Slowly, my eyes opened for me to be greeted by a face full of blueberry smelling mane while last night's events replayed in my head. 'Fuck. Was that a mistake?' I really didn't think I wanted another relationship at the moment. 'I guess I'll have to talk to her about it when she wakes up.' I continued to lay in the bed with one arm being used as a pillow by Night, the other I hung around her waist and she had her face snuggled into my chest. No matter what comes of last night, I'm enjoying right now... Well, apart from the horn that's dangerously close to my throat. This is the moment where she's actually evil and it was all an elaborate plan to end me and it's a simple 'look up' away.

A few minutes later, Night was starting to wake up as well. She stretched out with a big yawn, then rolled back into me. "Morning." I said, lifting my free hand to brush a lock of mane from her face.

She looked up at me and I could tell she was watching last night play again before letting a smile cross her lips. "Morning." She replied, content. For the next few minutes, I tried to think of what to say and what would happen if she wants this to be more. "So... About last night." I started

"I think it would be best if we keep this a one time event." 'Whew.' "but if you do start a herd, please think of me." She finished.

"Will do." I replied. 'Wait. What's a herd? I'll ask Nathan when he's around, he's like my personal info centre.' We laid together for a while before I decide it would be time to start the day. I sat up and flung my legs over the side of the bed, electing a displeased moan from Night. I went over to my trash bag and pulled out a few clothes and went to put them on. I ended up pulling out my original clothes, but decided to skip on the hoodie. White felt like more my colour for today.

After I got dressed I went down stairs, but Night stayed in bed. I was getting a drink in the kitchen when I saw Applejack, Twilight and Spike walking towards the farm. From the looks of things they were helping Applejack pick some apples. I put my cup in the sink and headed outside. It was a beautiful day. 'I wonder if Dash got up early and actually worked for a change?' As I was walking towards them, they seemed to be all excited about something and Spike burped up a few pieces of shiny paper. "Hey! why are we all excited?" I asked while lazily pretending to jump around with them.

"Alex, perfect timing." Twilight said as we all stopped jumping. "I just got a letter from the princess inviting me and one other to the Grand Galloping Gala."

"That's so cool..." I said, faking excitement.

"You got invited as well." Spike said holding out one of the gold pieces of paper. I took the paper and saw that it was a ticket.

"Right, I heard Celestia mention it before. What is this Grand Galloping Gala?" I asked, looking up from the ticket.

"It's only the biggest and most important party of the year." Rainbow said as she landed next to us. I wish I had wings.

"Okay. So why is it so important?" I asked, looking at Spike who just shrugged. The three of them started going on about their dreams of attending the party. Applejack and Rainbow started telling Twilight that she had the take them. I looked at Spike with wide eyes as I felt things were going to get very hairy, very soon. He looked back at me and we started backing away.

We got away from the three of them and started heading towards Ponyville. Spike still had two of the tickets, while I had my one. "So what can you tell me about this party?" I asked.

"Not much. It's really not that big of a deal. A bunch of nobles from all over Equestria and a few dignitaries from other places meet together at Canterlot and stand around boasting of their wealth. It's also full of super girly fru fru stuff. I have no interest in attending. Ever.

"Wow, I mean I'm all for a good party as much as the next guy, but damn. That doesn't sound like a party to me... More of a social gathering, with a lot less of the social part." I said and I put the ticket into my pocket.

We got halfway through town when Twilight came running up behind us.

"Woah, where's the fire?" I said as she stopped infront of us.

"I can't make a descision!" She yelled at us as her horn glowed and a bright flash blinded my eyes.

"Oh shit! Next time warn a guy before you go and make him feel sick." I said, trying not to throw up all over the floor. 'Wood? Where's the dirt?'

"Sorry." She said as she ran around the Library, closing curtains and locking doors. "I forgot you haven't teleported before." 'Ah, that explains it.'

"That was not very fun." Nathan said as I stumbled over to and sat down on the couch.

'You've been very quiet today, where've you been?' I asked.

"I was fishing around in your memories for something to distract me while you... You know. You've had quite the unfortunate life haven't you?"

"What? Can you like, not do that." I hadn't realised that I was talking out loud.

"Not do what?" Twilight asked, giving me a funny look.

"Ah, sorry. Nathan's been snooping and giving me grief about having an unfortunate past." I explained, mentally facepalming as I knew this was getting into something I could've been happy just leaving alone.

"How have you had an unfortunate life?" She asked.

"Oh, where do I begin." I stated with a sigh before going silent for a minute. Twilight used that time to sit next down next to me.

"It's a long story, but it started out good for the first few years. Um, a few months after my sixth birthday, my mother passed away giving birth to my younger brother. Dad got lonely and depressed, replacing his former job and wife with beer and cigarettes. He blamed James, but I couldn't let him take it out on my baby brother so I ended up taking all the blows. It got worse when he found this prostitute and they fell in love, but they were both abusive parents and she already had a daughter, so I was taoing twice the abuse to protect two young kids. When I was ten, Dad eloped with that bitch and left us three kids in an orphanage. It's wasn't great for us, but it was better than with him. At thirteen, I had saved up my meagre allowance and gave it to my sister for her birthday. She wanted to go to the shop so she could pick something out for herself. On the way back, we... lets just say we ran into someone that didn't like me very much. She was... She was put in hospital, but passed away as I carried her there. If I had just fought a little harder, maybe I wouldn't have been so beat up and could've gotten her help faster... or even prevented it." My words had become soaked in sadness, but I was too caught up in the flow and just kept dumping words. "When I was fifteen, I started working with a gang for money, but it got me and my brother kicked out of the orphanage. The gang took us in and provided for James. Education and food... If I became a distraction when any deals went south. I eventually got in on a good job and after making a good amount of money, me and James ran away to The Capital. There, I joined a boxing club and learned to fight so I could protect us both. I was told I had real talent and was pushed into going competitive. After winning a first round KO, I met a girl watching named Zara and I hate to admit it, but I fell in love. From there things started looking up for us... Until Zara... something bad happened and we had to move back to Dunshore. Me and James, that is..." Twilight and Spike stayed silent as I talked. "Anyway, when we were back in Dunshore, I had to spend what money I had left on school fees, food and shelter for James. That money quickly ran out and I was behind on the payments in no time. To solve that issue I came up with an idea to make a lot of money, but it was risky. I tried to sell washing powder in place of cocaine and was going to make twenty thousand... Let's say 'bits' for your sake, but the police showed up and every shit hit the fan. I got away, but landed here in Equestria." I finished.

"Oh Celestia. That's horrible." Twilight said while covering her mouth with one hand.

"It wasn't all bad. I had some of the most amazing times in The Capital. Zara taught me a few things and I found something I was good at." I said, trying to distract myself from the resurfacing pain. "So why are we hiding out here?"

"All of my friends want to go to the Gala, but I only have one spare ticket. I can't choose Incase they feel like I'm picking favourites." Twilight explained, still disturbed from the story.

"You can have my ticket. Spike changed my mind on going." I said as I reached into my pocket.

"No. That still isn't enough, but thank you."

"Well then why don't you just not go." Spike suggested.

"Seems logical to me." I agreed. "Spending time with all of your friends is better than spending it with one or two."

"You're right. I'll send a letter to Celestia." Twilight concluded. A knock at the door followed her words and she went to answer. Upon opening the door, we saw the rest of our friends standing their looking very guilty.

"Twilight, ah'm sorry for trying to pressure you in t' giving me the ticket an' if it makes you feel any better, I don't want the ticket no more. You can give it t' somepony else. Ah won't feel bad, Ah promise." Applejack apologised as the five entered the Library.

"Im sorry as well, Twilight. I feel just awful for making you feel so awful." Fluttershy said.

"Me too, it's no fun making your friends feel bad." Pinkie added.

"It was unfair of me to try and force you to give me the ticket, darling." Rarity said.

"Wahoo. I get the ticket!" Rainbow celebrated and flew into the air.

Everyone glared at Rainbow. It took her a while, but she noticed the looks and realised her mistake before slowly floating back to the floor with a guilty look.

"I don't want the ticket either." Rainbow said once she landed.

"Apologies accepted, but I'm sending a letter the princess saying that I would rather spend the time with all of friends instead of one." Twilight explained. They all smiled and felt good that everyone misses out.

A Few Minutes Later

"Alex, you have to go. We're all going." Twilight said, trying to change my mind on going to the Gala.

"And I shall miss you all greatly while you're gone..." I said with big hand gestures and a mocking tone. " but I don't think that it's the sort of scene for me."

"Why not? Even the Wonderbolts will be there." Rainbow said, but to no effect.

"On a change of topic... Rarity, I need to talk to you about some more clothes. I got some bits from Steel so this time I can pay you." I said, successfully avoiding more Gala talk.

"Oh pish posh. You don't need to worry about paying me anything, darling. Why don't we head to the boutique now and start, I haven't any orders for the next month." Rarity replied as she stood up and went for the door. I released a sigh as I also stood up and followed. 'Let's see. What sort of ways can I get Rarity to accept a payment?'

We exited the Library and walked in the direction of Carousel Boutique. Rarity wrapped one of her arms around mine. I didn't say anything because I'd seen it happen in a few movies that I may or may not have snuck into. I just thought it was one of those things the upper class style did.

"So. What's your view on this 'Gala'?" I asked to kill the silence.

"Oh, it's simply divine. All the amazing gowns, the dancing, and I've heard that there can be quite a drama scene." Rarity replied as we neared the boutique. She unlocked the door and we went in. "I just need to get a couple things ready beforehand. Won't be a moment, darling." She said as she went into another room.

"Take your time." I called out as I sat down.

It took longer than I thought it would. I guess she really took advantage of my words. I pulled out my phone and flipped through the apps to amuse myself.

"Okay, Alex. Please stand on here." Rarity instructed, walking back into the room. I got up and walked over to the platform she was talking about. 'something's different about her... But I don't know what' I threw away the thought as she started measuring my limbs. There was a note pad and a quill in her magical grasp while a measuring tape wrapped around one of my calves. The quill wrote something down, but scribbled it out as Rarity re-measured. She tried other spots but came to the same conclusion. "Darling. Would you be so kind as to take off your clothes, they are making the job insufferable."

"I'm sorry?"

"Just your pants and shirt."

"You're the expert." I shrugged as I went to get down from the platform.

"Right there is fine." Rarity added, stopping me on the platform. 'Just don't make it weird. Don't make it weird. Don't make it weird.' I repeated In my mind as I removed my clothes.

"From the short time I've known you, I can confidently say you're going to make it weird." Nathan said through my thoughts.

The thing that was making me so nervous wasn't that I was half naked infront of a beautiful mare... It was that I was half naked in the middle of a shop. The likelihood of some random walking through the door is very high.

Rarity continued on with my measurements and once she was done, she stepped back and started staring at me. I didn't know what to do. 'Is she finished? I'll just stand here until something happens.' She kept looking over me while obviously thinking very hard and writing something down the whole time.

After a good while I felt like I needed to say something. "So uh... What's happening now?" I asked.

"I'm creating ideas of what would look good on you. Normally I would do this after the client is gone, but with you standing there, I just had so many ideas already." Rarity explained. 'Oh... and here I was thinking she was drawing me or something.' I thought with a chuckle.

"Okay, cool." I said as I finished putting my pants back on. "Can I see the ideas?" I asked as I walked up to Rarity with my shirt in my hands.

"No! I mean, not yet. I want to..." She said urgently as she pushed her hand against my chest to stop me, but paused as her hand slowly slid it down over my stomach. "... to... to finish my thoughts before I present them to you." She finished.

"Dude. She was totally feeling you up."

'What? No she wasn't.'

"Then what was she doing with her hand?" Nathan said, but I ignored him and put my shirt on.

Rarity POV

"You know what, Rarity. I have complete faith in you. I don't need to see any of the ideas, anything you make for me I'm sure I'll love." Alex said as he put on his shirt and with a large smile. "And don't think for a second that I'll let you do this without payment." He added as we walked towards the door.

"Alex, you don't need to give me any bits." I replied. There was no need for him to spend the only bits he has on this.

"Then I'll think of some other way to pay you. Thanks again, Rarity." He said before opening the door and leaving.

"I can think of one way." I mumbled to myself as I felt a rogue hand snake its way to inappropriate places while I watched him walk away from my boutique. I shut the door and floated my note pad into my hand. 'Im not sure if it was right of me to do this.' I thought as I looked at the drawing of Alex I made instead of the designs. 'I couldn't resist.'

Alex POV

'Rarity is so nice' I thought as I started walking back to the farm. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I'm so glad my earphones were attached when I came here. I put them in my ears and started flicking through songs.

I wasn't watching where I was going and walked into something. I fell backwards and landed on my ass. Rubbing my head, I looked forward and saw a unicorn mare doing the same. She had white fur with a bright blue mane and tail. I got to my feet and dusted myself off a little. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." I apologised while offering a hand. She was wearing a bright purple crop-top, black short shorts and a pair of black platform shoes.

She took my hand and I helped her up. "It's fine, I wasn't looking either. Hey, your that Alex guy right?" She asked.

"Yeah, you heard of me?" 'I thought I was doing a good job at blending in.'

"Who hasn't? Especially after that stunt you pulled the other day where you beat the living crap out of those ponies. That and the new issue of... Uh, yeah." She said, stopping herself with a large smile.. It was here I noticed her entrancing red eyes.

"Um. They weren't exactly nice to my friend." I said while rubbing the back of my neck.

"Dude, it awesome. Gruesome, but awesome. I'm Vinyl by the way, Vinyl Scratch." She introduced.

"Alex Regent." I replied.

"What are you doing now?" Vinyl asked.

"Nothing actually. Why?"

"Wanna hang out. My friend had to go to a concert so our plans were 'delayed' as she put it."

"Sure, why not."

"Sweet. Im heading over to my studio." She said as she led me in another direction. We walked into an area of Ponyville I hadn't been to yet. She told me about how she's a DJ and is trying to aim for the big leagues. We talked about the type of music she plays and I told her about my phone. She was pretty impressed by the device. We got along pretty well.

"What's this place?" I asked as we entered a corner building.

"It's my studio, well partly my studio. I share it with Tavi and we use it to record our stuff." She explained as I looked around the room. It had a large window on the left wall and the rest were painted fluorescent blue with a few straight grey lines on different angles. There was a collection of vinyl records decorating the whole right wall and large speaker systems on the back one, above a long, glass counter. There were four shoulder high shelves making up three aisles of music related items.

"Woah, now these are cool." I stated, marvelling over the records that would be considered ancient on my world.

"You think so? Come on, we'll go upstairs." She said, leading me through an aisle with records of different bands and singers and through a door behind the counter. The next room was just a small storage area filled with boxes. We went up a stair case on the right, to the next level. The narrow staircase suddenly opened up to a single room. This floor had light stained wooden plank walls and a dark brown carpet floor. There was a large corner couch sitting to the far left corner, a lot of different instruments were in stands all around and a large control panel against the right hand wall. Above the panel was a large window that revealed a soundproof recording room.

"This is even cooler." I said, sitting on the couch with Vinyl.

"Yeah, this is where I piece together all my songs." She pulled a thick laptop off of the low coffee table infront of us and opened it up.

'So that have laptops, but by the looks of they haven't developed their technology very far. I wonder why?'

"Maybe they have dragons with magical fire breath that can send a message just as fast as a phone." Nathan's mental voice echoed through my brain.

'Huh. Didn't think of it that way'

"Of course you didn't."

I was pulled from my mental conversation with Nathan when Vinyl caught my attention. "You okay there? You look a little lost."

"Hmm? Yeah I'm fine. So can I hear some of your songs?" I asked.

"Yeah. This is my newest one, it's not quite finished yet, so don't expect too much." Vinyl said after she scrolled through a huge list and picked out one.

(Not my song, credit goes to respective artist)

The song played and I was a little indecisive if I liked it or not to start with, but as it got further in, I felt it settle with me I was really enjoying it. My head started bobbing involuntarily. Before I new it the song had ended along with my movements.

"Hey, that was really cool. What else you got?" Vinyl let a big smile cross her lips before she scrolled through the list, showing me more and more of her songs and they were all really good. Eventually we started talking about other things with the music in the background. I told her about the music from my world and she got very interested so I pulled out my phone, which she had to get a good look at, and started searching. "So what kind of song do you want to hear?"

"Let's go with somethings that's... Upbeat and lots of bass."

"Alright, I'll try find something." I started flicking through genres, then through songs. "Let's try this."

I showed a few more songs, all of different variety. I had a quick peek at the time and realised that we had been hanging out for about four hours.

"Wow, time flies when your having fun." I thought out loud. "I should get going, but it's been really fun, we should hang out again." I said, getting up from the couch and walking towards the door. When we got to the front door, we bid each other farewell and I set out for the farm. On the way, I noticed that I kept having to pull up my pants. 'Have they grown in the wash or something? Maybe I shrunk in the shower... Cause that makes sense, but then again I just need to look around to see that anything is quite possible now.' Regardless, I continued on.

I was walking along the dirt path leading to the house. I was breathing quite heavily and found my muscles were tired and seizing up. "Whew, man. Why am I so tired?" I said to myself. I wiped a few beads of sweat from my forehead as I took another few steps, but was hit with a large wave of dizziness. The world span wildly as I tried to hold my balance, only to ultimaltlt fail. I fell backwards and landed on my ass as I covered my eyes with the palm of my hands so I couldn't see the twisting colours.

"Are you okay, Alex?" A familiar voice questioned and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I uncovered my eyes and saw Night standing there with my hoodie on.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got really dizzy for a sec." I said as the spinning came to a slow stop.

"Fucking hell, man. Sort your shit out." Nathan screamed in my head.

"You felt that?" I asked.

"I didn't want to, but yeah. I am still in your head."

"Maybe you need a drink of water." Night suggested, helping me stand up. We went inside and I walked into the kitchen. As I was filling up a glass, Nathan started talking again.

"You know water isn't going to help right?" He said.

"I just got a little dizzy, probably just dehydrated or something." I replied before chugging down the liquid.

"Close...ish. Your body is lacking proteins."

"That's something to do with the sun, right?" He just stared at me bewildered. "What? You know I didn't go to school for long."

"Alright, let me dumb it down a tad... Alex not eat meat. Body like meat. Body not get meat, body go bad." He said in a mocking tone.

"Oh, I get it now." I said to which he facepalmed. "But how do I get any type of meat. I can't just go and cook up a pony or something." I said sarcastically before we went back into the living room. As we entered I heard someone talking and saw Applejack and Night talking about something that was clearly interesting to both parties. "Hey, you two seem to be awfully chummy. What changed Applejack?" I asked as I sat down on the sofa.

"Well uh. turns out Night is actually quite ah nice pony." She admitted.

"I don't want to say I told you so, buuuut." I said. Night had a very large, genuine smile from Applejack's words.

There was a knock at the door that caught everyone's attention. "I'll get it." I said as I got up and went for the door. I opened it to reveal a very excited Twilight.

"Alex, hey. Is Applejack around?" She said, almost mimicking Pinkie.

"Yeah she's..." I started before I got hit by another round of dizziness and I gripped the frame of the door to stop me from falling. There was a loud swear from Nathan that echoed in my mind.

"Alex, are you okay?" Twilight asked.

"No, I'm very much not okay." I said before my eyes rolled to the back of my head and I hit the floor hard, out cold.

'There was a grassy feeling underneath me. I ran my hands around and got more of the feeling. "Get up, Asshole!" I heard as my arm was yanked up. I jerked open my eyes to see nicely lit forest surrounding a small, grassy opening. I got to my feet, still dazed, and looked at Nathan.

"Hey, I know where we are." I said.

"You know, sometimes I can't stay mad at your stupidity, but we both know that's just your personality." He said with a softening expression. "What I can stay mad at, is that your too caught up by what everyone will think of what you eat, that you passed out and dragged me with you." He said with a much more stern tone.

"I know... but I really don't want to lose my friends to something so petty." I said, my words laced with shame.

*Slap* There was sharp pain that erupted through my cheek. I instinctively reached up and covered the point of impact.

"Fuck, dude. If they truely are your friends then they aren't going to ditch you just because you have a different diet. I mean, look at the Griffins, they all eat meat." Nathan said.

"Yeah, but you don't see ponies and Griffins getting along very often." I said. *Slap* he struck my other cheek. "Ow." I said, covering that one.

"Who fucking cares. The point is: They aren't going to fuck off from this and if they get uneasy being around you, confirm that you only eat chicken, duck, deer, cow, whatever!" Nathan yelled at me.

"But what if they do..." *Slap* I was cut of by another slap. "Ow!"

"They aren't going to! Hell, find a substitue for protein, but you can't just cut it out of your diet like you have!" He continued to shout. I gave out a large sigh as I realised I was getting all worked up for nothing.

"Alex!" I heard behind me. I turned around and was hit in a crushing hug from Night.

"Woah. Hey, Night. How are you here?" I asked, returning the hug.

She pulled back, but kept her arms around me. "Dream walking. A skill of Luna's."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." I admitted. She let go and stepped back.

"What happened? Why did you collapse?" I looked to Nathan and he moved his head in a 'go on' gesture.

I looked back to Night. "Well, it's because my body lacks protein." I started, but she only tilted her head to the side. I almost lost my train of thought at how cute it was. I took a deep breath in before speaking. "I haven't eaten enough... meat." I said, dropping my sight from her eyes, to the ground. I saw one of her hooves move back slightly and I closed my eyes, preparing for whatever was coming.

"We'll have to get you some proper food when you wake up then." She said. My head snapped back up and I stared at her with astonishment, while she just smiled back at me. I looked at Nathan and he just had a 'I told you so' grin. I looked back at Night with a large grin of my own. I wrapped my arms around her and picked her up in a hug while spinning around a few times. She let a cute squeal from the sudden actions.

"Man, that was so much easier than I thought it would be." I said, putting Night back down. I held my fist out to Nathan for a fist bump. *Slap* "Ow, what the hell!"

"What? You never said stop." He said, as he hit his fist against mine.

"So Night, what's happening outside my head?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Well before I came here, we were outside the emergency room while the medical staff rushed around trying to find out what was wrong with you." She explained.

"Wow, it's a lot slower in here isn't it." I thought out loud. Nathan started laughing and Night tried not to, but couldn't help it. "What?" I asked, looking at the two of them. "All I said was that it's slower in... Oh, I get it now." This only made them laugh harder.

I felt a light tugging against me before everything started fading. "I must go, my planet needs me." I said as both me and Night Left the recesses of my mind.

I opened my eyes and saw Nurse Redheart standing next to the bed, flipping through a magazine. I wanted to have some fun since she was obviously too enveloped by what she was reading to notice me awake. I slowly grabbed one of the pillows below my head so she wouldn't pick up on the movement.

"Don't do it." Nathan said.

Once the pillow was in my grasp, I quickly threw it at her. It got her right in the face and while she was temporarily blinded, I layed back down in the same position I was when I woke up. She dropped her magazine and threw me an annoyed look, but when she saw me still unconscious she got all confused. "What? Where did this pillow come from?" She thought. I didn't know how long I could hold it in. As she bent down to pick up the pillow, I released a slight chuckle and immediately returned stoic. She shot up and looked at me curiosly. "Did he just?" She started. I was close to breaking but held for a little bit longer. She picked up the pillow and her magazine. She put the magazine under her arm and placed the pillow on my lap so she could move my head. She pulled my head up with an exasperated huff. As she was placing the pillow behind my head, I couldn't help but open one eye. Redheart's plentiful packages were hanging about an inch from my face. The uniform was a little tight and was constricting them, the buttons looked as though they were going to pop at any moment. The sight made a large blush appear across my face, I knew with this blush I wouldn't be able to keep up the games so I decided now was as good a time as any for the finale.

She carefully laid my head back down on the second pillow and held herself up on the bed, taking a breather. "Wow, you're heavier than you look." She said to me. My face was splitting in two on the inside. I slightly opened one eye again and saw that she was very close to me. "Boo!" I yelled out as I shot open my eyes and grabbed Redheart's shoulders.

"AAH!" She screamed and recoiled quickly. Her arms waved about wildly as I let go. Her magazine went flying and I burst out laughing. She recovered after a little while. "Alex! That isn't funny!" She yelled and hit me in the shoulder with her hand.

"Ha ha ha, yeah it kinda was." I said before something caught my eye. The magazine landed on my stomach, I sat up and looked at it. Redheart tried to swipe it from my grasp before I could see anything but I pulled it out of her reach as I looked at her. "What's in here that I can't see?" I asked.

"Nothing!" She said too quickly.

I looked at the magazine and flipped through a few of the pages. It was filled with posing stallions that were in very little clothing. "Woah, Redheart. This some juicy stuff." I kept flipping through until one page hit my eyes. "Ah! I guess I asked for that." I said as I saw a fully nude stallion with a hard on. I quickly turned the page to a random one. This page caught my interest. It was a picture of me at the farm without my shirt. "What? When was this picture taken?" I said as I went to read the words. "Ponyvillle's very own Badcolt?" I read out loud. Redheart went to swipe the magazine again, but I moved it away. "Ponyville has got a new resident from another world. This stallion has captured the attention of many mare's eyes. Don't let his pure good looks fool you..." I read out. Redheart tried to swipe it for the third time, but again she missed and I continued. "This stallion bravely fought off several bandits and came out on top with merely a few scratches. He has even been whitnessed addressing the princesses without the respected bow, leaving mares everywhere wanting a piece of this handsome badcolt." I finished and looked back at the picture. "Oh, man. Celestia's gonna get me for that last bit." I said. I gave the magazine back to Redheart and saw a bright red hue across her white face. "I dub this N.S.F.W." I joked. There was a little silence between us as I went deep into thought and Redheart was too embarrassed to do anything.

"Hey, Redheart..." I started, getting her attention. "... We're friends right?" She replied with a short nod. "Can you please sit down, I feel rude." I requested. She did as asked and sat on the end of the bed and I moved around so I was sitting next to her. "What do you think of me? Honestly. I won't judge." I asked.

"Um... Well, we haven't really met outside of the hospital..." She started. "But you have been in here enough for us to get to know each other." We both gave a small chuckle at the fact. "I don't know, you've caught me off guard. I guess what the magazine said was true." She finished.

"Okay, but I want to know what you think. Not what an author thinks." I said.

Her blush intensified slightly before saying anything. "Uh... I think... You're very kind, and care deeply for the ones close to you. I've seen it when your friends visit you while you're recovering... What I'm saying is... You're the one type of pony that everypony wants to know and be friends with..." She said. "Some want to be even more." she muttered under her breath, but I was able to hear it and knew exactly what she was referring to, electing a slight burn through my face.

"And what if I told you I'm not as perfect as I seem?" I asked.

"If it were me, I would try to work around your flaws to know the real Alex." She answered, staring longingly into my eyes. The words tore at my very being. I've never been held in such regard before, well as far as I know.

"I reckon we need to catch up outside of the hospital. How do feel about grabbing a bite to eat with me? It'll give us plenty of time to actually get to know each other" I asked with a smile. I wasn't sure if it seemed like a date or not, but most of me didn't care what it sounded like. Redheart was someone I felt like I could be friends with... Instead of being a regular patient.

"I think that's a great idea." She said, standing up from the bed. "I have a day off tomorrow, if you're free, why don't we meet at Sugarcube corner for lunch?" She suggested. I smiled and nodded in agreement.

"That sounds nice." I answered. She returned the smile, but shortly after, an expression of realisation hit her.

"I almost forgot, you have been assigned medication to help restore your protein deficiency. You really should be more careful about eating what you need to." She said before pointing out a small orange vial of pills on the table beside me. "Two a day should get you back on track, you have quite a high requirement for protein." She finished then opened the door to leave. As she did, she turned around and shot me a seductive look followed by a wink.

"You keep playing like this and you're going to have a herd in no time."

'Oh, that's right. What the hell is a herd? That's the second time I've heard of it?' I quickly asked. But there was no response. "Nathan?"

"Nothing, it's nothing. You'll figure it out."

"What? Nah, fuck off. What is it?' My question went unanswered. 'Nathan.' Still no answer. 'Man, fuck you. I know you're ignoring me.' I gave up after I received more silence.

Not long after Redheart left, the door opened with seven mares and a young dragon walking through. We greeted eachother and I explained what happened and how I'm now on medication.

"But you've been eatin' everythin'' we have, how are yah, short on protein?" Applejack raised the question.

"Ah, good question." I said, trying to impersonate a teacher. "Basically I have a high requirement for protein." I said, copying what Redheart said with a proud pose.

"Why is that? If you don't mind me asking." Fluttershy asked.

"Um... I suppose now's as good of a time as any." I said while remembering what Nathan told me and subconsciously rubbing my cheek at the same time. "Okay. See these." I pointed out my from my front teeth to my canines. Everyone looked closer, but didn't see where I was going... Except Twilight who seemed very intrigued. "I also have these." I said, pointing out the blunt teeth at the back. Everyone nodded after looking. "These back ones mean I can eat fruit, vegetables, plants... These front ones are sharper which are..." I explained, but hesitated at the end.

"They're common among carnivores. Being sharper allows for an easier bite through more tender foods, such as meat." Twilight finished for me, completly fascinated.

"What!?" Rarity exclaimed. She looked back at Twilight to see if she was just pulling her leg.

"Do you mind if I have a closer look?" Twilight asked. I shrugged then opened my mouth when she walked up to me.

"So... Do you eat *gulp* ponies?" Rarity asked.

"Ooo, what do we taste like?" Pinkie asked as she playfully bit down on Fluttershy's arm. Fluttershy squealed and jumped to Applejack who caught her bridal style. I don't know about the others, but I was entirely amused by this.

"To answer your question, Rarity. Never have, never will." I said while Fluttershy was put back on her hooves.

"Can you please stop talking? It's making it hard to inspect your teeth." Twilight complained. I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth again.

"So what are you going to eat? The only time I've ever seen somepony like this was when I was with Gilda in flight school." Rainbow said.

"Who's Gilda?" Pinkie asked.

"Dash is right. Nopony sells such foods in Ponyville. Unless you know how to hunt." Twilight said.

"I'm a predator, I'm sure I have some knowledge of hunting around here somewhere." I said while tapping my head. I noticed Rarity shiver at the mention of the first few words, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I started fidgeting around and rocking on the spot. "Man, I have all this energy now. When can we leave? How 'bout now." I said quickly as I got up and hurriedly walked over to the door. "Come on, come on, come on. We're waiting day light." I said, urging everyone to hurry outside.

No one tried to stop us leaving because we just looked like a bunch of visitors and I mean, most of us were. We got out the door and I took a deep breath of fresh air. "Who's up for a running race?" I asked.

"Race? I'm in!" Rainbow said enthusiastically.

"Who else? Applejack?"

"No thanks." Applejack declined.

"Is it because you don't want to be beaten by me or Dash?" I teased, knowing full well of the competitiveness between the two mares.

"What!? No! Ah'll beat both of ya'll." She said stepping up. Me and dash both grinned from the competition.

"Right, first to... The door of Sugarcube Corner." I said and they agreed. I drew a line in the dirt and we all stepped up to it getting into a good starting position. Both Applejack and Rainbow got down to their hands like professional runners, me on the other hand. I used my trusty 'GTFO' position of standing up.

"I'll count you in." Twilight said and stood to the side of us. "Three!" Twilight called out, getting the attention of surrounding ponies. "Two!" We all inched forward and ponies started cheering out around us. "One!" The focus was high and we all had devilish smirks, ready to go. "GO!" The three of us launched off the line. First few meters, we were tied. The race was relatively straight and about two hundred meters, so it was an all out sprint between the athletic, the strong and the... Me. We reached the fifty meter mark and rainbow was starting to pull ahead. I lowered my head and pushed harder. By halfway, I had caught up with Rainbow and was brushing infront. Ponies had somehow known where we were racing to and lined the sides all the way up to Sugarcube Corner and were cheering us on. It was the last seventy meters and the two of us were going HAM with our legs. A couple sparks were flying off my back every few seconds. I started gaining the lead as the building was getting close. Rainbow closed the lead and we were neck and neck coming to the finish. Last twenty meters and it was going to be a photo finish. Suddenly, the third contender, Applejack, caught up and was pulling out infront. The door was coming up fast and it looked like Applejack was going to win. Desperation hit both me and Rainbow so we pushed double time and we all reached for the door. The door flung open and the three of burst through and tumbled across the floor, sliding to a stop in a heap under the counter.

"YAY! It's a three way tie!" Pinkie hollered and jumped up and down beside the door. How she got there before us was beyond me. However, my attention was drawn elsewhere. With my luck, I had managed to end up on the floor with both mares on top of me. On the flip side, I was being smothered by boobs.

We layed there for a bit as we gained out breath before two girls used me as a platform to push themselves up. "Glad I could be of assistance." I said sarcastically from the floor while they stood over me.

"Heh, sorry 'bout that, sugarcube." Applejack said, offering me a hand. I accepted it and got up.

"Good racing." I said as I held up my hands and high fives them both.

"I'll get some milkshakes." Pinkie said before dissapearing into tho kitchen. We took a booth and sat down, waiting for the others to arrive. Rainbow and Applejack had the window seats, so I sat next to rainbow. It wasn't much longer before the other four mares came through the door and joined us in the booth. Rarity was next to me, Twilight, Fluttershy and Night squished up next to Applejack.

"Who won?" Twilight asked.

"I did." Applejack and Rainbow said together and instantly shot each other a glare.

"We all did. It was a three way tie according to Pinkie." I interjected. "Speak of the devil." Pinkie came out of the kitchen with a tray of milkshakes and put one down infront of each of us before grabbing a spare chair and sitting at the end of the booth

"Where did Spike go?" I asked.

"He went off with Sweety Belle to find Scootaloo and Applebloom." Rarity answered. "Night, darling. Where did you get that jumper? It's so simple yet looks so nice on you." Rarity asked over Rainbow and Applejack's arguing.

"Yes. Where do you get that?" I asked dramatically with a small smirk.

"Oh um. It's actually Alex's." Night said.

"Why do have Alex's hoodie?" Pinkie asked. I could see Night was getting nervous and really didn't want to talk about our late night activities and I didn't want it brought up either.

"I gave it to her so she did have to wear her much older shirt." I answered for her in between me drinking.

"That was nice of you." Fluttershy commented.

"What can I say. I'm just amazing like that." I said, to which Pinkie burst out laughing, making it very clear that I wasn't that amazing. ouch

"If you wish, darling. I can have some clothes made for you quick smart." Rarity offered.

"You would?" Night asked, dumbfounded. Rarity nodded with a smile before taking a sip from her drink. "This is what I realised I would miss out on, but thanks to Alex, I don't have to."

"Just trying to help." I said, finishing my milkshake.

"No way!" Rainbow shouted, getting to table's attention. "I had to race with mine as well!"

"Yeah, but mine are bigger!" Applejack said proudly.

"Not a chance! Mine are way bigger than your mosquito bites!" Rainbow said angrily. Applejack also got very angry from that comment.

"Let's get a third opinion on how mine are bigger than yours!" Applejack said. They both turned to me and puffed out their chests and held up their boobs.

"Alex! Who's are bigger?" They both asked. I felt all blood drain from my face and it was either going to run out my nose, or it was going to collect at my cheeks. Oh fuck. This isn't good!

"Dude, you're in a mine field right now. One wrong word can give a one way ticket to Fuckedville... but I suppose the right words can send you to the same place" Nathan said.

I collected myself and calmed down. "Uh."

"Come on we haven't got all day!" Rainbow said, getting agitated.

"Hmm." I started, taking the opportunity to have a long look. "If I'm going to answer, I need a better look." They were both about to lift their shirts before I stopped them. "I was joking. I'm not going to answer because no matter what I say, it'll end badly for me."

"You should've let them do it. It would've been a funny joke." Not a chance.

"You both need to chill out. It was tie, no one won, no one lost. Now stop acting like a couple of children before I take away your milkshakes!" I shouted firmly. They both sank down in their chairs and started drinking their milkshakes. "Much better."

"Nicely handled." Twilight said.

"I don't understand what just happened." I replied.

"Oh, Alex. I need you come by the boutique some time soon, I seem to have lost your measurements before I could make your suit." Rarity said.

"Suit?" I asked.

"Yes, darling. The one you're going to wear to the Gala."

"What? I thought I wasn't going." I said.

"Of course you're going. You don't have much of a choice in the matter." Twilight said.

I reached into my pocket in hopes I had lost my ticket, but alas. It was still there. "What about Night?" I asked

"I have zero desire to attend. Not with the princesses being there." Night said.

"Well then I'll stay here to keep you company." I said, trying for any excuse.

"Alex, Princess Celestia personally invited you. If you reject, it will be seen as an act of disrespect and won't go down well with anypony." Twilight explained.

"What? You have got to be kidding me."

"Aw, come on Alex. It won't be so bad. You can hang out with me and the Wonderbolts of you want." Rainbow offered.

"Or you can come to the gardens with me and see all the critters." Fluttershy also offered.

"Or you can help me bring the party to whole new level!" Pinkie shouted.

"Is Spike going?" I asked.

"Yes." Twilight answered.

"Does he know he's going?" Twilight nodded her head. "When did you want me to come around?" I asked Rarity in defeat.

"Any time between now and the day before the Gala." Rarity asnwered.

"Which is?"

"In two days!" The six mares called out together.

I released a very large sigh. "I need a drink." I said to myself.

"I can get you another milkshake." Pinkie offered.

"Thanks pinkie, but no thanks." I declined, laying my head on the table. "I was talking about something more... Alcoholic."

Author's Note

Shapitor's doone! YAY!

Man, the amount of times I re-wrote this. I had about four different ideas of where this could go, but I mean fourth times a charm, right? I also thought I was quite sneaky adding in the whole Gilda thing and Pinkie asking who she was. REFERENCE!!!!

One of the times I did this chapter I had Steel ask Alex for help with those banditos and they planned attacking. Basically Alex got angry and fucked them up in a big fight scene, then he was going to get into a fight with Celestia and Luna, but I decided to delet all 6000 words and start again... Resulting in this one. If I get a few comments asking for it, I'll put the scene into a blog so you can see it, I might even add something similar later on in the story.

Hope you enjoyed Peace!