"You…and…Zecora…got…ENGAGED?!"

Those were the first words out of Rarity's mouth the next afternoon as we were walking to the Hay Burger after I had gone to town hall and given my own little Q&A session to the Ponies of Ponyville. They were, of course, stunned at the many changes that had happened over the course of only one week. They were completely caught off guard by Spike's unusual growth spurt. Hell, I even noticed the Cutie Mark Crusaders looking at the young Drake a bit differently now, especially Sweetie Belle. As I had continued giving a detailed account of what had happened while I was in the former Dragon Lands, the Ponies went silent in awe, completely surprised that I had not only helped avert a massive war, but had become a monarch of a foreign nation as well. The others who had gone with me confirmed many of the events of the story with me, and having Ember and Chrysalis there with me definitely gave credence to my story.

At the end of my speech, I told them that Ember and Chrysalis would be in Ponyville for a time while we sorted things out, and asked that they be treated with respect. After answering a slew of different questions, including one or two rude ones from Spoiled Rich who was standing apart from her husband and daughter, I thanked them for their time and ended the meeting. After receiving many congratulations on my ascension to the throne and my engagement to Zecora, the latter of which had stunned my closest friends into silence except for Scarlet, who I had told before we all went to sleep the night prior, we all began heading over to the Hay Burger to get a bite to eat, but not before I dropped off Chrysalis and Ember back at the house, since they btoh didn't want to be any more around the others and wanted some more time to themselves.

After that, I actually remembered the chest filled with the silvery glowing ore along with the artifacts I'd taken from Torch's hoard. I pulled them out and showed both to Twilight before asking if she could study them, possibly even with Sunset, who also expressed a desire to look them over, especially the ore which she jokingly called Mythril. Twilight was over the moon excited at the prospect of studying ancient non-Pony magical artifacts, and readily accepted, promising to be careful with them.

I put my pinkie finger in my ear and tried to get rid of the ringing thanks to Rarity's screeching tone. "Does anyone in town know how to talk without causing my eardrums to rupture?" I asked with a frown. "And yes. When I was back in Aelyssia, I realized life is too short to wait for a sure thing to slip away. I promised myself if I made it back to Ponyville, I'd propose to Zecora."

"What, no proposal for me?" Scarlet asked, hovering beside me and smacking my face with her tail.

I groaned. "Scarlet, you just joined my herd, give it time, would you?"

She giggled and landed beside me. "I'm just teasing, cutie."

"What's a herd, exactly?" Spike asked as he walked beside Twilight. One thing he disliked about his new height was that he couldn't ride on Twilight's back as easily anymore. Even Twilight had said that he was a bit too heavy for her. "You keep talking about it like it's some big deal."

I turned back to the young drake. "It basically means I'm in a relationship with more than one mare," I explained. "Didn't Twilight teach you about them?"

Twilight glared up at me. "He's too young for that kind of thing!"

"Twilight, he's about to reach puberty. In fact, he's already pretty much there with his new body and those wings of his," I said in his defense. Leaning down, I whispered, "I think it's time he gets the sex talk anyway."

Twilight's face went red, and she pulled me aside. The others stopped in the middle of the road, watching me with varying degrees of confusion. Once we were alone, she said, "I-I'm not ready for him to grow up that fast."

"No family member is," I said, reaching over to stroke her mane gently, "but if you want help, I'm more than willing to talk with him. And I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need Ember's help on this, too."

Twilight bristled a bit, then exhaled. "You're right…I don't know anything about Dragon anatomy. But, can I at least have a little more time where I can pretend?"

I smiled, then nodded. "Sure, but don't take too much longer. The boy's smarter than you think, and not as innocent either. Now, come on! Lunch awaits, and I have gifts for all of you."

We rejoined the others and continued walking towards the Hay Burger. Twilight was beaming as we did so. I'd known about her affinity for this place ever since the Twilight Time episode. "Good! I'm starving!" she said excitedly.

"So am I," Spike said, rubbing his stomach. "Honestly, I could eat a whole hoard of gems!"

Ember smirked. "I remember back when I could feel that way about food."

"Okay, boomer," Scarlet chuckled, making me and Sunset both smirk at the reference.

Everyone else just looked confused at that, but before they could ask, I pointed. "And here we are. Let's get ourselves a table, eh?"

The moment we entered, Hay Cook, who was behind the counter, saw us and beamed. "Hey there, your Majesty!"

I groaned. "Mr. Cook, I've told you, just call me Jethro. It's not like I'm an emperor of Ponies. Just the Dragons."

He chuckled. "Fine, fine with me. Are you all together today?"

"Yes we are," I said.

"Can we get the big table?" Scarlet asked.

"It just so happens that I was on my way to clean it up," Hay said. "Give me a few minutes, okay?" And with that, he headed over to a large rectangular table with a fire pit in the center and began cleaning it.

While we were waiting, Rainbow came up and got in my face with a large grin. "Hey, you said you were gonna give us all some gifts? What kind of gifts?"

"Presents! Presents! Presents!" Pinkie chanted excitedly as she jumped up and down beside her.

"Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie! Have some decorum," Rarity exclaimed, pulling them away with her magic.

"Heh, it's alright," I said, reaching down to pet an excitable Pinkie Pie. "Earlier today, Hestia told me about a few small things in my new treasure hoard you'd all like," I added, touching the gem studded necklace still around my neck. "I wanted to thank you all somehow for what you did in Aelyssia for me."

"Oh, you didn't have to do that," Fluttershy said softly, hiding behind her mane and blushing. "Just a date with you is fine with me," I heard her whisper softly.

"I know I didn't," I said, "but I wanted to. You all deserve something."

"The table's all ready for you now!" Hay called out as he passed us, carrying a few empty trays with garbage on them. "Go ahead and take a seat and I'll bring out the menus. There are glasses of water on the tables for you and some bread too."

When did this place become an Olive Garden? I thought as we all made our way to the table. The fire pit in the center was already lit and warmth spread from its grated protective covering. Once we were all seated, I looked out at everyone who had gathered before me. Zecora, Scarlet, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Spike. Some of them were my lovers, a few others were future dates and others were close friends.

As I looked at them, they all looked back at me. I cleared my throat, then stood and began, "I'm really happy you're all here, today. It's been a very long week for all of us. Wars and rumors of wars, changing of rulers in foreign lands, fights, near deaths, and a surprising rebirth of our favorite little drake. Or should I say, not so little anymore?" I looked over at Spike and gave him a friendly wink. He blushed as most of the table chuckled. Turning back to the rest, I said, "but here we all are now. Alive, together, still the best group of friends an alien monkey like me could ask for." More laughter now. "We've really all needed a day like this, a meal where we can all just sit back, decompress, and enjoy the time together. And besides, I've got little presents for all of you."

"Aww yeah!" Rainbow exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and hovering above the table, dancing in the air. "Uh huh, aww yeah!"

"Relax there, Rainy," I said, giving her a grin. She made her way back to her seat with a blush as the others laughed again. "But first, let's actually enjoy a meal before dessert and presents."

"Presents! Presents! Presents Yay! It's like it's all our birthdays!" Pinkie giggled.

"Yes, Pinkie, it's just like that," Twilight said with a knowing smirk.

After we ordered our meals, I looked down at the necklace around my neck, touching its gems carefully. They still sparkled with an ethereal inner light as my hands played over the gems which held what probably amounted to billions of dollars worth of profit. Zecora noticed what I was doing and put a hoof on my leg. "Dearest, is something wrong?" she asked in Farasi.

I looked back at her, then shook her head. "Just adjusting to the idea of having the entire worth of a world wrapped around my neck," I said. "It's heavier than you might think." In the Farasi tongue, I had used a word that didn't mean physically heavy, but metaphorically so.

She nodded. "Indeed, I can understand your worries. We are here for you if you need help."

I nodded and gave her a tender smile. "Thank you." And with my spirits rising, I felt more assured in the new situations I found myself in.

Our lunch went on for about an hour. I was a bit surprised to find that my appetite had, once more, gotten bigger. It was something that I had noticed ever since I'd become part Alicorn. I guessed that it was because of the addition of a new pair of wings that needed more calories to help them work. That, and the bit of chub in my stomach that I had when I first came to Equestria had long since vanished. I was no bodybuilder by any means, but with a more vegetable based diet and the long hours of exercise I had gotten in since coming to this world, I was beginning to develop healthier looking musculature.

For dessert, I'd ordered everyone some of the Hay Burger's best shakes or ice cream, depending on what they wanted. Ember and Gemini were the only ones who'd declined, the latter of whom hadn't really ordered much, just a side of hay fries. After we finished, I asked if we could adjourn to my house so I could give them their gifts there as well. They all agreed, and we reached the house in record time. Since it was still a really nice day, I decided to do the gift giving outside. I did ask Chrysalis and Ember both to join us, and they begrudgingly did so, standing apart from everyone else. Gemini and Mica didn't join us, Gemini because she didn't want to come, and Mica because he wanted to be there for his sister.

When I had gathered everyone, I walked to my porch and stood on the steps, facing everyone who were now standing in a small semicircle facing my house. "Well, now comes the time when I give each and every one of you here something as a token of my thanks. And this isn't coming from Sir Jethro, Knight of Equestria, or Emperor Jethro, ruler of the Aelyssian Empire, but just plain old Jethro. First, I'd like to start with Zecora."

The Zebra looked a bit surprised at having been chosen first, but looked up at me. "Me?"

I grinned. "Think of it as an engagement present. I actually asked the Farasi Princess about Zebra traditions, and heard that it was one tradition for a Zebra stallion to give a present to the mare they got engaged to." I touched the largest crystal on the bottom of the necklace, a teardrop of mixed silver and gold. It glowed brighter and I held up my hand just in time to catch a large book. Next to it, a massive cauldron appeared beside it. The book was encased in red leather styled to look like Dragon scales, and had golden lettering on it, which slowly morphed from Aelyssian into modern Farasi. The cauldron was larger than the one she had, but it was inscribed with Aelyssian letters, runes which were made to keep it protect it from damage, rust, burn marks and more.

I slowly put the book down in front of her. "This is a copy of The Red Book. It contains all sorts of ancient and lost forms of potion brewing, and Hestia told me it could even hold the ancient Dragon's form of alchemy." I went and stood next to the cauldron. "This cauldron has been inscribed with runes that will make it last for centuries without any wear and tear. It can also magically control the amount of heat it can absorb from a fire with this small lever on the side." I pointed to a gleaming ruby lever set in the side. "And inside the cauldron are seeds of plants that don't even exist in the Everfree Forest, or even in any part of Equestria anymore." I pointed to a field nearby my house. "I'm gonna start negotiating to buy that plot of land so you can use it to grow those plants."

Zecora's eyes went wide with astonishment as she slowly touched the book with reverence before opening it. The book itself had somehow been enchanted to translate itself into the language of whoever owned the book. And since I had transferred ownership of this book to Zecora, it had now been translated into her own language. The words were perfectly legible, and the drawings inside immaculate. She slowly handed the book off to Twilight, who opened it and looked through it with interest as the Zebra walked over to the cauldron, looking it over and pulling out small labelled sacks of seeds, each of which had a label sewn onto it with Aelyssian writing. The writing also began translating into Farasi. Finally, Zecora looked up at me, a teary-eyed expression on her face. "This…this is beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Thank you!" She rushed up to me and threw herself into my arms, kissing my face all over.

I caught her, hugging her closely. "I hope this is enough for an engagement present."

She kissed me fiercely, then broke the kiss after a while. "This is more than I've ever had. I hope you know I'm beyond glad."

"You deserve it." I slowly put her down, and she stood next to me, pressing herself against me. Turning back to the crowd, I said, "Next, Scarlet!"

She looked up at me. "Whoa, me?"

"Yes, you," I said as I faced her. "To be honest, finding something out of this new hoard of mine for you was very hard, I have to admit. To be honest, I almost paid off your debts to the ones you stole from before I found you."

"You'd better not have," she said.

"Yes, I know," I replied. Scarlet might have had her own quirks, but she had an impeccable sense of justice, and she believed that she herself should pay off her debts through hard work. Her own hard work. It was one of the reasons I loved her. "Still, it was really hard to find something for you that isn't from Earth."

"I'd be happy with that!" she said with a grin.

"Well, since I wanted to use just the former Dragon Lord's hoard, Hestia pointed something out that I think you'll really like." I touched the gemstone, and a suit of armor and a sword specifically designed for a Pony emerged from it. One made for a Pegasus. As Scarlet gaped at it in astonishment, I continued, "I know you've felt useless whenever danger comes, so I decided to give you this. I don't exactly know where it might have come from or when the Dragons got it, but it's been enchanted with protective and strength enhancing runes to better protect you and help you fight. The sword is extremely sharp, too. With this you can be stronger, faster and more agile even than Rainbow Dash."

"Hah! Nopony can beat me in a race and tricks!" Rainbow said boastfully.

However, I barely registered what she said as Scarlet jumped into my arms and hugged me tightly. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I'm gonna train hard!"

"I look forward to seeing the results of your training one day," I said.

"Come here, big guy!" she said. And with that, she locked lips with me for a good ten to fifteen seconds.

After finally breaking the kiss and putting the Pegasus down to admire her gift, I then turned to Twilight. She had an anticipatory look in her eyes despite her trying to hide it. "Twilight, unfortunately, I can't bring out my gift for you here…since the amount of books I have would be enough to fill around ten Golden Oaks sized libraries. So what I do have is this." I touched the gemstone again, and it glowed. I caught a large brown piece of folded fabric and held it up. It had the appearance of a wooden door. "Watch carefully." I walked over to the Younger Golden Apple tree and put the fabric against the side of the trunk. The moment I did so, it began to solidify and morph into an actual door.

I was sure I'd broken Twilight, since all that came out of her mouth were sounds like "Whu…buh buh…guh?!" and other such noises. When the door finally solidified, she hesitantly approached and tapped it. When she heard the knock of wood, she gaped up at me. "HOW?!"

"I don't know, but the door leads to this." I grabbed the handle, turned it and pushed it open. A warm golden glow emerged from beyond it.

Twilight immediately looked through, and so did a few others. What they saw astonished them all.

The door led to a massive domed room with shelves covering each and every wall, at least until the dome became too steep for a bookshelf to be practical. There were a few cushioned couches, tables and chairs in the room itself. On the opposite side of the room from where the door was, a massive arched fireplace was lit which helped illuminate the entire room along with candelabra's sitting on the tables. There were chandeliers hanging from above, but they weren't lit.

I stopped Twilight before she could gallop off, went to the nearest bookshelf, grabbed a book, and pulled it off of the shelf. I held it up for her to see, then tossed it to her with my magic. She caught it and flipped it open, looking at it with awe. "It's translating like it did with Zecora's book!"

"These are all copies of the originals I have in my library," I said. "They are all translating for you now. Hestia tells me that there are all sorts of genres in there, from magic tomes, to literature, to ancient historical texts. Hell, I even saw poetry books in there. Oh! And if you want to move it, watch." I closed the door, then reached for the top left corner. I pulled, and the door slowly flattened, becoming a regular piece of fabric once again. "Just pull at any edge from any corner, and it'll return to its normal form." I handed it to her.

Twilight looked at the fabric in her hand like I'd just given her the Holy Grail. "I…I just…I don't…" She slowly looked up at me, then shouted, "JETHRO, I LOVE YOU!" And just as the two before us, she leaped into my arms, hugging me tightly and dropping the fabric. "Thank you! THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

I hugged her back, stroking her mane to help her calm down. After a while, I slowly set her down. "You're very welcome, Twilight."

She nodded happily, then picked up the fabric with her magic, shoved it against the tree, and the door reformed. She opened it and screamed, "BOOKS!"

"Aaand we've lost her," Spike said, groaning.

I chuckled, then stood and turned to Applejack. "Now, for you AJ."

"Aw, shucks, yah don't need tah get me anythin'," she said with a wave of her hoof.

"No, you're right," I said, "but I still wanted to. And I was lucky Hestia found something I think you might like." With that, I touched the jewel on the necklace and five small sacks, each the size of my hand, appeared. They were identical to the ones Zecora had now. I held the sacks over and she took them.

When she opened the first one, her eyes widened. She reached in and pulled out a small pile of seeds. Apple seeds, to be exact. "What…what kind of apples are these…?" she asked as she put them down and looked back at me.

"Look at the labels," I said.

She did so. The Aelyssian runes slowly began morphing into Equish, or English, and soon they each read, Star Apple, Cinder Apple, Rose Apple, Desert Apple, and Winter Apple. "Ah've never heard of these kinds of apples before," she said.

I touched my gem again, and a smaller green leather-bound book appeared, with a lighter green apple tree painted on the front. I held it out to her. "This is a book describing how to tend to these apples," I said. "The only one I do know about is the Winter Apple, which actually bears fruit only during winter or cold months."

Her eyes bugged out at that, and she slowly closed the sack and took the book. "First the Golden Apples, now this? Are ya sure ya ain't Rarity in disguise?"

I laughed. "Not at all, darling," I said in an imitation of Rarity before putting my hand to my mouth. "Oops."

To my surprise, Rarity just chuckled good naturedly. "Don't worry, dear, I know you mean it well."

"Ah can't thank ya enough," Applejack said, looking up at me with an expression of joy.

"You're more than welcome," I said. "Now then, since we're on the subject of Rarity, you're next, oh goddess of fashion."

"Oh my, already?" Rarity seemed startled by this.

"Would you rather go last?" I asked.

"Well, I admit, I am curious as to what you'll give me," she admitted sheepishly, ears lowered a bit and a nervous smile on her face.

"Then prepare yourself!" With that, I touched the gemstone and two large piles of fabric and small nut sized gems appeared on the porch behind me.

I had never seen Rarity move so quickly. She almost knocked me over as she went to examine the ancient fabrics and gems with the experienced eye of a seamstress. I watched, curious for her reaction. Finally, she turned back, and I was stunned to see a single tear falling from her astonished face. "These…are without a doubt…some of the finest gems and fabrics I've ever seen! It almost feels like a crime to use them!"

"Almost being the key word, right?" I asked with a chuckle.

"I'm a fashionista, darling! It's in my blood!" She bowed to me. "Thank you, Your Grace."

"Hey, what did I say earlier?" I asked. "I'm not the Emperor right now. I'm just Jethro."

She looked up at me and smiled happily. "Well, I felt like it was the right thing to do."

"Well, you're very welcome," I replied. "I know you'll do some great things with them. And perhaps you can rediscover how they were made."

"I shall do my best!"

I nodded, then turned to the others. "Pinkie Pie, yours was actually a bit more difficult, since there were so many things Hestia could think of, but I found two things I think you'll really love." With that, I brought out two large books, one somewhat pink with white borders that made the book look like a cake, and the other with a laughing Dragon on the front.

Pinkie immediately grabbed them and watched as the titles translated to Best Aelyssian Jokes And Their Contexts and Best Dessert Recipes In The Empire. She zoomed over to me with a blur, covering my face with kisses. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed over and over again between kisses.

I pried her off, smiling wide at her. "I knew you'd like them. Now sit down before you hurt something." After putting her down, she grabbed the books and began looking at them carefully. Next, I turned to Fluttershy. "Flutters, I found the perfect gift for you, at least I think I did." In a flash, a few books with unusual types of animals painted on them appeared, and not only that, but a few stuffed animals as well.

Fluttershy slowly approached, and her eyes widened as the book titles translated to The Animal Lovers Guide to Aelyssia. There were five volumes, and the stuffed animals that were there were five examples of animals from Aelyssia.

One of which was a perfect replica of the Great Seedling.

Applejack saw this, and she grabbed it. Looking at it in astonishment, she looked at me. "Does that mean that the Great Seedlin' is a real thing!?"

"I don't know, to be honest," I said, "but I'm willing to bet the answer is in one of those books."

"I can look for you if you want," Fluttershy said.

"Ah'd like tah know," Applejack admitted.

"What's the Great Seedling?" Spike asked.

"I can explain later, Spike," Twilight, who had made a small fort of the books from her new library, replied without even looking up.

Fluttershy flew up to me and gently hugged me. "Thank you so much," she whispered in my ear. "I love them. And I love you." She planted a kiss on my cheek before hovering away, shyly looking down at the ground, but still smiling.

"You're welcome. I hope you enjoy them." And then, I turned to Rainbow Dash, who was still stealing glances at the gift I'd given Scarlet. "Rainbow, are you wanting one too?"

"Huh? What?" She jumped, looking at me. "Well…I mean…"

"Would that be okay with you, Scarlet? If I gave Rainbow something like that as well?"

"Sure! I don't mind," Scarlet said, then turned to Rainbow. "I still went before you, after all."

"Hey! I can still beat your ass in a race, armor or no armor!" Rainbow said.

"Wanna bet?" Scarlet laughed.

"You can tear up the skies later," I said, stepping between the two of them. "For now, I've got something for you, Rainbow. Actually, a few somethings. First, a crate of this." I touched the gem, and a large wooden crate appeared. I walked up and opened it, revealing ten barrels, five stacks of two. The labels on them morphed to reflect the beverage types. Each was a type of cider made from the apple types that I'd just given Applejack. "This bad boy can preserve so much cider in it," I said, slamming my hand on the top of the crate. "Now, I can take these up to your house later if you want."

Rainbow Dash's eyes were huge, and I could see her almost drooling. "Cider…"

"Jethro…yer just feedin' her addiction," Applejack said warningly.

"I'm not addicted!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh, trust me, once she sees what I'm about to give her next, she'll not really be thanking me much," I said as I touched the gem again. This time, a large stack of about twelve books appeared in front of her.

Rainbow's smile slowly vanished. "Wait…BOOKS?! I'm a world-class athlete! Reading's for eggheads like Twilight!"

"Is that so? Alright, then I challenge you to a contest," I said. I pointed to the first book. "If you can read the first book without drinking the cider, you win, but if you drink so much as a drop of the cider before the book is over, I win."

"And what do I get when I win?" Rainbow Dash said. "No, wait! I know!" She turned to Zecora. "Hey, Zecora, do you have any Poison Joke?"

"I do. Why do you ask?" Zecora asked.

"Because when I win, I'm gonna make Jethro here show us what it did to him!" she said with a smug expression.

I chuckled. "And when I win, I think I'll drag you to Earth. I hear Pendragon has this amazing indoor amusement park with the tallest roller coaster."

Rainbow's face went pale at that. "You wouldn't…"

"What's the matter, Colonel Dash, chicken?" I made clucking noises and made my arms into chicken wings, strutting around. "Brawwk! Buck buck buck buckaaawk!"

"Oh, it's so on!" She held out a hoof, and spat on it, holding it out to me.

I spat in my palm, then slammed it directly into Rainbow's outstretched hoof. "Done and done!"

"Hehehe, I can't wait to see you as a girl," Rainbow said with a wicked grin.

"And I can't wait to see your human form screaming like a scared filly when we go down that roller coaster," I said. "I think I'll get pictures and post them all over Ponyville."

"You'd better not," she said.

I laughed. "Nah, that would be too cruel. And I'm not that. And finally, here!" In a flash of light, a near duplicate of the armor I'd given to Scarlet appeared, only instead of it being a crimson color like Scarlet's mane, this one was sky blue. "With these, I bet you could go so much faster than you already can."

"I doubt it," she chuckled.

"Rainbow, what do ya say?" Applejack said, glaring at the cyan Pegasus.

"Oh, yeah, thanks dude," she said, nodding at me.

"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack said angrily.

"Relax, I know her well enough now to know that's all I'm gonna get from her. You bet, speed demon." Then, I turned to Spike. "Now, don't worry, Dragon-boy. I didn't forget about you. I've actually got a couple things I wanna give to you. First of all, come here for a bit."

Spike raised an eyebrow, but out of the corner of my eye, Ember's eyes widened slightly. Spike approached. I reached behind me, and the door opened. The Eclipse Blade came out, and I drew it. "Now, I know I said I wasn't being the Emperor today, but for one of my gifts I have to put on this persona for a bit. Spike the Dragon, kneel and lower your head for me." When he did so, I raised the sword. "In my name, Emperor Jethro Bethridge of the Aelyssian Empire, I hereby give you the title of Knight of Aelyssia, along with a section of land within my Empire that will be determined in the future when you come of age. Now them, arise, Sir Spike of Aelyssia!"

When Spike stood, his eyes were brimming with tears and he was smiling. "Thank you, Jethro," he said gratefully.

I sheathed my sword, set it back inside the house with my magic and knelt, wrapping my arms around him. He hugged me back as I said, "You saved my life, Spike. You deserve a reward. But that wasn't all I wanted to give you. Here." I stood, broke the hug, and made a large book appear in front of him. "Now, before you go complaining, this is a book on Dragon fighting techniques. How to increase the heat of your fire breath, ancient martial arts, and how Dragons properly fight with a sword and armor like you have now. You've wanted to learn how to fight, and this book is perfect to start teaching you the basics."

As he began looking over the book eagerly, I turned to Sunset. "Sunset, you're the one here I don't know that much about," I said apologetically, "and what I do know is tainted by the Equestria Girls version of you."

"I watched a few of those while you were in Aelyssia," she said. "They're not too far off. I like to game, I can play the guitar, well, when I have fingers, and I can sing decently well." Clearing her voice, she sang, "E-ques-tria Girls, we're kind of magical! Boots on hooves, bikinis on top! Furry coats so cute we'll blow your miiinds! Aaaooaaaoooah, ah, aaaaaoooaooaah!"

I groaned. "I forgot that California Girls was popular back in 2010…you found the Hasbro version, didn't you? Greeeaaat…" I cleared my throat, ignoring the smirk from the bacon maned Unicorn. "But for you, I wasn't sure if getting you what I got for Twilight would be appropriate."

"Well, I wasn't really expecting anything, to be honest," she said with a small self-deprecating smile.

"I still wanted to give you something, since you've been very helpful to me and Equestria so far. And this is what I want to give you." I held out my hand, and an unusual instrument appeared. It had the appearance of a lute, but with five lines of two strings each instead of six lines. It had a burnt brown color to it, as if the wood itself had been scorched by flame. "This is an Aelyssian lute," I said. "I'm told that it has its own magical properties in it, and if you channel your own magic through it, it can only enhance the sound."

She lifted the lute up, then strummed it with her hoof. A melody unlike anything I'd ever heard came from it. It was soft and evoked imagery of grassy fields, flowing rivers and snow capped mountains. She stopped the sound by placing her hoof on the strings. "Wow…I…thank you," was all she could say.

I smiled. "You're welcome, Sunset." Then, I turned to Ember. "Princess Ember, I actually have something for you that will surprise you." So saying, I touched the gemstone, only for a very familiar staff to appear in my hands. The staff itself was blueish purple and made of crystal. On top, an unevenly cut massive gemstone sat between three large curved pieces of the purple staff. "This is the real Bloodstone Scepter," I explained as I held it up in the sunlight. "The one your father had in his possession actually belonged to the Emperor and was only to be held by them. What I have is the Staff of Ignu. I'm not sure how that came into your father's possession, but Hestia apparently had the original Bloodstone Scepter. This is the scepter held by the true Dragon Lord, the second in command of the Empire directly under the Emperor."

Ember frowned, looking at the scepter in my hands with apprehension clear on her face. "I…are you absolutely sure you want me to be the Dragon Lord?" she asked. "I'm not the same as the Ember you saw in that Pony show of yours."

"No, no you're not," I said in agreement, but then I added, "you're much more than she was portrayed as. You've gone through so much already. You know what it's like to be at the bottom. You've been hurt. And it's because of these experiences that I believe you'd make a good leader. But…this is still your choice." I put a hand on her shoulder. "I will respect any decision you make. And even if you say no, the scepter is yours to keep."

She nodded. "Yeah…thanks."

"Sure thing."

"Um, can I be excused, now?" she asked. "I've got a lot to think about."

"Of course. Go ahead," I said.

As she walked into the house, I finally turned to Chrysalis. She raised an eyebrow. "What…me too? What are you going to give me? And why?"

I didn't say anything. Instead, I tapped the gem on my necklace. A dark green and black crown made of some kind of crystalline substance appeared in my hand. It had the shape of many different types of reeds tied together with a dark purple gem on the front. I held it up towards her. "Hestia told me this was a Fae artifact. Since you're the only High Fae we know of, I figured I'd return it to the rightful owner."

She took it gingerly and looked it over. "This…I…I don't even…" and with that, she rushed into the house, slamming the door behind her.

"Well, that was somethin'," Applejack said. "What even was that?"

"Not sure myself," I admitted, "but it was definitely Fae in origin." I turned to everyone. "Thank you for indulging me in this very unusual day. I'm glad to see you all happy. These gifts still feel inadequate as ways of thanking you."

"My love, you've honored all of us more than we ever thought possible," Zecora said. "You showed your appreciation more than was needed."

"Yeah, dude! I mean, you personalized the gifts as best you could," Scarlet added. "It's not like we were expecting anything."

"We're your friends," Fluttershy continued, flying over and nuzzling my face affectionately.

"And you just deepened the bonds of our friendship, not by giving the gifts themselves, but by showing us just how much we all mean to you by ponysalizing these gifts," Rarity added, coming down the stairs and giving me a warm smile.

"Group hug pile!" Pinkie said suddenly before glomping onto me, squeezing tightly. As I fell back onto my ass, the others also hugged me close, even Sunset. I felt warm now, and not from the sunlight or the pile of Ponies, a Dragon and a Zebra all clinging to me, but from the friendships I'd formed ever since coming to Equestria. I closed my eyes, smiled, and hugged them back. Even if there were potential dangers on the horizon, I felt secure in the knowledge that my friends would be there for me and have my back.

It was a good feeling.