(Hello all, its me, the author! I'd like to say thanks for all the support and reviews. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :3. I'd like to tell you all some stuff about the story: First, it started as a joke, but evolved into this, so yeah. Second, the main character is actually based on me and my reactions. Third, oddly enough, I had started this story with having Vinyl Scratch being my sort of partner, but it evolved into Berrity.)

I woke up and stretched, looking to my sides to see three ponies still asleep, making smile. Pinchy was curled up against Berry who had put a leg over her while Rarity was snoring softly beside me, laying on her side. I scooted back a bit, sitting up against the headboard, sighing contentedly as I took stock of the current situation. I was unwilling to try and get out of bed, since I didn't want to wake anypony, but I also had the massive urge to pee and start my day.

Luckily Berry had decided to wake up at that point, looking at me with a smile, "Mornin' handsome." She yawned.

I chuckled softly, "Hey there." I replied, leaning forward and kissed her gently, "How'd you sleep?" I asked.

She stretched a bit, "Better than I have in years," She said, "It's been a long time since I've shared a bed with someone other than Pinchy." She smiled at me softly and got off the bed, "I wouldn't mind making it a regular thing." She said playfully, looking at me.

I smirked and crawled out, careful not to disturb Rarity or Pinchy, "I wouldn't mind too much either Berry." I said, cracking my back, "Ugh, I'm going to take a shower, wanna help yourself to the kitchen?" I asked, pointing my thumb towards the aforementioned area. She nodded and walked off while I went into the shower, pleased to see that Celestia had even put in some basic soaps, shampoos, and towels. After a quick shower and change of clothes (today featured a lovely dark purple hoodie and black jeans) I got out to see Pinchy starting to stir, so I decided to sit beside her and scratch behind her ears.

She smiled and pushed her head into my hand, little eyes blinking a few times, "Hey Mister John, where's my momma?" She asked, looking around slowly.

I chuckled softly, "Your mom went to the kitchen." I replied, standing up, "Feelin hungry?" I asked, receiving a vigorous nod as a reply, "C'mon, lets see what we have to eat."

"M'kay." She said brightly, hopping down and trotting off towards the kitchen. I smiled and leaned over to Rarity, admiring her sleeping form. Human or pony, when they sleep peacefully, they look amazing.

"Hey," I said softly, nudging her, "Wake up dear, its morning."

Rarity yawned, looking towards me, "Good morning John," She stretched her neck and I took the opportunity to give it a peck, making her giggle, "You know how to make a girl feel special in the morning." She stood and stretched her legs.

I smirked, "Not the first time I've done it." I said with a wink, dodging a playful swat from Rarity.

She was laughing, "You are terrible, you know that?" She nudged me with her flank, "I'll be in the bath, you go on ahead and start some breakfast." She said, trotting off towards the bathroom. I straightened out my sheets a bit and joined Berry and Pinchy in the kitchen, chuckling softly when I saw all of the apple based food and drink that was now stocking the shelves, mentally thank Applejack for her gifts. I grabbed an apple fritter and a glass of water then sat beside Pinchy, who had her face happily buried in a bowl of oatmeal. Berry was puttering about the kitchen, her motherly instincts coming to play as she spooned out a few more bowls of oatmeal for myself, her, and Rarity. We chatted a bit and ate, then Rarity entered, towel on her head and daintily ate her breakfast while Pinchy went off to gather her things.

Full and happy I sighed, "Good stuff Berry." She nodded, "Anyway, what are y'all going to do today?" I asked, leaning on the table.

Rarity, pulled the towel off her head and folded it up, "Well, I need to go back to the Boutique naturally, and talk to Sweetie Belle about a few things." She finished, placing her dishes in the sink, using her magic wash them.

I cocked my eyebrow, "Things?" I asked

She fluttered her eyes, "I'll tell you later deary." She said coyly.

Berry smirked and went over to the sink, "I'll take Pinchy to school, then probably start working myself."

I raised both my eyebrows, "Work? What do you do?" I asked.

Berry chuckled softly as she dried the dishes, "I forgot to mention it, didn't I?" She placed the dishes back into the cabinets, "I'm an official wine reviewer."

I smiled, "The appropiety of your job is astounding."

"You now what they say, play to your strengths." She put away the last of the dishes, "Vineyards send me bottles of their products, I taste them, then review them and send the reviews to a wine magazine that gets published in Canterlot."
I whistled, "Damn Berry, that's impressive." Even Rarity looked impressed as Berry took a bow.

"How about you John? What are your plans for today?" Berry asked as Pinchy walked back in.

I cracked my neck and shrugged, "Gotta gather supplies that'll last me about a week."

Pinchy looked up at me with her adorably big eyes, "Are you goin on vacation?" She asked with a smile, "Can I come?" She wiggled with excitement while Berry and Rarity each gave me a look of concern and confusion.

I chuckled softly and ruffled Pinchy's mane, "Nah squirt, I'm getting stuff for work and I'll be out for a week or so." I looked up and saw Rarity and Berry glaring at me, "Hey, Pinchy, how about you head towards school? Your mom will come out soon." She nodded and walked out while I stood up and turned towards the two mares, "Umm, did I do something?"

Rarity huffed, tried to talk, huffed again, then looked at Berry who nodded, "John, while Rarity and I love and respect the fact that you are doing a job for the Princesses, why are you going to be gone for a week?" She finished, snapping at me as Rarity nodded in agreement.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, "Its not without good reason, believe me." I leaned against the counter, "Alright, so you know what I'm doing. I figure that clearing out the regular monsters will take at least two days, aided by some territory marking and herbal mix that I plan on picking up from Zecora on the way."

Rarity had her hooves crossed, "And the other five days?" Her eyebrow was raised.

I closed my eyes and sighed again, "Those will be dedicated to eliminating the monsters affected by Discord's magic and, uh, handling any remains, along with securing and and all magical items I come across."

Berry had paled a bit, "And how to plan on handling these... remains?" She asked.

My eyes opened and I smiled sadly, "Where I'm from, there is a process we use on our dead called cremation. We burn the bodies and keep the ashes in urns. Naturally I won't keep the ashes, but the fires and scent of burning bodies should scare away any other monsters." I shrugged and held my hands up, "The rest is just stuff I'll have to improvise."

Rarity was swooning a bit while Berry had poured herself a glass of wine, "You really plan on doing all of that John?" Asked Berry, after taking a long slug of wine, "It doesn't bother you at all?"

I shrugged and put a hand on each of their heads, "It bothers me a lot," I knelt down and smiled softly, "However, if it means I can keep ponies safe, especially you girls, then I'd happily do it over and over again." I stood up and slapped each of their flanks with a smirk, "C'mon loves, some of you have young ones waiting on you and I have to get things together so I can get to the castle before nightfall." I chuckled as each of them blushed a bit and followed me out of my house. Pinchy was humming to herself, hopping happily as we walked out, snuggling against Berry's legs. We all said our See You Laters and went our separate ways, Rarity towards the Boutique, Berry and Pinchy towards the school, while I headed towards Sweet Apple Acres. I figured that Applejack would be more than willing to load me with various apple based foods that would last me for a week. Then I was off to the Boutique to pick up the last few sets of clothes I had there, then I would be off.

The walk was nice, naturey background noises along with the sounds of working ponies fading away as I walked towards the Acres. I could see Granny Smith rocking on the porch of the main house while a familiar red dot was tilling a field. I looked around for a second and saw a tree shaking, dropping its fruity bounty, and headed off in that direction. I soon found Applejack, hard at work as per the usual, and explained my situation to her. She was more than happy to give me a bag filled with the necessary supplies, expressing her worry but confidence that I would return. I thanked her and asked her to send my love to the rest of the Apple family, then went on my way back to town. I went to the Boutique and found that Rarity was out, but she had left me my clothes in a neat pile, along with a bigger backpack, similar to a hiking pack, that could easily hold all of my things. I smiled softly and mentally thanked her, transferring all of my gear into the new bag and heading out.

I decided I had everything I was going to need and headed off towards Zecora's house. I was walking down the path when I heard a familiar buzzing.

I turned to see Scootaloo on her trademark scooter coming up behind me. I stopped and allowed her to catch up before I spoke, "Hey there Scoots, what're you doin' here?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Is it true that you're going into the Everfree Forest for a whole week?" She asked, looking up at me with big eyes.

I raised my other eyebrow in surprise, "Where did you hear that from?"

"From Spike." She replied, "Rarity told Twilight and Twilight told him and I saw him in town earlier and he told me and I saw you walking up here. So is it true?"

I sighed and smiled softly, "Yeah, I'll be gone for a week or so," I knelt down and ruffled her mane, "But I'll be back just fine, alright?"

"Alllriiight." She didn't sound totally happy or convinced.

I chuckled softly, "Hey, I need you and the Crusaders to do a favor for me, okay?"

Her wings perked up and she smiled eagerly, "Whatcha need?" She asked.

"Since I'll be out, I need some super responsible ponies to watch my house while I'm gone, think y'all will be up to the task?" I asked faking a serious tone.

Scootaloo saluted, "No problem!" She turned and buzzed off, "Cutie Mark Crusader House-sitters yay!" She shouted as she scooted away. I smiled again, chuckling at her innocence, then turned towards the forest and continued my walk.

After a quiet walk I came upon Zecora's hut and knocked on the door. Thankfully she was there and was more than happy to give me a small bag filled with a blueish-purple powder that would keep away most monsters. Zecora also volunteered to show me partway to the castle, since she was about to go out and pick some herbs for her potions. I was glad for the company as I knew the next few days were going to be lonely. We chatted a bit as we walked, mostly about herbs and brews from our respective worlds, though she did ask about my encounter with the Princesses. It was a couple of hours that we walked, just chatting about stuff, Zecora mostly asking about my world and the way we used herbs and medicines, before she had to stop and turn around. She pointed with a hoof and told me that the castle was a little less than two hours walk in that direction, then headed back towards her home.

I sighed, a bit sad, because with Zecora gone, so was any and all communication with anything that didn't want to eat me. I kept walking, silently going over the many situations that could happen, ignoring the tiny section of my brain that was screaming at me for doing this in the first place. It was nearly sunset when I finally came upon the ruins, panting a bit and working up a healthy sweat. I went up to them and found the hall where Twilight and Co. defeated Nightmare Moon and set my bag down, clearing the area of dirt and debris. I then set out and spent the rest of my available daytime gathering firewood, collecting a fairly decent pile by the time the sun had fully set. Using some dried moss as tinder, I quickly had a decent sized fire going, lighting up the hall I was in. I sighed softly and laid my back against my pack, careful not to crush the food and drink I had packed in there. Staring at the fire I realized how long the next week was going to be, as well as how lonely it would be. I sighed softly and used a spare bit of string to tie my fist around Celestia's knife, in case I was set upon when I was asleep, then closed my eyes

Day 1:

I woke up in, what I assumed was, the early morning and untied the string around my fist. I quickly got changed and had a quick breakfast, tucking a bottle of water in one of my pockets and hanging my pack from a higher point to keep any stray animals from getting at it. I then took my knife and claws and began to create a circle around the ruins using the powder Zecora had given me. This took a good couple of hours at least, but I was happy with the result as I heard rustling noises from the bushes nearby that were headed away from the ruins. I went to my fire, added more fuel, then took a softball sized flame and had it float near my shoulder as I explored inside the ruins. I found small nests of various animals, along with a lot of cobwebs, and used my fire to scare away anything alive, then burn away the nests, webs, and various plants that had grown and blocked my path. The plus side to my house-keeping was that my fireball got bigger, about the size of a basketball now, so I was able to split it in two so I could send one ahead of me. I kept up my cleaning for hours, scaring away small animals, easily punching out a few larger animals, like badgers and whatnot.

The exciting part of my day was when I found a manticore sleeping in a small room, surrounded by bones and bodies. It had probably made the room its lair since it was hidden and surrounded by easy prey. I pondered what I could do and sighed heavily, deciding that my only option was to kill the poor thing. I would have tried to just scare it away, but these things were aggressive and, more likely than not, territorial. I pulled out my knife and quietly rolled myself in a small pile of dirt, to disguise my scent, then snuck up to the beast and buried the knife hilt deep into it's skull. It went quietly and I quickly used my fire to burn it to ashes, glad that magic allowed me to increase the heat to a point where the process only took a minute. I left the pile of ashes where they were and went off, repeating the process twice more for a pair of cockatrices that I found nesting together. It was past noon by the time I returned to my camp and tossed more sticks into the fire. I ate again, happy that the food was good at least, then decided to clear out any and all plant life that clung to the ruins. I climbed up a large pile of rubble and gained a decent view of the ruins, my now watermelon sized fireball bobbing beside me. I exhaled slowly and focused, spreading my fire in a long rope, having it fall just within the circle of powder I had left, then drawing it in slowly, dragging it as close to the ground as possible, burning away any plants that clung to the stones.

The rest of my daylight hours consisted of my clearing away any remaining animals and killing any that got burned by my earlier fire trick. In a morbidly satisfying way I was able to eat meat for the first time since I'd gotten to Equestria, courtesy of a pair of rabbits that weren't able to get away in time and had suffered some major burns. I burned the remains in my now massive campfire and settled in to sleep as night settled in, tying my knife into my hand again. I was glad for it, since something resembling a wolf decided to investigate me in the middle of the night. I was woken up by its snuffling and scratching the stones in an attempt to get at my pack, which I had left hanging higher up. It saw me getting up and tried to pounce, but a solid uppercut to its ribs sent it running away. I sighed and went back to bed, grumbling slightly.

Day 2:

The next day was pretty much the same, the only difference being a distinct lack of animals and my "marking my territory" near the circle of powder that I had laid down the day before. When that was all said and done I delved back into the ruins to finish cleaning and to see if I could find any sort of vault that could hold the magical items the Princesses had collected, in order to check and see if anything had gotten in and made off with anything. About two hours, and many fire based cleanings, later I found a large, round, stone door with a large chunk missing. I sighed and figured it was the vault, so I stepped through the hole, letting a fireball hover inside to light my way.

What I found was a large room filled with pedestals, shelves, mounts, various items of a very likely magical nature, and one very large, very angry looking Ursa, major or minor I couldn't tell nor did I care as it was growling at me. I increased the heat of my fireball, making it burn white-hot as I put my back against the wall. There was something wrong with this Ursa, instead of being a translucent blue like they were supposed to be normally, it looking more like a bear outline filled with rolling black smoke. I assumed it was Affected and snarled a bit, cursing myself for being so unprepared. The thing swung a massive paw at me and I rolled out of the way, running up under it's arm, jumping back as its other paw tried to hit me. I tore my fireball in two, causing one half to explode in its face, blinding it. I took advantage of the momentary blindness and plunged the claws on one hand into its chest.

What happened next could only be compared to one of those lightning balls, where you touch it and the "bolts" look like they flow into your fingers? Yeah, it was like that, only it was with darkness and my claws were sucking it up. The Ursa was frozen as I drained out Discord's magic, shrinking in size from that of a bus to the size of a large dog, then proceeded to fall over as the last of Discord's magic was taken out and I pulled my claws away. I poked it and was relieved to see that it was still alive, just unconscious, then proceeded to look around the vault I was in. Aside from a thick layer of dust and a few things being knocked over, everything seemed remarkably well preserved, meaning the Ursa must have been Affected after finding its way into the vault, a fact confirmed by the sight of large claws marks on the inside of the door. I dragged the Ursa out of the vault through the hole I had come in from, then began to inventory the items scattered about. Thankfully, each display had a plaque describing the corresponding item, so I was able to find out where most of the stuff went.

I admired the items as I put them away: Various bits of jewelry, elegant shields, staffs, swords, and something akin to a crossbow. It took a good four hours and everything was, surprisingly, still there. The Ursa that got in must have deterred any other possible treasure hunters, so I wasn't complaining. Once things were cleaned up I went back to my camp and ate, then settled in for my second night, when I noticed the Ursa I had dealt with earlier approaching my camp. I put a hand on my knife, but waited to see what it would do. It slowly came closer, eyeing me up the whole time. It kept coming closer and I pulled my knife out and pulled a ball of fire to float near my shoulder as I tensed myself in preparation for battle. I cocked my eyebrow as it got close with its head low to the ground, a pose of universal submission. It slowly crawled past me and sniffed at my leftovers, then looked at me questioningly. I put my knife away, but kept the fireball at the ready, and nodded. It quickly scarfed down what was left of my dinner and plodded beside me, plopped itself down, and promptly began snoring. I would have probably questioned the entire ordeal, but I was tired and decided to leave it where it lay. However, before I went to sleep, I pulled some more fire and had a ring of it burn around me as a precaution.

Day 3:

I woke up in the morning and found the Ursa still asleep beside me, so I shrugged and pulled out some more food to eat. The smell probably woke it up as it trundled over and started sniffing at my meal. I sighed and gave up half of it, much to its delight, and cursed myself for being weak to animals. With my meal done and pack securely hung I began walking to the circle I had made with powder to, once again, mark my territory. I found myself followed by the Ursa and sighed, ignoring the lumbering beast as I did my thing. I stepped over the powder circle, took some fire I had grabbed earlier and shaped it into a long, white hot rod, then proceeded to use it to cut through the trees surrounding the castle. The Ursa tagged along, staying a few yards away as I did my work, head tilted as he sniffed the charred stumps I left behind.

I heard a low growl from the Ursa and turned, ready to defend myself, but it was facing towards the forest, crouched in an attack position. I ran to it's side and saw a small group of what was a small group of badger sized things covered in large purple scales running back into the forest. I turned the rod back into a fireball and had it hover as I scratched the Ursa's neck with a smile. I figured keeping it around wouldn't be such a bad thing, plus it was nice to have the company. I spent the next hour or two hunting for food, since my new companion would most likely cut into my supplies. My efforts were rewarded with several fat birds and a large rabbit, which I dressed and cooked, though I only at one of the birds, leaving the rest to the Ursa who was more than happy to devour the pile, leaving nothing but a few oily spots on the ground, even going as far as to eat the leftover bones of my meal. I chuckled softly and went back to clearing the trees, hoping that the felled trunks would provide a sort of barrier from anything that might have wanted to come and investigate the ruins.

Hours later, I was rewarded with, what could roughly be called, a wall around the ruins. The Ursa had fallen asleep a while ago, not sensing danger and probably bored as hell watching me cut through trees for hours on end. I nudged it awake and had it follow me back to the main camp, where it promptly plopped itself down and fell asleep again. I had a small meal and scratched the Ursa's head, then leaned my back against it's side and fell asleep to its soft, growling snore.

I woke up abruptly as the back of my head cracked against the stone. I shouted in pain and turned to see the Ursa growling loudly as a small group maybe seven of the things I'd seen earlier approached us. I stood up immediately, punching one of the things away as it leaped towards me. These things were obviously Affected, since they were actually badgers, but they had larger claws, were covered in large purple scales, and were, most likely, incredibly aggressive since they had approached me and the Ursa without hesitation. I was quick to use some of the little fire that was remaining to burn a few of their snouts as they got closer, then dove in with my claws, easily piercing their scales and jabbing them into the beasts' backs. The process of draining away Discord's magic was quick, as I could see the scales shrinking away along with their claws. Unfortunately it wasn't quick enough, as one of the things got up behind me and clawed my back, leaving a long cut across it. I snarled and tore one set of claws out of one beast and stabbed them into the eyes of the one that had attacked me, quickly ending its life. The Ursa was dealing with the other four, one under its paws as the other three looked for an opening. I jumped in and dealt with two of them, stabbing my claws into their legs as they each tried to swipe at me, though I suffered some scratches on my arms in the process. I quickly turned and found that the Ursa had killed one of the creatures and was crouched in front of the other two which has backed into the wall. I used some fire, increased its temperature, and made a wall surround the two creatures that were left. The curled up, armadillo style, as the flames surrounded them and I made quick work of them, jabbing the tips of my claws into the spaces between their scales, draining the chaotic magic from their bodies.

When all was said and done, five of the seven creatures survived, turning back into some sort of badger/mole/rabbit...things. I sighed, shook my head, and groaned softly as the pain from my injuries settled in. I walked over to my bag and rifled through it, hoping to find a hoodie I didn't mind tearing into pieces to make bandages from, instead finding a first aid kit tucked inside. I smiled softly as I opened it and saw a note inside, "Stay safe! - Fluttershy." I quietly thanked the pegasus as I disinfected and bandaged my wounds. The Ursa was nudging the dead bodies with its nose, not taking a bite. That was probably for the best, since it was likely that their veins were filled acid, or chocolate milk, or something equally horrible.

Having cleaned and bound my wounds, I grabbed one of the bodies and threw it onto the fire, magically increasing its intensity so that the corpse would burn faster. I threw the other body onto the pyre and sighed heavily, sitting down and rubbing my sore neck as the ache of battle began to settle in. I settled against my pack and pulled up the collar of my shirt over my nose to try and block out the stink of burning flesh, then closed my eyes and began to doze off as the Ursa settled beside me and huffed softly.

Days 4-6:

The next few days were pretty quiet, the only big thing being an Affected manticore prowling around while I was exploring the ruins. I was able to take it down by dropping on top of it and draining Discord's magic from inside it. After it had left I was back to cleaning out the small animals who had decided to make their home inside the old castle. In my cleaning endeavors, I found that much of the castle interior was uninhabited, if run down by time. A whole millennium can do a number on a building, magical or otherwise.

The sixth night was interesting as a pair of affected wolves attacked, working perfectly in synch with each other, like mirror images. I found it ironic that chaos magic lead to such perfect synch, though it worked towards my benefit as they became predictable. The Ursa helped as well, keeping the wolves on their toes and backing them into a corner, making it easy for me to burn the two of them into piles of ash. Unfortunately, I had suffered a large bite to each of my shoulders, while I was able to clean them, I was concerned because their teeth went pretty deep. I decided to stop at Zecora's the next day to have her look at my wounds. Once all was said and done, I went to sleep, after feeding the Ursa a few rabbits I had hunted down earlier.

Day 7:

I was glad to know it was the last day I had planned to stay, packing my up my gear, eager to return to Berry and Rarity. With a small smirk I shrugged my pack onto my shoulders, hissing softly as it landed on my wounds. I did one final patrol around the grounds, marking the edge of the territory and checking the "fortifications" for any damage. When all was said and done, it was about noon and I decided it was time to get going, walking in the direction of Zecora's hut. I heard a slight whimpering and turned, cocking my eyebrow at the Ursa as it looked at me with big pathetic eyes. I sighed and gestured for it to follow, chuckling softly as it bounded up to my side and walked beside me. The walk was quiet, peaceful, and incredibly boring, though it was made better when it didn't mind me laying my pack over its back. It was easily around six o'clock by the time I arrived at Zecora's and I was tired, sore, and thirsty. I knocked on the door and sighed heavily, leaning against the tree that made up her home.

She answered the door and smiled as she saw me, "Well, well, I'm glad to see you did not meet your end," She looked at the Ursa as it drank water from a small puddle nearby, "Though I have to ask: Who is your friend?"

I chuckled softly, "I'll explain it to you in a bit, but first," I took off my shirt and hoodie, "Could you take a look at these wounds? I want to make sure they don't get infected." I winced a bit as I took my clothes off and the skin stretched.

Zecora nodded and stepped aside so I could enter, "Of course, I do not mind. While I treat you, perhaps I could hear your story, so we may pass the time?" She went around and started grabbing various bottles and powders as I stepped inside and sat down. I reported what had happened over the past few days as she took of my bandages and lathered some earthy herbal stuff over my wounds. Her hooves paused as I told her about my killing, but quickly resumed rubbing the medicine into my wounds.

"Then I came here," I said with a smile as she wrapped a bandage around my upper torso, "To have you look at my wounds," I smiled playfully, "And so I could get another look at you." I chuckled as she swatted the back of my head with a hoof.

"Your wounds are clean, though your mind is not." She smirked and pulled the bandages tight, "You seem to like flirting quite a lot."

I chuckled softly, "Nah, most of the time it's not on purpose." I winked, "Though sometimes it's for fun." I ducked as she tried to smack me again, laughing.

She shook her head and poured some what I assumed was tea into a wooden cup, "My John, you are quite strange," She handed me the cup and smiled, "Though "fun times" I could arrange."

I spit out the tea I had just sipped and coughed, "Wh-what?" Zecora laughed as I spluttered and wiped the mess off myself, "Geez, give me a heart attack yeah?" I sighed and took a proper swig, "I mean, it's not that I'm not for the idea, but I'd like to get to know you first..." I mumbled.

It was Zecora's turn to look surprised, "You'd accept an offer so bold? I must say, when it came to such matters, I imagined you would be rather cold."

I shrugged and stared at my cup of tea with a smirk, "I guess, now that the shock has worn off, I wouldn't exactly object to the idea." I chuckled softly, "Only thing I worry about is being compared to your average stallion." I laughed and stood up, pulling my clothes on and walking towards the door, "Thanks Zecora. Maybe, if you want to follow through on that offer, you could swing by my place in Ponyville?" I smiled, "If not, then do visit sometime, it'd be welcome." I chuckled at her blushing face and stepped outside, nudging my ursine companion awake and walking back towards town.

It was a long walk, made longer by my anticipation. As I entered town I saw a few ponies run at the sight of my new friend, while others shrugged it off and went about their business. I just kept walking, ignoring the looks I received, rather used to the sensation. I passed by the library and saw Twilight through a window, sorting books with her magic and talking to Spike, who was taking down notes. I kept walking, passing by Sugarcube Corner and waving to Mrs. Cake when we made eye contact, chuckling softly when she jumped at the sight of my Ursa.

I rounded a corner and saw my house, bringing a soft smile to my face. The Crusaders and Pinchy were zipping down the street, most likely on their way to another cutie mark related endeavor. I shook my head and laughed softly, going up to my door and opening it.

"He said it would only be seven days, so I expect he should be here soon." Said Rarity from the kitchen.

"I hope so, I can't wait to break the news to him." Replied Berry, also in the kitchen.

I smiled and knocked on the door frame, causing the two of them to look around the corner, squeal and run up to me. I laughed and opened my arms, pulling the two of them close, "Hey there girls."

"I'm home."

(Well, that was fun. Sorry it took so long, but this was a long chapter, and the holidays didn't help at all. Anyway, I'm happy y'all enjoyed my story, and I love the reviews you left, as I welcome any and all of them. On another note, this may or may not be the last chapter of the story since this arc is now over. However, I will leave it to you, the readers, to decide. I have the ability to write more, but I want to know that you all want another story arc. SO, write a review, send me an email, chuck a rock with a note on it through my window, just let me know what you want and I will do my best to provide.

-John a.k.a. Exanora)