"Rick?" I heard come from the other side of the front door, paired only by a series of loud raps against the wood.

"Rick, please, it's been three days. Let me in, I'm sure we can talk about it." Twilight pleaded, knocking on the door again... and again... and again.

She wasn't wrong, it had been three days. Three days since I had botched meeting the princesses, and pretty much ruined the rest of the Gala for her, and to an extent, her friends.

As it turned out, they had been told about what had happened and, for the rest of the night they were at the party, they were worried about me. I didn't understand why, since I didn't really know them that well, nor vice versa, but I just knew this was how they felt. The only reason I had actually found this out though was because of the train ride back to Ponyville, where they had wasted no time trying to cheer me up or ask if they could help...

They had good intentions, but all it did was make me feel even more guilty for being a bother to them.

But, yeah, either way, I have not left my house even once. I never even bothered to open, or go near the front door. Twilight had been nice enough to come visit me every now and then, whether I decided to answer or not--in other words, pretty much standing outside and asking for me to come out or let her in each and every time--but she had never bothered to, for instance, teleport herself inside, or something like that. Honestly, this was kind of strange to me, considering the fact that, of all the ponies I had seen here in this world, she was easily the one who'd be able to do just that, but instead she didn't. Maybe she didn't want to come in and talk to me until I said I would be ready to talk myself, or maybe she was still upset about what had happened and just preferred to take a more half-hearted attempt at coaxing me to speak. Really, it made no difference.

I didn't go outside, I didn't want to go outside, and I hadn't the slightest idea if I would ever go outside. I just knew that, while I was in here, I was safe. I wouldn't ruin anything else for anyone, nor would I do so for myself.

It was for the best...

"Rick..." I could hear Twilight's voice seem to gain a more... saddened tone to it through the door, before, eventually, I then heard hoofsteps leading away from the door, getting further and further away until, finally, all I heard was silence.

...

Giving out a sigh, I opened my eyes, which I had unknowingly closed some time ago, for the first time in the past hour... I think. Time wasn't really much of something I could tell passed or otherwise, in all honesty. The only reason I knew days or nights had passed, in fact, was because of the dimming or brightening light that came through the one, closed window I had in the room, or the pair in my living room. Even then, the change was barely noticable, whether it be because of my overall uninvolvement to notice, or the fact that I had the window shades pulled closed since I had gotten here; it could be either reason, really.

I could feel the sheets of my bed below and above me, serving as a sort of coccoon I could use to let my thoughts fester for a bit without any issue. It didn't really make me feel more secure so much as it made me feel more hidden, but, it was better than nothing.

Laying where I was, I glanced around at this very same coccoon, the darkness it provided giving me little to actually take note of whatsoever. That is, there was little to note save for the fact that I was beginning to feel uncomfortably warm underneath.

With a grimace, I momentarily pondered the idea of leaving this faux hermit's crab I had made, before, ultimately, I decided against the idea of staying and later needing a long shower from how much I would probably sweat.

What would normally have been the short process of me lifting the sheets off of my body had felt more like I was essentially prying them off, each movement met with resistance as my mind continually told me to just stay in bed. Nonetheless, I was eventually able to free myself from the hold of my sheets, comparitively cool air replacing the warmer air from my time in bed, brushing against my mostly bare body... Heh, I had forgotten that I was just wearing my underwear at the moment.

Really, I had just felt like the rest of my clothes were unnecessary. It wasn't like anyone would see me anytime soon after all.

I stayed laying there for a moment, my body spread out upon my relatively small bed, just taking comfort in the cooler air, before I then swung my legs over the right side, sitting myself up in the process. Glancing to the closed window, I could barely make out that it was apparently day, giving my shoulders a shrug at the note before looking around my room.

It was, as I had expected, a mess... but an organized one...

I never got around to cleaning it, before or after what happened three days ago, so I was actually used to it by now. It was even the same back home, in my world; or, at least, it was when I last saw it.

Every pile of dirty clothes that I'd have to wash later, each cup that used to be filled with water that I kept by my bed--having been long emptied out by now--even the journal that Twilight had given me, now sitting to gather dust somewhere in the corner of the room. I had no use for it anyways. Twilight had given it to me to try to help my social habits, but, after what happened, I think that any hopes I had of them getting better were pretty much gone.

Shaking my head at this, I made my way outside of my bedroom and into the living room; the living room itself was, well, it was more presentable than my actual room was. It was far from perfect in terms of cleanliness, but it still wasn't that bad. That, paired with the sense of homeliness it provided--at least to me--ironically made it the most guest welcoming room in the house, though, besides Twilight, I didn't particularly let anyone inside to think of whether they agree with my opinion or otherwise.

As I made my way past the couch I had in the middle of the room and to the kitchen, feeling parched from having spent so much time under my covers, a glint of light came in through a small crack in one of the shaded windows I had in the room. I hadn't gotten even the smallest amount of sunlight for a good bit of time now, so, suffice to say, my eyes were a little bothered by this.

With a purse of my lips, I made my way over to the window to completely close the shades, the same crack of light that came through the small opening managing to hit me square in the eye again. I flinched at this, lingering ever so slightly as I allowed my eye to recover. As I did this, however, I noticed something... odd...

Outside the window, a small aways from my house, I could see Twilight still there, a worried expression about her face. This didn't surprise me, but, what was odd about her being there was that she seemed to be... talking... alongside that, usually, whenever she was unsuccessful in her attempts at talking to me, she would just leave altogether.

I had felt a brow raise in curiosity as I wondered as to who exactly she was conversing with, and why she was here. At first, I thought it may have been one of her friends, or maybe even somepony else she knew, just holding her up for a moment or two. However, as I opened the shades slightly moreso than before, if only to catch a glimpse, I felt myself freeze, and to an extent, quickly get nauseous.

There, talking with Twilight, was the same monarch of the sun that I had made myself a fool in front of, Princess Celestia, accompanied by what seemed like a pair of guards by her side. Her face, much like those of the guards, seemed to hold nothing but the utmost seriousness to it, barely wavering even an inch as she spoke to Twilight.

Naturally, I held several questions at this sight, many of them panic worthy, with the other few more than deserving of me being at least slightly nervous.

The most notable of these questions were along the lines of "WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?!?" followed just shortly thereafter by "Oh god, this is bad, isn't it?".

I mean, could I really have thought of anything else when faced with this situation?!

Here I was, hoping to forget what had happened a few days ago, and how I had completely messed things up and made a fool of myself, and suddenly, the very same being who I messed things up with, who had also just happened to be one of the most powerful and renowned beings in Equestria, was visible outside of my house, seeming absolutely pissed, and talking to a worried Twillight!?!

Maybe what I had written in my journal some time ago wasn't that far off. Maybe I was going to die, and it had just taken a few days to get all of the paperwork filled out.

Feeling my breath become shallow at this, I watched as the princess and Twilight continued to exchange words with one another, unable to hear what they said, considering the distance, but easily able to see them make an occasional nod or gesture as they conversed. And, as if this wasn't bad enough, seemingly out of nowhere, the princess suddenly glanced towards my house, seeming to catch sight of me as I then hurriedly closed the shades completely.

Now, not only was my breath shallow, but it was also rushed, myself beginning to feel light-headed as I thought through anything I could do to prevent... whatever it was that was going to happen from happening.

"Maybe if I just hide I can... No that would never work!" I beratedly thought to myself, my eyes darting nervously around my living room.

Mere seconds afterwards, I heard a series of hoofsteps approaching, causing my breath to still, followed shortly by another knock at my front door, notably louder and, overall, more authoritative than any Twilight had given. I gave myself one guess as to who it could be.

"Mr. Nick the human," I suddenly heard a... stallion say? I guess I'd have to give myself two guesses instead.

"her majesty, Princess Celestia, wishes to speak with you."

No, no, no, no! Think, think, there had to be someway out of this, there just had to be! Gulping, I spoke through what may as well have been a veritable blockade of anxiety, my voice coming out quiet and, from the lack of use throughout the last few days, slightly hoarse.

"I-I-I'm f-f-fine! R-really, t-t-there's no n-n-need!" Immediately after I said this, I realized how idiotic it was for me to say. She was the princess for god's sake! She didn't need my permission, or any real reason, to do as she pleased, let alone enter a house that, among the several others that are in Equestria, she technically owns. The guard could bust down my door if he wanted to, and he'd technically have every single right to.

Again, I heard something from the other side of the door, this time sounding like two hushed voices conversing. They seemed to go on for some time, on one occasion sounding rather argumentative, before, with one last whispered but firm sentence, it ended.

What followed next practically gave me a heart attack on the spot.

"Her highness is entering now." The guard then said--no, not said, commanded- my eyes widening in response.

"N-No wait, don't-" And before I could so much as say another word, there was a bright flash that came from the center of the living room, both blinding me as my unprepared eyes were given an unexpected dose of bright light, as opposed to the dim light of my house from the past few days, and causing me to fall backwards out of pure surprise, and partial fright.

Though I couldn't see what, I tried to grab something to stop myself on the way down, only to hear a loud clink, followed shortly thereafter by a clang, and the sudden feeling of whatever I had grabbed losing any holding it had to wherever it was supporting itself. That, alongside the sudden warmth, and added brightness, of what I recognized to be sunlight allowed me to guess that I had pulled my window curtains onto the floor with me, metal frame and all.

The first thing I felt was the impact of my back against floor, winding me. Mere instances after that, the sound of the curtain holder's metal frame hitting the floor just below me rang through, the curtains themselves then proceeding to cover me, and a good portion of the floor, from my very most bottom all the way up to my face, bunching itself in certain places and, as a result, leaving some parts of me exposed.

It took me a moment or two to react to what had happened, and my eyes even longer than that to recover, but once I had, I felt a pained groan quickly escape me as my back began to ache from the impact.

Through this fog of pain and overall disorientation, I could still barely make out what sounded like hoofsteps, each one becoming louder and louder as they came towards my direction. Any and all unfocused thoughts I had at the moment swiftly shot themselves into attentiveness as I realized just how... horrible the situation I was in was.

I was laying down on my back in my living room, pretty much naked, after falling over like an idiot, breaking off my curtains and causing them to cover me, and it was very likely that the princess saw the entire thing... If she didn't think I was a fool before, and she wasn't planning on doing anything, then she definitely did and was now!

I wished I could just dissappear. I wished I had just stayed in my room, in bed, instead of getting out. Maybe then this could have been avoided. Maybe, she wouldn't have seen me through the window, wouldn't have come inside, and wouldn't have seen me prove myself to be even more pathetic than she had originally thought I was. Goddamnit, this could all have been avoided, I messed myself up again.

Listening with stilled breath, the hoofsteps came to a halt before me, as I then opened one of my eyes, which had been tightly shut at this moment, just a crack. The drapes that covered me obstructed my vision, but through their colored and patterned fabrics, I could see the silhouette of the princess just standing there right above me, easily ten times as intimidating as she was before, as I imagined what would probably be a glare on her face, alongside a few choice words to follow.

Ever so slightly, I could hear another sound make itself known--the familiar shimmer-like sound of magic, as I had accustomed myself to hearing while I was around Twilight--and took note of the fact that the curtain became surrounded with a familiar golden aura.

I braced myself for what was to come, again shutting my eyes and turning my head away as the curtains were lifted up entirely from me, leaving me completely defenseless and exposed to the princess. Practically trying to grip at the nothing that was on the floor, I tucked my head to my chest as I awaited something, anything, to come about...

Seconds passed. Those seconds felt as though they turned to minutes, and those minutes to hours, yet still, nothing ever came...

After a while, my emotions quickly started to shift from worry and fear to confusion and disarray, as I wondered as to why nothing had happened yet. Eventually, whether the reason was out of pure curiosity or stupidity, I catiously opened my eyes to take a look, the sunlight from outside again serving to partially blur my vision in the process.

I blinked a few times, attempting to regain my sight as best I could, before I was finally given clarity once more.

The blurs from before cleared, and, through them... I could see her, just standing there, allowing the sunlight from outside to accentuate her overall figure, her face no more than a few inches from mine. However, rather than a glare, or at least a face of relative annoyance, I saw one of... care and concern, far different than the serious expression she had outside.

"Oh my. Are you alright?" She asked, her voice not even holding the slightest hint of anger behind it... The same voice I thought I would never hear again... Naturally, I was less than eager to speak.

"I-I... Uh... Er..." That was all I could manage, involuntarily using my arms to gain some slight distance further away from her, before she then began to move her head around me, looking me over... and again, the fact that I was pretty much naked reared itself in my mind.

"Hm. You don't seem injured..." She observed, cocking her head and pursing her lips as she hovered over me before quickly moving her attention back to me, this time... with a smile.

"That's a relief. Wouldn't want you to get hurt, after all." Moving herself away from me with that same smile all the while, I watched as she then moved the curtain and frame she had still held in her magical grip back to their previous position, her horn shimmering ever so slightly as she, apparently, affixed them back to where they once were; all the while, all I could do was lift myself unto my elbows, just looking on in... I-I didn't even know anymore.

Shock? Confusion? Relief? I legitamately was not sure.

All I knew was that the princess was in my house now, fixing my curtains, and I wasn't dead... That had to count for something, right?

Seemingly satisfied with her work, Princess Celestia released the frame and curtains from her grip, giving a stout nod as she did so before once again turning her head to me.

"I apologize for just barging in without your permission, and evidently frightening you in the process, but I felt that it was absolutely necessary that we spoke." I gulped as she said this, sitting myself up before, glancing downwards, covering myself to the best of my ability. I could only imagine the shade of red that I held at that point, likely to be even greater than that of an actual tomato itself.

"..." I tried to say something else in return, but found myself unable to, ending up opening my mouth to speak with nothing than slight bits of air coming out rather than speech.

The princess seemed to notice this, her smile again making itself present, as her horn began to shine once again. All at once, I felt though something were grabbing me by my shoulders, carefully lifting from my seated position onto my feet, before then just as suddenly disappearing; the sensation itself was... odd, in a sense, but not unpleasant either.

"There we are." She said. "That's much better now, isn't it?"

"..." Again, I had no idea what to say, staring dumbfoundly at her. This time, she didn't seem to catch onto this, instead busying herself looking around the living room from where she stood, seeming to take in every detail she could with care.

"Hm. A rather odd sense of decoration, but homely nonetheless..." She muttered, myself making a mental note that, apparently, that now made two ponies who agreed with my opinion on the room...

I also took the oppurtunity to try and compose myself, taking all of the will I could muster in an effort to compile even the slightest amount of words I could into a feasible sentence. In the end though, I could only really find one word to utter.

"W-w-why...?" I stammered questioningly, attracting the princess's gaze once more. It wasn't a particularly specific question, I know, but that was the point. I had next to no idea what was going on, at this point just trying to survive the passing moments.

Why was she here? Why wasn't she angry? Why, why, why, that was all that came up in my mind...

Cocking her head, she rose a brow as she gave me a questioning look.

"Why what?" She asked. I, as response, just gave out some sort of odd stutter. That broad question I had asked was, as I mentioned, the only word I could manage to bring about, with no exaggeration. I had nothing left that I could possibly say!

Despite the lack of response she gained, she gave yet another soft smile to me, giggling... Those same bells from before rang just as true...

"Oh dear, you're feeling rather overwhelmed at the moment, aren't you?" I numbly gave out a nod.

"Ah, I thought so. Then, perhaps, you would feel more comfortable seating yourself as I explained?" She kindly suggested, gesturing to the sofa in my living room without losing her attention on me for even a moment.

I'm... not sure why, but, without my even knowing it, my body began to comply, taking short, measured steps to the sofa. My feet practically dragged themselves along the floor, and the pace I was going at seemed to rival that of a snail, but the princess watched me patiently, never losing her smile as I eventually circled around the sofa, opposite of where she stood, and sat myself on the furthest possible area to the side of the couch as I could. A loud groan of the furniture's springs echoed through the room, almost deafening in volume.

It was only once I was seated and the sound had completely faded that I then interlaced my fingers with one another in front of me, looking elsewhere shortly after. I wasn't trying to focus on anything in particular, really, but I just felt as though I couldn't look at her for much longer without my anxiety taking over; that, and each time I looked, was reminded of what had happened.

There was a moment of complete silence, with niether her nor I speaking or making a single sound as we simply allowed it to pass. Eventually though, this moment was shattered as the sound of hoofsteps once again rergistered in ears. At first, they seemed to be getting closer, making me nervous as to the thought of her nearing me again. But... as quickly as they began, they stopped.

Instead, they were replaced by the sound of the sofa's cushion's and springs giving out another groan and creak, and the sensation of the sofa itself seeming to shift itself ever so slightly... She'd sat down... She was sitting next to me...

A cold sweat beaded down my head as I stole another quick glance at the princess, so as to gauge our distance between one another. Thankfully, if only for the sake of my panicking and unsteady heart, she seemed to have seated herself on the exact opposite side of the couch just as well as I, her eyes closed as she seemed embedded in thought.

I mean, granted, she took up more space than I did--n-not to say that she was portly, o-or anything like that, she was just much bigger than me and... I decided to move away from that train wreck of a thought process as quickly as I could, returning my gaze to nothing, albeit rather jerkily, and quietly awaiting whatever it was the princess had wanted to tell me.

Thankfully, this wait proved not to be too long, as the princess then spoke up mere moments after I had looked away from her.

"My student, Twilight, informed me about how you've been in these past few days." She began. "How you've shut yourself away because of what happened at the Gala, and how badly you feel about it."

Oh no. Of all the things I was silently hoping she wouldn't bring up, that was easily at the very top of the list. And the fact that Twilight had apparently been the one to write to her on the subject... I would've been upset with her, had it not been for the sudden overwhelming sensation of unease I had now felt.

I didn't want to recall that embarrasing happenstance, but every single time I had even glanced towards her so far, that was all I could think about. I had to something, right?

"...I-I-I'm s-s-sorry..." I barely managed to squeak out as I continued to look away from her, doing so at a volume so low that, frankly, I was afraid that I'd have to say it again just so she could hear me. Thankfully, what she said next proved she did hear me, albeit in an unexpected way.

"You have no reason to apologize. If anything, I'm the one who owes you an apology." I felt myself freeze as she said this, one part of my mind taking a while longer to relay the message to the rest of my body than the other, which also seemed to scramble the message somewhat.

"I should have properly introduced myself back when we spoke on the balcony, rather than tease you as I did. If I had done so, then perhaps you wouldn't have been as shocked as you were the next time we met, and you wouldn't have ended up feeling this badly about it. Truthfully, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel guilty about the whole incident."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The princess was apologizing to me? B-but, I-

Before I could even think through how to respond, my mouth began to move on its own, the grip I held to my other hand tightening while, simaltanseously, I held my gaze firmly towards the far off wall.

"B-but you didn't do anything! I was the one who made a fool of myself in front of you, if anything, I'm the one who should apologize to you, a-and-" Out of the blue my throat closed up again, silencing me, as I suddenly felt something rest itself on my shoulder. For a moment, I just sat there, unable to move or react. After some time though, I was eventually able to force my eyes to look towards the unknown source, only to be greeted by a comforting white hoof, garmented with golden slippers of intricate fashion.

How? I... hadn't even noticed that she had moved...

"Rick..." She then uttered calmingly, sending a shudder throughout me. I'm not sure what exactly caused it, I just knew it had come and gone in an instant.

"Why don't we just say that niether of us started off on the right hoof with each other? And, while we're at it, what's say we try this again? This time with no crowds, no party, and no obligations to worry about. In truth, I actually would like to know you better, Rick, and I can only hope that you feel the same. So... what do you think?" She finally asked, her voice managing to keep that same, soothing tone to it throughout her entire speech.

Another try... No crowds, parties, or obligations...

Again my body reacted before my mind could, though without any words to accompany it, as I then gave a slow nod to the direction of the wall.

Despite this indirectness though, I could practically feel the happiness from the princess through her hoof as she then spoke once again.

"Ah, splendid! I should have my schedule free sometime tomorrow at around 3 so... it's a date!"

WAIT, WHAT!?!

Jerking my head around in nothing less than utter surprise and shock from what she had said, I was just barely able to catch the remnants of a small flash as she, seemingly, teleported outside just as she had inside, leaving me alone again to try to make sense of what had just occurred.

Princess Celestia... had just agreed that we meet up again tomorrow... apparently having felt guilty herself about what had happened at the Gala... after making her way inside my house... while also referring to it as a date...

Again, I took a short glance downwards.

All the while... I had still been in only my underwear...

My mind was, to put it frankly, an absolute mess at the moment, and as I then found my gaze falling to the empty door that led to my room, a single thought popped up in my mind.

"On second thought, I think I'm going to need that journal a lot more than I had originally thought I would."

Author's Note

See? Told you I'd make up for it. :D