Waking up alone the next morning gave a brief but painful reminder of just how lonely I'd felt after Trixie died, but the pain easily subsided when I remembered just how tired Zecora had looked the previous day before she headed home. I slowly sat up, yawned loudly and stretched. The red silk pajamas Rarity had made for me seemed to wrap around me like a smooth extra blanket as I swung my legs over the bed. I was immediately glad of the carpet in my room because the moment I threw my heavy quilt off, a small blast of cold air assaulted any exposed skin. Shivering, I made my way over to the edge of my bed, put some slippers on, then grabbed a change of clothes from the walk-in closet (I's slept in the Victorian house the night before).

After a nice relaxing shower which cleared the cobwebs from my eyes, I shuffled downstairs. Nobody else was awake yet, so I decided to make some pancakes, toast and some breakfast sausages. I was just finishing up when Mica and Gemini came downstairs. Gemini was slightly damp and very lightly dressed as she was wont to do lately, a pair of light brown panties on along with dark red bindings hiding her large breasts from view. She'd become comfortable enough around the house that she had stopped caring about me seeing her like this. She sat down, and I briefly caught a glimpse of her ass. I looked away immediately and focused my gaze on Mica, who'd taken a seat across from his sister.

Mica was wearing a pair of black trousers and a dark brown leather vest. "Something smells good, sir," the young Lycan said with a smile as he sat at the table.

"Enough with the sir schtick," I chuckled as I brought the food to the table. "Just call me Jethro."

"But you're a knight now," Mica said. "That sort of respect goes with the title."

"A title he didn't earn," Gemini muttered under her breath as she took one of the sausages and dug into it, her tail twitching in annoyance.

"Gem, be nice sis," Mica said, then he turned to me with an apologetic smile.

Gemini had made her disagreement on me being knighted very clear early on. She felt I hadn't earned the title and that the Princesses had made a mistake. Nevertheless, she said that it was her duty to protect me, but she told me not to expect any change in treatment just because of my new title.

Gemini sighed. "They'll make anywolf a knight these days…"

"Gem!" Mica frowned at her sister.

"Relax, I don't take it personally," I said.

Scarlet chose that moment to come downstairs, flying over towards where I was sitting. With her eyes half closed, she plopped herself right in my lap, then looked at the plate before her with half asleep confusion. "Nnng…did I really grab sausage…?" she asked herself.

"Ahem." I cleared my throat and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned back to me, apparently still half asleep. "You're sitting on my lap, you know."

Despite her normal morning state of being half asleep, she grinned and licked her lips. "Are you complaining, studmuffin?" she said sultrily as she grinded her ass up and down my crotch.

"Oh my God! How horny are you!?"

"You understand, Sir Bethridge, that catering all the way out in Ponyville is going to cost extra, right? Not to mention the late notice fee."

I leaned back against the couch near my new rotary telephone. It was just past ten in the morning now. Scarlet had gone back to bed after eating my entire breakfast minus the sausages, Gemini and Mica were outside training and I was dressed to join them after the phone call. I was on the phone with Sweet Sorbet's Catering, one of the best catering services in Canterlot. My invite to the Rich family had been an impulse but I wasn't about to back down. "I'm willing to pay extra for the rush," I said.

"Well, if you're sure," the voice on the other end, which belonged to a stallion named Rapid Gust, said.

"One hundred percent," I replied. "I'm entertaining some well off guests and I want them to have the perfect evening."

"We aim to please, Sir Bethridge," Rapid said more confidently.

"So I've been told," I chuckled.

"Well, we offer plenty of higher end packages if you're interested," Rapid continued, and I heard his voice shift into a familiar sales pitch type tone. I knew that tone since one of my former employees back on Earth, Emily Williams. Cute blonde, and a killer upsale rep on our types of accounts.

"What kind?" I asked.

"We have three upper packages," he said. "One is our Premium package, which can range from 4500 to 6000 bits. That includes three courses of our finest cuisine, appetizer, main meal and dessert, two of more wait staff and a chef who would use your kitchen to prepare the meal. How big is your kitchen?"

"I have two full stove and oven combos, a large double door fridge and freezer combo, and a large island prep area in the main house," I explained.

"That should work for any of our more expensive sets," Rapid said. "Our next package is the Noble Package, which can run from 7000 to 9000 bits. As the name suggests, more nobles use this. It includes a five-course meal with hors d'oeuvres, appetizer, salad, main course, and dessert, along with a chef and two or more wait staff."

I did the calculations in my head, converting it to a dollar amount. "And what's the third?"

"The Royal Package," he said. "We've only ever had that done once. Theoretically it runs from 10000 to 15000 bits. That includes hors d'oeuvres, soup, appetizer, salad, main course, dessert, and mignardise for the meal, two chefs and three or more wait staff depending on how many we're serving. How many are going to be in your party?"

"Four adults and one filly," I said. Zecora had insisted on being there to support me, which had surprised me. Scarlet had, unsurprisingly, bowed out since she felt she'd only be a smartass and ruin the dinner's purpose. She'd made plans to stay with Derpy that night. Gemini and Mica were both not interested so they would stay in their rooms away from everything.

"And how big is your dining room?"

"Um…there are three chairs on either side and one on each end," I said. "I've had one chair altered to fit my height and the other chairs are also altered to fit Ponies."

"Is there room around the table for staff to work around?" Rapid asked.

I took a glance into the dining room. "Yeah…I'd say plenty of room."

"Excellent. Which package do you want?"

"Royal."

There was a stunned silence on the other end, then a clattering as the phone on the other end fell. I heard the brief sound of magic then Rapid asked "A-Are you sure?"

"Positive," I replied. I would be damned if I didn't show the very best to the Rich family, if only to shut the bitch up.

"Y-You do know we charge 4000 bits extra for the late notice, right?" Rapid asked.

"I'm willing to pay extra," I repeated patiently.

"One moment, please." I heard the phone being put down and the sound of galloping heading away. The line remained silent for about a couple minutes, so I took a sip of my orange juice. I had to agree with Shane McDonald on this one: apple juice wasn't a breakfast drink.

After about five minutes, there was a small clattering as the phone was picked up. "Sir Bethridge?" A female voice now. "My name is Sweet Sorbet. Rapid tells me you wish to purchase the Royal Catering Package for this coming Tuesday, correct?"

Must be a big deal if the owner's showing up. "That's correct, ma'am."

"And you're well aware of the cost and labor involved for such a short notice?" she asked.

"I am."

Silence on the other end. Then: "I'll be honest, Sir Bethridge…I never expected to have that package ordered again. But if you're absolutely sure about it, I'll get our very best Ponies on it. What kind of cuisine are you hoping for? And just for your information we actually do serve omnivores."

"That won't be necessary," I said. "I'm serving three Ponies and a Zebra. All I'll ask to avoid is anything like grass, flowers and hay for the most part."

"Then I would recommend our delux package in terms of dinner," she said.

"What's the Delux Package?" I asked.

"It starts out with some miniature garlic bread as the beginning hors d'oeuvres. Then we'd move on to a broccoli cheddar soup and after that some spinach puff appetizers." I had to resist the urge to laugh. Kronk would be proud. "The salad after that would be one of our best, which has some bite-size pieces salad greens, sliced fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced leek, sale, Dijon mustard, parmesan cheese, red wine vinegar and olive oil. The main course would be a Spinach and Mint Lasagna which has mushrooms and chickpeas in it. Dessert would be the Celestia Cake, a rich double chocolate cake with melted chocolate interior. The mignardisel is our best Apple Tartlet made using the best apples from Sweet Apple Acres."

Aside from the Celestia Cake (which just sounded like death by chocolate), everything else sounded fancy enough that it would definitely satisfy a more refined palate. "What about drink options? And keep in mind, there's a filly involved."

"Ah, yes. We would have red and white wine options as well as apple champagne and plain ice water," Sweet said. "As for the little filly, we can give her some apple cider from Sweet Apple Acres we have in storage."

I nodded. While I normally didn't drink alcohol except on occasion, this was definitely an occasion. "I'll definitely take that one."

"Excellent, Sir Bethridge. I'll bring my best chefs and staff in on this," Sweet said. "I hope you understand that any payment is up front."

"Of course, Miss Sorbet," I said, twirling the phone cord in my finger. "But call me Jethro. Being a Knight is still new to me."

She giggled. "As long as you call me Sweet. Now, let's talk details."

I grinned. "Yes. Let's begin, shall we?"

"No, Jethro. That's the salad fork," Twilight said later that afternoon after onne brutal practice session with Gemini later as I picked up one of the forks in front of me. "The dinner fork is the larger one next to the plate."

"Oh duh," I said as I put the salad fork back down.

"Now point to the red wine glass," she instructed me.

I went over the layout in my mind, then pointed to one of the four glasses. "That one. The one directly next to the water goblet."

She nodded in approval. "Correct."

"Ah thought it was one on the far right," Applejack said, looking at the mock setup in front of me. Twilight, Applejack and I were sitting in Sweet Apple Acre's kitchen at the dining table. After I'd finished with my training, I decided to go to Twilight's house to ask her about proper Pony table manners. On my way there, I ran into Applejack and asked her to help as well. Of course, Twilight being Twilight, she turned it into a large lecture. Spike had been sneaky and fled the moment he saw the signs, leaving me and Applejack stuck with Twilight-Sensei.

"No, I think that's the champagne glass," I said in reply to Applejack.

Twilight clapped her hooves happily. "That's right!" she said, sounding proud. "Now where's the dessert spoon?"

I pointed to the small spoon in front of the plate. "That one."

"Correct!"

"Jethro, why are ya goin' out of yer way tah impress that family?" Applejack asked. "Filthy Rich is a good customer and all, but he ain't exactly the nicest Pony in town. And that Spoiled has always been tryin' to get ya kicked out of Ponyville."

"That's why," I replied. "I want Spoiled off my back, and I want to show that I'm not a threat. I've never once raised my voice to her or made any threats against her. She's had it out for me since day one, and I want to give her as little ammo she can use against me as possible."

"And you actually ordered the Royal Package?" Twilight asked in shock.

"Go big or go home, Twi," I chuckled.

"Sounds a mite pretentious if ya ask me," Applejack said. "They might not like it. Might think yer lookin' down on them."

I bit my lip thoughtfully. "Maybe, but that wasn't my intention. I want to show them my best hospitality and treat them right. It'll put Spoiled in her element. And me out of mine."

"You're puttin' yerself at a disadvantage?" Applejack asked.

"You could say that," I said with a nod. "Which is why I asked you two to help."

"Ah don't know much 'bout this stuff," Applejack said.

"You spent time in Manehatten with some fancier relatives, right?" I asked. "Right before Rainbow Dash's first sonic rainboom."

"When ah was a filly," Applejack protested.

"You two are the only ones who have any experience with this stuff," I said. "She thinks anything from Everfree is a monster. I want to prove her wrong." Memories of what I did to Eris in my rage surfaced again and an involuntarily shudder went down my back. "Maybe me too…"

Twilight walked up and put a hoof on my back in her own attempt to be reassuring. She gave me a lovely smile. "You're not a monster, Jethro," she said.

"It's hard not to think so sometimes," I admitted. "You realize I still take some sick pleasure in how Eris ended up, permanently encased in stone with holes in her chest. The thought makes me sick."

Applejack put another hoof on my back. "Ya want to hurt her cuz she hurt Athena. Ah understand, but ya can't keep beatin' yerself up over it."

"I'm trying, God knows I'm trying," I admitted. "I'm no child, but I still acted foolish back then. I let my anger get to me, and I try and keep it check. Maybe, in some small way, I'm trying to prove to myself that I'm not that monster I was before."

Applejack removed her Stetson, placed it on the table in front of me, then pulled the chair out so I was facing her. Putting her forehooves on my knees, she got right in my face. "If you can forgive me and all our friends fer our first meetin', then we can forgive ya." She put one hoof on the back of my head, then touched my forehead with hers. Her eyes were closed and she lowered her voice. "Ah don't want ya to beat yerself up. Promise me…please."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Twilight's eyes widen at Applejack's display. I reached up and put my hand on her head. Closing my eyes, I said, "I can only promise that I'll try."

I felt Applejack nod, then she slowly pulled away. Opening my eyes, I reached over, grabbed her Stetson, then put it on her head gently. "Thanks, sugarcube."

"You're welcome." I smiled a bit at her. "Man, I've got to get me one of those hats sometime."

Applejack's smile returned. "Yah still ain't a country boy."

"No, but you and I make that type of hat look good."

Color came to Applejack's cheeks. "Yah certainly do," she whispered as she covered her face with her hat.

"Jethro," Twilight said as she approached, "You gonna be okay?"

I turned to the purple Unicorn and nodded. "Yeah…yeah. I'm gonna sound so damn cliché here, but with the best of best friends like you by my side, I feel like I can move mountains."

"Well, with the amount of magic you possess, it might be possible to-"

Twilight stopped when I put a finger over her mouth. "I was being figurative, Twi," I smirked.

"Oh…hehe…of course," she said, blushing in embarrassment herself.

"Now then," I said, turning back to the table, "Back to the training?"

"Please hold still, darling," Rarity said as she maneuvered measuring tape over my body again.

After a long training session with Twilight and Applejack, I'd headed over to Rarity's to ask for a formal dinner suit. Of course, being the fashionista that she was, she insisted on measuring me once more, so I once more was behind a panel in her work area, wearing nothing but boxers and my white undershirt. "Do I really need to get measurements again?" I groaned.

"Oh hush," she said with a wave of her hoof as she wrapped the tape around my waist. "Oh my, you've really trimmed out since last time," she said, looking closely at my midsection and chest.

"Yeah, well that's what happens when-" I stopped myself. I wasn't sure if making a dark joke about me being unconscious for a week was appropriate at the time. "…when you're training hardcore," I amended.

She looked up at me with those alluring eyes of hers, one eyebrow raised. "That wasn't what you were going to say, was it?" she asked. I shook my head. "Is dark humor really necessary?"

"It can keep a human sane," I said. "If we can't laugh at something, some of us might have mental breakdowns."

"Well, I certainly hope you can overcome that habit," she said. "You have us now. And we're always willing to help."

"Heh, I know you are," I replied. "I'm truly grateful for that. Believe me. I'll try and keep my dark humor in check, but that's all I can promise."

She smiled warmly. "That's all I ask." She cleared her throat and measured my height. "By the way, darling, whatever possessed you to invite that horrid Spoiled Rich over to dinner?" I explained my reasoning once more, and when I finished, she sighed. "Well, I suppose killing them with kindness is one way to go," she said as she measured the distance between my shoulders, then put a hoof on one. "My, you're building up more muscle by the day, it seems."

I brought one arm up and flexed it experimentally, looking at my arm. "Huh…look at that. Guess so."

She brought her tape up to my chest and measured it as well. "I just hope you know what you're doing," she said.

"It was an impulse thing, I'll admit," I said, "but I've been ignoring it for too long. Spoiled's a big reason why Diamond Tiara is the way she is. She's self-serving, manipulative and is creating the same thing in Diamond. That filly could be so much better if given the chance."

Rarity looked up with a slight frown. "Well…if you say so. I just hope you're careful. You might be a gallant knight, but the Rich family is still wealthy enough to have influence in this town."

"I promise to be a proper gentleman," I said.

Rarity suddenly snapped her hooves together. "That's it!"

The way her eyes widened in excitement and the broad smile sent shivers down my spine. "Um…should I be scared?" I asked.

"Nonsense! Let Mama Rarity teach you all about how to be a proper gentlecolt!"

"I swear to God…I'm older than all of you!" I said in exasperation.

"It's best that a Knight of Equestria knows something about Pony table manners," Rarity said with a huff. "Spread your legs for me."

I did so and felt her wrapping the measuring tape around my thigh. "Easy down there, would ya?" I said.

"Oh, do relax," she said as she walked away. "I'm finished anyway."

"Thank God." I grabbed my jeans and began pulling them back on. "What do you have in mind for-?"

"Ah bup bup bup! Inspiration is striking now," she said. "Give me a few minutes to draw something."

I got dressed then sat down on the ground, leaning against the wall and looking around the room. It occurred to me then that Rarity was still in her early twenties and was not only a homeowner but owned her own business. "Rares, how the hell did you get to be a businesswoman so early?"

"In the zone, dear," she said as she stood in front of a large drawing board with a pencil, busily drawing something over a remarkably accurate representation of a human.

"Right, of course," I said. I pulled out my phone and went back to FimFiction, right back to a fanfic called Permanent Vacation. I'd just reached the chapter where Blake met with the representations of the Elements of Harmony. It was an interesting take on the whole Human in Equestria trope, one I was currently actually living, but I found it a bit hard to believe that Blake hadn't even thought to question a separate voice in his head after all the time he'd begun to hear it. The fact that it was written in present tense was a bit odd to me, but that didn't detract from the story in general. I did find it cool that the main character sang MLP fansongs on certain occasions, though. The one part of the story that struck new meaning for me was the small Scootaloo subplot, and I myself found my thoughts wandering to similar ideas, which I dismissed immediately since she had her aunts already.

I was looking at an image of the hipster Anthro Mane Six when a shadow loomed over me. "Oh my, is that meant to be us?" Rarity spoke.

I nearly jumped. She was very close to me and looking over my shoulder at the picture. "Ah, yes," I said, zooming in on her image.

"I say, I look quite intriguing as an…what did you call it darling? An…an…"

"Anthro," I said. "Short for anthropomorphic, which means having the basic characteristics of a human." I turned and smiled at her. "Although I don't think this drawing does any of you justice."

She blushed and looked away. "You think so?" she asked with a small embarrassed smile.

"Girl, you'd all rock the Anthro look," I grinned. "But enough about that. I take it the fact that you're over here means you're done?"

She snapped out of her embarrassment and nodded eagerly. "Oh yes! Come over here and see! Tell me what you think!"

I stood and followed Rarity over to the drawing board. When I caught a glimpse at what she'd drawn, I pat her on the back, gently stroking her mane. "Girl, you've completely outdone yourself. I'll take it!"