After the initial shock of things had calmed down, everypony—awe geez, I'm starting to talk like them—had organized themselves. And then the questions started. Even though Celestia had her sudden change of heart, which I believe will not last to much of an extent seeing as how I'll be alive for a while longer, she still retained her wariness of me because of previously mentioned fact I was going to live a bit longer, and especially because of my miraculous recovery. But, after a while and most of the questions ending with me responding something along the lines of 'I have no idea,' everypo— *Ahem, everyone had returned to their normal affairs. Princess Celestia, after telling me the umpteenth time that Silver Star, herself, and I would need to talk later, had returned to Day Court, which she explained is basically listening to commissions brought in by civilians, almost like a city hall meeting. Princess Luna had followed her sister's steps, only she would be going to the guards' barracks, both night and day variants, to warn them about the lanterns and me. Princess Twilight left the room to head down to the royal collection of general information—a.k.a. the more educational section of the royal library—to see if she could find anything similar to the event of what had happened to me a few hours earlier. The only two ponies that stayed in the room with me was Swift Lightning, stating he wasn't leaving my side in case some random and unconceivable occurrence may happen while he was gone, and Silver Star, who was still asleep wrapped around me like I was a giant teddy bear.

After the first few minutes of near-silence, and the fact that Silver's soft snoring grew old to listen to, I began asking Swift questions about pony anatomy. Why the princesses were so much taller than they were, how earth ponies could use magic, what was magic in this world, the usual.

Swift responded by leaving the room for a split second, cautiously looking back at me the whole time it took, to talk to the guard outside, then returning quickly. He said he would get me a book about general magic and it's uses that unicorns normally read in the first grade. Most likely, Twilight would return with it in tow, seeing as how she was already in the library. I thanked him regardless. Swift began answering my questions to the best of his ability, and after a while of talking, I had a decent understanding of the pony races. I think. All except the alicorns, of course. According to Swift, an alicorn can live a normal lifespan of about seventy to ninety years if they so choose, but more times than not an alicorn will become near-immortal, living centuries and longer. When I asked him how old Celestia was, he chuckled and shrugged, giving me an answer that I took into consideration.

"I'm not sure how old she is, but the princess has some years on her. Celestia and her sister Luna are mentioned a few times in some of the oldest surviving historical readings, so both have at least four-thousand years behind them."

All that time, all the things she must have seen. I asked him about Celestia herself, and mainly why she didn't seem to fond of me. Besides telling me what I already knew of Tirek, he also informed me that she has seen a few wars happen. The minotaurs and griffons, prench ponies and the dragonkin, the minotaurs and the griffons again, the minotaurs and the dragonkin, the minotaurs and another branch of minotaurs... Okay, a lot happened with the bipedal oxen. Swift gave his input and said that Celestia may be a bit hostile towards me because, like the war-loving minotaurs, I walk on two legs—something that very few sapient species do here on Equus—have five digits on each hand like the minotaurs, and carry enough strength to pick up a pony, as demonstrated on that embarrassing day which led to me meeting the pegasus speaking to me now.

That brought me onto my next question; how much did the average pony weigh? Swift told me that, depending on where they live, each race has a specific weight they fall into. I asked him about the local weight classifications. Using himself as a model, Swift said that pegasi, the lightest of the races, normally weigh around eighty to a bit under one hundred pounds. When I asked why, he simply told me that lighter bones and less meat on said bones makes it easier to fly. Earth ponies, with them having hard working DNA right off the bat, typically hold a weight of one hundred forty to one hundred seventy. And unicorns were the middle ground, weighing somewhere between one ten and one thirty.

My thoughts had rushed to that day when I tried to, eh, remove Silver Star from my room after she... uh... stunk up the place. I asked him how much his stepsister weighed, and after explaining the occurrence while leaving out some details I'm sure he already knew, I had my answer. Silver weighed one hundred and seventeen pounds as of last month, or cycle, or whatever. Seems a bit heavier than I remember picking up that day.

Time dragged on, and now Swift and I are just waiting for something to happen. I had been brought a small plate of banana slices with two cups of milk to eat a bit before, which is what I was currently preoccupied with. Swift is sitting against the wall a few feet from my bed with his helmet next to his extended hind legs and a sweet smelling cigarette pinched between his lips. And Silver Star is still asleep in bed beside me. Somehow she had managed to snuggle against me in such a way that I could feel the beat of her heart. Her head rests right below my neck and she has a foreleg draped over my midsection. Completely stretched out like she is, Silver's body, lengthwise, is nearly as long as my own. Heck, she may just be the same height as me if she stood on her back legs.

Looking over Silver's head, I can clearly see her coppery tail wrapped around my leg. I had asked Swift how she was able to move her tail like that, seeing as how most of a pony's tail is just long hair and they should have no clear way to move it, and all he told me was, "We can just do it."

Thanks to the elevated upper half of the bed, I'm able to drink my milk without lifting myself up and disturbing Silver Star's sleep. Don't get me wrong, it's a bit uncomfortable having a pony this close to me, but she's warm, she's quiet, and she may have saved my life. Speaking of which...

I put my cup down and reach over with my free hand to pick up the locket Silver had forced around my neck. I had opened it before, and all I found was a faded picture of a grapevine covered in mine and Silver's saliva. The outside of the silver neck ornament was crusted with the brown remains of that unusual concoction Silver had poured on our chests. Thinking about it, I put the locket down and pick at some of the crust on my belly. I wonder how Silver is gonna get this crud out of her fur? I thought to myself.

Thoughts aside, this was all very confusing. And a bit embarrassing. I had said some stuff when I thought I was going to die that I'm not sure I could live up to now that I won't for now. Rest assured, I am not letting this event go, and I want to know what's going on as much as everypony else. "Damn it," I mutter.

"What was that?" Swift asks, looking up from the floor.

"Nothing," I say, shaking my head. This whole ordeal is going to get worse before it gets better.

From what little I could understand when the gang was all here, I'm still stuck on Equus. And if time passes at the same rate here as it does on Earth (which I highly doubt), then I'll have no chance of redeeming any schoolwork I've missed; it's been over a week, which is the latest a teacher will accept late work unless given a reason beforehand. And really, the whole thing is very depressing. But after that soul-smashing agony I had endured over the last four days, I have no tears to shed or any real energy to exert being sad. My thoughts all revolve around home, my family, school... My heart feels heavy, and my bones feel heavier. The whole situation has me feeling melancholy...

"Why did this have to happen to me?" I ask the ceiling. "I could have been abducted by aliens, or just flat out killed by that lightning strike... but nooooo, I had to be 'magically teleported' to a land of colorful equines..."

"Well," Swift states, "you did come at a rather uncomfortable time." He finishes his cigarette and crosses his forelegs across his chest.

"I know, I know," I retort. "Your stepsister already made that clear."

"Yeah, well, if you had come just a bit later, I'm sure Princess Celestia would have taken your appearance much better, seeing as she's much more herself then."

"What do you mean?"

Swift shifts his body to get into a more comfortable position against the wall. "Well, I know you aren't a pony, but nearly every living creature on the planet goes through this, so... what do you know about the opposite sex?"

"That they're crazy as fuck?"

"We-hell, there's that," Swift says, softly laughing. "I won't beat around the bush asking you questions you most likely don't know the answers to." Swift shakes his head. "If I recall from Silver's tales, you were there when she and the princess were discussing... more feminine matters?" Swift continues once I nod my head. "Well, Silver just exited her estrus cycle, with the help of some meds, but that's besides the point. And I can't believe I have to be the one to say this..." The pegasus takes a deep breathe and holds it for a moment.

"...Nearly every female goes into heat near the start of spring and winter, and also in the middle of summer." He looks up at me, and seeing the confused face on my, well, face, Swift sighs. "Nearly every female goes into heat those times of year," he repeats.

The cogs in my head start turning. "...Are you saying that Celestia—"

"Is acting overly cautious of you because she, too, is in heat?" Swift finishes for me. But he shakes his head. "Probably, but there's an explanation for that." I roll my eyes and put my head back on my pillow, preparing for something I would rather not hear. "I've been in the guard for a few years now, and I've seen what happens when both of the princesses go into heat. Princess Celestia becomes rather short-tempered, over-zealous, and very protective of her sister and the ponies in the castle. Princess Luna, seeing as she only goes into heat once a year, normally secludes herself in her room for the next coming cycle, only to be seen when raising the moon or requesting to speak to her sister."

"Okay, a few things," I say, cutting his story short. "One: Wouldn't Celestia basically kill us if she were to walk in her while discussing her personal matters?" A shake from his head lets me continue. "Okay then... Two: What do you mean, with Luna I mean? Why is she different?"

"Princess Luna was banished to the moon a bit over a millenia ago. A thousand years alone on the moon can mess with one's body, as well as their psyche. Princess Luna always goes into a massive heat right after she creates the new year. Causing the moon to stay full for five whole days puts a great deal of strain on her, and her body regulates itself by... you know. For the whole cycle."

"...So what about Celestia?"

"Princess Celestia has a normal cycle. She's normally a very caring, sensitive, and peaceful ruler. You just happen to pop in when she wasn't feeling herself."

"And this will last...?" I ask the pegasus.

Swift clicks his tongue. "I believe you were here for the majority of it. Being a pony of such great power extends her estrus, so it lasts a tad longer than the normal week or so. But the princess should be in her last few days."

"Why are you so casual about this?" I ask, pure curiosity stabbing my brain.

All I got out of the pegasus was a chuckle. "I lived with Silver Star before becoming a guard. And I still do during the holidays. Being the little deviant she is, well..." Swift pauses while he rubs his chin. "Let's just say she's a bit more outgoing than most."

"Did she hit on you?" I deadpan.

"What? No!" Silver's stepbrother nearly heaves at the thought. "No, she never has, and she never will. I was meaning that I've seen what she hides in her room."

"Oh... Ooohh..." I nod to my guard. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay."

"So Celestia's feeling moody, eh?" I ask him. "Wonder why she doesn't take time off, like the rest of the female staff."

"The co-ruler of an entire continent can't just take time off," Swift tells me. "Even with Princess Luna back, and on a different cycle than the rest of Equestria, Celestia just can't leave her throne."

"Then why not, I don't know, relax a bit?"

Swift groans at me. "The princess has a lot on her plate, as we would say. Day Court, raising the sun, oversea affairs to conduct, all of this takes up the majority of her days."

"So what about the times she's met with me?" I ask my guard.

"You are completely different," Swift says. "The princess just can't... um. She can't..."

"Dude, come on." I crack my neck with my free hand, though doing so makes my shoulders hurt. "We're both guys here, and your sister is sound asleep. You can just say it."

"I know I can," Swift replies, "but it's so hard to use the right words..."

"Swift, there are no words in the word to make sex sound regal or pretty, or whatever you think you should use."

Swift Lightning looks me in the eye, then tosses all the restraint he has straight out the window. "Fine. The princess just can't take time off just to take care of her needs. Proper use of time, and etiquette, would not allow it."

I roll my eyes. "Still sound too formal. All work and no play makes a princess unhappy, eh?"

"Essentially, yes." Swift brushes his mane out of his face. "It's been many years since the princesses began their rule, and it is very time consuming. There is no spare time nowadays for the princesses to pamper themselves."

"They live in a fucking castle, dude," I blatantly say. "Tons of guards for them specifically, and I'm betting there are a few maids, too. And these guests rooms, they're huge!" I sit up a bit and cause Silver to stir. "I can only think of their own personal chambers. How can you say they don't pamper themselves?"

"Living as royalty is different to living in luxury," the pegasus replies.

"Whatever..." I look around the room, then down at Silver Star. She's still asleep, big surprise. Every few seconds, the hoof she has draped across my chest twitches, and she lets out a mew of some sort. I may be smart—I mean by book terms, I've been acting like a complete idiot for the past few days—but I'm pretty sure ponies don't mew. I know small animals like rodents do, and I've even heard my dog Oddball mew before when he was asleep, but never would I have thought that ponies would make that adorable of a noise.

The sound brings back memories of Oddball. He was a good dog, bless his resting soul. A mix between a Great Dane and a Dalmatian, and one hundred percent lovebug. When I was growing up, that super-sized dog of mine was always there for me. Oddball was a gangly dog, thin legs and a small barrel but with a huge head and tail. He had a light brown coat with one big dot of black on the right side of his chest. But big dogs don't live very long, and since we adopted him from the pound when he was already half-way grown, I lost him when I was nine. But those few years I spent with that cuddling monster were amazing.

I find myself absentmindedly petting Silver Star, my hand softly rubbing the fur below her neck. Her coat is very soft. My jaw clenches when I think this, so I bring my hand back to my side.

"Mm... why'd you stop?"

I adjust my head to look down at Silver's face. She hasn't moved, but her eyes are half open now.

"Swift, your sibling's awake," I call out to the other pony in the room.

"Silver!" The next thing I know, Swift Lightning is leaning over my bed and has his stepsister in his forelegs. He hugs her hard and quick, then pushes Silver into a sitting position on top of my left leg. "Silver, are you okay?" Swift asks her, trying to keep her head from lolling to one side.

"I'm... fine," she says softly. "Just tired." Silver reaches up and touches her horn, then winces. "And kinda hungover."

Swift pulls her into another hug. "Don't do anything like that again, Silver. You scared me half to death."

"I wasn't gonna sit by... and let the human die," is all she says.

"Speaking of which," I say, catching the two ponies' attention. I wait for them to face me. "...What did you do, Silver Star?"

She smiles. "I saved your life, that's what."

I am not amused. "Princess Celestia wants to speak with us. About what you did. She sounded serious." That sobers her up quickly. "Silver, what did you do?" I ask again.

Silver lifts a heavy limb to her head and rubs the base of her horn. "You were gonna die from magical buildup..." I nod at her. "...You don't have any natural magic in your system," she continues, "and without it, you couldn't counteract the magic, so... I gave you... some of mine."

"What? both me and Swift ask simultaneously.

Silver nods at us. "I gave you some of my magic. A little less than half."

Swift brings his hoofs to her face and turns her head to look at him. "Silver Star, you know magic swapping is dangerous. Casting that type of spell could cost you your magic even if it wasn't successful!"

"What does he mean?" I ask them both.

Swift lets go of Silver face. "She split her magic and imbued you with a portion and in return tried to take some of yours; a dangerous thing that could fail regardless of how careful you are."

"But I thought everyone was saying I didn't have any magic," I say. "How can she swap with me if I don't have anything to give?"

We both look at Silver Star, who's drawing circles in the sheets with her hoof. "...Well, I wouldn't say swap... I'd say, more like... transfer." Our blank expressions tell her to continue. "When I first found out," she says quietly, "I didn't want to wait around. You were dying, and I couldn't let that happen."

"Why?" I genuinely ask her.

"Because, do you know how bad it would look if a prisoner died under my watch?" Silver exclaims, throwing her hooves in the air. "That would go in my permanent performance records!"

I reach up and flick her nose. "Nice to see you really care about me," I droll. The unicorn holds her nose between her hooves, and I reach out with my right hand and place it on her shoulder to steady her. "So what did you do to me?"

Silver gives her snout one last rub. "...I went down into the royal catacombs to do some research. The catacombs is where we put all of our most important resources, so I figured out of all the potions, scrolls, and spellbooks we have, there was something down there I could use. And I was right," Silver says with a smile. "After a bit of sleuthing around, I came across this tome. A huge thing with rubbery brown stuff for a cover. And I had to bargain with the archmages down there to even look at that book."

"The archmages didn't you touching that tome?" Swift asks her. "What were you looking at? The archmages take their jobs very seriously, and that book doesn't sound too safe."

"It wasn't," Silver replies. "A lot of the spells in that tome were dangerous, so I found a simple on near the back. I needed to have something of personal value, the locket," she says while pointing at my chest, "some genes from both parties, and I even had to learn how to say the incantation."

"What about that gunk you poured on me?" I ask her.

Silver looks down at her own messy barrel, then at mine. "It was a conductor; made the spell easier to cast."

"And the genes?"

"Your spit."

I rub my arms. "Couldn't you have, I don't know, use some of my hair?"

"Hair and fur is only good for transformation potions. Bodily fluids, like blood or saliva, works with binding spells."

"You bound yourself to him!?" Swift nearly yells.

Silver puts up her hooves, and I steady her again. "No!" she near-yells back. "I didn't bind him to me, or bind me to him." Silver Star looks between us, then keeps her gaze on me. "A vial of blood, or any bodily fluid. I needed some so I could channel my magic into you."

"So you kissed me," I state.

"You wouldn't spit," Silver growls at me.

"I couldn't spit. I was writhing in pain too much to have any type of coherent thought."

"Whatever," the unicorn says. "A vial of fluids, a pinch of dirt from your grave, which I subbed out for that gunk, and a precious item. After all that was ready, I split my magic in two and gave you about half."

"Grave dirt?" Swift asks.

"Well, yeah," his stepsister answers. "The spell is normally for summoning a ghost of a ghoul, and the user would need to give the creature some of its magic in order for it to successfully walk in this plane of existence. That's what I did for you, Garcia," Silver says, turning back to me. "You now have my magic, so you can live again."

"Ghost?" Swift mouthes the word over and over. "...Silver Star... This spell... Is it necromancy?"

The unicorn in question rubs the back of her neck. "Technically speaking... yyeeeeeaaahhh, it is."

"Silver Star." The pegasus stands on his hind legs and grabs his stepsister's shoulders. "Look at me, necromancy is a dark magic, and as royal guards, we are banned from using that type of magic. Everypony is banned from using dark magic without a royal's blessing!" He gives Silver a light shake. "This is very serious Silver. Dark magic is not a taboo, but there are so many things that can go wrong."

"What's so bad about it?" I ask him.

"Dark magic was basically outlawed," Swift says to me. "Not because of what it's normally used for, but because of what it can do to the caster. Dark magic is like a Djinn, or a genie; almost all of the spells cast in dark magic will come back and bite you in the flank. Use dark magic to gain eternal beauty? Then you could be the most gorgeous pony alive for all of two seconds. Get it?"

I nod.

Swift turns back to Silver Star. "Silver, the use of dark magic is not permitted. Not by anypony."

"Unless if given permission by royal," I add. "you just said that."

"Not helping."

"Well," Silver Star huffs, "it's not like I could have used harmonious magic. Our natural magic wouldn't be able to get a fix on him, but dark magic could. And Discord is nowhere to be found, so chaos magic is out."

"And I know for a fact that you wouldn't be able to use demonic magic," Swift sighs. "Only the princesses can summon demonic a presence in such short time, and I very much doubt they would do that just for Maverick. No offense."

"None taken," I say, waving him off. We all sit in silence for a bit, but my mind is raging about this whole thing. "...So I have some of Silver's magic in me?"

"Yes," the two ponies answer in sync.

"And that's what type of magic?"

"Harmonious," speaks a voice from the front of the room. We all turn to see Princess Twilight walking in with a thin worn booklet floating beside her. "Harmonious magic resides within all living beings. And now, apparently, you have some in you as well."

"Huh." We all look over at Swift Lightning, who shrugs at us. "What? Princess Twilight, no offense," he says while waving at her, "normally goes bat shit crazy after hearing of something like this."

"Well," the purple princess replies, "granted that I do get a bit exited, I'm more worried right now. Silver Star." The unicorn nods at the sound of her name, and Twilight speaks again. "You understand that, in granting Maverick a portion of your own magic, you will no longer be able to perform as you once did. Your magic will be weaker."

"I understood this when I was casting the spell," Silver replies.

Twilight nods. "...I'll still have to speak with Princess Celestia when she's done with her duties for the day."

"We know," all three of us groan.

Twilight nods again and takes a seat against the wall, her wings spreading out as she slouches. Silver lays back down next to me and uses her magic, which seems strained, to move my hand up and down the side of her neck, so after a second, I start petting her on my own accord. Swift returns to his corner grumbling, knowing he can't smoke in front of the princess. Twilight begins flipping through the old booklet she carried in, taking great care not to bend the pages in her magical grasp. I just lay still, thinking the whole thing over. Magic, something that wasn't even real in my world. But I'm not in my world anymore. I'm in Equus. And magic, the thing that I never thought could be real, the thing that nearly killed me, is now the only thing keeping me alive. And it's thanks to this unicorn next to me.

"...Silver Star?" I say quietly.

"...Yeah?" she responds.

"...Thanks. For giving me some of your magic."

"Don't mention it," she says.

"Actually," Twilight speaks up, "we do have to mention it. Princess Celestia will need to know about this whole thing."

"We know!" the two of us say in unison.

Author's Note

After reading up on the FAQ section of this site, I have come to the conclusion that if this story pans out the way I originally wanted it to, then it should have another tag; Adventure. "Given that an Adventure involves going completely out of your daily life," I believe this should be here. My apologies for not having this story properly tagged for all this time. Seriously, I'm very sorry, and I've spent the last few days reading up on the FAQ's to familiarize myself even more with the site. Till next time.