A/N: sorry small link and filler chap but hope you enjoy all the same!
Chapter 20: Something Has to be Done
It took Arson almost a full week of searching and tracking to find Dan after he had run into the forest. Dan tried to run from Arson and refuse to go back to Ponyvil, let alone anywhere close to a pony he would put in danger. Arson had to resort to grabbing Dan in his claws and flying him back to the library. Once there Arson had Twilight got him into the tree so that he couldn't run off. Dan finally calmed enough to give up on fighting agents Twilights magic. "Please Dan we want you to stay here. you're not putting any of us in danger here." Arson and Spike tried to agree but Dan just turned away from them and went to his room without a word.
After a couple of days Dan started to get cleaned up and then decided that he would earn his place in the library. He had no plans to leave the library so that the only one that would be in danger was Twilight. If he had any say she wouldn't be either, but since he didn't at least she was the princess's student and could handle herself. That and the fact that ponies knew not to mess with her after the last time was a good thing. So he took over Spikes job of doing everything in the library. He made meals and did all the work and cleaning around the library. It was all he did, and it drove Twilight crazy. Spike liked the extra time to do other things, but even he was slightly annoyed by his job being taken.
Dan ate just what he need to survive and only had the minimum conversations with any but Arson. Arson was the only one that Dan would open up with or be somewhat himself around. Dan would even walk to the back of the library to go out and talk. After a couple of weeks Dan started to go back to normal with Spike and Twilight as well, but still wouldn't leave his room if any others came over. And he wouldn't see or say anything to them either. Including the three mares that were missing his company. Not even the three fillies that wanted to play could get a response, even if it did kill him on the inside to shut them out.
It was a bright afternoon when Twilight had to say something. "Dan we need to talk. You can't just keep yourself locked in this library. You need to go back out there and see your friends that are worried about you! Heck im worried about you! You can't keep living like this. I even got a letter from Star asking if you were ok and wanted her to come back. She misses the guy you were and her friend." Star indeed missed her human friend. Ever since he ran off and she looked for him. Then he was found and shut even her out. He told her to go do her job somewhere she wasn't in this kind of danger. He could handle her being in danger because of her job, but not because of him. So she was reassigned away from Ponyvil. She hated it but there was nothing she could do but miss him.
Dan just continued to shelve books as he answered her. "I am fine Twilight. I will just stay here locked away until the princesses find my way back to the human world. Then I won't be putting any of you in danger." Twilight caught onto something and had to point it out. "You can't even call it home anymore! It just shows how much you want to stay with the mares you fell for. You can't keep us all out of danger all the time. It's what life is. Taking risks, especially for those you love. So please just talk to them. They are a mess since you ran off. And even the Cutie Mark Crusaders are gloomy and don't cause much trouble anymore since you stopped playing with them."
Dan turned to her with a look that showed just how much pain he was really in. "I would rather they be sad and safe, then with me and constantly have others trying to kill them because of me! You don't get it Twilight… I want to be there for them more than anything. But even more than that, I want them to stay alive! You saw what happened after a few dates and spending time with them. They almost get raped and killed because they liked me. I won't have that happen, not because of me! So the sooner I get back to my old world the better it will be for everyone…" Dan had started to break down the more he spoke to the point of the last sentence being nothing more than a whisper.
Twilight was starting to fully understand why Dan was acting like this. He blamed himself for everything that happened. It wasn't just fear, it was also guilt. He was hating himself for everything that happened and only saw himself as a danger to them. The two sat in silence for a few minutes as Twilight had one thought she focused on. 'Something has to be done!'