It took us a while to return to my house. I'd stopped crying by then and I silently unlocked the door. Zecora grabbed the mail in the mailbox, which included an envelope from Sweetie Drops containing my spare key. I quietly put it in my pocket and headed inside.

I was in a partial daze as I went inside alone. In the same daze, I put the Thanksgiving leftovers away in the fridge, grabbed one of my older laptops and a few potential other things that I might need for the presentation, which included the now empty pistol, and stepped out into the cold and windy late autumn day. If my mood hadn't been so low, I might have been enjoying the blustery day.

It didn't take us too long to make our way to Town Hall, and I spent the entire time trying to psych myself up. As we made our way there, we passed other Ponies heading in the same direction. Most of them gave me a mixture of polite and uncertain looks, but when I saw Spoiled Rich on the edge of the crowd, a clipboard in her mouth, I had to resist the urge to run.

Zecora, who was pressed against my side, must have sensed my shift in mood because she looked up at me, worry in her gorgeous blue eyes. "My love?"

"Sorry, dearest," I replied, straightening and making my way towards Town Hall again, "Just had to resist the urge to run. A part of me really doesn't want to do this. But I can't stop now."

She stood on her hind legs and gave my cheek a loving kiss and nuzzle. "You are the bravest stallion I've ever had the pleasure of knowing."

Fluttershy was by my side as well, standing on her own hind legs and putting a wing across my back. She might not have been able to understand just what exactly we were saying, but she could most likely hear the fear in my voice. "We're here with you, Jethro," she said softly.

Something jumped onto my head and a pair of white bunny ears smacked against my eyes, not too hard, but hard enough to shock me. Fluttershy gasped out Angel's name in alarm as the young bunny jumped onto my shoulders. I turned to face him and saw his front paws were crossed. It was as if he was saying, "Get on with it, already!"

Holding out my hand, the young bunny hopped into my hand and I began stroking his head. He closed his eyes in contentment. "Thank you, Angel. Thank you, everyone."

"Move your fucking ass or I'll throw you there myself, whelp," Gemini growled.

Ignoring the gasps from a few of the other Ponies around us, I rolled my eyes. "Yeah…time to go."

When we entered the building, I saw that the main foyer had been rearranged with many different chairs facing forward towards a raised platform, which had a podium, a table, and several other chairs facing the audience. Beside the chairs and next to the podium were a few smaller tables, each with a large glass of ice water, enough for everyone sitting and standing on the raised platform. The audience chairs were already nearly filled with many different Ponies, a lot of whom turned when I entered with my group. I inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and straightened. Walking with purpose towards the front of the room, I set up my laptop, plugged it into the portable power supply I'd brought with me, and began pulling up various tabs on my browser. While I did that, the Princesses, the Mane Six, Sunset Shimmer, Spike, Scarlet and Zecora all took seats.

I had to give Mayor Mare credit where credit was due: she managed to pull this impromptu gathering up in less than a few hours and made it look like it had been planned in advance. As I continued setting up, more and more Ponies showed up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Spoiled Rich walk in and plop her sorry ass in one of the front chairs. Beside her, Filthy and Diamond sat, the little filly looking smug while Filthy looked disapprovingly at the rest of his family.

I'd met Filthy Rich a few times before while shopping at his store. He and I had hit it off decently well and I was delighted at how polite he was despite the rest of his family's own behavior. He'd apologized for Spoiled's reaction to me and for his daughter's behavior and promised he'd try to make his family see reason. Apparently, he'd failed.

As one o'clock neared, I saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders enter. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were comforting poor Scootaloo, who still looked despondent. The three came to the front and sat, their families surrounding them. Rainbow Dash, unable to take it, flew over to the little filly for a bit and hugged her close, whispering something to her before flying back.

From behind me I heard the flutter of Pegasus wings. Scarlet was beside me, a grim look on her face. "Jesus, it feels like we're at a wake," she whispered somberly.

"For some of them, it might as well be," I replied. "I'm about to reveal a very nasty truth. Eris might have been mocking me when she said 'The truth will set you free', but it's true. Crown secret or not, after what happened and what they say, they deserve to know."

Scarlet put one wing across my back. "You've got this, dude. We've got your back." She removed her wing and smiled reassuringly at me. I smiled back, then went back to setting up.

Finally, it was one o'clock. A young stallion at the back of the room closed the door. I stood up and looked at my friends behind me. Celestia was already standing to walk to the podium herself, but I held up a hand, shaking my head. She looked startled at this, but walked closer anyway. Leaning in, she whispered, "Are you sure about this?"

Lowering my voice, I whispered back, "Celestia, please let me go first. I'm the one who called this meeting. Besides, it's the job of a knight to protect his liege lord, or liege Princesses in this case."

We looked at each other for a while, before Celestia sighed. "Very well. I believe you would say break a leg?"

I chuckled slightly. "That's more for the start of a play, but the sentiment is appreciated."

I bowed to her before I walked over to the podium, cleared my throat and gripped the sides tightly. Taking a deep breath, I began. "Good afternoon, everyone," I said, making sure my voice was strong and clear enough to be caught by the microphone in front of me. "I'm pleased to see everybody here. I know this was short notice, and for that I'm sorry, but I am well aware that you have plenty of questions for me. But I would ask that you hold off on them until I'm finished with my explanation. Also, forgive me if my speech seems a bit all over the place. I haven't had time to prepare. And I will warn you now, I will be telling you all things that I haven't even told some of this to the ones I originally told about the television series. This would be their first time hearing all this. But, now that the cat's out of the bag, it's time I told the whole story, and not just the brief bits that Eris showed."

I looked at Twilight, who's horn began to glow. The desktop image appeared behind me, showing my desktop. "First of all, I would like to address what Eris said about humanity in general. She told you, in no uncertain terms, that humans are monsters. She mentioned our wars and our weapons. Like this one."

I picked up the pistol and held it aloft. I winced as the Ponies in front flinched at the sight. I held up my hand. "Don't worry, this weapon is currently harmless. Just a hunk of useless metal. It's called a pistol, and it's like an advanced form of crossbow, for lack of a better explanation. Many of you saw it in use when I attempted to kill Eris." I heard gasps passing through the crowd. "You heard me correctly. I attempted to take the life of another being. I will not deny that, neither will I make excuses for it."

I put the gun down and bit my lower lip. "I'll continue to be honest. Humans aren't a perfect species. Humans have made weapons of mass destruction, and we are a race that is at war a lot. There is a lot more about my race I'm not proud of. We are capable of great hatred and cruelty. You saw that embodied in me when I faced Eris. However," I quickly added, "Humans are also capable of a great number of good things. We are capable of great love, courage and compassion, among other things. And sorrow at loss. I know loss."

From behind me, my friends and supporters stirred in what I assumed was their own shock as I continued in a more subdued tone. "Years ago, I had two loving parents and an amazing girlfriend. I lost my parents in a devastating accident, and years later I lost my girlfriend to a deadly disease. I loved them so very much, and have grieved their loss more times than I can count. When I came here, I was scared and alone, and barring our first official meeting, you Ponies have been nothing but kind and generous and friendly with me. I'm proud to say I have friends among your kind, and even a marefriend in the form of one gorgeous Zebra mare."

"Then prove it!" a callous female voice called out from the crowd. The voice of Spoiled Rich. "You claim that humans are capable of love? Prove it, monster!"

"Be silent!" Luna bellowed, causing the Ponies in the crowd to shrink back, ears flattened and tails between their legs.

"Well, let me tell you about the story of the Christmas Truce," I said. "Christmas is a holiday that many humans on Earth celebrate every December 25th. It's a lot like Hearth's Warming is for you Ponies. Over a hundred years ago, Earth was at war. It was the first of two world wars we would have. However, on Christmas Day, soldiers on both sides of the war on the western front held an unofficial cease-fire and spent time together celebrating the holiday. Not as soldiers of opposing sides, but as fellow members of the human race. Gifts were exchanged, seasonal carols were sung, and some even played games together. The peace might have been temporary, but the fact that it was unofficial goes to show just how powerful a comradery can be between soldiers who are meant to be enemies."

"You're just trying to make yourself look good!" Spoiled called out. To my dismay, a small group of Ponies near her muttered in agreement. "You Everfree monsters are all the same!"

The way she said it raised small alarms in my head, but I decided to explore it later. I was about to reply when Celestia stood and stomped her hoof on the ground. Her voice was calm, but I could still sense the implied threat behind it. "You would be wise to be silent, my little Pony. You are speaking to a Knight of Equestria. A knight I have personally selected. Now, if you wish to speak to him, you may do so when the time is right and after the explanations. For now, listen."

Spoiled Rich looked completely shocked by this, but clamped her mouth shut and sat back down. She gave me her attention again, but I could tell it was more forced this time. And the glare she directed my way was completely full of hatred. But I saddled on. "Now, I would like to get to the main part of my little presentation. What Eris said about your world and how Earth views it."

I moved the mouse to my taskbar and selected a traffic cone icon. The window maximized, showing a black screen surrounded by the VLC Player interface. I stepped away from the podium. "A lot of what Eris told you about how our world viewed Equestria is true. Back on Earth, we have a form of entertainment called television shows or programs. Think of them as miniature plays. One of these is a program for little girls called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It follows the lives of the Bearers of Harmony, since they're the main characters. The purpose of this show was to teach little human girls about the power of friendship and to teach them little life lessons through each episode."

I hit F on the keyboard, then hit the space bar. Music began to swell and the show's famous introduction began playing. "My Little Pony…My Little Pony…Aaah aaah aaah aaah…"

The crowd was spellbound as they saw animated versions of the Bearers of Harmony. Once the animation finished, I hit pause just before it faded out. The logo for the show stayed frozen in place as I turned back to the crowd. "Now, I don't have all of the information on the formation of this show, so I will summarize." I took a deep breath and continued. "Over ten years before I was born, there was a toy company called Hasbro. They were, and still are, a popular toy company. They developed line of toys called My Little Pony."

I selected another tab, showing an image of some of the original toys. "As I'm sure you can guess, these toys were designed for little girls. And before you ask why just little girls, it was and still is a stereotype among humans that little girls will at one time in their childhood want a pony. Hasbro decided to use this to make more money by creating this toy line. A few years later, the toy brand had grown popular enough that they made a television show."

Changing the tab again, I hit play on yet another YouTube video. The same introduction I'd shown Twilight what seemed like a lifetime ago. When it finished, faced the crowd again. "Now, there have been other My Little Pony shows and movies that aired before the one depicting Equestria. Some with names that might be familiar to you."

I clicked another link, showing an image of the third generation characters. I pointed at them. "Starting with that pink pony in the center, we have Pinkie Pie. To the right, the orange pony with the purple mane with pink highlights is Scootaloo. Next to her is the pony Rainbow Dash. The purple Pegasus is Starsong Melody. The light pink pony with the yellow, orange and pink mane is Toola-Roola. The dark pink pony above her is Cheerilee, and the unicorn next to her is Sweetie Belle. I know you've all heard those names before, but the ponies in this picture are quite different than the ones you all know."

I took a deep breath and faced the crowd once more, steeling myself. "I know you have plenty of questions, and I don't blame you. I'm throwing a lot of information at you all at once. And I promise you will be given the opportunity to question me to your heart's content later. But there's more to the story about My Little Pony."

I heard murmurs spread through the audience. I waited, and eventually they calmed down. I continued. "This show, the depiction of your world in particular, is incredibly popular, but it isn't just popular with little girls. As the show was airing, a group of adults began to become fans of the show. They called themselves bronies and pegasisters, men and women who thoroughly enjoyed the show despite the demographic being young human girls. Now, Eris showed you all examples of how dark a human's imagination can be when creating fanfiction and fanart. I won't deny that some humans have imaginations that can get dark. But we're also capable of many great things too. Like this."

I changed the tab to show a paused YouTube video already in full screen mode. "I want to show you a video made by a fan of the show almost ten years ago. I feel it's one of the best songs made based off of the My Little Pony show. At least, the best I've found so far. It speaks to a lot of people back home and addresses one of the biggest fears we as individuals have: the fear of being different than the rest of the crowd. There are so many songs that fans of this world have made, but this one speaks to me a lot, and I feel it can speak to a lot of other Ponies here, too. And…there's a certain Pony in this video you'll recognize. One I'm proud to call a friend. That is, if she still considers me one after what happened. Anyway, enjoy this song by the artist known as Forest Rain."

I hit the space key. Great To Be Different began to play, the music playing through the room. When Derpy saw the cartoon version of her on the screen, her eyes locked on me. I saw the tears forming in her eyes as she quietly walked over to me. She moved closer, then silently spread her wings, flew over and threw her forelegs around me. "You never lost me as a friend," she whispered. "And I know I speak for a lot of Ponies in town when I say we aren't angry or upset at you."

Feeling relief wash over me at that, I hugged her back. Leaning in, I whispered, "Thank you," while at the same time turning so she could get a good view of the video playing. She never took her eyes off of it as it continued, tears streaming down her cheeks as it continued. When it finished, I was surprised to hear other soft sniffles, and not just from my friends onstage.

Looking down at the crowd, I saw a number of Ponies all crying, and many were some I knew. Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Lyra, Sweetie Drops, and many others I'd met were all teary eyed. Others weren't crying, but had somber and understanding expressions on their faces. I briefly locked eyes with Big Mac who nodded at me with understanding in his own green eyes. The video finally ended and I put a reluctant Derpy down, running my hand through her mane before she went back to her seat. "There are, of course, other animations that are more comedic in nature, but I won't show those today. If any of you are interested, I might show those afterwards, but that is entirely up to you." I grabbed one of the glasses of water on the table, I took a gulp before I continued. "Now, I believe-"

A hoof was immediately placed on my shoulder. Turning, I found myself staring into Celestia's gorgeous purple orbs. "Not quite yet, my knight," she said, loud enough that everyone could hear. "I have a few words to say." Her tone was that of a Princess now, not my friend.

As I was now a full-fledged Equestrian citizen and a Knight of the Realm, I knew better than to argue. I placed my fist over my chest and bowed. "As you command, my liege." I walked past her and took a seat, carrying my water with me.

Celestia nodded in approval before stepping past me and standing in front of the podium. She looked out at the gathered crowd, as did I. Their attention was solely focused on her now, all looking simultaneously anxious and eager for answers. In her most regal voice, she spoke, and her voice echoed through the speakers everywhere in the main room. "Good afternoon, my little Ponies. I am pleased to see so many of you gathered together for this impromptu meeting." There was no smile, only a regal neutrality painted her face. "As you are all well aware by now, a couple of days before this past Summer Sun Celebration, our world received an unexpected new resident."

She turned and pointed towards me with her wing. "Jethro Bethridge. Thirty years old, a resident of an alien planet called Earth. Since he moved to Ponyville, he's lived as peacefully as he can. Unfortunately, it would appear as if luck hasn't favored him. He has found himself in many precarious and dangerous situations. He's saved our kingdom from war and saved Ponyville from an Ursa Minor without asking for anything in return. Despite our first meeting of him being less than stellar, I have been pleased to hear that he has made as many friends as he has among you all. However, with what Eris has done, that trust you've placed in him might have been broken. I understand that, but if anypony is to blame, it's me."

A gasp went through the crowd. Even I was astonished by this, but Celestia held up her hoof. "Please listen to what I have to say," she said. "When we first met Jethro, he was kind enough to share with me, my sister and the Bearers of Harmony the television show about our world, the one called My Little Pony. It showed future events in our world, or rather potential future events. One of them being Eris' return. I attempted to avert this return, but it failed. Do not direct your anger at Sir Jethro."

A silence went over the crowd at that revelation. Suddenly Luna stood, walked over to her sister's side and said, "Lay the blame on me as well. Do not blame our new Knight."

I wanted to stand up and tell them not to do this. I wanted to pull them back to their seats. However, I felt a few glares on me. Looking to my left and right, I saw all my friends and my marefriend all silently giving me a look that said not to interfere. Celestia continued. "However, I will not allow the same mistake I made to happen again. As of this moment, nopony will know of Eris' location save for me and Princess Luna. We will both be sure she is never released again."

Don't fucking jinx it, Cellie, I thought.

To my surprise, Mayor Mare quickly stood from her seat at the very front of the aisles, walked over to the stage, and bowed. "Your Highnesses, if I may speak?"

"Go ahead," Celestia said. The two sisters stepped away from the podium

She raised her head, then stood at the podium, facing the crowd. "Fillies and gentlecolts, I believe I speak for many Ponies here when I say that we've all grown quite accustomed to seeing Jethro Bethridge around town each and every day. Many even have become friends with him, as we all saw earlier with our mailmare Derpy. If we've learned anything over this past year, it's not to judge a book by its cover. By Jethro's own admission, his race can be dangerous, but can we say we're any better? Before we united, we were in disharmony. If I'm remembering my history right, before the founding of Equestria, the three tribes were at the brink of war then, too. Jethro's tale about the…what did you call it? Truce of…what?" She turned back to me with a questioning look.

"The Christmas Truce," I replied.

"Right." She turned to the crowd again. "Two different species with a similar idea. The outcomes might have been different, but the fact that it happened tells me we aren't so different after all. After all, isn't it great to be different?" Turning once more to me, the mayor gave me a playful wink as she stepped away from the podium and headed down to her seat again.

I couldn't hold back the smile that formed on my face. Before I could say anything, Applejack stood and walked up to stand at the podium. "Y'all know me," she said, "and y'all know mah family. We've lived here since the beginnin', and we've seen a lot. Ah've met some good folks, and some bad. Y'all know ah hate tah lie, so ah'll say this one simple thing." Turning, she pointed to me. "Jethro there is one of the most honest and hardworkin' stallion's ah've ever met. And ah'm proud to call 'im mah friend." So saying, she walked over and put her forelegs around me in a hug.

I immediately hugged back. "Thank you, AJ."

"Yer welcome, sugarcube," she replied before breaking the hug and walking back to her seat.

Rarity was the next to stand and walk over to the podium. "Jethro Bethridge, from the moment he stepped into our fair town, has been nothing but a perfect gentlecolt. Like the princess said, he has given so much to our community and has not asked for a single thing in return. Why, at the Gala, he gave his time to my friends and I so we could enjoy ourselves. I am quite glad to be a friend to such a stallion." She then trotted over to me and, in the most refined way possible, hugged me close.

"Thank you, Rarity," I whispered.

"Anything for you, darling," she said gently.

Next up was Pinkie Pie. Some of her mane had gotten the poof back and she trotted over to the podium. "You know I like making Ponies laugh. Jethy's made me laugh a lot of times. And he's introduced me to a lot of cool new dessert recipes. He's one of my best friends in the whole wide wide world."

As she predictably rushed over to me to hug me, I threw my arms around her. "Thanks, Pinks."

"Anything to make you smile again, Jethy." She gave my cheek an affectionate kiss before sitting down.

Rainbow Dash was next. She flew up to the podium. "Eh…I'm not really a speech gal, but I'll say this: that guy over there is seriously one of the coolest stallion's I've met. And he's loyal enough to Equestria and to his friends that he's an awesome enough friend in my book. And I don't even read!"

I held back a smirk as a small smattering of laughter passed through the crowd. Rainbow Dash came over. I held out a fist, expecting a hoofbump, but she surprised me with a hug. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash. That was…twenty percent cooler than normal from you."

"I know I'm awesome," she whispered back, then pat my back. "Don't let it go to your head."

"That's my line," I joked as we broke the hug.

I half expected Twilight to go next, but I was surprised when Fluttershy got up next and headed over to the podium. There was a determined expression on her face as she leaned in towards the microphone. "Um…Jethro might not be a perfect human, but I've seen him show enough kindness not only to the animals around him, but to other Ponies. And…I don't want him run out of town. He's one of the kindest friends I have."

Talk about your emotional manipulation, I thought as she came over quickly and hugged me tightly. "Flutters, that was so brave of you," I whispered.

She was indeed trembling as she held me tightly. "I meant every word," she whispered back. "Can…I stay here for a bit?"

I stroked her mane and felt her shudder. "Of course."

Twilight Sparkle was next and she walked over, somehow producing a bunch of papers and setting them down on the podium. "I know I'm still learning a lot about friendship, but I've actually learned a good bunch of stuff about it thanks to Jethro. I actually prepared a long list of all the good things about him-"

Celestia caught the papers in her magic and pulled them back towards her, a small knowing smirk on her face. "Bullet points, Twilight," she said gently.

Twilight looked a bit miffed, but nodded. She inhaled deeply, then said, "Jethro's a great friend. I've seen him do some amazing things for his friends. Everything the other Bearers of Harmony has said is true, and I stand by what they said. I'm really glad to know him."

Hugging Twilight was a bit difficult with Fluttershy in my lap, but I still managed to hug her. "I'd like to read over those notes later, if I can," I said with a small smirk.

She blushed. "N-No, I'll just tell you later," she said, clearly embarrassed.

"Fair enough. Thanks, Twi."

"You're welcome, Jethro."

Scarlet stood and flew over to the podium. Without preamble, she said, "I owe this man my life. If he hadn't found me in the old house, I probably would have died of starvation. He's done so much for me despite me not asking for it. Forgive my language, but I'm damned proud to be this guy's friend."

She flew over and hugged me tightly, and I hugged back. "SD, you rock."

"Heh, I'm not an SD card, bub," she replied. "You rock too, bro."

Last, but most certainly not least, Zecora stood and walked over to the podium. "In my greatest time of need, my coltfriend performed a good deed. He saved me from a pack of Timberwolves, risking his own life to save me, a stranger he didn't even know. I love this stallion with everything I am, and that won't stop anytime soon." She trotted over and gave me a deep kiss.

I kissed back. "Love you too, sweetie." She blushed and nuzzled my face a bit. I looked out at the crowd. I gently undid myself from Zecora and Fluttershy's grasps. "I've got to go answer questions, now."

"Of course, beloved," Zecora said, touching my nose with her own.

Fluttershy was a bit more reluctant to let me go, but she did so and gave me a small smile and nod. I stood and walked back over to the podium. "Now then, I believe there are a good number of you who want to ask me questions." And with that almost every Pony raised their hoof. I nodded and clenched the sides of the podium. "Well then, shall we begin?"