I woke the next morning feeling satisfied. Luna and I had spent time in a dream version of The Silent Cartographer campaign level after I showed her the weapons and vehicles from the first Halo game in Blood Gulch. Seeing her in Master Chief armor made me laugh, which earned me a smack in the back of the head. Luna, to my surprise, enjoyed herself as she dispatched Covenant ground forces. I also enjoyed the stress relief that came with blasting Covenant soldiers away. When we finished, the dream ended, but not before promising to show Luna some of the other games in my collection and memory. She gave me one final hug before vanishing.

I woke once more surrounded by many mares, with Zecora nuzzling my face close. The fire in the fireplace was out, but the sun was up and shining into the room. My stirring woke Zecora, who immediately moved closer and licked my face affectionately. "How are you feeling this morning?" she asked.

"A bit better," I admitted as I kissed her. "But I need to get up. Being asleep for a week can't have been good for me."

Twilight, who was curled up under a blanket in the same cot she was in the night before, slowly woke and yawned in a rather cute manner. When she saw I was awake, she shook her head and jumped onto the bed beside Zecora. "Jethro? Did you sleep okay? You were tossing and turning for a bit after you fell asleep last night."

"Yeah, I slept alright for the most part," I replied. "I just had a nightmare that Luna stopped."

Hers and Zecora's ears flattened at the news. "I'm sorry about that," Twilight said.

"Don't be. Luna helped. But I need to get out of bed," I said, trying my best to undo myself from the many different mares surrounding me without waking them up. To my relief, they all looked much better than they had the night prior. I managed to get out of bed after a few minutes, but being unconscious for a week definitely had an effect on me. I almost fell down when I tried to stand. Twilight was immediately by my side, letting me put my hands on her back for support.

Eventually, I felt confident enough to walk on my own, and luckily I was dressed in the red pajamas Rarity had made for me after Athena's final death. A pair of my slippers were near the foot of the bed, and I made my way over to put them on, then turned to the exit, grabbing a zipper hoodie of mine hanging on a rack near the door and throwing it on.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay to walk?" Twilight asked with concern as I headed to the door.

"Never fear, Twilight," Zecora said, moving to my side, "I'll go with him."

"Zecora, what about your leg?" I asked, pointing to the hind leg still in a cast.

"It's feeling a lot better than before," she said as she hobbled over to a small device that looked like a knee scooter with three wheels on it. She put her bad leg on it and moved back over, the scooter acting as a replacement for her leg while it healed. "I'm coming, love."

I shook my head, smirking at my marefriend. "Fine, fine. Let's go."

"Go? Go where?" Twilight asked.

"I need to see Celestia," I replied as I put my hand on the door handle.

"Didn't she tell you to rest?" Scarlet's voice came from the bed as she moved her wing from her head and sat up, looking at me sternly.

"There's no rest for the wicked," I chuckled dryly. "Besides, I have to tell her about this idea I had when I was asleep. It could be a start to repairing the damage caused by Eris. Whatever that really is."

"And you're going with just Zecora? Not a chance," Rainbow Dash said, slowly sitting up and stretching herself. "You aren't going in there without some kind of backup."

"What, do you expect her to yell at me or something?" I asked.

"We're as much a part of this as you are, darling," Rarity said, sitting on her haunches and fixing her mane. "Our faces were shown for all to see."

Fluttershy immediately flew up to me and landed on my back, wrapping her forelegs around my neck. "We won't let you go alone," she said softly. I could feel her trembling a bit against my back.

Applejack sat up and put her Stetson back on her head, jumped out of the cot she'd been sleeping on, and trotted over to me. "Yer stuck with us, sugarcube."

"Bro's don't let other bro's go out there alone," Spike declared in a brave tone.

Pinkie walked over, put her front hooves on my chest and looked at me with a pleading expression. "Pretty please with sugar on top?" she begged, giving me absolutely adorable puppy dog eyes.

I sighed and smirked, shaking my head in disbelief. "Never in my life did I expect to be in this situation," I said softly, "but the fact that you're all here makes it so much more bearable. You have my undying gratitude." I gently removed Fluttershy and set her down, stroking her mane a bit before facing the gathered mares and young drake who was now by my side, almost protectively. "I'd be glad to have you all with me."

With that, the mood in the room brightened considerably as I knocked on the door, then slowly opened it. I saw two stalwart Royal Guards at the door, one Unicorn and one Pegasus along with Gemini and Mica standing a few feet from them. Mica was the first to see me and his eyes widened. He smiled and waved at me. "Good to see you awake," he said.

"Good to be awake," I said before turning to Gemini. "Thank you for keeping watch."

"You are my master," she said bluntly, and I saw the Pony guards flinch a bit at that, "it is my sworn duty to protect you with my life until my death or release from service."

I nodded, then turned to the nearest Pony guard. "Sir, I need to see Princess Celestia as soon as possible."

The guard, a gray Unicorn, nodded. "The Princess ordered me to bring you to her as soon as you were awake and able to walk. Follow us." And with that, the Unicorn moved to the left of the door, heading down the massive hallway. The Pegasus guard took up the rear of our large group, while Mica and Gemini took to the left and right flank respectfully. Zecora stood very close to my left, Spike to my right, and the others circling around me in their own protective circle.

"I take it…that things are much worse than anything I could have ever imagined," I said, "especially if you've taken to guarding me like I'm about to be assassinated."

Nobody spoke for a bit, but Scarlet eventually cracked. "You're more heavily guarded than you think, dude."

"Scarlet, no," Twilight begged.

"He's going to discover it eventually, Twilight," Scarlet replied, before turning back to me. "The world's pretty much in an uproar because of what happened," she explained. "Sanctions are being threatened, demands for your death are all the rage these days, and even the Ponies have mixed feelings about you."

"Sounds like a madhouse," I said as we turned a corner down a larger corridor.

And that was when I saw the first consequences of my actions.

The corridor had a few well-dressed Ponies standing in the hall, talking among themselves. When they saw us, all conversation stopped. Dozens of pairs of eyes were leveled at us, but I could tell they were mostly on me. As much as I wanted to hide, I knew it would send the wrong message. I stood up a bit straighter, giving any Pony I passed a polite nod. Most of the looks I got back were those of uncertainty, as if they weren't sure how to feel about me and my friends, but it wasn't long before I locked eyes with a younger Pegasus mare in a maid outfit glaring at me angrily. Her eyes were puffy from crying, and I could only guess who she might have lost in the riots. We held the gaze of the other for a while before I nodded to her, putting my hand over my heart.

And then she attacked.

Spreading her wings, she flew towards me, a glint of metal on one of her hooves aimed directly at my neck. Gemini immediately shoved me aside and I heard the shimmering sound that magic casting made. The Lycan stood and drew her sword, standing in front of me protectively. I sat up immediately and felt someone else latching onto me. Looking down, I saw a shuddering Fluttershy clinging onto me with a desperate fearful look in her eyes. Spike was in front of me, holding his fists up protectively, looking like he was about to breathe some fire. Twilight was casting a spell that held the maid in the air. The maid struggled but in vain. Twilight released her and she fell to the floor. Two nearby guards immediately seized her and held her in their own magic shield.

I slowly stood, Fluttershy still clinging to me. I moved to face her, and saw some metal bracelet around her hoof with a deadly looking dagger attached to one side which was slid off of her hoof by one of the guard's own magic, clattering to the floor. When I came into eye contact with her, she tried spitting in my direction, but it just bounced off of the shield surrounding her. "It should have been you, bastard!" she shouted in a grief stricken but angry tone. "My mom was innocent, damn you! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU!"

It took all my self-control to keep calm and not break down. I reached down and picked up the assassin blade and looked it over briefly. Finding a small button, I pressed it and the blade retracted until I was looking at a normal looking bracelet. I looked back at her, then took a deep breath. "I grieve with you," I said softly, meaning every word of it.

She scoffed. "Then bring my mother back! Bring her back!" Tears streamed down her face. "Damn it, human! BRING HER BACK!"

"If I was able to, I would," I replied. "I'm truly sorry."

With a sudden flash, Celestia appeared before us. "What's happening here?" she asked. "I felt an unusual use of magic and yelling-" She stopped, looking at the maid, then back at me. Her expression darkened as she focused on the maid. "Orchid…what did you do?" I shuddered at Celestia's tone. It was menacing and full of barely restrained rage. Something I knew I didn't want to be on the other end of at all.

"What should be done! What you're too much of a coward to do, Princess!" Orchid spat angrily. "He's responsible for my mother's death!"

I pressed on the button on the bracelet, showing the hidden blade as it extended once more from its hiding place. Celestia turned at the sound, eyes widening in shock, which turned to rage as she whirled on Orchid. "You would kill Jethro, who is an honored guest in my castle as well as a Knight of the Realm, I might add, even when it was not his fault?" she growled. Her light rainbow mane and tail began to flow faster in the wind. The air got warmer as well. "Eris was the one who caused those riots! Jethro had absolutely nothing to do with it!" With that final word, she stomped her hoof on the ground, causing a ripple to go through the floor.

Walking towards Celestia, I braved the increasing heat and put a hand on her withers. She turned to me immediately, and I began to massage her gently. "Stop," I said somberly.

To the surprise of everyone in the hall, Celestia took a deep breath, then backed away. Pointing a hoof at the maid, she said, "Orchid Song, you're relieved of duty until further notice." Turning to the guards, she added, "Take her to her room and keep her locked up. I'll hoof down my punishment later."

As she was pulled away, Orchid shouted at me, "I won't be the last, you monster! I won't be the last!" And with that, the two guards and the maid vanished in a teleportation spell.

Celestia turned to the others around who had been watching. "I don't know how clearer I can make this to any of you!" she shouted. "If anypony brings harm to or attempts to bring harm to the human Sir Jethro Bethridge, the Bearers of Harmony, Scarlet Dusk, Spike the Dragon or Zecora Mtunga Dawa or anypony else under our protection, the consequences will be beyond anything you can even imagine!" she added in her Royal Canterlot Voice.

I felt something clinging to my leg. Looking down, I saw a trembling Spike looking up at me, absolutely petrified. I knelt down and put one arm around him comfortingly, the other already around Fluttershy, who still stubbornly refused to let me go. Both she and Spike clung to me and buried their faces in my shirt. Celestia was by my side immediately, looking at me with a worried expression. "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" she asked in a panicked tone, looking over every inch of me.

"I…ahaha…I can't get up," I chuckled a bit nervously. "And it's not just because of these two." I held up my hand, showing her how much I was now trembling.

Zecora was immediately by my side as she nuzzled my face. Celestia looked down. "Jethro, I am truly sorry about this. She will be dealt with severely."

"Not too severely, please," I said as I was helped to my feet by Zecora and Celestia. "She's grieving a loss. I doubt she's thinking straight."

"Dude, she straight up tried to murder you," Scarlet growled. "She needs to be punished. And an example like her punishment could definitely deter any other assassination attempts. By Ponies, at least."

I looked at Scarlet, then back at Celestia. I knew they were correct, of course. I took a deep breath, trying my best to look at this from multiple perspectives. On the one hand, she was grieving and lashing out, so her actions might be understandable, if seriously warped. On the other hand, she had tried to kill me, and if a serious foot wasn't put down, it would send the wrong message. "I…yeah, you're right…do what you must, Celestia," I said.

She nodded somberly and put a wing over my shoulder. "Come with me," she said. "I have cleared my schedule so we could talk."

I followed close behind, holding the still trembling Fluttershy in my arms, stroking her mane with my wings. I hoped to calm her down further by perhaps a small song, so I pulled the iPhone out of my pocket, unlocked it, scrolled through my playlist, and held up my phone. I looked around at the Ponies gathered around, the ones who had stood by and done nothing to help.

I inhaled and used some magic to make my voice heard somewhat more than normal, but less than a Royal Canterlot Voice. "Eris might have told you about the worst of humanity, and I will not deny that as a species, humans can be dangerous. But she failed to tell you about all the good humanity has done! Allow me to give you and all of Canterlot a taste of human music!" I hit play but not before casting the same spell Twilight had used on my phone at the Gala.

Remember Me by Thomas Bergersen began playing throughout the entire hallway. The Ponies around me perked their ears up and listened to the emotion rending sounds of one of my favorite composers. Beside me, Celestia raised her head and her horn began to glow. The music increased in volume slightly. I closed my eyes and held Fluttershy closer. To my relief, she seemed to start to relax in my grip. Looking down, I saw a small smile creep up on her lips. She mouthed the words "Thank you" before burying her face in my chest.

I spread my wings, and we all stood there for the entire length of the song, moving back and forth. To my surprise, I saw a few of the noble looking Ponies shed a few tears as the more hopeful portion of the song reached a crescendo. Looking around, I noted the reactions of all my gathered friends. All were pretty much standing still and drinking in the music, save for Celestia who locked eyes with me. She motioned me forward and whispered, "All of the kingdom can hear what you just said and what you're playing now."

As the music reached another crescendo once more, I could only reply with a halting, "Thank you…" and a grateful smile.

When the song finally ended, Celestia's horn stopped glowing. I stopped the soundtrack and rushed to her side as she stumbled a bit. Catching her, she slowly stood. "I'm alright, Jethro," she said. "Come, let's get moving. There is a lot we need to discuss."

Turning, she headed down the hallway, and I moved to follow behind her, falling into step beside Zecora. She looked up at me and whispered, "That was an absolutely lovely song, love."

"Thank you…" I replied as Celestia turned a corner…

Ten minutes later, I was sitting in the same private room where I'd told the Princesses about Obsidian Star. Unlike before, there had been a custom chair built for me, a large wood armchair with soft satin covered cushions on the surfaces. The others were seated around the table except for Zecora who was seated on my lap in her adorable Zebraloaf form. On either side of the door, Mica and Gemini stood. Luna had joined us and she and her sister were seated in their own chairs around the round table. The other Ponies sat there as well as Spike. Fluttershy was seated on my right and Twilight on my left. Behind me, the fireplace was well lit and the table was also lit with a large chandelier of six candles. To my surprise, Sunset Shimmer had also joined us, sitting as far away from Celestia as she could, a look of haunted guilt on her face.

"Now, where to begin," Celestia said, and I saw the look of an utterly exhausted monarch once more.

"Start at the beginning," I said. "What happened after I lost consciousness?"

She nodded somberly, then took a deep breath. "The moment Eris was encased in stone by the Elements, anything she did seemed to reverse itself. The damage she caused by the Siren's magic ebbed away. Anypony who was affected was taken to the nearest hospital to be examined, just in case any of the magic embedded itself deeper within them. Fortunately, the magic she used seems to have vanished when she was defeated."

"That reminds me," I said, holding up a finger, "Did they see me use the pistol on her? The world, I mean? I was so out of it I didn't even think to check or ask."

Celestia shook her head. "No. The screens vanished before you shot her."

"Even so, all of Ponyville saw me unload that clip into her," I said. "We can't undo that."

It was Luna who spoke next. "We cannot, unfortunately. Despite our best efforts to keep this information private, rumors have spread. Eris did mention human weaponry in her little report."

"Nuclear weaponry," I stated somberly. "I was hoping to keep all of that information to myself. I didn't want to bring it here, considering how deadly it can be."

"I doubt even our strongest magical shields could protect against it," Sunset Shimmer agreed.

Celestia turned to Sunset, a curious look on her face. "What do you mean, my student?"

Sunset flinched at that, but just as she was about to reply, I held up my hand. "I don't want to talk about that right now. We should focus first on the damage Eris caused right now."

Celestia nodded. "Of course." She cleared her throat. "To go on, though, there are a lot of broken friendships through the kingdom, families torn apart, and then there's the death toll. Even throughout the kingdom, we're still figuring out how many were killed. Turns out that Eris caused a number of deaths in other cities. Manehatten. Vanhoover, Las Pegasus, and that's just to name a few. Every city and town experienced this, but the deaths seemed to take place in the larger cities. Riots caused a lot of Ponies to get trampled to death."

"Jesus…" I gasped.

"No shit…" Sunset muttered.

"We still do not have a full number yet," Luna said, "but it appears as if our kingdom was, for lack of a better term, lucky."

"How the fuck are we lucky?" Scarlet frowned.

"The death toll could have been much worse," Luna said. "Other nations are reporting higher numbers."

"And they are demanding answers from us," Celestia said. "And, like I said last night, some are looking to blame you."

Zecora put one hoof on my leg, and I almost heard a predatory growl from her. "If that maid was any indication, things are going to get much worse," I said.

"Princess, isn't there anything we can do?" Twilight asked.

"I'm not sure what we can do," Celestia said. "I've sent letters to every nation who's sent messages to me explaining what happened. Thank you for that, by the way Spike," she added, bowing to the little drake.

"Of course," he replied.

"We've only received a reply from Dragon Lord Torch, who's all but demanding that Jethro be brought to them," Luna said.

"We haven't replied to them yet," Celestia said. "After today, I was about to, as Scarlet so elegantly put it, tell them where to shove it."

"Damn right!" Rainbow Dash said. "Anypony who wants to get their hooves on Jethro is gonna have to go through all of us!"

"Calm down there, speed demon," I said. "I'm not sure if this will work, but I might have an idea on what we can do."

"I'm listening," Celestia said, a small hopeful gleam in her eyes.

I cleared my throat. "Why don't we hold a council?"

"A council?" Celestia repeated.

"Yeah," I said. "We invite them to send a representative to meet at a certain location and we try and hammer this out like adults. I'm surprised you haven't thought of it yet."

"I had thought about it too, actually," Twilight admitted.

"I had briefly considered it," Celestia said, "but I wasn't sure how to present it to each nation. Or where to have it, for that matter."

"Why not at your old palace?" I asked.

"I considered that," Celestia said. "But it's within Equestrian borders. I was hoping to have something like this in a neutral location."

"Sister, it's barely in the borders," Luna replied.

"Barely is still within the borders," Celestia replied.

"Can someone get me a pen and paper?" I asked before the argument could get out of hand.

"Here you go," Pinkie Pie said, producing one of my own pens and a piece of paper from her mane.

"What are you doing?" Celestia asked curiously as I clicked the pen open.

"One moment," I replied as I began to write:

To the esteemed [insert ruler name here],

You are cordially invited to attend the first ever Council of Equestrians [If you don't like this name, feel free to change it], to be held on [insert a potential date here] at the Palace of the Two Sisters near the Everfree Forest [Unless you can think of another location that's better] in order to discuss current events and to hopefully come to an agreement as to what can be done to ensure peace between our nations. It is my desire that recent events will not lead to any sort of conflict between any nation. Everyone's voice will be heard, every opinion taken into account. All we want is to undo the damage done to our kingdoms. Please attend.

Best Wishes [Or however you want to end it],

Princesses Celestia and Luna [Insert royal seal or royal title or whatever here]

I slid the paper over to Celestia and Luna, who looked over the letter carefully. I could even see Luna mouthing the words as she read them over. Finally, both mares looked over at me. Their expressions remained neutral for a bit before Celestia smiled a bit. "For someone who doesn't know much about how to rule a country, you wrote a fairly good invitation."

"I mean, I just wrote an invitation that shows respect and isn't demeaning," I replied. "I'm sure you and Luna can iron out the details and alter it. It's just a rough draft, after all. But I really think this could be the start of something that can greatly benefit all nations involved." I looked around the table, giving each individual there a measured look as I continued. "Let's use this opportunity, everyone. I'm still a newbie when it comes to history of the world, but because of Eris, we have nations talking to nations more than they have in a long time. Eris tried to tear us apart, but we can attempt to use this to bring our races closer together and-" I paused, realizing just how I sounded. "Goddamn, I sound corny here."

"You don't sound anything like corn," Pinkie said with confusion.

Celestia chuckled. "You didn't sound corny, Jethro. You sounded hopeful."

I leaned back in my chair, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "Maybe…or maybe I just wanna try and nip this in the bud before another Orchid tries anything."

Celestia nodded somberly. "Even so," she said, "I will revisit this idea. The way you portray it gives it new light. And if Twilight here also thought about it, and if she was the Princess of Friendship in the show, then perhaps this idea is worth looking deeper into."

"You will not be looking alone, sister," Luna said. "I shall assist you, and I have a feeling Princess Cadance will also wish to be involved."

"I'm sure she would," Celestia smiled a bit before turning back to me. "Now then, there was one more matter I wished to discuss with you."

"Which is?" I asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Well, Luna told me about your desire to return to Ponyville," Celestia said.

"I do, yes," I replied.

Celestia took a deep breath. "Well, why don't we discuss a good time to do that, shall we?"