Controlling the Beast Within

After parting with Gilda the Bitc— I mean Griffon, I attempted to go back in and let Twilight know I was heading back to the library. I suddenly didn’t really feel like partying over a miserable pin cushion, and instead thought that some solitary time to myself to think through what the day had been like was a better idea. I mean, while I had chosen to not hear what Princess Celestia and that shadowy being she had called ‘Discord’ had to say… The curiosity of what they might know about me was still itching the back of my mind. But with whatever Celestia had done to me before sending me back, I had to admit I was feeling a bit less agitated about everything going on around me than before. So, maybe just some rest would have been nice.

But, no. That would be too simple…

Instead, Pinkie had decided that the party should continue on! And guess who the special person was this time? Me. Me! As if by pure chance, she had managed to completely reconstruct a new party around my own presence in Ponyville. The very notion of something so completely out of the blue, and random as hell, struck me with such a sense of dumbfoundedness, I just nodded my head in a daze and went with it. And what’s stranger is that all the others seemed to just go with it, too! Like, the fact that a fucking griffon had notjust made a huge scene in front of them, let alone grabbed the host of the party by the throat, hadn’t just happened.

Ah, but by now I should know better than to question the logic of this dafty world...

And that is how I found myself where I was right now. Sitting at one of the small tables at the front of the shop, watching other ponies mingle and laugh with one another as they gave the ever-occasional glance and unsure wave my way. They all seemed nice enough, and some even acted as if they were eager to meet me. Well, at least now that there was a large group of ponies close by, and free food was being served…

I have to admit. This is a rather nice thing for Pinkie to do for me, even if it’s a bit ill-timed. I just wish I was more of a party person…

I was so lost in the thought of what was going on, I hardly noticed the unicorn that had decided to get a bit closer to the table I was at. However, when that same unicorn started to carefully take a place in the seat adjacent to mine, I was well aware of who it was, and what was going on. Already considering getting up and moving to a different spot, I was forced back into my seat by a single command from the pony.

“Sit down.”, commanded the owner of the voice in a far too calm tone for my liking.

Seeing as I didn’t have much of a say in the matter, I did as I was told. Lowering my head with an audible sigh, I took a chance to glance over toward the rather bland expression that sat on the mare’s face. She was undoubtedly trying her best to hide her appearance the best she could, though I couldn’t help but smirk at her attempt. Having gone so far as to use some sort of spell to swap the colors of her grayish purple-blue coat and very light azure mane with one another, she was even missing a pair of wings that had once adorned her back, leaving just the horn on her head. In addition to sporting a pair of darker purple glasses, she also had a large bow tied to the back of her mane, relatively the same shade of purple as her specs.

Propping my arm onto the table and placing my chin to my closed fist, I chuckled lightly before stating in a half-mocking tone, “You look rather... snazzy. What’s the occasion, Princess?” She surprised me by turning rather startled, glancing toward the others in the room before looking back to me with a hoof to her mouth.

“Do not call me such out loud!”, she hissed in a hushed tone. “It would not do well for the others here to know of my presence.”

“Oh.” Shrugging, I waved over at the pink mare who had been creepily staring at me for the past seven minutes from behind the counter. “Yo, Pinkie! You think you could get me and my friend here something to share?” Oh, the smile that crept up that pony's face…

“Sure thing, Nick!”, she said with a rather suspicious glint in her eye. Oh boy…

Glancing back to the disguised Princess Luna, I couldn’t help but notice the coloring in her cheeks being an off shade of red. Raising a single eyebrow slightly, I chose to act as if I hadn’t noticed it. Instead, I leaned back into my chair, folding my arms over my chest before asking, “So, what’s up?”

She actually looked up at the ceiling. I swear I was about to burst out into a laughing fit, or slam my head onto the table in complete disbelief. Before she could even respond with some asinine statement, I quickly decided to restate my question differently.

“I mean, what was your reason for visiting?”

After looking back at me, another red tint crept up on her cheeks for a second before she answered with, “I-I am here on official business this time.” Oh? So Celestia must have sent her… “I have come upon my own accord.”

“Now see, right there is where I have to ask that you to not read my thoughts anymore.”, I stated rather flatly. Her expression quickly turned apologetic, so I decided to not chew her out as I had with Celestia. “But do continue on. Did you need something from me?”

She lowered her gaze before nodding. “Yes. I wanted to speak to you about—”

“Here you go!”, came Pinkie Pie, appearing as if she’d spawned from the air itself, placing what looked like a stick of butter between the two of us, accompanied by a pair of spoons.

It was split in the middle by an icon that read Gossip for 2, one half being yellow, and the other white. Raising a rather suspicious, and confused, gaze up at the smiling pony, I simply shrugged my shoulders and gave her my thanks. And just like that, she zipped off to somewhere else. But not, however, before I could get the smallest hint of a smirk on her face…

...Alrighty then?

Glancing back toward Luna, her almost sharing the same puzzled look that I must have had, I was first to pick up one of the spoons and take a small piece of the odd block from the colored side that was closest to me. Immediately I could tell that it was a type of cake, based on the texture that the inside of the dessert had. With another shrug, I placed the piece of rather sweet-yet-sour treat into my mouth, smiling lightly as my taste buds soon had my mind going blank.

“Wow…”, I murmured, closing my eyes. “This is actually really good.”

Laying my sight back onto Luna showed her tentatively placing her own spoon into her mouth as well. I couldn’t help but laugh at the reaction she had. After that one single spoonful, she was already scarfing down bite after bite of the cake, an extremely pleased look upon her face. I actually had to intervene to get some more of my own! This of course only got her to halt from eating altogether, a heavy blush forming on her face.

“M-My apologies…”, she sputtered out, attempting to regain her composure before continuing. “It has been quite some time since I have had the opportunity to dine on such confection.”

Waving a carefree hand, I simply took a couple more mouthfuls before responding. “Not a problem. I’d be just as ravaging to a cake like this too if I’d been—” I caught myself, remembering we were supposed to be acting careful about her real identity. “Away for some time.”

With a slightly glum nod, she quickly forced a semi-formal expression back onto her face before letting out a small ‘ahem’. “Back to my reason for visiting you.”

“Oh. Right. Carry on.”

“What did Discord tell you?”, she asked in a somber tone.

My mood took a bit of a nose dive at the mention of his name. Lowering my gaze to the spoon I was still fiddling with in my hand, I took a heavy breath before directing my eyes back toward her. “What about, exactly?”

Her eyes narrowed slightly, a frown beginning to form. “Did he speak about my sister and I? Say anything about us I should know of?”

I suddenly wasn’t feeling so great. “Well…” I couldn’t really keep my gaze on her as I spoke anymore. “Not directly about you. But he did make a couple of references in your direction.”

“Like?” She seemed rather impatient, now. Which wasn’t really helping my growing uncomfortable feeling.

“I got the feeling that he may have been the one that…” I quickly let out, pausing a moment to think of a way to continue. “...’changed’ you.”

Her body language immediately became unreadable, her darker cyan orbs growing slightly before lowering toward the table with a blankness to them. My own body language dampened a bit as well, knowing I’d more than likely brought up more bad memories.

“...That’s not quite the whole of it, I’m afraid.”, she said near a whisper. This caught me off guard. “You see, there’s more to it than just that. And unfortunately,” She raised her gaze back up toward me, a sense of sorrow reflecting from her eyes. “I fear you are a part of it as well.”

That sent my mind dive-bombing into the land of utter confusion.

“W-What?” I had to force myself to think coherent thoughts before speaking. “H-How? What are you even talking about?”

“We are more alike than you think.” Her expression turned more grieved than before. “You are a piece of something far more than you could ever imagine, Nick.” She lowered her voice as she continued. “The only reason Nightmare, nor myself, didn’t sense it earlier was because it only became detectable recently.”

I was starting to get agitated. I hadn’t really wanted to hear any of this, and yet here I was anyway, being told cryptic messages of how I was something even more than just ‘a foreign creature that could change into a savage beast’. As if it couldn’t get any worse than that, right?

“You’re an Element Bearer, Nick. You’re the Element of Wrath.”

All thoughts went silent at Luna’s declaration. I couldn’t identify any real sense of mental reaction coming from me, nor was I really sure how I was supposed to react to hearing such a thing, anyway. So instead, I found myself glancing toward the other ponies in the room. The first thing that caught my attention was the ever-spontaneous Pinkie Pie playing a game of what looked to be pin-the-tail-on-the-pony with Twilight. Rainbow Dash was watching with a bemused expression while having a conversation with Applejack. Fluttershy seemed to be hovering close to the punch bowl, glancing about the room as well, before noticing my own staring, lowering her head uncomfortably. Spike, and this managed to get a giggle out of me, seemed to be eyeing Rarity with a look of admiration, while the white unicorn spoke with a couple of ponies I didn’t know over clothing of some sort.

“...Nick?”, came the voice of the one who’d I had been speaking with moments ago.

Recollecting my thoughts, I hastily looked back at Luna’s concerned expression. Clearing my throat, I simply said “Explain.”

She paused a moment, diverting her gaze to the table and then back to me before nodding. “Not much is known about them, but they’re called the Elements of Calamity. They’re said to be the essences that makeup disharmony and chaos in civilization, and the counter elements to the Elements of Harmony. There have been said to be seven in total, supposed bearers showing up in tales older than both my sister and I. However, as of now, only two have been accounted for in the past thousand years.” She hesitated a moment before taking a breath. “...You and I are the first of the Elements of Calamity to make an appearance within the past several millennia.”

...Aaaaand, it’s gone.

She seemed to have sensed my vacant understanding and continued. “You are the Element of Wrath. While it only made itself apparent after I aided you in seizing control of your beast form, it seems that it has been lurking inside you since before your arrival in Equestria.”

That immediately had several questions running through my mind.

“How exactly can that even be possible?”, I asked. “I mean… How could someone that’s not even from this realm hold, what sounds like, some sort of ‘Great Source of Power’ from it before ever entering the very realm that it came from?” I paused for a moment, rethinking everything I’d just said, before shaking my head slightly. “...If that makes any sense to you.”

Luna seemed to be slightly confused at my jumbled-up question, but slowly shook her head. “Your inquiry does bring forth a good point, but…” she lowered her gaze, letting out a soft sigh. “I am afraid we have not come upon an answer for it yet.”

I lowered my head somewhat as well, figuring that perhaps at a later time, I could attempt once more at raiding Twilight’s library for any books that may hold some sort of information about what was going on.

Just as soon as I figure out how to read the damn things...

“And…”, I finally said, pointing a finger at her. “You’re also one of these ‘Elements’?”

She nodded her head slowly. “Envy…” Holding her hooves together, as well as looking out the window beside us, she continued in a disconnected tone. “I didn’t find out until Discord made contact with me. It was a few decades after my sister and I had managed to knock him from his tyrannical throne, and begun ruling over Equestria with peace and harmony. He spun a tale that resonated in as much wonder as it did horror. Though I didn’t believe him. I couldn’t believe him. Not after all the pain and suffering he had caused to us equines for so long…” She shivered for a brief second before returning her gaze to me, this time it being rather upset. “But then I started hearing her voice…”

By this time, I was leaning forward on the table, encaptured in her memories. However, I was also starting to piece things together. “Nightmare’s…”

She nodded her head, a look of disgust crinkling her usually somewhat appealing complexion. “She first made herself seem like she was a friend. Somepony who simply desired to talk. She was nice to me. But she never seemed to like my sister.” Her frown grew larger. “Then she began filling my head with all those lies. How the ponies couldn’t have loved my beautiful night, and thought I was nothing more than Celestia’s shadow. How Celestia couldn’t possibly see me as her equal. That her power should be mine!”

She suddenly slammed her hoof on the table, causing me to jump. Glancing at the other eyes that were soon turning our way, I knew it wouldn’t be long before others would start eavesdropping… Looking back to Luna, who must have just realized what she had done from the slightly shocked expression on her face, I began to laugh out loud.

“Sheesh, if you wanted another cake so badly, you just had to ask!”, I glanced over toward the pink mare that was giving me the most suspicious stare-down I’d ever seen. “H-Hey, Pinkie! Mind if we get another one of those delicious cakes?”

“...Okie dokie lokie!”, she said, flipping like a switch back to her cheerful self.

It was slow, but the other ponies seemed to go back to whatever they had been doing. Though I could still feel the gaze of a certain lavender unicorn getting cast my way every now and then. I predicted a talking-with when all of this was said and done.

Luna was now busy examining the table again with a pair of discomforted eyes. “...My apologies,'' she said flatly.

“It’s fine…” Even though you almost blew our cover… You better not be reading my mind, either. She didn’t seem to make any signs that told me she was, so I just continued. “But try to keep it down a bit, ‘kay?” Her only answer was a slight nod.

Since she wasn’t speaking at the moment, I figured it was high time to take a moment to soak in all the information she had just filled my tiny human mind with. Unfortunately for me, I had no choice but to feel that she was making a tiny bit of sense. I mean, all of that wasn’t something you just made up on the spot. And even the emotion she had put into it made it all rather convincing that she was being truthful. Looking back on my life, I also couldn’t help but feel that I may have been a bit easier to get angry over things than the other kids. Well, sure kids can throw tantrums and stuff, but…

Sighing, I leaned back in my chair to stare at the ceiling. Around that time, Pinkie showed up again to give us another Gossip for 2, before hopping off to whatever the others were now doing. I wasn’t really feeling that hungry, though, and judging from the distinctive smell of unease I was getting from Luna, she wasn’t really feeling that happy either. But I still felt like I should say something. After all, she had come to me in hopes of helping me. Or, at least I was thinking that was her reasoning. It would have been rude of me not to try and make her feel better after doing such a thing. So, looking back at her, I put on a soft smile and spoke out in a softer tone.

“Well, look at the bright side. If Nightmare hadn’t done what she did, I wouldn’t have been able to be where I am right now, sharing extremely delicious treats with a very nice pony who shouldn’t be beating herself up over something she had no control over.” She had looked back up at me at ‘nice pony’, seeming to hold back the smallest of smiles. “Hey! The way I see it, this just gives us more excuses to see each other, right? I mean, if both of us having some kind of dark, evil, chaos-bringing power inside of us isn’t a reason, I’m not sure what is!”

I could see the makings of a smirk on her muzzle before she rolled her eyes and looked out the window. “Thou truly havith a way with words…”

Lifting my closed right hand and placing it on my chest, all while looking rather proud of myself, I chuckled out. “It’s the one thing I take pride in, my dear princess.”

“Whose a princess?”, came a voice from nearby, causing each of us to become ever-so-tense. Taking a quick look showed Applejack, as well as several others, staring at us with rather genuine curiosity plastered on their faces.

Taking a moment to collect myself, I simply waved my hand while letting out a small snicker. “Oh, it’s just the nickname I’ve given my friend here.” I could see Luna staring at me with a small sense of nervousness.

“Oh.”, replied the cowgirl, turning her attention to the mare sitting across from me. She soon was wearing a rather friendly smile, nodding her head. “Well, that’s completely different!” With a small chuckle of her own, her look of curiousness soon returned as she continued to gaze at the unicorn-disguised princess. “Say… You wouldn’t happen tah be new here, wouldja? I don’t reckon Ah’ve seen ya ‘round here before.”

Luna’s mouth opened, though no words seemed to come out, causing her to quickly close it back up, diverting her gaze back to me. Taking that as my signal to think of something quick, I smiled again.

“This is Lun...ette.” I could feel the mental facehoof Luna was giving herself. “I met her when I was roaming around the outskirts of Ponyville one night, and we, uh, got to talking. Um...”

Thankfully, Lunette spoke up to pick up where I left off. “I live some distance from Ponyville, and have only recently found myself visiting. It does not surprise me to hear that you don’t recognize me. Nick has only recently gotten me to visit Ponyville in a more…”, she paused a moment, emphasizing the crowd of ponies that were now surrounding us, “...public setting.”

Que the over-exaggerated gasp.

“Does that mean I get to throw another party?!?”, exclaimed Pinkie Pie. Lunette and I both grimaced at that.

“No no. That won’t be necessary.”, I said, chuckling slightly. “See, she’s just visiting, not moving here. And she’s stopped by before, so it wouldn’t be her first time being here. So… she doesn’t need a party to celebrate her arrival. Right?” I finished it off with a half-pleading smile.

Pinkie seemed like she was considering my words, but Twilight was the one that interrupted her.

“Maybe it’s best that we all get going home, Pinkie.” THANK YOU, SPARKLER! “It is starting to get late, after all, and I’m actually starting to grow a bit tired from partying as much as we already have.” There were then a few agreements from other ponies, others giving excuses of things that they had errands or tasks left to do. “We can party again another time, okay?”

Pinkie seemed to take it a bit sour at first, but she was soon nodding her head with her normal smile on. “Alright!”

Lunette and I both exchanged looks of relief before she stood up and gave herself a small stretch. “Well, it has been… pleasant, speaking with you once more, Nick. I look forward to our next meeting.”

“As do I Pr- Er, Lunette.” I gave her a light wave. “Until next time!” She soon teleported away, leaving me with the other ponies in the room. Glancing about for a few moments in silence, I finally let out a soft sigh as I saw other ponies saying their farewells before leaving as well.

I wasn’t sure how, but we had managed to keep her being here under wraps. Or, at least I hoped we did. Rendezvousing with Twilight and Spike, we all headed back to the library for some late-night dinner and much-needed rest. Twilight didn’t disappoint, and immediately got to asking me twenty thousand questions about ‘Lunette’, and what I was doing ‘roaming Ponyville at night’. I succeeded in making up enough answers for her silly inquiry before we all settled down for some dinner; tossed salad with apple slices on the side. It wasn’t that bad, but I insisted that we have omelets for breakfast. To my surprise, Twilight seemed to like the idea and agreed.

We spent the rest of the evening going about our own things. Twilight went to read more books, with Spike busy sorting out more of the library. I had decided to get to bed a bit early and headed up to the spare room. Laying on the not-too-shabby bed, I stared at the ceiling while all that Luna had told me whirled around my head, still fresh as the apples we had eaten for dinner.

So, If I’m this ‘Element of Wrath’, how did I end up getting some kind of magical thing from another world, or even another dimension, back on Earth...? And what does all of it even mean? I couldn’t help, however, thinking of what Luna’s element had been. Envy… Wrath and Envy… Why do those sound so familiar? Elements of Calamity… Seven of them, right? And then it hit me. As if I had just realized how extremely stupid I must be for not seeing it any sooner. The Seven Deadly Sins! They’re the same! Envy and Wrath are two of the Deadly Sins!

Now, I’d never been a very religious guy back home. I tried my best to do good, and know right from wrong, but never thought that my actions would have some huge impact in my ‘afterlife’. Now, I suppose I believed in some kind of ‘all-maker’, but none of the religions really stuck out to me. More as just bits and pieces of each. But of course, the one thing that would actually matter right now would be the thing I couldn’t remember that well…

...I think Laziness was one, or something like that.

Sighing in slight frustration, I rolled onto my side to stare at the wall. Celestia had said she’d ‘locked’ whatever power I had for the time being, likely until I was ready to begin learning how to control it. But with that thought returning to me, I couldn’t help wondering why she hadn’t done the same for Luna. Or why her element had seemed to come to her as a voice presence of its own. Then I found myself shivering slightly at a startling recollection.

...The wolf had a voice. ...Was that just a coincidence?

Closing my eyes tightly, I curled myself up into a tight ball, trying to force out all the tiring thoughts. If I kept thinking too much on stressful things that I didn’t even have a full amount of knowledge on, I was just going to end up giving myself an ulcer. Uncurling myself, and stretching out onto my back, I let out a series of slow breaths, until I could actually feel myself growing calmer.

I’ll just have to take things as they come. No need to get stressed out about an unknown or unpredictable future.

With that new thought in my mind, I finally started relaxing my exhausted body. It wasn’t too long before I could feel the comfort of sleep wrap me in a welcoming embrace. It was probably one of the better nights of sleep I’d had in some time.

—————————————~O~o~O~—————————————

The following couple of days turned out to be rather uneventful, though not entirely boring. Thanks to Pinkie’s party, I was able to walk around Ponyville without getting stared at as much. But even with this slightly more welcoming atmosphere, I still couldn’t shake away the fact that I had no real purpose here. I mean, sure it’d been about a week, but I still felt I needed something to do rather than just hang out at Twilight’s library. As much as it made my skin crawl that I would even think of such a thing, I couldn’t help but consider what I may have actually needed to do.

...I need to find some work for myself.

This would-be-simple task actually turned out to be a lot harder than it should have been. I mean, one would naturally think that ponies without hands, or fingers, or… well, thumbs would be helpless in running a town, right? Well, that didn’t seem to be the case here. Somehow, they seemed to go about life as if they were people. Pinkie helped the Cakes with their bakery. Applejack had made it quite clear that she and her family could handle an entire farm on their own. Hell, I’d even witnessed several ponies turn doorknobs with just their hooves!

How’s that even possible anyway!?!

And that’s how I found myself sitting on the park bench, staring up at the sky. I couldn’t really think of that many skills I had in the working field, since I had kind of only graduated high school recently, but there had to be something! Sighing, I closed my eyes for a moment to clear my head.

Rarity’s is out of the question. I’m not working in a girly clothing shop for ponies...

That only left Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, though the first was also not an option since, well, flying. Opening my eyes once more to gaze at the extremely puffy-looking clouds that were floating in the sky above me, I focused my attention back on the task at hand before I lost myself to the serenity of the world around me. Letting out a slightly annoyed huff, I looked back down at my lap, as if the answer to my problems was just going to fall into it...

“....What, nothing?”, I pondered to myself, glancing about. “Huh. I was sure with how this crazy place seems to work, something actually would have happened to that effect...”

Giving the park one last look around, I got up from my seat and decided to head over to Sugarcube Corner for something sweet for lunch. Luckily, I still had some leftover bits that Twilight had thrown me before and planned on getting her something as, well, as an ‘Apology/Thank You’ gift. With the large, colorfully decorated building coming into view, I couldn’t help but chuckle at how easily I had come to the idea of going to a pastry shop for my noon feeding.

Can you say “diabetic within a month”?

Stepping into the shop with that thought in my mind, I decided to just go with a cinnamon danish. I quickly remembered to add a couple of apple strudels for Twilight, after seeing I’d still have some bits left over. Pinkie was sure to ask me how the “big job hunt” was going, which I found extremely odd since I hadn’t told anypony about it. I simply shrugged that off, though, and told her I was still looking. She was kind enough to wish me luck, which did end up making me feel a bit more encouraged.

After thanking her again, and grabbing my purchases, I decided it’d probably be best to head on back to the library. Just as I was exiting Sugarcube Corner, however, I was stopped by a vaguely familiar voice calling out to me.

“Hey!” Looking toward my right revealed the magenta-colored mare attempting to get my attention. “You’re Nick, right?”

“Unless you’re getting me confused with another biped creature that I haven’t met yet…”, I answered with a small smirk, meaning no harm by it. “Then yes, I’m Nick. Have we met?”

The mare let out a sheepish laugh before nodding her head. “Yeah, I thought you wouldn’t recognize me. I was at that party for that griffon a while ago. The one that then turned into a party for you?” I recognized her a bit more. “It’s Berry Punch.”

“Oh! Right!” I became a bit more friendly, seeing as she had taken the time to remember me. “How are you doing?”

She lifted one hoof and gave that shoulder a kind of shrug. “Can’t complain too much. The Weather Teams have been doing a good job on keeping things nice and clear.” I nodded my head to that. “What about you?” She suddenly eyed the paper bag I was holding, a smirk starting to form on her muzzle. “Picking up some sweeties for a sweetie?”

“W-What?” Just the way she said that had me trying to hold back a heavy blush, quickly glancing around to make sure there wasn’t anyone around who might have heard. Berry let out a full-hearted laugh, waving a hoof at me.

“Now, now, I was only joking.” I could still see a hint of… something still lingering in her eyes, though.

She better not go around spreading rumors...

“So…”, I said through a small frown, still trying to recover from my previous embarrassment, “Was there something you needed, or were you just looking to strike up a conversation?” Her eyes opened wide, as if remembering something.

“That’s right!” She threw on a rather friendly face again, continuing with, “You’re looking for work, right?” A cold chill went down my spine. “Something to keep ya busy?”

“...Uh, yeah?”

The mare’s smile doubled over into a wide grin. “Good! Because I think I might just have the perfect job for ya.”

Are. You. Kidding me!? Is someone spying on me?

"Uh, Nick?" A hoof waving in front of my face pulled me back into the conversation at hand. "

So, what do you say? Interested?"

"...What exactly would I be doing?", I asked, still partly wondering who or what could be watching me.

I mean besides the two princesses... And that Discord guy.

"Bartending.", she said rather simply. "It's not that hard, and it pays well."

The offer now had most of my attention. It wasn't entirely the money factor that interested me, even though it'd be nice to stop having to rely on Twilight, but the chance to learn something new and interesting. The bonus to all of it would be getting a chance to get to know more of the ponies in town, too. However, there was one tiny thing that made me think it couldn't work.

"I'm not sure exactly if I'm at the drinking age here." I could remember that you had to be twenty-one years old to drink alcohol back home, at least legally, but for all I knew the age restriction could be doubled here.

...Now I have the strange yearning to see what kind of damage a drunken horse could cause.

"Well, you're not going to be drinking the merchandise.", Berry said with a roll of her eyes. "Just selling it. Besides, how old are you?"

"Eighteen."

Her eyes widened just enough for me to notice before an apparent smirk stretched across her muzzle. "Interesting..." I definitely didn't know how to respond to that.

"Anyways," she continued on without skipping a beat, "come check the place out later tonight. It's pretty easy to find. Just head two blocks south from that library you're staying at, and head down another block due east." She waved her hoof at me before turning around. "You'll hear the music. See ya then!"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks again!", I called back, waving my hand as well.

Finally finding myself heading back to the library with newfound excitement, as well as unease, swirling around my head, I couldn’t help but wonder who was spreading the news about my morning activities. Even though I felt like I was overreacting to what could have been crazy coincidences, I couldn’t shake off the sense that something was off about the whole thing. Was it possible I mentioned it to somepony without my own realizing it?

….Blech. Just stay focused on the task at hand.

Making it to the library without anything else happening, I announced my arrival as I opened the door and made my way in.

“Honey, I’m home!”

I paused for a moment when I picked up on something shuffling around upstairs, figuring it was Twilight or Spike. Calling out once more, I headed over toward the kitchen to place the pastries on the table.

“I was kind enough to stop over by Sugarcube Corner on my way back.” I snickered slightly, taking my own danish and taking a bite. The rich taste soon had me smiling ear to ear. “If you don’t hurry, I just might eat it all!”

Still, no one came down, or even called back to me. Which I started to find rather strange since Spike was like a stomach with legs. Making my way over to the stairwell, I strained my ears for anything coming from upstairs.

Nothing now… No talking, no hoofsteps, not even the turning of a page.

“Guys?” I called out, starting up the stairs. “If we were playing hide-and-seek, you forgot to inform m-”

“Who are you talking to?”, came Twilight’s voice from behind me, followed by the front door being closed by the small dragon behind her. Both were looking at me with bits of confusion in their eyes.

Needless to say I was extremely confused now, as well. I stared at them for a few moments, before looking back up the stairs, then back at the two in front of me again. They just continued to stare at me blankly, before I noticed Spike sniff at the air and lick his lips, dashing to the kitchen.

“Nick…?”, Twilight asked quietly, stepping toward me. I could just overhear the cheers of Spike, having found the treats I’d brought for him and Twi.

I, however, was already sprinting up the stairs, a heavy frown on my face.