I was sitting at the desk in my room, reading a book titled "Equestria and You: a Traveller's Guide to Pony Customs and Culture" to help pass the time and learn more about my current home. Since Princess Cadence gave birth a few days ago, both her and Shining Armor have barely been getting any rest and the fatigue was showing on the both of them. I helped out where I could as my way of saying thanks for letting me stay in the Crystal Palace free of charge, but most of the population were still wary of me. News spread of how I escaped the dungeon and how I killed a dragon and walked away with nothing more than a few bruises. It didn't bother me much, I was never much of a people person and hated being in crowds.

Today was a special day, however, the plans for the Crystalling were almost complete and the last few parts were up to Shining Armor. His sister Twilight was coming to the Crystal Empire for the ceremony with her friends, and I was going to be traveling back to Ponyville with them and stay with Twilight in her castle. They were set to arrive in the afternoon and Shining Armor was going to meet them at the train station. I would have offered to go myself, but since most ponies aren't used to my presence I decided against it and avoid the risk of causing a scene. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna arrived at the palace earlier that morning and I was finally able to meet the Princess of the night. She had a slight accent and spoke like she was still adjusting to modern society after her banishment. Despite being royalty, she was surprisingly casual. Something I noticed about all of the princesses I've met. The only one I haven't been formally introduced to was Princess Cadence but she was so busy with the newborn that she didn't have the time or energy to meet strangers.

I was growing tired of reading the book and decided to take a walk around the castle to stretch my legs. I set the book down on the table, making a mental note of what page I was on and stretched as I stood up. I walked over to the door and opened it right as a servant was about to knock, surprising the mare and earning a quick gasp from her. I ignored her reaction, as it was the usual response ponies gave me anytime I so much as walked into the same room as them. I looked down at her and raised a curious eyebrow, waiting for her to say whatever it was that she came here to say.

The maid took a second to calm down, her body language indicating she was intimidated by me since I towered above her. "Oh...good afternoon Mr. Curtis, I hate to disturb you but Prince Shining Armor will be returning shortly and has requested for you to meet him at the entrance to the palace." the mare said with a nervous smile.

"Alright, I'll be down shortly," I responded.

"Thank you, have a nice day." the mare said and she hurried off down the hall, anxious to get away from me.

I made my way outside the castle entrance and was observing the crystal heart as I waited, fascinated by the way it was suspended between the two pillars and spun all on its own. I was waiting for only a few minutes before the curtains were spread apart by a purple aura of magic and I could see Twilight and company walking towards me. None were as happy to see me as the one wearing a cowboy hat, for the pony had rushed up to me and gave me what was probably the strongest death grip of a hug I had ever received.

"Well if it ain't the hero that saved mah little sister! Ah can't tell you how much ah appreciate what you did, but what ah can tell you is that you'll always be welcome on the Apple family farm," she said, giving him me an extra tight squeeze before she let go.

I had to take a second to catch my breath after having the air forced out of my lungs. I knew that these ponies were stronger than what they looked, but if they were all as strong as uh, Applejack I think her name was, it may be in my best interests to avoid as much physical contact as possible.

"Nice to see you too, just give me a warning the next time you're gonna try to squeeze the life out of me," I said.

"Oh, sorry. Sometimes I tend to forget mah own strength." Applejack said as she lightly blushed in embarrassment.

I shook the awkward moment from my mind and looked at Shining Armor, who was struggling to stay awake. I almost felt sorry for the stallion for he looked like...well... anypony who had to plan a national ceremony while taking care of a newborn baby at the same time. Twilight took a step towards me to speak up.

"It's nice to see you again Curtis, how is the Crystal Empire treating you?" Twilight asked.

"It's okay, haven't gone too far away from the castle however. The locals here don't seem to like me very much." I replied.

"What makes you say that?" Twilight asked, curious as to why the crystal ponies weren't exactly welcoming.

"I would guess it's something about seeing a strange creature that killed a full grown dragon walking down the street," I replied with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh... right," she responded, forgetting that the only things most ponies know about me are the stories and rumors that were spread about me. Most of which were exaggerations on how I fought a dragon in the Everfree forest.

"But hey, enough about me. I'm certain you're all anxious to meet the new baby. Don't ask me questions as to how she looks, I haven't seen her yet either." I said, trying to change the topic.

They all looked at Shining Armor, who was currently napping while standing up. Twilight nudged her brother to wake him up and he snapped back into consciousness. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and remember why they were all there. The look of confusion on his face told the group that he was drawing a blank, and needed help remembering.

"Uhh, hello? The baby?" Rainbow Dash reminded him.

"Wha-? Oh! Right, follow me." Shining said, slightly embarrassed that he fell asleep in front of them...again.

They all made their way up to the nursery where Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were waiting for them. They all gathered around the cradle, letting out a soft "awwwe" in unison. Well, except for me. I stayed back in the doorway, watching the rest of them and scoffed to myself and shook my head at their reaction. I never understood why most people thought children and babies were so cute. I always thought babies looked weird since they were mostly chubby with heads almost as big as their bodies. My thoughts were disrupted when the group of mares let out a gasp. I didn't need to move to see what caused the sudden change in mood, for I could see the wings sticking out of the cradle from where I was standing.

"The baby is an Alicorn!?!" Twilight asked, surprised by the baby's wings. I didn't find it very strange, since Cadence was an alicorn herself.

"But...but...but I thought alicorn wings had to be earned by accomplishing some princess-worthy deed?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah, how can ya just be born with 'em?" Applejack chimed in.

"The birth of an alicorn is something that Equestria has never seen before." Celestia said.

"It is beyond even our understanding." Luna added.

I was content to just stand back and listen to them talk about it, but after hearing what Luna said, I was worried that I may have to explain the birds and the bees to them. Just the thought of it made me want to laugh and cringe at the same time. Not wanting to get involved in the conversation, I turned around to take my leave. Just before I left though, I heard the baby sneeze and what sounded like a giant laser going off. I turned around to see that there was a giant hole in the ceiling and the maid that I talked to earlier was looking down at them. The top part of her mane was smoking and looked like it was just pulled out of a fire.

"It appears her magic is more powerful than that of a newborn unicorn." Celestia said with concern.

'All the more reason for me to stay the hell away from it.' I thought to myself before leaving. I was now anxious to be anywhere that wasn't the palace for I didn't want to be near a baby that could potentially disintegrate me if I was so much as standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. I walked outside and wandered through the streets, deciding that I didn't really care if the locals would run and hide as soon as they saw me. I wasn't too worried about getting lost since the palace towered above all the other buildings, which I just now noticed were all made of solid crystal. I didn't even want to try to figure out how long it would have taken to build an entire city out of solid crystal back on Earth, not to mention the cost of such a project.

As I was walking down a rather busy side street, an orange and white unicorn stallion with a messy red mane and beard wearing glasses and a blue cloak with stars bumped into me as he turned a corner. The unicorn was practically running when he ran into me, and as a result, fell on his rear and dropped the books he was carrying in his saddlebags. The stallion was a bit dazed from the impact and shook his head to stop his vision from spinning and adjusted his glasses.

"Oh my goodness I am so sorry, I really should have been more careful with...where I...was..." the unicorn stallion trailed off when he realized who exactly he ran into. The ponies that were walking in the street stopped when they saw what happened and were looking back and forth between me and the stallion. I could feel the eyes of everypony around on me and knew they were afraid of what I might do. To the surprise of the crowd and to the unicorn stallion, I held out a hand and helped the unicorn to his hooves.

"It's alright man, don't worry about it. Just try to be more careful about where you're going next time." I said as I dusted off the unicorn's cloak. I looked around at the crowd and noticed how they were all looking at me in awe like they were expecting the complete opposite of what I did. The surrounding ponies began to disperse and go about their day. I turned back to the unicorn that ran into me as he finished placing the books that he dropped back into his saddlebag.

"Like I said before I truly am deeply sorry for causing such a scene, but I'm sure you have other business to attend too. Have a nice day." the stallion said sheepishly as he hurried off down the busy road, seemingly afraid that my mood may change any second. I only looked on, wondering to myself 'Is everybody around here really that scared of me?' I decided to reflect on it later and continued to wander about aimlessly.

I eventually came across a small crowd that was gathered around a large statue that resembled the baby dragon that was living with Twilight. What made it seem even weirder is that he was striking a heroic pose while holding the crystal heart. 'A nation that hails a child as a hero. There must be a good story behind that.' I thought to myself. I looked to where the crowd was paying attention to and saw the same little dragon sitting in front of them, telling them the tale about how he saved the Crystal Empire from somepony by the name of King Sombra. I stood behind the crowd, listening to Spike as he talked about his heroic deeds. I only caught the end of it, for the young dragon ended his story and claimed that he and Starlight "had an important lesson to do by order of the Princess of Friendship." A title that still made me laugh a little every time I heard it.

The ponies were not aware of me standing behind them until they heard me chuckling to myself. Most were quick to leave when they saw me, except for Spike and Starlight.

"Oh, hey Curtis! How's it going?" Spike asked as he hopped down from the stool he was sitting on.

"I'm alright, just walking around to pass the time. What are the two of you doing?" I asked, generally curious as to why they weren't going to see the newborn with all the others.

"We're on our way to reunite Starlight here with her foalhood friend Sunburst." Spike said proudly. I looked over to Starlight and could tell she wasn't as excited for their reunion as Spike was.

"Oh come on, Spike, I'm sure Curtis would love to hear the story of how you saved everypony during the Equestria Games." Starlight said with a nervous smile, her eyes pleading with me to help her out. I picked up on her hint and knew exactly what to say.

"You know what Starlight? That actually sounds like a very interesting story. It's unfortunate that you have to get going on your uh, 'mission,' for the princess. I'm certain Spike can tell me all about it on the train ride back to uh...Ponytown or wherever. I'm gonna head back to the palace and check up on everyone. You two have fun now." I said as I smiled and waved at the duo, most of it being directed towards Starlight.

She gave me an annoyed glare in return for not helping her, but she gave in with an audible groan as she tossed her popcorn bucket and got up from her seat and said "Alright, fine. Let's get this over with." and she walked down the road with Spike at her side, and disappeared around the corner.

I was making my way back to the palace and was a few feet away from the heavy curtains when an ear-splitting scream rang out from the other side. Even though I covered my ears they were still ringing and I hurried inside to see what was the cause. I ripped back the curtain and saw all of the main ponies I interacted with standing around the spot where the crystal heart was at. I noticed that they were all looking down at the ground and could see shards of crystal scattered along the ground. I looked up and noticed that the crystal heart was no longer there and put two and two together.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked to nopony in particular.

"The crystal heart...it's..." Princess Cadence said before her voice fell silent, the baby now resting in her embrace.

"Ah'm guessing that's gonna make it hard ta do the Crystalling." Applejack said as she walked up to the remains.

"It's worse than that. Without the heart, the Crystal Empire is about to be buried underneath a mountain of ice and snow." Twilight said as she pulled back one of the curtains to reveal a giant snowstorm forming in the distance, and was approaching fast.

The ponies continued to talk amongst themselves, so focused on their inevitable doom that they didn't even notice me. I was trying to keep up with what they were saying but the more I tried to listen, the more confused I became so I just took in what I could and ask about it later. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy went outside to try to convince the crowd to go back to their homes, Celestia and Luna flew off to fight the storm and everypony else ran back inside to try to find two things. The first being a spell to fix the shattered crystal heart, and the second to find the baby that teleported out of Shining's hooves and could be heard inside the palace somewhere. I was still standing there, trying to make sense of what I just overheard, and eventually decided to try to help those inside anyway I could.

I was working with Shining, Pinkie, and Rarity to try and catch the newborn that was having so much fun running from us and blowing holes in the palace while doing so. Every time one of us would get close, she would teleport away to a different section of the library. It got to the point where I was convinced that she was trying to get us to trip over each other. An example would be when Rarity and I put together a plan where I would chase the baby alicorn down an aisle and Rarity would jump and grab her when she reached the end. Rarity's timing was a little off and instead of grabbing the baby, she ended up tackling me to the ground as the baby teleported away into a different part of the library. Rarity was on top of me and our faces were only a few inches apart.

"Well now, whatever shall we do? I don't think they'll notice if we're gone for a few minutes, hmm?" Rarity asked while giving me a seductive look. There was so much wrong with what she suggested that all I could do was give her a brief look of disgust before shoving her off of me and ran off to the section of the library where I could hear the baby.

Pinkie eventually was able to get a hold on her but right as she did the baby sneezed and shot a beam of magic straight at Rarity who blocked it with a mirror. I continued to watch the magical ray of death bounce from Rarity to Shining, to Starlight and Spike who just walked in, and towards Twilight. More specifically, the book Twilight was holding with her magic. Although nopony was injured, the way Twilight and Cadence were looking at the book told me that book was probably the one they were looking for.

"I'm guessing that book had the spell we were looking for?" I asked Twilight.

"That spell was the only thing we found in this whole library that was even CLOSE to what we needed!" Twilight said.

The situation was getting worse by the minute. Not only was the one spell that could have saved us now destroyed, but the storm was still fast approaching despite Celestia and Luna's best efforts.

"Does anyone have a plan B?" I asked the group of ponies. Everypony was silent for a moment until Cadence spoke up.

"Twilight and I will try to fix the crystal heart with what we can remember. But we should evacuate the city just in case. I need the rest of you to lead everypony to the train station before the tracks freeze over." Cadence said.

"We will, but between you and Twilight, I'm sure you will remember the spell." Shining Armor said as he passed the baby over to Cadence and gave his wife a goodbye kiss before running out the doors with Pinkie and Rarity following behind him. I stayed back since I probably wasn't going to be of much help to them. I walked up to the table where Twilight was writing down what she could remember from the spell and the three ponies left were having a conversation of their own.

"Sunburst? I don't recognize the name but, if he is an important wizard you should bring him here. Maybe he will know what to do if the spell fails." Cadence said to Starlight.

"Of course!" Starlight yelled with newfound hope and ran off to find whoever this "Sunburst" was.

"Curtis, Spike, you two should go with her. Cadence and I will be fine here." Twilight said to me and the dragon. Spike gave her a nod to show he understood and ran off after Starlight.

"No rest for the wicked, huh?" I sarcastically asked her before running out the door after Spike and Starlight.

We made it out of the palace and into the streets and eventually made it to the house where Sunburst was living in and barged through the door to get away from the freezing weather. The wind was blowing so hard that it took both me and Starlight to close the door.

"Sunburst! Haven't you looked outside?" Starlight yelled at the stallion at the end of the room. I recognized him as the stallion that ran into me earlier and we gave each other a brief look of shock. We didn't have time to properly introduce ourselves, for there were more important matters to attend to. Starlight was telling Sunburst about the recent events and that they needed his help, but he claimed to be too busy with "important wizard work." A claim that I could tell was a bullshit lie.

Starlight continued to press Sunburst as to why he couldn't help them and eventually struck the nerve she was looking for cause the orange stallion burst out "I'm not an important wizard! I'm not even a wizard at all!" and ran into the back part of his home. Starlight and Spike gave each other a worried look before looking back to me, their faces pleading with me to come up with an idea.

"Let me talk to him. You two wait out here, and I'll call you in if I need you." I said as I walked into the room where Sunburst was sitting in. I walked up behind Sunburst and cleared my throat to get his attention.

"So you mind telling me what that was all about?" I asked.

"Why do you care? It's not like it matters anymore." Sunburst replied with a defeated tone.

"Well if it doesn't matter then there's no harm in telling me. So I'm guessing that you told Starlight and Spike that you were some important wizard?"

Sunburst didn't say anything, he only nodded his head in response.

"And now when it comes time for you to prove it, it kinda blew up in your face." I pointed out.

Again, Sunburst didn't say anything. He just nodded his head, this time a little lower.

"Alright, so what? You lied to impress the girl you have a crush on, but now that your words got thrown back in your face you're ready to just give up and cry about it?"

"I do NOT have a crush on Starlight!" Sunburst retorted.

"Then why did you lie, Sunburst?" I asked, poking a hole in Sunburst's defense.

"I don't know," Sunburst replied, growing frustrated. "I just wanted to impress her I guess. I mean, after I left for magic school, I figured she went on to do something big. She's traveling around with the Princess of Friendship for crying out loud." Sunburst pointed out. "I just didn't want her to think I wasn't worth her time."

"Why would she think you wouldn't be worth her time? She came all the way from Ponyville to see you and try to restart your friendship. To me, it sounds like she definitely wants to be friends again." I said, trying to convince Sunburst.

"I just don't think she would understand why I never achieved greatness," Sunburst said, tears starting to form in his eyes. I looked over to where Starlight and Spike were waiting and motioned for them to come in.

"Why wouldn't I understand that?" Starlight asked as she walked into the room.

Starlight and Sunburst continued the conversation while I looked out the window to see how bad the storm was getting. It was getting worse with every passing minute, and we didn't have much time left to convince Sunburst to help. After a few minutes, it sounded like the two worked it out and Sunburst was gathering some spell books he seemed confident in that would help turn back the storm and restore the heart. We all headed to the train station to stop the evacuation and turn everypony around to do the crystalling. While everypony ran back to the palace, I volunteered to look for anypony that may have gotten lost in the storm. Since I wasn't a pony, nor a part of the empire, my absence shouldn't matter.

I was scouting out the area around the outskirts of the Crystal Empire when I spotted a cave opening not too far away. I reasoned that ponies may try to hide in there to get out of the storm and hurried in before I froze to death myself. I called out every now and then to see if anypony was around, but only my echo responded. I was about to leave when I spotted a soft red glow a little deeper down one of the cave tunnels.

"Hello? Is anyone down there?" I called out, but not getting any response. I continued down the tunnel to see a glowing blood red horn sticking out of the snow.

"What the hell?" I asked myself and reached down to pick it up. Before I picked it up a large black cloud spewed out of it and caught me by surprise. I fell on my back and scrambled back to my feet, wishing I had my weapons.

"Well now, what do we have here? A strange creature stumbles into my domain." The words came from the black cloud, and I could now see a face with large green eyes and a toothy, sadistic grin. The look of it was quite intimidating, but I wasn't about to back down.

"Who or what the hell are you?" I demanded.

"I could ask you the same thing." the cloud responded. "But since you asked first, I am King Sombra, the rightful heir to the throne of the Crystal Empire. So who and what are you? And more importantly, why are you here?" Sombra asked in response.

"My name is Curtis, I'm a human and I'm stuck in this world through no means of my own." I replied.

"Stuck here in Equestria, you say? Are you certain?" Sombra asked.

"As far as I know. The only way back to my world is not working at the current moment." I said, not letting my guard down.

"I may be able to help you with that. But only if you are willing to help me." Sombra offered. The offer sparked my interest. As nice as this world was, I still wanted to get back to humanity where I belonged.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

"I need your assistance, my power is growing weak, and I can't manifest myself far from this cave or else I would risk getting discovered. You, however, can help me with that." Sombra explained.

"And how am I supposed to do that? If it's magic you're looking for I'm afraid I don't have any." I replied.

"Oh on the contrary. The fact that you don't have any magic is exactly why you are the perfect one to help me. You see, I can hide away inside your consciousness. Since you have no magical abilities, nopony will be able to detect my presence. I can reside inside you, slowly absorbing magic to gather my strength to the point where I can rise again, and take what is rightfully mine." Sombra explained. We were now face to face, an attempt to intimidate me into doing what he needed me to do. Despite his dramatic entrance, I refused to so much as flinch.

"So you want me to let you live inside my head, slowly growing strong enough to the point where you can overthrow the same people that have given me a place to call home while I'm here. That sounds like a raw deal to me, so if you're done wasting my time, I think I'll take my leave." I said as I turned my back on the self-proclaimed king.

"WAIT! I'm not finished." Sombra yelled as he blocked me from leaving. "I've been watching you from the shadows. Ever since you first awoke inside the dungeon. Tell me, how long do you think it will be until they betray you? Until they learn about the things you've done and throw you back into that hole they first put you in?" Sombra asked.

"What I've done? And just what the hell have I done? You don't know a damn thing about me!" I yelled at Sombra.

"That's where you're wrong, human. I know things about you that you don't even know about yourself. Like how you came to Equestria, for example." Sombra said with a grin.

"Really? You know how I came to be here, even though you've been stuck in this cave? Fine, tell me, how did I end up here?" I asked, trying to call the king's bluff. However, Sombra didn't even flinch at the question.

"It would be easier to just show you." Sombra replied.

"Show me? what the hell do you-" before I could finish the question Sombra cast a spell on me, and I lost consciousness. I soon woke up, but I was no longer standing inside the cave. I was standing in a pitch black room and I couldn't see anything, but at the same time, I could see my hand in front of my face perfectly fine. 'What the hell? Where am I?' I thought to myself.

"We're in your mind, Curtis." Sombra's voice sounded like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

"Sombra? What the hell did you do to me? Where are you!?!" I yelled into the darkness. Sombra soon made himself visible, walking up to me in his true pony form wearing his armor, crown, and cloak.

"Calm down, human. You are perfectly fine. I brought you here to show you something." Sombra said in a calm manner.

"And just what the hell would that be?" I asked.

"Watch and you will see..." Sombra said as his horn glowed and a small room began to materialize in front of us. I somehow recognized the room with its cramped space, single bed, and toilet on the opposite wall, but couldn't pinpoint it exactly. What felt even more strange is that I could see myself laying down on the small bed in the room, staring at the concrete ceiling. That's when it clicked.

"Wait a minute, I recognize that room. That was my shitty prison cell. Damn thing was hardly big enough for me to stand in, let alone walk around." I said, amazed that I somehow forgot about it. A few seconds later and the solid steel door to the cell opened up and two armed guards were standing on the other side.

"Come with us. The boss has a unique job opportunity and you're the lucky one that gets to do it." The first guard said. I moved closer to get a better look at the guards, feeling like I knew them from somewhere. What did strike me as odd is that they didn't look like regular prison guards. They looked more like soldiers than security guards, given the fact they had assault rifles, bulletproof vests, and kevlar helmets. The scene in front of me looked so surreal. It felt like I was watching a movie, but instead of a movie, it was my memories that I had forgotten and was watching them from a third person view.

"As much as i appreciate the offer, boys, you can tell your boss that he can give it to the next poor soul you twisted fucks want to torture." The Curtis in the memory said. The first guard quickly smashed him in the face with the rifle butt and dragged him out of the cell.

"I knew I recognized that guy! He's the fucker that busted my lip!" I said to Sombra, who couldn't help but grin knowing that his plan was working so far.

The two guards escorted memory Curtis into a room with a large machine in the center that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. The scene that played out explained how I was sent to Equestria and why I couldn't remember a thing. The vision ended and Sombra and I were back inside the snowy cave.

"So, a shadow organization called the SCP Foundation sent me here with all of my stuff and shot me up with some drugs so I wouldn't remember. But why?" I asked Sombra.

"That I do not know. But what I do know is that it is only a matter of time before somepony else finds out about your past, and I don't mean what we just saw." Sombra replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked, although I already knew where the king was going with this.

"Because I am not the only one that can access your memories. There are others with this kind of power, but they may not be as kind about it as I have. I have shown you what you have forgotten so you could see how you ended up in Equestria, but I have also seen the 'work' you have done before you ended up in the hands of the foundation. Tell me, if they are willing to lock you in a dungeon just for not knowing what you are, how do you think they will react when they find out about all that you've done? All the people you enjoyed killing and getting rich while doing so?" Sombra asked.

"Now don't you try to lay the guilt trip on me. I'm proud of what I've done. If I could go back and keep doing it I wouldn't hesitate. My only regret is getting captured and getting thrown in prison." I said defiantly.

"Exactly. You are proud of doing what you know is right, and I agree completely with you. However, Equestria doesn't work the same way your world does. Equestria hasn't even seen war since it was originally founded. So, you can see how your past and personal beliefs conflict with Equestria's." Sombra explained. The more I listened to the king talk, the more convincing he sounded. If the others did find out about me, I can kiss my freedom goodbye and count on spending the rest of my life inside that dungeon I first woke up in.

"Alright, you made your point. So if I let you live inside my head, you can eventually regain your strength and do what you want to do. But how does that benefit me?" I asked.

"With me inside your body, you won't have to worry about any of what we just discussed. I can block anypony who tries to enter your mind, without giving myself away. Also, I would absorb any magic that hits you at will, so I can protect you from any magic that would harm you. Since you and I will share your body, I can also cast spells through you and use it if the need arises. Not only that, but when I do rise again and take back my throne, you will be by my side, and we can rule Equestria together or I can send you back to your world. Whichever you prefer." King Sombra was smiling, certain that I wasn't going to turn down his offer. As much as he hated the fact he would have to rely on somepony else for survival, this was perhaps his only chance to restore himself back to his full power and take back his kingdom.

"How long will it take for you to regain your strength?" I asked.

"Although I cannot say for certain, it will take a while. Months, maybe even years. It depends on how much magic you are exposed to, and how much I can safely absorb without making myself noticeable." Sombra replied. "So, what do you say? Is it a deal, or are you willing to take the risk of losing everything and hope that the 'magic of friendship' will save you?" Sombra asked in a mocking tone.

I took a long moment to consider my options. Although what little information I knew about the king told me he was a shady character at best and I couldn't fully trust him. I let out a sigh, weighing my options, considering the risks and rewards of both scenarios. I had already told Celestia that I used to fight in the war back home and that part of my job involved killing, but that explanation glossed over most of the details I knew Celestia would throw me back in the dungeon for. After a few moments of consideration, I made my decision. Although I didn't feel completely confident that it was the right one, I knew that it was the one that would guarantee my security for the future. I walked out of the cave, looking at the sky to see that the snowstorm had disappeared and that the Crystal Empire was back to normal.

I made my way back to the palace and met up with Shining Armor, the princesses, and the rest of the ponies that I would primarily spend my time with while I was in Equestria. We all enjoyed the festivities of the crystalling, playing games and eating some delicious food (even though there wasn't a single ounce of meat to be had!) That was something I was going to have to find a solution to, I wanted some meat and was already getting sick with all of the vegetarian dishes. I made a deal with myself that I would go hunting in the Everfree forest as soon as I got the chance. After spending the day celebrating the birth of Shining and Cadence's foal, it was time to go back to Ponyville with Twilight and her friends.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna returned to Canterlot, and I was at the train station with Shining, Cadence, Twilight and her friends. Apparently Shining and Twilight's parents were coming to the crystalling as well but their train got delayed by the storm. That is when Shining and Cadence revealed that they decided to name their baby Flurry Heart, a tribute to the day's events. Twilight's parents, whose names were Twilight Velvet and Night Light, gave their son and daughter-in-law one last hug goodbye and boarded the train. Twilight did the same and boarded the train with her friends following behind her, minus Starlight, who was talking to Sunburst in their own private conversation.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now. I'll be sure to keep in touch with you. Maybe I can visit sometime if you're not busy with your duties as the royal crystaller." Starlight said to Sunburst as she hugged him goodbye, taking in a small whiff of his cologne that he decided to use for some reason. When she let go of him she could see that he was noticeably blushing and tried his best to hide it. She couldn't help but giggle at how cute he looked when he was embarrassed.

"Indeed, I'll be sure to write whenever I can as well. Something I should have done a long time ago but...didn't." Sunburst trailed off as he hung his in shame.

"Hey, don't be like that. That's all in the past now, and I know that we'll get it right this time." Starlight said as she put a hoof to his chin and raised his head up so she could look him in the eyes to let him know it was going to be okay. When their eyes met Starlight couldn't help but notice that he was actually a rather handsome stallion. She realized she was staring for an awkward amount of time and it was her turn to blush in embarrassment.

"Anyways, I suppose I should get going, don't wanna keep the others waiting." Starlight said as she turned around. Sunburst was about to leave himself when he felt a warm kiss on his cheek and saw Starlight sheepishly smiling at him and she trotted back to the train. She sat by the window and waved him goodbye. Sunburst was so stunned by her act of affection that he held a hoof to his cheek and looked down at it and back to Starlight, realizing that he didn't imagine what just happened. He smiled as a warm and fuzzy feeling flooded his chest and waved back to his foalhood friend that had grown up to be the most beautiful mare he had ever seen.

I was engaged in my own conversation with the royal couple but still caught the moment between Starlight and Sunburst that confirmed my suspicions. I couldn't help but give the stallion a devilish grin. Sunburst walked away while shaking his head, knowing that I was going to brag about being right about him and Starlight. I turned to Shining and Cadence, who missed what happened since they were paying attention to Flurry Heart.

"Well, it's been a real pleasure staying with you guys, but I guess it's time I head back to Ponyville. Do I really have to live with your sister though? I hear mares have something called the cooties and it's very contagious." I joked to Shining and Cadence, who both laughed a little at the jest.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. Who knows? Maybe if you ever stop fighting dragons she might let you get a house of your own." Shining poked back.

"I used to foal-sit Twilight so I know she can be a bit overwhelming at times, so please do your best to bear with her. I just know she will have a never-ending list of questions and experiments for you." Cadence said. I couldn't help but feel worried about that last part.

"Uh...experiments? What kind of experiments?" I asked as I looked back at the train and could see Twilight sitting in the window. She waved at me and gave me a big smile, excited that she will soon be able to ask me all the questions she could think of. I gave a nervous smile and waved back and turned around to face Cadence again.

"Seriously though, what is she planning on doing to me?" I pleaded with Cadence, who only giggled at me in return.

"Just keep an open mind and an open heart and you will be just fine, trust me," Cadence said, adding a wink and a reassuring smile.

I took a seat on the train, thinking about what Cadence said. 'Keep an open mind and an open heart and you will be just fine.' Those words repeated themselves in my head as I watched the sunset through the window. I was so far lost in thought that I didn't even notice Twilight had sat next to me after the train rolled out of the station. She put a hoof on my shoulder to shake me out of my trance. The sudden touch was enough to make me flinch away.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to frighten you. You just seem to be thinking hard about something. Mind if I ask you what about?" Twilight asked with an innocent smile. I had to admit, most of the ponies I've seen were pretty freaking adorable.

"Oh it's nothing much, just wondering what I'm going to do when we get to Ponyville is all," I said, hoping to change the topic from what's on my mind.

"Really!?! Me too! Don't worry, as a guest in my home I will make sure to keep you entertained to the best of my abilities. Not only that, but I have so much to ask you. Do you realize how great of an opportunity this is? You are the first human to ever come to Equestria and we can learn so much from each other..." Twilight continued on for what felt like hours, even though it was only about 45 minutes. We were still hours away from Ponyville, but Twilight finally calmed down, and decided to take a nap, and so did everypony else. Twilight curled up beside me and let out a soft yawn before resting her head on her hooves and drifting off to sleep. I was considering either gently pushing her away or moving to a different seat, but honestly, I was too tired to care at this point. That and Twilight's parents were sitting across from me and they both looked back and forth between me and their daughter with knowing smiles before closing their eyes as well.

I decided to ignore the looks Twilight's parents gave me and what Cadence said earlier and leaned my head against the window to catch some sleep. The warmth I felt on my side from Twilight pressing against me was only making me more tired, and I was ready to turn in after a busy day. Before I drifted off to sleep, I thought back to my encounter with King Sombra and felt a little more confident that I made the right decision. I put my hand on my chest and rubbed the spot where the king's horn entered my body and thought about the future to come. To me, it came down to a simple phrase...

Hail to the King

Author's Note

Okay, so not my best chapter, but it's been hard for me to find the time to write this and I hope I can do better in the future with getting the chapters out faster. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter and stick around to see more.