It had been three weeks since the Gala and Mac’s proposal. As soon as the pair got back to the party, Fluttershy ran to her friends to share the news. Everypony was taken aback by the shared glee. Mac told the guys how it went, and Ryan acted like he hadn’t seen the whole thing. It would ruin the mystic feel of it all for Mac.

A lot had happened in the last three weeks; Soarin’ and Fleetfoot got married. It was a mostly private ceremony, no photographers or anything to publicize it. Only the good friends of the newlyweds were there. Mac, Ryan, Fancy, and a few other guys were there, and the rest of the female Wonderbolts plus a few others were there. After that whole thing ended, there was a party, and, as was customary, the newlyweds flew off to “make the marriage official”. Things like that had never made much sense to Ryan.

Mac and Fluttershy had to start planning their own wedding, too. There were a few problems with the conflicting customs of Earth Ponies and Pegasi, but both Mac and Fluttershy were so easygoing about it that the issues were only with what their families would want. Ryan promptly told them to ignore that and do what they wanted to do, a piece of advice that they took to heart.

They decided that they wanted to have a wedding on the farm, where Mac worked, and to have doves and other animals roam about during the ceremony. It represented the two of them quite well, Ryan thought. Only the families and close friends would come, seeing as both ponies were pretty shy about being the center of attention at such a huge event. The Elements, the drinking crew, as they referred to themselves now, Cinny, the families, and select friends would attend.

The wedding was set for six weeks after the proposal, so about three weeks away now, so there was lots of time to get everything ready. Ryan overheard Soarin’ talking about a bachelor party, but after a brief conversation, they both concluded that Mac wouldn’t want that. They might run the idea by him, but it wasn’t of particular importance, so they could forget and not have a problem. Fancy would undoubtedly approve, but even he wasn’t going to put Mac through the classlessness of a bachelor party against his will.

When the idea came up in casual conversation, Mac was very clear; no parties like that. The guys could always go for it, but Mac wasn’t going to take part. Soarin’ wouldn’t, since he was married, and neither would Fancy, but Ryan, Mac suspected, would be game for it. When he discretely made his case about it, Ryan only acknowledged the idea with a grunt, annoyed that they could see him doing that. He still had trouble thinking about the whole pony-human thing. Eesh.

News about the Southern Gryphon Colonies was buzzing around like a swarm of angry hornets. Shit was really going down over there, with more kidnappings and attacks than ever. The violence was mostly directed against the government, but civilians were fair game too. Celestia and her embassy made an announcement that all non-essential ponies were recommended to leave the country. But Ryan wasn’t a pony.

He sat at the table, the usual table, with his buddies, and they were having good laugh sharing stories about the people and ponies they met, the relationships they had or observed. The machismo was awfully high this time; each guy trying to outdo the one another. It was all friendly competition, of course.

“So I once knew this mare back in my old university. I never did learn her name, but she was positively radiant. One night, I went to her door to try and get to know her some more. She opened the door, crying, and I asked, ‘What happened?’ She yanked me in and cried into my shoulder, telling me about her terrible hoofball-playing coltfriend. One thing led to another, and we had hot sweaty special time in her room.” Fancy Pants smiled smugly as he finished his statement.

“What happened to her?” Soarin’ asked, impressed.

Fancy laughed. “We got married.” Ryan had been drinking from his cup, but spat everything out all over the table and his friends when Fancy said that.

Ryan laughed uncontrollably. “Holy shit, seriously?!” he asked. Fancy nodded. “That’s just… I have no words to describe that.”

“We should’ve brought a poet!” Soarin’ yelled.

They all had a laugh at that.

They were making a huge raucous, but no one seemed to mind. In fact, the place was getting more and more like them. At first, when Ryan came here and Oktoberfest was running the place on his own, it was a depressing place filled with losers and piles of misery. But over time, as Ryan and his friends drank here more and had more fun, the crowd increased in size and variety. Oktoberfest placed a picture of the guys on the wall to commemorate what they did for his business.

Thinking back, a lot had changed for Ryan during his time here, too. When he arrived here, besides his injuries, he was a soulless man, trapped in the darkness of the deepest reaches of the mind. He couldn’t see a way out, and he thought he would remain there forever. But the friends he made here became the light in his life. It was a small light at first, but Ryan followed it none-the-less. Now, he was out of the caverns of self-pity and misery and in the world of happiness and genuine living.

Not everyone was as lucky, though. A lot of people, and even ponies, were trapped in circumstances they couldn’t deal with. Not on their own, at least. The original crowd at the Salt Lick was like that. There were homeless ponies here and there who were like that. And Ryan knew of one pony in the Southern Gryphon Colonies trapped in less than desirable circumstances.

Ryan had been thinking about him a lot lately. Blazer, if he recalled the name correctly. He had been quite the hero in his day, but fate had other plans for him.He fought hard and brave, but he was taken prisoner by some nasty gryphons. Assuming he was still alive, he was suffering. If not, his captors needed to be brought to justice, even if he has long since past on.

But justice in this world was not unlike justice on Earth. People talk about how certain people need to be taken care of; bad people, like Joseph Kony, Félicien Kabuga, others like him, get away with terrible crimes all the time. The world doesn’t seem to care if it doesn’t affect the world directly. Here, the Equestrians won’t go back to help because there is no direct connection yet. There will be, but not yet. Because of the nonexistent problem within Equestrian borders, no one will lift a hoof to help the ones who need it most. In the end both worlds have plans but don't act on them.

Ryan hadn’t stood for that before, and he still wouldn’t stand for it. He could have gone home, and left Narendra and his men to their own devices. He stopped them because people needed him to. People he would never meet, people he would never know existed, but people all the same. And the ponies here were no different.

“Oh, man, those were great times,” Fancy said. “Too bad my wife isn’t as frisky anymore.”

“Part of that new-status feeling, I would guess,” Ryan said. “Right, Mac?”

Mac glared at him. “Ah won’t answer that,” he stated.

Ryan raised his glass. “An honorable answer.” Mac glared for a moment longer, then smiled and raised his glass. Everyone toasted and finished their drinks.

Cinny happened to be walking by with perfect timing. “You rambunctious young colts want more?” she asked.

“Yes, please,” Ryan said. The guys gave her the most pathetic puppy dog eyes they could muster. The only reason they were pathetic was that the expressions were just that poorly done.

Cinny giggled. “I’ll go grab you some more.” And she walked away, with that ever-present swagger. Ryan watched her go and then turned to his buddies.

“So, I guess that makes me the last one who, at least, won't be married a month and a half from now,” he said.

“Ever the bachelor,” Soarin’ said. “But I think you can find somepony.”

“Not likely,” Ryan replied.

It wasn’t likely at all. Not here, at least. Ryan had some things that he needed to get done, and once he had them finished up, he would be on his way. His friends wouldn’t be able to come with him. They might be able to keep a tab on him, if they really wanted, but none could go with him. Cinny wouldn’t be able to come, either. That would be hard, especially for Ryan, but it was necessary. It was just something he had to do.

“And why is that?” Soarin asked

Ryan’s face hardened. It only took a moment for the guys to figure out that he was serious now, and they all matched his expression. The news would be tough to break, but Ryan needed to tell them.

“I’m going down to the Southern Gryphon Colonies,” he stated.

Everyone was dead silent. The other patrons went on with their business, but to the guys, it was like the world was standing still.

“Ryan,” Soarin’ said. “That’s not the kind of place ponies go. It just isn’t safe, especially with the amount of conflict there. Why would you go there?”

“I’m not a pony,” Ryan said. “And I've got plenty of reasons.”

“What reasons could you possibly have?” Fancy asked. “There is little but danger and violence down there. Nothing can be gained by going there.”

“Maybe not for me,” Ryan said. “But for others, there is an entire world of reasons to go.”

“Would ya mind explaining?” Mac asked. “Ah would like for mah best man not to get killed before mah wedding. Ah could ask one of these guys to fill in, but without you, it won’t be the same.”

“Man, we don’t want to lose you!” Soarin’ said.

Ryan scowled. “I said, there’s plenty of reasons, so-”

“And what are they!?” Mac asked aggressively. “What’s so important that ya have to go down into the most dangerous area in the world?”

Ryan sighed. “I’ve known about it for a while,” Ryan said. “There was a war not long ago, right?”

“Yes, I remember that horrid affair,” Fancy said.

“Yeah. Well, not everypony who survived came home.” Ryan clasped his hands together. “One, at least, is still down there. One that has a lot meaning to certain ponies we know, and even more to ponies we don’t know. He’s been down there for a long time. I’m not even sure he’s alive.”

“Then why go?” Soarin’ asked. “I was in that war, I know what it was like. If we aren’t sure-”

“Because no man ever gets left behind!” Ryan said. “No one is ever left out to die, not while I’m around. The princesses aren’t doing anything because they can’t, with international politics and shit. They can’t save this guy. The guard can’t help him. I am the only one who can go after him. And I won’t have his blood on my hands.”

“Why would his blood be on your hands, though?” Soarin’ asked. “It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“It doesn’t have to,” Ryan said. “I’m just telling you guys this now. I don’t expect you to understand. It’s something that I have to do; I won’t let myself fail again. Not like I did last time.”

That was when the guys understood, at least to some extent. Ryan had always been like this; if they had paid more attention to what his past entailed, they would have seen that this is all he does. He failed the last time, failed at the one thing he wanted to be in life, failed to do what he believed he was meant to do. This was more than just doing the right thing; it was redemption.

“Ryan, ya know Ah’ll support whatever you choose,” Mac said.

“As shall I,” Fancy added.

“Me three," Soarin’ said, rounding out the group. Ryan smiled, but before he could respond, Cinny came back with drinks.

“Hey boys, here you go!” she said. She dropped the new glasses on the table. “Enjoy.”

“Thanks honey,” Ryan said with a little smile. Cinny smiled, though she was a bit embarrassed about it, and walked off. Ryan didn’t quite understand why she was so embarrassed lately.

He turned back to the guys. “I’m glad you all are cool with this,” Ryan said. “It would feel weird to know that you didn’t support me out there.”

“We will support you, but we still don’t want you out there, not on your own,” Fancy said. “So I’ll be going along with you.”

“Hang on-”

“Yeah, Ryan, we aren’t letting you go this alone.” Soarin’ leaned onto the table and nearly tipped it. “You had to go the last time with only your one friend who you had to protect. This time, you won’t be on your own.”

“Guys, I appreciate it, but-”

Ryan was cut off again. “But nothing,” Mac said. He turned to his friend sitting next to him. “Ah know how much you want to handle this on your own. Ah understand that you think you have to, that you have to prove that you can do it.” Ryan went to respond, but didn’t get the chance.

“Ryan, you fought hard before. You proved just how strong you are and always shall be; there is no need to do that again,” Fancy said. “There is no shame in accepting help from friends. There is nothing wrong with not being able to do this on your own. Even the strongest warriors have support behind them; it’s what makes them strong.”

Soarin’ nodded. “We’re your friends, Ryan, your support group. You won’t leave anyone behind, and we won’t leave you out alone in the world. We have your back, and if you have anyone else’s back, so do we.”

Ryan paused and looked back and forth between his friends. They were all staring at him expectantly. He had intended on doing this alone, but his friends had other plans. Ryan wanted to be able to do it on his own, but deep down, he knew he couldn’t.

His friends would always be there for him. He hadn’t truly realized that until a short time ago. He was always willing to help them, and they him. They had become a team, and no team can function when one of its members is trying to break away.

“Thanks guys,” Ryan said. They all grinned. “It’s good to have friends.” The group cheered and raised their glasses to their new goal.

They downed their drinks and set the glasses down. “So, Ryan,” Fancy asked. “How do you plan on getting to the Southern Gryphon Colonies?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Ryan said. “I looked over some atlases some time ago. I think the best course of action would be to go to Las Pegasus, then travel south through the San Palomino desert. Then I- we’ll be in the Colonies. And the search can begin.”

“I have connections in Las Pegasus,” Fancy said. “I’m sure they can help us get through the desert.”

“Excellent,” Ryan said.

“You think there’ll be fighting?” Soarin’ asked.

“Loads,” Ryan replied.

“Sweet.” Soarin’ smiled deviously at Ryan.

“I can get us Gryphon money in the city,” Fancy said. “I can also get us fake documents and new clothes to conceal our identities.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Ryan said. “If no one knows who you guys are, we are less likely to gather unwanted attention, or be kidnapped ourselves while we’re down there looking.”

Ryan looked at Mac. He had been waiting for whatever questions he would ask the whole time, but the stallion remained silent for most of it. He wasn’t waiting for his turn or anything like that. He didn’t look like he had a tangible question, nothing about hardware or travel. But there was a question there, one that needed asking.

“Mac?” Ryan asked. Mac looked sideways at him and sipped the remaining froth of his drink.

“How do ya plan on finding this guy?” Mac asked.

Ryan grinned and raised his empty glass. “I haven’t got a damned clue,” he said.

Mac waited for a moment, then smirked back. Ryan turned his gaze to his other buddies, who were also grinning. They waved at Cinny, elsewhere in the bar, to come and get them more drinks, and Soarin’ leaned in.

“I always did like a well-thought plan,” he said jokingly.

“Everyone here has skills that will prove invaluable,” Ryan said. “We just have to use them appropriately, and everything else will fall into place.”

Cinny came over a few minutes later with the next round of drinks. She saw that the guys were talking and thought she would just walk away, but a grabby hand thought otherwise. She felt herself being pulled on at the tail, a rude gesture to anyone who was a pony, and could think of only a person who would do that publicly. She turned around and stood next to Ryan, who let go of her tail.

“Yes?” she asked, trying to look unrustled.

“So, Cinny,” Ryan said. “I’m afraid that the crew won’t be here next week.”

“What? Why?” Cinny asked.

“We have a trip to Las Pegasus planned,” Soarin’ said. “All of us had something planned around the same time, except for Ryan the near-homeless bum, so we thought we’d drag him along and show him the city. It’ll be a fun, guy’s vacation.”

“Guy’s vacation?” Cinny said doubtfully with a distrustful expression.

“Yep,” Ryan said. He leaned on her back and hung his hand off her wing. “Basically what we do here on weekends, but every day and to a much less respectable extent.”

“You really are something, you who make up this group,” Cinny said, trying to sound fancy. “I don’t think I could ever understand what goes on in your heads.”

“Don’t question it, just accept it,” Ryan said.

Cinny grinned devilishly. “Well then,” she said. She leaned up and pecked Ryan on the cheek with considerable force, knocking him back a bit.

“What?” Ryan asked instantly, taken by surprise. “Wha, huh? Why..?”

She grinned at him. “Don’t question it, just accept it.” With the last word, she turned around and swaggered away, leaving a confused and conflicted Ryan behind her to watch.

Ryan tried to reel in his mind and got back to the guys. “So…” he started. He was still derailed. “Uhh, we should depart as soon as possible. Tomorrow would be really good.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Fancy said. “Everyone, we need to get our story straight tonight to avoid suspicion, and I’ll make my necessary arrangements to get us out of the country.”

“And prepare yourselves, gents,” Soarin’ said. “I suspect that the SGC hasn’t improved much since I was running recon missions over it.”

“Ah’ll pack some food before we leave, canned stuff that we can live off of if we need to,” Mac said. “Ah can do some heavy lifting too, so if y’all have heavy stuff, Ah can take it. Since Ah am the strongest one here, after all.” Mac smiled smugly at the truth that no one wished was true.

Ryan nodded and stood. “Alright, boys. We all have our jobs. Let’s do them.” He turned to the main area of the bar. “Cinny!”

“Yeah?” the Pegasus mare replied.

“Can you put this on a tab for us?” Ryan asked.

“Sure thing! You can pay when you get back from your sausage trip!” Ryan groaned at her choice on the name for their coming trip.

The young man and stallions left the bar and went to their respective homes to start thinking about how to prepare for the coming trip. One way or another, it was going to be a huge event.

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

Mac shut the door behind him as he entered his home. He did it as quietly as he could, hoping that he wouldn’t wake his youngest sister and have to put her back to sleep. Applejack would be annoyed at him for waking her, but that was no problem, and Granny wasn’t about to wake any time soon.

He snuck in quieter than one would think a stallion of his build could, keeping his hooves on carpet as much as possible to keep the noise to a minimum. There were only a few rugs here and there, though, so he had to take it nice and slow on his way up to his room.

The stairs creaked as he climbed up and he was forced to put his hoof on the rail to reduce the pressure he exerted on the steps. Each time, with each squeak of an old board, Mac cringed. He knew it only sounded so loud to him, because he was so intent on being quiet. Even so it was still frustrating to him.

He crept through the halls, taking glances in each of his family members’ rooms as he passed. Apple Bloom was sound asleep, snoring away under her covers. Granny Smith had a bit of a tendency to talk in her sleep, an action that always gave Mac the willies. He could never tell if she was awake or not. Once, he thought she caught him with Fluttershy in the barn and both he and his mare froze, but she turned out to be sleepwalking and talking to Mac’s deceased father who happened to have done the same thing.

Applejack was a light sleeper, a problem Mac had for a long time when they were younger and she always wanted to help out in the fields early in the morning. After she reached her adolescent years, though, it got better for Mac, and she started sleeping more. Not much more, though, but enough that she wasn’t trouble.

Mac finally reached his room and slowly opened the door. He slowly peeked his head in; everything was as it should be. His mirror hung over his dresser, showing him a reflection of the window and what lied outside. He didn’t know why he had a dresser; the fancy outfits he had for the proper occasions were in his closet, and those were about the only clothes he wore. He had a nightstand with a lamp next to his bed for doing “fancy mathematics”, as Applejack tended to call the farm accounting. His bed was neatly made, with only one lump right in the center-

Mac blinked in confusion, then smiled as he entered his room. Inside, he shut the door quietly and listened, absolutely still. He could see the rhythmic rise and fall of the sheets and he could hear the steady intake and outlet of air from underneath. It must have been pretty stale under there.

He approached the covers nonchalantly and let out an exaggerated yawn. Then, he let himself fall onto the bed, right next to the covers, and immediately rolled over and grabbed the lump in a vice grip. It let out a little “Eep!” and Mac chuckled at its surprise.

“You can’t hide from me,” Mac said, holding the lump tighter. “Ah’m like a bloodhound; Ah know your scent, and Ah can always catch you with it.” A head popped out from under the covers with a frazzled pink mane and butter yellow coat.

“And I remember how you got so good at sniffing me out,” Fluttershy said.

Mac chuckled some more and held her close. “Does anypony else know you’re here?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Nope… just you.” She leaned in and nuzzled his nose.

“So, what inspired this act of boldness?” Mac asked. His eyes were closed and he tried to maneuver himself to be under the covers. “Today didn’t seem any different from the usual.”

“I just wanted to see you,” Fluttershy said. She lifted the covers so he could get under. “You’re my big red apple, after all.”

“Came to take a bite?” Mac asked.

Fluttershy blushed and nipped at Mac’s ear. “Only if the apple is ripe enough.”

Mac hugged his mare close and let his eyes close. “Ah can’t believe it’s actually gonna happen,” he said. “We’ll finally be…”

“Together forever,” Fluttershy finished. “We still need to prepare though.”

“Yeah,” Mac said. “Any ideas?”

“Well, the girls are going to help out a lot, which is great. But Rarity said she wanted to do the dress first.” Fluttershy poked Mac in the chest. “But you can’t see me in the dress before the ceremony. It’ bad luck.”

“What?” Mac asked. “Does that mean Ah can’t look at you for the next three weeks?”

“No, no,” Fluttershy said. “But the dress will take at least a week and a half.”

“How am Ah gonna survive without you for such a long time?” Mac asked. Then an idea occurred to him.

“I’m sure you can hang out with your friends, and Ryan would be more than happy to help you spend time.” Fluttershy nodded. “He’s a good friend.”

“Yeah,” Mac said. “Actually, Ah think he and Ah might be able to go and do something together to kill some time.”

“What might that be?” Fluttershy asked.

“He said that he and Fancy Pants are gonna go to Las Pegasus for some business meeting. Fancy wanted for Ryan to see the city since it’s a place where the three pony races worked together so efficiently after the dissolution of the three tribes. They’ll probably let me go with ‘em.”

Fluttershy ponder it for a moment. “That sounds like a wonderful idea,” she said. “How long would the trip be?”

“Hard to say,” Mac replied. “Two weeks, maybe a bit longer? Not longer than three, though, Ah can guarantee.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want you to miss our wedding.” Fluttershy added a semi-serious stare at the end of her statement.

Mac held her closer and kissed her forehead. “Me neither, Flutters, me neither.”

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

Soarin’ landed on the tarmac of the Wonderbolts training ground with extraordinary precision in the dark night. On his feet, he wore special horseshoes to protect his hooves from grinding against the pavement and practically opening him up. When he stopped moving, he could smell the heat from the metal horseshoes that just finished being shredded away at by the ground.

He flew straight to the barracks to see his wife. He knew exactly what he was going to tell her and wanted to get through with it now. He hated lying to the mare he loved more than anything, but it was a necessary evil to help Ryan and that other guy. Soarin’ just hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite him in the end.

He landed on the balcony of Fleetfoot’s room and tapped on the window. While they were married now, they were still supposed to have different rooms. They didn’t understand completely, nor did they typically follow that rule, but they didn’t bother questioning it. It was an old rule.

Fleetfoot opened the window. “Wha..?” she said. “Soarin’, you usually just slip in quietly. Why didn’t you do that again?”

“Because I have important news for you.” Soarin’ let himself in and floated next to Fleetfoot. “I need to tell you ASAP.”

“What is it?” Fleetfoot asked. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. “It’s late.”

“I’m going to have to go away to Las Pegasus for a couple of weeks,” Soarin said.

Fleetfoot woke up a little. “What? Why?”

“My buddy Fancy Pants is taking Ryan and Mac to see the city. Problem is, some places won’t let them in without a Pegasus present. And Fancy actually needs to be in those places for some business.”

“I see,” Fleetfoot said. “We don’t have any shows for a while, just training and recruiting, so Spitfire shouldn’t mind. But why do you have to go?” Fleetfoot looked unhappy about losing her new husband to a trip to Las Pegasus.

“Because the other pegasi available are preparing another wedding,” Soarin’ said. “Besides, it’ll only be three weeks at most, at least two-“

“What?! Three weeks?” Fleetfoot said. “Why so long?”

Soarin’ moved to the bed and lay down. “Because Fancy has a lot of business to take care of,” Soarin’ said. “And I actually have another task that I’ve been given.”

“What?” Fleetfoot asked. She floated over to Soarin’ and lay next to him. “What other task?”

“Gryphons have been crossing the border,” Soarin’ said. “My job is to fly high and far to find them in the desert and report them to the guard to deal with it. I won’t be in danger; I’m just doing the recon that I used to do.”

Fleetfoot looked unhappily at her husband and then sighed. “Fine, I suppose I can understand,” she said. She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. “You’re just keeping Equestria safe again.”

“As long as I keep you safe,” Soarin’ said. He returned his affection to his wife and they went to bed.

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

Fancy Pants hopped off the train and grabbed a carriage home. He had worked out what he would tell Fleur, and he made sure it matched with his friends’ stories before he boarded the train. If they did this wrong, everything could fall apart before it even came into place.

When he arrived at home, he teleported himself to the other side of the gate and ran up to his house. He could see some of his kids’ lights on, even though they shouldn’t have been awake. He knew that his wife had made some agreement with them regarding how late their father was out, and he would have to find some incentive to give them to go to sleep.

Fancy opened his front door and waltzed on in and climbed the steps to the third floor. His mansion was very large and his room was located toward the back, where photographers would have a hard time getting pictures of either him or Fleur in a compromising situation. Or both of them.

It took him a couple of minutes to get to his room. Looking under the door he could tell that the lights were off, and he couldn’t hear anything from inside. Figuring Fleur was asleep, Fancy cracked the door open and glanced in. he didn’t see any movement in the dark room, so he slowly opened the door, snuck in, and then shut the door. If Fleur was asleep, he could talk to her in the morning.

But the lights suddenly turned on, and when he turned around, he saw Fleur leaning against the doorframe to the master bathroom. She wore a towel wrapped around her head and her mane and tail hung wet and heavy. The small amount of makeup she always wore was gone, revealing her natural good looks much more.

“Awfully suspicious, a rowdy stallion coming home stealthily from his night of drinking,” Fleur said. “One might think you did something you shouldn’t have.”

“Well, the kids are still awake,” Fancy said with a wink. “If you’re up for it, I can still do something I shouldn’t do.”

Fleur smiled at her husband sideways. “Oh? And what might that be?”

Fancy jumped onto the king-sized bed. “Keep them up past their bedtime by being… loud.” He flashed a toothy grin at his wife, but she only laughed.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Fleur said. Fancy pouted. “Oh, don’t give me that look. You were out late again, and I’m tired.”

Fancy rolled onto his back. “But you’re aaaaaaaaaalways tired!” he whined.

Fleur giggled and walked up and kissed Fancy’s forehead. “And you’re always a goob,” she said. “Even in public. But I don’t whine about that.”

Fancy rolled back over and pushed his face outward. “That’s because you love it,” he said.

Fleur laughed and shook her head. “That is why I married you,” she said.

“Really?” Fancy asked. “It wasn’t my charm, or my witty banter, or my skills and good taste?”

“If any of those were real, maybe,” Fleur said.

“Now that’s just mean,” Fancy said with a pouty face. “You gave me an emotional booboo.”

Fleur giggled at her husband’s silliness. “Do you need me to kiss it?” she asked.

“That always makes me feel better,” Fancy said.

Fleur jumped onto the bed and made her way under the covers, followed in short order by Fancy Pants. Once he was under, he scooted closer to her and snuggled up close, a snuggle that Fleur readily returned. They both sighed contentedly and lay there together. Fancy Pants used his magic to shut off the lights in their room and throughout the house and chuckled when he heard his kids whining about it down the hall.

He closed his eyes gently. “So I have potential business over in Las Pegasus,” he said casually.

“Hmm,” Fleur said. “That sounds nice.” She sounded tired and ready to sleep next to her stallion.

“Yes, we should be leaving tomorrow,” he said.

“Tomorrow?” Fleur asked, her surprise waking her a bit. “Why so sudden?”

“It’s a short order type of thing,” Fancy said. “It could take a couple of weeks, perhaps a bit longer.”

Fleur huffed. “Well, that sounds silly. Is it a good deal?”

“Very,” Fancy said. “I also said that I would bring Ryan, Big Macintosh, and Soarin’ along. We all have some reason to go except Ryan, who is only going for the sights and history.”

Fleur nodded slowly. “I suppose that’s nice,” she said. “But soon, he’ll have to start doing these things himself. He can’t mooch off everyone forever.”

“Come now, he hasn’t even lived here a year,” Fancy said. “He’ll be on his feet soon enough. He has money saved up, and he says he will be able to go off on his own soon.”

“Any idea where he’ll live? I don’t know of any homes available in Ponyville,” Fleur said.

“I don’t know,” Fancy said with a hint of pondering. “He said he would have to go and do things, so he may not live in Ponyville any more. I don’t know if he even intends to settle, really.”

“What about that nice young mare, the one you said something of a crush on him? Any chance there?” Fleur asked.

“We will have to wait and see on that one,” Fancy said. “But she seems the adventurous type. The two of them would be adorable.” Fleur breathed out slowly and nestled her head into Fancy’s shoulder with a yawn.

“Well, I’m sure it will all work out in the end,” she said. “Goodnight, sweet prince.”

And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

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

Ryan dumped everything he might need on the floor in front of him. He had his cloak, his makeshift armored vest, his gun and holster, and the mask Fancy had made him for Nightmare Night. He had a pair of gloves that could prove useful for handling machinery, much like the Mechanix Gloves what he could get back home. His jacket was on his bed and a pair of lightweight boots was under the bed.

He went to his closet and pulled out the steel plates that he would be using to armor his work vest. It was already cut resistant, so the steel plates would be good for reducing impact damage on his body from enemy weapons. The plates were all about three quarters of a centimeter thick, but Ryan had been training with it on to make the weight less of an issue. It would still be less than ideal for quick movement, of course.

Once everything was laid out and in order, Ryan left it on the floor for the morning. He would need to pull out a pair of sturdy long pants to deal with the potential cold of the mountains and that could survive a real beating. But that was something for tomorrow.

He looked down at his things, then walked to his dresser. He had a few sheets of paper and a quill and ink there that he would use to write a message to the others telling them that the would be out for a while. How should he write it out? He didn’t want to reveal too much. He could just write out that he was heading to the city with his buddies. That was what they were telling their loved ones, right?

“Ryan?”

Ryan felt his heart jump a little at the sound of his name and spun around to find the source. Up on his stairs was Sweetie Belle, sitting there with tired, baggy eyes and a messy coat and mane. Rarity would have a fit about it if she saw it.

“Yes, Sweetie?” Ryan replied as he caught his breath.

“What are you doing?” she asked. She continued down the stairs and trudged to Ryan’s preparations to see what he was doing.

“Just getting ready for a trip,” Ryan said. He saw her try to lift the now steel-filled vest, but to no avail.

“What kind of trip?” Sweetie Belle asked. “This is a weird set of things to pack.”

“It’s a special trip,” Ryan said. “I’m heading out with my drin- the guys.” No need to poison the young mind. “We have some plans for what we’re gonna do that need special stuff.”

Sweetie continued through the items on the floor, though Ryan made no move to stop her. He probably should have, considering the particular assortment of things there, as she may be able to figure out what Ryan was going to do or tell somepony about his loadout for the trip. But he wasn’t thinking far enough ahead at the moment.

Sweetie Belle picked up the mask. “This is kind of creepy,” she said. “Why do you need a mask like this?”

“To hide my face, of course,” Ryan said. If something is incriminating, the best way to remove suspicion is to agree with what someone says and to act like it doesn’t matter or mean anything.

“From who?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Are you going somewhere dangerous?”

“No,” Ryan said quickly.

“You’re lying,” Sweetie Belle said with a frown. “Rarity!” she called.

“Shh, shh, alright!” Ryan whispered to her. “You can’t tell anyone, and I mean ANYONE,” he said. Sweetie Belle fell back on her rump to listen, and with a sigh, Ryan went on. “I need to head down south for a bit.”

“Why? What’s down there?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“A friend of a friend who needs some help,” Ryan said. “No one else can help him. So I and my buddies are going to.”

“Why can’t anyone else help?” Sweetie asked.

“Because they just can’t,” Ryan said. “There’s too much going on to explain.”

“And why can’t I tell anypony?” Sweetie asked. So many questions with this one.

“Because they might try to stop us,” Ryan said. “We have to help our friend, Sweetie Belle. And we can’t let anyone prevent us from doing that.”

“So what are you going to tell everypony when you have to leave?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Ryan sighed. “We will have to lie,” he said. “We’ll go to Las Pegasus and we’re telling everyone that that’s where we’re staying.”

Sweetie Belle looked unhappy. “Lying is wrong,” she said.

“Yes, lying is wrong,” Ryan said. “When it’s malicious. This is a lie to do good. I do not bear false witness against anyone, Sweetie Belle, I bear it for them.” Sweetie Belle looked confused at the language choice Ryan had made, the result Ryan had been hoping for.

“Is it going to be an adventure?” Sweetie asked.

“Yes,” Ryan answered. “It’ll be quite the adventure. Though I’m afraid no one will likely ever hear the true story behind the adventure.” Sweetie Belle yawned loudly as Ryan finished. “You need to get to bed. Go on now; night night.”

Sweetie Belle started up the stairs and Ryan turned back to his things to double check. Sweetie Belle didn’t go all the way up, though. She stopped about midway up the steps and looked back down at Ryan.

“What’ll it be called?” she asked.

“Huh?”

“What are you going to call your adventure? All the adventures in the books my parents and sister read to me when I was little had names.” Sweetie Belle looked at him expectantly.

Ryan had to think about it for a moment. If telling her a name would get her to be, he would give her a name. But what would work? She would only accept a good name, one that summarized the entire tale in a few words. Instead of giving it the proper thought it would need, though, Ryan gave her the first thing that came to mind.

“Operation: Imminent Harkness,” Ryan blurted out.

Sweetie Belle looked thoughtful. “Okay,” she said. “That sounds pretty cool.” With that, she went back up the stairs and to her room to go to sleep.

Ryan let out a sigh of relief. She would probably forget half of the details of the night, at least, and even then, he had a feeling she wouldn’t talk. Not before they left, at least.

So Ryan finished up his lookover of everything he would be bringing and went to bed. He would need all the rest he could get before heading out the next day.