I left Zecora's feeling tired, but much calmer. I was worried about how Derpy would take this, though... She'd said she was all right with the idea of herds, but when confronted with it directly... I paused at the forest's edge and looked back. Alpha was standing at the edge, watching me respectfully. I nodded to him, and he returned the gesture, then trotted back into the treeline. All right, time to get yourself down to business, Lantra.

Ok, what was my next task on that schedule? I quickly ran through everything in my head, laughing slightly at accomplishing 6 despite my own protests. Moving on before I got distracted again- ah, yes. I was up to looking into buying my glass. Now, where would I-

"LOOK OUT!" Rainbow flew past me as I leapt aside, leaving her to crash into a nearby hay-pile. Who leaves things like that this close to the forest!? A second later, her head popped out. "Heh, sorry... I was- woah! Hey! Easy there!"

I suddenly realized I was crouched low to the ground, a line of knives floating in front of me. I guess that attack had shaken me more than I'd thought... I put them back as quickly as I could, and stood up. "Sorry... habit."

"You have some weird habits... Anyways, sorry about that. I still don't have that trick down right. So, whatcha up to today?" she asked, experimentally stretching her wings, trying to work through the maneuver in her head.

"Running some errands to get my new life here in Ponyville started. You wouldn't happen to know where I can buy glass, would you?"

"Glass? No idea! Don't keep the stuff around- too dangerous. Twilight or Rarity would be your best chance to know that."

"Thanks. By the way, on that trick, try tightening your wings' angle of inclination by three degrees towards the centrifugal line. That should give you better control by forcing your body to stabilize back to flat more quickly."

"How would you-"

I grinned mysteriously. "You never know what I'll know." With that dutifully enigmatic comment to distract her from my freaky knowledge of flying maneuvers, I started for town. Just as I'd hoped, she didn't follow- deep in thought. Mentally, I breathed a sigh of relief. Zacora I could trust with my past... Everyone else was still a danger- especially the usually blunt, braggy friend of the Traitor's personal student. I could hear her now in my mind. "Hey, Twi! Guess what, I got flying lessons from an extinct creature! Top that!" No. Just, No. This thought made me uneasy to talk to Twilight further today... This 'Rarity' wasn't exactly on my fan list though. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I looked around to make sure no one was already observing me, then made a pony I felt in the town square observe me there with her.

I found myself standing in the water fountain with Pinkie dancing next to me. ...I should have figured. Subconsciously, I had picked the only pony that wouldn't question my presence. She turned, winked at me, then went back to playing in the water, managing to throw it up into the air. It would fall into beautiful shapes for her to oooh at, then splash back down. Not. Questioning. Determinedly, I climbed out of the fountain and looked around for Rarity's shop. Which would it be? Well, if I had to pick one as a guess, that tower-like building stuck out like a sore thumb from the surroundings. Maybe because if that was a tower, it had eaten several too-many "tower cakes". I chuckled at this slightly, and headed in.

As soon as I entered the building, I was sure I had guessed right. This whole store screamed "Melodramatic Fashionista'. Nothing in here seemed to fit in with the rest of the town, and I had to fight the urge to get out of here before something hideous but "fashionable" got shoved onto me. Also, SweetieBell was sitting at a table coloring. "Hey, Sweetie."

"Oh, hey Mr. Lan!" She bounced over and was about to speak when Rarity swept downstairs.

"Hello and welcome to the Carousel Bouti-ii... What are you doing here?"

"I had a question, and was told you would know the answer."

"Well I don't, and you aren't welcome here. So, goodbye, don't come ever again." She tried to invade my space to make me back out of the shop. Instead, I kept standing, watching her intensely. This was a basic part of guard training, and a massive, burly guard that hated your guts was far more terrifying than this puffed up little idiot. It only took her a moment to realize this had completely turned around, and I was now in her precious personal space. It only took a further moment for her to back off, flustered. "Fine, fine. What do you want?"

"Merely to know where I can find glass."

"And what would you need that for?"

"To fill my place in this town."

"There is no place for a violent, unfashionable stallion like yourself here."

"And this is the place for any dressmaker that actually stands a real chance of ever being a big name? This town is far less rustic than I thought."

She puffed herself up, gasping several times. Poor Sweetie was stuck between us now, confused- then crushed as she tried to push her 'fainted' sister back up. "My work is none of your business!" she snapped after suitable 'recovery'

"I apologize then." No I dont... "Back to my question- where can I find glass. I don't care its current form, but panes are preferable."

"Look, I don't know what you think you'll do with the glass, but it won't make you fit in. We don't need-"

"What is this shop named?"

"What?"

"This shop- you started to say its name. What was it?" Really? You're going to even be difficult with me on this!?

"I really don't think that's-"

"Carousel Boutique!"

"Thank you, Sweetie. Now, please turn some so I can your cutie mark better, Rarity." This child has better sense than you, and she dove into a river with knives!

"I don't, what, I-"

Oh for Luna's- "TURN!" I studied the three gems for a few moments, then closed my eyes. "Please keep back." If Rarity protested further, I no longer heard her as I set to work. Several knives of varying sizes floated from my belt to before me. Selecting the largest by memory, I focused on a picture of this building. Rarity's shriek as I started making some rough, seemingly random scratches on her front door's window managed to make it through my meditative barrier. I quickly opened my eyes. "Don't move. Don't interfere- you could get seriously cut, and cuts can scar." She whimpered and pulled back as I eyed my cuts critically. Yes, good to see this skill hadn't degraded much during my time. I returned my full focus to the glass, though only seeing it in my mind again. Let's start with the boutique- the main design. Several small pouches floated up and open to join the line of knives encircling me. Smaller knives ranging from hoof length to my smallest, splinter-sized knives drifted to the forefront of the grouping, organizing themselves around pouches. Meanwhile, the larger knives stroked the glass, creating the outlines of my pattern. The larger fell back, and the small knives started to pull forwards to make their finer cuts. All right, time to think about the gems... As each small knife floated forwards, it dipped into a pouch, bringing out a coating of colored powders. It then passed over my mane, bringing the powder to a dye that it then deposited into its cut. The slivers pulled back, revealing the pattern so far to the two unicorns behind me. I had seen it in my mind's eye the entire time, though. Had I seen it for real, I would have second-guessed myself and made a mistake.

My work was not unrewarded, as they both oohed loudly at the results. I smiled, then blocked it back out as I started on the name. This was far quicker and easier- less cuts, and less colors- a deep, near black purple would suffice for all the lettering. There, now the hardest part... The knives and pouches floated back away, and I focused on the uncut glass around each cut. One by one, I went through and reconnected the glass' molecular links over the cuts, leaving them now etched inside a layer of glass. A tedious, but important step, lest the colors wash away. No single cut could be ignored, and each had to be individually closed or I risked the strength of the glass by creating an imperfection that had not existed before- closing was a reverse of the previous. I had made well over a hundred cuts, and had to close them all perfectly opposite to how I opened them. Many, many minutes later I let out a full breath and slipped out of my trance-like state. My eyes finally opened to reveal my work to me in the real world.

The boutique stood in perfect detail, backed in lighter color shades by Rarity's gems. A slightly darker tinge around the edges of the shop from some long, sidelong cuts had made them look three-dimensional, even in the single sheet of glass- as if there was another pane behind the first. Above it all stood the name, proud and striking. All in all, an absolute work of at. Grinning, I turned to go find the mares, but they were still there. I had managed to hold them spellbound for the last four hours! Taking another look back at my work, I realized there was a small crowd outside, too. Welcome to Ponyville, part two! I turned back to Rarity.

"Well?"

"It's... It's..."

"It's amazing! No wonder your cutie-mark is knives!" Sweetie burst in.

"It's beautiful, Lantra... Oh, I'm so sorry I was so horrible to you... Especially after you saved Sweetie... It was just, the knives seemed to harsh, and Sweetie's scar, and oh my goodness... What can I do to say thank you!?"

Get on your damn knees and beg for forgiveness for your stuck-up bitchiness? Oy, behave, Lantra! "Tell me where to buy glass?"

"That's all!? I'll show you myself!"

"Yes, that's all. Normally, I'd charge several hundred bits for a job like that- probably close to a thousand," ...Lantra... What!? I just wanted to assert how nice to her I'm being! I'm behaving! You're also talking to yourself. ...oh. "but between the free publicity and the loss of an enemy, I'd say we're even."

"Very well then!" She trotted to the door and looked closer. "How long will this last for?"

"As long as the window holds- it's healed from the cuts, and as strong as the day it was made. There are faster ways, but I gave you the best."

"For which I am deeply grateful! Fright, this way to get your glass, and welcome to Ponyville!" So saying, she led me out into the crowd of awestruck ponies. One of Mom's old pieces of advice rang in my mind.

"Remember, Sky. People trust through gentleness. Through proving yourself to them, not proving them wrong."

"Thank you, Mom..." I murmered, and trotted after the white mare.

And we're back on Lantra/Sky! Hopefully my description of the etching process made sense to you all... I've been looking forwards to it for months- I etch glass as a craft too, though not with the knife method Lantra uses- I use chemicals. I'm still an artist with the blade, though.

Also, for those of you who didn't realize- I realized it was kinda vague... the "new guy" in the last chapter was Seth Kinslayer from chapter 6. Maybe you all got that, and I'm just paranoid- who knows. I'm trying to update as quickly as I can, but discovered Skyrim... O.O (Yeah, yeah... always with the excuses...) Also, the recordings are on hold until I can use the recording equipment at the college next month- I'm not satisfied with my own setup at the moment.

I am not the owner of MLPFIM, or else Derpy would still be herself.