"These many have applied to help rebuild? Are you serious?"

I groaned as I sat at a large conference table inside Duzoroth Tower. The room had initially looked like it hadn't seen any sort of use in hundreds of years, but thanks to Sunset's skill with magic, the room was now spotless. I wasn't alone, of course. Ember, Sunset, Zecora and Scarlet were with me, with Eve perched on my shoulder. Wallflower was spending time with Phlogiston and Aurora in the Dragoness' bedroom. The Sirens were on a supervised tour of my new hoard room in search of any sort of Siren artifacts. Hestia had gone with them. Chrysalis was doing the same with a tour of her own. Gemini and Mica were both inspecting the guards and what their capabilities were.

It had been only a couple of days since we'd arrived at Duzoroth. Many of the Dragons had begun packing up their belongings and setting up a temporary camp on the shores of the inland lake in preparation of the journey. Hunting parties had gone out in search of food to sustain the group for the journey and the rebuilding. I had the guards pass around the supplies gifted to the Dragons by Ponyville. I'd heard that some Dragons had grumbled, but for the most part that was it. They'd accepted the vegetarian meals well enough.

There was one more being in the room with us, however. Sitting in one of the chairs was a larger older Loong male named Huǒshān. Ember had recommended him immediately as he was not only one of the oldest Dragons she knew, but he'd been one of the more helpful ones after her father had kicked her out of their house after her molting. He had yellow scales, bright green eyes and a distinct lack of wings like the dragons of eastern myth.

"The list of volunteers we've received is one thing," I said as I patted the stack of paper to my left, "but the list YOU brought me, Ember? Yeah, I know it's smaller, but still, there's a lot here!" I took a deep breath as I looked through the list again. Earlier, I had prepared a form that I'd printed up back home. On the form, I'd listed out the following:

Name:
Age:
Species:
Desired Job:
Job Qualifications:

For the sake of having enough, I'd printed out fifty of these forms, each one taking up a little bit of the paper and not a whole page. I'd given the forms and a pen to Ember and asked her to think of any Dragons who would be a good fit for jobs that the Empire might need. I'd expected at least ten or so, but Ember had filled out the entire batch, all while complaining that she didn't have enough forms.

"My liege," Huǒshān said with a bow, "I have looked over the list that the Princess wrote. All of the Dragons she mentioned have skills that would be beneficial to us."

"I don't doubt that that," I said, "but more than fifty?!" I sighed. "Look, I'm all for delegating, but the thing is if I delegate too much progress will slow down too much. Arguments will rise up and there could be overlap. What we need right now is to determine just what we need in the more immediate future. Off the top of my head, that list includes food and shelter along with determining just how sturdy Virynth Atheos' buildings are. When I was there last time, the city itself seemed pretty sturdy for the most part, but I want it to be able to withstand a hurricane or an earthquake or even a possible volcanic eruption. This continent is volcanic, after all."

"Probably because the entire continent is like a reverse Ring of Fire," Sunset said, lifting a map with her magic and displaying the entire continent. "Aelyssia is basically sitting on a tectonic plate of its own. Yes, the volcanic activity is relegated to the mountains on the shores, but there are mountains I've read about that seem to be regularly active."

"Volcanic soil is good for plant growth, I think," I replied, "but on the other hand any beach towns we build in the future would have to be built up on higher ground to prevent them from being washed away from a tsunami. But that's a future project." I held up the stack of papers. "Ember, I am seeing some potential help from these Dragons, but we need someone who can help with construction." I turned to the Loong. "Master Huǒshān, what about you? Ember highly recommended you to be one of my advisors. Can you think of any Dragon who might know anything about construction?"

He shook his head. "Nodragon I know has any knowledge of construction," he said, "but I don't know all Dragons, my Liege."

"I was afraid of that," I said. "Well, that leaves us with two options. One, we hold out hope that one of the volunteers has knowledge of construction techniques from over a thousand years ago, or two, we hire help from outside the country."

Ember scowled at that, and Huǒshān didn't look too pleased either. "My Liege, I don't think your subjects would approve of option two. Especially if Ponies are involved."

"Yes, I know," I said, rubbing my forehead. Suddenly, inspiration struck. I sat back up. "Unless it wasn't Ponies who were involved."

"What do you mean?" Ember asked.

I turned to her. "Ponies aren't the only race in the world with access to architecture. The Lycans built an entire underground city. They would be our best bet. Either them or the Griffons. I know the Deerfolk have cities, and Farasi certainly does, but those two probably wouldn't work as well."

"Dude, the Lycan Empress hates your guts," Scarlet reminded me.

"Yes, she does, but I doubt she's a complete idiot," I replied.

"She could really use this to lord over you," Scarlet insisted.

I paused. She was right. The Empress might very well use the fact that we had to hire from outside of our own nation to try and get one over me. "Okay, fair point," I said. "We'll hold out hope that somebody here knows how things about construction. For now. If we can't find anyone, we might need to hire someone to train some Dragons here or we begin establishing apprenticeships between Dragons with the skill and mentality and matching them with equivalent people from other races."

"An apprenticeship might work for certain Dragons," Ember said, "but a lot of us are stubborn. Accepting the help of some other creature might be very hard."

"Correct, Lady Hand," Huǒshān said in agreement before turning back to me. "My Liege, Aelyssia was a lot larger than it is now even before its fall. The other islands have not had contact with us in many centuries. It's possible that there are Dragonkin there who would be skilled enough to help us."

"I would have broadcast my speech all across Aelyssia's former territory, but I'm not sure if that's possible," I replied, looking at the Staff of Agnu which was mounted on the wall currently. "If there is a way I can do that, I'll broadcast another speech to the other islands. Maybe that will bring us some help. But all we can hope for now is that the word spreads to those lands and that help comes from there."

"Love, you should not count on that," Zecora finally said, speaking up for the first time. She put her hand on my shoulder as she turned to the Dragons in the room. "I am willing to help in any way I can using my potions and brews, but I can't speak for other Zebras."

"There's a lot of anger against the Dragons from Farasi," I added. "Dragons in the past did steal Zebrica from the Zebras, something we're going to have to account for at some point. I'd like to invite a few Zebra negotiators to Virynth Atheos so we can discuss the return of Zebras to their ancestral homeland at some point." I grabbed my notepad and wrote down ZEBRICA RETURNED TO ZEBRAS on the growing list of my duties. "Now then, we've been tip toeing around the biggest concern right now, and I admit, I have too, but the amount of Dragons outside is growing as more and more come. We need to set a date for our return to the city itself."

"My Liege, I suggest that we leave sooner rather than later," Huǒshān said. "I have been among them the past two days, and many are growing anxious. We as a species and nation are more nomadic than we were before. Yes, we have hoards where we stay, but many Dragons tend to roam for food and to try and find ways to liven their lives. It's one reason why they have been known to attack other settlements."

"That shit stops now," I said with finality. "We are better than that."

"While I understand your thoughts on the matter, my Liege," Huǒshān replied, "there are many who would not listen. Yes, we haven't attacked any neighboring races or nations in my recent memory, but that does not mean they won't."

"Then they will be severely punished for their crimes," I replied, "but back to the topic at hand. Leaving this place and traveling westward…Master Huǒshān is right. The sooner the better. Even so, there are more Dragons coming. Sunset, I gave you one of those fabric interdimensional doors to experiment with yesterday. Have you managed to create a portal to Ponyville yet through the one in my house?"

Sunset shook her head. "Dragon magic isn't something I'm used to dealing with. I feel like I'm close, but I'm missing something."

"Nevertheless, I'll be setting one up back here just in case," I replied. "That way, if there are stragglers, they can stay here until either the doorway portal is open or until someone can come back to retrieve them and bring them to the capital."

"My Liege, if I may make a suggestion?" Huǒshān said, raising his claw.

"Go ahead," I replied, giving him my attention.

"Perhaps it would be prudent to leave some of your Imperial Guard behind to look after the stragglers, as you so put them," he said. "When the first wave of Dragons reaches the capital, another group of the Guard can return and give the first group directions on where to go, then that group stays and waits for more stragglers."

"So, rinse and repeat?" I asked to clarify.

Huǒshān smiled. "If I gather your meaning right, my Liege, then yes."

"It's not the best solution to the problem, but unless Sunset can figure out these doorway portals, it's the best one we have," I said, "Thank you, Master Huǒshān."

The Loong bowed. "I live to serve, my Liege."

"Very well, so we're in agreement to leave in the next, what, two to three days?" Ember asked.

"That sounds like a reasonable time frame," I said. "Three days at the very latest."

"What about elderly Dragons?" Zecora asked. "What about the sick ones? Can they survive the trip?"

"Dragons hardly ever get sick when they pass their molting," Ember explained, "and even the oldest among us are strong enough for long flights."

"What about the infirmed ones?" Zecora asked.

"Infirmed?" Ember asked, looking confused.

"We have a few of those," Huǒshān admitted. "Some Dragons have injuries that they have had to bear for years and cannot make the journey."

"What about the as of yet unhatched eggs?" Jethro asked, "is it safe to transport them? I don't really want them left alone without any sort of guard. They are the future of this nation."

"It isn't Baby Dragon Hatching Season yet," Ember said, "so the Hatchlands are currently empty."

"Do you know if there's a place where they can hatch closer to Virynth Atheos instead of where you've been doing it up until now?" Jethro asked, looking at Huǒshān and Ember.

Huǒshān frowned. "My knowledge of that city is only slightly better than others, but I did hear Torch mention that he was hatched in the mountain itself, the one where Virynth Atheos is built near."

"That means there's probably an underground cavern to find," Jethro said, adding it to his growing list of notes. "Is there anything else we're missing, here? We have three days to come up with more."

"There is something that I remember hearing about from Torch," Huǒshān said. "The land surrounding Virynth Atheos was notorious for not being able to grow crops very well. Yes, Dragons of the past grew their own food," he added quickly when he saw my raised eyebrow. "Food was imported from across the continent. How will we feed these Dragons who come with us?"

"That's where I come in," a familiar voice called out from the door. Everyone turned and saw Wallflower Blush standing in the doorway, Phlogiston behind her holding Princess Aurora in her arms. With a boldness that surprised everyone, she strode up with a pot of soil in her magic. She placed it on the table in front of us, then turned to me. "Emperor Jethro, I came to help. I know I'm not as magically gifted as Ponies like Twilight Sparkle, but my talent is in helping plants grow in places they normally can't. I'd be more than willing to look at the soil surrounding the city and see what I can do with it."

I looked at the unicorn mare and saw that, despite her brave tone, her legs were trembling. The two of us shared a glance for about five or so seconds before I nodded. "I'd appreciate that. I'll assign you two Dragon guards when we get there." He then turned back to Huǒshān. "Master Huǒshān, do you think Dragons would object to a single Pony helping?"

Huǒshān slowly shook his head. "I don't think so, my Liege, but I would suggest that if this young Pony does find a magical solution to the problem that she instead teach you how to fix it instead. The less anydragon sees of a Pony helping, the better. At least for the time being. Maybe someday the animosity between Pony and Dragon will go away, but as was said earlier, Dragons are stubborn."

"That's probably a good idea," I said, looking down at Wallflower. "Would you be willing to teach me?"

She nodded quickly. "Of course!"

"Good, because I'm counting on you," I said before I turned back to the others. "So…back to the matters at hand…"

I ended the meeting with the others about an hour or so later and had headed to the hoard room to check on the four who were still inside it. Zecora had gone back to Torch's former room, which was now my room, to star brewing some medicinal potions for some of the sick Dragons. Scarlet had gone to help her in any way she could. Wallflower had gone back with Phlogiston and Huǒshān had volunteered to head out and speak to the common Dragon about when would be the best time for them to leave.

"No matter how many times I see this place, it always reminds me of how the treasure trove of Erebor was depicted in The Hobbit movies," I said to Sunset as she and I, along with Ember, Gemini and Mica stared down at the vast treasure trove from the top of the stairs. Unlike how I'd first encountered it, there were now torches lit everywhere which illuminated the many piles of coins and jewels and other treasures in the vast underground caverns.

Sunset simply smirked. "Gold…gold beyond measure," she said in a deep voice, "beyond sorrow…and grief…" she then looked up at me with a chuckle.

Unable to resist, I completed the quote. "Behold…the great treasure hoard of Thrór." I paused, looking around the room before spotting something in the cavern. Reaching down with my magic, I grabbed it and brought it towards Sunset. It was a large red gemstone, finely cut and gleaming in the firelight. "Welcome, my sister's sons, to the kingdom…of Erebor," I finished, making my voice echo and deepen at the last words.

As the echo died down, I looked at Sunset, who was still holding the gem in her magic. She floated it over to me and I took it. There was silence for a few moments before the two of us burst out laughing. Sunset had obviously downloaded The Hobbit trilogy, since on the other Earth they hadn't yet come out. The two guards behind us and Ember looked at the two of us as if we'd completely lost our minds. I turned and waved a hand. "Sorry, it's just a reference to something she and I know," I told the Dragons. "Anyway, let's get everyone out of here." I touched the gemstone necklace around my neck. "It's time to collect all of this gold and treasure for transport."

"What are you going to do with it?" Ember asked, staring out at the cavern before turning back to me.

I reached down and picked up a random coin that was sitting on the stairs. It was one of the Dragon coins I'd seen before. It was heavy and unevenly cut in a circle, with the edges melted to be smooth unlike the sharper edges of bits. "I have a few ideas," I said as I slipped the coin into my pocket, "but for the time being, I'll be keeping them safe until needed. I might have been a banker on my old world, but I want to wait until we find a skilled treasurer or two to discuss my ideas and see if there's any merit to them."

"And if you use those gems around your neck to store them, I'll be able to know what exactly is here," Hestia's voice called out from below.

I raised the Staff of Agnu and it lit up brightly. I saw Hestia flying over towards me, with the Sirens, Chrysalis, and their respective guards in tow. "That'll be a bit help." Turning back to the others who were still coming up the landing, I asked, "Did you ladies find anything else in here?"

Hestia flew over and landed on my free shoulder (Eve was on my other one, having remained there silently listening during the meeting) and nuzzled my cheek. "There were a few things they found," she explained.

Chrysalis came forward, the two guards assigned to her holding a large black chest coated in obsidian. Around her neck there hung a large black metal key. The guards put the chest down and the High Fae looked at me. "This was all I could find so far," she admitted, "but I'm pretty sure there was more that the Dragons took from us."

"What's inside?" I asked curiously.

The former queen removed the key from around her neck, knelt down and opened the chest. Inside, I saw a number of objects such as a few small curved silvery blades, rings, circlets, and even some silver coins that seemed to shimmer with a rainbow hue in the right light. I grabbed one of those with my magic and looked at it. On one side was the depiction of a flowing river that came out of a mountain from two sides, ending on the other side in a large lake depicted in the center of the coin itself. On the other side of said coin was the image of a High Fae head in profile with a familiar crown on his or her head. Underneath, in a language I quickly identified as being the Fae's native language, I read Queen Coleoptera. She looked similar to how Chrysalis had once looked, at least in the face. The coin itself was heavy and a bit uneven, presumably made entirely of silver or at least mostly made of silver. I floated it back to her chest and set it back down. "That can't be everything in here," I said.

Chrysalis frowned. "If I know Dragons, they probably melted a lot of the treasures they stole from us, or more likely there are other treasures in other Dragon hoards I'll never see again."

The two guards next to her glared at her with contempt, but I looked at them with a glare of my own, causing them to back off. I turned back to her. "I'm about to collect the treasures in this hoard for shipment," I said, fingering my necklace absent mindedly. "If we find more Fae artifacts after unloading all of them back in Virynth Atheos' treasury, I'll make sure to let you know."

Chrysalis nodded. At that moment, the Sirens came climbing up the stairs from the hoard below. They and the Dragon guards with them were carrying a number of chests and other items in their arms, which they tiredly placed on the landing near the door to the hoard room. Sonata looked at me, sweating but with a grin on her face. "We found so much!" she exclaimed victoriously.

"Apparently that bastard took a lot from whatever Sirens he could find," Adagio snapped angrily as she sat on the floor with the others to catch her breath.

"Anything of interest?" I asked.

"Old scrolls and books, pearls harvested from the large oysters back home, coins, and even a few pieces of clothing that really won't fit us anymore," Aria said as she took a long drink from the water pouch she was carrying. "That one pony can have the clothes. We don't really need them."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

Aria gazed up at me. "The rest of the Sirens are probably all gone by now, and since we'll probably be stuck in these forms forever, why would we want clothes like these?"

I could see their faces all fall. Even Sonata seemed to look glum. I frowned as well and shook my head. "We'll find out what happened to them, for good or not," I promised. "You three deserve that much."

Sonata looked up at me. "I…don't know if I want to know," she said hesitantly.

To my surprise, it was Adagio who moved closer and put a hand on the Siren's shoulder. "Hey, none of that talk, now," she said, "we might not be princesses anymore, but we're still Sirens. We need to stick together and find out what could have happened."

From behind us, a young looking Dragon guard suddenly flew over towards us, carrying a large chest in her arms. "Your Grace…haah…haah…" she was panting as she set the chest down in front of the Sirens, "I'm sorry for interrupting, but I…aah…found this as well…it has the Siren sigil on it."

I looked at the front of the chest. Sure enough, there was a sigil on it depicting a Siren coming out of stylized waves imprinted onto the old wooden chest. I knelt and looked at the ancient looking lock. The wood was damp, the metal heavily rusted, and the lock keeping the chest shut looked about ready to break. I reached down and pulled on the lock. It came undone in my hands, disintegrating. The Sirens gathered around and I slowly opened it. Inside, I saw many different coins which apparently the Sirens recognized. They were made of some glistening red metal. There were massive pearls inside and other jewelry inside. There were also three large envelopes, sealed with old wax and with the names of all three Sirens written on them in the Siren language. I reached down and grabbed them, handing them to the aforementioned Sirens.

I watched as the three hastily opened the letters. There was silence as they looked over the letters. Each envelope held multiple pieces of stained paper inside and were large, almost like a poster size. I watched as the Siren's faces went from shock, to grief, and finally to regret. All any of them said was, "Father…you're a fool…" and that came from a frowning, but still crying Adagio.

I turned to the guards who had been escorting the Sirens. "Take the Sirens back to their rooms along with what they found. Keep guard over them and give them a hearty meal when they ask for it. They're not to be disturbed unless of an emergency."

"Yes, Your Grace," they said as they began to gather up the trunks and brought the Sirens away with what they'd collected.

As the still somewhat crying Sirens were led away, Chrysalis looked over at me. "So…what now?"

I didn't answer at first. Instead, I reached down and touched the bottom gem on my necklace, bringing it out and holding it up. It began to glow bright golden white. As I flew up into the air above the treasure trove, I saw every piece of treasure beginning to light up with light of the same color. As the treasure of Hestia had a couple of months ago, all of the hoard inside began moving towards me. The treasure began whirlpooling into the gemstones, more coming from deeper the cavern.

It took a whole five or so minutes for that first chamber to be emptied, and when it does the cave looked as barren as any other normal cave. I flew around each cavern, collecting every bit of treasure I could find. I saw chambers I hadn't yet seen before and explored them briefly before collecting the hoard inside. About an hour later, I landed on the ground. There wasn't a speck of treasure left. Had I been back on Earth, I had no doubt all of this wealth I now possessed would have made me the world's first trillionaire.

As I flew back, however, I saw that one gem hadn't been collected like the others. A very familiar gem. I flew down towards where it still stood on its pedestal. Like when I had first seen it, the large gem was inert and not glowing. I quickly grabbed the pedestal itself and lifted it. I was a bit surprised at how light it was. I flew back to the stairs which were now completely exposed since the treasure had gone up about three fourths of the way to the top of the cavern. When I reached them, Sunset saw what I was carrying and her eyes widened. "You're taking that?" she asked.

"Why shouldn't I?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I'm not saying you shouldn't. It's probably a good idea to-wait!" she paused and looked at it with a renewed sense of excitement. "Can I study that? Maybe that's what I've been missing in my research?"

I looked at the crystal, remembering my brief out of body experience with the crystal and how it sent me to many different places around the world. I nodded and looked back down at her. "You be very, very careful with this, Sunset Shimmer," I warned, "this isn't just something we can replace at Wal-Mart."

She nodded. "I'll be very careful," she promised as she looked at it with wide eyed anticipation.

"Your Grace, I thought I saw some bones down there," one of the guards said, pointing. "Shouldn't we gather them up and burn them?"

I stopped and turned, looking down at the now very empty former hoard room. Sure enough, I saw a few skeletons strewn about the ground. I felt the rage against Torch returning, but took a few deep breaths to quell my anger. "Yes," I said, "tell Lahar to gather as many guards as he needs to search through the caverns. Gather the bones and give them a proper Dragon burial."

The guard looked relieved, nodded, spread his wings and flew out. Ember came up to me. "I still can't believe I'm related to that monster…" she muttered bitterly.

"You can't choose who your blood relatives are," I replied, "but you can choose your family."

Ember gave me a narrowed eyed look, then smirked and rolled her eyes. "You're such a Pony lover," she muttered.

"Nah, he's a Zebra and Pony lover," Sunset said, giving me a playful nudge with her flank.

"Not now," I groaned, throwing my hands in the air as we began heading up the stairs. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the coin I'd picked up earlier. I looked it over, holding it in my hand as we walked out of the former hoard room. The doors closed behind us.

At that moment, Lahar came running up to us, looking out of breath. He stopped and knelt before me, his fist on his chest. "Your…hah…Grace…there's been a…hah…discovery…"

"Take a drink and collect yourself," I said.

He stood, grabbed the leather water pouch at his side and took a large swallow before answering. "Apologies, Your Grace," he said after he'd recovered, "but there's been a discovery in the kitchens. One of your chefs was trying to find something and discovered a hidden chamber. Your Grace…there is an entire hidden cavern full of foodstuffs."

When we all made it to the kitchen, we were shown the massive hidden door, one that Torch could obviously fit through. It led to yet another hidden cave, only this one was full of many different types of foots that could last for a long time. Cheese wheels, slabs of salted meat, some type of bread that seemed to have a slightly sweetened taste, and more. The moment I stepped in, I felt like I had stepped through some magical bubble. Sunset stopped and lifted her horn the moment she entered the room. "I'm detecting a powerful Unicorn spell," she said, "one that greatly slows down the decay of any food."

I picked up a nearby piece of bread and squeezed it gently. It was soft to the touch like most bread should be. Looking around the room, I saw that there were symbols carved onto the wall itself. Turning back to Sunset, I asked, "Does that mean that this bread could be a few years old?"

"Possibly more," Sunset said. "I've used this spell once or twice, but it's rare for any Unicorn to master and is very draining on a Pony's magic. I don't know how old this food is, but it could be decades old if not maybe even a hundred."

I set the bread down and looked around the room. "Would the food start aging at the normal rate if we moved it out of the room?" I asked. She nodded. "Alright…we have a lot more food to take with us now," I added. "Let's get this out to the Dragons. They're going to need their strength. What we don't use we'll take with us to Virynth Atheos." I turned down to Sunset. "Think you could teach me that spell when you get a minute?"

She grinned. "Got an idea?"

"The beginnings of one, at least," I said. "For now, though, let's get out of here and let the guards do their work. There's a lot we need to do."

"…some sort of power coming from that ore you gave me to research," Twilight was eagerly saying later that evening during our nightly Skype call, "and I can't determine what it is. I can tell you that the dagger you gave Spike has traces of that ore inside it, though!"

"What kind of power?" I asked, genuinely curious as I held up another piece of the metal in my hand.

On the other end, Twilight lifted one of the three pieces I'd given her. "I don't know, yet," she said, "but if I turn off the light…like so," and here she flipped the lights off in her room, "then look at the metal itself! It's glowing brighter! I left one out in the sun and one out in the moonlight, and the metal seems to soak up their light the best." She turned the lights back on and looked back at me. "If we found the source of this metal, I think that Princess Celestia would definitely be willing to negotiate trade for it."

"If other kingdoms discover that we have a plentiful supply of Mythril, they might come down on us and try and take it by force," I replied. "Twilight, Aelyssia isn't ready for war of any kind. This metal needs to be kept a secret. I know Celestia and Luna both know about it, but until we know where this vein of ore is and until we're ready to defend our borders we can't let other nations know about it."

"I've actually been developing a tracking spell of my own," Twilight replied with a proud smile. "I think that with Moondancer's help, I could be able to find out where they came from."

I frowned. "I'd like to keep as few people from knowing about this ore as possible," I said.

"Moondancer isn't just any standard Pony," Twilight replied with a frown. "She's one of my friends. I know she can keep a secret."

"I know you trust her, but this is a matter of national security, Twi," I said gently. "There are things that should be kept close to the chest." I went silent for a bit, and so did she, staring at the screen intently. "However," I added, "I think that I can make one exception. If Moondancer is willing to swear to keep this ore a secret, you can bring her in and help you."

Twilight's eyes widened gratefully. "Thank you! Thank you! We won't tell anypony or anyone else! I promise by Celestia herself!"

I nodded, knowing that she meant her word. "Good. Well, now that that's out of the way, how's everyone else doing?"

"Oh! They're doing pretty good," Twilight replied. "Applejack's been actually practicing her new magic and is getting pretty good with it. Rarity's been experimenting with those fabrics you gave her from Earth and from Aelyssia, Pinkie's been making some strange but tasty new treats, Rainbow Dash actually started reading Daring Do and can't stop raving about them. She also read those books you gave her and she's raving about them, too. Fluttershy's been more or less the same, but I think she's really worried about you. She asked me to ask you if she could come talk to you sometime during our calls."

"Of course she can," I said quickly, "I'd love to see her. What about everyone else? Spike? The Crusaders? The other Ponies in town?"

"Spike's been spending time with the Crusaders a bit more," Twilight replied, "and tonight they actually asked if they could visit his O&O group with him to see if they'd get a cutie mark in playing games like that."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure those three didn't just go for their cutie marks," I said in a teasing tone.

Twilight gave me a frown. "What are you implying?"

"Do you really need me to say?"

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Spike's growth spurt does seem to have…well, attracted those three fillies," she admitted. "Even so, he's still got his crush on Rarity, and she'll probably never see him the same way because of the age difference."

"Just make sure she doesn't take advantage of his crush on her," I replied.

Twilight's ears flattened. "Do you really think that'll happen?" she asked, sounding a bit hurt.

"This version of Rarity? I doubt it," I said, "but when I get back from Virynth Atheos, you and I should probably sit him down and talk with him about it. Not only that, but I think we should talk to him about the birds and the bees."

Twilight looked down. "I know I should, but I'm scared," she said hesitantly. "I don't want to give him the wrong information. And I really don't want to break his innocence."

"It has to happen to us one time or another," I insisted. "Besides, there are biology textbooks in that library I gave you. You can study those."

"I have," she replied, looking up at me, "but I'm just scared."

"Why do you think I'll be there?" I asked. "I know it's a scary thought. I'm nervous, too. I bet your parents were nervous when they had to do the same for you and your brother."

"Couldn't we ask them to do it?" Twilight asked with slight hope in her voice and eyes.

"No, it has to be us," I replied. "You helped raise him more often, and he's started to call me dad. We should be the ones to talk about it."

There was silence for a bit, then finally Twilight nodded. "Understood," she said with a heavy tone in her voice.

"Let's switch subjects for a while," I said. "How are the others in town? You haven't talked about them, yet."

Twilight smiled again, her mood getting better. "Everypony else is doing great! Lyra and Bon Bon are starting to sell some new candies in their store…"

"Love, you look completely exhausted," Zecora said an hour later as she and Scarlet snuggled up to me in bed. The fireplace was brightly lit an the room was warm. Zecora was wearing practically nothing and I was in my boxers.

"Long day at the office?" Scarlet teased gently, nudging me with her snout.

I put my arms around them both. "It's been a long few days," I said, "but thankfully productive."

Scarlet leaned over and kissed me deeply before moving away and letting Zecora do the same. I kissed them both back and held them close. Zecora put one hand on my chest and leaned against me while Scarlet put a hoof on my chest as well. "Get as much sleep as you can," Scarlet said, "because when all of this is over, Zecora and I are going to chain you to the bed back home."

I faux shuddered. "Oh my God, how horny are you?"

She giggled and snuck up closer to me. "You're the only stallion I will ever feel this way about," she whispered in my ear sincerely.

Zecora must have heard this, because she leaned in, took my hand in hers, and whispered, "We both love you, dearest. And that won't ever change."

I smiled and, for a moment, my worries as Emperor melted away. I closed my eyes, still smiling, and drifted off into a comfortable and peaceful sleep.