"I'm Mister White Christmas, I'm Mister Snow! I'm Mister Icicle! I'm Mister Ten Below!" I found myself singing the Miser Brother's song early the next morning in the kitchen as I began the preparations for a larger breakfast than normal. "Friends call me Snow Miser! Whatever I touch turns to snow in my clutch! Haha! I'm too much!"

"He's Mister White Christmas, he's Mister Snow! He's Mister Icicle! He's Mister Ten Below," a young voice sang from behind me. Turning, I saw a sleepy looking Spike walking in. He was wearing a pair of gray pajama pants and a white t-shirt. "Morning, Dad," he said.

"Morning, sport," I replied automatically. "Whatcha doing up so early?"

"I normally get up this early to make breakfast for me and Twilight," Spike said nonchalantly as he walked over to me.

"You know, that really should be the other way around," I said as I flipped one of the pancakes on the griddle. "You shouldn't really be doing as much for her as you are. Don't get me wrong, I like Twilight a lot, but she can sometimes be a bit forgetful when it comes to you."

"Eh…I don't think you want to try her cooking," Spike said, a shudder going down her back. "Once, for my birthday when we were still in Canterlot, she tried to make a cake. The royal kitchen smelled like burnt frosting for weeks."

I raised an eyebrow. "Huh…sounds a bit like Sweetie Belle."

"Really? What do you mean?" Spike asked as he grabbed a stool, walked over to the counter next to me, grabbed a bunch of bananas and began peeling them.

"Eh, in the show, there was an episode that showed her trying to make some breakfast for Rarity only she somehow burned everything. Even juice. And what are you doing, Spike?" I asked as he continued peeling the peels off of the bananas.

"Helping you make breakfast," he said. "What, don't you want me to help?" He turned and gave me a puppy dog look.

"Ponies aren't the only ones who can weaponize the power of cuteness, I see," I said with a sigh. "Alright, if you really want to help, I don't mind. And since you're already working on the bananas, could you cut them into slices? I was gonna put them on the pancakes."

"That was my plan," he smirked as he put down the first banana and grabbed the other. He looked at the spread before me. "Eggs…bread…wait, are those sausages?" he asked nervously.

"We have omnivores in the house, Spike," I said, patting his head gently. "And I'm pretty sure that includes you."

He looked down at the bananas he was peeling for a while as I kept my eye on the pancakes. We didn't speak for a while until he spoke up again. "Do you think I really need to eat meat? What if Ponies hate me or are afraid of me because of it?"

"Those Ponies out there know I eat meat, and they still like me," I said.

"But you're not a Dragon," he said.

"No, I'm just their Emperor," I replied. I reached down and turned him to face me. "Spike, I won't force you to eat meat if you don't want to. If you're comfortable eating gems and Pony food, that's fine. But your present growth spurt aside, during the show you hardly ever really changed. At the end you were kinda grown, but not through the entire series. For my kind, unless we take special medication, we need to eat meat or find a way to get the nutrients from them another way. It's one reason why I import meat from Griffonstone and why I'm glad the Stargate leads to Earth. I can easily get meat now. But, like I said, I won't force you. I'm just worried that you might be the same."

"Well, maybe we can get something from Earth?" he asked.

"I'll do some research later," I promised.

He smiled up at me. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, kiddo." I turned and flipped the pancakes once more.

Spike sniffed the air and smiled. "What kind of pancakes are those? They've got a strange smell to them."

"These are eggnog pancakes," I explained. "After you all reacted so well to it last night, I looked up a recipe online and found one I could easily make here. It comes with its own vanilla syrup.

Spike's eyes went wide and I could have sworn I saw the young drake salivating. "I smell it now! Oh wow…can I get the recipe?"

"Me too!" Pinkie Pie's voice said out of one of the closed cabinets, which opened with a loud bang, only for the poofy haired Pony to jump out and land on all fours like a cat. And just like a cat, she sauntered over to me, tail in the air.

"Of course I'll give you guys the recipe," I said as I flipped the pancakes onto a nearby platter before putting more of the batter on the griddle. "Hell, you can use it in your shop if you want, Pinks. I don't know if you guys sell pancakes, so if not, I can look for eggnog cake or ice cream."

She squealed in delight. "Yes, please!" Pinkie then turned to the uncooked sausages which I was going to make next. Then, to my utter surprise, she grabbed a large skillet and placed it on one of the burners, grabbed the package, and began opening it.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked, stunned by her actions.

"Um…making sausages," she said, looking at me with innocent confusion.

"But…you're a Pony, Ponks," I said. "Do you know how to make them?"

"I watched something on that toplap thingy Twilight has," she said. "I wanted to know what to cook for you."

I knew at that moment that this was one special Pony. I smiled wide at her, immediately making my way over to her and wrapping my arms around the now surprised mare. "You're too pure for this world, Pinkie Pie."

"You silly boy," she said gently as she hugged me back, "I don't care if you eat veggies, meat, or me. I love you for you. I know you wouldn't eat a Pony."

I ignored her obvious innuendo as I hugged her closer. "You're incredible," I said as I placed her back down. "If you really want to make sausages, then go ahead."

"It's my first time," she admitted, "so could you make sure I don't do anything wrong?"

"Of course," I said with a smile as I put her back down. I turned back to Spike, who had a stunned expression on his young face. "What did I tell you, big guy?"

"Wow…Pinkie, aren't you a bit scared?" Spike asked.

"Scared of what?" Pinkie asked as she poured a small portion of oil into the pan before turning the stove on.

"I mean…it's meat," he said.

"Awww, but it wasn't meat from a talking creature, right?" she asked, looking up at me.

"Correct," I said. "I got it from Griffonstone. The animals there are as dumb as rocks. Only Equestrian animals were taught how to talk by the Phoenixes."

"And besides, Jethy needs to be healthy, right?" Pinkie added. "And if that means eating meat, well, I should learn to make it. Especially if things go further." She looked up at me with wide and enticing eyes.

I smiled back at her. "Again, you're amazing." I turned back to the pancakes. "Alright, let's get a move on. We've got a ton to make."


The table was so full during that breakfast that I made a mental note to order a much larger one as well as an appropriate number of matching chairs for the occasion. Of course, the Siren Princesses and Chrysalis didn't come downstairs for breakfast, so I took plates of food up for them. Sonata was the only one who really thanked me sincerely. Since I had no plans for the day after the others went home, I decided that it was the perfect chance to take a relaxing day to spend around Ponyville visiting some of the Ponies I'd gotten to know.

With Zecora spending some time at her house, Scarlet working at Sugarcube Corner, and Chrysalis and the Sirens still not ready to face the world, I figured now would be the best time. Ember had planned on spending time with Gemini, Mica was going to spend some time with a visiting Strawberry Rain and Phlogiston had plans to watch over Aurora for the day. I asked if any of them wanted to join me, but they all declined. So, I grabbed my boots, jacket, leather gloves, Santa hat and a scarf and headed out into the cold wintery wonderland that Ponyville had become overnight.

It was still snowing as I made my way out of the house, the flakes coming down thickly, but according to my phone's weather app, the snow would stop by around midday, leaving the clouds. More snow would come in during the night. Despite this, I saw plenty of Ponies going about their business, all wearing warm clothes to protect themselves. I decided first to head to Sweet Drops on Seventh and Neighsay, Bon Bon's sweet shop. It was just past ten when I left, and despite the heavy snowfall I decided it was better to fly to the side of town where the sweet shop was. So, I slipped on one of the pairs of my custom made goggles that I'd ordered from Cloudsdale, tightened the straps and leaped into the air.

I received plenty of friendly greetings and waves from the Pegasi I passed. I made sure to stay lower than the cloud level as I flew around Ponyville, heading to the eastern portion where I knew the sweets shop was. It was a little early for any kind of sweets, but I figured they'd be the best place to start.

Ponyville was already decked out with plenty of familiar decorations, garlands, lights, Hearth's Warming trees and more familiar Christmasy type decorations. I also saw what looked like historical scenes. Almost like their version of a Nativity Scene. Most of them were nearly identical. There was a large depiction of a cave with six Ponies sitting in them. Three were half frozen and the other three were not. All six looked up and pointed with joyous expressions at a glowing heart, the Fire of Friendship.

Sweet Drops was a large pink and blue gumdrop shaped building sitting comfortably on the street corner. I landed a few yards away, brushing my coat off and taking off my goggles, letting them hang around my neck. Bon Bon had decorated her storefront with lights, green garlands with red bows, and even a small depiction of the Hearth's Warming story painted onto the storefront windows. She had a red and white striped cloth awning above the windows along with a front display. The display was of familiar shaped buildings sitting atop of white cotton snow. I recognized a few of the buildings there, from Ponyville Town Hall to Golden Oaks to Rainbow Dash's house which hung from the ceiling to even Sugarcube Corner. All of the major buildings in the city had been placed there, but there was one newer addition. At least I assumed it was new since it was brighter in color than the rest.

I saw my own house sitting on the left edge of the display, with a small winged human standing there in the small yard next to a Zebra and a familiar tree house.

A passing Pegasus Pony stallion saw me staring, and strode up next to me. "This is your first Hearth's Warming, right?"

"Yeah," I said, not taking my eyes away from the display as I took everything in.

"Well, you'll learn that Bon Bon puts up this display every holiday season. It's more or less the same, but this year she added a few new things." He pointed his dark blue hoof at my house and yard. "She's never changed her display in at least five years. You've really made an impact here."

I turned to the Pony. He had a dark azure coat, grayish azure spiked mane and tail, and the constellation Orion on his flank as a cutie mark. His cornflower blue eyes looked at me with a warmness I'd grown to expect from the Ponies in town. I'd seen him in the show a few times, but never really got his name. "Thanks, Mister…?"

"Star Hunter," he said, holding out his hoof. "Ponyville's resident amateur astronomer."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? I didn't know Ponyville had one."

The stallion smiled sheepishly now. "Well, it's not really a job. It's my hobby. It's kinda embarrassing how many constellations I can name."

"I don't think that's something to be embarrassed about," I said. "I love the night myself. On clear nights, I'll break out my Earth telescope and look up at the heavens with Zecora."

Star Hunter looked intrigued. "I've been saving up for a telescope for a while now," he said. "My old one is falling apart. What's yours like?"

"Well, it's electronic," I said. "There's also a built in control system where I can only push a few buttons and the telescope moves to the object I want to see. Like if I wanted to get a glimpse of the Whirlpool Galaxy, I'd just program it in and the telescope will move towards it. Providing it's in the sky."

Star's eyes widened. "I'd love a telescope like that! Have humans discovered more about the night sky than we Ponies have?"

"I'm pretty sure we have," I said. "Here, lemme show you something." I pulled out my phone, Googled Hubble Deep Field Image and projected it into the air. "Those aren't stars, dude. Almost every point of light is a galaxy billions of miles away. This picture was taken by humanity's most powerful telescope to date. A telescope we placed in orbit."

The poor stallion looked positively overwhelmed. I even thought I saw a tear in his eye. "So much…" was all he could say.

"If you wanna see more, I'll show you plenty of stuff humans have discovered," I said. "But right now I'm gonna drop in on some friends."

Star shook his head. "Oh, yeah. Well, I should be going too. I work for the Ponyville Weather Bureau and my shift starts in thirty minutes."

"Nice job with the weather, then," I said. "I love snow."

Star chuckled. "It's a living," he smirked. "See you around, Sir Bethridge."

"It's just Jethro!" I called out as the Pegasus spread his wings and shot up into the air out of sight. I just shook my head and sighed, smiling a bit as I turned back to Bon Bon's shop. I'd never been to her store before, so I was curious to see what was inside.

The moment I stepped inside, I felt like I'd gone back in time to the 1950s. The smell of sweets assaulted my nostrils, but I also smelled what could only be soda. The interior was made of dark smoothed wood and I saw a few shelves along the wall full of many different jars of candy, such as taffy, wrapped up truffles, pieces of gum and more. There was a counter with the types of stools sitting at them, the kind that could turn. The walls were decorated with garland with candy canes hanging from them and in one corner was a tall brightly lit Hearth's Warming tree with candy themed ornaments.

And behind the counter were two warm smiling faces looking over at me.

"Jethro!" Lyra squealed as she jumped over the counter and rushed over to me, nearly tackling me in the process. She threw her hooves around me, hugging me tightly. I had to admit, seeing her in a red and white striped vest and soda jerk hat on was immensely adorable. "You finally came!"

I hugged her back and smiled down at her. "Better late than never, huh?"

Bon Bon, who looked absolutely adorable in an identical outfit to Lyra, smiled at me and motioned me forward. "She's just excited to see a human," she smirked.

Lyra stuck her tongue back out. "That's not what I'm doing and you know it," she pouted as I walked over.

I sat on one of the stools, Lyra still hugging me. "It's good to see you two again," I said, rubbing Lyra's back gently. "Bon Bon, thanks for looking after my house while I was away."

"Lyra and I both took turns," she admitted.

I looked down at the still smiling Lyra. "Well then, thank you too, Miss Heartstrings."

Lyra giggled and finally got off of me, sitting on the stool next to me in that same remarkably human-like manner. "It was really fun! I hope you don't mind if I did a bit of exploring while you were gone?" Her smile lessened. "With what was going on, I liked being away in some peace and quiet for a bit."

"Of course," I said, patting her back. "I'm just glad things didn't escalate."

"Nah, you just became a bona fide Emperor," Bon Bon teased.

"Ugh, yeah…don't remind me," I sighed, leaning on the counter. "I never wanted that."

Bon Bon came up and gave me a concerned expression. "I didn't mean to make you upset," she said apologetically.

"Not your fault," I said as I pulled over one of the menus and looked over their soda selections. One name popped out as a holiday special and I raised an eyebrow. "Peppermint Float? What's that like?" I asked.

Bon Bon's smile returned. "You want to order one?"

I pulled out the required bits and put them down. "Make it a double," I said.

Bon Bon smiled wider then turned to Lyra. "Ly, you make them better. Do you mind?"

Lyra nodded. "Sure! I'll make one!" With that, she jumped over the counter and rushed over to the back.

When she was gone, I figured it was as good a time as any to talk to Bon Bon. I leaned forward and motioned Bon Bon forward. "Bon Bon, how'd Lyra take it when she found out you were Agent Sweetie Drops of S.M.I.L.E.?"

Bon Bon sighed. "She…wasn't happy. We had a big argument. And I learned she ate some of those imported oats."

"The ones you were saving for a special occasion?" I asked.

Bon Bon chuckled. "I keep forgetting you've seen our lives on that television show of yours."

"Only bits and pieces," I said. "The only reason I knew you were a special agent was from an episode where part of the plot was a Bug Bear attacking Ponyville."

Bon Bon frowned. "Damn…does the Princess know?"

"I've told her about it," I said. "Hey, mind if I ask you something?"

"Um, sure," the Earth Pony said.

"Why'd you become a special agent? If your talent is making candy, why go into S.M.I.L.E.?"

Bon Bon smiled wistfully a bit. "Honestly, it's a weird story."

"If you're willing to talk about it, I'd love to hear," I admitted. "The show never talked about how you got in."

"I'd like to hear it too," Lyra said, coming out of the back with a float in a milkshake glass which she hoofed over to me. It had a long metal straw and spoon in it. Unlike a normal root beer float, this float had a bright amber colored soda, white ice cream with what I assumed were peppermint flakes inside and whipped cream on top.

"Thanks, Lyra," I said as I took a sip. I immediately tasted cream soda. I took a bite out of the ice cream and tasted vanilla ice cream with peppermint chunks. "Cream soda, vanilla ice cream and peppermint. Nice touch."

"Thanks, it's a holiday favorite here," Bon Bon said.

"Just like your front display?" I asked, gesturing to the window display behind me.

Bon Bon smiled. "You saw that, huh?"

"And the new additions," I added.

"It's not every day we have an alien and a Zebra living in our town," Lyra giggled as she leaned against her hoof, looking kindly at me.

"You've changed a lot around here for the better," Bon Bon said.

"Heh, well thank you, I'm honored," I said, and I meant it. If this display was a staple of holidays in Ponyville, it was humbling to be included in such a place.

"But enough about that," Lyra said, looking at Bon Bon with a grin. "I wanna know about your spy job!"

"You sure? It's a weird story," Bon Bon said.

"I'm curious, but if you don't want to tell us, I won't force it," I said.

"Well, if you two really want to know, I won't mind, but you'd better keep this to yourselves," Bon Bon said seriously. "Even if half of Ponyville saw me as Sweetie Drops, I've still been sworn not to tell anypony else who doesn't know."

"I'm not a Pony," I smirked.

"You know what I mean," she retorted with a smirk of her own.

"We won't tell," Lyra said, giving me a knowing glare.

"She's right, I promise," I said.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and then I saw a reminiscent look appear on her face. "Well, I'm twenty seven now, and I was eighteen when the Secret Monster Intelligence League of Equestria was formed. It's really a weird story about how I joined." With that, she began.

Apparently, after Sweetie Drops, who hadn't yet changed her name legally, was eighteen, she had already found her talent for making candy, and while she enjoyed it, she wanted more. She was a very outgoing filly, getting into trouble for exploring plenty of hidden areas of Canterlot.

She was working at a sweets shop in Canterlot when she was involved accidentally in the capture of a displaced Chimera youngling who'd somehow gotten separated from its mother. She was the one who talked down the poor scared Chimera. Since she was involved accidentally, she was approached by Princess Celestia herself and invited to join the organization. Excited to do something other than make sweets for a living under a particularly mean Unicorn boss, she readily accepted and became one of the key members of S.M.I.L.E.

She really did love her job. She took up a few aliases during her tenure as a member of the organization and helped to capture particularly malevolent creatures, banishing them to Tartarus in the process. At least, until the Bug Bear escaped and the organization was scrapped.

"So…a bit like Agent K from Men In Black," I muttered to myself as she finished her story. "But why was the organizations scrapped just because a Bug Bear escaped?"

"Well, we were getting less funding from the government," Bon Bon said with a sigh. "I guess some of the nobles saw this as an excuse to shut down the entire thing."

"One mistake and that was it?" Lyra asked. "That's pretty harsh."

"The agency had been around for twenty or so years before I joined," Bon Bon said. "I don't regret having joined, but I really like the life I have now."

"What if the agency had new funding?" I asked, reaching around my neck and fingering the necklace around it absent mindedly. "Funding from an unlimited source?"

"Well…I'm not sure I'd want to join back up again," Bon Bon admitted. "I like this quieter life. I like living here in Ponyville and with Ly here."

"Awww! Thanks, Bonny," Lyra said, hugging her best friend eventually turned lover if that panned out.

"Honestly, I think having an organization like S.M.I.L.E. around is a good idea," I said thoughtfully. "I might eventually do the same for Aelyssia. Only, I think I'll repurpose it so it's more like the S.C.P. Foundation."

"What's that?" Bon Bon asked.

"It's a fictional organization humans made up, but the idea is that there's this worldwide organization that captures and/or studies dangerous creatures and artifacts in various facilities around the world," I explained. "For example, if an S.C.P. Foundation were founded here, they'd hold onto things like the Alicorn Amulet so that they weren't a danger to anyone else. And possibly Eris, too, if we could find a way to do that."

"I'm sure the Princess has her best Ponies on it," Lyra said reassuringly.

"She's told me the same thing," I replied. "But anyway, that's a really interesting story, Bon Bon. Thank you for sharing it with us."

"My pleasure," Bon Bon said with a smile. Her smile then turned into a grin and she leaned forward. "So…tell me about this herd you're forming. I hear half the Elements of Harmony are into you and then there was that Lycan girl."

Having just taken a sip of the float, I nearly began coughing in surprise as I swallowed and the drink went down the wrong way. Lyra leaned in with her own grin. "Oooh, the Lycan? Not that I didn't know! Do tell, huh? Planning on bagging Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash while you're at it?"

"Wonder how that'll work in the bedroom, eh Ly?" Bon Bon asked in a teasing tone.

I groaned and facepalmed after I recovered. "You two are just…"

"Adorable?" Bon Bon asked.

"Sexy as Tartarus?" Lyra asked, lifting her flank and shaking it.

"Goddamn it…"


After I finished my float and talked a bit more with the ever teasing duo, I gave them both a generous tip and flew off towards another store, only this one was owned by another iconic Ponyville duo, that being Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody.

Much like their house had appeared in the show, the shop was divided straight down the middle with classical vinyls and sheet music lining shelves along the left side of the store and DJ equipment and other old style electronics lining the other wall. When I walked in, I saw a Hearth's Warming tree sitting directly in the center of the store. One side had strands of older styled white lights and the other had strands of more modern moving colored lights. The white light side had flocking on it and I saw ornaments that were mostly classical instruments. On the other side, I saw mostly garlands. From some corner speakers, I heard festive sounding instrumental music.

"My goodness, Sir Bethridge, is that you?" Octavia asked from behind her side of the counter as she was putting up some vinyls.

Vinyl, who was organizing a few things on her side of the store, turned and waved at me, then signed Dude! You actually came!

"It's just Jethro, Miss Melody," I said, "and yes, Vinyl, it's long past time I came and visited this place."

"You can call me Octavia," the young celloist smiled. "What brings you by our establishment?"

"What, I can't come visit some friends I've been neglecting?" I asked with a smirk.

Bro, you're not neglecting, Vinyl signed quickly as she walked out from behind the counter and held up a hoof which I promptly fistbumped before she added There's only one of you and so many others, you know?

"She's right, you know," Octavia said with a warm and friendly smile. "You've known some of us longer than most."

"Well damn, now I feel really bad for not visiting more often," I admitted.

"Pish posh," Octavia said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. "Don't be so glum."

Yeah, bro, turn that frown upside down, Vinyl said with a silent snicker.

"Well, if you're sure," I chuckled. "So, how's the most famous musical duo in all the My Little Pony fandom?" I asked.

"Doing quite well," Octavia said. "Vinyl and I are putting out our holiday albums and sheet music for the season."

It's gonna be so sweet, Vinyl said with a grin. Ponies love buying the latest tunes about Hearth's Warming.

"Do humans celebrate Hearth's Warming?" Octavia asked. "I've seen you decorate your house for the holiday."

"No, we celebrate a holiday called Christmas," I explained. "We have our own music for the season."

"Christmas? How do you celebrate it?" Octavia asked.

"Ironically enough, it's a lot like Hearth's Warming in how you celebrate," I said. "We put up trees, decorate with garland and lights, give presents, and promote peace on Earth, good will towards men."

Where did it come from? Vinyl asked.

"It's a holiday based in an old human religion," I said, and explained the origins once more to the two attentive Ponies.

When I finished, there was silence in the store, then finally Vinyl signaled Could you play us some music?

"Oh yes, please?" Octavia added. "I'd so love to hear a holiday song from another world."

I smirked and pulled out my phone. "Hmm…let's see here…aha! I bet you could easily turn this into a Hearth's Warming song if you wanted to," I said as I put on We Need A Little Christmas by Percy Faith and cast the spell that made it sound like it was in stereo instead of from a tiny phone speaker.

Vinyl and Octavia listened to the music with interest, bobbing their heads to the festive sounding tune. I saw them exchanging some knowing glances as the song continued playing. When it was over, Vinyl signed That was a pretty sick tune, bro.

"Her modern day lingo aside, I agree," Octavia said. "What do you think, Vine? Replace 'For we need a little Christmas' with something like 'For we all need some Hearth's Warming'?"

Vinyl thought for a bit, then signed, Yeah, that works. Dude, could we get the lyrics and music for it?

"I'll bring some by tomorrow," I said.

"Do you think there are any other songs that we could convert to Hearth's Warming carols or songs?" Octavia asked, and both Ponies gave me their biggest pleading eyes that they could.

"Damn adorable Ponies," I grumbled as I looked through my Christmas tune playlist. "Hmm…how about this one?" I asked, hitting play on another classic. Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime began playing. As the two listened, I couldn't help but smile. This was going to be a long but fin session with both musical prodigies…


Another hour later I was feeling a bit hungry, and since it was now around one o'clock, I decided that lunch was in order. So, I decided to head to the Hay Burger and order their veggie burger and fries. When I landed a few yards from the shop, I nearly ran into, ironically enough, one of the Ponies I had intended to visit. "Crap, I'm sorry Miss Mare!" I said as I furled my wings which had almost hit her backside.

Mayor Mare was wearing a bright pink coat and a similarly colored snow hat on her head. She chuckled. "Oh my, don't worry about it, Sir Bethridge," she said with a smile. "And you can call me Mayor, although I've recently thought about changing my name to the one you mentioned. Ivory Scrolls, was it?"

"That was what the many fans of the show would call you," I nodded as I opened the door for her.

"Thank you, sir," she said as she entered and removed her hat. "But yes, I actually like that name. Having a name like Mayor Mare is a bit constricting, at least for me."

As the two of us walked in, I noted a few of the patrons looking my way and waving at me and the mayor. "I admit, I like the name better than your real one, but are you absolutely sure about that?" I asked. "I mean, it's a big decision."

"Oh, I haven't decided yet," she said as she looked around for a place to sit.

"Fair enough," I said as I spotted an empty booth near the window. Pointing to it, I said, "There. Would you care to join me for lunch, Mayor? It's on me today."

"Such a gentlecolt," she said with a grateful tone as she trotted over to the booth and took a seat.

When I took one across from her, one of the staff was immediately by the table. "Hello, and welcome!" the bright orange furred and green maned Pegasus mare with a slice of some kind of pie for a cutie mark said warmly as she hoofed down some menus for us to look at. "I'm Flakey Crust and I'll be your waitress today. Can I start either of you off with some water or some Sweet Apple Acres holiday cider?"

"My, this place is going up in the world," Mayor Mare said. "Could I have some of the cider? Chilled but no ice?"

"Same for me, please," I added.

"Of course! Our special today is the double stacked hay bacon cheese hayburger," she said.

"Sounds delightful," the mayor said. "I'll have that, please."

"You're still doing the veggie burger that Scarlet created, right?" I asked.

"It's a customer favorite," Flakey said.

"Then could I get a double veggie cheeseburger and some hoof fries?" I asked.

"Of course, sir!" She wrote down the order. "Will you both be wanting any dessert? We have a special crisp apple pie with apples from our very own Sweet Apple Acres."

"I won't be having any today, but thank you for offering," Mayor Mare said.

"I'll drop by and try some another time," I said. "It sounds amazing."

"Made the crust myself!" Flakey said, looking down at her cutie mark. "Pies of any kind are my specialty!"

"Then I look forward to trying it at some point," I said.

"I'll get those orders to the kitchen right away and be right out with your chilled apple ciders," the waitress said as she sped towards the back.

As she did so, I turned back to the mayor and crossed my arms. "Slumming it like us commoners at a burger joint, huh?" I smirked. "I thought you liked Manehattan cuisine."

"And I do," she said with a chuckle, "but if anyone's slumming it, as you so put it, it's you, mister high and mighty Emperor."

"This coming from the mayor who dyes her mane and tail?" I joked back.

She held her hooves over her head. "Hush, I'd rather not have that revealed," she whispered.

"Of course," I said, "but can I ask why you do that?"

"Would you vote for a mayor if they had silly pink hair?" she asked.

I chuckled. "Color isn't important. What I vote for isn't the physical, although you are quite lovely to look at. No, what I vote for are whether or not a candidate deals with issues that I feel are important."

Mayor Mare blushed when I called her lovely, but looked intrigued by the latter part of my sentence. "And what, may I ask, are the issues you feel are important in Ponyville?" she asked.

I leaned back and looked out the window, glancing in the direction of the Everfree Forest. "Speaking as an outsider and someone who thinks a bit differently than your average Pony, I think security is an issue. Look there," I added, pointing to the Everfree Forest. "Ponyville sits on the edge of one of the most dangerous forests in the world, and yet we don't have any kind of protective barrier near it. Maybe a stone wall, or some magical shield."

"Ah, yes," Mayor said with a bit of drooped ears. "the Town Council had brought that up multiple times, but we've found that the budget can't feasibly support that kind of construction."

"Well, I'm good with money," I said, "maybe I could help. How is the budget divided up?"

She took on a thoughtful look. "We have a budget for the plumbing, power, mail, weather, education, social services and general infrastructure," she said. "Not necessarily in that order of importance."

"Can't you sneak anything in about security?" I asked. "Because let's be honest, Mayor, Ponies are lower on the metaphorical food chain in Equestria than, say, a Timberwolf or Cockatrice."

Her ears lowered and she nodded in agreement. "You're right, I know," she said, "but since the forest creatures keep to themselves, we just avoid the forest. That incident with the Ursa Minor a few months ago wouldn't have happened if those two colts didn't go into the forest."

"Okay, that is a fair point," I said, "but you really should consider some kind of security or even a police force. I haven't seen anything like that in this town. Canterlot has the Royal Guard, and hell, Appleloosa has a sheriff."

"We have you though," Mayor Mare retorted. "You're a Knight of Equestria."

"Yeah, but I'm just one man," I replied. "I can't police an entire town and rule a foreign nation at the same time. Even sleepy little towns like Ponyville should have some kind of security. You can't just go relying on Ponies like the Bearers of Harmony or even me."

Mayor Mare pursed her lips. "Jethro, you need to understand, I'm just a mayor. I can only do so much. I know we should have more security, but the town council would need to be convinced."

I took a deep breath. The mayor sounded tired, and I realized that talking politics during a break wasn't really helpful. "Okay, that's fair. Maybe I'll talk to them sometime. But for now, new subject."

She gave me a grateful smile. "How have you been, by the way?" she asked. "Your ship is quite the talk of the town. Nopony's been able to get close to it thanks to those guards the Princess sent down. I heard Miss Cheerilee is hoping to talk to you about it and ask if her class can go aboard."

"I think I could let them aboard," I said with a smile, "but not right now. I'm not sure if I'm gonna take it back to Aelyssia or not."

"Whatever for?" Mayor Mare asked.

"Well, if there are Dragons who are unable to fly, I'd take them on the ship," I explained. "I'm moving an entire population, and there may be a few there who can't fly for one reason or another. Maybe they're hatchlings or maybe they don't have a wing or maybe they're too old, who knows?"

Mayor smiled knowingly. "Very thoughtful of you, but what if the ship can't take all of them?"

"Well, I'll think of something," I said hopefully.

"Bit of advice from one ruler to the next," she said, "try and plan for everything."

"Yeah, I'll do that," I said before deciding to change the subject again. "So…you're into boat rides, huh?"


Lunch with the mayor went smoothly afterwards. She told me that she loved taking boat rides ever since she was in the Canterlot Orphanage since it gave her some sense of peace away from the other orphans and the noise of the royal city. Since she was never adopted, she found a job when she was old enough and moved to the quiet town of Ponyville. She was actually a secretary for years before the old mayor stepped down. She'd stepped in and during the election to replace her, Mayor Mare was elected and she'd been mayor ever since.

I shared some of my own life with her as well, talking about my early childhood, my friendship with Trixie and the loving relationship I had with her and my parents. She told me she'd once been in a relationship but her coltfriend had called it off when he moved to Las Pegasus to accept a job he'd wanted for years. They were still friends, of course, but there was no romance there anymore since he'd gotten married.

The meal itself was exquisite, and my burger actually tasted much better than it had the first time, to my surprise. The chilled cider was some of the best I'd ever had.

I walked Mayor Mare back to her office and after we said our goodbyes, I headed back out into the snow covered town square only to see Big Mac, Applejack and Apple Bloom right in the town square setting up a freshly cut down evergreen tree, Big Mac had a dark green beanie on his head and a white scarf around his neck, Applejack was wearing what looked like a blue denim jacket with a bright green scarf wrapped around her neck and Apple Bloom was wearing a blue beanie with red hearts wrapped around it. The three Earth Ponies were busy placing the tree in a large tree stand. When I spotted them, I raised my hand and waved. "Hey there!"

Applejack was the first to spot me, so she smiled and waved back.

And then the hoof she used to wave at me began to glow a bright green. Before I had a chance to react, she'd put her hoof down on the ground. The moment she did, the ground began to shake, startling everyone around. I watched in stunned shock as a green mist surrounded the tree itself. Tree roots sprang out from the evergreen's trunk and embedded itself into the ground. The tree itself then began to grow impossibly fast.

By now, Ponies had taken notice of this and were beginning to panic in Pony fashion. Even the Apple siblings were moving away in fear. I looked back at Applejack and noted that the mist around the tree seemed to pause when her glowing hoof was off the ground. Immediately making the connection, I spread my wings, launched myself towards Applejack, caught her in my magic, pulled her into my arms and flew into the air with her in my grasp. The moment I did so, the trembling stopped and the mist vanished, leaving the tree stuck in the ground at nearly double its original size.

As the two of us hovered there, I reached down, grabbed her hoof and stared at the still glowing appendage. Applejack now noticed it and her eyes widened. "What in tarnation…? What is this?!" she asked in alarm.

"One day…I couldn't even get ONE day before things go to shit…fuck you too, Murphy," I grumbled as I began to lower myself back down to the ground. Looking back down at the crowd, I shouted, "Don't worry, everyone! Everything's alright! Just go back to what you were doing."

"What just happened?" Apple Bloom asked, looking at Applejack's glowing hoof.

"I don't know," I said as I landed, "but I'm gonna find out. AJ, we're going to go see Twilight. I'm sure she'll have an answer. For the time being, I'm gonna carry you. Don't want things getting out of hand again. Big Mac, Apple Bloom, you okay here?"

"Eeyup," Big Mac said with a hint of worry in his voice as he looked at his sister.

"She's gonna be okay, right?" Apple Bloom said with concern.

"Of course ah'm alright, sugarcube," Applejack said as I readjusted her in my grasp to hold her princess style. She turned to me and gave me a small glare. "Ah can walk, yah know?"

"Something just happened to that tree to make it grow like that," I said, "and it involves that glowing hoof. Until we know anything, I don't want you touching the ground. Please," I added, giving her my best pleading glance, "please trust me?"

Applejack relaxed and nodded. "Alright, Jethro. Ah trust yah."

"Take care of her, alright," Big Mac said, and I could hear the protective tone in his voice which was only confirmed by the stern glare he gave me.

"She's one of my best friends, Big Mac," I said, "I'll never let anything bad happen to her." With that, I turned and began walking down the street towards Golden Oaks Library.

As we walked, Applejack lowered her voice and asked, "Have yah seen anythin' like this in that show of yers?"

I shook my head. "No, nothing like this. This is completely new to me."

She looked nervous now. "Jethro, ah'm not ashamed tah admit that ah'm scared, now."

"Me too," I admitted.

We lapsed into silence as we walked, receiving confused look from the Ponies around. Halfway to the library, the bright green glow around her hoof vanished, but I wasn't taking any chances. I wrapped her in my wings to keep her warmer. She smiled and snuggled a bit closer just in time for Twilight to turn a corner and gallop over, Spike running alongside her. "Jethro?! Did you feel that earthquake?!"

"I saw the cause earlier," I said, then looked down at Applejack. "Some kind of magic." Turning back to a stunned looking Unicorn and Wyvern, I stood straighter. "Back to the Library, you two. You're gonna want to hear what happened."

"Alright…let's go," Twilight said as they turned and headed back to the library. I followed, holding Applejack closer in my arms, dreading just what we might find.

All I could think of as we walked was Why...?