Sir Reggie - Hmm... but, is that how it actually is, or is it just your overactive imagination? ;)

PyraohXBlaze - You'll see what I have planned for them, soon enough... mwahahaha! Yeah, I think Cady and Blake would make a cute couple, but alas, it's not meant to be... or is it? I do actually, but you'll have to wait and see what it is. :P

KyuubiMakai009 - Lol that could make for an interesting chapter... Though, Goat Simulator comes to mind for me. Well, it's been awhile since they've done 'it' on-screen, so-to-speak, but that doesn't mean they haven't done 'it' at all since the last time we read about it. ;)

shadows being - Patience, young padawan, patience.

Hunter Shorette - We'll just have to wait and see, won't we? Hmm... Ah. That sucks. I guess it's up to how you look at it; if she's into threesomes, it could turn out awesome!

HWponytype12 - Yours isn't the only one...

ShadowBrony69 - You're very welcome. Lol perhaps she will ;)

Kyguy - Only the future will tell... Cause I sure won't! ;)

DragonLovingBrony - Well, here's more for you! Sorry its late again though :( (Details in the A/N)

Harmonia000 - Lol. Don't worry, I won't keep you waiting long ;)

ShadowfireAngel - Yup. Some people just have that much love to give...

TurnupGrain43 - Lol you sir, have a dirty, dirty mind...

centaurus2 - Nice. I like to make my own, though I usually use PVC instead of metal. I'm assuming that Equestria doesn't have things like PVC though.

SquirtlePWN - How do you mean?

DragonLord RyuKizoku - Well, first off... I'll dare to do whatever I please with my own story... though I've never once mentioned putting futa in it, so I'm not sure where you got that idea. Second, They're there, you just have to pay attention to see them. Third, ponies are fully capable of eating meat, which means that the possibility exists that she would have agreed. Lastly, yes, really. And fireworks work on completely different principles from rockets; rockets use the exhaust gasses of relatively slow-burning fuels to propel them through the air, whereas fireworks use a single, explosive detonation to propel them into the sky, much like a cannon.

headreviewer mk2 - Not so much 'forgot', as 'decided to omit', seeing as how the other achievements would overshadow it by a large margin, and would likely be assumed by our favorite egghead.

Mikalzilla - Well, I'm sure reaching the outer limits of the Solar System would be far more amazing to them, at least from my own point of view.

KillerWoW - I have, though I haven't played it. I shed a few manly tears when I saw what happens if you fight Toriel though...

SgtVanilla - Lol to be honest? I think it'd be awesome! And not to seem like I'm bragging (Cause it actually kind of sucks), but I think those four combined would have trouble keeping up with my libido...

coldshadow92 - Well, here it is! Sorry it's late though :(

Arkraiththeepicbrony - Well, slow down :P That has yet to bee seen... (Lol which is cryptic speak for 'I haven't decided yet')

0. King Nothing.0 - Gotta love chapters like that once in awhile. I guess we'll see, won't we? ;) (Sorry, but the site keeps cutting off the first part of your name for some reason if I don't put that space there...)

A/N - Howdy everypony! Sorry for yet another late update; a recent change in schedules has made it so that I can't access my computer for the vast majority of the day. This change actually took place a few weeks ago, but with the holiday messing with my sense of what day it was, I didn't notice the problem right away. Unfortunately, the only real solution I can come up with at the moment is to switch the days that I update from Tuesday to Wednesday. I'm truly sorry if this inconveniences anyone, because I know that I don't particularly care for it myself. As always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most improtantly; enjoy!

Just moments after launch, before the rocket even reached the apex of its flight, Twilight ran into the house. She came back moments later with a notepad and pencil in her magic, and immediately began scribbling down notes. At her request, I gave her one of the extra rocket motors I had made to analyze.

Dinky and Scootaloo were so quiet the entire time the rocket was ascending, that I was afraid they didn't like the display. Those fears were quickly dashed though, when they started cheering and shouting about how awesome the launch had been.

Cadance watched quietly, right up until the delay charge burned down and the parachute deployed, the bright orange fabric easily catching the light. "H-uh… I was wondering how you were going to bring that down safely." She turned her beautiful, purple eyes to me. "That was amazing, Blake. How did your people ever think of something like that?"

I sighed. "Well, like most things we have… it was created originally as an instrument of war. But also like most of those things, we found a more constructive use for it. In fact, most of what we know about construction comes from building sturdier and stronger military buildings to keep our troops safe."

She nodded. "I see. Aunt Celestia told me that she thought a lot of your technology seemed to have had some sort of destructive purpose or other."

"Yeah. But, if I have any say in the matter, that's not how this technology will be used here."

There was an audible silence as we both realized that Twilight had stopped writing in her notepad. "Blake? Would you mind letting me launch the next one? I want to study it some more as it goes up."

I nodded to her and began setting up another rocket. "Sure thing Twi. Just so you all know though; I only have enough motors, those propellant packs, and the igniters made up for six launches, so five more is all we'll be able to do for today."

The fillies let out a disappointed 'Aww' at the news, but I had a feeling they'd be bored of the rockets by then. Twilight watched carefully as I set up the next motor before allowing her to finish by inserting the ignitor into the motor and then screwing on the nozzle and wiring the ignitor to the launch trigger. After taking a few more notes, she pressed the button with a hoof, and watched as the rocket took off into the calm morning sky. She once again started scribbling things down in her notepad as the rest of us watched the slender, metal tube grow smaller and smaller until it nearly disappeared.

Dinky bounced up to me with a grin plastered on her face. "This is so much fun, Daddy! Can we shoot off one of those ones you said goes really, really high?"

I chuckled and knelt down, tousling her mane playfully. "Sure we can, squirt. Just remember though; if we use two of the motors, that'll be one less launch that we'll be able to do."

She nodded her head vigorously. "I know, Daddy! I just want to see one go really, really, really high!" She emphasized her point by standing on her hind legs and stretching her forelegs towards the sky as far as her little body would let her.

I chuckled again and stood up. "Sure thing Dinky; we'll send it so high, not even Rainbow Dash could follow it!"

Her little jaw dropped. "Whoa… that's really high!"

I set up the next rocket, this time with two motors stuffed into the base, before standing back and offering the launch trigger to Cadance, since she'd yet to launch one off. The pink Princess smiled warmly at me and depressed the button with her hoof, watching in awe as the rocket once again took off into the clear winter sky.

Dinky and Scootaloo both watched the slender rocket ascend into the heavens until it disappeared, its white exhaust trail the only sigh that it had ever been there at all. I chuckled at the sight of the slack-jawed fillies, their mouths agape as they watched for the rocket to come back down.

Twilight busily scribbled away in her notepad as we waited for the rocket to return to Mythis. I was afraid Scootaloo and Dinky would grow bored, but the pair diligently scanned the skies for the telltale sign of the bright orange cloth of the parachute to come into view. "Blake? Am I missing something here? All I'm detecting in these cartridges is potassium nitrate and plain table sugar."

I shook my head. Nope, you're not missing anything; rocket fuel really is that easy to make. The potassium nitrate is the fuel, and the sugar is the oxidizer, which helps it burn aggressively enough to be useful as rocket fuel." The studious mare stayed silent as she scribbled more notes down in her little notepad.

Finally, after several minutes, the rocket's orange chute did indeed become visible, though it was moving far faster than it should have been. I began tracking its movements, fearing that the chute hadn't fully deployed and hoping to catch the falling projectile before it came to ground and damaged someone's home, or worse, hurt somepony.

Scootaloo shaded her eyes with a hoof and squinted at the rocket as it headed towards the ground. "Hey… is that… is that Rainbow Dash?!" I mimicked her actions, shielding my eyes from the glare of the white landscape and squinting to get a better look at what was happening in the sky above us.

Sure enough, Rainbow Dash seemed to have taken hold of the metal toy and was carrying it back down to the ground, seemingly headed straight for us. I mentally recoiled at the thought of us meeting; not because I was still mad at her, but because I knew she was still hurt and ashamed because of what had happened between us the last time we had seen one another.

Rainbow Dash swooped in front of us, the rocket tucked in her front hooves as she came to a stop and hovered in the air. "What's the big idea, shooting these things up in the air like that?! You're gonna hurt somepony like that!" I moved to approach her, to say something, anything, but she tossed the rocket down, fins first into the snow. "You know what? Forget it!" With one powerful flap of her wings, the blue Pegasus shot off into the sky before any of us could say anything to her.

The five of us watched her disappear back towards Ponyville proper. I let out a low sigh. "Well… to be honest, that went better than I expected it to. I think she just put on that front because she didn't want to stick around long enough for us to talk."

Twilight looked between us. "Maybe I should go talk to her… after all, I did kind of want to see these things too."

I sighed, and collected the rocket. "If you think that's a good idea, go ahead Twi. You might want to wait till later though, with Cadance leaving soon and all."

Her ears drooped, and she looked to the pink mare. "Oh, that's right… I forgot you and Shining were leaving today."

Cadance nodded. "We are. I wish we could stay longer, but I'm afraid we've been away from the Crystal Empire for too long as it is."

Twilight nodded, bowing her head slightly. "I understand. It's been good to see you at least… for the most part."

I watched as the Princess of Love trotted over and hugged the mulberry bookworm. "Don't worry Twilight; I'm sure we'll get to see each other soon enough." She released the hug and took a step back. "Besides, you could always come visit us in the Crystal Empire."

Twilight smiled at that. "That's true. But, I don't think that will happen until after we figure out what's going on with my brother."

Cadance nodded. "I understand. I hope you find something soon; I don't know why, but since he's been away from this place, it's like he's a different stallion… like he was before." She sighed and looked to the sky. "He even told me why he went to Celestia about Shimmer; supposedly, at the time, he thought that she was somehow the changeling Queen in disguise, and he was afraid that she was planning another attack. He left for Canterlot right after you kicked him out of your house to warn Aunt Celestia about what he thought was a trap."

Twilight looked off in the direction of Ponyville, likely towards the library. "I… I didn't know that… he never told me. I did notice how differently he acted after a few days away from here though. That's what's got me convinced that there's something working to affect ponies' emotions, and that whatever it is, it's somehow tied to either this house or the land around it, because it only seems to affect them while they're nearby."

"Ahem!" We all turned as somepony cleared their throat nearby. Applejack was standing just outside the back door to the house, a scarf around her neck and boots on her hooves. "Ah don't mean ta interrupt, but Shinin' Armor says that tha train's gonna be leavin' soon, so Cadance needs ta hurry up and mosey along so she don't miss 'er ride."

The mare in question nodded to my country marefriend. "Thanks, Applejack." She turned back to the rest of us. "She's right, I'm afraid; the train won't wait for me, so I'll need to be going."

She trotted up and gave me a tight hug. "Thank you for having me here for all this time, Blake. You've been a good host and a better friend."

I smiled and hugged her back. "Any time Cadance. You just drop by whenever you feel like it, I'll make sure you have a place to stay."

She giggled and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "And don't forget to tell Aunt Celestia how you feel about her; I'm sure she'd absolutely love to hear it."

I smirked as we released one another. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to let her know."

After hugging Twilight again, then embracing both Scootaloo and Dinky, Cadance once again turned to me. "I would ask if you'd like to see us off at the train station, but I can't imagine you want to be anywhere near my husband."

"As much as I'd love to, Cady, you're right; until we can figure out exactly what's going on, I don't think I can forgive Shining Armor for what he nearly did,"

She nodded softly. "I understand." She reared up and hugged me one last time before turning to leave. "I hope we see one another soon, Blake Marshall."

I smiled at her and waved as she spread her wings and took flight. "So do I, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, so do I." It was only a moment before she disappeared over the roof of my spacious house, and when she was out of sight, Twilight turned to me. "I… I know you and my brother are at odds right now, but… would it be alright if I saw them off."

With a small sigh, I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Twilight… he's your brother. You know you don't have to ask me for permission for something like that… or anything for that matter. We may be in a herd together, but you're your own mare… you all are."

She smiled softly and reared up to kiss me on the cheek. "Thank you Blake." She hopped down and turned to leave as well. "I'll be back soon. I love you." She took off at a run towards the train station before I could even reply.

I looked down to Scootaloo and Dinky, and saw that they both had tears in their eyes. I knelt down and wrapped the both of them in a warm embrace. "Hey now… it's ok girls; Cadance will be back, you'll see."

Dinky sniffled. "I know… it was just so much fun to have her around… I really like Miss Cadance."

I ran my fingers through her mane comfortingly. "Shh… I know Dinky, I know. I like her too, but she has duties to see to, just like Celestia and Mama Luna do." I looked between the two for a moment. "Tell you what; when the snow thaws, and the railways are passable again, I'll take both of you up to see them, and we can all see the Crystal Empire for the first time, together."

My words brought smiles to both of the little fillies faces. "You promise Daddy?"

I smiled back. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." The pair smiled wider as I went through the motions of the sacred Pinkie Promise. "Now, what say we take this stuff inside, and I show you girls how a playing card can keep water in a glass?"

Their eyes widened at the thought. "Whoa…" The little fillies exclaimed in unison.

It had been nearly two hours since Cadance had said her goodbyes to us, and I had yet to see any sign of Twilight. I didn't pay her absence much mind though; as I'd told her before, she was her own mare and she was free to do as she wanted. I speculated that she was at the library, either trying to continue her research, or cleaning up the place after Shining had left.

Dinky and Scootaloo had run off to play with Sweetie Belle and Applebloom some time ago, after the pair had come over looking for them, promising new ideas for getting their cutie marks. With Derpy still delivering letters, Applejack helping her family with the last of the crops, and Twilight and Luna off who-knew-where, I was left alone in the house, save for Shimmer. Finding myself all but alone, I built a fire to stave off the slight chill in the house and grabbed a book to stave off the boredom. The book was about an ancient race of ponies that had been cursed after turning away from their brethren and shunning the love they offered. The ponies in the book reminded me a lot of what I knew of the changelings, and that turned my thoughts to Shimmer.

Just as the little changeling entered my admittedly rather preoccupied thoughts, she trotted up the stairs leading to the basement. "Oh. Hello Sir. I just got done cleaning the… what did you call it? The 'wet bar'?"

I nodded to her. "That's right, Shimmer. Thank you for doing that too. You know you don't have to work this many hours, don't you?"

She nodded with a small smile. "I know. But, I just feel like I could be doing more to earn all the things you've given me. A warm bed to sleep in, all the love I can eat, even a paying job so I can have my own things… even though I offered to do all this for free to pay you back for the other things you've given me." She sighed, and her smile brightened. "And there's one more thing you gave me, something that I'll never be able to pay you back for… your friendship. You've been so good to me since I got here, and you even saved me from that mean pony the first day I was here, even though you didn't have to."

I returned her smile. "Shimmer, it's been my genuine pleasure to be your friend these past weeks, and you don't owe me a single thing for that, or anything else. I protected you from Shining Armor because I didn't want to see you get hurt, not because I wanted you to be in my debt for it. And as for the room I gave you… well, it was basically just an extra, unused room. I gave it to you, and the only thing you need to do to thank me for it is to keep giving that room a purpose."

Her eyes went wide as she caught onto my meaning. "Y-you mean…?"

I nodded. "Yes, Shimmer. I'd like for you to stay here with us; permanently."

She smiled brightly, a smile which quickly deformed as tears formed in her eyes. "Oh… thank you, Sir!" she rushed over to me and wrapped her forehooves around me, her frilly, black maid's outfit rustling quietly as she hugged me tightly. "I… I've never been anywhere where I felt like I belonged before… but you and your family have made me feel so welcome here… I was afraid that once I was better, you would make me leave again…" She sniffled as I wrapped an arm around her.

"I wouldn't do that to you, Shimmer… If you wanted to leave, I wouldn't stop you, but I wouldn't force you to leave either… not unless you did something drastic, like Shining Armor did."

She released me from the hug, a bright smile still plastered on her face. "I… Thank you, Sir. This means so much to me…"

I rested a hand on her shoulder. "Think nothing of it Shimmer; we've loved having you here, all of us."

"That's right! You're practically family as far as I'm concerned." We both turned to see who was speaking.

When I saw who it was, I stood and walked over to her, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Hey there, Derpy. How was work today? You didn't get too cold, did you?"

Her smile widened, and she hugged me back. "It was pretty easy; there usually aren't as many letters in the winter, even though you'd think there'd be more… I stayed pretty warm though; I have a jacket that I wear when it gets cold out; I always leave it at the post office though, that way I don't forget it at home."

I nodded and kissed her cheek. "That's a good idea. You should really have another coat that you can wear to and from work, just in case it gets really cold."

"Yeah, I know, but knowing me, I'd just forget it at work anyway."

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "You're something else, you know that?"

Derpy giggled and kissed me on the lips. "Yeah, but you love me for it."

Glancing over to my left, I caught Shimmer smiling at us out of the corner of my eye. "More than you know, Miss Derpina." She gasped suddenly as her eyes widened in realization. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to spy on you!"

Derpy grinned at her. "That's alright, Shimmer! It's not like you meant any harm. Besides, this just kinda… happened, and it's not like we told you to leave."

"That's right Shimmer. Besides, Derpy said it best; you're like family now, so things like this really don't bother us. It's all just a part of living in a house with so many residents."

A faint blush spread across Shimmer's face, and she mumbled something under her breath that I didn't quite catch. "I um… I have more work to do…" She said quietly before trotting quickly off towards the second floor.

Derpy and I watched her go, and the klutzy grey mare turned to me when we heard the faint sound of a door shutting. "What was that all about?"

With a chuckle, I turned back to her. "I think she just needed a little time to herself. Probably got a little overfull of our love."

Derpy giggled. "Or maybe she needed a little time to herself to take care of… something else."

The tone of her voice told me exactly what she was thinking. "Derpy hooves… you naughty mare you…"

She giggled into her hoof. "I didn't say anything… you thought of that all by yourself." I rolled my eyes at her as she giggled harder. "Anyway, I'm gonna go take a nice, hot shower… it's really cold out there…"

I smirked and stood up. "I could keep you company if you wanted." We started making our way up the stairs as she giggled still harder, nearly turning into a full-on laugh. A thought crossed my mind as we crested the staircase to the second floor. "How did you come in without me noticing, anyway?

My klutzy marefriend shrugged, nearly losing her balance during the already awkward action. "I dunno; I just opened the door and closed it again. I wasn't trying to be quiet or anything."

I decided it would be best not to think too hard on the matter, considering the way this world seemed to break the laws of nature at times, and simply reached out and scratched behind her ears as we walked, one of Derpy's favorite things for me to do.

We made our way into the master bedroom, and Derpy paused as she spotted something on the far wall. Following her gaze, I saw that it was the dagger that Luna had given me to free Mitta with. The grey mare trotted over and plucked the sheathed blade off of its pegs with her hooves, and sat down on the spot, staring at it.

"Hey Blake? How come you never went to help that one pony? The one in the Everfree?"

I felt a jolt of unease at the topic, but didn't fight it, knowing this had to happen sooner or later. I walked up beside her and knelt down, gently taking the small blade from her. "If I'm going to be honest? I… I'm scared, Derpy."

Her look was one of concern and mild confusion. "Scared? Of what?"

A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I turned the blade over in my hands. "I'm scared… of this." I said, presenting the blade. "I don't know for sure what's going to happen when I use it… and I'm worried that something will go wrong, or maybe worse… that it'll go right."

Her look of confusion deepened. "I don't get it; what 's scary about it going right?"

I couldn't bring myself to look at her. "Think about it, Derpy; if this weren't enchanted, what would it be for?" She stared at the dagger for a moment, and I saw her eyes widening in realization out of my peripheral vision. "If it goes right, she'll probably die… and I don't think I can bring myself to kill another innocent pony, whether that's what they want or not."

A pair of hooves wrapped around my arms and chest as a weight rested on my right shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was like that…"

I reached a hand up and held one of Derpy's hooves with it. "It's ok Derpy. This is my burden to bear." I let out a low sigh. "Maybe I've been hiding from this for too long already…"

My concerned marefriend nuzzled my neck with her cheek. "I'll be here for you, Blake, no matter what happens, no matter how hard things get. Even if everypony runs away screaming, I'll still be here for you."

I felt a twinge in my chest at her words. "Thanks Derpy…" She smiled and kissed my cheek, and I smiled back, truly relieved at her proclamation. "Now, why don't you go take that shower? I doubt you're any warmer."

She giggled softly in my ear. "Yeah… we really need to turn the heat on in this place too."

The two of us rose as one, and I kissed her forehead. "Well, why don't you go hop in the shower, and I'll go take care of that; that way, the house will be nice and warm for you when you get out."

She smiled and turned towards the master bedroom's spacious bathroom. A flick of her frazzled tail gave me a view worth dying for, and I was tempted to forego firing up the heater and join her in the shower. I quickly remembered that she was still having trouble with any sort of intimate activity though, and pushed those thoughts down for the time being.

I made my way into the basement, and made a left for the first time since the house had been built, heading for the furnace room. I opened the door and my jaw slackened at the beast before me; It looked like not a standard house furnace, but more closely resembled a miniature blast furnace like something one would see in an industrial setting.

It didn't take me long to spot a small cabinet set into the wall that seemed a likely place for the instruction manual that I was promised would come with my homes wintertime heat source. After opening the cabinet and discovering that it was indeed the location of the furnace's manual, I skimmed through the instructions and set about turning on the oversized heating apparatus. The thing roared to life, and I could almost instantly feel the heat radiating off of it.

With my task completed, I headed back upstairs. I nearly tumbled back down the stairs as I caught sight of Princess Celestia sitting in my living room, having tea with none other than Shimmer.