It had been four days since Princess Cadance had visited me that first time. As was becoming increasingly normal in this controlled world, the weather was sunny with hardly any clouds in the sky. The workponies had begun on my new property, and I'd visited three out of the four days. I hadn't visited the day before on account of Zecora wanting to binge the Lord of the Rings movie series with me, as she'd expressed some interest in the movie.

Speaking of my Zebra friend, the two of us were walking through town as we would do often enough. We were discussing various fantasy stories from both our worlds while heading towards Café Hay for our regular late morning/noon get togethers, which we also did quite often, but not every day.

"Hold on," I was saying, "so this Zebra, Yevara, was it? She's part of some fictional Manticore-worshipping secret society and is a master of the dark arts?"

"Correct," Zecora chuckled. "They were called the Illume. She is one of their high priestesses. She has captured Unicorns to do her bidding magic-wise since we Zebras can't cast magic like Unicorns do."

"Of course. What's her main goal?" I asked.

"Subjugation of Equestria in anticipation of the return of an ancient Manticore lord who once ruled Farasi."

"And how was she planning on subjugating the world?" I asked.

"By using brainwashed Changelings to impersonate Farasi lords," she replied. "With them firmly under the Illume's control, she would then begin instigating new laws, while at the same time crafting a massive country-wide spell that would be a backup in case of rebellion. Jethro, are you sure you don't want to read it yourself? I have a copy of it back home."

"I'll read it, sure," I said. "but I can tell you really enjoy this story. I like listening to you talk about it."

She nodded with a smile. "I love the story," she replied. "I just don't want to spoil it for you."

"Well, then why don't we read it together at some point?" I asked. "You seem to like that a lot."

"It is relaxing, yes," the Zebra agreed. "Especially after a day of potion-making."

"Speaking of which, what latest brews have you been experimenting with?" I asked.

"I've been trying my hoof at one of the greatest mysteries of potion-making again, a cure for the common cold," she said.

I snorted. "Humans would love to have that," I said in an amused tone. "All we have right now are ways to treat the symptoms."

Zecora was about to reply, when I saw five familiar mares walking up to us. Twilight was the first to spot us and her expression brightened. "Jethro! Zecora! It's nice to see you two!"

"Likewise," I replied with a smile as I looked at them all in turn.

"I am pleased as well, to meet you on a day this swell," Zecora added.

"Where are you all off to?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Rarity's," Rainbow Dash said. "She made us some gowns for the Grand Galloping Gala yesterday, and she wanted to surprise us with them."

"This is so exciting!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed happily, bouncing in place like her top was made out of rubber, and her bottom was made out of springs. "I can't wait to see them."

"Hmm…for a race that goes around wearing nothing, I'm surprised you developed clothing at all," I said, trying to think of a plausible reason as to why that was even a thing.

"Actually," Twilight said, "the custom dates back to when Herder Hoof first discovered a large flock of sheep and-"

"Yawn!" Rainbow Dash interrupted, clearly antsy. "Could you keep your egghead stuff under a lid until we've seen the dresses?"

"Um…alright, sure," Twilight said, clearly disappointed that she couldn't share some of her knowledge with me.

I looked down at Zecora, who gave me a knowing look. She nodded after a few seconds, then we both turned back to the five. "If it doesn't take too long, do you mind if we too tag along?" Zecora asked, mimicking my thoughts exactly.

"Ah don't see why not," Applejack said, shrugging.

"I don't mind," Fluttershy added, smiling a bit shyly at the two of us.

"Ooh ooh! Maybe you can get Rarity to make you something for the Gala!" Pinkie Pie beamed as she continued bouncing along towards the town's famous boutique.

"Hate to break it to you, sister, but I'm not going to the Gala," I replied.

I got a shocked look from the five. "How come you're not going?" Twilight asked.

"Well, for one, I wasn't invited," I replied.

"Is that all?" Twilight asked. "I could send a letter to the Princess-"

"I'd prefer that you didn't," I interrupted her.

She looked a bit confused and saddened. "Why not?" she asked hesitantly.

"Three reasons." I held up one finger. "One, I don't want to take advantage of your relationship with the princess," I began.

"But-" Twilight said, but I interrupted her again.

"Two, a gala is for the pompous and the arrogant, present company and Celestia excluded," I continued. "Three, I'm an alien. From what I've seen of your culture, you're scared of anything not a Pony and rush to judgement. That incident with Zecora taught me that." Their ears flattened but I raised my hand. "She's forgiven you, I'm sure, and that's enough for me."

"Forgiven yes, you all have been most kind, and there is no need for us to look behind," Zecora added, her tender caring smile making me echo it.

"You just have to realize, the Canterlot elite are probably not going to look too fondly on me," I said. "I'd rather not stir up that kind of trouble needlessly."

"I…I guess I see your point," Twilight said, "but I still think you'd enjoy it."

"Heh, I can guarantee I won't. In fact," I turned to Zecora, "I think I'll spend that evening watching some movies or reading with Zecora, here."

The Zebra's smile returned quickly and she chuckled. "An evening like that intrigues me, my savior. Perhaps we can talk more after we're done here?" She lifted a hoof and pointed to the building coming up.

I looked and saw Rarity's boutique directly ahead. "Yeah, let's talk about it later," I said as I pushed the door open. "Rarity? You here?"

"Coming!" The posh mare's voice echoed from another room. As she walked in, she smiled the moment she saw the seven of us walk in. She had some measuring tape hung around her neck and a pair of red rimmed glasses over her eyes. "You're here! And…wait, Jethro? Zecora?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out," I said jokingly.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"To see those dresses is what we desire. We know it's something you pursue with a passion of fire," Zecora explained.

"To elaborate, the others here told us about you making them dresses for the Gala," I said, "And I was curious to see Pony clothes, specifically these dresses. I'm not gonna be at the Gala, you see."

"Why not, darling?" Rarity asked, shocked. After I repeated my reasons, she nodded, albeit a bit disappointedly. "Well, that is a shame. It's only the most gallant event of the year in Canterlot." Her voice became dreamy and her eyes got a faraway look in them. "Especially it…he's there."

"He who?" I raised an eyebrow.

"My prince…the one destined to sweep me off my hooves," Rarity replied, sighing happily.

"Um…Equestria to Rarity. You're drooling," I smirked.

The others chuckled softly as Rarity snapped out of whatever trance she was in and wiped her muzzle. "How uncouth! A lady doesn't drool!"

"Enough with the chit-chat!" Rainbow Dash said impatiently, "I wanna see the dresses already!"

"Right, of course!" Rarity shook her head a bit. "Close your eyes, everypony!" The five other mares did so, but I didn't feel the need to. "Now then, follow my voice." I could see the excitement on her face as she led everyone into a nearby room. "That's it…keep them closed…" With the exception of Pinkie, who was bouncing on all fours like a pink Tigger, we all walked into an inner room with five fully dressed pony mannequins. "Don't looook," Rarity said as she stopped. I looked at the five other mares, each with closed eyes and expressions of anticipation plastered on their faces. "Okay, you can look now!"

I was already looking, and I had to say, I was a big fan of what I saw. Not that I was a fashion expert by any means, but as Rarity went on about each dress, I could feel her pride as a clothing designer practically oozing from her. Honestly, I loved each and every one of them. It got me wondering what Zecora might look like in a dress and what Rarity would design for her.

"Aren't they all amazing?" Rarity asked, smiling happily at her friends.

I raised my hands and began clapping. From beside me, Zecora stomped her hoofs on the floor, something I'd learned was a Pony version of applause. "Rarity, I might now know you all that well, but damn it, you've seriously outdone yourself! Those outfits are simply stunning! Right, ladies?" I turned, expecting them to be just as pleased as I was.

Instead, to my shock, I saw the other five just staring at them with incredulity. They hardly blinked as they looked at the dresses. Frowning, I waved my arm in front of them. "Helloooo? McFly? Anyone home?" I heard Zecora snort a bit slightly at this.

"Mcwho?" Rarity asked.

"Later," I replied. "Girls, come on, rise and shine. Don't keep a lady waiting."

The five mares shuffled a bit nervously, then Twilight began. "Wow, they're…uh…"

"Yeah, they're…" Rainbow Dash added.

"They sure are…uh…sumth'n," Applejack said. Score one for being honest, there.

"Yes!" Twilight replied. "Something!"

"I love something!" Pinkie Pie said with an insincere smile on her face. "Something is my favorite!"

"It's…nice." Fluttershy said, her ears somewhat flattening.

"Aaand they don't like them," I groaned.

"There's nothing wrong with them to me, but what flaws are there that you five see?" Zecora asked.

"What's the matter? Don't you like them?" Rarity asked, her smile now gone.

"They're very nice," Twilight said, clearly trying to appease the unicorn fashionista.

"And we're plum grateful, cuz you worked so hard on them," Applejack added, matching Twilight's nervous smile with one of her own.

"Mine's just not as cool as I was imagining," Rainbow Dash added in. Are you sure she isn't the Element of Honesty?

"Would you rather go in apple bottom jeans and boots with the fur?" I replied,

"Hey, she asked," Rainbow Dash replied.

"I guess what we're saying is that they're just not what we had in mind," Twilight said, and this garnered a chorus of muttered agreement from the other four.

At Rarity's crestfallen look, I shook my head and walked over to stand beside the clearly frazzled mare. "Time out, time out," I frowned at the other five. "Gotta question for y'all. What do you know about fashion? Any of you know anything?" The five mares looked at me silently. "That's what I thought," I said after a few seconds of silence. I was a bit miffed at them for some reason. "Listen, I don't know you all that well, and first impressions aside and nearly being killed by one of you-" Applejack looked down guiltily, "-I know this much. Rarity probably took time out of her day, a day where she could be making money selling her incredibly gorgeous dresses, to make you all something for free. Do you know, any of you, just how lucky you are? This sort of generosity is unheard of back home." I looked down at Rarity and smiled kindly at her. "These dresses were clearly made with love, the love you share with your friends. I've got no eye for fashion, and I haven't been here long enough to know what makes a Pony look beautiful in the eyes of another, but even I can tell your friends would all look gorgeous in these."

The five Ponies stared at me in awe, and Zecora was nodding in approval, a sage smile on her face as she walked to stand beside me. "A gracious give is on you bestowed, so should not gratitude from you begin to flow?"

"I…just wanted my outfit to be at least twenty percent cooler…" Rainbow Dash muttered after a long plaintive silence.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, then looked at them all. "Try them on, at least. Look at yourselves in the mirror. Do you really want to be the ones who start taking advantage of Rarity's generosity?"

That did it. All the other mares looked down guiltily. I wasn't sure why I was saying these things, but it was hard for me to see someone go through so much work, only to not even be appreciated genuinely. "Ah suppose yer right," Applejack said.

"I…I'll try mine one," Fluttershy said, pawing at the floor with her hoof. The rest voiced their agreements.

"Welp, I'll step out so you ladies can get changed," I said, feeling somewhat satisfied. "I'll see you gals in a bit." And with that I stepped out, followed closely behind by Zecora. Finding a place to sit on the floor (Rarity's didn't have a chair large enough for me), I leaned against the wall, one knee bent up and the other straight out.

"Quite a speech you gave in there," Zecora said, switching back to Farasi. "You sure you weren't some kind of lord back in your world?" she added with a teasing tone.

"Trust me, I'm just a treasurer," I replied. "I just didn't want them to start taking advantage of her generosity."

"Does that happen often in your old world?" Zecora asked.

I turned to face her. "More often than I'd like to admit," I said. Looking around the storefront, I saw various designs that the unicorn had created put on Pony mannequins. That reminded me of an earlier thought. "Hey, Zecora?"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever worn a dress before? All I see you wearing are those golden chokers and hoofbands."

"Oh my," she said, sounding somewhat startled. "Well, the last time I wore a dress was many moons ago. And that was…at a funeral." Her ears flattened.

My face fell and my heart went out to the mare beside me. Reaching over, I stroked her mane tenderly out of habit. "I didn't mean to bring back memories like that," I said, feeling truly sorry for bringing it up.

Zecora smiled at me reassuringly, then closed her eyes and leaned into my hand. "You didn't know," she said softly. "Why do you ask, though?"

"Well…I was just wondering what you'd look like in one of these dresses," I said, gesturing to the main areas displays.

"I see," she chuckled.

"Jethro? Zecora?" Rarity popped her head out from the door to her workshop. "They're ready."

I stood with a groan and cracked my back muscles, causing Rarity to wince. Zecora had gotten used to my body's noises. "We're coming." I stretched and walked into the room, the Zebra by my side.

There they stood, all five of them. They were apparently taking turns by looking in the full body mirror. And they. Looked. Astounding! I looked between the five mares, appreciating how well each dress fit them. Currently Applejack was looking in the mirror, lifting her front hoof and tilting her head as she examined herself. The rest were looking over themselves as best they could.

"I must concur with my friend here, you all look marvelous, my dears," Zecora praised.

"She's right," I nodded. "I repeat, you did a fantastic job, Rarity."

She smiled wide. "Thank you, Darling."

I smiled back, then looked at the other five mares. My smile turned to a concerned look as I saw that they still appeared to have some doubts. "Ah'm still not sure…" Applejack said.

"Applejack," I said sternly, probably more so than she deserved. It might have been very strange of me to forgive the farmgirl for nearly choking me to death, but from what I'd seen, she loved her family dearly. Jumping to conclusions aside, she was the Element of Honesty. One of the main characters of this show. She couldn't be all bad, after all. "No offense to you, but Rarity is the expert in this area. Is it too much to ask to trust her judgement?"

"Do…you really think we look good in these?" Twilight asked skeptically.

"They completely fit you all," I repeated. "Trust me on this. And if not me, trust Rarity. You five are closer to her than I am to you at the moment."

Silence as the five mares looked at each other contemplatively. Seeing that I needed to say something more, I added, "Forgive my expression, but don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

Twilight was the first to speak. She turned and looked apologetically at Rarity. "He's right. I'm sorry, Rarity. I shouldn't have been too hasty to judge. I don't know much about fashion, but I shouldn't have said what I said." She looked at herself in the mirror, turning around to get a good look at herself. "You know…it's kinda growing on me."

As the other mares began nodding in quiet agreement (Rainbow Dash being an exception as she mentioned something about it being twenty percent cooler), I slipped out, followed stealthily by Zecora. I had a small smile on my face, proud that I could have helped resolve something. I opened the door, and held my hand out. "Mares first," I said to Zecora, smiling wide as she returned my expression with a grateful one of her own.

"Such a gentlecolt," was all she said as she headed out to Ponyville.

However, we were stopped by a familiar country girl's voice calling out my name. Turning, I saw Applejack approaching the two of us. Zecora and I watched her approach. "Applejack? Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Ah…well…" she began, rubbing her front leg with her other front hoof, clearly nervous. "Listen…this is…long overdue, ah know that," she said softly, "but back when we first met, ah went too far. Way too far." I opened my mouth to say something, but she held up a hoof. "Let me finish please. Ah want y'all to know I intend to make it up to ya somehow. There's no excuse for what ah did." Her ears flattened and she looked down. "Granny Smith even gave me a stern lecture about it…" Looking up, she continued. "Ah don't expect forgiveness, but ah just wanted to say ah'm more sorry about this than ah've been about anything in mah entire life."

I sighed, then walked up to her. She looked up at me, fear and guilt in those emerald eyes of hers. When we were face to face, I knelt so we were on equal footing. "Applejack, you're the Element of Honest, correct?" When she nodded, I continued, "Then answer me this: how much do you love your family? What would you do to make sure your little sister is kept safe?"

"Anythin'," she said resolutely. "mah family is everythin' to me. Same with mah friends."

"I thought so," I said. Then I smiled, causing a look of confusion to appear on Applejack's face. "I'll admit, I was pretty scared of all of you that night, and I still am just a bit-" Applejack looked down guiltily, "but you six aren't malicious. I understand why you did what you did. You're extremely protective of those precious to you. You were afraid for your sister's safety."

"That doesn't excuse mah actions," she muttered.

"No, it doesn't," I agreed, causing the orange mare to flinch. "but that doesn't mean you're not worthy of forgiveness. Zecora and I had a long talk about it the day after." I turned and gave the Zebra a grateful smile, which she returned with a nod and a small smirk. Looking back at Applejack, I continued. "I do forgive you, you and the others." I looked at the slightly open door to see a few eyes glancing out at me. I smirked. "Didn't anyone tell you it's impolite to eavesdrop?"

The door opened and the other five Ponies came out, four still in their Gala gowns, and all looking quite contrite. Twilight was the first to speak. "We're all really sorry about how we treated you back at Zecora's place," she said. "Princess Celestia was the one who gave me a lecture…"

"Yeah…she did it for all of us," Rainbow Dash said, hovering above the rest like she normally did. "Not fun at all."

I stood and looked at all of them. "Lectures never are fun, especially scolding ones. I know Celestia asked that you become friends with me, but I also don't want you to feel obligated to do so. Becoming friends isn't something anyone can order. But…if you six are open to doing that, well…I'd be open to trying too. Starting now." I stood straighter and held up a hand in greeting. "Hello, everyone. My name is Jethro Bethridge. I'm thirty years old according to the way my world tells time, I'm from the planet Earth in the Orion arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, and I just recently moved to Ponyville. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

As the Elements of Harmony looked at each other, Zecora walked beside me and put a hoof on my arm. "I'm proud of you, my friend," she said.

"Their actions aside, everybeing deserves a second chance. You were right, Zecora."

She grinned. "I know I am."

Cheeky woman, I thought as the girls all nodded at one another.

Twilight was the first to approach. "Hello there, Mr. Bethridge. I'm Twilight Sparkle. I'm twenty years old and I'm the personal student of Princess Celestia. I also just recently moved to Ponyville. It's nice to meet you too."

Pinkie Pie approached next, a wide smile on her face. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! I work at Sugarcube Corner! I'm twenty-one years old and I love to party!" I couldn't help but grin. Sure, she could be a bit annoying at times, but there was definitely something endearing about the pink ball of fluff and energy.

Applejack approached me next. "Ah'm Applejack. Ah'm a farmer up at Sweet Apple Acres. Ah'm twenty-five years old, and I'm plum grateful yer givin' us here a second chance."

Rainbow Dash flew up next, looking down at me with a wide grin. "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria and future Wonderbolt! I'm part of the weather team and I'm twenty-two years old! Pleasure to meet me, I'm sure!" I tried not to smirk at her boastful words.

Rarity stepped forward. "Greetings, I'm Rarity and I'm proprietor of this boutique. I'm twenty-four years old, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anypony that. It's a pleasure to meet you, darling."

Lastly, a nervous Fluttershy stepped forward. "Um…hello. I'm Fluttershy. I'm twenty-two years old and…I like animals."

I looked at each of them in turn, then smiled widely. "Call me Jethro."