Settling In

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful night in Canterlot. The warm summer nights kept it at a comfortable temperature outside. the crisp night air was wonderful, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky under the crescent moon. Out enjoying the night were two stallions, relaxing on the terrace of one of the two's home. One, a tan unicorn with a book and quill cutie mark, was laying down with a novel hovering inches from his face, fully immersed in his story. The other was not quite so calm, starring through his telescope intently, with a grimace slowly growing into a scowl in his face. Finally, he let out a sound of annoyance and turned away, flopping down opposite his friend on a couch. "Forget it! It's hopeless anyways, thanks to those cursed lights!" He his muzzle in a nearby pillow and let go another groan.

The other sighed and looked up from his book. "Sky, you have to relax, it not worth getting this worked up over." He was getting tired of the drama that had been brought about by this whole situation.

Sky looked up with an offended look on his face. "What?! Of course it's worth getting worked up about! This is my life, and its being destroyed by an army of demonic little street lamps! What about that is not big enough a deal to get worked up over?!"

"Quite down, you'll wake you'r entire neighborhood like that. And your life, seriously? I will agree that their nice to look at, but I never really got the big deal about stargazing like you do. A few lamps block out a few stars in the sky, its not that big a deal. There are plenty more right? Take a breath and just relax a little." He was hoping to get this over with without riling his friend up any farther. Night Sky was a great pony, but when he got like this, it was very hard to reel him back in before he went into a full blow panic attack. It was an art very few on the planet knew.

"Stargazing?" Sky looked about ready to blow. Then just when it looked like he might, he stopped, and with great effort, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself. Once he was feeling a smidgen less explosive, he spoke. "Quick, it's not like I do this for fun... don't look at me like that... OK so not all the time. But its deeper than that. How would you like it if somepony came and, say, covered every other paragraph in your upcoming novel in black ink? It would suck right? Hinder progress, force you to go back and rewrite?"

Quick Write frowned. "I guess, yes. I wouldn't be able to get it exactly the same either. Did I ever tell you about the time that I lost the first three chapters of my next mystery novel? I took the entire-"

"FOCUS Quick!"

"Oh, right, stars, sorry, got sidetracked. I do have to tell you that story though. Yes, I can see where that could get annoying. Quite a nuisance I can imagine. But does getting so wound-up over it help at all?" Quick mentally crossed his hooves.'Please see logic, please see logic, not another theater incident, please...'

"But that's just it! There is absolutely nothing I can do to change it. THAT is the worst part. How do I study stars that are not out to be seen? It's a crescent moon! These are the second best conditions that I could have to study, and I can't even see Venus! ... What if it gets so bad they lower funding to the observatory? What if they close down altogether and change it into a laboratory of some kind! I know Professor Beakers has been pushing for a knew chem lab! What if they decide I don't have a place there anymore?! They would fire me! I wouldn't have anywhere else to go, and I would have to sell my house, and THEN-"

A large 'THUMP' entered the air as Sky suddenly had his head pounding. Once his eyes uncrossed, he looked up to uncover the identity of the offending object. A large book was hovering above his head, surrounded by and orange glow as Quick Writes horn trilled a soft note, showing it's activity.

"... Thank you. But you didn't have to hit so hard." Sky wasn't mad. he knew how he got when he was panicking, that's why he asked his friends to snap him out of it when he got that way.

Quick nodded, a light grin on his face. He didn't like to admit it, but the look on Sky's face whenever he did that was highly amusing. "I understand your worried, but don't worry. None of that could ever happen. And even if it did, you would have all the help to get back on your hooves a pony could ask for. Your family, me, Octavia, and of course Clockwork. How is the old stallion anyways, I know you visit his office every day."

Sky had first met Clockwork years ago when Sky himself was still just a young colt. Clockwork had been his science teacher at the time, and had taken it upon himself to befriend the young Sky and help him along his way. Sky still didn't know exactly why. Clockwork had always been a great friend and mentor, but the precise reason that he had chosen to pay such close attention to him of all ponies was a mystery left unsolved. After Sky had coincidentally been offered a job as headmaster at the University that he would be attending. By Princess Celestia no less. How a high school science teacher, even one as 'unique' as Clockwork, got a personal request from Celestia herself was beyond anypony. And considering that the Princess was the one that offered him the position, nopony had even bothered to question it. Now Sky worked there in the observatory, and he got to see Clockwork every day. Or evening, depending on what shift he had.

Sky smiled, momentarily forgetting his worries. "Still not showing any signs of aging. Mom still begs for his 'secret' every time she meets him. That cheeky old fool never says a word. I'm extremely curious myself actually, for academic reasons of course..."

"Ya, I'm starting to think that old stallion is going to outlive us!" They shared a laugh, doing so going far to settle Sky's nerves.

"Thanks Quick, I'm sorry you and the others have to deal with me when I'm like that."

"No worries, we both know I have my moments to. And to be honest, it not nearly as entertaining when we have to drag Octi out of her studio for a rest as it is to give you a good thwack." Another laugh, and Sky rubbing his head and winced. Then he frowned.

"Still... even if I don't get fired, it suck. It's my life my, even my cutie mark say so! The more they light up the city, the more the sky darkens, the more useless I feel..." Sky's ears drooped as he fell backwards onto the couch with his eyes closed. He sighed. "How am I going to fix this Quick? I can't just sit here doing nothing while the sky goes dark around me..."

Quick Write gave his best friend a look of sympathy, then turned to his book again. He had no response to that.

The next day, Sky got into his work with less vigor than usual. He had the morning shift, going through what the ponies on last night had observed and recorded; not his favorite job. There wasn't much, for obvious reasons, Sky thought. He lazily sifted through the data sheets and journal entries. Nope, nope, nothing knew here, no observable change there, we can't even SEE that cluster anymore. He soon felt the urge to pass it of to Star Chaser, but decided against it. That wasn't fair, Chaser was in the same boat he was, he didn't need more work.

The day began to slowly crawl by, consumed by checking, double checking, and triple checking all the data. Sky began to wonder if this day would ever end. Slowly, He began to lose the fight against boredom as his eyes began to rebel and close on their own. Just as he was about to fall asleep, a familiar voice called out.

"Oy, whats this? did I take a wrong turn and end up in the Polysomnography department? WAKE UP LAD!" Sky's eyes shot open, and he let out a tremendous yelp as he jumped out of his chair. In a rush to turn around, he's front left hoof landed on a piece of paper on the linoleum. His hoof gave out beneath him and he landed face first on the ground. As he lay there, he could hear laughing, but he wasn't sure if it was Star or Clockwork. Finally getting the stars to clear, he looked up to see Clockwork, not laughing but smiling broadly at his good work. Star had apparently joined him on the floor in his laughing fit.

"So, now that that's over, maybe you can tell me whats going on here?"

Sky slowly stood up, rubbing his chin. 'My friends are bringing me an unusual amount of pain lately,' He thought. "Well besides you scaring the daylights out of me, not much. Or anything for that matter. What about you? I can't remember the last time you came and visited my department. Something up?"

"What, you expect me to need something from you? That's what you think of me now? I thought we knew each other better Sky!" Clockwork put on a terrible pout face.

Sky gave him a deadpan look. "Be serious Clockwork. I don't mean to be rude, but I don't really feel up to it right now."

Clockwork very quickly stopped his charade. His expression turned serious, which was an uncommon enough occurrence to get the attention of anyone close to him. "Yes, I've heard that. Your friends came in earlier this morning and voiced their concern. Now that I see it for myself, I can say I feel the same. Came in here to try and cheer you up."

"So scaring me to death and causing physical pain was your attempt at humor?"

"Well Star here seamed to find it amusing. Isn't that right chap?"

Star, now recovered and wiping a tear from his eye, chuckled and continued in his efforts to reorganize his fallen papers. "Oh yes headmaster, it was just the thing I needed to make my day. Good to see you by the way."

"Indeed." Clockwork turned back to Sky momentarily, before looking back to Star Chaser. "Excuse us Star, but I need to talk to Sky here for a moment. You wouldn't mind would you?"

"No no, of course not, I was about to head out anyways, its getting around to quitting time." Star finished stacking everything up and grabbed his things, then moved to the door. "Have a good night!"

Both the other ponies said their goodbyes before turning to each other. Clockwork continued.

"Sorry Sky, you know that humor was never one of my strong suits."

Sky did know. He was around the stallion enough to know that Clockwork had not a single funny bone in his body. It was just his quirky behavior and occasional social awkwardness that made him fun to be around. "It's all right, really, no harm done. And I'm fine, really. Whatever the others told you it probably isn't as bad as all that."

"I'm not sure that's true Sky. Quick was quite concerned for you after your last discussion together. And she was trying to hid it, but Miss Octavia was rather put-out as well. You haven't been yourself lately, everyone can see that much."

Sky gave a sigh of exasperation. He didn't want this, none of it. The problem, his friends trying to be the solution, all he wanted was for his life to go back to the way it was. 'How could street lamps of all things be such a BOTHER?!'

"Sky, I'm not going to give you a lecture on what to do here. Your much to old for that and I don't think it's what you need in this situation. What I will say is that I, and all of your friends for that matter, are here to help. You know that right?"

"Help?" Sky asked with a disbelieving tone. "How can you, or anyone help? This isn't a social problem Clockwork, not even really a work one. The stars are going out!"

Clockwork shivered a little. That line brought back a some memories.

"And unless you can find me a pony who can fix that, there's not much you, or anypony can do." Sky turned back to his desk. "Now if you will excuse me, I have some work to do. Thanks for visiting Clockwork, I'll see you later."

Clockwork thought for a moment. 'Bring back the stars huh? I could go back in time and... no, that would be an absurd abuse of power, she would never allow it. So temperamental sometimes. Maybe Celestia would listen if I asked her to remove them. No, that wont work either. She's a friend but I'm sure she wouldn't take down all the lights in Canterlot for this. Maybe Luna could... no not that-No, WAIT! that's it!' A smile spread across Clockworks face, looking as if it where attempting to split his face, unseen by Sky. 'This, is, BRILLIANT!'

"Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow, yes? Alright, see you then, Bye!" And with that, he bolted out of the observatory as fast as his legs would carry.

"...Ok, bye... Clockwork?" Sky saw that his friends was no longer present, and gave a mental shrug before begrudgingly returning to his work. 'The paperwork won't do itself.'

Clockwork was already to his office, and was grabbing his jacket. He then made his way out of the university and cut a path to his next stop. This would solve everything! Absolutely brilliant! Clockwork smiled to himself as he went along. Then he realized something that made him smile. 'After all this time, he's finally on his way, isn't he? Oh boy, if half the things he told me are true, he is in for quite the adventure.' He laughed. He almost felt bad for what he was about to do. But it had to be done, both for the good of Equestria, as well as for Sky. "Oh he is going to hate me later," he laughed.

And with that, Clockwork went about his plan, making his way to the royal palace.

Author's Note

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I know that all these unspoken moments with Clockwork (The Doctor) are confusing, but that's because I don't want this thing filled to the brim with expositions. Anything that could be confusing you, I'm sure can either be explained with a little reading between the lines, or in later chapters. If not, feel free to ask. Also, if you DO like this story, and the previous one, feel free to spread it around a little. Please? I would love to get some more views on here.

As always, comments, help, and critiques are encouraged.

Chapter 2

After Clockwork's departure, Sky went right back to work. The papers still needed reading and organizing, and since Star Chaser had gotten off earlier due to earlier hours, he did so alone. Progress seemed to slow to a crawl, and the clock refused to move any faster either. The longer he worked, Sky continued to dwell not only on the conversation with Clockwork, but on the topic it had been over. He sat there and brainstormed up a few ideas on how to fix his current dilemma as he worked, some more realistic than most. He was sure the royal guard would not approve of him and his imagined single pony crusade to smash every lamppost in Canterlot. That was a rather... EXTREME plan the more he thought about it. But at the moment, nothing sounded more satisfying. Such a petty little thing, and it was causing him this much grief. Sky gradually became more and more aggravated, as the slow day ground on his nerves. He didn't think he had ever had a bad day at work before. This is probably what it was like. He began to count the minutes as they slowly passed by.

Eventually, Sky's shift ended, but his replacement had yet to come in. 'Sweet Celestia, where is Comet?' He tapped his hoof impatiently as he tried to look busy, while he moved data sheets on the desk back and forth to pass the time. He was so BORED! About ten minutes passed the time he was supposed to leave, the door to the observatory opened.

"I'm here! So sorry Sky, I left my saddlebags at the cafe I stopped at before heading over, had to go back for them." Comet Trail casually walked in with a small grin adorning his muzzle. For some reason, this bothered Sky. Why was HE so happy?

"Well about time," Sky snapped. "I was starting to think you had gotten lost on your way here!" Comet blinked. He had never seen his co-worker like this before. Sky was cheerful most of the time, and if not that at least content. He couldn't remember the last time Sky had been this upset, if ever.

His look turned cautious. "Well... ok. I'm here now so you can... go ahead and leave then."

"Fine by me. See you next time Comet."

"See ya, Sky."

Comet turned to the mass of papers that Sky had stacked on the desk. All this left? 'Hope that kid gets out of whatever funk he is in, because that was bad. For him at least. Poor guy.'

Sky slammed his door shut behind him as he slid his saddlebags off of him. "Excellent plan Sky, now that you have successfully alienated yourself from everypony you work with, what do you plan to do now? Stupid!"

Sky heard a meow come from above. Sitting on the top of a shelf was his cat, Selene. The Bombay feline was looking down at him with curious emerald eyes, oddly pony-like in the way they displayed her emotions. 'What happened?' She seemed to ask.

After the walk home, Sky had realized his less than stellar performance with is coworkers. He let his frustration boil. "Oh, I don't know, lets recap shall we? A grump to Star is the first one that comes to mind. I was rude to Clockwork and sent him away for trying to be a good friend, and Comet? He probably hates me after that performance. How does that sound? Maybe I'll just lock myself away for a little while so nopony else can get my goat. But on second thought, who exactly HAVEN'T I yelled at yet?"

On cue, moments after he sat down, he heard a knock on his door. "Ugh, that wasn't an invitation!" He walked up to the door, and Selene returned to the nap she had been having before her owner had gotten home. She didn't care much for company. Attempted a calming breath beforehoof, Sky opened the door.

"Hello Sky, do you have a moment? If it isn't to much trouble of course."

Octavia stood on the other side. As usual, her grey coat was in pristine conditions, and her charcoal mane was brushed to perfection. The young cellist's was largely inexpressive, a straight face, and thin lips with a rigid posture. A result of her training for stage performances, to keeping up appearances when playing. But her eyes were expressive as ever, their magenta depth's holding a look of unspoken worry. 'Well, more questions and concerns. Let's try not to screw this one up, shall we?'

"Of course not Tav, come in. Want anything? I have some tea in the kitchen."

"No, I shouldn't think this will take long, no need to fuss over me. Thank you though."

Sky stepped aside for her to enter in past him. He watched as she walked by, and couldn't help but give a sad smile. 'If only you would let me.' He shook his head. Nope, not the time. 'She's here to state concern, she will ask for me if she can help, and then I'll send her on her way. Besides, she already made her position clear on the matter...' Despite this sad thought, and all of his previous worries, the smile stayed on his face. Being around Octavia had a tendency to make him happier. He closed the door behind them, then made his way into the kitchen to make some tea anyways. He reentered the living room a few minutes later to see that

"There we are, iced black tea with a hint of milk, two sugars."

"Sky-"

"No-no, I won't hear it. I know it's your favorite." Indeed he did. In fact, the only reason that he had the stuff was she loved it. He didn't dislike tea by any means, it was still better than that Celestia-awful coffee. But he was more of a cider kind of pony. Non-alcoholic of course. He had a stash of that set aside for Quick and himself.

Octavia took the tea and gave him one of her dainty smiles. He smiled back before sitting down across from her on a pillow while she took the couch.

"Thank you, Sky, always the gentlecolt."

"You know me."

"Indeed I do." She took a small sip of her drink and savored it for a moment before she looked back to Sky. "Now, shall we get on to why I am here?"

"Straight to the point huh? Ok then, I guess that would be the next course of action, yes. But I am fairly sure that I know what you are going to say. I'm ok Tav, really, there's no-"

"I completely understand."

"I KNOW its foalish, everyone else has already either voiced that or-wait what?!"

"I understand what you're going through. I know it must be tough for you to go through all of this and I just wanted you to know that."

Sky was given pause for a second. He was not expecting this to be Octavia's response to his dilemma. Of the three of them, She had always been the more level headed and serious one of the group. Her only real breakdowns were when they had to reel her in from her never-ending practice sessions. To hear her acknowledge his problem as something other than juvenile was not what he had expected. What HAD been expected was a discussion on how he needed to get past it, and an offer of assistance with his 'depressed state.' But here she was, telling him that she understood? And no offer of help out of pity?

"Um... ok? I'm going to be honest, I was not expecting that."

"What were you expecting? Reprimand, an offer of help?"

"Well no... maybe."

She giggled, a musical sound that reminded him of wind-chimes. He left himself to revel in it a moment before continuing.

"Well, you see it's just that everypony else has already taken to telling me that its not really worth worrying about, or that their here to 'help' me like its an addiction to cider."

"But you are addicted to cider." She deadpanned.

"No I am not! It's non-alcoholic remember? I just have a great appreciation for the drink."

"It doesn't have to be alcoholic for it to be an addiction Sky." She giggled again at his attempted defense for the keg he thought was successfully hidden away under his counter. He couldn't have come up with a worse place to stash it away.

"Whatever."

"The point being Sky is that I know what this must be like for you. And I am not just saying that. Do you remember when I was put on hiatus back when I was still rather new to the orchestra? They claimed that my performances were starting to lack, and told me that I needed to take a break. I was confident they were firing me, even went as far as to try and lock myself away in my room. "

"Yes, I remember. Many flying instruments and angry shouts were heard that day." Sky almost seemed to fade away for a moment as a flashback of a cello bow flying at his face came to him.

"Indeed, not one of my more... shining moments, I will admit." She blushed as she remembered going to Quick and apologizing for hitting him over the head with one of Vinyl's turntables.

"Anyways, that is what I mean when I say that I understand what you are going through at the moment." She walked over and sat down next to him, and put one hoof on top of his. "I know what it is like to believe that the thing you love is about to be taken away from you. I was sure I was going to lose my job, my dream of being a big-time performer. You are certain that you're going to lose your stars, and that your job will be, as you said yourself to Quick, 'useless.' It may not seem like a lot to others or even to me, but I know how hard it must be for you. But I also know that you can't let it control you either. It's alright for you to be concerned, but do try not to mope so much, huh? Don't end up like I was. And as for the lending a hoof, I also know that there isn't really much anypony can do here. This is something that I know to have to deal with in your own way. So I won't say I'm here to help. What I will say, however, is that I am here if you need somepony to talk with about it. Does that sound fair?"

Sky didn't respond in words. He sat there for a few seconds, then decided to take a chance and move in for a hug. She didn't fight it and even seemed to be expecting one. He wrapped one hoof around her in a half hug and stayed that way for a short while. Then, after the moment had passed, they separated.

"Thank you Tav, I really needed to hear that."

"As I said, I know how it feels, so I kind of had a feeling you might."

"Ya, but thanks anyway."

"Anytime."

There was a moment of silence between the two. Now that Octavia's reason for being here was dealt with, she had no reason to stay. But she also felt that just walking out immediately after that little moment would be rather tactless on her part. Sky sat there and questioned whether or not he should say something. It had been forever, forever being about a month ago, since they had really talked. Not since the little... incident.

'Now or never Sky, you have been waiting for a moment to say this for weeks now, it might as well be now.' Sky took a moment and prepared to confront a rather uncomfortable subject. For him at least.

"I'msorryforlastmonth"

"Eh, pardon?"

Sky took a deep breath and tried to speak in a more calm manner. "I mean I am sorry for what happened last month. I know it was kinda out of the blue, and I really should have seen it coming. In fact, I did sort expect something like what you said but I asked anyway because I was being stupid and I should have thought it through more and Ireallywasn'tthinkingaboutourfriendshipatthetimeandsoIwantedtosaysorry!" He gasped for air, having said all of this in one breath.

Octavia frowned. Not a disappointed frown, or an angry one. She looked sad. "THAT'S why you have been avoiding me? Sky, I thought that we went over this at the time. It's not your fault. I was the one not ready for a relationship. It wasn't anything to do with you, I'm just not there yet. You shouldn't be beating yourself up for something like that."

"But I KNEW it was a bad idea! We've been friends for what, eight years? After all that time, I should have known that it wouldn't work. At this point, it would be weird, right? I mean, at this point the three of us are more like siblings! I was being a foal, and I thought you would hate me after what happened. so I was waiting for you to come say something, but when you never came, I figured that you just didn't want to be around me anymore, so I-"

Quick had his own way of stopping Sky's episodes. So did Octavia. Most of the time both of their plans involved some form of solid object. She was about to go for the umbrella sitting on the rack next to her when another, more agreeable, much less violent idea came to her. With a slight tinge of red in her cheeks at what she was about to do, she leaned over and gave Sky a light peck on the cheek.

All sound in the room stopped in a single moment. Octavia backed away, giving a bit more space than had been there before to her fellow earth pony. Selene took notice of the deathly silence and looked up, wondering how exactly her slumber had suddenly gotten so blissfully quiet. Finding it of no consequence, she closed her eyes once more.

Sky was sitting at attention, perfect posture as his body went rigged. The entirety of his face turned a deep red like a tomato, and all coherent thought flew out the window as he stared off into space where he had been looking moments before.

"Are you... feeling better now?" Octavia asked gently.

"..."

"Sky?"

"...In some ways more than others, yes."

"Alright then. Sorry if that was a little bit over the top."

"No, your alright that was... Quite alright." He was still staring at the wall.

"It wasn't your fault. Not to sound too cliche, but it isn't you, it's me. I'm not ready to really consider a relationship at the moment. And I am sorry Sky. You're a nice pony, and a great friend. And maybe if I wasn't so caught up in my music. But as things stand..."

"It ok, I completely understand. Your career comes first, it always has. The same goes for me. I love what I do and I wouldn't give it up for anything." He turned, looking a tad calmer, and looked her in the eyes. "No hard feelings?"

Octavia smiled. "None at all. There never were in the first place. If we had just talked to each other afterward this whole discussion wouldn't have to happen at all!"

"Ya, guess we're kinda idiots huh?"

"Only some of the time."

They sat in silence, a comfortable one, unlike the ones that had come before. Then Octavia looked up at the clock and saw what time it was. "Drat, I told Vinyl I would be home five minutes ago to help her record her latest album! I'm sorry Sky, but I have to go now."

"No problem, and don't worry, I'm fairly certain that roommate of yours, the night owl she is, will probably still be waking up."

In fact, the young DJ was still snoring away in her room after a triple encore concert the night before. Many ciders had been had, and there would be an amazing headache awaiting her when she was awoken by her roommates' apologies for being late.

"Well, all the same, no sense in being tardy myself."

The two of them stood up, Octavia to leave, Sky to lead her out. They approached the door and Sky opened it, then moved aside.

"It was good to see you again Tav. Sorry for being a stranger for so long. See you later then?"

"Of course, no further need for this awkward atmosphere, right? I'll see you later Sky, have a good day." And with that, Octavia walked out.

Closing the door behind her, Sky turned back to the living room and sat back down. Now that company was gone, Selene decided to come down and visit. She softly leaped down from her perch on the shelf and padded over to sit in Sky's lap. He smiled to himself. "That went well. Very well, much better than I expected."

"Meow."

"Yes, I am a little disappointed. But if she isn't up for it, then it's not my place to decide. She did say there was a chance though, remember that? When she has time to focus on something other than work."

Selene purred as she rubbed against Sky's leg.

"I guess today wasn't SO bad. And she's right, I can't let this thing get to me. It's been taking over my life ever since it started."

"Mrow?"

"Tomorrow I wake up a new pony. Thanks for listening girl. Sometimes it's hard to remember that you can't really understand. And remind me to thank Octavia again the next time I see her."

Sky stood up and entered the kitchen to begin making dinner. Selene rolled her eyes. Her owner failed to see the irony in what he had just said, but she did not.

The cat licked her paw to clean her face a little, then stood up and followed Sky into the kitchen.

Clockwork had been waiting in front of Luna's door for the last fourteen minutes, forty-two seconds for her to awaken. 'She does love to sleep in, doesn't she? Or perhaps she gets up early? hard to tell with her reversed sleep schedule.' It was currently 9:39 at night, and Clockwork was getting impatient. Normally he knew exactly how things went. Other sensible creatures had a set internal clock or a schedule they liked to keep. But young Lulu was intent on being the odd mare out. She never had a schedule. He remembered how one afternoon she would be up at eight o' clock on the dot. The next, like tonight, she would wake up anywhere between eight and ten. 'Must have something to do the phases of the moon or something? Perhaps I look into that, it sounds like a very plausible answer. Why haven't I thought of that before?'

As he was thinking, the doors to the lunar princesses resting chambers opened, and revealed none other than Luna herself. This was lost, however, on Clockwork, as he continued his internal discussion about said princesses sleeping habits. The princess of the night stopped and stared when she saw the stallion in front of her door. When her appearance did not invoke a response, she raised an eyebrow. He was completely oblivious, muttering to himself while looking down at the floor. Rolling her eyes, she took the moment to observe the pony in question. His charcoal coat was accented by his dark grey, bordering black mane. He wore a ridiculous red bow-tie, and an even more absurd top hat. 'Excellent, another ridiculous noble without a single bit of fashion sense. Not that I am one to judge, but still.' Next, she looked down to his flank to see his hourglass... cutie-mark... Faust above, it was him!

"DOCTOR! OH THOUGH DOTH NOT KNOW HOW MUCH IT PLEASES US TO SEE AN OLD FRIEND SUCH AS THYSELF!"

Clockwork gave a high pitched scream as he leaped into the air. Luna took the chance to grab him in her magical aura and pull him into her warm, but extremely tight, embrace.

"OH HOW WE HAVE MISSED THEE! HOW FARE YE IN THIS MODERN ERA? YOU SIMPLY MUST SIT DOWN AND SHARE WITH US SOME OF YOUR ADVENTURES, IT HAS BEEN FAR TO LONG! NO DOUBT THE NUMBER OF SAID TAILS HAS GROWN IN OUR ABSENCE?"

The stallion she was currently hugging was beginning to turn purple though his dark coat. "L-Lu-lu... can't... breath..."

She realized what it was she was doing and dropped him suddenly onto his back. He let out a gasp for air as he tried to recover from the attempted pony-slaughter.

"Ohh... WE- I MEAN... I... apologize Doctor, I do still tend to forget mine own strength."

"It's-*wheeze*-quite alright Lu-lu-*gasp*-. No harm done."

Luna decided to wait until Clockwork was finished catching his breath before speaking. Once his oxygen intake had returned to an acceptable level, she spoke.

"So, what art though doing outside mine chambers? Tis' not the strangest thing you have been found doing, but all the same..."

"Oh, that? I was just waiting for you to finally get your royal flank out of bed to speak with you."

Luna laughed. "Ha-ha! Verily? Thou could have come later in the evening when thou knew that thee would have the chance to speak with us, I mean me, could you not?" She loved the Doctor. One of the few creatures in the world and those beyond that would speak to Tia and herself as a friend rather than ruler... besides Discord that is.

"This is important, and I needed to talk to you tonight before I get back to the wife and start on the paperwork."

"WIFE?!"

"TARDIS! Just the TARDIS! A nickname she got a while back, nothing more!"

"Oh thank goodness."

Clockwork raised an eyebrow. Luna's eyes widened.

"W-We did not mean it as such! Merely that thou hast not changed from the Doctor we loved so all those years ago."

The eyebrow stayed raised.

"W-Wait! We meant such in a purely platonic way, truly! Thou... we meaning Celestia and I both... I-"

Clockwork put his hoof up to her mouth, silencing her. She looked at him in worry that she might have somehow ruined their reunion after so long.

"I know exactly what you mean Lu-lu, no need to clarify. And you forget that I was there when your... unique form of speech was not so uncommon. Your words were not misunderstood."

Luna's shoulders sagged in relief, and she nodded. He removed his hoof from her muzzle.

"And... paperwork?"

"I am the headmaster at the university hear in Canterlot... Long story, not nearly as interesting as the others, trust me."

"Well... since thou has sought me out, for reasons not apparently including that wondrous box of yours... one can assume thou need a favor?"

"What? I never... well yes, I suppose that is true. You know me too well Luna. Though, it is more of a suggestion than a request. And it's you, Luna, just so you know."

"Indeed. Thou... You can change your face however many times as you want Doctor, you will still always be our Doctor. Now, what is it that you have to ask of me? If it is as important as your presence leads me to believe, there will be time to catch up at a later date."

Clockwork grinned as he pulled a piece of paper from his saddlebags. "Well, you know that Canterlot is much more industrial than the world you left behind long ago before the... incident."

"Yes, indeed this is true. Go on."

"Well, you also know that as a result of the lights being set up around the city, your... nigh sky, heh... has become less and less visible to the ponies living here."

Luna frowned. "Also true, I have noticed this of late. It troubles me that I must leave the confines of the city in order to do my work in the heavens every night."

"Well, it just so happens, a friend of mine brought this to my attention recently, and he is just as concerned as you are about the situation."

Her frown changed into a smile once more. "It gladdens me to know that there are ponies out there that admire my beautiful sky in this day and age."

"Yes, a great deal of them, many work with me at the university. My friend happens to be one of them. And so, as this was brought to my attention, I thought of a way to fix this little predicament that he is in, and I thought you might like to know. It doesn't hurt that it also needs either your sisters or your own orders to happen in the first place."

Luna became more interested in this paper that Clockwork was holding in his hoof. "Is that so? Let us see this proposal then Doctor."

Clockwork nodded as a light blue aura surrounded the paper and lifted them up to Luna's eye level, and unfolded it. Her eyes scanned the sheet, and as they did, her smile grew.

"Yes... yes this is a very good idea. and I very much approve of the choice of site. And I assume that this friend of yours...?"

"I was hoping that he would be placed in charge, yes."

Luna took the paper and returned it into Clockwork's saddlebag.

"That seems acceptable. Very well, Doctor, we shall give orders for the project immediately. And I shall announce this at the university tomorrow, as I am sure your companion would love to know of this plan of yours."

"Oh, he isn't a 'companion'. Just a good friend. The best of friends."

"Hmmm, indeed? Very well. In the meantime, do you wish to stay and chat, or is there more pressing matters at the moment?"

"Well like I said, I have to get back to sexy. She can get temperamental if I return late, and I have paperwork that needs doing before tomorrow. Wouldn't want to be late now would I?"

Luna gave him a deadpan stare.

"Doctor?... You have a small blue box that is capable of complete and permanent temporal displacement."

"I... ah, yes, of course, I tend to forget sometimes, it has been a while since I last did that."

Shock crossed the princess's face. "Verily? How so? That does not seem like you at all."

Clockwork looked up at her. "No, no I suppose not. Why don't we go somewhere more comfortable where we can talk?"

"Very good idea Doctor. This way then."

And with that, they turned and began there walk to the dining room, to remember old times and discuss the new.

Chapter 3 Author's Note

A huge thank you to The Great Derpsby for reviewing my work. I appreciate the help man, keep being awesome! /)*(\

Another chapter for ya'll! Hope you enjoy!

And if you guys are starting to get tired of these chapters that don't seem to go anywhere, don't worry, the fun stuff is coming up soon. So, as a favor to you guys who are actually following, (The few in number you may be,) I will give you guys the option. Which, of the cannon characters should Sky meet first upon his arrival to Ponyville? I leave it up to you.

Options:
CMC
Twilight
Applejack
Rarity
Rainbow Dash
Spike
Pinkie Pie

Fluttershy is not on the list because I figured she should probably be introduced by once of the other main six since she wouldn't do it herself, since she is... well... her.
Anyways, till next time!

Chapter 3

The morning started on a happier note for Sky than the ones before. He woke up and slammed down on the alarm next to his head, and only grumbled a little as he attempted to rub the sleep from his eyes. Octavia's visit the day before had really helped him with his downtrodden demeanor. While his new outlook did nothing to make him a morning pony, he got out of bed with the only thing he currently hated in life being the alarm clock. And spiders, but that was a constant.

"... And grapefruit... and the cold... and clowns... what was I doing?"

Shaking off his sleep-addled brain's absurd train of thought, Sky found himself in the bathroom, apparently having walked in on auto-pilot. He got to work starting his daily routine, a quick shower, brushing his teeth, a brief combing of his mane to be sure it wasn't TOO messy. A look in the mirror told him that he was ready to start the day.

Now leaving the bathroom, Sky turned the other way and made his way towards the kitchen. Along the way, he passed Selene's cat tree, upon which the cat herself slept. The small feline got up and stretched and let out a large yawn, showing of her canines.

"Morning girl, how went the watch last night?"

"Mreeow..."

"Indeed. Well if that's the case, how about some breakfast, hmm? Tuna perhaps?"

"Meow!"

Sky continued on past the tree and into the kitchen, Selene now in tow. More awake than he was twenty minutes ago thanks to the hot shower, Sky got to thinking on what the day would entitle. 'It was slow going yesterday, what with my little depression episode. Probably be a bit of catching up to do. And then there is whatever was recorded last night of course. That won't be a problem as long as I keep focus. What else? What day is it, Wednesday? Today's the staff meeting! A well, not like they announce anything interesting at those anyways. Not to say it will be boring with our dear Clockwork about. Looks like where running low on eggs...'

Sky continued to go through potential to-do's for the day while he set up for a simple breakfast of eggs, toast, and hay-browns. As the pans heated up, he opened a can of tuna and placed it in a bowl before laying it out for Selene. She rubbed against his leg and purred before turning to her meal.

Sky smiled. That little ball of fur had him wrapped around her paw. She had been a gift to him from his sister Evergreen going on two years ago for his birthday. Evergreen's friends cat had a litter, and Selene was the one that his sister felt would suit him. Reportedly when Evergreen had been choosing one at her friends behest, one kitten in particular had crawled up to her lap, curled up, and purred herself to sleep. The moment that he had lay eyes on her, he had loved that cat. She was the most adorable thing he had ever seen, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. She had taken a liking to him almost immediately, which was strange considering her attitude towards most others, including some of the ponies she saw most often. Still, she was well mannered, never chewed or marked, and was all around the best gift Sky could have ever asked for, except maybe the telescope he had gotten for his seventh birthday. That of course held number one as the best gift ever, as it was the gift that had helped him discover his special talent.

Sky went back to prepping a meal of his own. Eggs scrambled, toast in the toaster, hay-browns on the stove-top. A few minutes later and he was looking upon a work of art. The eggs where a perfect yellow, infused with onion, peppers, and oregano, with a light coat of salt and cheese. They lay next to a beautifully done pile of hay-browns, which where a deep tan color. The toast was a little dark, but it was still good. And of course, the whole meal would be for naught without a large cup of cold orange juice to wash it down. He felt like drooling for a moment before he realized that would be wasting time that he could be spending eating. He got to work cleaning the plate of the 'artwork' he had been admiring moments before.

The beautiful part about Sky's job was the schedule. It was a little erratic at times, due to changing shifts, but he was used to it. And thanks to it, there was occasionally days he had a late start at work, and was able to do things like this. Of course, he still had an alarm set to be sure he didn't sleep ALL day long, and also to be sure that he could do things like this.

He finished his meal and licked his lips, before looking to Selene, who was now making her way back to the living room, most likely to sleep some more. He then turned to the clock. It was 7:30, an hour till he had to be at work. Plenty of time to do... something.

'Well, what to do. I already saw Tav and Clockwork yesterday, and they're both probably working anyways. I could go visit Quick, but he's trying to wrap up that novel of his, and I wouldn't want to intrude on that. Who else... Dad would be at work, but Mom might be home about now. No, wait, she's on call this week, don't want to bother her if she just got of a midnight call or something... Maybe just browse around the market?... Ya, right, who am I, Autumn? Sounds like something she would do. Well horseapples, what now?'

Sky sat in his seat for a while thinking, before finally he stood up and walked over and placed his dishes in the sink for later and headed towards the front door. There was nothing for him here, so if he couldn't come up with anyone to see, or anything to do at home, he might as well head to the observatory early. Maybe take the scenic route, make a pass around the palace or something. The airship docks would be nice and clear right about now. The morning launch was about and hour ago, so nopony would be there other than the staff.

Now that he had a plan on how to waste the next hour or so, he put on his saddlebag and opened the door. The weather was perfect, just a few clouds in the sky, and the temperature was a comfortable, moderate level. He took a deep breath and turned around to look inside.

"See you tonight Selene, watch the house for me!"

"Mreow!" Her owner really needed to stop that, he was starting to worry her. He was such a strange pony. Then again, that was part of the reason she liked him so much. All the others where so boring to listen to. Accept that Clockwork fellow, he was excellent company. Always able to keep up his side of the conversation. When Sky wasn't watching of course. And always the gentlecolt as well, she did love being complimented on her coat.

Sky stepped out and closed the door behind him. He took a moment to appreciate the beautiful day, then wondered if it was in fact the view, or in fact his attitude change that was so different today. 'Well, here we go, first day with a new outlook. Not letting those horrid lights get the better of me.'

He made a turn towards the docks. He had a feeling today was going to be fantastic. He felt happy, a strange, energetic happiness that he felt like spreading. Funny, was this what Clockwork felt like all the time? It would definitely explain the headmaster's eccentric sometimes crazy behavior. He felt his grin widen at the thought. "I wonder what that old stallion has planned for the meeting this week?" With this on his mind, he slowly made his way down the meandering path to work, feeling ready to take on anything today might bring.

Chapter 4

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 5

It had been the longest month and a half of Sky's life, for more reasons than one. He had been able to convince his mother that he had not been fired, was not leaving to get away from home, and did not need her to look for a house, for him or for anyone else. But once the crisis had passed, Gentle Touch had gotten... clingy. It was not as if Sky didn't love his mother to death, he did. He loved his family more than anything, and enjoyed the occasional visit. But, when family comes to ones house every day... for hours on end... simply to 'spend time with her little colt', it crosses an unspoken line that Sky happened to have much respect for. He had managed to get his fathers assistance in convincing her that he was not going far, and that they did not need to smother him. He was having a hard time figuring out how hearing that from Easy Fix had managed what innumerable attempts of his own had failed. Still, even without understanding it, he was grateful to be out from under the constant barrage of baked goods. Sky was certain that he would never be able to choke down another cupcake for as long as he lived.

But now the wait was over. Sky, along with his friends and family, were standing at the station waiting for the train to leave. Butterflies were dancing around in his stomach as he waited for departure. All his things where loaded, his preparations made, everything was packed and ready to go. All the was left was Sky himself. Deciding to get goodbyes out of the way before the conductor announced boarding, Sky turned to Clockwork first, who was currently deep in conversation with Selene, who for her part was being strangely attentive to the eccentric stallion, only looking away to occasionally lick her paw. As he approached, he caught onto what it was 'they' were talking about. Clockwork was using a surprisingly serious tone for the individual he was sharing the conversation with.

"-out of trouble though. Just because he is an adult doesn't mean he doesn't act like a child every once and a while. We don't want him doing something I wouldn't do. Or would do. You know what I mean."

Selene gave a meow in response. Then upon seeing her owner, stood and walked over to Sky, leaping up onto his back to lay down.

Sky reached around and stroked her down the length of her back a several times, receiving a light purr in response. "I swear, if I didn't know any better, I would say she understands every word you say to her. Even I have a hard time getting her to pay attention. And thank you for caring, but I am quite certain that I can handle myself. Ponyville is such a small town, its not like I could get into any kind of trouble in the first place, right?"

"No... I suppose your right there. Nothing at all interesting ever happens in Ponyville." Clockwork said with a not-so-well hidden tone of amusement. He briefly let escape a light snicker at the other stallions expense. He knew that Sky was just a bit of a shut in, but this was rich.

Sky gave Clockwork an un-amused look, seeing his humor as an admission of guilt. "... What are you up to?"

Clockworks amusement swiftly turned into confusion. He cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean 'what am I up to'? I assure you I have done absolutely nothing underhanded, conniving, or suspicious in the last thirteen weeks."

"Besides setting up this whole event in the first place?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call that conniving, would you?"

Sky continued his look of disapproval. "You have that look of yours. That one that says your in on the secret of the century, and your not telling me about it."

"Sky, I can assure you that I am not hiding any 'secret of the century' from you. But what I can tell you, is that life in Ponyville may just surprise you. It isn't quite as boring as you may think."

Sky's ears perked up. Was this a piece of Clockworks past? The old stallion talked, but for a pony who talked so much, he didn't say much. Sky still knew next to nothing about this mentor and friends past life, aside from the fact that he used to travel a lot. It was to good of an opportunity to pass up.

"Oh really, so you lived there for a while? When was that? Do you know any of the ponies there?"

The older stallion recoiled at the flurry of questions. He had forgotten to watch what he was saying. "Oh, um... yes, I did stay there for a while, a long time ago. And no, nopony in Ponyville should know me, I wasn't seen out and about very much." 'At least, not in this face.'

"Oh... that's to bad..." Well that lead fell flat. And now Clockwork was oddly eager to end the conversation, before he said anything else stupid.

"Well, I am certain everypony else will want a turn to say goodbye, so I'll go ahead and say it. But don't think you can get out of coming to visit every one-in-a-while! I don't just cease to exist the moment you stop observing me."

"Ha ha! Are you certain of that, because for the record, mom STILL has no clue how you don't look a day over thirty. And now I won't be around to save you when she starts pestering you again." Clockwork paled, and Sky couldn't help but laugh. "See you around Clockwork."

"Yes... yes see you around." The other stallion had a worried look in his eye, knowing the torrential downpour of questioning he was bound to receive short after Sky's departure.

Managing to hold back his mirth at Clockworks future predicament, Sky made it over to his family next, Selene still on his back. They where all grouped in the same general area, save Evergreen, who was currently away for work in Manehattan. His father was looking on at him with a strangely apprehensive look, while Gentle Touch was trying to round up the girls from their playing. Sky felt a strange lump enter his throat. He had never been a pony for needless roughhousing, and certainly they had had their disputes in the past, but he was strangely going to miss his siblings and their little bouts of silliness. He had gotten used to hearing them laugh and play, even after he left the house, when he heard it less, it was comforting to listen to them goof about when he visited the house.

Gentle had finally gathered everypony together, and now all eyes where turned to Sky, but attention being paid varied. Sunny Day was still giggling from the little play fight she had been having with her older sister, her jubilance shown clearly on her small face. Melody Tune was currently attempting to give Sky her full attention, but failing as Autumn Breeze, still wound up from playing with Sunny, was poking and prodding her sister mercilessly, while keeping eyes front.

"Alright, final checks then. Are you all ready to go dear? Feeling nervous at all, cramps, anything? Autumn, stop torturing your sister!"

"I'm fine mom, really. Everything is packed and ready. And yes, I feel perfectly fine."

Sunny, unable to contain her youthful energy, began bouncing up and down in excitement, like she was the one who was going on some grand adventure. "This is so cool! Be sure to send lots of letters, I want to know what everything looks like! I bet the telescope is huge, And there is lots more room to run around! You wouldn't even need a park like here! I'll bet the ponies there are super interesting too! And food right from the farm, I bet it would be sooo fresh! And I hear that princess Luna is planing to visit for Nightmare Night this year, that will be so COOL! Oh oh oh, Sky? Do you think we could come and visit you sometime? Pleeease?!"

All of this had come out of her mouth in less than ten seconds. For any normal pony, it would have been incomprehensible. But living with the little bundle of energy was not without its perks.

Sky felt her excited energy melt away some of his of the nervous kind. "Well I don't now Sunny, that would be up to Mom and Dad. What do you guys think?"

Sunny turned her huge eyes to mother, who was now forced to face the unrelenting powers of cute. Gentle, well trained in the art of countering such attacks after five children, managed to hold on long enough to divert attention back to Sky.

"I don't know about us dear. We can visit around the holidays, but your father and I get really busy around this time of year. I have a lot more ponies getting themselves into the hospital, and you father is still working on his new project. But you are out of school for summer sooo... if Sky doesn't mind taking care of you for short visits, that's fine by me."

Sunny pivoted back to Sky, bouncing up and down while somehow managing to maintain perfect eye contact with her older brother. "Please please please please!?"

"Of course she can come over! Just let me get settled in, and ask ahead of time, and I'm sure I can set something up for us to do!"

Sunny was ecstatic. "Yay! Oh this is going to be so cool!" She turned around and began to jump around in the area surrounding the station. Of all his sisters, Sky was going to miss seeing her the most. She always managed to brighten up everypony's day. Which is why he was so surprised she did not have her cutie mark yet. One would think that something so natural for somepony would be somewhat obvious to said pony. But she would find out on her own, just like everypony else.

With one goodbye down, and a sister that was most likely not coming back until she had expended the rest of her bountiful energy, Sky turned to his mother and father.

"Going to miss being so close to you guys all the time. Don't think you need a holiday to come visit, I work AT my house, so don't be afraid to just drop by, I'll probably be there."

His father spoke up for the first time since they had gotten there. "And we won't Sky, no need to worry. Just be sure to take care of yourself. I know the idea is that your mother is suppose to be the one having the panic attack..."

"Hey!"

"...But I can't help but feel a little worried. Your really haven't ever been more than a few blocks away from any one of use since... ever really. Evergreen was always a bit of a go-get'er, but its she still stays reasonably well connected most of the time. It's strange knowing that you wont be within throwing distance anymore. Message us when you get everything set up will ya?"

"I'll do that Dad, thanks. And like I told Clockwork, there isn't really any need to worry about me. Not like anything really big or dangerous really happens in Ponyville anyways right?"

Easy Fix raised an eyebrow. "Discord?"

Sky gave an uneasy chuckle. Oh ya, he had almost forgot about that. He had slept through most of that chaotic event due to his late night shift the day before. He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, to be fair, that little mishap did START here. And it was all over the place right? Besides, he's back in Canterlot now, so which spot is really safer?"

At that, both of his parent blinked and looked over their shoulder at the royal castle, where the statue of the chaos god was currently located. A slight shiver when through their spines as they recalled the absolute havoc that he had caused not four months before.

"And on that note, I think I had better move on to the others before the train leaves. You two don't be stranger either, you hear?" Sky asked, directing his gaze to Melody and Autumn.

"'Course not! You ain't getting rid of me that easily! Think one move and your free huh?"

"And I'll try and make the trips over too. Besides, I don't think Mom would much appreciate me blowing them over anyways."

"Indeed not! And speaking of blowing things over, so sorry that Evergreen couldn't be here to say goodbye Sky, you know how she is. She doesn't do it on purpose, I assure you."

Sky frowned just a little. Evergreen was always away doing something. Any chance she could get to go off and do something, she was gone. Work, friends, events, if she could get away from Canterlot, she would take it.

'You mean get away from us.' Sky thought darkly. 'She never really liked me or the girls anyways.'

He shook his head free of those ideas. No no, there was no reason to be so mean, she was just naturally an adventurous type. Couldn't stay in one place for too long. He had to be more understanding than that.

"Ya, no problem, its not really anypony's fault. I'll see her sooner or later. Maybe she'll even come to visit! Anyways, love ya Mom." He reached in for a quick hug, which she accepted, before moving on to the next group in waiting, Quick Write and Octavia.

"So, its finally happening huh? Big day isn't it, new town, new faces. Don't worry, with your natural charisma and charm, I'm certain you'll have us replaced in no time!"

"Hah, you think so? I'm sorry, what was your name again? Ink Quill? Mr.Book-to-Nose?"

"I resent that last one! MR.Book-to-Nose is my father."

A laugh was shared, but a brief, and even awkward one at that, as everypony present knew what was actually happening. They were stalling. The three of them had been nearly inseparable for years now. Sky had been the pony that brought their tight nit group together. If one of them wasn't working, they where out doing something, or just hanging out. Heck, sometimes they even came over to help each other on projects. Now Sky was moving to a new TOWN. A few months ago, none of them would have seen this coming. There was a moment of silence as Sky kicked his hoof on the platform below him. Octavia spoke next.

"Promise to visit? It won't be quite the same with just me and Quick here. And on a more serious note, don't forget about us would you? I think I speak for both of us when I say that we expect you to write as often as you can, visits more so."

This time, it was a sad smile that covered Sky's face. This was probably the hardest part of leaving; his friends. Both of them had no chance of moving to Ponyville, even if they wanted to. Quick had a mother that needed taking care of, and Octavia had her orchestra. The odds of them hanging out regularly like they used to where pretty much gone. But, he knew he couldn't pass this opportunity up. He would never forgive himself if he did.

"Of course. I couldn't leave you guys alone if I tried. But this isn't a one way street you know! I want to see you two coming down every so often as well.

"Definitely."

"Yes, of course."

The train whistle sounded, and the conductor finally made the announcement.

"ALL ABOARD THAT'S COMING ABOARD!"

Sky gave Quick Write a hoof-shake, and Octavia a quick hug, before turning to address everypony else.

"Well, this is it, off to Ponyville. See ya everypony, and don't worry, I'll write as soon as I can!"

A large collection and variety of farewells where returned to Sky as he made for the train. He stopped, remembering that animals where not allowed to roam free, and picked Selene up off his back, and placed her in his saddlebag, which she protested to briefly before resigning to the confines of the spacious pack. Handing the conductor his ticket on the way past, Sky walked into the train car and took the first seat available. Apparently it was not a very busy day, so at appeared he would have the seat all to himself. He moved to the window, and looked out to his friends and family who where all still at the platform, waving. He smiled and waved in return, as the train suddenly lurched and slowly began to pick up speed, moving away from Canterlot. Sky continued to wave back to his family until they where out of sight, and Canterlot began to fade into the distance. Then he sighed, and leaned back into his seat, taking an awkward position of laying out on his hindquarters, legs splayed outwards and back against the cushions.

'Why even have cushions on the backs of the seats in the first place? Why have backs to the seats at all? The car is to small for a minotaur to fit in, and a griffin wouldn't use them either. Of course, I'm using them now, but its not a normal position to take. Still, rather curious...'

Giving a mental shrug, he turned his attention away from the comfy chairs to the world outside his window. It was not often that he got out of the city, and he had never gotten off at Ponyville on any of their family outings. He began to watch the scene role by, as the train made its way through the mountains towards his new home.

Sky lay his forehead against the glass and gave a content sigh. "Onward and Upwards I guess."

Author's Note

Hey guy! I feel I have a lot to apologize for. First, SO sorry it took me this long to put this one out. It didn't take me that long, but it took me a while to send it to my editor. Then we had some communications difficulties and that took even longer. And that leads up to my second reason for apologizing. Misiour TheGreatDerpsby is currently out of commission, due to life being a pain. SO, I told him not to bother his head over it and to take a break. So, as I am confident in my abilities when it comes to writing, I am afraid my spelling is to put it bluntly... horrible. If you find any mistakes, please be merciful, as it is most defiantly not my strong suit.

Since you guys have failed to speak up, I decided to go ahead with my plans for the first day in Ponyville. And with some council from aforementioned (I cannot believe I spelled that right the first time!) Derpsby, I will be adding a special little OC into the story! Here's hoping I do her justice!

Anyways, enjoy the chapter and stay awesome. /)*(\

Chapter 6 Author's Note

Writers block hit me HARD on this chapter. I just couldn't get it to flow like I wanted for the dialogue. Sorry in advance for any 'less than stellar' writing.

Thanks as always to my editor, The Great Derpsby, for making my stuff readable...

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Chapter 6

The trip to Ponyville was far from the relaxing ride Sky had been expecting it to be. It had started off well enough, with a confident feeling, and a nervous excitement in his stomach. But only a half an hour later, his mind began to wander, his nervous excitement transforming into simple nervousness. With none of the other ponies in a very chatty mood, and the trip itself lacking enough time to get a decent amount of shuteye, Sky had no way do distract himself. Sky's trip soon became a story of him shifting in his seat and neurotically petting Selene. Not that she minded though, the pampering was welcomed.

For his part, Sky was largely unaware of what he was doing. He was far too busy working himself into a state of panic to pay attention to himself or his surroundings. Sky waged a mental war against himself, between his logical side, which was fighting hard to stay in control, and the seeds of doubt that had taken root in the back of his mind. To the outside observer, it would appear as if he where completely calm, if a little shaky. Inside, he was a wreck.

'They never gave me instructions on what to do next! What do I do once I get everything squared away!?'

'Foal, you KNOW what you're supposed to do! Your job didn't change all that much from before, all that's really changed is that you'll be going it alone. Get your stuff unpacked and go back to work as usual.'

'But what if I can't get back to the way is was before? There was always somepony else in the room! What if I end up running late for a report? Nopony else will be there to help me!'

'You work at home! And on your own schedule! If you're running behind on a couple of papers you can always just work a little longer to finish up! Besides, it not like you have never stayed late before. What would the difference be? Stop grasping for things to worry about.'

'But I'm not Comet, or Nightingale, or Keen! I'm just me, and I'm an astrophysicist! What happens when I find something I don't understand? My specialties aren't broad enough to handle doing this on my own! I'll end up missing something important! I'll be the only pony able to see something, in my BRAND NEW observatory, and I'll pass it by! A meteor will be hurling for Equus and I will completely ignore it!'

'Then don't ignore it you idiot!'

But is was far to late. While it had fought valiantly, his calm, collect self had lost control of the situation. Now noticeably less calm, and slowly spiraling deeper and deeper in to his panic attack, Sky spent the rest of the trip daydreaming of what horrors would come of his inattention to astronomical entities.

'I wonder where the Princesses will banish me after the aliens invade? Hopefully nowhere too cold, I despise the cold...

After a two hour ride, Sky was a bundle of nerves. He sat there, his hooves no longer stroking Selene, but instead running circles around themselves as he twiddled them. He looked back and forth as his inner monologue of potential disasters continued, and his mane seemed to have made itself slightly more of a rats-nest than usual. He didn't even notice as Ponyville began to grow in the distance, nor when the train made its approach, and even stop at the station. His attention was finally caught by the conductor, as he announced the trains arrival.

"Train from Canterlot, now stopped in Ponyville station! Next stop, Appleoosa!"

Sky jumped slightly, brought out of his internal debate by the conductors loud voice. He blinked owlishly as he looked around him at the other ponies on the train. None of them seemed to be getting off here, so it appeared he would have no trouble getting off, aside from his self-imposed terror. Sky gulped, his panic levels not lowering on arrival. He began to sweat as his fear took control of the situation from him.

'This was a bad idea, I'm not suited for this kind of work, not on my own. I should just get on the next train back. Let Gazer take the position here. I'm sure Clockwork and the Princess will understand, right? Right.'

Selene was sitting at Sky's side, prepared to depart from the train car. But he refused to get up to let her on, or even to open his bag for her to hop into. SHE was ready to leave, so why wasn't he? As she observed him, she could see no real physical reason for his delay. He had just a dab of perspiration on his coat, but that was likely due to the heat. What was taking so long?

Then she saw the look in her owners eyes, the fear, the uncertainty, and understood what was taking so long. She rolled her eyes, feeling put-off by his silliness. She would have felt more sympathy for him if it was not for the likely absurdity of his fear. Living with the pony, she knew from his occasional conversations with himself just how far his self-doubt and imagination extended. He may have grown up a lot over the years, but he was most assuredly still far from 'grown up'. Deciding to lend a paw, both figuratively and literally, the feline gave Sky a few quick swat to the flank, claws detracted of course, to draw his attention. Time to get him over his wasteful worrying. Succeeding in drawing his attention towards her, she turned and began to pad her way out of the cab and onto the station, making sure that he was well aware of what she was doing.

"Selene! What are you doing!? Here kitten! Get back here!"

Ok, perhaps not. Still, she did not stop, she had work to do. Leaving the station, Selene landed on the dirt road leading to the center of town. She quickly gave a quick flick of her tail, thinking disdainfully of how the dirt would stain her dark black fur, before she continued on down the road. It had to be done.

Sky made it out of the car with difficulty, as his attempt at a hasty exit had resulted in more than one embarrassing fall in front of his fellow Canterlotians. What had gotten into that cat!? It wasn't like her to just wander off, she hated going outside! Once on the platform, Sky looked around fervently for Selene, hoping that she had not gone far. His panic levels threatened to rise even farther as he failed to spot her on the station, but were quelled when he saw the darkly colored cat as she made her way towards town. Into the marketplace, from the look of the stalls. He made chase after the fleeing feline, Sky moved into a swift trot over a gallop, as to not draw too much attention to himself. If he did end up staying, the last thing he would want is to make a bad impression on the entire town by tripping over his own hooves. Again.

Now in the market, Sky once again had to stop and look for his troublesome cat, as she had disappeared into the crowds of ponies milling around the booths, buying this and that. Taking up position in the middle of the market under a large oak tree, Sky began to look around for Selene, spinning madly in every direction to try to get get a glimpse of her. He turned to the pony next to him, a hulking, red behemoth of a pony apparently selling apples. Said pony had a half apple cutie mark and orange mane, even messier than Sky's own. He was currently chewing on a piece of hay, as nopony seemed to be interested in apples at the moment.

"Excuse me sir," Sky began, only shrinking back slightly as the much... MUCH larger pony turned his gaze toward him. "But is it possible perhaps that you saw, say, a small cat slink by here?" And there was the alliteration. He thought he had gotten rid of that nervous tick years ago. Guess his anxiety was pulling all stops today. Resisting the urge to facehoof at his own awkwardness, he waited for the other stallions response.

Big red stopped and looked up, apparently looking for an answer in the sky as he flicked the hay in his mouth back and forth. After a moment, he turned back to Sky and gave a response. "Nope."

Sky blinked. He had honestly been expecting a little more help than that. He really couldn't BLAME the other pony for not seeing her, but it was rather hard to miss a black cat among the background of brightly colored ponies, especially when nothing was drawing your attention away. Then again, he was having enough trouble to ask for help, and he was actually looking for her, so who was he to judge?

That, and not only did this pony look the part, but even his voice sounded like he was pumping more testosterone than blood through his veins.

"Really? Your sure?" Sky asked again. Another pause from red, this time much shorter.

"Eeyup."

"Oh, alright then, well, thanks anyways. Can you tell me if you do see her?"

The other pony nodded. "Eeyup."

"...Thanks..."

With one cognitively stimulating conversation out of the way, Sky turned to begin his search anew. It did not take long however, as moments later he spotted the small, black fur-ball. Just a few yards away, she was perching herself on the back of a sesame-colored mare with a two-toned red mane, the secondary color being a little more on the pink side. She sported a rose cutie mark and a large, luminent smile, pampering Selene, who was soaking in the attention she was receiving.

Sky gave a sigh of relief at having found his troublesome pet, before he began making his way through the crowed to the other side of the street.

"Now aren't you the sweetest little thing! I don't think I've ever met an animal as friendly as you before! What are you doing out here cutie?"

Selene simply purred and rubbed herself against the pony's affectionate hoof even more. This elicited an even greater response from her admirer. Or victim, depending on how one looked at it. She honestly didn't care for this pony either way, she was just the first pony she saw that appeared reasonably capable of holding a conversation with her panic stricken owner. That and the smell of food coming from the cafe directly behind her, but hey.

"...Purr..."

"Awwhahahaww..."

Sky felt a small chuckle escape him at the ridiculousness of it all. The level of coddling that Selene was getting at this moment from a complete stranger was easily more than she had gotten out of anypony else, even him.

'No wonder why most cats act like they own everything; they know exactly how to make us putty in their hoofs. Or paws rather.'

The mystery pony turned at Sky's laugh, never once ceasing her grooming of Selene. She began with a look of curiosity and confusion in her eyes, before she made the connection between the stranger and her current object of affection. She gave an understanding smile.

"Oh, I see, what is it then, bath day?"

Sky gave a quick laugh at that. "Hardly, though now that the fuzzball has wandered off, she might end up needing one. For more than one reason I can imagine..."

The 'fuzzball' in question stopped cleaning herself midway through a lick of her paw and bristled. Oh he had better not...

"You had better not, my understanding is that you may end up with a few more messes to clean up around the house for something like that."

Selene smirked internally. Smart pony, you shall be spared my wrath, should such events come to pass.

"No, you're right. Besides, we both know that this was a one-time thing. RIGHT girl?"

She responded the way he understood best, rubbing her cheek against his and purring loudly. The stranger gave a loud 'Daww' at this, causing Sky's cheeks to flush as he turned away from Selene and rubbed the back of his head.

"B-besides, I wont be chasing you out of any train cars anytime soon. I'm pretty sure everypony in that cart thinks I'm an idiot now..."

Mystery pony perked up at this. "Oh, you just came off the train? That was from Canterlot wasn't it? What where you doing in the big city?"

Sky mentally tripped a little bit. He had just planned on thanking her for finding Selene and leaving, possibly for good. How had this evolved into a conversation so quickly? Was he being interrogated? Maybe Princess Luna had hired her to check up on him, to make sure that he was up for the task. That would make sense.

'No, it makes no sense at all! Relax, she's just being friendly, its a thing ponies do, you know, when they meet somepony new? Besides, she had no idea Selene would choose to perch on her of all ponies. And she has no idea who you are anyways! Now say something, you're being weird!'

He realized that he had yet to respond, and she was looking at him with a confused look on her face, his silence having stretched longer than intended.

"Oh, um, I wasn't visiting. You see, I was living there. I just moved here, so I'm kinda new in town and-"

Sky was interrupted by a tremendous gasp for air, before a rush of wind sent a chill down his spine. He paused, before turning around to see what was going on. Nopony was behind him, but that wasn't to say that he wasn't greeted by an odd sight. Everypony else in a the immediate area looking at HIM in confusion matching his own, before a look of recognition slowly took it's place. Smiling, they returned to their individual business. Creepy...

"Well, that was... interesting. Did I miss something, or... Um, miss? Are you alright?" He asked, turning back to his companion. She had a similar smile to everypony else's on her face, and was attempting to hide a laugh behind her hoof. After a few moment she regained composure before answering, still smiling.

"Oh no, you didn't miss ANYTHING. Not yet at least. And I'm fine, thank you very much. Name's Roseluck by the way, and yours?" She asked, extending her hoof out for a shake.

Sky raised an eyebrow, but took the outreached hoof and gave it a quick shake. "My name is Night Sky. And I'm sorry, but, yet?"

"Don't worry about it Sky, it's nothing important. So you're from Canterlot huh? I didn't recognize you from 'round here, but you didn't exactly look the Canterlot part either. Or even sound it really, if you don't mind me saying."

"I don't know, what do you mean by that?"

"It's just I've been up there to the city a few time, and from what little I've seen, everyone up there seems so much more... uptight, than you are. I don't want to be rude, but you know what I'm talking about right? Everywhere I went it was like they where... looking down on me. The whole 'holier than thou' act, if you know what I mean?"

Sky frowned, and Roseluck cringed a little, thinking she had offended him.

"I know the type. And yes, I've heard a lot of other cities and towns look at us that way."

"I-I'm sorry, that was rude, I shouldn't have-"

"No no, it's fine. And for the most part, you're right. There are a lot of ponies up there that could do with a little less attitude. It would have made life there much easier."

"Mmhmm, it sounds like you're thinking of someone in particular. Not that that's any of my business Anyways, I heard you say your moving in? where is all you're stuff?"

"Oh, most of it's coming later. I'm having a moving company deal with most of it. I'm not lazy, but I'm also not stupid. Don't want to be moving my entire house in by myself right? Anyways, most of it is still back in Canterlot, and will probably be hear in a day or so. But I brought all my essentials in my bags, back on the-" A train whistle went off in the distance. Sky paled noticeably through his fur and turned around, making a dash for the train station, accidentally throwing Selene off in the process, startling both the cat and Roseluck. "TRAIN! No no no NO!"

By the time Sky got to the station, the train had already pulled out, on its way to Appleoosa, along with his bags. He stayed there for moment, frozen as as he watched the train move away towards its next destination, before plopping down and heaving a heavy sigh.

"Well, so much for that..."

He heard Roseluck behind him. "Guessing your bags where still on the train, huh?"

"Yep."

"Bits and bathroom supplies?"

"And a sleeping bag and some books."

"Wow. Do you know anypony in town?"

"Well, a friend of mine mentioned some, but I've never met them before. They would just be strangers with names."

"Hmm..."

There was a pregnant pause as Sky moped over his lost supplies and Roseluck adopted a pensive look. Selene padded into the platform and lay down in Sky's lap and meowed disarmingly, feeling somewhat like this was her fault.

After a minute Roseluck hit the platform firmly with her hoof, scaring both of its other occupants. "Well this wont do at all will it? Come on then, this way!"

"What? Who, me?"

"No, the Headless Horse. Of course you silly, come along!"

Sky looked down at Selene, who seemed to be just as confused as he was, before he stood up and deposited said feline onto his back, and took to follow his new guide off of the empty train station and into town, moving at a light gallop to catch up.

"W-wait! Hold on, where are we going? Whats going on?"

"Well, while from what I have heard you have a place to stay, its quite obvious that you have nothing else besides the cat on your back and the glasses on your face. So, as a resident of the wonderful little town of Ponyville, I feel that it falls to me to make sure that you have the easiest time settling in as possible. Now hurry up, its lunchtime, and I know the perfect place to stop at!"

"But I told you, all my bits where in my bag!"

Roseluck turned at looked at him. "And I told YOU, its my job to be sure that your first day goes smoothly! And before you say anything, I AM paying for your meal, so no objections, understand?"

Sky shut his mouth and nodded. She gave a toothy smile before turning and making her way farther into town. "Good! This way then."

Sky sat one of the tables in front of The Prancing Pony, his belly full, eyes closed, and a happy smile on his face. Roseluck was across the table, feeding the last of her hay fries to Selene. "So, enjoy yourself?" She asked.

"That... was excellent. Seriously, compliments to the chef! Those cafe's up in Canterlot need to take some notes from this place. Who runs the kitchen?"

"A pony named Fine Dinning. He came over here from Prance a few years back and started this place to 'bring ze finer cuisine to ze common pony'."

Sky laughed lightly at the accent that Roseluck had adopted for that last part. "Well I'm glad he did. That was the best meal I've had in a long time. I may stick around just for the food!"

Roseluck cocked her head to the side in confusion. "'Stick around'? I thought you where moving in."

"Hehe, ya, I was. The reason is actually because of my job. I work for the university up in Canterlot you see, and I was assigned to the observatory they've been building here for the last couple of months."

"Oh! So YOU'RE the pony that's going to be running that place! I was wondering, since nopony I know in town is really a scientist. Well, except for the town librarian, but honestly, I think that's just her hobby or something."

Sky nodded with a smile. "Yep, that would be me. Well, anyways, a friend of mine actually had the idea to build that thing in the first place, and suggested to the Princesses that I be the one put in charge of it. It was a huge deal and everything, and I was really excited! But... on the way here... I don't know, I guess I got cold hooves or something. I have a tendency to over-think things, and blow them WAY out of proportions. I guess I'm not the most self-confident pony out there. I was about ready to panic, or rather, continue panicking, and just go back to Canterlot and ask them to post someone else here, when Selene jumped off the train and made her way to your stall. Sorry about that by the way."

"No need to apologize, it was a pleasant surprise in fact. She IS adorable by the way."

"Heh, ya, and she knows it. But she's also going to get pudgy if you keep feeding her those things."

"Oh stop, she's fine, really! How bad could they be?"

Selene, though not quite as self conscious as other cats may be, was still quite aware of her weight, and upon hearing Sky's comment, agreed that she had had enough. Roseluck, noticing this, frowned, but didn't place any more down, as the cat ceased her consumption of the current fry.

"Well, what are you thinking about doing now? Still worried about your new position?"

"Oh, I'm defiantly still nervous. But after that meal, and being able to talk with somepony else about it... I don't now, I MAY decide to stick around after all."

"Glad to hear it."

The waiter came and Roseluck payed him for the meal, adding a reasonably sized tip for his service, before the group collectively rose and began to walk away from the establishment, following Roseluck's guide.

Sky felt the need to thank her. "Thank you for the meal Roseluck. You didn't need to do any of this in the first place, but I want you to know that I REALLY appreciate it all."

She waved her hoof dismissively over her shoulder, keeping a steady pace. "Don't mention it Sky, anypony around here would have done the same. If not me it would have been somepony else. And please, call me Rose, it's weird for friends to call each other by their full names isn't it?"

'Friends huh? Well, that didn't take as long as I thought it would.'

"Yes, I guess it is. So, where are we headed next?"

"Well, since you don't exactly have anything to unpack yet, I figured I could give you the grand tour of the town. Its not big, but at least you would know where to find everything. And after that, I can show you where your place actually is. Sound good?"

"That sounds gr-"

Once more, Sky was interrupted by a strange noise. A loud cheer, followed by a several panicked screams. One of these screams happened to be Roseluck.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER HANG GLIDERS, YAY!"

"GET DOWN!!"

Sky blinked at his new friend as she followed her own advice and ducked low, before a shadow fell over him and he looked up to see the cause of the sudden dark.

"Oh buck m-"

A loud CRASH echoed through the streets as a large, plywood and cloth contraption fell upon the unfortunate stallion. A moment passed before anything else happened. Then a small, southern accent filled the air.

"Umm, girls? Did we hit somepony? I can't tell through all this mess..."

Chapter 7

Roseluck had been having a good day. This in itself was nothing unusual, as she was normally a happy pony. She loved her job, had friends that cared about her, and she couldn't have asked for a more beautiful place to call home. But something about today, from the very moment she had woken up, had just felt special. She had gotten out of bed smiling, and she had continued to do so through the rest of her morning, all the way out to her stall. Then she had made a new friend! An unexpected, but never unwelcome event.

While what had drawn them into conversation was his adventurous cat, and what kept them together at first was her pity for his situation, Sky had shown to be an interesting pony on his own. He didn't seem to be the funniest pony around, at least not on purpose. He didn't say anything extremely profound, and while he wasn't sore on the eyes, he wasn't much to look at either. In fact, he seemed a bit of a goof at times, occasionally tripping over his own words like he didn't know what he wanted to say. But all things considered, he had a sort of... effortless charm. He was one of those ponies that you couldn't help but like, even if you didn't know why sometimes. It very much reminded her of the element of kindness herself.

They had talked about his work while they waited for their meals, and while it certainly wasn't what she would do with her life, it was interesting enough to hear about what life as a scientist was like. She wouldn't trade what she did for anything in the world, but she had to admit, he made his job sound much cooler than hers. Despite this, he had listened intently to her once the food arrived. Though, that may have been due to the copious amount of food in his mouth, as he ate like it would disappear on him if he took a break from chewing. He certainly didn't EAT like the Canterlot elite... Still it was nice to just sit down and have someone listen for a little while. She could never get a word in with Daisy. All in all, it had been a lovely way to spend the day. Then the Crusaders struck, and suddenly, it became a very different story. Now, Roseluck was on the verge of panicking.

Yes, she understood that the general consensus around Ponyville was that she and her friends did that frequently, but in her defense, they where always legitimate moments of danger and or disaster. Well, except perhaps the mishap with Zecora. And the bunny stampede. And that time Pinkie covered all of her roses in polka-dots. And then there was the time that she had found a spider in the bouquet she was about to hoof over to a customer...

Ok, so perhaps she WAS quick to worry, but it was hardly as if anypony could blame her. That spider had been huge! And now was as good a time as any to be concerned.

Night Sky was currently under a large pile of wood and polyester that had apparently once been a glider. All that remained visible of the stallion was his strewn saddlebags, thrown from his back in the impact, and his tail, its tip barely visible as it poked out from the bottom of the pile. It was an almost comical sight, just the last few inches of his maple and amber colored tail poking out of the bottom of the wreck.

The remains of the flying craft were strewn about, bent and broken at odd angles, in an strange, exaggeratedly devastating manner. Rarity's younger sister, Sweetie Belle, was somehow on the top of the pile, despite the fact she would have been originally located underneath the flying machine. She had a dazed look on her face, eyes rolling around in her skull as she was apparently seeing stars. Scootaloo was located off to the side of the glider, having bailed out. Or perhaps just fallen out, it was unclear at the moment. She too had a ditsy look about her, eyes spinning circles. As for the other two, Roseluck had no direct line of sight. She thought maybe she saw a pink bow in the mess, but perhaps not. And no sign of the fourth. Perhaps she had helped launch them from... from...

Roseluck blinked and briefly looked about. The tallest building in the area was town hall, and that was still quite a walk away. They were currently surrounded on three sides by one story shops and businesses.

'Where the hay did they launch from?'

As Roseluck was considering the possible site of departure for the ill fated aircraft, the previously mentioned pink bow shifted briefly in the pile before bursting upwards and out of the pile of wood and cloth. Attached to it was a young filly with a messy red mane and a light yellow coat. Apple Bloom took a moment to pull a stray piece of wood out of her mane before she shook her head in an attempt to clear it. With some degree of success, she turned her eyes to her friends and the end result of their latest cutie mark attempt. Wood and tattered cloth was all that was left of the glider, but she was happy to see that her friends, while obviously still a little out of sorts, where in much better condition then their previous mode of transportation.

Then she noticed the pony in front of her, staring of into space. She had a blank look on her face, the kind that comes with either deep thought or shock. Given the situation, it could have been either one, but she was leaning towards the later option. Sill, despite how much she may want to deny it, things like this were more common than this pony's reaction would suggest. So what was the big deal? Then she saw the bag, one of its flaps flung open, and its content littering the immediate vicinity of the crash site. She froze when she realized the implications.

"Umm, girls? Did we hit somepony? Ah can't tell through all this mess..."

Scootaloo responded with an intelligent "Whu-huh?" continuing to stare off into space. Sweetie Belle failed to respond at all, as she was still pulling herself together. But for Roseluck, it was just the wake-up call she needed. Her friend was currently buried, possibly hurt, under a wrecked glider, and she was busy considering possible launch sites! She moved to help, galloping forwards and removing the two recovering crusaders from the pile before turning her attention to the pile itself. "Sky?! Sky, are you ok? Oh please be ok. Applebloom, help me, quick!" She began using her mouth to remove large pieces of wood from the pile, and a moment later, Apple Bloom, still located at its top, began to do likewise for the smaller pieces.

Soon enough, the heap had been cleared enough that the unfortunate stallion was clearly visible. Sky looked healthy for the most part, the only exception being a light scrape here or there scattered across his body. He remained motionless however, except for the slight movement of his barrel as he breathed shallowly, indicating a state of unconsciousness.

Roseluck gave a silent sigh of relief 'Good, it doesn't look like there are any broken bones. He seems alright, except for being asleep.' She turned to a waiting Apple Bloom, who was looking at her nervously, waiting for something, whether it was a report on the stallion's condition, reprimanding, or a question as to how they got their hooves on a glider in the first place. That last one she had promise Sweetie Belle to take to the grave, but after hitting somepony with the stunt they used it in, she may have felt guilty enough to spill it. Roseluck simply nodded lightly, and Apple Bloom sagged in relief and gave a sigh as well, this one audible.

Her friends, though, where oblivious to this quite exchange, and continued to stare at the downed pony. Sweetie Belle's face was a visage of pure horror and fear, while Scootaloo was wearing a look that implied curiosity.

"Uhh... He isn't dead... Right?" She asked.

Sweetie Belle's head shot over to face her pegasus friend, face going paler, if it where even possible for the small alabaster unicorn. "DEAD?!" she shrieked. She bolted over to the prone form of the sleeping Sky, and began pushing and pulling him in an attempt to wake him. "No-no-no-no, pleeease don't be dead mister! I don't WANT to know what Rarity will do to me if I accidental killed somepony! Please wake up, please!"

Sky regained consciousness, but not necessarily lucidity, in a world of pain. While not awake enough to form a coherent thought, he was most certainly positive about the fact that he couldn't remember a time that he had been in as much pain as now. Most likely due to a cushy Canterlot life. It's hard to hurt yourself as a foal when there's no room to do it in the first place. Still, as this single idea swam about in his head, he began to notice something. A noise, not unlike the soft sound of Hearth's Warming bells in the distance. Such a lovely noise. The memory of the Hearth's Warming year he had received Selene floated to the top of his head, and elicited a response.

"No... cats got it with... with the salad... Come back Tuesday."

There was a brief pause in the noise, before it once again continued. This time he could tell what it was. A voice, a small, filly-esque voice, apparently calling out to him. It was accompanied by the sensation of motion, which he was now aware of. He knew very few fillies, and of the ones he did know, only one would be so bold to shove him awake. Despite the pain, he couldn't help but smile, and let loose a light chuckle. His brain did not yet remember where he was, and that such a pony calling out to him would not be possible.

"-ight, alright Sunny, I'm up, I'm gett'n up," He mumbled before rolling over to try and block out the noise, and the pain, and the world in general. Why did he have to get up now? He decided that Sunny could wait, and began his attempts to fall back asleep.

"No... cats got it with... with the salad... Come back Tuesday," Sky groaned. Roseluck blinked. That was... weird. Where in the hay had that come from? The others where just as confused as she was. Apple Bloom scratched her head.

"I think we broke em' girls..." She said with a tone that displayed the levels of bewilderment she was experiencing.

"Ya, that sounded pretty broken to me to," Scootaloo added with a nod.

Sweetie Belle redoubled her efforts to wake the semi-conscious stallion at her hooves. "Come on mister, you aren't broken are you? Wake up already, come on!"

Sky, rather than open his eyes to her request, oddly enough, he smiled, then laughed, and began to speak.

"-ight, alright Sunny, I'm up, I'm gett'n up," He mumbled before turning his back to her and laying still once again.

There was a moment of silence, before Roseluck chucked at her friends display. Sweetie Belle stopped her attempts to wake him and looked to her in an attempt to find answers. "Um, is he talking to you miss? Are you Sunny?"

Roseluck shook her head no. "No, I'm not Sunny, I'm Rose. In fact, I have no idea who Sunny is. I only just meet him a couple of hours ago, so I don't know who he could be referring to."

"Maybe his marefriend, or a special somepony?" Applebloom asked.

Scootaloo, as was necessary to maintain her 'tough filly' image, made a gagging motion with her hoof, accompanied by noise.

This was the scene that a small, royal black alicorn with a dark purple mane came in on. She rounded the corner quickly, having heard her fellow crusaders' voices, and came across the picture of Sweetie Belle, standing over an unmoving pony, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom standing next to one of the flower ponies, and what looked like their glider scattered around the area. She took a moment to scan the area with her turquoise eyes before she developed a proper response to the chaos she was witness to. She galloped over to Sweetie Belle, scaring both her and the flower pony, before lightly pushing Sweetie out of the way and going over the fallen pony with both eyes and hooves. "What did you girls DO?!"

"Nyx! Where have you been girl?" Scootaloo asked apparently oblivious to her friend's question.

"What? Looking for you! I lost sight of you once you passed the Quills and Sofas, and went looking around the area for you! What happened? You didn't hit him did you?" She asked as she prodded Sky with her hoof.

"Maybe..." Sweetie Belle replied.

"D-don't worry girls. I thing h-he's going to be just fine. He's probably just a little out of it at the moment." Roseluck said with only a hint of fear as she looked at Nyx out of the corner of her eye. The filly pretended not to notice, but couldn't help but feel a bit stung at the look the older pony gave her. She should have been used to it at this point. There were quite a few ponies like that in Ponyville nowadays. If they weren't scared of her, they were sending hateful glances her way. As if she needed any further reminder of what she had done...

Then the prone pony she was currently standing on stirred and gave a quiet grunt, and all eyes went to him. He shifted to lay on his stomach, forcing Nyx off of him, as she stood next to her friends, perhaps a little too close to the waking stallion's face. He sat there for a moment wincing, until attempting to open his eyes for the first time since the crash. He was greeted by the sight of four pairs of eyes staring at him intently, and much to closely. One of the pairs looked unsettlingly like those of a dragons.

The sensation of hooves grinding into his side had finally brought Sky out of his impromptu nap and back to reality. He realized were he was and more importantly, just how much his world hurt at the moment. 'Why does it feel like the universe it trying to tell me something?There has to be a limit on how unlucky one pony can get...' With a pained sound, he made to stand, rolling off of his side and lay flat on his stomach. A step in the right direction, but he needed a moment after that. So much pain... he would definitely be asking Roseluck to lead him to his new home first. Leave all that grand tour stuff and... walking, for later.

'Grow up you foal, tis' just a flesh wound,' the voice in his head said. Oh joy, that was back as well. He had been hoping to keep arguments with himself to a minimum today after meeting Roseluck. Still, he couldn't argue with the voice, he had to get up sooner or later. With that in mind, Sky braced himself for the light and opened his eyes. It wasn't as painfully bright as he thought it would be, but that wasn't to say he wasn't in for a shock.

In his immediate vision, four pairs of eyes stared back at him with the unwavering curiosity of children. So, that explained the Sunny sound-alike. All of them where unblinking, unmoving, and very, VERY close. But the most unsettling part was the pair to the right. They were slitted, like a cat's eyes. As he was going over all of them, his gaze quickly returned to the reptilian pair as he began to stare. To his credit, he didn't scream, but only because at the moment, he was to stunned to panic. He and the owner of the other set of eyes stared at each other for a long period of time, one in a state of shock, the other with concern. Then, the unicorn filly located between her earth pony and pegasus counterparts, spoke.

"Umm... are you ok mister? You're not hurt are you?"

"Ya, nothin's broken or anything right?" the yellow earth pony inquired.

The orange pegasus filly turned to her two companions. "Oh please, we didn't hit him THAT hard!"

"Hey, YOU were the one who thought he was dead!" The yellow one retaliated.

"Girls? I don't think-" the white one tried.

"He looked dead then! For all I knew, maybe he was, I don't know, really really sick or something."

"He looks fine to me, except for the bangs and bruises we gave em'. How could you think he was so sick he would die?"

"Actually, he could have had something like osteoporosis and we wouldn't have been able to tell," the white one finally managed.

The other two stopped and turned to look at her, obviously befuddled.

"... What?" she asked, a little self conscious. They gave no response, as they kept staring. "WHAT?" she asked shrilly.

"Do you just read whatever your sister puts in front of you?" the pegasus filly asked.

The white ones face lit up a light pink. "One time! She wasn't even looking at what it was and I was bored out of my mind at the time, ok?"

"Ya, but... a dictionary? I mean, really? Who sits down and reads and entire dictionary?"

"ONE TIME!"

As the three were going at it, Sky was only paying half a mind. Both he and the small black filly where still staring at one another. He had shifted to a sitting position to get a better look at the owner of the strange set of lenses. Taking note of her cutie mark, a embroidered blue kite shield with what looked like a waning crescent moon in the center, and her wings and horn, he was thoroughly confused. Another alicorn? How? The only alicorns he could think of where the princesses back in Canterlot. Well, them and Nightmare... Moon...

Sky was suddenly struck dumb, the knowledge of who he was talking to blindsiding him. He was talking to Nightmare Moon. THE Nightmare Moon! He had seen Celestia at the Summer Sun Celebration before, and had personally met Luna. But this was Nightmare Moon! She had defeated both of the princesses, and blanketed Equestria in eternal night for months! He wasn't sure what reaction was appropriate at the moment; recoiling in fear, a demand as to how she got here, or the surprisingly powerful urge to give the adorable fillified terror a big hug. The latter would likely end badly, no matter how she interpreted it, so he would refrain from doing so. And the other two options didn't seem right at all either, as she wasn't really all that threatening. Still, he wasn't sure what to do next. Should he bow? She wasn't his ruler any more, and a foal at that. Maybe just act casual? As if, it was bucking Nightmare Moon, no matter how small she may be at the moment! What could he do then?

Sky hadn't moved since his internal debate began, and as such, the object of his fascination began to feel uncomfortable. Nyx began to shift her weight nervously from side to side. She wasn't wearing her disguise out, so he almost definitely recognized her. This was normally the part where ponies who didn't know her before her transformation ran in fear or attempted a 'citizens arrest'. She couldn't recall a time that a pony had stared at her quite like this pony was. She summoned what courage she had before making an attempt at breaking the ice.

"Umm... Hi?" She said, grabbing his attention. He simply cocked his head to the side, eyebrow raised in a quizzical expression, another first. She continued.

"S-sorry my friends hit you and... you know, knocked you unconscious. W-we weren't aiming for you, I promise." She explained quietly. She looked around at him and noticed the large amount of small scrapes and cuts that littered his body. "You're not hurt are you? W-well, I mean you ARE, but, I mean... What I mean is..."

Sky looked back at himself and the source of his discomfort, and winced. It wasn't that bad anywhere, but what it was was everywhere. It was going to be an ordeal moving around for sure. And he wasn't looking forward to cleaning those later.

"Oh, I'll live, no permanent damage far as I can tell. Thanks though." He looked back to Nyx and frowned. "So the rumors where true... You ARE just running about in Ponyville? I thought it was all a bunch of conspiracy theorists looking for something to panic about. And you're small... no offense."

That last part almost got Nyx to smile. Of all the things for a pony to say, THAT was his final thought? This pony was just full of surprises. She opted for a small, barely noteworthy grin instead.

"Ya, I guess when ponies heard I was with 'somepony the Princess trusted completely', they expected me to be locked up or something... I get ponies who visit town running away yelling that I 'escaped' a lot. That's why I still have to wear a disguise out every once in a while."

"Hah! Really? And the fact that Nightmare Moon is half their size doesn't matter at all?"

She shrugged. "Guess not." She looked up at him, now sporting the smile that she had failed to muster up previously. This was a rarity for her, to find somepony who didn't run the moment the set eyes on her. The ice sufficiently broken, She decided to properly introduce herself. "And I'm Nyx by the way, not Nightmare Moon. I kinda hate it being called that." She frowned a bit and looked beyond Sky, towards the direction of her old castle. "It's not something I like to remember... a lot of ponies don't realize I hated my time as Queen almost as much as they did."

Sky raised an eyebrow at that, before grinning and giving an exaggerated bow. "Really? Then my apologies, Nyx, from the bottom of my heart. Please do forgive my trespasses." His looked up, expecting to see a smile, or perhaps a laugh, or maybe even for her to begin playing along. Instead he was treated to the sight of the previous ruler of Equestria, now a youth of Ponyville, eyeing him with cautious confusion. She had not been spoken to that way since the removal of her 'blessing' on the Children of Nightmare. Nyx was fairly sure he was joking, but even so, she could not fathom why this pony would not only take her freedom as well as he had, but make jokes about it as well. Perhaps he was mocking her? He didn't SEEM to mean it that way. Or maybe he didn't even know what he was talking about in the first place?

"Are you sure you're alright mister? We didn't hit you to hard on the head did we?"

"Hmm? No, I feel fine in the head, no concussions or anything if that's what you mean. Why do you ask?"

"W-well, its just that your taking this... Really, REALLY well. In fact better than I think anypony else has, besides maybe my friends. I just don't know why."

"Ya, why is that anyways?" Sky heard another voice ask. He turned to see that the other three fillies had finished their argument over preference of literary entertainment, and were now looking to him and his alicorn counterpart.

"Well, I'm going to be honest with you girls, because that's just me. I find it really hard to be scared of something as small and ah... adorable as you four. Thinking about it, I have a younger sister your age, and I know for a fact that she can hardly lift a spoon with that little horn of hers, so I'm not all too certain that there is anything to be afraid of. Not to mention the Princess said you had been drained of your powers, so-" He stop suddenly as what he was voicing hit him. "Wait, you CAN still use magic right? they didn't take that away from you did they? I can't imagine what that would be like not being able to use your wings or horn. Well, I guess I can't really know what it's like to have them either, but I know that none of my sisters would take it very well themselves. Especially Autumn, I'm not sure what she would do if she lost the ability to fly..."

The yellow and white filly of the crew blushed at the 'adorable' part of his rant, while their orange counterpart huffed indignantly to herself and turned away, mumbling something about 'adorable is not cool'. Nyx, though, was unfazed by what she was taking as a compliment, and instead focused on the question he had presented to her.

"No, I can still do magic, and I couldn't fly before anyways, only glide. Well, except for when I was big, but that doesn't count I think. Ponies I ask say that I am just as good at magic as anypony else my age, but I still wish that I could do more. It's annoying, going from lifting books and blankets to lifting feathers..." She said with a frustrated tone in her voice. She attempted to scowl, but rather than appearing intimidating, as it would have on her older face, it simply gave her a cute pouting appearance, forcing Sky once more to resist the urge to wrap the small filly in a hug.

"Wait," Said the unicorn filly, who Sky now realized he had yet to gather the name of. "But you're an earth pony!"

He tilted his head to the side, confused. "...Yyyes, yes I am... Is that a problem, miss...?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Sweetie Belle," She offered politely. She gave a light, slightly sloppy curtsy as she introduced herself, making Sky smile again.

"I'm Scootaloo!" The pegasus beside her said proudly, puffing out her chest as if to impress him. His smile evolved into a smirk of amusement at the bravado.

"And ahm Applebloom," said the yellow earth pony filly that was next in line, simply offering a smile and a nod. "Your friend said yer name was Sky," Applebloom looked past him to the mare in question, who was still attempting to put as much room between herself and Nyx as possible without appearing to do so. "Rose, right?"

The cream colored pony looked up from the ground at her name. "Y-yes, t-that's right. My name is Roseluck, and this is Night Sky," She supplied, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. What Sky didn't understand was what part of it.

"You alright Rose? You don't look so good."

Rose shifted her gaze to Nyx, before looking back to the ground once more. "I-I'm fine Sky, thank you. Look, I-I just remembered I have to get back to my stall, so maybe we could do that grand tour thing some other time? I know Applebloom here lives right next to where you will be staying, so she could take you there if you like. I just really..." She looked back to the fillies. "...really need to go now. You understand, right?"

Sky nodded, keeping a straight face. He understood the reason she had given, but he also understood that there was something else going on here. But he wouldn't pry, he wasn't the kind to get to involved in another pony's life if they didn't offer it.

"Sure, that's fine, as long as these four are alright with it as well. You girls wouldn't mind if I tag along for a while right?"

Applebloom perked up at this. "Course not! We where probably headn' back to the clubhouse to come up with our next plan anyways! It's this way, come on!" She turned and stared running off down the road, towards the edge of town, followed closely by her friends.

"Alright then, see you later-" Sky turned around to see that Roseluck had already left, leaving him alone in the middle of the street. "...Later, Rose. Hmm," He said to himself as he started to follow after the fillies that where to be his guide, before realizing that all his belongings where still strewn about near the pile of wood and cloth that had once been the girls' glider. With a brief sigh, he quickly gathered everything back into his saddlebags, and collected Selene, who had been laying on said saddlebags for the duration of his conversation, before laying her on his back and galloping after the girls, who where now fading into the distance, apparently oblivious to his disappearance. His first day in town was turning out to be an interesting one to be sure.

Chapter 8

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 9 Author's Note

Thanks once again to my editor The Great Derpsby. :derpytongue2:
And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for... Drumroll please...
*Inserts Drumroll*
... Main 6 contact! And with none other than the wonderfully random Pink Menace herself! And a little bit of Dashie to.
Enjoy, and don't forget to like, follow, and comment!
... I'm starting to sound like a YouTuber now...

Chapter 9

Pinkamena Diane Pie, known by the ponies of Ponyville simply as Pinkie Pie, felt like she was about to burst with excitement. There was a tension in her stomach that refused to un-knot, that had been slowly building up until the point that she felt she might explode. THIS would be a day to remember! The day ponies would talk about for generations! A day unlike any other! The world would never be the same after this night!

... Ok, so maybe that was just the excitement talking. But still, it was indeed a big day! A day that she had been waiting for for months now, in fact. Ever since they had started building this fancy-shmancy new house, it was all she could think about. You didn't just build a house this big for anypony, nosiree, you built it for a specific somepony. Somepony who wanted it there. And when a house like that was being made, it meant only one thing to Pinkie Pie.

There was a new pony moving into town!

Now, as scatterbrained as she knew most ponies thought she was, Pinkie was in fact a very clever pony in her own right. That crazy act she put on was more for them than for her. She new that the new house didn't mean a new friend right away. It meant something else entirely. Something terrible in fact. It meant that she would have to wait. The house wasn't finished yet, so the new pony wouldn't be there to live in it. She would have to wait for months as the new pony's new house was made before she could even meet them.

And wait she did. She waited, and waited, and waited... but waiting was never Pinkie's strong suit. Soon, she found herself counting the days till the new building was completed. Soon she was going over to Sweet Apple Acres every day just to see how the construction was going. She would make note of how much closer they where every day. She even took it upon herself to bring refreshments to the construction ponies to help hasten them on their way and brighten their day. She knew for a fact that it was easier to do a job with a full belly and a good mood. Also, it never hurt to catch up with some of her lesser-seen friends. Hard Hat and Jack Hammer were particularly pleased to see her visit every day, and seeing them smile every time she came by with cupcakes and lemonade helped make the days waiting for the mysterious newcomer a little easier.

Then one day it happened. She came bounding down the path with her usual plate and pitcher, and nopony was there. The build site was empty, except for a finished two story building, with a funny bubble shaped thing on the top. It was finally done, and that thought had made her heart leap. Finally, her days of waiting in the wing where almost over! The new house was done, and soon, the new pony would be on their way!

She had spent the next few days preparing. Stockpiling supplies, pre-writing invitations to all of her Ponyville friends, making plans for what the party would hold, and where it would be. At first, she thought she could host it at Twilight's home. Golden Oaks Library had plenty of room in it, and it was easy enough for a somepony new in town to find it if she where to just hoof them over the invitation. But then she had an even better idea. The new pony would want to see their new home before anything else, right? And if she held it there, then she could have it be a surprise party as well! And then she could have ponies bring presents and it could be a housewarming party to! A 'surprise-welcome-to-Ponyville-housewarming' party! The thought of it had nearly made her squeal with glee when it came to her.

Pinkie had been in the middle of getting more streamers and confetti for the party when she saw him. Blue coat, brown mane, orange-ishy highlights, though she couldn't see his face. She had never seen him before, and if that wasn't evidence enough, her tickly tummy told her the same thing. The Pinkie Sense was never wrong! Still, Pinkie remembered what Twilight had taught her from the MMMM mishap a while back, and had decided that asking would be the best way to find-

"...Oh, um, I wasn't visiting. You see, I was living there. I just moved here, so I'm kinda new in town and-"

the rest of the streamers, then the confetti, then an extra big cake from Sugar Cube Corner to write 'Welcome to Ponyville' on in bold, bright pink! After letting out a giant gasp, she bolted for the store, as to be sure he didn't see her. The bigger the surprise, the more fun, right? Following the confetti were the invitations. A good fifty-three ponies told her they could make it, and another eleven gave her maybes. That was almost record attendance!

Now here she sat, hiding behind the table she had set up for snacks and drinks, with about thirty other ponies scattered around the room hiding along with her. Poky Pierce had told everypony he saw the new pony coming up the path with the Crusaders, and everypony had hopped into position, Pinkie getting the lights before she did so as well. Then they waited.

Suddenly, there was a noise at the door. The sound of a pony talking, then the doorknob jimmied. Time seemed to slow down for Pinkie as the door began to open, as she savored the moment just before the look of surprise that would inevitably cover her new friends face. The door opened all the way, and the silhouette of a stallion stood there. Celestia's sun, as low hanging as it was in the sky, was giving just enough light to keep his features from being to well seen. Berry hit the lights, and everyone took a moment to adjust to the new brightness before jumping up all at once, Pinkie included.

"SURPRISE!"

For a moment, everything was going perfectly. The new pony let out a cry and fell backwards. Not enough to hurt himself, but enough to prove that he had indeed been shocked by the celebration waiting in store for him. He sat there on his back for a moment, looking back and forth at the ponies surrounding him with a stunned look on his face. He stared... and he stared... and stared...

Pinkie's smile began to waver just a little bit. Nopony had ever just sat there for this long before. Did he not understand what was going on? Perhaps he was really shy, and didn't know what to say? What was he doing sitting there like that? Then she realized what it must have been. The look on his face was that of COMPLETE shock. He had NO IDEA what was happening! Maybe he had never had surprise party before, or more likely, maybe he wasn't used to surprise parties thrown by strangers! That made total sense!

Pinkies felt it necessary to help the new pony out, and decided it was time to start the party. Her more genuine smile reasserted itself as she turned to the ponies around her, also awaiting a response from their new neighbor.

"Alright ponies! I'll get Mr.Guest-of-honor out of his funk. But now, it's time to PARTY!"

A chorus of cheers and chuckles went around the room as ponies began to disperse, some to explore the new house, others to mingle with friends. But most headed to the snack bar she had set up for refreshments, as expected.

With that out of the way, Pinkie turned and made her way to the new pony, who was now standing with the same look of shock on his face, both mouth and eyes wide open. Bouncing with her usual pep, she made short work of the small distance separating them, and began to give him her usual 'Welcome to Ponyville Party' greeting.

"SURPRISE! Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised, wereyouwereyou, Huhuhu?"

Of course she already knew he was surprised, but she loved to hear when ponies told her how surprised they were. It was one of her favorite parts of throwing a surprise party.

But he didn't tell her that. In fact, he hardly even looked at her at all. Broken from his stupor by the excessive levels of pink cheer in front of him, the new pony blinked, before looking around at his new home and all the party guests in it. A new look took its place on his face. A look of absolute horror.

"W-w-what are you all doing here!?" He asked. "Who are you ponies!? How did you get in here!?" He began to gallop around the room, pleading for the guests not to touch anything. "Stay out of there! N-no, get away from that, even I don't know what that is! Nonono, I can't have anyone in here yet! Stay out of the observatory! Get out, get out! Please, you have to leave, now!"

Sky was in an absolute panic. There were strange ponies in his house! His BRAND NEW house! How had they gotten in? He was supposed to be the only one with a key! What were they doing here? There wasn't anything worth stealing here yet, considering they couldn't exactly steal the telescope. Nevertheless, whatever their intentions where, they were trespassing. He moved about the room, reprimanding ponies for touching this or that and asking what they were doing here, but never staying long enough to receive a response, as he moved on to the next offender. Honestly, it seemed like everypony had their hooves where they shouldn't be!

Continuing his efforts to keep hooves off his new home, he spotted two ponies on the other side of the room. They where looking at a large metal door with an exit device, sporting the royal crest. It screamed 'important things past here', and Sky realized what it must lead to. One of the ponies, a mare with a dark pink coat and light gold mane, slowly brought her hoof to the door, as if unsure if she should continue.

Before she could get any farther, Sky was already next to her holding the door closed. His sudden materialization forced a startled squeaks out of both the offender and her companion, another mare with a lighter pink coat and green mane. He looked at them with a slightly crazed look in his eye, his confusion and panic concerning the situation at hoof getting the better of him for the moment.

"No! Nopony past this door! The observatory is OFF LIMITS! Got it?!"

Both of them began to back away from both him and the door. There was obvious concern in green mane's eyes, while golden mane hid behind her friend, apparently afraid she had done something wrong.

"S-sorry, w-we were just exploring a bit, w-we didn't know that-"

"Sky? Whats going on? What are you yelling about?... Daisy, Lilly? What are you two doing here?"

Sky's relaxed a bit at a familiar voice, as it calmed him momentary, surrounded by a crowed of strangers. Taking his protective fore-hooves off the observatory door, Sky turned around to look at Rose, who was standing behind him and the other two ponies with a raised eyebrow and tilted head.

One of the other mares, Daisy, if her cutie mark was anything to go by, perked up a little at the sight of the newest arrival.

"Oh, hey Rose, glad you could make it! We just got an invitation like everypony else! I'm pretty sure Pinkie invited the whole town to this thing. W-we where just checking everything out when mister, um... Sky I guess, came over and, um, well..." She shrunk back again, remembering that she and Lily were in the middle of being scolded before their friend had arrived.

Sky mimicked Roses pose, his head tilting to the side slightly in confusion.

"Invitations? What invitations? I never invited anypony here, let alone the whole town! Hay, I don't even know anypony in town, except for a few fillies and Rose here! What are you all doing in my house?!"

"What do you mean? I would have thought you would have gotten one as well, seeing as this is your party? Didn't you get one from Pinkie Pie?"

...

"... Party?" Sky asked simply.

Rose continued to stare at him, trying to figure out what exactly was so confusing about the situation, until something visibly came to her. When it did, hoof met muzzle as she buried her face in it. Turning in the general direction of her oldest friends, she asked;

"... This wouldn't happen to be a SURPRISE party... would it girls?"

"... Um, maybe?"

"Why?"

Rose let out a light sigh.

"Because Pinkie will be Pinkie." She muttered quickly before turning to Sky, hoof now away from face and an apologetic smile taking its place. "I am SO sorry Sky, but there seems to have been a... misunderstanding. You see, we have a friend, Pinkie, who is the resident party pony. She throws parties for everypony, and one of her favorites is the party welcoming new ponies to town. It appeared she took the liberty to plan you a party without telling you. She is a bit of a prankster to, so I guess she was looking forward to giving you a little scare. You follow?"

Sky took a moment to absorb this new information before taking the time to look around at this surroundings. Balloons, streamers, snacks, even a pinata in the corner next to a picture of a tailless pony. Games and decorations meant for a party. A party meant for HIM.

A party that he had just crashed in epic proportions. He noticed the glares and scornful looks that a large portion of the crowd was directing at him. He had just blasted in many of their faces for appearing at a party they had apparently been invited to. Tail tucked and ears back, Sky suddenly felt like finding a nice little hole to crawl in and die.

"... Oh." He said, lowering his head in shame at his own behavior.

Rose gave a sad smile and turned to address the crowed. Her heart suddenly began to pound as she realized just how many eyes were pointed in her general direction. Another one of her many fears; public speech. A single stranger was one thing, an entire crowd of unfamiliar ponies was something else entirely. Still, it had to be done.

"H-hey everypony! Sorry about that, it looks like our guest of honor didn't exactly know how to react to the whole 'surprise' part of the party. He just moved here from Canterlot today, so he was just a liiiitle bit caught of guard by all this. All good now though, no harm no foul, right?"

Rose gave an internal sigh of relief as she saw many of the faces in the crowed change from spiteful to understanding. Ponies returned to their business, conflict settled. A few still gave weary glances before turning away, but one rainbow maned pegasus in particular continued to stare at Sky with murderous intent from above the crowed. Rose winced at her hostility, and wondered briefly on the reason behind it, till she noticed the form behind the airborne pegasus. A pink pony with her back turned to their little group, head lowered and shoulders slouched. She nudged Sky to grab his attention. He looked up to her, his face still speaking of his embarrassment.

"Don't worry, I think that took care of it. But it looks like there is one pony you might still need to talk to." She said, nodding in Pinkie's direction. Seeing the depressed party pony, Sky winced. He hated seeing others like that, and the knowledge that he was the cause of it only served to rub salt in the wound. Still, he stood up straighter and took a breath through the nose, preparing himself for what was to come.

"Yes, yes I do." And with that, he made his way into the crowed.

It look longer than Sky expected to reach the distressed party planner. While she had at first been easy to spot, the crowd of ponies had soon filled the gap, breaking line of sight between him and his target, and often offering apologies of their own for showing up uninvited of all things. They HAD been invited, just not by him. He pointed this out multiple times, telling them there was nothing to be sorry for, before excusing himself to find Pinkie. Then upon arriving where he had spotted her, he found a distinct lack of pink in the vicinity.

'Of course she moved. Not like my luck would let me avoid having to play hide and seek now would it? I hope she didn't leave without giving me the chance to apologize.'

Just as he was about to leave the building and check the road into town, he saw a small pink form in the corner of the living-room. Back turned to rest of the room, the pink mare was sitting with her head down, apparently being consoled by a cyan pegasus with the most ridiculously colorful mane he had ever seen.

Conflicted on how to approach the situation, he made his way over, only to stop short of drawing attention to himself. That did not stop him from being noticed however, as the pegasus at Pinkie's side seemed to hear him, her ear twitching lightly, as she turned to see who was behind them. Seeing him, Sky could swear he saw her coat bristle like a cat, as her magenta eyes narrowed dangerously and her posture turned aggressive.

"The hay do you want? I'm pretty sure you've done enough already pal, and she ain't in the mood to be talking to anypony right now, least of all you." She took a few slow steps towards him and lowered her head. "So do the smart thing and buzz off, would ya?"

Taking a moment to recover from the scalding reception, Sky rubbed his chest a bit and cleared his throat, preparing a proper retort. But before he could say anything he would later regret, he realized several things. That he was in the wrong in this situation, and he deserved everything that she had just said, and that he was incredibly out of shape compared to his aggravated discussion partner. And besides all those points, it would be incredibly unseemly for him to come to blows, verbally or physically, with a mare, regardless how brash her demeanor may be. It was not how he was raised. So swallowing his pride and tanking the verbal assault, he prepared a response of a different kind.

"Miss, I am fully aware that I am deserving of such a cold reception. How I just behaved, while perhaps understandable, was completely unacceptable. But if you would give me a moment to explain-"

"But nuthin! I'm not letting you anywhere near her right now! The last thing she needs is someone yelling at her, and even worse would be to chat it up with the punk that started this whole mess in the first place!"

"Well technically I walked in on the cause of the mess. I am perhaps to blame for overreacting, but this whole surprise party was a tad uncalled for considering it was only my first day in town. Maybe scheduling a house warming party I was well aware of at a later date would have been in better taste?"

"Better taste? That's what you have to say about all this?! That's it!"

As the rainbow mare crouched low to pounce him, Sky closed his eyes and braced for impact. But before the attack even began, both ponies heard a quite voice speak up.

"No! Please, no, don't fight... I don't want anypony to fight..."

Sky turned to look at his savior, the pink mare that he had been trying so hard to reach. She looked up to him and the other mare with sad cerulean eyes, hints of red and wetness around the edges making his heart ache. Her mane, curly as it was, seemed almost to sag a little bit, any life it should have possessed seemingly gone as it hung close to her body. He seemed to recall, in the short time he had known her, seeing it with more poof.

The mare, Pinkie, if he remembered correctly, slowly stood and made her way to him, rainbow mane moving off to the side to make way for her.

"H-hey..." She said, but offered nothing more.

With the pegasus watching closely, Sky took a breath and lowered his head down to her level, standing half a head taller than her.

"Hello Miss Pinkie, and how are you doing today?"

'Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid!

"F-fine, I guess. It was a good day, except for... um... sorry..."

"Ah, yes... that..."

'Oh come ON!'

"W-well then, I would like to... offer my own apology for that scene I made earlier, Miss Pinkie. As I was trying to tell your companion here, my actions were completely uncalled for, and for that, I am really, truly sorry."

Pinkie perked up at this, head quirked to the side just a little. Sky continued.

"Y-you see, I was unaware that anypony else had keys to the house, as I had been told that I was the only one who would have any in town. That and the fact that since this home technically belongs to the crowns and the University of Canterlot, there are places that I can't have other ponies going. Still, I overreacted, and for that, I am sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Over the course of his apology, Sky began to notice a physical change in Pinkie. Her eyes began to sparkle in a more positive way, her back straightened, and her mane began to slowly, for lack of better terms, inflate, up into a form that very much reminded him of cotton candy. It even seemed as if her coat grew a few shades brighter as a small grin grew on her face.

"Oh, don't be silly, we both did some dumb things. It WAS kinda foalish of me to think it was ok for me to just barge in like this. Twilight seemed alright with it, but then she was just STAYING at the library at the time, not LIVING there."

'She's friends with Miss Sparkle? File that away for later then.'

"Well, I won't argue that it was a bit... unusual to find a celebration awaiting me at my new residence," He said. "But still, I never should have resorted to yelling, at you, or your guests. It was wrong for me to do so, and incredibly inappropriate."

Pinkie's grin widened a little at that. "That's ok, you just moved here. You were probably stressed before you got here. Besides, we can't expect everypony moving to Ponyville to be all there on their first day. Twilight did say that the ponies in this town are crazy, so I guess you have to be just a teeny-tiny bit crazy to be here anyways." She said, raising a hoof and bonk him lightly on the head a few times to emphasize her point.

Pinkie's flawed logic and playful tap caused Sky to laugh lightly. "Indeed, I suppose not. I'll be the first to admit that I am not the most normal pony out there. So, as long as apologies out of the way, could we perhaps start over? My list of friends in this town is scarce, and I would love to make a new one."

Suddenly, much to Sky's surprise, Pinkies hair exploded outwards, before settling down into its original form. It now fully resembled the sugary treat he had earlier equated it to. He also noted vaguely how it had squeaked, much like a chew toy would. Her coat was back to its original bright, cheery color, and her face almost seemed to split with the smile that was now residing there. That was all the warning that he received before he was suddenly swept up in the most brutal, bone crushing hug he had received in his entire life. His eyes bulged as the wind was driven from his lungs, and a pop or two could be hear coming from his spine.

"OF COURSE we can be friends! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! Oh this is just the best thing ever! I'm so glad that's over I mean I just couldn't stand not being friends with somepony new in town that would be the most terrible-absolutely-awful thing ever! I already know this is going to be the start of a great friendship, right Dashie?"

Through the blinding pain, Sky barely registered the sour look on 'Dashie's' face. It appeared that he had mended relations with one, but the other would take time. A shame.

"Yah, whatever, I'm gunu go get something to eat. See ya Pinkie." With that, the rainbow maned pegasus, known as 'Dashie' till further notice, took off towards the refreshments table. Pinkie was apparently oblivious to her friend's foul mood however, and continued her hug with no less energy.

"Kay Dashie! See you later!"

"Can't... breath..." Sky pleaded, barely reaching a whisper. He contemplated how his end would not come at the hooves of raging rainbow mares, or even his excessive consumption of food, but instead a viciously affectionate bear-hug. Before he could lose consciousness however, Pinkie heard his weak cry, and released him from her death grip, permitting oxygen into his lungs once more.

"Woopsy! Sorry about that, Dashie and the others tell me I can be a teeeny bit rough with those. You're ok, right?"

A few gasps for air later, and Sky was feeling well enough to answer.

"Yes, yes I'm fine, thank you. Just not used to somepony with a grip as strong as yours is I guess. Hehehe..."

Pinkie, who Sky was beginning to realize might be a sympathetic laugher, if there was such a thing, gave a much more wholehearted laugh. Then she abruptly stopped, standing at attention with a smile still plastered to her face, and held out her hoof.

"I'm Pinkie Pie, but all my friends call me Pinkie. That means you can too!"

Sky smiled back, offering his own hoof in return and giving hers a firm shake.

"Night Sky. A pleasure to meet you Pinkie Pie."

Chapter 10

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 11 Author's Note

It's late, its rough around the edges, and its here! Chapter 11 has finally been completed!

Fair warning, I wanted to get this out to you before the 4th. A special little celebratory chapter for the birthday of the US-of-A. Unfortunately, I did not finish it till 10:40 on the 3rd, which means I could not run the re-re-written version by my editor in time, so there may be just a feeew more typos then usual. But I'm sure you can all handle that. :twilightsmile:

Pre-read and edited (Mostly) by TheGreatDerpsby.
Feedback is appreciated, and a few thumbs-up would be fantastic as always. Enjoy, and happy 4th Of July!

Chapter 11

Sky took a moment to appreciate just how absurd his current situation was. He was in a new home, in a strange town, recovering from an impromptu party in his honor. He was also currently answering the door for royalty, who was carrying his luggage, that wasn't suppose to be returning to him for another day or two at a minimum. This moment lasted approximately eight seconds, before he realized that said royalty had just addressed him. He briefly stood up straighter, before prostrating himself before the lunar princess.

Y-Your Highness! Please, pardon my lack of politeness! I-I-I just... you... ah... I had not hoped to hear of my luggage till two days time, a-and... um... So sorry your s-ah I mean, your majesty!"

Sky stayed there in this position for what felt like ages, but was likely only a few minutes. Realizing he was getting no response, he looked up to see what was wrong. Princess Luna was still there, but rather than looking at him, she was gazing out into his living space with an empty expression. Sky could almost swear that her eyes where slowly drifting apart as he watched. Suddenly, she shook her head as if to clear it, and looked down at him, prompting his eyes to the floor in return.

"Tis... quite alright, Night Sky. We understand that this must be a rather confusing turn of events. The train upon which thee departed broke down not long after departing Ponyville, and so was returned to Canterlot so that the source of the problem could be descried. Thy luggage was discovered to still be on-board after all others had removed theirs, so we have come to return it to you. I trust this is good news?"

Sky simply nodded, not trusting himself to not burst once more into alliteration.

"Verily. So, may we...I... enter, Sky? The trip here was long, and I would like to be able to rest my wings before the return to Canterlot."

Halfway through her request, Sky had already moved out of the doorway and into the living-room, removing the pillows from the couch to make a faux-bed for her out of the cushions. After that was finished, he made for the kitchen, before realizing he had nothing to prepare for company, nor if he did would it be fit for royalty. In the absence of refreshments, he returned to his spot in front of her and bowed low once more.

Princess Luna arched an eyebrow it this, before making her way past him to the makeshift bed. Patting down and moving about a few loose cushions, she made herself comfortable in the cushions before turning to Sky.

"We have met before, young Sky, and on good and friendly terms. Is there reason for thy silence now? If I have done anything to insult thee, I apologize for the unmeant offense."

Sky looked up startled, shaking his head. "No-no-no your majesty! It's not you, it's me!" He quickly stated before continuing, taking time with his words as to carefully consider what he was about to say before it left his mouth "It is just that I... do not trust myself not to make a fool of myself right now."

"Is that so? And what, pray-tell, is it thee are fearful to say?"

Sky began to sweat, feeling even more anxious at the turn the conversation was taking. He was not comfortable with talking about himself in front of royalty, as something about taking on such a self-centered topic when addressing the princess just seemed... wrong.

"I-It is a long story your Majesty, and not a very interesting one at that. I am certain you would not wish to hear it."

"Nonsense! I wish my subject to be comfortable in my presence, same as mine sister! If there is reason for this fear, let us hear of it!"

Sky nodded and collected his thoughts before responding, returning his eyes on the floor out of respect.

"Well... it has nothing to do with you personally your Majesty. The thing is, I have this habit... more of a nervous tic really, where if I get really agitated, I sometimes fall back on using alliterations in my sentences." He took a seat and rubbed his hooves together. Still feeling uncomfortable with talking about himself with his ruler, he readied himself for a talk about his past.

"It comes from my childhood, where the bullies in the schoolyard would make fun of me. I was a big reader back then, and I still am, but that was weird for a colt my age. I would get teased constantly, that classic 'egghead' insult. So to get back at them, and get them to leave, I would use larger, more complicated words to confuse them, and sorta... annoy them into leaving, I guess? I would use assonance and rhyme the same way. It was kind of petty to show them up like that, I know that now. I was really just trying to insult their intelligence, and that was wrong. But it worked, and that's all I cared about. They left me alone after a while."

Sky grimaced as old memories returned. "Then I got into the higher grades, and it lost its effectiveness. Just something else for them to poke fun at me for I guess. But I had been doing it for so long, it kinda stuck... Now, when I get nervous, or really stressed, I sometime fall back on it, and make an idiot of myself. I thought I had for the most part gotten rid of it a long time ago, but it looks as if the stress of today has brought it back from the grave, so to speak. There is a burly red stallion somewhere in town that thinks I'm an absolute fool now."

"Ah. So that is why you sounded as if thee where making some strange attempt at poetry upon answering the door. And it is also why thee appear to be struggling to find the right words now?"

He nodded. "Yes your Majesty, I am currently controlling my... vocabulary, so that I don't ramble. I apologize for any confusion I may have caused."

"Mhmm," she responded, taking on a thoughtful appearance.

There was a time of silence as the princess absorbed what he had said, and Sky waited for her to speak. He had worked up the courage to lift his gaze, and was now peaking nervously over his hairline at the princess in a way that reminded him of a certain pink-maned pegasus he had met earlier in the night.

The princess spoke suddenly, startling him out of his train of thought. "I do the same thing, I will have thee know."

Sky raised his head up all the way, looking at her incredulously and blinking in shock. "Really?"

"Well, perhaps not in the same manner of which thee does. But I still do suffer from a similar habit of the tongue. As thee well know, I was trapped in the moon as the 'Nightmare Moon' of legend. For a thousand years, I was removed from the culture, from society, and the ponies I once ruled. Upon my return, and subsequent released from my... sickness, I soon realized that the dialect had changed as much as the ponies. Thee may notice, among other things, that I slip occasionally into using the royal 'we' when speaking, for example. Speaking of which, 'thee' is to be 'you', is it not?" She asked.

Sky blinked again. Had the Princess of the Night just related to him?

"Y-Yes, your Majesty, it is."

Princess Luna nodded. "Thank you. But yes, while I can keep my tongue mostly in check, there are times when I too feel stress, and the old way of speaking returns." She chuckled sadly as a memory came to mind. "I remember my first full day back at the castle when the maid came to my chambers to show me to the dinning hall. The poor mare nearly suffered a heart attack after she witnessed the Royal Canterlot Voice for the first time. I do not think I have yet had the chance to apologize in fact..."

Sky nodded, not quite sure where the conversation was going. Perhaps she just meant to make him feel more comfortable? To appear friendly?

"Do you feel as if your friends think less of you for your speech impairment, as infrequent as it may appear, Sky?"

Sky did not have to think long on that. "Well, the only one of my friends who has heard it is Octavia, during a rather... *ahem*... awkward conversation. But I don't think she, or the others, would ever think less of me for it."

"And what of your family?"

He allowed himself a small grin at that. "Oh, Evergreen and Melody have been on the receiving end of it more than once. They think its funny, but I don't think their judgmental about it."

The princess nodded as if to confirm this. "Then why worry about such things? If the ponies that matter most in your life care nothing of it, why should you? Surely you do not have to prove anything to yourself, right?"

Sky opened his mouth to respond, then closed it. He had never thought of it that way. He had always assumed it was just something wrong, that he needed to get rid of, like a bad habit. He had never considered it as inconsequential is the princess was making it out to be.

"I... no, I suppose not your Majesty. I just always figured life would be better if I could get over it. It was never a big deal unless I made it one, but... huh." He thought on this for a moment, before a question of his own was raised. "But if it matters so little, why are YOU trying to get rid of your own, ah, impediment?"

"That is mostly due to my position, and the image I create when I use it. Ponies are fearful enough of me when you consider my power as an alicorn, my position as a princess, and my... past sins. I am learning the new dialect that I might seem less intimidating when addressing the common pony. I can only hope it helps as much as I believe it might. I feel no shame over it, but it is an obstacle I must overcome all the same."

There was a moment of silence as Sky considered this, and the princess gave him time to do so. His alliteration wasn't an obstacle, heck, most days he didn't even have to worry about it at all! Aside from the today's exceptionally stressful circumstance, and the talk with Octavia last December, he hadn't had it surface for going on three years now! Now that he thought about it, it wasn't even all that noticeable either. The princess's problem with modern language was much more noticeable, and by her own admission she would ignore if it wasn't for the fact that her job somewhat depended upon her ability to appear relatable to her subjects.

"You know, I don't think it makes you intimidating your Highness." The princess raised an eyebrow at this, and Sky drew inward just a little. "I-I mean, sure its noticeable, but honestly, it doesn't make your scary. Maybe somepony who is already intimidated by you might be frightened by it, but just talking with you now, I don't mind it that much. It's actually kind of interesting, gives you more personality I think. I guess what I'm saying is that you shouldn't have to change it if you don't want to?"

The princess huff lightly. "Well said, Night Sky, and boldly too. It has been centuries since anypony aside from mine sister or The Doctor has dared speak with me in such an way. It is not often one speaks to a ruler of Equestria as an equal."

Sky flinched at that, looking down again. He had not intended to be so informal as to talk with her in a friendly way. She was his princess, and it seemed for a moment he had forgotten. Hopefully she would not take to much offense from his tone.

"It is a refreshing change of pace to be spoken to without worry of keeping up with formalities. Thank you."

"... Hah?"

Now, the princess traded her amusement for exasperation. "Sky, I understand that perhaps today was taxing for you, and I would be willing to hear all about it, but there is something I much ask you. When we meet last at the university, you where quite open to talk with me, and if memory serves, you where also the pony who goaded the crowed into applause when I first made my appearance. Now, you speak to me in what is not fear as you have made clear, but with much more reverence then when last we spoke. Is there a reason for this?"

Sky thought for a moment. He felt that between the two interactions, now was the time he was acting the way he normally would. So what was it about their last interaction that had caused him to be so... carefree?

"I guess that the excitement of the moment had just gotten the better of me your Majesty. I think you could tell by my reaction at your announcement, but I was extremely excited to hear about the new facilities. And then when you told me that I would be the one to operate this place alone, I guess I just lost my inhibition for a while, and for that, I apologize. How I behaved at the time was both unprofessional and disrespectful."

With his eyes downcast in apology, what Sky could not see was the sad look that crossed the princesses face. She had been hoping that their earlier interactions where a sign that he had already grown accustomed to her as The Doctor had. But given the amount of time she had known the Time Lord, and how high both she and her sister where placed on a pedestal by the common pony, its was obvious that she had been assuming to much. Still, that did not mean progress could not be made. She could accept his respectful disposition for as long as it would take for him to leave it behind. That did not mean she would not try and help him to do so.

"There is no need to apologize Sky. As I said, it is refreshing to hear one speak to me without concern for being 'proper'."

The princess then looked to the clock that was set up above the door to the observatory. She stood and stretched her wings, deciding she had stayed long enough. "I thank your for your hospitality Sky. But now it is time for me to depart. My duties are not to be ignored, and I am certain you are ready to retire yourself."

On cue, a yawn escaped Sky and he looked up to the clock to see that it was nearing midnight.

"Yes your Majesty, I would like that very much. And it was no problem at all. Thank you very much for bringing my my luggage by the way." He paused. "Actually, why DID you bring me my luggage your Majesty? If I really needed it, surely you could have gotten some guards, or even university staff to deliver it to me?"

Somehow, the princess managed to look embarrassed at that, as if she had been caught in the act of something. "Ah, well, it was not in fact MY idea. The Doctor was the one who discovered your bags upon their return to your address. Apparently, he was at your parents residence in Canterlot when they arrived there. He felt it would be worth it to bring these to you as soon as possible. He also felt that it would be best if I came and gave them to you personally for some reason, so here I am."

Sky cocked his head to the side in confusion, still not understanding WHY she was the best pony to bring him his luggage, but more curious of another matter.

"Doctor?" He asked. "Doctor who?"

The Princess brought her hooves to her muzzle and gave a loud snerk as she held in a laugh, her face contorting and scrunching in a failed attempt to contain a smile. Given a few moments, she had regained control, and returned her gaze to Sky, no longer laughing, but unable to contain the large smile that had made its way into her face.

"P-pardon me Sky, just old memories brought to mind. I meant to say that Clockwork brought them to me. I apologize over the confusion."

"O-ok." He said, still confused about the sudden merriment she had displayed at the seemingly innocuous question. Deciding to put it aside for later, Sky lowered his head into a bow. "No worries your Highness. Have a good rest of your night, and thank you once again."

"Sky," he heard her say with a serious tone, prompting him to look up. "Mine sister and I are no different then the common pony in that we have friends the same as you do, and what I said to you and Clockwork at the university was the absolute truth. Clockwork is a dear friend, and he speaks highly of you. Any friend of Clockworks is a friend of mine, so please, when we are alone, call me Luna. Not 'Majesty' or 'Highness', I would rather forget the formalities when I am away from the public eye."

Getting over his shock, Sky nodded. "Yes, of course Princess Luna."

Luna smile as she opened the front door with her magic. It was a start. "Then with that, I bid you good evening, Sky." She then turned and walked outside, before spreading her wings once again and taking off towards Canterlot, closing the door behind herself.

Sky sat down in what he assumed must be the master bedroom upon his new bed, yet another complimentary furnishing he had not been expecting in his beautiful new home. It had been several minutes since the princess had left, and Selene had returned from wherever it was she had disappeared to now that the lunar diarch had gone. The cat was currently curled up on one of the pillows, lightly purring to express her content state. Sky, however, was struggling around making sense of the day he had just had.

'Ok, so, recap of strange happenings. Selene leaving the train to go interact willingly with strangers? Check. Run over by a flying trio of fillies? Definitely still feeling that one. Meet the reincarnation of one of the greatest threats to ponykind, now in the form of a little filly? Why didn't I ask Princess Luna about that? Welp, check. Super-surprise surprise party, check. Talking casually with my ruler, and employer? Check!'

Looking up from his internalized checklist and looking around the room at his newly reclaimed luggage, Sky took a moment to consider, before raising his foreleg to his mouth and quickly biting.

"OW!... Ok, so not that..." Another moment of consideration, then he sighed and flopped back onto the bed.

"What is my world coming to?" He asked quietly to himself, before laying down on his side for some sorely needed sleep.

Chapter 12

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 13 Author's Note

Thanks as always to my editor, The Great Derpsby, for helping me write stories you guys can enjoy.

As always, feedback is appreciated, and the same goes for those who feel the urge to like and favorite.

Now, enjoy my last chapter for a while! Hope it is worth the wait!

Chapter 13

The cool of the forests canopy was something that would be welcoming at any other time or place. Unfortunately, this was not the relaxing shade of Whitetail Woods Fluttershy so desperately wished she could be searching through. The gangly, moss covered branches that made up the Everfree's ceiling, rather then blocking the heat of the late-summer days sun, almost seemed to be attempting to smother her in a cold darkness. The dense undergrowth of the forest floor had quickly slowed her progress through the forest to a crawl upon entering, making the hours she had been out looking for Cluckeny seem futile. She of course could have stayed on the path, but when the tracks she had been following disappeared, she made up her mind to head the least overgrown direction and go from there.

Now, she was beginning to feel a little lost. The trees around her where unfamiliar, and even if she could work up the courage to fly, they also blocked any way out of this dreary place from above. The few rays of sunshine that reached this place came down in thin beams of light, making evident the lack of escape routs through the air. All these factors had long since done their work unsettling Fluttershy's mind, leading her to jump at every shadow, and flinch at the smallest noise. A shadow here was a stalking timberwolf. A rustle in the nearby bush, a roaming cockatrice. Shivers overtook her, as her terror made the looming forest all the more cold.

"C-Cluckeny? W-w-where are you little chicken? Please come out, i-it's dangerous to be alone here. Cluckenyyy..."

No response, except for the ambiance of the unnatural forest around her. The sway of tree moved by an uncontrolled wind produced a loud moan that froze her where she stood, fear paralyzing her aside from the tremors that still raked her body. How could she have been so foolish to believe that she could come out her by herself?

The breeze stilled, and in a moment of complete silence, a single noise sounded through the forest. Faint, but there, Fluttershy's ear raised as she heard the sound of a small cheep. Elation returned her control of her body, as her head swiveled in the direction of the noise. Fluttershy may not have known a great many things in her humble opinion, but she DID know was animal calls. Cluckeny's call did not echo as much as drift through the forest. It was faint, but for Fluttershy it was a beacon, commanding her attention and drawing her deeper into the forest.

"Cluckeny?! Where are you chicken? Its Fluttershy, I'm here to bring you back home! Come out right now little miss, your mother is worried sick! Cluckeny!"

More cheeps came from the foliage, this time much clearer, proving to Fluttershy that she was heading the right direction. Her pace quickened to a canter, as the thought of finding the lost bird temporarily made her forget where she was, and why she wanted to leave.

The forest began to brighten, as the trees began to thin out to reveal a clearing in the forest. The first thing she noticed was that not only did the clearing lack any trees, but foliage of any kind. The ground was barren, the earth looking tough and cracked from lack of water or vegetation had a grey, ashen color to it, like rock. The second was the large cave at the very center of the clearing, with a large pile of rocks blocking the majority of the entrance.

And on top of said pile of rocks sat a small, speckled chick.

"Cluckeny!" Fluttershy cried as she ran across the open space of the clearing to the cave entrance. The ground beneath her hooves felt brittle despite its hard, rocky appearance, but she took no notice, entirely took focused on the small bird casually pecking at the rock it stood upon. Scooping the chicken up in her hooves, she began to fuss over the bird, making sure she was alright. No bumps or bruises, breaks or sprains that she could find. So far as she could tell, the bird was fine, apart from the dirt and grime she had collected walking through the forest.

"Your ok! Oh thank goodness, I was so worried! And so is your mother! What are you doing out her Cluckeny?! I know that I told all of you little ones never to go in here, that's why the fence is there! Don't ever do that to us again, understand? Cluckeny? Cluckeny are you listening to me?"

Cluckeny, for her part, was busy staring in fascination, as the rocks she had just been sitting on continued to shift and move. It had been hardly noticeable at first, but at Miss Fluttershy's words, the rocks pick up speed, as they began to rise and retreat back into the cave in a long line. She had never seen rocks do that before, but she was still young, like her mother told her, and saw new things almost every day.

Fluttershy realized that she did not have any of the small fouls attention, and turned to see what was so interesting behind her. At first, nothing at all seemed out of sorts, until she recognized that the rock-wall that had stood in front of the entrance of the cave had disappeared. Her eyebrow raised, curious as to what could have happened to them, up until she heard it.

A long, deep growl emanated from the bowels of the cove, physically shaking the two occupants of the forest clearing. The sound was foreboding, as Fluttershy recognized the sound of a predator in horror. Footsteps could be heard coming from within, coming closer, closer to the light of the cave entrance. Her muscles locked, and Fluttershy could only watch as the beast made it way into vision, and eventually into the sunlight.

A head made itself visible through the darkness, its appearance somewhere between a snake and a crocodile. Its eyes where bright yellow, with slitted black pupils that quickly shrunk as they meet the piercing light of the midday sun. They stared back at Fluttershy, analyzing her; a clear sign of an intelligent hunter. The head ended with a crest of sharp spines, and was followed by a long, equally spined neck. The hide of the monster was thick and craggy with a dark grey shade, making it look like the rock that Fluttershy had likely mistaken this creature to be. As the beast continued to make itself visible, lean, powerful muscles could be seen rippling underneath its skin, namely its legs, and its claws, which where abnormally large for the size of the limbs they where attached to. In all, the creature highly resembled a dragon, where except for its lack of wings, and a much sleeker form. The tail remained in the shadows, but if the rest of the creature was any indicator of its mass, the monster was easily forty feet long head to tail, if not longer.

As it towered over her, Fluttershy could feel the urge to run rise in her. Fear of moving gave way to fear of standing still before this behemoth, and she prepared to make a mad dash to the treeline. The creature seemed to sense this, and its eyes flashed with an red tinge, before settling on a deep orange color. This was followed by the tensing of all of Fluttershy's body, as well as the bird in her hoof. She felt like a taught string, tension everywhere, but she was unable to release it. Her muscles where so tight it was almost painful. This time, not by her own fear, Fluttershy found herself truly paralyzed in the reptiles gaze.

Confident that it had its prey in its grasp, the monster seemed to smile, mouth opening to reveal rows of sharp fangs. A green fume came out of the back of the creatures throat, billowing downwards towards the ground. In this manner it snaked its head forward to come face to face with the terrified pony it had in its thrall. It stared at her for several seconds more, and she stared back, unable to do anything else, before it gave a quick breath, and the gas that had been pouring out of its mouth was thrown forward into its prey.

It had a foul odor, but she could not gag or pull away, as the effects where almost instantaneous. Where its eyes had forced Fluttershy to freeze up apparently by force of will, the green smog acted quickly to numb her body and cloud her mind. She felt her body tremble, before losing all strength and falling to the ground beneath her.

The monsters eyes dimmed back to their original yellow hue, and the urge to stare back into them dissipated. She looked down to the ground, seeing the chicken she had come to save already passed out next to her. She knew she should feel fear, terror even, that she should be looking for any way to escape, but she could already feel her eyes begging to close. Her thoughts slowed, and an almost blissful feeling came over her as she began to fall deeper into the blackness of a dreamless sleep. As she at last let her eyelids close, her last waking thoughts where of her friends, both animal and pony.

Then, she thought no more.

Chapter 14

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 15

"Remind me why we are doing this again?"

Scootaloo turned and stared at Nyx with an incredulous look on her face.

"What?!" The alicorn asked shrilly as she looked back at her friend, eyes occasionally darting to the left and right, keeping a nervous eye on the forest around them.

"Because," Scootaloo said, "Rainbow Dash needs help! We can't let anypony do this on their own, no matter how awesome they are. She needs somepony to back her up!"

"I understand that. But why are WE doing this? She doesn't really need US, she needs Applejack, or Twilight, or even Pinkie Pie! There is no reason that the crusaders should be doing this! Sweetie, Bloom, tell her!"

Apple Bloom didn't take her eyes off the forest ahead, busying herself divining the least obstructive path through the Everfree for the group, while Sweetie Belle looked between her two arguing friends with a look of apprehension.

"I don't know Scootaloo... I mean, we have done this before, but Nyx is right that her friends are much better prepared for this then we are."

Apple Bloom stopped and looked back to her unicorn companion, eyebrow raised.

"Then why did ya take off with the rest of us when Scoots charged in?"

"...Because it seemed like a smart idea at the time?" Sweetie said sheepishly.

Scootaloo groaned as her team of adventurous heroes began to fall apart. If they all left, she would be the only one there to help Rainbow Dash, and while that would be awesome to be Dash's wingpony, she had to admit that the crusaders worked better as a team. Never split the party when you don't have to.

"Come on girls! It's not like we haven't done this before! Remember that time we faced off against that cockatrice with Fluttershy?"

Sweetie rolled her eyes. "If by 'faced off' you mean running scared till Fluttershy saved us, then yes."

"O-or the time that Apple Bloom chased Zecora through the forest by herself!"

"It ain't like ah was mappin' out new territory or anything. Zecora had already cleared a safe path to travel..." Apple Bloom mumbled.

"And Nyx! You took on ALL the monsters of the Everfree, all by yourself! With a little help from Rainbow Dash, of course."

"I was an adult! And there where a bunch of me!"

"AND APPLEJACK!"

"The POINT is, we can handle this! We've dealt with this kinda stuff before."

"Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm." Nyx replied, rolling her eyes.

*snap*

"..."

"Ok, I read about this in a Daring Do book once. Don't move, and they can't see you."

"You dont even know what it is Scoots!"

"Will you both be quiet? I'm tryin' ta listen!"

"C-c-can we get out of here n-now? This was a bad idea."

"That's what I'VE been trying to say!"

"You know if I were a big, dangerous monster, I would have eaten you by now."

The four fillies jumped in surprise at the sound of a new voice, looking around for the source, before a rap on the tree above them drew their eyes upward. There, with a highly unamused look on her face, floated Rainbow Dash. She scowled at the small group of would-be rescuers, before she sighed and hung her head.

"H-hey Rainbow Dash! Hows it going?"

Rainbow looked up with a face that gave the perfect answer to that question. Somewhere between "You cannot imagine how mad I am at you right now'," and "Did you really just ask me that question?" It was enough to cause all the Crusaders to flinch back.

"I REALLY should have seen this coming, shouldn't I? Since when have you four ever listened to instructions?"

The girls looked around at each other with guilty expressions, ears down in embarrassment.

"What am I going to do with you four!? I could leave you with Zecora, but I have no idea how to get to her house from here, and it would take up time Fluttershy doesn't have taking you back to Ponyville. But I can move faster on my own! And the girls have no idea whats going on now! And if there is a fight, now I have to protect you guys! Do you know how much harder this makes things?"

The fillies lowered their heads, eyes big and watering.

"We're sorry Rainbow Dash." Scootaloo said dejectedly.

"Ya, we didn't mean to cause any trouble, honest." Added Sweetie Belle.

The pegasus mare watched them for a moment, before she sighed in resignation. While the fact that they had followed her in rather than listen to her and find help was aggravating, and did indeed make things harder, she found it hard to stay mad at them for long. They where only trying to help, and honestly, it's what she probably would have done in their place. That didn't make the current situation any more desirable though. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she turned and looked deeper into the forest.

"Well I lost Fluttershy's tracks a while ago, but it looked like she was mostly going in a straight line anyways, deeper into the forest. If we keep heading East, we may be able to find her path again."

Scootaloo's eyes shot up towards her idol, sparkling with excitement, all traces of previous sorrow gone. Nyx wondered idly for a moment how adults could fall for the same trick so many times and not catch on. It simply wasn't fair.

"So that means that I-WE, can come with you!?"

"Well it's not like I can just leave you hear can I?" Rainbow said grinning slightly, some of the edge in her voice disappearing as her number one fan's enthusiasm began to rub off on her. The other three perked up at this, realizing that their current caretaker was no longer quite so mad that they had followed her in to the dark and deadly forest. She turned and motioned ahead of her, starting off into the forest's depths at a pace the girls could keep up with. The four took the hint and ran to catch up, following the flyer farther into the dark, and hopefully, to Fluttershy.

The group carried on in silence for a several minutes, the only sounds being that of the forest and the hoofsteps of the fillies. Rainbow Dash was surprised the girls could keep quiet for so long, but she did suppose they where deep in the middle of the Everfree, so the lack of conversation was understandable. Still, it was only a matter of time till somepony said something.

"So... what do you think happened to Fluttershy?"

"W-well, we don't really know if anything has happened to anypony yet. Maybe she just got distracted, and hasn't come back yet?"

"Fluttershy got distracted in the middle of the creepy forest that she is absolutely terrified of? Doing what, picking Poison Joke?"

"Maybe she found one of her animal friends in here, and they needed her help? That could be it..."

"Can we not talk about this please?" Rainbow asked the fillies as she tried to focus more on finding her friend, and less on what could have happened to her. Though she wouldn't admit it to the girls, it was starting to worry her that they hadn't found anything yet.

"Hey look!" Applebloom exclaimed, a little to loudly for Rainbow's comfort. "Ah found somthin'!"

Rainbow Dash blinked, taking a moment to register what the little Apple had said.

"What IS this place?" She heard Scootaloo ask as she turned to see for herself. Unfortunately, she didn't have an answer to that question.

Laid out before them was a scar in the forest. A clearing of cracked land and shriveled plants easily three hundred feet across. It was unsettling, like a dragon had burned up a perfect circle of land in the middle of the forest. At its center, a large cave entrance, covered partially by a low wall of rocks. Rainbow realized after listening for a moment that the forest surrounding them was quiet. Not the normal quiet that normally permeated the Everfree, but a complete lack of sound anywhere. No wind, no sounds of small animals in the trees, nothing. It was almost as if the forest around them was in shock. Or perhaps horror. Rainbow felt a shiver run down her spine as she stared at the sight before her, feeling an instinctual fear fill her as thoughts of what could have caused such a thing floated in her head. Apple Bloom voiced what she was thinking.

"W-what in tarnation could have caused this?" She asked, hesitantly touching the ground on the edge of the circle. "T'aint fire that caused this, there's no ash or coals like when lightnin' strikes in the orchard." She kicked the earth this time, and a small cloud of dust and dirt came up. "And this ain't rock, its dirt like everything else. It's had all the nuter... nutrin... the healthy stuff taken outta it. Not even Applejack could get anything to grow here..."

The earth pony suddenly seemed to shrink into herself, doing her best impression of Fluttershy as she nervously eyed the world around her. "I-I don't like this place... its just... dead. Everything here is dead..."

The silence returned as everypony absorbed this information. The Crusaders huddled closer to the adult of the group, who for her part, was attempting to put on a brave face for the fillies. Whatever had caused this, it was quickly rising to the top of Rainbow's 'avoid at all cost' list, passing Fluttershy's brother and approaching Discord's level. A branch somewhere in the forest snapped, causing the pegasus to jump, much like her missing friend might have. Saving face, She quickly straightened herself and turned to the girls.

"W-why don't we keep looking?" Rainbow Dash asked, unable to keep a hint of fear out of her voice. "I don't think this is the kind of place we will be finding Fluttershy in." Looking around, she added quietly, "Or ANYTHING alive for that matter." The others nodded their agreement, and quickly followed their elder as she made a fast retreat from the circle of death to continue their search.

As they fled, the rocks guarding the entrance to the cave shifted, serpentine eyes watching them hungrily.

"What can do something like that?"

"I don't know... I've never read about anything like that before. You think it could be natural?"

"Wasn't anything natural about that place, I can tell you that. That was just wrong, plain and simple. I hope whatever caused it never comes back."

"Wait, comes back? How do you know it was gone? Maybe it was in that cave we saw out in the open."

"Whatever it was," Rainbow Dash said, cutting off the fillies conversation before it continued any longer. She would rather think on that place as little as possible. "It gone now. I could see over the rock pile from the air; there was nothing in there. Not that I think anything could have been hanging out in a place like that since... whatever happened there did anyways. Lets just focus on finding Fluttershy, ok?"

The others nodded, and continued on in a silence that lasted for several minutes as they all did their part to watch the forest around them, looking for any sign of their butterscotch-colored friend. Or any creatures that may try to take them by surprise.

A loud hiss from behind stopped the party in their tracks. A moment passed when none of them dared turn around, but Rainbow was the first to actually do so. She felt her hackles rise slightly at the sight that greeted her. She had encountered many of the creatures of the Everfree in her time living on its border. But this was something different.

Stalking almost silently through the trees was a large beast, ten feet tall and perhaps fifty feet long by Rainbows guess. It looked like a cross between a dragon and a cragodile, its hide rough despite the quite, fluid manner that it maneuvered its way through the forest, and a foul looking gas leaking from the corners of its mouth in time with its breathing. As it moved its way around them, it watched closely, seeming to size them up as it slowly closed the circle.

Only when the creature decided that it had done enough watching them and made a b-line for the fillies did Rainbow Dash responded.

Muscles tensed and eyes narrowed as Rainbow readied herself. Her wings flared as electricity shot through her spine, and she charged the beast. The creature noticed her moments before she struck it across the jaw, snapping its head to the side and losing little momentum as she continued past and turned to make another run. The creature proved only momentarily stunned however, as it quickly shook off the hit and turned to face the opponent, the PREY, that dare strike against it. The prismatic pegasus proved to be quick though as she struck it again, diving into its shoulder with her back legs.

The creature hissed its pain and displeasure as Rainbow used it as a springboard, cancelling her momentum and kicking off, flying high above the reach of the beast's jaws and circling it's head. She knew she had no hope fighting this thing alone, the fight with the dragon all those months ago told her that. But now she had its attention.

"Girls! Get out of here! I'll distract it till you get clear!"

The crusaders looked on in awe and terror as she dodged a swipe from the monster's tail, another growl escaping it as its prey continued to evade it.

Rainbow let out a growl of her own, and turned to see the girls ignoring her instructions once again. "GO!" She shouted before she dived once again, this time hitting its soft stomach as she flew beneath it.

Apple Bloom shook her head clear and turned to run. Making her way to a distant bush, close enough that she could still see the fight but far enough away to be out of view, she looked back to see that her friends were not following, still captivated by the scene before them. She considered yelling at them to hurry, but then the beast struck out again, drawing her attention away as well.

Now thoroughly enraged by the mare flying around it like an annoying fly, the creature opened its maw and bellowed, releasing the green gas within as it did so. Rainbow quickly moved out of the way of the cloud, well aware that it was likely not in her best interest to breathe it in. She watched the heavy fog as it settled to the forest floor, which it proceeded to make short work of.

Everything it touched shriveled. Grass, bushes, and vines curled in on themselves, losing their colors. Even the trees that where unfortunate enough to have roots in the malicious gases' reach turned a sickly hue almost instantly. Its very breath was poison! The sight of such a display turned Rainbow Dash's stomach, and she looked in horror at the creature that had caused it.

The creature stared back at her with intensity, but did not move to attack. It simply stared, locking eyes with the pegasus for the time. For a moment Rainbow wondered why. What reason did it have to hold back? It had shown no such reservations just moments before!

Her answer came in a flash of light as the creatures eyes blazed an unholy red. Rainbow felt an overwhelming terror come over her as her wings suddenly snapped to her sides and her ears lay flat against her head. Finding her flight suddenly no longer supported, gravity did its work as Rainbow fell to the ground, unable to even move to soften the impact, eyes still glued to the creature's red orbs, body rigid.

Rainbow Dash hit the ground with her shoulder, saving her from landing head first, but not from the consequences of such an impact. White hot pain shot through her body as she was pretty sure she felt her leg twist a way it was never meant to, and the familiar sensation of a dislocated wing was soon to follow. A blow to her head blurred her vision, and the monster faded from sight momentarily. This seemed to break its control over her body, as she found herself able to open her mouth, screaming in pain. Closing her eyes she felt tears well up as she fought to bring herself under control. A loud thud drew her attention as she opened one eye.

The dragon-cragodile was standing over her, its eyes no longer glowing in a physical sense, but the anger at the creature that had hurt it was still there. This time, natural fear overtook Rainbow as she realized she was now at its mercy.

It opened its jaws, and the gas once again poured out, covering the crippled pegasus. Unable to control her breath through the physical pain, Rainbow breathed in a lungful of the noxious fums and felt her muscles go limp, her eyes heavy.

So... She thought, suddenly uncaring about the world of pain or even her immanent death. This is how it end huh? At least it was fighting, and not something embarrassing like falling down a flight of stairs or whatever. I would never be able to live... that... down...

Had she been able to, she would have laughed at the irony of that thought before her eyelids closed fully, and was dead to the world.

Meanwhile, four fillies watched dumbstruck as the fastest flyer in Equestria, the Element of Loyalty, and one of their friend was enveloped in a vile green fog, and stopped breathing. The truth of what had just happened did not set in for a few moments, before reality came crashing back in for a small orange pegasus.

"No! NONONONOOO! RAINBOW DASH!"

Scootaloo ran to her fallen hero, disregarding the thick gas still dissipating around her. Her legs grew heavy and her breathing labored as she looked over the older pegasus, pushing and pulling at her in an attempt to draw some sort of reaction.

"Wake up! P-please wake up Rainbow Dash. You... Y-you c... can't... Die... Please..."

A yawn escaped the filly as her eyelids began to droop. Looking around, she saw the thinning green mist. Realization struck her, about the same time she realized that she could no longer control her legs. They gave out from underneath her, and she could only lay there, breathing in the same poison that had claimed her idol moments before. She watched as the beast made its way over to the two friends she had left behind, huddling together in fear of the colossal creature. It quickly let go a repulsive breath, putting down the last two members of its latest catch. That last sight in minds, the lingering fumes finally did their foul work, and she was gone.

It could still smell the fear.

Perhaps not the feeling itself, but the signs of it. The sweat, the pheromones still lingered in the air. It was fresh, and not just coming from its fallen prey.

Lifting its head, it tasted at the air, following the trail to a nearby bush, and leading into the forest beyond. It did not know the path, nor the area to which the creature traveled towards. But one of them had escaped. Its PREY had escaped its grasp.

One of them had gotten away.

The beast looked to the result of its latest hunt. These creatures where strange to it, but not unwelcome. They where small, and with the exception of one of them, too weak to hurt it. They had no survival skills, loud and bright and with no regard for stealth, from how easy it had been to follow the.

But one had gotten away.

It could survive off of what it had caught so far for a month, easily. It still hadn't started on its previous catch either. There was no reason its should put forth the effort to chase one more, especially if it could just hunt down more such creatures with ease at a later time.

The runt had evaded it.

A low hiss escaped the monster as it gathered the fallen ponies in its long tail and made for its cave. The captured would be returned to its territory for safe keeping. Then it would find the one that escaped.

Sky sighed happily as he sat out in front of his new home, content with the world.

Following Applejack's visit, and the delicious meal he had made out of her gift, he had taken a moment to gather himself before getting to work. The Princess' delivery last night gave him no shortage of supplies to sort, books to organize, and the like. He had worked all the way through to lunch, and just finished the last of the apple pie that he had managed to keep himself from devouring all of this morning. He would have to make a trip to town for dinner later, but for now, he was happy to take a quick break from unpacking to just enjoy the moment.

Closing his eyes, Sky considered taking a nap, before he reminded himself that there was still work to be done before the day was out, and decided to get up before he should fall asleep by mistake. Standing, he stretched his back out not unlike his feline companion, eliciting a series of pleasant pops and cracks. Grinning to himself, Sky turned to walk back inside when something caught his eye.

Coming out of the forest on the left side of the observatory was a familiar yellow filly. Apple Bloom burst forth from a bush on the edge, losing her balance and falling flat on her face. Not a moment was wasted however, as she got back to her hooves almost as soon as she fell, and was back to running from the forest as fast as her little legs would carry her. She did not look back, abject terror in her eyes as she made her way closer to his abode. Loose sticks, sap, and dirt covered her body, and several cuts could be seen across her legs and face. They were not deep, but made it clear that there had been little care in how she left the woods, only how fast.

It was about this time the filly realized she was being watched. Seeing Sky, her eyes widened even farther and she changed course for him, not stopping until she hit him at near max speed. Sky grunted at the impact, looking at her in surprise. Her breathing was hard and ragged as she buried her head in his right foreleg, shuddering.

"Apple Bloom?!" No response came from the filly, and Sky felt himself begin to panic. "Apple Bloom? Whats wrong filly? Are you alright? What where you doing alone in the forest?"

At his last question, Sky could feel the foal stop breathing, holding her breath as all shuddering stopped. A second passed, and she began to shake. This was followed by sobs, that slowly grew in volume until it was uncontrolled crying. Sky stood there, stunned, unsure of what to do next. Putting a careful hoof on Apple Blooms head, he lowered his voice.

"Apple Bloom? What happened?"

Apple Bloom looked up at him with a pained look in her eyes, tears flowing.

"Their dead! Their all dead, and Ah couldn't do nothin' to stop it! My friends are all dead, and its MY FAULT!!"

Chapter 16

The sweet smell of apple and cinnamon wafted through the air as a steady stream of cider flowed from a small keg into the paper cup below. Sky reached for it and brought it to his lips. Tilting his head back, he drained it quickly before filling it once again, and offering it to the filly he found himself hosting.

Apple Bloom was sitting on the stool next to him, a light blanket around her shoulders and a distant look in her eyes. At the introduction of the drink she did nothing, continuing to stare at the wall, eyes wide and still brimming with unshed tears... He supposed it was to be expected. With what she had been through it was hardly as if anypony could fault her for it.

After her outburst in front of the observatory, Apple Bloom had broken down sobbing for several minutes, making it impossible to get answers out of her. He would have loved to let the filly get her tears out, but he still hadn't known what was going on, except that ponies had apparently died. He needed to know the whole story. After bringing her inside, and getting her the blanket that she now clung to so desperately, he had managed to get out the basics. A monster had attacked her and her friends when they had gone into the woods looking for Fluttershy, one of the ponies he had talked to last night. It had caught and killed the others, and only she had escaped.

The realization was terrifying; A creature with a taste for ponies, stalking the shadows of the forest just outside his window. And it had taken four victims today alone, five if you considered the possibility that it could have been the cause of Fluttershy's disappearance as well. The forest was filled with all sorts of dangerous creatures, but the fact that it had attacked them as they followed her trail gave credence to the idea. Still, there were blanks that needed filled, and questions to ask before he decided what to do next.

Which meant he would be asking a broken little filly to relive the horrors of earlier today.

"Apple Bloom?" He asked softly, putting the cup to the side and sitting down next to her, bringing them to eye level with each other. he reached up to her head slowly, and when she did not retreat from him, he began gently pulling the twigs and leaves from her mane. "A-Apple Bloom, can you hear me? I need to ask you a few more questions about... about what did this." He took another breath to calm himself, trying to stop the shaking he felt going through his own body. He was scared as well, but right now, he needed to be brave. Whatever this thing was, he needed as much information about it before he went to whatever garrison Ponyville had. Hopefully the local guard would know what to do with it.

Apple Bloom turned and looked at him, one of her unshead tears finally breaking free and rolling down hear cheek. She sniffed and rubbed it away with the edge of the blanket.

"L-l-like what? W-w-what do ya n-need to know?"

"As much as you can remember. Anything that could help find this thing and stop it... Why don't we start with what it looked like?"

Apple Bloom looked away, watching a random floorboard as she envisioned the events of earlier today. Every detail of the beast, its hide, its claws, its teeth burned into her memories. She suppressed a shudder as the last image of the creature came to mind, the seeing of it standing over Sweetie Belle, noxious gas flowing from its maw to envelope the limp unicorn. A whimper escaped her as she thought of her friends again, more tears forming in her eyes as she closed them in pain of her recollections.

The hoof that had been removing the forest from her hair stopped. He hadn't known her for more than a day, but it hurt to see her like this. That look had no place on the face of a child her age, and nopony should have to go through the nightmare she had just experienced. A moment of hesitation later, and Sky moved closer to Apple Bloom, placing a his hoof around her in a light embrace as he placed her head under his chin. He could feel her ragged breaths, and a wetness on his coat told him the crying had returned, albeit much more controlled than before.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry Apple Bloom. It's terrible what happened, and I know it must be hard. But I need your help right now. I don't like asking you to remember, but I need to know more about what attacked you and your friends if I am going to tell the guards what they're looking for. We need to know what it is so they can stop it." He gave a light squeeze before releasing her and looking down into her eyes, which where now looking up at him in turn. "So please, can you help me?"

"...... I-it w-was big. REALLY big, like, as big as a house. I-it had a tail an' long claws... It's skin was rocky, like it was made of stone, w-with teeth like needles. And red eyes, NO, yellow eyes that turned red! Rainbow Dash looked at it and j-just... stopped moving, like she was frozen solid or somethin'..."

The filly continued to describe the creature, and the more she did, the farther Sky's heart dropped into his stomach. He knew the creature she was describing. He remembered it from a bestiary in his personal collection back home.

"What did it sound like? Did it roar, hiss? What color was the gas?"

"It hissed. N-not like a snake, more like a... a crocodile hiss, or that weird growlin' sound they make. The gas was green."

Sky looked back outside, at the forest beyond, eyes wide, new fear making its way into his body as he thought of the monster lurking inside.

"Drakon..."

"W-what?"

Gulping, Sky looked down to his smaller earth pony counterpart, trying and failing to hide his concern.

"What attacked you and your friends in the forest. It's called a drakon. It an alpha predator, tier two. Classification Basiliscus Toxicus. A subspecies of the basilisk and a relative of Basiliscus Lapis. Can paralyze its victims in a magically induced terror. It... um... it... oh..."

"Sky? Mister Sky, whats wrong?"

A grin slowly made its way onto Sky's face as he continued to go over what he remembered from the bestiary. Specifically one very important fact.

"They're not dead..."

"What?" Apple Bloom asked, cocking her head slightly in an attempt to catch what he said.

"THEY'RE NOT DEAD!" Sky exclaimed, jumping up and looking back out the window with renewed energy. At his outburst Apple Bloom let out a yelp and fell backwards off the stool. A groan drew Sky's attention and he looked to see the young Apple on the ground, rubbing the back of her head and wincing.

"Uh, sorry."

He extended a hoof to her, which she quickly waved away as she sat up by herself.

"Never mind that! You said they're not dead? I know what I saw, I didn't imagine it all!"

"I never said you did," Sky replied. "You just don't understand! Th-the gas that the Drakon breathes, it isn't toxic! Or, it IS, just not deadly, at least not to animals! The name 'Toxicus' was given when it was first observed killing plants in the wild with it. To animals, it is merely a highly potent sleeping agent! It's meant to keep the prey from running, while keeping them..." He paused. "Er... fresh."

'Real smooth idiot,' He thought dryly to himself. 'Even if we both know what the thing plans on doing with her friends, there's no need to be so blunt about it.'

"So you sayin' it just, what, stashed them away someplace? Hid em somewhere for later?" Apple Blooms asked as eyes began to sparkle at the realization of this new hope, a small grin forming on her face. Sky nodded with a smile, and moved passed her towards the door.

"Yes, exactly. Which means there's still time. Come on, we need to tell the authorities, and I'm still new here. Can you show me where the local guard post is? They should be equipped to deal with this."

The filly cocked her head to the side and gave him an inquisitive look. "Guards?"

Sky looked back at the younger pony, raising an eyebrow of his own. "Yes, guards. You know, a local garrison?" Apple Bloom shook her head. "Do you have a police station or sheriffs department?" Another negative.

"... A militia?" Sky asked weakly.

"Ponyville doesn't have any guards. The only ones we see round here are the ones that come down from Canterlot. Most of the time we just deal with the problems ourselves."

The two ponies took a moment to stare at each other, one in shock, the other confusion. Apple Bloom blinked, breaking eye contact and prompting Sky to end the silence surrounding the two of them.

"T-that makes no sense! Every town should have some form of law enforcement at the very least! A-a-and we're right on the edge of wild territory, I mean the Everfree is RIGHT THERE! Somepony should be here to take care of the creatures that wander out of there right? You mean that you have NOPONY to deal with a situations like this?!"

"Normally when stuff happens round here, my sis and her friends take care of it. They don't seem to have any trouble." She paused. "Well, 'cept when its alicorns, monster armies, Discord and stuff, but they got those all sorted out in the end."

The casualty in which the foal listed off such catastrophes was jaw dropping. Sky resumed staring as he struggled to understand what was going on. How could one small town get into so much trouble, and NOT have a guard post SOMEWHERE?! And all of this was dealt with by the local populace how?! Sky opened his mouth to ask, when the light outside the back window grew dark.

The shadow passed as quickly as it came, and for a moment Sky wondered if he had imagined it. Or perhaps a stray cloud from the forest had passed overhead.

A low, near impercieveable hiss resonated through the air, and Sky's heart stopped. A dull thump, the sound of claws on stone. Something was moving outside. Something big, and he thought he knew what. Eyes shrank to pinpricks, and it became hard to breath. Sky attempted to calm himself, thinking of any other reason there might be for such noises, rationalizing away his fear, but the appearance of a massive, craggy tail in the window confirmed it.

The Drakon was here. And it was right outside.

"S-s-sky?" Apple Bloom asked as she drew closer, tail tucked and ears down. She had noticed the creature as well. Sky looked down to see her huddle next to his foreleg, watching the window. They needed to get out of here. SHE needed to get out of here. It was too much of a coincidence that it had found its way to Apple Bloom so soon after the attack. It had likely tracked her scent through the forest, hunting for her.

But why? The part of Sky not suffering from crippling fear asked. It has enough food to last it weeks, and its likely got prime hunting territory in the forest. What reason does it have to track down this one filly? Perhaps it is being territorial, and takes her trespass as an affront? How intelligent are Drakons anyways? I should have read more from the bestiary, it would likely-

Outside, the sound of scratching turned to a screech as the beast tested its claws against the bricks of the observatory's walls, and Sky pinned his ears back in a vain attempt to stop the noise. Sudden silence was followed by a crocodilian growl and the Drakon began its work, throwing itself into the structure. Visible cracks formed in the plaster and the back window shattered as the building shook, breaking Sky's train of thought. It wouldn't be long till it was inside, the brick and mortar certainly wouldn't hold this thing for long.

Fear took over and he ran for the front, grabbing the filly along the way and putting her quickly on his back. Throwing the door open, Sky raced outside, moving as fast as possible towards town. The sound of falling stone and shattering lumber drew his eyes back towards his new home. A thick cloud of dust and flailing limbs where seen through the window. A loud roar reached the two ponies ears as the Drakon found its prey missing, and began its search of the observatory.

Sky felt a pain grow in his chest at seeing the residence destroyed such a short time after its construction. Only a day had passed, and already he was left without a thing, his belongings left to the creature within's whim. At that thought, a much more pressing concern was brought to his attention.

"SELENE!"

Sky stopped where he was, turning to face the building proper. His muscles twitched and hooves danced as he fought the urge to rush back into the chaos. A new kind of terror entered him as he looked back at the building currently under siege. In his rush to leave he had left her behind. He stood there frozen for a long moment, uncertain what to do.

"Mister Sky?! What are you doing, its going to catch us!"

Sky looked back to his passenger, currently occupying his feline companions favorite spot. "I-I... Selene she... I don't..."

...Priorities Sky. Get help, keep the filly safe, that's your job right now. Selene... Selene can wait, it isn't looking for her, its looking for you.

He looked back once more to the devastation, imagining the poor girl tucked away in some corner, weathering the storm. Eyes grew wet as he made his choice, turning away and continuing his race to town, the wind clearing the moisture as quickly as it appeared..

"A-Apple Bloom, what do you do when something like this happens in Ponyville? You said your sister and her friends take care of things? What does that mean?"

"Y-ya, Applejack, Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony. They take care of it."

"Elements of-"

This announcement silenced him for a moment. Applejack was one of the Elements of Harmony, the ponies who had freed Princess Luna and defeated Discord? He knew Twilight Sparkle was one of them, and as for the others... He had read about them before in the Canterlot Gazette, but that had been over a year ago, after the first Nightmare Moon incident. Thinking hard on the contents, he struggled to remembered their names.

Applejack, Pinkamena Pie, Rainbow Dash, Flutter-

"You mean, huff... that I have been meeting THE Elements of Harmony, huff... for the last two days, puff... And NONE of them ever thought to bring that up?!"

"Guess they just kinda got used to it."

Sky shook his head, frustrated with himself for not recognizing them sooner. "Do they have someplace to meet? Some way to get a hold of one another?"

"Ya, they meet at Twilight's place, the library at the North side of town."

Looking ahead to the rapidly approaching town, Sky's mind continued to race. So, he was running from a rampaging monster to go get four of the most important ponies in Equestria. All so they could hunt down said dangerous monster and find its lair in a dark, unnatural forest and save their friends. How could it have possibly gotten this bad?

"Well, lets hope Miss Sparkle and her friends have a plan to help with this sort of thing." He looked back at the observatory, from which the sounds of chaos could still be heard, even from this distance. "Celestia knows we'll need it."

Chapter 17

"Actually Spike, can you get me an extra stack of papers? This may take more than I initially thought."

Spike looked in disbelief at the large pile of papers currently occupying the table in front of Twilight. There was easily three hundred leafs of paper in that stack, but when he looked back at the purple unicorn, no hint of jest was to be found in her eyes.

"Seriously?"

"Well it's not like I can tell how much it's going to take to finish this up, but it's better to be safe then sorry, right?"

"Twilight, when Mayor Mare asked for your help with the report on Ponyville's annual budget, I don't think she meant for you to write the ENTIRE thing!"

Not that even all of that should need this much paper work either. He thought to himself.

Twilight rolled her eyes at this, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm not going to write it all out myself, Spike. Just some of the basic stuff. I'll probably compile some previous reports to send up to Canterlot to support it as well. Oh that reminds me! We could also add a projection in there for the next few years as well! Even if they don't end up being one hundred percent accurate, they would still give us a good head start! Not to mention-"

Spike stopped listening as it became painfully clear Twilight had missed the point. She didn't even notice as her assistant left the room to collect her desired parchment, too caught up in talking to herself.

Taking his leave of the study, Spike made his way downstairs to the library actual, and opened the drawer labeled 'parchments'. Pushing aside note-cards and scrolls, he stared for a moment at the two stacks of leafed paper that made up the bottom of the drawer, he shrugged before taking both stacks of six hundred and piling one on top of the other. Turning and kicking the drawer closed, he smiled to himself. Better to just bring her all the paper and not have to worry about coming back for more later. No chance of any more hassle, and he could get back to his comics, without distractions.

'WHAM!'

The front door was very nearly thrown of its hinges and an unfamiliar stallion galloped in, nearly running headfirst into the central table in his hurry. Planting his hind legs, the pony practically sat down in his rush to stop forward momentum. The sudden, and very loud nature of his appearance hardly went unnoticed by the small purple drake, who jumped out of his scales, scattering the carefully balanced papers he carried with a yell. The stranger hardly seemed to notice however, or perhaps didn't care, as he looked about the room in a panic, breathing heavily.

"MISS -huff- MISS SPARKLE!"

A familiar yellow filly dismounted from the strangers back, stumbling briefly and looking around before she saw him. Her eyes widened and she ran up to him through the rain of papers still falling around them. Grabbing him by the shoulders, she began shaking him lightly as she spoke.

"Spike! Is Twilight here? We need Twilight, where is she?!"

Still in a daze over the sudden burst of activity, Spike simply looked at her for a moment, shock etched onto his face.

"A-Apple Bloom? Whats going on? I thought you and the others where going to Fluttershy's for the day. And what is it you need Twi-"

Apple Bloom interrupted him with a much more violent series of shakes, panic in her eyes. "There's no TIME for explainin' Spike! WHERE'S TWILIGHT?!"

"Spike? What in the world is all the commotion down here? What's happening?"

All three heads turned to the top of the stairs, where a very confused looking Twilight Sparkle was making her way down to them. Seeing Apple Bloom, he head cocked lightly to the side.

"Apple Bloom? Whats going on here?"

The filly in question dropped Spike, who quickly fell amidst the settling paper pile, and ran up to the purple librarian next.

"Twilight! Twilight we need your help! T-there's a monster, an-an-and Sky's house and the others and I think its chasin'-me-and-we-need-you-to-help-us-get-them-before-it-"

Twilight stepped back and ears folded under the verbal assault, having a hard time keeping up with what was being said. Looking past the small Apple in front of her to the other two, Spike simply shrugged while the other pony took a moment to catch his breath.

Putting a hoof on Apple Blooms shoulder, Twilight looked her in the eyes, trying to calm her.

"Slow down Apple Bloom! Take a breath and tell me whats happened. What monster, who did it take? Who is this you brought with you?"

"T-That's Mister Sky! He brought me here after the dragon thing found his house! We need your help!"

"Dragon? Don't tell me you and the Crusaders went and..." Suddenly, there was silence, and Twilight's eyes widened in realization, and she looked down at the filly in front of her with a look of dread.

"WHERE is Nyx?"

Sky took on last deep breath before he spoke up.

"I... I believe I can help clarify, Miss Sparkle."

Twilight looked up at the newcomer pleadingly. He took another breath before he began to talk again.

"From what Apple Bloom here told me this morning, she and her friends where going over to Miss Fluttershy's house to 'crusade' for their cutie marks. When they got there, she was already gone, and they found signs that she had gone into the forest." He paused a moment to think before continuing.

"I don't know if it's clear why she went into the Everfree alone, but from what Apple Bloom here has told me, it appears she was caught by the same creature that attacked her group. She and the other crusaders apparently went in after Rainbow Dash to look for Fluttershy, and where waylaid while searching for her by a drakon."

Sky looked down to the yellow filly who had made her way to his side, and put a hoof on her shoulder when he saw the slight shiver still running through her body. With the adrenaline leaving her system, she was likely starting to feel shock of what had happened back at the observatory before they escaped the drakon's attack. He would be lying if he said we wasn't feeling some anxiety as well. Thoughts of his new home being torn apart like it was thin paper came to mind and Sky felt his heart sink.

'And I left Selene alone to fend for herself...'

Banishing that thought, Sky looked back to the scholar who he could see was dealing with an internal conflict of her own.

"I was told that you where the pony to talk to for something like this and, knowing your background of dealing with crises like this, I'm hoping that's true."

The librarian's eyes darted back and forth between her guests, with Spike standing to the side looking between them with concern. Sky began to grow nervous that she may NOT have an answer, but then something changed.

Twilight's eyes sharpened and posture straightened as fear gave way to determination. She needed to focus right now. Some...THING, had taken her best friends and her daughter hostage. Determination became a righteous anger at the thought, and her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Unfortunately, all these emotions played out as she stared intensely at Sky. Unknowing of goings on inside the purple mare's head, the stallion in question took a step back with some trepidation as a the pony known for being the protegee magical student of Princess Celestia looked at him coldly. Her horn ignited, and he felt his legs lock in panic not for the first time today.

His fears proved unfounded as two drawers near the back of the room opened with a violet glow. A scroll and writing material floated out of them came to rest in front of Spike, who quickly grabbed them. Twilight did not look at any of this as she made her way past Sky and Apple Bloom to the front door, where she then turned around.

"Spike, send a letter to the princess telling her what we know right now. After that I want you to find every bestiary we have and look up any reference to 'drakon'. I'll be back with the others." She looked back to the visitors and leveled a look at Apple Bloom.

"Apple Bloom? I need you go get your sister from the market and bring her here. Tell her I said it's an emergency."

The filly nodded quickly and ran out the door past Twilight, who looked back at her other visitor; and saw the fear in Sky's eyes. Realizing that she was still glaring, Twilight softened her gazed slightly, though it lost none of its serious nature.

"Thank you for your help. Apple Bloom said your name was Sky?"

Sky blinked and nodded in response. "Y-yes Miss Sparkle. My name is Night Sky."

"Twilight is fine. It sounded like you already knew about drakons when you where telling me what happened. Are you familiar with them?"

He shook his head. "Only what I remember from reading about them a while back. I-I really only skimmed over them in a book I was reading for fun at the time."

"That's more than anypony else in town knows. I only know them by name. If you wouldn't mind staying here and explaining a bit to me and my friends, I would appreciate the help."

Sky didn't need to think on a response. Not only was he personally invested in this already, but he had nowhere to go even if he wanted to leave this to her and her friends anyways. "Of course. I will stay here and, uh... Help your assistant look for reference material in the meantime. Good luck."

"Thanks, you too," Twilight said, allowing herself a small grin in response. Turning around, she ran out the door, closing it behind her with her magic.

Chapter 18 Author's Note

I hate writing Pinkie Pie. She is such a great character if written well, but doing that is SO HARD. Can't rely on 4th breaks and references to keep here going, so one has to channel their inner party pony to come up with sufficient oddities to keep her interesting. :pinkiehappy:

... It isn't as easy as it sounds. :ajbemused:
Thanks to my editor The Great Derpsby. I don't know how he manages to catch all my mistakes, but he does.

Thank you all for reading, and enjoy! :twilightsmile:

Chapter 18

"How do you guys find anything in this mess?"

Spike looked up from the glossary of Catcher's Collection of Curious Creatures to arch an eyebrow at Sky. While he may not get as excited over doing it as Twilight, he took pride in his organization of the library. He did not much care for other ponies muttering against his work under their breath.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly that! I have been looking through this section for the last eight minutes and I have no idea what sort of system it is using. Look at this! What in the world is a 'Beakers Beautiful Brews' doing next to 'Baking For Fillies'? That's just ASKING for trouble! Or what about this? 'Classical Equestrian Culture' and Canc-.... wait a minute... it's... it's all going alphabetical? And top to bottom? I, but... Huh?"

Spike got off the stool he had been using and walked over to see for himself. Sure enough, the stallion was telling the truth. Genres clashed, subjects intermingled, and age groups where apparently disregarded in the corner of the library, as the only order to the book appeared to be the first letter of the title.

Spike tilted his head and scratched at his crest in confusion. HE certainly wasn't to blame for this, and Twilight would have a panic attack just looking at it. Nyx had helped them organize on occasion, so she wasn't the culprit. But who else organized the library besides them?

Realization struck, and Spike almost laughed before the gravity of their current situation sunk in, and a frown appeared instead.

"The Crusaders where trying to get their 'Library Organizers' cutie marks when Twilight and Nyx where out a couple of days ago. Guess I forgot to clean up this area afterwards..."

"... Oh."

"... I'll just... get back to work over here..."

"Yes, and I will, ah, find another section of the library to look through."

Turning in opposing directions, the pony and the dragon went back to work with renewed determination. Knowing that four fillies and a third of the Element Bearers where depending upon how much they could dig up on the monster stalking the forest had a way of removing any interest in small talk.

Only a few minutes had passed by when the Golden Oaks front door was thrown open for the second time that day. This time, a familiar hat-wearing earth pony came charging in with a determined look on her face, and a yellow filly on her back.

Apple Bloom jumped off her older sister and straightened her bow, before looking back at her sibling, then at Sky.

"You know, y'all seems to be forgettin' I can get around JUST FINE on my own. I don't need you all carryin' me around like some kinda baby..."

Applejack looked down at her kin and allowed herself a slight grin. Perhaps it was unkind to smile at her sister's expense, but it couldn't be helped.

"Sorry there sugarcube, but you said we needed to hurry, and after hearin' what you had to say, I have ta agree."

"Applejack! Good to see Apple Bloom found you so quick, me and Sky could use all the help we can get!"

The farmer nodded and tilted her hat to Spike, then turned to Sky. She gave him an curious look before approaching.

"Apple Bloom tells me you're the pony that found her after she got away from whatever critter found her and her friends in the woods. She also told me you took care of 'er, and how you rescued her after it found her again."

Sky looked over at Apple Bloom, who looked away with a meek grin, then back up to the older Apple.

"I didn't do anything special Miss Applejack, I would hardly call it a rescue. Anypony else would have done the same. I'm just glad she got out safe."

Applejack looked him over again, with what he hoped was respect, before nodding and looking at the room around them.

"So y'all are looking for anything on this varmint that's got the others huh? I may not know the library as good as Twilight or Spike, but tell me what you need and A'll do what I can."

Sky nodded in return, and turned to the central table, now covered in a collection of textbooks, grimoires, and bestiaries.

"Spike and I have already gathered all the books he is aware of that might give us some hint of what to expect from the Drakon. I was just giving the rest of the library one last look to be sure we didn't miss anything. If you and Apple Bloom could go ahead and join him looking for anything relevant to the creature, that would be a big help."

"Can do."

"On it!"

With the newest editions now at work, Sky turned his attention back to the shelves of the library. Hopefully the others would get there shortly, and when they did, he wanted to be sure they had every bit of information they could get on the beast. Time was not on their side, and they where going to need all the help they could get.

Pinkie Pie, the party pony from last night, was the first to arrive fifteen minutes later. While one could chalk it up to being absorbed in the book he was reading at the time, Sky could swear the front door was never opened. One moment he was reading on drakon nesting habits, the next he was in a world of pink.

Without so much as a sound, Pinkie Pie had managed to get up on the statue in the center of the table, and had placed her head between Sky and the book. He jumped back with a surprised yell, heart racing at the shock of her sudden appearance. That enormous grin she had worn last night was still there, and from the similar reaction of his counterparts, Sky could assume that she had somehow snuck up on not only him, but everypony in the room.

"Hiya Skya! Wasn't expecting to see you here today! Well I was, cause Twilight told me you'd be here, but I mean BEFORE that part!" The pink mare giggled at herself before moving out from between Sky and his reading material. For reasons unknown to Sky, she decided to up her balancing act, standing on her back left hoof and putting her front two out for support.

"Twilight told me to come here and meet you and Spike and Applejack and Apple Bloom! Said it was SUUUPER important, and you would explain everything when she went to get Rarity, before BAM, teleporting away!"

Thowing her hooves out for emphasis, Pinkie lost her balance and gave a squawk. Falling off the carving, she barely caught herself with her front hooves before landing face first into the ground. Immediately the party planner shot up, once again uncomfortably close to Sky.

"Soooo? Spill the beans mister, whats going on round here? Some sorta secret club? Secret mission? Secret-"

Sky said nothing in a state of information overload as Pinkie Pie continued her rant. She had yet to take a breath as she continued to list of different varieties of 'secret stuff' they might be doing/having/planing. It probably would have continued that way if Applejack had not intervened.

The farmpony in question shook off the surprise much faster than the others, and moved quickly to remove Pinkie from the overwhelmed pony. Dragging her friend away, she turned and faced the pink menace.

"Pinkie, leave the poor stallion be. Not everypony is as used to ya as we are."

Pinkie Pie settled into a relative state of calm, though the reprimand did nothing to curb her enthusiasm. She smiled at her orange friend and bounced lightly back and forth on her hooves, waiting for an answer. Applejack arched an eyebrow, but obliged none the less.

"RD and the Crusaders got themselves caught by a creature in the Everfree. We think the thing probably has Futtershy as well. Sky found Apple Bloom after she got away, and brought her here. We need to get everyone else together so we can come up with a plan to rescue them." Applejack motioned around the room at the collection of books that now surrounded them. "We were just looking up anything we could find on the thing before the rest of y'all got here."

Pinkie let out a dramatic gasp at this news. 'Probably to make up for the earlier lack of air,' Sky thought idly.

"A big mean monster has Dashie, Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle, Nyxie and Scootaloo?!" Pinkie asked. "This is even more important than I thought!"

As she finished announcing the seriousness of the situation, the front doors hinges where once again put to the test as the door flew open for the third time that day. The first pony in was a new one, likely the last pony Twilight had called upon. Rarity, Pinkie Pie had called her. He vaguely remembered her face from the newspaper article on their defeat of Discord.

Sky took a brief moment to assess the newest member of the group. The way she held herself, he was reminded of Miss Fleur De Lis, Fancy Pant's cousin back in Canterlot. Though the tycoon's relative and the unicorn in front of him now may both have had the 'proper lady' air about them, that was not to say they where identical. While both wore magnificent white coats, Fleur's two-toned pink mane was in replaced with Rarity's rich purple curls. And where the Canterlot model sported a lithe and supple build, this mare was built less so, though she had about her a natural grace.

Gentle blue orbs moved around the room, assessing the situation and picking apart details, never resting on one spot for more than a couple seconds. Setting her discerning eyes on Sky, she looked him up and down. The stallion had the feeling he was being judged, or perhaps appraised was a better word. An uncomfortable feeling of being exposed overtook him. It was only a moment, but those seconds stretched on for Sky, as Rarity's gaze began to unsettle his already frayed nerves.

The unease ended with Twilight running through the doorway after her friend, slightly more out of breath than her white counterpart. Her horn flared as she close the door behind her, and all the rooms occupants quickly set their eyes upon her instead.

"*Hah*... *Huh*... OK, that's everypony. Thanks for coming Applejack. *Huff* Did the others explain things to you?"

The farm pony nodded an affirmative. "Yep. Been workin' on finding anything that could help with em for a while while now."

"Good." Twilight replied curtly, before turning away to the progress the others had made in her absence. Applejack looked over to the newest arrival.

"Twilight tell you what's going on Rarity?"

Rarity gave a nod of her own in response.

"Indeed she did Applejack. It is in part the reason we are late to this little meeting. I was in the middle of working with a client, and dear Twilight had to explain the situation in order to pull me away."

Looking to her fellow unicorn, Rarity raised an eyebrow.

"Although she COULD have done so with a bit more tact. Opening with 'a monster has the girls' was somewhat unnecessary if you ask me."

The mare in question, having recovered from her run across town, payed little attention to Rarity's complaint, instead choosing to sift through the collection of knowledge sitting on her centerpiece. Everything from grimoires to scrolls orbited around her head as she took quick account of everything there, quickly glancing over each of their titles. The orbit stopped suddenly, and the satellites where set into a neat pile with the exception of one book, which was floated into a saddlebag that came to rest on the librarian's flank.

"Sorry Rarity, but there isn't much time. I gave you the basics, the rest can be explained on the way. I don't want to leave the girls alone with that thing any longer than necessary. Apple Bloom can stay here with Spike and wait for a response from Princess Celestia. Night Sky can lead us to where he found her, and we can work from there. Is everypony ready to move?"

Twilight was answered with chorus of confirmations, and one cry of indignation.

"What?! Ya mean you're all gonna leave me here when you go save the others? No way, they're my friends too, and I wanna help!"

Sky went to explain why that was a bad idea, but the older Apple beat him to the punch. Applejack looked down at her sister with a stern look, and Apple Bloom's bravado quickly melted away.

"This isn't up for debate, Bloom. You may be just fine with waltzin' into the forest yourself, but I ain't takin' my little sister with me to fight any KINDA pony eatin' critter. You stay here with Spike and wait for the princess, understand?"

Apple Bloom looked dejected, face to the floor and ears back, but she shook her head yes regardless.

"Yes Applejack."

"Good."

Twilight looked away from the Apple siblings to the group. Sky gave her a nod of confirmation when she looked his way, as did the others. With everypony ready she turned and opened the door, the others following close behind.

Chapter 19

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 20 Author's Note

Thanks again to The Great Derpsby for editing and pre-reading my stuff.

Almost done with this story! Looking forward to a new project, but I have to say, its been amazing just getting through this one. Thank you for the support for those of you following, and for the likes as well. Knowing you guys enjoy what I do is a very big part of why I post my stuff. Enjoy!

Chapter 20

Crunch... crunch... crunch...

The sound echoed across the silent clearing. The only interruption in a world otherwise devoid of stimulus. A tail twitched, claws flexed, and a single reptilian eye slowly opened.

Something had entered its territory. Something approached its lair. Something... invaded. No creature of the surrounding territories dared do such a thing. They were smarter than to do so, and those who were not had been... removed. So what creature could possibly be so bold as to encroach?

The drakon raised its head over its back and scanned the area, his eyes settling on a pack of three creatures approaching the cave's entrance. Moments after they noticed it as well, freezing in place and staring back. Hoofed ones, like the prey currently within its cave. Small, and frail. None of them had wings like the annoying one currently in its possession. One of them had a horn, too dull to pierce, too short to block. No scales to protect or claws to rake. No barbs or fangs either. There was no obvious way for the things to defend themselves.

The helplessness of such a creature confused it. And what kept drawing them here? Did they truly not see the signs of its presence all around? Surely those caught this morning, and its following hunt of the runner would have-

And the reason for the invasion became clear. These fleshy creatures where here for their herd-mates. A hiss of pleasure found its way to its lips. With so few? With this, it would not have to hunt for weeks!

The hornless orange one looked back at its fellows and made a series of noises, meaningless to its ears. The others however looked towards their companion and nodded, before all at once, they burst into action. The pink and white one ran to either side, while the orange pulled the cover on its head before charging. Surely its wasn't serious? Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the cloud of green vapors from its mouth swiftly covering the small thing, and it turned its attention to the others. Just as it looked away, a sharp pain struck its leg. A hiss of pain left its mouth and it turned to look at the source, so see the orange one running back off into the cloud, obscured from sight.

The drakon froze. Impossible. No creature could withstand its breath. No creature ever had! Time and again the fiercest of predators and the most elusive of prey had fallen to it. How could such tiny creatures succeed where others had failed?

Another bite of pain, this time to its side, as chunks of rock tried their hardest to pierce its hide. Most simply broke on impact, but the sting was enough to draw its attention. Another of the tiny things, the white hide, whose dull horn softly glowed the same color as the shards of earth being thrown this way. One projectile struck true just below the eye, resulting in another hiss.

Rage settled in. These insects dared attack it in its own territory?! Pain clouded the mind as burning fury replaced cold logic. These creatures defied it through unknown trickery, and aimed to take what was his by right! Letting loose a primal roar, any other thought was replaced by a singular goal.

Kill.

Sky watched, mostly in fear, but with no small part of awe, as the drakon squared itself against Rarity, letting out a terrific roar. The noise was nearly deafening as he laid his ears back and fought down the urge to flee. Rarity for her part flinched back at the beast's challenge, ceasing her magical assault. The drakon took advantage of her balk and dashed forward intent on ending the white mare.

It was interrupted as a pink one came crashing down on its head from the sky, forcing it into the ground and causing it to stumble over itself.

"TAG! Your it!" screeched Pinkie Pie before she smacked the creature on the nose before dashing off, a wide grin on her face. The drakon shook itself, looked towards its new aggressor, and gave chase. Applejack came out of the gas cloud, looking a bit green herself, but otherwise fine, and followed.

"Y'all didn't say nothin' about the smell as I recall!"

"Fight now, complain later~!" Pinkie sang as she darted across the field, always just a moment ahead of the beast. It lunged, and the party pony bounced, once again landing on the thing's head and giggling. "You'll have to try harder than that!"

The drakon shook and bucked, trying to remove the pink menace. Sky looked on in wonder as Pinkie held on tight, laughing all the while. A small cough from his right drew his attention to Twilight, her hooves planted firmly in the earth as she channeled magic through her horn, an overglow starting to appear over it. Sweat lightly beaded on her head as she grit her teeth.

"This is... just as hard as it looks. If you could please -unf-... hurry and find the others, I would rather not hold onto this spell for too long after it's ready."

Sky blinked and nodded, looking back to the fight and the cave it raged in front of. The drakon was focused on Pinkie for the moment. Every time either Applejack or Rarity drew its attention with a kick or throw, their bubbly friend would fly in and make enough of a scene to draw it back to her. Taking a deep breath, Sky steeled his nerves and ran for the mouth of the cave.

The inside of the beast's lair was much smaller than Sky had anticipated. After affording himself a moment to ensure the creature had not spotted him making his way inside, Sky ducked his head back under the boulder he rested behind and observed the inside of the cave.

The space was about twenty feet across at first glance, and just a bit deeper than that. Stalactites and stalagmites alike filled the cave as it made a downward angle farther in. Sky had the unnerving feeling that he was traveling into the pits of Tartarus itself as he stood and made his way into the darkness. The drakon's vaporous gas lingered here, creating a low hanging fog across the floor of the cave.

Visibility waned as he neared the back of the cave, the rock formations blocking the light from outside. Slowing down his pace, Sky looked back and forth for any sign of the captured ponies. His search ended when he tripped over a particularly squishy rock, which groaned its protest as he landed atop it. Green vapors filled his nostrils, and Sky found himself agreeing with Applejack as he fought to keep his breakfast. Lifting his head out of the foul gas, Sky took a few deep breaths to clear his nose and looked down at the offending lump.

Cyan fur and rainbow mane greeted him, barely visible in the deep dark of the cave. Rainbow Dash lay on the ground, a grimace on her face as she squirmed slightly in her sleep. The lingering gas seemed enough to keep her asleep, but not comfortably so. Her wing looked slightly off too him, resting at an odd angle on her side. He poked it lightly, the unconscious flier shying away at his touch. Looking carefully Sky could now see the others surrounding them, the fillies nearly invisible beneath the fog, and Fluttershy not far behind them. Sky couldn't help but sigh in relief, and quickly set to moving them out, starting with Rainbow.

The mare proved far lighter than he had anticipated, perhaps due to her pegasus nature. She was an adult pony, and an athlete by her friend's accounts, but even though it was no easy task she was not much heavier than Melody, a pony in her early teens. A light sweat had worked its way onto his brow as he dropped the mare to the ground behind his hiding rock, and took a peak outside. While Applejack seemed to be breathing only a tad heavier, things still looked good for the A team, and so he set off to collect the others.

The fillies proved much easier loads than the mare before them. He managed Scootaloo and Nyx in one trip, and Sweetie Belle was soon to follow. Setting down the small white filly, Sky made to return to the cave for the last occupant when a small gasp for air drew his attention back to the pile of ponies he had already collected.

Rainbow Dash drew a few more desperate breaths before settling on a painful moan. Rolling away from her injured wing, the flyer's eyes where screwed shut in obvious discomfort before shooting open in a panic. She looked back and forth quickly, observing her surroundings before her gaze settled on Sky and her young charges laying beneath him. Her eyes widened even more at the fillies' still forms, an almost manic look filling them.

Sky quickly reassured her, moving closer and putting what he hoped was a calming hoof on her shoulder.

"They're okay, they're okay!" He said in a loud whisper. "They're sleeping like you were! They should be waking up in just a moment." The rainbow mare panicked for a moment more before his words settled in, and visibly calmed. Sighing in relief, she looked them over for a second before turning to him with a inquisitive look.

"What- *cough cough* -What are YOU doing here?" Her tone was not an offensive one, merely one of genuine confusion. A notable improvement from their last encounter. Her voice was even raspier than the night before, likely an effect of the drakon's sleeping agent.

"Apple Bloom found me after you got attacked in the forest. We got the rest of your friends together and they came to rescue you. I... I came to help."

Rainbow Dash gave him a serious look. A loud explosion not unlike a cannon going off, followed by the sound of laughter came from the other side of the boulder. It drew both of their attention, and Rainbows frown turned into a grin, her eyes lighting up at the sound. "Ya, that's them alright."

Sky looked to her wing, still hanging at her side. Probably broken if he had to guess. Pegasus wings where notoriously sensitive, and he found himself surprised she wasn't currently in a blind pain.

"I still have to get Miss Fluttershy from inside their. Are you going to be alright with that?" He inquired, nodding towards her injury. She waved him of with her uninjured wing, and began shakily attempting to stand.

"Don't worry about me! Get Flutters out of there and... do whatever it is you plan on doing next! I'm gonna see what I can do to help th-"

She faltered, her legs giving out underneath her and dropping her unceremoniously to the ground. The landing disturbed her break, drawing a hiss of pain from her muzzle as she fought back tears. Sky felt the urge to cringe, but instead shook his head and returned the hoof to her shoulder once more.

"You'll do no such thing. You've been under the effects of a sleeping agent for almost half a day, and its obvious your wing is in terrible condition. Your muscles are still weak, and you can't fly. You're in no shape to go fight a monster, you would only get in the way." Rainbow gave him a murderous look at that. "Not to mention I bet you're probably feeling a bit dizzy, maybe unfocused? Just because you're awake now doesn't mean your 'ready to go'. Miss Twilight has a plan, just stay here with the girls, and I'll be back soon, alright?"

The two stared at each other, a silent battle of wills. Eventually, sanity won out and Rainbow Dash looked away. Not, however, without getting a word in edgewise.

"You're lucky I'm not feeling one hundred percent right now, got it?"

"Of course," Sky responded, and made his way back into the cave.

"...Thanks..."

Sky only smirked at the muttered word, and moved on. He had one more pony to gather today.

Applejack wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up. An outward observer may not have noticed it much, but it was true. Lungs gasped, legs burned, and striking at the creature's hide was no different from hitting the face of a rock. Her hooves felt as though they would crack at any moment. She was pushing towards total exhaustion, but despite the sweat in her eyes, and the pounding in her ears, she kept on. There was no stopping now, not with such high stakes.

The farmer ran beneath the monster, kicking it once more as she passed its hind leg. A hiss of pain and a roar of outrage, and she knew she had its attention. Now to run until Pinkie could distract it once more.

She wouldn't have to wait long, as the pink menace made her appearance out from behind the drakon's head, seemingly from nowhere. Continuing on with her usual theme of randomness, the pink pony pulled out a large piece of cloth and quickly wrapped it around the beast's eyes, tying it behind its crest to keep it secure.

"Who's ready to play some pin the tail on the pony?!" Pinkie asked, from atop its head, and giggled. The creature found this much less amusing, and quickly began bucking and thrashing in an attempt to remove its new hat. Pinkie only laughed harder as she held on with one hoof, waving the other in the air and whooping at the impromptu rodeo. A sudden jerk of the head upwards sent the pink mare flying, her laughter cut short by a startled yelp.

A gentle blue aura surrounded the party planner as her fall suddenly slowed to a much safer rate, eventually winking out once she reached a few feet off the ground. Rarity, several yards away behind a desiccated tree, gave a groan of pain, rubbing her horn.

"Pinkie dear, pa-lease try and be more careful. I can't keep this up for much longer..."

The drakon was momentarily preoccupied trying to remove its blindfold, but its blind rage was working against it, the constant thrashing keeping it from getting a solid grip on the thing. Applejack looked to the forest's edge where a faint purple glow emanated from the brush, and to the center of the clearing, where there was still no sign of the others emerging. Worry began to worm its way into her stomach.

"Cummon Sky, where are ya?"

A tearing sound could be heard as the drakon finally removed its impromptu eye-wear, and set its eyes upon the ball of energy that had placed it there.

"Uh-oh," Pinkie said quietly before taking off across the clearing, the beast in hot pursuit.

As Applejack watched, she realized it would soon be her turn to draw its attention, and prepared to run in once more. However, a noise from the entrance drew her attention.

Sky, supporting an injured Rainbow Dash and laden with a sleeping Fluttershy, was making his way out from the cave. He had Sweetie Belle in one hoof, while Scootaloo and Nyx both supported themselves on Rainbow Dash's legs. Varying levels of exhaustion, pain, and fear could be seen on their faces.

They where alive though, that was all that mattered. Applejack smiled wide and turned back to the fight.

"Pinkie! They're out, lets move!" Pinkie Pie looked over to her orange friend and smiled.

Suddenly, Pinkie nearly tripped as she began to favor her right foreleg. Her grin was replaced by a look of surprise, and turned around at the last moment to see the drakon uncoil, leaping out towards her with frightening speed. The creature seemed to grin viciously as it came down upon her. Pinkie quickly sidestepped to avoid being crushed, but was not prepared when the creature sideswiped her with its palm, sending her flying of back towards the center of the clearing. She bounced twice, before finally coming to rest and laying still.

"PINKIE!" Applejack heard Rainbow yell, snapping her out of her dumbfound horror. The creature made no move to stop her as she bolted towards her downed companion, slowly approaching its latest victim in undisguised amusement.

"Pinkie?! Pinkie answer me girl!" Applejack fretted as she checked her fallen friend, looking her over for any sign that she was alright. She got one as Pinkie Pie groaned, shaking her head and cracking her eyes open to look at the apple farmer.

"... Pinchy knee. That one hurt too. Oooh..."

Applejack shook her head, and moved to pick up the baker, when a shadow reminded her of their current situation. Her heart stopped as she slowly looked up, higher and higher, until she was looking the monster right in the eye.

A flash of light, and the drakon's eyes settled from a bright red to a burning orange. Applejack felt her muscles tense and her fur stand on end as she found herself no longer able to look away, let alone run. She had forgotten it could do that. A thrill of true terror washed over her as the creature held her in its gaze.

Finally, this joke was nearly concluded. He had to admit, the prey putting up such a fight was not something he had expected. There were tender points all across its legs that would be hurting for days after. Still they were prey, and would be dealt with as such. I mattered little in the end how much they resisted.

The pink one had been the most infuriating, but soon after catching it off guard, the orange one had soon followed. It had raced to its companion, heedless of how foolish that would be. Foolishness born of attachment. Herd animals were all the same.

The white one was still off at a distance, as it had been through the whole fight. He could see in his peripheral how it struggled on what to do next. One leg was raised to race to its herd mate's side, but it was unable to bring itself any closer to the predator hunched over them. He could smell the sweat and hear its breath. Exhaustion held it as much as the shock of what was happening.

Focusing once more on the creature trapped in its gaze, he considered what to do next. The simplest answer was to store them away like the others.

Oh. But they deserved so much more for their audacity. For daring to attack him here, in his own land.

His tail flicked in delight as slowly, he moved closer to the orange hoofed one. She, as it appeared to be female as all the others did, could do nothing more than stare back at him, frozen in his eyes. Almost carefully, he leveled his eyes with hers, and gave a quiet hiss. He could hear her heart from here, thundering in her chest as fear consumed her. It was wonderful to experience. It was-

There was a noise, and pain lanced as a blow landed just below his right eye-ridge, and forced his eyes closed closed as a roar of pain echoed through the clearing.

The wounded eye would no longer open, but its good eye did so with rage and hatred filling it.

The white one was the most obvious culprit. He turned to the impotent little creature, only to find that the growth on its head was not glowing. And neither was it looking to him, but rather beneath him.

He followed its gaze down to a new hoofed one. Another hornless and wingless one, it was slightly taller than the others, with slightly more squared features. It had a shorter tail and mane than the others as well. A male, the herds patriarch perhaps. Its rear legs were facing him and its body was squared off from where it had obviously kicked him. It was looking back over its shoulder at him with a wide-eyed expression.

His eye narrowed.

It bolted.

Sweet Celestia's sunny skies, what was he thinking?!

Sky took off as fast as his legs could carry him. The drakon did not disappoint as it cried out once more and gave chase, barely missing the two captured element bearers in its charge.

He realized he hadn't been thinking. Upon taking Fluttershy back out of the cave, he had found himself looking at something out of a nightmare. Applejack, standing frozen over a beaten and bleary-eyed Pinkie Pie. Rarity, looking on from a distance, horror in her eyes as the monster slowly drew closer to her incapacitated friends. The creature seemed to sport a feral smile as it grew agonizingly nearer to the apple farmers face. It was taking its time with her, terrorizing them. He had felt a fire enter his belly at the sight of it, despite the icy water that seemed to flow through his veins at the same moment.

He hadn't thought. Only acted.

That same fire fled him as the drakon leaped, attempting to pin him, but it overshot him and landed in front of him instead.

This was insane!

Sky ground to a halt and took off back towards the edge of the clearing, where he hoped he could lose it.

'Where Twilight Sparkle is currently charging her spell.'

He slowed his pace only enough to turn right, aiming instead for an outcropping of dead trees about halfway into the clearing. The creature had turned itself around and was building speed towards him, he could hear it thundering behind him. Feel its powerful strides in the earth beneath his hooves.

Must go faster! Must go faster!!

A shadow fell over him and Sky's mind froze. there was a sudden, blinding pain as the beast collide with his barrel. He felt ribs creak and the air exit his lunges, and suddenly he was airborne.

He remained that way for a few seconds before colliding face first with the unmerciful crag beneath him. The world went out of focus, and his ears rang from the impact. Something warm and wet seeped its way down his muzzle, but for the life of him he couldn't imagine what it was.

His hearing began to clear, and Sky attempted to open his eyes, only to feel white hot pain as he did so. He realized it was blood pouring down his face into his right eye, blinding him there. He settled for one eye open, and looked up.

The creature was there, its one good eye still glowing in an unnatural manner. He had the mistake of meeting it, and felt himself go rigid.

"MISTER SKY!" A small voice rang out across the forest. One of the fillies, though he couldn't be sure which. The creature made barely any sign of noticing, its head turning slightly to the sound and huffing out a small cloud of green gas. As the gas settled, Sky could not stop himself from breathing in a small vapor of it, and suddenly he felt his muscles relax and his mind begin to idle. The spell had worn off.

The predator above him took notice, and its eye ceased to glow as it raised its claw overhead to crush him. Looked as though it no longer cared if he lived to be 'stored' or not. Strange that did not fill him with the same terror it had moments ago.

A flash of purple went off behind the beast, and Sky noticed with his failing vision that Rarity was gone. Another light enveloped Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and they vanished as well. Another flash went off, its origins obscured by the drakon's tail, but it was easy to guess what had cause it.

'Well,' Sky sleepily thought to himself. 'At least we did it.'

The drakon struck, and there was another blinding flash.

Sky's world darkened.

Chapter 21

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 22

"I'm just glad you're alright girl," Sky said as he carefully held Selene in his forelegs, gently stroking her down her back. The feline reciprocated his affection, purring loudly and rubbing her cheek along her owner's barrel. "I was so worried about you when everything started happening! Thank goodness you're okay!"

Selene of course did not respond, instead deciding it was time to end the embrace. Hopping down, she gave her owner just enough time to stand before finding her usual spot on his back. Curling up, the cat closed her eyes and continued to purr. Sky's smile only widened as his furry friend return to her perch, and he turned back to face a giggling, red-maned mare.

"Thank you so much for taking care of her, Roseluck. I couldn't stand the thought of her being out there on her own all this time."

Rose smiled and lightly shook her head. "It was no problem at all. She's actually the one who found me when she wandered into town. She was quite the sight, all covered in dust, fur sticking out this way and that. I may not have recognized her if not for her collar."

Her smile faded slightly as she looked him over. Worry was in her eyes as she stared briefly at the bright pink scar that now graced his brow just above his right eye. It was thankfully thin and ran up towards his ear, standing out on his navy blue coat.

"Are you sure you're doing alright yourself? The doctors said everything was fine? I can't imagine what it must have been like, being out there fighting a giant... p-poison breathing... thing."

Sky nodded. "Yes, Nurse Redheart said that I checked out just fine. The concussion was mild, and she said to take it easy and don't try anything strenuous for a couple weeks. I'll be going in every once in a while to check in and see how I am doing. Other than that, the rest of me is doing pretty well. She even said the scar should fade with time, won't be quite as noticeable as it is now."

"Aw, there goes your rugged adventurer-type look."

Sky barked out a quick laugh before he could stop himself.

"Rose, I told you what I do right? I'm not exactly the 'adventurer-type'."

"I know that, but mares love a guy with a look of danger about him, right?"

That made Sky pause, thoughts turning back to a certain musician back in Canterlot.

"And think of it. When ponies ask you where you got it, you can tell them you got it on a rescue mission, fighting a giant beast in the Everfree!"

That got Sky to roll his eyes. "They'll never believe that, even if it is the truth. It hardly qualifies as a battle scar."

Rose let out a sigh as she admitted defeat, but her grin showed she was only kidding. Sky chuckled and made his way down the road away from the hospital. Rose quickly followed after him. "Going back to your stall?" Sky asked.

"Naw, I think the girls can handle watching it a bit longer. I'll walk you back to the observatory." A frown. "You have a place to stay right? From what I heard that thing trashed your place pretty good."

Sky nodded. "Thank you for asking, but yes. I'm going to check the place out and see what the damage is. If its too bad, Applejack has offered me a place to stay until the repairs can be made. I'm holding out hope that it wont come to that however."

"Glad to hear it."

The rest of the trip was passed with a mixture of small talk and familiarizing Sky more with Ponyville. Roseluck would tell him about that shop there, or about the different events held here, who lived where and did what. It was obvious she knew almost everypony in town, at least by their face if not by name. It was a small town, so it was not all that surprising, but it was obvious to Sky he had a lot to learn if he wanted to be a more active part of this little community.

Finally they came to the damaged observatory. Nothing had changed since he had last seen it, the living area was a mess and the back wall annihilated. Sky noted however that the dome on the second story, the master bedroom, and even most of the kitchen looked to be intact, giving him hope for the guest room and the bathroom as well.

"Wow..." Rose whispered.

"It's... not as bad as it looks. I don't think at least. Looks like it mostly tore through the living room. The rest looks mostly intact."

"You still actually plan on staying here?" Rose asked incredulously.

Sky shook his head. "I don't know how long the repairs are going to take, but I hate the idea of living off of anypony's generosity for that long. The necessities look like they are still there, and heating and plumbing should still work in the other rooms. And if I am honest I... I don't feel comfortable just leaving all that equipment upstairs alone when there is a giant hole in the wall. The telescope alone is worth six hundred thirty thousand bits. It's the top of the line MW950 model. Best there is." Rose whistled, and Sky nodded his agreement, an almost dreamy look on his face as he looked up to the dome on the second story and sighed. The moment quickly passed and he refocused on the conversation.

"Most of my stuff didn't get unpacked the first night, it's mostly still sitting in the bedroom in bags, so it should be intact. It's not pretty but... it's home now."

"Well if you're sure." Roseluck said with uncertainty as she tore her gaze from the damaged abode and to the pony who would be staying in it. "I better get back to my stall now, Sky, but it was really good to see you're okay. I Hope things settle down for you from here on out."

"So do I, Rose. Thanks again for looking out for Selene, have a good rest of your day!"

"You too!"

It was late into the evening when Sky received a knock on his door. He was just preparing to settled down for the night after spending some time tidying up and unpacking. His sparse wardrobe was put away, the small collection of books he had brought was neatly organized on the shelf in the corner, and you couldn't even tell from the bedroom that a giant Everfree monster had rampaged through the living room a few yards away. A bag of toiletries in mouth, he changed course and made his way to the door, shivering slightly at the breeze let in by the damaged wall. Opening the door, Sky blinked in momentary confusion as he had to look up to see his guest's face.

Princess Luna looked to the bag in his mouth and raised a brow in confusion. There was a moment of quiet at the threshold until Sky quickly whipped the bag off to the side and bowed low.

"YOUR MA-ah... Princess Luna! W-What are you doing here? Not that you're not welcome, its just... strange to see you again so soon." He paled and looked back at the living room, then looked up at the lunar diarch in fear. "I SWEAR, this was not my fault!"

Princess Luna smirked at his exclamation of innocence and shook her head, bidding him to rise with her hoof. "Fear not, young Sky, I know full well the events of these last few days. I am well aware of the cause of these... damages." Her eyes wandered to the scar he now sported, and she adopted a look of worry similar to that Rose had worn earlier that day.

"Are you well enough to be by yourself? 'Twas quite the battle from the report Twilight Sparkle sent my sister."

"Y-Yes Princess, I'm fine. The hospital told me not too try anything to stressful for a couple of weeks, and so long as I do that, everything checks out."

"Very good. I am glad to hear that the beast did no lasting harm to anypony. Most fortunate, though I have come to expect no less from Twilight Sparkle and her friends. And of course yourself, Sky. There was no shortage of praise for your performance during the rescue."

Sky blushed at the praise, looking down to his hooves. "I-I just did what anypony else would have done, Princess. I couldn't simply do nothing when they ran off to go save their friends and family. My contribution to the fight was pretty much to get smacked around a little while Twilight cast her spell. Not the most impressive display."

"No? So was Twilight Sparkle wrong when she said it is you who delivered young Apple Bloom from the creature's clutches? Or that it was you who ferried its victims from the cave so that she could transport them? Perhaps she embellished when she said you saved Applejacks life as well?"

Sky rubbed his leg and continued looking down, prompting Luna to lift his chin and meet his gaze.

"Humility is a commendable quality, but it is not pride to acknowledge your own hoof in all of this. You have done well, Sky, do not minimize your part in this."

A small smile appeared on Sky's face and he nodded. "Yes Princess, thank you. A-And if you are here to inspect the facilities I assure you that nothing vital was damaged during the attack. The observatory itself is completely intact."

"Thank you, Sky, but I was not here to check the facilities, I am aware that repairs are already planned. I actually came to ensure you were well. That is, how well you were coping with the circumstances."

Sky thought for a moment and frowned. "I'm... fine, Princess. There wasn't a whole lot of time to think about it when everything was happening, and then after, well..." He shuddered. "It's been hard to fall asleep some nights. It helped hearing that Canterlot was sending ponies to deal with it though. Is there any word on that yet, Princess? Did the guard handle the situation yet?"

The lunar princess grimaced, and Sky noticed a near imperceivable twitch in her ear as she used his welcome mat to wipe some grime off the bottom of her shoe.

"The beast has been... dealt with. The citizens of Ponyville can rest easy knowing it no longer poses any threat."

Sky considered asking her more on the topic, but something told him otherwise, and instead stepped aside to make way for her entrance.

"Would you care to come in your, Highness? It's starting to get cold out and I'm sure I could find some blankets around here to make up for the ah... renovations. Maybe something warm to drink before your flight back?"

"Thank you for the offer, Sky, but unfortunately I will have to decline. My trip to Ponyville was not a scheduled one, and I have many matters awaiting my attention in Canterlot. Perhaps another time." Taking a step away from the door, Luna paused, and after a moment looking at the building her horn ignited. It started dim and gradually brightened till Sky felt he may have to look away, before it flashed briefly and went dark.

"What was that, Princess?"

"Simply a protective spell. It is as you said, rather cold out. That should keep you well guarded against such things now. Fare thee well Sky."

"Y-You too, Princess! Have a good night!"

Sky watched her for a minute as she flew off into the night towards the distant mountain city of his birth before closing the door. He noticed the air was indeed growing slightly warmer inside than out, despite the gaping hole in the back wall. Silently thanking the princess, he retrieved his bag and continued his trip to the restroom.

Sky sat in bed, staring at the ceiling as Selene lay at his side purring. It all seemed like a dream, the events of the last couple months. The most adventure he'd had prior to this trip had been a night at Neon's club, at Vinyl's behest. Even then Octavia going with him was the only reason he had considered. Now here he was, in his dream job, in a new town. He had faced down a horrific monster with heroes of his time to save, among other ponies, the fillyfied version of one of Equestia's greatest villains. He had answered the door to royalty not once, but twice. Last week he had lain here wondering what his world was coming too. Now he wondered what could possibly be the cause.

He stayed that way for several minutes longer, and could only come up with one conclusion. Sky fell back into the bed, his pillow swallowing his head as he sighed loudly.

"This entire town is CRAZY!"

Author's Note

At long last, the first in the series is complete. For those following, don't worry, I have MANY plans for this series in the future, and I am eager to share them.

That's not to say I don't have other ideas to work with. Gotta show I ain't no one trick pony, no pun intended.

Still, my next project WILL be continuation of this world, but with a more Slice of Life feel. Much more to come ponyos, so stick around!

A massive shout out to my editor The Great Derpsby. Software that does what I ask of him are a all over, but the most important part he played was simply taking the time to read and respond. I would have found the fire to write much harder to fan if not for you people commenting on my work and giving feedback, of which he was the main contributor.

Thanks man, I appreciate it. :heart: