A mother, a lover and a man with nothing to lose

Chapters

Bonding(edited)
First morning(edited)
The fight(edited)
Bloody murder(edited)
A game of cat and mouse(edited)
Confusion(edited)
Lazy day(edited)
First day in school... again(edited)
Lesson zero(edited)
Goodbye - part one(edited)
Goodbye - part two(edited)
Kidnapped(edited)
Wake-up call
The Final Straw
Prologue(edited)
First impressions(edited)
interlude-three's a crowd

Bonding(edited)

Celestia paced back and forth near a set of double doors that led to a guest room reserved for dignitaries and ambassadors. On the other side of the doors were Adam, a doctor, and a psychologist. The reason for that is because Adam collapsed inside the interrogation room out of exhaustion, and even though Celestia healed his wounds, he still needed to be looked by professionals.

That was one day ago…

For some odd reason, Celestia felt responsible for Adam, even though he had a brief and somewhat rude introduction. He still was, for all intents and purposes, just a child.

The doors creaked open and the doctor came out. Quick Stitch was her name. She was part of the royal infirmary's staff and was more than willing to aid the small colt when he collapsed.

"How is he?" asked Celestia, worry evident in her voice.

Quick Stitch let out a sigh and looked straight into Celestia's eyes "I won't lie princess, it doesn’t look good. Physically he's completely fine. His heartbeats are normal, there’s no apparent fever, and an overall he has a healthy body…"

"But…" Celestia suddenly felt a sense of dread creeping up her spine.

"The same can’t be said about his mind," Quick Stitch continued, "He suffered a major trauma. We don’t know what might have caused this, but he shows sighs of emotional distress. We still don't know the reasons behind that, but he obviously had been through something truly horrific. Something nopony his age should ever have faced."

"And is there anything we can do?" asked Celestia again. Quick Stitch shook her head.

"At the moment, there is nothing we could do. The colt-"

"Adam, that's his name," interrupted the princess.

"Okay. Adam woke up a few minutes ago and the psychologist is probably talking to him right now. I'm sorry princess that I can't offer you more information, but that's beyond my line of profession."

Celestia nodded sadly "I understand, and thank you for examining him. You had to see the look on his face when I entered the interrogation chamber."

"If it's any consolation, when he woke up he seemed fine. He was a bit edgy though, but that's expected. We'll just have to wait until the psychologist is finished for the final results." Quick Stitch smiled weakly, though it was doing little to console the princess.

"Sister!" a voice boomed across the hallway. Both Celestia and Quick Stitch turned their heads to see the second princess of Equestria round a corner and came trotting at a brisk and urgent pace, somehow still maintaining her elegance.

Luna only stopped when she was near her sister and looked at her worryingly.

"I heard what happened not so long ago. Is it true that there's an injured colt here in the castle?" Luna asked, somewhat worried and confused. As the princess of dreams, Luna has a soft spot for foals. Their dreams required Luna's watchful gaze to ward off evil nightmares.

"Yes Luna," Celestia replied. "His name is Adam. According to the guards they found him on the city's streets. They tried to talk to him but he ran from them, resulting in some very unfortunate outcomes."

The look on Luna's face changed from partially worried to full concern.

"I'll leave you two alone," said Quick Stitch as she bowed her head respectively at each princess. The two princesses bowed their head in return.

Once Quick Stitch was out of their eye sight, the two princess sisters resumed their conversation.

"How is he?" asked Luna. Celestia gave her a gentle smile and nuzzled her sister. She enjoyed relishing in the company of her lovely sister, glad that the nightmare that took her away for so long was vanquished.

"He's physically stable," Celestia replied.

"What do you mean by physically stable? Does something else affect him?" inquired Luna. She felt as if Celestia wasn't telling the whole truth.

Celestia lowered her head in defeat. She knew Luna was too smart to fall for a simple slur of words. Out of the two princesses, Luna was the more perceptive one.

"Yes Luna. Apparently, he's suffering some sort of trauma, and he's quite nervous at the moment."

"Does that mean that he's awake? Can we check on him?"

"I'd prefer to let the psychologist finish her analysis before rushing in. I do not want to overwhelm Adam?"

"Adam?"

"That's the colt's name."

"What a peculiar name for a colt." Luna pondered on the name for a few moments, saying it inside her mind over and over again. Her suspicions proved to be futile as nothing came to her mind, beside the fact that it was a weird name.

"I'm worried, Luna," admitted Celestia. "I saw the look of utter terror on his face. Something caused him great grief and I find myself powerless to help him."

Celestia suddenly felt two hooves wrapped around her neck and pull her into Luna's surprisingly warm embrace.

"Tia, listen to yourself. You sound like it was your fault that Adam got hurt. You can't help everypony, and if you do try and help every single pony, you will only do harm to yourself. Let these feelings subside, dear sister, you're not thinking straight."

Celestia heaved a sigh and melted into the hug. Her sister just kept on surprising her. From simple gestures to words of wisdom, Luna was certainly wiser than before her banishment.

But there was a question that lingered in Celestia's mind for quite some time, ever since her first meeting with Adam.

Why did she feel responsible for Him?

He wasn't her colt, nor did he belong to any of the city's citizens, if his foul mouth was any indication. Yet there was something in his eyes when he calmed down in the interrogation room. That look of need and helplessness triggered something inside of her. That's why she wrapped her wings around Adam protectively yesterday, and that's why she felt responsible for his well-being.

The double doors opened yet again and out came the psychologist, Lucid Dream.

"Princesses," she said courtly as she bowed her head towards the two monarchs.

"Rise," commanded Celestia. She felt anxious and wasn't in the mood for formalities. Once Lucid Dream rose, Celestia spoke up;

"How's Adam doing?"

Lucid Dream released a small, barely audible, sigh before replying.

"His mind is in a far worse condition than what I initially thought. He shows signs of psychological abuse from young- well, younger age, and maybe even molesting"

"Molesting!" both princesses shouted.

"I'm afraid so. When I talked to him, he used sexual terms inappropriate for his age. He also behaved very aggressively and Quick Stitch had to restrain him. Furthermore, I was informed that whilst in the interrogation room, his mood switched almost instantly, and seemed unresponsive, another sign for sexual abuse."

Celestia felt sick, but also felt a slow seething sensation rise in her stomach at the thought of a colt that young might have been a victim to such an abhorrent crime. It made Celestia furious.

"Another point of concern was the contents of the conversation I had with him. He claimed that he was not a pony at all. That he was some sort of bipedal being. He conjured an entire world inhabited by these creatures. In my opinion, this is his way of dealing with the trauma. He escapes into a utopian society where he's an adult and lives his life almost independently.

"Princesses, throughout my entire career, I've never encountered a colt more broken than Adam. Whatever he'd been through left him scarred, and he needs help now more than ever. I'll search his name in the kingdom database, see if he's reported missing. I'll come back with answers as soon as possible; meanwhile. I think it would be best if one of you might keep an eye on him. I don't know how he will react to other ponies."

Lucid Dream then turned her attention to Celestia "Somehow, you managed to calm him down before, and though I would usually chalk it up as just another mood swing, I'd rather believe that it was you," And with that said, Lucid Dream bowed her head once last time and trotted off.

The two princesses sat there in silence, too shocked to react to what they just heard. Celestia didn't want to believe, she didn't want to believe, she couldn’t believe that there were ponies under her rule that could be so vile and twisted. She wanted to believe in something else.

Luna wasn't faring much better. She knows children, and she knows how fragile they can be. When she became Nightmare Moon and got banished to the moon, parents often scared their children with stories of her. Some children are still afraid of her, and that's why she focuses so much of her time dream walking into foals' dreams, to alleviate them from their fears, though Adam's case is something she never expected.

Suddenly, she felt just as much as responsible as her sister was.

To say that Adam wasn't having the greatest time in his life would be the understatement of the millennium. He was thrown into a strange new world and transformed into one of the locals. To make things even worse, his panic attack caused him a great deal of pain, and not just physically.

He was angry. He was tired. And somewhere between running like a maniac and smack talk to some 'ruler', he was pretty sure that he pissed himself.

So, yeah. Not a great day.

And that wasn't even the highlight of it, oh no. After his little conversation with the white mare, later known as Celestia, he cried into her embrace like a total wimp.

Even in this comfortable room, Adam felt like shit. After he woke up, he was questioned by a psychologist horse and then was left here all alone.

He tried to find an escape route, but the main door was locked and so were the windows. Not that this room was bad. Heck, it's almost as big as his dad's apartment if not bigger.

"Now what the fuck so I do?" he asked himself, trying to find reason in a reasonless world. It was frustrating to be flung into a completely new world with no apparent way of getting back. It wasn't so bad per se. Adam had no future back home, so he might as well start anew here.

But what about his family?

Sure, they weren't the greatest folk to be around with, but they were his family, and he loved them dearly. Adam also had a few friends, but he was never the social type and usually preferred to play on his laptop than going out.

He was so confused. He had no idea what to do, or even if he had a choice on the matter. All he knew was that he made a complete tool out of himself followed by making himself look like a loser.

The sound of an opening door obliterated what little thoughts still lingered inside Adam's head. He turned his head towards the door while leaning into the bed. He didn't rise from the bed after the poor escape attempt.

He watched intently as two horses entered the room. One he recognized as the white mare from before, though he couldn't say the same for her companion. She, or at least Adam thought she was a she, was slightly smaller than the white one. Adam didn't really care about their peculiar looks. He was too tired to be surprised by anything .

"Hey Adam," greeted Celestia with a weak smile and a tender voice "How are you doing?"

Adam honestly didn't know how to react. He felt a sudden rush of anger and wanted nothing more than to shout at the bitch until his eyes would pop. Her voice annoyed the living hell out of him, but as he looked at her, he felt all his anger gone.

"I- I don't know," he admitted, looking somewhat disappointed by his choice of words.

"Look," started Celestia "I can't fathom what you must be going through right now, nor does my sister. But know that you are safe now, that nopony can hurt you anymore. I will personally make sure of that."

Adam was… astounded, to say the least. No one ever claimed a statement such as this to him. His parents were okay, but they were distant somehow, only really talking to him when they nagged him about his school grades.

Adam was overwhelmed with emotions. Anger, at his current predicament. Sadness, that he may never be able to return home. Relief, that there's still a glimmer of hope in the shape of Celestia.

He was trembling now. His eyes misty and his nose running. He took his head in his hooves and closed his eyes shut. He wasn't proud of it, but he was crying, finally letting the final cracks to break.

Celestia, seeing how distraught Adam was, came to the bed and gave him an affectionate nuzzle. The sight of the crying colt caused a chemical reaction inside the princess of the sun, and triggered something primal and equine on nature. Without a second thought, she brought her muzzle closer to Adam's face, and licked away the tears.

"Tia!" exclaimed Luna.

But Celestia wasn't aware of this. Her mind was overtaken by instinct. What she did was a primal drive to bond with a foal. When a mother licked her foal, she was leaving her scent on him, declaring him as her own, and also establishing a bond between the two.

Adam wasn't aware of the situation either. His new pony mind relaxed drastically under the soft licks of Celestia, and he found himself lulled into sleep.

His last coherent thought was how nice and perfectly natural it felt…

First morning(edited)

Adam woke up in the same dimly lit bedroom as before. His brain pounded against his skull and his eyelids felt heavy, and yet he could not bring himself to sleep. It was a weird feeling. He was tired despite waking up only moments ago, but no matter how he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to fall asleep.

A weird feeling indeed.

He rose from the bed and landed on the tiled floor with a series of clip clops. He craned his neck downwards and saw two mocha hooves. He followed the base of the hooves until they connected to his shoulders. He sighed and decided to search for a bathroom to relieve himself. He recalled from his poor escape attempt that there was a bathroom here somewhere and he made it his task to find it.

A task that took mere seconds, considering the room only had two sets of doors leading from it.

He... trotted to the bathroom door, feeling oddly at ease walking on four legs. The real problem came when he faced the closed door, or more precisely, the door handle.

Adam blinked. He raised his hoof and looked at the flat limb intently. He then looked at the door handle, and back at his hoof.

"How the hell do these ponies even manage to twist the knob without fingers?" he asked no one in particular.

He eyed the door handle once more and extended his hoof. He was slow, perhaps too slow, as he neared the handle inch after inch until finally, his hoof landed on the handle and slid off of it.

It was awkwardly quiet as Adam simply stared at his extended hoof, a deadpan look plastered across his face.

"Now what?"

Adam's eye twitched as a small amount of frustration built inside of him. His twitch became a full head shake and Adam did the only thing he could come up with at the moment.

He facehooved.

The quietness that followed was so deafening, it could be heard for miles away… Don't ask how.

"For the love of-"

Adam was cranky. He was tired, a bit hungry and was about to piss himself. So with a trembling hoof, he punched the door.

Adam continued to do so until the door's lock shattered and the door swung inwardly. He was too grouchy to acknowledge his added strength and trotted into the equally fancy and spacious bathroom.

Everything was made out of marble with golden trimmings and the room itself was round with the bathtub in the middle. The tub itself was elevated on a platform with shallow stairs leading to it. The sink was to Adam's immediate left with a mirror hanging above it. The toilet sat on the opposite side of the room with a roll of toilet paper on one side of the toilet seat, and a handle to flush the water on the other side.

Adam trotted towards the toilet and stopped in front of it. That's when Adam encountered his second obstacle of the day.

"Where's my dick!"

Adam craned his neck to look in between his front hooves and to his horror, noticed that Adam Collins, Jr. was gone!

"Come on buddy, where are you? This isn't funny!"

Before Adam could enter a full panic mode, he felt something stir inside him at the bottom of his abdomen. He looked back down and widened his eyes at his new penis.

"The fuck? Why my dick is so small! I'm a freaking horse for crying out loud, there's a reason why women call us stallions in bed! Wait… how old am I? Most other ponies I saw were taller than me. I can't be that young, can I?"

Adam momentarily forgot about his bladder as he approached the mirror that hung above the sink. A sink that was too high for him to reach.

"Of –fucking- course…"

Adam looked around until he spotted a shelf and used it to lift himself. He neared the mirror and gave himself a once over. He had a light brown coat and a short curly mane. His eyes were a familiar mix of olive green and honey. He looked very young compared to other ponies he encountered. Most were bulkier and taller, though admittedly, the only ponies he paid attention to were the guards and Celestia.

"So that's how I look, huh? Kinda similar to that character in… Oh for fuck's sake!"

How could he had been so dense?

“It was all because of that bloody game!” Adam exclaimed.

Of course it was all because of that stupid game. Adam cursed himself for being so stupid. He cursed himself for opening an unknown E-mail. He cursed himself for following said E-mail to an unknown site. And he especially cursed himself for installing a random program on his laptop.

Adam hopped off the sink and walked back to the toilet, muttering all the way.

Once his business was concluded, Adam stepped through the hole in the door that led to the main room and looked around a bit more. The room was too highly decorated to be a simple guest room. A lot of dark red and gold patterns dotted the room, though Adam was too cranky to care. What he did care for was the clock that hung from the wall next to the main entrance.

It read three thirty in the morning.

Adam couldn't remember when he fell asleep, only that he felt extremely comfortable when he did. He shook the memory away from his head and tried to open the entrance door. He had little success in opening the door with the same method as the bathroom's door, and even after several minutes of fumbling with the door handle, Adam had discovered that the door was locked.

A white flash of anger crossed Adam's mind as he realized he couldn't even leave this empty room. He wanted to shout, he wanted for something to make sense, but he could only wait. And that's what always drove Adam up the walls. Feeling powerless. Adam never claimed to be stronger or smarter than anyone, and even if he did, he would be surely mistaken, but at least he had options, at least he could do something. But being confined to a room with nothing to do, with no one to talk to.

It made Adam feel powerless.

And as fast as Adam's anger came, it was gone. Adam lowered his head in defeat and hopped into the bed, which was another challenge for the small colt, and tried to at least control his emotions, to have a feeling of control over as least one thing.

It was five in the morning before there was a knock on the door and Adam couldn't be happier. Finally, after a sleepless hour and a half something is gonna happen.

He didn't even have to invite whoever knocked outside. There was a resounding click of the lock and the doors slowly opened inwards. Two magenta eyes poked into the room before the door opened completely, revealing the princess of the sun herself, Celestia, smiling warmly at him.

"Umm, good morning princess?" Adam offered. For all his enthusiasm he wasn't sure what to say. Or more precisely, he was nervous talking to Celestia. He only encountered her twice and on both occasions, she slipped passed his defenses and crumbled his resolve.

Celestia sensed that hesitation and her smile faltered a bit. She didn’t want this colt to be afraid of her. She slowly approached the bed on which Adam had spent the last hour and a half and sat down near the base of the bed, broadening her smile again.

"Good morning Adam, I hope my being here didn't interrupt any of your sleep. I was on my way to start another day and thought it might be a good idea to check on you. I would also like to apologize for my behavior last night. It was very unbecoming for a princess."

Adam blinked a few times.

'What is she talking abou- oh… ohhhhh…'

Adam suddenly felt very self-conscious as he remembered the events of last night.

"T-That's okay princess, I forgive you. Oh and I feel fine, I think."

Celestia released a tiny sigh, unnoticed by Adam, and said, "I'm glad we got that out of our way, and I'm glad to see that you're okay as well, but please, call me Celestia. It would be only fair. Now if you'll excuse me…"

Celestia rose back on all four and stepped outside the room before addressing Adam again, "I'll send a maid to escort you to the dining hall once the sun has risen, and after that we'll spend some time getting to know each other. Bye for now…" Celestia disappeared behind the door frame and was about to leave when another thing came to mind "Oh, and also, please avoid breaking the bathroom's lock in the future, ta…" and with that said, she left.

"Wait!" shouted Adam, but it was too late. Celestia was already gone.

Now that was another thing that irked Adam. Since his arrival to this world, every conversation he had with Celestia was short and to the point. Never once he had the opportunity to ask her some of his many questions.

Adam huffed and turned to the other side on the bed.

"Sure, just leave. I didn't want to talk to you either…"

It was six thirty in the morning when someone knocked on the doors a second time. Adam didn't answer; instead, he scowled and turned to see who came this time. The doors to the room opened yet again as a mare outfitted as a maid stepped inside.

"Good morning Adam, I was ordered to escort you to the dining hall, you must be starving," she said in an obnoxiously cheery voice.

Adam hated mornings and everyone who loves them.

His bed in his real home was located in a way that each morning the sun would blind his face. He had no curtains to cover his window and his room was made out of concrete, making it impossibly difficult to nail something to the wall. His bed was also too heavy to move as well. And to add salt on injury, his body always turned to face the window in his sleep.

If only there could be nighttime twenty four seven, it’s not like he did anything that required sunlight anyway.

He was about to tell the maid as such but his stomach spoke for him, grumbling loudly.

Adam turned away from the maid as she giggled at his expense, another thing that Adam hated.

"Come on now Adam. I'm sure a tasty breakfast would help your mood a little bit…" the maid said in a sing-song voice.

Alas, Adam's resolve was tempted easily as he reluctantly hopped from the bed and followed the maid through the castle's halls.

If there was one word Adam could say about this castle, it would be: Expensive.

The sheer amount of decorations and various works of art would put the Louvre museum to shame. And yet, Adam saw very few ponies walking the halls. Actually, besides the statue-like soldiers and the odd maid, the castle was practically empty.

"It must be really quiet here," Adam remarked, mostly to himself.

"Most of the time, yes," the maid responded. "This castle is pretty big and quiet. It's one of the things I like about working here. It's… Peaceful around here and the quiet is soothing in a way. Though the exact opposite can be said during the Grand Galloping Gala. Each year for one night, this place is the busiest, most desirable place to be."

"The Grand Galloping Gala huh? Sounds boring…" Adam muttered.

It didn't take long for the two to reach the dining hall. Their idle talk certainly had helped. On their to their destination, the maid explained to Adam a little about princess Celestia as well as her sister, Luna, though Adam was skeptical about their role in controlling the day and night cycles.

Amusing? Sure. Believable? Not so much.

As the two entered the room Adam's belly was shouting at him again.

The dining hall, much like the rest of the castle, was an expensive and spacious looking room. The sun rays filtered by the colored windows, gave the room a very bright and colorful aspect to it. As expected, the middle of the room had a long table that stretched from one of the room to the other with many chairs lined at each side, with two fancier looking chairs at the head of the table, two chairs that were currently occupied.

Celestia was the first one to notice Adam at the entrance to the dining hall and offered him a kind smile. Luna also noticed Adam and waved a hoof to greet him, as well as motioning to the seat beside her.

Adam, still being a bit careful around the princesses, nodded weakly to each princess and took Luna on her offer. He sat next to her and avoided eye contact with the two of them. Celestia didn't have time to inquire Adam what's the matter as the waiters filled the dining table with different assortments of foods and beverages.

Celestia and Luna started filling their plates with their choice for breakfast. For Celestia, it was a simple salad with a mug of steaming coffee. For Luna, it was scrambled eggs, toast and a glass of red wine. Both started eating away at their choices while sending careful glances towards Adam, who had his plate empty.

"Something wrong Adam? Is there nothing to your liking? If that's the case then I can assure you that our staff is more than skilled enough to prepare whatever it is you desire," Celestia asked.

Adam frowned and felt the frustration from earlier welling inside him again.

"I can't pick up anything…"

"What's that dearie? I didn't quite catch that."

"I can't use my hooves, okay!" Adam snapped. "God, this is embarrassing…"

"Well I don't see a problem. I don't know why you can't use your hooves and it's none of my business, but you can still use your horn, right?" Luna inquired.

"I… can't use my horn either…" Adam professed.

Celestia and Luna traded worried looks before snapping their gazes back to Adam, who tried to scowl the salad into serving itself.

A golden aura engulfed the salad bowl and hovered across the table until it was near Adam's plate. Then, the big spoon inside the salad bowl hovered as well and started spilling a few spoonfuls of salad into Adam's plate.

Adam looked up from his plate as saw Celestia's horn glowed with the same color as the bowl. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together as Adam stared at the floating bowl, eyes wide.

"Fuck me sideways!" he exclaimed.

Celestia was about to reply when a gasp of shock reached her ears, which perked up towards the source.

It was Blueblood.

"Auntie, why is there a commoner in my seat?" he shrieked.

Adam cringed when he heard Blueblood's voice. The tone in which he spoke was enough to cause Adam to want to drown Blueblood to death until the last bubble goes ‘bloop’. Not to mention the snooty aura that radiated from him.

"Blueblood," started Celestia "This is Adam. Adam, please meet Prince Blueblood."

"Uhh… Hey?" said Adam, not sure why Celestia punished Adam by forcing him to talk to Blueblood.

"Hey?! Hey! You will refer to me by my full title you little runt!" bellowed Blueblood.

Adam glared at Blueblood and his hoof trembled from anger. Oh if he could grasp things with his hooves, there would be a lot of sharp objects flying. But for now though, the only thing sharp Adam could throw was his witty remark.

"Listen to me you pompous little royal cunt! You talk to me in that ugly ass tone of yours one more time and god help me I'll hit you with a brick!"

"Huh! Auntie, that little street rat just insulted and threatened me! Send him to the dungeons!" Blueblood fumed. Nopony ever dared to speak that way to him.

Celestia sighed and looked at Blueblood; it seems that quiet time was over.

"You know we can't send a colt into the dungeons, nephew. And there are plenty of seats around here, I'm sure you can learn to share…"

Adam snickered while Blueblood's eyes slowly widened with each passing second, incapable to comprehend Celestia's words.

"And you, Adam! We do not use that kind of language in here! And as long as you stay in this castle, you will obey my rules!"

"Fine…" Adam muttered. He smiled wickedly and turned his attention back to Blueblood. "One wishes to acquaint your facial features with a fundamental item used in building walls. Repeatedly." He then turned back to Celestia. "Happy?"

Celestia had her mouth open, too stunned to say anything. Luna covered her mouth with her hoof, trying and failing to conceal her grin. Blueblood stood there, unable to understand what just transpired.

And Adam, he just realized that maybe this new arrangement isn't too bad…

The fight(edited)

Celestia trotted down the halls of the castle with a clear destination in mind.

Adam’s room.

After yet another nasty remark from him, Celestia sent him back to his room to think about his actions. He may have suffered both physically and mentally, but that does not mean he can go around insulting everypony just for the heck of it.

As she strode through the bright halls, the conversation she had with her sister in the dining hall a few days prior came to the forefront of her mind.

"Tia, I wish to speak to you immediately!" said Luna as she entered the almost empty dining hall. Celestia was already there as she gestured with her head for Luna to take a seat next to her. Luna said nothing as she trotted to her seat at a brisk pace, further fueling the sense of urgency. Once seated, Luna looked up at her sister.

"What is it Lulu?" Celestia asked simply.

"It's about the colt, sister. Or more precisely, the events from yesterday."

"And to what part of the day are you referring Lulu? It was a very long and trying day, if I may say so myself," Celestia professed. Luna quirked an eyebrow at her sister's response.

'Isn't it obvious?' she thought to herself.

"You… do not know?" she asked, just to be sure.

Celestia dropped the smile that she wore from the moment Luna entered the dining hall, and adopted a more serious one. "What's the matter Luna? Where are you going with this?"

"I'm talking about you claiming him, sister!" Celestia's eyes shot open as Luna continued. "He was hurt and afraid and you took advantage of this to claim him. I trust you know what you did was wrong. He already has a family somewhere, not to mention they're probably worried sick."

Luna was furious. Her sister just claimed a colt by licking and leaving her scent on him, an act between a mother and a newborn foal. It was a bonding process to ensure the safety of the foal. It was also a very ancient act, a primal one, one from before ponies could even think, from a time far beyond the two sisters.

"I-I did what?" Celestia was shocked. "I don't remember any of that," she professed, looking mortified.

"What do you mean you don't remember? You claimed the colt. It's as simple as that," Luna said in a 'matter-of-fact' tone.

"N-No Luna, you don't understand. I really do not remember any of this. It's all kinda fuzzy. Last thing I remember was Adam's tears and I simply… acted. Beyond that…"

"So you really mean…"

"Yes Luna, I don't remember."

"This is troubling news. We can't have you too attached to the colt, we're goin-"

"His name is Adam!" Celestia snapped. "And you will do well to remember it!"

"Celestia? Are you alright?" asked Luna. The younger sister felt mildly intimidated by her older sister, her disapproving gaze burned like a thousand suns.

Celestia saw the fear in her sister's eyes and quickly calmed down, looking somewhat regretful.

"Please forgive me, dear sister. I do not know what came over me."

Luna placed a comforting hoof on her sister's shoulder and gave her an affectionate nuzzle.

"There there sister, I understand, I really do."

"No, you do not understand… I want a foal, Luna. I do not want to become lonely. It was too much to bear when I exiled you. I can't deal with more pain."

"Sister is this how you really feel?"

"It is, dear sister. With all my heart."

Celestia sighed but kept her emotionless mask intact. She tried to help Adam with his many problems, but each time she did, he'd get angry and start insulting her and everypony unfortunate enough to be near.

As for Adam's family. Lucid Dream came to Celestia yesterday and told her of her findings. The results were less than helpful. There wasn't a single piece of information on Adam. No medical records, no immigration papers, and not a single name that suggested he was existent. As far as Celestia knew, Adam was, for all intents and purposes, nopony.

And as for Adam himself, he became more bitter with each passing day, resulting in Celestia sending him to his room more times than she could have counted. She was actually going to his room. She wanted to personally talk to him.

Adam sat in the middle of the guest room, an annoyed look on his face. He was sent to 'his' room after yet another outburst of insults and stayed there ever since. Unfortunately for him, the window across the room was ajar and the wind drove him to near madness. He tried to close it, but he was too small to reach the window. He knew why the window was open. Before Celestia took him herself to his room and locked him there, she told him that he needed a shower and she will not close the window until he will. She also stationed two pegasi just outside the window should he try to do anything stupid.

Like jumping off from the 25th floor from his room. Apparently this castle is very tall. Who knew.

Adam sighed and looked up to the sky through the window.

"I'm not a believer but I guess I can use some answers. Here goes… God, if you're there I just want you to know…” Adam paused as he thought deeper into his inner self, looking for a sense of clarity. “You're as useful as tits on bull! Fucking wanker!"

Adam listened as the sound of ruffling feathers reached his ears and smiled. At least these ponies can learn a new word or two. After all, Adam was nothing if not creative.

There was a knock on the door followed by the last person Adam wanted to see.

Celestia, the embodiment of cruelty.

"Where have you been, I need you to close the window," Adam snarled.

"Oh, I thought a little fresh air would be nice," Celestia responded, trying to keep herself from going down to Adam's level.

"Nah, it isn't."

"Well, as the pony that has to share her living space with the pony who won't take a bath, I need some fresh air."

"I don't care, you can just leave if you want. Close it!" Adam persisted, looking directly into Celestia's eyes.

Celestia sighed and closed the gap between her and Adam. "Look Adam, I know that you are angry at the world right now. What happened to you is unimaginable and I'm going do whatever I can to help through this, and all I ask in return is that you treat me with a little bit of courtesy. That includes using the word: 'please'."

"Why the sudden interest in ethics, Princess? I don't recall you saying please when you practically kidnapped me!"

Celestia huffed in frustration. "This conversation is now over, the window stays open!"

"I want it closed!"

"No! You stink!"

"And you're a whore!" Adam yelled. "But here's the difference, I can get clean."

Celestia's eyes were wide in shock before suddenly changing expression into an unnerving smirk.

"Yes you can…"

With a tug of magic, Adam was lifted off the ground, as well as a bottle of soap from the bathroom, and floated in front of an angry looking Princess Celestia.

"What are you doing?! I don't like this, put me down!"

Celestia said nothing as she turned around and trotted at a brisk pace towards an unknown destination.

"What's going on, I'm not even dressed!"

Celestia ignored Adam's petty attempt to distract her and continued on her course towards the gardens.

Once outside, Celestia walked around the castle until she reached her desired spot, next to the gardens, in front of the hedge maze.

As for the gardeners, once they saw Celestia's determined expression, they decided it would be best to leave rather than stick around and potentially getting caught in the upcoming sentence.

Celestia let the magic that held Adam in place disappear as he fell, but before he could run away he was again caught in Celestia's magical hold that pinned him in place. She then stepped behind him and began pouring a generous amount of soap.

"What is that? Celestia what's going on?" Adam sounded almost nervous as he started to think that he might have pushed the sun princess over the edge. "Celestia, stop!"

But Celestia had only just began. She walked back into Adam's vision and stepped into a work shed next to where the two were. Adam's eyes widened when she stepped back out with a garden hose floated next to her. "You wouldn't."

Celestia only smirked as a burst of cold water erupted from the hose, soaking Adam in water and covering him in a thick layer of bubbles.

"Stop it! For the love of all that is holy, stop it!" Adam wailed and tried to move away from the blast, but Celestia's magic was still in effect as he could only squirm and shudder. "For fuck's sake stop the bloody water!"

"If only there was a word you could use to get me to stop, like 'please'."

"This is child abuse!"

"Say please!"

"Go to hell!"

"Why can't you just say it, it's easy. Please, please, please…"

Adam was just about had enough. He was cold, angry and humiliated.

"Please stop! Please stop it! Please stop!" Celestia finally stopped the stream but Adam was fuming with resentment. "Please help me up! Please pass me the salt! Please show me the way back to my room! Please! Please! Please!" He roared. "That's the life I'm facing now! Having to ask ponies for help, for everything. Do you know how degrading this is?!"

The silence that followed only spurred Adam further.

"Every morning since I got here I wake up at three thirty, you wake up at five. For an hour and a half I lay there, staring at the locked bedroom doors, fantasizing about how lovely it would be, how excruciatingly lovely it would be to get up and make myself a cup of tea one last time… No please. Just hot water and tea."

Adam felt as the magic that held him in place disperse and he hung his head, feeling humiliated. His vision became blurry as a few tears mingled with his soaked pelt. A white hoof entered his line of sight and pulled him gently by the chin. He reluctantly looked up to see Celestia with a hurt expression on her face looking down at Adam, her own tears threatening to fall.

"Adam… I'm so sorry, forgive me." She wrapped her wings around the colt and pulled him into a hug. "Please…"

"Just… Leave me alone," he croaked.

Celestia felt her throat close and she closed her eyes shut before relaxing her hold on the colt and letting him face her. "I understand," she said. She then walked away, looking crestfallen and ashamed as Adam stayed behind to dry himself out.

"Fucking cunt, about time she learned her lesson," Adam hissed to himself but suddenly felt something squeeze his chest. "Great, now I feel like a dick..."

Adam was still outside, even as the sun settled and the moon rose. He dried himself off hours ago but couldn't bring himself to go inside. He needed some time alone.

During this time, Adam wondered a bit in the gardens and found a panoramic view of the valley below the mountain. The castle was built in a way that part of it was hanging off the side of the mountain, so Adam had the most amazing sight of the land.

It was beautiful.

A soft flap of wings alerted Adam of a visitor and soon enough, he heard said visitor land just behind him. He made no effort turning around. He knew whoever that was will reveal itself eventually.

"Quite a beautiful sight ain't it?" Adam said quietly, still gazing on the horizon.

"As the creator of said sight, I believe that disagreeing would be foolish," said Luna. Somehow, Adam was not surprised.

"I hate your sister," he said absent-mindedly. Luna shuffled uncomfortably behind him and finally moved to sit next to him, letting a wing drape across the young colt's back. Adam made no effort to swat the wing away. In fact, he welcomed the warm feeling and scooted closer to Luna, resting his head on her hoof.

"She's not that bad once you get to know her," Luna responded. The two shared a dry chuckle before Adam spoke up.

"She makes me angry. Every time we speak, she either tells me what to do, or tries to 'help' me. Well, I don't need help."

"You know Adam. She told me what happened between you two earlier today."

"I would be surprised if she didn't…"

"She was very distraught by this. She's feeling bad for what she did."

"Good, she deserves to feel bad!" Adam hissed. Hardening his gaze over the horizon as his breaths quickened and his nose flared.

“Then how come you feel just as bad?" asked Luna, causing Adam to finally snap his eyes from the sky and towards her, looking shocked.

"How did you-"

"It's written all over your face."

Adam sighed and looked down to the ground. He was silent for a bit, letting the crickets softly play their tunes. The air was crisp and carried a soft scent of pine trees, Adam's personal favorite.

"I don't know why I'm so angry. It wasn't like this back home. I guess that being constantly mad means I don't have to deal with everything around me."

"Your mind is like a pond, Adam. When it is agitated, it becomes difficult to see. But if you allow it to settle, the answer becomes clear.

"I guess…"

"You know Adam, Tia is not the only one to blame. Your actions and your actions alone brought this misfortune upon you."

"I guess I did act like a bit of jerk, haven't I?"

"Yes, yes you did, Adam. And you should apologize."

"I guess that would be the wise choice. You're very clever you know that, Luna?"

Luna smiled fondly and nuzzled Adam's head. Adam, for his part, could feel how this simple act sooth his muscle. Something that would probably be disturbing if humans did it, but felt completely normal to him now. "You are the first to ever say that to me, Adam. Ponies are usually afraid of me… And my night."

"Why?" Adam asked, surprised by Luna's statement.

"Let's just say that I had some personal issues that affected my overall reputation with my subjects. And as for my night… Ponies shunned it since the very beginning. They always preferred Tia's days and slept through my night," Luna said sadly. Looking down at Adam and seeing his bright green eyes sparkle with defiance.

"I think you're wrong," he stated.

"Oh? And what do you mean by that?"

"I don't think ponies shun the night. I don't think they sleep through it because they hate it. They're doing it because they trust you."

Luna looked surprised. "Trust… Me?"

"Yeah," Adam continued. "They sleep through the night because they trust you to keep them safe. Because they know that no harm can reach them under your watchful eye. As for myself, I always admired the night rather than the day. The sun is blinding, you can't look directly at it, yet it takes from the beauty of the sky as well, covering it all with a bland hue of blue. As for the moon, it glows softly. You can look directly at it, yet it does not hog all the attention as it lets the night to show its splendor and radiance." Adam took a deep breath and then released it. "There's nothing truly captivating than staring at the moon."

Luna felt herself choking from sheer emotion. When she first met Adam, he didn't leave a good impression on her. But that single statement of his caused Luna's heart to flutter and leave her at a loss for words. Her lack of speech forced her to act instead as she pulled Adam into her embraced and hugged him fiercely to her barrel, nuzzling the top of his head, as well.

Celestia lay splayed on her bed, looking downtrodden. Her regalia were cast aside and her mane was unkempt.

She looked very different than the princess of the sun.

Ever since the incident earlier, Celestia found herself locked inside her room, trying to figure what went wrong and where she failed. All those thoughts left her head in a terrible mess until she couldn't think coherently, so she just decided to lay on her bed and feel sorry for herself.

There was a knock on the door.

"Go away," commanded the princess. Her voice, surprisingly, was firm and regal as always. She wasn't in the mood for conversations with the maids or butlers that sought her guidance. The only thing she wanted was to be alone right now.

"Can you open the door Celestia…Please?"

It was…

"Adam?" Celestia called.

"Yeah it's me, can you please open the door?"

For a brief moment, Celestia contemplated to just ignore Adam, to send him away. But these feelings died quickly as she rose from her bed and opened the doors. There, looking rather miserable, stood Adam, his head held low as he avoided eye contact.

"May I come in?" he asked quietly.

"Of course dear, is everything alright?"

Adam didn't say anything. Instead, he walked into the room and searched for a place to sit. It didn't take long for Celestia to realize that she didn't have any proper seats in her room, and gestured Adam to sit on the bed.

Adam nodded and made his way to the huge bed, trying numerous times to hop on the mattress but ultimately failing each time.

"Can you please help me up?" he said shamefully, not meeting Celestia's gaze even as she lifted him to her bed and sitting next to him. He looked away and tried to bring himself to speak.

It was hard for him, Celestia deduced but decided to remain silent. It was Adam who came to her, so there was no need to urge the colt further.

"Look, what I did today… wasn't my proudest moment. I acted like a twonk and I lashed out on you. You didn't deserve that, you were only trying to help. I guess what I'm saying is… I'm sorry."

For the first time this evening, Adam looked up to Celestia. His eyes shone with hope.

Celestia didn't say anything. For the entire day, Celestia believed the she was to blame for what happened. And yet, it was Adam that came to apologize.

Adam's hope slowly diminished with each passing second until he hung his head in defeat. He hopped from the bed and made his way out.

Imagine his surprise when he was caught in a magical aura and was lifted off the ground, only to meet two white and warm hooves as they wrapped around his barrel and brought him closer to Celestia's warm chest.

"Apology accepted," Celestia said softly, letting a few happy tears to fall. Adam took this opportunity to hug Celestia back. He squirmed in her grasp until he faced Celestia, and brought his own hooves around the princess.

"Can you promise me something, Adam?"

"What?"

"No more insults, please."

"I swear that I will never insult you or Luna."

"That's not what I meant."

"Take it or leave it, Tia."

Celestia sighed. "I suppose that's better than nothing…"

Bloody murder(edited)

Adam laid in his bed like he usually did on such boring days. He did not have anything of importance to motivate him into doing something productive, so he chose to take a little afternoon nap whilst singing to himself his favourite song.

"Today I don't feel like doing anything,

I just wanna lay in my bed.

Don't feel like picking up my phone, so leave a message at the tone,

'Cause today I swear I'm not doing anything."

Yes, just another day for his 'days collection'. There was nothing worth mentioning or anything out of the ordinary for Adam. He was the kind of person to let things fall into place without intervention. Unlike other people, Adam knew his limitations, and only rarely pushed himself to do something, and even then only for the bare minimum.

A knock on the door caused Adam to glare at it while ending his song prematurely.

"Come in," he sighed.

The door opened and in came his father.

"The sink is full, clean the dishes."

"Nice to see you too, dad."

"Adam, just clean the damn dishes already and open your books. You have a math test tomorrow and you did nothing at all."

"You know, most parents greet their children when they come back home from work. It is very rude."

Adam's father grunted in annoyance and hardened his gaze on Adam. His father was quite the tall person, with a dark complexion and black hair with a few grey and white hairs. He wasn't originally from Britain, which explained why Adam got the looks from his father, but still had his mother’s accent.

"I don't have time for another fight, Adam. Just do what you are told."

"Fine!" Adam rumbled and rose from his bed. He moved quickly and sharply, wanting to keep further interactions with his dad to a minimum. He passed the living area on the way to the kitchen and saw his sister playing Minecraft on her smartphone.

'That little asshole walked all the way to my room just to tell me to do the dishes whilst my sister is right here? Cunt!'

Adam was even more furious with his dad now, but chose to simply do what he told him to and then go back to his room.

"Puca, Puca, c'mere girl!"

Puca appeared shortly after Adam had called her and waggled her tail in excitement to spend some time with her favourite family member. She was a light brown husky with two light grey piercing eyes.

"Come Puca, you're gonna accompany me whilst washing the dishes," Adam said in fake enthusiasm, though Puca didn't care as she jumped up and down, circling Adam and licking his hands excitedly. "You're the only bitch in this family I actually care about."

"Fuck you, Adam."

"Shut up, Evie. Wasn't talking to you," Adam called from the kitchen whilst Puca was still all around him.

Evie was Adam's little sister by three years, making her fourteen, give or take. Unlike Adam or their father, Evie was more of a proper Brit, with a lean body, pale skin, light blue eyes and light brown hair.

She got her looks solely from her mother, who was born and raised in Norwich and only later moved with her husband to London to raise Adam and Evie.

Adam ignored his sister and smiled fondly at Puca and searched the cabinets for a dog snack. Unfortunately, it was out of date, so Adam decided that once he's done with the dishes, he would go out with Puca for a walk and make her a homemade snack just for her when the two return.

But as he neared the sink, something felt weird. Not weird as in 'Eww, dirty dishes' but more of a 'There's something protruding my forehead' kind of feeling.

Adam slowly lifted his hand and massaged his forehead. He felt something long and cylindrical in the base of his forehead. It ended with a dull edge and felt quite sensitive.

"Why do I have a dick growing from my forehead?"

"Because your body is starting to catch up with your personality."

"Shut up Evie! Honest to god you are annoying."

"Yeah but you like it."

"I honestly don't, mom and dad should've stopped after me."

"After they saw how you turned out to be?."

"Just… screw you, Evie. Screw you, you tart!"

Before Evie could argue, Adam already left. He was headed for the bathroom, all whilst still rubbing the foreign appendage. He entered the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Everything about him was normal. His mocha skin was rough from all those workouts and his black hair was curly but not overly so. Overall, he was the picture of health…

Except for a freaking horn in the middle of his forehead.

Adam felt a surge of panic build inside of him as he was about to touch the horn again. Only when he did so, his arm was turned into a furry hoof with a flat end.

Adam wanted to scream but found his voice amiss. He tried to step out from the bathroom but his legs were glued to the place. All he had to do was watch as the world was literally breaking apart through the mirror reflection until he himself fell into darkness.

Adam jumped off the bed in quite an abrupt manner. His scanned his surroundings. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he scanned himself. Luckily, or unluckily, he was still a pony.

"Fucking… dreams… man…" he huffed as cold sweat dribbled down his face. These dreams have become more and more frequent as of late. Quite ironic really, considering what his dreams are about compared to the reality he's in.

Adam decided that a nice, hot bath might just be the thing he needed and moved into the bathroom. Once inside, Adam stepped into the stupidly large bath tub and turned the hot water knob with mild difficulty. He also added a particular scented body wash that smelled like pine tree. The hot water soon filled the tub as Adam could feel the water work their way in soothing his muscles.

In his opinion, baths were the perfect place for thinking as it allowed him some precious time alone.

"I could just tell them the whole truth," he said absent-mindedly. "But how many humans can say they traveled into a parallel reality filled with magic, rainbows and unicorns. I guess less than ten…"

Adam has had this particular internal conversation with himself for a few days now. Part of him wanted to tell the princesses of his predicament and hope that they will believe him and send him back home. But another, larger part of his mind, the logical one, believed that being the colt that he is, his words aren't worth that much.

Adam thought back to Celestia and felt it again.

The need to be near her, to let her hold him and gently whisper into his ear that everything will be fine. It was the colt part of his mind, the new addition he got when he transformed into a pony. He was very much aware of that part of him. He wasn't stupid, though the thought of being so needy made him slightly vomit in his mouth.

Adam was independent for the most part of his childhood. The only real time his parents were there was to buy him food and housing him. Other than that, he did most things on his own. Like buying clothes or studying alone (poorly), and even making his own meals.

But Adam did not hate his parents. Sure, he barely knew his mom and his dad was an alcoholic bastard, but he generally sort of liked them…

Adam was even willing to go and say that he loved them, his dad more than his mom. True, the only way his dad would show him affection is by purposely missing when he threw bottles at his head, but that was simply the reality Adam lived, and he was accustomed to that.

Other than that, Adam was pretty content with staying here. It was refreshing to feel loved rather than a burden.

And besides, it was a second chance, or so Adam wanted to believe. To be reborn as a unicorn colt in a land such as this is a chance in a lifetime. Furthermore, he always wondered how it would feel to be a kid again with the knowledge of an adult. Admittedly, he did not want to start out as a colt but beggars can't be choosers, right? It's not like his former life was any better. He was stuck with a seemingly uncaring family with no future ahead of him, no real friends to speak of and no social life. As far as Adam was concerned, this world was superior.

"Besides," Adam thought out loud. "Living in a castle is so much better than a crappy apartment. Technology is something of an issue," he pondered, and then, his eyes suddenly widened "Maybe I can 'invent'! I'll recreate human technologies in this sodding planet and claim them as my own! Oh Adam, you sly, handsome devil you…"

Adam smiled wickedly as another plan formed in his mind. "Or maybe, I could 'invent' weaponry. Start a new arms race and get totally rich… Hmmm, maybe not. Apparently I'm too young to have access to such materials, but maybe in the future."

Adam felt pretty good with himself now. Amusing himself with different possibilities proved to be quite entertaining.

Finally, Adam finished his bath and dried himself off, smelling like a forest after the morning dew. He moved to the sink and jumped on the stool with less difficulty and peered at the mirror. On the other side was a colt with a light brown pelt and curly black mane, his olive green and slightly honeyed eyes sparkled with energy only kids can possess. After a few moments of staring, Adam reached a conclusion.

"This ain't so bad…"

Adam approached the dining hall feeling like a million pound sterling, he had time to accept his fate, albeit a bit brief, and found it not so scary. Besides the obvious disadvantage of having no fingers, it was quite pleasant here.

"Good morning good chaps," greeted Adam. He had a tendency to slip deeper into stereotypical accent when he was feeling like cheerful, and the lack of a certain pony prince was certainly a plus.

Celestia smiled broadly. Seeing as how Adam carried himself with such joy made her more at ease. 'perhaps today he will not-'

"I'm freaking starving!"

'Well, at least it wasn't as ill-mannered as the rest of his vocabulary.'

"Good morning to you as well, Adam. How was your sleep?" Celestia inquired.

Adam took his time hopping into the chair next to Celestia whilst avoiding eye contact. Something wasn't right. Normally he would say something by now, all he had was a look of nervousness and debate on his face, as if he was contemplating telling her something. Finally, Adam smiled weakly and looked away. "Sure, just some… unsettling dreams, that's all."

"I could help you with that," offered Luna, who sat to Celestia's other side. Adam cocked his head to the side at that.

"What, like talking my problems away and giving me sleeping pills?"

"What! N-no! I meant dream walking."

"Ohhhhhh… still not following you."

Luna closed her eyes and sighed. She opened them again and looked at Adam. "I meant entering your dreams and trying to figure what is causing you discomfort," Luna explained.

Adam looked horrified for a few seconds before adoptive a more collected look. "That sounds to me like a complete breach of privacy. Don't get me wrong Luna, but I don't like the idea of someone else snooping around there, no offence."

"None taken. And I understand your need for privacy. I simply thought that as the ruler of the night I could perhaps offer you a way of relieving yourself."

Adam had to keep himself from laughing. 'That sounded so very wrong…' he snickered silently. Luckily, food arrived before Celestia could ask about Adam's odd behaviour.

As for Adam, he was practically blown away by the food itself. Mashed potatoes, beans, fried veggies and gravy. His favourite breakfast.

Adam watched in awe as his plate hovered above the dining table, encased in a familiar golden aura. No matter how many times he saw it, magic was still an amazing sight. He turned his attention to Celestia, who smiled at him gently. "You do not mind me helping, do you?"

Adam looked thoughtful for a moment. He wanted to serve himself for once, but it'll be much faster to let Celestia do it. Finally, his stomach spoke up for him, making Adam to blush and the princesses to giggle.

"Sure, why not," he said in defeat. 'You may have won this battle, belly. But I will be the victor next time!'

Celestia looked at Adam nervously, worried that she might agitate the unpredictable colt. Luckily enough, his hunger overcame his pride and he let her help him.

It wasn't long before Adam got his plate back, full with some of his favourite food. Celestia had her own plate filled as well, as well as a goblet of wine. Adam looked expectedly at the fork to his left, determined to grasp it. Over the past few days he practiced with his hooves on how to grasp things. He still didn't know exactly how it is possible, but he didn't question it.

He carefully reached for the fork with both of his hooves and lifted it very slowly. Once the fork was secured between the flat sides of his hooves he carefully manipulated it in a way that it laid horizontally on his right hoof. Adam concentrated deeply until he felt a 'tug' on the fork. He then slowly turned his hoof sideways, praying to Morgan Freeman.

Adam heaved a sigh of relief when the fork didn't fall.

"Thank you Morgan Freeman."

"What was that, Adam?" asked Luna.

"Nothing, nothing… Let's eat!"

Adam plunged into his meal without a second thought, eager to eat his favourite breakfast. He was a bit disappointed over the lack of meat, AKA back bacon or sausages, but it was a good breakfast nonetheless.

About halfway through breakfast something weird caught Adam's attention. It the middle of the table, he saw the salt and pepper grinders moving and circling each other to the sounds of classical music.

"What's going on?" Adam asked warily. He looked at both princesses, which looked more annoyed than surprise, something that confused Adam.

"Not him again," moaned Luna. She rubbed the side of her head with a hoof and let out a sigh of frustration escape her mouth. Celestia wasn't looking any different.

The two grinders hovered into the air and started pouring their contents all over the table. But instead of salt and pepper as Adam expected, the grinders spewed bits of apples and chili sauce.

A creature Adam never saw in his life popped into existence and hovered below the constant stream of chili and apples as he opened his mouth absurdly wide, the foul mixture disappearing into his maw.

"Discord, why are you here?" asked Celestia with irritation. Even after his reformation, Discord was still a pain in the flank. At least he wasn't doing anything too chaotic.

"Oh Celestia, you must learn how to relax and enjoy the small things in life…" He then turned his head towards Adam. "But I see you already have."

"Discord… why does that sound so familiar…" Adam murmured as he closed his eyes in concentration.

"Adam? Is everything alright?" asked Celestia, looking worried at how deeply Adam was thinking, but he wasn't listening.

"Discord… Discord… Discord… Dis-cord… Dis-cord…" Adam's eyes shot open "D-CORD!" he yelled.

Discord chuckled and appeared right across the dining table with sunglasses and leather jacket. "Only my friends in the hood call me D-cord, bro…"

Adam felt furious. His breathing became erratic and his eyes shone with malice that screamed bloody murder. He felt a tingling sensation above his forehead but he did not care at that time.

Celestia on the other hand, saw Adam's horn flare with green magic.

As with every sharp object in the room!

Even Discord looked with wide eyes and mouth open when every fork and knife pointed at him.

"So it was you…" Adam growled in a dangerously low voice "I'll... I'll… I'LL BLOODY MURDER YOU!"

A game of cat and mouse(edited)

Adam was a seething mess. Here was the creature responsible for all the shit that happened to him, and he was joking like nothing is wrong.

He felt a twisted pleasure seeing the smirk on Discord's face slowly fade as every fork, knife, and the odd spoon hovered and pointed at his direction. Something surged inside him, trying desperately to get out. It was like a building pressure at the base of his forehead.

"Oh my," said Discord. "Well Celestia, you sure know how to pick them. I think I'll be on my way then…" He snapped his fingers and smirked again as he waved Adam goodbye.

A smirk that faded just as quick as the first one when he realized that he was still there.

Discord snapped his fingers again and again but to no avail. Something was blocking his power.

Luna was the first one to notice. Outside the window the sky and everything else had a green hue to it. Luna looked at Celestia, the two shared a worried glance as both princesses tried to access their own magic.

They both failed.

"Dear sister, is that what we think it is?" asked Luna, her voice wavering slightly and her eyes widened ever so slightly.

"I believe it is, Luna." Celestia took another glance towards the outside. "A magic nullifying dome…"

And it wasn't just a simple run-of-the-mill magic nullifying dome. It was a powerful enchantment that encased the entire castle inside a green dome. Nothing inside it can cast any type of magic except for the caster himself, and the only conceivable way to dispel it is either forcing the caster to do it, or end him. The latter was not an option, not for Celestia.

"Adam," Celestia said quietly, slowly inching closer to Adam, who had his eyes fixed on Discord. "Adam… you must calm down. Please… put the knives down and dispel the dome."

But Adam didn't listen, his horn flared with intense magic and every levitated object trembled. Celestia recognized the telltale signs of a magical surge and looked at Discord with wide eyes while mouthing the word 'run'.

In an instant, the seat where Discord sat only moments ago was now ground zero as pieces of shredded wood exploded under the fierce attack of knives and forks.

Discord was mere inches from the initial attack before he picked himself up and bolted towards the exit.

He barely managed to dodge a knife as he stepped out from the dining hall and closed the door behind him. He released a sigh he didn't know he was holding and relaxed his posture, but as he did that, he heard distinctive thunk noise followed by a crack. He looked down as his eyes widened. Just between his legs, there was a lodged piece of a blade.

Discord decided that the best course of action was to run away while screaming like a little girl and flailing his arms.

A moment later, the door to the dining hall was tore off its hinges and out came Adam, screaming his own battle cry.

"Come back you fucking piece of shite!"

"I don't think that would be necessary!" Discord screamed back. He was already heaving for oxygen, clearly not in shape without his chaotic magic to assist him.

"Come here and face your punishment like a man!" Adam screamed. With each passing second, he hurled more utensils and various object at the draconequus. "I will have gay guys fuck your ass with expanding foam filled penises which will explode all of your internal arteries!"

"And how's that supposed to get me to stop!?" Discord blurted, now almost completely out of breath.

"Adam, you must stop this instance!" Adam heard Celestia bellow, her vocal sound amplified with the royal Canterlot voice. She, along with Luna, was behind Adam, running in an attempt to catch him.

"You stay out of this!" Adam retorted, unknowingly using a powerful kinetic blast that swept both princesses off their hooves.

Celestia felt dizzy for a few seconds before a gentle hoof helped her up. When her vision wasn't blurry anymore, she saw Luna looking worried towards the direction Adam was headed.

"We must find them," declared Luna. "There's no knowing what Adam can do in his rage-filled mind."

Celestia nodded and started running again along with her sister. On the outside she had a determined look on her face, but on the inside she was scared. Not for her safety or Luna's, but for Adam. He showed some distressing signs of mental instability, just like Lucid Dream explained when she talked to him a few days prior. Combining it with a magical surge, and he could cause some serious damage to somepony or even himself.

"Diiiisssscooooooord… come out, come out wherever you are…" hissed Adam.

The chase came to a hold when Adam lost Discord around the gardens. It was still early in the morning, but Adam was on full alert. Next to his head hovered a metal pole from a lamppost he found near the cobblestone road he was treading. He was vaguely aware of the green dome surrounding the castle, but he did not care. He heard a rustle of leaves from a bush nearby and a second later, said bush was mutilated by the pole. Apparently it was only a bird and luckily it got away before being pommeled to death.

"I'm not in the mood for hide-and-seek, Discord. Just show yourself and be done with it…"

Adam heard another rustle to his left. His smouldering eyes snap towards the source.

It was just a stray wind rustling some leaves. But as Adam inspected even further, he found out that the noise was actually from the bushes at the entrance to the hedge maze.

"Of course… it's always the maze…" Adam uttered as he skulked towards the entrance to the labyrinth.

Adam snuck through the maze with surprising silence. His steps were smooth and calculated, careful not to alert the target. His breath was also quiet and his ears attentive. His muscles were tense and ready for action should the need arises.

Adam was careful, quiet, and above all else, seething with rage.

And even with his ghost like antics, he still failed to notice two eyes looking at him from beyond the bushes.

Discord heaved a sigh of relief when Adam rounded a corner and disappeared behind it. It was rather ironic really, being chased into a maze that was once used in his sick game.

"My, my, how the tables have turned," Discord murmured to himself, reflecting on his current situation. Powerless, lost, and mildly scared. All these emotions were foreign to Discord. But among all the chaos, there was excitement. Discord had never felt so invigorated in his life. Being powerless and in real danger served as a wakeup call for the lord of chaos. He was no longer the all-powerful deity he thought he was, and he was bested by a human turned pony that he himself brought to this world.

But what can you do? Thinking ahead is not one of Discord's qualities.

A cold breath on his shoulder snapped Discord out of his thoughts and sent a lone chill down his spine. Something was behind him, breathing on him…leaning on his shoulder as death beckons.

"I see you…"

Celestia and Luna managed to reach the gardens after a long search in the castle. The trail of knifes and destruction had led them all the way to the outside.

"Where is this troublesome colt?" complained Luna. She was just as worried as her sister, but foals shouldn't be THAT hard to manage, right?

"I don't know sister, the trail ended outside. He could be anywhere around the castle," Celestia panted. She looked around with wide eyes, trying to find a clue to Adam's whereabouts. The magic nullifying dome was still going strong. Whatever magic Adam used did not seem to end any time soon. It rendered every unicorn's magic inside the radius useless, including Celestia and Luna. It also prevented pegasi from taking off, since their ability to fly also relied on magic.

For a moment, Celestia wished Shining Armor was still here in Canterlot, serving as her captain. He's an expert on defensive magic and counter spells. He could probably somehow dispel the dome from the outside.

No! She's Princess Celestia. The light of the day, the beacon of ponykind. She can do it without help, she could find Adam and help him all on her own, she could… she could… hear buzzing?

A quick glance in Luna's direction confirmed that Celestia was not imagining the sound, as seen by Luna's puzzled expression.

The two princesses followed the sound all the way to the entrance to the hedge maze, but before they could even set hoof into the labyrinth, they were almost ran over when Discord shot past them.

"Discord, halt!" bellowed Luna.

Discord looked back but didn't stop.

"I don't feel like shaving princess, thank you very much!…"

The princesses' confused expression quickly turned into shock when Adam shot past them as well, riding a lawnmower with two rakes in his telekinetic grasp, clawing at the ground near Discord's feet.

"I said come back here!" Adam roared.

"No!" Discord shot back.

"If you don't stop right now I will tear off your arm, bitch slap you with it, shove it up your ass and then skin you, dry it out in the sun, and use it as a condom to fornicate with your mother while using your blood as lubricant!"

In an instant, the two vanished from the princesses' sight. The only indication of their existence was the sound of a lawnmower.

Celestia was the first one to snap out of her shock.

"Come Luna, we must catch them before something truly bad happens."

"I'm right behind you sister…"

And once more, the two sisters gave chase…

"Giving… up… yet?" panted Adam. He managed to corner Discord inside a work shed and was now glaring daggers at him, literally. He had daggers hovering above him as he scowled at the lord of chaos, who is now lying on his back against the wall.

"P-p-please… d-d-don't… I have a goldfish…"

"Joking… at a time like this… isn't really… in the best of your interests… wanker."

"A-adam please, let's talk…"

"Alright… let's talk… you have five minutes before I separate each of your mismatched organs and chop them to bits…"

Discord gulped but said nothing. Truth be told, he wasn't sure what to say himself.

"Four…" Adam warned.

That did that. "I was only trying to help!" Discord yelled.

"Help? Help!" Adam launched forward and glared harder at Discord. His teeth ground together and his eyes were ablaze. "Taking me without my consent to a completely different world and turning me into a bloody colt is what you call help?!"

"B-But just this morning you told yourself in the mirror that this world isn't so bad…"

"So you were spying on me too?! You're just digging your grave even deeper!"

Realizing his mistake, Discord hastily put his hands up in defence. "No, no, no… you got it all wrong. You suffered in your own world, whether you showed it or not, I merely thought that giving you a second chance might be a nice thing, I really am…"

"Can I go home?" Adam spat.

"Why? If this world is better, then why going back?"

Adam snorted. "Who said anything about going back? I just wanted to know if the possibility exists."

"It… does."

Adam's eyes returned to their normal green colour. The daggers also fell to the ground. But he still glared at Discord.

"I have another question. Why a colt?" he asked, more calmly this time but still rather peeved.

"That was for Celestia."

"Celestia? Why?"

"Look," Discord started, his tone shifted into a more serious one and for a moment, he wasn't afraid, "I'm the god of mischief and pranks, but I'm not evil. Sure, someponies may not appreciate my jokes but I've never done anything to harm any living creature. As for Celestia… I had to endure seeing her suffer through a fake mask… don't you get it? Why do you think she cares for you so much when you barely know each other? Why do you think she went out of her way to satisfy you? Why do you think Celestia, a princess with no husband, would care for you the way she is?"

Adam looked thoughtful for a moment. Squinting his eyes and thinking deeply. His muscles suddenly tensed and his eyes shot open in revelation.

"Because she wants a child…" he whispered.

"Exactly," Discord answered. "She truly cares for you, Adam. Even more so than your original mother. And that's says a lot considering the amount of time you spent with Celestia."

"That's still doesn't excuse what you did," Adam retorted, though he didn't sound so irked as before.

Discord sighed and met Adam's eyes. "I guess it doesn't… I'm sorry. I tried to do something good and I failed. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

Adam looked away from Discord. Something in the back of his mind was nagging him. It was more like a war, really. One part of him wanted to beat Discord to a bloody pulp for all the shit he made him go through. But another part of him understood Discord's intentions, if only slightly.

Finally reaching a decision, Adam took a hesitant step forward, and then another one. With each hoof he put in front of the other, he closed the gap between him and Discord. Until finally, he was face to face with the god of chaos.

"I forgive you…" Adam whispered, looking to the side, unable to meet Discord's eyes.

"You do? Oh thank yo-"

Discord couldn't finish his sentence though. Being punched in the face has a tendency of interrupting one's speech.

"And now, we're even." With that said, Adam left the work shed, leaving Discord more shocked than hurt.

Once outside, Adam was immediately tackled by a white mass of soft fur. A moment later, he was squeezed so hard he was certain he could hear some of his ribs pop.

"Adam, please tell me that you're okay." Adam heard Celestia murmur as she buried her muzzle in the colt's mane. He sighed and let her continue to vent out her worries before speaking up.

"Yes... I'm sorry if I made you worry."

"And what about Discord? Did you…"

"No, I didn’t kill him. He's in the work shed if you want to talk to him, he won't be leaving there on his own anyway."

"That's… comforting to hear, I suppose. But don't you think even for a moment that I'm just going to let it slide mister."

Adam looked down in shame, even though all he could see was a pristine white coat that felt she amazingly soft. He looked up again though when he felt something nuzzle his cheek. Celestia was smiling at him, relief evident in her eyes.

A moment later, he felt something brushing against his head. He managed to crane his neck just enough to see Luna beside Celestia, her wing brushed Adam's head quite soothingly. She looked relieved as well.

"Are you alright, little one?" Luna asked.

"I think I am," Adam replied. "I'm still rather pissed off, but I'm too weak to do anything about it now. My eyes are a little sore, and my horn burns like hell."

Adam felt Celestia tense around him as he was suddenly yanked to match her eye level. Celestia was looking intently in his eyes, seemingly looking for sign somewhere them. That sign came in the form of a sudden purple haze coming from the edges of Adam's eyes. The sclera of his eyes turned to a sickly green, and his pupils turned slitted and red.

"Adam, you must cease your magic at once, do you understand?!" Celestia said suddenly.

"What? What do you mean? I don't understand? Why… why is everything turning black?"

Adam felt his eyelids become heavier as whispers glowed inside his conscious. He knew something was wrong, but he didn't have the power to resist.

"Luna, we must do something!" Celestia shouted, she laid Adam on the grass and slowly prodded him with her hoof. "Don't fall asleep, Adam. Whatever you do, do NOT fall asleep."

Luna hurried to Adam's side and tried to conjure up some of her magic, but unfortunately for her, the nullifying dome was still in effect.

"There's nothing I can do Celestia. There's no way I could cast spells with the dome around us."

Celestia looked down upon the corrupted foal. She felt a jolt of pain in her heart. She had her suspicions, but she wasn't aware Adam used dark magic this entire time. And now, his body suffered a magic poisoning "Adam, please… can you hear me…"

Adam was barely clinging to consciousness, understanding that sleeping will somehow seal his fate. He nodded weakly in response and tried to open his eyes, but to no avail. Something soft pressed against his sides as he felt being cradled next to something soft a warm, a welcoming contrast to the cold he felt within.

"Adam, you must dispel the dome immediately, don't let the whispers prevail," said Luna soothingly. Seeing Adam slipping slowly into darkness in her sister's embrace filled her mind with the horrors of her past. She felt something within her cry in frustration at her own uselessness and she gritted her teeth together.

"I'm not letting him go without a fight," she growled, summoning every single bit of divine will she could muster. She focused solely on Adam and what would happen should she fail. She remembered her time as nightmare moon and she remembered facing against Sombra. These emotions spurred her forward.

At first, it was subtle. A small crack appeared along the surface of the dome, and then another one, and another one. Each crack started to spread and expand.

And then, another memory struck Luna. She remembered the night with Adam. She remembered what he told her about her night. She remembered how blissfully happy she was to hear someone talk to her night like Adam did. And just like that, her magic erupted as the dome shattered and then vanished. She focused all her will upon the colt in Celestia's embrace, using every ounce of divine power to cure the dying foal.

A swirling haze of blue and black exploded from Luna's horn, encasing herself, Celestia, and Adam inside a cool swirl of brilliant colours.

It was an advance form of Umbramancy, letting Luna purge Adam's mind of any foreign entities who sought freedom. Slowly but surely, the purple haze around Adam's eyes subsided until it was no more, and his eyes returned to their previous colour.

"Hmm… what's going on?" Adam murmured. Only vaguely aware that something mildly bad just happened. Luna let go of her power and the swirl of colors faded away, leaving the three in the gardens in perfect silence.

"It's okay Adam," whispered Celestia, nuzzling Adam on the cheek. "Just relax and have some sleep."

"But… y-you said n-no sleep…" Adam blurted out. All sense of reason and coherence had left him.

"It's okay now, sweetie," Celestia cooed.

"O-okay…" Adam murmured, finally surrendering to the sweet embrace of sleep. "Goodnight… mum…"

Confusion(edited)

'Ahh Pain, my old friend. For a moment there I thought you weregoing to abandon me you fucker you,' silently groaned Adam. His head felt it was being squeezed inside a torture machine. Each painful thump made Adam flinch a little and groan again. His eyes felt heavy and it was hard to breath. He did not feel that he suffocating, but it took actual effort to allow air through his nostrils.

"God, why me…" he moaned again, this time out loud. He brought his front hooves to his head in a vain attempt to ease the pain.

A sudden feeling of coolness caused Adam to flinch. Something was placed upon his forehead, just beneath his horn, something cold and damp. He tried to open his eyes once, then twice. Only on the third time did he actually manage to fully open them, and even then everything was way too bright and blurry for his liking.

Adam's back was propped against the bed's headboard, making him only half upright. A sudden pain in his stomach caused Adam a great deal of pain, nausea, and an uncontrollable urge to empty his stomach. Just as he was about to vomit, something was hastily shoved to his side and turned Adam's head towards it. With nothing else to do, Adam emptied his stomach into the object. When his vision cleared, he saw a bucket with too much vomit for a small colt such as himself can produce.

"Easy now. Don't make any sudden movements or you will only aggravate your head even further," a voice softer than silk spoke.

Adam shakily looked up and saw a familiar mass of white he learnt to recognize as Princess Celestia. She stood near his bed, looking down on him. A small relieved smile graced her beautiful, timeless face.

"Wha… what happened?" Adam asked weakly, too sleepy to swat the white hoof that was now rubbing his upset tummy.

Celestia looked away for a moment to try and compose a reasonable answer. When none came, she simply said, "What do you remember from the events of yesterday, Adam?"

Adam blinked a few times before closing his eyes in concentration. "I… remember chasing Discord. I cornered him and then… I…" Adam felt another pang of pain shot through his body as he jerked from the sudden agony.

"Take it easy Adam. It's just the way your body expels excess magic from your system. Would you like a glass of water?" Celestia offered.

Without saying a word, Adam nodded. Moments later, a glass of water hovered in front of the weak colt. He tried to grab the glass with his hooves, but found that it was an impossible task. He was about to tell Celestia that he was too weak to lift the glass, when it hovered a tad closer until the tip of the glass touched his lower lip.

Adam looked up and met Celestia in the eyes. Something inside those big magenta orbs soothed the normally brash teen and left him feeling secure. He closed his eyes and parted his lips a tiny bit. He felt the glass tilt and a constant stream of water flowed down his throat and washed away the vile taste of vomit. Never in all his life did Adam felt this grateful for water like he was now. It was like manna from the heavens.

Once the glass was empty, it hovered away from Adam and landed on a dresser next to the bed.

"Thanks, I needed that," Adam croaked. His throat was still a bit sore, but at the very least it was bearable.

"Now, you were saying."

"I don't remember much. Only that I was angry, like really angry, and then…"

"Yes?"

"I felt something, right before everything became a blur…"

"Yes…"

"I felt really good…"

"Yes!"

"I punched Discord in the face."

"Oh…"

Adam inspected Celestia's reaction. Something seemed off in the way she looked down on the floor, like she was disappointed by something. Not that Adam cared anyway. "Is something wrong Princess?"

Celestia flinched almost unnoticeably when Adam uttered her title, it seemed like the 'mum' thing was coincidental after all.

"Everything's fine, Adam. I'm just glad you are okay," Celestia responded.

Adam looked away for a second, trying to remember the rest of the previous day but failed miserably. After a long pause Adam turned around to face Celestia in a more comfortable position, mindful of his upset tummy.

"Say, Princess. What happened to me exactly?"

Now it was Celestia's turn to look away, and from the same reasons. She took a deep breath as she tried to compose a response.

"You used a very bad type of magic, Adam. Not on purpose, mind you, but it left your body in a weakened state. That was due to the powerful usage of magic. I don't know how but you used a master level enchantment without even thinking about it."

"What did I do?"

"You created a magic nullifying dome around the entire castle, including some advance levitation, kinetic, and reanimation spells."

"Reanimation, like zombies and stuff," said Adam, completely ignoring the other stuff that he did.

"Nothing of the sort, Adam. But you did activate and controlled a lawnmower."

"I… think I understand," replied Adam, trying to look up as his horn but only managing to see the tip, "This thing is way too much trouble…"

"It is," agreed Celestia, "If you can't control it."

"What do you mean?"

"Please understand Adam that magic can be dangerous. You are a perfect example of that fact." Adam flinched at the hard words and looked down in shame. That is, until Celestia used one of her wings and wrapped it around him to comfort him. "But there's a simple solution to it, one that I think you'd appreciate."

"And that is?" asked Adam, suddenly dreading the answer.

"I decided to enlist you to my school for gifted unicorns. You will learn how to control your magic and may even choose a specialty, so… what do you say?"

Adam gazed wide eyed at Celestia for the longest of time. His mouth opened and closed but no sounds were made. After a great deal of time, in which Celestia simply stood there, not sure what to do, Adam blinked and said, "Do you have a pet phoenix?"

Confused, Celestia simply nodded.

"And you're the headmistress of this school?"

Another nod.

"And it's dedicated solely to witchcraft and wizardry?"

"Yes."

"What a Harry Potter rip-off," Adam muttered to himself.

"Pardon?" Celestia asked, confused.

"Oh I forgot that you don't know what Harry Potter is, it's- Oh god! Ohhhh… my stomach!" Adam squirmed in his bed. "Quick! Where's the bucket!"

In an instant, the already used bucket is in Adam's grasp as he emptied what was left in his stomach, which wasn't much. The slightly sparkling vomit made Adam flinch and slightly gag.

"I hate expelling magic," Adam muttered. He then tried to rise from his bed, only for a hoof to gently pin him to place.

"And where do you think you're going?" asked Celestia in a commanding yet gentle voice.

"Hmm let's see, oh I don't know, the bathtub! I smell like a police officer after pursuing a doughnut!"

Celestia looked suspicious for a moment, but seeing as Adam was too weak to try anything overly stupid, she allowed him to rise

from the bed. Though as his hooves landed on the floor, he shook violently and grabbed the only thing close to him for balance, which was just so happened to be Celestia's hoof.

"Oh, sorry. I must look rather pathetic," Adam admitted with shame, not even able to look Celestia in the eyes.

'Absolutely heart- wrenching adorable would be more like it', Celestia thought. "I think it might be best that I will help you get cleaned, you can't seem to even walk properly."

Adam shot her a withering glare before snorting once. "Thank you for the offer but I can do it on my own."

"If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong," Celestia retorted.

Adam, despite his sour demeanor, couldn't help but smile weakly at the witty comment. Without saying a word he started walking towards the bathroom, one hoof was constantly wrapped around Celestia's. He was slow and sluggish, but he didn't care. Somehow, just being near Celestia had calmed his temper, and as much as Adam was aware of that, he couldn't help but embrace the feeling.

After a long walk that really should have lasted less than a few seconds, Adam was leaning against the door frame to the bathroom. That's when he encountered his second challenge.

Getting into the bathtub.

"Well, I suppose my job here is done. I'll be going on my way now, ta ta…" Celestia turned in place and started walking towards the exit.

"Celestia wait!"

Hearing her own name, Celestia craned her neck to look at Adam, his ears were splayed backwards and his eyes were wide, forming a perfect puppy dog face.

"Yes? What is it, Adam?"

"Can you please… help me take a bath?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"Celestia, please. Don't make it harder on me…" Adam whimpered, partially because of the pain in his head and stomach.

Celestia sighed. Not a frustrated sigh, but a sigh of relief. She hoped that Adam would not be as stubborn as he usually is. His body is too frail to take so much stress, especially after what he endured yesterday.

With a smile, Celestia went back besides Adam and magically lifted him and dropped him on her back.

Adam was fighting the urge to fall asleep. The exquisite texture of Celestia's coat against his own soothed his nerves even further and slightly alleviated the pain.

Adam was unusually quiet, which made Celestia worry. "Adam?"

The light snores that came from her back confirmed the princess' assumption. Adam fell asleep on her back. She craned her neck enough to gaze down upon the sleeping colt and felt her heart flutter. Looking back and the tub, she knew it would probably be best to just bathe him and let sleep on his bed. After all, he was beginning to smell.

Adam woke up to someone clearing their throat. He slowly rose from his bed, which strangely smelt like lavender, and opened his eyes, occasionally rubbing them. He felt a lot better than before, but still a bit weak. At least his stomach stopped trying to dispose its contents through the wrong hole.

"What!" he spat, feeling irritated that someone just woke him up.

"It is I, Adam. I wish to speak with you."

"Not now Luna, I'm sleeping…"

Adam lay back in his bed and turned the other side. He closed his eyes shut and try to salvage a little grogginess to cling and dose back to sleep. Unfortunately, a prodding hoof kept touching him in the back. It wasn't painful, but it sure as hell annoyed Adam. After about a minute or so, Adam bolted upright.

"Okay, okay, I'm awake, happy?!"

Luna simply smirked. "Quite."

"You can shove your grin to you know where," Adam muttered under his breath.

"That's exactly why I came over here," said the princess.

"You- you heard me?"

"Yes, and I intend to know exactly why you have these sudden mood swings," responded Luna.

"What do you mean 'mood swings'? I don't have 'mood swings'! You're a 'mood swing'!" Adam accused, though Luna merely chuckled.

"Try saying 'mood swing' five times faster."

"Oh yeah," Adam retorted. "Try saying 'babbling, bumbling band of baboons' five times faster."

"Hah! Easy. Babbling bumbling band of baboons, babbling mumblinbaoboons… Never mind, I did not come here for this."

"Yeah, yeah, 'mood swings'." This time, Adam emphasized the last part with air quotes.

"This is serious, Adam. It can indicate that something is wrong inside your head. If you will just let me-"

"No! There's no way I'm letting you inside my head!"

"And why not," Luna argued, now sounding less calm. "What is it that you're so afraid off?"

"I'm NOT afraid!" Adam barked.

Luna stepped back by the intensity of Adam's voice. "Adam… I beg of you, let me help you…" she pleaded.

"No! I don't need help from anyone!"

"Is it, Adam? Because my sister begs to differ. Why is it that you're hostile towards everypony for no good reason and on top of that-"

"Because I'm confused, okay!" Adam finally shouted. "I don't understand what's happening to me! My horn is aching! My emotions are all over the place, and I'm angry because it's frightens me! Here, I said it, are you happy now!"

Luna was silent for a few minutes. Her face remained passive as she waited for Adam to calm down a little. Luna was a very patient mare, after all, a thousand years on the moon can do that to a pony. She was determined to help Adam, even if the colt thought against it. She saw too many ponies fall into depression and darkness, herself included, and she was not about to let Adam fall, because once you do, it was almost impossible to get back up.

Adam huffed a small air of frustration. Here he was again, shouting for no good reason. It was a reoccurring theme, he noticed. Something insignificantly small would tick him off and he'd start yelling and cursing. And then, Celestia would come, and he would relax almost instantly. Adam wasn't stupid either. He noticed that cycle, but no matter how hard he would try, something would anger him and then he would have to face Celestia, face emotions he never felt before for another being, and THAT was what he was so scared of.

"Adam… do you remember your family?"

Adam was about to reply with a sarcastic 'what do you think' when he reminded himself that Luna does not know about his human side, something that he was going to exploit to no end. "Yes. Why?"

"And how was your relationship with your mother?"

"Why do you care?"

"Please, just answer me this."

"Agh, let's just say that my mother never realized the irony of calling me a son of a bitch," Adam spat in disgust.

"Was it that bad?"

"Not all the time, no. But after dad started drinking his problems away, mum sort of… gave up on us. She left without saying a word."

Adam slumped in his bed as a familiar stinging in his eyes alerted him of the upcoming tears. He cared little for his mother ever since she left, but the feeling of utter betrayal left an unhealed wound in his heart.

Luna, seeing the suffering etched inside Adam's eyes, came to his side and tried to wrap a wing around him.

Only for Adam to scoot away from her.

"No, I'm done being submissive!" he growled. "I will no longer be weak! I will stand tall and- eep!"

Adam was interrupted as Luna took him by surprise and squeezed him tightly to her barrel.

"Let me go! Let me go now!" Adam fruitlessly yelled.

"You've never felt a mother's love…" Luna practically whimpered. "You are not familiar with this feeling and you are afraid of what you don't understand. That's why you acted the way you did around my sister, she gave you the love only a mother can give."

Adam squirmed inside Luna's grasp, trying to get away as a warm feeling inside his chest spread to the rest of his body. He squirmed even harder as the foreign emotion tried to take control over his panic-addled mind.

"Get… away from me!" Adam cried. Hot tears of anger flowed from his eyes.

Luna, realizing that her comforting was futile, released the panicked colt and allowed him to dig a small hovel inside his quilt. She sighed in her failed attempt to calm down Adam, but was mildly glad that she could at least reveal the source of his problems, that would make helping Adam in the future that much easier.

Without saying a word, Luna left the room.

Lazy day(edited)

Adam was standing on the Serpentine Bridge. Looking, thinking, and feeding the ducks. He had another crappy day in school. Some bully thought it was wise to pick on him and they started a fight. Adam wasn't a muscular teen. If anything, he was lanky at best, but his punches were known throughout the school.

You don't mess with Adam Collins.

Unfortunately for him, Principal Stanley caught Adam in the act as the teen delivered blow after blow to the bully's face, and thus, suspended him for the entire week.

Unfair? Yes. Necessary? Probably.

After he left the school grounds, Adam called a cab and arrived to Hyde Park for some thinking. It was the only place he went to clear his head, and although Serpentine Lake was far from being the most beautiful spot in the park, it was his favorite spot, and for a good reason.

"Adam? What are you doing here?" A beautiful woman in tight yoga pants and sports bra called.

"What, can't a man ditch school to see his girlfriend?" called Adam back, smiling broadly.

Yes, whenever he felt a bit under the weather, Adam usually came all the way to Hyde Park in the mornings to say hello to his girlfriend, Elena.

Elena was a young woman, just a year and a half older than Adam. They met each other when Adam hired her as a private Italian teacher. Adam always found Italian a more attractive language than most, not to mention his love for Assassin's Creed 2, and worked hard to pay for Elena's tutoring.

In time, the two became closer. They started seeing each other for less educational purposes, though Elena was surprised to see Adam so early in the morning, especially since he should have been in school.

Regardless, seeing her boyfriend always lifted Elena's spirits. She approached the teen on the bridge while slowing her pace. She became slightly self-conscious when she realized that she was a bit sweaty from her morning jogging.

"I missed you…" Adam confessed when she was within normal hearing distance.

Elena smiled and took Adam's hand in her own. "Say it," she whispered.

"Ti amo," he said gently.

Elena kissed him on the cheek. "Again…"

"Ti amo," Adam repeated. This time, Elena kissed him on the corner of his mouth.

"Again…"

"Ti amo, mia principessa…" Adam whispered into her ear, adding a slight accent into his speech.

Elena grabbed Adam by the cheeks and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips, one which Adam gladly returned.

After they broke the kiss Elena took a few moments to catch her breath before speaking up, "So, what are you doing here? For real this time, Adam."

Adam squirmed for a moment before answering. "Isn't that obvious," he said, pointing a finger at his right eye. Now that she was closer, Elena did see his eye was swollen and slightly blue.

"Adam, not again…"

"Its fine, Elena," Adam reassured her. "That wanker got what he deserved… and so did I."

Elena looked down at Adam, she was slightly taller, and gave him a quick peck on the injured eye. "How long?"

"Principal Stanley said a week."

"I see…" Elena added seductively. "I guess we'll have to fill those days somehow. Got any ideas?"

"I think I can come up with a few…" Adam pulled Elena by her slim waist and grabbed her butt.

"Adam!"

At first, Adam flinched. He was about to remove his hands from Elena's butt, thought as he did, he felt her hands slowly guide him back there. He looked up into her eyes and saw the playfulness in them.

"You know," Elena whispered into Adam's ears. "My parents are gone for the day, and I don't like being lonely. Want to come over to my place and… play?"

Adam felt his cheeks redden as his mouth slowly opened. But before he could have formed a coherent sentence, Elena caught his lips with hers once more. This time, she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him in closer, even going as far as to prod his teeth with her tongue.

"I love you," Adam murmured once the pair broke the kiss. "You help keep me sane."

"Ohhh…" Elena cooed. She swooped down and kissed Adam yet again, sending the two into a passionate make out session.

With a gasp, Adam fell from his bed and scrambled on his hooves. He was sweaty and his heart was beating a mile a minute. He looked around him and then down at his hooves.

"It was just a dream," he murmured to himself while trying to settle his breathing. "It was just a dream…"

Discord was seated on an uncomfortable wooden chair, looking towards the two princesses that sat across him on a couch. A low coffee table was the only thing between the three powerful entities, and the only sound to be heard was the cackle of fire on a nearby fireplace, which bathed the room in its soft glow.

"So," Discord began, crossing one leg over the other, revealing too much leg for someone who wears a deep red dress like Discord was wearing. "You've got the dough?"

"Stop messing around, Discord." Luna was not in the mood for jokes as seen from her fierce expression.

"Indeed, I'm not in the mood for your measly jokes, nor does my sister," agreed Celestia, both princesses glared at Discord while he simply smirked. He then leaped into the air as the dress vanished from his body and landed straight on the coffee table, which somehow gained the properties of a trampoline, seeing as how Discord bounced on it a few times.

"Tia, Luna, please, don't be so mad. It makes you look less attractive."

Discord's honeyed words had no effect on the princesses. They simply glared at the god of mischief without a shred of interest.

Discord sighed once he realized there is no way to escape the situation by mere jokes and pranks, so he dropped back on his chair as a deflating sound was heard from his direction.

"So, what do you wish to know?" Discord asked as he crossed his arms in irritation and pouted.

"I think the answer is quite obvious, or do I need to… joggle your memory a bit," warned Luna, she was not beyond rummaging through Discord's mind. An act that can, and will leave the mind scarred... at best.

Discord frowned but other than that did not look frightened. "You're no fun at all," he pointed out.

"Just tell us what we wish to know, Discord. We don't have all morning," demanded Celestia.

Discord rolled his eyes and murmured something to himself, looking down at the floor in thought. After a few moments of crippling silence, Discord lifted his head to meet the princesses' eyes. "The reason why Adam attacked me on sight is because he is a seventeen year old human I pulled from his world and turned him into a colt against his will…" he said plainly.

Again, heavy silence shrouded the room. The two monarchs simply stared at Discord wide-eyed, their mouths were agape and their ears perked up.

The first to break the silence was Luna. A heavy kinetic burst pushed Discord into the wall and pinned him there. Luna growled menacingly as she glared at Discord. "I told you Discord, enough with the jokes, or should we need the elements to turn you back into a lawn ornament to freshen your memory."

"I believe that my memory is quite alright, thank you very much." Discord vanished from the spot on the wall and appeared back on his wooden chair, legs crossed. "It's not my fault your incompetence clouds you from the truth."

"What did you say?" Luna hissed, glaring and Discord while charging her horn.

"Luna, enough!"

Almost instantly, Luna's magic faded away at the commanding tone of her sister. She looked at Celestia with a puzzled expression. "You don't actually believe him, do you, Celestia?"

Celestia shook her head. "As much as I want to believe that Discord is reformed, and thus telling the truth, it would take more than his word for me to believe this ridiculous tale. I trust you can back your claims, Discord?" said Celestia, directing the last part towards Discord.

"Of course I can," Discord beamed. He clapped the palms of his mismatched limbs and disappeared in a puff of smoke. "But that will have to wait…" his voice echoed.

"Come back here!" demanded Luna. But Discord was already gone. To where? Not even the princesses knew.

After a long and awkward silence, Luna turned to Celestia and said, "You don't actually believe him, are you?"

Celestia sighed and lowered her head. "Honestly, I don't know what to believe anymore. And as much as Discord's tale is farfetched, it's still Discord we are talking about. It's not above him to pull something like this. But what I can't seem to understand is why. Why would he do something like that? Discord is unruly and obnoxious, but he never inflicted harm on any creature. His pranks were mostly harmless, if a bit chaotic."

"It seems that nothing is as simple as it first appears to be," complained Luna.

"The story would not be interesting if it was," Discord's voice again echoed across the room.

"Huh? What do you think he meant by that?" asked Luna.

"It's Discord, you can't expect him to act serious for too long, now do you, sister?"

"I guess not, Celestia. Come now, we wasted too much time interrogating Discord. I need to plan the night sky for tonight and you have a few appointments with some of the nobles."

"Don't remind me…"

The day progressed rather swiftly for Adam. He was still feeling a bit weak, but at least he stopped vomiting, which was nice.

He was not allowed to leave the room without escort, which irked him greatly, but the boredom overcame his pride and he decided to explore the library once he learned there is one in the castle. The information was provided by his escorting guard,

Adam was not the greatest student, but he was far from being stupid, and reading books is his second most favorite past time, his first being acing noobs on Team Fortress 2. But since technology was not as advanced in Equestria, he was forced to make do. Not that he complained. The royal library offered a vast variety of literary pieces and books to compensate the lack of technology.

He picked a book that looked promising, found a secluded spot to read uninterrupted and set down on a bunch of cushions to read. The guard stood a few feet away from Adam, enough to give him a sense of privacy.

The book was a collection of short poems. Each one focused on different aspects of life, and Adam took great joy in reading them all. Reading poems was only half the experience, or so Adam believed. There is reading a poem, and then there is understanding one, and Adam was especially fond reading a few poems and literary pieces back on Earth.

Adam was so engrossed in the book, that he did not perceive someone was clearing their throat behind him. Only when he felt something prod his back did he turn around, slightly irritated that someone interrupted his reading.

"Enjoying yourself?" asked Celestia, trying to sneak a peek towards the book Adam was reading.

"I was," said Adam.

Celestia giggled and craned her head towards Adam's guard. "You can go rest now, I'll take it from here." Without saying a word, the guard saluted and trotted away. Celestia then turned her attention back on Adam, or more precisely, his book. "May I?"

"Sure…" Adam sighed.

The book was then lifted into Celestia's view as she read the cover, mindful not to close the book. "My, my. 'The last midnight' by Astral Aurora. I remember reading it a few years back. I'm surprised you found that particular book interesting, Adam, though I can't question your good taste in books."

For unknown reasons, Adam felt pleased knowing that Celestia 'approved' his choice, though he simply shrugged the feeling away. "Why thank you, but if you don't mind I'd like to keep reading it, so…"

"Oh, of course. Please forgive me Adam. But before I return you the book, I need to speak with you."

"In that case I'm all ears… for now."

Celestia nodded in understanding and said, "Since you're looking much better today I wanted to send you to school tomorrow, but I'd like to know your opinion before I make a decision."

Adam thought for a moment. 'Well I feel fine, not great but I'm sure it'll pass by tomorrow. And the idea of magic school is too cool to pass, meh, why not'

"Sure…"

"Excellent. Then as the headmistress of the magic academy for witchcraft and wizardry, I welcome you Adam as a new student." Celestia smiled warmly at Adam and patted him on his head.

"That's all great and good-" Adam gently swatted Celestia's hoof from his head, "-But can I get my book back?"

"Why sure, here." Celestia gave back the book and Adam started reading again, but the lack of slowly fading hoofsteps told him that Celestia was still behind him. Not wanting to be too rude, he simply asked, "Would you like to read with me?"

Celestia looked rather surprised by the invitation, but nodded nonetheless. Adam scooted a bit to allow Celestia to lie beside him and she gently eased herself onto the cushion. Her larger form caused Adam to slightly sink towards her until he was firmly pressed against her soft coat.

Out of nowhere, Celestia summoned a pair of square reading glasses and put them on.

"You use reading glasses?" inquired Adam.

"Yes, is it bothering you?"

"So just because I asked you about the glasses you think I’m some shallow bastard? Don’t be silly Celestia, when it comes to bullying I tease everyone equally."

Celestia giggled nervously and settled on nuzzling the top of Adam's head. He swatted Celestia's muzzle away from him but the small grin did not go unnoticed by the princess. She eased herself even further and Adam was pressed even more against Celestia.

"Hey, cut it out," Adam uttered, but the ticklish sensation of Celestia's coat against his own caused him to chuckle.

"Sorry Adam, I couldn't resist myself," Celestia chuckled as well.

Adam readjusted himself so he could read the book without straining his neck, and slowly rested his head on Celestia's side. "You know what Celestia, you're not so bad."

"Umm, thank you?"

"You're welcome," Adam murmured, already engrossed in the book once again.

Celestia closed her eyes in content, it might be the closest thing to a compliment Adam will ever say to her, and she did not mind. She opened her eyes and started reading. Celestia then realized just how much fun a book can be when you read it with someone.

"Say, Celestia?"

"Yes?"

"When will I learn how to cast the Avada Kedavra…"

First day in school... again(edited)

Adam felt something prod him in the shoulder. He swatted the offending object away and turned to the other side of the bed.

"Adam, come on. You don't want to be late for your first day of school," a brash, feminine voice called.

"No!" Adam murmured defiantly. He snuggled further into his quilt, enjoying the luxurious feeling it provided. He did not remember falling asleep in his room, but he wasn't complaining now. The last thing he did remember was reading the book together with Celestia.

Now that he thought about it, last night was surprisingly pleasant. Adam did not consider himself to be depressed, at least not in this world. But the sudden change in, well, everything, had put a lot of strain on his new body, and it affected him in the worst way possible.

Punching Discord in the face sure felt nice. And confronting him definitely helped Adam. It gave him a sense of closure knowing how he got here.

But the biggest help of them all was probably Celestia. She was so gentle and patient with Adam to a point that he actually felt bad for all the times that he yelled at her. Sure, she was annoying, a control freak and a someone still needs to pull that broom from her ass, but her protectiveness and affections for the young boy was something he never received from anyone else, and it made him feel weird in a good sense.

A white hoof clad in gold plating came into his field of vision and rattled the colt somewhat violently.

"Okay, okay, I'm up. Jesus, can't a guy get up at his own pace?!"

"Nope," said a unicorn Adam had never seen before. She was female, that much Adam could tell based on her voice, not much on her appearance, though. She wore a suit of golden armor and a helmet that reminded Adam of a legionary helmet from ancient Rome, the only difference being the helmet also had a hole to accommodate a horn.

"Who are you?" Adam grumbled as he reluctantly rubbed the last bits of sleep from his eyes.

"I'm your escort, my name is Tulip," said the guard in a simple tone. It was a bit uninformative, but Adam did not care. He hopped off of the bed and moved slowly to the bathroom to start his morning ritual.

A sound of hooves against tiles could be heard behind Adam. He stopped in his place and turned around. Tulip was mere inches away.

"Uhh, have you heard about the concept of personal space, because you are all over mine!"

"Sorry sir, only doing my job." Tulip took a SINGLE step back. "Is that acceptable?"

Adam was too tired to even facehoof.

He entered the bathroom and began his morning ritual that was reduced from shit, shave and shower to just shit and shower and yet, it took him double the time to complete them. He stepped out of the bathroom looking even more pissed than when he entered.

"Stupid hooves," he muttered. "Always in my bloody way, can't pick up things properly..." Adam then proceeded to mutter some juicy profanities.

"Did you say something, sir?" inquired Tulip.

"No. And don't call me sir, it reminds me of politicians. Bunch of pompous twats anyway…"

With a firm nod, Tulip saluted. Adam sighed and rolled his eyes. It appeared that having a quiet morning was out of the question.

He exited his room and made his way towards the dining hall. It took him about five minutes, which was five minutes too many in Adam's opinion.

The big double doors of the dining hall opened up, revealing a long table already filled with different sorts of cereals, some scrambled eggs, salads, juices, and milk. Celestia and Luna were already there. Celestia had a bowl of some sort of cereal while Luna preferred to go with scrambled eggs.

Tulip stayed in place near the entrance while Adam slowly made his way to his usual seat near Celestia. He almost fell asleep right then and there once he sat on the plush seat. His eyes dropped every so often and he barely had the energy to pour himself a serving of cereals.

Luckily for Adam, Celestia, ever the observant one, had the courtesy of filling Adam's bowl with cereal and milk and gave it to him, her face was way too bright and 'smiley' for Adam's taste.

"Good morning, Adam. I hope you slept well," said Celestia in a cheery voice, furthering annoying the young colt.

"Suuuuuure, I slept just like a baby… waking every two hours."

Celestia giggled and ruffled Adam's mane. "Ever the optimist, I see."

Adam grumbled. He was too tired to swat Celestia's hoof away from him. Not to mention that he kind of liked it.

Slower than a half dead turtle, Adam lifted a spoonful of cereal and milk into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Today he would start his first day in school. Well, first day in school here, and honestly, he did not know what to expect. Not only was it a magic school, but it was a magic school for gifted foals. As far as Adam knew, he was not gifted in anything. The only indication of him wielding magic was unfortunately the only gap in his memory, but from what Celestia told him, he was pretty damn powerful.

"Why the long face, Adam? It's a brand new, wonderful day," chirped Celestia.

Adam shot her an angry glare. He hated morning people, with their positive attitude and their stupid smiles and their energetic way of speech. "There's nothing wonderful about mornings," Adam concluded. "If I were in charge of things the night would last forever. Sleep for everyone, yeah… sleep sounds good right now."

"That's what I've been saying," said Luna as she looked excitedly at Celestia.

"No, Lulu. For the last time, I'm not shortening the day."

"Oh, feathers!"

"Luna! Not in front of Adam."

Adam raised his eyebrow. "Really? Feathers? That's the best you can offer? If you want a real 'F' word then there's-"

"T-thank you, Adam, but I can perfectly live with m-myself without knowing your… imaginative vocabulary." Celestia stuttered.

Adam smiled triumphantly. He may have promised not to insult Celestia or Luna, but he never said anything about messing with them. Though Luna seemed more amused than 'messed up'.

"Well," started Adam, gulping down the last few bits of cereal and swallowing the remaining milk, "I think I'll head to school now. Don't want to be late on my first day of school now, wouldn't I? I can't wait to be FRIENDS with all the new foals."

With that said Adam quickly hopped down from his seat and trotted away with Tulip close behind.

Once Adam finally left the dining hall, Celestia heaved a long sigh. "I don't know Lulu, but I suddenly don't think it's such a good idea to put Adam with other foals his age."

"Don't you mean 'pit'?" Luna joked.

"This is serious, Luna! I'm worried. And not just for Adam's safety."

"Hmm, I may have a solution."

"And what, pray tell, might that be?"

Luna rose from her seat and started to walk away. "Sorry, Tia. That's a secret," she teased.

Adam was walking besides Tulip towards the magic academy or something. It was quite a walk, and the bright sun was blinding Adam. Luckily for him, he had just the way to pass the time.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No. No! NO!"

Tulip unsheathed her sword and struck the ground beneath Adam's hooves, the sharp end of the blade barely an inch away from Adam's face.

"Wow that was amazing, perfect aim!" Adam gasped.

"What are you talking about?" Tulip returned her sword back to its sheath. "I missed…" Tulip then started walking again.

Adam stood there for a few seconds. Mouth slightly open and hooves planted firmly to the ground. He blinked a few times and gulped before he resumed following Tulip, making sure to stay behind her.

Finally, they reached the academy, and boy was it big. If Adam did not know any better, he would have thought the academy was actually a mini castle. It had towers and a huge entrance that led into the inner courtyard. Stone benches were scattered around the area with a big statue of Celestia at the very middle. Adam could already see a few foals and some more mature ponies inside the academy's grounds.

"Do older ponies attend as well?" he asked Tulip.

"Yeah. This school is for gifted unicorns of all ages. Classes are not divided into age groups but upon the unicorn's level of expertise."

"Well that's dumb. How is that a better system than to simply divide classes by age?"

Tulip sighed. "Because it means the class could progress much more fluidly. And besides, gifted unicorns know better than to break the rules, although there are some rotten apples here and there."

Adam raised his eyebrow for the second time today. "You seem to know an awful lot about this school."

"Well, I should. My daughter's attending this school as well. Maybe if you're lucky you might end up with her in class, she isn't the most expert magic wielder."

"Hmm… that sounds- Wait! Did you just insult me?!"

"I may have," said Tulip, stifling a giggle.

"Touché, touché," Adam praised. "So… where should I go from here?"

"Just give me a sec…" Tulip fumbled inside her armor folds and pulled out a small map of the academy's grounds. "We are here," she said, pointing to the entrance. "You need to go to the principal's office, which is there." Again. She pointed at the map. "You need to deliver him this note right here." She pulled a note and handed it to Adam. "Then you will be examined to see where you are most fitted. From there on out it's smooth sailing."

"Riiiiiiiight, I totally got that." Adam deadpanned.

Tulip shook her head to the sides and smiled. "I'll show you the way then…"

She then entered the Academy's grounds with Adam in tow.

Adam could not help but gaze at the lavish and old looking architecture the academy had to offer. It was not unlike Oxford University, which Adam had the opportunity to see from the inside when he visited his grandparents, his only relatives he did not completely hate. Visiting them was an hour ride on the First Great Western, a British train operating company.

But the magic academy was even more impressive. Aside from the fact that instead of humans it was filled with ponies, the halls and classroom were spotless, as if the academy

was built a few weeks ago, yet it still had that old charm to it.

Paintings as ancient as time itself, depicting different important looking ponies, were hung in the hallways, classrooms and pretty much anywhere with spare space. The wooden tiled halls were lit by chandeliers, which was a bit darker than Adam is used to, but still bright enough. There were a few other inner courtyards for the students to hang out, which consisted of both young and slightly older ponies.

It was like Hogwarts, but ten times cooler.

As Adam followed Tulip down the halls of the magic academy, he could not help but notice that other ponies were looking at him, some with curiosity, but most others with superiority, like they were better than him.

Adam tried not to start a fight. Each time bullies looked at him funny, he would get that urge to pepper their faces. It was a habit that unfortunately came with him to this world.

Adam never saw himself as a bully, not per se. Sure, he mostly started fights but only with other bullies. He never teased weaker students or stole their money or beat them, he only hit bullies, and that was to put them in their place.

Adam stopped mere seconds before he ran his face into Tulip yet again.

"Geez, warn me next time you stop, will you?"

Tulip craned her neck to peer at Adam and smiled. "Don't worry little fella, after I deliver this letter to the principal you won't see me here anymore."

Tulip was about to step through a big wooden door Adam did not see before when he spoke up.

"Wait, you're leaving?"

"Not exactly." Tulip turned around so that she and Adam were face to face now. "I'm just the escort, remember? I will wait for you in the entrance to the academy once you're done for the day. Other than that you're all on your own."

With that said, Tulip entered the office, leaving Adam alone in the hallway.

It did not take long for Adam to draw some unwanted attention as a group of ponies made their way towards him. By their appearance, they were a bit older than Adam. Well, compared to his current age.

The group was made of five unicorns. Three colts and two fillies. The one in the lead, a light blue unicorn with a slick black mane combed backwards, looked down on Adam and sneered.

"Looks like we've got another magic flopper," he said in an obnoxious, arrogant voice.

The rest of the group started laughing like what he just said was the joke of the century.

"I bet he can't even teleport yet," one of the mares in the back said. She had a horrendous dark pink coat and curly yellow mane that looked out of place for Adam. Again, the group laughed.

Adam rolled his eyes. "Do I know you, mate?" he said with as much distaste he could muster.

The group stopped laughing all at once and glared at Adam like he just admitted he was a registered child molester.

"You should!" the leader of the group said. "I'm Gale Mist, son of Gold Plate, though you've probably heard of her."

"Can't say I have," Adam replied nonchalantly, he was not intimidated in the least by those Muppets.

"Well, you should!" Gale Mist shrilled like his was physically insulted. "She's one of the biggest donators to this school. You can even see her portrait here." Gale Mist pointed proudly at a picture of a mare. His smug smile copied hers.

"Wow…" Adam uttered.

"Yeah, I know-"

"Your mom was so ugly, her portrait hung itself."

The group of ponies stared with wide eyes and open mouths at Adam. Gale Mist's mouth slowly closed as he grinded his teeth together.

"What did you say?" he hissed. His horn flared blue as his so called 'friends' took a few steps back, looking fearfully at Gale Mist. Adam was not impressed.

"I didn't stutter. I said… your mom was SO ugly… her portrait… hung itself," Adam said slowly, as if talking to a toddler.

"You… You… you are dead!" Shrieked Gale Mist. He was about to unleash his spell when the door to the principal office opened. With the speed unlike Adam had never seen before, the group of ponies huddled back together and smiled sheepishly as an elderly pony stepped out from the office, Tulip close behind.

"Hmm, Adam I presume?" His eyes shifted down at Adam.

"Yeah, that's me," Adam answered.

The old stallion gave Adam a once over, occasionally muttering 'hmm' and 'ah-ha'. Finally, he sighed. "Doesn't look like much to me," he concluded. Adam felt anger rise in the pit of his stomach and he was about to give the old stallion a lashing, but then the stallion spoke up.

"Ahh, I see you've met Gale Mist." The old stallion trotted up to Gale Mist and his gang and smiled proudly at them. "How are things at home Gale Mist?" he inquired.

"Everything is A okay, Mr. Mustang sir," Gale Mist practically kissed the floor what with how deep his head bowed to Mr. Mustang.

Adam scowled at the pathetic display Gale Mist was showing. Those kinds of people always irked him to no end.

"Pezzo di merda..." Adam muttered under his breath.

Mr. Mustang chuckled politely and looked back at Adam, his smile weakening a tad bit. "So, Adam was it? I expect you to follow the academy's laws to the fullest. This is a respectable establishment with a reputation to keep. For now I will put you in the beginners class until you'll go through the sorting test, then we'll see if you should be put in a more advanced class or… keep your current stature. Am I clear?"

Adam opened his mouth to say some nasty remark when something nudged him. He looked to his side where Tulip was standing, glaring at him.

Adam sighed and bit his lower lip to a point he felt blood trickling into his mouth. "Yes… Mr-

"Principal."

"Yes Principal Mustang sir," said Adam through gritted teeth.

"Good, now run along please. Gale Mist, have a good day."

"Yes Mr. Mustang sir. Have a good day Mr. Mustang sir," replied Gale Mist and his gang before departing, shooting one last withering glare at Adam.

"That goes for you too, Adam. Have a… productive day to you," said Mr. Mustang.

"Yes Principal Mustang sir."

Adam turned around and disappeared behind a corner. He was angry, nay- he was furious. Who does that Gale Mist twat fella think he is? Not to mention that Mr. 'Twonk'. Adam wanted to shout, he wanted to physically hurt someone. But before he did something rash, Tulip came from the same corner and lightly touched Adam in the head.

"I know what you're thinking. Mr. Mustang is a true jerk. He only cares about the reputation of the academy, and will do anything to uphold it. I tried numerous times to tell Celestia about his attitude, but he's more convincing than I am."

"Thanks, that makes me feel sooo much better," Adam muttered.

"Come, I'll show you the way to your classroom, but after that you're on your own. And please, try not to make a fool out of yourself."

"No promises."

Tulip chuckled. "You're a fine kid."

There it was. The door to the classroom.

Adam stood there, looking up at the door in front of him. He wanted to open the door and be over with it, but he could not. He was actually scared.

Why was he scared god damn it! He was seventeen years old. He already passed that phase, and yet, there he was, standing like an idiot in front of a door that held nothing too unfamiliar to Adam.

Then why can't he do it?

"Nervous, huh?" said Tulip. "I know the feeling."

Adam wanted to retort but stopped himself. He was not feeling like an asshole as of this moment. Instead he nodded silently and reached with his hoof to the door handle.

With his amazing door opening skills, Adam twisted the door knob and entered the classroom. The classroom itself was built like a semicircle with the chalkboard hung from the flat bit. Rows of seats faced the chalkboard with a something like forty ponies from different ages sitting on them.

Adam heard somepony clearing their throat and turned his attention towards the only mature stallion in the room, presumably the teacher.

"And you are?" the light brown stallion inquired.

"I umm… the new student?"

A few ponies chuckled around the room at Adam's expanse. At that moment, Adam wanted nothing then to punch himself in the head.

"Another one I see…" the teacher remarked. "Oh well, have a seat then, quickly now."

Adam nodded before looking back a Tulip, who gave him one final reassuring nod before completely leaving him on his own. He glanced at each row of seats, trying to find the best secluded spot. Unfortunately, the only available seat was right next to an excited looking filly.

The oddly familiar filly kept gesturing Adam to the spare seat next to her and Adam could not help but sigh.

He walked up the shallow flight of stairs until he reached the designated row. He could see the filly more clearly now. Her coat was a magnificent greyish blue with a light azure shoulder length mane and a pair of enchanting turquoise eyes.

Only when Adam was a hoof length away from her did he realize who she truly was.

'LUNA!'

Lesson zero(edited)

"Luna? What in the name of our lord and savior Morgan Freeman are you fucking doing?!" Adam hissed as he sat next to the disguised princess.

Ignoring his language, Luna smiled cheekily. "What, can't a princess transform into a little filly and attend school to keep an eye on a certain somepony?"

"Whatever." Adam gave up before he even tried to make sense. "This is so unprofessional," he concluded as he pressed his chin to his desk, listening to what the teacher has to say.

"Good morning everypony. For those of you who are new in my class, my name is Bright Link but you can call me Professor Link, and I welcome you to the academy for gifted unicorns."

Adam heard a few muffled groans from some of the students.

"Here he goes again," one of them complained.

"The academy for gifted unicorns-" Professor Link continued, "-was built by Star Swirl the Bearded to teach young unicorns how to hone their skills as magicians and learn the fine art of wizardry. Unicorns that showed great feats of magic usually come here. Now you must remember, this school is not for expert magic wielders, it's for unicorns with the potential to be great wizards, so don't feel like you're not meant to be here. Each and every one of you had shown what we like to call a 'magic surge'.

'Magic surge' is when a unicorn, either intentionally or otherwise, releases a tremendous amount of magic. When such an occurrence happens, the unicorn is usually sent here so he can learn how to control and make the most out of his magic. Unicorns can even find their affinity while learning. Now, are there any questions before we begin? Yes, you in the back."

Adam turned around and indeed, there was a little white filly with her hoof raised in the air. He guessed she was new as well.

"What's your affinity then?" she asked.

The teacher smiled proudly and puffed his chest just a little bit. "I'm a hydromancer, which means I have a natural affinity to water. There are other types of affinities such as Aeromancy, Geomancy, and Pyromancy, which, together with Hydromancy, forms the four basic elemental-type spells. Then there is Umbramancy, Photomancy, Necromancy and Technomancy, or void, light, death and tech magic, which consists of higher tiered spells.

"There are, of course, neutral spells that range in complexity and difficulty, such as levitation, teleportation and transfiguration. Today's lesson we'll learn how to levitate."

Professor Link opened a drawer on his desk and levitated a whole bunch of feathers. Each feather floated and then landed in front of each student.

"Now, to perform the levitation spell correctly one must have the object you want to levitate pictured in your mind. Take a deep breath and summon your magic. If you execute everything correctly, you should feel a building sensation at the tip of your horn. Then I want you to release your magic upon the feathers given to you and they should float in the air. By doing that you create a constant flow of magic from your horn to the feather, thus you are able to manipulate it across the room with ease. That is all, please begin."

The classroom had suddenly burst into life as students chatted among themselves and horns blazed with different colors. Some feathers did float, other merely vibrated in place, and some did not move at all. Adam stared at his own feather and cocked his head to the side.

"How the fuck am I supposed to do that!" he silently cursed.

He glanced to Luna's side, or more precisely, Luna's desk.

Which was bare.

"Hey, where's your feather?!"

"Up there," Luna answered, gesturing to the highest floating feather, encompassed in blue aura.

"Very good young miss," praised Professor Link. "What's your name young filly?"

"Diana."

"Hmm… what an odd name. Oh well."

"Diana? Really?" Adam deadpanned.

"Oh shush," chided Luna.

Adam rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the idle feather on his own desk.

"Hmm, what did the professor said? Picturing the feather in your mind or something?"

Adam closed his eyes and did just that. Picturing the feather in his mind.

He concentrated on the feather, he thought of the feather, he was the feather.

And then, he felt something. A building sensation. He concentrated even harder until…

He burped.

Every eye in the classroom was directed at him. A rain of feathers showered the class.

"Whoops, wrong kind of building sensation."

Adam ignored the stares and laughs and looked intently at his unmoving feather. The rest of the students resumed their practice.

"Psst… Adam… hey, listen, hey, hey listen, hey…" Luna whispered continuously.

"Luna, for the love of god, shut up!" Adam whispered back

Adam felt a hoof smack him on the back of his head.

"Oh! The fuck was that for!"

Another smack.

"You're not speaking to me like that, got it mister."

"It's kinda hard taking you seriously with that look and that voice," said Adam, still rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head.

"Oh… shoot, I don't get it," complained the white filly from behind Adam.

"You and me both," Adam agreed.

"How by imagining the feather you force it to float," she hissed, looking at the feather as if her glare alone would levitate it.

"I know, right?"

"By the way, what's your name?" the filly asked suddenly. All traces of irritation were gone as she looked curiously at Adam.

"Ahh… Adam. My name is Adam,"

"I'm Ginger," said the filly. Adam could not help but think it was pretty funny, considering her mane was bright orange with curls. What surprised him though were the freckles, he

did not know that ponies could have freckles, what with the fur and all. "So what's your story?"

"My… story?"

"Yeah." the filly nodded. "Your story. You know, the magic surge, what was it like for you? I heard there was a filly years ago that hatched a dragon's egg into a full grown dragon!"

Adam started to question Ginger's sanity.

"I don't remember…"

"What?!" Ginger exclaimed, somehow remaining quiet. "How can you not remember the most important event to every gifted unicorn?"

"Look… there are more important things in my life and I really can't be bothered with pesky fillies asking me how I got enrolled to this bloody school, so why don't we just get on with the lesson!" Adam's response was a bit harsher than he intended to be, but as long as it got the message across, he was fine with it.

He turned his head back to the feather, not even seeing if he hurt Ginger, and concentrated his magic. There was a building sensation at the very tip of Adam's horn. Adam could see it now, the feather was deep within his thoughts, but there was another thing there. It was Ginger, or more precisely, the conversation Adam had with her, and how upset he got at the end of it. He focused on the feather again as he pointed the horn at it and let loose.

A few things happened in that instance.

First, the feather morphed into a rock, which then sprouted wings. Then, said rock started flying around the classroom while students did their best to avoid getting hit by it. And finally, it hurled itself straight through a closed window, shattering the glass while simultaneously shouting, "Leerooooooooooooooooooy Jenkinsssssssssssssssss…"

The silence that followed was a testament to how ridiculous the entire ordeal was.

"Umm… Professor Link?" said Adam. Again, every eye in the classroom was focusing on him. "'Was that supposed to happen?"

"Way to go squirt," one of the student said as he walked past Adam on his way out of the classroom.

He was the fifth one by now. Other students congratulated Adam as well. Some older mares even ruffled his mane and said how adorable he was.

It. Was. Annoying.

Adam brushed away another mare's hoof that was stroking his mane and huffed in frustration as was about to exit the classroom as well.

"Adam? A word please," called Professor Link.

Adam mentally facehooved for his bad luck and turned around to see Professor Link with an unreadable expression.

Luna, still in disguised approached Adam and said to him, "I'll wait for you outside." Before leaving him.

Once the classroom was completely empty, Professor Link gestured Adam to sit on a chair next to his desk.

"So, why do you want to talk about?" Adam asked cautiously, after sitting down.

"Oh don't worry Adam." Professor Link smiled. "I wanted to personally congratulate on your achievement, despite having no relation with today's subject. You see Adam, you're not the regular run-of-the-mill gifted unicorn. You're something truly marvelous with the potential the likes I've seen only on rare occasions. I expect great things from you in the future."

Adam was not sure how to react. To have a teacher praise him sure was new. "Umm… thank you Professor?"

"You're welcome. Now before I send you on your merry way, here's a paper with the list of subject you'd be attending this year." Professor Link levitated a paper out of his drawer and gave it to Adam.

"As you can see, there are the mandatory subjects such as Mathematics, Physics, and History, but there are also subjects for you to choose from like Charms, Astronomy, Herbology, Potion making and Magical theory, and there are some of the more interesting ones like Enchanting, Summoning, Elemental studies, and Spell creating . Be mindful though, you can only choose three. The schedule is on the back of the paper."

Adam turned the paper and there was indeed a very detailed schedule.

"Thanks, I guess. But wait! Shouldn't I have to go through a sorting exam or something?"

Professor Link nodded. "Under regular circumstances, yes. But you're far from normal, now are you, Adam."

"I guess I am. Thanks Professor," Adam thanked truthfully.

"No problem, Adam. But I think you should go already. There are certain fillies that are probably waiting for you." Professor Link gestured towards the slightly opened door, where Luna and Ginger peered through, though they hid quickly behind the door once Adam looked.

"Okay, bye Professor Link," Adam called as he left.

"To you Too, Adam," Professor Link called back.

Adam finally left the classroom only to see filly Luna and Ginger waiting for him outside. Without saying a word, Adam walked away.

"Hey, wait up!" the two called together as they tried to catch up with Adam, though he wasn't making it any easier on the fillies as he doubled his pace.

"Maybe if I'll ignore them, they will disappear," Adam said to himself. He was not in the mood for talking right now, and the fact that Luna went this far to keep an eye on him was more than a little annoying. And Ginger? Ginger was annoying plain and simple.

Adam turned behind a corner and promptly bumped into the last ponies he wanted to see:

Gale Mist and friends.

"Oh, look who it is, if it isn't the pony of the hour himself," teased Gale Mist as he and his gang circled Adam like a pack of hungry sharks.

"Piss off, wanker! I've got more important things than to talk to a bunch of numpties such as you!"

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Gale Mist retorted.

"Like taking a piss, which in hindsight, is just like talking to you!"

"Ohh… we've got ourselves a foul mouth in our hooves. Or is it foal mouth!"

Adam physically cringed at the impossibly bad joke as the rest of the gang laughed. A crowd of ponies gathered in the hallway, though none dared to step forward. Adam could just about see Ginger among the crowd, looking as terrified as ever, and next to her, Luna. Only her expression was much more morbid.

Once Gale Mist did a full circle around Adam, he stopped and looked down at him. "Now what should I do to you." he pondered. "I can turn you into a toad and toss you into a lake. Or maybe I can just hang you from one of the chandeliers."

"Oh I know, I know!" called one of stallions around Adam, and judging by his simple way of speech, he was not the sharpest tool in the shed. "Maybe we can just beat him up.”

Yep, definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed.

"Or maybe," Adam offered. "I could just climb up to your ego and jump down to your collective IQ, if a bit overkill."

The crowd around Gale Mist started going 'ohhhh' and one brave stallion even shouted "Put some ice on that burn!"

Gale Mist looked around and scowled. He then focused on Adam and squinted his eyes at him. "You know what, I am sick of getting dumped on, and I am sick of you!"

He then proceeded to shove Adam.

It wasn't strong enough to trip Adam, but it sure as hell annoyed him.

"Buddy," Adam hissed in a dangerously low voice. "Don't shove me."

"Oh, really, why not?" Gale Mist then shoved him again. Adam, for his credit, closed his eyes and took a big breath before exhaling, opening his eyes, if only a little.

"Because whenever anyone shoves me more than twice, my mind goes blank and all I see is this white-hot flash of fury."

"When someone shoves you like this?" Gale Mist shoved Adam yet again.

Mistake.

"Principal Mustang! Principal Mustang!" called one of the staff members as he burst into Principal Mustang's office, breathing heavily. "Principal Mustang!"

"I'm right here you know!" Principal Mustang shot back angrily. "What is it!?"

"I… there's… in the hallways… students… fight… right now…"

"What? I did not understand a damn thing."

The heaving stallion took a few moments to collect himself before he started rambling again. "There's a fight in the hallways!"

"What! Why haven't you told me sooner!?" he shouted while rising from his office chair and following the pony through the hallways. Principal Mustang could already hear the commotion. Students shouting and laughing, some even shouted 'fight, fight, fight!'

Principal Mustang turned the corner and saw exactly what's happening…

Two dogs and two pigs were barking and squealing while a bruised Adam stood in the middle of the conflict with a light blue ferret hovering on front of him.

"Hey Gale Mist, why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself?" repeated Adam while smacking the ferret across the walls.

"What in the name of Celestia is going on!?" Principal Mustang bellowed.

Adam turned around quickly as he dropped the ferret to the ground.

"Is that a student!?" asked Principal Mustang, stunned.

"Take a guess," Adam answered, receiving some angry squeaks from the pesky rodent.

Principal Mustang's horn flared and the ferret, as well as the other animals, turned back into their ponies forms.

Once Gale Mist was back to his own body, he scowled and picked himself up. "My mother will hear about this!" he shouted.

"You can tell your mother whatever you want you fucking little shit stain!" Adam shot back, moving forward while Gale Mist and his gang ran off in fear. "I will fucking kill you if I see you again!"

"Adam that's enough!" Principal Mustang roared as he physically restrained Adam from chasing down Gale Mist. "I will not, and I repeat, will NOT allow this kind of behavior in MY school, you hear me! This institution was built with the blood and sweat of some of the greatest mind in pony history. I will not have its reputation tarnished by the likes of you! I don't care Celestia herself enrolled you here, when I'm done writing a letter to her you'll be lucky if you'll get into any school in this city!"

And with that said, Principal Mustang left.

"I can't believe I blew it." Adam smacked himself in the head. He sat on one of the stone benches outside, filly Luna and Ginger on either side of him.

"You need to control your anger, Adam. Otherwise it will consume you," berated Luna as she placed a band aid on one of the many wounds Adam had. She tried to help Adam once he started fighting with Gale Mist and his gang, she truly did. But she was being shoved by the many ponies that tried to get a better look, and she could not simply reveal herself, that would cause far too much trouble, though looking back on it, perhaps it was wrong of her not to reveal herself when a colt under her care got beaten up. Despite the fact that the fight turned laughably one-sided.

Adam winched, both because of the pain and the harshness of Luna's voice.

"Diana is right, Adam," Ginger agreed as she helped Luna wrap a bandage around Adam's head. "What you did there was cool, but very irresponsible. As unicorns we have responsibility. You can't just go around and pick fights at random."

"Look. I appreciate what you're trying to do here but that doesn't matter now. I fucked up big time." Adam smacked his forehead again. "I thought that maybe, this one time, I could set things straight. Try to return things as similar to how they used to. And what I do instead? Messing my one and only chance to have a normal life."

"Don't worry, Adam," said Luna, giving Adam a surprise hug. "Everything will be okay."

"Hey, no fair, I want a hug as well," cried Ginger as she hugged Adam from the other side. Adam felt his entire face go red and he wiggled himself out from the clutches of the two fillies.

"Thanks for the kind words guys, I really mean it this time. But some things just not meant to be. This is one of them."

Adam started walking off.

Ginger was about to follow Adam when a dark blue hoof stopped her, she looked up at Diana who looked back at her. "Don't, just give him time."

Reluctantly, Ginger nodded.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Adam cursed himself as he made his way back to the city. He felt ashamed, angry and sad all on equal measure.

He wanted to do it. He wanted to have as much normalcy as he could back on Earth. He wanted to be the new and improved Adam 2.0. But all he managed to do was to piss off a lot of ponies.

And worse of all, he would have to confront Celestia about this, and boy was he willing to do just about everything to avoid her disappointed look. He just knew she was going to be disappointed in him. He remembered how excited she looked when she told him she enrolled him to the academy, which only served to deepen his shame.

Why is that every time Adam tries to set things right, he always makes them worse?

Adam sighed as he saw the exit to the academy. This would be the last time he will see this school again.

Adam exited to the street and immediately felt something was wrong.

There was no one around...

"Umm… where's Tulip? She said she'll be right he-"

BONK

Adam felt a sharp pain in the back of his head as he fell to the cold, unforgiving ground beneath him. Just as he was about to pass out, he managed to hear one last thing.

"We've got him! Now let's collect the money from Prince Blueblood and get out of here…"

Goodbye - part one(edited)

made by LunaKnight145, thanks for this awesome piece of work!

There was a certain painful ringing in Adam's ears that simply would not turn down. Not to mention his brain tried to escape from his skull through the back of his head, pounding again and again.

"No… why…" he moaned.

The horrid taste in his mouth did nothing to alleviate the pain. Not once did Adam wanted to simply empty his stomach in the nearest dumpster.

Adam opened his eyes and immediately regretted doing so. The sunbeams were like knives piercing his sockets and burning what is left of his unused brain.

"Stupid ringing…"

After the horrid light had subsided, Adam managed to get out of his bed and turn off his ringing phone.

Groggily, Adam made his way to his bathroom and took a long and thorough shower. Once he was squeaky clean, Adam turned off the water and stepped out from the shower. He still felt like shit, but at least the worst part was over. He took a toothbrush in one hand, and toothpaste in the other, and started his morning.

Adam could still feel the taste of alcohol in his mouth even after three whole minutes of brushing teeth, so he took a single ibuprofen pill in the hopes he will get better before meeting Elena's parents.

He sat on the cheap chair next to the dining table, black tea in his hand and a plate with poached eggs as he read the newspaper. It was a new habit he developed, thanks to Elena. Adam was not into newspapers before the two met, but after so many mornings spending together, Adam started reading them too.

Something furry moved next to Adam's feet, and as he lowered his head to see what the disturbance was, he was assaulted by a barrage of wet licks.

"Puca!" Adam called, surprised by the unexpected attack. His head hurt too much to handle Puca right now, but by the way she was whining and scratching his leg, Adam knew that Evie forgot to take her out for a morning walk.

Again.

"Well, I can always kill two birds with one shotgun," Adam murmured to himself as he rose from his seat and moved back to his room. He came out wearing a black suit, his hair was combed, and he smelled of Old Spice body wash. Why? Because he is a man, that's why!

As for the suit, meeting Elena's parents was no joke. They knew of her relationship with him, and this will be the first time Adam will meet them, which raised the question in his head, why did he have to go partying with alcohol last night!?

Adam was careful when taking the leash from the stand. He did not want Puca rubbing herself against his suit, and showing her the leash made her go frenzy, so after Puca calmed down, Adam took the leash, and an umbrella –just in case- and stepped out from his house.

Adam stopped at a local park to let Puca do her business. A husky in Britain is not that common due to the fact that these types of dogs were pretty hairy, but luckily for Puca, Britain was not famous for its warm climates.

After that Adam decided to take a small detour through the Hyde Park with Puca. Once they reached the park, Adam released Puca and let her roam around it. He trusted Puca, she won't stray too far from Adam, and if she did, Adam would whistle to her and she would come back running, usually with a peace offering that consisted of dead critters.

Adam checked his watch and saw that he was running out of time, so he whistled for Puca to come back. This time luckily, she hadn't brought anything with her.

After leaving Hyde Park, Adam decided to stop next to a flower shop. He still had some money left, and he thought it would only be appropriate to bring Elena some flowers. Adam tied Puca to a pole next to the flower shop and walked through the doors. A bell above the door dinged as Adam was bombarded with the scent of a hundred different flowers. The shop itself was not that big but it was just enough for Adam to walk normally through the different pots containing exotic as well as common flowers.

A woman came from a back wearing green uniforms and a soft smile, though the smile quickly changed into surprise once she saw Adam.

"Umm… hi?" Adam said.

"Ohh excuse me. We usually don't see a lot of young lads in here," she replied.

Adam refrained from rolling his eyes as he browsed through the different assemble of flowers.

"Are you looking for a specific flower mister?" the woman asked.

Adam nodded, still looking at the different flowers. "Yeah, do you have Spiked Speedwell? It's for my girlfriend."

The woman nodded excitedly. "Yes, just got a fresh batch from Wales."

"Good, then I want a whole bouquet of them."

"Right away sir."

The woman went through the back door and a few minutes later, came back with a beautiful bouquet of Spiked Speedwell with a few red roses interwoven between them.

"Umm, I didn't order the roses," said Adam.

"Oh I know, but I just thought it might compliment the overall look, don't you think?"

Adam gave the bouquet a once over and nodded. "It does, but I don't think I have the money to pay for it."

"Think nothing of it sir. Consider it a gift from us to your girlfriend," the woman replied.

Adam was hesitant. It would not be the first time someone would try to extract extra money from him. After a few inner debates, Adam decided that it was for Elena, and she deserved only the best, so he paid to lady and took the bouquet without questions.

After bringing Puca back home and hailing a cab, Adam reached the big house that was Elena's, or more precisely, her parents'. It was huge compared to Adam's humble abode.

Adam approached the black gate and pressed the button to the side of it. While he waited, Adam looked around at the familiar scenery. The house was surrounded by a wall across the entire property. The only way in or out was through the gate he was standing at. The mansion itself was pretty damn big, though all the times Elena invited Adam in, he could walk down its halls with a blindfold.

The gates buzzed and Adam hurried to open them before they lock again. As he walked down the familiar road to the front entrance, Adam couldn't help but feel anxious. This was the first time he would meet Elena's parents, and he was afraid they will resent him.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Adam reached the front entrance and buzzed the door bell.

A few moments later, Adam heard the shuffling of shoes from inside the house and the door opened wide, revealing a tall man in his mid-forties. His blue eyes seemingly pierced right through Adam's as he gave him a once over.

"Mr. Collins I presume?"

"Only Adam. Mr. Collins is my dad… umm, sir."

The man quirked an eyebrow before a thin, barely visible smirk adorned his face. "Sir. How quaint." The man extended his right hand and Adam shook it. "I'm Duncan. A pleasure meeting you at last, Adam. Despite the circumstances."

"Yeah…" Adam responded. Not meeting Duncan's gaze.

"Hey…" Duncan put a large hand on Adam's shoulder. "You did nothing wrong. My wife and I are not blaming you in the least. But, if you ever feel the need for some peace and quiet, you're always welcome here."

"Thank you sir." Adam shrugged his shoulders, still not looking up at Duncan. "Shall we go now?"

Duncan sighed before nodding. He led Adam towards the garage. A few sport cars lined the sides of the overly large garage. Duncan fumbled with a bundle of keys before stepping towards the closest one, a blue Ford Mustang, and opening the door. He sat comfortably in the driver's seat before turning towards Adam, who stood still next to the car. "Well, come on, lad. Hop in."

Adam did not say anything. Instead, he opted to just follow Duncan's orders.

The drive was mostly silent. Duncan tried to strike a conversation with Adam, but the boy purposely answered with short, meaningless answers. It was obvious that he was distraught, and who can blame him.

"Look," Duncan sighed. His eyes were constantly on the road but he still glanced towards Adam every once in a while, "I understand how hard it is for you. No one should deal with what you went through at your age. I just-" Duncan stopped when he felt a stinging sensation in his eyes.

Adan glanced at Duncan's direction and saw the older man on the verge of tears. Adam closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, clutching the bouquet in his hands. "I don't deserve this," he finally said after a long pause.

"Pardon?" Duncan replied. Still a little teary.

"I don't deserve this," Adam replied. "I'm not special or good at anything. I'm just another face in the crowd. And yet-" Adam stopped as well as he felt his throat constrict. A large hand has found purchase on Adam's shoulder as he fought a losing battle against the tears.

Finally, the car stopped in front of large, black gates, both similar and yet so different from the ones in Elena's home.

The comforting touch of Duncan left Adam's shoulder as he stepped out of his car, Adam following suit.

"Come now, lad," said Duncan, "The others are already there."

Duncan started walking while Adam stood still in front of the large gates.

With a final gulp, Adam clutched the bouquet of flowers one last time, mindful not to crush the flowers, and entered the cemetery…

Goodbye - part two(edited)

Adam felt his heart break when he saw the rest of Elena's family standing over her grave. There was her mother, Sophie, who wore a black dress. Despite the situation and the morbid look on her face, she still managed a smile when she saw Adam. Besides her were Elena's brothers, Oliver and Harry. Both were older than Elena, and both were in the army at the time they heard the news. They still wore their military uniforms.

Sensing his discomfort, Duncan put his hand across Adam and led him towards the grave. With each step he took, Adam felt a desperate need to run away. To leave then and there.

To never look back.

It was even more heart-breaking to know that this was the first time any of Elena's family have seen Adam. Elena's boyfriend… and the person responsible for her death.

By the time Adam reached the grave, his hands were shaking, his mouth felt dry, and his eyes turned glossy. He slowly reached towards the grave and sat on the ground just in front of it. He sniffed once, trying and failing to remain strong. He placed the bouquet on the grave before reading the inscription, below the dates of Elena's birth and death.

'Parted by death, we'll be reunited in Heaven.'

Adam hung his head low. Too ashamed to look for too long at the grave. Behind him, he could hear Duncan speaking with his wife. Their voices meant nothing to him. He cared little for what they were saying.

Oliver and Harry sat on the ground as well, each sitting beside Adam.

Oliver, the oldest sibling, nudged Adam just a bit. "Oy, don't beat yourself up about it. It wasn't your fault."

Adam sighed but other than that, said nothing.

"He's right, you know," said Harry. "No one could've seen that coming."

Adam felt his lips tremble when he spoke up. "Then why?" he whispered softly. "Why I'm sitting here, while Elena is down there? What makes me special? She didn't deserve that. If anything, I should be the one-"

Adam could not finish his sentence as Oliver smacked him across the face. Not enough to hurt, but enough to get the message.

"You start talking like that and I'll box your teeth so hard, your head will make a full one eighty! Am I understood!"

"Yes sir!" Adam replied automatically. He had never seen Oliver like this. Sure, he saw him only in pictures but he was always smiling in them. Seeing him scowling at his direction made Adam more than a little nervous.

"Don't startle the boy, Oliver," said Harry from the other side of Adam. Harry placed his hand on Adam's shoulder and tugged at it so Adam was looking him in the eyes. "Look… I understand what you're going through, I really am. Elena was special, no doubt. So sweet and caring." Adam lowered his head. "But don't sell yourself short because of it. She loved you, and that's enough for me. I can't offer you words of comfort, but I can offer you a shoulder to lean against. We're all here because of Elena, and I know she would chew our ears off if we were to treat you as anything but family."

Despite the situation, Adam cracked a sad smile. "It's true," he croaked. "She would smack me in the head for acting like that."

Harry smiled weakly at Adam before standing up, pulling Adam as well. Oliver stood up as well, giving Harry and Adam a nod before walking up to his parents.

Harry crouched next to the grave, tracing the cold stone with his fingers. His lips trembled and his eyes were red and slightly moist. He occasionally sniffed.

"Would you like to have a private moment with her?"Harry asked.This surprised Adam. For a moment he simply stood there, opening and closing his mouth not unlike a fish. Realizing that words have no meaning anymore, he simply nodded.

Harry nodded as well, straightening himself and walking past Adam, giving him a pat on the shoulder. Adam waited until the only sound he heard was the rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds. The rest of Elena's family was slightly further away, letting Adam say his final goodbye.

"H-Hey Elena," Adam stammered. "How's it going down there?" as soon as the words left his mouth, Adam smacked himself in the head. "I'm so going to hell for that," he whimpered before collecting his thoughts. He took a deep, calming breath and relaxed his tense muscles.

"I'm lost Elena," he finally said, whispering. "I don't know what to do. You were my anchor, my reason why I wake up in the morning. I know I'm a lot younger, but I honestly believed we'd be with each other forever." Adam felt something wet trickle down his cheek before wiping it. "S-Sorry. Got something in my eye." Adam wiped his eyes furiously,

but no matter how hard he tried, the tears continued to flow.

His knees trembled and his felt himself drop unceremoniously to the ground, still looking at the grave. "I miss you. I can't bear the thought of living without you… I just… I just wish I could tell you goodbye properly, instead of between a coffin." The last word came as a pathetic whimper as Adam moved away from the grave, picking himself up. Adam reached for his pocket and fished out a wrinkled photo.

It was a picture of Adam and Elena. They were both smiling at the camera, despite being wet to the bones. The Eye of London loomed behind them. Adam felt a thin smile spread across his lips as he gazed at the photo. He straightened the crumpled edges before placing the photo next to the bouquet of flowers of the grave. "Goodbye Elena…"

Adam sniffed one last time before going back towards the group of people he had just met a few minutes ago. He felt a lot better. Not happy, mind you, but Adam felt relieved to know that no one was harboring hard feelings towards him.

Once he reached to the group of people, Duncan spoke up, "Well, since we're all here how about we'll go out and spend some time together. What about you two?" he glanced at Harry and Oliver. "Can you two join us, or you're going back to your base?"

"We're free for the rest of the week, Dad," replied Oliver.

"Good, then let's head out. I'll drive with Adam and you two can join Mum."

The rest all nodded and soon, Adam and Duncan were alone again in the car. Adam felt less nervous being alone with Elena's father, but still preferred the silence over what might be said between the two.

"You know," Duncan spoke up, "When Elena died, no one blamed you at all. Sophie, Oliver and Harry all love you as family. We were actually worried about you."

"Worried about me?" Adam questioned.

"Yes… You grieve over the dead, and worry over the living. We were afraid how you might take Elena's death, considering…"

Adam hung his head for the umpteenth time this day. "Yeah, I understand," he said somberly.

Duncan risked a quick glance towards Adam before snapping his gaze back to the road. His blue eyes sparkled with sympathy. He was silent for a few moments before realizing something.

"You first met Elena when she was tutoring you, correct?"

Adam seemed a little thrown off by the sudden change of subject but nodded nonetheless. "Yeah, she taught me how to speak Italian."

Duncan hummed in thought. "Never understood that language," he finally said, "My wife, Sophie, was born to Italian farmers. Sometimes she would help them in the field, that's how she got her figure actually. Elena always wanted to know more about our Italian roots so she asked Sophie to teach her. I guess she learnt in rather quickly if she managed to teach you as well. Why did you start learning it in the first place?"

Adam felt his cheeks heat up as he answered. "Emm… Assassin's Creed, sir."

To say that Duncan broke down laughing would be an understatement. Adam actually had to hold the steering wheel for a few moments while Duncan pounded his legs.

Duncan wiped a stray tear out of his eye as he took the steering wheel back to his hands. "S-sorry, heh... heh… couldn't help myself. I cannot believe you lad. You wanted to learn Italian… because of a game?!"

Adam crossed his arms and puffed his cheeks. "You don't have to laugh about it, geez."

Duncan chuckled a few more times before smiling apologetically at Adam. "Sorry, that was unbecoming of me. But I have to ask, why Assassin's Creed two? It was released years ago. Unity was much better."

Adam stared wide eyed at Duncan. "You play Assassin's Creed?!"

"I sure did. Since the first one I've been a sucker for the franchise. Sophie says it's unhealthy for a man in my age to play video games, but I find it relaxing and a nice break from the serious nature of my work."

Adam sat there, unable to come with a coherent answer. Here was the man he probably feared to meet the most, and here he was, talking to him about a video game.

"Too dumbstruck to talk, heh?" Duncan smirked. His smile though, faded rather quickly and instead was replaced with seriousness. "Now I want you to listen to me, lad. I don't want to hear you blaming yourself over what happened, you hear? You are a good man, Adam. Don't let anyone tell you different. Sure, you're rough around the edges, if what Elena told me about you was true, but she also told me of how caring and self-controlled you were around her."

Adam simply nodded, still a bit jumbled from the previous talk but enough focused to understand what Duncan had just said.

"Good, I want you to work hard and make yourself into someone great, because I know you can be one. I can only guess how thing are in your home, but not a lot of young lads manage to climb out of a situation you've been put through. Be a good man, Adam. Not just for me, but for the memory of Elena. Can you do it, Adam?"

"I can," Adam proclaimed. He surprised himself with his own conviction.

Duncan smiled warmly, his eyes shown with care. "That's a good lad…"

Adam woke up to a freezing sensation washing across his battered form. He coughed and wheezed, sputtering a few mouthfuls of feelingly cold water out of his muzzle. He tried to open his eyes but felt something wrapped tightly across his head, concealing everything. He tried to move his body but found himself in the same predicament.

He was unable to move and he was shaking violently as the water seeped through his coat and touched his skin beneath.

Adam wanted to shout, to call for help, but the moment he opened his mouth, someone wrapped a piece of what Adam hoped was cloth across his mouth, effectively shutting him. Before he knew what was happening a bright light suddenly attacked his eye lids and burned into his pupils. Adam tried to look away but his head was bound.

Finally, after a great deal of effort, Adam was able to open his eyes, though he regretted that as soon as he did.

"Wake-y, wake-y little colt…"

Kidnapped(edited)

"Wake-y, wake-y, little colt…"

"Hmph... hmph!"

In his entire life, Adam have never woke up like this. Sure, he had a few awkward mornings after heavy nights of drinking, but waking up on a chair, constrained by chains with a rusty looking padlock, and a gag across his muzzle, definitely took first place.

"You can scream all you like you little bucker," said the burly stallion in front of Adam. His coat was dirty brown and his eyes vibrant green. His black mane was long and dirty, spilling across his face. "You won't be able to do even that soon."

"Release the gag," a voice called from the shadows.

The nasty pony craned his neck towards the only dark corner of what appeared to be a deserted warehouse. "You sure boss?"

The shadows in the dark corner of the room shifted as a stallion emerged from them. His coat was black while his mane was bright pink. Onto his barrel was strapped something akin to a backpack. A saddlebag perhaps?

The dirty stallion shrugged before pulling the makeshift gag from Adam's mouth, though as soon as he did, Adam burst in laughter.

"HAHAHAHA, Oh man, I know ponies are colorful and shit, but you are just plain gay!" Adam looked back at the black stallion and continued laughing. Sure, it probably was not the smartest thing to do when kidnapped, but how can he take ponies seriously when they looked like giant plushies rather than living beings.

The stallion did not take that response kindly, obviously. He approached Adam and, smacked him across his face, with a firm hoof.

"Shut your face you insolent little piece of shit! I'm not gay!"

Adam opened and closed his mouth, trying to alleviate the pain. It was not a powerful hit by any means. The black stallion just wanted to get the message across.

Against his better judgment, Adam spoke up again, "Oh, so you're straight? Well, so is spaghetti until it gets hot and wet."

This time, the black stallion made no effort into making his hit less painful. He brought his hoof hard against Adam's cheek, enough to draw blood, before grabbing Adam by the throat. "You know, when Blueblood paid us to kidnap you, he warned us about your little mouth. You know what I did? I laughed. I laughed because I thought there's no way a little colt can anger Blueblood that much. Obviously, I was wrong."

The black stallion released Adam before turning towards the dirty stallion, "Mud Pit, I want you to make sure our little guest is as uncomfortable as possible, and if he back talks to you, stitch his mouth."

"A-and what about Blueblood's letters, boss? He told us to burn them," asked Mud Pit.

The black stallion scoffed before picking a seemingly random direction and began trotting. "What, and miss the opportunity to blackmail him later? Not a chance."

As the black stallion disappeared beyond Adam's field of vision, he was left with only Mud Pit as his only companion. Now, if Adam was a human, and Mud Pit was a human, and the entire situation was taking place on Earth, then Adam would have been scared. But seriously, ponies? They will have to do better than that to scare Adam. All his captors managed to do was to piss him off.

"So," Adam began, "how long am I supposed to be here? Because I'm pretty sure I should be home for lunch."

Mud Pit grunted before yanking the chains that bound Adam to the chair, resulting in some popping sounds from his joints. Adam yelped. "Hey! Careful you git, before I twist your spinal cord into a coat hanger!"

"SHUT UP!" exclaimed Mud Pit as he yanked the chains harder.

"Mother fucker! Why don’t' you release me and fight me like you've got a pair, wanker!"

A hoof soon landed on Adam's cheek. Adam closed his eyes shut, blocking the tears. His cheek was still tender from the last hit. When Adam opened his eyes his body shook. "I. Will. End. You!" he said, grinding his teeth together. "I will fucking kill you for that. I will fucking kill your family, and your friends, and I will even fucking kill the guy who sells you your fucking food!"

"Oh yeah?" responded Mud Pit, getting closer to Adam, smirking. "Try it."

Adam started thrashing in the chair, shouting bloody murder and using every curse word he had in his arsenal. It was not until the chains started to draw blood from his bound body that he finally stopped. Adam heaved, still glaring at Mud Pit.

Mud pit laughed, a cocky smirk on his face. "You can wiggle in that little chair as long as you'd like. The chains contain enough magic depressants to overcome an entire legion of unicorns. You won't be getting out of this any time soon." With that said, Mud Pit left Adam alone.

"When I get out of here-" Adam muttered, "-I'll turn you into glue you little piece of fucking SHIT!"

The rant fell on deaf ears. Adam was completely alone.

"Well, you did it again Adam. You fucked up." Adam hung his head low. A quiet chuckle escaped his lips. "Though… I shouldn't be surprised, really. I should've known something like this would happen. God, I'm such an idiot."

Having nothing better to do, Adam continued to rant on and on, examining the room while trying to find ways to alleviate the boredom. During this, he found out that the warehouse was originally designed to store fireworks, seeing as everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but crates full of the stuff, as well as tons of empty bottles of hard cider, and a branding iron, the tip resting above a lit fire pit.

"Who the fuck lit a fire in a room full of fireworks?" Adam muttered to himself.

"Quite impressive, isn't it?" said a voice from behind Adam. The colt almost screamed but bit down on his tongue at the last second, resulting in some muffled cries.

The black stallion entered Adam's field of vision, his gaze fixated on the crates of fireworks. "The firework company that once owned this warehouse had gone bankrupt years ago. They forgot about this warehouse. Ever since, we used this place to smuggle our… 'Assets' to and from Canterlot, though it was only thanks to Blueblood. That idiot is our best customer, and since he's royalty, he kept the guard off our backs. He thinks he has us in his hooves, the truth is quite the opposite." The black stallion turned completely to face Adam. "Ah, but where are my manners. The name is Gale Smoke, at your service." Gale Smoke bowed.

"Gale Smoke?" Adam asked, "Now where have I heard that name- wait a second. Gale Mist?!"

"Oh, so you are familiar with my good-for-nothing son, are you?"

"Yeah I am," replied Adam. "And it appears the apple did not fall far from the snake."

Gale Smoke sighed before chuckling lightly. "Yes, I suppose so. It was my fault really. His idiotic mother was too easy to ignore, and when I discovered of her pregnancy, I left. The wench called him Gale Mist. And to think I almost-"

"Blah, blah, blah," Adam snorted, interrupting Gale Smoke. "Sell that sob story to someone who actually gives a fuck. You won't get any sympathy from me. You want sympathy? Look in the dictionary between shit and syphilis, that's where you'll find my sympathy."

Gale Smoke growled. A horn that was previously concealed by his mane was suddenly alight. Out of the corner of his vision, Adam spotted the branding iron hovering closer to him, the tip of it white and smoldering. Adam's eyes turned to pinpricks as the iron hovered closer and closer to his neck. The heat from the tip of it singed a few hairs of Adam's coat.

"You will do well to remember foal: I am not to be trifled with! Blueblood might as well think he's running the show, but he's nothing more than a bucking moron." Gale Smoke was mere inches from Adam, but the colt's attention was solely on the branding iron. He soon heaved a sigh of relief when Gale Smoke retracted the searing object.

Perhaps too soon.

The iron was then suddenly pressed into the base of Adam's left hoof, right into the fleshy bit. Adam swore explosively, hot tears of pain and anger streaked across his cheeks. He went through every curse he had in his arsenal.

When the iron finally left his hoof, Adam was seething mess. His mane was unkempt, his eyes wide and bloodshot, and his nostrils flaring.

"You. Are. Dead!" Adam choked, struggling to swallow.

Gale Smoke smirked before moving towards a backdoor. "Sure, sure. Whatever you say, colt."

Once again alone, Adam finally allowed himself to weep, but even then, it was controlled, only coming as short bursts of tears and whimpers. He risked a glance towards the injured hoof, trying to catch a glimpse at the injury despite having a limited range of motion with his head.

It was not that bad, really. Sure, it hurt like hell, and the area smelled of burnt flesh, but if there was one thing Adam had to be grateful about his new body, it would be the strong and durable leg muscles.

Adam soon stopped his crying, trying to regain what little dignity he still had. During his time on the chair, Adam spotted a few more ponies going about the warehouse. Some were moving crates and other, smaller trinkets. Others were just talking to each other, occasionally shooting glares aimed at Adam, glares which he was all too willing to return. Unfortunately, Adam was exhausted. And as much as he disliked the idea of falling asleep in his predicament, he had little choice about it.

Sleep came easily. With nothing better to do, Adam fell asleep almost immediately. It was little over an hour when he was jolted awake by a smirking Mud Pit. The room was completely void of life except the two.

"Good evening, little colt."

"I have a name, asshole, and it's Adam. Use it!"

"I wouldn't back talk if I were you, colt, unless you feel like being branded in the eye next."

Adam gulped, racking his brain for an escape plan.

"What do you want from me anyway?" asked Adam.

Mud pit's smirk widened before he left again, returning with a foal-sized crate. "We? We don't want anything from you. But you see, Blueblood wants your little face to disappear. He wants us to make you disappear. We'll shove you into this little crate, and ship you off to Mexicolt. That, of course, if you'd survive the three weeks trip without any breathing holes, food, or water."

"You're… you're crazy," concluded Adam. His heartbeats increased their tempo, and his breathing started to quicken. At this point, all he wanted was to see Celestia again. To tell her that he could only wish his mother would be like her. He would forsake his dignity just to tell her how he missed the times she would stroke his mane, or cuddle next to him as they read a book.

He wanted to see her.

He wanted to see Celestia.

He wanted to see his mum.

Adam was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a tug on his chains. Mud Pit loosened the chains! Not enough to let Adam a chance to escape, but just enough to be able to pull him out of the chair and into the crate. As Mud Pit moved to loosen the chains on his front, Adam saw something old and rusty dangling from a strap across Mud Pit's barrel.

A key!

There was no doubt about it that the key was for the padlock the bound Adam to the chair. If he could just reach there, he would be home free. But alas, the key was way too far for someone with limited range of movement such as Adam. But just as he was about to give up, a plan formed in his head.

"Wait!" called Adam. Mud Pit stopped what he was doing and glanced at Adam.

"What?"

"You don't want to ship me away."

"And why not?"

"Because... only I know where to find Celestia's hidden stash."

"Secret… stash?" Mud Pit inquired.

Adam nodded quickly. "Yes, yes! You think she'll just store her most valuable artifact is the royal treasury?! Heck no! She has a secret stash, and I know where it is."

Mud Pit scoffed, resuming untying Adam from the chair. "You're bluffing. There's no way a little colt just happens to know where Celestia's 'secret stash' is."

Adam remained calm, instead opting to look away from Mud Pit, eyes closed. "Fine. Don't believe me. When Gale Smoke discovers you just sent your once in a life-time chance to Mexicolt, I'm sure he won't be happy about it." Mud Pit chewed on his bottom lip, his eyes wandered between the box and Adam. "Of course, if you prefer to send me to Mexicolt…"

"Fine, Fine! Just tell me where the stash is you little runt!"

Adam smiled victoriously, looking back at Mud Pit. "Okay, come closer."

"What?!"

"I said, come closer you numpty. Or would you like me to shout it out for you and have someone else telling Gale Smoke about it."

Mud Pit stomped the ground once, muttering obscenities as he inched closer to Adam. "Okay, spill it!"

"Closer."

Mud Pit rolled his eyes but otherwise complied.

"Closer."

"Are kidding me!"

"Just do it you big wuss."

"Fine, but if you-"

TWACK

Mud Pit fell to the ground unconscious while Adam rubbed his forehead. "Oh man, your head is thick in more than one way," he muttered before smiling at the downed Mud Pit. "Heh, idiot."

Adam squirmed in the chair, rocking the chair back and forth. He was almost free. All he need was just the key to the padlock and he was in the clear.

"I-agh- just need to- come on- to reach- woah!"

The chair tilted a bit too much to the front, resulting in an intimate encounter between the ground and Adam's muzzle.

"Ow, son of a bitch!"

Adam waited until the room stopped spinning before he assessed the current situation. He was on the ground, still strapped to the chair. His hoof and head hurt. And he was inches away from the key strapped to Mud Pit.

After a few agonizing moments of slow progress, Adam finally managed to crawl towards Mud Pit's barrel, where the key hanged freely, like a worm on a hook. He took the key in his mouth and yanked it off. Adam spat in out on the ground.

"And now… the hard part."

The next few minutes were probably the most intense moments in Adam's life. Trying to insert a key to a rusty keyhole, and then twist said key was a much harder task without fingers. He was lucky enough that the room was empty when he knocked down Mud Pit, but was already hearing the sound of incoming hoofsteps. Not to mention that Mud Pit will probably wake up soon.

Finally, with a 'click', the padlock came off, and with it the rest of the chains. Adam had no time to celebrate as he quickly closed the shipping crate, stuck a bottle of hard cider in Mud Pit's mouth, and bolted behind one of the various crates containing the fireworks.

The door slammed open, flooding the room with orange light of the setting sun. Adam cursed as the light blinded him momentarily, but remained perfectly quiet.

"Hmm, what's this?" Adam heard Gale Smoke, followed by his cronies. "It seems that Mud Pit was drinking on the job again. Well, at least he shut that infuriating colt in the crate. I'm surprised Celestia didn't kick the colt out of the castle herself. I mean, who would want a colt like that as a son, right guys?"

The rest of the gang started laughing.

Adam wanted to punch each and every one of them in the face. He wanted to hurt them so badly. But then it dawned to him.

They were right.

Who would want such a nasty kid such as him as a son? Even his mother, his own flesh and blood, did not want him. He kept pushing away anyone who tried to get close to him. It was even worse after Elena's death. But what hurt the most, was the fact that he disappointed the one woman, the one mare who actually managed to worm herself into his heart. Celestia, the only one Adam is willing and proud to call mum.

What is the point anymore? Why trying to escape? It is not like someone is waiting for him out there. He is probably not welcomed at the castle. Maybe Mexicolt was not such a bad option.

"Hey, boss! Look at what I found." Adam felt something grabbing his neck and yank him upwards, bringing him face to face with a scowling Gale Smoke.

"You just can't stay put, can't you," Gale Smoke sneered.

"Well excuse me for not being able to sit still in an abandoned warehouse when there's a gay child molester in front of me!"

"I am not gay!" Gale Smoke roared, grabbing Adam with his own magic and slamming him against a wall. He then used his magic to lift the branding iron from its resting place again. "This time I will seal your lips together."

With nothing but his rage to fuel him, Adam shot back, "Then fucking do it already you fucking twat! It's not like I'm going anywhere!" Tears started streaming down Adam's face. He finally gave up. There was no way he was getting out of this alive, might as well die a badass.

Adam closed his eyes when Gale Smoke closed the gap between him and the branding iron. Adam could feel the heat radiating from the iron on his lips. He mentally steeled his nerves for the unbearable pain that will soon follow.

A second have passed.

Then another.

Nothing.

No pain.

Adam risked opening one eye, looking almost disappointed when he saw Gale Smoke was not even looking at his anymore.

"Can you hear that?" Gale Smoke asked, looking at his crew members.

"Yeah," answered one of them. "It sounds like… a battle cry…"

"Leerooooooooooooooooooy Jenkinsssssssssssssssss!"

CRASH

Time seemed to slow as a winged rock soared through a newly broken window. It hit Gale Smoke dead in the head, releasing Adam from his magical hold, as well as knocking the branding iron away. Adam observed in awe as countless royal guard suddenly swarmed the entrance to the warehouse, tackling any gang member in their wake.

Leading them was… well… Adam thought it was Celestia. Her eyes were blazing like two stars. Her mane was a roaring furnace. Her tail was a whip of hellfire. She was also clad in a golden armor. It covered every inch of her white coat, leaving only her face and wings exposed. Speaking of her wings, both were extended to their fullest, fire dancing between her feathers.

As he took a closer look at her face, Adam saw dry trails of… something from her eyes.

Was she crying?

Adam felt his own eyes moistening at the thought.

She came for him. Celestia actually came to his rescue. Back home, no one would spare a second look at Adam besides a select few. Yet here she was, leading a daring rescue mission to save him.

Adam quickly shook his head. It was neither the place nor the time for getting all touchy feely. A stray spell almost hit Adam. He just managed to dodge it, but as he did, he noticed something far more terrifying.

The branding iron has ignited a trail of gunpowder which was conveniently leading to crate full of fireworks.

"Oh fuck me!" Adam swore. He was about to bolt towards Celestia, to warn her of the impending explosion when something stopped him. He looked back and snarled when he saw Gale Smoke had latched to his back hoof.

"Back-" Adam reared his free hind leg "-Off!" with a mighty buck, Adam hit Gale Smoke in the same place the rock had hit him.

Gale Smoke rolled a few times before coming to a complete stop, numerous letters escaped from his saddlebag. Out of curiosity, Adam quickly skimmed through the letters, despite the circumstances.

As he finished reading the last letter, Adam smiled before quickly shoving the letters back to Gale Smoke's saddlebag, unstrapping it from him, and hanging it from his own neck before limping over to Celestia. Ignoring his instincts shouting at him to get away from Celestia as far as possible, Adam bravely stormed the room. About midway, Celestia turned and their eyes met. Her previously burning white gaze was suddenly changed back to normal. Her eyes were wide and her mouth slightly open. She tentatively reached with her hoof towards the young colt.

"Adam?"

Adam smiled, looking directly into Celestia's eyes before saying, "THERE'S NO TIME YOU DAMN HORSE, THIS PLACE IS ABOUT TO GO BOOM!"

Adam's blunt words have snapped Celestia from her moment. She looked around before her eyes landed on the trail of lit gunpowder.

"Oh buck me," she swore. "Everypony, to me!"

Not waiting for an answer, Celestia used her magic to lift anypony in the room, be it guard or gang member, before using all of her power to teleport everypony out of the warehouse and at a safe distance.

And good thing too, because-

Booooooooom…

...

…

Adam was about to say something witty when he was lifted again, only this time to be crushed by two strong hooves.

"Cel-AGH-estia!" sputtered Adam, trying to push Celestia away as she was hugging him ever more tighter, showering his head with light kisses and freshly formed tears. Despite that, Adam could not fight the slowly appearing smile on his face.

"I am so sorry Adam. This was my entire fault. I should have never left you out of my sight. I am such a horrible mare. I-"

Adam stopped Celestia by giving her a surprise hug.

"I... I'm sorry."

"I am the one who should be sorry," Celestia whispered tenderly, only for Adam to shake his head.

"No, it's becasue I acted like a jerk to everyone that this whole thing have happened in the first place. I'm sorry."

Celestia stood there, her mouth slack jawed. Her expression was mimicked upon every guard around them.

"Please," Adam whispered hoarsely, sticking his muzzle against Celestia's cheek, afraid that if he won't remain in constant contact with her, she might disappear. "Can we just go home?"

Celestia did not know what to say, or how to feel. Her head was a jumbled mess, but thankfully, she was snapped out of it rather quickly. Celestia turned to her guards and spoke sternly, "I want you to imprison these criminals, interrogate them if you must, see if you can figure out what exactly they are smuggling inside my city, and act accordingly!"

The guards nodded, shouting 'Yes princess' in perfect unison.

Celestia spared not a single moment as she promptly teleported herself and Adam back to the throne room, where Luna was pacing back and forth until her eyes landed on Adam.

With a speed that will put a wonderbolt to shame, Luna snatched Adam from Celestia and gave him a hug of her own, much to Celestia's amusement.

“Adam! I was so worried. Could you ever forgive me,” Luna cried, her anger bubbling withing her when she saw how beat up Adam looked.

“I pro-huck-mise you that I will-oomph… forgive you if you-argh… release me n-agh-ow, would you kindly.”

Luna lessened the hug but did not break it. She looked down at Adam, wide-eyed. A few tears have already started to form

"B-but Adam. If it weren't for mine carelessness-"

"I know, I know, save your breath, Luna. Apology accepted."

Adam gave a surprise hug to Luna as well, catching her off guard.

"Auntie, is everything alright in here- YOU?!" exclaimed Blueblood as he entered the throne room.

"YOU!" Adam shot back as he hopped from Luna's grasp and started walking towards the cause of his troubles. The saddlebag that hung from his neck fell to the ground, revealing the letters.

"But I thought you-"

Blueblood had no time to finish his sentence as Adam threw an uppercut directly to his chin, knocking him to the ground.

"You fucking asshole! I should geld you for what you did, you twat!"

"Adam! What in the name of Discord's beard are you doing?!"

"Sister?" cried Luna, a letter hovering in front of her scowling face. "You might want to take a look at this."

Celestia took the letter from Luna's magical grasp with her own, reading the letter thoroughly. Her eyes turned wide before shrinking into tiny slits.

"Guards!" she called. Immediately, four guards stormed into the room, standing at attention. "Take Blueblood to the dungeons. I don't want to see him again until I decide his final judgment."

"What?! Auntie what are you doing?! You can't do this!"

Celestia turned her back to Blueblood as he was cuffed by the guards, "I’m sorry Blueblood, but for now on I will not consider you my nephew anymore. You are a traitor to the crown. Take him away!"

The guards saluted once before dragging Blueblood as he started to shout and protest. Adam was still breathing heavily, glaring at the doors ever after Blueblood was taken.

Adam stood there for the longest of time, neither moving or uttering a sound.

"Adam?" Celestia came to his side, giving the young colt a poke on his side.

Adam collapsed.

"Adam!" cried Celestia. Luna immediately rushed to her sister's side, looking at Adam's battered form.

"He needs medical attention, sister! Come. Let's move to the infirmary posthaste."

The last thing Adam saw before succumbing to sleep were Celestia's beautiful eyes.

Wake-up call

When Adam woke up, he could not help but wonder if he had somehow angered God to deserve such a shitty existence. He felt numb all over his body. Even a simple act such as breathing was a challenge for the young colt. He did not feel pain, but he knew it was there, hiding behind a mountain of pain killers, just waiting to wear off and catch Adam off guard.

"You're awake!"

Adam flinched as the sound reverberated in his eardrums. It surprised Adam more than it hurt him. "Yeah, I'm awake," he said a bit more harshly than what he intended to.

"Oh… sorry…"

Adam recognized the voice. It was feminine, but a bit brash.

"Tulip?"

Adam turned towards the source of the voice. As his eyes adjusted to the light he expected to see Tulip standing guard next to his bed. He did not expect her laying on a bed pressed next to his, three of her four legs in casts.

"Wha… what happened to you?"

"Oh this-" Tulip gestured towards the casts. "-don't worry about it." Tulip laughed but began to cough soon afterwards. "Agh! Darn it!" She looked away from Adam, gazing at something from across the room. Adam had to rub his eyes to better see what it was.

It was Ginger.

"What’s she doing here?" Adam asked. It appeared that Ginger was asleep, judging by her light snoring.

"I guess visiting her mother." Tulip chuckled. "Or she might visit you. She told me about what happened in school the moment I came to my senses. I can't even begin to tell you how hard I laughed, despite the pain."

Adam, meanwhile, exchanged looks between Tulip and Ginger. He realized there was a slight resemblance between the two, of that there was no doubt. Adam was not surprised that the two were actually related though. It was probably the oldest coincidence in the book

"I see… but how did you get yourself so messed up? Is that the reason why you weren't there when I was kidnapped?"

Tulip's smile quickly turned into a frown as she closed her eyes hard. Her ears folded against the back of her head. "Yeah, it was. It was stupid of me, really. A few guards came to me, claiming that there's an upcoming parade and that everypony must evacuate the street. I immediately saw through their lies, their armor was fake. When I asked them to show me a letter of confirmation they attacked. I managed to fend them off for a while but one of them got a cheap shot to the side of my head

"They knocked me out good and started to drag me towards someplace, but they didn't get the chance. I woke up mid-way and subdued them, but by the time I limped back to the academy, you were already gone.

"When a patrol of actual guard passed through the area I told them everything. They brought me here." Tulip shuddered. "In all my life I've never heard Princess Celestia shout like that from the other side of the castle."

Adam shuddered as well. "At least you didn't have to actually see her. It looked like she was about to turn this entire mountain into a crater."

Tulip chuckled, wincing a little. "With how much she cares for you, that's the least she would have done."

"You really think so? Adam asked. Tulip nodded.

"I know so, kiddo." Tulip glanced towards Ginger. "You probably don't view the princess that way, but we parents will do anything for our foals. It is our duty."

Adam sneered, suddenly frowning and looking away from Tulip. "Easy for you to say. There are some parents who don't give two shits about their children."

"Nonsense! I haven't met a single parent who even slightly resented their children."

"Ha! Then you're obviously not aware of your surroundings. The one who kidnapped me, Gale Smoke, is actually the dad of that prick Gale Mist, and you can see how that turned out."

Tulip flinched, reaching with her good hoof and slowly patting his mane. "There, there, Adam. You're just upset, that's all. Everything will be-"

"I'm sorry Tulip," Adam interrupted her. "You’re acting like I actually give a crap.”

“Well, don’t you? You certainly seem to.”

“Ha, just like my mother said. In fact, she’d made the same mistake on her deathbed.”

"Your mother is dead?!" Both Tulip and Adam flinched when they heard Ginger call from her corner.

'Damn it, she didn't need to hear that,' Adam cursed himself.

He turned around in his bed, flinching as the pain killers started to wear off. Ginger was now balancing herself on her mother's bed, looking at Adam with big, watery eyes.

"Is that why you are so angry?" She asked. Adam could not help but feel even worse. His physical wounds were not nearly as painful as his heart felt right now. Despite their appearance, Adam was still older than Ginger, and she was just a kid. She could not understand how Adam felt. If he could, Adam would tell her that he did not care that his mother died, that he was better off without her, but she would not understand, and quite frankly, Adam did not know if he could stand behind such a statement.

Instead he opted to lower his head and nod. "Yeah, for some time now. She left us when I was little. I didn't care for her back then. I thought that if she can't love us, she don't deserve ours as well. Apparently she had the audacity to go and get herself killed. I can't remember how and quite frankly, I don't care. I never came to the funeral, she didn't deserve it." Adam raised his head and saw Ginger was curled next to her mother. Both of their eyes had tears in them. "You're lucky, Ginger. You have a mother that cares for you. As for me-" Adam rested his head on the cheap pillow and closed his eyes. "-I’ll choose who's my mother is. End of story."

There was a long pause in which none spoke. Adam was aware that Ginger and Tulip were looking at him, but he had nothing more to say. In fact, he was relieved to some extent. There is power behind words, so to get this out of his chest made Adam feel better. At least in a spiritual sense.

"You are very brave, you know that?" Tulip said.

Adam did not know what happened when she said that. He was overcome by emotion. His lips trembled and he refused to open his eyes out of fear of them starting to leak. He sniffed once, then twice, before he allowed himself to cover the quilt over his head and sob quietly into it.

He felt something shift on his bed and a moment later something hugged him from the other side of the quilt. Despite having an unimaginable urge to push away from the hug, Adam could not bring himself to do even that. The reality of his ordeals was finally catching up to him, and Adam discovered that he did not have was it took to handle it. It was… too much. Everything was spiraling out of control and Adam was helpless. For every step forwards he took he felt he was being pushed two backwards.

He was desperately clinging to his obnoxious behavior because that is the only thing he knew. It was too much, and Adam was tired of it. He wanted a peaceful life, a second chance, a chance to be kid again, a chance that was given to him on a silver platter and he threw it away. Adam always believed in his abilities to overcome any challenges, if not by wit then by force. But what happens when that fails too? What happens when you are not strong enough?

For Adam, it was the end. There was no family, no friends. Not for Adam. He gave up on these concepts a long time ago. But now, having this little sliver of hope for normalcy, for friends, for family… it was scary. Adam did not know what those things meant and he was terrified by it.

Adam could not remember how long he just sobbed, but he remembered that when he came to his senses, he was no longer engulfed by the warmth of a caring hug.

Adam slowly pulled the quilt down from his head and surveyed his new surroundings. He was no longer inside the infirmary, Tulip was no longer beside him, and Ginger's soothing present was no longer there. All that was left was a darkly lit room.

A single candle flickered gently across the room.

"We need to talk, Adam," a voice said. It took Adam a second to recognize the voice.

"What do you want, Luna?" Adam asked, not bothering masking his weariness.

"I know…" Luna said. She Sounded awfully cryptic.

"Care to elaborate?"

"I know about you, Adam the human…"

The Final Straw

For as long as he could remember, Adam was left speechless only a handful of times in his life. One was when a homeless dude threw his own shit all over Adam's shirt. The second time was when he almost got run over by a speeding ambulance. And the third time was when he almost got stabbed after witnessing a robbery. And even though he thought he had seen it all, nothing has prepared him for the possibility of being discovered for what he truly is.

"You... know?" Adam mumbled. His voice was barely audible, but it reached Luna's ears.

"I do." She confirmed with a nod of her head. "When you passed out, I had to make sure that there weren't any lingering nightmares that could have left your mind in shambles. Though the things I saw… they were more than illuminating."

Adam gritted his teeth as a small growl escaped his mouth. "You… entered my mind? Without permission!?" he all but spat the last word.

Unfazed by the scorching glare sent to her, Luna nodded. "Yes. In fact, we're still in it."

As if on cue, the scenery around Adam changed drastically. Instead of lying on a bed in a darkened room, Adam found himself back in Hyde Park, on the Serpentine Bridge.

In his human form!

Confused, Adam looked around as the various sounds and smells tickled his senses. Everything felt so real. Adam leaned against the side of the bridge, looking down in confusion at the reflective surface of the lake, where a few mute swans were swimming idly without a care in the world. The air was cold and clear and the skies were partially cloudy, making Adam sign in content. The constant sunny weather of Equestria was quite bothersome and blinding at times.

Despite his previous predicament, Adam could not help but crack a small smile as he gazed upon this familiar scene. It was as if any and all the stress he had, have simply washed away.

Unfortunately, the moment was ruined when a blue figured invaded Adam's view. He turned around and scowled when he saw Luna standing next to him, looking at the Serpentine Lake.

"It is quite beautiful, is it not?" she spoke gently, as if nothing was wrong.

Adam clenched his fists. "What the hell are you doing in my dreams?! Who gave you a bloody permission?!"

Luna did not spare a glance in Adam's direction, even despite the rising of his voice. She had already anticipated this kind of response, especially after he outright denied her last offer to enter his dreams. "I merely did what I deemed necessarily at the time. You see Adam, I-"

Luna could not finish her sentence as a fist collided with the side of her face, sending her tumbling to the ground. She slowly pulled herself up, more stunned than hurt as she looked wide eyes at Adam. His outstretched fist was trembling and his face was a mix of fury and unbridled wrath.

Luna also began to notice the change in the dream. Following Adam's current state of mind, the scenery around the two changed into that of a burning inferno. The ground beneath them started to crack, and the flames around the two were so hot, as if taken from Tartarus itself.

"Adam, you must calm down!" Luna cried. "You're still too shaken from the physical trauma you endured!"

"No!" Adam roared. His voice was accentuated as more flames surrounded him. "I am sick and tired of fucking ponies telling me what to do! I thought that it was a way for me to turn a new leaf, but look where it got me! And then you pull that bloody trick on me, invading my dreams, breach my privacy, and expect me to calm down!?

"I'm so pissed off right now! No! I'm livid! Words cannot describe…"

Adam approached Luna with fire in his eyes. His hands were clutched into fists and his teeth felt like they were on the brink of breaking.

Adam suddenly closed his eyes and took a big breath. As he exhaled, some of the fires around him had died down. He repeated the gesture as the scenery changed back to the clam and quietness of the Serpentine Bridge.

Adam opened his eyes. The fires in them were gone but the anger was still present.

"Why?" he said simply.

"Because I had to," Luna replied. "You were kidnapped, Adam. That kind of thing is traumatic, no matter the age. I entered into your mind to sooth your pain."

Adam was about to argue about the effectiveness of such an act but Luna has had enough of his stubborn nature. "I am thousands of years old, Adam. Believe me when I say that I know better than you about mental health, so unless you have eons of experience in the delicate art of mind-magic than I suggest that you simply refrain from talking, lest you embarrass yourself."

…

Adam stared at Luna, mouth agape. No one has ever back talked to him before. Seeing it as a good sign, Luna pressed on.

"Believe me, Adam, if there was any other way to ensure your safety I would have taken it without question. Everything I did, everything Celestia did, was for your own well-being. You are stubborn, you accept no help, and in the end, you only hurt yourself. I must know, is this pride? Why are you trying so hard to detach yourself from everypony else?"

"You wouldn't understand," Adam finally replied, hardening his gaze and looking away from Luna.

Luna shook her head and approached Adam carefully. "You are right, Adam. I do not understand. But I am willing to try."

"You wanna know what's wrong with me?!" Adam snapped. "Since childhood I was force to take care of my own! I had no real friends to speak of! My dad was a drunken twat! My so-called mother left me! And now, I'm stuck inside a foal's body, surrounded by a bunch of nitwits who fuss over every little bloody thing that happens to me!"

Despite his harsh tone, Adam kept his emotions his check. He was frustrated. So very frustrated. He just could not stand it.

"Is this about your mother?"

Luna's question was like a lightning strike, flashing the world with blinding light before disappearing.

Adam's hands started shaking as he stared at Luna, mouth opening and closing. The scenery around the two changed. The Serpentine Bridge was replaced with a field brimming with tall, menacing trees. Right between the two there was a smooth stone jutting from the ground.

A quick look around confirmed Luna's suspicions as she returned her gaze to the tombstone before her. Adam also seemed to have noticed where he was, seeing as he turned his head away from the tombstone.

Luna did not know what to say. She stayed quiet for a while, hoping against hope that Adam would say something, anything. But Adam kept his quiet.

"Were you young?"

That seemed to grab Adam's attention.

"Pardon?"

"Were you young when your mother…" Luna trailed off.

Adam sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I was a kid, can't remember the exact age. My 'mother' was never there for us. After Evie was born she just left. I don't know why by I know that it left my dad a broken mess." Adam suddenly growled, closing his fingers into a fist as a few cracks appeared along the tombstone. "And then, she came back, on the brink of death. We came to visit her in the hospital. I asked her why she left. I cried when she said nothing. That night, she died. That night, I understood that the only one you can trust is yourself.

"Ever since that day, I took matters into my own hands. Everything that I could do by myself I did it. As I grew up I became more and more independent."

Luna folded her ears backwards, looking down at the tombstone with a faint feeling of distain and regret. "You have carried a heavy burden, Adam. One that a child should never carry."

Adam merely scoffed, crossing his arms. "That burden made me stronger."

Luna nodded to herself before sighing. "It did, Adam. Only a fool would question that. But at what cost?"

"Don’t patronize me! I do not need your help and I do not need your pity!"

"Is this the reason why you are having a hard time trusting Celestia and myself?" Luna continued.

"I don't want to talk about this…"

Luna sighed. It appears she just got her answer. "Tell me Adam, if things could unfold differently, if you could change the events of your past, what would you do?"

Adam remained silent for a few long moments, seriously pondering on Luna's question before he sighed in defeat. "I really don't know," he admitted before chuckling dryly. "Jesus I'm so messed up. Any other kid would say that he would wish for his mother back but… I don't know if that's what I want. She was never there in life. Her death made forgetting her easier."

Luna carefully approached Adam. When she saw that he did not move away she sat right next to him and rubbed his shoulder. "And what about here, in Equestria?"

"I would apologize," Adam answered immediately. "I would apologize for Celestia for acting like a dick. She cared for me, yet I acted like a complete tool to her."

Luna smiled. "Then I guess my job here is over." Luna spread her wings as her horn glowed. She was about to exit Adam's dream when a hand grabbed her horn, effectively cancelling her spell while simultaneously bringing her face to face with a scowling human.

"Don't think that this little conversation meant that I am not mad for what you did. You may have had your reasons, but invading my privacy is something I cannot so easily forgive."

Luna smirked, looking straight into Adam's eyes. "So does this mean you will forgive me eventually.

Adam responded with a smirk of his own. "Eventually. And only if you stay the fuck away from my dream! Capisce!? This is strike one!"

"I make no promises. Like I said, I am thousands of years your elder, I know better and I will use that knowledge to help you, whether you like it or not. Also-" Luna suddenly disappeared, leaving Adam alone back on the Serpentine Bridge. "You did not really think a hand on my horn was enough to ground me, did you?"

Adam growled, looking around. "Hey no fair! That's cheating!"

"Sweet dreams, Adam…" Luna's voice faded into nothingness.

"Yeah yeah, you can stick your sweet dreams into your arse you bloody horse…"

Thank you PinkPeal for this awesome fan art

Prologue(edited)

Another pointless meeting, how long has it been already?

Celestia took a quick glance towards the big window to the right of her throne, and tried to measure the time by checking the sun's position in the sky.

Four in the afternoon.

A small, barely noticeable grin appeared on Celestia's face. She looked down towards the noble who has been wasting her time for half an hour complaining about his 'financial crisis'.

"… I am making enough sacrifices already. My butler's butler had to fire his butler's butler. And one more thing-"

"Oh look at the time, it seems day court is now officially over. I'm afraid we'll have to end this talk this instance, Golden Watch."

Golden Watch 'humphed' in irritation and bowed before leaving, not noticing the scowl sent by Celestia to the back of his head.

Once he was out of the throne room, two guards positioned near the doors closed them shut, officially signaling the end of the court.

Celestia sighed and raised her hooves to rub her aching temples. It was mind-boggling seeing so many nobles complaining about the most mundane of 'Problems'. It was quite disheartening, really. Canterlot was the capital of all of Equestria, a beacon of friendship, and yet everywhere she looked, Celestia only saw greed, selfishness, and lies. It was thanks to Fancy Pants and the Sparkle family that Celestia hadn't completely lost hope in her ponies. Fancy Pants was an extraordinary pony, an example to all the good things a noble can do. And the Sparkle family, or more precisely, Twilight Sparkle, had proven that nobles can be warm-hearted as well. After all, Twilight Sparkle is a noble.

"Twilight…" Celestia muttered. Oh how she wants to look at her former student and see the curious little filly once again. To hug her again like they used to back then. Even to lightly scold her when she did something naughty, like dye her mane green.

"But she's a grown mare now," Celestia had to tell that to herself time and time again, as much as she wanted to be with Twilight once again as a student and mentor, and maybe, just maybe, as mother and daughter.

Celestia sighed again, this time, adding more sad hue to it. Her guards, after years of serving their princess, sensed her sadness. It was subtle as a leaf falling onto the water's surface. But every leaf leaves behind gentle ripples. And these ripples did not escape their sharp senses.

"My lady," said the guard to her right with a hushed voice, as if speaking any louder will cause him some great grief, "do you want some tea to be delivered to your private quarters?"

"That would be nice, yes," Celestia nodded the guard off and watched him leave the nearly empty throne room through a back door behind the throne. She looked around the spacey room and observed its occupants, all of which were her guards. Oh how she wanted to just pick one up and mother the life out of him, they just looked so cute standing still. Thankfully, Celestia resisted that random urge and stood up from her seat.

She allowed herself a few more moments of gazing before walking towards her private quarters. Maybe a nice, calming tea is just what she needed.

Once out of her guards' sight, Celestia let her regal mask falter as a deeper frown graced her serene face. It was at that moment that she heard laughter.

"Come on princess, let's go, let's go, let's go…"

Celestia turned around just in time to see a transparent lavender filly zip pass her. The filly stopped and looked behind her.

"Are you coming princess?" she asked impatiently.

"Yes Twilight, just relax a little, I'm not that young, you know," said the princess. But it wasn't Celestia.

And then, a white alicorn trotted into Celestia's view. She too, was slightly transparent. The small filly hugged the princess and then trotted alongside her until they simply vanished.

Celestia shook her head and rubbed her eyes. She opened them to see the empty hall again.

'Tea, definitely tea…' she thought to herself.

Celestia rounded a corner and entered into the private part of the castle, where the princesses, as well as a few ambassadors, resided.

Celestia finally reached her private quarters and slowly opened the doors into her massive room. There, on the small table near the fireplace, was a cup of tea and a steaming tea pot. Though the want for tea had long since died, Celestia took the cup and the tea pot with her magical grasp and poured some of the light brown liquid.

Once the first sip of tea reached her taste buds, the dam broke and she began to sob, her mask of serenity and peace completely shattered.

Oh, how she wanted a foal to be hers, how she longed for the feel to be needed as a mother and not as a ruler, how she craved for the words 'mommy' to be directed to her.

It was during lonely moments like this the Celestia really lets herself go.

"Ahh, that was a good sleep." Adam yawned and rolled to the other side of his bed "But more is needed," he said sleepily.

Today was Sunday, he was alone in his house, and he just had a great nine hours sleep.

A little annoying dinging sound interrupted Adam's peaceful daydreaming. He lifted his head from his soft pillow and turned to look at his measly phone.

He just got an E-mail.

With his plans to stay in bed now ruined because he was awake and alert, Adam decided to turn on his laptop that was conveniently placed on a desk next to his bed, and read his E-mail.

"Is this another ad from Ubisoft? Getting tired of their shameless advertising…" he mumbled angrily. Though unlike his predictions, it was neither an ad, nor a notification from all those attention whores on Facebook. Instead, it was a private message.

"The fuck? Who is this D-cord@gmail.com?"

What an odd mail. It was an invitation for a private beta test of a new MMO game.

'The pony chronicles' or something along these lines.

"Hmm, interesting. Why not."

Adam clicked the link below the message and it directed him to a site.

After a few registration processes and entering the beta key accompanying the private message, Adam clicked the download button and installed the game.

To his surprise, the game took only a few minutes, minutes in which he read a little about the game. It was original. Instead of choosing a race and a class separately, the available races had different set of skills.

It was peculiar, and a little suspicious. Adam was no stranger to MMO games and beta testing. His laptop might be old but it was manageable. The fact that this random dude just gave him a beta key raised a few red flags in Adam's mind.

Once the download and installation process was complete, Adam ran a few virus tests to make sure he wasn't downloading any viruses into his laptop. The results came back clean and Adam took a sigh of relief.

He closed all the open windows on his laptop and double clicked on the game's icon. The screen went black for a few seconds and then started to play a cinematic to give a bit of exposition. Adam didn't pay much attention since he was still rather sleepy, and went straight to the character creation.

True to the game's name, the characters were all ponies, and the variety wasn't that impressive.

A limited choice between a unicorn, a pegasus, and a simple pony.

The game detailed each race and their unique abilities. According to the game; Unicorns were basically mages, pegasi (what a weird plural name) were all about stealth, and simple ponies were warriors.

"Ahh, the classic choice between a mage, a thief, and a warrior," Adam mused. It was a simple choice really. "Mage it is…"

Adam clicked on the unicorn symbol and was directed to the character appearance. It was slightly more detailed than what he would expect from MMO games.

He decided to go with a young unicorn. Light mocha coat, black mane, and green eyes, somewhat similar to his real life look.

After the creation part was over, it was time to test the game itself. Adam clicked the launch button and the entire screen went black again. Only this time…

So did his vision.

Adam groaned as his senses slowly returned to him. He felt weird all over his body, and he felt really fatigued all of a sudden. He slowly opened his eyes, his vision still somewhat blurry.

"Oh man, what the holy fu~… The fuck happened to my voice!"

Suddenly, Adam was alert once more, only this time there was a small panic accompanying his new state of mind.

His voice was not his own. Sure, he's the only one who spoke but it wasn't his voice. His voice was deeper and more masculine, right near the end of puberty. Now though, his voice sounded higher pitched and child-like, something that terrified and confused Adam at the same time.

Adam tried to stand, but as he stood up he felt his center of gravity pull him down again and he fell. Adam groaned yet again and tried to stand on his knees instead. His hands felt like they were clutched to a fist only more… naturally. He wanted to rub his eyes to alleviate some of the drowsiness, but the moment his hand touched his face he recoiled in shock.

He felt fur.

Slowly, his vision returned and Adam risked a glance at his own hands.

Only they were gone!

"Wh-what's happened to me?!" Adam stammered. Instead of hands, all he saw were two light mocha hooves. He slowly lifted his left hoof and examined it closer. He started rubbing his face with the hoof. His hoof apparently.

His entire face was messed up!

"What the fuck!" Adam all but yelled. His face was not his own, it felt slightly longer and was covered with fur. A small lock of black hair sailed into his vision and Adam looked at it intently. At least something remained from his real body.

A small tickling sensation brought Adam from his thoughts. He felt it down his butt. He craned his neck to look behind his back…

And saw a tail.

At this point, Adam was hyperventilating and curling into a ball of panic, clutching his eyes shut. He had hooves, tail, and the general shape of a pony. It wasn’t beyond weird, it was maddening.

Adam was too busy being panicked that he didn't notice the pegasus guard landing near him and looking at him worryingly.

"Umm, excuse me *cough* sir, where are your parents?"

The gruff voice of the guard snapped Adam out of his small mental breakdown.

'Oh thank god, maybe I can ask someone for help, yeah, I'll just ask him… to…' Adam opened his eyes, expecting to see a man. Instead, he saw a winged pony clad in golden armor. His mouth moved though no sound could be heard. Slowly, Adam rose from his position and carefully backed from the pegasus.

The guard, sensing the young colt was probably about to bolt, quickly took a step backwards. He took off his helmet in what he hoped was a calming gesture and gave the colt a weak smile.

"I'm not gonna hurt you little fella. Just tell me your name and I'll help you find your parents," he said soothingly, trying to defuse the situation. Years of training taught the guard to read body language and he could see how tense the colt was.

The guard took one step forward.

The colt didn't move.

Feeling a bit more confident, the guard took a few more steps, and stood mere inches from Adam.

Adam, for his part, was petrified. Here he was, in a strange body, looking at a supposedly mythological sapient creature. Was he scared?

You can bet your sweet ass he was.

So, being the rational and sensible human/pony thing that Adam was, he did the only reasonable thing at the moment.

He punched the guard in the face and ran like a little bitch…

First impressions(edited)

"Don’t look, don't look, don’t look, don't look…"

Adam looked back. The guard was mere inches from him.

"Don’t look, don't look, don’t look, don't look!”

Adam doubled his efforts, somehow managing to outrun the trained pegasus.

Adam hoped that the punch would at least daze the guard for a few minutes. Unfortunately, that was not the case, as it merely stunned him. The human turned colt plowed through the unknown streets filled with other ponies. The fact that he was not in his normal body but probably not in his world spurred the colt further.

"Out of my way!"

He yelled as he just barely dodged another patrol of guards. His panic reached a critical mass as more adrenaline got pumped into his blood stream. His heart beat like crazy and he felt as if time slowed down, making him all too aware of his new surrounding. Everywhere he looked he saw ponies. Ponies selling stuff at various stands, ponies conversing with other ponies in restaurants, even ponies constructing a building.

Everywhere, it was just ponies.

"After him!" he heard someone call from behind him.

And against his better judgment, Adam looked back again...

...To see an entire squad of guards after him.

"Oh shit… Run like a motherfucker!"

And the game of cat and mouse had begun anew.

Adam slowly felt his aching muscles and knew that he couldn't rely on the adrenaline forever. He needed a plan. He needed a miracle. He needed…

A plank.

In front of him, Adam saw a stray plank lying on the street near a construction site. He didn't even stop to pick the plank up, but rather craned his neck down and grabbed it with his mouth, continuing to run. He was then about to execute his second phase of his flimsy plan as he ducked into a nearby alley.

He took a gulp of air and felt his throat go dry from the constant rush of dust down his throat, but he couldn't get distracted now. Adam waited patiently until he could hear the guards. And with a flick of his neck…

He slammed the plank straight to their heads.

Adam dared not open his eyes. Or mouth. Or his entire body for that matter. He was firmly rooted into place.

It wasn't until he heard numerous groans that he opened one eye.

There, near the entrance to the alley, were half a dozen guards lying motionless. Adam slowly exited the alley and examined his work. There was a distinct red mark right between the guards' eyes, the only part unprotected by their helmets.

"Ooh… that looks nasty…" Adam commented, feeling only slightly bad for causing harm to those guards.

Unfortunately, Adam could detect more guards coming from the distance and groaned inwardly for the upcoming marathon.

"Take some painkillers for this headache mates," he quickly said before bolting to a random direction.

During his mad dash, Adam felt something warm filling his mouth. He parted his lips slightly and a steady stream of blood soiled the paved walkway beneath him.

"Fucking great. Stupid plank, cutting me in the mouth," Adam ranted as he painfully spat splinters of wood, cursing all the way...

'Make it stop...' Celestia silently begged. Barely two hours had passed since the start of the day court and already Celestia felt bored out of her mind. The nobles just kept complaining. They won’t. Stop. Complaining.

Celestia felt a strong urge to facehoof each time a noble opened his mouth. Their petty reasons were not Celestia's concerns in the least. Each selfish claim made Luna's insistence on bringing back death penalties seem more and more tempting.

On the inside, Celestia was screaming for this torment to end. On the outside though, she remained stoic and regal. The perfect princess…

Celestia was snapped out of her thoughts when she spotted a maid slowly making her way towards one of the guards and whisper something in his ear. In a few seconds, the guard shifted his expression from confused, to bemused, to mild amusement, and finally, seriousness.

He nodded sharply and followed the maid through a side entrance.

Celestia turned her attention back to the noble. He kept talking with closed eyes and nose high up in the air, his obvious wig shone with care and his face was akin to a pig, considering the hefty amount of fat he was supporting. He was completely oblivious to the fact that the princess wasn't even paying attention to him. It was another thing that annoyed Celestia. Nobles never seemed to notice what's happening right under their noses, unless it affects their bank accounts, of course.

"-and that's my honest opinion, wouldn't you agree, princess?"

Uh oh… the noble's word went completely over Celestia's head, and now she was trapped. On one hoof, she could agree, and potentially give the 'go ahead' signal to something immoral and unjust. And on the other hoof, she could disagree and avoid the potential disaster, at the cost of her credibility.

"W-Well," she began "In my opinion-"

"Princess!" came a guard running from his post. He bowed when he reached the throne. "I'm sorry for interrupting but there is a… peculiar case that requires your presence."

"And what, pray tell, is so important that you just had to interrupt a very important meeting?" asked the noble, annoyed that his precious time with the princess is apparently cut short.

"I'm sorry sir but this information is for the princess' ears only," the guard replied.

With an internal grin, Celestia stood from her throne and approached the guard. Without saying a word, the guard bowed before he promptly stood up and marched towards the exit with the princess in tow.

Celestia turned her neck and addressed the noble with a fake smile. "I'm sorry for this mild inconvenience. Please feel free to petition your offer so that I may have a better look at it."

Before he could reply, Celestia and the guard were already gone.

"So, what this is all about? I rarely leave the day court for emergencies," said the princess, somewhat relieved for this break in monotony. It wasn't until the two were half way towards the interrogation chamber that the guard finally spoke.

"Well princess, you see… We… We found a colt…"

Celestia, being the logical princess that she is, discovered that her eye brow can reach a lot higher than what she thought possible.

"A colt?" Her tone was dead of any emotion. "You pulled me from a day court to tell me that you found… a colt?"

The guard started to sweat. He could feel Celestia's gaze on the back of his head. Again, he was silent until they could see the interrogation chamber's doors that he opened his mouth.

"I know it sounds weird princess, but that colt just caused us a lot of trouble. He knocked out six guards and caused a lot of mayhem across the city. We managed to catch him, but he refuses to cooperate."

Celestia pondered on the guard's words for a moment. It is unusual for a colt to be found in the city of Canterlot all alone. But knocking out cold six of Equestria's finest and causing 'Mayhem'? It sounded more and more surreal by the second. Though the thing that confused the princess is why the guards thought it was a good idea to involve her? Surely they can handle only one colt, right?

At that moment, the door to the interrogation chamber flung open and out came a sickly looking guard.

"Come back here you twat! I will cut your tail off and shove in up your ass, and then I will gouge out your eyes and shove them down your throat!" came a childish scream from within the chamber before the green looking guard could shut the door.

"See what I mean princess?" said the guard who led Celestia, though her eyes were locked on the other guard. He looked like he was about to vomit.

"I've never, in all my life of service, heard so many foul words spoken. Oh… I feel sick." The other guard clutched his mid-section and pushed his back against the wall.

"This is indeed quite the unusual case," Celestia finally said. She then turned her attention from the sick guard to the interrogation door. She took a deep breath and proceeded to enter the interrogation chamber, closely followed by the still functioning guard.

As she entered the brightly lit room, Celestia saw the cause of this so called 'Mayhem'. It was indeed a colt. A rather young colt at that, barely eight or nine by the looks of it.

The colt, on his part, either didn't noticed Celestia, or he was simply ignoring her. Either way, his attention was solely focused on the chains bound to his hooves. He continuously smacked them against the table for no avail, even as the chains dug into his hooves and burned his skin.

"Ahem…"

The colt raised his head from the chains and focused his attention on Celestia. His face was a mix of bloody murder and never-ending fear. He quickly looked back down and tried even harder to set himself free, even going as far as to draw some blood from all the scraping.

"Please stop that, you're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that," Celestia pleaded. It was hard to see such a young colt so frightened. She didn't know the whole story, but even so, chaining a colt that young was wrong. She tried to step forward in order to calm the frightened colt, only for him to shout at her.

"Stay back! Don’t come any closer or I swear I’ll rip you limb from limb!"

The guard to Celestia's side stepped forward and glared at the colt.

"Watch your mouth runt. You will not speak to the princess like that, you hear!"

"Screw you motherfucker!" The colt shouted, lifting his hoof at him "I don’t have hands, but if I did, I would give you the finger!" he croaked, his voice became raspy and pained. It that moment, Celestia saw the small trail of dried blood from the corners of his mouth.

"I'll handle this," Celestia said to the guard, "just leave us alone."

The guard was about to protest but quickly thought better of it, seeing as how Celestia was looking at him, daring him to oppose her. He bowed deeply and left the room, not before sending one last seething look at the colt.

Once the door was closed, Celestia let a small sigh escape her mouth. She could hear the colt resuming his attempts to free himself and cringed each time the chains dug deeper into his flesh.

"Please stop," Celestia pleaded again, though this time, it was more for her sanity than for the colt. The colt stopped his thrashing and looked into Celestia's eyes. She could see the fear welling inside the colt, he was petrified, and it caused Celestia's heart to ache . She never wanted any of her subjects to be afraid of her, and that's why she vowed to be the best princess. Even if it means having day courts.

"You're hurt," Celestia observed, trying to assess just how wounded the colt really was. His mane was ruffled and his coat was unkempt. There had been signs of injuries inside of the mouth cavity, and of course his hooves were bruised as well.

"Well aren't you the smart one," chided the colt. "And here I thought my hooves were dense, but your head is clearly the thickest."

Ignoring the insult, Celestia approached the colt again -much to his dismay- and sat down near him.

"I can help you get better, I promise I won't do anything bad to you, but you've got to trust me."

"And why should I, you don't exactly keep a hospitable company!"

Celestia cringed "I don't know the full story yet, but I'm sorry in advance if any of my guards hurt you. As for myself, you're right, you have no reason to trust me, but if you will, I will gladly help you."

“No, j-just stay away from me you- you freak! I am perfectly capable on my own.”

“A city such as Canterlot is the last place for a young colt such as you. Let me help you, let me keep you safe. You are hurt and afraid, and as princess of the land it is my duty to help those who can’t help themselves.”

“Are you deaf! I told you I don’t need fucking help. Just let.Me.Go!” The colt thrashed in his bindings once more. Blood started to cover the chains as the colt tried to break himself free.

Celestia couldn't take it anymore as she physically stopped the colt from moving, using her own hooves to gently, but firmly keep him in place.

“Stop!” She commanded “Listen to me young one, you’re not thinking straight. We've found you wondering in the city with no parents or responsible adult by your side. You punched seven soldiers on duty; a serious crime for which you could be tried, were you any older. The best thing for you to do is stay for a while in the castle while I sort things out. If somepony is out there looking for you they will probably inform the guard, which they in turn come to me.

“I saw many things in my rule young one, horrible things. But seeing somepony as young as you hurting himself so readily, it’s just too much for me. Will you calm down and let me help you now? I implore of you, I can’t bear to see such a young soul suffering.”

The colt didn't say anything for a long time. Instead, he chose to look deep into Celestia's eyes, trying to detect any signs of malice or ill intent. Finding nothing, the colt lowered his head.

"I'm tired…" he croaked "Please… help me…"

Celestia saw a few tears fall from his eyes and felt something flutter in her heart. She quickly closed her eyes and channeled a small amount of magic into her horn.

"Now, this may hurt a little…"

Celestia came closer to the young colt and gently touched his horn with hers. The colt surprisingly stayed still with the occasional sniff. The bruises along his body healed and the chains that ensnared him came off as well.

In the midst of all this, Celestia wrapped her wings protectively around the colt in an attempt to sooth him. Once the spell was over, she still held the colt in her feathery hold, occasionally stroking his back with a hoof.

"What's your name, young one?"

"Adam… *sniff* my name is Adam…"

interlude-three's a crowd

"So… how old are you?" Adam asked. He glanced at the two foals next to him. One was a light blue earth pony with a darker shade of blue mane and light brown eyes, a lit cigarette hanging lazily from his mouth. The other foal had just the same color scheme. If it weren't for the fact that he was an alicorn, one would confuse the two as siblings. The alicorn foal was lying on the grass next to the two other foals, drawing in a coloring book.

"Twenty two…" the alicorn foal answered absentmindedly, not even sparing a glance up from his half colored picture, "Oliver Leaf," he added a second later.

"Thirty Two…" the earth pony foal replied. He took the cigarette from his mouth and released a cloud of wispy white smoke before sticking the cigarette back between his lips, "Bruce."

"Damnit!" Adam swore, "I'm the youngest."

"Yes you are," Bruce remarked.

"Shut up! At least I'm not sleeping with cocks in my bed."

"It only happened once! Once!" Bruce snapped, chewing off his filter.

"Can you two please shut it?" Oliver growled.

"Sorry," Bruce and Adam apologized simultaneously, lowering their heads in shame.

After a few more seconds in which no foal spoke up, Adam decided to break the ice. "So, how did you ended up in here?"

"Don't know," replied Oliver. He abandoned his coloring book and glanced directly at Adam. "One moment I was falling asleep, and in the next I'm lying next to a lake, looking like that."

"I don't know either," replied Bruce. "I just… appeared…"

"Well that's just fucking vague…" said Adam, looking rather bored.

"How did you ended up here, then?" asked Oliver.

"Sword Art Online rip-off and a bad author."

"I know the feeling man."

"Me too." the two foals nodded in agreement.

Bruce sighed before he stared expectedly at the castle in front of him. "I still can't believe we pulled that off," he said as he gazed at the painted towers. Each tower had a massive, crudely drawn cock painted on it.

Oliver smirked before looking down at the guards, whom had tried to uselessly scrub the paint off the walls. "I'm not that surprised admittedly. These guards have the collective IQ of fleas. I managed to give them the slip without them noticing."

"Yeah, stupid guards," agreed Adam. "I gave them a good run for their money before they caught me. Stupid bastards."

"So, you think my little ponies are incompetent, are you?" said a voice behind the foals that sent chills down their spines. A golden aura lifted the three off the ground and spun them around, forcing them to look up at a very upset Princess Celestia.

"Oh fuck," whispered Adam. He tried to squirm out of Celestia's magical grasp but it proved to be futile very quickly.

Celestia turned to look at the towers before glaring back at the three fear-stricken foals.

"Now, I want you to clean MY towers so there will be not a single stain of paint on them. Am I clear?!"

"Yes ma'am," the three said in unison.

"Good," Celestia replied, dropping the three unceremoniously to the ground. "Then I suggest you start working on it right now. I don't care if you have to throw yourselves over the windows the clean the towers! I want them spotless by sunset."

"Yes ma'am," the three replied again. Celestia nodded sharply before teleporting away, leaving behind her a bucket of water and three sponges.

"Tell me again who's the twat that thought painting cocks on the towers was a good idea?" Adam asked as he looked at the bucket, scowling.

"You are," said Oliver and Bruce at once.

The rest of the day was filled with Adam's cussing and foul-mouthing.