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I gazed quietly out the large window of Twilight's old observatory, not really thinking about much of anything. Twilight was snuggled up against my chest as we both watched the world drift along outside as we lay stretched out on blankets and pillows we'd piled on the floor. Now and then finding myself counting how many clouds I could see in motion by pegasus instead of wind and looking over the distant landscape.

I am dying.

Every time the words flitted across my mind, I struggled to fathom the feelings it brought. What should you feel about knowing your own time limit?

Part of me worried about lashing out when the angry phase hit but I at least trusted myself around Twilight, if nothing else. She silently stayed with me as we both slowly dragged ourselves through the process of acceptance.

At first, I was rather numb to everything while Twilight cried herself out against me right on the stone steps in Celestia and Luna's magic lab. When she calmed to quiet sniffles, I simply thanked the two rulers for being honest and that we'd probably just be in our room until dinner. It was no surprise they understood, though the gesture of posting guards outside the door with orders we were not to be disturbed was appreciated. Spike was still napping when we shut the world outside the door.

I'd asked Twilight some reluctant questions initially. Letting her lay out the objective facts for me so I at least understood more of what was going on and learned how little even the Princesses could safely do with healing souls. I was slightly relieved upon seeing her find a little peace in the magical science behind the problem, even if it was a small bit.

Eventually, we simply fell into a sorrowful but otherwise comfortable contemplative silence by the window. It was nearing sunset at this point, the sky beginning to come alive with color. Celestia seemed to be working extra today as the bands of shifting reds and golds practically danced like very slow moving aurora borealis. The spectacle was at least calming, despite visual beauty not reaching me enough to comfort right then. Part of me wondered if she was working out stress or sadness from the earlier reveal.

It must have been at least an hour since either of us last spoke. We'd spent three hours straight by the window now with barely a word. Even after Spike woke up, we gently asked him to hold off on questions about why we seemed so sad right then, promising to let him know what happened with the earlier tests soon enough. He initially panicked for a few moments until Twilight said she was fine, but I'd gotten some bad news for down the road. Before he left, the way he promised to help me in whatever way he could was heartfelt but only good as emotional support. I had to hold back a depressing remark about how useless a gesture it was right then, he didn't deserve a bitter response. I was mostly just depressed and feeling rather lost.

"Are we still going to dinner?" Twilight finally broke the silence, her voice soft and comforting.

I inhaled deeply before I let out a puff of breath, pausing for a long moment, "...I guess. We already said we'd be there and I'm sure you're hungry after skipping lunch. Still not that hungry myself though."

She lifted her head, leaning in to kiss me gently before looking into my eyes as her mane fell to one side in a way that usually caught my eye, "We'll tell the girls whenever you're ready but you really shouldn't spend too much time like this. It might help to be around more close friends. And you know they'll do everything they can to help after we tell them."

Brushing her cheek with my fingertips, I nodded faintly, "I know, Purple Angel. I know... Just a really....it's hard to know what to do now. I know I'm supposed to make the most of my remaining time or some other platitude but....going through it myself now... and with some big war hanging over all of our heads I might not even see the end of? I can't say I even know where to begin."

Her wing came up and a feather teased against my neck, just below and behind my ear where she knew I reacted, giving me a tender smile, "I'd still like to spend some time together, just being tender and slow. Still want to wait until bed? It's at least an hour before dinner still..."

Her eyes flashed a bit victoriously as I gave a weak smirk and captured her teasing pinion in my fingers and giving it a kiss before letting go, "I know, I know. Heck, I might even be afraid to fall asleep or something all night. Think you'll be able to keep me from brooding that long?"

"Well I can't say about the brooding, but I'm sure we can work on the breeding..." Twilight flashed me a playful little smirk, prompting a weak few chuckles to escape me.

I pulled her tight against my chest, sniffling faintly, my voice barely avoiding getting choked out, "I barely have any idea what the think right now. Thank you for being with me..."

She nuzzled up under my chin, her breath tickling across my skin with every exhale, wrapping hooves and wings around me, "You're always ready to protect and shield me from trouble. I'll never stop being a shield for you in return. Whenever you need me, I'll be right here. We'll go one day at a time. Together."

***

"I simply must thank you again, Vojin." Celestia said after finishing another bite of her food, "While I am sure there is much adjusting of ingredients and other details still to do, Equestria's culinary circles are buzzing with excitement to see so many dishes from another world that...shall we say, dropped out of the sky?"

As she flashed me a small playful smirk, I gave her a slight smile for the effort, "Like I said before when I offered to transcribe them off my smartphone, it gives me a taste of the home I left behind. I'm just glad I had that big list of recipes sitting there. Never thought I'd use most of it. The gryphons that visit are certainly going to be in for some surprises, I'm sure."

She gave me a comforting smile, her eyes betraying only the barest hint of sadness, otherwise the picture of a lighthearted princess sharing dinner with some of her more standout subjects, "Yes, humans certainly did come up with substantial variations that involved meat. The number of ways to substitute it though...that was quite a surprise. Our chefs are planning on preparing some...I believe it was called indian foods? That 'curry' dish sounds intriguing. I encouraged the kitchen staff to entertain me with one of the spicer versions."

"Ah, well I hope you find it as delicious as it is interesting to you." I returned, my shoulders sagging slightly as I did what I could to keep upbeat. Twilight had asked if I wanted to just lay it all out, reminding me I'd have their support. I didn't doubt it but just wasn't feeling quite ready. Instead, I'd played it off and did what I could to enjoy a mostly normal dinner, though the sad smile Pinkie gave me for a few seconds when she first caught my eyes was odd. Dinner was nearly ended when the long awaited comment finally came.

"Ya know Vojin, y'all have been mighty quiet this whole dinner. Usually ya get more words in but y'all been sittin' there lookin' tense and troubled. What's eatin' ya, sugarcube?" Applejack said gently, the concern of a friend etched on her features. A glance around the table at the rest of the girls said they were all looking at me expectantly in turn.

I let out a quiet sigh, Twilight knew I was just trying to find some peace with it first before talking about it, looking back at AJ, "It's not anything immediate, AJ. Just one of the things Twilight and I learned this morning was not exactly good news. Something of a longer term thing with my health I'm not quite ready to go into just yet. Once I am feeling like talking about it I will sit down with all of you. You alright with that?"

Rarity spoke with tenderness, her eyes conveying support, "I'm certain that whatever it is, you will have a helping hoof from each of us, darling. Might I ask if you can give us a time limit by which you'll speak of it, if you have not yet managed the words?"

My head tilted in a nod, hoping my eyes weren't betraying the depth of it when she said 'time limit', "We have a lot of things to go through this week and I'd not want to distract from that without even considering I'm still trying to sort my feelings out, so at the very least I'll let you girls know on the train back to Ponyville at the end of the week. We'll have plenty of time to talk uninterrupted then. I'll talk about some of the weird discoveries and abilities I wound up with too."

"Whatever ya need, pardner. We'll be waitin' for ya." AJ added with a hoof tipping her hat back slightly.

The cynical, cranky little voice in my head almost had me retort with something about it was going to be me doing the waiting in the end, but I quashed it. I merely gave her a small smile and a nod. Dinner was probably delicious. While it wasn't really registering well on my tongue, the vegetarian enchiladas plate was comfortingly familiar.

Once everyone finished, we found ourselves all on a large balcony under the clear night sky for a bit of conversation and company. It occurred to me that Celestia and Luna had gradually opened themselves to the Bearers more than they used to and the girls were gradually getting closer to them in turn. I mused to myself about the royal sisters and social distances they are so restricted by, wondering if they wished to forget protocol as much as I guessed.

Fingertips once again rubbed my temple absently at the headache I'd had all day and was still slowly growing stronger. That it seemed to be worsening much more steadily since we got out onto the balcony was an afterthought to wondering if it might be best for me to just go to bed early.

After a short period of silence, Luna spoke again, "I have sometimes wondered if our heavens will hold other habitable worlds, much as your own race does. Your descriptions do seem to demonstrate great similarity between our dimensions. Though I still have difficulty believing your world sees many of our naming methods as laden with puns. It is merely our culture to do it so."

Luna had been regaling me with a number of tales about her night sky. It turned out her primary duty with the sky was twofold and the moon was only half of it. She also monitored the void around their world for great stones that threatened to fall upon Equestria a couple times a year, pushing them safely away or turning them into shooting stars as they skipped through the atmosphere to burn up safely. She was effectively telling me she was meteor defense. My calling it that got a strange look from the Princess of the Night.

The girls were spread around, lost in conversation. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were telling Pinkie the story about the sports convention earlier. Spike was apparently getting a lesson in animal care from Fluttershy, with Rarity wishing to hear a few more ideas on keeping cat fur more under control. Twilight was lost in some advanced intention spell theorizing with Celestia.

"Still a bit hard to take in the fact you move rocks in space, Luna. It's just not possible back on Earth like that." I said quietly, stretched out on my back and gazing at the starlit sky.

"Yes, I imagine that without magic it would seem an impossibility. I am most grateful to have a willing audience to listen to stories about my beloved night sky. That your race built machinery with no magic to carry them to the moon of Earth seems equally unfathomable to me in turn." Luna said quietly, glancing over at me before turning her eyes back to the stars again. "Perhaps I will have an opportunity to show you how I move the stars in the near future."

"That right there is so much crazier than moving space rocks. The stars in the skies of Earth are millions of miles away. I know you said that is not so different to here but the sheer magnitude is difficult to fathom." I said, garnering another soft smile from Luna.

When my fingertips again rubbed my temple, Luna finally commented on it.

"My friend, I have watched you rub at your head with an expression of discomfort numerous times now and you have said nothing. Now I ask. Are you feeling ill? It is quite alright if you need to retire early." Luna said, her eyes focused on me directly now.

I grumbled a bit, relaxing my tight hold on the headache-induced grumpiness, "I appreciate the thought Luna, but it's just a headache. Happens once in a while for a lot of humans, though I admit this one's been making moves towards a nasty migraine. Still, it's the end of the day and didn't want to miss stargazing with you yet again."

"As you wish, my friend. Your company has been most appreciated." She returned softly, her eyes again going to the sky.

Not needing the pretense, I kept rubbing my temple and winced as the headache seemed to worsen suddenly, my head throbbing. Only a little more before our gathering is over and I'd just head for bed.

"You know Luna, there's something I've been curious about." I grimaced at how the pain was advancing strangely fast now, maybe just bid goodnight in a minute instead, seeing Luna turn her gaze to me again, "Everything that's happened aside, it was still rather quick. Why have you and Celestia been so friendly with m-me?"

Luna nearly shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice, "WHAT DIDST THOU--?!"

The response I'd expected from Luna wasn't the horrified shock that suddenly appeared after I stuttered the last words out from rising pain, nor did I have much time to register her words before they cut off from the sheer pain becoming the only thing I heard or sensed.

In an instant, I curled in on myself on my side with an agonized scream as I clutched my head. It felt like my mind was being crushed and blown apart at the same time. The pain was indescribable, but thankfully, blessedly, only momentary. It wasn't a physical pain but it resonated through my nerves like I'd been burned all over as it gradually faded. My first piece of awareness of the world returning was feeling Twilight's touch and presence, eventually getting her words into my awareness as I slowly found my way back to the world around me.

"--eak to me already! What happened?!" Twilight sounded panicked but resonated with focused concern.

A pained whimper actually slipped out of me in response as I tried to calm down from something so severe. Nothing could've prepared me for feeling like my mind was getting ripped apart like that. I'd have taken the reconstructive surgery on my shoulder daily for a year over that. One hand managing to find her hoof and hold onto it.

Gulping for air and slowly starting to sit up, I saw the girls and Spike were all close by with worried looks. I couldn't make any sense of the expressions that Celestia and Luna both wore, but alongside the worry, I could make out traces of guilt? Lacking the mental faculties to even start processing that, I leaned against Twilight and she wrapped her hooves and wings around me, tight and comforting.

The aftereffect was exceptionally uncomfortable but I was mostly together again, my voice shaky, "Ugh...th-that h-h-hurt..."

Twilight nuzzled me gently, one hoof stroking my back now, "Are you still hurting? Do we need to get to the hospital? The Princesses are right here, so tell me if it's magical first."

I took a slow breath, still calming down but much better with my voice low enough only Twilight would likely hear, "Seems it...just hit once... It was a magic backlash... Never felt hurt like that before... Ask them if they know what happened..."

My eyes had closed again but I felt Twilight raise her head towards the Princesses, her voice full of concern for me, "Please tell me you know what happened and that Vojin is safe."

"Vojin...Twilight...I must give you my most profound and sincere apologies." Celestia began, regret laced through her voice, "Myself and Luna wanted to deal with this sooner and in safer confines, but the few opportunities we had were interrupted by other difficulties. I truly hoped to take care of this in a better way..."

"Wha...what...I don't understand..." Twilight sounded confused.

"Twilight Sparkle, what do you know of the human legends? About their capacity for unpredictability?" Luna's voice was steady but drained.

"Why does that matter right now? I know they talked about some humans doing some very scary things but the myths have been distorted so often through history that nopony really trusts any of them anymore and neither of you ever...wait...d-did you two do something to him?!" Twilight's voice raised in alarm as her grip on me tightened possessively.

For my part, I could feel the sparks of anger inside, but tamped it down so I could listen to their response.

"The tales are not as mistaken as is believed. A small number of the human mages that visited us were...very foul beings. I will spare you the details, but suffice to say they would have been right at home with any of the worst in Tartarus." Celestia intoned, drawing a couple gasps from the girls, whatever their responses meant. My mind was elsewhere.

After a long pause, Twilight seemed to hold me just a little tighter, her voice suddenly tearful and hurt, "Y-you...didn't answer my question, Celestia..."

"No, I did not..." Celestia let out a defeated sigh, "Yes, I cast a spell on Vojin. I wanted to have time to evaluate his nature where he couldn't question the actions of Luna and I. To see if he would be a danger to my little ponies. Luna and I both have wanted to remove the Rose Window enchantment since we cast the judgement spell. I am so sorry we hesitated in hopes of tending this privately and now Vojin has somehow broken free on his own. I know you are both likely deservedly upset..."

Twilight sounded incensed, "You placed a Rose Window on him?! That was the level you'd--"

Suddenly, I just broke. I cut her off as I moved to stand, pulling her off me as I growled at the rulers of Equestria, "Upset...? Upset?! You used some kind of mind control on my ass and you think I'd be UPSET?! After the judgement spell and knowing what I went through after my parents died?! You kne_w how I felt about manipulation! _You saw it for yourselves directly and you think I'd be UPSET?!"

I tore my fuming glare away and walked to the stone bannister, not even seeing whatever expressions the girls were wearing at that moment as I stomped past them. I threw a fist down on the top of the bannister at the edge of the balcony with a meaty thump, distantly registering I probably just broke my hand but ignored it. Drawing on my magic, I neatly sliced off a section of the stone rail and levitated it aloft in front of me, beginning to just exert raw power on it as I crushed it to dust and kept squeezing and grinding at it, trying to vent some of the fury storming it's way through me now.

My voice was a dark snarl, "I didn't need this kind of shit today! Not after hearing just this morning that I'm gonna be dead in two years! I was ripped out of my life and everything I knew to show up here without any choice! I woke up in a damn hospital bed in a place that shouldn't even exist! How much of the last two months were even ME?! How am I supposed to know what is even real now?!"

I kept crushing the grit in front of me, working it with my magic in a private, desperate battle of self, noting the lump was turning red and starting to radiate heat. They knew just how seriously I took keeping my head straight from outside influence. That the Princesses had seen what defined me and not just told me outright about the enchantment, even if it was a bad moment in time, it infuriated me.

Now I was threatening to lash out very, very badly at them and I couldn't tell very well between rational and irrational things, keeping it all largely internal instead. I really hoped I didn't run into any innocently protective Royal Guard, but so far none had rushed into the room by the balcony from my angry shouting. Too much to process already though.

I'd barely paused, finally lowering my voice, still speaking with a harsh growl through clenched teeth, "Twilight, come over here please..."

It was hardly a couple seconds by the time she stood beside me, but the mass of stone was already hot enough to start melting from the sheer force and friction I was working it with to keep myself occupied from anything truly bad. I didn't look down at her.

She started to speak, sounding angry herself, "Vojin, I'm mad about this too but you need to calm down. We have a--"

"No! Twilight, I'm going to go for a while and you're going to stay here to find out exactly what they did and how it affected me. DO NOT come to me until you sense I've cooled down some." I hissed out at her, "Then you tell me everything they tell you."

With hardly a nudge, I threw the lump of glowing rock at the basin of an unattended fountain, watching just long enough to see it cause a burst of steam before it more or less exploded from heat exchange. It was probably going to cause the Guard a headache until they learned what happened. I already saw some of them rushing towards the fountain far below.

A moment later, I took what little I knew about spellweaver practices and, snapping my arms out wide like I was running my hands over a wall, made a two layer shield dome from the edge of the balcony to back against the wall around it. It wouldn't take the Princesses more than a second or two to undo if they wanted but I just cast it for an interrupt and making a point. It was set to only allow myself alone to pass through it. The spellwork was painfully inefficient for how much magic it took to place.

"You stay and talk to them Twilight. When you're satisfied with their answers to you and the girls, you come find me. I'll handle myself until then." I growled, then jumped off the balcony, followed by a couple of shrieks. Couldn't tell which of the girls it was, but it wasn't Twilight.

As I sailed down through the air from what seemed like four stories up, my magic charged and dispersed into a shift of gravity as I began to roll myself into the side of the castle wall, turning the fall into a ride down an incline. A steep slide smoothly drifted into sliding on my hip as if across nearly level ground. Momentum carried me smoothly along the wall until briefly jumping from the wall to clear a window in my path. Nothing like live testing something new when angry.

Rolling my effective gravity was intended for more efficient power usage than self-levitation in freefall. Needed to practice more to improve how I handled velocity relative to terminus at the ground. Twilight thought it was an odd approach, but it worked for a lot less magic by letting the wall and simple friction be part of the effect. She'd even done something relatively similar in the Crystal Empire during the resurgence of Sombra and recovering the Crystal Heart.

I thumped onto the stone walkway at the bottom with a grunt, a little rougher than intended but hardly cared. I stood up and didn't move for a second to make sure I had my bearings, then just started walking. Just picked a direction of forward and stormed off. A few guards I passed were eyeing me warily but didn't say anything. Perhaps somehow grasping I was in the middle of cooling off. I didn't know.

When I noticed some random little clump of trees after a time, I headed towards it.

It wasn't long before I found myself stalking through one of the lesser gardens. Apparently done up somewhat like a temperate forest with the trees spaced for grass to grow. The darkness was held at bay via carefully placed light crystals that gave a soft glow just enough to easily prevent one from running into trees. Another time, it might have been pleasant to stroll through.

Glancing around, I headed over to a somewhat slimmer tree towards the middle of the garden. Without pretense, I simply started some training exercises as I made various strikes and kicks against the trunk. I'd not done it for a while and was sure I'd feel like hell afterward. It was a small price to pay in order to burn off the fury that just wanted any target.

That was how I stayed for however long it took before Twilight was approaching. I felt her heading my way off to my right as I hammered the tree again with another forearm block. I didn't even register the parts of the trunk that had been slowly turning red. The fury was lower, that was all that mattered in my mind.

After having been so focused, I was caught completely off guard when Twilight tackled me to the ground, her face filled with worry and tears welled up in her eyes. I finally realized she had been trying to talk and get my attention.

"Vojin, enough already! Are you crazy?! Why in Equestria are you hitting a tree that hard?!" She was looking at me with intensity, the interruption letting my thoughts interrupt themselves as I realized how exhausted I felt. She was standing over me, looking down with a rather perturbed expression.

Lacking any other way to respond than simply, I irritably voiced my reply as I gave her a sharp look, "So I didn't hurt anything with a brain."

Twilight closed her eyes a moment and grimaced before giving me a look of frustrated concern, "You couldn't include yourself in that? I'm surprised you could still stand. Do you even know what you look like right now? We need to take you to the hospital. Think you can walk?"

A growl escaped me, glaring up at her, "No bloody hospitals. You want me healed, you do it."

Practically on cue, I regretted saying it. The strain she'd gone through from the time she had attempted healing my injuries earned from catching her came to my mind.

"I'm willing to try but we're still going to get you to a doctor to make sure everything healed properly." Twilight said simply, her horn igniting as she prepared.

Gritting my teeth, I tried to pull my head out of my own backside, "Dammit...Twilight wait..."

She paused, looking at me with a frown and sounding even more frustrated, "You just asked me to try healing you and now you don't want me to? You going to make up your mind or am I just going to drag you to a hospital instead?"

Finally, a strained sigh escaped as I sagged, as much as one can laying down, the already fading adrenaline giving way to how much my legs and arms throbbed. I grimaced at the sight of slowly bleeding cuts, bruises, and scrapes across my forearm and hand when I raised it up to scrub my face in agitation, the word 'hamburger' floating across my thoughts, "Look, I'll let you heal me but let me give you a boost so it won't just drain you, alright?"

Her expression softened, a faint smile crossing her features before she leaned down to nuzzle me for a second, "Alright. Thank you for letting me."

My hand touched her chest, needing to feel her fur, and let my magic flow to her. I noticed one of my fingers was sitting very oddly, probably very broken with how it hurt. The drained feeling seemed to worsen my throbbing limbs.

She wasted no time once I shared my magic with her, immediately igniting her horn with her eyes closed and getting to work. The strange feeling of a couple bones in my hands shifting back into place came and went. Throbbing limbs slowly eased and stinging skin cooled. It would have been interesting to discuss the details under different circumstances. How it compared to her previous healing attempt. That would wait for another day though.

I was still scowling as she opened her eyes but felt mostly in control again. We stared at each other for several long moments in silence, her face full of worry. My magic slowly flowing back to me as I withdrew it again.

Twilight finally couldn't take the silence further, "Aside from being angry...are you alright?"

After a bit of hesitation, I replied, "The hell is a 'Rose Window' supposed to be?"

She bit her lip and sighed, settling down on top of me as I nudged her, feeling the need to have her lay on my chest. Her face seemed a little more sad at the question for just a moment, then gave me another small nuzzle.

"Powerful, in a word. I honestly don't know how you managed to break it. The recipient doesn't usually know it's there. Sometimes not even when they are told directly." Twilight began quietly, shifting her wings as she settled in against me, "It's one of the strongest mind influencing spells known without being actual mind control, which is one of the foulest abuses of magic possible. I would never have expected Princess Celestia to walk that close to the line. Just casting it is risky because it can warp the recipient's mind if done wrong, to say nothing about unpredictable side effects beyond the spell's intended focus. The only fortunate part in all this is that once removed, everything forgotten or altered will slowly return over the course of a month or two. The biggest protection in the spell is preventing permanent mental harm."

My mouth was a tight line, prepared to just listen to her explain and taking a bit of relief in her weight against me, fingers resting against her ribs just under her wings.

She sounded frustrated and hurt still, probably at Celestia if I had to guess, her wings shifting slightly to press against my sides in a comforting gesture she used rarely when laying on my chest, "Don't be too surprised when you remember something ordinary suddenly or meeting somepony you suddenly realize you met before. I'll help you through it. The hard part is just removing the Rose Window. The way the spell works is mostly a matter of changing how you perceive the world. Most become more passive to stressful situations. From what the Princesses told me, it was also to keep you from questioning them directly. They wanted to keep you calm and accepting..."

"Calm and accepting?" I interrupted, my face darkening again.

Her wings gave me a slight squeeze as she nodded a little, "Yes. I know we didn't get into Equestrian human myths before, but it will help explain to tell you a little about them. Some of the tales went on about noble travelers in search of knowledge happy to give aid when needed. Most were reclusive, only dealing with any that furthered their knowledge. A few of the tales though are rather scary, now that I know there's probably a lot more true than I ever expected. It was only a few out of all the tales, but some humans came here just lusting for more power. One of them was even a key part of the nearly forgotten Uprising of Tartarus that became the closest to an all-out war that Equestria has ever known before it was quelled. It was worse with that one human because he was supposedly very ingratiating and respectful until the treachery was found out. I don't approve in the slightest, but can you at least understand a little of why the Princesses would be worried about the small chance you might be like one of them?"

My eyes closed as I sighed, then opened them and looking into hers, "I hope you're not expecting me to...no, not going to be like that... I understand, Twilight. Really don't like it though."

"I know. Neither do I, like I said. At least it wasn't entirely baseless. Humans that came here were not always nice creatures and Equestria has been so at peace for so long that a bad one like that coming now might make a lot of things go wrong. One of the things I've been learning as a Princess of Equestria is just how much balancing has to be done to help maintain our peaceful way of life. Sometimes, I've wondered how many of the things you've said about your world might be true here if the Princesses hadn't been around to guide us for so long." Twilight said softly, nuzzling me again for a moment.

"But going back to the Rose Window, I don't know how the hay you broke free when you couldn't have known it was there. Not only that, but breaking an enchantment that powerful could have killed you from the backlash. I am still not sure how you stayed conscious either. I experienced a backlash close to that once a few years ago when still living in Canterlot. It was two days before I woke up again. Maybe it was just because it was a single burst, rather than an extended backlash over several minutes like I endured." Twilight continued, "The spell probably made your arriving in Equestria a lot easier. Probably made everything seem so much more inviting and interesting, rather than foreign and unsettling."

A small dread started growing in me as my jaw clenched, "Just...how much of the last two months really happened like I remember?"

She gave me a mournful look, "I honestly can't tell you. I don't know what the spell changed and even you probably couldn't tell without putting it all side by side somehow."

If I hadn't been laying down, I'd probably have been starting to shake, "How many friends are really friends then?"

"You don't--"

"Yeah, the girls are all great but what level of that was just the spell?"

"Hey! You shou--"

"Oh bloody hell, Twilight! What about us?!"

"Vojin, wai--"

"If the spell is that strong, was it pushing us together somehow?!"

"Vojin! Don't tal--"

"Is this whole thing between us somehow unreal?!"

"VOJIN! ENOU--"

"What if everything I feel for you was all just a lie inven--!"

...

I blinked, finding my head turned to one side. Another second and I felt the sting in my cheek as I turned my head back to look at Twilight, the fearful tears welled up in my eyes threatening to start falling. My brain still trying to get back to coherent after a mental reset as she brushed my cheek tenderly with the hoof I realized had slapped across it moments before. How exactly one could slap with a hoof, I did not know.

"I'm sorry Vojin. I won't let you do that to yourself. Don't you remember what the Princesses told us the first time we came up to Canterlot? About our link, the flux that caused it and it's effect on trust?" Twilight said softly.

After a painfully long pause looking back at her, I finally found my voice, quiet as it was from the deep seated fear, "...no. I don't remember anything about that."

She stared down at me sadly for a few long seconds more, then leaned down to give me a loving peck on the lips, "That was the only real effect on our emotions from our link. We intuitively understood how much we could genuinely trust each other. For some reason, it gave us trust in each other and the rest came with time. Everything else that happened between us was our own doing. I fell in love with you because of you. No extra magic at all than the goofy, eager-to-learn human stallion you are deep down. We could have just as easily been nothing more than close friends if we didn't like each other like that. And that's not even considering being able to touch each other like we can when we traded knowledge of how to read each other's books. That place we comforted each other in. That place beyond words we can meet each other in when my hoof is against your hand and I feel the very essence of you and your magic next to mine. Everything else beyond that initial understanding of trust has been us. Only us."

My arms wrapped tight around her as I buried my face against her coat at the base of her neck, for a while just holding on for dear life as her unique scent filled my senses. I didn't even feel any tears as I held her. We'd talked about a lot of things but never about the terrible fear I was now trying to push right through the middle of. I silently determined once she was done, I'd tell her about losing my parents and why I was so afraid of losing control of my own mind.

Her hooves found their way around the back of my head and neck, then her wings doing the same, holding me close as her chin rested in my hair. She held me quietly for a while, letting me to find the solace I needed in her.

It was probably several minutes before my grip on her finally began to relax. Slowly settling my head back on the grass beneath us as she moved her forelegs free. A hand came up to caress her cheek, cupping it a moment later and she tilted her head against my palm.

"After you're done telling me about the spell, I need to tell you a story about why I reacted so strongly and got so mad." I said softly, a lot calmer after that embrace.

"We can stay right here all night if necessary, Vojin. You've always made for a surprisingly comfy mattress..." Twilight smirked slightly before turning her head and kissing my palm, her eyes finding mine again with a faint twinkle.

I finally cracked a small lopsided grin, weak as it was.

Twilight nuzzled me then, seeming to relax somewhere deep inside, yet almost visibly at the same time, her words coming more calmly now, "There isn't too much more to tell with the Rose Window without going into the math and functions that make it work. I don't think you want me to do that right now. Princess Celestia said she cast the spell the day we left the hospital. When you had asked her what magic she was working, she said she almost panicked that you had somehow realized what she was doing. She was terrified, Vojin. She sensed some strange things and how much magic you'd been carrying at the time and she was terrified. Luna was too. The fact they let you stay with me freely wasn't easy for them to permit. They admitted to nearly just dragging us both off to Canterlot and kept under a tight watch. I've seen a lot of things from her in the years she taught me but I've never seen her like that. I'm not sure the few tales from the Uprising of Tartarus are telling what really happened anymore."

"Alright...any idea how I broke free of something I didn't even know was there?" I asked her hesitantly, still scared and angry but no longer feeling any of the fury at the Princesses.

"I only have one theory so far. Vojin, did you have a hard time trusting before you arrived?" Twilight asked softly.

Letting out a slow breath, I nodded, "The way my life had gone, trust was hard to give. Really hard to give. I'll save why for the story I'm going to tell you though."

She nodded gently, "Then lacking a better explanation, that was why. You needed to ask certain questions and the demand for those answers kept building. Part of your magic was fueling the push against a wall you couldn't detect. When you asked Princess Luna why she and her sister were so friendly, you also asked a question at odds with the Rose Window in place, causing it to collapse. I think your capacity to handle pain like you do is what let you stay conscious. Most simply pass out the moment after the pain of a backlash hits."

After nodding in response, my eyes turned to the patch of sky I could see between the trees as I started getting my head together for the story I needed to tell. It had been years since I said a word about most of it now. Just a skeleton in the closet only a couple people I was friendly with even knew about, let alone any details. Only ever told even my best friend Barry about it a single time when his tour of duty ended, after everything was done and over already.

Watching the few stars I could see twinkling, the anger was seeping out of me as the sadness and guilt of that part of my life started to take over. The loss that started it in motion. The false hopes and misdirection. How warped everything got until one critical moment snapped me out of it. I closed my eyes at some things that flashed through my mind. Good and bad all mixed together from things I did or watched happen.

"I suppose it's time I told you about my mom and dad's passing and the mess it got me into. I haven't talked about it in a long time now." I said in a resigned tone, looking deep into her eyes now.

She nuzzled me softly, "You always refused to talk about them when I asked. Always put it off. Why?"

Fingers stroked through her fur for a few moments, palms exploring the curve of her ribs and up along her back, "I guess you'll find out tonight... Mom was always a wonder. Crazy sense of humor and probably as wild as Rainbow Dash, but without so much athleticism. And probably laughed as much as Pinkie. She had this ability to come up with just the right thing to say about anything to anyone she ever met. It didn't matter if she just met them either. It was like she somehow knew them their whole life and knew what words they needed most. Kind of freaked out some people but they always wound up happier after meeting her. I could never figure out how she did it, either. It was like she knew more about the world than the world did, at times.

"My dad was similar in a lot of ways. He always had sound advice and a helping hand when you landed on your backside from doing something stupid. He was a little sharper than mom. Never saw him fail to know the answer to any question or be unable to solve a problem in the most efficient way possible. You'd have loved to talk science with him, you know. He was an intellectual in a crowd of them. It also made his ability to scare off any would-be troublemakers that much weirder though. I don't know how many times I saw him just give one hard look at someone making signs of giving him trouble and they turned around quickly to walk away. The way I saw him stop a brawl in a store once was the scariest though. Bunch of young guys, ten or eleven, seemed to get into a gang fight and dad just walked up to the group and shouted 'ENOUGH!' and suddenly they all froze in place, staring at him. He crossed his arms, told them to sit and wait for the police with a glare. I can't fathom how he did it, but they did just that even as we finished paying for our things. None of them moved until the police came as we were leaving. I always thought it was weird that the police never came to the house over that since he would've been an important witness.

"I know I mentioned once or twice that I was adopted. From what they told me, they couldn't have their own children and they got me when I was just born. Something about my birth mother not having family and not being healthy enough to take care of a kid much longer. When I was old enough and asked, they said she'd had terminal cancer and had refused to sacrifice her unborn baby for treatment. What I knew about her, she was a gentle person. I think she ran an animal shelter for a living.

"Growing up with mom and dad was great. I couldn't get away with anything though, bad or just plain stupid. One or both of them always seemed to know exactly when to show up and catch me in the act of whatever ill-conceived ideas I tried to enact. Heck, one time I was pretending to be a mountain climber when I was a little too old to do it in the house and a large bookshelf started to fall over on me..." I smirked slightly at the shocked expression on Twilight's face, "You didn't think I was an angel growing up, did you?"

Twilight blinked at me, grinning weakly, "No, but hearing about it does change perspectives a little. Please continue."

"Well as I said, the bookshelf started to fall. I was around eight at the time and it would have been bad, maybe even killed me if dad hadn't shown up at the perfect time as always. I always knew he was big and strong, but he knocked the bookshelf to one side with his shoulder just enough that yanking me only a foot away the other direction made the whole shelf miss. A lot of parents I know would've been panicking after that and yelling at me or checking me over like crazy. Dad just looked at me with one of his weird gentle expressions that made you know exactly how dumb you just were. After asking me if I needed a hug, he just held me for a while.

"Mom was strange about saving me from myself. When I was fourteen, I fell out of the tree in the backyard and somehow, I don't have a clue how she did it, but she bounced me with a big inflatable exercise ball far enough to have me land safely in the pool. When I came back up, she just grinned and asked if I was done trying to make an impression in front of her. I never figured out how she had the strength to do that or where the exercise ball came from all of a sudden when it'd been in the house all other times before that. When I asked her where the ball came from, she just laughed and told me to let her know when I figured it out.

"Growing up, they taught me tons of things. Some of the most unique was our secret family traditions in magic. I think they wouldn't mind me talking about that with you now, Twilight. I'm only allowed to teach you after getting married though, so don't get your hopes up yet." I grinned a little more, seeing her give a small, playful pout, "Hey, you know it's going to be all subtle techniques anyway. I don't think you'll find anything too surprising, if anything. The important part was the fact they had techniques and practices different from anything else on Earth I've ever seen. Some things were similar, but most of it was kinda unique. I know it's normal here, but they approached magic with the knowledge that soul and spirit are two different things. Those are one and the same on Earth, according to every available spiritual practice I had found. Funny thing was, Earth used to separate the two but a very long time ago, people in power tried to simplify it, keep knowledge of things hidden from the public and eventually the knowledge of soul and spirit being separate was lost to the march of time.

"Mom and dad though, they never referred to them as the same. The body was always the vessel of the soul that housed the spirit of a person during their life. Kinda want to think of it like the kernel and shell of a computer and no don't even ask as too long to explain and not important right now. They taught me a lot about a lot of things when making the distinction. I was strictly forbidden to discuss our family secrets, but what little comparisons I could get from other magic practitioners on Earth said ours were a lot more effective. Never did figure out any specific answers to why though. My parents were unusually adamant about keeping things a secret in that. Over the years, I kinda understood the philosophy better and kept it to myself. Most of it isn't even allowed to be written down. It's all memory.

"Now that you have a general idea about them...well..." I sighed, the joy of remembering the unique childhood I'd had giving way to loss, "There isn't really much I understand about it myself, to be honest. My parents were taking an anniversary road trip vacation for the first time since I was seventeen and didn't have any worries about me staying home. Planned it for two years ahead of time. It had been a clear day, no wind. The police said there were no signs of mechanical problems with their car and no telltale marks on the road of any loss of control. All anyone knew was they suddenly turned to the right, blew through the metal safety barrier like it was made of paper, and fell off the bridge over the canyon when no other cars or people were around to see. One camera that would've recorded the moment they left the bridge happened to stop working the day before. Nobody could explain it.

"What...made it worse was they couldn't find their bodies. There was no trace they'd even been in the car that day. There wasn't a single sign anywhere along the canyon river of them either. It was so absent of anything, they had to question if it was all set up. That was, to put it simply, a very difficult experience to go through. There were some government agents that showed up not long after the police told me their car had been found at the bottom of a canyon. You can imagine I wasn't in a good state for answering questions, not that they cared about any of that. Even pulled rank on the police officers and made them leave. I'm glad I told them to get in touch with my grandfather. He was the only other family I had. The agents had been asking me weird questions I didn't even understand, let alone knew the answers to and it wasn't until my grandfather showed up with his shotgun all of a sudden that anything changed from confusing questions and my having no answers. He flipped the law on them with the same two police officers backing him up, almost literally throwing them out of my parent's house or they'd be arrested on the spot for trespassing and a number of other things. My grandfather was a retired lawyer and never seemed to lose a legal argument." I said quietly, some of the unpleasant memories making me pause.

Twilight nosed me a little, "Was your grandfather really the only family you had besides your parents?"

I took a moment to relax my shoulders, nodding, "Yeah he was. Wasn't even related to my parents though. He was an old friend that helped them out when they were much younger and just starting out. Practically adopted them himself, would have if they were any younger. Strangely enough though, they advised him most of the time if it wasn't a legal issue. He was a kind man and very down to earth with far more integrity than I'd seen in anyone but my parents. I only knew him after he'd long since retired, but from what I knew, he spent a lot of his earlier retirement years as a consultant for special cases where someone was in a bind and was getting steamrolled unfairly. Any of those he took up defending never lost.

"Anyway...after those agents left, they worked for some office I'd never heard of, things kinda settled down for a while. After the memorial services and a lot of unanswered questions, I was getting increasingly restless. I guess my grandfather saw the trouble coming because he officially moved in with me at my parents house by the time I turned eighteen. He'd stayed with me a couple months for guardianship reasons after my parents died, or vanished, but I've always assumed they passed. Easier than thinking they suddenly abandoned me for some reason, you know?

"After a time, I don't even remember how anymore but I started spending time with some bad people. I was branching out more in magic studies and landed in a shady group looking to work together on group activity and mutual improvement by trading knowledge. I never did spill any secrets but when they saw a couple here and there, the leader of the group started ingratiating himself to me more.

"I won't talk about how it all built up over the following year, it honestly doesn't matter since it was just leading up to me being brainwashed into believing weirder lies and giving more trust to the group. It wasn't until my grandfather sat me down one evening and said he learned he only had a few months left from a tumor in his brain that things went sideways with how upset I was.

"I'd been getting more involved in some dark stuff with that group of wannabe magicians. A couple of them started doing animal sacrifices. The simple fact I didn't run like hell at that says a lot about how warped my head was at the time.

"Like I mentioned before, this was a defining period of my life. The last two weeks I spend in the group, things escalated fast. I never had interest in the dark stuff they eventually all got involved in, but somehow convinced myself I could learn a few things and make sure they didn't go too far. It's a funny thought now, since they'd crossed that line long before that. The last time I was anywhere near any of them was the night I helped get them all sent to prison. It was one of the singularly most defining moments of my life.

"I walked into the secluded little house the leader owned and they had been getting some sort of ritual ready. Honeyed words and subtle threats were whispered in my ears. They needed my help this time and were hopeful I'd finally be ready to really join them. When I walked down into the basement with them, I..." My voice failed for a moment, breathing a bit faster at the terrible memory.

Twilight shushed me gently, nuzzling my cheek as the tips of her feathers brushed against the other. She was quiet as she comforted me, knowing I'd finish.

I steeled myself, needing to finish now, my eyes meeting hers, "They had a girl tied to a table, Twilight. She was gagged and half naked. I saw a few fresh bruises on her and the most terrified eyes I had ever seen on anyone up to that point in my life.

"The leader of that group said he wanted me to start off the ritual with her. It was time to decide if I was going to stay with them or if I was now just in the way. Something in how he'd said it told me I wasn't walking out if I didn't go along with them completely this time. Made him think I was intrigued and talked about how long it had been since I'd been with someone as I stalked around the poor girl. She was in a panic as I traced my fingertips against her skin as part of the act. The whole time I walked around her, it was just evaluating how to get her out alive, and hopefully without any further injury.

"It's strange how a single instant can change your life forever. One moment, I was making it look like I would join them in their sick games while desperately trying to figure out how to solve the mess I was in. The next moment, I had cracked my elbow across the leader's cheek when his guard was down, grabbing a length of wood and, for another first in my life, risked my life for someone else as I fought the rest of that nasty little group and trying to keep them away from her.

"Dad had given me a few lessons in fighting, but nothing much. The moment I struck though, I'd almost swear I felt his reassuring hand on my shoulder, almost saying I could beat them and keep the girl safe. I know I mentioned being in fights to protect people before but it had always been one or two I had to face. That's not even mentioning it was never anyone trying to do things like those lunatics were.

"I managed to keep them off of her, but I wound up getting stabbed twice in her place. A third time and a broken wrist while fighting them for the serious injuries. Just flesh wounds in the end. Most of the time, the poor girl was screaming in terror. Didn't end up killing any of them but part of me was really enjoying tearing them apart, and I mean I really thrilled in snapping an elbow backwards after I knocked one down and the resulting scream from someone so vile. It wasn't hot rage either, but cold, calculating fury. Some part of me relished in exacting payment for all the horrible things they had done before they kidnapped that girl and everything they did to her specifically. I understood that night what it was like to be lost in the lust for battle.

"After I left them all bloody and unconscious or restrained, I grabbed a blanket for the girl and went to get her free. She...she screamed in terror at me then. I was the one that repeatedly kept them from hurting her any further and she was terrified of me. I know she was in the middle of extreme stress and probably wasn't the slightest bit rational but it touched me deeply. The second part of how important that night was came when I decided to just accept it. If saving others made them afraid of me, at least they could move on after I did what I had to do.

"It took a minute before she quit screaming after I laid the blanket over her and she realized I wasn't going to hurt her. When I asked, she said she had a broken leg but begged me to get her out of that place even though the police were on their way. I made a quick splint and carried her out on my back. She said she was sorry but I was still terrifying to her and I just left her on a chair in the yard and stood several feet away until the police arrived." I finally heaved a sigh, feeling a lot of things, "Long story short, after the investigations were done, I was cleared and given mandatory counseling. I growled at any police officer or other official that tried to thank or congratulate me. Only thing that mattered was that look of pride my grandfather gave me. If he hadn't been there giving me a stable place the whole time that let me hold on inside, I'd probably have been lost to that group. He had me promise to keep my mind to myself, no matter what. Not to let anyone dictate my thoughts ever again. He passed away a couple days after my first therapy session."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, drained and exhausted, "So yeah...now you know why mind control freaks me out so badly. Why I am so afraid you'll start to fear me being protective. Even some of why I am so protective of you."

Twilight smiled softly and gave my nose a kiss, "That was quite a story. Between what you went through and thinking you always scare others, I think I understand why you have a hard time trusting and how you broke the Rose Window. I know you're probably still angry with them, but will you talk to the Princesses? You don't have to forgive them yet, but I'd really like you to talk to them before we go to bed. The girls aren't expecting to see us until breakfast. Please, for me?"

I growled wordlessly at that, even though I already knew I was going to give in. For a long pause, I just stared back at her grumpily. Eventually, I just gave up at the look in her eyes and the fact she asked me to, "...geh, alright. Can I at least get extra close snuggles or something tonight?"

Something inside me exhaled and relented at the adorable little giggle that slipped out of her then, her voice managing to be a little playful, "Oh I suppose. It's not that late, so maybe I can try rubbing your shoulders again tonight to help you relax... You know, I just realized you never said what any of your family's names were."

A seemingly simple question that suddenly made me feel weak and scared again, my voice starting to tremble from one more source of stress added to my day, "Twilight...I-I don't...that's all a blank... You said everything comes back after the Rose Window is removed, right? Bloody hell...how can someone forget their own parent's names...?"

She hushed me gently, "The effects are unpredictable sometimes. Give it time. Everything will come back before you know it."

***

"Vojin, I am so terribly sorry for hesitating in dealing with the Rose Window. This all turned into a mess I very much wish we could undo." Celestia said, deep regret in her voice.

"We are...I am also deeply regretful. It was not necessary to endure like this for any of us." Luna added, looking away with shame on her features.

The private reception room was empty aside from Twilight standing a few feet away, looking on quietly. I was still very agitated but it was likely at least a good night's sleep before I could really calm down properly.

"You two know exactly what I endured. The what and why of that part of my life." I said in a low voice with a deep frown, levelling a steady glare at Celestia, "I think it's time you tell me why you were so afraid of me when I first arrived. The real reason you cast that spell on me. And no fancy wording that doesn't really say much. I want the truth or I can't even start trusting you again."

What looked back at me wasn't the eyes of Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria in that moment. Her eyes were bringing nothing to mind so much as someone haunted by an old memory best left forgotten whenever possible. Her normally bright eyes were suddenly distant, seeming to look at things beyond sight carried within. I saw so much sorrow hidden there that even in my state of anger, I couldn't help but feel some regret for bringing whatever it was to the front of her mind. A glance at Luna showed nothing so much as a mirror in darker colors.

Finally, Celestia's eyes closed as she turned her head away, a visible tremble touched her before she composed herself again. When she managed to to speak, her words were uncharacteristically subdued and quiet, "We feared a human's arrival because of one that came before. There are...events we went so far as erasing from recorded history that took place... In light of what we have done against you, we will speak of something forgotten by all but my sister and I. Vojin, have you had a chance to study the history of the Uprising of Tartarus?"

I raised a brow, "No, I have not. Twilight mentioned it while we were talking after I stormed off. Said it was partially caused by a human deceiver. For whatever reason, I've not felt very curious about the past regarding humans here."

Luna looked up at me, meeting my eyes with a deep ache within her own, "His name is to remain forgotten, but his actions themselves were not what troubles us so. They were, however, heavily responsible for what came to pass. His vile lust for power a driving force that brought us to the brink of war against fel creatures. A desperate war Equestria would have fought just for survival, had things gone any further."

There was a growing sense it wasn't simply an event or series of them that troubled them so greatly. Before I found words to ask further, Celestia began to speak again with her head low, "Knowing the depths of yourself and Twilight, I will tell you the true reason why Luna and I fear what a human might cause. Please...both of you, please breathe not one word of what we are about to say to anypony. Though it has been more than three thousand years, not so long after the start of our guiding Equestria, it is best left forgotten in the time before even Discord's reign..."

By this time, Twilight had moved to stand beside me, looking deeply troubled at the state her mentor was in. She leaned against me enough for me to know she was there and my fingers rested against her mane. Neither of us knew what was so grave that these two rulers, long-lived and experienced against all manner of trials, were now so haunted they could scarcely speak upon something from the past.

After what felt like ages, Celestia finally raised her head, her eyes somehow displaying a need for forgiveness that would never be found, "I...will not trouble you with the whole series of events. That human sorcerer attempted to gain power by working with the denizens of Tartarus. His own greed and lust for power eventually destroyed him in his own deal-making, but in the process, the gates were not completely shut and terrible beings slipped free with terrible inspiration from him before we could stop them. What they were does not matter and they were eventually forced back into Tartarus, forever bound in a manner not even gods would try to undo. It was what they created and the price Luna and I were forced to pay to stop it that troubles us. And will until the end of time itself. It was the last time we truly wielded the might of what we two alicorns possess."

Celestia paused, visibly resigning herself to what she had to say as she stared into my eyes, "It is difficult to put it into mortal terms. Luna and I brought down fury from the heavens. Razed the land in the fires of sun and moon with both in the sky at once. Nearly forced an entire village of hundreds into a pocket dimension that would have eternally trapped even them in death. All to prevent a demon plague from escaping that would have distorted and wiped out more than half our world by the smallest, most conservative measure. It was beyond mere disease. Infecting not only our little ponies and all living things, but it also tainted the land, the dirt and stone as it ravaged all life and nature. It would have fed strength to many in Tartarus, but it was as much for tormenting the two of us and the world as it was a grab for more power. We even were forced to shred physical and magical aspects of our own subjects as they lived to strip the plague completely, to ensure absolute destruction and nothing passed into other realms with their very spirits when they died. There are no words to describe what breaking apart and reassembling a living being so utterly is like. No way to explain what we had to do to our little ponies to protect them from things far more horrifying than they could comprehend. Even our own power as it radiated from the area left long-lasting reminders, requiring evacuation of surrounding settlements in an entire region. The very land has taken all the time between just for healing. What Equestria knows as the Badlands today is all that remains. We have...made certain it could never be recreated..."

As she fell silent and simply began to weep, no longer able to speak, Luna finished for her even as her own eyes shed tears openly, "That was the day we vowed to never again wield the full might of our power, save to stop an apocalypse. Even when I fell into madness and became Nightmare Moon, I did not break this one vow. It took centuries of seeing fear in the eyes of our subjects every single day and almost total isolation from other nations too frightened to meet with us before the world forgot and we finally managed to leave it forgotten by all. To this day, we fear our effort to protect our world was a mistake and might have found a less terrible answer, had we known what we do now after so long to consider. That is why we feared you so when you first arrived."

It was several minutes of silence then. Though I only heard about it in words, I could hardly begin to fathom the totality of what they had just shared. They had lived it and all the anguish it had clearly brought by personal experience. To a point, my earlier anger was even forgotten. It was something I wasn't sure I really even wanted to understand all that well. One of Twilight's wings curled around my hips both protectively and seeking comfort, her eyes showing uncertainty of what to do.

"I... There are...so few words for this. I will only say I understand your fears now. I'll never repeat a word of this. And perhaps you both need to hear it aloud...I will not fear you." I said quietly as I recognized similarities to one of my own fears, then moving with Twilight beside me, her voice echoing my own words, we embraced them both as I nudged them gently down to the floor. As the group embrace continued in a tangle of hooves, hands and wings, both princesses shook faintly in wordless sobs over the terrible things they alone were left to remember.

Eventually, the sisters calmed and withdrew before standing again. After some time to clean their faces and recover their composure, they both looked a little more at peace.

"...I...I thank you, Vojin.," Celestia began, "Were we to ever demonstrate the extent of our power in this modern age now, our world might never recover. Ages past, we could readily guide our little ponies with little question and absolute authority. Leading in battle, displays of power and enacting harsh punishments upon those that disobeyed our law was almost expected of Luna and I. Before they learned the lessons that allow the peace we know today."

I simply eyed her for a long moment then, frustrated and sympathetic at the same time. Finally, I just glanced to Twilight and traced my fingers against her mane, letting her presence push me to stay balanced. As much as it angered me, it didn't feel worth losing their friendship over. They made a mistake, under reasonable concerns, and I realized I could let it go eventually.

My eyes returned to Celestia, not hiding the edge still in my voice, "Look...I need time to get back everything I have forgotten and to sort through things. I'm going to need a little time to forgive you completely, but I will. I don't really have the time for holding a grudge anymore. Or to lose friends over a mistake."

She nodded a bit, speaking as we all stood back up, "Vojin, you have every right to be angered. Even actions taken with the best of intentions are free of being entirely mistakes from the start. Take the time you need. I will not press you."

Simply giving her a nod, I turned to Luna, "Before Twilight and I head off, I wanted to invite you personally to visit my dreams. For tonight, it will let us talk a little more. Beyond that, you're welcome to visit and see what I remember from Earth. I'm sure you'll have the discretion to avoid anything private."

Luna raised a brow in curiosity, seeming much more relaxed, "I must say the idea of seeing images of Earth so freely is intriguing. We shall see, but perhaps you are right in spending time together for a bit more talking. Other days, I am unsure of how often I might visit. My friend, I think I shall join you in your dreams tonight. We may at least...ah, 'talk things out' as the saying is today."

"My sister and I shall see the two of you at breakfast. And Twilight, Vojin, do mind the morning hours for this visit..." Celestia said with a small tease in her voice as the air seemed to become mostly comfortable again.

Twilight simply started blushing brightly. She just blinked and seemed utterly at a loss for words as I ran my fingers through her mane, taking a moment to rub her ears as I only smirked at Celestia in response.

This day was more than a little crazy. Discovered I was a walking impossibility in magic, was somehow part pony, found out I was to die in two years, broke free of a mind spell I didn't know existed, caused a fountain to explode, jumped off another balcony, told Twilight something I had kept very secret for years and learned a major one about the royal sisters that went back thousands.

Regardless of everything that seemed to have gone wrong so suddenly, I realized it wasn't going to simply fall apart because I wasn't stuck dealing with it all mostly by myself like I would have on Earth. Different world or not, I had a lot of close friends to help now. Even if they stumble a little or a lot. And one more, important detail.

My time was palpably ticking down but Twilight was there for me when it mattered most.