"Oh, thank you, darling!" Rarity exclaimed as we entered the room. "Just put them down in a pile. We will organise them after we've had our make-overs!" She squealed those last words. I shuddered.

"Rightio, you girls have fun with that." I said, getting out my phone and headphones. "I'll just be in the corner of the room, trying not to be noticed."

"Oh, nononono, darling, you have to stay with us. What, with you being such a fine gentlecolt to us, it's the least we can do!" Rarity exclaimed as I slunk over to a corner, pillow and blanket tucked under my arm.

"The least you can do is let me relax!" I said, making myself sound a lot more tired than I actually was. "I just wanna sit down for an hour or two, listen to music and relax. I might join you guys after a while, but for the moment, i'm gonna relax. Oh, and Derpy, we're gonna have to share a mattress, if that's ok with you?"

Derpy looked a little confused, but smiled and said "That's fine with me Anthony."

I flashed them all the thumbs up, before settling into my little corner, put on a song, pressed the shuffle button, sat back and let the music take hold of me.

==========

"-Thony, wake up." A voice called out. I groaned and rolled over.

"I'm sleeping." I muttered.

The voice giggled. "How could you have spoken if you were asleep?"

"Fuck you, that's how. Give me a few more minutes."

"Fine." The voice sighed. "Ten more minutes, then you have to get up."

"Coolio. Night." Was all I said before I snuggled up into my pillow. 'This pillow is amazing!' I thought, revelling in it's softness and warmth. 'It's so soft. It almost feels like... Fur.' I realised. Cracking open one eye, I saw grey fur in front of me. 'That's strange. I swear my pillow was pink last night.' I thought. I looked up, only to see two golden eyes, looking down at me.

"Derpy?" I asked, still half asleep.

"Yes?" She said, a smile forming on her lips.

"Why are you so comfy?" I asked, snuggling back down into her. Then I realised what I was doing.

"Gah!" I shouted as I jumped up. I ended up tripping over the blanket and fell, face first, into another mattress.

"Anthony!" Derpy gasped, also getting up, slower than me however. "Are you ok?"

"Fine." I grunted through a mouthful of mattress. Getting up, much slower this time, I looked at Derpy. Her face was full of concern, but a light smile was on her lips.

"How did I get in the middle of the room, when I went to sleep over in the corner?" I asked her.

"Well, after our make-overs, I looked over at you and saw that you were sleeping. So Twilight used her magic to take the blanket off of you, and gave it to me, because I wouldn't have had one otherwise. You looked really cold, but I remembered you saying that we would have to share a bed, so I asked Twilight to bring you over to the mattress. You started snuggling up to me, and you mumbled something. I think it was 'Goodnight Kate', but i'm not sure. You were really warm, so I fell asleep pretty quick. I woke up about half an hour ago, but you looked so peaceful and happy sleeping, so I just left you. Until now, of course." She said, her smile getting bigger as she spoke.

I gulped. Did I really call her Kate in my sleep?

"Thanks for that, I guess." I said, grateful for the concern she showed to me. "Where are the others?"

"Well, Rarity, Applejack and Twilight left, because they have jobs to get to, Pinkie's upstairs, making breakfast, and Dash and Fluttershy are still asleep." She explained.

"Right. I'm just grateful that I didn't land on anyone when I fell." I said. My stomach decided to make it's grand entrance at this point. I grinned. "Where's Pinkie?" I asked. "I'm starving!"

As if on cue, the crazy pink pony bounced (yes bounced!) down the stairs, platters of food resting on her poofy mane.

"I heard somepony's tummy was making the rumblies!" She exclaimed as she hopped right up to me. "Luckily your aunty Pinkie Pie has taken care of breakfast! I've got scrambled eggs, with fried mushrooms and tomatoes!"

I blinked. That was my favourite breakfast, save for the sausages and bacon, but I wasn't gonna ask for meat, not after what happened last time. "Holy shit, Pinks!" I yelled, grabbing the plate off her head and digging in. I moaned in ecstasy.

"Dish ish amashink!" I exclaimed.

"What?" Derpy said, but Pinkie just nodded and smiled, still hopping on the spot.

"This is amazing!" I repeated, after swallowing. "How'd you know I love breakfast like this?"

Pinkie just shrugged (how?) and said "Just a hunch".

I shrugged as well and dug into the food once more. While I was inhaling the eggs, I overheard Pinkie and Derpy whispering.

"...but you two looked so cute together!" Pinkie whispered.

Derpy glanced over at me (she didn't notice me looking at them), then back to Pinkie. "He seems really nice, but i'm not sure yet." She said.

"Awww, come on!" Pinkie said. "You guys are perfect for each other!"

Derpy blushed. "How can you know that, Pinkie? We met, not even 24 hours ago!"

Pinkie grinned and said "Cause my Pinkie Sense told me!"

Derpy gasped. "No way! Really?"

"Yeppy-deppy!" Pinkie said. "An eye-flutter, tail twitch and an achy back, means somepony is gonna find their very special somepony!"

At that revelation, Derpy flushed even more, and Pinkie looked up at me. Realising that I had stopped eating and had just started staring at them, I got up and walked over to them, empty platter in my hand.

"Well, thanks for the breakfast Pinkie, and yes, I heard everything, but I best be off." I stated. "I need to think about stuff." I added, looking at Derpy, who (somehow) flushed even harder.

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie said. Derpy just kept her eyes to the floor and mumbled something that sounded like "See you later".

"Catch you mares later!" I shouted out as I exited the shop.

As soon as I got outside, however, I realised that I still didn't really know where anything was.

'Fuck it. I'll just roam around.' I thought and started walking.

==========

"What do ya think it is?" A voice asked.

'Fuck me!' I thought. 'Can't a man get a few hours sleep! Maybe if I ignore it, it'll go away.'

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's really weird." A different voice chimed in.

Well, balls to that.

"Whoever's disturbing me better have a good reason." I growled. The sound of my voice caused the voices to gasp, and I thought I heard the sound of shuffling footsteps.

"W-we're s-sorry to disturb to m-mister. We didn't know you were asleep." The second voice stammered. My steely resolve softened. They sounded like kids.

"S'ok." I mumbled. Cracking my eyes open, I saw three little ponies, looking up at me with a mix of curiosity and fear in their eyes. The one in the middle was a unicorn, and had a pure white coat, with a light purple and pink mane and light green eyes. The one on the right was a pegasus with an orange coat, with a purple mane and purple eyes. The one on the right had a yellow coat, with a red mane, orange eyes and a pink bow in it's hair.

"Hi, mister." The one with the bow said. She had a southern accent, not unlike Applejack's. "Am Applebloom, and these are mah friends, Scootaloo," She pointed to the pegasus. "And Sweetie Belle." She pointed to the unicorn. "We're mighty sorry to have disturbed you, but we were out crusadin' an we saw you just layin' up against the tree, so we came up to investigate."

"That's cool girls." I said. "By the way, you sound a lot like Applejack. Are you two related?"

Applebloom looked surprised. "You know Applejack? And yeah, she's mah sister."

I nodded. "Thought so." I turned to look at Sweetie Belle. "You look a little like Rarity. You related?"

She nodded. "Yep. Rarity and I are sisters as well."

"Right." I said, then turned to Scootaloo. "What about you? Do you have a big sister?" I asked.

Scootaloo's face dropped. "No." She said. My heart dropped at her expression. "I live with only my mom. My dad (she spat that word out of her mouth) moved out just after I was born. I've never even seen him."

"I'm sorry to hear that." I said, but her voice reminded me slightly of Rainbow Dash. "Do you know Rainbow Dash?" I asked.

Her face went from sullen and downcast, to one of admiration and joy. "Yeah, I know Rainbow. Who doesn't? She's only the best flier in all of Equestria!" She said, her wings buzzing, lifting her a few feet off the ground.

I chuckled. "Seems like you're a big fan of hers. You ever talked with her? It seems like you two would get along well."

Her face, once again, fell. "I would like to speak with her, but I can't."

"Why not?" I asked, confused.

"Why would she hang around a pegasus who can't even fly?" She shouted, eyes filling with tears.

I was confused. "Didn't you fly just then?" I asked.

She shook her head. "That hardly counts as flying! And thats the best I can do!" With the last word, she started crying. Not the little kid tantrum crying, but full blown weeping. Her friends moved in to comfort her, and I moved in as well, putting a hand on her shoulder.

It took a while for her to calm down, but when she did, I looked her in the eyes and said, "Don't worry, kid. I'm sure, if you ask her, Rainbow will give you help with your flying. And don't worry about being a bit of a late bloomer. I know all about what you're going through."

"How?" She asked. "How can you possibly know what it's like to not be like any other filly your age?"

I smiled. "Because I have an Erb's palsy. It happened when I was very young. My arm was ripped out of the socket, severing and damaging the nerves in my right shoulder. Ever since the accident, I haven't been able to straighten my right arm. It stays at a slight angle." I said, rolling up my sleeve and showing them my arm.

"Ah can't see it." Applebloom said.

'Of course.' I thought, face-palming. 'They would have no idea what would be different.'

"Right." I said, rolling up my other sleeve. "Heres my left arm, all straight, and heres my right. To me, this is straight. I can't straighten it anymore than this."

"Oh." The girls said. "What happens if I force it?" Sweetie asked.

"What would happen if you pulled on Scootaloo's wings?." I asked.

"They would get pulled out of their sockets." Scootaloo answered.

I nodded. "Basically the same thing would happen to my arm. It would break, though, not get pulled out of it's socket."

"Ow!" The girls exclaimed, Scootaloo wincing.

"Right!" I said, clapping my hands together. "As fun as it's been meeting you girls, I have to go talk with a friend of mine. You run along and have fun."

"Ok mister!" Applebloom said.

"You can call me Anthony." I said, realising I hadn't introduced myself. "Or Ant, for short."

"See ya later, Anthony!" Sweetie Belle called out, as they started to walk off.

"Scootaloo!" I called out, catching the young pegasus' attention. "Don't forget to ask Dash about helping you out!"

"I will!" Was the reply. I smiled to myself. They were good kids.

"Poor Scootaloo." I said aloud, wandering how she would cope. "She'll do well with Rainbow's help, but she'll probably be ridiculed until she is able to fly properly."

I sighed. Childhood was a really hard time if you were different to the other kids.

'Right, enough delaying.' I thought. 'I need to talk with Derpy.'

I started heading out of the park, where I took my nap, and headed into town. As I walked, I tried to think of what I could say to Derpy.

"Heya, Ant!" A voice snapped me out of my thoughts. It was Pinkie Pie.

"Sup, Pinks." I said.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Thinking." I replied. "Hey Pinkie, do you know where Derpy lives?"

Her face turned from one of happiness, to pure, unadulterated joy. "Why?" She asked. "Are you gonna ask her something?"

I face-palmed. "Yes Pinkie, and I think you know what it is."

Her head bobbed up and down at close to the speed of sound, never breaking her smile. "You betcha! And Derpy's house is on the next street on the left, house number 14."

"Ta Pinks!" I said, heading off in the direction she told me.

"See you later, Ant!" Shouted the crazy pink pony as I departed. "And good luck!" She added.

'Thanks Pinkie.' I thought, steeling my nerves. 'I'm gonna need all the luck I can get.'

I walked up to the door of house number 14, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

Author's Note

I have finally gotten back into the grove of writing again!
This was probably the hardest chapter to write, but I think it turned out ok.