Controlling the Beast Within

…Sunshine against my eyelids cause them to flutter open, my eyes squinting a bit soon after. A rolling yard stretches out before me, the edge of a good section of woodlands not too far past it, and fields of half-grown corn off to the side. I raise my hand to block out some of the sunlight from getting into my eyes, before realizing that I’m sitting down on a wooden porch swing, the once pristine white paint having faded and begun to peel far before I started using it regularly. The porch itself is similar in quality, though still somehow managed to give off a welcoming feeling whenever I came home to it.

Laughter catches my attention, drawing my gaze back toward the yard as time seems to speed forward. The cornfield looks fully grown, while the forest has exploded into a mixture of reds, oranges, and yellows. And yet, amidst the showing signs of autumn, I can see Summer just fine. She’s busy raking the leaves back into the pile she’d just finished leaping into, my grandparents' labrador barking excitedly by her side. The scene playing out brings warmth to my chest as a smile forms on my lips. I almost miss the oddness of it all, until I catch a brief shimmer in the sky, as if light refracting off of a pool of water. There’s also now a castle that’s erected up from past the treeline, its walls and towers standing well above the forest. I’ve never seen them before, and yet… I can feel an overwhelming sense of deja vu. Then it hits me.

I’m dreaming.

The scene shifts slightly, blurring somewhat before sharpening once more as if going back into focus. Summer is giving me an odd look now, as though I’d just asked her an odd question regarding narwhals and bacon. Then I realize she’s not looking at me, but next to me. A shiver runs up my spine as my nerves seem to sense something I’m not fully aware of. I don’t seem to want to turn my head to fully look at whatever is next to me, and yet… I can feel its presence. I glance to my right, seeing a shape just out of the corner of my eye, but whatever it is seems to fade out of existence just before I work up the nerve to finally turn to face it.

Everything starts to contort once more, the autumn colors swirling and blending before pooling over the once-green lawn. I’m no longer seated on my grandparents’ porch swing, Summer is no longer visible, and the cornfields have been replaced with… a battlefield. Swords, spears, helmets, chest pieces… scattered or pierced into the earth, all over a marred field caked in blood. Likely from the countless forms strewn about. Most appear equine-like, though there are a few feathered bodies resembling Gilda, along with creatures with twisted, canid features. I find it difficult to differentiate where one corpse starts and another ends. A mangled forelimb here. A head with deep gashes along its left eye, its lower jaw seemingly missing. All of them torn and ripped asunder.

Amongst the gruesome aftermath of a carnal battle I never took place in, I can still feel my heart racing inside my chest. And from the back of my mind, an inkling of emotion seems to fight its way to the forefront. Something is familiar about this place. Something about the bodies residuates with me. Something about all of this fills me with an overwhelming sense of…

…Wrath.

My blood boils, and the feeling of something standing beside me returns. A rumble forms in my chest, my fists clenching tightly as claws dig into my palms. I make to swing a bulky, furred, arm at whoever this presence is, snarling deeply as my teeth clench together so tightly, it feels as though they’ll break. My goal is simple; destruction.

But that goal never comes to pass. The appendage that I thought was my own never makes contact. Instead, something is placed on my cheek. Cool, and gentle to the touch. There’s a soft flash, and the hellscape around me seems to turn to particles, floating away to reveal nothing but an endless cosmos of stars, and a large beaming moon. I turn to look at the one now beside me, and feel the rage that had been there but a moment ago slowly vanish, just as the landscape had.

“...Luna.”, I say, looking deep into the cerulean pools staring back at me with obvious concern.

“...What was that, Nick?” She asks this as though I have the answer. But my expression seems to answer before I can, as the lunar alicorn looks me up and down. “...You shouldn’t have memories of that.”

That raises a flag, my brow furring in confusion. “Wha-”

But my question never completes itself. The stars begin to coalesce around the moon, swirling in a hypnotic dance that starts to make my mind go fuzzy.

“Rest now, my friend…”

I can’t seem to resist the command. My eyelids grow heavy, and a numbing sensation comes over my body as the darkness overtakes me.

—————————————~O~o~O~—————————————

I woke up the following day, the memory of my dream I’d had already beginning to feel hazy, at best. All attempts to try and recall major details were abruptly interrupted, however, thanks to the efforts of an overzealous purple unicorn. Because, apparently, I was not allowed to ever have a quiet morning around here. Once I was coherent enough to form simple responses—and request Twilight to, politely, calm her tits—I went about my morning ritual. After my shower, and dressed in one of Rarity’s new outfits–a light blue, short sleeve, button-up, and a pair of khaki-colored shorts–I took a seat at the kitchen table. Spike was, as was steadily becoming the ‘norm’, preparing us something for breakfast. In fact, the smell of more hay-bacon and eggs, which I had absolutely no problem with, was already lightening my mood once more.

However, what I did have an issue with was finding myself temporarily blinded as the world around me went completely white, before reappearing someplace that was most definitely not the library’s kitchen.

Having experienced being teleported a few times before, I was only a healthy amount of concern as I glanced around the rather large ornate room I now found myself in, searching for any clues on who was about to get a paddlin’ for taking me away from breakfast. I was still seated, and at a table no less, though both were far more lavish and grand in appearance. Plus, the dining table was much longer, with a light purple table liner running down the center of it, and multiple empty chairs placed around it.

Well, mostly empty…

Seated to my left, at the end of the table, in a chair that out beat my own in both size and appearance, was the white alicorn herself, idly sipping from a teacup and acting like she hadn’t just rudely conjured me into her royal dining room, several seats away from her, without so much as a heads up.

I stared at her for a few moments, not quite sure whether I was supposed to speak up or not. I had a pretty good guess on what this could have been about and was, quite honestly, a bit surprised to have gone even this long without hearing anything about it. However, after a couple of minutes went by, with still no response from the solar diarch, I could feel my nerves steadily getting heated.

“...So–”

“How pleasant of you to join us this lovely morning, Nick.” With how she cut me off, and the tone her voice held while the mare gave such a pleasant smile… Oh, I can tell. I’m in deep shit. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything with the impromptu summings.”

“...Well, I mean–”

The sound and flash of light brought about by teleportation interrupted me, getting me to turn my gaze toward the other end of the table, and at Luna. The younger alicorn was standing perfectly still, only shifting her wide-eyed stare from me to her sister, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

“S-Sister, wha–”

“Good morning, my dear Luna.” Celestia turned her eerily sweet smile over to her sister, causing my entire body to release the tension it’d been holding with a light shiver. There was a smaller flash of light before Luna, a teacup similar to the one Celestia was using popping into existence in front of her with steam steadily rising from it. “Another pleasant night, I hope?”

Luna opened her mouth, likely to respond, but seemed to be unable to. She looked like her brain was trying to compute what I was doing there, likely assuming the same thing I did, and fearing it.

“W-Well, yes. N-Nothing–”

“That’s wonderful news,” Celestia spoke up once more, smiling lovingly at the younger alicorn.

Luna looked like she was about to shit a brick. Hell, I felt like I was about to shit a brick. Regardless of how benevolent Celestia had presented herself so far, aside from threatening to obliterate me upon our first meeting, I wasn’t a complete imbecile. From what I could gather, this was likely the most powerful being in existence. You didn’t go a thousand years moving fucking celestial bodies and get labeled a pushover.

Several more minutes passed, Luna having taken an uneasy seat of her own, leaving the three of us to sit in utter silence. The tension in the air was thicker than my dick—Ha. Nice one, me—and the nauseating concoction of both anxiety and barely-contained rage wafting about the place was starting to make my empty stomach churn. It definitely didn’t help that Luna kept glancing over toward me from behind her teacup, as if I was supposed to be the one to speak up.

Bitch, we’re in this mess because you wanted to suck up to your sister! Not me!

Granted, Celestia was going about it in a rather roundabout way. If she was aware of the Ursa incident, having us sit here in silence while our nerves festered was just as equally childish as Luna’s own reasoning that got us into this mess to begin with. If both of them simply acted like the over-a-millennium-old beings they were, and just talked to one another, we could have this thing sorted out already, and I could be back home having breakfast!

I could feel the rumble in my chest before it started seeping out through gritted teeth. I didn’t even have enough time to register if the growl had been intentional or not before my clenched fist was slamming onto the table, overpowering the deafening silence. Amber eyes were quickly met by startled pale magenta ones. Granted, the older alicorn composed herself in record timing, all while I came to terms with what I’d just done. But by that point, my lack of food and growing irritation was supplying me with enough false courage to give zero fucks.

“Enough with the charades!”, I shouted out, glaring at Celestia. “If you’re not going to act your age, then I’m walking back to Ponyville, and returning the breakfast you oh-so-rudely stole me from!” I finished that statement off with another, albeit softer, thudding of my closed fist onto the dining table. “If you wanna reprimand your sister and me for being idiots, which would be justifiable, then just… do it! Stop wasting time, making us sit on thumbtacks–”

My mouth being forced shut by the all too familiar glow of Celestia’s magic cut me off, getting another glare from me in turn. The fact said alicorn was giving me a rather disapproving look, not unlike that my mother used to give me during a scolding when I was five, also had me backpedaling with the attitude. But only a little bit… Seeing as I could no longer speak my annoyance, I leaned back into my seat while folding my arms over my chest, still giving the solar diarch a glare.

“...Very well.” Celestia began, before turning her attention to Luna, who flinched slightly from her sister’s gaze. Which likely was the cause of Celestia's softening demeanor. “Luna, why would you attempt something as dangerous as calming an Ursa Major, especially before regaining all your strength?”

“...I just..." The younger alicorn paused a moment, as though searching for a response before whatever frustration she must have been feeling became quite apparent in her expression. "I-I wanted to feel useful!”, Luna shot back. I could notice Celestia's own look of surprise appear on her face, before slowly gaining notes of worried acknowledgment. "You've had me do nothing but read history books within the royal libraries, raise and lower the moon, and put up with your constant coddling ever since I returned. All while you've continued to handle all the royal court duties and overwork yourself!"

"Luna, I know you're eager to fully return to your duties, but-"

"No, you don't understand," Luna interrupted, her tone becoming increasingly irate. "This is not about wanting more for myself, it's about lightening your own burdens! Sister, you've been going alone for the past thousand years!" Luna's voice would crack, the frustration in her eyes turning from one driven by anger, to that of sorrow. "Y-You've been alone... Doing all of this..." Tears were already forming in her eyes. And from what I could see, the same was true for Celestia.

As she stared at her sister, the elder alicorn raised her golden regalia-clad hoof to her muzzle. "Luna... I-I... I am so sorry," Celestia spoke softly.

Luna broke down sobbing at those words. Celestia was out of her seat and to her sister's side in the blink of an eye, wrapping Luna in a tearful embrace. The two held each other, Luna shaking her. "Sister..." She said, wiping the tears from her cheeks with a hoof. "It... It's I that should be sorry... For all of this."

Celestia leaned away from her sister, a stern look coming to her reddening eyes as she used a hoof to gently force the still sniffling alicorn to meet her gaze. "No, you shouldn't be. It was my fault. I should have been there for you more, the moment you began feeling the need to prove yourself. I was so consumed with my own work, that I was blind to the needs of my sister all those centuries ago. And I cannot apologize enough for that. I was selfish, and this is all my doing."

Luna shook her head, stopping her sister's apologetic monologue. "No, no, Celestia! Don't blame yourself for this. This is my own fault. I... allowed myself to brew in my negative thoughts. My stubbornness in not looking past what I wanted to see. My... my envy of you."

It was likely wrong of me to interject, but... Even with how touching it was to see the two having a rather heartfelt moment, seeing how things were going, I couldn't help but want to avoid the cycle that was starting to form. "Look, I don't mean to butt in, but it sounds like you both played a part in what went on. And you both could have handled things better than they played out. But both of you want to take the entirety of the blame for it, and that's not fair to one another. So, I'm gonna tell you what I'd expect someone who isn't a dumbass–like me–might say right now: let's just get past this, and move forward.”

Both alicorns looked back at me, both with varying degrees of both shock and confusion on their faces. They'd then both look at each other, staring into each other's eyes in silence, before slowly beginning to smile, and soon after, giggle.

“Nick,” Celestia spoke up, the amusement evident in her tone, "Is that how you normally calm down a situation? By calling yourself names?"

I sighed heavily, leaning back against the chair again. "As of late, it sure seems like it…" The two princesses continued to giggle, causing me to roll my eyes, before clearing my throat. "Well, you both seem to be getting along again," I spoke up, trying to sound as cheerful as possible despite the awkwardness, "So... perhaps now might be the time to bring up what I wanted to talk about, seeing as you ended up kidnapping me before I could come here on my own…."

Celestia and Luna both stopped giggling at that, the former tilting her head somewhat with a look of confusion. "Oh? And what might that be, Nick?"

"Well..." I suddenly found myself a bit nervous, scratching at the back of my head. Plus, now that I was actually here, I found my mind going blank on what I had wanted to discuss. A frown slowly formed as I leaned back into my seat before the sound of my stomach erupting caught all of our attention, my face turning bright red in equal measures of embarrassment and annoyance. “...As of right now, I want food. Which should be fair compensation for taking me away from a perfectly good egg and hay-bacon breakfast back at the library.”

The two princesses would share a look, before Celestia would break away from Luna, making her way back over to her side of the table. After taking her seat, the alicorn would give what appeared to be a genuinely apologetic look my way before clearing her throat.

“Of course. It’s the least we could do for helping the both of us through this.” I wasn’t really all too sure what I’d done to help, but I wasn’t about to say that out loud. “If you’d like, you may stay and enjoy breakfast–or dinner, in Luna’s case–with us.”

I pursed my lips in mock thought, itching at the hairs on my chinny-chin-chin. A royal breakfast as payment for being kidnapped sounded… acceptable. My standards are super low…

“Sure, that’ll work.” My eyes widened for a moment though as something came to mind. “Just as soon as you send word to Twilight and Spike that I’m here. They’re likely confused about where I vanished to.”

Celestia’s own gaze seemed to widen ever so slightly at hearing that, her horn flaring up as a piece of parchment and a quill popped into existence beside her, levitating in midair. She looked to the parchment, scribbling something down before rolling it up. With another flash of her horn, the note gained a ribbon and seal, before flashing away with one final glow. “...That was good thinking on your part.”

Good to know I’m not the only one terrified of a frantic Twilight.

“Oh, I’m not out of the woods just yet. I’m the one that has to go back and get an earful on having wasted ‘precious learning time’.” At both of their confused looks, I chuckled before clarifying. “I asked her if she’d teach me how to read and write your language. She looked like I’d just asked her out to prom.” Another bout of confused looks, though both were quickly covered by light smiles.

“Knowing that mare, you likely made the rest of her year,” Celestia commented before giggling to herself.

“...What is this… ‘prom’ thou speakest of?” Luna asked, tilting her head at me.

I blinked at her, before remembering that I was not only talking to a horse, but one that had been stuck out of time for the past millennia. “It’s… sort of like a gala that gets put on towards the end of the school year, for all the students graduating out of high school that year. Sort of seen as a big deal by all the girls, who go about dolling themselves up, but most of the guys I knew of back home simply saw it as another opportunity to get their di-” I quickly shut my mouth, before going into a bit of a coughing fit. Luna looked a bit more confused, though I could tell Celestia was giving me a bit of a side-eye.

“You say… couples went to these sorts of things?” Luna asked, returning to looking intrigued once more.

“Well… yes, but it wasn’t strictly just for them. I’m sure there were also plenty of other single kids that probably went, too.”

This time Celestia chimed in. “...You say that as though you didn’t attend it yourself.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Guilty as charged. I wasn’t allowed to attend, due to ‘bad behavior’ the week prior.” Both sisters seemed to gain looks of shock and concern at that, so I continued before either could ask. “I got jumped by a couple of ‘established gentlemen’ after school, thanks in part to a snarky correction I’d given one of them on something stupid during class. Don’t even remember what it was at this point. Either way, I may have… ‘defended myself’ a bit too well, and ended up breaking one of their noses while giving the other one a serious headache. Even more unfortunate was that one of the kid's parents was friends with someone on the school board. They wanted me expelled, on top of pressing charges on me. Lucky for me, the fight got picked up on one of the school’s security cameras, and it showed I wasn’t the one that started it. So, the charges never got sent my way, but the school still got pressured into dishing out some form of punishment for a fight happening on school grounds. ‘Zero Tolerance’ and all that jazz. So… all three of us weren’t allowed to attend prom.” Not that I really planned on going, anyway. “Honestly, I’m still surprised I managed to graduate without being held back another year.”

Luna tilted her head somewhat at that, while Celestia looked downright incredulous.

“You... got into a fight... on campus?” she slowly stated, her eyes widening ever so slightly.

“Well, technically it happened outside the building, but yeah."

I couldn't help but chuckle at that being the focus of the recollection I'd just given them. That chuckle turned into a genuine laugh when Celestia's royal mask dropped for a second, and one of the co-rulers of Equestria gave me a brief deadpan look, before rolling her eyes. Luna was soon doing her best to hold back a bout of snickers, as well.

"...That's not, entirely, what I was questioning," she muttered before recomposing herself.

Her horn then flared to life for a moment, the sound of a bell ringing from somewhere. Not a few seconds later, one of the doors off to the side opened up to a small party of mares dressed in European maid outfits, pushing trollies with what looked like covered platters on them. Within moments, a small feast appeared on the table, which included a large bowl of apples, sliced in half and arranged in a spiral shape on top of a bed of celery, two large plates of hay-bacon and eggs, with several pieces of toast and a selection of jam on the side. I couldn't help but take serious note of the plater consisting of mostly desserts, though. Some sort of chocolate cake, a giant eclair, a chocolate mousse, and two other cakes that were layered with icing and fruit. There was also a tray with a pitcher of milk, alongside a pot of–

"Is that coffee?!?"

The sudden outburst caused all in the room to freeze, many confused, as well as a bit annoyed, looks being cast my way. Not like I gave a damn. I was grabbing myself an empty mug and pouring myself a cup of liquid crack faster than Rainbow Dash on a hot date.

“I take it you approve?” Celestia asked as she began filling a plate up for herself. Which seemed to mostly consist of sweets from the dessert platter.

I nodded my head in response, taking a moment to pour a splash of milk into it before dropping a sugar cube in for good measure. I took a tentative sip from it, before feeling my entire world melt around me, a smile slowly forming. God, how I've missed you…

"Sister, you've got no idea..." That got another giggle from the two of them.

"From what I hear, it’s an imported item from Saddle Arabia." Luna chimed in, a steaming mug of what smelled like tea being placed before her, along with a plate of steamed vegetables. "We did not have such a beverage prior to our banishment. It has... certainly aided in our nocturnal ways, though."

Well, that explains why the peasants don't appear to have any.

Once everything was finished being placed at the table, the servants wasted little time in making themselves scarce, leaving the three of us to eat. The conversation seemed to die down a tad, Celestia seeming to have gained something new to focus on in the cake slices she was half-assly trying to eat in a 'princess-like fashion', and Luna quietly nibbling on her veggies. I helped myself to the hay-bacon and eggs, but made sure to grab some of the apple slices and celery as well. Partly as a silent jab my newfound insight of the Solar Princess's dietary habits, but also because everything just looked absolutely amazing. Of course, at the sight of a stray apple fritter amongst the other sweets, I had to nab that, as well. Needless to say, I was no longer disappointed about missing out on breakfast at the library.

However, I couldn't help but notice the occasional glance from Luna. They never seemed to come off as outwardly malicious, but... I could still feel a bit of unease behind them, along with some sort of nagging feeling in the back of my mind.

"Did you sleep well last night, Nick?"

The sudden, innocent-sounding, question from Celestia caused another flag to go off.

"...Kind of," I replied back before finishing the last of my fritter and coffee. "Think I had an odd dream again..." Then something came to me. One of the things I wanted to talk to the two of them about. However, before I could get another word out, Luna beat me to it.

"Yes, about that... Did anything stressful happen yesterday?" Now I was truly confused.

"I mean..." I shook my head lightly, scrunching my face up somewhat at not completely understanding both how it sounded like she'd already been aware of my dream, along with why she thought any stress from yesterday may have been a reason for it. "I got to feeling a little homesick after visiting some of Twilight's friends–particularly her farmer friend's place–but..."

Now Celestia was looking a bit confused, asking "...The Apple's farmland?" before shoveling a spoonful of the chocolate mousse into her mouth.

I looked to her, nodding my head before diverting my eyes to the empty cup in front of me. "Yeah," I replied. "It was just supposed to be a visit to apologize for Trixie's behavior, but..." It then clicked on my other reason for wanting to talk with all. "Oh, right! I think I found someone else who might be an Element of Calamity!"

Luna spat out the sip of tea she'd been drinking while the spoon Celestia had been using fell to the table with a clank, both now staring at me in utter shock. Several very long seconds passed before I was holding my ears at the rumbling thunder that was both Princesses shouting in unison.

"What?!"

Celestia was the first to follow up, shaking her head and sighing heavily. "Wh-Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" she asked, regaining her normal tone, though with a hint of discomfort.

I popped my finger from the ear I'd been clearing out, before replying in mild annoyance as I looked to her. "I was going to, but have found myself getting pulled in all sorts of different directions the past few days, what with the aftermath of the Ursa, your sister outing you on lying to me, again, as well as still coming to terms with the fact that I'm STUCK IN THIS CRAZY WORLD FOR AN INDEFINITE AMOUNT OF TIME!"

My annoyance was steadily beginning to become anger, and it looked like both Celestia and Luna were well aware of it. The former glanced over towards her younger sister, he right ear twitching somewhat, before she met my gaze once more, holding it. However, said gaze quickly lowered itself to the last morsel of cake left on the plate before her as the older alicorn's demeanor slouched ever-so-slightly.

"I know you're stressed, Nick," she said softly. "We've all been through a lot recently."

I didn't bother to reply. The only thing I wanted to hear was an apology, or at the very least an explanation. I could hear Luna shuffling a bit in her seat, getting me to glance over back to her.

"...We also... regretfully understand the predicament you find yourself in, of which I wholeheartedly apologize for being the cause."

I took in a deep breath at that, feeling that simmer in my chest dying down as I let out a long sigh. ...Why am I such a sucker for sad pony faces?!?

"...I know," I said, looking back to the empty cup before me. "But I'm still not okay with being lied to, especially if I'm going to get shouted at if and when I don't come straight to you with daily check-ins."

Both Princesses seemed to wince slightly at that.

"...I apologize as well, then," Celestia spoke up. "For... lying about sealing away your Element. If such a thing was even possible, I would have tried to do so with-" She cut herself off, giving a painful look toward Luna, before gaining a look of shame soon after. "...No. That would have been extremely unfair of me. Please forgive even the idea of myself ever doing such."

"It... It's fine," Luna said back, not meeting her sister's gaze. "...If it had been possible, I would have likely requested you to do so, anyway."

There was another long pause, the feeling of unease weighing heavily in the air, and almost churning my stomach.

"...Well, regardless." I looked at the two of them, before shaking my head. "No more secrets. I want honesty from the two of you, starting from this moment on. No more hiding things, regardless of whether I make the stupid call for you to do so.”

"I... I can't promise you that, Nick." Celestia said, still looking somewhat defeated. "There are many things that I simply can't share with you, at least not yet. And other things that I simply don’t have the answers to." That seemed to get both Luna and I to give her a confused look, though mine was understandably more miffed-looking. "However, I will promise you this. I'll be as open as I can be, as well as be honest with what I can and can not share, should you ask me of anything."

Well, that's some fucking piss in my cheerios...

I squinted at her for a second, before ultimately concluding that that was likely going to be the best I could get from the old diarch.

"...Fine." I leaned back in my seat, cracking my knuckles to ease some of my own tension. Again, to my own amusement, Celestia gained a bit of a cringe at my doing so. "But to clarify, I'm not one hundred percent certain that Trixie is an Element bearer. It was just a feeling I got when she showed up in Ponyville a couple of days ago. She definitely fits the bill for Pride, if that is one of the other Elements of Calamity."

Celestia and Luna shared a quick look, before the former gave a nod. "If you say you had some sort of... feeling, as you put, then your claim may be validated. I, myself, may not have a definitive explanation for it, but... the Elements of Harmony have always appeared to have a subtle influence over those that resonate with them the strongest. While I... lost the ability to use them, after doing so against my sister, I could still feel that subtle connection with them. It was for that very reason I opened my School for Gifted Unicorns, in the hopes of finding another who could reawaken the Element of Magic, and along with those who were suitable replacements for the others, use the Elements to aid my sister upon her return better than I could."

"...Which explains the extreme convenience of the rest of the Element bearers all residing at the right place, at the right time."

"Partially," she replied with another nod. "Though that wasn't completely all my own doing. As I said, the Elements can manifest an influence of their own when the need arises. While I am unable to explain how, it is entirely possible that the bearers ended up there through the Elements' own will. And if that is the case, it goes to reason that the Elements of Calamity may work off the same principle."

I looked back over to Luna, who was now staring back at me. I got what Celestia was saying, and couldn't deny her logic as sound. But... that still didn't answer my other questions. And as I sat there, looking into the Lunar Princess's eyes, something slowly seemed to come to me.

"But... that still doesn't explain a number of things. Like how I fit into this whole 'plan', if there even is one. Or... How did Luna know about my dream from last night? She was... in it. I remember that bit, now, right before I woke up."

Luna nodded. "It is a power I hold. Just as it is my sister's duty to ensure our ponies' safety during the day, it is mine to do so at night by visiting them in their dreams. This is mostly done to find and weed out any nightmares that any may be having. Although... yours was quite peculiar. Do you not remember it?"

"Not... really," I said, shaking my head. "I don't really remember most of my dreams, aside from the odd detail every now and then." The thought of the last one being some sort of message from Discord caused me to pause. Knowing how Celestia truly felt about the entity, she probably wouldn't take too kindly to me getting the super obscure facetime from him… "Why, what seemed so strange about it?"

Luna frowned at that. "The fact that you, of all ponies, had a dream about... About the war."

Now it was Celestia's turn to sound confused. "What do you mean, 'about the war'?"

I found myself just as confused as she was as I tried to dredge up any fleeting memories I could find of the dream itself.

"...The war, sister. The one I lost against you."

Then it clicked. A flood of images came rushing to me all at once. My grandparents' farm, my sister, the bloody battlefield... "That-That was the aftermath. Just like the mosaic showed..."

That seemed to catch Celestia up to speed, though the look I soon found being shot in my direction quickly had me feeling... uneasy. But just as soon as it was there, it was gone, the Princess offering such a concerned expression that I had to pause and confirm whether the first look even happened or not. "...Perhaps I shouldn't have shown you that, then. I didn't intend for you to have nightmares over it."

...Was that what happened? I stared at her a moment, before slowly nodding my head. "...I suppose that could have been it. After visiting the farm, and working myself up over missing my mother and sister, it could have just been a stress-induced nightmare."

Celestia, again, seemed to gain a moment of confusion for the briefest of moments, before the older alicorn gave her head a slow nod.

"I... suppose that could have been the case," Luna muttered out. Her tone gave signs of her own uncertainty toward her sister's words, but she didn't seem to want to press her on it, instead looking back at me with a genuine, reassuring, smile. "I'll be sure to keep a look out the next few nights, just in case you have any more."

"Th-Thanks...", I muttered to her, attempting my best to return the smile with a nod of my head.

After another brief pause, Celestia spoke up, sounding more like her usual tone. "...Well, if there is nothing else, I believe it's time I get to my duties." Using her magic, she pushed her seat away from the table before getting up and turning to me with a light smile. "If you'd be kind enough to keep an eye on this other Element bearer, for the time being, I'd very much appreciate it. I'd like to send Luna to meet them soon, though, to confirm your own suspicions. And it turns out you were correct, we'll likely need to inform her of it, preferably in a gentle manner..."

"...Of course," Luna replied.

"Sure thing..." I responded as well. "And... I'll be in touch if anything else comes up."

"I'd appreciate that."

And with that, her horn lit up in a brilliant flash, once more finding myself back where I had been; seated at the kitchen table in the library. However, it was currently empty, with no signs of the breakfast I had missed out on earlier. Just as I was starting to wonder where everyone went, I caught earshot of Twilight and Trixie speaking from the next room over, followed by Twi calling out.

"Is that you, Nick?"

After taking a few more seconds to catch my bearings, I made my way into the main room of the library. Twilight was standing off towards the farther end of the room, her horn lit up in its pale, light purple, aura, and a tome of some sort floating before her wrapped up in a matching magical grip. Trixie was more towards the center of the room, her own horn engulfed in her signature pale and grayish magenta magic. She appeared to be focusing her magic to the tip of her horn and into a white orb, no bigger than an average-sized marble, while showing just a hint of strain in doing so. Spike was sprawled out on the floor close by, lazily watching the both of them at work.

"What're you two doing?" I asked, taking a step toward them before pausing, not sure whether it was safe or not to get any closer.

Twilight looked up at me for a moment, before returning her attention back to Trixie. "Running her through some basic magical exercises. By having her channel her magic, and keeping it focused to the tip of her horn like that, she's strengthening her magical foci and natural wellspring, in turn allowing her to better perform spells that require higher outputs of..." She trailed off a bit, likely from the blank stare I was giving her.

"...I think I got a fraction of that."

The lavender mare gave her own deadpanned look, before rolling her eyes with a small sigh. "She's working her 'magic muscle'."

"Ohhh! Okay, now it makes sense."

"Could you please stop talking? Trixie is trying to focus!”

Both of us shut up, giving Trixie varying looks of apology. Twilight carefully placed the tome she had on a nearby table, before trotting over to me with a hint of worry on her face.

"So...", she began in a quieter tone, "What did the Princesses want?"

I let out a deep breath, before looking at her. "...Well, it started out with Luna and I getting reprimanded, escalated to me shouting at Celestia, devolved into the two of them breaking down and having a real heart-to-heart, continued with us enjoying a rather lavish breakfast, and concluded with me having more questions and fewer answers about anything that is going on in this crazy world that I continue to find myself in.”

Twilight's ears pinned back a bit, her eyes wide at me as if I'd just slapped her on the ass and called her my little pony. "...You shouted at Princess Celestia?!"

Her sudden exclamation seemed to catch the ear of Trixie, who let out a gasp of her own. Which was immediately followed by the sound of a small explosion, large plums of smoke quickly filling the entirety of the room while stinging my eyes a bit and blocking my vision.

With all of us breaking out into a coughing fit, I heard the telltale sign of more magic being cast directly beside me before the sound of one or two windows being opened. Almost immediately, I felt a cool draft blow away the lingering smoke and smell of burnt magic. As soon as I could see again, I found Twilight, Trixie, and Spike all with varied expressions. Albeit Trixie's was mostly of frustration, the tip of her horn singed with a small wisp of smoke still coming from it.

"Ugh, how is Trixie supposed to practice in these living conditions!" she hissed, turning to me with a scowl. "And what's this about you shouting at–let alone you even knowing–Princess Celestia?!"

I took a moment to clear my throat, getting the job done with a cough as one last puff of smoke cleared my lungs. Well, there goes the smoking-free streak I'd had going... "It's... a long story." And I’m still not sure how much I can disclose…

And so, I found myself giving Trixie a... more or less abridged version of how I got here. Thankfully, Twilight made herself useful by throwing in her own two cents every now and then. By the end of it, the two of us had laid out a well enough story of my origins that dipped into the truth of things but didn't disclose any of the more confidential stuff.

Luna, whose identity we had to briefly explain to Trixie, accidentally summoned me here in a 'mild state of panic' after getting cured of being Nightmare Moon. Unfortunately, neither she nor her sister knew how that happened, or how to get me back home, so they entrusted me to Twilight for safekeeping. And to explain the visits, they've just been taking serious measures to make sure my stay here has been... welcoming. Of course, none of this explained why I had shouted at one of, if not the, most powerful beings that I knew of. My explanation of that was short and succinct: "I was angry."

"Angry?!" Twilight exclaimed, her expression shifting from shocked to indignant. "How on Equus could you be angry at Princess Celestia?”

Would you like that in alphabetical or chronological?

I shook my head, not really wanting--or probably even able--to open that can of worms just yet. "Same way that the both of us tend to get angry with each other..." And with that comment coming out of my mouth, I quickly attempted to try and change the subject. "So, uh, what did you three do during my absence?"

Spike was first to chime in, perhaps sensing the immediate shitstorm I had likely just stirred up. "J-Just watching these two work on their magic! Twilight’s been doing a REALLY great job coaching Trixie, who's been doing AWESOME with her lessons!"

Despite the fact I'd said something super stupid, Twilight's look of annoyance quickly shifted to one of embarrassment at the compliment Spike had given her. Trixie's own expression was one of... well, pride, as well. Go figure.

I really gotta give that little guy mad props. Saved my ass, lickity split.

"Glad to hear it!" I replied, nodding my head in approval, before looking to Trixie with an apologetic smile. "Though, if it's not too much to ask, would you mind if I stole Twilight for a while? She was gonna help me with learning how to read your language." That definitely got Twilight's attention in the best, or worst depending on personal opinion, way possible. The mare looked nearly as manic as Pinkie.

"Trixie supposes that's fine. She needed a break anyway. Especially after somepony nearly made her blow up the whole library..."

I chuckled nervously at that, watching her as she began to pass by me, before recalling past conversations from yesterday. Gaining a bit more of a serious tone, I raised my hand towards Trixie to give her pause. "But, one question before you leave." She stopped, raising her brow at me. "...Did you humiliate some of Twilight's friends your first day here?"

My question caused the azure mare to pause a moment, almost as if she had to think about it. "...Oh, yes! Those three that attempted to upstage Trixie during her own show?" She let out a sort of giggle that had me inhaling sharply, before continuing, "Yes, Trixie remembers."

"...You're going to go apologize to them."

Trixie's eyes widened briefly before the mare fully turned to face me in a totally aghast fashion. "Wha- The Great and Powerful Trixie?!"

"Yes." I leaned down a bit so I was more at eye level with her, squinting somewhat. "Especially now that I'm fully aware of how much you seemed to enjoy said humiliation. Need I remind you that if you plan on living here for the time being, you should also attempt to patch up any hard feelings you may have created between not only the residents here, but the friends of the ones you'll be living with?”

The mare stared at me, her expression clearly a mixture of audacity and confliction. I knew she knew I was right, but either didn't wanna admit it, or stoop so low as to apologize to those she'd belittled just a few days ago.

"...O-Oh, very well, then! Trixie will see what can be done about this... 'mishap'." With that, the mare spun around, letting out an exaggerated stomp of her hoof, before trotting off and out the door with surprising speed.

“...Wow.” I straightened back up, looking over towards a rather dumbfounded Twilight, cocking a brow in mild confusion at the look she was giving me. "You really have some sort of way with her. Anytime I tried to make even the slightest suggestion during our studies, she'd go off on a tangent! But with you?"

"She caved in nearly as fast as Twilight whenever Princess Celestia asks her to do something!" Spike chimed in, before promptly getting flicked by Twilight's tail. "Hey, that hurt!" He cried in mock outrage, rubbing his arm where he'd been struck. "Don't be mad 'cause I'm right!"

I couldn't help but let out a laugh at that, even if I was still a bit confused and surprised to hear about my supposed 'special powers' for getting Trixie to behave.

Twilight loudly cleared her throat, looking as though she was doing her best to ignore the fact that her cheeks were flushed. "Spike, would you be so kind as to head off to the marketplace? I think we're out of daisies." Her horn lit for a moment as a small pouch of what I assumed were bits popped into existence in front of him.

The little drake paused a moment to stare at the pouch now in his face, before rolling his eyes. "Fine..." He then begrudgingly took the bits and made his way to the doorway as well.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Twilight let out a small groan as she made her way over to the couch, sprawling herself across it. It was difficult, but I managed to hold back the urge to say a joke at her own expense. Instead, I walked over to the recliner and sat down with a chuckle. Twi caught earshot of it, and positioned herself better as to be looking my way, spotting the goofy grin I likely had on my face, and rolled her eyes.

"...I still can't believe you yelled at Princess Celestia."

That got my smile to turn rather sour. Propping my head up with an open hand and the arm of the chair, I glanced off to the side away from Celestia's Star Pupil with a grunt. "...She's been lying to me ever since I first met her. About my curse, about me harboring an Element, about dampening its effects on me, and now... I think she might even be lying about... me."

Twilight grew a look of confusion, tilting her head. "...What do you mean?"

I sat up a bit straighter, looking up toward the ceiling as I tried to sort out my thoughts. "...It's just a nagging thought I'm starting to get in the back of my head. Strange feelings of familiarity I get here and there when I don't think there should be. How apparently–by Luna's standards–the dream I had last night was far too detailed a rendition of an event that happened a super long time ago. Even the Ursa Major seemed to show some sense of acknowledgment towards me, or... someone I reminded her of."

"Hold on... Ursa Major?"

It suddenly occurred to me at that moment that I hadn't filled Twi in on what Luna and I had done, which in turn was the reason for my abrupt visit to Canterlot to begin with. It didn't take too long to give her a quick summary of the event. Seedless to nay, she looked about as shellshocked as she had when I had first informed her of my 'shouting match' with Celestia. With that out of the way, I went more in-depth on what specifically had happened this morning, doing my best to not leave out a single detail. The paranoia of this getting back to Celestia was there, but... I had promised Twilight that I wouldn’t leave her in the dark anymore, and I meant it. Besides, I'm still pissed at that white horse…

After taking a few moments to process everything, she finally exhaled rather heavily and rubbed her temples with both her hooves, her brow furrowing. "...I suppose I can understand both of their viewpoints. And if what you say is true, even Princess Luna seems to not be completely aware of what's going on. But..." She lowered her gaze, as though searching the ground for her words. "...Princess Celestia always has a reason for what she says or does, with that reason always being for the best. If you think she's really keeping something from you, maybe it's for your own good?"

I pursed my lips, not having really expected too different a response from her but also found myself reevaluating my assessment of the situation. I couldn't deny I was upset at the prospect of possibly being lied to over and over again by a magical horse princess that had the power to move a star, but... I also couldn't deny that she hadn't done any true harm to me since I'd gotten here, and had even helped me out once or twice when I needed it. I leaned forward in my seat, burying my face into my hands before letting out an annoyed groan. The conflicting thoughts were starting to give me a headache…

I could hear Twilight hopping off the couch and making her way over before feeling her hoof on my shoulder. "...For what it's worth, though, I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to share this with me. It really does mean a lot." I looked up to see her offering me a genuinely sweet smile, which definitely helped with the headache. "And if you ever need to talk or vent, know I'm more than happy to listen."

The corners of my mouth tugged a bit at that before I was smiling back at the lavender unicorn. I reached up to scratch her behind the ear, which again got a quick, momentary, look of confusion before being replaced with content. "Thanks, Twi. I appreciate it."

She let out a rather cute giggle before stepping away from my hand, a coy smirk on her face. "Don't thank me just yet. We're still gonna get started on your reading lessons."

The mock groan of annoyance I let out as I dramatically rolled my eyes at her, as if she was one of my high school teachers who had just announced a surprise pop quiz, got a hearty laugh from both of us.