it.

“Ah have my proposal wing piece for her, like you’re supposed to give Pegasus mares,” he said. “Ah made it mahself. Had to get the measurements real discretely-“

“Glossing over that part,” Ryan said.

Mac bushed through his red coat, no easy feat. “Mm hm, yes,” he said. “Ah have a real special thing planned out for her. Ah got some special packages that Ah’ll need someone to deliver to the light ponies at the Gala. Ah want this to be perfect for her. Ah need this executed like a Wonderbolts performance. Can you help me?”

Ryan put his hand up into the air and grinned. Mac grinned right back and brought his hoof around in an arc to meet it. When the hand and hoof met, Ryan closed his fingers around the hoof and the hoof’s wrist bent to get a grip on the hand.

“You can count on me,” Ryan said.

Just then, Fluttershy walked back in with a tray of snacks and another tray that had shots and medicine on it. She set them down on the table next to the bed and Ryan’s eyes went immediately to the shots.

“What are those?” he asked.

“What are you two scheming about?” Fluttershy asked jokingly, ignoring Ryan.

“Just about how we’re gonna overthrow the princesses once everypony love Ryan enough to follow him,” Mac said casually.

“Guys, seriously, whatup with the needles?” Ryan asked. Still, he was ignored.

“Hardy har har,” Fluttershy said. She picked up a needle. “If you don’t want to get pricked, Big Mac, you best get running.”

Mac saw the needle and stood up. “Welp, have fun, Ryan!” He turned and ran out the door.

“Get the hell back here!” Ryan shouted after him. His voice had come back. “Don’t leave me here!”

“Oh, Ryan, it won’t hurt,” Fluttershy said. He looked at her with relief. “It’s a rabies shot, so I just need to do a couple more injections into your abdomen and you’ll be all done.”

“Sounds simply jovial,” Ryan replied.

Ryan was rubbing his aching belly when the door made noise again It wasn’t nearly as loud this time, but he could hear some sort of arguing outside. It sounded like a mare and two stallions, with the two stallions taking one side against the mare. Ryan wanted to answer the door, but Fluttershy had to get it again.

“Oh, hey boys,” Fluttershy said. “And Cinny! I wasn’t expecting you.” Ryan wasn’t expecting her today either. “Please, everypony, come in and make yourselves at home. Ryan is on the couch just over there.”

Ryan slowly turned his head to see his friends come inside. Cinny was in the front, practically shaking from the anticipation of talking to Ryan after he was attacked by the bear. Fancy and Soarin’ were just behind her, looking proudly at their buddy on the couch.

“Ryan,” Cinny said. She took a seat next to him. “How are you feeling?”

“Good, good,” Ryan replied. “It’s always nice to see you.” Cinny smiled and her face flushed at the comment.

“It’s good to see you’re alright, old sport,” Fancy said.

“Yeah, man, we thought you were dead from the way the letters put it.” Soarin’ added a face like he was being hanged to add to the point.

“Well, it’s like I’ve said before; I’m not that easy to kill.” Ryan’s chuckles at his own words proved contagious.

“It seems like every time something big happens to you, it involves you being the hero,” Soarin’ said. “Or you being the victim.”

“I’m never off to the side, am I?” Ryan said.

“Maybe it’s a sign,” Fancy said.

“Yeah, right,” Cinny said. “I think it’s him being reckless and dumb.”

“Hey now, no need to go saying those things, even if they are true,” Soarin’ said.

“Thanks for the impenetrable defense,” Ryan said sarcastically. “And as for Cinny; You know you love it.”

“Well, you are pretty helpless now,” she said with half-lidded eyes. “I can make you as… uncomfortable as I want.”

“I didn’t know you were into cripples,” Ryan replied. “I’m not a perfect state right now, but I’m sure I can oblige.”

“Ryan, Cinny, there are other ponies in the room,” Fluttershy cut in form her spot off to the side. “It isn’t appropriate.”

“You would know about the inappropriate,” Ryan said. Fluttershy furrowed her brow at him. “Just kidding, hahaha, pleasedonthurtme.”

Fluttershy smiled at him with cruel satisfaction and left the room. She reminded the group of the snacks she had set out for them, which Soarin’ eagerly dove into. Fancy declined, having already eaten, and Cinny said she just wasn’t hungry. Soarin’ had his mouth full of cookies when he spoke again.

“So I proposed to Fleetfoot,” he said, now wearing a stupid grin.

Ryan waited. “Well?” he asked. “What did she say?”

“She said yes!” Soarin’ replied and shot into the air. He did a coupe of circles in the room. “We’re gonna get married just after the Gala!”

“Nice!” Ryan said. He tried to sit up, but Cinny pushed him down. “Good to hear the good news. So what’re you doing for the wedding?”

“It’ll be a classic Pegasus wedding,” Soarin said. “We’re gonna get married in her hometown, Cloudsdale, and I’ll put my family wing crest on her. We make our vows, kiss, and fly off to a mountainside to consummate it!”

Ryan opened his mouth to congratulate his friend, but that last phrase dawned on him before he spoke. He had to shake his head for a moment to get it out of his head before continuing.

“Sounds like it’ll be a great ceremony,” he said. “I assume guests?”

“My family, her family, and our friends,” Soarin’ said. “She has her bridesmaids ready; our teammates Spitfire and Surprise; and I need to get a best stallion.”

“Any ideas on who?” Ryan asked. Truth e told, he had a feeling he already knew what was going to be said.

“I discussed it with the guys, and they agreed with me; I want you to be the best stallion.” Soarin’ approached Ryan and bowed his respect. “You saved her form the worst kind of harm, you are the reason she came back to me unharmed that night. I would be honored if you would accept my request and be my best stallion on my wedding night, the most significant night of my life.”

Ryan looked down at his friend with a smile. Resisting Cinny’s hoof, he tried to sit up, but without luck. She moved to his back to help him this time, as it now seemed appropriate for such an act. Once Ryan was up, he put his hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“It would be my honor,” Ryan said.

Soarin’ rose. “Thank you, my friend,” he said. “It’ll be the greatest night of my life.”

“I look forward to it,” Ryan said.

Now that the official business was out of the way, the guys were able to talk about other matters, like what the stallions would be drinking tonight in Ryan’s absence. Ryan ordered them to drink the best stuff from the top shelf tonight for him to celebrate his survival in the face of death.

Not long after that, the guys took their leave, leaving only Cinny with Ryan. Ryan waved to them as they made their exit, and when they were out the door, he turned to Cinny. She had been mostly quit while they were here, and Ryan wanted to know why.

“Cinny, why were you so quiet?” Ryan asked.

His answer came in the form of Cinny rushing forward and grabbing him in her forelegs, then unfurling her wings to wrap those around him as well. Ryan was taken by surprise by the sudden embrace, but took it happily. Cinny breathed in deep while she held him, trying to formulate the words she wanted to use.

“You colossal fool,” she finally said. “You nearly got yourself killed out there.”

“I had to defend the fillies,” Ryan said. “If I hadn’t, they would have been-“

“I know that!” Cinny shouted, gripping Ryan tighter. “I don’t understand why you stayed after they ran. You could have run, you could have escaped, but you stayed. Why?”

Ryan tried to think of a way to answer that without causing her to worry about him more. The Wraith was his worst foe, and a more dangerous enemy than even Narendra had been.

“I just had to, Cinny,” Ryan said. “I don’t expect anyone to understand.”

“You won’t even let us try?” Cinny asked. She pulled her face away from Ryan.

“I’m afraid not.” Ryan stroked her wing for just a moment, and she retracted it instantly. Afraid that he offended her with his words, he said, “I’m sorry.”

But she was blushing. “No, no worries,” she said. “It’s fine.” Ryan was confused, but he didn’t want this meeting of their to be more awkward.

He sighed. “Thanks for coming to visit me,” he said. “It means a lot to me.”

“It means a lot to me to get to come visit,” Cinny said. She smiled gently at him, a smile that he returned. Than, she looked at the time. “Oh, dear, I need to get to work. It’s been great seeing you alive and getting better.”

“It was great having you,” Ryan replied. “And we’re still on for the Gala. I’ll be up and walking by then.”

Cinny turned to the door to hide her face. “I can’t wait,” she said. “Rarity has a dress designed just for me.”

“It’ll look lovely on you, I’m sure of it.” Ryan waved to Cinny as she left him there.

Fluttershy was looking on from the kitchen archway the whole time. Ryan was a clueless young man, but was he really that dumb sometimes? Mac had caught on quickly, she thought. Fluttershy knew that Ryan had never had much of a relationship before, but come on! Really? Seriously?

No matter; the Gala was only a week away, and only the stars could say what may happen on that ever-fateful night.

The carriage rolled up the hill slowly and bumpily, knocking its two passengers about. They sat across from each other, dressed up all fancy and feeling classier than anyone else in the world. The tuxedo and dress were made by world famous designer Rarity of Ponyville, so there was no reason not to feel classy.

Ryan checked his watch; they were set to arrive early at this rate. Ryan’s recovery had been very good. The doctors came to visit him and give him magical aid in repairing his bones and lessening the severity of any cuts he suffered. Cinny came to visit him every day and give him updates on the day-to-day events outside the cottage. It was only for three days, but it was still a blessing to Ryan. A daily visitor who didn’t give him shot sin the abdomen was welcome sight.

That sight, though, was invisible right now. He didn’t understand why, but Rarity insisted that they have a carriage that was blacked out on the inside so that Ryan wouldn’t see Cinny’s dress until they arrived. He thought it weird, but he was still an alien here. Some customs wouldn’t come up until the right times.

The carriage came to an abrupt stop. “Here we are!” the puller shouted from the front. “The Grand Galloping Gala!” Ryan stretched himself out and stood in the cramped cabin.

“Shall we, Cinny?” he asked, going to the door.

“Ooh, I can’t wait!” Cinny said. Ryan felt her hopping up and down. “I’ve never been to one of these! It’s so exciting!”

Ryan smiled. “I’m sure it will be quite a night.”

Ryan opened up the door and stepped out, then turned to offer his hand to Cinny to help her out. Her hoof came out of the darkness, and with Ryan’s aid, she stepped down from the carriage to the ground. Ryan was impressed; she looked very nice. Rarity had made her a dress of gold trimming all along the perimeter and silver webbing on the back and sides. The general color under the webbings was a deep navy blue, like the night sky just before the blank. She had very well done eye shadow, but nothing else on her face, which seemed much better than her face would have looked otherwise.

“You look fantastic,” Ryan said honestly.

Cinny blushed. “Thank you,” she said. She put her foreleg out for Ryan to lock his arm with. “Shall we?”

“We shall.”

Before he locked his arm with Cinny’s foreleg, he felt his tux to make sure the “special packages” were still there. They had to be made nice and small to sit in Ryan’s tux, but big enough and shaped properly enough to fit the contents. Twilight agreed to help set up the boxes, though she desperately wanted to know what they were for. Ryan refused to elaborate, much to her annoyance, but assured her that it would be a grand show.

Ryan and Cinny locked and walked up the red carpet to the castle, getting curious looks from everypony around them. Most were actually looking at Cinny with regard to Ryan, but few looked directly at him. Cinny held her head up with pride and scooched closer to Ryan as they walked, practically showing him off.

They entered the castle and took in the scenery with awe. The decorations had been overhauled completely, with the actual building barely visible from the inside. Streamers and banners and balloons and everything else kept the ceiling and its likely guard sentinels invisible. There were tables everywhere, adorned with the finest silverware and food.

“Wooow,” Cinny said. She was stricken by the scene.

“No kidding,” Ryan said. While not as overwhelmed as Cinny, he was certainly taken by surprise.

They went further in and were surrounded by the highest-class ponies chatting about the things that high-class ponies talk about. Ryan overheard talk of business, talk of politics, and the pettiest of attempts at gaining favor socially. Cinny was too concerned with taking in everything around her, the opulence and the wealth and the classiness, to notice the ponies.

As they walked, Ryan spotted the Elements of Harmony, all very dressed up and acting very well behaved. Except Rainbow Dash. She had no interest in that, and she did what she wanted, so she only had the dress. Ryan chuckled at the sight of her squirming in it, and the sight of her friends trying to make her stop being so noticeable. Cinny saw it and laughed too.

Fluttershy stood with Mac, away from the group, in a cleared, wooden area. Before Ryan could think of why, slow music started to play, and the pair started slow dancing to the rhythm. Ryan smiled; it was an adorable sight.

“Excuse me,” Ryan said to his date. He left her standing there, though she opted to go talk to the other girls while Ryan did whatever he was doing.

Ryan walked toward the dance floor to get a better look at Mac. He had his eyes closed, so he couldn’t see Ryan’s initial approach. Ryan waited, and when Ma reopened his eyes, he spotted Ryan and smiled. Ryan gave him a thumbs-up and then walked back to the girls and Cinny.

When he returned, he came to not only his friends form Ponyville, but also a fancily garbed Starstep and an almost distressed Luna. He approached quietly to hear what they were talking about, but with all the noise, he couldn’t hear. He saw Luna sigh with what looked like relief, and then calm down significantly. He made his approached at the perfect time.

“So, what’re we talking about?” he asked.

Luna spun around and lunged at him with wide eyes. “Ryan!” she said loud enough for him to hear. “I was worried to death about you! What were you thinking?”

“Are you gonna hit me again?” Ryan asked jokingly.

Luna smacked him across the face. “I guess, since you asked.”

Ryan rubbed his face. “I thought Cinny was the only one who was weird,” he said. Both Cinny and Luna blushed. “I’m just kidding, pleasedon’thitmeagain.”

The mares exchanged a glance. “You deserve so much more than you get.”

“You all love me too much to hurt me,” Ryan replied.

Cinny walked up to him and brushed her tail under his chin. “Maybe I love you enough to hit you just like you deserve,” she said. Ryan opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He was speechless. Even he didn't normally go there.

“Given that this is technically a public event, maybe we should keep our silliness to a minimum,” Twilight said from off to the side. “Everypony around us can see.” Cinny suddenly blushed hard at the realization, getting a laugh out of Ryan.

“Maybe we should continue then,” he said. “Imagine all the kinds of fun we could have.” Everypony laughed lightheartedly at the comment and the mood went back down to neutral.

Luna smiled happily at Ryan. “I am so glad that you are alright,” she said. “The world would have lost a great person had you been taken from us. And we would have lost a very dear friend.”

“Thank you, Luna,” Ryan said. “I’m glad to be here. And it means a lot to her you say that.”

“It’s true,” Starstep said. Everyone looked to him. “You’ve helped all of us in one way or another.” Starstep let his eyes shoot briefly to Luna, though only Ryan seemed to notice. “We’re learned about life and ourselves thanks to you. You’ve really been a great influence on everything.”

Ryan smiled. “I’m glad I could help,” Ryan said. “How’s life changed here, exactly?”

“Not much, really,” Starstep said. The mares all looked incredibly confused. “I hope that it’ll all come together eventually.”

“I’m sure it will, buddy. I’m sure it will.” Ryan looked at his watch; the time was getting close. “Cinny and I should go see some of the other guests. It was great talking to you.”

“See you later, Ryan!” Pinkie shouted with a jump. Ryan and Cinny walked off and went back on their own.

“Who are we talking to?” Cinny asked.

“No one,” Ryan said with a shrug. “I just felt spending some time with you individually.”

She grinned sheepishly. “Oh, uhh… heh…” She looked embarrassed.

They walked off, but not out of visual range of Mac and Fluttershy. Ryan always had one eye on them and his ears on Cinny. He was accustomed to watching one thing and listening to another, and it was the perfect time to employ that skill. Cinny and Ryan held a wonderful conversation about their simple lives and their dreams. Ryan had to think hard about his dreams, but he had something in mind.

They found a table and sat down, eager to get off their feet and hooves. The floor wasn’t all nice, soft wood. Most of it was marble, and that tends to really put pressure on your feet and such wen you walk on it for a while. Most ponies around them had fancy adornments on their hooves to prevent that, but Ryan only had cloth shoes and Cinny had nothing.

They talked for a while longer, and Ryan had positioned himself so that Mac and Fluttershy were behind Cinny the whole time. They continued to chat, and Cinny had no idea that Ryan had a plan going through his head. He was working out how he would go about delivering the packages to the light ponies. Cinny would have to be distracted so he could slip away just long enough to deliver the packages.

And the distraction that came couldn’t have been better.

“Ah, I see you are accompanied by a lovely young mare, Ryan,” a motherly voice said from behind him.

Cinny looked with awe upon the figure behind Ryan and then bowed her head to her. Ryan knew who it was, but being him, he felt no need to bow. He did, however, turn and stand to greet her.

“Would you expect any less of me, Celestia?” Ryan asked with a smile.

Celestia grinned at him. “I’ve heard plenty of stories,” she said. “Though I was never sure how they might affect your ability to get a date.”

“I think it increases my odds,” Ryan replied. “Right, Cinny?” Cinny stood up and walked around the small table to stand with Ryan.

“Unfortunately, yes,” she said. “I don’t know why I keep coming back.”

“I’m just too sexy,” Ryan said. Cinny punched him in the shoulder, making him laugh.

“You two are really quite an interesting pair,” Celestia commented. “I always love hearing about your lives. Especially yours, Ryan.” Celestia switched her gaze to Cinny. “Of course, I find your life interesting as well.”

“He is a human,” Cinny said. “I would be more interested in him if I were you, too.”

“You’re already pretty interested in me,” Ryan said. He grabbed her and hugged her with one arm, a toothy grin on his face. “You don’t need to be a princess to want to know all about me.” Cinny hit him again, and he just laughed some more. So she hit him one more time.

Celestia chuckled lightly. “Ah, young love.”

Cinny flushed. “I- no, not- I mean, we aren’t-“

“Would you deny me, Cinny?” Ryan asked, still holding her close. “Would you deny all the great times we’ve had together?”

“Sounds like I was right,” Celestia said with a wink.

Cinny pouted and harrumphed. “Two on one is hardly fair,” she said.

Ryan glanced mischievously at the princess. “Maybe, but the two won’t be on you.”

Everyone was silent for a moment, then burst into a massive collective fit of laughter. The ponies around looked at them at first with annoyance, but then surprise at a laughing princess Celestia. Then, they looked at Ryan and Cinny with massive envy at their incredible relationship with the princess.

Even through this conversation, Ryan had his eye son Mac and Fluttershy. Their dance had come to an end, and Mac was whispering into her ear as they walked away from the dance floor. Ryan only made out one word, but he only needed the one; Garden.

Celestia followed his eyes and knew. “Well, Ryan, as fun as this has been, I would like to have some girl talk with Cinny here.” Cinny’s eyes widened excitedly. “Since you aren’t a girl…”

“Well, I may be forced to come back and listen in on you…” Both mares narrowed their gazes at him playfully. “But I can go away for a bit.” Ryan turned around and walked off. He ha da job to do.

Cinny felt conflicted. Ryan was her date, but Princess Celestia wanted to talk to her! What would they talk about? Issues regarding Equestrian societal structure? Pegasus culture? The ancient ways that the princesses are so very familiar with? She was so excited!

“So…” Cinny said.

“So,” Celestia replied. She leaned in trollishly. “I had a feeling that the two of you would come together.”

Ryan left the castle through a big side door and waded through a sea of ponies. Wings flared all over the place, smacking Ryan in the face as he walked by, and unicorns were floating food rudely through the crowd, also smacking Ryan in the face. Ryan never got one apology for the rudeness, but he didn’t expect to. It didn’t seem like the kind of crowd that cared. It was like he was in D.C. or something.

He had to make his way to the gardens to get a look at where Mac and Fluttershy would be. Mac said that he gave Soarin’ the wing piece, that Soarin’ placed in a bush near where Mac planned to be. He had to check it the area to make sure Soarin’ succeeded. Fancy Pants paid off the lights ponies to allow the special packages that Ryan was to bring to them. It was a tough operation, but the guys could do it.

Ryan reached the garden, not too long before Mac and Fluttershy were to show up, so he made his visit brief. He confirmed the presence of the wing piece and then ran off. He looked back as he ran; Mac and Fluttershy had just arrived. He would have to move fast; it meant that the show would start soon, and they had to start with what Ryan brought to the party.

Ryan ran hard, though it was difficult and hot in the tuxedo. He couldn’t take it off, though, because of how it was done, and he didn’t want to get too sweaty. So he parkoured his way to the light ponies, going over tables and ponies and interrupting as many of their pointless, goal-driven conversations as he could.

He made it just in time; the light ponies were about to start the show. They were setting up their machines and their gear, and they had everything they would need lined up. As soon as Ryan was within visual range, though, they all stopped everything and waited for him to approach.

“Hey,” Ryan said, catching his breath.

“We’ve been waiting!” one of the ponies said. “Where have you been? We thought we would have to start and give Fancy Pants his money back.”

“Who gives a damn?” Ryan asked. “I got here in time. I have the packages.”

“Then hand them here,” the pony said. Ryan reached into his tux and pulled out the two boxes, then handed them over.

“You can use them?” he asked.

The pony opened them up and revealed the packages’ contents, two very unique looking rockets. Ryan had a feeling that they were fireworks form the start. It would be the best show ever had at one of the princesses’ galas.

“Yeah, we can use ‘em.” The pony handed them to his associate at the launcher. “That’s everything; hope you enjoy whatever show you have planned.”

“We will,” Ryan said. He turned around to run back to the garden.

When he turned, though, he was greeted with the sight of a very impatient-looking Cinny. She wore a pout on her lips and a narrowed gaze at her date for going so far away. Ryan swallowed, and behind him, he could hear the light ponies snickering at the unfortunate situation.

“Ryan,” she said. “Why are you here?”

“Well, uhh…” Ryan tried to think of something, but nothing came to mind. Did he really need to think of anything? He had done his job, everything was set in motion. No one would ruin it, no one even could.

“Well?” Cinny asked, growing angry.

Ryan sighed. “Well, if you really want to know…” He looked at Cinny with a grin. “Mac is proposing to Fluttershy in a few minutes, and everything is ready. I was just gonna go watch the show.”

Cinny’s face lightened up immediately and she gasped in excitedly. Her pupils exploded in size, taking up most of her eyes, and she put her hooves to her cheeks in the excitement. She leapt forward and grabbed Ryan’s wrist.

“We have to go to them NOW!” she said. She started pulling Ryan. “Where are they?”

“They’re in the garden,” Ryan replied, trying to get his footing. Cinny didn’t say anything in her response, just dragged Ryan harder.

They plowed their way through the crowd, thoroughly ignoring the other snotty ponies there. They had more important things to worry about and much better things to watch as it was. The guards did nothing to stop them, and didn’t even care when the guests complained. Ryan had a bit of a hunch that Celestia had known about this for some time.

They arrived at the garden, and Ryan had to yank hard to stop Cinny from running in. She resisted him hard, but Ryan’s superior arm strength beat her legs, and he pulled her to the side to knock her over. Her dress might be a little bit dirty, but this was absolutely vital, and nothing could ruin it.

“We have to be quiet!” Ryan hissed. “We can’t interrupt.”

“Okay,” Cinny said. Ryan had her pinned under him.

“So much romance in the air,” he said. Cinny shoved him off and dusted herself off.

They were in the garden now, but not within range of seeing Mac and Fluttershy. They had to crawl in the dirt, mussying up their nice clothes, moving brush and grass aside. Before long, they could hear Mac and Fluttershy talking to each other, and they had to slow their pace to avoid detection. And then, finally, once they crouched up behind a bush, they were able to see the couple before them. They went completely silent and watched the events unfold.

“Ah’m really glad that you brought me,” Mac said. “This has been a really nice night.”

“Oh, um, yes, it really has,” Fluttershy said. Her face was just a little bit red. “Th-there’s no one else I would want to have with me more.”

“That’s how Ah feel too,” mac said. He leaned in and nuzzled his lady’s cheek, getting a little squeak of joy. “Ah love spending time with you.”

Fluttershy leaned into him. “Every day with you is a dream to me,” she said. “I never want to wake up.” She rubbed her face against Mac’s, a gesture that had Cinny biting her hoof to avoid making noise. Ryan was on the border of a heart attack from it all.

“Ah love you, Fluttershy,” Mac said.

“I love you too,” Fluttershy replied. She turned to kiss her stallion, and he did nothing to resist. It wasn’t the kind that you see when two people or ponies share when they first get together; there was so much there, so much emotion, it was overflowing. The redness in either pony’s face disappeared while they were in the trance of their joining at the lips; they were in their own world.

They separated, and gazed into each other’s eyes. No words were exchanged, but Ryan knew the look. They could talk to each other with nothing but their eyes, they could tell each other anything without so much as a peep. They let their eyes close and touched their foreheads together, just content to be touching each other.

While they stood like that, there were some fireworks going off in the background. Ryan was worried that the special fireworks would go unnoticed, but the first ones weren’t the special ones. There must have been a special arrangement with a unicorn or something, because that kind of luck doesn’t just happen.

Mac pulled his head away and looked to the fireworks in the sky. Fluttershy joined his gaze, and they moved themselves quietly over to the railing at the edge of the garden. The fireworks were beautiful, mesmerizing, but neither of the two ponies seemed to care that much. They just leaned into each other while they watched, less entertained by the fireworks than by each other.

“You know, Ah hadn’t much considered relationships too much before Ah met you,” Mac said, breaking the silence. “You made me want to try. You made me think that there’s more than apple farming in the world.” Fluttershy beamed at her beau and started playing with her mane. “You mean everything to me. Ah don’t want this to ever end.”

Mac directed Fluttershy’s attention to the sky, and then, as he had planned, the special fireworks went into action. The first of the two made a picture in the sky that Ryan hadn’t seen coming. It was a red apple, at least an outline of one, which had three small butterflies, with yellow bodies and pink wings. Fluttershy was awestruck by the sight, completely taken by surprise.

“Ah love what we do, how you make me feel,” Mac said. “It’s the best feeling Ah’ve ever had.” The second firework went up into the air. This one was more of what Ryan was expecting.

The image wasn’t a picture this time. It was just two simple words, yet those two simple word shad some of the greatest significance in the world. Those two words meant everything. They had the power to change life, the power to create life.

Mac leaned forward in a bow and, from underneath his belly in his tux, he pulled out a pin-like item and held it in his hoof. Fluttershy put her hooves to her mouth and started tearing up the instant he leaned forward, and her wings flared completely out, knocking away parts of her dress and letting them fly off in the wind.

“Will you marry me?”

Fluttershy could hardly move. Her face was stuck in her look of shock and joy and love, and she didn’t say a word at first. Mac stepped forward and put the pin-like item on her wing, and her eyes just followed. They locked gazes for just a moment, a very brief moment, but that moment was all it took. Fluttershy jumped forward and kissed her stallion with a passion Ryan had never seen before.

“Yes,” she squeaked out. “Yes, I will!” Mac’s face took on the biggest grin in the world, and he hugged his mare close and sat back so he could hold her.

Ryan watched on with enormous pride as the couple embraced in the garden, uninterrupted by anything and undeterred in showing their affection. It was a truly beautiful sight; the kind that makes you tear up when you see it. There aren’t words to describe the wonder and joy in these scenes, but all poets have to try.

Next to Ryan, Cinny was going silently and maniacally insane with the overflow of emotions that reached out to her. It was too adorable for her, and she could barely handle all the feelings of happiness and pride she got from watching the couple. Ryan saw this and, to give the couple a bit of privacy that they didn’t know they didn’t have, pulled her away and went back into the castle.

Cinny was still squee’ing while they walked in, getting all kinds of looks from the ponies around them. The stallions hadn’t a clue about what had just occurred, but all the mares knew. They all looked after her with huge, knowing grins, and refused to explain to their stallions what was going on. Ryan didn’t like all the attention, so he dragged Cinny away to a balcony upstairs and away from the party.

They went past the guards without issue and found their way to the balcony. It was a beautiful night, and neither had noticed that, they had ben so overtaken by the party itself and the events of just minutes ago. The stars twinkled flawlessly, with some even forming apples and butterflies. Luna must have seen what transpired, and she would naturally want to contribute.

“It’s such a gorgeous night,” Cinny said as she took in the sky.

“Careful, Cinny,” Ryan said. “Being a friend of the night, I might start to take that little phrase the wrong way if you keep it up.”

Cinny gave him a look. “I’ll never know why you have to do that,” she said.

“You know exactly why,” Ryan said. He scooted over to her and put his arm around her neck. “Because it’s funny.”

Cinny chuckled and shook her head. “Yeah, maybe.”

They stood there in silence for a few moments. Cinny was feeling like the top of the world; one of her more recent good friends just got proposed to, and she was there to see it. She had a fun, if occasionally awkward conversation with the ruler of the country. And she was standing here, with Ryan, the most important guy in her life. It had come out to be the best night ever.

“I hope we can do this again someday,” she said. She leaned into Ryan and kept on watching the sky.

Ryan rubbed her neck gently. “Someday,” he said. “Someday.”