It had been six days since the Ursa Incident. In that time, I'd finally teleported my house to Shady Acre, which I'd renamed as Sunny Acre due to the trees being cleared out. The companies I'd hired had gone above and beyond in their duties. The construction company was still hard at work, of course, but I'd temporarily fixed the barrier around my old property so that it blocked out loud noises and made my house visible again.

At our next meeting, Cadance told me that in one of her meetings with Celestia, the Solar Princess had inquired after me. I wrote a letter for her to take back to both her and her sister, telling them both that I was still working on moving my house to Ponyville, but all in all, it seemed as if the residents were growing used to the new resident alien, with a few exceptions (A certain snobbish older dark pink mare with a purple mane and tail came to mind, but I didn't mention this in the letter).

During our second meeting, Cadance told me that Shining Armor was curious to meet me, seeing as it was my advice that had caused Cadance to ask him out. I told her I'd love to meet him, if his schedule permitted it. Apparently, the two of them had been seeing each other more frequently and even Celestia had given her blessing.

In return, I'd discussed Twilight's attempt to study the Pinkie Sense. I experienced very little of the event since I'd been practicing making a potion that could mimic the effects of ibuprofen over at Zecora's place that particular day, but Spike told me the whole story that evening during a scheduled guys night out later that evening.

It was during my third month in Equestria where things took a completely unexpected and drastic turn for me.

Once again, it was a gorgeous day in Ponyville. I'd just come from my house after sleeping in a bit later than I should have, a habit I'd been getting into the more I was in this alien world. The sky had some clouds in it, but the sun still shone brightly and warmly all across the town. I was now a common enough sight in Ponyville that I only received a couple of nervous looks from the Ponies around town. Almost every other Pony now waved at me, smiled in a friendly manner, or even stopped me for a brief friendly chat.

I was sitting near one of Ponyville's smaller lakes. I had my headphones on and was bobbing my head to some tunes. A few other Ponies were around and a couple Pegasi were even swimming, diving in the pond from some impossibly low hanging clouds. A family of ducks were swimming in a side where the swimming Ponies weren't. The late summer sun didn't reach me under the tree I found myself sitting under. A piece of sugargrass was in my mouth. I was humming along to the tune when a shadow fell over my closed eyes.

When it didn't immediately go away, I opened one eye. Three pairs of eyes were looking at me, with one giddy looking pink Earth Pony about to poke my face. I reached down, paused my music and removed my headphones. "What's going on, ladies?"

"We've been shoutin' for ya for the past ten minutes," Applejack said. "Didn't ya hear us?"

I tapped the earphones around my neck. "Active noise cancelling headphones. I won't be able to hear anything if I'm playing music. So, what's up? Some big emergency?"

Twilight shook her head. "We…we were gonna ask if you wanted to join the four of us tomorrow," she said.

"Four of you?" I looked around. "I only see three."

"Right above you, darling!" a posh voice replied.

I stood and left the shade of my tree. Looking up, I had to shield my eyes. And my jaw dropped. Rarity was in the air, flying. She had a pair of what looked like transparent butterfly wings with all the colors of the rainbow shimmering within them. She had the widest smile on her face as she flew closer. "What do you think? Gorgeous, aren't they?" she said with pride.

"Yeah…they are," I said, perfectly gob smacked. I turned and pointed to Twilight. "You. Explanation. Now."

She looked a bit nervous, but she did explain. Apparently, there was some sort of competition in the Pegasus city of Cloudsdale and Rainbow Dash was entering it. The four of them wanted to cheer her on, and the wings on Rarity were the result of a spell that gave her temporary wings. However, since it was too taxing on Twilight's magic, she looked further and found a spell that let any non-Pegasi walk on clouds instead. Then Twilight remembered me and the four looked around to ask if I wanted to attend.

"Yeah…I'm not sure. I mean, that magic might work for Ponies, but humans?" I frowned, thinking it over.

"Well, why don't we ask one of the Pegasi over there to bring us a cloud to test it?" Twilight asked, pointing to the diving Pegasi.

"I'll do it!" Pinkie exclaimed as she rushed over to one of the Pegasi who was just coming back to shore. I couldn't hear the conversation, but suffice to say the poor stallion looked over at us, then back at Pinkie with an incredulous glance. He did, however, as she asked. In no time at all, a cloud was sitting in front of us, just hovering a few inches above the ground.

So long, physics. We hardly knew ye. "Well, if I fall through, I guess I won't get hurt," I shrugged as I turned to Twilight. "I'll try it, but are you sure you're up to it? You look exhausted."

"I'll be alright by tomorrow morning," she said as her horn began to glow. I felt my body tingle as it was surrounded by her purple magic. I saw her straining hard, and just as I was about to say something, she stopped. "There…the spell should be working now," she gasped. "It lasts about three days, just like the wing spell."

I turned and faced the cloud which was still floating nearby. "Welp…here goes nothing." I took a running start and jumped. To my surprise, I landed on something soft and fluffy. Looking down, I found I was indeed standing on a cloud. Bending down, I pressed against the cloud only to find now that it felt springy, and a bit wet. My hand came back a bit damp. "Well…fuck me sideways," I muttered to myself. "Damn, this is so surreal!" I hopped a bit and landed again, seeing the clouds give a bit under my weight. "It's like I'm walking on a bed or something," I chuckled as I jumped off.

"Me next!" Pinkie Pie giggled as she leapt into the air, landing on the cloud with a loud "Wheee!"

"That girl is so random, it's so damn adorable," I chuckled as I looked at the other three. "So, you said this spell will last for three days? And this flying competition is tomorrow?"

"Yep," Twilight explained.

"And just how are we gonna get to a city in the clouds?" I asked point blank.

"I have a hot air balloon we can use," Twilight said.

"A hot air balloon, huh?" I nodded. "Yeah, that would do it. Well, if you're sure you want me to come, I wouldn't mind tagging along and cheering for that speed demon."

"I…I can't believe it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed the moment Twilight's massive hot air balloon breached the surface of Cloudsdale. She had the widest smile on her face the moment we appeared.

"It's incredible," Fluttershy added, also smiling.

"This is so cool! You guys made it!" Rainbow Dash said happily. "And…Jethro's here too?"

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

It had taken the four of us in the hot air balloon a bit longer than Twilight had anticipated to get to the floating city. She had to put in more magic into the balloon, mostly thanks to my extra weight and the fact that the mares beside me only came to about my chest.

"Sure did!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she and I jumped out of the balloon simultaneously.

"Wait!" Rainbow Dash called out, looking terrified.

Pinkie and I both landed on the clouds. I wobbled a little, then took a few experimental steps. Turning, I gave her a grin. "Pretty sick, ain't it? And before you ask, you can thank Twilight over here."

"I found a spell that makes temporary wings, but it was too difficult to do more than once," Twilight explained, "So I found an easier spell that lets the rest of us walk on clouds."

"And we came to cheer you to victory!" Applejack replied.

As they continued talking, I took a few steps to a small break in the clouds. Cloudsdale was extremely high up in the sky, at around one and a half miles above the ground, sometimes two miles. And it was cold. I was wearing a long overcoat, thick gloves, hiking boots, and a few other layers below that.

The view below, however, was beyond incredible. Below, the great city of Canterlot stood on the side of the mountain slopes. From above, it gave the appearance of a mighty fortress atop the mountain. To my right I saw the comfortably nestled Ponyville. Innocent. Secluded and kept safe from the troubles of the world beyond. A haven for Ponies. And for me.

"Jethro?"

Rainbow Dash's hoof startled me and I almost took a few steps forward, but I stopped myself. Turning back to the cyan Pegasus, I frowned. "Don't startle me like that!"

"Well, I did call to you, but you weren't listening!" She huffed in frustration. "We were going to look around the city before the competition starts. Wanna have a little look?"

My frown was replaced with a curious expression. "Yeah, why the hell not? Lead on!"

My day in Cloudsdale was interesting to say the least. Twilight asked me to wear a small badge on my shirt which would keep me from being accosted by any Cloudsdale guards who didn't already know who I was. I had been reported on already, but she was still trying to be extra cautious.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy showed us around the city, and we stopped at the Weather Factory. All during our tour, I noticed the ever-growing hubris within Rarity, but every time I tried to mention it to her, I was interrupted by some nearby Pegasus complimenting her on her wings.

What really ticked me off, however, was when Rarity actually entered the competition. It didn't escape my notice that Rainbow Dash was on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

The competition was amazing, to say the least. I never saw so many acrobatics in my entire life. But it began to worry not only me but the others when Rainbow Dash didn't show up. When number ten came on, I knew something was wrong.

"Twilight, where's the washroom?" I asked after that, trying to find an excuse to leave the cloud booth we were both in.

Twilight, who was still pretty focused on the competition, automatically replied, "Down the stairs and to the right. Can't miss it."

"Thanks." I went down the stairs, but took a left instead. I finally found a door to the backstage entrance where I found a couple of the other Ponies in the competition. I caught a glimpse of Rainbow curled up into a ball, shaking heavily. Her eyes were wide with fear.

"Oh my God, Rainbow Dash!" I exclaimed as I rushed over to her.

"Hey, who are ya? You aren't supposed to be heah!" a cream-colored Pony with curly blonde hair said in a somewhat Bostonian accent.

"H-He's with me," Rainbow Dash stammered out.

The other Pony, who was wearing a pink suit and a headset, looked at me and frowned. "You're that alien from anothah world."

"That's me," I replied. "I'm sorry for barging in, but I was getting worried about her."

She sighed. "Fine, but don't be long. She's on in a bit." The Pony walked away.

I knelt and put my hand on her back. The poor mare was trembling hard, and her face was one of sheer panic. "Rainbow…"

She looked up at me, whimpering softly. "Jethro…I…"

I didn't hesitate. I pulled her into my lap, leaning against the pole she was next to. Wrapping my arms around her, I put a tender hand on her head. "You don't have to hide anything from me. I promise I won't tell anyone."

Her trembling only increased as she hid her face in my shirt. "Everypony's gonna see what a failure I am," she whimpered. "I won't get to meet the Wonderbolts, Princess Celestia will banish me to the Everfree Forest, and-"

She squeaked in shock as I tightened my hold on her. Reaching up, I began stroking her mane, causing her to shudder a bit. "Celestia would never do something like that," I said reassuringly. "God, you are incredibly tense. Look at me." She did so, and my heart reached out to her. There was pure terror in those dark pink eyes. I reached deeper into her rainbow mane, stroking it tenderly. "You're going to be fine. All that we wanna see if you doing your best. That's all anyone can ask of you."

She swallowed hard. "But…but Rarity-"

"Forget Rarity. She's acting like a class-A stuck up snob right now," I said, still pretty upset at the Unicorn. "Besides, you're Rainbow Dash. Fastest flier in Equestria!" I grinned down at her. "You're the only Pony in history to perform a sonic rainboom, remember? Pinkie wouldn't stop talking about it all the way up here! You've got the moves, girl!"

Her nervousness began to slowly vanish and she smiled. "Yeah…but that was when I was a filly."

"So what?" I chuckled. "You're stronger and faster now. You're fucking Rainbow Dash! It's practically in your name!" I poked her nose lightly, and the mare chuckled. "You'll do great. I believe in you, and if you don't believe me, then believe in your friends. They wouldn't be here if they didn't want to see you kick some major butt!"

Her normal confident smile spread over her face. Her trembling was all but gone. She climbed out of my lap and stood there with a dashing grin. "You're right…you're right!" She spread her wings proudly. "I can do this!"

Nearby, a door opened, mist pouring out of it. Rainbow and I turned and someone stepped out. I gawked at the Pony that I saw. With a flourish of her wings, the Pony announced, "Rarity…is ready!"

Rainbow's tail, which had been standing at its normal posture mere moments ago, curled between her legs. She looked back at me and began trembling again.

"Look, ladies," the cream-colored mare said in a frustrated tone. "I don't know what to tell ya. There's only time for one more, so either one of you doesn't compete or you go out together, got it?"

Rarity approached Rainbow Dash, then saw me. "Oh my! Jethro, what do you think? Don't I just look amazing in this?"

"It's…certainly something," I replied. To be honest, I absolutely hated how she looked. Her makeup was completely overdone, her dress was, to put it mildly, gaudy, and she was practically a mish-mash of colors. It looked like a fashion show threw up on her and walked away without cleaning up.

"Why thank you! Well, Rainbow Dash? Shall we?" Rarity asked, turning and strutting towards the entrance.

Rainbow Dash looked at me once more, the nervous breakdown threatening to overwhelm her. Kneeling beside her, I wrapped my arms around her. "Go get 'em, RD. We all believe in you. I'll be watching you and only you."

She broke away from me after a bit, smiling. "Thanks." She was still trembling, and I ran my hand through her mane once more. She inhaled deeply, and turned. "Let's do this. You got this, Rainbow Dash," she said in what I presumed was an attempt to perk herself up. She walked through the curtain and flew up next to Rarity.

I walked through after them and leaned against the side of the building where I'd come out of, keeping my eyes solely on Rainbow Dash as promised. Some orchestral music began to play and I watched as Rainbow flew through a simple obstacle course, only to crash into the last column of cloud, sending her crashing into a nearby wall.

As her luck would have it, she had crashed near three Pegasi who I assumed were her childhood bullies or something. They said something to her and she frowned at them angrily. I cupped my hands to my mouth and shouted, "YOU GO, RAINBOW DASH! YOU'RE NUMBER ONE!"

Turning, she saw me. I waved and grinned at her. She smiled and nervously waved back before facing the sky with a determined look. She shot up out of the coliseum towards a group of clouds. I watched in awe as she began twirling them. She spun them so fast, I was afraid there would be a tornado or something. Suddenly, she was flung out of her spin, sending the current cloud flying towards Celestia. Fortunately, the cloud simply dissipated when it hit her private booth.

Rainbow Dash looked more nervous then, but I didn't take my eyes off of her. I cheered her name once more, and somehow the young Pegasus heard me. She nodded my way before dashing straight up. I was so enamored by her performance I didn't see the multicolored rays of light shining on the entire coliseum. I barely heard the scream, but barely was just enough. I saw a now wingless Rarity falling through the sky, screaming in pure fright.

"RARITY!" I shouted as she fell. I pumped my legs as fast as they could go. Fortunately, the formerly empty center of the coliseum was covered with clouds, so I had no trouble reaching her.

Or so I thought. As I ran to intercept, I realized I would have to jump to catch her. At the very last minute, I leapt and caught her in my arms, wrapping them around her tightly. And that was my mistake. Rarity was falling so fast that the two of us punched directly through the cloud layer. She screamed and flailed around as we plummeted to the ground below. I doubt she even realized I was holding onto her.

I looked up and saw three Pegasi in Wonderbolt outfits flying towards us. I felt relief wash over me, but that relief turned once more to horror as Rarity's wild kicking hit all three of them, knocking them out. I tightened my grip on her. "YOU IDIOT!" I shouted angrily. "THEY WERE GOING TO SAVE US!"

"AAAAAH!" was all that came out of her mouth as we continued to fall.

Just then, I saw Rainbow Dash flying down extremely fast, teeth clenched and eyes narrowed in concentration. I saw a pocket of air forming in front of her, like she was about to break the sound barrier. She managed to retrieve the three unconscious Wonderbolts, but was just out of reach of the two of us.

Taking Rarity in both hands, I did the only thing I could think of: I threw her towards Rainbow Dash, who caught her. The moment she did, an explosion of rainbow spread from her, much like it would have if a sonic boom had gone off. A streak of rainbow spread from her tail as she reached out to grab me. When she did, she bit onto my coat collar. But when she tried to lift up, she found she couldn't.

"JETHRO! I CAN'T LIFT EVERYPONY UP!" She shouted in alarm.

Looking down, I saw the ground reaching closer with each passing second. I looked back and saw she was carrying too much weight, but being the Element of Loyalty, I could see she was trying as hard as she could. Her eyes were shut and she was straining with all her might.

Just then, I heard a tearing sound from my coat. The coat had been torn to pieces and Rainbow, Rarity and the Wonderbolts were far up in the sky. I heard Rainbow shout my name in horror before their cries were lost to the wind.

I turned slowly in the air, the ground rising faster and faster. I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes, ready for the splat, and instant death. I screamed in terror.

No. You will not die here, Athena's voice said in my head, loudly and with authority. You have a new nature. Now…FLY! Fly with the speed of Hermes himself!

Something tore through my clothes. The tenseness in my back was suddenly released and I felt myself being lifted up. Opening my eyes, I looked down. The ground was falling away, as if I was being lifted up. I turned back to see who my unexpected savior was, but to my utter shock, a pair of magnificent silvery white wings with golden tips were spread from my own back. In certain light I thought I saw hints of a rainbow sheen reflected off of them. They looked familiar but I was too terrified to think about where they were from.

I swallowed the inevitable scream that was coming up in my throat and tried to remain calm. The wings were spread wide now, and I was soaring above the ground. What the hell do I do now?!

Spread your wings and fly! Athena said in a commanding tone.

"I don't know how!" I shouted, but did as she told me. The ground fell away as I carefully flapped my new wings behind me. With each flap, I flew up higher and higher. Having a new part of my body that I wasn't used to was terrifying, to say the least, but I saw that I was approaching Cloudsdale faster and faster.

Rainbow Dash was fast approaching me, now alone and with a panicked expression on her face. She came beside me and looked in shock at my new wings. "Where'd those come from?!" she shouted.

"No idea! How the fuck do I land with these things?!" I shouted back.

Rainbow Dash flew up and got onto my back. "Just stop flying, I've got you now!" I felt her wrapping her hooves around me.

"I'm too heavy!" I replied.

"I was carrying four other Ponies! I'll be able to carry you!" she shouted.

"Same here!" Another voice shouted from behind me. I turned and saw Fluttershy approaching as fast as she could. She put her hoof under my arm. "Rainbow Dash, grab his other arm!"

Rainbow Dash let go of my body and rushed to the other arm. I clasped both Pegasi tightly as I attempted to stop the flapping. Finally, I managed to succeed and the three of us floated down to the coliseum. I tapped the cloud experimentally, and when it didn't give way, I collapsed, panting heavily.

"Are you alright?!" Rainbow Dash asked, worry clearly audible in her voice.

"I…I think-HRK!" I felt the remainder of my breakfast come quickly up. Someone's hoof rubbed my back gently as my stomach was emptied of its contents. I was glad that nothing had come out the other way.

When I was finished, I dug into the clouds and squeezed it into a handful of water, which I splashed on myself and swirled around to try and get the nasty taste of vomit out of my mouth. I did this a couple times before collapsing on my back, panting hard still. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were standing over me, fear still evident in their eyes. I looked up at the two of them, then tried to sit up. The adrenaline from the fall and my very first flight began to wear off. I heard the familiar voice of Celestia shout, "Medic!" right before I faded into unconsciousness.

I found myself back in my old house, a bit dazed and disoriented as I looked around. I felt the new wings behind me flutter slightly. Taking a deep breath, I slowly spread them and looked at them more closely. Now that I wasn't falling, I tapped at them experimentally. It was a bit unusual to feel myself touching a brand-new part of my body, even in my dream form.

"Do you recognize them now?" a familiar Alicorn's voice asked from behind me.

Whirling, I saw Athena standing in the middle of my living room, looking somewhat guilty now.

"I…think so?" I said, still a bit in shock. "They're the same ones from the Poison Joke incident, right?"

She nodded. "I imagine you have a lot of questions right now."

"Understatement of the day," I muttered.

She walked over to my couch and sat down. "Join me, and I'll try my best to explain."

I walked over carefully, trying not to spread my wings which were now folded behind my back. Sitting down, I adjusted myself until I was comfortable. "So…I assume you're the reason behind these wings?"

"Yes, but first things first." She then glared at me angrily. "That was a stupid, stupid thing you did earlier! You could have died!"

My wings fluttered in response, and I felt anger rising within me. "What did you expect me to do? Let her fall!?" I retorted, wings fully spread now. For reasons I couldn't comprehend, despite the fact that Athena was probably more powerful than Celestia or Luna, I had no issues talking to her like this. But that wasn't on the forefront of my mind.

"Your Pegasus friend was perfectly capable of catching her! If you'd watched the show-!"

"I'm not going to watch the show unless I have no other choice!" I replied angrily. "You know my thoughts on the matter!"

She sighed, and nodded. "I know, I know…"

I took a deep breath, forcing my wings back into their neutral position. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled."

"You're scared, it's only natural," Athena replied calmly as she put a hoof on my shoulder. "But I am to blame for your new wings."

"Was that part of the changes you added to my body?" I asked.

She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "This one and a few others weren't intentional," she replied. "All I wanted to change was a few internal things. If I hadn't, you would have died. Humans aren't normally able to inhabit this world. But somehow when I began subtly changing your body, other changes took place."

"Such as wings?" I asked again.

"And a few other things," she said. "I'm still trying to figure out what else might be changed," she added before I could ask, "but it's possible you might be able to use magic."

"…Magic…?" I asked softly, not feeling up to comprehending her words.

"Well, yeah. I'm not sure, yet," Athena said, looking at me apologetically. "Jethro, I'm really sorry. I didn't know this would happen."

"Have you tried this on a human before?" I asked, hating to see her so down.

"Yes, back on Earth, but nothing like this happened there," she replied.

"Well, listen, I'm not really mad at you, but how long have you known about this?" I asked, spreading one of the wings for effect.

"I suspected it after the Poison Joke incident," she explained, "but I wanted to be absolutely sure before I told you."

I nodded, retracting my wings again. "I'll be honest, I'm freaking out about this," I said. "Wings…and possible magic?" I sighed. "Athena, you've put me in a pretty awkward position, accidental or not."

The dreamscape began warping until Athena and I were floating in a dark void, circling each other as if we were both ends of a ying and yang symbol. She looked up at me sadly. "Are you planning on telling them the whole truth? About me?"

I sighed. "It's been a month," I replied. "A month since I met with the two princesses. And now I have wings and a potential access to magic? They'll probably force me to tell them about your real identity if I don't come clean."

She looked at me with a forlorn expression. "Will you…hate me?"

I frowned. "Obsidian Star," I replied, using her real name. "I could never in my entire life hate you. It's because of you I am where I am today. You brought my home with me when you could just as easily have come through the portal with me and vanished. You changed my body so I could digest Equestrian food and speak Equestrian languages. And because of that I have a very close friend in Zecora and am starting new friendships with others around here."

Her smile was a sad one. "I hope you're right…I did some awful things…"

"But you don't want to tell me?" I asked.

She sniffed and turned away. "It's…too hard for me to recount…too painful a memory."

Floating over, I wrapped my arms around her from behind. "I solemnly swear that no matter what I learn about you, I will never, ever, in a billion years, think anything less of you."

She pressed herself closer against me, sniffling again. "Th…thank you," she whispered, as the two of us just spent my time asleep circling in the empty void of our dreamscape. Before I woke, I thought I heard her softly apologizing, but I couldn't ask her about what as I woke…

"…okay, doctor? Please tell me he's gonna be okay!" I heard a frantic tomboyish voice asking.

"Relax, Miss Dash," the voice of the male doctor taking care of Scarlet replied. "I don't know much about Mr. Bethridge, but he has a physiology similar to a Minotaur and Lycan. There's nothing broken."

"Is there any reason why he's unconscious, doctor?" Celestia. "He didn't seem too injured."

"Shock, your highness," the doctor replied. "That, and you said he…regurgitated after landing? After all he went through today, it makes sense that he would pass out."

"What about those wings of his?" Twilight Sparkle. "Where'd they come from?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," the doctor replied. "But they are in perfect health as far as I can tell."

"Doctor, he's waking up," Redheart.

Groaning, I opened one eye. Bright hospital lights shone directly in my face and I squinted. Something rattled to either side of me, and the doctor came into view. "Easy there, Mr. Bethridge," he said reassuringly. "Just take it easy. Don't flap your wings too much or you might hurt them. We had to put them in restraints."

"Re…straints…?" I said in a hoarse voice.

"When the princess and the others brought you in, your wings were flapping up every which way," Redheart explained, coming into view.

I tried moving, but the doctor pushed me down. "Whoa there, you've had quite the busy day," he said. "You should take it easy."

"Is…everyone okay?" I croaked out.

"Thanks to Rainbow Dash's quick actions, everypony is safe," Celestia said, walking up and smiling at me.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good…"

She turned to the doctor. "Doctor, is he able to talk for a while?"

"Not very long, I'm afraid," the Unicorn replied. "From what I can tell, his body is still in a little bit of shock thanks to his new wings. And he has to rest to replenish his blood supply. We can't match his blood type without the risk of rejection."

"Blood…did I get injured?" I asked, before swallowing.

The doctor brought me a glass of water, floating it over with his magic to my lips. Opening my mouth, I swallowed the cool refreshing liquid. "No, you weren't injured," the doctor said as he put the water glass down on a nearby table. "Your body is simply adjusting to accommodate your new blood vessels."

Looking over to either side of me, I saw the massive wings tied to a wall. When I tried to move them, I received a ton of resistance, so I gave up. "Well…I do feel a little weak," I admitted.

"You need to take it easy for the time being," the doctor said. "But it looks like the princess and the others who brought you here want to ask you a few questions. You feel strong enough for that?"

"I think so," I said, slowly pushing myself up into a better sitting position. As I did so, I saw the others looking at me. Every Element of Harmony was standing in the room, looking at me with various degrees of worry. But it was Rainbow Dash who looked the most worried. "RD…?"

She flew up to my face, looking completely furious, but behind those angry eyes were something I didn't think I'd see: tears. "Don't you EVER make me worry like that again! You're a reckless idiot!"

"Take it easy on him!" Applejack shouted, pulling Rainbow Dash back. But by the look on her face, she too was just as angry with me. "She's got a point, ya know. You dern well coulda gotten yerself killed out there, pulling a fooldhardy stunt like that."

"I'm…I'm sorry," I said, my voice hitching in my throat.

"Everyone was really worried about you," Fluttershy said.

"Rainbow Dash had to be practically dragged out so the doctor could look at you," Twilight added.

"Oh, come on! I wasn't that bad!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, before lowering her head and looking at her friends. "Was I?"

"Jethro…?" A quiet and humble voice broke through just then. Looking towards the source of the voice, I saw a contrite looking Rarity, clothes and makeup now all gone. She was back to her normal everyday look. But what really broke my heart was seeing her leg in a cast. The other Ponies stepped aside as she hobbled over, one hoof raised.

"What…what happened to you?" I asked, looking in horror at her leg.

"Please don't worry about me," she said. "It's nothing serious."

"It's my fault," Rainbow Dash said. "When I dropped you, I shot up too fast and she got hurt."

"No, Rainbow Dash, it was mine," Rarity said.

"Come on, y'all, let's not get into another argument," Applejack interrupted. "It weren't nopony's fault."

Both mares calmed down, but Rarity turned to me and lowered her head even more. "Jethro…" she said again. "I…I'm so sorry…if it wasn't because of my foolish pride-"

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. If anything, you should apologize to Rainbow Dash. You rained on her parade," I said, a bit more harshly than I meant to sound. The Unicorn flinched at my words. Feeling guilty at that, I reached over and put my hand on her head, stroking her mane. "But I assume you've already done that," I added in a gentler voice. "I'm just glad you're not more seriously hurt. Is it broken?"

"Just a sprain," she said. "The doctor tells me I should keep off of it for a while. I'm just grateful it's only a sprain."

"Me too." Deciding to throw a bit of humor around to try and break the mood, I added, "I'd have to settle for less than perfection from my personal fashionista, and that simply just wouldn't do, darling." I spoke in her posh manner, but I was smiling while I did so.

She looked up at me in shock, but that turned into a teary-eyed smile as she wiped it. "You're right, of course," she giggled. I was relieved to see her starting to get back to her normal self. "I'm still really sorry."

"Don't be. Everyone here's right. I was an idiot," I said. "But no matter how you were acting today, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I didn't do something."

She smiled widely at that. "Truly, you're a knight."

"Knights don't get their coats ripped and fall," I smirked.

"Well, whoever made that coat didn't know what they were doing," she said with a frown. "I'll make you a replacement. One with more style than that one."

"I apologize for interrupting," Celestia said, approaching my bed, "but I have a question. And please answer honestly."

"Of course," I replied, but I already had a feeling I knew what she was going to ask.

"The doctor informs me that those new wings of yours are those of an Alicorn," she said. "Do you know how you came by them?"

"I believe I do," I said, suddenly overcome with drowsiness, "and I promise I will tell you, but in a more private setting."

Celestia's smile returned and she placed a wing on my chest. "Of course, my little human. When you are feeling better, we will be able to speak more freely. In Canterlot."

"Does that include Zecora?" I asked without thinking.

Her smile only widened. "I shall extend an invitation to her too." Leaning in, she whispered, "I'm glad you found a friend in that Zebra, but I hope you will consider calling these six your friends too. They were extremely worried about you."

As I grew drowsier, I nodded. "Tell them…I'm sorry…please…" were my last words as I drifted into blackness.