-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-

We had only just gotten started and my head was already in my hands.

"What's the matter?" Olive asked. She was sitting adjacent to me on a stool she had pulled up to the table.

"I don't know what my date of birth is," I grumbled.

"Did... did you forget?" Olive asked.

I let my hands drop from my face with a sigh before turning to look at Olive. "No, but your calendar is different from mine. Your years are longer or something and I don't really know how that translates here," I explained, pointing to the date of birth entry on the paperwork in front of us.

"Oh... well..." Olive mumbled, reaching up onto the table with her hooves and shuffling the paperwork in front of her. It only took a moment before her face lit up. "What about seasons?" she asked.

"Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter," I listed, the bright look on Olive's face proved that we had hit upon one similarity.

"Great! What season were you born in?" she asked, snatching up a pencil with her teeth.

"Early autumn," I said.

Olive contemplated it for a second before writing something down. "And, um, how old are you exactly?" she asked through the pencil in her mouth.

I put on a mildly offended look. "What a question to ask," I said.

"I-I'm sorry! I just need it for the–"

I reached over and lightly flicked her ear. "Thirty years old," I answered.

Olive giggled before scratching down a few more numbers. "There! That should be good enough. You could even celebrate your birthday then if you want!" Olive said.

"I'll try to remember it," I said, sliding the paperwork back in front of me.

Whoops.

--

Whatever system was in place that processed all of the forms lacked some of the... tedium of the bureaucracy back home. Or at least that's what I thought, looking at all the forms I had to fill out. One could argue they were less thorough but then one could argue back that it was simply a less strict barrier for entry. One could also wonder that since I had a reference like Princess Celestia some of the fat had been trimmed prematurely.

Still, it was a lot of different forms but all the paperwork wasn't exactly why I was sighing so consistently.

Olive of course was the one who brought me the forms to jump start my immigration process, on order from Princess Celestia. I should have expected it since she had asked me about it a couple times before but honestly I had forgotten all about it. I've had some pretty significant distractions. It didn't take long for Olive to pick up on the gloomy air surrounding me.

"What's the matter?" she asked, reaching over and pressing one hoof softly against my arm.

"Nothing important," I mumbled, not looking up from the page.

"If it's bothering you it's absolutely important," Olive insisted.

I let the pencil drop from my hand and rubbed my forehead gently. Once I found the right words I took a deep breath and turned slightly to look at Olive. "It's just hard, having to accept what I've lost and move forward. That I can never go back to my old home," I explained.

"Oh," Olive said, looking between me and the paperwork as her expression fell.

"Doing all this paperwork even... really makes it sink in that I'm putting all of that to rest and I don't know if I want to," I mused, turning away from Olive.

"If you–" Olive started, possibly trying to placate me.

"But," I interrupted, taking the pencil back into my hand. "I know that I have to. So, like I said, It's not important. Have to look towards the future or something!" I halfheartedly proclaimed. Even as I got back to work it took a while before Olive removed her comforting hoof from my arm.

With the simplicity of it all it didn't take us long to work through the rest of the forms in spite of my frequent hesitation. Still, the lengthiest portion of the process was me finally working up the nerve to put down the last signature on the last form. Olive seemed concerned as I was fidgeted instead of finalizing. Still, she respected my request when I asked her to just give me a minute.

With one last breath I signed away my former nationality for a new one, pending approval. Accepting, at least on paper my, very permanent, place in a vastly strange and new world. Oh boy.

Olive gave the forms a quick review before becoming all smiles. "Wonderful! I can't see there being any issues with these! Well, maybe if Princess Celestia wasn't pushing it forward! It's not like there's ever been a human from... wherever your from trying to fill these out before! But... um, I should probably get back with this!" Olive said, working herself up into an awkward position before grabbing up all the paperwork and shooting towards the door. I just watched her with an amused expression.

Before she could reach the door leaving my room it swung open to reveal a white unicorn I was only slightly surprised to see. Really I was more surprised to see her abundance of luggage.

"Yo," I called out, waving to Rarity.

"There you are Valentino! You'd think somepony would– Oh!" she started, cutting herself off once she noticed Olive. "I'm so sorry dear, I didn't see you there. Valentino, who is your new friend?" Rarity asked.

"Ah, this is Olive Branch. She's been put in charge of keeping me out of trouble. Olive this is Rarity, she manages to keep me clothed," I joked.

"Well! It's a pleasure to meet you Olive Branch. You must have your hooves full with Valentino here," Rarity said, shooting back at me a little.

"O-o-oh! N-no! He's wonderful, I um... I need to get these forms in, s-sorry!" Olive stammered before running past Rarity and right out the door.

"Oh my, did I say something wrong?" Rarity asked, looking back in the direction Olive ran off towards.

"I'm not sure," I said, shrugging.

--

I was surprised to see another pony underneath the pile of luggage, still more surprised to see him manage to move it all into my room. Rarity gave him what I assumed was a generous tip before asking the pony to come back later.

"So what brings you all the way out here?" I asked, finally getting up to my feet and stretching my back a little.

"I can't very well finish filling out your wardrobe unless I have a model to work from and I can't know what alterations need to be made unless I see how everything fits you. I didn't even chance to see how what I made for you already fits! Given what Twilight told me though I had no choice but to come to you," Rarity explained.

"Is it pointless to mention that I only wanted a few extra pairs of pants and some shirts?" I asked.

"You can't honestly expect to wear the same thing to every occasion!? Unless... is that what humans do?" Rarity asked, a look of deep concern on her face.

"It's what I do," I said slyly. Rarity's expression dropped immediately.

"You need some variety and something for formal events! In fact, if you insist on remaining clothed all the time... you'll need something to wear at home and something to wear to bed or something for when you get out of the bath," Rarity stated. She seemed to be getting more and more excited as she thought of new things.

"I feel like I'm already taking up too much of your time as it is," I said flatly.

"Oh nonsense! It's been all I can think about ever since I finished remaking your old outfit! You can't expect me to ignore all of this inspiration!" Rarity exclaimed.

"I suppose not..." I relented.

"Excellent! Let's get started then!" Rarity said and with a glow of her horn suitcases started popping open one after another.

--

The first thing Rarity threw on me and what she mentioned was the only thing she had attempted to make since my replacement clothes, was a copy of my trench coat. The similarities followed right down to the bold design of my badge on the back, which was of course her doing in the first place. One major difference was the deep maroon color. My current trench coat was just a simple dark brown color. It was a subdued kind of red that didn't shift too far from the brown but it was a color Rarity seemed pleased with.

"Yes, that really brings out your eyes," Rarity said after taking a few steps back. "Sure the brown wasn't too bad but... I think this is much more attractive on you," she stated, eyeing me up and down.

"You'll make me blush Rarity," I said, shyly looking away.

"Oh stop. Hm... the shoulders are a little big..." she muttered, writing into a small notepad. Once she finished with that her magic pulled the coat off of me and she started looking through more of her suitcases. "Come feel this Valentino," Rarity said, pulling a roll of blue cloth from a large case.

I walked over to Rarity and reached for the material. "Soft," I mumbled, running my fingers over the cloth.

"Your bare skin must be very sensitive, the material will be important," she noted.

"Well, keep layering in mind too," I said, pulling my hand away from the cloth.

"That's right! You dress in layers! Oh but you'll still need something light and comfortable for the summer!" she excitedly announced.

"I can make do you know," I said, trying to get Rarity to slow down a little.

"I'm sure you can darling, but there's no reason for you to need to now is there?" Rarity shot back.

"It being a lot of work comes to mind," I complained.

"Oh I'm just here to see how the coat fits and how certain colors and materials look on you. I won't need you for much else past that except to see how everything fits once I start putting it all together," she reassured me.

"I mean for you," I clarified.

"I appreciate it Valentino but you don't need to be so considerate, I'm glad to be able to help," Rarity said.

"Just don't rack up my debt too much, I already owe you a lot," I said jokingly.

"I won't promise anything," Rarity said with a sly smile.

I was starting to miss Twilight and Rainbow Dash, I was losing battles with just about everyone else.

"By the way, Pinkie Pie wanted me to bring you something, it should be in one of these cases," Rarity said and latches started popping open.

Rarity only spent a few moments rummaging through her abundance of luggage before she pulled out a hastily wrapped gift. It had simple brown paper and a bright pink ribbon on it. She floated it over to me and I gently took it out of the air.

As soon as I tugged on the pink ribbon I was assaulted with confetti. Most of it landed in my hair but I didn't spend too much time trying to pick it out because I was quickly distracted by the cookies still inside the brown package. They were simple chocolate chip cookies, still as well made as as I had come to expect.

I sat on the bed and quietly started munching on the cookies while Rarity stifled a laugh. She went back to unpacking and I decided to keep quiet. Truthfully I wasn't really in a position to turn down assistance, from either royal or tailor.

--

I did end up requesting that Rarity at least make me a couple of dress shirts without my badge slapped on the back. I did every thing I could to try and convince her but my arguments about subtlety were thrown back in my face. Just as Twilight had told me Rarity insisted that I stood out regardless of what I wore. She went on to mention that the symbol did me no good hidden away in my pocket. I was starting to wonder if she was possibly drawing a connection between my badge and a cutie mark.

One of the first questions I had, I think during my recovery, was about symbols that were present on everyone's flanks. The explanation, the name, all of it was just ridiculously adorable to the point that I had Twilight explain it a second time because I didn't believe what I had heard. Also it was just cute listening to her talk about it.

So instead of trying to prod into weird cultural stuff and getting into an awkward conversation about that I just doubled down on my insistence and she relented.

For a while Rarity spent some time taking my measurements again. Then she was throwing colors and materials on me to see how it looked. It was a lot of bright tones and some very saturated colors. It wasn't all too bad, she had some paler hues and darker tones as well which I gravitated towards. Rarity however remained insistent on a few bright and colorful pieces, citing her experience in fashion. Rarity knew what looked good in pony land I guess.

Eventually there was a quiet knock at the door. Rarity was busy working out some design ideas so I got up to answer it. When I opened the door I found Olive standing on the other side with a somewhat worried expression on her face.

"Welcome back," I said, moving aside to give Olive room to enter back into the room.

"I-I'm sorry! I know you're spending time with your friend but Princess Celestia would like to meet with you..." she said quietly, her eyes glancing over to Rarity who was still consumed by whatever she was drawing out.

"Ah," I said, turning from Olive and back towards Rarity. "Sorry Rarity, looks like I've got to go see the Princess," I told her from across the room.

Rarity finally looked up from her work and shot me a serious look. "Please do try to behave this time," she told me. The last time Rarity was party to one of my interactions with the Princess I recall she didn't take it so well.

"I'm always on my best behavior," I said plainly back to Rarity. She just heaved a heavy sigh. With that I followed Olive as she lead me down the the halls of the castle.

"I went over everything with Princess Celestia. I know it was her idea but I wasn't expecting her to be so invested in the process!" Olive said with her usual excitement.

"Well, she's been kind of adamant about it," I said. "But if she already went over it with you then why does she need to talk to me?" I asked.

"All we did was go over the paperwork! She wanted to talk to you about what happens next!" Olive explained.

"Next huh?" I said with very little enthusiasm. I should have anticipated there would be more steps beyond filling out paperwork but I hadn't really thought about it. My father went through the immigration process but it wasn't really something I ever thought to ask in depth about. I hoped that it would just be more forms and a lot of waiting.

We eventually reached the set of doors we were looking for. As I had come to expect there was an aloof looking guard detail waiting outside. As long as I had Olive with me I could go most places without incident. Guards seemed to have been stationed at the Castle entrance and the entrances to the varying wings of the castle. There were also patrols and other guards stationed in front of other rooms I was not familiar with. Probably a throne room somewhere and some royal secrets somewhere else.

I really didn't go out much without Olive. But to be fair Olive had stuck around with me for just about all my waking hours. I had been in Canterlot for a few days and she managed to keep it from being boring at least. I don't know what I would have done without her.

The guards opened the doors and before I stepped through I noticed some activity down near the other end of the hall. Just some noble looking ponies talking with some noble looking griffons. I didn't really take much time to look at them before I entered the room but they were quite noisy. Olive again preferred to wait outside.

The room I walked into was unfamiliar from the ones I had met Princess Celestia in up to that point. There was a large rectangular table that Princess Celestia was sitting at. Across the walls of the room were shelves loaded with not only books but a ton of paper and other materials. From the neatly organized stack of papers she had on the table in front of her I assumed that this was where Princess Celestia did her paperwork. There were stamps, quills and inkwells among other things I didn't quite recognize all properly placed in front of her.

Princess Celestia greeted me with a warm smile. "Valentino, It's good to see you," she said.

I gave her a short wave of my hand. "Yo, how's it going?" I said as I made my way into the room.

Already Princess Celestia was giving me a strange look that made me stop in my tracks.

"I wonder if I need to teach you the proper way to greet a Princess," she said, the smile returning to her face.

I blinked a couple of times and then put on an expression of realization. "Oh, right sorry," I said, stepping back and turning away from Celestia. When I turned back I gave Princess Celestia a deep bow. I bent until I could feel the baton on my belt poking into my stomach. "Greetings, Your Royal Highness," I said lifting my head back up. "You look quite lovely this afternoon," I added as straightened up.

My whole sarcastic act got a giggle from Celestia. My apathy towards formality seemed to amuse her.

"So about those forms," I said, walking to the table. I took a seat on the right side, Celestia's left, where there was a stool handy.

"I was happy to see that you finished them so quickly," Celestia said, beaming at me.

"Well Olive was quite insistent and it's not like I have much else to do," I said.

"I only wanted her to bring it to your attention," Celestia commented, though from her tone I was pretty sure she expected Olive Branch to be as insistent as she was.

"Right right, so what now Princess?" I asked.

"Well, there are several formalities we have to go through before we can establish your citizenship but as of now your permanent residence in Equestria is approved and on record," she explained.

"Formalities huh?" I said questioningly.

Before Princess Celestia could respond a muffled conversation at the door caught our attention. One muffled panicky voice sounded like Olive which was contesting with deeper, calmer male sounding voice. Olive's voice eventually trailed off and the doors ended up being opened by the guards. Who walked in were two griffons, the ones I had noticed down the hall.

The one standing front and center had a dark brown coloring to him from feathers to fur, though his feathers were a few shades lighter. In a bit of contrast his eyes were an icy blue. He had a large yellow beak that curved downwards near the tip. He wasn't a small griffon either, he stood quite tall but his limbs seemed a bit scrawny. He still stood tall and proudly.

Following behind him was a smaller griffon who had a snowy white coloring to her feathers and lighter gray coloring to her fur. There was a also a darker coloring around her eyes. Her eyes themselves being orange in color. She had a smaller beak that ended in a sharp point. Even from their entrance she was looking at the larger griffon with concern on her face but held herself meekly.

Princess Celestia was looking at them with quite a serious expression on her face. Certainly not warm smile she greeted me with.

The two griffons bowed gracefully before Princess Celestia. Past them I could see a worried looking Olive before the doors shut behind the griffons.

"Our apologies for the intrusion Princess Celestia," said the brown griffon as he lifted his head.

"There is no need to apologize Ambassador Erling. I know your business here is of the utmost importance," Celestia kept her tone and expression completely even as she spoke.

I was ready and expecting to be asked to leave at any moment so the political figures could discuss whatever it is that they discuss. The way that Ambassador Erling started staring at me almost made me think it was a guarantee. Until he opened his beak again.

"I take it this creature here we saw enter your study is the... human you told us about?" he asked.

If not for the glare I was getting from Erling as well as the serious vibe I was getting from Celestia I would have put my head into my hands and groaned loudly. Instead I just narrowed my gaze back at the griffon while folding my arms over my chest.

I didn't have a lot of past interactions to choose from when it came to griffons. So I already had pretty good idea of where this conversation was heading.

"Yes, this is Valentino," Princess Celestia admitted, putting just a slight bit of emphasis on my name.

"Excellent, we were hoping that we could ask the human a few questions about the incident involving Sir Cronus," he said, disregarding my name entirely. I was liking him more every minute.

"I thought that we had already discussed Valentino's involvement at length as well as gone over his report," Princess Celestia argued.

"Oh yes, you and Princess Twilight Sparkle were quite illuminating. But you must admit there is still so much mystery surrounding the creature and I've had these questions rattling around in my head. With it here now I thought it would be opportune to ask," he insisted.

Celestia paused briefly, thinking on it. "Very well," Celestia eventually relented.

Erling turned his gaze back to me. "Yes, well then, human..." he started but trailed off as I gave no acknowledgement as I continued to just stare at him. "Can... it understand us?" he asked, glancing back over to Celestia.

"Oh of course," I said, which drew his attention back to me. "I just can't understand why you refuse to use my name," I said flatly. Immediately I felt a pinch at my leg. I didn't acknowledge it beyond blinking my eyes. In my peripheral I could see a faint golden glow. Behind him the other griffon looked a bit shocked.

"Right, Valentino then," he responded with no lack of venom in his words. "You were involved in a couple of incidents surrounding Sir Cronus yes? The griffon?" he asked.

"Yes, I was brought in to investigate a disturbance at a local farm in Ponyville. I was also involved in the apprehension of the griffon Cronus which was overseen by Princess Twilight Sparkle. Then later I was present when his corpse murdered two guards and attempted to assault Princess Celestia," I recounted.

"His corpse. That is really the issue here," Erling mused.

"At least that's the conclusion I drew after a brief examination. Princess Celestia probably conducted a more detailed investigation and examination," I added.

"You are quite right human. Princess Celestia's investigation however came to the same conclusion. It then became a matter of figuring out how such a thing would be possible and who could be behind it," he said narrowing his gaze at me. Erling couldn't have been less subtle if he tried and I restrained myself from saying so to his face.

"Indeed, but that's when my involvement ceased so I don't have much else for you," I said, trying to usher Erling towards his point.

"It's just awfully strange," he said with an almost comical tone of foreboding. "An unknown creature appears from an unknown place just a week before something completely unheard of happens," he mused.

"Unheard of? I've been up to my ears in all kinds of magical nonsense ever since I showed up here," I said.

"Necromancy is only the subject of dark fiction. A well versed practitioner of such a thing would be as... well... as unique as you are. Is that not so Princess Celestia?" Erling asked, looking to Princess Celestia. Celestia though seemed to be preoccupied, her horn was glowing and papers were floating over to her from the bottom of one of the nearby shelves.

"I suppose that is correct," she said noncommittally, not even looking up from her paperwork.

Not exactly the validation he was looking for but Erling took it regardless. "So you might understand why I find you a suspicious character in this whole incident," he said.

I kept my expression flat. This Erling guy was turning out to be such a clueless goon that it made me want to slam my head against the table. Unfortunately that seemed to be the type to hold an important political position. Princess Celestia already seemed to want me to reign it in so I did my best to keep up the facade.

"Coincidence is a fine enough lead Ambassador but I have documented my actions involving Cronus and I have witnesses to my every action ever since I was dug out of the ground," I said, already letting a bit of my irritation show. "Not to mention that at the time I had no connection with any sort of magic which can be corroborated by Princess Twilight Sparkle if she hasn't already. But I do believe you have gone over this already so Ambassador what is it that you are trying to get at?" I asked while trying futily to keep my tone as even as possible.

"Shortly after Sir Cronus was... dealt with by Princess Celestia his body..." the subject gave Erling pause, which I found surprising. "His body seems to have completely decomposed into a viscous black fluid," he finally said after taking a moment to compose himself.

I looked over at Princess Celestia whose expression had become despondent. She had completely stopped flipping through her papers and was just staring blankly at the table. I turned my gaze from her to meet the sharp stare of Erling.

"An odd turn of events, but I still don't see how you are connecting it to me," I stated.

"Princess Celestia and some of her brightest researchers have been studying the liquid under quarantine conditions. Their analysis has turned up... nothing. No discernible magical properties. Yet the two guards who were attacked by Sir Cronus were killed by being infected with the same substance. Their bodies did not decompose so quickly after death and started acting of their own accord before finally melting into the same black liquid. Luckily their bodies were kept in quarantine as well so the infection has not spread further. Yet the reports and studies we were given have shown no discernible magical properties in their fluid either. What else has recently arrived in Equestria with no discernible magical properties?" Erling finally asked, his tone turning accusitory.

"Ignoring the fact that I have been forcefully infused with pony magic mere hours after my first encounter with Cronus. A correlation of no evidence is still not evidence," I said, my irritation growing.

Erling slammed his talons down on the table. "It's cause enough to have you analyzed! Interrogated! These Princesses know shockingly little about what you are and where you come from! They speak to your character and biology but I have yet to be told what a human really is!" Erling squawked.

"It doesn't matter! I've been analyzed! Princess Twilight Sparkle has taken pages of notes pertaining to my biology which is the only relevant thing to this discussion. Hey, guess what, I'm not full of necromancy slime! What a human is, where they come from, it's all irrelevant because I'm the only one here and the only one who will ever be here. Everything you need to know about me is already available to you!" I argued, raising my own voice.

"I'd like to see you argue what's relevant in front of a griffon court!" Erling shouted, slamming his talons on the table again.

"E-Erling!" the other ambassador called out to which Erling paid no attention.

"Oh yes I'll drag you before the inquisitors myself and they'll get everything they decide is relevant out of you!" Erling loudly threatened.

Before I could launch into a tirade against the bird a loud thud against the table silenced us both. Looking over Princess Celestia had, very forcefully, stamped something on one of the forms she had started working on just before our argument got started. She was giving Erling quite the look.

"I think that is quite enough Ambassador Erling. I understand your suspicions but I think it should be more than satisfactory to have him remain under our royal supervision. If there is anything you need to learn from him it can certainly be done here," though her words were light there was quite the insistence in Princess Celestia's tone.

"With all due respect Princess Celestia," Erling started, taking his talons off of the table and trying to regain his composure. "I am here with the authority of the Griffon Kingdom to bring whomever is responsible for the death of Sir Cronus and his wife to justice. Certainly I am well within my diplomatic rights to see this... refugee give his statements directly to our system of justice," he said.

"Perhaps, but I am under no obligation to extradite a legal citizen of Equestria unless you are able to provide compelling evidence to an Equestrian court," she retorted.

Erling's eyes went wide and even I had to raise an eyebrow given what we had just started discussing before the griffons showed up.

"C-citizen!? Y-you can't be serious Princess! The human!? And it only arrived here–"

"I have his certificate of citizenship right here. Signed and bearing the royal seal," she said and a glittering golden glow held up the paper, I assumed, she had been working on the whole time we had been talking.

Erling's wide eyes darted over the page, then glanced over to me and back at the princess. His beak was hanging open in disbelief.

"T-this is, I can't–"

"We can discuss this more at a later date Ambassador if you want but as for now I have quite a bit more to do here," Princess Celestia said, nodding down towards the stacks of paperwork on the table. With that she was essentially putting an end to the... discussion.

"Let's go Erling," the other Ambassador pleaded.

Erling finally acknowledged his partner for the first time since they both came in the room. He paused for a moment, looking from his fellow ambassador back to us. "... Very well, Princess Celestia," he finally said, bowing his head once again before turning to leave. What I had not noticed was that one of the guards was standing inside the room and ready to escort the Ambassadors out. Maybe he came in when we were yelling at each other.

Regardless of that and the surprise Celestia just sprung on us I was still quite furious with Erling. I tried to put it aside and calm myself down. "Ambassador Erling?" I said in as mellow a tone as I could manage. It stopped him in his tracks and he turned his head to look back at me. "You probably already know this but I'm a professional investigator where I come from so I thought I would give a bit of advice," I said in an apologetic tone.

"From the sounds of it you don't have an easy job ahead of you. You have a big problem and not a lot of information. You'll have to wait on a lot of research and analysis to tell you that they don't know anything. You'll probably be at it for months. You'll have to jump on every tiny little lead you can just like this one," I said. The Ambassador hadn't moved but I still had his attention.

I leaned forward, with my right arm on the table and let my expression turn dark. "But keep in mind you owe the dead something better than just dragging back the first thing you see for an easy boost to your reputation," I growled through gritted teeth. The tonal shift and my accusation had Erling looking so offended that I don't think I could have done better if I walked over and spat in his eye.

"Let's go," the other Ambassador urged. The guard opened the door for them and followed the two griffons out. The room they left behind was finally silent.

When I looked over to Princess Celestia she was giving me a... not quite so friendly look.

"What?" I asked.

Princess Celestia heaved a great sigh and let her face relax. "I don't think you could have handled that much worse," she said in a pained voice.

"I could have thrown my stool at him," I offered which just got me another sharp look from Princess Celestia. "Perspective!" I said, holding my hands up defensively. "Look, the guy waltzes in here and just jumps down my throat what do you expect me to do?" I asked.

"It certainly didn't help that you started antagonizing him as soon as he started talking to you," Celestia pointed out.

"It didn't help that he started treating me like an animal the moment he saw me. Then somehow he transitions from that to me being behind some kind of great unknown magic conspiracy. This is the guy the griffons sent to investigate the death of one of their own? He's a goon," I said in my defense, and also to vent a bit.

"Yes I understand, but if you could have just..." Princess Celestia trailed off with another sigh. "You certainly did not need to say what you did when he was already leaving," she said firmly.

"If nobody says anything he'll just keep doing it," I grumbled.

"I still have to deal with him. He's already been pushing so hard for answers and he's just going to get even more brazen! I have the everything under quarantine, Manehatten is being combed for any more trace of the substance. Research will take time. I want answers as badly as he does but I don't have any!" Celestia said, her expression going from irritated to downcast.

I quietly stood up, picked up my stool and sat it next to her before sitting down myself. I stayed quiet for a moment before nudging her with my elbow. "Thanks for having my back," I said.

Princess Celestia slowly looked over at me gave a slight smile. "Of course Valentino. Besides, if I thought you were involved I'd have had you locked in our dungeons and I would have dealt with you myself," she said, her tone growing serious. I think she was trying to be mildly threatening.

Instead I just shrugged before nudging her again. "You still can if you want," I said, giving her a sly grin.

Celestia's face went blank for a moment before she started laughing. It was sight that was leagues better than her glaring daggers at me.

"So yeah, about those formalities," I said, motioning towards the papers still neatly stacked in front of Celestia.

Once she finished giggling she looked at me with a smile. "It seems I may have pushed things forward a bit. Still, I think I may hold on to this certificate for a while still. I think we should go through on a few of the formalities still. You need time to get accustomed to Equestrian culture before you can really start calling yourself a citizen of Equestria don't you think?" Celestia asked.

"Sure, makes sense," I said with a shrug.

"You can have this though," Celestia said, sliding a smaller sheet of paper over to me. Basically a form with "Permanent Resident" at the top and all of my information. There was a raised seal and some other markings on it to officiate it. I pulled my badge and ID in my back pocket, it had really taken the place of my wallet, folded up the paper in half and slid it behind my ID.

"Thanks," I said.

"I hope it's the start of a lot of good things for you Valentino," Celestia said sincerely.

"You and me both," I returned while standing up. "Olive's probably worried sick about what happened. I should go check on her if there wasn't anything else," I said.

"No, not right now, have a good afternoon Valentino," Celestia said.

--

Olive was in fact worried sick about me, having been practically disregarded by griffon ambassadors and left to pace outside. As it turns out Erling was someone she had met before. Unlike most others however, he was not someone she was quite as capable at getting along with. She did make me aware of the other Ambassador though. Iris was her name and she was supposedly much more pleasant. Olive was quite surprised to see them both together. She knew Iris was here but not Erling. Both of them had visited Canterlot enough that they didn't really require an aide so it wasn't a real surprise.

I ended up telling her about my sort of citizenship and the conflict with Erling. She also berated me for saying more than I needed to. Maybe Celestia and Olive were right, still felt good to tell him off though.

Once we got back to my room I parted with Olive. Rarity didn't seem to have moved from the spot I left her in. Still drawing out designs and plans. She ushered me over to look and... it was... astounding. Lot's of color... gemstones... accessories... not to say that it didn't all look good together, at least on paper. Just I wasn't so sure how good it was going to look on me. But if she put it together I would try it on.

Before it started getting too late Rarity had managed to find that same stallion from before help her again to move her stuff into the room she would be staying in. I said goodbye and she told me she would see me tomorrow.

After such a busy day I remember just waiting for the sun to set so I could go to bed. Olive stopped by with dinner. I ate with her and complained about how tired I was. Olive reassured me that Princess Luna was doing everything she could. Olive also gave me some more mail before she left. I had started exchanging letters with Twilight and Rainbow Dash through Olive. Or at least, she's who I gave and got the mail from.

Twilight eventually told all of her friends what was going on with me and the whole skeleton thing. Applejack sent her best wishes and Fluttershy apparently seemed pretty worried.

I usually didn't have much to say in return to Twilight's letters. A small response to what she would say and a smaller summary of what was happening with me. Rainbow Dash however started telling me about stuff she was doing in this Academy she was going to. It was for something called the Wonderbolts. Some... flying thing that I didn't really get because Rainbow Dash talked like I already knew what it was. Still I tried to relate to her with some stories from when I went through police academy. It was mostly junk since the Holdridge academy was pretty bad.

Rainbow Dash was quick to remind me that the Wonderbolts Academy was pretty much the most important thing ever and that my crummy police academy couldn't dream of stacking up. The comparison was a little weird but I think we both didn't really know what the other was talking about. Still, it sounded like she was doing well and she was putting everything she had into it so I respected her for that.

Honestly I just liked the correspondence. It was nice to read from them and write to them before bed. Especially that night, cleansed my palette of the whole griffon thing.

I had my responses written and would give them to Olive in the morning. Once the Sun had finally started setting I jumped into bed, ready to get some much needed sleep.

-Valentino Brugato – Dream Log-

I was floating in black water. Looking up I could see a bright starry sky and a great crescent moon above me. The water was completely still. I felt no real sensation other than that of floating.

In spite of what should have been a calming atmosphere just sort of felt depressing and anxious. I couldn't really place why that was as thinking about it now the whole scene had no real relevance to me.

Suddenly there was a great gust of wind that sent ripples through the water. The breeze was warm though. In the breeze I could hear a whisper.

"I'm sorry."

-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-

The words gently roused me from my slumber. I had my face half buried in the pillow and I was drooling lightly out of my open mouth. I shut my mouth and wiped my mouth with one hand. I was a little groggy and still very tired. It seemed like it was still the middle of the night. In fact I wasn't as loopy as I normally was so I couldn't have been asleep for much more than a few hours.

I lifted my head up and opened my eyes slightly to take in my surroundings. It was dark except for a faint light streaming in through the window. Sitting just in front of the window was Princess Luna, looking out through the window with a somber expression.

I let my head fall back onto the pillow. "Luna, what are you doing?" I asked, drawing out my vowels sleepily as I spoke.

"I'm sorry," I heard her say. It was familiar to the whisper in the dream and it made me wonder if she was behind it. "I have been unable to track down the entity that has been haunting the dreamscape," she firmly admitted, not looking away from the window.

"Pff, whatever. It's only been... what? Four days? Ya just gotta be patient, keep at it," I said, shifting so that I was laying on my side instead of my stomach.

"It has been leading me in circles!" she shouted in frustration. "Its trail has been a ploy to occupy me and I have been dutifully following it like a fool!" she continued to vent.

"Hm... that's rough..." I sleepily mused, closing my eyes. Princess Luna just huffed. "Well ya gotta tackle it differently then," I offered.

Luna finally tore her gaze away from the window. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, okay, first you gotta stop lettin' the thing string you around. I mean we know what it's after or we got a good idea at least. So how about we just use a little bait," I said, pointing back to myself with one hand and smiling slyly with my eyes still closed.

"Valentino I cannot ask that of you," she said flatly.

"Pff, ask nothin' it was my idea. Look, it knows you're gonna be lookin' for it at night so ya gotta keep up the ruse, got it? Then... well I don't know your sleep schedule, but ya might have to be up for a little while. I take a little snooze during the day time, it thinks it's got me right where it wants me then you swoop in and get rid of it," I said making a lazy swooping motion with one arm.

Luna contemplated the idea for a good few moments while she stared down at the floor. "If you are willing then it is certainly something we can try," Luna eventually said.

"Yeah sure. I mean if you're there I got nothin' to worry about. You and me, workin' together, this thing doesn't stand a chance!" I optimistically proclaimed.

"Well, I am happy that you are so confident," Luna said, walking away from the window and closer to me.

"Yeah... and you know if that doesn't work then we'll just think of somethin' else," I said.

"Of course. My apologies Valentino, I should not have bothered you with this while you were asleep," Princess Luna said, dropping her head a little.

She was just close enough that I was able to reach over from the bed and poke her nose. Princess Luna's eyes shot open wide at the action and she looked at me in shock. I could only manage to give her a sleepy smile in return.

"Don't worry about it, I'm happy to see you Luna," I said, letting my arm drop.

Princess Luna glanced away and cleared her throat. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon then Valentino. Have a good night," she said quickly making her way towards the exit.

"Goodnight Luna," I mumbled, sinking back into the bed and quickly falling back asleep.

--

The next day I was greeted bright and early by Olive the same as always who told me that I would be meeting with Luna after lunch for a "supervised nap session" as she so cutely called it.

A good while after breakfast there was a knock at my door and Rarity was there and ready to throw more things on me to see what looked good. We spent a lot of the day going through more colors and color combinations to see what I looked best in. Eventually that seemed to deteriorate into Rarity commenting on my hair. My "let my hair do what it wants" strategy didn't really fly with her. She started getting more new ideas and I had to try really hard to insist on the contrary. I ended up telling her that if she wanted to style my hair I would let her but she should wait for a special occasion because I definitely was not going to manage the upkeep. She got a little huffy but let it go. I told her about my meeting with Luna so we wrapped up things in my room just before lunch.

I had a quick bite to eat with Olive and was quickly ushered back to my room. Where I found a Princess who looked like she had just gotten out of bed. If it wasn't for the irritable look on her face Luna would have looked very cute. Though she still did look cute.

"I know this has not been easy for you Valentino. If you do not want to risk facing the creature again I will understand," Luna said as I laid back on the bed. Still that grumpy tired look she had made me wonder if she really would be so understanding.

"I'm not that worried, I've got you watching out for me and I feel like there's more risk just leaving it alone," I said.

"Very well, then all you need to do now is go to sleep," she said plainly.

...

For a good five minutes I laid there with my eyes closed feeling like regular prick. It was so quiet in the room that I could hear Luna breathing and my mind just sort of focused in on that.

"Well this isn't working," I said, opening my eyes.

"If you want I could assist you," Luna said, her horn lighting up.

"I think I've lost enough consciousness to magic for a good while thanks," I said, getting out of bed.

"What are you doing?" Luna asked.

"Getting comfortable," I said as I started unbuttoning my shirt. I dressed down until I was in my underwear and then jumped back into bed. I spent a couple of minutes fussing around before I got comfortable. Still my head started honing in on Luna's breathing and I just couldn't fall asleep knowing that she was standing there staring at me.

"Luna?" I called out, keeping my eyes shut.

"What is it Valentino?" she said, her voice betraying a very small amount of impatience.

"Come closer," I said, motioning to the edge of the bed.

There was a moment of hesitation but Luna stepped forward until she was right at the edge of the bed. I ended up putting my hand on her neck and then feeling around to her side, just past her front leg, where I could feel a slight expansion when she would breathe in. I don't know why but feeling it made me less conscious of her breathing. It made me feel like she was just there with me instead of there staring at me.

In time I feel asleep. I dreamed again about floating in a still pool of water with a great night sky spread out before me.

After a couple of hours I was woken up by Princess Luna who was trying to maintain a neutral expression. I just shrugged and told her we would have to be patient and try again. Luna couldn't do much but agree and she went back off to bed, or so I assumed.

The next couple of days weren't really all that eventful. One day Rarity just stared at me, she would have me take some of my clothes on and off and she would just look at me for minutes at a time. Over and over again. It was only by the next day that she was satisfied, that and she said something about other obligations. Potential orders and all of that. She still had a business to run and she certainly spent too much time fussing over me. I was starting to see that she was at least having some fun with it though so I didn't feel too bad.

Our little bait tactic was wasn't really working out either, though I did get over my weird obsession with Luna's breathing. I was able to nap pretty easily after that, without having to undress or anything. Consistently I had that same dream every one of those days though.

"Luna are you in my dream or whatever with me while I'm sleeping?" I ended up asking. Over the course of our little bait ploy Luna had been getting more and more impatient.

"Of course I am, as soon as you fall asleep," she said.

"Well that might be our problem then. The thing might know you're there so he isn't jumping on this juicy bait!" I said, flexing slightly. Luna just stared at me blankly. "So next, maybe we should try you holding off on jumping into my dreams until the thing has a chance to take the bait," I said.

"If I'm not there the risk to you is–"

"You see me so much as twitch the wrong way in my sleep then you jump right in. I get that it's risky, but it's better to do something then just bang our heads against the same wall over and over. I'll risk being bones again especially when I know I can be changed back," I said, trying to sound optimistic. I really didn't want to be bones again but I didn't want to have this shadow over my life even more.

Luna contemplated it for a moment then shot me a serious look. "Fine, we shall try your plan tomorrow," she said. With that Luna quickly made her exit. I was used to her quick escapes by then, knowing that she was probably dead tired.

Shortly after Luna left Olive darted back into my room. She had been eagerly requesting updates after every one of my supervised nap sessions. She always looked very hopeful when she ran in and always looked so disappointed when I didn't have good news. The following day however, boy oh boy did I have a story to tell.

-Valentino Brugato – Dream Log-

I was tired. Incredibly tired. Exhausted beyond all belief. I had been up late nearly every single night for the past week, writing report after report and the morning after the last all-nighter ran together with a court appearance the next morning.

I could barely see straight and everyone in the office was practically yelling. Shouting all at the same time, complaining about this or that. Some of them were looking over at me and sneering. It started getting loud, like I was in a crowded mall or subway station. There weren't even that many people in the office. It started to blend together until everything just became an onslaught of white noise which was suddenly silenced like someone had just powered off an old TV.

When I looked up it wasn't just one or two scowling faces, everyone was staring at me. The scowls had left their faces but their eyes had turned red. An intense shade of red that almost made their eyes look like they were glowing.

"You are not as we left you," accused a chorus of voices that outnumbered the people in the office.

Something ripped me out of my chair and slammed me against the wall of the office. At that point everything seemed to shatter, my dreamlike state of mind, the office I was in and the illusion masking the people there with me. Bones and skulls with bright red glowing eyes replaced the vague subconscious memories of my old co-workers. White bones contrasted brightly against the complete blackness that suddenly surrounded us.

"We must be more forceful," the voices continued, skulls and bones creeping closer to me.

One bony claw lifted into the air and the blackness around us was filled with skull after skull until a massive sphere of white and red surrounded us. Unlike the jumble of parts that was the creature that stood in front of me the sphere had a distinct repeating pattern. It did not amplify the chorus of voices but rather reverberated the sound, causing a strange echo in the bone creature's voice.

"No saviors," it said, almost gleefully before it plunged a claw straight into my chest.

I screamed, loudly. It was painful. More painful than before? Before was just a vague memory and this new encounter was crystal clear in my head, still is even. I wasn't held down quite as tightly as before. I kicked and punched at the skull sitting right in front of me uselessly. I kicked back at the skulls behind me that made up part of the massive sphere.

Pointless. Useless. I fought anyways.

I could feel the claws in my chest twist and expand. The pain grew worse and the strength left my limbs.

That was when everything started to shake. The claw in my chest contracted and I heard a sound like breaking glass. Weakly I lifted my head to see the sphere of skulls start to break apart like someone threw a brick through a window. Every broken piece faded away, revealing a starry sky.

What shone brighter than the stars was Luna, who stood within the encroaching night sky. Her horn was blazing with energy and her eyes were glowing harshly with an intense white light that seemed to be tinged with blue. The look on her face was probably the most enraged I had ever seen a pony.

"Off," she demanded. Without even waiting for a response a shock wave erupted from Princess Luna and launched the bone creature backwards.

I felt no pain as the creature's claw was jerked out of my chest, I felt no relief either. I just fell forward, clutching at my shirt. It still felt like there was something inside of me. I pointlessly groped at my chest which, clothes and all, remained whole despite having a bony claw plunged into it.

I could feel a tug and I was starting to move towards Luna. I did not get far before I felt a sharp pain in my leg.

"He is ours. He will be us. Our gateway," the voices chanted. I could feel a jolt surge through my body. My left arm shot forward and my thoughts started to get... hazy. My hand was skeletal and despite my weak attempts I found myself unable to move. I could see though, or maybe feel, I'm not that sure, tendrils of shadow shoot out from under my coat.

The shadows were nearly invisible against the backdrop of the night sky. There was little more to see than the flicker of stars as the shadows flew through the air towards Luna. She could see that something was wrong with me but whatever magic she was planning didn't account for what she couldn't see. The tendrils around her neck and midsection, grasping tightly. Luna let out gasp that was cut off by her airway being closed off.

My heart was pounding. I could barely move my head to look around but I could see the night sky recede and as skulls started to take it's place again. Surreal and reminiscent of the dream we were in my brain couldn't disassociate the situation from reality. I could still feel, the pain in my chest and leg. Terror from being trapped in my own body. Livid for being used.

'Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.' I screamed at myself, trying to force focus into my own hazy thoughts. I put everything into just trying to pull my arm back. The best I could manage was to see the tips of my skeletal fingers curl in slightly.

Luna let out a choke gasp that shot a surge of adrenaline through my body. Still putting everything into my arm did little. Luna wasn't helpless though, her horn still blazed with energy and a beam of blue shot past me. I could hear it strike something and more importantly I could feel my body go slack. Without missing a beat I slammed my fist down. The darkness entangling Luna, hiding itself under my coat and in my clothes, shot backwards and I heard a chorus of screeches.

Released I crawled forward as fast as I could, trying to put as much distance as I could between me and the bone creature. I could feel that tugging again and I was gently pulled away towards Luna. The haze completely cleared from my head and looking down my hands had returned to normal. Even the pain in my chest and leg had lessened.

Feeling safe next to Luna I finally looked back. The bones were once again completely replaced by the night sky but the bone creature was sinking quickly into a black pool. At first I thought it was Luna's doing but I was quickly overtaken by an oppressive presence. Bright, burning red cracks tore through the night sky. Out of the black pool the bone creature rose again, larger, tremendously large. Even now I have trouble placing the scale. It's skulls were bigger than wrecking balls.

"We cannot be impeded," the voices, so much louder than before, screamed.

I glanced over to Luna, her expression was shockingly stoic. With no hesitation she walked forward towards the gargantuan bone creature.

"I shall not be fooled again!" she shouted. The creature froze.

Luna floated upwards, her eyes lightning up anew, her horn erupting with magic. The sight caused the creature to recoil and back away but was unable to escape the blue aura that quickly consumed it. Luna's magic compacted all the floating bones tightly together. Tighter and tighter until they started to crack and break. The voices of the creature screeched loudly. They started to glow bright red as they were quickly condensed down into pure magic at which screeching ceased. The blue also started to collect around me, pulling the red magic out of me and bringing over to the rest.

Smaller and smaller the magic was condensed down into a small orb. The blue aura of magic surrounding it started to wildly shimmer and vibrate. The red orb of magic expanded and contracted rapidly until a flash bright blue struck it's center and it was consumed completely by Luna's magic. Immediately after her magic dissipated and there was no speck of red left behind.

The atmosphere became serene before the night sky started to fall away, leaving darkness behind.

-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-

My eyes immediately shot open and I had found myself far out of the position I fell asleep in. My entire upper body was off the edge of the bed. I was keeping myself suspended in the air by wrapping my arms around Luna's neck.

Luna's eyes fluttered open soon after and when she saw me she instinctively stepped backwards. I couldn't hold on so I just fell to the floor face first.

"Ow," I groaned, pulling myself out of bed and getting up to my feet. Nothing hurt, not my chest or leg. Well, just my head.

"S-sorry!" Luna said. Flustered she stepped forward again only to have her front legs buckle under her. I reached forward to catch her, wrapping my arms awkwardly around her neck again.

"You okay?" I asked.

Luna managed to put some strength back into her wobbly legs and support herself with a groan. "Yes, I am... just a little tired," she said. I couldn't blame her, staying up late every day for a while and then pulling off all kinds of magical dream nonsense probably took everything out of her.

"Well I think you've earned a rest, maybe you should just go straight to bed." I said.

"That sounds... like a great idea," Luna said, her exhaustion evident in her voice and on her face. She turned and started towards the exit only to start tipping to the side.

"Woah," I said, moving and bracing her side to keep her from falling over.

"Sorry," Luna said again.

"You know why don't you just get some rest here. That bed's closer." I said, pointing over to my bed.

"Yes... maybe that would be best..." Luna weakly. I followed her closely back over to the bed and supported her as she climbed onto the bed.

She flopped down onto her side and let out a sigh, her shoes clanked slightly as they hit each other.

"You normally sleep in all of that?" I said, pointing vaguely to her crown, collar and shoes.

"Oh... no I–"

"I'll get it," I said, climbing onto the bed next to her and reaching over.

"...Alright," she mumbled.

I gently removed the crown first, her flowing mane only shifting slightly. Then I reached around her neck to unfasten the sparkly moon collar she wore. Her shoes managed to pop off fairly easily. Once I was done I set it all down on the table across the room.

"Thank you," I heard her meekly say.

"Don't worry about it. Just rest easy, we did it!" I said with restrained enthusiasm.

"Yes..." she mumbled, letting her eyes fall closed.

"I'll let your guards know," I said, throwing on my coat and heading for the door.

"Mm..." was all the response she gave.

Outside I updated Luna's guards who only regarded me with a nod. Without much to do I just started wandering down the hallway. Eventually I saw Olive as she turned a corner and started walking in my direction. Once she saw me she picked up the pace and had that hopeful look in her eyes again.

I was happy I didn't have to disappoint her again.

Author's Note

Well! That's another chapter that didn't take me three months to complete completed! I'm happy to have been able to spend more time with story and am happy to do so more in the future!

Stuff will happen! Many things! Many plans! I'm excited to write them and I hope you will be excited to read them!

But of course I'm always amazed that anyone has read this far, whether you've enjoyed it or not!

So as always,

Thanks For Reading!