"Well, that went better than I expected," I said to Eve, who had been mysteriously absent during my talk with Luna, but the moment I reached the main hall had rejoined me equally as mysteriously. "I can understand her not knowing her feelings, and I'm willing to wait."

"Krawk?" Eve sounded as if she was asking a question.

"Sorry, Eve. I don't speak Phoenix," I said as I turned down another smaller hall back towards the sleepover bedroom.

Eve put her head in her wing, almost as if she was facepalming. "Raawk krawck krak…" she said in what sounded like frustration.

"Well, it's not like your language was one that Athena downloaded into my brain," I replied, guessing that her frustration was the language barrier. "Sorry, but only Fluttershy knows how to talk to you."

She made a sound that reminded me of sighing before she landed on my shoulder and motioned back the way we'd come with her wing. "Rawk?" Her tone sounded as if she was asking permission.

"You wanna go see someone?" She nodded. "Well, go ahead. You know where to find me, right?" Another nod. "Great. Have fun and see you later, Eve." And with that, she flew off, heading back down towards the main hallway.

I reached the sleepover room a few moments later and knocked. "Who's there?" Applejack asked from beyond.

"It's me, Jethro," I said. "I'm back."

"One second, sugarcube," she said. Someone trotted up and the door opened. She had removed her curlers and her normally somewhat wavy hair was curled up around her. "Y'all done with yer talks now?"

"Yeah, for now anyway," I said. "Hey, is it okay if I bring a few others here, too?"

"Ah don't see why not, but ask the others," she said.

I looked in and saw that the girls had pushed the beds to the side of the bed and were sitting in a circle. Rainbow Dash turned, saw me, and waved. "Hey, you gonna join us or what?" she asked.

"In a bit. I was wondering if I could invite a couple other Ponies, Dragon and a Zebra along," I said.

"You mean Spike, Scarlet and Zecora?" Fluttershy asked.

"And Sunset Shimmer," I added.

The mood in the room shifted from jovial to uneasy as Twilight stood. "Why her? Jethro, no offense, but she shot you."

"Right now, she's in a similar mental state as she was after her defeat in the first Equestria Girls movie after you and the human versions of the rest of you blasted her with the Rainbow Ray of Friendship," I explained. "She's vulnerable, hurting, and feeling insane amounts of guilt. She never really had a childhood too, to be honest."

"Whatddaya mean by that?" Applejack, who had a suspicious look on her face, asked cautiously.

"It's not my place to say," I said. "As corny as this is going to sound, she needs to experience the magic of friendship for herself. In some ways, Twilight, she's like you."

Twilight looked stunned, but had to good sense to not deny it. Instead, she just asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, like you, she thought she was too busy to make any friends. Such silliness didn't seem worth the effort it expends. But unlike you, she never had your friends to help open up her eyes." I felt so corny as I shamelessly quoted the lyrics to the extended My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic theme song, but I also felt that in that moment they fit the situation perfectly. "Now, unlike the Equestria Girls movie, I'm not going to tell you to become friends with her, since it's your choice and shouldn't be one forced on you. All I ask is that you just give her a chance. She needs a night like this, probably more so than anyone else in this room. Ever since she came back to Equestria, she's probably isolated herself from others, but this time out of guilt. You saw how she broke down at the town meeting in Ponyville, right? Those weren't crocodile tears. That was genuine remorse. She's been broken down. Now it's time for someone, or a few someones, to help build her back up."

Unsurprisingly, Pinkie was the first to speak up. "Well…I'll trust you Jethy. Besides, what better way to turn a frown upside down than a slumber party!" She beamed.

"Ah'm not too sure 'bout this," Applejack said, "but if ya think it'll work, ah'll try."

"Me too," Fluttershy said, giving me a small smile. "I trust you, Jethro."

"Eh, what the hell?" Rainbow said. "Why not?" Since when did she start saying hell?

"If you think it's worth a try, I'll make an effort," Twilight said.

"Besides, just think about what I can do with her glorious fiery mane," Rarity said.

I burst out laughing and the others followed suite, the mood in the room brightening once again. I chuckled and said, "I'll go get them now."

I managed to convince Zecora, an extremely eager Spike, and a grinning Scarlet, all of whom headed down to the room in question. But when I reached Sunset's room, she didn't come out right away. I knocked a couple more times, finally saying, "Sunset, it's me. I was just wondering if you wanted to join me and the girls for a slumber party."

There was silence from the other room, then the door handle began glowing her signature orange and it opened. Sunset peeked out at me, looking a bit confused. "Slumber party? Me?"

I nodded. "Yeah. You wanna come?"

Sunset looked down, and I recognized the guilt in her face. "Why me? After all I've done to you and your friends."

I shook my head. "You're beating yourself up about something that wasn't all your fault. Sunset, Celestia isn't perfect. She didn't reach out to you, and that was a mistake. Mistakes were made-no, that's not the right word. Sins were committed on both sides, yeah. That's a better word. But you're clearly remorseful. You regret everything you did, right?"

She nodded. "I want to take back everything I did…every moment of every day…"

"You're feeling guilty," I said. "That's good. But it's a double-edged sword. You can't let guilt rule your emotions and actions. Trust me, I know better than anyone about how that feels. Sunset, I don't know what Celestia might have planned for your punishment, but I know that she loves you dearly. She wanted to see you so badly ever since I told her about the Equestria Girls movie. You think you're feeling guilty? Imagine hers."

Sunset slammed her hooves onto the ground suddenly, looking up at me with an angry expression in her lovely aquamarine eyes. "If she's feeling so fucking guilty, why didn't she come to-?!" she stopped, took a deep breath and exhaled, looking down at the floor. "No…that's not fair. She was busy…"

"Sunset, don't give me that shit," I said. "She had plenty of opportunity to come visit, but she didn't. There's an old saying from a movie I like that sums it up perfectly: 'When something is important to you, you make the time.'"

Sunset slowly smirked. "Quoting Star Trek: Generations on me?"

"Thank you! It's nice to see another Pony who gets the references!" I said triumphantly. I smiled, then slowly knelt to be on eye level with her. "Celestia should have reached out to you. She should have done a lot of things that could have helped you. But again, Celestia. Isn't. Perfect."

Sunset looked a bit stunned by this, and she raised an eyebrow at me. "I just noticed, but you don't call her Princess?"

I smirked. "She gave me special permission when we first met to drop the Princess part. Then again, during these meetings I've gotta keep up appearances. She can't show favorites, after all."

Sunset nodded in understanding. "I get it."

"Listen, Sunset…" I took a breath and exhaled slowly, "I know my friends. They can forgive just about any sin. Hell, six of them are the fucking Bearers of the damn Elements of Harmony! Sure, nobody's perfect, but for you, someone who's reached rock bottom, there's nowhere to go but up. And what better place to start than by trying to make some new friends. And if they don't wanna be your friends, then that's their loss. Cuz I think you'd be a great friend. That, and it'll be nice to find someone else who's ass I can totally kick in Halo or Call of Duty. Hell, Scarlet can kick your ass, girl!"

Sunset's eyebrows furled and she cracked her neck. "Is that a challenge, Mr. Bethridge?"

"Ah ah ah, you will call me by my gamer tag, LordMidnight," I retorted, "And yes, Miss Shimmer. That totally is a challenge. Come by my house anytime. Unless you brought your stuff from Earth?"

"I've been starting to do that, yeah," Sunset said. "I'll tell you later. But for now…I suppose it wouldn't kill me to go to a slumber party. God knows I've never been to one before."

"Well, get your stuff," I said, looking around. My eyes widened when I spotted a laptop sitting on the room's desk. It was an older style Alienware gaming laptop. "Hey, have you tried connecting to the staticnet with that thing?"

She looked back at where I was pointing, then looked back at me. "Staticnet?"

"Oh yeah. There's a form of internet here I call the staticnet. I'll explain on the way."

She quickly grabbed her laptop with her magic and fell into step with me. As we walked at a steady pace down the hallway, I explained my origin for the millionth time. Sunset, to her credit, listened eagerly, then when I was finished, said, "I've heard of Obsidian Star and her small enclave of Alicorns. They were the only natural born ones aside from Princesses Celestia and Luna."

"Are natural born Alicorns rare?" I asked.

"Almost impossibly rare," Sunset said. "The genetics involved would have to be just perfect. If I had to guess, the sperm required from a stallion would be one in, maybe…a billion? I've never heard of a natural born Alicorn appearing for generations."

"I have, but she hasn't been born yet," I said.

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

I looked down at her, and in my best River Song voice, said, "Spoilers."

She snorted. "Bitch, please, you've already altered the timeline. Just tell me."

"I don't wanna risk her not being born, although I doubt there's much to worry about in that regard," I explained. "The young couple in question already look like they're on their way to being married."

Sunset shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. Still, this future Alicorn might not even be born."

"Well, I bet if one of the parents is an Alicorn, their offspring will be too," I theorized.

"Why do you figure that?" she asked as we entered the slumber party room, which by now was fuller than before. The conversations in the room slowed down as we entered.

"Alicorns seem to be the pinnacle of Pony genetics," I said, not slowing down as the two of us made our way to one of the beds and sat, staring at each other while continuing the conversation. I cast a spell that began to illustrate my point. Primitive stick figures of three Ponies appeared and I pointed to them. "Think about it for a second. They have elements of all three Pony races. They've got the magic of a Unicorn, the flight and weather manipulation of Pegasi, and the bone crushing strength of an Earth Pony." The figures merged and a stick figure Celestia appeared before I dismissed the art magic. "If that doesn't scream good DNA, I don't know what does. It could also explain why Stormy Skies and his group were easily corrupted by Eris. Turn up your superiority complex and become worse than Hitler."

Sunset shivered. "Ugh…that man. And I see what you're saying, but if that were true, why hasn't Princess Celestia had a foal of her own?"

"Now that I can't say," I said with a shrug, "and it's not my place to go and ask. It's her business, and it might be a sensitive subject for her."

"What're you talking about over here?" Twilight asked, walking over and sounding very curious. She still kept a bit of distance from Sunset, standing close to me, though.

"Alicorns," I said. "More specifically, how they come about. We know Celestia and Luna are naturally born ones, and Cadance ascended somehow. And then in the show you became one after finishing Starswirl's spell. Oh, and Obsidian Star and her cohorts were naturally born as well."

"And this schmuck won't tell me about the one he saw on the My Little Pony show," Sunset said, glaring at me, but there was somehow some playfulness behind it.

"Again, spoilers," I said.

"Oh shut it, Professor Song," Scarlet said, flying over and sitting herself right in my lap, leaning against my chest and looking up at me with a wry grin. "We're not in the library, and we aren't the Doctor. Just tell us already!"

I reached up and booped her snout. "Nice try, but no. I want that little foal to be born, and I need the couple together for that."

"Awww, can't I convince you otherwise?" Scarlet cooed, moving her hips around in a suggestive manner.

"Whoa there, this isn't that kind of sleepover," I said, flicking her nose. "Bad Pegasus."

"You're no fun," Scarlet laughed as she flew off of my lap, then turned around to face me. "So…what's on the schedule tonight?"

"Who's up for an impromptu movie night?" I asked, pointing over to the laptop I'd brought from my room when I escorted Zecora down.

"Oh? What movie are we gonna watch today?" Spike asked, clearly excited.

I grinned, then looked at Sunset before replying, "A movie that shows that you don't always have to fall into the roll life seems to have for you. Villain or hero." I retrieved my laptop, turned it on, then maneuvered to my movies folder. "Time for a tale of a supposed villain and his journey towards redemption. Fillies and gentlecolts, may I present: Megamind."

An hour and a half later, the Ponies in the room were all busily discussing the older Dreamworks flick with varying degrees of excitement. I simply sat back next to Zecora, who'd already seen this movie, watching with a bemused expression as I stroked my lover's mane affectionately. I was really happy to see Twilight and Sunset talking animatedly. I had a feeling they'd get along well.

"Laser stands for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," Sunset was saying. "Look, unlike normal light, a laser is a coherent and focused beam of photons. It's all one wavelength instead of normal light being multiple wavelengths. And the output can be as weak as a laser pointer or powerful enough to reshape an eye."

"Reshape an eye? What do you mean?" Twilight asked, taking furious notes.

"On Earth, there's a surgical procedure called laser eye surgery," Sunset said, before going into detail about the specifics.

I looked over at where Rarity was talking to Applejack, and unsurprisingly, the gorgeous fashion mare was focusing on the love story subplot of the movie. "It might not have been the most glamorous of love stories, but ah found it kinda nice," Applejack was saying.

"I'm not saying you're wrong," Rarity said, "but it was just so…unusual."

"More unusual than a princess and captain of the guard?" Applejack countered.

"Now that's different," Rarity said, and the two continued their arguing.

I looked around and saw Pinkie Pie and Spike bouncing around on the bed, mimicking the fight between Megamind and Titan. Pinkie Pie was in the role of Megamind. "You dare challenge Pinkie Pie?" she said theatrically.

"This town isn't big enough for two party creatures!" Spike said, grinning.

"Oh, you're a party creature, alright. Just not a super one!"

Scarlet and Fluttershy, meanwhile, were talking quietly among themselves, and I saw the two of them glancing in my direction a few times. Scarlet with a smirk and Fluttershy with a blush and shy smile. I felt a shiver going down my back at whatever they were talking about. Fortunately, Zecora interrupted my thoughts by leaning against me and sighing contentedly. "Are you having fun, dearest?"

"I'm spending time with friends and loved ones. Of course I'm having fun." I pulled her closer and kissed her head. "By the way, I've got something to tell you."

"What about?" she asked.

"Not what. Who. Fluttersy and Pinkie Pie both confessed that they had feelings for me. I asked Luna too, but she says she's still unsure."

Zecora looked up at me, then leaned in and licked my cheek affectionately. "I knew the first two had feelings for you, and I'm fairly certain Princess Luna does too." She reached up to caress my face with her hooves. "How are you feeling about it?"

"Well, I like those three, don't get me wrong," I said. "They're all beautiful and have their own unique charms. We all have interests that we share, and being around them makes me happy."

"Are you planning on taking them out on a date like you did with Scarlet?" Zecora asked.

"With your blessing, yes," I said. "But if you don't want me to, just say no."

Zecora giggled and moved to straddle my lap as best she could in her normal form. "I like those three mares," she said. "They're already good friends with you, and I know I can get along with them. I might not have as great a love of animals as Fluttershy, but I do know a thing or two about them that she might find fascinating and I can direct her to some plants that can treat or cure common ailments among animals. Pinkie Pie might be harder, but if she's willing, I can definitely teach her a few things that might help her in the kitchen. There are some sweet tasting plants in the Everfree that she might appreciate. And you and I both know just how much I love the night sky, so getting along with Luna wouldn't be an issue. That, and all three of us are out of our element in this world, so we can relate. I say, when this is all over, ask them out."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's one thing off my mind." I turned back to the others and watched their conversations continue.

"Is there something else on your mind?" Zecora asked softly.

"Kinda," I said. "Problem is, I don't know what. It's like…there's something off about this whole council. Not the idea, but…there's something about the members." I rubbed my temples. "Gah! It's like there's something obvious about one of them that I'm missing. Something…I can't see. Something so obvious that if it were a Dragon, it'd bite me in the ass and I'd never see it."

Zecora nuzzled my face. "If it makes you feel any better, I can keep a closer eye on them and see if I can detect anything."

"I'd appreciate that, thanks."

We were interrupted by a familiar Pegasus' voice calling out, "Hey, Jethro, Zecora, wanna come join us for some games?" Scarlet flew over and hovered in front of us, front hooves on her hips.

"What are you playing?" I asked.

"We're not sure, yet," she said. "We were wondering if you had something in mind?"

"You know, if I'd remembered, I'd have brought along something like Apples to Apples," I said. "Or maybe Monopoly, or the Game of Life."

Applejack's ears perked up. "Apples tah Apples?"

Sunset chuckled. "It's an Earth game," she explained.

"Maybe another time we can have a slumber party at my house," I said. "Lemme Google some safe and fun games." Pulling out my phone, I Googled for some games, and found a list. "Okay, you've done Truth or Dare…we are so not doing Spin the Bottle…pillow fight can be for later…Would You Rather might be fun…Charades might be kinda cool…God, I feel old now."

"If you feel old, what does that make me?" Zecora asked, nuzzling my face affectionately.

"Makes you sexy," I whispered back while trying to read the list again. "Um, Musical Chairs might be hard…Kokkuri-San is a biit too scary…same with a Ouija Board…"

"Would You Rather sounds fun," Twilight said suddenly. "How do you play?"

"So we all write some questions on pieces of paper, like Would you rather it be cold or hot outside? Then we put them inside a hat, mix them up and begin passing them around. How about we label it as a friendship building exercise? We get to know some cool new things about each other. Oh, and no inappropriate questions, Scarlet."

"Well, duh!" she scoffed, and Zecora and I chuckled a bit, as did Rainbow Dash.

"That sounds like fun," Twilight said excitedly. "I have a bunch of pieces of paper and pens we can use."

"Break them out, nerdy girl," I smirked.

For the next few minutes, we spent some time writing down multiple questions. We'd all agreed on at least five questions each. Finally, Applejack lent us her hat and we all placed our pieces of paper in, folded in half, then I mixed up the pieces. "Alright, if no one else wants to go first, I will. Anyone?"

"Your idea, you go for it," Scarlet said. When everyone else agreed, I shrugged and reached into the hat. I turned my hand around for a bit before pulling out a piece of paper. Opening it up, I immediately knew this had to be one from Rarity due to the impeccable cursive. That, and the question was definitely one she'd come up with. "Would you rather spend a day working yourself to the bone or spend a day in a spa getting a hooficure?"

Rarity smiled a bit while I saw Applejack give a sideways glance to the fashionista. Twilight, meanwhile, looked eager to hear my response. I chuckled. "Well, I'm not a Pony, so I doubt Aloe and Lotus know how to do a Mani-Pedi for me. But if I wanted to go to a spa, I'd go back to Earth. Is there a Spa in Pendragon, Sunset?"

Sunset nodded. "Plenty."

"Well, as rewarding as a day working on Applejack's farm is, I'd much rather get a spa treatment," I replied. Before the now shocked Ponies could reply, I quickly added, "Hey, I absolutely love working on Sweet Apple Acres. It's relaxing in its own way, and I get to spend some quality time with an amazing mare and her equally as amazing family." Applejack smiled and I saw a very slight blush on her face. I continued, saying, "I can clear my mind and get something done that's actually useful to a lot of Ponies. And I always feel accomplished afterwards. Just standing at the end of the rows of apple trees I've bucked at the end of the day makes it all worthwhile and gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride. But it is hard work. I haven't had any kind of spa treatment in…actually, I don't think ever. A place that can help cleanse my body and soul just sounds relaxing."

Rarity nodded fervently in agreement. "I agree," she said. "I absolutely adore going to the Ponyville Spa. And I know certain mares around here who could definitely use a hooficure." I saw a brief glance at Applejack.

The Earth Pony mare didn't miss the glance. "Ah'll have ya know mah hooves are just fine," she retorted.

"Darling, please. When was the last time you had your hooves cut?" Rarity asked.

"Okay, girls, everyone play nice," I said. "It's just a game. Who's next?"

"Ooh ooh me me me!" Pinkie raised her own hoof excitedly. I handed her the hat with my magic and she dug around in the hat. Pulling out a piece of paper, she opened it. "Would you rather stand at attention for eight hours as a palace guard or spend one hour training vig…vig…"

"Vigorously?" Twilight guessed.

"Yeah, that!" Pinkie put down the paper and pulled out a small hat with a bulb on top from her mane. "Hmm hmm hmm…now let me see."

"Oh God, she turned into Grampy from Betty Boop," I muttered to myself.

Sunset somehow heard that and smirked. "She did, didn't she?"

After a few seconds, the lightbulb went off. Her eyes widened. "Can I train to be the best baker ever?" she asked.

I laughed. "You know what, just for you Pinkie, sure. I'll alter that question."

Pinkie gasped loudly. "It was yours?! YAY!" She jumped over and hugged me tightly, plastering my face with kisses over and over again.

"Whoa there, easy easy!" I laughed as I lifted the pink party Pony up and stroked her mane. It felt odd that she'd fall for me, especially when in canon she got married to Weird Al. Yeah, I'm not gonna call him Cheese Sandwich. He's too much Weird Al. Shame I won't hear his voice sound like Weird Al when he comes to town. "Alright, you can be the Royal Guard Baker. I'm sure they'll love your baking."

"Yay!" She nuzzled my face and giggled.

"Can…I go next?" Fluttershy asked timidly.

"Sure, go ahead," I said, passing the paper over to her. And so it continued. We all spent at least two hours talking about all of our preferred actions, and by the time we'd reached the last question, it was just past ten at night. I was lying on the ground on a very comfortable mat, with Zecora on one side, Scarlet on the other, Pinkie letting me use her fluffy body as her pillow somehow, and Fluttershy curled up on my chest. The dwindling fire in the massive fireplace still had enough warmth to keep the room toasty, but I felt like I'd be kept warm all night long.

The others, clearly just a wiped out as I was, were all in other beds. Even Sunset, who was humming Here Comes Santa Claus, was lying in bed, a headset covering her ears while she was browsing the staticnet after I'd given her the password.

I was stroking Fluttershy's mane with one hand, Zecora's with the other, and had wrapped Scarlet up in one of my wings. Pinkie Pie was already fast asleep, curled up around my head and keeping my ears toasty warm. I could hear her heartbeat and feel her breathing, and that actually made me relax. It also brought joy to my heart, knowing that she was alive. The episode Too Many Pinkie Pies had scarred me and anytime I thought about it now, it brought me near to tears at the thought of even a copy of my favorite party mare being hit with magic like that.

I fell asleep promising myself that I would talk to Celestia about filling up that damned pool in the morning…

I was on a large dusty road in a desert landscape. Above, the winter constellations shone down brilliantly, although they actually appeared to be in a slightly different position than I was used to. Orion was higher towards the zenith as was the entire sky as well. I knew I was in my Morphean form now, and I looked around the large deserted area. I was standing in front of a massive and ancient looking stone palace, one that had fallen into centuries of disrepair by the looks of it. However, I did see a number of crumbling statues on the precipices of some old towers.

Flying up, I noted that the creatures depicted were none other than dragons. However, unlike the dragons depicted on the Castle of the Two Sisters, these looked somewhat more noble and regal than the ones on the palace.

Entering the palace proper, I passed through the walls into an ancient looking throne room. The throne itself was made of a glowing red crystal. The entire room was warmed by the inner fire that came from this crystal itself. It looked large enough to fit a full-sized dragon.

The walls were decorated with ancient mosaics made of different colored gems that depicted what I assumed was ancient dragon history. At one end, I even saw a large yellow dragon grasping what might have been the sun, moving it across the heavens with his massive claw. Another silver dragon, this one possibly female, pulled the moon up from the horizon.

Then…it struck me. The female dragon that was depicted had absolutely no mammaries of any kind.

A feeling of dread swept through me as I flew out of the palace, looking around. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I still had to know. I flew around the desert landscape, looking for a Dragon to compare.

Just then, I heard a distant shouting which made the ground rumble, the loose rocks and gems bouncing up and down to the vibrations. Turning towards the sound, I saw a bright fireball launching into the heavens. I flew towards the source, turning myself invisible. When I reached a a large stone chair in the middle of nowhere that was occupied by an incredibly massive Dragon who I recognized as Dragon Lord Torch.

And flying next to him, holding a scroll, was a small blue Dragon. "Father, please listen to me," the smaller Dragon was saying. It was a female voice that I heard, and she sounded almost desperate. "We don't have to go to war with the Equestrians! I'm just as angry at them as you are, but we can't just go flying off the handles!"

"Silence, my wayward daughter!" the larger Dragon male shouted, blowing the smaller Dragon back. "They have insulted our very way of life by not inviting us to this so-called Council of Equestria! This new source even claims we were left out on purpose!"

Fearing the worst, I flew up towards Ember, only to see that this one, unlike the one I'd seen, had absolutely no breasts of any kind. This Ember waved the piece of paper in front of Torch once more. "Do you think that the Ponies who move the sun and moon are just going to sit back and watch as we invade, pillage and burn their towns? Dad, they have that human on their side, too! He won't just sit back and allow us to take that kingdom! He's not like the Ponies. He will fight back harder!"

"Which is why, when we win, you will be betrothed to him!" Torch said.

Ember gawked at her father. "You can't do that! Betrothals aren't a thing anymore!"

"SILENCE!" Torch said. "According to Dragon Law, I only have a few more years before I must step down! I will go out in a blaze of glory if I must! Now…begone!"

Ember crumbled the scroll, but apparently hadn't the courage to stand up more. Not that I could blame the poor drake. She flew away, muttering to herself. I quickly followed until I saw her make her way into a large cavern. She landed, storming deep inside, muttering curses under her breath as I followed. She entered into another section of the cave where a large pile of bits and gems lay. She dove into it, screaming angrily at it. "Dad…you're gonna get us all killed!" she shouted, hitting the pile over and over again. "Gods, what do I do here?!"

"Maybe you can help," I said, making myself visible finally and standing in the doorway to her hoard.

Ember whirled around, then spotted me. Her dark crimson eyes flared angrily. "You! How'd you get in here!? The entrance is warded!"

"That's not important," I said, walking up to her. She was actually about my height, and looked more draconic than whoever, or whatever, was impersonating her. "Listen, something's going on back in Equestria."

"You mean that damned Council we weren't invited to?" she spat, waving the scroll in front of me angrily.

I shook my head quickly. "That's just it. You were invited, and we actually thought you had come. But there's someone at the council impersonating you. And I think I know just what creature we're dealing with."

Ember growled angrily. "Scalechangers," she scowled.

"Correct," I said. "There's one impersonating you, but apparently she's doing a piss poor job of it."

"And how long did it take you to determine she wasn't me?" Ember asked.

"Longer than I care to admit," I said.

Ember scoffed. "Well…I guess I can't blame you. Scalechangers have a way of getting into your head and fooling you into believing whatever you want to believe. Especially if they've been feeding on love for a while."

I facepalmed. "Goddamn it…I should have realized. They want this war! FUCK!" I stomped the ground angrily. "I need to get back to Equestria. Your Highness, I know we just met, and I know you have a lot of good reasons to hate me or be angry at me, but we need to stop this before it goes any further. Because you were right earlier. I will fight for the Kingdom of Equestria if Dragons invade. And I don't want that. I don't want to fight against an amazing culture who made those ruins."

Ember raised an eyebrow. "You saw the Ruins of Dormog? Nodragon's ever gotten in there. What are you?"

"We have time for explanations later," I said as I walked over to her. "I can teleport us back to Equestria. Your Highness, please help me expose these Dark Fae for the monsters that they currently are!" I held out a hand.

Ember recoiled, looking at my hand suspiciously. Then, she sighed. "Don't make me regret this, human," she said as she reached out her claw.

"All I want is peace between our many nations," I said as I grabbed her claw. "Now, hold on tight." There was a flash of light, then darkness overwhelmed me.