centaurus2 - I getcha. Like I said in the PM, your story shows promise, so I'll be keeping an eye out for it.

KillerWoW - Lol yup and yup. Though don't expect it to become a regular thing.

xXPSYCHOPATHXx - Nice. Don't die just yet, sh*t's about to get real.

Guest - This week's update was a little late, but I'll be keeping top my normal schedule as much as possible.

UnknownHero55 - Yup, and it won't be the last we'll see of them either.

KingTobi - Lol nothin' better than a good ol' wardrobe malfunction.

frytrix - Honestly, I wish I had the time to make them longer, unfortunately though, my busy life doesn't allow for that.

HYBRID BATTLESHIP INFINITY210 - Nope, Dashie is 100% single (For now mwahahaha!)

marco2o - Lol yup, good thing the princesses told Rarity about that, otherwise Blake would be going commando.

raritysman403 - Lol yup, exposed for all the mares to oogle.

Zelfra1234 - Well he technically is, but you know how people (and ponies) like to argue about and close loopholes.

GhostChris - Thanks

A/N - Apologies for the late post, my internet went out and didn't come back up till this morning. So I noticed that I forgot to post an author's note last week. It's cool though, not much happened anyway. I'd like to say; R.I.P. Robin Williams, your unique and hilarious comedic style will be sorely missed. This week, I have a question for all my readers; I'll be writing the first chapter with clop in the next week or two, and I'd like your feedback on whether or not I should include a warning/way to skip it, or if that would break the immersion. Leave your thoughts in a review or feel free to PM me about it.

There was a chorus of hushed comments as I pulled my pants back up, including a not-so-hushed "Oh my!" from Rarity. I looked up in time to see Twilight catch a drunken Rainbow Dash with her magic. Everypony except Rainbow Dash, who seemed to have already forgotten about wanting to know what I was 'hiding', had a deep blush on their faces.

"So… how 'bout them zombies?" I asked in an attempt to break the tension.

Applejack shook her head vigorously. "Ah'm kinda surprised the princesses would do somethin' like that honestly, it don't really seem like somethin' you'd expect from 'em."

"Oh I agree Applejack, that entire display was rather… macabre. I do hope Princess Luna will be vigilant for the next few nights, I have a feeling we'll all need it." Rarity answered with a shudder.

The others soon joined in, seeming to break the tension of only a few moments ago, though I noted that Twilight, AJ, and Derpy were all still blushing. After a while, several members of our little group began yawning. Deciding it was time for bed, we all left for our respective rooms, with me walking Derpy back to hers with Applejack tagging along.

"Hey Blake?" I hummed, acknowledging that I was listening. "Would… would y'all mind if Ah slept in yer room tonight? Ah don't intend no funny business, Ah jest wanna sleep next ta mah coltfriend." AJ asked once we had dropped Derpy off.

A warm smile caressed my lips. "Sure AJ. I'd love to have you sleeping next to me." She smiled back and we made our way to my room.

The next morning found me wrapped snugly in Applejack's warm embrace. I could tell by the way she was moving she'd be waking up soon; it only made sense after all, she fell asleep long before I had. As I went to move to get out of bed, I noticed that there was another mare snuggled firmly against me. All I could make out of the mare in the dim light was a shock of blond hair, telling me Derpy was the other half of this fantastic blanket.

Not long after I made this discovery, Applejack began stirring into wakefulness. She yawned and sat up, her groggy, emerald eyes sparkling in the dim light of the room. "Mornin' pardner. How'd y'all sleep?"

I smirked. "I slept great! Especially since I had just about the best blanket ever to keep me nice and warm."

I saw her eyes shift in confusion before she looked over and saw the other half of my blanket still sleeping soundly. "Well I'll be a… how tha hay did she manage ta slip in here without waking either of us?"

I had to suppress a chuckle, lest I wake my lovely sleeping marefriend. "Well, I dunno about how she didn't wake me, but you sleep like a brick." She punched me in the shoulder lightly -for her- causing me to chuckle again. "Hey, at least you don't snore."

AJ chuckled and sighed contentedly. I reached up and caressed her cheek, which she leaned into and even nuzzled my hand. I leaned up and our lips connected; Applejack flinched in surprise but quickly returned my affection in a tender kiss. I let out a poorly suppressed moan as I tasted sweetness of the apples she was known for on her soft lips. "Hey Applejack?" I asked once we broke. She hummed in response as she rested her head on my chest. "Do you… think less of me for what you saw yesterday?"

"Of course we don't Sugarcube, nopony that saw it does. Besides," Her voice changed, getting…huskier. "Y'all oughta be proud a whatcha got goin' on." She was tracing small circles on my chest.

I felt my face heat up. "That's not what I meant AJ."

She chuckled that adorable chuckle. "Ah know… That don't make it any less true though." She accentuated her point with a wink. "Tha truth is, Ah don't think anypony who saw what we did could blame ya fer havin' somethin' like that ta protect yerself with. If anythin', Ah say Princess Luna shoulda known better than ta use those zombie things fer targets, especially with little Scootaloo there watchin'."

I nodded. "Yeah, I'll admit that could have been better thought out. I should probably ha-" I was interrupted by a knock at the door. "I'll get that, though I wonder who it could be at this hour."

I opened the door to a very irate-looking Vinyl, standing next to Lyra, who was on the verge of tears. "Dude! Why didn't you tell us you were murdered?!" Vinyl snapped.

The sudden shift in mood threw me off, so I replied with the first thought that came to mind. "Would you have believed me if I had?"

This seemed to throw her off. "I… Well… That's not the point! I thought we were friends Blake, friends tell each other stuff like this. But instead, we gotta find out from Princess Luna!"

I sighed. "You're right Vinyl, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you… it's just not a topic I like bringing up." She huffed, irritating me. "Look, I'm honestly trying to forget about it and move on."

"You still should have told us dude." She replied quietly.

I growled under my breath. "Do you think I like having everypony dredging up my most painful memories every time I turn around?!" She recoiled at my sudden temper. "All I want is to forget what happened in my past and live a peaceful life here, but every time I start settling into things, someone's gotta remind me of everything… everyone, I've lost…"

Things finally seemed to click in the DJ's mind as her ears flattened against her head. "I-I'm sorry Blake; I wasn't even thinking about that…"

"That's right!" Came a voice from behind me, one that was distinctly not Applejack. "All you were thinking about was yourself Vinyl Scratch! Princess Luna showed me the same thing she showed you, but did I come here in the wee hours of the morning all angry and demanding answers?! NO! I came here to be near him and comfort him if he needed me; that's what friends do!" Derpy's demeanor surprised us all, as she hadn't even been this angry when defending me from Desert Star and Celestia. She looked back to me. "And it doesn't matter that I'm part of his herd now, I'm still his friend and I'll always be there for him, just like I know he would be for me."

"Derpy I-" The DJ was cut off by a growl.

"I think you should leave for now Vinyl." Vinyl did as asked and left with only a remorseful look back to me.

Derpy then turned to Lyra, who was shaking slightly. "I-I just wanted to tell Blake I was sorry for what happened to him… I thought that's what Vinyl was going to do too." She looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry…" She whispered before turning and bolting down the hall, trailing tears.

I started to follow her, but was stopped by a hoof wrapped around my wrist. "Ah'll talk to 'er Sugarcube." AJ offered before trotting off after the distraught Lyra.

As I turned to reenter my room with Derpy, I heard hooves clopping on the white marble floor. "Ah, just the human I wished to see." Celestia's melodic voice rang out from behind me.

Christ on a cracker, can't I have one minute? I turned to face the white alicorn. "Hey Celly, what's up?"

There was a groan from inside the room. "Daddy? What's goin' on? Why was everypony yelling?"

Derpy smiled up to me. "I'll take care of her, you talk to the princess." She trotted into the room and I heard her reassuring Scoots.

I turned back to Celestia. "Good morning Blake, I hope you are well. Do you remember when I asked you to bring your sword with you?" I nodded. "Good. It occurs to me that we have yet to visit my smith about it, would you care to join me now?"

"Sure, just let me tell Scoots what's going on and get dressed, and I'll be right out."

After doing so, I grabbed my sword and headed out the door with the Solar Princess. We made short time to the armory, where the smithy was located. Celestia led me into a large room, filled with various smiths tools and equipment, so much so that it looked like several different smith shops all crammed into one large room. Towards the center of the room, stoking a large fire pit with an enormous bellows, was a pony. His heavy apron obscured his cutie mark, but I could tell that his coat was an ashen gray, with his mane being a similar color but streaked with silver. Celestia walked purposefully over to the stallion, who I could tell was an earth pony, and greeted him. "Good morning Steel Striker, I trust you are well?"

Without missing a beat on the bellows, Steel Striker responded. "Morning Princess; I'm doing fine. Is there something I can do for you?" He spoke with a strange, but familiar accent. Hmm… Greek maybe?

"Actually, I have brought the stallion with the peculiar sword you wished to inspect."

This got him to stop pumping the bellows and look at the Princess. "Really? Well, where is he?" He asked as he scanned the room, looking past me several times.

"I'm right here." I stated flatly as I approached and brought the sword out.

Ignoring me, Steel Striker rushed over and snatched the sword out of my hands and turned it over in his hooves several times before removing it from its sheath, mumbling the whole time. As soon as the blade caught the light, Steel gasped and nearly dropped the blade in shock. "I-it can't be." He breathed, barely above a whisper. "You're sure you got this from my armory?" He asked Celestia rather than me.

"I am quite sure. What seems to be the matter, is the blade of poor quality?"

Striker's eye twitched subtly. "Poor quality?! My Princess, this is Star Steel!" I noticed Celestia's eyes widen a fraction in shock, but she did well to hide it.

"What does that mean?" I asked, ignorant as to what 'Star Steel' was.

"What 'that means' colt," His tone shifted to annoyance as he finally addressed me. "Is that you may very well be the luckiest… whatever you are, alive. Star Steel is literally that; metal that was taken from the heart of a fallen star and forged into something, in this case, a sword. It's so durable that it is by all known means indestructible, and so hard to work with that there isn't a pony alive that has the skill to do so anymore. It's so rare, most ponies that know of it at all believe it to be myth, so you better count your lucky stars you got your… whatever those are, on it."

Celestia nodded to the abrasive stallion. "Thank you Steel Striker, that will be all. Come Blake, I believe the others will be up soon." Celestia grabbed the sword from Steel Striker with her magic and returned it to its sheath before giving it to me. "It would appear you have received a true treasure of Equestria, treat it with respect." She said when we were out of the armory.

I was honestly stunned that she didn't plan to take something this valuable. As if reading my mind -or expression- she turned to me. "Blake, this was a gift, I wouldn't dream of taking it from you just because it's made of a rare metal. Now come, your friends should all be waiting in the dining hall."

We walked to the dining hall together, and when we entered, I saw that all my friends, sans Rainbow dash, were indeed here. Lyra looked to have cheered up significantly since the last time I saw her, but I could tell, even through her glasses, that Vinyl was still upset over what had happened earlier.

We all shared a relatively quiet breakfast, separating afterwards, the girls likely to get ready for the party that Celestia and Luna had planned for this evening, and Scoots and me to go to the final meeting of those hard-headed councilponies.

The meeting was more stressful than usual, with all the ponies in attendance seeming to be more interested in never having to deal with me again than actually getting any work done. I could not overstate how glad I was to finally be done with them, and they me.

Scootaloo and I headed back to Rarity's room for some final adjustments she'd wanted to make to my suit. All of our friends, minus the princesses, were already there. After almost forty five minutes, she declared the suit finished, though I couldn't see any difference from when she'd started. She then shooed me out of the room so that the others could get ready.

Almost another hour later found the eleven of us, all dressed in beautiful and unique attire, making our way through the palace's corridors and towards the town square outside the entrance to the palace, which is where the party was set to be held. We exited the main gate and were almost immediately blinded by floodlights. "Fillies and Gentlecolts!" Celestia began in a magically amplified voice. "I present to you Blake Marshall, the only human on the face of Mythis! I would like to ask that you treat him with the same respect and camaraderie as you would any other pony. He is the guest of honor for this event, so please; give him a warm Canterlot welcome!"

Many ponies stomped their hooves on the cobblestone walkway while others looked around in confusion. Once the cheering died down, Celestia turned to us. "You all look wonderful this evening. Please, go down and enjoy the party."

"What about you Princess?" Scoots piped up.

The diarch in question smiled down at the filly. "Alas, my sister and I have royal duties to attend, even at a party." Scoots face fell somewhat as she let out a disappointed 'Aww'.

We all agreed to mingle separately for awhile before meeting back up and enjoying the party together. The only one who stayed by my side was Derpy, who was understandably nervous at such a large social function. We were wandering seemingly aimlessly around the party, thankfully being mostly ignored by those around us as we simply enjoyed each other's company.

I noticed the mare from the derby amongst a group of three other ponies, playing her rather large cello, standing on her hind legs to hold it and work the bow with her front. She noticed me and quickly turned her attention away with a strange expression on her face.

"Ah-ha! I've found you!" Derpy and I turned in unison to see a seemingly well-built and even better groomed unicorn stallion standing behind us. His coat was a stark white while his long mane and tail were the color of gold. He wore a strange vest that made it look like he was wearing a tuxedo, complete with button-up white shirt and a dark blue bow tie. His cutie mark was a gold four-pointed star overlaying a blue star.

I quirked an eyebrow. "And who might you be?"

"I am Prince Blueblood, peasant. I don't know how, but you've managed to bewitch my aunts to turn them in your favor and I have come to end it!" While his voice wasn't as grating as some of the other ponies in the city, his attitude more than made up for it.

"Oh? And how do you propose to do that?" I asked, eyebrow still quirked.

"I challenge you to a duel. When I win, you shall leave Equestria, never to return, and end whatever hold you have on my aunts."

"And if I refuse?"

"Why, you'll still be banished; however, all your so-called 'friends' shall be banished as well, only they'll be banished to the far corners of Mythis… Except for perhaps Miss Rarity, I do believe I'd enjoy some 'personal time' with her." The way he talked about Rarity made it clear what his intentions were, and it made my blood boil.

"Fine, you'll have your duel, just name the time and place." I replied, keeping a growl in check.

His face contorted into a sickeningly smug, victorious, smirk. "The place shall be the Canterlot Palace gardens, the time is right now."

I shrugged and followed after him with Derpy walking next to me. "Are you sure this is a good idea Blake? I mean, what if it's a trap?"

I gave her a half-hearted smile. "Oh, I've no doubt it is, but he's not really leaving me with much choice."

When we reached the gardens, I noticed quite an assortment of ponies gathered around the perimeter of the same clearing I'd demonstrated my pistol in the previous day. There was a rolling bench set up at either end of the clearing, covered by a sheet, which I could only assume were holding various weapons for the duel. Blueblood trotted over to one of the tables and turned to face me. "The rules of this duel are simple, peasant; we shall each choose a weapon from our table, and when ready, the duel shall commence. This is to be a duel to first blood."

"I notice you never mentioned what I get if I win."

Blueblood chuckled. "You won't." I crossed my arms and gave a glare that showed him I meant business. "Oh fine. If you win, I shall renounce my title and all its holdings. If I were to be defeated by an insect like you, I wouldn't deserve them anyway."

"You can do it Blake! Kick his flank!" I looked over to see Rainbow Dash hovering above the crowd, next to Derpy.

"Enough of this; have at you!" Blueblood roared as he pulled a weapon from the table and held it in his magic.

I removed my jacket to allow for better freedom of movement and folded it on the table. Then, I inspected the weapons presented to me, which all seemed to be bargain barrel garbage. After some deliberation, I decided on the rapier; not only for its nimble nature, which could counter the bulkier bastard sword Blueblood was wielding, but because it seemed in the best condition. After a few test swings to get a feel for the balance, which was terrible, I assumed a ready stance. "Ok Blueblood, ready when you are."

He growled. "That's Prince Blueblood, peasant!" He yelled, sending his sword flying at me.

Given the gap between us, I had plenty of time to parry his blade, causing him to retract it towards himself. He sent his blade at me several more times, each one either parried or dodged outright. As I held my rapier between myself and my opponent, I couldn't help but notice the growing collection of deep nicks that were adorning it, nicks that shouldn't have been as bad as they were.

Each time he would strike and retract, I would move forward just a bit, intentionally making it hard to tell if it was intentional or part of my fighting style. When I got too close, Blueblood struck repeatedly, forcing me back and away from him, while I did my best to not destroy the shoddy sword I was wielding.

"Come on Blake, you can beat Blueballs over there!" Dash cheered.

I looked over to her. "Now now Dash, that's hardly appropriate." She cocked her head to the side in confusion. "You and I both know he'd have to have balls in order for them to be blue." My jeer was answered with an angry roar and a flurry of strikes. Rainbow Dash however, fell out of the air laughing.

"You'll pay for that, worm!" He shouted as the flurry intensified, making it hard for me to keep up.

I noticed sweat start to bead on his forehead, and I could tell he was starting to wear down; the problem was, so was I. Our swords connected, only instead of pulling away, Blueblood began pushing against my rapier, an action even a well made weapon of this type was never designed for. Thinking quickly, I side-stepped and spun my blade around his, ripping it from his magical grip and tossing it aside, snapping my own blade in the process.

I closed the distance between myself and a shocked Blueblood in three long strides; and, with a flick of my wrist, I sent my ruined blade across his cheek. Blueblood quickly dabbed a hoof to the area and checked for blood, growling. When he saw none, his horn lit up, causing me to keep an eye on both his table and fallen blade as best I could. "BLAKE! LOOK OUT!" My attention was so wholly focused on Blueblood that my reaction to Derpy's warning cry was delayed.

I felt a strange sensation in my left side an instant later. It felt like I had been punched in the back, only the sensation seemed to go all the way through. I looked down to see the cause of the odd pain: the first several centimeters of a sword blade, drenched in blood, poking out through my abdomen. "Ha! I win! Your banishment shall be effective immediately!" I barely heard him as my hands shakily wrapped around the offending object as Derpy rushed to my side and began doing her best to comfort me and seeming to cry out for help, though I couldn't make out what she was saying.

I looked up to Blueblood's smug face and began chuckling, even as I fell to my knees as the strength left my legs. "Th-that's what you think… Blue-bitch!" I groaned out between small fits of pained laughter.

"Hahaha, look at him! He's so delirious he's gone mad!" Realization slowly dawned on him as I continued laughing and he placed a hoof over his cheek again.

When he drew his hoof away again, there was a line of red staining it. "no… No! NO! I WILL NOT LET TRASH LIKE YOU BEST ME! I'LL KILL YOU!" As he grabbed another sword in his magic and made to lunge at me, he was tackled to the ground by a rainbow blur that materialized into Rainbow Dash.

"What is going on here?!" A panicked Luna demanded. "Somepony call a medic!" She shouted to the crowd as her horn ignited and I was wreathed in her soothing aura.

"It would seem that our nephew challenged our guest of honor to a rigged duel, a heavy crime in and of itself." Celestia's magic wove around Blueblood's body as he was levitated over to her. "You are also charged with the attempted murder of not only our honored guest, but my sister's consort, defamation of the royal family by claiming that we are mind-controlled, extortion, bribery, and abuse of power." Blueblood's face somehow paled. "That's right nephew, we've learned all about your little scheme to get rid of Blake. I can think of only one punishment fitting of such crimes; imprisonment in Tartarus."

Blueblood's eyes shot open in terror. "N-no please! I'll do anything!" The coward pleaded.

Celestia sighed. "I shall decide your fate later. Guards! Take the prisoner to the dungeons and make sure he is isolated." As the guard carried Blueblood away, a pair of unicorn medics rushed over to me and began tending to my wound, starting with extracting the sword.

"Blake, my love, what possessed you to accept a duel from our nephew in the first place?" Luna asked as the medics worked.

"He threatened to banish Blake's friends to the far corners of Equestria if he didn't accept." Derpy answered for me.

"He also talked about doing… things… to Rarity." I added.

Luna growled. "That scoundrel! I shall see to it that he never sees the sky again!"

"I'm sorry sister, but I can't allow you to make a judgment on this matter, your relationship to Blake leaves you emotionally compromised."

"But sister… Oh Blast it! I hate it when you make sense!"

"That's the best we can do Princesses." The medics suddenly chimed in. "He's lucky that the blade somehow missed all of his organs as it passed through. We've stopped the bleeding and knitted the flesh back together as well as we can, but you should take him to the hospital for further care, as the damage is still extensive. He'll need to take it easy for at least a few weeks."

"Thank you gentlecolts, you are dismissed." Celestia nodded to the two stallions.

I groaned as Derpy helped me to my feet. "Well, this has been one heck of a party ladies, but I think I'll call it a night." I instantly cursed myself for saying that.

There were several screams off in the distance, followed by an explosion.