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I listened to the soft scratching of the quill Twilight was using as I looked up from my growing book of special notes I kept on the nightstand beside our bed. Nearly a week had passed and she was still adamantly making me remain in bed or on the couch downstairs at least half the day. It was frustrating, but one look of worried eyes from her and I only ever sighed and gave her a small smile of playful exasperation before complying, just to see her own relieved little smile every time. I was safe from falling over but still found myself tiring very fast, even if every day saw me gaining noticeable strength over the one before.

As I quietly watched her working at her desk on some specific spell research for Celestia, though it was now more mutual research matters than lessons even though they both were happy to maintain much of their past interactions. As I took in her form with a soft smile, she was lost in her study of some sort of specific spell theory, well beyond my current level of experience, relating to some alternate approach to earth manipulation for improving cave modifications from what she said. I hadn't asked what brought it up. Two books hovered in easy reading distance, three stacks of around a dozen tomes each nearby, as her eyes flicked between them and the parchment before her, quill working away rapidly with few pauses.

Now and then she would give a small huff of frustration or faint gasp of understanding. There was a difference in her wings with each to my eyes. The edges of her feathers quivered slightly when she was annoyed or challenged and often opened her wings slightly with a bit of fluffing up for a moment when she found something interesting or made a new connection. Her mane was still a little disheveled from sleep, being so eager to dive into her research this morning. I couldn't help but smile a little more at the adorkable image of a devoted and enthusiastic scholar. Every little thing she did tended to bring me a smile, but seeing her so enthralled in her passions always made it that much better.

My eyes returned to the special notes I was working on, my smile fading again as I looked at the large journaling book already close to half full of words and rough diagrams despite being more than an inch thick. I would probably need one or two more before the summit if I kept going at such a rate. The second day of my current recovery, we had found ourselves discussing possible preparations for the upcoming royal summit. An idle comment about my unique exposure to ideas back on Earth while Twilight was thinking out loud had inspired me to begin working on this little project. Coming from a different world, I had vastly different experience with concepts and ideas Equestria had never encountered or conceived. Specifically, things I knew of human technology and wartime capabilities, though that was merely to be my initial focus leading up to the summit.

At my urging, Twilight had agreed not to read my notes before the summit and only if Celestia, Luna, and Shining Armor agreed she should know. She didn't like not knowing, but she accepted how much I had come to treasure her lack of such knowledge...and how darkly unpleasant some of what I was now writing down was going to be. I only shared short, rough concept of a thermobaric rocket enough to express how dangerous they could be, if little directly on what they could actually do to living beings. She had given me such a mournful look after some time to think it over, asking if it hurt to know things much worse than that. It was an innocence I treasured and cherished in her. She admitted not really wanting to know about anything worse and even indulged me with a sealing spell on the journal so only I could open it, just in case curious youthful eyes tried to wander. While I was including such in my notes, I didn't say a word to her about chemical weapons and other horrors. Humans had long been terrifyingly creative when coming up with ways to kill each other. It only got worse when looking at works of fiction. Fiction had ideas for magic applications in war.

Most of it was brainstorming for concepts and suggestions to present for consideration and fresh ideas, knowing full well many of them were quite possibly already known in some way. Celestia and I shared a few grim but hopeful letters on it, telling me she hoped we would not need such horrid things like the few weapon examples I mentioned but she was willing to review them for what they might inspire in defense of Equestria. We were both more hopeful regarding defensive concepts I had learned of. Some of which were sure to be entirely unprecedented to Equestria's history.

But we both acknowledged most of the ideas could never go beyond the diarchy or head of Equestria's military forces. They were as keen as I was to protect the special kind of peaceful unknowing Equestria had. Great ideas could transform entire worlds. Dangerously misunderstood ones could ruin them.

I was working on one of the more hopeful concepts this morning. Thanks to an interest in new technology, one of the things I saw from Earth was a rather fascinating concept that had used a special liquid polymer suspension that was quite flexible to normal movement speeds but could harden instantly in response to an impact to protect against penetration, operating around a response to velocity. It was something that could be fused into materials like kevlar for very flexible yet extremely tough armor far lighter than metal or ceramic plating. I wasn't an engineer and couldn't run the practical math to save my life, but my studies in magic were giving me insights into ways we might actually create some of the ideas I had, letting me suggest practical theories. Even things drawn from fiction on Earth could potentially be realized with magic, which expanded my potential list dramatically.

The work was often a little depressing, even when it was something like armor theories. Perhaps it was due to knowing full well that even successful implementation of this liquid polymer armor idea would be put to use keeping a member of the Royal Guard alive longer in battle but not one idea I had would protect against or prevent everything. Not even all of them combined into one. There would be many that would never be seen by their families again. Such feelings never lasted long though, instead soon stoking the fires of determination to do everything I could to help Equestria and these ponies survive. I had a massive amount of ideas to go through and put to paper for my princesses. They had accepted me openly and I found myself returning the sentiment more every day. I was gradually coming to terms that even if a way to go back was found, it would be an impossible trip because of my link with Twilight and I could never drag her with me to a world I knew would never accept her, let alone us being together.

Missing what I left behind was something I simply had to accept. Equestria was my home now, no matter how I looked at it.

And I had work to do.

***

A couple of hours passed as Twilight and I worked on our respective tasks. I raised a brow in bemused surprise when both our stomachs chose to growl noisily at the same time. Twilight and I turned to grin at each other with faint blushes and shared a chuckle.

"Well it seems we should look into lunch shortly, Purple Angel. Were the girls meeting us for lunch today or no? It slips my mind what time they were coming by." I said as I closed my notes and stretched some, earning a few satisfying pops from my spine.

Twilight set her own efforts down, in a meticulously arranged way of course, and came over to me with a smile, "They should be by in another hour or so. I think Spike is still out so it's just us for lunch today. Think those black bean burgers you got me hooked on would be good? I should be able to put a couple together for us."

That gave me a smirk as I nodded and stood up to head down to the kitchen. She had initially been a little skeptical that something inspired by meat would be appealing but soon conceded it was a delicious idea when we put down a wager that she would like them. It took a little iteration on my part, but we had a tasty recipe now. And Twilight enjoyed them even more than the local diner's veggie burgers. Although, considering that diner, I still hadn't figured out why she had been skeptical in the first place.

As we sat down at the table to enjoy our meal, my mind drifted again, my eyes glancing through the window at the blue sky and the town quietly enjoying the day. Perhaps it was being so focused on my war and combat concepts project, I often found myself seeing mournful scenes in my mind's eye. After seeing so many devastated places on Earth played by the news, it wasn't difficult for my imagination to conjure unsettlingly vivid images of peaceful Ponyville after a battle of one sort or another. Twilight knew it was gradually worsening a little at a time as I worried over everything and told me she would be there whenever I needed a hug. I had always worried a bit excessively when myself or others were expecting serious trouble. Twilight and I both knew we were there for each other but it was always nice to hear it out loud when needed. It left me feeling a little blessed every time.

Twilight's voice brought me back out of my head and my eyes turned from the window, "What was that? I was drifting again."

She gave me a gentle look of concern, "I asked if you wanted some lemonade... Seeing the images again?"

"Lemonade would be nice and yes I was... I love this world. Knowing even vaguely that there will be some big war in the relatively near future brings so many memories of wars on Earth. I wish we could prevent it entirely..." I said softly, looking into her eyes.

"We all do, Vojin. The more time that passes, the more I worry about you though. Aside from the princesses, you're possibly the only living being in Equestria beyond a few old dragons that have seen real wars, even if you have never been in one yourself. Just seeing how much it troubles you is enough to tell me some of how difficult it will be. I will always be right here though. We can face it together." Twilight leaned against me as her wing settled against my back in a tender embrace.

After a brief pause to clear my head again, I kissed her cheek, sitting together left me close to eye level with her, "I know, Purple Angel. Hopefully, everything I have been writing down will eventually come to save a lot of lives. I just wish I could do more."

"I know. Your protective nature is driving you hard with this. Put it out of your mind for now though. You have lunch to eat and an opinion to give because I wanted to try adding a little more spice this time." Twilight nuzzled me before levitating my black bean burger to my mouth and teasing a little before jamming in with a faint giggle, forcing me to take a large bite. Although hearing that she had done any kind of experimentation in the kitchen left me suddenly apprehensive. I'd seen firsthand some of her...results.

She released the burger to me when I got my hand on it and I gave her a flat look before starting to chew. What quickly became apparent alongside the pleasant flavors was a rising heat. I'd come to learn Twilight enjoyed a spicier meal from time to time like I did and it seemed she was in the mood for one today. I was happy to share them with her, but her cooking attempts were often not exactly according to plan. Heat aside, at least the flavors came together well this time.

As I felt the spicy heat continue to rise the more I chewed, I knew I'd be sweating a lot soon and my face would turn red. I could handle it well enough, but I began to worry for Twilight as I saw her taking a large bite of her own burger. The burning tingle in my mouth was substantial yet tolerable to me. I was still learning how much Twilight could take but as I watched her expression changing from enjoying flavor to something I couldn't quite place as her eye began to twitch...it only confused me further when she quickly devoured the rest of her burger.

She gave me a somewhat manic forced smile with bulging cheeks before she swallowed as her face began to flush ever brighter before levitating a large mixing bowl over, conjured a pile of crushed ice, and promptly buried her head in the bowl with her mouth wide open as her wing pulled me to her side with surprising strength, her whole body seemed tense. The sound of her devouring the ice kept me silently looking on as I absently took another bite of my burger, resolved to the experience as I began contemplating a tissue after a spice-induced sniffle.

Twilight kept her face buried in the ice for almost half a minute and cleared over half the bowl before she seemed to relax her wing holding me and sit back up. She had a sheepish grin as she met my curious expression, "Um...I think I might have added too much of those peppers..."

That brought a smirk to my flushed and sweating face, "You don't say... What kind were they? And exactly how much did you add, anyway?"

"Do you want some ice, Vojin? You look a little uncomfortable.," she asked, nudging the bowl closer to me and clearly trying to avoid the question.

"I can handle it. No dodging, my dear chef." I chuckled softly before I finished my burger. Having been a fan of Mexican and Thai food on Earth, it wasn't too severe to me, although the amount of heat was overwhelming the ability to still taste much of it.

Twilight grumbled a little and levitated a pepper from the counter I hadn't noticed and set it on the table. It wasn't hard to recognize the somewhat wrinkly, distinctive shape of the green pepper, apparently rather large for it's kind to boot. I blinked and looked between the pepper and her a few times before giving her a peck on the cheek and a sympathetic look, "Twilight...you know what kind of pepper that is, right?"

"I didn't know jalapenos could be so hot! I asked the mare at the pepper stall for a hotter jalapeno than last time and she suggested these! Since I was really in the mood for something extra spicy, I minced a whole one for each of our burgers! You sure you don't need some ice?" Twilight said before growing quiet, staring at the offending pepper with a look somewhere between annoyance and spicy anguish.

I couldn't help chuckling a bit more, "Twilight...it's not a jalapeno, that's a habanero and a big one at that... You are aware of them, right?"

The way she went to a look of surprise, then to a pitiful groan as she brought her hoof to her face as she leaned against me was interesting to see. My arm just slipping around her back as I continued to chuckle quietly.

"Most of the burning on my tongue is gone now. At least I don't have to go through that again..." Twilight said with a sigh.

"Um...science question for you... What is the typical biological response to exceptionally spicy foods upon the digestive system and anticipated effects over the duration? Specifically, what those peppers will likely be causing you to feel... Try for a simplified answer." I asked, giving her a small squeeze in sympathy for what she was about to realize for herself.

She took a moment before responding, restraining her urge to lecture, "Let me think...well, such foods can cause an abundance of microbial emissions, frequently resulting in cramping as a result of, ugh, pressure buildup. Hmm...the capsaicin that causes the body to interpret a signal for heat is also frequently still present in high concentrations upon completion of the digestive process and...evacuation.... Oh sweet Celestia have mercy!"

And...now I was just hoping to stop her from panicking in time for the little gathering soon.

By the time I managed to get Twilight to calm back down from panic mode, myself trying not to laugh too much the whole time, and stop her ransacking the library in a desperate search for a spell or remedy to stave off the inevitable, it was around the time set for the girls to arrive. She was somewhere between irritable and embarrassed now, hoping she wouldn't have to excuse herself early.

As we relaxed on the couch, I smirked and gave her a nuzzle, "You'll be fine, Purple Angel. Really, it won't be too terrible and over soon enough. Although, a vapor shield for hydrogen sulfide and the like may be a good idea later. You're lucky you can actually cast one. I probably won't be ready for that level of selective shielding for at least a few years."

"Hydrogen sulf....oh, right... Well, I guess you're right. I'm still locking the bathroom door and putting up a sound shield..." Twilight complained, still flushed with embarrassment.

I rubbed her back gently, trying to help her relax the tension in her. The lunch error of spicy doom was a rather unusual way to march into the afternoon, to be sure, yet a strangely typical sort of event in my life since coming here. Within a minute, I was slowly kneading her neck and shoulder muscles, earning an increasingly relaxed string of sighs and little moans of contentment. I wore a soft, lopsided little smile at her melting from my touch. If it wasn't for the planned visit, I would have started working on the special points of her oh so fun wings before long. Hmm, maybe that's a good tease for later, noting to myself to call her Miss Fun-Wings when we're in the right mood soon.

A few minutes later, we heard the knock at the door. I gently lifted her off my lap where she had settled down in the massage and got up from the couch. Giving her a quick peck behind her horn before I went to the door.

I opened the door to find Fluttershy and Applejack. I smiled as I welcomed them in, "Afternoon, ladies. Come in."

"Howdy Vojin. Good ta see ya again," Applejack said, "Hey there Twi."

Fluttershy was looking a little more unsettled, quieter among friends than usual, "Good afternoon Vojin. I hope we're not bothering the two of you."

"Not at all, Fluttershy. We did plan to meet together. No need to worry." I found Fluttershy's shyness endearing but it still left me a little confused with how she worried over so many inconsequential little things. Perhaps it was just intrinsic to her embodiment of Kindness in some way. I had been noticing it was beginning to show a pattern though, making extra sure everyone was extra comfortable when she had something she wanted to talk about. I figured she would get it out soon enough if that was the case today.

A smirk found it's way onto my face upon glancing out the door before closing it. I caught sight of Dash and Pinkie stalking someone with water balloons as they headed towards the library.

Glancing back inside, I caught the attention of the girls, "Looks like Dash and Pinkie are trying to get in a prank before dropping in. Any ideas who they're after this time?"

Twilight, Fluttershy and AJ looked out the window, propped up on the sill while trying to see what was likely to get interesting shortly.

"I see them. That seems to be a surprisingly small number of water balloons for them though. I mean, there's only four," Twilight noted.

"I noticed that. Think they filled them with something unusual?" I asked, feeling a bit of sympathy for the pony they were after.

Applejack hummed to herself, "Ah wonder what they're plannin' this time. Never seen em use anything but water mahself."

We could see down an alley where the town's two biggest pranksters were stalking after their target, whom was on the street still out of sight. I gave a small chuckle as they came around the corner, revealing Spike and Rarity.

"Ah...so that's who they're after. Twilight, I think I could use a little spontaneous spell practice..." I said a little ominously, starting to grin with looming mischief.

Twilight raised her eyebrow at me, smirking a little herself, "Planning a little pranking the prankster, Vojin?"

I gave a short laugh, "Whatever do you mean, my dear? It's not like a spell or two at range because I needed a little bit of extra practice could possibly be related to catching them by surprise. Think I can manage a discrete remote teleport on, say, some mysteriously loaded water balloons moving at a moderate speed through the air and keeping their momentum while reversing the direction without sacrificing the structural integrity?"

Twilight gave me a soft giggle and rubbed her chin with a hoof, "Well I think you should be able to. I suggest a second tier physical transition plane with a kinetic absorption key. You were studying that version of teleportation key only yesterday, actually. I suppose you can use a bit more practice... Better start charging the magic now though, just to be sure you have it all lined up properly. Hmm...I think it even qualifies you for a special treat if you can get the spell right..."

"Special treat? What're ya talkin' bout Twi?" Applejack asked, catching both Twilight and I off guard.

"U-um...I..." Twilight began to fluster and turn red, looking at me nervously.

Before I could make a reply though, I was surprised when Fluttershy spoke up softly, "Um, it sounds like its one of those things between couples..."

"That's...about right... Where did that come from Fluttershy?" I blinked, looking at the shy little pegasus who gave a squeak as she realized what she said. With how astute her observation, despite her timid nature, I couldn't help but wonder. Something for later though. I had impromptu spell practice to engage in for counter-pranking and Fluttershy seemed to be shrinking into herself while blushing so bad she might set her own feathers on fire. Best to let her calm down first anyway.

Letting the energy for my intended spell slowly build as I mentally lined up the spell components to establish the spell for proper casting, I couldn't help the grin spreading across my face. I watched Dash and Pinkie sneaking closer to their target in complete ignorance they were about to be the target of their own prank. Being able to see over the bushes so easily helps. I still owed them for the last time they pranked me, after all. It was in good fun of course, but deep meditation with spell effects under Zecora's direction was difficult enough on it's own. Having those two simultaneously manage to drench me with my own water spheres, still hadn't figured out how they did that, which were ice water no less from temperature manipulation, while also hitting me with a large bag of flour...well, it was an experience demanding some level of recompense and they'd been eyeing me warily, knowingly, for three days since. And now they seemed to forget that alley was visible from the library and I could see over most bushes rather well. Opportunity was knocking with a sledgehammer.

Just as Rarity and Spike stepped into the perfect position, interestingly they looked surprised, suddenly appearing unable to move their legs as if stuck fast while mystery balloons rose into the air for the attack. Recognition of what was coming was spreading across Rarity's face as she caught sight of the balloons flying over the bush. A bit straight forward and rough for their usual style, but the invisible wall of vengeance was quickly placed in the flight path.

The looks of mischievous glee suddenly became startled shock as the balloons winked out briefly before reappearing and flying right back at them. Bursts of white dust exploded on impact. Seconds later, a pair of large water balloons flew in from a curious high angle like mortar fire and splattered squarely on each of their heads. I couldn't be sure without being closer, but I would swear the water splash bent oddly around them while soaking in rapidly. It seemed they really liked the messy results of their last prank on me. A small shower of rainbow sprinkles finally rained down before a cherry landed perfectly on each of their heads to complete the mess of two stunned pranksters. Rather curious how that went, which left me with an extra suspicion.

"Kinda funny how that just played out. Almost like there was a little spellcraft in there. And knowing those two...Twilight, my dear...have you been, gasp, aiding the enemy...?" I said in mock disbelief before shooting her a playful smirk.

Twilight's actual surprise and bit of embarrassment was evident on her face as a sheepish guilty smile creeped in, "Um...I think I'll use one of your Earth sayings. I plead the fifth..."

I shook my head briefly, chuckling even as both Applejack and Fluttershy looked a little lost at her response. Stepping out the door, I waved them all over to the library. Rarity looked a bit smugly relieved, Spike was still laughing to himself, and the two piles of rainbow sprinkled dough followed along somewhat meekly despite the grins they had.

"I suppose Spike and I have you to thank for interrupting such a terribly messy prank, Vojin darling. I know they try to be unexpected but we are meeting together this afternoon! I would have needed to go back to the boutique had they succeeded in their endeavours. It's always nice to be protected by a gentlecolt." Rarity commented as she walked past me, earning a small bow of my head with a smile in turn. Spike just let out another chuckle and gave me a brofist as he passed.

As Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie approached though, I stepped in front of them with a smirk, "You two aren't allowed inside until you hose off and dry off. No pitter patter of batter splatter in the library. Twilight will string me up if I let you get her books dirty."

A glance at Twilight through the window revealed her secretive pleased smile as she turned back to Rarity. I just chuckled and tried a flexible light levitation spell on the hose to bring it over. Controlling the hose seemed easy enough as I snaked the noodle out of the coil.

Things quickly took a turn in favor of Murphy though, soon as I turned on the water. The hose, lacking normal physical constraints of even it's own weight via the weak levitation, began flipping wildly from the water pressure. The spray ran across Dash, Pinkie, and me before I could react. A nice line of water splashed across the door, wall, and window of the library's exterior before I managed to freeze the hose in the air and was fortunate enough to have it spraying me in the side of the head before I finally just dropped the levitation spell entirely. Once the hose flopped to the ground in a nice, normal manner, I glared at it as I picked it up by hand. One of these days, I needed to figure out a spell for Murphy repellent.

I rolled my eyes as Dash sniggered at my display, "I see you've been practicing, Vojin!"

In response, I just gave her a flat stare for two seconds before spraying her with water.

She just laughed and let me rinse her off after blocking her face with a wing. Once she was done, Pinkie simply jumped in front of her and bounced in place while turning, grinning madly the whole time. At least I had the sense to keep my distance, managing to avoid catching any of the mess.

"Alright, I guess that's enough. You two can dry off easily enough on your own right?" I said, taking just long enough to levitate the hose back into a neat coil. Upon turning back around, I blinked at Pinkie just as Dash, her back turned to the pink conundrum, took off for her flight-induced drying while I was confused, "Pinkie...how...why are you already dry?"

"I just jogged through a volcano because I felt like toasting some marshmallows while drying off! Want one? They're super duper tasty golden brown!" Pinkie beamed, holding up a small tray of perfectly toasted goodies.

Having firmly learned the lesson of 'Pinkie being Pinkie' in my first few days, I just swallowed my questions as I picked up a still-warm marshmallow and popped it in my mouth, thankful Pinkie Pie was a force for good, "I see... Well, thanks for the treat. I need to get myself dry now."

"Oh, I can help with that!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed from behind me, her voice dripped with mischievous intent. Quickly catching me by surprise, she latched on to my torso and quickly dragged me into a somewhat more open spot and letting go moments later.

I had half a second to think about that before she began whirling around me in a mini-tornado, causing me to have a bit of a spin myself. Given how my days usually went in Ponyville, this was probably the middle of my standard 'manic minute' for today. Of course, it was usually Pinkie as the cause and at the center. Today, she had help. Lucky me.

Feeling the whirlwind dissipate, I took a second to recover my senses before marching straight for the library door, hearing Rainbow Dash snickering as I grumbled, "Lovely. Rain-blow dry. I need a brush..."

As I headed inside, trying not to think about the mess on my head, I heard Rarity gasp but went silently up the stairs to the bathroom for a mane brush. My thoughts paused briefly, realizing that little hiccup happened again, thinking about something with the Equestrian name equivalent instead of the Earth version I grew up with. I mused to myself about how long it would be until I started in with 'everypony' in regular conversation. After a couple long minutes of thought-filled detangling of the light brown clown wig Rainbow left me with, at least if said wig were run through a washing machine before getting attacked by a deranged pony, finally I got it under control again and headed back down.

The girls were all enjoying a light conversation until I came back and immediately flopped on my back, feet towards the wall, next to Twilight as she sat on a cushion in a circle with the rest of our friends, simply staring at the ceiling in a slight daze as Twilight nudged me with a hoof.

"Are you alright, Vojin?" she asked with a smile, "One of your 'manic minute' things again?"

"Purple Angel, I do believe with everything that just happened, this one wins the month." I replied distantly, turning a bemused expression and somewhat exasperated eyes to meet her own.

"At first, I had a hard time believing you had at least one crazy minute almost every day at first. Now, I'm just trying to figure out how you seem to be such a magnet for something crazy happening most days. Hopefully, you can relax the rest of today now. Care to join me and the girls?" Twilight said softly with a sympathetic smile.

"Of course," I replied before sitting up and settling in beside Twilight properly with my legs crossed, giving her a discreet but playful poke in a wingjoint and earning a slight blush out of her as I wrapped an arm over her shoulders, "This was my idea, after all."

Twilight narrowed her eyes slightly and gave me a gentle bap on the back of the head with her wing before leaning against me. I simply smirked and kissed her temple before giving a nuzzle, then turned my eyes back to our gathering.

It was just a simple visit together, but primarily to give them all a specific safe time and place to express any worries that might come along because of the looming shadows of the future. A little silly perhaps, but I was trying to do everything I could to help them be open about anything the looming fight might bring up for them. And another excuse just to spend time together never hurts.

"Well, now that we're all here, any of you had worries about or done something partly because of the 'you-know-what' this week?" I asked. After a pause, I noticed Fluttershy simultaneously trying to shrink and hold up her hoof at the same time, albeit slightly and slowly as she tried to avoid attention she was actually trying to get. "It's alright Fluttershy. What's on your mind?"

The expected squeak was adorable usual, but she seemed to steady herself a bit and straightened up a little, "U-um...w-well I...that is, I...um....if it's alright with everypony...I-I would like t-to...a-announce s-s-somthing...."

Fluttershy paused, visibly trying to gather herself when Applejack spoke up, "It's alright, sugarcube. Ya'll are free ta say anythin' here. Ain't nopony gonna be teasin' ya about anything ya say...ain't that right, Rainbow Dash..." Applejack punctuated her statement with a glance at the chromatic pegasus, who grinned nervously while deflating a little.

"I-I know....j-just...um, can I just sh-show you?" Fluttershy asked softly, shaking enough her feathers were starting to tremble slightly.

Curious, I nodded, "Of course, Fluttershy. You know the guidelines I told everyone for this."

"O-okay....e-excuse m-m-me..." Fluttershy said before slowly standing and stiffly making her way to the door. After she stuck her head out and made a motion with a hoof, she seemed to wait.

Not long after, I heard a set of hooves approaching from outside. Fluttershy seemed to be shaking more noticeably, even gulping silently before the door opened fully and she was pulled into a hug by a large red foreleg. Almost like a soothing spell was cast, the tension in her body seemed to drain away as Big Macintosh held her.

After she seemed to settle down again, Fluttershy stepped back and looked up at him with a soft, grateful smile before turning to walk back over to our little circle. She settled down on her cushion and Big Mac gave her a small nuzzle as he settled in beside her.

Fluttershy leaned into him and seemed a lot calmer, still very quiet but almost steady now, "I...um, I wanted to say...I-I was thinking about the future and the scary stuff we're probably going to face. After some talking about it, Big Mac and I decided it was time. W-we've been seeing each other secretly for months now and wanted to stop hiding it from everypony..."

Rarity's face lit up like she just won fashion week and began gushing, "Oh Fluttershy! Darling! This is wonderful news! And seeing each other secretly for months! I recently read a romance novel where the main characters did just the same thing! Oh, I do hope you didn't plan it to be soon so I have time to do your dress justice! Oh Fluttershy, I'm simply ecstatic! When did you want to have the wedding?"

An open declaration regarding reading a romance novel from the same unicorn that was so meticulous in her social graces? Oh, I needed to remember that for another day! At least worth one major blush, probably two if I was careful, but I had other things to focus on for now.

Judging by the sudden blush on both Fluttershy and Big Mac, along with their lost expressions, I was guessing there was a false assumption going on but held my piece with a smirk. More entertaining to see things play out sometimes and Rarity was still gushing obliviously. The rest of the girls seemed at least somewhat clued in after a bit as well. Except Pinkie. I wasn't even going to question the bucket of popcorn she was suddenly munching on as she looked on.

Once her fashionista flood tapered off, she still spoke excitedly, "Oh, tell me already Darling! I simply must know the date immediately so I may plan! I must also insist you come back to the boutique with me immediately upon our closing of this get together so I can retake your measurements to be absolutely certain I have everything right! Oh, I am simply ecstatic! When is the date?"

When Fluttershy seemed to sense Rarity was waiting for a response, her voice soft and a little apologetic, "Oh, I'm so sorry Rarity. We're not getting married. We just wanted to tell everyone we're seeing each other because we wanted to start having a few dates in town and visit the cafe together. We don't know what will happen in the future and decided to stop keeping it a secret anymore. Please don't be mad at me..."

"Oh my! I'm terribly sorry, Darling. I am afraid I jumped to conclusions once again. There is nothing wrong with taking all the time you feel is right for the two of you. After all, the better the foundation, the stronger the relationship! I am of course utterly delighted for the two of you. I daresay I might have to collaborate with Pinkie and throw a small event in celebration! Consider my previous statements as a promise to design your wedding dress someday. Oh, and Big Mac, we are friends, however..." Rarity waited till she had his full attention, then her face darkened in a way that even left me a little scared, her voice a low threatening tone as she gave Big Mac a death glare that could melt iron, "If you break her heart, I will personally flay the flesh from your bones! Do I make myself clear, colt!"

"E-eeyup..." Big Mac managed to get out, ears flat to his head and eyes wide, looking shaken.

Instantly, Rarity relaxed back to her usual demeanor as if nothing out of the ordinary took place and she smiled brightly, "Excellent! I am truly happy for the two of you. Might I ask how it began?"

We all were quick to voice our interest in the story right then. Perhaps it was just my own bias, but it made me smile inwardly at the way the glanced at each other with small private smiles for each other before Big Mac gave her a tender nuzzle. Fluttershy seemed to press herself against him a little more, turning back to the group with a more open smile than she usually wore. The two of them seemed very happy together.

"I think it might be nice to share the story now." Fluttershy said softly, the gentle smile she wore was very much her version of beaming, "Well, I know Vojin has heard the story of my singing with the Ponytones briefly, so I won't go into that part. It was a few days after that ended when Big Mac came by in the morning with one of the chickens feeling who wasn't feeling well. I didn't hear him coming and he caught me singing to some of my animal friends. He was so quiet, I didn't notice he was nearby until he seemed to whisper to himself about wishing he could ask me out but he didn't realize how loud it came out right when I finished the song I was singing. When we both looked at each other, knowing we both heard each other, well...we were really, really embarrassed...

"Once Big Mac found his voice, he seemed to try and forget everything as he started telling me about his ill chicken. He acted like nothing happened until I was digging through some of my supplies to help the poor dear get better again. It was about then, he mumbled how he couldn't believe he was rambling, like butterflies in his stomach all of a sudden. When I asked him about it and if he was feeling sick too, he just got all shaky and started sweating that I thought he was getting really sick himself." Fluttershy seemed to pause as she looked up at Big Mac, her smile growing as she nuzzled him, "Somehow, between me trying to make him lay down on the couch and Big Mac trying to not fall over his own hooves, we fell over together and I wound up being held by him as we just stared at each other, blushing. He had caught me before I fell under him.

"It was strange. For some reason I couldn't lift a hoof to leave right then. He made me feel really safe somehow and before I really had time to think about getting back up, he finally asked if I would forgive him for being clumsy and if he could treat me to lunch to make up for it." Fluttershy seemed to sigh and push herself against Big Mac again, "I agreed without really thinking about it just so I had some reason to get back up. He brought lunch over to my cottage that same day and we enjoyed each other's company so much, we decided to do it again a few days later. We've been keeping it between us, but we've been seeing each other ever since. I hope I haven't taken up too much time. I always feel more confident when he's next to me."

"Ah gotta say Big Mac...ya sure kept this one close ta the vest. Ya ain't got a lot ta say most of the time but ah always thought ah'd have caught somethin' like this. When are ya fixin' ta tell Granny?" Applejack had a grin on her face, looking rather pleased about her brother dating, though one had to wonder at her thoughts on him dating one of her closest friends.

"Gonna be later today, AJ. We'll have one more for dinner." Big Mac said in response, a sleepy, proud smile was all his face really displayed even as he gave Fluttershy a faint nudge.

"Well I can't say it's the most surprising tale of he meets she. I will say I am rather tickled to hear even you suffer from stupid male syndrome, Big Mac. May our fates be sealed with those we love." I laughed lightly as I glanced at Twilight, seeing him sport a small smirk as he glanced at Fluttershy again.

He simply gave a quiet smile with a soft rumble of reply, "Eeyup."

"Ok, all this romantic stuff is fine and all, but I gotta ask you Fluttershy. Has he shown you his applebucking technique yet? I have a running bet with Cloud Kicker and I'm dying to know if he lives up to his name!" Rainbow Dash's grin was terrible. Poor Fluttershy seemed to practically ignite with embarrassment.

Twilight was the first to respond, swiftly giving her a whap her upside the head with a purple wing. I hoped Rainbow felt at least a little terrible about it as she received a fairly appropriate response, "Rainbow! Do you really have to be that crude?"

Rainbow Dash only chuckled, "Wow Twilight. You sure catch on quick ever since you started bucking Vojin five times a day. You were so bad with innuendos, I was starting to think it was impossimmph!"

I sighed and let my magic drop after the solid application of a pillow to a certain blue pegasus mare's face. She was still grinning ear to ear as she set down the pillow and rubbed her nose a bit but at least she wisely remained silent. Poor Twilight was attempting to impersonate a tomato again as I gave her a soft squeeze and kissed the top of her head as she calmed down, deciding it was best to move on, clearing my throat lightly, "Well, now that we have that behind us, do the rest of you girls have anything on your minds? And before you ask, Dash, big fat no on another word about that. Behave yourself or I'll give you sticky hooves and a silence spell before leaving you stuck on the ceiling. And not a word about sticky hooves, either..."

Rainbow Dash caught my eye, somehow managing to contain herself to quiet sniggering behind a hoof. To date, I'd learned only Cloud Kicker had beaten Rainbow for crudest pony in town. They actually were both sweethearts, in all honesty, but they were sweethearts with malfunctioning senses of shame and very dirty minds. Cloud Kicker was worse because she took regular delight in trying to convince me to, as she put it, go back to her place and bang so she knew how good humans were. I knew she had her rules and never actually would, but at least she agreed to stop heckling me when I was with Twilight. Which was thankfully almost every time I was outside the library.

As often happens, it wasn't long before my mind began to wander for lack of stimulation. Rarity had started talking about what few practical males really grasp. Something about the ideas and emotions of looming conflict inspiring her to mix modern styles with historical battles. I couldn't follow with much of it and resigned myself to giving her enough of my attention to be respectful and otherwise admitted cognitive defeat. I was still happily offering her feedback on sketches, but she had surrendered trying to give me a more refined fashion sense. Of course, half the time it was only Fluttershy that kept up anyway.

To my surprise, as my mind was allowed to drift, I began to notice a faint magic presence beyond those gathered in the room. It wasn't much at first, but awareness brings focus and it wasn't long before I was narrowing the signature down. Still found it funny all spellcasters were capable of what amounted to magic radar when practiced at it alongside skill with deep meditation. The presence seemed familiar as I focused.

Finally, I smirked privately and made no attempt to hide levitating the dart over from across the room where Spike had been given permission to set up, provided he didn't touch it unless Twilight or I were in the room. He was still off doing chores missed earlier so he could help Rarity. Pinkie caught my eye and gave me an inexplicable knowing smirk. I just quirked a brow at her as I began to twirl the dart between my fingers. Rarity was looking just about done with her fashion lecture. Twilight and Pinkie seemed to be the only ones that noticed me obtaining the dart.

After Rarity finished and the others had their comments heard, I smirked, "Well, may I offer my opinions when we can sit down over some sketches, Rarity? It sounds like an interesting line, but you know how bad I am at visualizing that stuff."

"I still wish I could impress upon you the importance of fashion, darling. I have not lost hope!" Rarity gave a small, if dramatic, sigh, "But yes, I will finish the sketches and drop by in a day or two. You are more capable than you know, even if you do not recognize it."

"Heh, maybe. And I still think you should try sketching for the sake of the art itself. I'll have to pick out some tea for then." I turned to the yellow pegasus leaning against Big Mac, still smirking, "Fluttershy, I think I remember you telling him it was ok to come with you, but Discord does know snooping and spying around me is going to get him in trouble, right? Or rather, again..."

She looked surprised and a touch confused, "Well I have told him he could come with me but he said he was wanting to try a new bakery in Canterlot today. At least I think that's what he said. I still don't know much of what he does when he isn't visiting me. Princess Celestia even mentioned once he tends to cause mischief and pranks at the castle more than anything else. Why do you ask?"

My smirk grew a bit, levitating the dart for a second before it winked out. Moments later, a yelp rang out which was shortly followed by a thump. Everyone turned towards the basement stairs where Discord was getting to his mismatched feet, the dart stuck in his backside.

After a mixture of a sheepish grin and a grumble of frustration, he plucked the dart out, glared at it briefly, turned it into a turnip before tossing it behind himself, and went to sit near Fluttershy, grousing a bit as he gave me a scowl, "How in Equestria do you keep doing that, human? Not one pony ever knows when I'm around if I don't announce my fabulous presence. I can even keep Celestia and Luna guessing when I try. And you keep catching me."

I finally had to chuckle, give him an amused expression, "Well, Mister Mixup, you have a very unique magical signature and I'm well trained in following very subtle cues like you give off when you're close by. Not to mention, you're not exactly subtle in general. Enough of that though, I told you to stop sneaking around and just come out. Why do you keep trying to be sneaky when you were invited, anyway?"

Discord huffed, "I am not answering that. I mean, really, it's so much less fun to simply join in and...Fluttershy, stop looking at me like that. No. Stop that! Don't make meeeeee... Gah, fine... I remember what you said about friends and behaving myself so I won't make everypony quite as nervous..."

All Fluttershy had done was turn her head and raise her brow. I grew a lopsided grin every time I saw her reign him in with just a look. For all his social failings and other issues, he did treasure her friendship. He returned Fluttershy's small smile with one of his own as he sighed and she gave him a pat on the side in encouragement.

"Well, now that you're actually here Discord, I've been curious what you think of things to come. I know you're more aware of the future even though none of us have said anything to you because of your foresight skills, despite how little you use it for sake of surprises. And no, you know we were asked by the Princesses to remain silent so don't ask." I said, wondering both what he thinks of the shadows ahead as well as how much he actually knew.

It was then a strange look crossed his face for the briefest of moments. Given his odd approach to things, I couldn't be sure but it looked like genuine worry. It vanished just as swiftly as he gave a soft grin and glanced at Fluttershy briefly, "I won't say what I really know. A mighty master of chaos such as moi has to maintain some air of mystery, after all! I just intend to spend my time visiting Fluttershy as usual."

Behind his dancing around any real answer, he had a flash of another emotion and firm conviction passed across his eyes as he met mine. He only said a little, but he said enough.

The last thirty minutes or so seemed to pass by in a hurry as conversation returned to more usual subjects. Before we all knew it, it was time for everyone to head off and for Twilight and I to get more studying done. Well, I had studying. She had a lecture to plan because I made the mild mistake of asking for a lesson in practical illusion applications now that I was stepping into that area of spells. She already said it would take most of the day tomorrow. At least I actually enjoyed them a fair bit, after helping her understand how to avoid being statistical and dry that is.

"Hey Vojin, before I go, there's something I've been wondering about you!" Pinkie exclaimed, "You've been here almost two whole months and I still don't know when your birthday is or how old you are! So c'mon! Tell me! I gotta know so I can plan you the bestest 'first birthday in Equestria ever' party!"

I couldn't help but laugh briefly, but finally shook my head, "My lips are sealed on that information, Pinkie. Just something I decided to leave behind. I know it's a little weird, wanting to forget your own birthday but for some reason, mine never went well. Something always went badly. I already made up my mind about it, so just consider my arrival in Equestria as my birthday from now on, ok? And no, I'm not telling you how old I am either. Uh...a lady never reveals their age?" I finally gave her a silly grin.

Pinkie hummed to herself, glancing to the side as she tapped her chin with a hoof before looking up at me with another grin, "I can work with that as your new birthday if you really want me to! But tell me how old you are! You're not a lady! Twilight has proof!"

Now I was just staring at her blankly, unsure if she was being dirty-minded, innocent, or outright random. I honestly had no idea how to respond for several seconds and heard the groan of Twilight engaging hoof to face, before she stepped in herself.

"Pinkie! I'd expect that from Rainbow...thankfully she already took off...but to hear that from you?! By Celestia, I really don't know what to do with you sometimes. Can you just forget about it for now? Please?" Twilight gave the party pony an exasperated look.

"Ok, I'll ask again later! Don't think you're gonna get out of it though, Vojin!" Pinkie grinned wide as she bounced, catching Twilight and I in hugs before heading out the door, "I will find out eventually! Even if I have to apply transdimensional mechanics under StarSwirl's seventh planar distinction through a polymorphic divination matrix empowering a discretionary visual induction plane with mutual sympathetic lines! No way you're getting out of it!"

Both Twilight and I stood quietly as we watched her bounce away before slowly closing the door, myself feeling boggled and Twilight looking stunned. I only understood half of what Pinkie referenced, but Twilight looked somewhere between frustrated and flabbergasted.

"How...how could she...the hay with it how she knows about that obscure...why would anypony ever even consider a combination like that? The whole suggestion is at odds with several different proven magic theories! Gah!" Twilight's eye twitched for a few seconds before she finally let out an exasperated sigh.

Deciding to follow the hunch of 'Pinkie being Pinkie' bits of information just to be safe, I looked at Twilight, "I don't know much about what she just said, but can you write it down with a few book titles to reference for me, please? Even if it's one of her crazy gibberish lines, it should at least give me an interesting project to research over time. I'd like to try looking into it out of curiosity. You could call it an excuse to flex my limits a little, I suppose. And it's just a rough guess, but it's a long-term project, isn't it?"

Twilight looked at me with a frown, "Well, I guess I can help give you some direction for the extra learning. And yes, that is definitely a long term effort. It would probably take me a year of dedicated study to get it all set up based on a rough estimate of what she suggested. And that's assuming Pinkie was actually completely on target. It would be several years for you right now, so please don't worry about it too much, alright Vojin? I'll help if it starts to actually go somewhere, ok?"

I brought one knee up to stand, but first pulled Twilight in for a hug, nuzzling her softly, "Thank you, Purple Angel. She confuses me just as badly but does come up with insightful things sometimes. I am aware of the parasprite incident, after all. Maybe it will pan out eventually."

***

With an adorable squeal, Twilight clapped her hooves together repeatedly before bounding over and giving me a huge hug, "I give you an 'A+' today! I know I keep saying it but really I love it when you ask for lectures! And you only missed one of my questions on the oral exam too! I can hardly wait until you move into the really fun stuff like I work with! Soon we'll be sharing theories and researching things together and developing entirely new experiments! The discoveries we'll make together! Eeeee!"

For lack of any more reasonable or enjoyable options, I just matched her hug with a warm laugh. The hug was a little crushing and worth every second of seeing her happy like this. I was a little stiff after spending six hours almost non-stop on illusion applications and theory, followed by her impromptu oral exam, which really shouldn't surprise me anymore, to help catch any misconceptions in some of the theories right away. Really though, it was as much about my own learning as it was seeing her so happy and energetic. Sometimes, it was entirely about working through it to see the happy delerium Twilight got herself into and the learning was just an afterthought in a way. Of course, it only happened when I took the learning seriously. She was good at catching on when my attention waned during drier parts that are unavoidable now and then. Such moments usually just meant taking a break for a few minutes.

"You know, I thought you're supposed to get an 'A+' for a perfect score. Are you bumping my grade because we share a bed?" I chuckled softly, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Twilight instead looked a little aghast and slightly insulted, "What? I'd never give you a grade you didn't deserve! You weren't supposed to get the question right! It's partly an illusion spell with no right answer!"

That made me quirk a brow in curiosity, "A fake question? Mind if I ask why you would do that?"

"Simple. It was very similar to a question I answered when I was first studying illusion spells. The point isn't getting a right answer at all," Twilight grinned, "It doesn't have one. The construct of it gives a very good indication of how the one being tested perceives most illusion magic. That's important to know both for advancing skills and what kinds of counterspells will benefit you most."

"Huh...I take it you know how I perceive illusions now?" I mused, in part still adjusting to these little tricks in spellwork I had yet to see coming. Perhaps because I didn't grow up around it.

Twilight's grin widened a little, "Well, you are in a rather unusual group. Either it's very easy to trick you or very difficult. I believe it comes from the subtle experiences you have with magic that let you catch tiny hints most ponies tend to miss. Of course, missing those hints can leave you missing the more overt ones but knowing you as I do, this isn't very likely to be a problem. You pay too much attention to little things being out of place. I don't know how good you'll be at casting illusion spells yet, but you should be pretty good at spotting them."

"Well it sounds neat.," I said, then pausing as something came to mind, narrowing my eyes and giving her a playful glare and smirk, "You're not going to be trying to play tricks on me with illusions now, are you?"

She just smiled and shook her head, "No, I have no plans for that. I'm not really practiced at illusions anyway. If you ever meet Trixie Lulamoon, she could show you some really good illusion spells. It was her specialty, after all. I know you mentioned there was a few stories with her in them that you saw before. And I still think it's a little weird your world had basically a show highlighting many of the biggest moments between my friends and I."

"Heh, well coming from a world where the only civilized, intelligent lifeform is humans and nothing else, then I get pulled to this world where brightly colored ponies I thought were just fiction are just one of a number of intelligent species, each with their own cultures... I do believe the weirdness points are in my favor here. And that is only inhabitants, just to start!" I laughed, sticking my tongue out at her.

Twilight giggled softly, sticking her tongue out right back at me before nuzzling into my chest with a quiet sigh, "I'm really glad you enjoy learning with me so much. It means a lot."

My smile softened as I gave her a gentle squeeze, "I'm just glad you put up with me, Purple Angel. You're a lot smarter than I am, after all. I'd have thought you'd be annoyed more often, when you seem to pick things up so much faster than I do."

"You pick things up better than you realize, Vojin. If anything, you approach things less efficiently, but that's not really accurate... You think differently." Twilight said quietly, relaxing further into my arms as she kissed my throat before burying her face in my neck.

I simply held her for a bit, enjoying the warmth of her closeness. My eyes fell on the blackboard she was scribbling on earlier and began to trace across the various magical representations. I frowned again at the few formulae present. I'd been avoiding it to a degree but admitted I needed to learn advanced math if I was going to progress much further soon. Most of the current magic lessons were contained well within concepts and theory unhindered by calculation demands.

It wasn't the worst thing in the world of course, but getting mathematical knowledge into my head always seemed more difficult than it should be. Well, it was either learn or quit studying more magic. At least math did ultimately make reliable sense once it sank in. Though I'm still waiting a couple days before I ask for the next lecture.