"Jethro, is everything okay?" Scarlet asked as she, Zecora and I sat around the mansion's small dining room. "You've spent almost all your free time locked in your room for the past five days."

"She's right, my love," Zecora added, putting down her toast and looking over at me with concern. "You look exhausted."

I rubbed my eyes and looked at the two mares. In truth, I was more than pensive. I was frustrated. Maybe even a bit angry. Especially after sitting through Equestria Girls and the following seasons after Twilight's ascension to Princesshood. "Sorry, ladies. I've just got a few things on my mind. I've been watching a new TV show and not really liking a few of the twists."

"The one about this world?" Zecora asked in Farasi. I still hadn't revealed the truth to Scarlet, so I'd asked Zecora and the others to keep a lid on it around her until I was ready to tell her.

I nodded. "Listen, you two, I might have to go to Canterlot today. I'll be sending Celestia a pretty important letter after breakfast, and unless I miss my guess, she'll want to talk to me in person about it."

Scarlet and Zecora looked nervous at this, and I couldn't blame them. The last time I'd been summoned to Canterlot, I'd nearly gotten myself killed. "Are you sure you need to go?" Scarlet asked.

"I'm pretty much expecting that she'll want to see me when she sees the note I'll be sending her," I replied. "Don't worry. If something does happen, you two will not be out of the loop."

"You'd better not," Scarlet said with a warning glance my way, "or you'll regret it."

I shuddered. I'd received the mother of all lectures from the Pegasus the moment we had gotten back home from the Lycan Empire, and she could give Twilight a run for her money in that department. "I can only imagine," I sighed.

"Keep on imagining," she snickered as she stood. "If you aren't back here by sunset, I expect a letter or a call."

"Yeah, I understand," I replied.

"My love, I will stay here and watch over Scarlet," Zecora said.

"Well, today I start working off all my debts," Scarlet said. "Starting with Sugarcube Corner."

"Whoo boy. Good luck with Pinkie," I chuckled as I took the last sip of milk in my glass. "She's an acquired taste. Just tell her that Jethro asks to take it easy on you."

"I can handle myself, bucko," Scarlet grinned, and in that moment I saw a part of Rainbow Dash poking through her personality. "You just be careful, alright?"

"I will, I promise," I repeated as I began cleaning up my spot at the table. "I'm gonna ask Spike to send the letter when I figure out just what the hell to write."

"Do you want help?" Zecora asked.

"No, but thanks for offering," I said gratefully, leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. "If I do, I'll come get you."

She leaned in and kissed me. "I fully expect you to, darling."

"You're so whipped," Scarlet laughed as she grabbed a saddlebag and slung it over her.

"That's not a bad thing in my book," I said, never taking my eyes off of the lovely Zebra mare. "I'll do my best to be home tonight if Celestia calls me to Canterlot."

"I will be here waiting with open hooves," the blushing Zecora replied, nuzzling my face with her own before pulling away. "Now, I believe you have a letter to write?"

"Yes. Yes I do." I rinsed off the dishes and set them aside to wash later. "Wish me luck."

To Princess Celestia.

Four words: Sunset Shimmer. Princess Twilight.

Now that I have your complete attention, allow me to be blunt: I've seen some things in the My Little Pony show that have me concerned, two of them being the above name and plan you have. I know you're busy, but I need to speak to you about the above and to warn you about other potential future events. Please reply at your earliest convenience.

Your newest subject,

Jethro

"Why can't you tell me what's going on?" Twilight, Spike and I were sitting in the main room of the library waiting for a response from Celestia. I'd sent the letter only a half hour ago, and had insisted on waiting nearby for a reply.

"I told you, it's top secret for the time being," I replied stoically. "And no amount of puppy dog eyes will make you change my mind. Lord knows I get enough of that from Zecora."

"How are the two of you doing?" Spike asked as he took a sip of hot chocolate.

"We're doing great," I said, grateful for the change of subject. "I've spent a lot of time with her lately, going on little outings, spending time watching Earth movies, or spending time at her hut mixing new potions and researching new ways to copy Earth medicine. Hell, just a few days ago we attended that school talent show. I've honestly never seen her laugh so hard at the Cutie Mark Crusader's performance. I've also never seen her take so many notes on new ways to recreate Earth painkillers and medication."

"Could I get some of those notes?" Twilight asked hopefully.

"I'll pass the message along when I see her," I said. "I'm positive she'd be willing to share for a second opinion." I cleared my throat. "I know I've been a bit out of it for the past few days, but did anything interesting happen?"

"Funny you should mention that," Twilight beamed. "My friends and I discovered that if it wasn't for Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom, we wouldn't have gotten our cutie marks!"

"Oh yeah? Now that sounds really interesting," I said, despite knowing exactly what had happened.

An excited Twilight recounted how each of the Elements of Harmony had received their cutie marks, and I politely listened. Despite knowing the story already, I loved hearing about it straight from the horse's mouth, as it were. When she finished, she had the widest smile on her face, matched with my own. "Isn't that amazing?" she finished.

"Definitely," I agreed. "It's almost like some higher power was at play here."

"You think so?" she asked.

"I'm in magical ponyland. Anything's possible," I grinned.

Just then, Spike opened his mouth and a scroll launched out and landed in my lap. On it was written FOR JETHRO'S EYES ONLY. "I didn't expect it to take that long."

"Maybe she was busy," Twilight said. I shrugged as I opened the letter.

My Dear Jethro,

You were right. You have my complete attention. I am sending a chariot to pick you up immediately. Please be ready in the Town Square fifteen minutes after you receive this letter, assuming you're waiting near Spike.

Your monarch,

Princess Celestia

Ah. Yeah, she's on high alert if she's calling her my monarch, I thought as I rolled up the scroll and put it in my backpack. "Welp, time to get going."

"What's going on? What did the princess say?" Twilight asked.

"What else? I'm going to Canterlot again."

Twilight's eyes widened. "Are you sure you should? Remember what happened last time."

"I won't be going galivanting off on some foolhardy mission like last time," I replied. "This is just something I need to talk to Celestia about alone. Top secret. Hush hush." When she gave me a hurt look, I sighed. "I don't like keeping this a secret from you either, but I hope you trust me when I say that it's important to keep this to myself for now."

"I hope you're right…" Twilight said, slight suspicion evident in her voice.

"I'll make it up to you." I blurted out without thinking.

She perked up at that. "How?"

"Better not say anything you'll regret," Spike said with a knowing smirk.

"Too late," I laughed as I turned to Twilight. "I'll let you study certain parts of my anatomy. But only certain parts."

Her eyes lit up and she gave me a slightly creepy grin. "I hope that includes hands and fingers."

"Yes…yes it does," I said, regretting my decision more and more. "Anyway, I need to get going. Celestia's sending a chariot to pick me up. Again."

"Wow, whatever you sent must have been pretty important," Spike observed as I headed to the door.

"You've no idea," I said as I put my hand on the doorknob. "Let's just hope she doesn't keep me overnight. If she does, I know two mares who will tie me up and keep me by their sides."

I heard Twilight say something unlike her, but ignored it as I stepped out into the morning air. "It's always the nerdy ones," I muttered.

Unsurprisingly, it was Shining Armor who greeted me as he stepped off of the flying chariot which had landed in Ponyville Town Square. As he removed his helmet, I approached. "We've gotta stop meeting like this," I teased, "or else Cadance will totally kill me."

He gave me a wry smile. "I only get the important assignments," he said as he extended a hoof.

"Good to know Celestia considers this important," I said, giving his hoof a shake. "Well, no time like the present. We're burning daylight here."

"No kidding," Shining replied as the two of us stepped back onto the chariot. After he put his helmet back on, he held up his hoof and the Pegasi pulling the chariot spread their wings, galloping up into the air. After we were airborn, Shining cast some magic that cut off the sound from the rest of the world and turned to me, an impish grin on his face. "I hear you found a special somepony. Or is it somezebra?"

I blushed and facepalmed. "How'd you find out?"

"Jethro, I'm dating the princess of love. She has a certain sixth sense about these things."

"A sixth sense named Auntie Celestia?"

He snorted. "They are family, after all."

I nodded. "Fair point. And yes. I'm dating Zecora."

"Hardly been in our world half a year and you've stolen somezebra's heart," he laughed. "You work fast."

I gave him a playful jab. "At least I was man enough to ask her out on a date!"

"After she confessed to you!"

"…Again, fair point." I looked down at the landscape below. "Then again, I would probably still be in the dark if I hadn't been an idiot back in the Empire."

"Princess Celestia told Cadance the story and she told me," he said in a sympathetic tone. "You couldn't have known."

"I should have, and by the time I knew they were planning something, I was already playing right into their grubby little claws!" I sighed. "I'm just a guy who deals in money. I'm only used to the way humans think. And even then, seems like some of the inhabitants of this world think in a similar manner to humans." I closed my mouth. "Shutting up, now."

The potential future prince of the soon to return Crystal Empire put a hoof on my back. "Nopony's gonna think less of you."

"Less of me? If Twilight hadn't found that obscure law, I could have killed her!" I grit my teeth, shuddering at the memory, then my increasingly expressive wings deflated as I sighed. "Even then, Gemini is gonna be my slave, at least nominally."

There was a palpable silence for a while, before Shining gently said, "There's more on your mind, isn't there?" When I looked away, he pressed, "What did you send the Princess? I've never seen her this nervous before."

"You're definitely Twilight's brother," I said as I leaned back and looked up at the cloudless sky. "I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about it. I need to talk with her about a few things alone. After that, it's up to her whether or not she tells anyone else."

"You can't tell me anything?" he pressed again.

"Not at the moment." I looked apologetically at him. "It's nothing against you, you understand. I just have a lot to say."

"Will this affect Cadence and Twilight?" His eyes bored into me.

Letting out a long sigh, I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Please stop asking," I begged. "Captain, if there's anything that I can tell you, I really should run it past Celestia first. I'm still learning about this world, its history, culture and its people. Or inhabitants, I guess."

Shining looked away for a bit, a pensive look on his helmeted face. He then quickly turned to me and pointed a hoof at me. "If I find that you told the princess something that hurts Cadence or Twily, you'd better sleep with both eyes open." It wasn't a threat. It was a statement of fact.

"That remains to be seen," I said honestly. "However, you have my honest word I have no ill intentions against your sister or marefriend. What I have to say to Celestia might just save them some hurt and trouble in the future. However, your point is duly noted."

That seemed to satisfy him and he looked ahead at the quickly approaching Canterlot Palace. The Minas Tirith lookalike never felt more oppressive than now, especially since I had a lot to say to the princess of the sun. A ton of questions and possible future invasions and threats to tell her. I had to remind myself this was Princess Celestia I was going to see, not the Celestia who'd slept next to me in the Lycan Empire or the one I'd comforted on the train. Taking a deep breath as we came in for a landing, I straightened.

The moment we landed, a Pegasus servant mare approached us, looking nervous. She had cobalt blue fur, a royal blue and yellow striped mane and tail, and silver eyes. Her cutie mark was, of all things, a simple broom. "C-Captain Shining Armor, Mr. Bethridge…the Princess sent me to tell you she's in the Canterlot Sculpture Garden."

I tensed up, knowing very well who was there. I forced my rising anger down and stepped off of the chariot. Shining followed. "Thank you, miss. I'll escort the guest there."

"A-Actually, the Princess told me to tell you she wants you to go back to your normal duties. I was ordered to lead Mr. Bethridge to the Princess."

Taken aback by this, Shining slowly nodded, then turned to me. "It must be serious if she's doing this," he said. "Good luck."

"I'm gonna need it," I sighed as I followed the servant mare.

As the two of us walked, the servant mare somewhat nervously looked back at me a few times. I ignored it a few times as we walked through the massive palace halls. After a while, I caught her looking at me and decided to meet her gaze. "Is something on your mind, miss…?" I left the request for a name unspoken.

"Fresh Hoof, sir," she replied, "and it's just…I've never seen the Princess so agitated before. She practically canceled the rest of her meetings today after receiving your scroll."

"Fuck…" was all I could mutter.

"Fuck, indeed," a familiar voice said from above me. Looking up, an exhausted but concerned looking Princess Luna flew down towards me, landing in front of me and Fresh Hoof. "We have never seen our sister like this in many moons. What didst thou write her about?"

"Why don't you come with me and find out?" I asked. "Let's just say I'd value your input just as much as I would your sister's."

"But…Princess Celestia said I was to bring you only," Fresh said, looking more nervous now.

"We are also a Princess of Equestria," Luna frowned down at the poor mare who was now shaking.

Instinctively, I put a hand on Luna's mane. "Relax, relax." Turning to Fresh, I said, "She should come with us."

Wordlessly, the maid nodded and I fell into step with Luna, walking beside her as we followed Fresh Hoof silently down the hallways. Soon, we were led out into a large garden with all kinds of exotic plants. In the center of this part of the garden I saw a large apple tree full of shining golden apples.

As we passed underneath it, I curiously reached up to touch one of the apples when it shimmered and fell into my outstretched hand. Luna looked at this in awe and surprise as I held the apple up to inspect it. The surface was completely reflective and in a certain light shimmered. For some reason, it also felt warm in my hand. Turning to Luna, I raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"Those apples do not fall easily," Luna said softly. "These are our sister's pride and joy. They are extremely special and rare."

"What's special about them?" I asked.

"For one, if any of them fall when they're in this state, they won't deteriorate. Their seeds are notoriously difficult to grow unless helped to grow with Alicorn magic," Luna explained. "They once covered the Everfree Forest and helped to repel the chaotic magic within, but all died save for this one after Eris was encased in stone."

The tree rustled and another apple fell into the crook of my arm. I grabbed it and compared the two. They looked identical to each other. Luna's eyes widened even further as she looked at me. "Truly, a remarkable event has transpired."

"Y-Your Highness?" Fresh Hoof said nervously. "Your sister is waiting."

Luna snapped out of her stupor and turned. "Quite. Lead on."

As we left the tree, we approached a part of the garden full of statues of Ponies. As we entered, Fresh Hoof stopped. "The Princess said she was in the garden here. I'll take my leave."

"Thank you, Miss Hoof," I said gratefully to the retreating Pony maid.

"Come, let us find our sister," Luna said, going ahead of me.

As I followed her, I looked around and saw a maze surrounded by a hedge. I stiffened. I knew she was around here somewhere, and it took all my self-control to keep my anger in check. But then, I saw it. My wings spread as wide as they could go and I grit my teeth, not just in anger, but in shock at what I saw.

There she stood. Eris. Discord. Whatever she called herself. The quintessential lady of chaos stood atop a small Greek-like column. To my surprise, her features were all wrong. Or rather they weren't related to the god of chaos I remembered from the show.

Unlike the one I saw from the show, a lot of her features were more evenly distributed. She had two identical feet, some kind of claw which I couldn't identify. There were only two toes attached to an elongated foot. She was wearing some sort of long flowing dress which could barely contain her own large bust. She had two large bracelets on each of her arms, both of which were four fingered claws that had a similar style to her feet. Behind her I saw a pair of batlike wings fully outstretched. Her eyes weren't mismatched either, looking down at, presumably, her last view of anyone before turned to stone. On each side of her head were ram's horns and her mouth was a bird beak. Her hair was similar to that I saw from Celestia and Luna, flowing in the wind, albeit frozen in its eternal dance.

A shiver ran up my back. The way she was smirking made her appear more sinister than Discord ever did. I was brought out of my daze by a gentle wing placed over my shoulder. Looking up, I saw a concerned Celestia looking down at me. "Jethro, what is it? What's wrong?"

I bit my lip, and with a slight shudder in my voice, part from anger and part from fear, I turned back and pointed. "That's what's wrong. She's all wrong."

"And that worries thee?" Luna asked, coming to the other side of me.

"Not here," I said through gritted teeth. "Get me away from her. I'm liable to do something stupid."

Celestia's horn glowed and we were standing in a small pavilion overlooking the land below as well as the rest of the city. A table stood a few feet away, laid out with a tea set with three cups and chairs. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as Celestia gently led me to one of the chairs, specifically one larger than the rest. I sat down and let my wings deflate again. "Thanks," I said, "I was liable to lose it back there."

"Because she was the one who hurt Athena?" Celestia asked as she began pouring tea into the three cups while Luna took a seat in another one of the chairs.

"I can't help myself," I sighed. "It just…it hurts still."

"Thou wish to blame Eris." Luna's words were a statement of fact, not an accusation. "Hast thou truly mourned the loss?"

"I…" I trailed off before I could even say anything more. Did I really mourn her loss? Or am I masking that grief with hatred. What was it Mom and Dad always told me? "Hatred isn't bad in and of itself, but cling to it and it corrodes your soul."

"Jethro?" Celestia looked at me with concern.

"I wonder if I really have mourned her loss," I said softly. "I thought I had. Maybe I haven't."

"We both understand how hard it is," Celestia said sympathetically. "More than you know."

I looked down at the tea in the cup presented to me. I lifted one of the golden apples in my hand and looked at my reflection. I barely heard the gasp of the Solar Princess as I looked over my slightly distorted features. "I know…" I put both apples down and looked up at Celestia. "But that's not why I'm here."

Celestia's shocked expression faded as her features grew serious. "Right. What do you want to talk about?"

"Okay, first things first." I folded my hands together and gave Celestia a level gaze. "Why are you planning on making Twilight Sparkle a princess?"

She stiffened at that for a few seconds before lifting her teacup up and taking a sip. Placing it down, she sighed heavily. "My little Ponies need a new Princess."

"Sister, what meanest thou?" Luna asked in shock. "Art thou planning to retire?"

Celestia shook her head. "Not at all. It's just…I wanted someone who isn't only intelligent enough to be a Princess, but who is also kind, generous, loyal, honest, joyful and powerful enough to back up her title. Twilight has incredible potential to become a Princess. Not only that, but she's young and flexible in her thinking. You know how easily us Ponies judge other races with few exceptions?"

"What about it?" I asked, curious as to the plans of this Celestia.

"With no offense to my sister, the two of us are too old and rigid in our way of thinking."

Okay…I wasn't expecting that from her. "What do you mean?"

"My sister and I have wanted to try and build bridges between our neighbors, and attempt to repair old wounds we've caused others even before I banished her," Celestia admitted. "But over the past thousand years, our kingdom has grown and so has the duties I have on my hooves. Even with Lulu back, the two of us aren't enough to even begin the process of spreading friendship and alliances with other races and kingdoms."

"Okay, you have a fair point there," I said, trying not to sound accusatory, "but Twilight's way too damn young for all that responsibility. She's barely out of her teens."

Celestia bristled at that. "I'm not sure how it works for humans, but Ponies are considered mature when they pass the age of twenty."

"And does that include Pinkie Pie? Or how about Rainbow Dash? Those two are in their twenties and still plenty immature. Hell, I think Applejack would make a calmer and more mature princess than Twilight at the moment," I blurted out. I took a deep breath to calm down. "I get what you're saying, I really do, and it's a good idea to find a new princess to help in the areas you feel you're inadequate in, but Twilight is still really young!"

"And more mature than most in her age group," Celestia countered.

"Okay, granted that's the case," I said, growing more and more upset, "but she also has a tendency to go completely neurotic! Hell, in one of the episodes I just watched, she flipped the fuck out because she didn't have a friendship lesson to send you by the end of the week, like it's some kind of damned homework assignment! She caused a problem herself which caused massive chaos in Ponyville. In the end, YOU had to step in and save the day!"

Celestia's eyes were wide at this revelation. "She thinks of it as a homework assignment…?"

"Every week she sends you something, right? Or at least, by the end of the week at the latest." When she nodded, I continued. "You think you're rigid in your thinking? She has her own pitfalls to overcome still."

"I never said she didn't," Celestia said. "She's still the best choice I've found in all my years of searching."

"But so early? And the magic spell the version of you I saw send to her as a test caused even more chaos!"

"Hold thy tongues!" Luna interrupted us, looking between me and an increasingly defensive Solar Princess. "Jethro Bethridge, thou seem quite defensive of our sister's student. Why is that?"

I paused, trying to gather my thoughts. "I…I guess I am being a bit protective of her, am I?"

"Just like I was with her," Celestia said thoughtfully. "I kept her by my side for too long."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that right?"

Celestia looked down at her tea and sighed. "I didn't want her to go, either. I knew she was the Pony I was looking for, but I kept on inventing excuses as to why she shouldn't leave my side."

"So…you looked on her less as your student and more as your daughter," I stated.

She sighed and nodded. "I haven't had any children of my own, ever. She was the closest I ever got to having a child."

Now I was beginning to feel guilty. I felt bad for rushing too quickly to judgement, but even so, I still felt that the way it happened in the show was a bit too soon, depending on when down the line it did happen. "Your Highness," I said, "I'm sorry for yelling. I'm not saying Twilight doesn't have great potential. I'm just saying maybe wait a little longer? In the end, it's your call, and-"

"Please, call me Celestia," she pleaded. "and I'm sorry, too. You've got some good points, and I appreciate you telling me all of this. I just know Twilight better than you, no offense."

"None taken," I said.

"You care for her a lot, don't you?" Celestia asked.

"Having her save your life kinda makes a girl grow on you." I chuckled. "Just…the lengths she went to find a way out of the mess in the Empire really impressed me. That, and all of the others who did the same. Hell, even Rainbow Dash, and she isn't even the studious type."

Celestia spread one wing and placed it on my back. "It just goes to show how much you've impacted them in so short a time."

"I guess…Maybe I am being overprotective of her."

"I know how you feel, believe me," Celestia said. "She's the first I believed could take on the mantle of a princess. I've looked for a suitable candidate for centuries, and I thought I succeeded when I found Sunset Shimmer."

"Ah yes, onto her," I said.

"Have you seen her in the show? Does she come back to seek my guidance?" Celestia asked hopefully.

"Not even close," I said. "In My Little Pony, she actually returns from the other world to steal Twilight's Element. It happens right after the show's version ascends to Princesshood."

Celestia's eyes fell, a look of hurt on her face. "I failed her."

"If anything, she failed you," I said in an attempt to be reassuring. "She sought out power of her own accord."

"No, I failed," she repeated. "I wasn't there for her enough. I couldn't do anything to help her."

"Is that why you overcompensated with Twilight?" I asked. Celestia nodded silently. "Don't go beating yourself up. That's the job of the Lunar Princess who created a Tantabus to plague herself with nightmares as a penance," I said, looking over at Luna.

Celestia gasped. "Lulu?!"

Luna's ears flattened. "Sister, I-"

"Do you know how dangerous that is?" Celestia cried out in terror. She stood and rushed to her sister, wrapping her hooves around the Lunar Princess. "Why…?"

Luna's eyes were filling with tears as I gently replied, "Forgiving oneself is harder than you might think." I pulled out my travel laptop and opened up YouTube. "Maybe this will help put things in perspective for you, Luna."

As the two sisters clung to each other, they watched the Lullaby for a Princess fan song. As it came to a close, Luna looked at her sister. "Didst thou feel that way?"

"How could I not!?" Celestia exclaimed, tears flowing down her cheeks. "I didn't see what I was doing to you. You think you're the only one who found it hard to forgive myself? You think you're the only one who made a Tantabus?"

"Sister…you didn't-"

"I did. Those first hundred years I completely tortured myself, and the Tantabus I made showed me countless scenarios where I could have saved you. Where I could have done something to make you feel appreciated and loved. I almost…almost became something I hated." She looked fearfully at Luna. "I don't want that happening to you! Nightmare Moon was my fault, too!"

It was unusual for me to see the younger sister comforting the older, but that's what happened when Luna pulled her sister close, stroking her mane gently. "It wasn't…" she tried to reassure her sister, but Celestia interrupted.

"I ignored you for so long! I always believed you were strong, but I failed! Do you know how much I hated myself?"

I stood, walking over and wrapping my wings and arms around both crying Alicorns. Something in the back of my mind told me this kind of behavior for the two sisters was slightly out of character for them, but I quickly dismissed it since these versions of the diarchs were different than the ones on screen.

As I had my hands on both of them, I felt a small surge of something flowing into me from both of them, but each flowed through me and towards the other. They slowly relaxed after the small surge flowed through me. Celestia was the first to speak. "Luna, I forgive you, and I'm sorry for all the pain I caused you."

Luna clung tightly to her sister, and finally said with at trembling voice, "We forgive thee as well, and we are deeply sorry for what we did."

A small breeze blew over all three of us, and I inhaled the sweet-smelling air around us as I slowly removed my hands from their manes. Returning to my seat, I grabbed my phone and put it away. "How do you both feel?"

This time, Luna was the first to speak. "We…feel better," she said. "And we shall heed thy advice, sister. The Tantabus shall be destroyed."

"Thank you," Celestia said, wiping her tears with a nearby kerchief.

When the two of them were sufficiently recovered to continue, I leaned forward. "So…are you two ready to hear more about a possible future?"

By the time I finished with my explanation of all I'd seen so far, which had only been up to the last two episodes of Season 5, it was two hours past midday. I had the MLP fan wiki open as I went over certain more pressing instances to look out for. Starting with Discord's return, I went down the list, which included the return of Discord, or Eris in this case, the Changeling invasion, the return of the Crystal Empire and King Sombra, how Twilight got her wings, the nature of the world beyond the crystal mirror, the incident with Discord's plunder seeds, Tirek's return, the creation of Twilight's crystal palace, the incident on the parallel Earth with the Sirens and the two major incidents with Starlight Glimmer.

In between the major incidents, I'd also mentioned (at their request) some of the single episodes, which I did. When I finally finished, silence filled the air between the three of us.

When someone did break the silence, it was Celestia. She slowly stood. "You've…given my sister and I a lot to think about."

"Please just keep something in mind," I said. When I had their undivided attention, I continued. "My presence has altered things irreparably. I don't know how Eris would act if she escapes. I don't know if any of this knowledge will even come to pass. Hell, look!" I searched the fan wiki for the Lycan Empire and showed them the results. "The Lycan Empire doesn't exist in this other version of Equestria. Lycans there are called Diamond Dogs."

"That name is familiar," Luna said. Before I could ask, Luna continued. "According to some of the research we undertook, the Guardian renamed the Diamond Dogs as Lycans when they helped form the Empire."

"Speaking of that, look at this." I pulled up the official map of Equestria from the fan wiki. Zooming in to a certain spot, I pointed. "See where it says Undiscovered West? When I compared that to a map I purchased in town, the land here corresponded with the Lycan Empire and the Citadel."

"So we're an alternate universe," Celestia said.

"That was not in doubt, dear sister," Luna said.

"Yes, and the future is now in question," I said. "The future of the TV show is definitely not gonna be helpful-"

"Not at all," Celestia interrupted me. "Sure, there's a lot this show of yours got wrong, but there's a lot that it's gotten right. The return of my sister and all the little events that have happened since then in those episodes you mentioned, those have happened. Don't think you're not helpful, because now that you've said all of this, Luna and I can make preparations."

"'Tis better to prepare and not need it than not prepare and suffer for it," Luna added.

I nodded. "Agreed."

"Would thou be willing to help?" Luna asked.

"Help with what?" I asked.

"Planning, of course," Celestia smiled. "You're the one who brought these possible events to our attention, after all. We'd value your input."

"I mean…I'm not sure how I could help, but if you really think I could, I'd be willing to try at least," I replied.

"We both appreciate it," Celestia said gratefully. "Would you care to start now?"

We spent a few more hours exploring options on certain future events, ranging from preparing around the clock guards for Cadance, placing the mirror to the alternate world in a prison cell with trap spells to incapacitate anyone moving around in there the size of a Pony, and potentially moving Eris' statue to a deep part of Canterlot Palace with all manner of magical traps in case she escaped.

By the time five o'clock rolled around, we were winding down on our conversation as the three of us were exhausted. Celestia turned to me after we'd come up with a potential plan for Trixie's obtaining the Alicorn Amulet, that being to search for it and find it beforehand since Celestia said that the Amulet once belonged to King Sombra and was tainted with evil magic. "I feel as if we will be having many more meetings about this sort of topic in the future, am I right?"

"I wouldn't be surprise if that wasn't the case," I said. "I actually have an idea as to how we can do that without us having to meet in person every single time. Let's just hope my Morphean magic is capable of recreating a laptop."

"Why?" Celestia asked.

"I'll explain later," I said.

"Please do, because there's one more important topic we should discuss before we wrap up for the day," Celestia said, eyeing the apples sitting on the table carefully.

I followed her gaze, then picked one of them up. "These, huh? Luna told me a bit about them."

"Did you pluck them?" she asked. I shook my head and told her the brief story. Celestia seemed completely shocked at my tale. "This is indeed rare. The apples only fall in very rare circumstances."

"Like?" I prodded.

"In the presence of someone with a massive amount of magical potential," Celestia said. "It happened with my sister and I, then with Twilight…then you."

"I thought that was already established," I said, confused.

"Well, yeah…" she looked up at the sky, a thoughtful look on her face. "I've got a lot to think about, don't I?"

"Don't you mean us, sister?" Luna said. "We may be rusty in many areas, but in matters of civil defense, we can be of great help."

"Of course, dear sister," Celestia said affectionately, hugging Luna. "I'd really appreciate your help."

"And with that, I'm pretty sure we have nothing more to talk about. At least, nothing pressing that I can think of," I said. "I'll continue watching the show until the end and see what other potential dangers might be coming up. Although-" I stopped myself.

"Yes?" Celestia asked.

I shook my head. "Never mind. I think that conversation can wait."

"If you say so," Celestia said. "Thank you for coming and informing my sister and I of all of this. It will be put to good use."

"I certainly hope so," I said, standing. "Thank you for having me and bearing with my…attitude."

"It's understandable," Celestia said, waving her hoof at me with a smile. She picked up a nearby bell with her magic and rang it. A little while later, Fresh Hoof appeared, panting from running. "Fresh, could you escort Jethro back to the royal chariot and inform Captain Shining Armor to escort him back to Ponyville?"

"At once, your Highness!"

As Fresh Hoof led me away, I began thinking back to what I was about to say before stopping myself. Yeah…I'm not sure how they'd react if I told them to begin instituting capital punishment…something to be thinking about, though…

After Fresh Hoof took me back to the chariot, and after tipping her generously for her work, Shining Armor escorted me home. I placed the golden apples I'd received in my bag, intent on studying them at a later date. Shining noted that I looked a bit more relieved, then teased me about the possibility of a double date with him and Cadance.

After prodding and teasing, he finally got me to spill about the date. He was definitely interested in the transformation magic used on Zecora and wondered what it would be like if he and Cadance did the same. I warned him about the necessity for clothes for modesty purposes, but that didn't seem to faze him. I told him I'd keep in touch with him about that possibility.

When I came home, it was nearly sunset and I was exhausted. But I perked up when I heard multiple voices coming from the main house. Curious, I walked inside. "Hello?"

"Boo!" a particular pink Pony jumped on top of me, giggling as I fell onto my back. "Hey, Jethy!"

"Hi, Pinkie," I groaned as I lifted my head. "What's all this about?"

"It's a party, silly!" the energetic mare said, before leaning down and placing her head on my hand. I chuckled and stroked her mane. "Mmm…no wonder Fluttershy likes this! I could get used to this," she cooed, fluttering her eyelids at me.

"A party for what?" I asked, ignoring the little purrs that came from Pinkie.

"Her Pinkie Sense went off," Twilight said as she walked up. "She said something about you needing cheering up."

"So we all pitched in fer a little party," Applejack said, holding a plastic party cup in her hoof. She extended it to me, and I took it with my free hand.

"Thanks. And she's right. I could use some cheering up. I met with the princesses today. Pretty stressful…"

Zecora came up to me and knelt down, nuzzling my face with hers affectionately. "That is why we are all here, my dear," she said soothingly, and the smile she gave me warmed me considerably.

I sat up, Pinkie finally getting off of me. Zecora helped me to my feet and I faced the others. Not only were all the Elements of Harmony there, but so was Spike, Scarlet, Zecora and, to my surprise, Lyra, Bon Bon, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia as well. "Wow…all this for me?"

"Of course, darling!" Rarity exclaimed, smiling warmly at me.

"Well, I've met these two lovely ladies," I said, bowing to Lyra and Bon Bon (who I now knew was actually Agent Sweetie Drops, at least, if that one Season 5 episode was correct), "but who are these two? I've seen you a few times around town, but never had the pleasure of talking to you."

"Greetings," Octavia said in a British accent. "My name is Octavia Melody. This is my roommate and friend Vinyl Scratch. She's also known as DJ Pon-3." Vinyl waved at me with a small smile, then turned to Octavia. To my confusion, she made some complicated gestures with her hooves. Octavia watched and then turned to me. "Vinyl just asked me if you could play some music from your world. I'm rather curious myself. Also, please forgive her for not speaking. She is mute."

Vinyl's mute? I didn't see that coming. I turned to the sunglasses wearing Unicorn. "Well, that depends on what kind you're into. I'm guessing you're into dubstep or electronica, and your friend is into more classical?" Vinyl nodded. "Alright…well which would you all like to hear first?"

"Let her hear some music that Vinyl might like," Octavia said. "I can wait."

I pulled out my iPhone and scrolled through my music selection. "I've got just the thing…"

If you're curious about what Eris looks like, just Google "Princess Eris MLP". With the exception of her hair (which I described as flowing like the Royal Sisters') she's the spitting image of Eris.