The next morning, I woke to the sound of wind howling against the window in my room. The fire had gone out, but with the completely expected cuddle pile of all the mares around me, I felt toasty warm. In fact, I was sweating a bit as I slowly sat up.

Slowly, I undid myself from the sleeping mares surrounding me and quietly went to answer the call of nature. When I came back, I was surprised that they were all still asleep. I was about to start waking them up when I heard a knock at the door. "You awake in there?" Mica's voice called out questioningly.

"Yeah," I said as I walked over to the door and opened it quietly. "What is it?"

"You have a couple visitors who wanted to speak to you," the Lycan teen said, stepping aside so I could see them. I immediately recognized them as Twilight Velvet and Night Light, Twilight Sparkle's parents.

Quietly, I slipped on some slippers and threw on the hoodie before stepping out and closing the door behind me. "Mrs. Velvet, Mr. Light," I said as politely as I could, "it's a pleasure to meet you two."

The two looked at each other before turning back to me. "It's good to meet you too, Mr. Bethridge," Night Light said. "We're sorry about coming so early, but we had no other time where we could speak with you."

"Not a problem," I said. "Let's find a spot where we can talk."

Night Light pointed to the bedroom opposite mine. "That bedroom is empty."

"Sure thing," I said as I walked over and opened the door. The interior was a mirror image of my own room, albeit empty as Night Light had said. I held it open for the two as we stepped in. After I closed the door, I turned to face them. "Um…listen, about what Eris showed the world-"

Twilight Velvet put her hoof up. "We know the truth," she said. "Twilight came by yesterday to explain everything. The poor dear was nervous that we might hate you."

"We came by for a few reasons," Night Light said. "First, we wanted to meet the alien who's captured the attention of my baby filly."

Velvet smiled and held out her hoof. "It's nice to meet you," she said.

Relieved, I took her hoof, shook it, then lowered my head and gave it a chaste kiss. "I can see where Twilight gets her beauty from, Mrs. Velvet," I said honestly.

She blushed and Night Light finally cracked a smile as he put his hoof around his wife's back. "She is her mother's daughter," he smiled.

"You're quite the gentlecolt," Velvet said with an approving smile.

"I try to be, ma'am," I said as I turned to Night Light and held out my hand to him. "Nice to meet you too, sir."

"Oh, go ahead and drop the sir," he chuckled as he held out his hoof and shook my hand. "Just call me Night."

"Heh, alright then," I said.

"We also came by to thank you," Velvet said.

"For what?" I asked.

"For keeping an eye on our little filly," she said. "When she left for Ponyville, I'll be honest, I was worried about her safety, especially after the Nightmare Moon incident. But when she wrote to us about you and all you've done together, I felt a bit relieved that there's somepony watching out for her."

"She's been watching out for me more often than not," I said, scratching behind my neck nervously. "She went above and beyond during my time in the Lycan Empire, and she's been the one teaching me about magic. I owe her a lot."

Night Light chuckled. "She told us about the incident in the Empire. I swear, she gets some kind of pleasure out of working herself to the bone."

"It's the same in My Little Pony," I said. "I've tried to get her to relax a bit on occasion."

"That's what we mean," Night Light said. "You've looked after her in that way too."

"Twilight never really knew when to stop studying, but having somepony like you around who knows when it's time to work and time to relax is a big relief to us," Velvet said.

"Well, as the good book says, to everything there is a season," I replied. "I like her and her friends. They're all amazing Ponies."

"So she's told us," Velvet smiled. "And while we'd love to meet them, we unfortunately don't have the time."

"The Princess told us how they've worked themselves up in worry over you," Night Light said. "And if my precious daughter can get so worked up with fear over you, that's all I need to know about you."

"When we first saw that broadcast, we were a bit concerned," Velvet said, "but when the Princess told us what happened afterwards, well…we know our daughter is in good hooves with you."

"What do you think, Shining?" Night called out suddenly, looking towards the bathroom.

I took a sharp breath just as Shining Armor came slowly walking out, a contemplative expression on his face. His parents stepped aside as he approached me, locking eyes with me. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but I was a bit nervous. I remembered just what he'd told me that day I'd gone to confront Celestia about her plans for Twilight: If I find that you told the princess something that hurts Cadence or Twily, you'd better sleep with both eyes open. He walked up to me and stopped a foot from my face. I wanted to look away, to back away from range of his hoof, but I knew better than to do so. Taking in a deep breath, he said, "Remember what I told you that day I brought you to Canterlot?"

I nodded. "Yeah…"

His expression softened. "I'm pretty sure you can forget it, sir. Especially since you're now my superior and Cadance would kill me if I did anything to you, not to mention the Princesses." And with that, he put a hoof on my shoulder. "Twily's in good hooves with you, I can tell."

The fact that I was superior in rank to the Captain of Celestia and Luna's Royal Guard was something I had been made aware of the night that Celestia had told me about it, but just to hear it from Shining himself really put things into perspective for me. I put a hand over the hoof on my shoulder. "As a newly commissioned Knight of the Realm, I'll keep your sister and all of my friends and the town of Ponyville safe to the very best of my ability."

Shining smiled wider. "I know you will, sir." He stepped back and put one hoof up to his chest in a salute. "For Equestria."

I brought my fist to my own chest in reply. "For Equestria. And at ease, Captain, before you strain something."

He chuckled and brought his hoof down. "I know I've been a bit hard on you in the past, but it's my job."

"You're the captain of the guard, Shining," I said, waving a hand, "You're meant to defend Equestria. And I'm an unknown."

"You've more than proven you're as Equestrian as Harmony itself," Shining said with a wide grin. "When things settle down, I'd like to treat you to a night on the town. Just us stallions."

"A guy's night out, huh? I like the sound of that that," I replied with a grin of my own. "I look forward to it." Deciding to have a little fun, I straightened. "Now then, Captain, I believe you're still on duty. Snap to, soldier."

He straightened and saluted. "Aye, sir!" He grinned, then headed out.

Once the door was closed, Twilight's parents came back over, both snickering. "He's a bit too uptight, but I think being around Cadance has definitely mellowed him out," Velvet said in an amused tone.

"It probably helps that Cadance is the Princess of Love," I replied.

"Agreed," Night Light said. "They make a good couple."

Velvet turned to me. "Jethro, thank you for taking time to talk to us, and sorry for tricking you into seeing Shining. He's…overprotective."

"He's an older brother, it's their job," I replied with a smile. "But it was definitely nice to meet you two. And I'll do my best to keep an eye on your daughter. As often as I can spare them."

"We appreciate it," Night Light said. "But we need to head out now. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us."

"Anything to try and fix what happened."

Velvet walked up and smiled in a very motherly way. "Twilight told us what happened, and the Princess did as well. We don't blame you."

"She's right," Night Light said. "We just wanted to meet the stallion who's made our daughter smile in a way she hasn't smiled before. And to meet the hero of Equestria."

The way Night Light phrased that first sentence sent alarm bells off in my head, but I decided to figure out what it might mean later, despite my sinking suspicion. "It was a pleasure to meet the parents of one of the Elements of Harmony, as well as those of one of my best friends. I'll escort you out."

After saying our final goodbyes and watching them go down the hall, I headed back into the other room. I was surprised that the others were still asleep, so I took the opportunity to get changed. Fortunately, Rarity had made me a few other clothes while I'd been unconscious as a means to distract herself from worry. I went into the bathroom to change and came back out wearing a pair of black slacks, a dark green button-down shirt and an actual hoodie made out of the softest and warmest wool I'd ever felt.

As I walked out of the bathroom, I heard Spike stirring in the bed. He sat up immediately, looking around frantically until he saw me. The look in his eyes reminded me of all the times Twilight had been worried about me. "Monkey-man?" he asked, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm doing alright, just getting ready for the day," I replied.

Spike looked relieved at that, and exhaled slowly. "Good," he said.

"Today's the day, though," I said as I sat in a chair to put my shoes on.

"What's happening today?" Spike asked.

"Today's the day we're heading back to Ponyville."

Spike's eyes widened and he gave a small smile. "Heh, finally," he said with some bravado I felt was faked, "I was hoping we'd be going home soon."

I chuckled. "Definitely soon, my friend. Definitely soon."

His smile grew as the others began to stir thanks to the conversation. Zecora was the second to wake, and she looked up at me with a small smile. "You look much better than yesterday," she said.

"That little concoction you made really helped me sleep," I replied. "Thanks, dear."

She got out of bed, trotted over to me, nuzzled my face and gave my cheek an affectionate lick. "You're welcome."

I finished putting my shoes on and stood. "Well, I'm ready for the day."

"Took you long enough," Rainbow Dash smirked, sitting up. "Come on, I'm starving! And the Princess' pancakes are delicious!"

I rolled my eyes. "You expect her to make something for everyone in here? That's a lot of work to do, Rainsnow," I said, putting my hands on my hips.

Rainbow Dash deflated a bit, but a ripple of laughter went through the gathered Ponies. I smiled at that. It felt like things were going back to normal for us, or at least starting to. I knew things wouldn't go immediately back to the way things had been, but I wanted to at least try and make things normal. "You ladies go on ahead, if you want," I continued. "I've got something to do before breakfast."

"What's that, darling?" Rarity asked.

I clenched my three inner fingers and extended my pinky finger and thumb, making a hand telephone. "I've gotta make a phone call."

Equestrian telephones were still decades behind those on either my Earth or the Earth beyond the Stargate, but there were still phones here. Nothing wireless, although Twilight had promised that she'd look into the technology when she was able. I was standing in front of a gold plated one in a small office located in a room adjacent to the throne room. It reminded me of one of those older style rotary phones from the 1930s and 40s.

Beside me, Zecora and Celestia stood, the latter with wing on my back as she gently nudged me forward. I stepped towards the phone, picked up the receiver, and brought the earpiece up to my ear. I brought out the piece of paper Celestia had given to me with a set of numbers on it. Clearing my throat, I dialed the number on the paper, then waited. After about three rings, someone picked up. "Ponyville Town Hall, Mayor Mare speaking."

I flinched at how tired she sounded, but I cleared my throat. "Miss Mare, it's Jethro Bethridge calling."

There was a pause on the other end for a bit. Then, "It's good to hear your voice, Mr. Bethridge." And to my surprise, she did sound a bit relieved. "After what happened, I was a bit concerned you'd stay away from Ponyville."

I shook my head, then remembered she couldn't see me. "No, Miss Mare," I replied, "that's what I called about. I'm coming back to Ponyville today, and I'd like to ask a massive favor."

"What is it?" she asked cautiously.

"I'd like you to call a town meeting," I said. "I need to talk to everyone in town about what Eris showed them, and about what they all saw me do to her."

Another pause, then, "I see. Mr. Bethridge, that might be harder than you think."

My heart dropped at that, but I had to know what she meant, so I asked, "Why? What's going on?"

"Spoiled Rich has been trying to get enough signatures on a petition to have you thrown out of Ponyville," she replied. "I haven't signed it, of course, but I don't know how many others might have."

I clenched the receiver in my hands angrily, but a single nuzzle from Zecora calmed my nerves. "I understand, but I need to address the problem that Eris caused. I'm the one who knows the answers to the questions you and I'm sure plenty of other Ponies have about what you saw. Even if it's just you that shows up, I think the meeting will be well worth it. Oh, and feel free to mention that Princesses Celestia and Luna will be showing up. Them, and the others Eris showed."

There was a small sigh on the other end. "I understand. I'll do my best, Jethro. But I make no promises. I might not be able to do it today, but I'll do my best."

"Thank you, Miss Mare," I said. "I'll treat you to dinner as a thank you."

There was a small scoffing sound, then an amused laugh before the mayor replied, "I'm a bit too old to be going on a date, my young stallion."

I felt some heat coming to my cheeks before I replied, "Not my intention, but even so that isn't true, Miss Mare. You're an incredibly lovely woman, or mare I guess, and any stallion would be extremely lucky to be with you."

There was a giggle and she replied, "You are quite a flatterer." She cleared her throat before continuing in a more serious voice. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Miss Mayor," I replied. "I do seriously owe you for this."

"I'm not foolish enough to judge one Pony by the actions of others," she replied. "Well, not anymore. Not after what happened with Zecora and yourself."

"We forgave you and the town long ago," I said softly, "but thank you. I appreciate the thought."

"You're welcome. Oh, and you can call me just Mayor. Unless there's another name that humans on Earth call me," She sounded curious now.

"Heh, ironic that you ask that," I replied. "The fans of the My Little Pony show took to calling you Ivory Scroll."

"Hmm…I like that name," she said. "I look forward to hearing more about this representation of our world. Oh, and Jethro?"

"Yes?" I asked.

"I like Manehatten cuisine and relaxing in a rowboat during spring. Keep that in mind." I could almost hear the smirk on her face before she hung up the phone.

I put the receiver down, exhaling. Celestia came up to me as did Zecora. My marefriend spoke. "Are you alright, dearest?"

"I think…I just promised to spend some one-on-one time with the mayor," I said. "Not sure how I feel about that, but I'm just glad she's agreed to help."

Zecora chuckled. "I never took you for the type to go after older mares, love," she said with a grin.

"Zecora…" I facepalmed just as the two mares in the room burst out laughing at my predicament. The mood in the room lightened considerably, and soon even I was laughing. As the laughter died down, I smiled and said, "The mayor was the last Pony I expected to go on a friendly date with, not gonna lie."

"She's a good mayor, and a good Pony," Celestia said. "Hardworking, takes her job seriously, and always thinking about her constituents. I think if anypony in that town deserves a nice day of relaxation, it's her."

I nodded in agreement. "Well, if she's serious about accepting my offer, I'll try and give her a relaxing day."

"If my experience is anything to go by, she will thoroughly enjoy herself," Zecora said before gently nudging me into a nearby chair and planting a passionate kiss on my lips. When she broke it, she whispered, "A preview of what I want from you when this day is over," in a seductive voice.

Celestia could only titter, holding a gold-shoed hoof to her mouth as I blushed hard. "I…think we should go get some breakfast before we leave, right?"

"Right," Celestia said, still clearly amused. "Come. Pancakes await us!" And with that, she turned and headed out.

Wind buffeted the train car we were in as we descended the mountain towards Ponyville. I was sitting against the wall on one of the beds on the train, with Zecora snuggled up close beside me. All around me, the Mane Six, Scarlet, Spike, Gemini, Mica, Sunset Shimmer and the two Princess sisters, both of whom now looked more refreshed than the night before, sat in their own beds, each silently looking out at the late autumn sunny landscape as it passed us. As we continued on, my mind was a blur of thought. I was formulating a speech in my head, wondering how best to explain to the entire town of Ponyville just what the show was about.

I knew I had to use my laptop and the magic spell Twilight used to display the show along with a few select fan songs, videos and potentially some oneshot FimFiction stories. We'd discussed a few things at breakfast, and decided that it would be worth the time of everyone if they were to watch the first two episodes of the show itself as a way of introducing the Ponyvillians to the concept of the cartoon, then I would open the floor to questions as well as showing them many of the fan songs and animations. I figured next that I'd discuss human in general, or at least what I could figure out of them. It's not like I'm a trained psychologist or anything. I sighed, and that didn't go unnoticed by my marefriend.

"You're nervous," Zecora said as the train to Ponyville began slowing down.

"Just…eager to get this over with," I admitted as I pulled my marefriend closer to me. She responded by wrapping her forelegs around my chest tightly. "Thanks, sweetie."

"Anything to help you, my dear," she said.

"We're all here by your side," Twilight said with a smile.

"Through thick and thin, you stubborn bastard," Rainbow Dash smirked.

"Rainbow Dash! Not in front of Spikey-Wikey!" Rarity huffed.

"Thanks, everyone," I said as Zecora lay her head on my shoulders. "Time to go face the music," I said as I gave Zecora a kiss before gently extricating myself from her grasp and standing. Zecora stubbornly remained by my side as the train continued to slow.

I walked between everyone towards the car doors and stood at the front, holding on to the wall to keep from falling. With a hiss, the train jolted to a stop. Over the intercom, a voice announced, "We have arrived at Ponyville Station. Doors to the left. Please use caution when exiting."

Hoisting my backpack over my shoulder, I took a deep breath as the doors hissed open. Unlike when I'd returned from the Lycan Empire, the welcoming committee was more somber than before. At the front of the crowd that had gathered, the mayor stood, eyes locked on me. I slowly exited, Zecora remaining by my side. I walked up to the mayor, knelt, and held out my hand. "Miss Mayor…"

She pushed my hand aside, then walked up and put one foreleg around my neck, pulling me into a hug, which surprised me. She held me close and eventually I put an arm around her. "I'm glad to see you're alright, Jethro," she said softly and with relief.

I smiled and hugged her tighter. "Glad to be alright, and glad to be back."

She hugged me for a few seconds longer before releasing me and turning to the others. "I'm pleased to see you all well and healthy," she said, and it sounded like she meant it.

I turned to face the crowd of gathered Ponies. I saw a bunch that I recognized among the crowd: Lyra, Sweetie Drops, Octavia, Vinyl, Derpy, Spitfire, the Apple Family, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the Cakes and more. They all had similar somber looks in their eyes.

I looked back down at the mayor, who looked back at me and said, "I managed to announce a meeting at one o'clock today. Not sure how many Ponies are gonna be showing up."

"That's plenty of time for me to prepare," I replied. "I meant what I said, I owe you big time."

She smiled slightly. "I hope your marefriend is okay with that," she said quietly, looking at Zecora.

"I am," Zecora replied. "I know my stallion, and he likes repaying good deeds done towards him."

Mayor Mare smiled, then turned back to me. "I'll take you up on that offer someday. For now, I have to go make sure Town Hall is prepared. See you at one?"

"You will," I said. Taking a deep breath, I turned to the crowd and raised my voice to be heard. "I know you all have plenty of questions for me, and I will answer them in an hour at the Town Hall. Thank you for your patience."

And with that, our group scattered. Applejack went to her family and was surrounded by them in a group hug, Rarity went to her sister and two other Ponies beside her, a white stallion with a brown mustache and straw hat and a pink mare with blue hair and a yellow kerchief around her neck. Twilight and Spike walked towards an older couple who I recognized as Twilight's parents alongside Shining Armor and each received loving hugs. Fluttershy headed towards a small gathering of animals at the edge of the crowd where the yellow Pegasus embraced all of her animal friends, then embraced three other Ponies who I recognized as her brother and parents. Pinkie Pie ran up to the Cakes and threw her hooves around them, hugging them tightly. Scarlet flew over to greet Derpy and the two friends hugged. Rainbow Dash flew over to her own parents who hugged her tightly to them.

As touching as the various family reunions were, something felt off. Looking around, I saw Scootaloo and her aunts, the former with tears streaming down her cheeks. I saw nothing but sadness and grief in those young purple eyes. She looked despondent. A sinking feeling shot through me as I made my way over to her. The crowd parted for me and I knelt before her. "Scootaloo? What's wrong?" I asked.

Scootaloo shook her head, then in a hoarse voice, asked the most heartbreaking question I could ever have heard. "Why…why did Mom and Dad have to die…?"

I fell back onto my ass, stunned. I looked at the aunts, who both had sorrowful expressions on their faces as Scootaloo began to cry softly again, and one of the aunts Lofty, immediately hugged the little filly close. I could barely speak, I was in such a state of shock. "What…happened…?"

Lofty pulled Scootaloo aside while the Holiday looked at me sadly. "It's…her parents were in a smaller town somewhere south of here in the Badlands. There was a large riot, and they apparently tried to calm the citizens down. They were…caught in the trampling and-"

I held up my hand, and she stopped talking. I swallowed hard and took deep breaths in and out, feeling suddenly very nauseous. I quickly stood up and looked around for a place to upchuck. I couldn't hear anything but the sound of my own breathing as I ran towards a small alley. I barely made it before I fell to my hands and knees and the breakfast I'd eaten only a couple hours ago came rushing back up and onto the ground. With each upheaval, my hearing returned and I heard the alarmed sounds of Zecora, Celestia and Luna calling out to me as the contents of my stomach were emptied.

Beside me, someone was pressing their body against me as I finished. Looking down, I saw a worried Zecora looking up at me. I took a few deep breaths, then stood back up. "Ugh…sorry…I just…fuck!" I hit the side of the building angrily. "Fucking Goddamn cunt!" I shouted, angry tears forming in my eyes.

A large alabaster wing spread comfortingly over my back. "Jethro…"

"They were supposed to live, damn it," I said, hitting the side of the building again. "They show up in one episode…they were alive…why…what the hell do I do? How do I…damn it…" I couldn't form any more coherent sentences as Celestia pulled me close to her chest tightly.

"Come, Jethro, let's get you back home," she said softly as she gently led me down the street towards my house. She pulled me closer and added, "Let it all out, my knight."

The tears started to fall once more once more and I silently cried into Celestia. There has to be something I can do for Scootaloo…there has to be…

...But what…?