"Jethro, darling, you can't be serious!" Rarity was glaring at me angrily. "Heading into the Dragon Lands on your own without any kind of protection? Are you completely daft!?"

It was just past eleven in the morning, now. After Celestia and I returned to the Castle, she ordered me to get some rest, which I did. When I woke around eight o'clock that morning, I saw that the forest fire been doused, although the blackened scar on the forest was massive, leaving a great big empty space around the gorge itself. I nearly fell back in shock when I heard that the fire had spread more quickly than a normal one, destroying about a third of the Everfree.

I heard that thanks to Fluttershy, she'd saved a ton of animals from the fire and they were temporarily living in and around the castle near the stable I'd mentioned. I was really happy to hear that Zecora's house had been saved thanks to some of her own tricks, but the trees around her house had not been so lucky, apparently. The forest was bare enough that I could now see her house from the castle.

I was also told that Luna and Cadance were quickly recovering. Celestia looked worse than she had before, but she was still going strong, giving orders and making sure things were going well. When I visited her again, she told me that the delegates had agreed to resume the council in three days time. Some expressed extreme disagreement on even trying to include the Fae or the Dragons in the council due to their actions of late, but Celestia had managed to calm everyone down enough to delay the council for at least three days. She'd also promised that they could stay there and they'd be treated well. Unsurprisingly, Amethyst didn't believe a word of it, but Jasper stopped her immediately and accepted.

After hearing this, I decided it was time for me to go back home and pack. Celestia, as tired as she was, opened a small portal back to my own front gate, but not before the Mane Six, Zecora, Scarlet, Sunset, Gemini, Mica and Spike followed me through.

I was in my Earth house now, grabbing a few spare changes of clothes into a backpack. The others were all crowded in my living room, trying their damndest to convince me not to do this. I shook my head. "I've been given an order by Princess Celestia herself," I said. "I have to do it alone. It's the only way Torch will keep his word and not go to war with Equestria. And believe me, you don't want to go to war."

"And you're stupid enough to believe him?" Sunset asked. "I've heard about this Sunsword before. I read about it when I was in the forbidden archives before I fled to Earth. It's a dangerous weapon in the hands of someone like Torch!"

"Of course I don't believe him!" I shouted back, narrowing my eyes at the bacon haired Unicorn. "Nobody smart would! But three days is three days! We need that time!"

"We're not letting you go alone," Scarlet said defiantly.

"You don't have that option," I replied, glaring at her.

She stamped her hoof on the ground and was about to shout at me, but Zecora stepped in, putting her leg in front of Scarlet to stop her. Scarlet did indeed back away, looking completely pissed. She looked up at me and said, "If you don't come back, I'll find you and kill you. And if you do, you owe me time in bed, damn it!"

"As long as it's fine with Zecora," I said quickly as I found Dad's old hunting knife and stuffed it in the backpack as well.

"You're a fucking fool, you know that?" Gemini growled angrily.

"Gem! Language!" Mica shouted, looking down at Spike apologetically. "Sorry about her."

Spike waved his claw. "It's alright."

I turned to Gemini. "You have three days to get everyone else here trained," I said. "You and Mica."

She grabbed me by my collar and shoved me against the wall, much to the shock of the others who were shouting at her in fear. "I didn't train you all these months just for you to go throwing your life away on some foolish mission across the ocean!" she bellowed, and for the first time, I thought I caught a glimpse of what might have been concern or worry in her eyes. "If you think you're going alone, you have another thing coming, human whelp!"

I grabbed her wrists and squeezed them, making her let go of me. I, however, didn't, and instead pulled her closer until our noses were almost touching. "I'm making this an order," I growled back, "stay here and train everyone in this room on how to fight."

She growled, baring her teeth at me furiously. "You have…got to be…the most reckless…stupidest…pig-headed…MALE! I can't believe I'm about to do this! TAKE THIS!" And with that, she opened her jaw and bit down on my shoulder angrily.

I yelped as she broke skin, but not too deep. Mica gaped at the display, apparently knowing something about it. The others were frozen in fear, all save for one gorgeous Zebra mare who launched herself forward and kicking Gemini with all her strength. She let go and was sent tumbling into the wall. "Don't you dare touch my stallion like that again!" she screeched before turning and standing on two hooves, looking worriedly at the torn clothes and the small patches of blood coming through. She quickly took off my shirt, reached into a saddlebag on her back, grabbed a piece of cloth and dabbed at the shallow wounds. "Does it hurt?" she asked in a trembling voice as she used something like a disinfectant on the wounds.

"Not as bad as it could be," I admitted, and it was the truth. It had surprised me more than anything. As Zecora continued cleaning the bites, I turned to where Gemini was being helped up by Mica. "What the hell was that for?" I asked with a low growl.

"You don't need to know that," she barked as she brushed Mica away. "You want to throw your life away, be my guest! If you come back, I won't go easy on you!" And with that, the extremely agitated Lycan stormed out, followed closely by a worried looking Mica.

Looking back down, I saw Zecora putting some gray goop on the wounds then putting a bandage on it, pressing down with her hooves until it was completely sealed. She then grabbed my shirt and handed it back to me. Putting it on, I looked at the gathered Ponies and Dragon in the room. Looking at Sunset first, I said, "What's the Sunsword?"

She shook her head, frowning. "I don't know too much. All I read was that it was some sort of Dragon blade forged by an unknown Dragon. It was made for someone named Sol Invictus."

"Equestria has Latin?" I asked.

Sunset smirked. "Latain we call it here."

"And no pun names? Weird, but whatever," I said. "Sol Invictus, huh? Unconquered Sun. Yeah, that's not threatening at all," I concluded sarcastically.

Spike looked up at me worriedly, then his eyes widened. "Jethro," he said, using my name instead of the nickname I'd let him use, "are you gonna fly there?"

"As fast as I can," I said. "Either that, or see if Celestia will be able to teleport me to the Dragon Lands like he did with Ember."

He nodded. "Could you come by the Library later? I have something to give you for the trip." Turning to Twilight, he said, "Twilight, could you help me?"

"Run along, Spike," she said with a small smile, "I'll come in a bit." After Spike nodded and ran out the door, Twilight turned to me, stormed up and put her hoof on my chest. "If you don't come back to us alive, I will never forgive you," she said with an angry growl, tears forming in her eyes.

I nodded, wrapping her in a tight hug. Her angry face vanished and she buried herself into me, clinging to me like she wasn't gonna see me again. "I'll come back, and that's a promise," I whispered.

She nuzzled my neck affectionately, then released me. "You'd better," she said quietly. Then, turning to the others, she said, "I'll be at the Library if anypony needs anything. Sunset, since you're staying with us for a bit, do you want to come with me?"

Sunset looked at me, then back at Twilight, nodding. "Yeah…sounds good to me."

Twilight nodded, and her horn began to glow. And with that, the two mares vanished in a flash of teleportation.

The next to approach me was Zecora. She hugged me close and said, "When you return, I'll have a nice reward waiting for you."

I blushed a bit and hugged her back. "I look forward to it. Thank you, dearest."

She gave me a deep, passionate kiss, then released me. "I must return home. Since it's now exposed, I need to protect it as best as I can."

"Good luck."

After she left, Scarlet came up. She looked like she was holding back tears as she flew up and threw her forelegs around me. "I love you, you big idiot," she whispered, "and you'd better come back to me alive. To all of us."

"I will."

Scarlet let me go, and took a deep breath. "I'm gonna go help Zecora, if that's okay."

I nodded, then handed her the spare keys. "Share this with her when you wanna come home, okay?"

After Scarlet took it and flew out after Zecora, Applejack came up next. She looked stoically up at me, then hugged me close, her strong forelegs wrapping me in their crushing embrace. "Take care of yerself now, ya hear?" she said, and to my surprise it sounded like her voice was trembling just a tad. "Ah don't wanna lose anypony else."

"I'll come back, sugarcube," I said softly as she released me and headed back out.

Rainbow Dash came up next and hovered in front of me. She pointed at me and said warningly, "You'd better kick some flank our there, or I'll kick yours, got it?"

I smirked. "Duly noted, Rainy."

When she left, Rarity came up next. She lifted a small brown parcel up to me. "I know it's not wrapped in the best, but I wanted you to have it before you left. Think of it as an early Hearthswarming present."

Smiling, I carefully opened the parcel, which revealed a pair of sturdy black gloves. I wasn't sure if they were leather or not, but considering the culture I was in, I figured it was some kind of faux leather. I put one on and to my surprise the interior was as soft as cotton. I ran my exposed hand over the front, finding that there was some form of grip on the front. I looked around, saw an apple on the kitchen counter, then summoned it over to me. I grasped it and held it in my gloved hand. It stayed in place without so much as a single movement. I opened my hand and put the apple in my backpack, then turned to Rarity. Before she could say or do anything, I lifted her in my magic and wrapped her in a hug. "Thank you, Rares," I said, "I'll takes these with me."

"Then promise me you'll return to us," she said.

"I promise."

After Rarity left, Pinkie Pie bounded up to me next. Her mane was slightly deflated, but there was a hopeful look in her gorgeous blue eyes. She leaped into my arms, and I caught her, but in the process my hands went right on her flanks. She slowly put her hooves around my neck and leaned closer. "When you get back, I'm throwing you the biggest party ever," she said with a small twinkle in her eyes.

"I look forward to it," I said.

Without warning, she leaned in and gave me the deepest, most sensuous kiss she'd ever given me. I could sense the love, but also the nervousness and desperation behind it. She pulled me closer, and I finally responded in kind. The kiss lasted for about ten or so seconds before she slowly pulled away. "I love you, Jethy-wethy," she said as she climbed down.

I stroked her mane. "Just look forward to our eventual date, Pinkster."

Her mane moved upwards a bit more and she smiled happily. "I will!" And with that, she bounced out of the house. I wondered if anything really truly got that mare down.

Fluttershy came up to me last. I immediately wrapped my arms around the poor trembling Pegasus. The two of us stood there, alone in the house. She slowly leaned back, looking at me with those deep aquamarine eyes of hers. Then, to my surprise, she pressed her lips against mine. Unlike Pinkie's kiss, this one was a bit more chaste and had a bit of inexperience behind it, but even then, I could feel the raw emotions behind it. The love. The fear. The worry.

Before I could return the kiss, she pulled away. "Please…come back," she said worriedly. "I love you."

"I'll come back, I promise," I said, stroking her mane. "After all, I have a date with you to fulfill."

She tightened her grip on me for a few seconds before she let me go. "Thank you…Jethro."

"You're welcome, Fluttershy," I said.

After a few minutes, she finally let go. I released her and she landed on all fours. She turned and headed to the door, but not before giving me a forelorn look, then blew me a kiss before blushing, spreading her wings and flying away, leaving me alone in my house. After a few moments of silence, I resumed packing…

The walk over to the house was a normal one, and Ponies who saw me and knew me waved, most apparently having already heard about the Fae invasion and the Everfree fire. Some wanted to congratulate me and tell me I was a hero, but I apologetically said I was in a hurry to see someone.

I caught a glimpse of Derpy as she flew in the air towards Cloudsdale, but she didn't seem to see me. I also saw Vinyl and Octavia walking down the street towards Sugarcube Corner, but other than that I didn't quite know many of the other Ponies who greeted me with a smile, wave and a quick grateful word. Finally, I was at Twilight's library treehouse.

I barely managed one knock on her door before the door was flung open, revealing a nervous looking Twilight. "Jethro, hey!" she said, putting on a false smile as she stepped aside. "Come on in!"

I frowned, knowing something had to be up, but I shrugged and did as I was told. She closed the door and pointed to the couch. "Sit sit," she said as she rushed to the kitchen.

I raised an eyebrow but did as she said. "Twilight, if this is a stalling technique, it won't work," I called out, "I need to get going. Clock's ticking, after all."

"This'll only take a few minutes, I promise!" she called out, quickly but carefully carrying out a teaset with two cups of steaming tea. "Please?" she said, floating one of the teacups over to me.

I hesitantly took it, inhaling the sweet brew before blowing on it. "What are you doing?" I asked hesitantly as I took a small sip.

Twilight took a seat, then lifted her own teacup to her lips, sipping on it after blowing as well. After putting it down, she took a deep breath and exhaled. "Jethro…I wanted to say this to you first before I told anypony else." I tensed, not liking the sound of her voice. It was gravely serious, like she was about to reveal a big truth to me. I had a sneaking suspicion as to what it was, but I didn't want to guess, so I gestured towards her to continue. Twilight pursed her lips, then continued. "Ever since we began studying Earth and Equestrian leaders together, I feel like we've become closer as friends. Am I wrong?"

"Not at all," I replied, taking another sip of the sweet flowery tea and swallowing. "I like hanging around with you. Sure, it gives me a headache sometimes, but it's a satisfying headache. If that makes any sense."

She smiled slightly before putting down the teacup and standing up. She stiffened, then walked over to me, putting her front hooves on my knees and looking into my eyes. "Jethro, you know I love to learn. It makes me really happy, and when you came here with knowledge of your own world in a digital library, I couldn't have been happier. But…I don't want you to think that I like spending time with you because of that." Her ears flattened. "I know…I know I can go off the rails a lot, but I really do cherish the time we've spent together, studying, talking, or even bowling that one time."

I chuckled. "You and Spike both kicked my ass at that," I said with a smile.

She giggled, putting a hoof to her mouth briefly before putting it back on my knee. "Whenever you're around, I feel…I don't know…complete maybe?" She looked down. "Nnng, why is this so hard?!"

"Just tell me what you want to say, Twilight Sparkle," I said reassuringly, putting down my tea and stroking her mane gently.

I could feel her relax immensely, and she nuzzled her head into my hand, closing her eyes and taking in another deep breath, letting it out slowly. She looked up at me, tears brimming as she said, "I think…I think I love you."

There was silence between us as I digested what she'd just said to me. It somewhat felt like it came out of left field, but as I thought back to all the times we spent together, it made a bit of sense. Twilight was socially awkward, so her showing her emotions would be a bit unorthodox. Whenever we sat in this very room for our studying, she would be close to me despite the fact that the projected laptop screen was large. Her smile was always radiant and showed an eagerness to learn. A desire to know things. Or perhaps it was a desire to know more about my world to better relate to me. To get closer to me in the only way she knew how: studying an alien culture.

"Well…say something!" Twilight said sharply, her cheeks beet red with embarrassment.

I pulled her closer into an embrace and held her close. She jumped a bit in shock, but hugged me back hesitantly. Like Fluttershy before her, she too was trembling. In that moment, I realized just why she'd said what she said. She was afraid of losing me. It was an act of a desperate woman in love. I tightened my grip on her. "When I get back, I am going to take you on a great date on Earth," I promised. "I'm sure Pendragon has a lovely library we can visit, and a history museum too. Maybe we can even catch a movie."

I heard her sniffing as she tightened her own grip on me. "Promise?" she asked weakly.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," I said, making the motions.

"I…I'm sorry, Jethro…" she said with a hiccup, "I just…I didn't want you to go without telling you…"

"I understand, Twi," I said reassuringly as I stroked her back lovingly. "I'm glad you told me."

I held her like that for a while before I slowly released her. She got off of me, and I saw how bloodshot her eyes were. Her fur under her eyes was stained with tears. I brought over a box of tissues and wiped the tears from her eyes. She blushed, but didn't say anything as I cleaned her up. When I finished, she cleared her throat and said, "So…let me get the bag Spike packed for you. He would be here to give it to you, but he…he's asleep. Poor Dragon's tuckered out."

I nodded in understanding. "Thanks, Twi. Thank Spike for me too, would you?"

She nodded and rushed up the stairs. While she was doing that, I took off the laptop bag I had on me and set it on the table. I opened it and brought out the laptop I brought back from Sunset's Earth. I set the wireless mouse and charging chord next to it. When Twilight came back down, carrying a large brown sack and saw the laptop on the table, her eyes bulged and she rushed down, gently setting the bag at my feet before looking over the laptop with curious eyes. "What…what are you doing with this here?" she asked, looking between me and the piece of technology.

I held up my phone. "I'm gonna use it to communicate with you every evening around…let's say nine o'clock. Sunset knows how it works. Just tell her to log onto Skype. I made a new account you can use so we can talk."

Twilight's enthusiasm was only dimmed by her apparent worry for me. She nodded. "Thank you, Jethro," she said. "That means a lot to me."

"You all take care now, okay?" I said.

She looked up at me as I stood and grabbed the small sack. It was a bit heavier than I thought, and I would have gone through it if I had the time. She gave me a solemn wave as she opened the door for me. "We will, I promise."

And with that, I stepped out into the cold wintery late morning, put on the gloves Rarity made for me, spread my wings and flew into the air.

When I reached the castle again later and spoke to Celestia, she profusely apologized for not being able to teleport me to the Dragon Lands directly, but she could teleport me to the edge of the Badlands right on the edge of the Forbidden Jungle. She opened a portal through after I mentioned what I'd given Twilight and its significance. I walked through the portal, which snapped shut behind me, then spread my wings and leaped into the noontime air. I put all of my training with Rainbow Dash to good use as I flew above the jungle. I spotted a few ancient ruins poking through the canopy, and at one point I thought I saw a Pegasus who could very well have been Daring Do herself, but the form disappeared the moment I took a closer look.

I reached the edge of the continent, then flew across the southern portion of the Celestial Sea, pumping my wings for all they were worth. Fortunately, all of my training seemed to be paying off as I finally spotted a large shore approaching, and beyond it a massive smoking volcano. Celestia told me that the volcano was the northernmost point of the Dragon Lands.

When I landed on the empty beach, I set my two bags down, then reached into the first one to pull up a map of the Dragon Lands, one that was ancient even back in the days before Nightmare Moon. I spotted the mountain, which was labeled in ancient Ponish as Ignatio Peak. Directly east of it, I saw a depiction of a large palace labeled Dormog's Palace. I put my bags back on, then lifted back up into the air, going higher and higher until I was nearly passed a lower cloud layer.

The landscape before me must have once been beautiful. I could see swathes of ancient trees that had since been destroyed somehow. Maybe it was a volcanic eruption, or perhaps it happened during the Fae-Dragon war, but either way, a lot of the trees had been petrified. As I few inland, the petrified trees started to vanish, revealing nothing but dirt and rocks and large spires of stone jutting out of the ground.

As I continued to fly inland, I finally saw the ruins I'd seen only one night ago in my Morphean state. The sun in the sky was halfway down now, and I began to descend towards the massive structure. I had no idea why I hadn't even been challenged by any Dragon guards, but when I remembered how loose the Dragon Lands were, it made sense that they'd not care about patrolling the borders.

I landed in front of the ruins, and collapsed onto the ground, my two bags falling off my shoulders hard.

That was when I heard someone grunting in pain.

Instantly, I was on alert, removing the hunting knife from its sheath I'd strapped to my belt. The voice had sounded muffled, like it was wrapped in a bag. A sudden creeping suspicion formed in my mind as I slowly approached the bag Spike had packed for me. I slowly undid the rope, which I saw had been pushed inside of the bag instead. After I undid it, I quickly pulled it open, knife ready.

Only to see a weary looking purple and green Dragon looking fearfully back at me. My jaw dropped. "SPIKE?!"