The Perfect Nightmare

by Note Of A Ghost

Rating: mature
Tags: Alternate Universe, Human, Anthro, Main 6, Princess Luna, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Romance, Sex, Adventure, Violence, Princess Celestia, Death
Length: 107832

A young man is gifted with a better life... Yet, he suffers for it.

Alex is my name, crime is my game.

I know when I say that you probably think I'm some genius that steals million dollar paintings or break into high security vaults. But what I really mean is petty theft, running with gangs, and on the odd occasion a big score that always goes sour.

I've had a pretty unlucky life. I lost my mom at 6 while she was giving birth to my brother, my dad ran off with some slut when I was 10, then my younger sister died after we were attacked when I was 13. Leaving me and my little brother left.

Having to throw yourself into bad situations, getting dirty money, and screwing over gangs isn't the best idea to help your brother live a better life than you. Getting caught selling cocaine that's actually washing powder to a gang doesn't go down well with the ones you're selling it to, especially when they're paying 20 thousand for it. Luckily I managed to get away, but at the price of getting lost in another world.

Published 2016-10-08 10:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-09-23 10:36:31 UTC

11: Cracking Gems

"Alex!" Rarity yelled, getting all frazzled. "Please stand still. You're making it very difficult for me."

"I know. That's the idea of throwing a tantrum." I replied.

"Alex, darling. If you don't stay still, I'll be forced to make you." She threatened.

"You can try." I said, leaping from the platform and running to another part of Rarity's boutique.

"Don't you run away!" She called out, giving chase.

I ran into her kitchen in hopes of finding somewhere to hide.

Rarity POV

"Alex!" I shouted as I entered the kitchen. I looked around, but didn't see him. "Stop hiding." I said as my eyes hit a slightly open cupboard. "Why don't you come out so we can get this done, nice and simple, so you can wear a lovely, beautiful..." I said as I stalked up to the cupboard and slowly grabbed the handle. "Ha!" I called out as I swung open the door, only to see it was empty.

A different cupboard burst open and Alex sprang out and sprinted away. "Wrong!" He yelled as he ran up stairs. I let a sigh as I charged my magic. I felt the familiar expenditure of casting a spell before I heard a very high pitch squeal from upstairs. I regained my composure and walked back towards the platform where I could measure Alex. Shortly after, a floating Alex came down the stairs.

"You know, darling. You could make any filly jealous with that squeal of yours." I teased.

"Ahh! It was manly! Ahh!" He said in between panicked noises.

"Of course it was." I continued my teasing.

"Okay, Rarity. You've had you're fun. Please put me down now." He pleaded and, somehow, started slowly tumbling around in my grasp. I thought it would be adequate payback for running off.

"Rarity. Please. Magic has a funny affect on me, remember?" Funny affect? I don't remember such a thing... I let out a gasp in realisation. He must be talking about what happened in Canterlot.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry, Alex. Are you okay?" I asked as I put him down and went to his side.

"Oh no. Step back." He said, pushing me away. Just as he did, a tremendous heat burst from him. His clothes started singeing and his hands caught fire. I watched his dim green eyes go dark and his irises turning a fiery orange. His formerly white shirt turned black and his pants cracked with glowing orange lines. Once the burning of shirt reached his neck, it turned to his flesh and started burning that too. It slowly went up his face, burning away his skin, leaving only burning skull behind.

After the transformation, he took a deep breath in. "Oh that's refreshing... and that smell." He said, his voice was like sand paper against my ears, but it was so deep and enticing. he tilted his head to the side, releasing several disgusting pops. "It smells like..." his eyes locked onto me and I froze, staring into them. There was something terrifying behind. "Well well well. What have we here?" He said as he slowly stepped to me, then circled around me while keeping his face close to mine. The fire from him was hot, but not so hot that it burned.

"A... Alex?" I stuttered

"Close." he said, as he stopped inches infront of me. " What you see is still Alex, only now he’s not in control." his breath was spicy and it bit at my senses. "He’s a little tied up, you could say." The words chilled me to the bone. His hand rose up and he placed it around the side on my neck. I moved my sight so I wasn't looking at him. "Oh, Don't be like that." He said, tilting his head to the side. "It's the skull isn't it? Let me fix that." as he finished, the fire around his head stopped and as the bottom rose, it replaced his face, but his eyes were still the same. I looked away again. He placed his other hand on my hip. I didn't like where it was going, but I was too frightened to do anything.

"This isn't you." I said quietly as I pushed his hand off my hip, then did the same with the one on my neck.

"I see how this is going to be." he said, stepping back from me. I looked back at him, but avoided eye contact. His dirty blond hair had darkened along with his normal tanned skin. He turned his back to me and held out his hands, Palms to the ground. "Rarity. Run, I can’t stop it." Alex said, his voice back to normal, but it was fully of desperation. His head shook violently from side to side, as if he was shaking something from his mind. His right hand raised infront of him, then he swiped it to his side. Suddenly, all the curtains drew shut and all the doors in the room slammed shut and locked. I jolted before running to one of the nearest doors, trying to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

I turned back around, but Alex was gone. The lights flickered and I pushed my back against the door. "Alex, please. You're frightening me." I said on the verge of tears. The lights blew, sending sparks below them. I released an uncontrolled yelp as there was a loud bang on the door I was leaning against. I lept away and back towards the center of the room. There was a slight orange glow from the corner of my eyes and I twisted to look at it. I heard some cracking below me and I looked down to see small orange engravings around my hooves. I went to move away, but as I did, chains burst from the ground and wrapped around my ankles and wrists. "Alex!" I screamed. The chains went stiff and I couldn't move despite my struggling.

"This is how you wanted it. You chose this path when you pushed me back. You chose this path when you filled me with your magic." I heard Alex's voice, but I couldn't see him in the dark. I released another scream when I felt something brush against my tail. "Dont be afraid. It'll only make it worse." his voice was right beside my left ear. I pulled my head away and shut my eyes, whimpering. I felt his hand on my right hip again. I piece of me knew where this was going, but I didn't want to believe it. His other hand was placed on my left hip, I tried moving away, but the chains kept me still. I gathered my magic and went to fire a basic attack spell, but before I could one of his hands shot from my hip and gripped my horn tightly, breaking my focus as pain rocketed through my body. The spell diminished, along with any of my hopes. "Uh Uh Uhhh. None of that." He whispered to me. He released my horn, and I tried to fire again, but I couldn't.

"Alex... Please." I begged through sobs. His hands were removed from my body, but I felt them pressing against the top of my shirt. Then It got more loose. He was unbuttoning it.

"Such an amazing figure. He complimented, but It didn't make me feel any better.

"Please don't do this." I begged more while tears broke through and fell down my cheeks. "Alex! You need to fight it!" I screamed out in desperate attempts for Alex to return.

"You can cry out all you want. Alex isn't coming back for some time." He said as his hand ran down my chest to my inner thigh. Using his other hand, he pulled my shirt over my shoulders. I felt both of his arms against my sides as his hands started working on my bra, but stopped before he could unhook it.

"Alex... Please... Help." I managed to choke out as I cried. His hands started shaking and his breathing quickened. He dropped to his knees and started coughing furiously. My eyes adjusted to the dark in time to see him push himself up and stumbled away from me. The fires reignited around him and lit up the room. I watched him in horror as I saw blood leaking from his nose and mouth.

"No! I will not allow THIS!!" He shouted out as the fires exploded with life. They were burning incredibly hot and I struggle to keep watching as I felt heat on my body.

They started alternating between large and small flames as he gripped his head and started trashing about. He let out a blood curdling scream of agony as he dropped to his knees again. A large wave of energy erupted from his body, shattering the windows as his body stopped thrashing and his screaming became silenced along with his flames. He was deathly still and I starting thinking the worst. I struggled against the chains, but they still wouldn't move. "Alex? Alex!" I shouted to him. Nothing. I struggled against the chains again and I heard cracking. Suddenly they shattered into dust, releasing me. I fell to the ground, but quickly crawled over to Alex. "Alex! Alex wake up!" I shouted as I held his head on my lap, but he didn't respond. I held my head against his as tears fell from my eyes and onto his face.

There was a deep gasp of air and I pulled away. Alex shot up into a sitting position before spinning to face me. "Rarity. I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry." He apologised. I wrapped around him in a hug a buried my face into his chest as I let the dam break and cried. I was more than glad he was back to normal and that it hadn't gone any further.

"I'm so sorry, Rairty." He continued to appologise as he held onto me tightly. I felt safe now, even if before was a part of him."I tried to stop it. I didn't want it to happen." He continued frantically.

My crying had reduced to light sniffling. "It didn't. You fought it and it didn't happen." I said, muffled by his now damp shirt.

"I'm so sorry." He apologised again, still holding me tightly and resting his chin on the top my head.

After a while, he started moving. I didn't let go, but he moved around it. I felt him moving my shirt as he started pulling it back around me and did the buttons up. Once he was done, he went back to having his strong arms around me.

There was thumping at the front door before it burst open and Spike fell through followed by Big Mac.

"Rairty! Are you okay?" Spike yelled as he ran over to us.

I looked up to him and saw the concern on both of their faces. "I'm fine now, Spike. Thank you." I said, noticing that all of my windows had been shattered and the curtains had been shredded. "Oh, dear. What a mess."

"I'm really sorry." Alex said again as he helped me up. Suddenly Alex was thrown away from me and slammed into a wall with Spike on top of him.

"What did you do!" He yelled at him furiously while pinning Alex to the wall.

"Spike! Stop! He didn't do anything!" I shouted trying to pull Spike away. "Mac, help him." I turned to Big Mac.

Alex whispered something to Spike before Mac wrapped his arms around Spike and picked him up. Spike didn't struggle or anything and he had a shocked expression when I saw it.

Alex POV

I let out a sigh as Spike was placed a few meters away from me. I hung my head as the thoughts that ran through my head mere moments ago were so foreign, yet they were definitely mine. I wanted to do things to Rarity, that I normally couldn't even imagine the sickest of monsters would dream of.

"It wasn't you, Alex. It's Ishrahg's influence. It seems that when you come into enough magic he can take control." I heard Nathan saying from my mind.

"Yah right there, partner?" Big Mac said, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." I said quietly. I looked up to meet Rarity's concern filled gaze. "... There's something I need to do." I finished before mouthing the words 'I'm sorry' to her. I left for the door, but stopped as I opened it. "I just need some time to think." With that I shut the door behind me.

Spike POV

"Rarity... What happened?" I questioned. She didn't answer, only watched the door as if Alex were to walk back in.

"What did he say to you?" She finally said after a sizeable pause.

"Yeah, one second yah try'na kill 'em. The next yah just stop." Big Mac added. I thought about what Alex said to me. His words echoed through my mind. 'Why would he say something like that.'

"Spike, what did he say to you?" Rarity persisted.

"He said... 'Do your worst. I deserve more than death.'... What did he do to make him say that?" It almost sounded like he wanted to die. That's what got me all caught up when I was pinning him against the wall. The door opened and we all turned to look at who it was. Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow walked through.

"Whowee, Rarity. What happened to yer windows?" Applejack exclaimed

"And what was that loud explosion?" Rainbow added.

"And why did we just see Alex running away?" Twilight also added.

"There was a little mishap with Alex and his new... Abilities. It's a long story, but no one was harmed." Rarity answered, obviously avoiding what truely happened.

"So what? He broke your windows and ran off?" Rainbow asked sarcastically.

"He was just a little disturbed by what happened. It wasn't his fault, but I imagine he is placing all blame on himself." She said, again, dodging what happened. She did seem a little sad saying the last part, though.

"Why don't we go tell him it wasn't his fault?" Twilight suggested.

"I very much think he just needs a little space at the moment... and you throwing him into a wall didn't help." She said, finishing with a scolding tone and glaring daggers my way.

"What? I see all your windows explode and when I bust through the locked door, your both on the floor and he's apologising like crazy. It sure seemed like he tried to hurt you at the time." I defended.

"So where did he go?" Twilight asked,

"I'm not sure, he said he needed sometime to think. I do so hope he’s okay for the Gala."

"A few days would be past the Gala, Rares. It is only two days away." Applejack said. "An' ah mean he wasn't so keen on going, neither."

A whole new feeling washed over Rarity. I could've seen it from a mile away. "Can we please go someplace else? I don't feel as comfortable here." She said. We all shared looks before Twilight said that Fluttershy was showing Night her critters and that we could join them. I don't know. She seems like a nice pony and all, but am I the only one who remembers her taking Celestia hostage to achieve eternal night? I hope I'm just being paranoid. I thought as we made our way to Fluttershy's cottage.

Alex POV

A loud rustling noise exploded from every piece of long grass I crushed as I ran through open fields towards the nearest mountains. My mind was blitzing thoughts through my head about the accident that occurred minutes ago. My destination was Canterlot and their was no way I was going to risk catching a train. I've only just come to realise the magnitude of what dwells within me, and if it comes to the surface while I'm on a crowded train, lots of ponies could get hurt.

The yellow fields stretched all the way to the foot of the massive rock spire that Canterlot is so proudly perched upon. With all these blended ideas of how I could hurt anyone who not so much as glanced at me, I was coming to conclusions of solitude, but I didn't want to lose the ponies I now hold so close. I needed advice, I needed comforting and who better to seek out than princess Celestia.

I was running as fast as I could, to put distance between myself and Ponyville. Emotions were welling up inside me and I could feel them building. I kept crushing a path through the dry grass that reached my shoulders and sometimes higher. I imagined what Rarity must be going through right now. 'She must be devastated... All because of me.' I thought as my vision became blurred and distorted from the tears threatening to fall. With a quick swipe, I brushed them onto my arm and returning my clear sight. I closed my eyes tightly, as images of what everyone must think of me now flashed by. They have to hate me, they have to think I'm a monster, a terrible friend, a terrible being. Anger slowly rose from the depths of my chest. I was furious at myself for letting something so perfect become a nightmare.

The wind cutting at my face grew in strength. It got to the point where it stung to open my eyes. all of a sudden, there was a large rush through my body and it felt like I got pushed over, my upper body went straight for the ground while my legs tried to flip me. There was hard *thud* as my face had a very rude introduction to the ground. I tumbled and rolled for what felt like ages. I eventually came to a stop and pushed myself to my knees. I shakily wiped away more tears before looking at my fall. There was several meters of upturned dirt. I must've been going pretty fast. Just past where I tripped, I saw a large patch of the grass flicker and glow. Flames shot up from the ground and enveloped the dry kindle, spreading insanely quick. I started panicking as I watched a small glow become a large fire.

A loud crack echoed through the lands. I looked up to its point of origin and saw the sky becoming very dark. A few more cracks and I felt water hit my face. Then it came down like a bucket. I looked to the fire and saw it was slowly extinguishing. I took a deep sigh of relief and stood up. I turned around and was about to continue my journey when all the feelings and weight I had before the distraction returned full force.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hours past, I wasn't sure how many, but I finally reached a narrow, twisting path that scaled the mountain towards my destination. It was obviously very unused. My guess was for smugglers or thieves looking for a quick getaway.

I started my ascent. It was quite steep and the rain was making it very hard not to slip. There were several parts where rushing water, carrying mud, swept over the path. It soaked my clothes and made them very heavy and dirty. Although, it wasn't the highest on my list of things to worry about, it did make it that little more difficult to continue. In all honesty, though, I had absolutely no idea where I was going.

The path led all the way up to just behind the gate of Canterlot. I walked through and the guards lining the gate stared at me with curiosity. Everyone I passed along the way to the castle gave me similar looks, only filled with disgust.

"Excuse me." A male voice interrupted my train of thought. I stopped and looked to the source, which was a stallion with white fur, a blue mane and tail and also had a blue moustache adorning his upper lip. "Are you okay? You seem to have fallen on hard times." He said. If I wasn't so distraught right now, I would've commented on his monocle and how cool it was.

"Like you wouldn't believe." I replied.

"However, something about you gives me a strange feeling." He continued.

"I'm sure. Look, I kind of busy right now." I said, trying to cut the conversation short. The last thing I wanted to do was have idle chatter with a pompous noble.

"Ah, I understand. I hope to see you around." He said.

"Doubt it." I mumbled after turning around and continuing my walk.

I got to the gate of the castle and hesitated to walk through, but collected my courage and walked on.

"Halt!" A guard shouted, shoving his spear in my path. "What business do you have in the castle?" He questioned. It really irritated me, but he was only doing his duty.

"I'm here to see the princess." I said as calmly as possible.

"The princess has called an end on day court several hours ago. You'll have to wait for tomorrow before entering."

"Look. I know you're doing your duty, but if I don't see Celestia now I could possibly get very angry and hurt lots of ponies." I unitentionally threatened. He didn't seem too fazed, but I could tell he was cautious of what to say, if him not saying anything was a hint. "I don't have time for this." I said, pushing his spear out of my way and trudging towards the castle.

"Hey! I said you can't enter!" He shouted from behind me and grabbed my shoulder. A huge heat grew inside me. I spun around, grabbing his had tightly. I ripped it off my shoulder and tightened my grip, causing a small whimper to escape his mouth. I felt the same heat hit my eyes. His face twisted from holding in pain to terror. "Touch me again and I will break every finger on your hand before cutting it off and shoving it down your throat." I threatened quietly. He nodded quickly and I dropped his hand. He tore off his gauntlet and held his hand. The piece of armour had a very deep print of my grasp. I turned around and continued into the castle.

After I entered, a thought hit me. Man, this place is huge. How am I supposed to find Celestia? There was a guard coming down a hall towards me, so I decided to ask for directions. I walked up to him and I saw he watched me carefully. I noticed the grip on his sword tighten. "Excuse me, I'm looking for princess Celestia. Do you know where I might find her?" I asked politely.

"What business do you have with the princess?" He said back.

"Well, you see. I'm a representative for the human race. I was supposed to be meeting her this morning, but unfortunately there was a delay during my travels." To be fair, the only lie was it being this morning.

"I don't remember being notified of your arrival." His words were coated in suspicion.

"Well what do you want me to say. I've traveled a long journey to negotiate trade with this fine country... Or would you like me to turn back and tell my king that there will be no trade routes because a guard was too lazy to give me directions to the princess. Oh, I should mention that my race are warmongers. We don't want anything to come of that now do we?" I said, giving him a sly smirk. At this point I was saying the first thing that came to my head, and again there was very little lying.

"Uh, n...no we don't..." Bingo "Both princesses should be sharing dinner in the dinning hall."

"See, was that so hard? Thank you my good man. I'll make sure to say a few good words your way." I said before strolling towards the dinning hall, as to keep up the act until I was out of sight. Okay. There are so many things wrong with this guard. First off, he should be questioning how I know where to go. Second off, how can I throw in a few good words if I don't know who he is? And third off. I'm pretty sure I look like shit, so what was going through his mind about me meeting the princesses like this? I thought It was a little strange that there were very few guards after the first encounter, but then again I am in a world full of colourful, talking, two legged ponies that wield magic.

Celestia POV

"So how was day court?" Luna asked in a very casual manner, but I could tell it was hiding sadness.

"It was... There." I replied. I could see it was bothering her, that she wasn't able to deal with the problems of our subjects. "What did you do with your day?" I was interested to know how she is settling in. It has been one month since her return, but things are very different from what they were and I can only imagine what it is like.

"I started off with a nice stroll through the gardens. I still find it comforting to see Discord as a statue, but I do have a question that I can't answer." Her attitude clearly changed for the better, and she was sitting more upright.

"What's your question?" I asked with genuine curiosity. Luna leaned in closer to me after looking around to make sure nopony was within ear shot.

"If it was one thousand years for the effects of the elements to wear off on me, does that mean he could return soon aswell?" I will admit, the question had me. It's quite possible for him to be set free, but we wouldn't be sure until...

There was a set of knocks that sounded off at the door. Luna and myself looked at each other, both as confused as the other. We weren't expecting anypony to join us, guards usually just enter, and the servants use the servant's door.

"Nopony was joining us, we're they?" Luna asked me.

"Not that I'm aware of." I said. "Enter!" I called out. A few seconds later, the door moved. It opened slowly, but then was pushed aside and a very dirty stallion stepped in before closing the door behind him. I really wasn't sure how to handle this situation. In all my years, I've never been faced with this kind of problem. "How can we help you?" I asked warily.

"I'm sure there's many ways, but a simple chat would be nice." The stallion answered. I felt like I knew the voice, but it was difficult to put it to a face seeing that it was covered in mud.

"And might I ask who you are?"

"I don't think I've changed since we last saw each other. Although, there is a small smudge on my shirt. That might be putting you off." The stallion said, wiping a small part of his soaking, muddy shirt and not helping at all. lets see, we've met this stallion before and he has a very poor taste in humour.

"Alex? You look horrible. What happened?" Luna asked, standing from her seat.

of course, It's Alex. "Indeed, why are you so dirty?" I added.

"It's a long story, but basically I had an accident and ran here." He said.

"Did you say that you ran here? From Ponyville?" Luna asked. He nodded in reply.

"Why did you not just take the train? It would have saved you hours and the tremendous effort you would have put into climbing to Canterlot." I said.

"That's why I'm here... Is there someplace quiet we can talk?" Something was wrong. There was a very strong since of distress behind his words.

"Of course." I replied.

"Although, I would advise a serious bath first." Luna said, poking her tongue at him as he made a mock laugh in her direction.

"I don't need to be here long. I just... I did something bad, very bad, and I feel like you're the only one I can talk to about it." He said, turning his gaze back to me. The sence of distress only grew as I looked him in the eyes. The dull green was hiding something terrible.

"I understand this must be urgent, but perhaps we could talk after you clean yourself up and have something to eat." I suggested. He gave a sigh before agreeing. "Luna, can you please lead Alex to someplace he can wash up while I sort something out with the chef?" She nodded and walked out of the dinning hall with Alex in tow. Was she swaying her hips more? I thought, as I watched them leave.

Luna POV

"I'm not sure what rooms have spare bathrooms right now, and the only one I know for certain is free would be mine." I stated.

"Honestly, you could give me a bucket of water and I would be happy." He replied and so many erotic thoughts buzzed through my mind, most of them involving him slowly washing his muscular...

"I don't see the harm in you using my bathroom. Just don't go around telling everypony."

"You don't have to, really." He said, trying to decline my offer, but we were already so close to my quarters.

"It can't be that bad... In addition, I do have better soap than what is in the guest rooms." I teased.

"Are you saying I smell?" He asked, pretending to be offended.

"I said no such thing... I merely implied it." I teased more.

"Oh really?" He said before I felt two very cold, wet and dirty arms wrap around me.

I gasped as he let go. I could feel the freezing mud still on me. "Did you just? Ew Ew Ew Ew Ewww!" I exclaimed, holding my arms close to me and shaking them around. "How dare you!? Alex, that is... That's disgusting!" He just smiled innocently.

"You kind of asked for it." I looked myself over and saw that the mud was only on my dress.

"You will pay for this." I threatened while pointing my finger at him. Honestly, I didn't care much for this dress anyway, and it was a little bit funny. It was definitely more amusing than sitting around, alone all day.

"How about you show me to this bathroom that has the so called 'magnificent' soap before I give you another big hug." He said. It was very refreshing having somepony like Alex around. I led him into my room and through to the bathroom where I left him to wash himself in privacy. I closed the bathroom door behind myself and heard him lock it. I walked over to my wardrobe and selected another dress. I knew Alex wouldn't be finished for a while, so I slid off my dress in the middle of my room. It felt energising to have somepony only a door away while I was changing. I slipped into the other dress and glanced at myself in the mirror for any imperfections. There was a large one in my mane. A patch of mud had found itself mixed in and it looked disastrous. A quick enchantment on my brush and a few strokes later, my mane was back to its glorious self.

I sat on the end of my bed, waiting for Alex to finish up. My mind started wandering and it slowly found itself in a bad place. It would be so easy. All I would need to do is to take off this dress and lay on my bed. Then when he walked out of the bathroom, he would see me and wouldn't resist. I needed to stop thinking this way... But I couldn't help it. He would show me all these amazing positions from his world. It would be a night remember. It was so tempting, but the thought of what would happen if he did resist was what stopped me. That and that it wasn't right. I looked to the door that Alex was supposed to walk through, but it had been a while... Or it felt like a while and he was still in there. Maybe a quick peek wouldn't hurt. He wouldn't know. What if he was hurt? What if he opened the door... No, he still wouldn't know there was a spell. I clenched my jaw in determination. I got up and quietly walked over to the door. I closed my eyes and with a quick charge of my horn, the door became transparent. Okay, Luna. This is the point of no return. Just do it. I mentally encouraged myself.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked into my bathroom. I saw the familiar midnight blue tiles and black, sparkly ceiling, the large hand basin and wall-length mirror along the left side. I also saw the bath on the right with Alex in it. He definitely wasn't hurt, but he did have his back towards me and I couldn't see anything. He was a lot cleaner, though. A small sigh of relief mixed with disapointment escaped my lips.

A thought crossed my mind as I looked at his dirty clothes in a small pile beside the bath: With his clothes so dirty, he won't be able to put them back on... And he hasn't got any spare. More lewd thoughts buzzed around before they were cut off by movement. Alex was standing up from the bath. My eyes went wide as I watched his naked body step out of the bath. My eyes continued to stay wide as they slowly slid down from his head to his chest, then to his abdomen, then to his waist and finally... A mixture of emotions ran through me. I felt my hand subconsciously slither down. My other hand lifted the hem of my dress above my waist as the former dived beneath my panties. It felt so good, yet so bad. I didn't want to stop, Alex drying himself off was just too enticing. My eyes shut as my fingers moved in. I moaned, but was able to keep it quiet. Out of fear, I reopened my eyes and saw Alex looking between his towel and his clothes. I used this time and kept going. My knees started to buckle and I felt that if I didn't stop now, I wouldn't stop... Yet I kept going. My eyes closed again as the picture of Alex became imbedded. My breathing became fast and my face became heated. I opened my eyes again to see Alex, about to open the door.

With quick thinking, I teleported to my bed and sat on the end, straightening out my dress and mane. The door opened and Alex poked his head through. "Uh, Luna?"

"Hmm? Yes?" I pretended like I didn't do anything, but it only made him grow a suspicious look.

"Uh... My clothes are dirty and I don't have any spares... Do have a solution?"

"I'm sure you would look very pretty in one of my dresses." I said quickly. I will admit that I surprised myself with how well that turned out. It was just meant to be more diversion from what I was just doing.

Alex didn't answer. "Are you considering it?" I asked with disbelief.

"I don't know. All I have at the moment is this towel." He said and looked at the one wrapped around his waist. Oh no. The spell is still active. With a quick flash from my horn, the spell disapated and this side of the door returned opaque.

"What was that?" Alex quizzed.

"What was what?" I asked innocently.

"Uh... Nothing. Oh you were right by the way."

"About what?" I asked, this time genuinely confused.

"Your soap is much better." I laughed, he does have a way with jokes.

"I spoke to the chef, Alex's meal should be ready soon." Tia said, walking into my room. "What's happening here?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. That would've been very awkward if I had gone with my original plan.

"I don't have any spare clothes." Alex explained.

"I'm sure Luna could lend you a dress."

"Welcome to five minutes ago, Celestia. Luna already used that joke."

"Really? But it was so good." Tia complained.

"Which is why I used it." I said.

"I can talk to Shining Armour, maybe he can lend you some clothes." Tia offered.

"I guess." Alex said, defeated.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"I don't think he likes me very much and I doubt he's going to give me clothes, even for a few hours."

"What if it was by order of the crown?" Tia said with an evil grin.

"That would be so unfair... I love it."

Tia left my room to find Shining. Alex started getting fidgety while still standing behind the door and I just sat here, on the end of my bed. I watched him as he looked between me and a chair at my desk. It wasn't any special type of desk. I just wanted one Incase I ever started drawing, which I didn't. Alex continued to look between me and the chair before stopping on me. I tilted my head to the side, not knowing what he was doing. Then he just walked over to the chair and sat down.

"You made that look like it was a lot harder than it actually was." I stated.

"Well. I'm a little self conscious, but I really wanted to sit down." There was a long silence after that, and we kept avoiding eye contact, even though our eyes would meet often.

After a while, Tia walked in again. This time, carrying some clothes. "I think they might be a little small for you, but they were the biggest he had." She said, giving them to Alex.

"Better than nothing. Thank you." He said as he got up and went back into the bathroom. A few moments later, he came back out and to say that they were small... Well. The black shirt was very tight, but the dark blue shorts weren't too bad. However, it was like he wasn't wearing a shirt at all.

Alex POV

Celestia said she knew a spot we could talk and started leading me that way. Before I left Luna's room, I did thank her for letting me use her bathroom.

"Hey, Celestia. We could have been anywhere in the castle. How did you know we were in Luna's room?" I asked.

"It was just a hunch." She replied with a smirk.

We went back to the dinning room where I was given the most delicious and juicy piece of meat in all my life. I didn't even ask what it was, I just ate it. I'm pretty sure I was like a kid on christmas that just opened their most desired present.

Afterwards, we walked through the halls, I had no idea where we were, but I was too busy getting bombarded by the thoughts that had been so graciously swept away over the past hour.

Celestia led me through a small set of doors which came out to a small balcony. It had an amazing view over the bright city with a dark background of the land beyond. There were a few potted plants in the corners and a small white table with matching chairs.

"Okay, so what did you need to talk to me about." She asked, sitting on one of the chairs.

I followed suit before releasing the mother of all sighs. Then I explained everything: from arriving at Rarity's boutique, to running away after the incident and every thought I had during.

When I finished, I looked up at her and saw a straight face. It worried me more than if she was hysteric. "Is Rarity okay?" She finally asked.

"I hope so. I left before I could talk to her about it. She did seem okay, though."

"She does know that it wasn't... you, per se. So I think the only action you need to take is to talk with her and gain common ground."

"I know, but that's what I'm afraid of... I couldn't hurt her that way, but it was so close to happening. I can't even think about showing my face to her." I said, my head falling into my hands.

Celestia tried to say something, but I could tell words were eluding her. "Alex. The Grand Galloping Gala is coming up soon and I know all the girls are attending. Stay here in Canterlot so we can talk about this more and hopefully come to resolve the problem. Then make an effort towards Rarity during the Gala and talk about eachother's understanding of the situation and work on the problems." It was great advice. I knew instantly how I could go about this, but so little as thinking of her makes me feel ashamed.

"It's a start. Thank you, Celestia." I said, lifting my head to look at her.

"It's quite alright, and we're friends so call me Tia." I grew a large smile as she stood up.

"The room you previously stayed in currently unoccupied so you can sleep there. Do you know the way back?"

"I'm sure I can find it. Thanks again." She walked away and I continued to sit on the balcony.

I wasn't doing anything, just sitting there. I wasn't even going over what was said or what had happened. I just stared off into the night sky. I felt my eyelids getting heavy and closed them briefly. Suddenly, several images flashed through my mind. There were too quick for me to see anything, but they were there.

I opened my eyes to be greeted by a completely different surrounding. I was in the center of a large throne room.

"What the hell?" I thought out loud.

It was similar to Canterlot's but still very different. The floors were a white marble, the walls were a white concrete-looking material and the many columns lining the walls, and framing the stained glass windows, were a pearl stone. There was a royal blue carpet running from two large wooden doors all the way to two tall thrones upon a small set of stairs. It was magnificent to say the least.

The large door creaked, gaining my attention. They opened and guards flooded into the room. Their armour was silver with blue highlights. Except for a select few, they had white with gold armour and my guess was that they held rank.

Among the guards were two significant ponies that stood out. One being a stallion and the other being a mare, they were taller and had a seperate attire. The stallion was wearing black armour and had a long blue cape draped from his right shoulder. The mare was wearing white armour with a blue and white tabard over top. The stallion's fur was a very dark blue, his mane and tail were quite long and black, but also looked like a window to the ever expanding universe. There were several galaxies and stars littering through it. The mare had pristine white fur and her mane and tail went from light orange to crimson red and the tip. They both were wearing crowns as well, the mare was wearing a polished silver crown with blue jewels, and the stallion was wearing a gold crown with large red jewels atop.

I stepped back slightly and watched as the guards lined the walls. The two ponies rushed along the blue carpet, the mare was slightly behind the stallion and grabbed his arm, stopping both of them just before me.

"Noctis, please. We aren't safe here." The mare begged, her voice showed urgency.

"We will not run from this." The stallion, Noctis, replied.

"And what of our foals. We have been overrun thus far, what's to stop them from gaining here aswell."

"Solis..." Noctis said, placing his hands on the mare's, Solis, shoulders. "Sombra may be strong, but he is not strong enough to get through these walls..."

"And if he does?" Solis interrupted.

"Then we can banish him and his rule over The Crystal Empire." Another voice said. I looked over and saw a young stallion with blue robes and a stereotypical wizard's hat.

"Star Swirl. Are you saying..." Noctis began.

"I cracked it, I was able to decipher the ancient text and it spoke of spell strong enough to banish Sombra." Star Swirl explained.

"Ha Haa! I knew you could do you, my friend!" Noctis exclaimed, hugging the young stallion.

"However, I would recommend it as a last resort only. This spell holds enormous strain on the casters, you should know that this spell was cast by several alicorns at one time, and with there only being two of you here... If the spell is used, it will need to be used by both of you and will kill you... I'm sorry." The mood became very still for a moment.

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that, then." Noctis said after a small silence.

"Uh... Excuse me, but could someone please tell me what's going on." I said, but didn't get a response. "Hello?" Still nothing. "Someone please say something to me, I'm starting to freak out." My words were cut short by two children's cries for their mother. We all looked in the direction and saw two young alicorns. One was white with a light pink mane and tail, the other was dark blue with a light azure mane and tail. The white one looked to be about four while the dark one looked to be about two. They ran to Solis and buried themselves into her crouching form.

"Mother! Why is there fire everywhere?" The white one asked and the dark one broke into tears of fright.

"It's alright my fillies. We're leaving soon." Solis comforted them before standing to Noctis. "We need to leave. We can't risk everything for pride, Noctis. I'm taking Celestia and Luna to the escape tunnels..." A massive bang went off at the door guards swarmed it, many pushing it closed and many readying their weapons.

"Celestia and Luna? Have I gone back in time?" I asked with only me hearing it.

Noctis! We're going now!" Solis shouted, but it was too late. A huge explosion went off at the door. Smoke shrouded everyone's vision as we were thrown off balance from the force. Poor Luna fell over.

The smoke started clearing and I saw some of the guards had died in the explosion. Those that weren't were fighting against other ponies, ponies that had crystal-looking armour and weapons.

A lone stallion stepped through the fighting, towards the royal family. Noctis gripped his sheathed sword and stood infront of solis and his children. The stallion stopped and glared at Noctis, and Noctis returned in kind.

A guard charged the stallion with a loud battle cry, but with a swift move, the stallion's blade was drawn. The guard stopped with a straight face before slowly falling forwards. Once his body hit the floor, his head rolled off his shoulders.

"That's nice." I said with a grimace.

"Sombra. You don't have to do this. We were brothers once." Noctis said, completly ignoring his decapitated guard.

"We were never brothers." Sombra said quietly. The two stallions stood stoic for what felt like ages. Finally Noctis made a move, he ran straight at Sombra with his sword still in it's sheath. Sombra copied. The air got really tense and when the two were in striking distance, both swords drew and clanged together with a deafening sound, as it did everything went dark.

I opened my eyes, I was in a dark room. I looked around and took in my surroundings. They were oddly familiar, but I wasn't on the balcony any more. My eyes fell upon the object infront of me, it was a bed... Luna's bed.

"What the... I whispered, not to disturb the sleeping princess that's not even a meter from me. Something was in my right hand and I rose it into my view. "What the fuck..." I was holding a very sharp kitchen knife.

Bypassing the effects of being shocked, I moved as quickly and quietly as I could out the door. Once I was out, I made my way towards my room. All I could think was: What the fuck! First I have this weird vision of the past, then when I'm back I'm in Luna's room with a knife... What the fuck! I got to my room and rushed inside. I took a few deep breaths and tried to comprehend what happened, but to no avail.

"Oh, man... Where's Nathan? He always knows stuff." I thought out loud as I started pacing around the room. I looked at my hand and grimaced before throwing it away... Maybe a little too hard. The knife spun through the air and embedded itself right into the wall. "Whoops."

"I'm so done with today." I said as I went straight for the bed and collapsed over it. I didn't even have time to realise how exausted I was before falling asleep.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I awoke from the sound of a bird singing it's lovely songs. I got out of bed and went over to the open balcony door. On the railing was a red bird with a white belly. It stopped its chirping and stared at me, I just blinked a few times back. After a few seconds, the bird started chirping again.

"Fuck off! I'm trying to sleep!" I yelled at the bird who became startled and flew off.

"I'm sorry, I'll come back later." I heard from behind me. I spun around and saw Feather Duster leaving.

"Wait, I was talking to the bird." I called out and chased after her. I opened the bedroom door and saw her standing on the other side with her back to me. "It wasn't you. The bird woke me up... So I yelled at him." I explained. I noticed she was looking at something off to the side. I followed her gaze and saw the knife in the wall.

"If I may ask, why is there a knife in the wall?" She asked.

I gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of my neck before speaking. "It's uh, a long story..." I started. "Basically I was jumped by like... twenty kitchen knife-wielding... ninjas... Yeah, and I fought them of with my bare hands. Thats from when I was pinned up against the wall by five of them and another threw his knife at me, but I dodged it and threw them all out of the castle." I finished with a big grin.

Feather just shook her head. "If that's your cover story, I really don't want to know the truth."

That was easy "So, how come you're in here?" I asked. Her face flushed a light shade of pink.

"Um. I was sent to inform you, that princess Celestia wishes to see you at breakfast." Her words seemed a little rushed, almost like she was making it up. I, however at the time, was none the wiser.

"Okay, thanks. I guess I should get going then." I said before walking out the door and heading for the dinning hall. On my way, a loud scream bolted through the air. Instinctively, I ran straight for the source. It didn't take long, but when I got close, I saw a mare on floor. She was covering her mouth and staring at an open door. I ran up to her and crouched down. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" I asked, frantically. She replied by pointing past me and at the door. I turned around and saw the door was a closet for cleaning tools. Upon seeing what was in it, though... My stomach twisted and my heart stopped beating. "Oh shit..."

Author's Note

CLIFF HANGER!!!

Man, don't you just hate it when that happens.:pinkiehappy:

12: Ghastly Gala

... "Oh shit." I said, looking into the cleaning closet.

It was an utter mess. There were two bodies lying on the floor in a heap as a thick, crimson pool steadily rippled against them from droplets constantly dripping from above. They were wearing the Night Guard armour, but it was barely recognisable as they were mangled, cut, crushed, you name it, a piece of them had it. I glanced around the small room seeing entrails decorating every wall and corner like an inside-out Christmas tree.

Running hoofsteps were heard coming from both directions of the hall. A few more guards rushed to the scene, all having shocked or disgusted expressions. "What in Celestia's name happened here?" One of the guards asked.

"Argh, it reeks!" Another exclaimed.

I bent down to examine the bodies, pushing the one on top. The body flopped to the ground with a clang of the metal on the ground. Both guards had their torsos ripped apart all the way to the spine, like something was digging a hole.

A flashback hit me of when I was leaving Luna's room last night after the weird vision. I remember closing the door quietly and running down the hall... With no guards posted outside her room or anywhere on that floor of the tower, yet there were four earlier in the night.

I turned to the guards. "You lot get this mess cleaned up and help her." I instructed before starting to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" One guard tried to stop me.

"And who says you can give us orders." Another added.

"It's what needs to be done so just fucking do it." I retorted.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Oh my. That is bad news." Celestia said, sitting on her throne. I was crouching next to her while there were a couple ponies waiting for the interruption to end so they could continue their needless bickering. "How do you feel about this?" She asked. I was a little caught off guard with the question.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I can tell you have a theory about what happened. Why else would you bring this to my attention and not one of the guards?" Well, she wasn't wrong.

"Uh. Last night when Luna led me to her room, I took notice of four guards patrolling the halls near her room. I think someone or something killed those guards to maybe assassinate Luna in her sleep..." Celestia's eyes widened from my words. "...But they weren't successful because they saw someone in her room awake." I finished.

"How did you come to the conclusion of somepony already in her room?"

"Uh... Because... It was... Me..." I said hesitantly. She slightly tilted her head and I knew there were the wrong assumptions being made. "I had a very strange experience after our talk..."

"I bet." She interrupted.

"Let me finish. Something happened to me and I fell asleep on that balcony. When I woke up, I was in Luna's room." I explained. There was a moment where Celestia went deep into thought and I didn't know what she was thinking, so my mind started wandering.

Wow... She is really hot. The way her mane falls over one of her magnificent, light magenta eyes then flows off in a non-existing breeze... I shook my head before my mind could continue. Ease up there, Alex. This is a serious matter.

"That might explain why I felt... We'll have to leave this to the guard, they will do their job and investigate the matter" She starting saying quietly to herself before being rudely interrupted.

"Hey! Monkey! Can't you see we have an important meeting at the moment?" One of the ponies shouted out. I stood up straight and faced the voice.

"Did he just call me a monkey?" I asked out of disbelief.

"Of course I did, peasant!" He continued to shout out.

"Who is this clown?" I was getting agitated from his verbally offensive onslaught. I walked down the steps towards this stallion. He seemed like a no good dick.

"I am BlueBlood. Prince of Equestria and nephew to Celestia herself." He answered proudly.

I hesitated a little, knowing his title, the wrong move could land me in a cell. He noticed this and advanced, getting right into my face even though I was a good two inches taller than him.

"Why don't you head back to the pig pens and your pig mother where you belong, dirt." I clenched my jaw and tightened my fists. I could feel the all-too-familiar heat start to build up in my chest.

"Ladies first..." I began motioning for him to start. "... I'm sure you know the way." I finished.

"You dare insult me, filth!" He shouted before pushing me backwards.

"I'll give what I get." I replied, pushing harder. He stumbled back, almost losing his footing. I was surprised that Celestia did nothing to stop what was happening, he was her nephew after all.

"I will cut you where you stand for that!" Blueblood regained his stance, pointing his finger at me.

"Do it then!" I barked at him. He froze momentarily, still holding his angry expression. "That's what I thought. All bark and no bite." I said, turning my back to him and facing Celestia. I was about to apologise for the waste of time.

Blueblood took this opportunity to make a move. He drew his rapier and marched up behind me, albeit quietly. I was hinted to his actions by Celestia standing from her throne in urgency. I twisted around as Blueblood brought his thin sword down on me. I closed my eyes for the oncoming pain.

*clang*

I opened my eyes and there was another sword that had met Blueblood's just before my face. My eyes trailed the second blade and saw the other stallion, it was the same one that stopped me in the streets. "Stand down, Blueblood. Nothing but bad will come of it." The stallion said proudly.

Blueblood pulled his sword back and went to swipe at the stallion's head, but the stallion blocked it again. Blueblood swept his hoof under the stallion's and knocked him off balance, as he did, Blueblood brought his sword down on the stallion. I reacted and reached out, grabbing Blueblood's blade before it could make contact with the stallion.

We stared at each other as I felt something running down my wrist. I kept the best poker face I could, but on the inside I was screaming like no tomorrow.

"Blueblood! You dare use weapons in my throne room!" Celestia bellowed, impossibly loud. She held out one hand as it and her horn glowed with a golden aura. The three of us were pulled apart and lined up in front of her. "You should know better!" she finished before he disappeared in a bright flash.

Celestia's demeanour dropped from aggression to annoyance. "Fancypants, your intervening is appreciated. You may leave."

"Any time, Princess." The stallion, Fancypants, said with a low bow before turning to me.

"Thanks for the save..." I said, offering my hand. "... Alex Regent." I finished.

"Likewise. I hope to see you around, Alex." He said, shaking my hand before leaving the throne room.

Once he left, Celestia gave a large huff as she flopped onto her throne and buried her head in her hands. I climbed the steps to her side, she obviously needed a break.

"Why does everything have to be frustrating?" She pondered. I placed my hand on her shoulder and she raised her gaze to me.

"I think you need a break. Do something fun for a few hours." I said.

"I would agree, but I can't just get up and leave. Equestria isn't going to run itself." She huffed, reburying her face.

"Look. If there's a problem it can be brought to Luna, but you need some serious time off even if it's a short time." I convinced.

"No, there's too much to do with the Gala so close." She moaned, resisting my efforts and sitting up. I could tell she wanted to. "Your hand. It's bleeding." She exclaimed, grabbing said hand and inspecting it before the golden aura glowed around her horn and hands. I felt the magic flow through my injury. It stung, but I was more worried about what else could come of it.

"Don't try to change the subject." I diverted, yanking my hand back. "Come on, I have an idea." I finished.

"Alex, you hand is seriously injured."

"No it's not." I said, showing her my hand after wiping the blood on my shorts. The wound had healed, but I instantly realised I had just wiped a fair amount of blood onto Shining Armour's pants. "Whoops."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

"That truly was fun, Alex." Celestia said, breaking the silence as we sat on her balcony.

"Any time, and I mean it. Ruling the country is good and all, but too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Even you need to relax at some point." I replied.

We had just finished a short list of activities I came up with for fun. To get it started, I had to literally pull Celestia from the throne room. After that it was easier, though. The first thing I wanted to do was mess with the chef, there had been too many times where he had chased me out of the kitchen. We stood in a corner of the kitchen and Celestia put a camouflage spell around us. When the chef arrived and started cooking, I would take something away from his station when he wasn't looking and return it later. It was quite a laugh, but when we went to leave, Celestia thought it would be funny to remove the spell form me. Let's just say, I have a very close shave with a very sharp knife.

After that we went to Luna's room and put all the furniture on the ceiling. The look on Luna's face when she walked in was priceless. I even got a picture on my phone. At first Luna didn't do anything and I thought it was a bust... But then she started freaking out, it was hilarious.

The next target was Shining Armour. I didn't have a clue what to do, but luckily Celestia had lost all her worries and was really into it. We ended up filling his room with balloons that had an enchantment that made him sneeze. When he first saw the balloons he was so confused, but thought the simple solution was to get his sword... Well, I'm sure you can imagine how that went.

To finish it off, we went for a walk through the maze garden. Celestia said it was almost time to set the sun and that caused me to realise that the Gala was the next night and I didn't have anything to wear. I explained my predicament to Celestia and she took me to a fashion designer in the city. It confused me because I thought there were ponies that were hired in the castle to do these sorts of things, but Celestia said this mare was going to do the best job in the shortest time. That ended up with me stripping in front of the princess, was I comfortable? No, was it necessary? No, was it her idea? Probably.

So here we were, sitting on a balcony watching the last few hours of daylight before Celestia had to set the sun.

"I have to admit, Alex. Today was a lot of fun. The last time I did things like that were a long, long time ago." She said.

"I don't want to say it, but... I told you so." I joked. She replied with a short giggle before releasing a sigh. It grabbed my attention and I looked over. She had a smile while looking over the city so I guessed it was a sigh of content, but it felt... Off. "You okay?"

"Just thinking."

"About?" You know when you just tell something is bugging someone? Yeah, well this is one of those moments, but I didn't want to press too far Incase it was a delicate topic.

There was a small gap of silence. "... I'm beginning to realise why my sister is so interested in... Certain things." She finally answered.

I had no idea what she meant by that, but I gathered that it was probably the point. Silence invaded our surroundings and we went back to watching the view until something crossed my mind. "Hey, Tia?" I started, twisting to face her.

"Hmm"

"Who am I? To you?" All day I was getting this overwhelming feeling that I had changed from who I was. Not in a good way, either.

"What do you mean? You're Alex Regent."

"I mean... Never mind. I should go, it's almost time for you to lower the sun." I said before quickly getting up and going back inside, through her room and into the empty hall. Then a thought dawned on me: I just went through the princess' room... Man, I am moving up in the world.

With that I traversed the long halls with nothing interesting happening. Once I made it to my room, I went inside and made a beeline for the bed. And diving into it, after moving the carefully folded and professionally cleaned clothes that I would definitely use tomorrow.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

??? POV

"We should attack now while the ponies are too focused on their party." Said a member of my council.

"We are not ready. We need more time." Countered another.

"This is the perfect opportunity. Everypony important will be attending, making it strategically the perfect time to strike!" I watched, deep in thought, as they started arguing.

"If we were to attack, you would be sending an army of children to their death. They won't even break past the initial response!"

"The numbers would be enough! The ponies would be overwhelmed within the first hour! We still have the element of surprise!" Retorted the first.

"And we need to keep that for right time! If we attack now, our efforts would be for naught! Then the ponies would launch a counter attack here! It would be the end of all of us!" The second yelled.

"ENOUGH!" I shouted over the four of them. They all snapped to attention. "You two have little faith in my armies..." I said to the two councillors opposing the attack and the other two smirked. "... However, it is rightly placed." I finished, glaring at the other two. "Attacking now would be a waste of resources..."

"But, your highness, the ponies would never see us coming... Argh." A councillor interrupted. With a quick flare of my magic and a swift movement of my hand, I hand picked the councillor up from his seat by his neck.

"You dare interrupt me!" I boomed.

"I deeply... Apologise, argh, your highness." He said between struggled breaths. I released my grip and he fell onto the table with a loud thump. After a few groans he slithered back to his chair.

"As I was saying, attacking would be a waste of precious resources... But we will act... Scarab..." One of the councillors quickly stood up. "You are my spy master. I want you to organise a small few of your spies to infiltrate Canterlot and attend this party. Have them collect any valuable information."

"At once." He said with a bow before hurrying off to his duties.

"Do not worry. We will have Canterlot at its knees and the ponies beneath our hooves!"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex POV

"All pilots scramble! I repeat! All pilots scramble!" A voice echoed through the landing strip and sirens blared and everyone ran round trying to get jobs done.

"Sir! We need to take off now or we never will!" One of my wingmen shouted at me over radio.

"Yeah cap. Those Germans'll be on top of us in no time." Another added.

"Let's rock and roll boys." I said before firing up the engine of my P-47 Thunderbolt.

Moments after take off we were instructed to defend and protect the runway at all costs. The Germans were making a bombing run and they had fighter escorts. Being this unprepared meant we only had five squads in the air for this battle. We did have ground support, but usually it's us supporting them.

"There they are gents. Fly swift, shoot straight." A British pilot said over the radio.

"How many we looking at?" I asked.

"The bomber alone outnumber us five to one." The Brit replied.

"Shit. That’s not good for business." Tom said. We have four planes to a squad, twenty in total, going up against a hundred bombers and plenty of fighters.

"Good! That's more for us to shoot down." Frank added.

"Come on cap, lead us to fight another day." Joe said, he was obviously freaking out, but he is very skilled in his plane.

We got into formation. Frank was on my left with Joe behind him and Tom was on my right. We were behind the British planes as we were the last to take off, but that just meant the German guns were already firing by the time we got there.

"Alright Yanks. You're going after those fighters, while we hit those bombers." The British pilot ordered. We were the only American squad based here so naturally we get the faster targets... We’re also the best dog fighters, but British'll never admit it.

The Germans were almost at us now. "Alright boys, let's show these Tommies how it's done." I said to my squad.

Everything went quiet to me as the battle was so close I could smell it. It was the calm before the storm. There was only the loud hum of our planes as both sides reached shot range... Blinding flashes went off, formations were broken into erratic dog fighting and the hum was replaced by the vicious bangs of fifty caliber cannons.

We flew straight past the Germans and pulled up for a loop to hit them from behind. "Break formation! Find those Jerry fighters and shoot 'em down!" I ordered my squad. My team broke apart and found their own targets.

I flew around in circles and figure eights, losing Jerrys or chasing them and lighting them up. "Yanks! We're getting slaughtered here! Take out that ace!" I looked around and spotted a German fighter that had a different paint job to the rest passing in front of me. He was tailing a Brit and stayed on him even through tight hammerhead manoeuvres. His guns flared and ripped the Brit's plane apart before it exploded.

I rolled left and went after him. He was on another Brit and I was too far away to hit him. Again, he shot down my ally and I was full throttle chasing him. It was difficult to stay on an ace while being shot at by German bombers and fighters alike. He was sitting in my sights and made the mistake of flying steady. I slammed my fingers down on the trigger and a torrent of bullets flew straight at him. There were several collisions and smoke was coming from his engine, but now he knows I'm here. He pulled a sharp inside loop to get behind me, it worked and I was now being chased. Bullets flew past my cockpit, narrowly missing me. I was pulling every manoeuvre in the book, but he was sticking to me.

"Tom! The bastards on me! Give me hand!" I shouted out for help.

"I see ya... I'm on him." He replied.

"Joe! Remember that..." I started but was interrupted by bullets boring holes in my cockpit. "... Holy shit that was too close! We're gonna do that move we pulled in training!" I finished.

"No can do, Cap. I'm in serious trouble right now!" He replied. I rolled right and tried to fake my turn by pushing down and going for and outside turn. The ace called it and a wave of bullets tore through my wing.

"Shit! He got me." I twisted my head back and saw the ace pull away with Tom hot on his tail. "Thanks for the save"

"Don't thank me yet, Cap." Tom replied.

I inspected the damage and my plane was flyable. It missed everything important... How lucky. I flew around the battle. The bombers were dangerously close to the air field, but they were thinning out. A Jerry fighter flew past me and I went after him. I got right in close and shot him down. One after the next I was taking down fighters and out planes were gaining the lead. I focused on the bombers and took out a few while only taking minor damage from the rear guns.

"Some one get this guy off me!" I heard Frank beg. I looked around and soon spotted him being tailed by the ace.

"I'm on it, Frank. Hold tight!" I said. I followed them and slowly caught up. I lined up the shot and fired. My bullets went trough his right wing, but it was wasn't enough. "Oh shit! My planes beat! I've gotta bail!" Frank yelled before I saw his plane fall from in front of the ace. We whizzed past Frank as he parachuted to the air field that was being hit by bombs.

"That's it ya bastard!" I screamed. I didn't care about ammo at this point. I unleashed all hell upon this Jerry. The bombers were circling for another run, but there were too many of us now and there was no chance they would make it, but they persisted.

Left, right, up, down. It didn't matter, I was staying on this guy. I was doing damage, but he was very slippery. Through a couple of the later shots I thought I heard a gasp from behind me, but I ignored it. The perfect shot lined itself up. "Got ya now." I said to my self. I was focusing really hard and just I went to take the shot...

"Holy Equestria! This is horrible!" A familiar voice shrieked from inside my cockpit. I jumped and pulled my shot, but it missed.

"What the fuck!?" I shouted, looking over my shoulder. "Luna? What are you doing here?" I asked, focusing back on the ace, who was now escaping my grip.

"This is a horrible dream." She said in terror. There was a bright blue flash that blinded me. When I opened my eyes I saw that I was on a cloud. I looked over the edge and saw Ponyville.

"What is going on!?" I shouted and turned around to see Luna.

"You were having a bad dream, so I fixed it." She answered.

"That was a dream?" I said, confused. She nodded. "I guess that makes sense. World War Two was nearly two hundred years ago." I said to my self.

"Alex, if you don't mind me asking, what was all that?" Luna asked.

"That, my furry friend, was a battle in World War Two." I answered

"World War Two?"

"The second war in which most of my world was involved... It was intense. Reading up on it at the library back home was one of my favourite things to do, until it got closed down. I didn't enjoy the third one so much because of world economic collapse and such, but we rebuilt... After a while" I rambled, going off topic.

"War is never a good thing. Countless lives ending because a few ponies with power disagree." Luna said, her words were full of sorrow.

And that, children, is how to kill a mood. "So... Um..." I tried to think of something more positive. "Do you come here often?" I said with an idiotic grin. It's not the best conversation starter, but it never fails.

Luna just looked at me and tilted her head to the side. 'Oh dear god. The adorableness, my only weakness.' I thought as I started dying from the adorable look. She started giggling with a slight blush and it was my turn to look confused.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm adorable am I?"

"What?" I repeated.

"We are still in your head, I can hear your thoughts." She explained.

'Oh fuck! At least she doesn't know about the things I would do to that beautiful body under the covers.' I thought.

Luna's face flushed so red it would put Big Mac to shame... Then I realised my mistake.

"Brain, how could you betray me like this?" Was all I said before her horn glowed and everything went dark.

3rd Person POV

Alex was put into a temporary coma from Luna's spell. Meanwhile in Luna's room, the alicorn was pacing back and forth in front of her bed. "Did he seriously think that? He is so perverted. I should have him thrown into the dungeons for that. It's so... So... Despicable." She said, not noticing her visitor.

"Who is so perverted and despicable?" Celestia said, startling her younger sister.

"Oh. Good morning, Tia. I didn't hear you come in."

"That's because you were too busy wearing a trench into your floor." Celestia teased.

"You saw that?"

"So who is so perverted?"

"It's... Alex." Luna said, lowering her head as she did.

"And how is Alex so perverted?" Celestia seemed quite amused.

"I entered his dream and we got talking. He said something I didn't know of and he thought about how my confused look was adorable..." Luna started.

"Is that all. It sounds like there is mutual feelings..."

"Tia, please!" Luna cut her off, all flustered. Celestia was having fun, getting such a rise out of her sister. Luna continued "I explained how I could hear his thoughts with full intent of making him squirm, but it back fired."

"How so?" Celestia was very interested.

"His thoughts said that he was glad I didn't know about what he would do to my beautiful body under the covers." Luna answered, acting disgusted, but started to realise that it wasn't as bad as she initially thought.

Celestia burst out laughing, much to Luna's dismay. "So you want to throw Alex into the dungeons because he thinks you’re beautiful. What did you say?"

"Nothing. Although I may have put him into a teeny, tiny... Coma." Luna's words were soaked in guilt.

Celestia burst out laughing again. "Oh Luna. You've come across many stallions actually bedding you in their dreams, yet Alex merely thinks of it and you call him perverted and wish to lock him up because of it." Luna became very embarrassed. "If you ask me, I think you're overreacting because knowing he may like you scares you." Celestia's grin couldn't have gotten any larger and luna hated how much fun she was having with this.

"Tia, he does not scare me, and there is nothing between us. There never will be." Luna said before walking towards her door. "Come, breakfast will be waiting." She said before leaving.

Celestia smiled. 'Alex likes Luna... If only I were so lucky.' She thought, finishing with a sad expression before following her sister.

It was nearly an hour before the princesses had company for breakfast. Alex slumped into the room and flopped down onto the chair opposite Luna, who was next to Celestia at the head.

"Good morning, Alex. How was your sleep?" Celestia asked with an all knowing grin. Luna went red in the cheeks and stared at her empty plate.

"I don't remember anything past falling asleep, but I feel like my hangover has a hangover." He answered with a gravelly voice as his head fell backwards. Celestia's smile dimmed and Luna sighed with relief. "I hope it doesn't last long because other wise I won't be going to the golo thing." Alex's eyes shot open as he realised what he said. "Hold on. A plan."

"Gala." Celestia corrected. "And you're still going. Your suit was delivered not long ago. It should be in your room by now."

Luna leaned over to Celestia and whispered in her ear: "He should still be unconscious. I didn't exactly hold back on the spell."

A servant came over to Alex with a bowl full of cereal and placed it in front of him before bowing to the two princesses and leaving. He picked up a spoon that was beside the bowl and started eating. Both princesses just watched him eat.

"Did I do something wrong?" Alex asked, not looking up from his cereal.

"What makes you say that, Alex?" Celestia asked, almost begging to tell him about what happened.

Alex looked up at them. "Because you seem so amused by something and Luna is looking at me funny." Celestia glanced at Luna before an innocent smile spread across her lips.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Alex. Perhaps Lulu knows." She beamed.

Alex stared at Celestia completely hit by suspicion. She continued to smile at him so he turned his attention to Luna. "Uh... Did I do something wrong." Alex hesitantly asked.

"No. I'm as confused about this as you are." Luna answered.

"You!" An annoying voice exclaimed. Alex closed his eyes with a large sigh before standing up.

"Prince Blueblood, what pleasant surprise." Alex greeted, trying to appeal to the prince. He thought it would get him away from Blueblood as quickly as possible. There was snort from a certain dark alicorn from Alex's words.

"Don't think for one second that I'm going to let go of what you did!" Blueblood shouted, getting into Alex's face.

"Blueblood, remember what we spoke about." Celestia instructed calmly.

"What are you going to let go of?" Alex asked playfully, knowing full well of Blueblood's meaning. "Oh I think I remember now. Me whooping your ass while you were armed." Blueblood snarled in response.

"Alex, there's no need for this to get hostile." Celestia said.

"I will show you a world of hurt." Blueblood spat between his teeth.

"You can try." Alex retorted in the same manner. Alex was heating up, his blood pumping thicker and faster. Images of him beating this pathetic stallion to less than his knees flashed through his mind. His eyes started to darken. Blueblood noticed it, but was too stubborn to see that things we're going to get out of hand, and he would be on the receiving end of an almighty rage.

The air around Alex's hands started distorting with heat waves as these two stared each other down. The atmosphere became very tense, but nothing was done. Orange flickering occurred from key points around Alex: hands, feet, hair.

Blueblood's magic was coursing through him at heightened rates. A strong blue aura started dancing around his white horn and balled fists. His eyes blew off a similar, but weaker, aura as he almost pleaded to crush this animal in front of him.

Celestia knew this wouldn't end well and felt as though she needed to intervene. Luna, on the other hand, was excited to see where this would go. She knew Blueblood had strong magic for a unicorn, but Alex was a complete wild card in this sense as he had many unknown abilities, most of which, involve the manipulation and control over a powerful element of nature. It would please her greatly to see her nephew toned down a few notches.

The two males continued to glare at the other, waiting for the other to make a move. The tension rose and Celestia decided to act and just in the nick of time. Celestia stood and erected a shield between the two as both of them made an attack. Blueblood was slightly faster and his spell hit the shield and dispersed. Alex rose a fiery fist and threw it as hard as he could, colliding with the golden wall and shattering it. Celestia's knees buckled and she was thrown back into her chair from the impact. All attention was drawn to Celestia.

"Tia! Are you okay?" Luna asked, gripping her sister's shoulder. Alex joined them, all anger replaced by concern as he knelt down on her other side. Blueblood just stood there, not knowing what to do.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just didn't anticipate such a strong ripple effect." She said, easing everyone's nerves.

"I'm sorry, Tia. I didn't intend for it to happen." Alex apologised as he was flooded with guilt.

"Apology accepted, but it wasn't entirely your fault. You both need to stop acting so foalish and be more civil around each other. Now, off to your rooms, the pair of your, think about were you went wrong." Celestia ordered.

Alex rose to his feet and walked towards the stallion. They threw daggers before they both left the room and retreated to their respective rooms.

Celestia slumped in her chair with a large sigh. Luna looked on with a concerned gaze, her hands still on her sister's shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asked.

"I have faced worse, but there was an incredible amount of power in that attack. Had it not hit my shield, I fear it could very well have killed Prince Blueblood." Celestia replied in slight disbelief.

Alex POV

I walked the short distance to my room, but it felt never ending. I definitely felt guilty and there is a large part of me that wishes Celestia hadn't interrupted us, but I'm also glad she did. I don't know what would have happened if she didn't, Blueblood's attack was clearly faster than mine, but it didn't even scratch the shield... Mine shattered it.

I got to my door to find it slightly ajar. A million thoughts ran through my head as to why this is. I definitely closed it when I left. What if someone had broken in? What if someone was planning an assassination? What if it was Blueblood? It could be any number of things. Of course I was only thinking of bad things to worse. I carefully place my hand of the door and slowly pushed it open, watching like a hawk for any movement or disturbances. There were none. I pushed the door fully open, entering with extreme caution and quiet steps. I heard some shuffling from my bedroom and quickly ducked beside the door. I placed my hand on the knob and twisted slowly. More shuffling emanated, someone was in there.

I wasn't sure how I would play this out, 'I could burst in guns blazing, or I could come up with a plan. A plan sounds like a good idea, I need to be ready for anything...' I thought. I started planning out like it was a video game or something, but my body just started moving. 'Then I'll use the bedside table as a hammer to break the window... Wait we're moving, but the plan... I was better at improv anyway!' I casually opened the door and strolled in, despite my great efforts to actually come up with a plan.

No one was here. The room was empty... My eyes caught something on the balcony, I went over to the door and peered out. There was a thin mare in a black dress that had gold studs through it. It completely opposed her light blue fur and brilliant orange mane and tail, but it seemed to work. It was the mare that I went to see about my suit. 'What was her name? S, S, S, S... Suzie? No, Sally? That sounds right.'

"Can I help you, miss Sally?" I asked calmly. The mare jumped and twisted to face me, fright plastered across her face, as she let loose a light squeak.

"Oh Celestia, you scared the hay out of me... And it's Sassy" She said, breathing heavily and placing her hand over her chest.

"My question still stands." She looked at me like a child caught stealing from the cookie jar.

"I was dropping off your suit and when no one answered, I came in and placed it on your bed... Then I noticed this view and couldn't help myself." She explained, almost as if she wasn't intruding.

"I don't like it when others stroll into my room without my permission." Her stature dropped, along with her head as she avoided eye contact and started rubbing her arm and shuffling her hooves.

"I'm sorry, it's just, once I finished your suit, my boss told me to deliver it quickly as you had ties with the princess. I was given directions from one of the servant mares, but you weren't in here. I needed to get this to you. I'm already in the bad books with my employer and if I didn't get this to you, I could have been fired..." She explained, getting all worked up. She paused as she took notice of my unamused expression. "I promise I was going to be in and out, no dawdling about... But the view was..." I cleared my throat as I felt a slight tickle. She obviously took this the wrong way. "Please don't complain to my boss!" She cried out, grabbing my arms.

"Woah, calm down. I was just clearing my throat. Look, I get it: being in the castle is cool... Why are you so afraid of your employer anyway? You seemed so professional in the shop."

"I'm sorry, sometimes I get a little carried away..." She started.

"A little?" I interrupted.

"I can get a little... 'Productive' at work. It's always been my dream to run a fashion shop, but I can't afford to open my own. Sometimes it gets to my head and I start making decisions for the company which change it and it doesn't go down well with my boss." She explained.

I pulled my head through the door way and saw the suit on the bed. It looked amazing. It was a magnificent black suit accompanied with a black dress shirt, black shoes and a garnet coloured tie that sits below a black vest. "Look, I'm not going to complain, but I want to try it on before you leave." She visible calmed and agreed to the idea.

"Absolutely, I can make any final tweaks and adjustments to make sure it's perfect."

Once I had it on, Sassy ran around me with vigour, removing any and all flaws. When finished, I looked in the mirror and man, did I look classy.

I said it looked perfect and thanked her for her help before she left me to stare at that good looking fellow in the mirror. I did have a big problem, though. I don't know how to tie a tie. An idea crosses my mind and soon enough I had the suit hanging neatly to the side. The tie still tied, but loose enough to slip over my head. I smirked at my genius before realising I now have nothing to do... And I got sent to my room!

Over the next few hours I decided to practice with my powers. Maybe I could gain control if I used it enough. I started small with just igniting my fingers, I got it on the first try, but the flame only lasted a couple seconds. I soon got the hang of it, all I needed to do was think about setting my fingers on fire and it happened.

I got curious about what I could do and pictured a small ball in my hand. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, there was a ball of fire floating in my grasp. I twisted my hand and the ball stayed a few centimetres from my palm "woah." I muttered in astonishment. "Imagine getting hit by one of these." I said out loud, thinking about the damage it could do if I threw it... Uh oh. The ball flew out from my hand and hit the nice, white couch. There was a very small explosion from the impact and I watched, stunned, as the couch caught fire and started burning. "Aw shit" I panicked, grabbing one of the cushions and hitting the fire to smother it. That was until the cushion caught fire as well. "Aw shit!" I started quickly pacing around, trying to find something to put out the fire. "Um... Um... Uh!"

A light bulb lit up above my head, not literally, as it hit me. I held my hand out to the fire and focused on putting the fire out. The tips of the flames started leaning towards my hand. It was like they were reaching out for me. All of a sudden the flames jumped from the couch to my hand, swirling around before disappearing. "Woah." I looked up from my hand and at the couch to see half a cushion and a large scorch mark in the centre of the sofa. I blinked a few times, hoping it was an illusion, but alas, it was real. "I'll deal with it later. I have an idea." I said, hastily making my way to the balcony.

Standing at the railing, I held my hand out and imagined a flame thrower. Waves of ruthless flames shot out into the air. I halted my efforts as excitement grew within me.

I held out both of my hands and focused. Again, the flames shot out. I pushed harder and the flames grew in intensity, so much so it started pushing me back. One large tense and the flames exploded out ten times the intensity as before and threw me backwards to the ground. I got up and enlightened myself with a brilliant idea.

I was balancing on the railing and focused on my plan. The bottom half of my body burst into flames, including my arms. "Woah." I set aside my amazement as the excitement got the better of me. I bent my knees and lowered myself like I was going to jump. I felt something building up within me, something that would fuel my plan. With a deep breath, I was ready. I sprung up and pushed with all my might. There was a massive burning noise behind me and I looked down to see the castle getting smaller and smaller as a trail of fire followed me high into the air.

"Holy Shiiiiit!" I screamed out with a nervous laughter as it caught up to me and I slowed down. I felt butterflies in my stomach when gravity retook its grip on me and the castle grew bigger and bigger, closer and closer.

Free falling was an amazing feeling. The wind whiping past my face and the increasing flow of adrenaline through my veins. I lost enough confidence and reignited the strong push of fire. "Woohoo!" I cheered out at the top of my lungs as I flew dangerously close to the roof tops of Canterlot city. I pivoted my shoulders to turn and lifting or dropping to change pitch. I turned around to face the castle and pushed my self to go as fast as I could. I was going faster than I had ever gone and probably rivalled a plane. I was getting close to one of the princesses' towers and pulled up, but I felt an immense drain of energy. I looked back and saw there was no fire, no smoke, and no hope for survival. I mean, I need to learn to land and this option is as good as any. I look back forward just in time to scream and see the glass door leading into a bedroom.

*CRASH! *

My body ragdolled through the window and straight into the side of a familiar white and gold bed, glass going everywhere.

I groan and open my eyes. The room was familiar... A lot of white... A bit of gold... A large sun painted on the ceiling... An obliterated glass door... A crushed bed with white and gold covers... Glass littering the floor... And a startled white alicorn staring at me with a hint of concern, a hint of confusion and a lot of 'what the fuck?'

"*groan* Hey... Tia." I manage to gargle.

"Alex... What have you done?" Celestia asked, admittedly, very calmly... But I could sense it was a cover.

"Um..." I struggled to think as the room slowly ceased its spinning. "... Style is underrated?" I answered with an innocent smile.

The mare facepalmed and sighed. "You were alone for half an hour. How did you even get up here?"

"I managed to use some of my powers without losing my head..." 'Where's your head at "... And then I flew into the air and kind of got really exhausted, crashed and here we are."

"As good as that may be. Where am I supposed to sleep now?"

As quick as ever, my mind started racing with smart ass things to say, but I settled with "Well... I'm sure my bed could fit one more." Waggling my eyebrows for a better effect. I can only imagine what it was like to see me do that while lying in a pile of crushed bed.

"Alex, please. This is no time for jokes." 'Hello, darkness, my old friend...' "although, I suppose the arrangement could be made, as a way to pay back for destroying my bed." A slither of hope shined brightly against the dark void they call the friend zone. "You can sleep on your couch." 'Ha, oh you mean the one I burnt half of to a crisp.'

I shakily got to my feet and dusted myself off. 'No injuries? Hell yeah.' "Is there some way I can help fix this?" I asked, my tone changing to serious.

Celestia sighed. "You could start by apologising to Blueblood."

It took a while for me to register what was said. "What? Im not apologising to that sack of shit!" I started to raise my voice and I knew it wasn't right to speak to her like this, but her even suggesting it made my blood boil.

"You do realise your speaking of the prince?" She said in efforts for a result I couldn't comprehend.

"I don't care if he's the king!" I shouted. I didn't want to shout, but it just felt so necessary. "One: Not only did he insult me, he insulted my mother. And two: He started it."

"You're right to be mad at him, but sometimes you have to accept defeat to obtain true victory."

I groaned, knowing that it's the better thing to do. "Fine. I'll apologise if I see him tonight."

Celestia smiled, "That's all I ask." She opened the door for me and I stepped through, but stopped when I felt her warm breath on my ear. "Keep that bed warm for me." She whispered as I felt a light tap on my tush.

'Did she really just say that? I thought, turning around to ask only to meet a closed door. 'What? This leaves so many questions? Was she serious about taking my bed? She can't be, there are like a million others. And what did she mean by keeping it warm for her?'

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I found myself in the ball room after wondering the halls in search of something to do. There were ponies decorating and setting up for tonight's event. I decided to entertain myself and give them a hand. A few hours past before I was hanging a large and heavy tapestry with another stallion as we stood on long ladders. We just finished getting it secure when I heard a commotion from down below.

"You call this punch! I call it piss!"

"I'm sorry. I'll take it back immediately."

"I am a prince and you will address me as such!"

"I'm sorry, my prince."

I looked down just in time to see my favourite member of the royal family hit a bowl of punch from a mare's hands, covering her in the beverage.

I slid down the ladder and picked up a cloth from one of the nearby tables and walked towards the two, ignoring Douche Blood. I saw the mare was quite upset as I placed my free hand on the side of her face in a comforting manner. She looked up at me with tear filled, green eyes.

"Here, go clean yourself up." I said, handing her the cloth.

"Thank you, Alex." She said softly before turning and walking away.

Without saying a word or making eye contact, I went back to what I was doing, however, I was stopped before I could do so. A hand gripped my shoulder causing me to take a deep breath and face the owner of the hand.

"Prince Blueblood, what a surprise. How can I help you?" I said with a false smile and calm tone.

"Drop the act, Dirt. It wasn't your place to interrupt." He said, his words dripping with malice.

"It wasn't your place to torment her to begin with." I replied with just as much venom and pushing his hand off my shoulder. He didn't take too kindly to that.

"Seize him!" He shouted out. Out of nowhere, guards surrounded me with their weapons drawn as two of them on either side of me stepped forward to grab my arms. I didn’t want hurt any of them, but I would if they touched me. "Take him to the dungeons!"

There was hesitation from the guards, but they went to grab me. As soon as I felt hands on my arms, I step forward and span around, flinging the two guards together. There was a loud clang as the two collided and fell to the ground. There were four others and they all took position around me. There was no movement until one of them cried out lunged at me with his sword. I flicked my foot up to meet the blade forcing it out of the stallion's grip. With my leg still up, I twisted around with my back to him and shoved the sole of my shoe into his throat. He fell to the ground gasping.

The last three attacked all together. I held out my hand as the downed guard's sword landing perfectly in my grip. 'If only Dash saw that. I thought in the split second before a coordinated attack came at me. The three of them swung their swords in the same direction at the same time. It was definitely unexpected, so much so, that I lost balance in desperation to dodge and one of them had the eye to see it and smashed his pommel into my right cheek bone.

I landed on my back and one of the guards stood over me with the tip of his sword pressed against my chest. I held my hands up in surrender.

"Finish it." Blueblood said as he relished in the amusement of my defeat.

"But, sire..." The stallion started

"I said finish it!" The prince screamed. The guard just stood over me, not moving. He obviously hasn't killed anyone yet. "If you do not finish this now, I will have you thrown in the dungeons for treason and disobeying my order." Blueblood threatened.

I watched as everything went round and round through the stallion's head. He took a deep breath in lifted his sword and got ready to plunge it straight through me.

"Halt!" 'whew, the heavens shine down upon my so lucky self... More specifically, the moon.' "You two. Take this stallion to the infirmary, now." Luna ordered the two guards watching and pointed to the unconscious stallion on the floor, most likely with a crushed trachea... Oops.

The stallion over me quickly sheathed his sword before facing the princess and getting down on one knee in a bow.

I glanced over to Blueblood, he wasn't happy and just to add fuel to the fire, I got up with a smirk directed straight at him. 'Not today.' My gaze returned to Luna's direction to see her speaking to the stallion who was now standing, then he performed a small bow and hastily walked off.

"Blueblood, why are you trying to execute royal guests?" Luna spoke calmly, but firmly. It was like a tenser version Celestia.

"I don't have to answer to you. Celestia is the only real princess around here. You're just a pretender" The amount of venom coming through his teeth could have killed an army ten times over.

"Now that wasn't very nice." I said, taking a step towards him.

"It's okay, Alex." Luna said softly. She didn't seem fazed in the slightest so I stepped aside, a little confused. She looked back at Blueblood with a deep and heavy sigh. "YOU WOULD DARE SPEAK AS SUCH TO ME! YOU ARE BUT AN INSECT IN COMPARISON AND WILL DO RIGHT TO AKNOWLEDGE IT OR YOU WILL SUFFER THE WRATH OF THE MOON!" her voice boomed through the room at impossible levels, it even started pushing against us.

Both of us were shitting ourselves and Blueblood tried to hold it in as he stormed away, but it was easy to see that he was severely intimidated by Luna. I looked at Luna, shock plastered on my face and she seemed happy with herself as a proud grin adorned her muzzle.

"Holy shit..." Where the only words I was able to say. Luna giggled to herself. I glanced around the room to see if anyone else had the same expression as me, but no one was in here. My sight landed back on Luna, who was still ginning. "Remind me to not get you angry... So what brought you here? And, uh. Thanks for the save."

"Anytime, but Tia is in day court and I got board and I thought 'what could amuse me?' My answer was of one pony that always seems to find trouble even when it isn't there. You."

"Yeah uh, glad I could be of assistance. I never thought my skill for trouble-making would do any good."

"I do have a question for you."

"Oh? Fire away."

"Why do you like to pick fights with the guards?"

I completely paused on that question. My entire brain was working double time for an answer. "Thinking back on it, they started it. I was only acting in an aggressive self defence."

"Is that what you call it, because there have been six ponies sent to the infirmary by you alone."

"Are you telling me off? And here I was thinking you were the cool princess." I teased.

Luna seemed a little insulted by this. "I'm cool." Her bottom lip started quivering and her eyes grew wide as she tilted her head to the side. 'Oh dear god, she's giving me the puppy eyes.' my jaw hung slightly slack as words and general function was robbed from me.

"Okay, fine. You're the cool princess." I gave in and she gave a cheer in victory. 'Man, she is so gorgeous.'

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I was checking myself over in the mirror and making final adjustments to my tie. It felt so good to be dressed up all nice, even if it's for an event I have naught interest in.

It was fun to have hung out with Luna after that little spat I had with Doucheblood and the guards. I pressed my fingers against a bruise that had formed over my right eye, for some reason it didn't heal like any injuries I've received previously and did raise some concern, but I just passed it off to be dealt with by future Alex.

I inhaled deeply and held it for a few seconds before releasing. I then turned and walked through my temporary residence, opening the door and finding a mare servant I hadn't met yet.

She gasped from the door being opened before she could knock.

"Evening." I greeted, slightly amused by the coincidence.

"Oh, good evening, sire..." She started.

"Please, I'm no one important, call me Alex." I interrupted.

"Of course, Alex..." Her words had noticeably changed to a more relaxed deliverance "... I've been asked to be your personal escort..." '*gasp*' "... and lead you to the ball room." 'aw, I got exited for a second there.'

"Thanks, but I have a decent idea on where I'm going." I replied, closing my door and walking away.

"Alex, The ball room is this way." The mare's voice called out from behind me and I realised my regretful mistake.

I turned around nervously chuckling. "Ah, yes. I knew that, I was just... Making sure you knew, yeah."

She just rolled her eyes before taking my arm and leading onwards.

During our, so far silent, walk I decided that talking was a must. "I don't think I got your name."

"Autumn Swirl." She answered, still holding my arm.

"Autumn Swirl... Autumn Swirl..." I repeated to myself. The mare briefly glanced at me as if I were crazy. "That's a really nice name. It just rolls off the tongue with a pleasant twist." I didn't realise I was speaking out loud until I looked at the mare who was donning a thick blush. "Whoops. Sorry, I didn't realise..."

"No, it's fine. It's not everyday someone compliments you about your name." She interrupted before we both fell silent and the distant echo of the ball room became noticeable.

I constantly found myself looking at the mare to my side. She was wearing tight black dress that hugged her rather curvaceous figure. Her vibrant orange and yellow toned mane was done up in a large bun with two single curls draping either side of her beautiful face. There was also a small, white waist apron to signify her servant stature, If I were to guess.

The hall we walked wasn't poorly lit, but it was a little darker than I thought it would be. My thoughts were caught off guard as a sickly green flash struck forth from a door that was slightly ajar. "Did you see that?" I whispered to Autumn, stopping abruptly.

"See what?"

I brought my finger to my lips in a hushing motion. I quietly snuck over to the door and grabbed the handle tightly. My heart was racing from what I was going to find. 'One... Two... Three!' I burst through to find something that made me freeze in my tracks.

"AAAAH! GET OUT!" A shirtless mare screamed at me before throwing a high heel shoe. I slammed the door shut just in time for it to deflect the shoe.

"I'm so, so sorry, miss!" I apologised through the door.

"Just get out of here!" Her voice called through.

"I think we should just get to the ball room." Autumn suggested from behind me, trying to hold in her laugh. She took my arm once more and pulled me along.

"There was something about that green flash that just sets off alarm bells in my head." I said

"Well it couldn't possibly be a changeling." Autumn said, a little too loud and fast and her smile seemed a little nervous.

I was too confused to piece anything together. "Um... What's a changeling?" I asked.

"Nothing, don't worry about them." She answered dismissively, but back to her normal tone.

It wasn't much longer before we came to the entrance of the ball room. There was a large line leading outside where ponies were arriving in large carriages. Looking to the front of the line, I saw Celestia greeting every guest. "Wow, I'd hate to have that job." I joked to Autumn, but there was no response. I her direction only to see empty space. "Autumn?" I said, spinning around, but to no success. She had left me.

I shrugged my shoulders and headed to the back of the line. Just as I reached my destination, seven familiar mares stepped out of a carriage, followed by a young drake. Now, I know you're thinking seven mares? And I'll admit, I was confused myself to see Nightmare moon, or Night Bloom, as she is so fond of being now.

I was completely taken away by the utter beauty of the mares in front of me. Spike looked like a fine young man, in a very tidy suit. I mean, I can respect his effort, but I don't swing that way.

Rarity had really outdone herself this time.

I know it may sound creepy, but I couldn’t stop looking at them. I found it difficult to gather the courage to face them, but I had to. Even if they want to push me away. 'They're better off without me anyway.'

'Don't think like that, I bet they're gonna be very happy to see you okay.'

"Nathan! Holy shit, where have you been?" I exclaimed, the mare next to me giving an awful look at me.

'Forget about me, go and see them.' Nathan was right, just seeing them is enough to flush out my worries.

I tried to act civil and started walking with dignity, but on the inside, I just wanted to run over and give them all a big hug. I don't know what it was, but I felt truly happy right now.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave." I joked as I stood in front of the mares while they were too busy with their attire to notice me.

They all snapped their attention to me with worried looks from my words.

"Alex!" Of all people... or ponies, Rainbow was the first to launch herself at me. In the blink of an eye, she was wrapped around me in the form of a hug. Actually no, I think she was really trying to steal my lungs. I was pushed back a few steps from the collision, but did nothing other than return the hug.

I gave a small chuckle. "Hey, Dash. It's good to see you too." She held on a bit longer before letting go and returning to her usual self, otherwise known as a punch in the arm. "I deserve that."

Pinkie appeared between us and before anything could be said, all of my chest bones were crushed. "Hey... Pinkie." I managed to say. Luckily, Twilight came to my rescue and pulled the Boa away from me, before copying her. I could have sworn she used her magic to crush me further. "No, no. The pleasure is mine." I said, half sarcastically as she let me go. Applejack gave me a short a sweet hug, which I was more than thankful for.

"It good to see yer okay, Sugarcube."

"Likewise." I replied. It looked like Fluttershy was next, and going by what's already gone, I was fearing for my safety. I was quite relieved when when she gently placed herself in my arms. Fluttershy stepped back and Night took her place. "I didn't think you would be here?"

"Nor did I, but Twilight came up with a new type of spell that allows me to physically take this form, instead of just being seen like this." Night explained.

Night removed herself from my arms and for the first time in ages, I felt extremely nervous. Even with my time as a living distraction for bullets, I've never felt so nervous since the first time I talked to Zara.

'Its okay, Alex. Just stay calm and accept what happens.' Nathan's words were very comforting, but I still couldn't shake how I felt.

In my moment of freaking out, Rarity had calmly embraced me. "It's good to see you safe, darling." Her words brought me back and I placed my arms around her, being exceptionally careful of her mane and dress.

"Shall we?" I motioned towards the slowly progressing line after the greeting finished.

It didn't take long to reach the front where we greeted Celestia. I was the last to do so.

"It's good to see you in high spirits, Alex." Celestia said as Twilight stood next to her.

"Thanks to you, your highness." I replied with a low bow.

I turned around to keep the line moving, but all I saw was Spike and Night.

"Where did the others go?" I asked.

"Pinkie went to show everypony how to party, Applejack went to set up a stall with all her apple pies, Rainbow went to find the Wonderbolts, Fluttershy went to the gardens to find all the critters, Rarity wanted to get to know this prince fellow and hopefully fall in love sort of thing, and we watched as they took off in different directions." Spike answered, listing off everyone like he knew I was going to ask.

'Wait, where did Applejack have her stall all this time? The carriage was tiny.'

'Good question, why don't we find out.'

'Don't you have more important things to do?

'Procrastination is an important thing.' I thought before walking off to find out how Applejack pulled off a Pinkie Pie. It probably would have been a good idea to ask which direction to go, but I mean where's the fun in that?

I took me a good half hour to find Applejack and sure enough, she was standing behind a small wagon-type-thing that had many pies all over it. I quietly stood behind her and watched as she tried to wave over customers, but all she was doing was driving them off.

"Maybe it's because of the free food inside." I suggested, startling her.

"Darn it, Alex. Why'd ya have to sneak up on me?" I just gave an innocent smile and shrug of my shoulders. She gave a sigh and obviously agreed with me. "I don't know what ah was thinking. Nopony will want to pay for something while there's free food just inside."

I looked off to the ponies around us. There was a significant amount circling one pony...

"Hold that thought. Don't do anything." I said to applejack before walking off.

'How rude.'

'Quiet Nathan, I have a plan.'

I walked over to the popular pony, it was Fancypants and his entourage.

"Ah, Alex my boy." He said, drawing his attention to me. "I had a feeling you might be here." He continued as we shook hands. "Alex, this is Fleur dis Lee, my other half. Fleur, this is Alex, the one who saved me from Blueblood's blade." He said to the mare beside him.

"A pleasure to meet you, Fancy has told me all about you. You have my gratitude." She said as she held out her hand. I have to admit, she looks like a supermodel and sounds like an angel.

'Kiss the back of her hand. It's gentlemanly.

"The pleasure is mine..." I took her hand gently and did as Nathan instructed. "...but if I remember correctly I wouldn't have been able to save him if he hadn't saved me first."

"Such a gentlestallion."

"Believe me, I'm anything but."

"A gentlestallion, modest and good-looking. He's better than you, dear." She said, playfully hitting Fancypants' arm.

'You're too smooth for your own good.'

"On another topic." I started, getting too uncomfortable with the conversation. "Is it just me, or is the food here a little... Dull."

"What do you mean? I think the food is quite suitable." Fancy said with smile that told me he knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Don't get me wrong it's better than anything I could cook, but it lacks any real sensations."

"As I said, very suitable." The three of us laughed and then the majority of ponies around us started laughing as well, which made it very awkward.

"Anyway, there is a young mare over there that has an incredible apple pie. She's selling them for five bits, but if you ask me she should be selling them for twice as much with how good they are." This was my plan. Spread word about Applejack's stall.

"Oh really. I think we may have to try some for our selves." Fancy said, rather loud. I guess he knew what I was trying to accomplish. Fancy and Fleur went over and tried the pies with the whole group following.

"So, Alex. What gave you the opportunity to be here tonight?" Fancy asked as he and Fleur walked up to me with a pie each.

"Well, it's a long and dark story, but I made a very bad mistake with my friend, Rarity. I plan to make it up to her tonight by asking her to dance with me." I explained.

"Aw, that's so sweet. Why can't you be more like that?" Fleur said, insulting Fancy.

"Because, that part of me died when you said 'yes'." Again, the whole group laughed with us.

'And that's why I hate being popular.'

"Anyway, I should go and try find Rarity. I'll see you later, Fancy. It was nice meeting you Fleur." I bid farewell before continuing my quest.

'So now you want find Rarity?'

'Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful.'

I found myself back inside where I bumped into Spike and Night near the drinks table.

"Hello, you two. Are we enjoying ourselves?" I asked, grabbing a random beverage.

"Hey, Alex. No, well I'm not. I was told that all of us would be spending the night together and that's why I agreed to coming, yet I only see three." Spike whinged.

"What about you, Night?" I spoke over my glass as I took sip, but regretted it. I spat the liquid back into the cup and turned around to find the most snobbish mare absolutely ranting about how disgusting the poor are.

"Excuse me miss, would you care for a drink?" She took the offer with not even a glance my way and started drinking. I turned back to my friends and they were trying their hardest not laugh. "Disgusting. Sorry, Night. You were saying."

"You're too funny, Alex. The only reason I'm here is because Twilight offered me a ticket while the others pressured me into coming. I will admit, while it isn't exciting, it is still rather amusing and I don't regret being able to wear this dress." It was a stunning navy blue, strapless dress that had a sparkly floral design twisting up like vines from the bottom. She also had long gloves of the same fabric and colour.

'Perfect time to compliment her appearance.'

"Speaking of, you look very beautiful tonight." Her cheeks lit up like lights and her smile grew twice as big. She struggled to keep eye-contact as she whispered a thank you.

'Perfectly executed.'

'Im so glad you're here.'

"Oh, Spike. Do you remember where Rarity went to?"

"Yeah, she went to find prince... Um. Prince blow... Prince Blue? Prince Blueblood, that's right. Apparently she's got a huge dream with him or something."

My glowing smile faded to a dull frown and my face lost a bit of its colour. 'If he's done anything. I will crush him.'

"Are you okay, Alex?" Spike asked, concern evident.

"Which way?" Spike pointed and Instantly started walking in that direction. My eyes were caught by the windows where I saw Prince Doucheblood and Rarity. My blood thickened at the sight of him.

'Hold on! She looks happy. Remember this is about her, not you.

'*sigh* You're right, I'll take it slow to make sure he's not being a... Him.'

As subtly as I could, I made my way outside and stood in the background as Rarity and another mare competed for the prince’s attention. It was a little amusing to see the glares and smirks being thrown about between the two whenever Blueblood turned away. It wasn't long before the other mare abandoned ship, as much as I wish it was the other way around. This does give me the opportunity to show Rarity what Blueblood really is like, but how?

The two of them were walking somewhere when Blueblood suddenly stopped Rarity, preventing her from treading in a muddy puddle. Seeing this made slivers of doubt cross my mind. 'Maybe he just doesn't like me.' That was until he took Rarity's showl and threw it in the mud with a smug look like he just solved the greatest puzzle. The puddle wasn't even that big, as in: he could have stepped over it, small. Good thing they were coming towards me. At a quick pace, I walked straight at Blueblood with fire in my eyes. It didn't help that Rarity looked incredibly upset by his actions.

I deliberately bumped into him with my shoulder. The unexpected force pushed him backwards and he stepped into the mud. "Oh, sorry. I didn't see you there." I said, feigning sincerity. Blueblood looked down to his hooves, now covered in mud. I quickly threw a wink at Rarity while he wasn't looking. It felt good to see her smile.

"Why, you insolent... You!" His temper boiled over at my presence. "I should have known you would do such a dispicable thing!" Blueblood shouted, gaining the attention of everyone around.

"I said I was sorry and seeings as how you're still in the mud, it would seem you like it." I quipped. A round of hushed whispers and laughter was heard and Blueblood started to go red with anger.

"I will destroy you!" He retorted, stepping out of the mud.

"Such a comeback, but I suppose it's expected. Thinking isn't your strong suit, is it?" His anger grew even further and a bright blue bolt stuck forth with power into my right shoulder, throwing me into a spinning fall. I landed on my stomach and everyone around gasped? There was a hole with burnt edges straight through my clothes revealing my singed skin below. Rarity was quick to my side and helped me up.

Blueblood had cooled off enough to make a comment. "First and only to his side. Miss Rarity, you may have thought we could've been something, but I would never stoop so low as to mate with a whore." He spat the words at the ground below us.

I didn't even need to look at Rarity to know that it was a hard hit. "Rarity, you may want to step back." I quietly said to her.

She gripped my arm and stepping into my view, staring me in the eyes. "Alex, please. You don't need to retaliate. Let's just go." She said, but it fell on deaf ears. I gently pushed her aside and stepped towards Blueblood.

"What are going to do now, dirt?" Blueblood taunted. He felt superior, as if he was the champion, as if everyone was behind and below him, as if he had already won. I was going to show him a wealth of pain he couldn't begin to understand.

'Nope, you're not going demon powers on him. As much as I would love to see it, you can't afford everyone here to fear you.'

'What do want me to do! I'm not walking away after what he said to Rarity!'

'Just knock him about. From the memories i've seen, you should have no trouble.'

"Why don't you find out?" I said though my clenched teeth, raising my fists.

"My fighting talents are not going to be wasted on dirt like you."

"All bark and no bite! You're a coward!" I shouted out and everyone that had now formed a circle around us gasped again.

"I am no coward!" He shouted, firing another blue bolt at me. This time a saw it coming and slipped underneath. That was when the crowd learned they will also need to stay on their toes.

Another bolt and I pivoted to the side as it skimmed past. Every time I dodged, I stepped closer and closer to him. He was getting more frustrated and his shots became more erratic and less accurate, some I didn't even need to dodge. One did hit me in chest and dropping me to a knee. ‘A little rusty, let's shake that off.’

He celebrated his hit and turned to the audience, enough time for me to stand and recover. He turned back to me and shot another bolt.

'You’d think he would learn to try different spells.'

This time as I slipped below, I was close enough to throw a quick jab at his ribs. He recoiled from it but quickly sent a knee in my direction. I roughly managed to get my hands in the way, but hurt my wrist from the impact.

He threw a punch that was reenforced with magic and hit my guard. It sent me off balance with a very saw arm. ‘okay, this isn't the same as boxing.’

He charged his horn longer than the bolts before took, so a quick jab to his stomach made him lose his focus, which was followed with a right hook to his jaw. I was a little surprised at how quickly he recovered, and I payed for it in the form of a bloodied nose.

He went for a wide swing and I ducked below it before sent a strong hook into his kidney as he spun around .It slowed him down a lot and I released all hell upon him as he quickly turned back to face the threat. A quick left jab to his nose, another to chest, a right jab to his stomach, a quick left hook to his underarm, a strong right jab to his chin, a right low right hit to his stomach, while he buckled over a huge right uppercut and it was lights out. His head snapped backwards and he slammed into the ground hard. The best part was that he landed in the mud.

'Atta boy. That’s how it's done!'

The crowd was shocked at the outcome. No one was doing anything until there was a single pony loudly clapping. I turned to see who it was and saw good ol' Fancypants.

“Jolly good show, chap!” He called out and soon everyone was clapping. I had little time to revel in it because I was too busy nursing my aching knuckles. A guard came over and gave me an approving nod before picking up the sleeping prince and carrying him off the the infirmary.

‘It appears I'm not the only one that hates Doucheblood.’

The applause died off as I walked over to Rarity. She didn't look to happy with me. “Alex, I told you not to retaliate… But I am glad you controlled, you know.” It didn't seem like she was glad, but the way she stood there with her arms crossed and a sour but cute look across her face put me in a trance.

“I'm sorry, but I couldn't just stand idly by while he insulted you in such a way.” Her demeanour was released and she seemed a bit brighter before wrapping me in a hug.

“I'm still mad at you for fighting.” She said as she let go. We headed inside and the ponies that witnessed were all having a laugh and a good chat about their enjoyment of the fight. “Come, let’s find the others. I'm sure they would love to know what has transpired tonight.”

Upon entering, the whole gala was in shambles, animals were running wild and guests were running and screaming. Something caught my eye as it was launched into the air. I looked up and saw a very large cake coming straight for us. Reactions took hold and I shoved Rarity out of the way.

*Squish*

I stared off into space as my lovely suit was now covered in cake. I felt something on my cheek and I lazily looked to my side to see Rarity with a finger in her mouth. I looked down and saw that my lovely suit was actually a lovely, cake covered suit that was singed and filled with holes.

'Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! It's always you!'

“Come on, you. Let's see if the others are okay.” I said, pulling Rarity from her giggling.

Easily enough, we found the five girls with Night standing at the entrance and we joined them, but very much a few moments too soon. No joke, as soon as I took my last step, the entire ‘party’ was staring daggers at us. I started having a mini panic attack before I heard Celestia, whom was standing next to Twilight, whisper “run.” and I was gone. I didn't even look back to see if the others were following. I was, however, nice enough to wait for them at the castle gates. It didn't take long for them to catch up and they did have a good laugh at my cakey goodness.

“Did you jump into the cake or something?” Rainbow managed to say while almost collapsing.

“Other way around. Hey where's Spike?” I asked.

“He said he was going somewhere called Doughnut Joe’s before I joined Applejack in some dancing.” Night answered.

‘Oh shit! That's what I was supposed to do.’

'I think you have a pretty good excuse.'

‘I’ll just have to come up with somethjng else.’

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

“You did what!” The seven shouted in disbelief as Rarity told the story of how I knocked out Prince Blueblood. There were a few twists that Rarity added that weren't exactly true like how took all of his hits without a flinch, but I let her story be her’s.

“I can't believe you actually knocked out a prince. That's so cool.” Spike said.

“I still don't understand what provoked you.” Twilight questioned.

“Simple. I don't like it when people insult those I care about… That and we've had a few encounters earlier.” I replied, taking a bite from my doughnut.

“You taste delicious!” Pinkie exclaimed before trailing her tongue along the side of my face. Everyone laughed at my displeased expression.

“What happened earlier? If you don't mind me asking?” Fluttershy questioned.

I told them about the first time I met Doucheblood in the throne room, the second time in the dinning hall, and the third time in the ball room. Just as I finished, there was a small ringing that sounded off indicating more customers. We all looked over to see none other than Celestia and Luna.

“How are my little ponies?” Celestia asked. I stood and gestured for one of the princesses to take my seat in the booth we had, which Luna took. I walked over to another table and grabbed two chairs: one for Celestia, the other for me.

Everyone answered with apologies, Twilight continuing further until she was cut off. “It's okay, Twilight. In fact, tonight was the best gala in years.” Looks of confusion filled the room. “The gala started out with the idea of being a large gathering where the main focus was on the clothes and dancing, it was also a diplomatic hotspot. But in recent times it has just turned to nobles flaunting their wealth.”

'So what was the deal with Autumn Swirl?' Nathan asked.

‘What do you mean?’

'When you ran in on that one mare, she said something about changelings.'

‘You don't know what they are?

'I’ve never come across them before, what are they?'

‘I was hoping you would know.’

“Excuse me, Celestia.” I said, interrupting the story of the fight.

“Yes.”

“What's a changeling?” The group, minus Night who seemed uncomfortable, gave me strange looks.

“What brings this topic?”

“When that mare came to escort me to the ball room, she said something about changelings but I didn't know what they were.” I explained.

“Which mare?” Celestia asked.

“Autumn Swirl. The maid you sent.” Things were getting spooky.

“I didn't send a maid, I thought you knew the way to the ball room. When did she mention changelings?” Spooky.

“Where we were not far from the entrance. There was this gross flash and when I went to investigate, it turned out to be someone changing. When we were leaving I said there was something about the flash and she was way too fast to say, and I quote: ‘Well it couldn't possibly be a changeling’.”

“Sister, when the horizon seems dim.” Luna said cryptically.

“Follow the light of the queen.” Celestia said, just as cryptically

“Can someone please fill me in?”

I was told about what changelings are, what they do, and how they feed. I felt like a dick for laughing when they said they feed on love, but in all fairness, I was expecting them to be blood thirsty beasts that feed on the hearts of ponies… Bad example, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

'Alex, get to the castle now!' Nathan Shouted at me.

‘what?’

'Get fucking moving!' I stood up and bolted out the door without warning.

“What's this about, Nathan!” I yelled while running the short distance to the castle.

'Every guard you've passed, I've been putting tabs on.'

“What!”

'It lets me know when a guard has come across anything of interest.'

“Where are you going with this!” Two stallions gave me funny looks as I seemingly shouted to myself upon entering the castle.

'Left! One guard you passed this morning… Right! Has lit up like a fire in a field of dry kindling. '

“Why! What's he seen!”

'Stop! We’ll find out once you open that door directly on your left.'

I grabbed the door knob and lightly twisted. My nerves were going haywire, my mind was spinning, and my breathing was heavy with the run.

I swallowed everything away and shoved open the door, charging in…

Author's Note

Wooooooo! New chapter up!

Huge thanks to CommanderWolfe for editing my 'inferrier speleen abilete!'

Hope you all enjoy!:heart:

Sincerely

-Note

13: Deep in Diamonds

The door cracks from the force of it being thrown open. My mind goes fuzzy as I stare down three bug-like creatures surrounding a stallion guard who was covered in blood and unconscious.

One of the bugs released a hiss before flaring these translucent insect wings and launching itself at me, two large, knife-sharp teeth posed out.

Instinctively, I cross my arms in front of my face for protection. A searing pain explodes through my right arm and I stumble backwards to see the bug’s jaw around the middle of my forearm, it's teeth embedded deep.

A loud grunt is released from my throat as I swing my arm to the side, smashing the bug against the wall. A sickening crunch and loud crack resounds through the room as the limp body flops to the ground. A thick green, almost glowing, liquid is splattered across large cracks in the wall, coating my arm and oozing from the back of the bug’s head.

Suddenly, I loose my balance and fall to my left, catching myself on the wall. The room was spinning ridiculously fast. I tried shaking my head to alleviate the effects, but only made it worse. I pushed myself from the wall and prepared to fight, only to find the wall again.

“Ha ha ha. Look at it. It is weak to our new venom.” One of the bugs said in an annoyingly cartoonish voice.

“These enhancements will have their perks, but…” The other said, looking at it’s fallen friend with a saddened expression.

An agonising headache ruptured my mind. I gripped the sides of my head as enormous amounts of pain shot through my body.

The two bugs looked at me curiously. “I don't remember the effects being that severe.” The first commented at my erratic display of pain. It felt like my head was going to explode.

'Alex! What's happening?' It sounded like Nathan was in the same boat.

“Argh! I'm… Losing it!” I shouted out.

There was an enormous amount of pressure inside me, it was like I was pulling an elastic rope; I'm either gonna lose my grip or it's going to snap. Either way, It's over.

I felt myself burning from the inside. Horrible amounts pain radiated from my chest as I felt it searing and burning. I tore my suit jacket, vest, tie and shirt off as if it was going to stop the raging pain. I continued to scream as I watching the center of my chest turn black and crack with what looked like embers burning inside that seeped flames. The charred patch of skin and fire spread slowly and painfully until it cover my whole chest. I threw my head back at it spread up my throat. It felt like I was going to vomit lava. I felt it continue up my face and I grabbed at my head in attempts to stop the burning but the flesh I grabbed just peeled off and fell to my feet. All of a sudden the pain vanished and was replaced with a feral need to kill.

[3rd Person POV]

Everything Alex was feeling released in a large explosion, knocking the bugs off balance. They looked back to see Alex was no where to be seen.

“Where did it go!” One of them asked, terrified by what it had witnessed.

“I don't know!” The other replied. Just as it turned around, a skeletal hand clasped it's neck and lifted it into the air causing the bug to choke and spit in attempts to breath. The other bug snapped it's attention to his friend and saw the most terrifying being it had ever seen before. A being that would be the living definition of a nightmare. His fleshless head was coated in fire, along with his hands.

“Please… Spare me.” The choking bug spluttered in pure terror.

Alex slowly turned his head to the free bug who shuddered and stumbled trying to escape. Alex rose his empty hand that now burned with raging fire and red hot chains burst from orange runes that were engraving themselves on the floor, wrapping around the bug's arms and legs removing any chance of escape.

Alex took a deep breath, returning his attention to the bug in his grasp who was very soon going to pass out. He reared back his hand and threw the bug into the ground with a dull thud.

The bug greedily gasped for oxygen before trying to crawl away, but all attempts fell in vein as an agony drenched scream ruptured out from the bug's lungs as Alex crushed both of it's legs under his shoe.

“Where do you think you're going?" His demonic words vibrated through the bugs’ mind. Another scream was released when Alex drew back his foot and slammed it into the side of the bug’s torso, sending it sliding into the wall with a loud thump.

“P-p-please…” It stuttered, words crumbling from the assaulting pain and injuries. The bug was heaved from its position on the floor and slammed hard against the wall. Alex gripped it's arm and shoulder tightly and started pulling with one arm and pushing the other. More screams echoed out as a quiet, slow, juicy, meaty tearing sound started eminating from it's shoulder. Alex gave one huge pull, brutally ripping the limb from the bug’s body. Every touch from Alex left dull skeletal handprints in the bug's chitin-like body . Green blood spurted out from where the bug’s arm was and went all over the floor and Alex’s right half. Alex dropped the limb on the floor with a small thud. Using his extremely hot flames, Alex placed his now free hand on the wound and seared it. The putrid smell of cooked flesh filling the air.

Alex then stood with a feeling of slight satisfaction with his work, but not enough to ignore the hunger that grew with every passing second. He then turned to the other bug in the room. A small flash went off from behind him and Alex turned to investigate. The tortured bug was now missing, but most likely teleporting to wherever it came from… Making one less job for Alex.

He stood in front of the quivering bug trapped in the glowing, hot chains. The bug's crooked horn light up but fizzled out from the horrific distraction. Alex held out his right hand, one more rune forming below, and another red-hot chain shot out of the ground and into his grasp. The rune disappeared, leaving the chain behind. Alex tormented the bug by lashing the chain at the ground in front of it, sparks flying off and leaving charred marks on the floor.

The bug closed its eyes and turned its head away in fear, but was forced to open them as the chain sliced straight through its left leg, severing the limb. The heat of the chain searing the wound instantly and more of the foul odour filled the air.

"Now tell me. What are you! What is your business here! And who are your superiors!" Alex's venomous voice shouted at his fear filled foe.

"I'm a changling" It answered quickly, but stopped itself. It couldn't give up any information.

"Having trouble answering my questions?" Alex asked.

"I would die before I give up any more information!" The changeling spat at him with new found confidence.

Alex released a low and vicious growl before punching his prisoner in the gut, grabbing it's horn and angrily ripping it back forcing eye contact. The changeling whimpered in pain, but was robbed of all function as all it could see were the pure evil depths of Alex's eyes that showed nightmares beyond all nightmares.

Alex saw everything the bug had. Every memory, every feeling, every thought, every order, everything. His sight returned to his own body and he placed his hands over the changeling's head and squeezed. With a grunt, he crushed it like a melon and was covered in a gross, green goop littered with brain matter. "Scarab... I'm coming for you."

A large weight came over Alex with exhaustion making his breath deep and forced. He was coming back to his senses and was gaining his bearings on what had just transpired. He had completely lost control to whatever demon lies within him. All from a bite of these Changelings?

There was banging from behind him and the door he thought was open, burst open for a second time as Rainbow Dash fell through. All of Alex’s friends, plus the princesses, were completely shell shocked to witness this fiery beast standing among a blood decorated room that now housed two brutally murdered changelings, a bloodied stallion, and… An extra changeling arm.

Alex closed his eyes, knowing what they see. He reopened them and turned around, reverting to himself and the chained corpse dropping to the floor as the chains and rune vanished.

The smell washed over the group and they all gagged and covered their noses before they could throw up. Alex was too ashamed to worry about the smell, even though it smelled like a roast chicken to him. They all left the forsaken room, Alex following. As he stepped through the door, he closed it behind him... It then fell from its hinges as soon as he let go of the handle.

“Alex, What the buck was that!” Rainbow shouted.

“Cooked bug.” His reply hit them hard and they didn't know how to respond to the bluntness.

“What happened in there?” Luna asked.

“Changlings attacked a stallion, Then attacked me. I lost control and slaughtered them except for one who teleported back to their hive to spread word.” Again the bluntness was fatal, but the lack of emotion was even more so.

“Alex, are you okay?” Spike asked.

“Yeah, you sound different.” Pinkie added.

“I'm fine.” No emotion. It was seriously worrying to the whole group.

“Is there somewhere I can lay down? I feel like lying down.” Alex said. So calm, it just wasn't him.

“Of course. I know just the place.” Celestia replied before teleporting the two of them to said spot.

“What do we do now?” Applejack asked.

“First, we should check on that stallion.” Luna answered, leading the few that had the stomach to enter the room and to the stallion's aid.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

??? POV

“It was the… Human.” My dying child spoke. “Killed…” He choked on every word as tears started to fall from his weakening eyes

“It's okay.” Scarab, my spymaster, comforted him.

“The death of your brothers are not in vein. This information will surely allow victory for the hive.” I said. It was hard to see one of my children suffer such a fate by this monstrosity, but it is the burden I bare as queen of the changelings.

Scarab whispered something to my injured child while I stood and turned to the many more that were watching. It would have been preferable for the spy to have teleported to a more discrete location other than in the most populated area of the hive, but it does bring opportunity.

“My children!” I call out, all of them turning their attention to me. “What you see here is the unforgivable damage of the ponies. This is why we must rise up and fight their disgusting race! For if we do not, their savage ways will put an end to every one of us that has lived, is living, and will live! We must fight them for our own survival, it is us or them! For when the horizon seems dim!”

There was a loud, repeating beat after my final words. They were all marching on the spot and the sound was heard through the hive.

“Follow the light of the queen!” Chaurus, the head of the military body in this hive, shouted out.

“Long Live The Queen! Long Live The Hive!”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Celestia POV]

“Just relax, okay. Im going to enter your mind and have a look at what happened.” I instructed as Alex calmly laid down on the chaise lounge. I gave him a moment to settle and find comfort. “Are you ready?” I asked as I took my place in a chair beside his head.

“Are you?” He replied.

I placed my hands on his forehead and began to feel the familiar flow of magic. Suddenly there were flashes and I felt like I was sucked through a portal.

As I came to my senses, I noticed I was in a hallway. Alex was standing at a door, like he was hesitating to open it. He took a deep breath before charging through, the door bouncing from the wall, slamming shut after he entered.

It was strange, I've never read memories in such a vivid way, or seeing them with my own eyes. Normally it is through the eyes of the witness. My thoughts were halted as I was dragged through the closed door without my control.

I was met with the semi-dark room where the event took place. Alex was being bitten by a changeling. He slammed it against the wall with an enormous amount of force, enough to shatter the back of the changeling’s skull... and even crack the wall.

It escalated quickly and all of a sudden I felt tremendous evil take a grasp of myself. I watched Alex transform and… ‘Play’ with the other two changelings.

As he did, there was banging on the door, but it did nothing to interrupt Alex. Once he was finished, the door burst open and everything faded. Before I could return to reality, my entire body froze as I was encased in pitch darkness. There was an eerie feeling that crept up on me. Shivers flowed relentlessly through my very bones. It was the first time in many, many years I felt... afraid.

‘The Heir Will Prevail’ A deep voice echoed through the nothingness as two blood red eyes formed. An evil chuckle followed before the eyes turned to two incredible, yet dull green pools and the black faded back to the room we began in.

“Come on… Tia, you okay? .” Alex said, welcoming me back.

Something came over me and forced me into his arms. I had never done nor felt such a thing since I was a young filly. A sense of security came and washed away any residual fear.

“Woah, what's brought this on?” He was questionable, and rightly so, but he didn't hold it against me and held me tightly. Something I hadn't realised I desired so much.

I didn't answer. For some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to it. ‘Strange’ is the only way I can describe my actions.

“This isn't like you, what's wrong? Was it me?”

I snapped out of what ever had taken a grasp of me. “Ahem. No, not exactly. I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me.” I excused as I brought myself away from him. It did nothing to put him at ease, if his worried look was anything to go by. “Don't worry about me, we should be focused on you.”

“Alright… So. What do you think?”

“I think it's important we find a way for you to control whatever is inside of you as quickly as possible.”

“And how do we do that?”

“I'm afraid I don't know.” My answer disheartened him.

“I'm sure we can all find a way.” A new voice said from the room entrance. Both Alex and I looked to the new voice to see Luna, Twilight, Spike and the others entering. Something still doesn't feel right about their new friend, Night Bloom. ‘I’ll need to keep an eye on her.’

“There's a pretty good saying where I come from…” Alex started.

‘Time to lighten the mood.’ I thought. “When there's a will, there's a way. You're right, that is a good saying.”

[Nathan POV]

Alex stared at her blankly, his mouth replicating that of a fish.”wha… How? That's the second time.” She just poked her tongue at him playfully before putting on an innocent smile. Alex needs to hold onto these types of moments and friends if he is to survive what's to come.

‘It is sickening to witness my heir in such a pitiful way.' A wretched voice rose from behind me. It caused me to turn away from the lake. Alex's mind was still in the form of a forest, but it didn't bother me.

'He is not your heir.' I said calmly to the body wrapped in chains.

'He now shares my blood and my power. He is more my heir than anything... And with the power that already lies within, he will give me my throne!'

'As Long As I'm Here He Will Not See Your Ways As Right! I raised my voice. I hated when he talked to me, but if it means I can keep my eye on him then I will suffer for the bigger picture.

'It matters not. You have been here less time than I, and although you have a stronger bond with him, there is much more evidence that he is travelling my path. ' He was right. Alex's true powers are the only thing that can stop Ishrahg's 'infection', yet there is now sign of them.

'YOU ARE NOTHING HERE! YOU ARE TRAPPED BY ME! He is more resilient than you think.' I shouted. It shut him up. It won't be for long, Ishrahg knows these chats drill my mind... I need to help Alex fight the demon within him.

[Alex POV]

"Does anypony know where we can start?" Applejack asked.

"I have been able to do some fire shit on my own. Maybe we could start there." I suggested.

"Ooo! I wanna see Alex set things on fire!" Pinkie exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement. Her excitement did make me smile, but watching her... ahem, bounce was starting to strain my eyes.

"I have an idea." Twilight said. It made me a little nervous.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

After a good sleep, we came down to the training ground for the guards. Twilight and the princesses talked to Shining armour, filling him in on the plan... The plan that's everyone knows except me.

The grounds were cleared of all the equipment, making it a large dirt square on the edge of the castle. There was a single dummy in the middle and the walls were lined with the guards that were supposed to be training, but had nothing better to do than watch me. It made me very uncomfortable.

"Okay, Alex. I know we didn't get off on the best start, but now we're going to put all that behind us." Shining said as he strode over to me.

"Done." I said quickly. I had a tendency to deal with nervousness with bad humour. I don't mean the bad that's funny, but shouldn't be. I mean the bad that no one laughs at.

"Right. Twilight told me that were going to try and get you to use your powers without going berserk."

"Yeah."

"And you're to do what I say when I say."

"I guess."

"That starts now. DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY!" He shouts at me, catching me by surprise. I do as instructed and drop to my hands and perform twenty push ups. Just before I finish, he kicks out my arm and I fall over. "START AGAIN! THIS TIME DONT FAIL!" He shouted.

"Are you serious. That's bullshit." I retorted and stood up, regrettably.

I found myself on the floor with little air in my lungs.

"Did I say this was up for debate?" I didn't like this.

"No."

"THEN HURRY UP!" I started the push ups again, this time keeping an eye on his hooves. On the nineteenth he went for another kick, but I pulled my arms into the air and his hoof slid underneath me and I caught myself to finish number twenty.

I got up with a smirk.

"Five laps." He said.

"What?"

"FIVE LAPS! NOW NOW NOW! LET'S GO!" He shouted. And I started running. Now this I was good at.

In no time at all, I completed the five laps.

"Okay. That's enough warming up. Punch the dummy." Shining instructed.

I stood in front of the dummy and lightly hit it in the head and waited for more instructions.

"What are you waiting for, an invitation? Punch it."

"I just did." I said.

"You call that a punch? My grandma can hit harder than thata and she's dead! I wanna see you hit it as hard as you can!"

I turned back to the dummy and gave an almighty punch. It wobbled around and I turned back to Shining.

"Again, this time harder." He said. I did as told and got the same result.

"Harder!"

I repeated the same thing over and over again. Shining continuously shouting at me to punch harder. It made me more and more frustrated.

[Twilight POV]

"Twilight, what's the point of this again?" Rainbow asked me.

"I've taken notice from what I've seen and heard and come to the conclusion that Alex's energy is released when he either becomes angry, or comes in contact with magic." I explained.

"How do you know that's what it is?" Rarity questioned.

"Well, look at every time he's lost it. He was either angry or filled with magic."

"HARDER!" We looked over to see Alex getting very frustrated as he repeatedly punched a stuffed dummy.

"Watch." I said.

"RAAGH!" Alex yelled out as all his frustration was released. His hand ignited in flames and he hit the dummy with incredible amounts of force. Splinters exploded from the wooden frame and peices of scorched hay fluttered about as the dummy flew backwards and landed at the guard's hooves. They were a good fifteen meters away. The head of the dummy was obliterated and singed.

"I love it when I'm right." I said happily.

[Alex POV]

"Good, that's what I wanted to see." Shining said to me. I rested my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath.

"Nice one, Alex." Twilight said as her and the others walked up to us.

"Now it's time to see what you can control." Celestia said.

"So what was that supposed to achieve?" I asked.

"We now know that when you get angry, you release some energy. And of course the more angry you get, the more power is released." Twilight explained.

"Okay. What am I doing now?"

"You said you've been able to control some of it on your own."

"Okay... Uh, stand back." I said. They all gave me some room and I repeated what I did in my room. I held my hand out and pictured it on fire. When I opened my eyes, sure enough, my hand was holding a small ball of fire. Everyone was watching with their own version of interest.

I then threw it at a spare dummy on the other side of the compound. The ball flew through the air quickly and hit it's mark causing a small explosion and the dummy set on fire. The guards moved away from the burning object with haste.

I held out both of my hands in the direction of the fire and the tips of the flames started tilting towards me. All of a sudden the fire shot out across the compound and wrapped itself around my arms, swirling around them before disappearing.

"That's awesome." Rainbow said with her jaw hanging slack.

"Is there anything else you can do?" Luna asked.

Flames then flickered to life all over my body. They all stared at me with wide eyes.

"Woah, that's even awesomer." Rainbow squeed.

"look at his eyes." Rarity proclaimed with wonder. That brought up the question in my mind.

"What's wrong with my eyes?" I asked, my voice crackling slightly like burning wood. Pinkie reached into her mane and pulled out a small mirror and tossed it to me. I caught it and looked at myself. "Woah. That's pretty cool." I said. My eyes were a brilliant orange with white pupils and flames flickering on the outside. It was cool, until the mirror handle started melting. "Whoops." I said as the plastic handle became a puddle on the dirt.

"What else can ya do?" Applejack asked.

"There's one more thing that I know of, and by far the coolest." I said. "Hey, Dash."

"Yeah?"

"Catch me if ya can." I said before launching myself in the air. A massive trail of fire following me as I soared high into the air. Once I thought I was high enough, I paused in the air. Just enough thrust to keep me hovering. I looked down to see rainbow flying up to me... Holy shit I was high, Canterlot was no bigger than my thumb.

"You can fly! That's so awesome!" Rainbow called out to me.

"I know, but the best part is that I can fly fast." I called back.

"I'll say, that was almost as fast as me." She said.

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"How bout a race then, high risk." I offered

"You're on. Where to?"

"First to the ground." I said.

"Are you crazy? I'll whoop your flank!"

"Three! Two! One! Go!" I shouted out and both of us flew straight down. We were going really, really fast, but I got an idea. Looking cool was worth way more than finishing safely. It didn't really matter, though. Rainbow was picking up more and more speed, I was struggling to keep up, but I was still in it.

"Keep up!" She yelled out. A cone of air started forming around her and she started going even faster, but the ground was approaching too fast. Rainbow started slowing down so she didn't go splat, but I was dumb enough to try something.

I flipped around so my feet were first. Man, I was going really fast. My confidence started to waver, but I had to commit. I was past the point of no return.

*BOOM!*

There was a huge crash as a dust cloud shrouded me. 'Stay down. Gotta make it look cool.' There were many gasps around me. And I heard Rainbow land getting bombarded with questions which she answered with 'I don't know.'

The dust started to settle and it revealed me, crouching in a small crater. I was on one knee with my fist on the ground.

"Oh man, that was so cool! I've got pins and needles in my feet, but it was so worth it!" I shouted energetically as I stepped out of the crater. "Did you guys see that?" They all looked at me with relief, then annoyance.

"Why would you do that!" Twilight yelled at me.

"Superhero landing." I replied with a sly smile.

"It was pretty cool." Spike admitted quietly. Twilight whipped around and glared at him. Spike briefly looked to Dash for support, who only gave him a shrug.

"Anyway. What now?" I asked.

"For now, my sister and I must leave to address other issues. Do keep trying, Alex." Celestia said before they both disappeared in two bright flashes.

"My question still stands."

"We're catching the next train back to Ponyville, quickly get your things." Twilight answered.

"Alright, mum." I teased as I left.

After collecting all my stuff, which included my suit, my suit, and my suit, I caught up to the others outside the castle and we started our journey home.

We got onto the train and for some reason the booths were smaller and the train was full so Rarity and myself found ourselves at the other end of the cart to the others in the only other empty booth. Not long into the train ride I asked if anything happened while I was gone and got a reply that stopped my heart from beating.

"There was nothing of major importance you missed, darling. Although, I do recall Nurse Redheart was looking for you. She didn't say why, but she did seem quite upset." Rarity informed.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in. "Fuck."

"Is something wrong?"

"I was supposed to be catching up with her at Sugarcube corner the other day, but I was in Canterlot and recent events caused me to forget." I mumbled as my hands covered my face.

"Do you mean... Like a date?"

"Well, not really. It was more of a catch up without me being a patient." Rarity quietly released a breath she was holding.

"I'm sure if you explain it to her, she will understand."

"I guess we'll find out."

Roughly an hour later, the events of last night began to take their toll and Rarity had fallen asleep, her head resting against my shoulder.

I began to get bored and conjured up a small ball of fire that slowly formed a figure. The figure was female and started twirling around on the table. It made me think back to when I was with my brother and sister. My mind started flowing on to different memories, the flame becoming representations. I thought of the tragic day my sister died. The flame took the form of a figure, again, female. The figure was joined by another, considerably larger and male. The male hit her and she fell backwards. The larger figure then jumped onto her and repeatedly beat her before standing up and walking away where he was replaced by a smaller male, who ran to the female's side and fell to his knees.

"Is that you?" Rarity asked. I didn't think she was watching.

I flicked my hand and the flames vanished. "Yeah. It was." I said, my voice cracking.

"Who were the other two?" She asked. I think she could tell this was hard for me, but there was a clear sense of sympathy in her words.

"The guy's name is Jack. The girl was my sister." My vision started to get blurry as my eyes watered over.

"Was?" She asked softly.

"She died in my arms as I carried her to the hospital..." I gave myself a moment as I felt a few tears roll down my cheeks. "It was that day I gave myself a promise. I was going to avenge her." I felt Rarity's arms wrap around the one of mine she was leaning on. "It took me two years, but I was able to track down Jack." I took a forced breath and my hand was gently held by Rarity's. "That was the day I sank to his level and became a murderer." I bit my lip to keep myself from crying.

"Do you regret it?" Rarity asked softly.

"In the moment, I felt so right. So good. I was blinded by rage and sadness, but yes, deeply... I hid around the scene to see what would happen to what I thought was an evil bastard, but I didn't once stop to think that they didn't know about what he had done and in their eyes I was the evil bastard. I heard one of the police officers talking about visiting Jack's parents to tell them of his death..." It was hard for me to continue. Even though I felt so much hate for Jack, I had taken a mother's son from her. "I followed the cops to Jack's house and listened to them as they informed Jack's parents about their son... The only thing I could think was; 'what had I done?'." I finished, blinking away the tears.

"It's okay, Alex. It was years ago. You're a better person now." Rarity comforted me.

I gave an tired sigh. "You're right. I have a new life now, I can forget all those things."

'That's easier said than done.'

'Nathan? You sound different.'

'Pay no mind to it.'

'You sure?'

'What you need to realise is that what you did was exactly what you needed to.'

'What are you talking about?'

'When you killed that boy. It was good.'

'Nathan, what is wrong with you?'

'Those that wrong you should pay.'

'What the fuck? No it was horrible.'

'Don't lie. I know how you felt in that moment.'
I felt a sudden pinch of pain in my head, but as soon as it came, it went away.

'Alex. You need to stop thinking of the past.'

'Nathan. You sound normal. What the fuck are you up to!'

'That wasn't me. You thinking of the past is filling you with negative emotions and it gives Ishrahg a chance to bypass me.

'What!'

"Look. Ishrahg is inside you. I have him locked up and as long as we're careful we can keep it that way. When you absorb magic or get filled with negative emotions, he gains power.

'You're only telling me this now?'

"I get it, but everything is fine if you just stay in a good mood. Its only drastic, deep rooted emotions. Its nothing I can't handle, but I've come to realise we're gonna have to work together to keep him subdued.

'This isn't exactly small news. I'm starting to freak out, Nathan.'

"It's fine, we've got this undercontrol."

Nathan managed to calm me down for the most part, but it was still a lot for me to come to terms with. This does answer a few question, though. So as long I kept an eye on my emotions I'll be fine. After thinking about some more I came to the conclusion that nothing has really changed, except now I have a better understanding on what the consequences are.

"Alex, darling." Rarity said, snapping me back to reality. "When we get back to Ponyville, why don't we go back to the boutique and continue this discussion over some tea?"

"Sounds good. There are a few things I need to get off my chest." I admitted.

"Hey, Alex." I turned my head to the aisle and saw Rainbow standing there. "We're gonna switch seats, Twilight said she wanted to talk to you... Are you okay? Your eyes are bloodshot and you look like you've seen a ghost."

"Yeah, I'm fine thanks. Just a bit tired." I lied, moving from the seat after Rarity untangled herself from my arm.

I made my way to the other end of the cart to where the others were split in two booths and took the free spot next to Applejack, with Twilight and Fluttershy. I got a trilogy of hello's as I sat down, which I repayed in kind.

"So Twi, Dash said you wanted to talk." I mentioned, but getting a confused look in return.

"No, I never wanted to talk to you, I mean, of course I want to talk to you, but I didn't say I wanted to talk to you, not that I don't want to talk to you, I just didn't have anything I needed to say to you... heh." Twilight said getting very worked up and obviously embarrassed.

Applejack gave the most disappointed facepalm I have ever laid eyes upon.

"I think what she meant to say was that Dashie got up because she said she wanted to talk to Rarity." Fluttershy said, decoding Twilight's message for me.

"Oh, okay. Do you know why?" I asked out of boredom.

Twilight and Fluttershy shook their heads, but when I looked to Applejack she was sweating bullets before saying 'nope' while looking like she was sucking the sourest of lemons.

"For the record that is the most despicable attempt at a lie my ears have ever had the displeasure of hearing... But it apparently doesn't concern me, so I'm not gonna push it." Applejack let out a huge sigh of relief after the last words.

The rest of the ride was spent in minor awkwardness and major silence, the occasional topic here and there. I did notice that Night had picked up my phone somewhere and was, seemingly, playing games with Pinkie. How these mares get my phone without me knowing is beyond my comprehension.

The wheels screeched to a halt as we pulled into Ponyville station.

"C'mon, Alex. Granny's worried sick about you." Applejack said as everyone started the walk to their respective homes.

"You two go ahead, there's a few things I gotta clear up with Rarity." I replied.

"Alright. What time you getting home?" She asked.

"Its okay, mum. I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself." I mocked with a grin. "I shouldn't be too late... oh and I'm not gonna run off to Canterlot or jump out a window, I promise." Applejack simply rolled her eyes with a smile before her and Night headed to the farm. I caught myself watching the tail end of our conversation... If you know what I mean... Before turning to Rarity, who was wearing a bright smile.

The whole walk to the boutique I spent trying to decide what I should and shouldn't tell her. I could talk about everything, but it's kind of a grey area, I don't want her to think less of me because of some of the things I did. I'm not a mass murderer or anything, I didn't go around shooting up places for the hell of it, I didn't threaten people for enjoyment, I didn't ruin lives for the sake of ruining lives.

"You don't have to say anything you don't want to, darling. But it will make it easier on you." Rarity said from beside me, bringing me back from the recesses of my mind. I hadn't noticed that we had already arrived and sat down... There was even a cup of tea in my hands.

"I don't know where to begin." I said, placing my cup on the low table that stood in front of us. I looked up at Rarity and got lost. Looking into her amazing blue eyes I felt a deep burning sensation, though it wasn't bad, it was familiar and... Good. "You have beautiful eyes." I mindlessly said.

A firm blush crossed her cheeks and I realised what happened. "Thank you." She muttered while breaking eye contact to stare at her fidgeting hands.

'I do this far too much.'

I got all flustered and embarrassed. I needed to take a breath. I stood up and as calmly as I could and excused myself. "I'll be back in a sec, just need to use the men's room."

I placed my hands on the hand basin and looked into the mirror. "What did I do that for?" I thought out loud. "Argh. Since when was it so easy for me to freak out like that?" I ran the tap and splashed my face with the flowing water. "Alright, Alex. Just calm down and go with the flow." My words gave me enough confidence to continue.

I entered the room where Rarity was waiting and felt like I was hit in the face. She obviously took that compliment the right way. She was still in the same place from when I left, but her mane had a nice shine and volume to it, a heavy level of eyeliner had been applied, there was a more vibrant shade of red lipstick and the black skirt she was wearing now had a slit up the side that revealed a fair bit more leg than necessary, not that I was complaining. The most noticeable change, however, was that the three top buttons of her white shirt had been undone to reveal her copious amount of cleavage.

She stood from the sofa and walked towards me with a sexy sway making me weak at the knees (heavy at the arms, vomity on the sweater). A puzzled look appeared on her face, but I could tell it was false.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." She said soft and slow from near a meter infront of me. I don't know how she did it, but even the tiniest of movements were pushing all the right buttons.

"Something like that." I managed to say.

"Now..." She started, lessening the gap between us. "You were going to tell me something?" Her luscious lips were centimetres from mine. My head was tilted down and hers up, it felt like a movie.

"I was going to tell you my story." I whispered. My resolve was weakening and I felt it harder and harder to resist acting on naughty thoughts.

"And what's you're story?" She asked in a sultry tone.

"I can't take it anymore."

This time the puzzled look was genuine, but it didn't last long as I grabbed her waist and spun around, pushing her against the wall. My body holding her there.

She let go of a victorious giggle, but I hushed her by forcing my lips to hers. It was exhilarating to say the least. Her tongue made no hesitation to introduce itself to mine as they danced. We started to seperate and she held my bottom lip between her teeth. It wasn't painful, but it did add fuel the fire within. The fire that burned for her.

She placed both her hands on my chest and pushed me back slightly before grabbing my hand and tugging me upstairs. We made it to the door of her bedroom, but I could wait any longer. I needed another fix.

[3rd Person POV]

Alex pulled on the arm that held his, promptly spinning Rarity to face him before he wrapped his arms around her, his hands landing on her flanks. With a swift motion, she was hoisted up where she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. They connected in another passionate kiss. Alex brought one hand from Rarity's juicy rump so he could open the door. After a successful second attempt, it's hard when you're more focused on the kiss in Alex's opinion, he kicked the door away and charged through before throwing Rarity onto the bed. She let out an adrenaline filled giggle as she felt hot for his display of masculinity. The only thing on her mind was Alex taking her then and there.

Alex shut the door, giving an agonisingly long pause before letting go of the handle. This served one purpose and that purpose was to begin the teasing. He slowly turned around with what Rarity could only describe as a very seductive look. He slowly stalked up to the bed, standing over Rarity as if he was about to finish his prey.

His arms crossed over his chest as his hands gripped the bottom of his shirt. Rarity bit her lip in anticipation. Alex started lifted one hand, revealing a small amount of skin before smirking and dropping the hand back down. Rarity gave a playful pout.

"It's not polite to keep a lady waiting." She said seductivly.

Alex replied by pulling the shirt up and over his head. Rarity gave an approving grin, but as he started to crawl over her, she lifted her hoof stopping him with only his arms on the bed. Alex wasn't sure why, until he saw her looking at his pants, but he's not the type to give her control so easily.

He lent on one arm and placed his free hand on the leg in his way, slowly gliding it through her soft fur before reaching the fabric of her clothes and continuing to her flank where he gave a firm squeeze before moving on. He brought his hand up her side sending shivers down her spine. A gentle moan filled the air letting Alex know his plan was working. He brought his hand over her stomach and up towards her chest. His fingers went over the tight fabric where it found the upper most used button. Rarity was too busy revelling in his touch to realise what he was doing. He pulled a knee up onto the bed to free his other hand and dragged it across her other side, this time faster and brought it work one of the generous funbags before him. His massage was obviously accepted as Rarity's head fell backwards with a lusty moan.

She looked back to Alex and found he had completly undone her shirt and reluctantly finished the job, lifting her body mere millimetres from Alex, before tossing the shirt to the floor. She moved her lips close to his and as he went to kiss, he fell into her trap and she pulled away, falling back to the bed leaving Alex filled with disappointment.

"Not until you lose those pants." She said wickedly.

Alex could feel the struggle for control between them. He didn't want to let up and an idea crossed his mind. He stepped backwards and put his hands behind his back. Rarity picked up on what he was doing and slithered off the bed, standing with him. She placed her hands on his chest and moved them over the definition of his muscles before trailing her nails lightly up the sides of his neck to the sides of his head before pulling him into another fervour filled kiss. Her hand drew down and pulled his pants from his waist, falling to his ankles.

She went to do the same with his jocks, but was caught off guard with Alex's speed as he moved like lightning and uncliped her bra and her skirt before stepping forward making her fall back into the bed where used one hand to pull the bra away as the other got a grip on her skirt and panties pulling them away too. Before she knew it, Rarity was on complete display for him and she enjoyed it.

"You're fast." She said in an alluring tone.

"What can I say, I'm good with my hands." He replied with a sly wink as he layed beside her. He proved his remark as he drew circles with a couple fingers around her navel gently before descending to her flower. Her whole body tensed slightly as his two fingers slowly ran along her lower lips sending small waves of pleasure through her body. Alex increased the speed and pressure of playing electing more pleasured moans before stopping abruptly. He rolled over and positioned himself over her. Rarity watched him almost angrily, but dropped it as she was expecting to welcome his member. Alex couldn't help but smile as he knew what he was about to do was cruel, but good. He started to slide down her body.

"What are you doing? Don't make me beg."

"You'll see." Was all Alex said as he met his mark in between her lovely legs, giving a long and firm lick of her pussy. She jolted from his actions and instinctively grabbed his shoulders.

"Oh my." She gasped before more loud moans overtook her ability to speak. Alex worked his tongue firmly testing the waters and finding the major pleasure points. When the effects started wearing off, Alex upped his game and pushed his tongue into her love canal resulting in a small squeal and hand grabbing his head. He decided that there was no more room for toying and viciously worked harder. Rarity had both hands on his head, legs in the air and neck craned back from Alex's incredible skill.

"Oh, Alex! Yes!" Rarity shouted in bliss. She had a tight grip on his hair and pulling hard as if it was going to get him deeper. Rarity continued getting louder and louder and Alex didn't let up.

"Ah, Alex! I'm so close!" Rarity shouted again. At this rate, Canterlot was going to know what they're doing. Alex went for a strong finish and repeatedly slid a finger in and out of her as his tongue focused entirely on her clit. Rarity screamed it to the heavens and clentched her thighs tightly around Alex's head as her juices flowed over his hand. He ceased his now tired tongue and slowed his fingers to elongate the ecstasy.

"Where ever did you learn that?" Rarity breathlessly asked coming back to reality.

"Ha, 'that' was just the beginning." Alex replied, rising from between her legs.

Rarity couldn't and didn't want to hide the erotic smile that crept onto her lips. "This will be a night to remember." Rarity said as her horn and hands glowed picking up Alex in her magic and moving him under her. "My turn."

"You're asking for trouble using magic on me." There was a slight feral tone in his voice, but it was all forgotten when his jocks were ripped from his waist and hot breath passed his rock hard manhood. The warm and wet sensation of a tongue rose from the base of his shaft to the top of his tip making him shudder. It was followed by the same sensation drawing circles around his head before being wrapped in lips. Alex's eyes rolled back as Rarity slowly lowered, taking more and more of his cock. She took it as deep as she could, but gagged as the fleshy rod hit the back of her throat when Alex involuntarily bucked his hips. She jerked her head backwards and threw Alex a glare which was returned with a shrug. She rolled her eyes before going back to business. Starting with slow hand movements, Rarity built up to an amazing blow job. Alex was losing himself with her ability, that feral spark coming to surface as he placed his hands on the back of her head and ruthlessly thrusted harder and harder. He felt pressure build up in his loins and released his load deep down her throat with one final shove of his hips. Rarity pushed herself away gasping for air, when Alex's grip loosened and repositioned around her midsection. He pulled her up and dropped her on the bed. Rarity looked into his eyes and saw the pure burning of lust and knew, instantly, that her magic was going to give her one hell of a ride.

Alex slowly rubbed his member against her pussy, coating it in her juices before lining up and penetrating. A sharp gasp escaped from Rarity while Alex moaned. He slowly pushed so only the head was in before pulling back. He repeated this a few times until Rarity's moans became lower before going deeper, he slammed his cock in as far as he could. Rarity freed a short scream that would have been heard from anyone passing by.

Alex slowly retreated. "Please, Again!" Rarity begged, obviously addicted. Alex obliged and slammed deep, fulfilling her desires. This time Alex wasted no time repeating, slamming his pelvis against her with no delay. Rarity screamed every time. He changed his approach and lessened his depth, but increased his speed. Rarity grasped at the sheets as Alex pumped into her.

"Ah, oh Alex! Ah! Faster! Make me cry!" Rarity screamed out. It certainly wasn't what Alex expected, but he wasn't about to decline a lady's request. He picked up his speed inevitably going deeper. "AAH! Yes! Fuck me until I'm a drooling mess!" Rarity screamed out further.

'Woah, She is so different in bed.' Alex thought as he surpassed his limit to fuck her brains out.

"Alex! I'm so close! Don't stop!" Rarity continued to scream.

"Me too, I'm gonna cum." Alex said as he doubled his effort for a strong finish. He was ready to release his thick love juice, but grunted trying to hold it as long as possible. He couldn't hold it any longer and went to pull out, but found himself forced back into Rarity as her legs crossed behind him. Rarity screamed and Alex gasped as they climaxed together, Alex shooting his hot seed deep into Rarity.

Alex slid his member out, his copious amount of cum leaking from her snatch, before he collapsed next to Rarity with both of them panting heavily and covered in sweat.

"Wow... that was insane." Alex managed to say between breaths. When not recieving a reply, he looked to his lover and saw that he had almost given her what she asked for as she was not quite a drooling mess, but close to it.

Alex looked back to the ceiling as his lungs caught up with him. His eyelids felt heavy and his blinking became longer and longer until they closed and he drifted into the realm of dreams.

Author's Note

My second clop/sex scene, constructive criticism is appreciated and I hoped you enjoyed!! Also if there's a few comments for a longer sex scene, I can easily extend it.

Does anyone think that this story has derailed from what it originally was? I know development changes it and everything, but is it for the better? I do want to read replies so... Reply as you see fit.

14: Burning Bridges

Author's Note

Woah!!! A new chapter?? Whaaaaat

So... it's been a while.

I've been through the story and a bit has changed, not to mention a few years has passed since the last update so I would suggest going back and reading the story again, but what do I know, I'm just a guy that has trouble writing a dumb story :twilightblush:

14: Burning Bridges

The chirping of a small bird roused Alex from his slumber. The young man glared at the small creature on the other side of a window that, annoyingly, didn't prevent much sound from passing through. The glare eased as a purple mane took his focus and the gentle breathing of the beautiful mare that slept soundly beside him filled his ears. A large grin plastered itself on Alex's chin as last night's events replayed through his mind's eye.

Suddenly being filled with an emense amount of joy, he looked at the little alarm clock of a bird with a small smile. The bird chirped a few more times as he returned his gaze back to Rarity sleeping soundly against his chest. His smile quickly went sour as he was left to his thoughts.

'Fuck, man. What am I up to?' He thought to himself, releasing a deep sigh. 'I should be doing everything I can to get back to James. Who knows what could have happend while I've been gone.' A deep sadness overtook Alex.

"Alex, I've got to ask you..." Nathan started. Alex did his best to stay still, careful not to wake Rarity. He looked to her slumbering form and couldn't help the happiness stir within him. That happiness was quickly infected with the deep rooted sadness he felt for his brother.

'What's up, Nathan?'

"Could you live here happily? Even if you never got to see James again?" The question brought Alex to a pause, it cut deep. The more he thought about it, though, the more he realised how difficult of a question it was to answer. Whether he was just being selfish or not, Equestria was far more nice to live in than Earth... But could he really be happy after dedicating so much of his life, after sacrificing so much for his brother.

'No...' Was the short answer. 'Because I won't stop until I find a way to bring him here...'

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. What i'm trying to say is that yes, I will help you find a way, but you need to be aware that there may not be a way. I don't even fully understand the way I managed to get back."

'So where do I start?'

"Let me worry about that. I'll start going through my own memories and try find something. In the mean time stop worrying and focus on the relationships you can do something about. Go make Rarity breakfast or something." Nathan's words eased Alex quite a bit, but it still plagued the back of his mind.

'Yeah, that'll help keep my mind off it, I guess.' Alex sighed as he tried motivating himself to get up, but the feeling of being cuddled was far too inviting. 'Maybe a little bit longer.'

Alex laid there, running his hand through Rarity's soft mane for a while as he continued to let his mind wander. That was until a soft sigh brought his attention to reality. The waking mare wrapped an arm around Alex's torso and pulled herself closer into his warmth. Then two beautiful, blue eyes opened and looked up into his.

"Goodmorning." Alex spoke, his voice deep, but soft.

"Goodmorning." Rarity replied, enjoying the hand that caressed through her mane and the warm body pressed against her own. All of sudden her smile dropped and she buried her face into Alex's chest.

"Rarity, what's wrong?" Alex asked. She sighed before pulling back slightly.

"Look, Alex. I'm not going to lie, I do have strong feelings for you and last night was like a dream... but we need to keep this a secret and as much as I hate to say it, I don't think we will be able to take things between us further. At least not for while." Alex stayed silent as Rarity spoke, his expression remaining neutral. The short silence was deafening.

"Yup, I understand. In fact it's probably for the best. That way I can figure out what's wrong with me." Alex knew this was what he wanted, but he couldn't help but feel hurt by her words. A small piece of him wanted to love Rarity, but he knew he would only bring her pain.

"Alex, darling. There's nothing wrong with you. You're an amazing stallion." Her words were comforting, but Alex knew she couldn't be further from the truth.

"Only I'm not a stallion." Alex said with a chuckle. He placed his hand underneath her chin and gently rose her head to face him directly. He followed up by pushing his lips against hers and showing just how much he appreciates her with a lasting kiss. "I'm going to go fix breakfast." Rarity watched, dumbstruck, as he quickly got dressed and left the room.

'Oh, how could I possibly throw away somepony like him.' Rarity whined in thought as she buried her face in the pillows.

Alex had managed to whip up a quick meal for the two of them. It wasn't anything gourmet, but it wasnt bad either. As they ate, Alex just couldn't stop thinking. So many things had happened to him in the time he had been in equestria and trying to connect the dots only put him in circles. It was driving him mad and he needed to distract himself. With an internal sigh he brought his attention to the mare with him.

"So, Rarity. Just out of curiosity, what is preventing us from... you know... taking this further? Don't get me wrong, I'm on the same page. I do think it's best to focus on more pressing matters first, but I'm just curious." Rarity went deep in thought for a moment.

"I have some important things planned out and, although you're so very charming, I just don't think I could make things work just yet." It was pretty rough for Alex to accept the rejection, but it was fair enough. Plus, he had plenty of reasons not to get too attached as well.

The table fell silent once more as they continued their breakfast.

"Oh, you have a sister right?" Alex asked, cutting the silence, to which Rarity cautiously nodded with narrowed eyes. Alex was slightly confused before he realised how it seemed coming straight off the previous topic. "Oh, no, no, no. You're getting the wrong picture. I'm not gonna go after your sister because you rejected me." Alex said through laughter. "I was just wondering why she isn't here. Does she not live with you?" Rarity visibly relaxed and started laughing as well.

"I do, yes. Her name is Sweetie Belle and no, she lives with our parents on the other side of ponyville. She does like to stay here from time to time. Our parents can get a little... overbearing."

"Ah, right. So I'll get to meet her at some point then."

"I'm surprised you haven't already. She is best friends with Applebloom and quite often spends time at Sweet Apple Acres. However, you won't get a chance over the next week. Her class is going on a trip to Canterlot so they can avoid heat..." Rarity suddenly stopped talking and looked as though she had said something she shouldn't have.

"Huh? Avoid heat? Oh that's right I think AJ mentioned something about stallions not doing so well in heat waves or something. I didn't realise it affected kids too. But mares are okay?" Alex queried.

Rarity panicked slightly, trying to come up with an answer. She had already talked about Applejack's idea with Rainbow and was on board with her plan.

"Um, yes. It doesn't bother us mares too much, however, we do tend to make mistakes a little more often." She wasn't sure her lie was solid enough to fool Alex.

"Yeah I would think so, hot environments can get pretty annoying. Man this world is strange. Good thing I've got fire powers, heat doesn't really bother me anymore." Alex said, stuffing the last bite of his food in his mouth before standing up. "Right, I hate to love you and leave you, but I really should check in with Steele and see if I can keep working for him." Rarity was rather stunned as he had just accepted her ridiculous lie with such ease.

'Thank Celestia, he is so quick to blame everything on this new world.' She thought to herself as she walked Alex to the door.

Rarity opened the door for Alex and just as she was about to bid him farewell, he pulled her in close and gazed longingly into her eyes. She was almost entranced by the sudden, intimate action. He lowered his head closer to hers and she instinctively went in for that addicting kiss. Just as their lips were about to touch, Alex pulled away and stepped back, leaving Rarity as though he had taken her soul.

"Whoops, sorry. Almost forgot, just friends." He said with a wide, knowing grin. "See you later, Rares." He waved as he walked away from her. Rarity didn't know how to feel, but she did come to realise just how hooked on Alex she was.

Alex made his way through town and towards the forge. During his walk, he mulled over what Nathan had said about focusing on his relationships. 'I should really talk to everyone about what's happened... who knows, maybe one of them will give me some lead for me to follow.'

Alex came to the entrance of the forge and saw Steele working away on a hot piece of metal. 'Maybe a job isn't such a great idea with my problems.' Just as Alex was about to turn away, the old stallion turned his way and grew a large smile.

"Alex, my boy!" He cheered, moving in with his hand outstretched for a shake. "Good to see you're okay." Alex shook his hand and returned the smile.

"Hey, Steele. How's things going here?"

"It's been well. I have to admit, you had me worried after you took off last time. You might've heard, but those bastards were taken away to the cells and I haven't heard anything from their wanker boss, neither. Must've given em a good scare." He said, finishing with a laugh.

"Both of them? I suppose that's good to hear, I thought I'd killed that mare."

"Well, yah didn't. Pretty sure there was some major work done on her and I think she's in a wheelchair for the foreseeable future. Not that I would've complained if yah had put her down. They just about ruined my life. Guess I owe yah one for that." His bluntness caught Alex a little off guard making him chuckle a little. "You look haggard, Alex. You doin' okay?"

"I've been better. To be honest I'm running on hard times." Alex admitted, slightly ashamed.

"Come, we'll have a seat out front and yah can tell me all about it." Steele said, leading Alex to a small bench at the front of the shop. "Now, what's got yah so down?"

Alex proceeded to tell the short version of his struggles, not getting too personal. Steele was surprised to hear about his struggles with power and the rather sad predicament with his brother.

"I have to admit, Alex. That's quite the tall tale." Steele said as Alex finished.

"You don't say." Alex replied with a sigh.

"No wonder you look like you haven't slept all week." 'Do I really look that bad?' Alex thought to himself. "I know I can't help much, but there's a young mare, Twilight Sparkle, that lives at the library. She might have some book with answers... Oh and she's quite good with magic, too. If anypony roun' here knows anythin' it'll be her."

Alex couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it earlier, of course Twilight could help him. He'd even been in the library multiple times before. Alex's musings were cut short as Steele started talking again.

"If yah ever need t' talk t' somepony, come see me. My door's always open for yah. Even if yah just need a drink, I know a good spot... oh and if yah find yourself short on bits, swing by an' gimme a hand. I find hittin' metal's a good way t' get out some stress."

"Thank you Steele, you're real good friend. I'll see yah around." Alex said, standing and offering his hand. Steele copied, shaking Alex's hand before giving him a short goodbye and letting Alex head on his way.

'Now, I can head to Twilight... although, I'm sure if she knew something she would've said so by now.' The realisation quickly stole what little hope he'd gathered. 'Maybe I should go find Redheart...' Anxiety grew within his heart as he thought of how he'd managed to screw that up so quickly. The thought of maybe just avoiding her completely did cross his mind and it was appealing to start with. 'No. I need to go see her.' Alex concluded before changing course and heading for the hospital.

The walk felt like ages and Alex mulled over what to say. Before he could come to any solid plan, he was standing infront of the familiar glass doors. He took a deep breath and made his way inside and toward reception where he asked if Redheart was in. The receptionist told him to wait a moment while he went and got her.

The receptionist managed to find Redheart in the break room with little effort looking.

"Hey, Redheart. That human is here. Said he needed to talk to you." Redheart sighed at the message.

"Tell him I'm not in today, I don't really want to talk to him right now." She replied.

"I don't know, he looks pretty rough..." Redheart cut the stallion off by whipping around to him and getting in his face.

"Is he hurt?" Her words filled with concern. The stallion backed up a little from her advance.

"No. I don't think so, I mean he just looks like he's had a rough few days." Redheart breathed a sigh of relief before shooting past the stallion and making her way to the reception. As she walked she thought about how he had stood her up and frustration grew within her.

Alex sat patiently in the pristine waiting area. He couldn't help the nervousness brewing inside his gut.

"It's alright, Alex. She's bound to understand. I mean you've got a pretty damn good excuse." Alex was glad he had Nathan around. He proved himself a good friend time and time again.

'I sure hope so.' Alex thought just as a door opened revealing the mare Alex had waited upon. He shot to his feet.

"Redheart, hey." He said nervously. As her eyes laid upon Alex, she grew a nasty glare.

"You have some nerve coming here, Alex." She snarled at him. Making him recoil a little. She added to the intensity by folding her arms and refusing to look at him further.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry I stood you up the other day..." Alex started, receiving a huff. "I can explain everything. Can we go for a walk?" After a moment of silence Redheart sighed.

"Fine, you're lucky I'm on break." Alex gave a thankful sigh and led her outside, towards the outskirts of Ponyville.

During their walk he tried to explain what was going on with him but it all came out in a flurry of desperate words.

"Alex, you need to slow down. You aren't making any sense." Redheart said, coaxing him to sit on a park bench they were passing. He took the offer and a deep breath to calm down. "I can tell you've been through a lot. I mean, you look terrible. Like you haven't slept in days."

"Do I really look that bad?" She gave a sad smile for his answer, drawing another sigh from the young man.

"Okay, so this is what's happened." Alex proceeded to retell the story he had told Steele. After finishing he looked to Redheart to see her shocked expression.

*SLAP*

The shock reverberated through Alex's cheek, much like the sound through the park. After a moment Redheart collected herself and looked away from him before crossing her arms again.

"You know, I was considering forgiving you, but after coming up with such a ridiculous story. I just feel like you can't take me seriously." She huffed.

"I'm not... why would I lie about this?" Alex could feel himself getting worked up. He couldn't see why she refused to believe him.

"I don't know, why would you ask me out and then abandon me?" Her words cut like a knife. It's not like Alex had asked her out on a date... or had he? He had grown quite fond of her... maybe he did have feelings he hadn't caught on to.

"I didn't mean to. Look, just watch this." Alex said coldly. He stood up and stepped infront of the mare. She watched him carefully with a frown. Just then Alex's body burst into flames, leaving Redheart absolutely gobsmacked. He quickly extinguished the flames as she tried to speak, only making gibberish and noises. Alex felt a pang of anger rise from the depths. "You know what? Fuck this. I've got bigger things to worry about than you hating me. In fact you go for it, hate me all you want. I deserve it! Hell, any moment I could be killed by whatever demon has control over me, so you hating me means it's one less person I make sad when I bite the dust!" He shouted, becoming overwhelmed by the enormous amount of feelings stirring around in his head.

Redheart couldn't say anything, her ability to speak being completely stripped from her. With it being obvious nothing else was going to be said, Alex stormed off leaving her behind.

Redheart watched as Alex left, being frozen in place. Then everything hit her like a tonne of bricks and she burst into tears. "What have I done?" She cried.

Alex made his way through Ponyville again, with a vicious scowl.

"That was harsh, Alex. Its not like you've got an easy to understand story. It wasn't exactly wrong of her to think you made it up."

"Shut the fuck up, Nathan! I meant every word I said!" Alex snarled, scaring a few ponies that were around him as he stomped past. "I really could keel over at any moment. The less people attatched to me, the better." He grew sad after realising the meaning behind what he said.

"Look, Alex. I know there's a lot going on in your life at the moment. But thinking like that isn't going to get you anywhere. You're a fighter. I've seen it with my own eyes. We will sort everything out. I promise you that."

"You know, Nathan. I am really glad I have you in my head. I don't know where I'd be without you." Alex said, everything about him softening.

"Yeah, I'm pretty amazing." Alex snorted at Nathan's words before continuing the now easier walk to the library.

It didn't take him long before he was knocking on Twilight's door. At first knock he had no response making another small sigh escape. He then knocked again, this time, though, the door swung open to show Spike in a light pink apron with pink frills. Alex couldn't help showing the amusement the sight brought to him.

"Oh hey, Alex. What can I help you with?" He asked with a genuine smile.

"Believe me, Spike. You've helped me more than you know already." Alex replied with a chuckle gaining a confused look from the young dragon. "I'm actually hear to see Twilight. I'm hoping to find some clues on how I can get home."

Spike's demeanour dropped at his words. "You plan on leaving?" He queried, quietly.

"Well not if I don't have to, but I really need to see if my brother is okay. Hopefully even bring him here." Spike cheered up a little from the information.

"Well, I'm afraid you're out of luck. Me and Twilight have been through every book here a few times looking for a way."

"I figured as much. You guys are far too nice to me."

"It's what friends do, right?" Alex felt a nice warmth from his words. 'Spike deserves every good thing that comes his way.' "I'll go get Twilight for you. Come on in, I'm making pancakes for lunch." Spike continued before walking away.

Alex stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He stared at the many shelves of books and felt slightly overwhelmed by the task before him.

"Alex, how are you doing?" Twlight asked as she joined him next to the books.

"Hey, Twi. Actually, I've had a pretty rough day. I'm hoping I'll find a way to get home and turn the day around." Alex admitted.

"I'd hate to make your day worse, but I've been through every book here."

"Yeah, I figured. Oh well, I'd like to at least try."

"Okay, well let me help you. I do love going through these shelves. In the mean time, why don't you tell me about your day." Twilight offered as the two started sifting through books.

"Well, I saw Steele this morning. That went well, he said he'd let me work there for some coin. Then I went and saw Redheart." Alex spoke as he picked up a random book, but the thought interrupted the process.

"Oh, that's right. Something's happened between you two, hasn't it?"

"You could say that. The other day I accidentally asked her out on a date..." Alex started, causing Twilight to go a little stiff with a blush forming. "I didn't realise it was a date, I figured we could be good friends since she... you know, sees me so much." They both shared a small giggle at Alex's constant misfortune and consistent visits to the hospital. "Anyway, I had that accident with Rarity and ended up in Canterlot... missing our date."

"I see. I'm guessing it didn't go too well today?" Twilight asked, clearly concerned.

"I think that's an understatement. I tried to tell her what I was going through, but she didn't believe me. She ended up slapping me, thinking I had come up with some dumb excuse." Twilight, moved a hand to cover her mouth, only to emphasise her shocked expression.

"And what did you do after that?" Twilight asked, almost begging for the rest of the story.

"Well, I kind of got a little mad..." Alex was ashamed to admit it. He didn't realise what could have been gathered considering his past experiences with getting mad.

Twilight gasped. "You didn't... hurt her, did you?" Alex recoiled from the outrageous question, but quickly realise there was merit behind it.

"What? No! Of course not. I just kind of told her that I wanted her to be mad at me because then it would be one less person getting sad if I bite the dust." Alex hung his head in shame. After saying it outloud, it definitely sounded a lot worse than he had intended.

"Well, Alex. I don't think it's completely over between you two. There's no reason why you couldn't make up and continue being friends."

"I appreciate that, Twi... But that bridge has burned." Alex replied sadly. He retook the focus of the task at hand and returned to the book he held before realising something rather important.

'Hey, Nathan. You there?' Without a response, Alex remembered that Nathan said he was going to go through his own memories. 'I guess he forgot I couldn't read as well.'

"Um, Twi. I have a slightly embarrassing issue." Alex admitted, gaining the unicorn's attention. "I can't read." The confused look was expected.

"But I've seen you read before." Twilight questioned.

"Yeah, that wasn't me. Nathan was reading in my head. He's a bit preoccupied at the moment." Twilight started laughing at Alex's predicament, making him feel the need to expand. "I can read, but your written language here is different to back home."

Twilight calmed down but held onto her amused grin. "That's rather unfortunate. Don't worry, I can teach you. Oh, I'll have to prepare a lesson." Alex felt slightly worried about the can of worms he had just opened. I hope she doesn't get too carried away with this.

Four and a half hours later, Twilight had managed to deliver an extended lesson on the basics of reading. She was in her element and said every word with vigour and passion. As much as it made Alex happy to see her in such a way, Twilight had managed to nearly kill the poor man. He tried his best to pay attention, but he was never good at learning.

Alex felt a small amount of resentment for himself as he was putting Twilight's energy to waste, but to be fair, it seemed like Twilight could have carried this lesson on until the end of time.

Alex did learn one thing, if nothing else. Twilight had done her hair up in a bun to keep it out of Alex's face when she bent down to check his textbook. She also placed on a pair of glasses. A strange addition as Alex had never seen her wear glasses before, but he wasn't exactly complaining as his new found attraction to the nerdy school girl look distracted him from almost everything.

'Another mare catching my eye... God damn, I'm in trouble.' Alex thought with a sigh, a dreamy look donning his face while Twilight scribbled something on her wheeled chalkboard. 'Fuck.'

15: A Peek Into The Night

Alex's eyes shot open. Panic started to set in as he realised he'd fallen asleep... Again.

'Fuck! I need to keep searching' He swore to himself, going back over the page his face was stuck to moments prior.

"Alex? You're still here?" A voice came from the library stairs. Alex didn't even bother to look at the source.

"Yeah. Sorry, Twi. I need to keep looking." Alex replied, blandly, as he continued reading through a book containing known magical artifacts. While it was interesting, there was nothing even close to what Alex was searching for. He let out a low growl of frustration to this before slamming his fists on the desk.

A sad expression crossed Twilight's face as she thought about how Alex had now spent his second night at that desk. She moved over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Alex... you need some rest. You've been at this for two days."

"No. There's a way, I know there is..." Alex replied and gave a tired sigh before swapping for another book. "I just need to find it." At least he was good at reading the foreign language now.

"I understand what you're going through, Alex. But you still need to look after yourself." Alex felt a small burning sensation of anger in his gut from her words.

"I didn't realise you had you're only family member stuck in another world." Alex replied sharply, looking up from his book but refusing to make eye contact. Twilight paused from Alex's little outburst. There was venom in his words, but she could understand his frustration. He huffed from her lack of a response. "I need to get back to reading. I've wasted too much time as it is."

"You've wasted time?"

"Yes, Twilight. I've wasted time. I should've been searching for a way back as soon as I got here, but instead I've been frolicking around in magic land while James has to fend for himself in a real shit place."

"So then our relationships with you are a waste of time too?" Twilight shot back, hoping it would make Alex rethink his words.

The burning sensation in Alex's gut started to grow. He shot to his feet and faced Twilight, making her stumble back a few paces.

"Alex, I don't think you understand. I'm not saying..." Twilight tried to defuse the situation but was cut off before she could get her point out.

"No, you don't understand! I have been thrown into a strange place, been attacked on a regular basis, had all these crazy powers that I can't control thrust into me. I couldn't even read until the other day! And don't even get me started on you lot." With each example Alex stepped closer to Twilight who was now growing scared of the man as he verbally lashed out. "Every time I think I'm making progress, I find out I've only walked in a circle. Whenever I solve one problem, two more show up to take its place."

"Alex!" Nathan shouted. His sudden voice shocked Alex out of his train of thought, bringing him a little clarity.

Suddenly realising what he'd said, guilt washed over him. He returned to his seat and collapsed down, burying his face in his hands before letting out a terribly large sigh.

"I'm so sorry, Twi. I don't know what's happening to me." Alex apologised, his voice cracking as he desperately tried to keep himself from giving in to the overwhelming emotions. "I didn't mean any of that."

Twilight stood there, shell-shocked for a moment, trying to think of what to say.

"I know the world seems against you... but that doesn't give you an excuse to say what ever you want." Twilight replied with a trembling voice. Alex's head shot up with his mouth hanging open only to see Twilight's tear-filled eyes for a second before she turned heel and ran for the stairs.

"Twi, wait." Alex started as he got up to go after her, but it was too late. She was already gone. "Fuck."

Alex paced around the room for a bit, mentally berating himself before deciding to leave and heading for Sweet Apple Acres. He thought about taking Twilight's advice and having a lay down.

'Fuck's sake. There's one more relationship I've fucked.'

"Yeah, you're fucking things up pretty bad."

'Isn't this supposed to be where you make me feel better?'

"I would, but there's no excusing what you did back there. Yes, you're under a lot of stress, but fuck me do you need these girls. It's obvious they're the only thing standing between you and insanity." Alex sighed, knowing Nathan was spot on. "And stop doing that! You've being sighing left, right and center lately... its driving me up the wall."

'I can't help it. Things just aren't going my way lately.'

"Oh fuck you. You've been given a second chance at life. Sure it seems like its asking a lot as payment, but you're surrounded by bangin' hot chicks that care about you a lot. Pretty good trade off if you ask me."

'Yeah, but I still need to get James here.'

"Actually, you're in luck. I have a lead."

'Are you waiting for an invitation? Spill the beans.' Nathan laughed at this.

"Not yet, you need to relax for a few days... and you definitely need to smooth things over with Twilight. Plus I want to see how you handle Heat season."

'But...'

"James will be fine. You've set him up for success. You gave him all the tools he needs to survive."

'Argh, fine... Actually, what's the big deal with heat season? It's just a bit of warmth, so what.' Nathan laughed again.

"You'll find out soon enough." Was all he replied with before leaving Alex to grumble to himself for the rest of the walk.

Alex's mind was a mess and it refused to let him sleep. He'd made it back to the farm and up to his bedroom where he'd wasted no time flopping down over the bed. The house was quiet and seemingly empty, which wasn't something he was going to complain about. The less people around him at the moment, the better. At least, that was what he was thinking. He was very volatile and frustrated, but that didn't make sense to him. Everything worked out well in Canterlot and he even got an explanation for some things, then he had a memorable night with Rarity. Why was it all going tits up on him? His musings were broken as the door opened.

"Oh, Alex. You're back." The familiar voice of Applejack took his attention.

"Hey, Aj." He greeted, moving to sit on the side of the bed.

"You doin' okay, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she sat next to him.

"I'd say I'm fine, but I know you wouldn't believe me."

"You got that right. So what's got yah down?" Her tone was cheerful and Alex could feel it soothing him as he felt her hand gently place itself on his leg in a comforting manner.

"Well, to start with I went and saw Redheart... burnt that bridge pretty quick." Alex started.

"What happened?"

"Tried to explain why I didn't make it to our lunch. It's a wild story and sure enough, she didn't believe me. She showed that with a quick one handed clap to my face." Alex subconsciously rubbed his cheek at the memory and Applejack tried not to crack a smile, but the way Alex put it was rather amusing. Alex noticed this and started chuckling. "Why are you laughing, it was horrible." He asked through his own suppressed laughter.

"Heh heh. Ah'm sorry, Alex. I ain't never heard anypony call it a one handed clap." Applejack said, getting it out of her system.

"Anyway, she didn't believe me so I kind of said I'd prefer it if she hated me and stormed off." Applejack's expression had turned sombre.

"Why would yah go 'n say that?"

"Well, at the time I was thinking that the less people that like me would make less people sad if this Ishrahg character ends up getting the best of me."

"Oh, Alex." Applejack cooed as she started rubbing Alex's thigh. "Ah'm sure it won't come to that."

"Yeah, well that's not even the end of it." Alex continued.

"Ah'm gonna hazard a guess an' say yah ain't found nothin' at Twilight's."

"Wait, I didn't tell you I was there." Alex said cautiously. Old habits kicking in.

"Twi did. Yah think yah can vanish for two days and not get noticed?" Alex nodded in understanding.

"Well, I didn't do any better there, either. I kinda got a little tired and a little frustrated and kinda blew up on Twi when she suggested having a break. Even after she taught me how to read and helped search the whole library... Fuck, I'm a horrible person." Alex explained, his shoulders sinking.

"Yah are not. You've jus' hit a rough patch. Rest up fer a day or two an' everythin'll sort itself out."

'I hope you're right, Aj." The room filled with silence as Alex fell into thought for a few minutes. When he came back to reality, he realised Applejack's hand getting higher and higher up his leg with each stroke making him start to sweat. He jumped a little when Applejack spoke.

"Ah know somethin' that'll help take yer mind off things." Alex looked up to her and recoiled slightly from the look he was getting. She was biting her lip and gazing at him as if he were candy.

"Uhh." Was all he could get out before she pounced, forcing him back onto the bed as she fell on top of him, diving in and locking lips with Alex. He was surprised to say the least, but quickly found himself lost in the moment as he shared this intimate moment with her. Alex's mind was hazy but he could clearly feel Aj's hand slide down the waist of his pants and her cold fingers start becoming familiar with his quickly stiffening manhood. He took this moment to advance as well, bringing his hand under her shirt and running it up her firm body and making his way to her chest. 'Gotta get that bra off.' Alex planned to himself.

Applejack pulled away with a grin and straddled Alex as she made quick work unbuttoning her shirt. Alex made the same move and ripped his own shirt off. She was just as swift unclipping her bra, but held it against her chest as the straps fell loose. Alex was clear with his displeasure of Applejack having control over him. She leant back in started kissing him again, Alex used this moment to grab the strap of the bra and slide it out from between them. Applejack pulled away and revealed what Alex was so desperate to see. Just as he reached up to start playing, there was a noise that made them both freeze. Both of them snapped their attention to the door to see it was open, with a big red stallion frozen halfway through the door.

There was mere seconds of silence which felt like an eternity before Big Mac simply spoke "Eeyup" before closing the door.

"Buck." Applejack whispered as her head dropped. Alex just laid there, boobs in hand, trying to process what happened and not sure what to do. That was until she got off of him and put her shirt back on. "Dammit all." She swore again before going for the door. "Now ah gotta talk to Mac bout this. Damn this heat."

"Wait..." Alex started, but Applejack had already left. "Fuck!" He fell back onto the bed and covered his face with his hands. "This is going to be an awkward dinner."

Alex continued to lay on his bed, completely done with the day. Most of that time was spent anxiously thinking about his next run in with Mac. 'I hope he doesn't want to beat me up... surely not.' All of a sudden something heavy landed on him, forcing all the air from his lungs.

"Alex! I'm so happy to see you!" Cheered a cute little voice. Alex looked down to his chest to see Night Bloom digging her face into him with the cutest expression making him laugh a little.

"Hey, Night. It's good to see you too." He replied, wrapping her in a hug. "What brings you in here?" She gave him a slightly puzzled look.

"I've been sleeping here, remember?"

"Ah, that's right."

"You probably wouldn't remember since you haven't slept here in a while. Too busy sleeping with other mares." That made Alex's eyes widen and a knot form in is stomach. 'What... When... How...' He was in complete panic mode. Night starting laughing, so much so that she started rolling around. "You can calm down, Alex. I'm only toying with you. I understand that what we shared was only in the moment... and a little token of my appreciation." She finished with a sly grin.

"I haven't been sleeping around!" Alex managed to spit out only making Night laugh more.

"Alex, you don't have to hide it from me. I knew what you and Miss Rarity were up to when you didn't come home that night. You must also be forgetting that I'm not young and naive, I'm very aware of what a mare and a stallion get up to when they're all alone, especially when the stallion is as delicious as you." Night gave a long lick up Alex's cheek to emphasis her teasing.

"Night, come on." Alex was burning bright red from the embarrassment only making Night laugh even more.

"I'm only teasing, Alex. I'm just excited to get a chance to spend some time with my saviour."

"I'm not you're saviour. I just did what anyone else would've done... aside from maybe that night." Night gave Alex a deadpan look. "Okay, Nightmare Moon and what not. Anyway, how about you stop teasing me and tell me what you've been up to over the past week?"

"To be honest, not very much. I have become quite good friends with Applejack. Oh and just between us, It sounds like the heat is going to hit her pretty hard this year."

"That's good to hear, but I'm sure it'll be fine if she just chills out in some shade and stays cool." Alex commented. Night looked at him confused before the realisation hit her and she adorned an amused grin.

"Alex, do you know what heat season is?" She asked.

"Well, sort of. It's like a wave of high temperature or something, right? Apparently stallions and kids have to go away for it because they can't stand it or something." Night was giggling uncontrollably from his description. "I'm wrong, aren't I?"

"Very..." Night started, but had to get herself under control before she could continue.

"Alex, don't listen! She's telling lies!" Nathan shouted at Alex, but Night started her explanation before he could reply.

"Heat isn't temperature, Alex. It's a short period of time every year when young mares become... extra fertile." Alex's confused look told her she was too vague. "Horny. Mares get very horny, to a point where they will actively pursue sexual partners... sometimes unwilling partners." Alex was gobsmacked and confused beyond comprehension.

"Wait, wait, wait. so you're telling me, there's a time every year when mares go wild for sex?" Night nodded in response. This was the most amused she'd been in a long time. "And stallions, what? Go into hiding?" Another nod. "Wait, don't tell me kids have to hide so they wont be... picked out." Night laughed some more.

"Of course not, Alex. It's just a good idea for them to be away because sometimes certain scenes can happen in public."

'Nathan, You better not be trying to set me up! Why didn't you tell me earlier?'

"Ha ha, It would've been funny." Nathan answered innocently.

"Right, well that's a relief... Why would Aj and Rarity mislead me like that?" Alex asked Night, deciding to ignore Nathan's antics.

"My guess would be that they we're hoping you would still be around when heat came full swing. That way they could satiate their needs... or better put, you could." Alex didn't know how to process the information. On the one hand, It sounded like an all you can fuck buffet... on the other it could put stress on their relationships if they regretted it later on. Night could see the cogs turning in Alex's head and could've sworn she started to smell smoke.

"When does this heat kick in?" Alex asked. Night made an over exaggerated gesture, feigning shock.

"And spoil the fun? You have me mistaken for somepony else."

"Do you get effected by heat?" Alex asked, slightly worried what she might have planned for him.

"No, I don't think so... but that doesn't mean I can't jump you first." Night said, lightly digging her fingernails into Alex's torso and a vicious grin which was quickly replaced with more laughing.

"You're so very mean to me." Alex pouted.

"Just think of it as me showing affection."

Alex couldn't help it as his arms wrapped around Night again and cuddled her tightly.

"I'm glad I found you, Night." Alex uncontrollably, admitted.

Night blushed as she was pinned to his body. "Alex." She said, slightly embarrassed.

"Soups up!" Granny's voice boomed from downstairs, followed by the tell tale bell she rang to indicate meal times, breaking the two from their moment.

"Perfect timing, I'm starving." Alex cheered as he got up and retrieved his shirt, leaving Night as she huffed and begrudgingly followed him downstairs.

To say the meal was awkward was an understatement. Granny and Applebloom enjoyed the meal like any other time, but there was clear discomfort between Applejack and Big Mac, Alex was feeling just as much embarrassment. He knew that it wouldn't have been that bad if Big Mac had walked in on him and another mare, even Night. But the fact it was his sister made it much worse. Night had noticed what was going on and was begging for info.

"Mac, ah can explain..." Applejack started before being cut off.

"It ain't none a' mah business." Big Mac stated quickly. A short, but painful silence followed.

"Uh, did you need me for something, Big Mac?" Alex asked, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face.

Big Mac stared Alex in the eye for a moment, his face like stone, making Alex very nervous. "Jus' wanted tah check up on yah is all." He said before going for another bite of his meal. More silence filled the room.

Night leaned over to whisper to Alex. "Can you please explain?"

"Not a chance." He whispered back.

"All ah'm gonna say is yah could do worse." Big Mac said keeping his eyes on his plate. Applejack wasn't doing much more than that as Alex could see a thick blush on her cheeks.

'Ha ha, you're in the clear!' Nathan cheered in Alex's thoughts.

'At least someone's enjoying themselves. Nathan's laughter echoed through Alex's mind as he looked to his side to see Night's eyes go wide as she slowly turned to him with a huge grin.

"No. Really?" She said with a gasp. "You work fast." Alex could see she was having trouble containing her amusement. "He walked in on you two didn't he?" Alex thanked any and every god that she whispered that last part.

"Would you shut up." He whispered back only for Night to burst out laughing, making Mac sigh and Applejack to hide behind her hands.

"What's goin on?" Applebloom asked innocently.

"Nothing!" Applejack, Big Mac and Alex all answered in unison.

"You weren't helpful at all back there." Alex groaned to Night as they entered Alex's room.

"Can you blame me? It would be rude if I didn't enjoy every aspect of the life you've given me." Night replied, still laughing as she pushed herself against Alex's back and put her arms around him. Alex was a little surprised by how touchy Night had been lately.

"Where has all this confidence come from? You've been very touchy too." He asked, trying to phrase it in a way that wouldn't put her off as he admittedly enjoyed the contact.

Night was quiet as she thought about how to answer the question. "I'm trying to figure out my own personality." She finally said, not letting go of Alex. He noticed how her voice had gone softer, as if she didn't want to tell him. "Is it weird? would you prefer if I stopped?" Night started pulling her arms back and Alex knew this could be a make or break moment.

"No, I don't mind at all... actually I kind of like it." He said quickly turning to face her and guiding her arms back around him with his. He could feel his cheeks getting warm as what he'd said settled in his mind and he could feel his heart start to race as he stared into her brilliantly cyan eyes. Night wasn't in much of a better state, she was already out of her depth acting the way she has.

Alex broke their eye contact as he placed his arms around her, placing one hand on the back of her head and gently guiding it to his chest for an easier to handle hug. "What do you mean you're trying to figure out your own personality?" He asked, sporting a full blush and his heart still racing.

'Smooth, but you could have played that way better.' Nathan laughed. Alex mentally growled at Nathan's amusement.

Night could feel Alex's heart racing as her cheek rested on his chest and it put butterflies in her stomach. A feeling that was becoming more and more common as she spent time with Alex. She thought of the answer to his question and a shock came to her heart and she felt herself sink deeper into Alex as the worry took hold of her. "I don't want to be Nightmare Moon..." She choked out, holding back tears. "... and I don't want to be Luna."

Alex could tell this was something that weighed heavily on her as it clearly almost brought her to tears. His mind ran blank, what was he supposed to say? 'Nathan, help.'

'Don't look at me, I don't have any experience with ex-villains now smoking hot potential lovers.'

"What do you mean?" Alex finally said, hopefully buying himself some time to come up with something. "I'm sort of following, but not."

Night giggled a little as she could tell Alex felt like he was on thin ice before expanding. "For a long time, all I knew was jealousy and hate. But now I've been given a chance to be my own mare, I want to be just that. My whole life I've been a part of Luna, but now I'm not. I'm just... Nightmare Moon."

Sadness was tugging at Alex's heart. He got it now, she wasn't just a manifestation anymore. She's worried that what she was will define who she is now and having been born from Luna's jealousy she's worried that she'll turn into a copy. He tightened his grip around her and lowered his head to rest on her shoulder, emphasising the hug.

"You're not Luna and you're not Nightmare Moon, not any more. You're Night Bloom who lives at Sweet Apple Acres with me and the Apple family. She has friends and if I'm completely honest, she has a cute confidence that would never fail to bring a smile to my face." There was silence that followed Alex's heart spilling out and it started to make him nervous.

Alex loosened his grip as Night pulled away slightly from him and gazed into his eyes as his hands glided along her sides and rested on her hips, hers doing much the same. His nervousness grew while he watched tears well up in Night's eyes. That was until he felt her hands shoot to each side of his neck as she pushed into him and locked her lips with his.

They lost their balance as Night pushing against Alex tipped them onto the bed, but that didn't stop the two as they continued share the passionate kiss.

Alex heard the crack of a baseball being struck by a bat in his mind before Nathan cheered. 'Home Run! Ha ha, couldn't have done it better myself.'

Night finally separated from Alex, still on top of him. "Alex, you have no idea what it means to hear you say that." Her words were followed with a slight giggle and a big smile as the tears that ran were tears of joy and Alex couldn't stop himself from smiling too.

"If this is who you're happy being, then I'm all for it." This caused Night to drop onto him and cuddle him as hard as she could. "I have an idea. Why don't we have our showers then we can go to bed with the curtains open so we can enjoy the beautiful night sky that you fought so hard for everyone to appreciate."

Night was overwhelmed by the emotions flooding her and didn't know how to react so she just buried her face in Alex's neck. "Okay." She whispered but didn't move. Alex laughed a little as he rolled her off of him.

"Alright, I'll go first." He said before getting up and making his way to the bathroom.

Alex looked at himself in the mirror as he waited for the hot water. 'I'm glad I could make her feel better. I had no idea she had so much on her mind. I guess I'm not the only one with struggles. Hope I didn't over do it.' Alex thought as what just transpired was all he could think about.

'You've got her hook, line and sinker. Not gonna lie, I'm a little jealous of your situation.'

'Huh? what do you mean?'

'What do you mean what do I mean? We both saw that, that was romance genre one o one.'

'What no, I just... I don't know... said what she needed to hear.'

'Then there's Rarity, I know how you felt when she said she couldn't take things further.'

'That was just a heat of the moment kind of thing.'

'Yet, she confessed her feelings for you. And Twilight, you were almost drooling with her glasses and mane done up.'

'What do you want me to say? She looked really good.'

'Applejack literally tried her luck earlier and she had you.'

'I got nothing for that one.'

'Fluttershy was all over you too.'

'Oh shit, Fluttershy! Fuck, I need to go see her.'

'I'm not done yet. You've even caught the eye of the princesses. I mean, not many guys can say that.'

'What? No I haven't.'

'You're denial is so potent it's concerning. You're little escapades with Celestia? Yeah, she even said, and I quote, 'I'm beginning to realise why my sister is interested in certain things'... yeah she was talking about you. And that leads me onto Luna. I know you saw that that door was see through.'

'No, you're looking too far into things.'

'That's a weak argument.'

Both Alex and Nathan were cut from their musings as the bathroom door opened causing Alex to almost break his neck with how fast his head snapped over. His mind broke and words refused to form as he watched Night slip through the door and close it behind her. She turned to Alex and smiled at his confused expression.

"What? you can't possibly think I'm going to let you shower alone after everything you just said to me." Night said innocently. Alex didn't know what to make of it, his brain continued refusing to work as Night tested the water before starting to slide off her clothes. She must be borrowing from Applejack's wardrobe, but Alex definitely couldn't complain about the country girl look on her.

'Case and point. And with that I'll leave you to it.'

Alex continued to stare dumbfounded as the now naked Night tied up her hair into a loose ponytail with a small black ribbon. She turned back to Alex, smirked then moved closer to him, putting her finger under his chin and pushed up to close his mouth before grabbing the hem of his shirt and starting to lift. He mindlessly raised his arms as Night pulled the shirt up and over him. She dropped the shirt and placed her hands on his chest and slowly ran them over his body, enjoying how her fingers danced across the definition of his muscles before bringing them down to his pants and undoing them. Alex was yanked from his trance as Night pulled the zip down.

"Night, what..." Alex started, but was quickly shushed with Night's finger pressed against his lips.

"Shh, It's just a shower." Alex didn't know how to handle what was going on, this wasn't exactly something that happened often. Night pulled his pants down and stared at his manhood as it was on display. "It looks very different in the light." She commented with a little giggle. Alex had never blushed so hard and he tried to hide behind his hands as Night poked it and giggled as it wobbled around a little bit. "Some times I forget you're not a stallion." She continued through her grin.

'Don't get hard, Don't get hard, Don't get hard, Don't get hard.' Alex cried a mantra in his head as Night toyed with him.

She rose and giggled again as she noticed Alex's pure embarrassment before gently grabbing his hand and leading him to the shower and stepping under the water. Alex followed her in and stood awkwardly as he waited for his turn under the water. Night turned to face him and he felt a little giddy from her beautiful smile. Her black fur making her smile and brilliant eyes stand out. Night wrapped her arms around Alex's neck and pulled herself into a gentle embrace. Alex grabbed his right hand in his left and let his arms rest on her hips. Night rested her head on Alex's shoulder and used his neck to hide her face from the water that cascaded over them.

Alex began to relax as the feeling of warm water and holding Night gave him a sense of calmness he couldn't describe. That was when he noticed that his heart wasn't the only one that was racing and he smiled as he realised that Night must've really had to push herself to be this confident. He looked down at the mare that was gaining his admiration for her efforts at being a new person... and that brought him to the realisation that her boobs were pressed up against him and the thought of this beautiful mare naked in the shower with him. A familiar twitch downstairs made him tense his jaw trying not to ruin the moment and his mantra came back.

'Don't get hard, Don't get hard, Don't get hard, Don't get hard...'

'Can you shut the fuck up, please. I can't block out your internal monologuing, remember.' Nathan begged, breaking Alex's focus and the moment flooding his mind again.

Night started laughing into Alex's neck as she knew what was going on. "That's quite the compliment, Alex." She said as her hand slid down his body and down to his raging erection. Alex gulped as she rubbed her fingers gently along his shaft.

"Compliment?" Alex asked, trying to distract himself.

"Yes, you're so excited just from us embracing in the shower."

"I can't help it." Alex muttered. "You're just so... well... hot." His words made Night laugh again.

"Exactly, I can tell you think so." Night's hand joined her other around Alex's neck as she pulled back slightly to look at him. "I think I've teased you enough, plus you have to make good on your word. I'm looking forward to falling asleep in your arms as we gaze at the night sky." Night said before planting a small kiss on his neck and letting him go. The two got out of the shower and dried themselves off before retreating to Alex's bed.

Cuddling in the bed wasn't what Alex had in mind when he suggested star gazing, but he wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to sleep in the bed and with Night pushed up against him. His mind was in total conflict with half focusing on the very attractive mare that felt the need to sleep completely naked, while the other half wanted to take in the absolutely stunning view of the night sky.

"I was going to be happy staying back and watching, but after tonight I think I'm going to have to join the battle. I'm not going to lose, either." Night spoke, filling the silence.

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" Alex asked.

"Nevermind, just thinking out loud." Night replied dismissively.

Although this had been a wild night, with lot of twists and turns, Alex had to admit that Night had given him a well needed distraction from the past couple of days he'd had. It was so nice to just have someone in his arms, even though she'd inadvertently given him a horrible case of blue balls, he felt as though a void within was being filled. Thinking about that, he let out a deep sigh of content and fell into the realm of sleep.

1: Alex is my name (Re-Write)

So... Where do I start. Well, my life has turned pretty shit, it hasn't always been like this and I hope it doesn't stay like this. For now, however, I can't see any light at the end of the tunnel.

My name is Alex Regent. Currently I'm 23 years old and about 6'3". I have dirty blonde hair that's in a fade style, so it's a medium length on top and slowly gets to a one as it goes down the sides and back, and light stubble across my face. I'm wearing a plain, light-grey hoodie with black skinny jeans and a pair of white sneakers, though they're more grey from use. I have a younger brother who is 16 at the moment and turns 17 next month. I did have a younger sister, but she died when I was 13 and I don't really like to talk about it. My mom died when I was 6, giving birth to James (my brother), and dad abandoned us when I was 10.

Let's see, so right now I'm running from a group of angry addicts who were being chased by pigs. Huh it's actually quite funny now that I think about it. I've had to make drug deals since I was fifteen so my brother could grow up in a semi-decent environment and not have to deal with the shit I had to.

So the reason I'm running is because I needed to make money. I was behind on my brother's school fees, so I was forced to use the the last of the money I had. Problem was; no money means no drugs, and no drugs means no deal, and no deal means angry boss, and angry boss means... I was in quite the pickle. I had to think and I came up with, probably the most brilliant plan in the history of brilliant plans. Instead of a brick of cocaine, I'd sell a brick of washing powder. I know right, genius.

All I can say is I'm a fucking idiot.

It wasn't too hard to make the powder look like cocaine. Just put it in a wet box, pack it down, let it dry, use a knife to pick out all the blue things, then wrap it in a paper bag. The deal was working. These buyers were already too fixed up to tell the difference, so it was going off without a hitch... However, of course I never get it that easy. I had 20 thousand big ones in my hands when the windows of the abandoned shop, were lit up with red and blue flashing lights. The pigs got out of the mud. They rushed the building and had everyone surrounded.

The buyers and myself where kneeling on the floor, hands behind our heads. We were all going in for time, until one of the cops picked up the brick with a questionable gaze before giving it a smell. My stomach jumped into my mouth when he started laughing his arse off. Everyone was so confused except me, I was really in the shit now. "Ha Ha Ha... Oh boy, this dirt bag's try'na sell washing detergent". Well fuck me, did every shit in the world just hit the fan.

Shit happened and I got the F outta dodge. It was a blur, the group I was selling to got angry and tried to jump me, but the cops stepped in and a massive fight broke out, while everyone was distracted I absolutely legged it.

I hit the first door at the back of the derelict shop and found myself in a storage room. A quick glance around showed another door to my right. I sprinted at the door with the full intent of busting it down. Movies do it, how hard can it be?

WHAM!

"Ah, fuck!"

Turns out, movies can't be trusted. Correcting myself, I flung open the door and sprinted for the nearby woodland. Ducking and dodging any and all brunches, trunks or shrubs I quickly made my way into the depth of the forest. Eventually I would come to the dome, but it was definitely a long run away. Stinging sensations became present as I crashed through a thorn bush. I stopped to quickly brush over the area. Luckily no thorns were stuck in my legs, but the cuts were there and I needed to continue. Yelling and gunshots went off like fireworks behind me. Yeah, no thanks. Not looking back.

When the only things I could hear were my footsteps and wheezing, I ran a bit further then gave myself a break. "Okay... That's it... as soon as... I get back... to James... we're so gone... Gonna go somewhere... Far... From here... A new start... That's what we need". Talking to myself in between gasps of air isn't easy.

I looked to my left and saw trees, I turned to my right and again, only trees. So I shrugged and walked off to my left. It wasn't long before came across something I didn't expect. A carnival, like the ones you see in movies with stripped tents and stuff. Only this one was in the middle of a forest and completely empty. The tents were set out in a sort of squared 'U' shape. Creepy vibes, man.

I stayed in the surrounded bush, watching out for anything suspicious... or haunted. I knew not to go in, I had seen enough movies to know this shit is haunted... whether it actually is... irrelevant.

Man, I hate curiosity. I pushed through the bush and slowly made my way to the carnival of certain doom.

"Ha, go in the carnival he said. It'll be fun he said." I whispered, giving a nervous laugh to myself.

I made my way to the closest tent and peaked around the corner. I wasn't sure if something happening would've been worse than nothing happening. Pushing on, I turned the corner and my way down the line of ominous tents. I found a split in the side and pulled it back to look inside. It was dark... very dark. Something could've been two meters in front of my face and I would've been none the wiser. With that in my head I hastily pulled my head back and walked on. All the tents on this side were the same, until I came across a very small tent. It had a corner tied to the roof to make an entrance. I cautiously took a few steps inside, knowing with this one being different... This is where shit is gonna go down. The small room was dim and empty, aside from a small, round, wooden table in the centre with two cushions that I guessed were alternative chairs.

To the right was another opening. I made the necessary movements around the small table and poked my head through the hole. This tent, much like the others, was ominously dark. A slither of light all the way around the bottom where the tent met the grass, but that could only do so much. An eerie feeling brushed past me as my eyes worked double time to see anything.

Nothing.

With my interest diminishing and with the flight response rising, I pulled my head back and turned to leave. Something stopped me mid step. There was now a crystal ball placed upon the table that ran bare moments ago. ‘Was someone behind me?’ Goosebumps ran down my body. Was *gulp* something behind me? Thoughts are bad. I scanned for anything else that could have changed.

Against all flashing red lights, I knelt down to get a closer look a the ball. It was a glassy sphere that sat atop a small metal frame. It was an incredibly detailed piece of art. Each of the four legs was the tail of a dragon that slithered around to the left, connecting with the next. I was very impressive, with how the detail went right down to the scales. I noticed that the eye of the dragon closest to me was a tiny, deep red gem. The next had a small green gem. I leaned on the table which proved there to be a blue gem furthest from me. Confusion encased me when I looked at the last dragon. There was no gem in the eye and it was covered in scratches, revealing its silver metal under the black paint.

“Aaalex.” A whisper called to me. I jumped with my sight shooting to the ball. A small grey fog was forming in the middle.

The whisper repeated and I felt the urge to reach out and touch the ball. The fog grew as my hand travelled towards it.

“It's quite lovely, isn't it?” An elderly voice pierced my trance. I shot to my feet, almost falling over in the process. An old woman was standing on the other side of the table.

She got down and sat on a cushion then continued to stare at me with her creepy unreadable eyes.

“Would you care for some tea?” She asked, pulling a tea pot and two cups from the floor. Where did they come from... Where did she come from

“Uh, no thanks.” I replied, frozen in place.

“Tell me. What brings you here?” She asked, Her raspy voice scraping at my brain.

“Uh, I'm looking for directions. To get back to Dunshore.” I answered.

She cackled at my words before returning stoic. “Don't fool yourself, boy. Take a seat and I will show you why you are here.”

I hesitantly took a seat and stared at the old woman. Her silver hair was up in a messy bun, her thick brows encroached on her eyes. Her lips were small and held tight together and her nose was nothing but large. The wrinkles that surrounded her face showed she was incredibly old.

“I've waited a long time for you, Alex Regent.” She said, stunning me.

“What?” I said, shakily. "How do you know my name?"

“Hmm?” She hummed questionably.

“You just said it... My name.”

She hummed again from my words. “So I did.” There was a heavy silence.

“What do you believe is your purpose in this life?”

“Look, I just wanna get back to Dunshore. Can you tell me where that is?” I asked, suspicion and a hint of fear dripping from my words.

It took a while for the lady to answer. “I could tell you where you wish to go, but could you just do a lonely old woman one single favour?”

I gave a deep sigh after thinking on it. “Fine. What do you want?”

“Just answer my questions truthfully and let me do a reading on you. Then I will send you to your destination.”

“Alright. Let's do this quickly, I've got places to be.” I ordered, taking a seat on the cushion.

“More than you realise… Now, What do you believe is your purpose in this life?” She asked.

I gave a small thought before coming up with my brother. “Looking after my little brother.”

“And what length would you go, to protect him?”

“Nothing is too far.”

“Would you bow to your enemy for him?” The lady asked. Her questions seemed innocent, but I could tell there was something behind them.

I gave a short pause before answering “I would.” I didn't like this question.

“Would you raise your blade in his name.”

“Of course.”

“Would you lay beneath a stone with your name for him?”

“If you’re asking if I would die for him, yes.”

The lady stayed quiet. Staring at me with her lifeless eyes. It felt like a lifetime, but she eventually placed her hand the crystal ball and held her other out towards me.

“Place your hand in mine and let your mind flow free.” She said.

“What's gonna happen?” I asked, more red warning lights flashed through my head,

“I'm going to use your essence to see what type of person you are, have been and will become.” ‘Sure, don't listen to better judgement. Give your hand to the creepy lady in the creepy carnival.’

I slowly placed my hand in hers. It was cold and bony. Suddenly the fog in the ball twisted and changed. It started swirling around before becoming erratic and violent, throwing pieces of itself against the glass, like it was trying to break out. It then died down and became calm again. It was then that I noticed the old lady’s grip on my hand. She was crushing it like I was shaking hands with Hercules before she let go. I reeled my hand back and inspected it for damage.

She was still staring at me.

“So what? Who was I, am, and will be?” I asked, looking up at her.

“…You have a great power within, boy. The type I have not seen in a many long years. The type that has not existed since before the birth of this age.”

I just sat there and looked at her. I kept looking and she returned it. ‘What? What the fuck?’

“Right. Thanks for the show and the… reading, but I really should be going. Now you said you were going to point out Dunshore.” I said, getting to my feet.

“Indeed... you do need to be on your way... But Dunshore is not where you're going.” She replied darkly.

“What? Fuck this, fuck you. I'll find my own way.” Before I turned away. the mist in the ball went red and I felt pain through my chest. Darkness surrounded my vision as I collapsed to my knees. The ground grew close as the darkness completely overtook my sight.

“You are needed elsewhere.”

Author's Note

There, first chapter of my first story. Any comment is welcomed especially ones that help me out.

Peace.

2: First Impressions (Re-Write)

I bolted upright with a sharp gasp. I winced as pain shot through my back, forcing me to lay back down. Have you ever had that feeling when you wake up, that you just want to roll over and die? Because that's exactly how I'm feeling right now. Laying in the mud. I don't know how long I've been here, but I do know one thing... 'Fuck. Next time I see that old bitch, shes catching these hands!'

Gathering my thoughts, it was time to get going. Half way to my feet, "Nope, Nope, Nope... Laying back down." More pain making itself present. 'What am I going to do now? I can't move.' Just as I thought it couldn't get worse, a huge wind blew though the trees and forced the realisation that laying in the rain is a bad idea. "And fuck you too ." I bit my bottom lip as I got to my feet. "Well that's convenient." About 15 meters from me was a small cave. Limping my way over, I did a quick check on what hurts. "My legs... m-my sh-sh-shoulders, m-my back...my e-e-everything." I spoke through chattering teeth. Upon entering the cave a wicked odour invaded my nose, halting my advance. I'm pretty sure it singed all of my nose hairs. Following the smell was a loud, low growl... And another one... And another one. Somethings were in that cave and I really didn't want to find out what. But, with my luck, I did find out what they were...ish... Three silhouettes were stalking towards me "Wolves? Ah fuck!" And I was gone. Ignoring the pain, I bolted for my life. Unfortunately, they gave chase.

I could hear them behind me. "Go away! You're not supposed to be in Dunshore!" I shouted as I ran. being the idiot I am, I glanced back... Man, I wish I didn't. The three wolves were made of wood. My fear was rising to an all-time high. Dream! Dream! Please be a dream!. Being busy looking back, I didn't see what I was running towards. One step, two step, trip. Roots grabbed at my feet as I tumbled and rolled into a small clearing. My head hit the dirt, leaving an echoing thud in my brain, but there were three wolves ready for a meal, and that was higher on my things to be concerned about list than some headache.

Picking myself off the ground, I saw a branch had come with me. I picked it up and whirled around to face off my soon-to-be death. The wolves were already there and snarling with their glowing green eyes staring through my soul. Two of them slowly made their way around to my sides while the other stayed in front of me. The one on my left jumped at me, latching it's jaw around my ankle and thrashing about, tugging me off balance. I let out a cry of pain before bringing the branch down on it's head. It yelped and pulled back, releasing my torn up ankle. There was no time to rest as I found myself swinging the branch at the wolf leaping at my right. A big sweep caused the branch to introduce itself to the wolf's face. Unfortunately movies are still not to be trusted and instead of flinging the wolf off to the side, it just crashed into me with claws instead of teeth. I hit the ground hard with a new gash on my chest. The last wolf sees it's opportunity and make a grab for my left hand. The pain is unreal as it viciously tears at my arm. In a desperate effort, I grab the wolf's jaw with my hand still being munched on, and swing my body over the wolf's, wrapping my other arm underneath it so it can't escape my attack. It released my hand and snapped at my face. 'Eat this fuck face!' With a jerk of my body, I hauled the wolf up and over backwards, Suplexing the fuck with a loud crunch. I steadily got to my feet and stared down the other two wolves. I was dizzy and hurting... a lot.

"Come on!" I shouted at them, beckoning them to try finish me off. The wolves shared a glance at each other before turning tail and running off. A sigh escaped my lips before I turned around, examining the body that suffered The Suplex. "Oh shit." I breathed. The wolf's head had exploded, leaving the body in a puddle of green goo and splinters. 'Dream. It has to be a dream.'

All of a sudden my vision spun at an alarming rate. Confusion set in as the ground seemed to be getting closer and closer. 'Wait a seco...'

Wham

3rd Person POV

"Is...is it over?" A small, timid voice that could be heard by all in the silence.

One member of the audience carefully walked over to the wet, Bleeding man. Analysing the bundle of limbs in front of her, she answered the question.

"Yes, it's over... But this stallion's in pretty bad shape." The six of them crowded around Alex looking him over. One of them bending down, grabbing Alex's side and rolling him over. All of them stepped back in shock as they saw his face.

"Poor thing hasn't any fur."

"D'ya think he lost it in a fire?"

"Ooh, what if he's an alien that crash landed!"

"Come on, Pinkie. An alien?"

"It doesn't matter, we need to get him to Ponyville hospital." With that being said there was a bright purple flash and they all vanished.

Alex POV

'The second time passing out in one day. This can't be good for my brain.' I thought as I opened my eyes, only so they could meet the full force of the bastard sun. "Eeeh" Slamming them shut and throwing my head to the side to avoid blindness "Let's try this again." This time my eyes opened to see my shoulder heavily bandaged and a few pieces of medical equipment beside me. My curiosity peaked and I glanced around the room. It was a very white and clean room. To my left there was a bedside table with a vase filled with flowers. Slowly going right there was the window that the sun was glaring through, and a door in the corner. In front of the bed I was occupying, was a couple chairs (nothing special, just a stereotypical hospital chair). There was another door in the far right corner. The wall to my right had a couple more chairs, then beside my bed was hospital things I couldn't name. You know the beepy thing.

Lost in thought I went to scratch my face only to find my left hand all wrapped up. The memories of what happened were foggy, but I some what remembered fighting wolves. Questions started brewing in my head, like; am I still dreaming? Where am I? Did I really fight wolves? I looked at my chest to see my hoodie and white shirt missing, replaced by some bandages.

My attention was drawn back to the window, or more so outside. Something was off. I don't remember the sky looking so real. It's almost like I've gone back to before we screwed the atmosphere and lived in upside down fish bowls.

I pulled the things from my arm to move closer to the window. Just as my feet hit the floor, my train of thought was broken by the call of nature. I looked at the door on my right, and the one on my left.

'Well one of these has to be a toilet.' I decided to try the door on my left. My walking was restrained to limping thanks to my ankle being munched on, you know, the usual. I reached out and opened the door "bingo!"

After finishing my business, I was at the window staring towards the seemingly endless scenery trying to place why it looked so different, but it had to be the same dome over Dunshore. I didn't get that far into the woods... 'Unless I'm not in Dunshore.' That old Hag must've drugged and kidnapped me... 'What did she say to me? Something about... Argh I can't remember, couldn't have been that important.'

Over my thinking, I didn't hear the door behind me open. "Oh, you're awake. Good." A female and intelligent sounding voice broke the silence that I was beginning got enjoy. I turned around to talk to who ever had come in, expecting a nurse or doctor. When my gaze fell upon who was there, I completely froze, a look of shock adorned my face. About 5 meters in front of me was a purple woman, alien thing...

So, how should I act in a situation like this? Stayed calm and see what it/she wanted with me and maybe make it out of here unharmed right? That's what I was thinking at the time... And what I tried to do. Six other aliens, all with crazy colours, entered the room following the purple one. There was an orange one, then a pink one, then a blue one, then a white one, a yellow one, and finally another white one.

"WHAT! THE FUUU!" Arms flailing around, I screamed out (scaring the shit out of the group) and rapidly hobbled over to the side of my bed. Why? I have no idea. It was all part of the 'stay calm and reason with them' plan.

The purple one came to their senses first "Please calm down, you don't want to re-injure yourself."

She took a couple of steps forward with her hands gesturing for me to calm down. Being a genuinely smart man with an infinite pool of wisdom, I did what anyone would. I scramble for the middle of the room, then diverted my course straight for the window, all the while screaming "NUH UH. NO ALIENS GONNA EAT ME TODAY!" And jumped. Now unlike doors, movies can be trusted on this one.

For some reason the gods favoured me. I was floating in mid air, three storeys above the ground. I noted everything had a purple hue to it as I started drifting back through the window. They were all staring at me as I was suspended in front of them like a piñata.

I don't understand. How can they look so much like humans, yet look so weird at the same time? Even their clothing was like what humans wear. Standing the furthest to the left was the orange one, who looked like the definition of 'cowgirl' with her Hat, tied plaid shirt and worn jeans that hugged her nice, curvaceous... 'Woah, slow down there turbo. You don't even know for sure they're female... Aside from their... features'. Next to her was the pink one, and that's an understatement. Pink mane, pinke fur, pink polka dots and pink bows on her white sundress. I was actually a little impressed even with so much pink, she somehow pulled it off. moving on, the most noticeable thing about the blue one was her hair. It was a streaked rainbow colour that fell down just below her shoulders. She was wearing black sweatpants and a black tank top that had a yellow lightning bolt over her left Breast, not that I was staring or anything. The first white one was wearing a baggy cream sweater that was tucked in to a high waisted black pleated skirt. 'Woah, why is it so hard to look away' I thought as my eyes took in the sheer beauty of this creature. Was it the legs? or maybe it was her magnificently styled purple hair that has... A horn sticking out of it... Sure, why not? I couldn't get a good look at the yellow one because she was hiding behind the white one. The other white one must have been the nurse, judging by the fact that she was wearing scrubs, but what do I know? I mean I'm seeing seven multi-coloured people.

"I did not think that through very well." I was able to take control of myself now that the initial surprise had passed.

"Ya think." The blue one put in her two cents.

"I'm going to put you down now, try not jump out the window, please." The purple one stated as I noticed a small glow around her horn fade with everything going back to its normal colour and myself dropping to the floor. After a short silence of everyone waiting to see if I would do anything, I decided I needed some answers.

"Okay. I have so many questions right now, the first being what the fuck?" They all looked at each other then back at me.

"We have questions as well. Why don't we start with introductions? My name's Twilight Sparkle." The purple one said pointing to herself. She then looked to her right at the orange one.

"Ah'm Applejack, nice meetin' yah." 'These names.'

"Likewise, Applejack." I couldn't help but laugh on the inside at her name as I reached out to shake her hand. All thoughts were cut off from her vice-like grip. It was also a little unsettling to find out they have fur. "That's quite the shake you've got there." She replied with a shy smile and a nod as she averted her gaze to the next alien.

I took a step back and looked at..."HI, I'm Pinkie Pie"... The pink one. "You're new here because I haven't seen you before and I've seen everypony in Ponyville so I want to be the first one to welcome you *GASP*" and then she was gone. I was a little stunned by the mass of words that flooded from her mouth, but I was even more so by the fact that she just disappeared after gasping really loudly and jumping into the air all cartoon-ish.

I just stood there blinking, as my brain started dying. "Trust me, darling. It's better, and healthier, to just let it go." I looked over at the white one and she just gave me a reassuring smile. Her voice was very proper, from what I could tell it suited her. "My name is Rarity, by the way."

"Uh... right." 'Man, these names are weird. What's next rainbow rush?' I half expectantly turned to the rainbow coloured hair wielder.

Said rainbow coloured hair wielder struck a superhero pose, puffed out her chest and... "The name's Rainbow Dash"... 'Fucking, close enough'. She shook my hand with some gusto, but still wasn't as impressive as Applejack's.

And that leaves one... Wait no two. The yellow one was still hiding behind... Er... Rarity. Everyone was looking at her, waiting for her intro. Rarity stepped to the side so the she was in full view. Once she noticed her cover had betrayed her, she let out the cutest little 'Eep' and hid behind behind her light pink locks.

"I...I'm Fluttershy". '*Sigh* Fuckin what?'

"Sorry, what?" I don't know what I was supposed to hear, but all I heard was a whole lotta nothing.

"Fluttershy." She replied, a little more audibly.

"Nice to meet you, Fluttershy."

Now, that leaves one. I looked over to the 'nurse' and she seemed a bit surprised that the attention was tuned to her. "Oh, I'm just a nurse here." 'Knew it'.

"It's like a counselling circle, we all say our names and addiction. You know, the whole 'I'm Mark and I'm an alcoholic' thing." Everyone was looking at me with 'what is this guy going on about' looks. It didn't matter, I got my point across

"Um, okay. My name is Redheart. I've been keeping an eye on you after the doctors patched you up."

"There you go, that wasn't so hard now was it?" She just rolled her eyes and smiled.

"So, is your name... Mark, was it?" Twilight Sparkle asked. I looked at her quizzically before realising.

"Oh, no, sorry that was just an example." I started before standing up as straight as I could, placing one fist on my hip, my other, mangled, fist over my chest. It was quite a dramatic pose if you ask me "My name is... Pause for dramatic effect... Alex Regent." As I said the last part I dropped the pose and returned to my relaxed demeanour. "You can just call me Alex though." They were all trying to hold in their laughter expect for one, and now I knew Pinkie Pie was back. Turning towards Twilight Sparkle. 'He he, These names, I can't get over them.' "So, about these questions."

"Well seeing as we both have questions why don't we go in turns." Redheart left the room, probably to tell someone I was up and about... and maybe about the broken window.

"Sounds good to me." There was a short silence. I think they were expecting me to go first, but I was raised with manners. "Ladies first" After saying that, they all seemed a little surprised and looked between each other, I'm guessing to see who would go first.

"Uh... Right... Well... Um... The doctor said that, although very similar, you're not a pony" I gave her a small nod and she continued "Then, what are you?"

"I'm a human" The bluntness of my answer did nothing more compared to running in circles. "So, what are youse?"

"We're ponies. Myself and Rarity are unicorns, Rainbow and Fluttershy are pegasi, and Applejack and Pinkie are Earth Ponies" Right, at least I know I'm either still dreaming or dead. Being surrounded by 'ponies' that look like humans, and not only are they bipedal ponies, they're also unicorns and pegasi.

A Few Hours Later

The questions went on for a while in the back and forth fashion. I ended up finding out that this is very much not a dream, I'm in a place called Equestria on a planet called Equis, I'm currently in Ponyville hospital, I was attacked by 'Timberwolves' in a forest called the Everfree, magic exists, Pegasi can do heaps of stuff with clouds, and a couple of other things, and earth ponies can... farm really well, I guess. The seven of us had actually hit it off pretty well, they were really nice. Oh and Rainbow Dash's hair... Mane is natural.

It was now my turn and I only had one more question. "Okay, I think this is my last one and it's for Rainbow Dash again." she perked up a bit at the mention of her name. "Do you know what skittles are?"

"Uh... No, why?

"Damn... Don't worry about it"

"Come on, tell me what skittles are?"

"They're just uh... Well were I'm from, they're a brand of candy. They're a bit smaller than buttons and are different colours of the rainbow. I thought it'd be a funny nickname." Applejack started snickering, much to Rainbow dash's dismay. She started blushing and shot Applejack a dirty look. "Don't worry about it though."

A lot of the questions I answered were from Twilight and about how I lived. I tried to answer as best I could while avoiding talking about my personal life, although, I think they picked up on it but didn't say anything. The less people that know about what I do, the better. Think of what I use to do, brought out the why. 'Oh shit!'

"Actually I've got one more." Taking on a more serious tone, seemed to convey that it was pretty important. "Do you know of any way for me to get back to my world?" I asked, rather desperately. They all looked to Twilight. She must be most likely to have the answer.

"Um... At the moment, there are too many things we don't know... I'm sorry, Alex." Twilight said, piercing my heart with her words.

"But we can find a way right?" Desperation soaked my words. Twilight gave me a sad smile.

"I'm sure we can find a way." There was little hope in her words, but hope is hope, and I'm gonna need to hang on to every bit I can get my grubby mitts on.

Nurse Redheart re-entered the room again with some news "Excuse me, Alex... I was just talking with one of the doctors, and he said you should be free to go after you pass the physical analysis test."

"Good. The sooner I get outta here, the sooner I can find a way to get back to my br... uh, world" She rose an eyebrow at my eagerness to leave, but replaced it with a smile, understanding my want to make it home.

"Right. Well if you follow me, you can do the test now. Or you can wait until later."

As quick as lightning I was over by the door, pulling it open and waiting for her to lead the way.

She turned to the others in the room "We shouldn't be too long. If you all could please wait at reception." The seven of them walked through the door while I was still holding it open, each one of them giving me look of gratitude and a smile.

Twilight's POV

We left Alex's hospital room and headed back to the hospital foyer. On the way we were all talking about our new acquaintance. "He seems like a nice stallion, if you ask me."

"Even if he did try to jump out of a three storey window, he made a good impression." Rarity replied. She and Fluttershy were the only two listening to me. Pinkie and Applejack were busy harassing Rainbow about Alex's nickname for her.

"Ya shoulda seen your face when he called yah 'Skittles' Ha... Priceless"

"Shut up! Applejack. It's not like it was anything dirty or anything." Rainbow looked a little steamed that Applejack was finding it so funny.

"Yeah, he said it was just a type of candy from his world... Even though you went brighter than this balloon." And of course, a red balloon is pulled out of Pinkie's mane. Rainbow had nothing to say and kept walking.

Back to my conversation with Rarity and Fluttershy. "There's so many things I want to know about him."

"Hmm, like how he keeps himself in such good shape." Rarity quietly mentioned while staring off to her thoughts.

"I was thinking more along the lines of his life, what he's seen, how he lived. But every time I asked, he avoided it and talked about his race in general."

"Maybe he has problems or wounds he would rather not surface by talking about his personal life." Fluttershy did have a point, I can't press it too much in case it hurts him.

We reached the reception waiting area when a thought came to mind. I had to tell princess Celestia about Alex. "I'll be back is a second, I need to get Spike."

"what for, Twilight?" Pinkie asked.

"I need him to send a letter to Princess Celestia. She might even know a way to send him home." I charged my horn and teleported to the library, finding Spike placing book onto the shelves. Another charge and we were back in the hospital. Spike was still standing as if he were placing the book.

"Ah! what the." He turned around to us and put two and two together. "Celestia damn it Twilight, warn a drake before teleporting him across town." I could help the small giggle at his displeasure.

"Sorry, Spike. I need you to send a letter to the princess."

Alex's POV

The test was pretty easy, it was just moving around the room and some reaction tests. The doctor said I've got good reflexes which is pretty sweet. Anyway, me and nurse Redheart are just walking into the foyer when I saw some sort of big lizard dude. It was looked to be about 18 or 19 years old, and most likely a 'he'. He was wearing a tight, black shirt and some green board shorts with a black '09' on the side, over his purple and green scales... He also had a pair of very sharp claws... How does he even use his hands with those things?

"Hey Alex, did you pass the test?" It was rainbow that asked. I had joined with the group by this point. Everyone has drawn their attention to the conversation.

"Yeah, I did. It actually wasn't that hard. I just had to walk around a room, do some push-ups, jumps, and catch the end of a falling stick." Just as I finished telling them about the test, there was a bunch of sparkling dust the appeared out of nowhere, then with a pop it turned into a scroll-looking thing. Twilight caught it in her magic... I'm still trying to wrap my head around that... She then proceeded to unroll and read it. "what's that?"

After a couple of seconds, Twilight finished reading and answered. "This is a letter from princess Celestia, about you."

"How does she know about me?"

"I told her." 'Of course you did'.

"So, what about me? Good things I hope."

"It says here that until Celestia and Luna return from their visit to the Gryphon kingdom, you will have to stay with one of us." 'Did she say gryphon... Kingdom? Surely that's just the name of a place, gryphons don't exist... Says the guy who's standing with a group of technicolored, bipedal ponies that talk.' "So we will need to organise who you can stay with." At least I'm not going to be homeless. "There is a spare room in the library you could use."

"There's ah place at the farm, if yah wan' it."

"I've got plenty of spare rooms, but unless you can walk on clouds, that's out of the question."

"Sweetie Belle is using my spare room currently, but you can sleep on the couch. If you wish."

"The bakery doesn't have any extra room... But you can stay in my room" *wink*

"Uh... I think I'll pass on that one." The whole time the lizard guy, Spike, was looking me over. He was a little smaller than me, but still taller than the rest. He was probably sitting at 5"11, Applejack was at 5"10, Rarity was at 5"9, Twilight was at 5"8 along with Skittles, then Pinkie and Fluttershy were at 5"7.

"So this is?" Spike asked Twilight, gesturing to me.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Spike. This is Alex, he's from another world. Alex this is Spike, my number one assistant." We both greeted each other with a firm hand shake. I was very wary of his claws as we did.

"From another world? That's so cool." He seemed pretty enthusiastic to meet an alien.

"I don't want to sound rude or anything, but what are you? some kind of gecko?"

"No way! I'm a dragon, you never seen one before?" A dragon... A Fucking Dragon!

My hands shot to sides of my face "No. Way! You're a dragon? Holy shit, I'm talking to a real-life dragon. Woah!"

"I'll take that as a no."

"You have no idea what this is like for me right now. It's not just that I've never seen one before. Where I come from they don't exist, they're just myths... And the coolest things ever." As I said that last part, Rainbow crossed her arms and pouted.

"Something tells me we're going to get along just fine."

"I really hope so."

Author's Note

And that's the end of the chapter... I was going to go further, but work was really hectic and I wanted to get it out ASAP.

Hope you enjoyed.

[18 DEC 2020]
Reviewed the chapter and changed a few things. Should be better now... I hope.
Also this is going to be happening for the next chapters as well. I figure it was a good way to fix the 'broken' parts, clean up dirty messes of dead ends and get myself immersed back into the story to continue and finish it. So, slowly as each chapter gets it's (re-write), you can see how far away I will be from new chapters. YAY!! :yay:

3: The New Kid In Town (Re-Write)

I seem to be making friends pretty quickly. That's seven so far. Redheart and I hit it off pretty well, we were talking about a lot of stuff during my test but that could just be a 'friendly nurse' act. 'What am I doing? I can't be making friends. Any attachment I get here, will only make it harder when I leave. I need to stay focused and find a way back as soon as possible.'

One of these ponies is supposed to be looking after me. Gotta thank my lucky stars on this one, didn't really want to be sleeping in a gutter. I have to be careful, though, too many people knowing me could be a bad thing if I have to rely on old habits. Speaking of which, there is attention on me I'd rather not have. The princesses of this country want to meet me... It doesn't make sense to me, why should royalty be concerned about a random dude that's showed up out of no where? Although, having friends in high places could be useful. 'I'll have to find out how much sway they have in how this world runs.'

"So, Alex. You can stay with Applejack, Rarity, or myself... Alex?" Too worried about meeting royalty, I failed to hear Twilight talking to me. "Alex!"

"Huh! What? Sorry, lost in thought. Um... I really don't know." There's so much on my mind right now, I just can't make any proper decisions.

"We understand you've been through the wringer, but we don' want yah staying somewhere yah ain't comfortable." Applejack stated, not helping.

"Fine then, I'd like to be somewhere quiet and out of the way. At least until I can figure things out." I said, starting to give in to the stress. "If that's okay." I added, fearing I came off a bit harsh.

"How does staying with me at the farm sound? It's on the outskirts of town and if yer any trouble, Big Mac can sort yah out." I wasn't sure how I felt about this 'Big Mac' if she's using him as a contingency plan.

"Um, how far away is your farm? Just on a not-so-relevant topic."

"It's just a few short minutes walkin' from here, Sugarcube." I guess it could be worse. I released a deep sigh and receded back into thought.

"Are you okay, darling? You look worried." Rarity inquired. 'How do I play this off?'

I reached up and rubbed the back of my head "Well, I kinda just think im gonna attract lots of attention that I dont think i can deal with at the moment." I threw on a convincing smile. 'I want to keep my cards close to my chest, for now.'

"I think that's reasonable." Twilight started. "If it's okay with you, I do know an illusion spell we can use. It should make you look like a stallion."

"I'm sensing a 'but' here." I added, my words floating on suspicion.

She gave me short nod. "There is. If what I've heard from the doctors that treated your injuries is true, There's no telling how the spell will effect you. That's if it works at all." It did unnerve me a little to hear that.

"Hmm. Well, nothing gained from nothing tried. Might as well give it a go." I said, somewhat hesitantly.

"Alright, don't move. This shouldn't hurt." 'Because that helps.' Twilight's horn started to glow with a magenta colour, her hands following suit, as she placed them on my shoulders. There was a very weird, tingling, sensation that went down my spine. At first it was just foreign, then it became uncomfortable, then it started to hurt. I didn't say anything to Twilight or the others, I just clenched my jaw and pushed through.

After a good minute or two, the numbing pain faded away and Twilight let go of my shoulders. I let out a deep sigh of content, glad it was over. "Did it work?" I asked eagerly.

There was a pause in the mares as they looked me over. "It seems to have worked. You look like a stallion now. How do you feel?" Twilight asked.

"I don't feel too different. Oddly energised." I answered.

"Look like a stallion to me." Spike said with a shrug. He seemed pretty indifferent about it.

"Yup, just like a stallion." Applejack said while seemingly finding the ground very interesting.

"Alright then. We should get going, cant be standing around all day." There was a round of nods and we headed for Applejacks place. When the double glass doors slid back, my eyes were assaulted by light. After they adjusted I saw a quaint town with old styled buildings, but what really caught my attention was the sky. It was so amazing i just had to stare at it. The seven around me understood why I was so fixated since I'd explained how my world build cities under big domes to filter the carbon saturated air and that excessive burning of fossil fuel led to distaster. They were really fascinated by my world, Twilight more than any.

"Unfortunatly I have to bid farewell here, I cant afford to fall behind with my work." Everyone said goodbye to Rarity as she gave out quick hugs. "Do look after yourself, darling." She added, giving me a short wave.

"I gotta go as well, see ya." Everyone, again, said goodbye to rainbow before she flew off. I watched in awe at the speed she left with.

"I should get back to sugar cube corner, those cakes aren't going to bake themselves." Pinkie sang, bouncing on the spot before disappearing, leaving a dust cloud in her wake, for the second time today.

"Is that normal for this world?" I was ready to accept any answer they would give me because of what I've encountered so far: bipedal ponies, magic, a dragon, apparently gryphons, and Pinkie Pie.

"That's just Pinkie being Pinkie." Spike made it sound like it was easy to ignore.

"Yah just gotta let it go." I did as told and just ignored it, but I noticed Twilight having a harder time doing so.

The three mares remaining started the walk with me and spike following, giving us a chance to get to know each other better. I asked him about his life but when he proudly explained his life as Twilight's assistant I started to question things. "Not trying to sound rude or anything, but is that all?" I asked.

He looked at me with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean your a dragon, a beast of power. They're practically worshiped where I'm from." Spike looked a little hurt from my words.

"I don't know, I'm pretty happy with my life and Twilight has looked after me since I hatched. I guess it helps me have purpose. I don't know what I'd do on my own." His words carried a hint of sadness.

After that, I felt a little guilty, having downplayed Spike's life like that was pretty rude. We continued walking in a semi-awkward silence.

My focus was split when I noticed something on spikes back, wings. "You have wings."

"Yeah, I haven't had them long, maybe a couple months, so I'm not the best at flying. Rainbow's been teaching me how to use them."

"Man, I'm so jealous. I've always wanted to fly... Well by myself at least."

"What do mean by yourself"

"Well, back home we have planes."

"What's a Plane?"

"Hmm, think of a giant metal bird that can't flap its wings."

"Wow, that sounds cool. Wait, I thought you couldn't leave your city."

"Not without the right equipment. The planes are sealed and basically clean the air so we can breath it."

We were walking for about ten minutes when Fluttershy split off to another direction towards her home. I have to admit that I like Fluttershy, she just seems so easy to be around.

A few more minutes of walking and we came across a few apple trees behind a wooden fence. The fruit on the tree were incredibly red and shiny, they almost looked like Christmas decorations. Applejack noticed me staring at the ripe fruit and stood next to me also looking at the apples.

"Mighty fine aren't they. Yah wanna try one?" She wasn't wrong they were very fine, but it looks like someone owns them with the small fence.

"I really would, but I think that fence is there for a reason."

"Ha, sure is. It goes most o' the way round mah farm."

Applejack climbed over the small fence and walked over to one of the many, many, many trees. She didn't do anything straight away which started to confuse me, until she lifted on foot and slammed it into the truck. She held out her two hands where four apples fell perfectly into her grasp. To say I was impressed was an understatement.

"Yah might wanna close that mouth. Don't want to catch any flies, do you?" Applejack threw an apple each to Twilight and Spike while I snapped out my stupor just in time to catch mine.

"I'm not sure if you were just showing off, or you have some serious talent. I'm going to guess that's it's a mix of both." I think I got that one right on the nail because she gave me this big smile that said everything.

"That was pretty awesome, AJ." Spike agreed before his tongue flew from his mouth, wrapped around his apple and pulled the whole thing into his mouth.

"Thanks, Spike. You know I've had plenty of practice." Applejack replied.

I bit into my apple, and it was the best tasting apple I have ever had the pleasure of eating. It was so crisp and juicy with lots of flavour, but not overwhelmingly so. Applejack said the house was just up ahead. Not two minutes later we came to a lovely looking, double storey farm house with a bright red barn standing next to it. It was quite a beautiful scene, if only I had my sketch book. The thought of losing everything was pretty upsetting, but it ignited a desire, a need to find a way back. 'But where do I start? I guess these princesses are my only lead...' I gave a sigh at the thought of having to meet important poeple. What a hassle. 'there's no helping it, ill just have to meet them.' My stature slumped and my head hung low. I lazily set my hands in my pockets where my right hand hit something thin and hard.

"YES!" I exclaimed with excitement, throwing my head back and fist pumping. The other three shot me glances of concern for my sudden out burst. "Fuck yeah."

Spike POV

Alex was acting strange. First he looked depressed out of nowhere, then just as fast as it came it was replaced with what I guess where cheers of victory. "Are you okay?"

"I am wonderful now, Spike."

"Mind tellin' us what yer hollerin' fer." Alex pulled his right hand out of his pocket and a small piece of... Glass?

"Why do have glass in your pocket?" Twilight was thinking the same thing as me, and I assume so was Applejack.

"This piece of glass is what's known as a mobile phone." He twisted the device around a couple times. It was like a two-way mirror, transparent on one side and silver on the other with two thicker parts at each end, one of which had a pair of earphones plugged in. "I can do all sorts of things with it: talk to people over long distances, check the time, listen to music, watch videos, take photos. It's onr of the newest of its kind."

"So it's like telepathy but in your hand?" I asked.

"Um. Yeah, I guess it is. I never thought of it that way." Alex replied.

"How does it work? Without magic the only way I can think of it working would be transmition through vibrations or waves." Twlilight started to babble about sience stuff.

"know-it-all" I muttered under my breath, Celestia knows what she'd do if she heard that

"What was that, Spike?" 'Oh buck.'

"Uh. n-nothing, twilight." I stammered, shaking my hands in font of me defensively.

"I totally forgot I had it with me..." Alex was inspecting his phone like he was trying to remember something. "... I just had a crazy thought. Before I went out for the... Uh, before I came here I was contemplating if I should leave my phone."

"An' how is that a crazy thought, exactly?"

"Well, Applejack. It's a crazy thought because I was this close to not having this on me right now, there's so much stuff from my world I wouldn't be able to show you, I can only tell so much."

"Almost like the butterfly effect." 'know it all.'

"Yeah, like the butterfly effect." 'Somethings up with Twilight. She's on a roll with all this know-it-all science stuff.'

Alex POV

We finished our twenty minute walk, that felt like hours, and went inside. As soon as I walked through the front door, my nostrils were bombarded by the smell of delicious apple pie. We were also greeted by a female voice, not unlike Applejack's, shout from the stairs.

"Hey, sis. How's that stallion you found in the everfree?" Is that concern for me? Down the stairs came a young mare in a cream coloured t-shirt and denim blue jeans. In her pinky, red mane was a large, bright red bow. Her fur was a light yellow, maybe a bit darker than fluttershy's. Upon her face was a big caring smile, the kind you give to someone you love. That smile slowly faded when her sunset coloured eyes fell upon me.

"Speaking of. Applebloom this is Alex, Alex this is mah sister Applebloom." I could see the resemblence. 'Hmm. Applebloom, Applejack, apple farm. Im starting see a pattern here. "Alex, here, isn't actually a stallion." We shook hands. Like her sister, a good grip. There couldn't have been much of an age difference between her and Applejack. She stepped back with a quizzical look after Applejack's latest words.

"He's a mare?"

This sent the Applejack, Twilight, and Spike into a giggling fit. "No, I'm very much a he, unless something happened since the last time I checked." Applebloom cracked a smile at that.

Applejack regained her composure enough to explain to Applebloom "hoo. What ah mean is, Alex is from another world."

"Yah sure? He looks like a stallion t'me." Oh right the spell.

Twlight got the same hint I did "Oh, that's right, the spell. Are you comfortable enough for me to remove it?"

"Yeah, do your thing... And thanks for the disguise." Twilight's horn glowed like earlier, followed by her hands. She, again, placed them on my shoulders. This time, however, it was much shorter and there was only a numbing sensation, no pain. Good.

I turned back to Applebloom, she had an expression of realisation adorning her face. "Now he looks more like an alien."

"Hey, Bloom. Where's Big Mac?" Applejack asked. Ah yes, the guy that's supposed to 'sort me out' if I cause any trouble.

"He's out with his friends, said he ain't gonna be back till late."

Me with my infinite wisdom chose the perfect time to be an ass. "if I were gonna cause trouble, now would be the time I'd do it." Applejack gave me a look that sent a chill down my spine. "buuut. I'm not going to, because I don't cause trouble... On purpose." She dropped the look and gave a small chuckle. Worth it.

"Alex'll be staying with us fer a bit, can you please show 'em to the guest room?" Applejack asked, looking to her sister.

"Sure. This way, Alex." She led me upstairs. As we were heading up, I found my eyes drifting towards her plump, round, juicy rear. Something about farm work must be a good workout for your legs, coz dayum they were a fine shape. Re-directing my line of sight just in time, she turned around to make sure I was following. "keep it PG please, Alex. You don't want anything going wrong now that you've got somewhere to sleep.' Applebloom lead me down the hall to one of the dark wooden doors, surrounded by pink and cream wallpaper. She opened the door to show a small, but cozy room with a large bed, a full-body mirror in the right corner, a set of draws beside it, and a desk and chair under a window on the left.

"Here's yer room, bathroom is just there" She said, pointing towards a door a couple feet back down the hall.

"Thank you, Applebloom. It's been a long day so I think I'm gonna catch some shut eye."

"Oh, a'right then. Have a good sleep, Alex."

"Goodnight." Applebloom shut the door as she left. I sat down on the end of the bed looking out the window. The sun wasn't too far off setting, so It didnt seem wrong to go to sleep now. The events of today replayed in my mind, I thought of waking up in the hospital, seeing things I didn't think possible and the friends I've made so quickly: Applejack, Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Redheart, and Pinkie Pie. Come to think of it, they were really attractive and im not sure if I was okay with that, with them being ponies and such, but I wasn't going to lie and say I couldn't see myself living here for some time, but I did need to get back to my world and my brother. Anything could've happened.

'I really hope i can figure a way home. Or better yet, bring James here. He'd have a better shot here than anywhere on Earth.' Those were the last thoughts crossing my mind before I slung my clothes on the ground and fell into slumber under the soft covers of the bed.

Author's Note

Quick note for those that don't know, the italics text is for what the current caracter POV is thinking to themselves

But another chapter down, another to come.

Oh and I don't re-read the chapters before I publish them so if there's a mistake, my bad.

4: Nightmares (Re-Write)

Author's Note

Just a warning. The start of this chapter contains a splash of horror and gore. If you don't like either, skip the italicised text directly below.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any of the songs throughout this story. Enjoy

4: Nightmares (Re-Write)

It was dark. Very dark. There where two walls on each side of me, with a black abyss infront. The same behind me. It was too dark to see the ceiling. The floor was a cold, hard concrete. The walls were covered with a wallpaper that had dark red from the floor to about my elbows, then changed to a dark grey from there up. I reached out and hesitantly placed my hand against the wall.

"Where am I?" My words felt like they could grind metal, but it didn't hurt to speak. My eyes felt dry, like I was about to fall asleep, but I was wide awake. My body felt stiff, but I could move with no problems. My breaths were short and course, but I didn't have trouble breathing. "What is this place?" I was speaking softly to cut the silence and give myself some comfort in this horrible place. It was making me feel cold but hot, wet but dry, asleep but awake. Something about this dark hall put me on end.

I mustered up enough willpower to move. I was slow at first, but was soon at a comfortable speed. I didn't want to rush in case something was just outside of the five foot radius in which I can actually see.

There was nothing but empty hallway for what felt like hours of walking. Just when I was starting to get tired, a door emerged along the right wall from the somber darkness. I came to a halt facing the door. I looked around me, not that it did anything. The door was wooden, in fact, it looked medieval. The door knob was an ice cold metal beneath my fingers. It twisted, and with a sharp *click* I was able to push the door open, albeit cautiously. What greeted me sent a shiver down my spine.

The room was dimly lit by the moonlight flowing through the window opposite me. I was able to see the light blue wallpaper around the small room. A light grey carpet adorned the floor. On the wall to my left was an old, hand crafted, dresser. On the wall to my right was a small trunk with an ingraving that I can't quite make out. But it was what was infront of me that was frightning. The room was giving on an infancy feel to it, setting that in stone was the crib under the window. I've read enough stories to know this can't be good, but my mind isn't registering my flashing red light warning system. I went over to the right, towards the trunk. On the floor infront of it were five toy blocks with letters on them, they were in an unorderly fashion, like what one would expect after a young child was playing with them. When standing above them I was able to see what they spelt out, from left to right were the letters: A - L - E - X... R. To confirm my suspicions I glanced to the trunk's ingravings 'Alex Regent'. A small giggle from behind me snapped my attention as I pivoted at back-breaking speed. Ignoring any sense of my mind, I stepped closer to the crib. Closer. And closer. Inside the crib was a small child. Me.

After a good five minutes of staring at the infant giggling at me, something upset him. Me. He started to cry and reach out towards the door. Not a moment later *click* the door creaked open and behind it was the last thing I ever thought I would see, my mother. She was a very beautiful woman. Long, flowing, blonde hair, she was standing at 5"8, shorter than what I remember but that was sixteen years ago, she had a thin but powerful body. She was in a white sleeping gown. I could see and recognise all her facial features, except her deep blue eyes. They were foggy. misty. blurry. A single tear fell down my cheek. Being able to see her was something amazing.

I acted out of emotion and my hand shot out to grab hers as she passed me to comfort her crying baby. My hand passed through her's like she wasn't there. I was shell shocked, I couldn't move. I could only watch as she cradled the baby. She started to sing a lullaby, the same one I remember from all those years ago. Her voice was one of an angel. It was ripping my heart to shreds listening to it again.

Something went wrong, here voice started to crack, the baby started crying again, wind started to blow around the room, music (if I can even call it that) started to play from nowhere.

As the sound was building in volume, my mother adjusted her grip on the young me. Her hair was covering any view of her face. Her hand were now wrapped around the baby's head. The baby wasn't crying, or making any noises. All I could hear was that ungodly ambience. *snap* the gruesome sound echoed as everything went quiet. My mother just broke the infants neck. She dropped the lifeless body for it to hit the ground in a sickening thud. I needed to throw up, but I wasn't doing anything. I wanted to run, I wanted to scream, I wanted to gouge out my own eyes.

Her head slowly rose, it rose to where her hair stared to fall back from her face. Two black, souless eyes with Crimson red irises and black pupils. That's what replaced those once stunning, deep blue eyes of hers. The sounds came back, increasing in volume faster than before. My breathing increased rapidly. My blood was running cold. My skin was tightening around my body. My muscles were straining... She kept staring at me. The sounds were deafening. Neither of us did anything apart from stare at the other. I needed to get out of there. My mind was screaming at me to move. I flinched in the slightest and she released all levels of hell from her throat in a scream, her skin shot pale white and her hair jet black. I used that time to make like a tree and get the fuck out of there. I slammed the door and ran for my life, I didn't care which way, as long as it was away from that horror.

I could hear her chasing me, there was another set of feet hitting the ground only faster than my own. I quickly came to an intersection of hallways and used every muscle in my left leg to propel myself in the rightward direction. I kept running, not stopping to breath, not turning back. The other footsteps got quieter quickly and the awful sounds were gone. It was just me and my panting.

I was able to regain my ability of breathing after a short break. It was so quiet that I wanted to cut off my ears and burn them.

"Aaaaaaaaalllex" her sing-song tone reverberated through the halls, making it very hard to pinpoint how far away she was.

"oh, dear fuck." I regretted even whispering that in case she heard me. Every hair on my body was standing on edge.

"Where have you gone? It's time for us to play. You always loved to play." It's not her. It can't be. I started walking quietly and quickly, looking in every direction as fast as possible, my eyes were darting towards anything and everything. I needed to catch my breath again.

"Don't you just love what I did with the walls?" I pressed my hand against the wall beside me as I bent over with my other hand leaning on my leg so I could collect any oxygen I could find. Her words didn't even click until felt something wet under my hand on the wall. My arm shot back. I was inspecting my hand trying to identify the liquid. Then the whole hall lit up in a bright flash from lightening striking outside a window that wasn't there a second ago. But that wasn't what was worrying me. The liquid was blood, and it was leaking down every inch of the walls. "Oh, and I got the floors redone, they are so nice to walk along now." I was really frightened of what she meant. Nothing happened, so I decided to keep going to find a way out of here. I soon felt my feet treading on something squishy. All of a sudden I couldn't move, my feet were trapped. Panicking, I started thrashing about causing myself to lose balance and fall to one knee. Another bright flash went off to reveal the floor replaced by blood covered bits of mangled bodies. I threw up all over the 'floor' I couldn't hold it in. "Now that's no way act when someone gives you a gift." Her voice was right beside my left ear. I swung an arm out to fend off what ever she had become. Of course my arm hit nothing. Another few bright flashes lit up the hall for a good ten seconds, I saw faces among the bloody mess I was now trapped in. They were the faces of my new friends, colourless and terrified. Right at my toes were the faces of my brother and my sister. I managed to redirect my self before throwing up again. A putrid smell invaded my senses making my eyes water. In unison all the faces came to life and screamed my name.

"ALEX! WHY DID YOU LET US DIE, ALEX!" My brother and sister were too much for me. I started crying uncontrollably. The thought of not only letting my sister die, but my brother as well. Especially after I swore to him I would protect him with every drop of my blood... and now he's dead while I'm here... alive.

"*sob* I'm sorry."

Now it was time for my new friends to scream at me. "WHY, ALEX? WE GAVE YOU FRIENDSHIP, ONLY TO BE REPAID WITH HATE!" No, I couldn't kill them, I wouldn't kill them.

"...I'm... I didn't... I swear." I went to deny their claims but only managed to choke out some words past my crying.

"But you did, Alex." She was back, this time I could see her gawking at me like I was prey caught in her trap. "What you see before you... It's all your doing. The blood on the walls, THEIR blood on the walls... and their corpses littering the floor..." She paused for a moment, then turned around, looking for someone. "I know you're here! I knew you were here when you arrived!" Who was she talking to "you have no power here, this is not your domain anymore! Not inside Alex!" Inside me... What? She turned back to me staring at my kneeling form. "It's time for us to play now, Alex."

Suddenly I was strapped to a table with a bright light hanging above me, swinging slightly. She was standing beside me with a BIG knife in her hand. "Let's begin... and you can watch!" That last part wasn't directed at me, I didn't know what to think, it was all too overwhelming.

The scene changed as soon as I blinked, I no longer had clothes on, just my boxers. She softly dragged the sharp edge of the large knife across my chest, not cutting, but toying with me. But then she proceeded with long, agonising, deep strokes drawing a lot of blood. I screamed out. It continued. More and more incisions. She started getting more excited and it showed with the way she was using the knife. each cut got deeper and faster. She started slashing and stabbing. Soon I was a bloody mess with countless stab wounds, deep gashes, and chunks of skin hanging loosely. I couldn't scream, I couldn't even breath. It was the most painful thing I could have ever imagined... I don't think I could've even imagined this sort of pain... It just wouldn't end.

I screamed and my eyes shot open as I shot up into seated position. 'Wait a minute.' I glanced around to see the cozy, little room I had fallen asleep in.

"Oh, just a nightmare... a seriously fucked up one." I whispered to myself, rubbing my eyes and wiping away some of the sweat.

"Alex! What in tarnation are yah shoutin' for?" I jumped a little from the sudden intrusion.

"Sorry, Applejack. Uh, I just had a bad dream. That's all." I threw on my best attempt at a reassuring smile.

Applejack came into the room, shutting the door behind her before she made her way over to the side of the bed and sat down.

"Sugarcube, that sure sounded a little more than just a bad dream. Yah can talk to me about it. I won't judge yah none either." All of my troubles felt like they would just melt away, her smile was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Her eyes like flawless emeralds on a sacred crown. Truly beautiful. I snapped out of my trance and had to look down, finding the back of my hand very interesting.

"I appreciate it, Applejack... It was really nothing." I said.

"If yah say so." She said with a sigh before standing and making her way back to the door. "I just want yah to know, there ain't nothing you gotta worry yerself about here. We're sure t' find yah a way back home... An' my friends call me AJ." A wink followed her words and real smile graced my lips.

"Thanks, AJ." She threw me one more of those captivating smiles before closing my door.

I groaned, realising that I was grinning like an idiot and snapping myself back to reality. 'Why is she so nice to me? Is there something she wants? They're all like this, I haven't got anything. I'll just have to be more careful until I can find out what they want from me.' I laid back and closed my eyes. That twisted version of my mother's face also plaguing my mind.

I awoke the next morning with a slither of sunlight assaulting my face through the curtains. Wow, I don't feel like I slept at all. I thought with a groan. A firm rub of my face and I was ready to get up, hoping this day would distract me from how busy my mind felt.

Making my way the bathroom was a lot harder than I was expecting. It felt like I had a serious hangover. If only that was the case, then at least it would be overshadowed by a fun night prior. I gave my face a quick splash with cold water before heading down for breakfast.

Breakfast went on like it was a normal day, at least for the Apple family. Started out by meeting Granny Smith. A lovely old lady that was very welcoming to me. I felt a little bad by not introducing myself when I arrived, but she didn't seem fazed. Now Big Mac was another story, He was polite, but I'm pretty sure my hand got fractured with that handshake. With introductions aside, we sat down at the pancake adorned table for the morning meal.

"You alright, there, Alex? you've been staring at your food for a good while?" Applebloom asked. Bleary eyed, I looked up to her.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I had a rough night. New world and people... just a little overwhelmed, I guess."

"Y

The rest of the week was very dull for me. There were quite a few things on my mind. Every day was pretty much the same thing: wake up, say good morning to everyone, eat breakfast quietly, wander around the farm or the orchard, grab something to eat back at the house, wander some more, maybe sit under or in a tree, eat dinner in silence, go to bed, wake up, repeat. I was visited by Twilight and Spike a lot, not that they were the only ones, Fluttershy visited quite often as well just to see how I was doing. She was very gentle and didn't ask too many questions... unlike Twilight. In fact, we didn't talk all that much. Some times she would just sit down next to me and we wouldn't even speak. It was weirdly enjoyable, especially with how helpless and lost I was feeling. I wanted to go home, but I didn't know where to start... which was amplified by Twilight's visits. I get that she's curious, I would be too if I were in her shoes... but she kept asking more about my home and the more she asked the further away I felt.

Pinkie Pie would pop up every now and again too, but she would sling a whole bunch of words at me. From what I could make out, she was telling me about her day. She would also bring a different cupcake for me to try each time and I would start off by politely refusing, but she would get upset so I would eventually give in and eat them. They were good, but I felt guilty eating them. I'm no where near smart enough to understand my feelings, but I can tell when a feeling is good or bad.

I didn't see much of Rainbow Dash, but when I did she would be flying above, doing stuff with the clouds and I couldn't help but watch and wish I had wings. I had no idea clouds were touchable. Eventually she'd start doing tricks so I think she knew I was watching, but she only ever spoke to me a few times.

Rarity offered to make me some new clothes almost every time she visited, but I didn't have anything to pay her with. She tried to do it for free, but I couldn't accept that grand of a gesture, I didn't even want to think about the kind of favour that could bring down on me. She did talk about herself a lot, which would normally annoy me, but everything was far from 'normal' at this rate. Plus it was another distraction from my mind, which I was thankful for.

Sitting around, doing nothing was easy, but it sucked. That nightmare was living in my head rent free and I hated how isolated everything felt. Every time I closed my eyes I saw my mother's face with jet black hair instead of flowing gold. Pale white skin instead of a healthy tan... and those dark eyes with Crimson irises. But that was only during the day. I had no trouble sleeping. Another thought that plagued my mind was if I would be able to get back to James, my brother, or at least he could get to me. I escaped by helping pick apples as much as I could, but AJ didn't want me to. A distraction and paying off the debt I owe her for taking me in, it was two in one, but alas. I tried to tell her it was the least I could do after she gave me a place to stay but she still wouldn't let me help. At least I wasn't having any more of those nightmares... well, I wasn't dreaming at all.

A dreadful day came when I was supposed to be meeting the princesses. Twilight said I just have to answer a few questions Princess Celestia will ask me. I'd never met royalty before, I don't know how to act around them. We have a royal family in The Capital back home, but I've only ever seen them on TV. I'll just have to swallow my nerves and wing it.

"If it's any consolation, I'll be there."

"I know you mean well, Twilight, but I can't help feeling like I'm going to make a fool of myself." I have the unforgiving luck of screwing these sorts of things up, like when I first met Twilight and the others, I almost fell three storeys.

"I'm sure it's just all in your head, try to stay calm and you'll do great... and try not to jump through any windows." I gave a guilty smile while rubbing the back of my head.

"No promises." Making plans isn't really my strong suit anyway, I'm the type of person that thinks quickly on the spot... hopefully.

Our conversation was interrupted by a train pulling into Ponyville Station. Twilight was kind enough to put the illusion spell over me again so I wouldn't draw attention, but there was almost no one on the train, at the station, or through town. We got onto the train and took one of the many empty booths. "You know what's not in my head? The fact that we're catching a train this early in the morning." It was about five when Twilight knocked on the front door. During the twenty minute walk to the station and the twenty minute wait for the train, she filled me in on the plan she and Celestia had made. We were going to catch a train leaving Ponyville at six so we could arrive at Canterlot just before one, we would meet with the princesses in their castle, me and Twilight would meet up with the others at the train station, go back to the castle for dinner with the princesses, spend the night at the castle, and hit a train back to Ponyville the next day. That's what I was told anyway.

The first hour of the trip was spent in relative silence. I had my phone out was listening to music, I noticed Twilight was interested because every time I went to change song I'd watch her eyes flick over to my hands. I decided to have a little fun. I lifted my phone up to my eye level. Sure enough Twilight was watching. I could see her through the screen but she could only see silver. *click* her ear twitched at the sound and she had a very confused look. *click* I took another photo of her. I put the phone back on the table in between the seats and threw her a small smile, which turned into a grin. Her confused look grew and she tilted her head a little. Pulling up the photo, I slid my phone across to her. Her confusion only grew until she realised what I'd done and started giggling at her expression.

"Your phone can take photos?"

"Yup. It can also play music... I saw you watching me every time I went to change song." Her cheeks grew a small blush, knowing I knew she was watching me. "Here, put these in your ears." I handed her my earphones as I went to find a song that would be good for her to listen to. She was inspecting them thoroughly before cautiously doing as I said. I don't really know which song I should play. I kept flicking through songs until I came across one she might like and hit play.

There wasn't much of a reaction, she was just looking at me with a straight face. She slowly started bobbing her head to the beat which made me smile, but when it hit the chorus she really got into it. She started dancing in the booth, well, more of throwing limbs around erratically.

"THIS IS REALLY COOL!" I'm glad we were the only ones in this part of the train because right now everyone would be staring at us. After a quick facepalm I started to laugh. "WHAT!?" I reached across the table and pulled out one of the earphones.

"You're shouting." She was a little confused at first, but put two and two together and realised she was trying to talk over music that only she could hear. A bright red hue spread across her cheeks again, and a shy smile across her lips. "Don't worry, everyone does it now and again."

She put the earphones on the table to avoid unnecessarily shouting a second time "So what other music does you phone have?"

"Uh. I have an app that allows me to listen to almost any song I want." She seemed quite impressed.

"What else can it do? Other than take photos and play songs. You said something about watching movies a while ago."

"Yeah, I've got a couple movies, but I can only watch them in low res." If only I had the plus instead of the HD Everything would be in much higher quality. Ironic, I know.

"What's res?"

"Resolution, It's basically the quality of videos and such."

There was a bit of silence after the conversation. Twilight went deep into thought while staring out the window and I felt the need for a couple Z's. I put my earphones in and rested my head on the table. It wasn't long before the realm of sleep cradled me gently.

I was having a lovely dream where I was on a huge, empty beach. With golden sand and crystal blue water, bellow a shimmering starry night. The air was warm and fresh. The sand was also warm from the sun that passed by and soft to the touch. For the first time I wasn't bothered by the solitude. I started walking in a direction parallel to the water, allowing my mind to go blank so I could enjoy myself in the moment. I saw something way out in front of me and curiosity got the better of me, so I wandered over towards it. As I got closer I could see that it wasn't so much as something, but someone. They were at the point where I could start making out features, from their shape and the way they were walking I could guess they were female, she had long hair that seemed to be blowing in a wind I couldn't feel. We were getting closer now, maybe fifty metres, and just before I could make out anything else, everything faded to a scene where I was in a train, sitting across from a quite attractive... "Twilight?"

"Alex." She was shaking my shoulder gently trying to wake me, I groaned in response, pulled out my earphones and raised my body to sit up right. "The train has stopped, something about something on the tracks."

"And you woke me to tell me that?" She just gave me an innocent smile and a simple nod.

Rubbing my face, yawning and deciding on what to do, I got up from my seat and stretched out my limbs. There were a few satisfying pops and cracks. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go see what's happening." She walked in the direction of the front of the train. As she reached the door to the next passenger cart, I glanced around the cart and felt very uncomfortable being alone. Quickly getting up I rushed after Twilight. There were a few ponies staring at me and whispering to one another. It did make me uncomfortable, but I had the spell on me. Although, that did make me wonder why they were staring.

Twilight must've noticed everyone staring as well because she leaned close to me and whispered "do you want me to put that illusion spell on you?"

I froze as her words bounced around in my head. "What do you mean? I thought you put it on me earlier!" I whispered back at her, panic dripping from every rushed word.

"I did, but I stopped casting it because we were the only ponies in the cart." With that said, I spun on my heel and practically sprinted back to my seat.

It wasn't long before I felt the train lurch forward. Twilight obviously sorted things out. I was broken away from the mess of panic swirling around me when the cart door opened. I popped up from my seat in a panic but let out a sigh on relief when I noticed it was Twilight and I sat back down.

"Turns out there was herd of goats that wouldn't move. Good thing the conductor, Emerald Sky was able to stop in time, that could've been messy." She explained with slight, nervous giggle at the end. "Are you okay?" She asked after noticing how on edge I was.

"Twilight, why did you uncast the spell?" I asked, accusingly.

"Well, we're alone in here and it's hard work keeping such a complex illusion going."

"Wait, what?"

"I may be gifted with strong magic, but it's hard work making you look like a stallion, let alone keeping the spell going for as long as I have."

"Oh, I didn't realise you had to keep it up... sorry." I did feel bad, but it didn't stop me from being so panicked.

"It's okay, you didn't know. Look, I know those ponies were a little worried, but I don't think they will care much." Her words didn't easy my concerns at all. "What are you so worried about? It's not like it's a big deal."

"It's a huge deal... I mean, I don't know, what if they start a witch hunt or something? I could get dissected. Don't aliens get dissected? Twilight, I'm an alien!" I spurted out. Twilight gave me a well founded funny look.

"You're starting to sound like Spike and his obsession with zombies. Alex, no pony's going to dissect you. I mean, yes they were giving you funny looks, but wouldn't it be the same if one of us were on your world?" This time her words started to calm me.

"Uh, you don't want me to answer that." This time it was Twilight's turn to be concerned. "Well, yes and no. There's a lot of people back home that do some pretty crazy things in the name of science."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The rest of the train ride wasn't too bad, although, Twilight managed to get me to agree to allowing her to run some tests on me when we have free time in Canterlot. I'm a little concerned about it, a little voice in the back of my head saying she was one of those people that do crazy things in the name of science. Other than that Twilight told me the story of how the gang defeated Nightmare Moon the day before they found me, and that they were in the forest to make sure there was no way she could return, but they didn't get to search because on their way there, I jumped out of the bushes fighting timberwolves. It sounded way cooler than it felt.

We were about five minutes away from Canterlot now and Twilight had my phone doing gods know what while listening to music. she did make sure she only had one earphone in so if I needed to say something, she would hear.

"So how come Spike isn't coming 'til later?" I asked.

"He said he would stay to keep the library open. But I think he just wanted to stay behind so he could lock up and head over to Rarity's"

"Why's that?"

"You didn't hear this from me because he's trying to keep it a secret, but he sort of has a huge crush on her, has ever since we moved to Ponyville."

"He's not doing a very good job, I barely know him and I can tell." I said with a laugh.

"Yeah, everypony can, but he's young and it's cute."

"Does Rarity like him too?"

Twilight sighed before answering. "No, not really. We've talked about it at length, she cares about him a lot and doesn't want to break his heart. We're kind of hoping he'll eventually grow out of it."

"I guess that's understandable." I agreed solemnly. "what about you? Have you met 'the dream boat' yet?" Maybe this is going a little too personal.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Twlilight POV

I pulled out the earphone and set it on the table "*sigh* I haven't really been... interested, in finding that special somepony yet." It wasn't the first question I wish Alex asked, but I feel like I can talk about it with him.

"Oh, I didn't mean to impose or anything. If you don't want to talk about it we can change the subject." 'That's what I mean, he's so understanding. Every time I've talked to him or when I've been around while he's talking to one of my friends, he's so cautious about how we feel. He never says anything harsh, or when he thinks he's overdone a joke or crossed some line, he apologises. He's like no stallion I've ever met. Am I falling for him? No I can't be... Can I?... It's not unheard of for a relationship to spark between different species, there are plenty of ponies with gryphons... But he isn't a gryphon or a pony... I'm sure it's just a school filly crush that will pass soon.

"No it's fine. It's just... When I was younger I was dedicated to my studies, I still am. I didn't grow up with a lot of friends, and all the other ponies were too afraid to talk 'Celestia's personal student'. Except a few, but I wasn't the best of friends to them."

"Wait, so you're like the princess's protègè. Doesn't that make you super important?" He seemed a little nervous, like all the other ponies from school.

"It just means that Celestia saw potential in me and my magic, so she became my mentor and has been teaching me about magic. It's even my special talent."

"What kind of things does the princess teach you?" I have to admit that I'm a little surprised that he's showing interest in what I've learnt. He is from a place with no magic, though, so I guess it makes sense.

"Well, at first it was about how to access my mana pool and how to channel my magic through my horn to interact with the world around me, including myself. That process is what we call using a spell. Attempting different interactions becomes a different spell, such as a levitation spell is different from an illusion spell, the first makes an object float to your will and the other can change an object's appereance as you please. However, heavier and larger objects require a stronger magical force and the same goes for more complex illusions or other spells. This is where a unicorn's talent comes into play. For example: my special talent is magic in general, so I can perform almost all spells with ease and have a substantially larger mana pool than say, Rarity. Because her talent is only a certain spell, she can only perform that spell easily, but for her to learn a new spell, it can take a long time and a lot of focus until she can perform it on thought and with little concentration..." damn it, Twilight. You've done it again I could feel myself blushing a little, realising I was rambling on. "...Um. I'm sorry, I can get a little carried away."

"No, no. It's perfectly fine. I was actually enjoying listening. It's always good to have something you clearly love." There it is again. Understanding and kind. I wonder if any of the girls have stumbled onto this as well.

A whistle sounded, signalling our arrival at Canterlot. The train started to slow as I could hear the squealing of the breaks. I looked out of the window to the platform where I saw many ponies, only they were all being evacuated by the Royal Guard. What is the Royal Guard doing here? I thought we were going to meet at the castle so there wouldn't be a big fuss.

I went over the door of the carriage and tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. I tried again, but got the same result. I looked out the window and saw a guard holding the door closed. I tried the door between carriages to see the same thing. "Alex, the guards holding the doors closed."

"What? I thought you said they wouldn't care!"

"I thought they wouldn't."

Alex got up from the booth and was looking nervous, Not that I could blame him. I heard one of the guards shout at me to step away from the door. I complied and quickly stepped back Before they burst in.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Alex POV

Standing next to Twilight surrounded by guards with spears and swords, all sharp bits pointed at us, isn't what I'd call a good day... But it's definitely the most exciting since I arrived here. There was five guards in the cart with us and there must be twenty more on the platform. All with shiny gold armour. I put my hands in the air and tried not to provoke any violence. That's when a white stallion with a two-toned blue mane walked in, his sword in his hand. He was wearing different armour. It was purple with gold highlights. He must be a high ranking officer or something. He took one look at the scene and recoiled a bit.

"Twilight? What are you doing here? You need to step away from that. Thing." Ouch. I don't get offended easily, but that hurt. I stayed silent even though I wanted to give this guy a piece of my mind, and maybe some of my fist too.

"Thing! Shining Armour, how dare you call Alex a thing!" Not the full name. Oh, he's in trouble now.

"We got a message saying there was a weird changeling on the train from Ponyville." He pulled one of the guards close to him and whispered into his ear. What he said became very clear as one guard walked over to Twilight and another walked behind me. The one with Twilight started shoving her towards the exit. "I'm going to take it to the castle to see what the princess has to say." I really didn't like how this guard was treating Twilight. As quick as lightning, I reach out, grabbed his shoulder and spun him around while I drew back my right and threw it straight into his muzzle. There was a loud crack then clang as he fell to the ground. The guard behind me was quick to kick out the back of my knees, dropping me to the ground. Not wanting to get poked with his sword, I raised my hands back up to surrender. I looked up and saw Twilight struggling against another guard as he aggressively guided her out onto the platform. Shining Armour walked up to me and paused, just looking into my eyes before he raised his sword and drove the pommel into the side of my head.

5: Dinner at the Castle

My eye lids rose then fell. They rose then fell again as I drifted back into the realm of the awake. I was being dragged through the streets of Canterlot, I could see the castle up ahead.

"Shit, he's bucking heavy." One of the guards dragging me whined. A low groan was forced out of my throat from the pounding headache plaguing me.

"Hey, he's coming to!" That other guard dragging me shouted out to someone.

With my eyes half closed, I felt a sharp but weak pain in my left cheek, followed by my right as I was slapped to get me awake.

"Hey. Can you walk?" I recognised the voice as Shining Armor's.

"Argh... Yeah." I positioned my feet below me and pushed myself up. I was able to stand for a second before fumbling and falling towards my right. Luckily there was a guard who caught me and helped me stand up again.

"Twilight explained who you are and what you're doing here... Not that I buy it. We're escorting you to the castle now..." He turned around and started walking, but turned back around "... And, I guess I should apologise for what happened back at the station. It was needlessly aggressive."

"Well I guess I could've reacted a bit better as well." He smiled and patted me on the shoulder. We started walking towards the castle. There were seven guards tightly surrounding me, and Shining Armor was leading the way. I glanced down at my hands and saw they were cuffed in a pinkish red aura. "Mind if we ditch the cuffs?" My words fell on deaf ears as they all ignored me. I made sure I sent a glare at every single one of them. What made my day, though, was that one of the guards behind me made eye contact and he started shitting bricks. That's when I noticed something was different. "Uh. Hey, where's Twilight?" This time I got a response.

"She's gone ahead to talk to the princesses in private... and because your weight was slowing us down." Even if Shining Armor wasn't looking at me, I'm sure he knew I was giving him the 'really' look.

It felt like an eternity for us to get to the castle. I could feel the eyes of everyone we passed burning holes in my very soul and with no way of getting out of sight, I lowered my head trying to hide in the circle of guards. Finally making it to the castle, I couldn't help but look around and marvel at the impressive structure. With towers that seemed to pierce the sky and purple and gold accenting the white stone, it was truly the most breath taking building I had every laid my eyes on... but the outside couldn't hold a candle to the throne room.

Shining Armour shoved the doors open with way more force than needed, gaining the attention of everyone inside, which was five: Twilight, two guards standing beside a set of stairs that led to two thrones which were occupied by two mares. My guess placed them the princesses... and the fact that they're sitting on thrones. It turned out the castle wasn't the only thing that held a breath taking view.

As I was led towards the thrones, the guards around me made their way into two rows behind me, three in the front and four behind. The four guards at the back stopped half way leaving me, Shining Armor, and three other guards to approach the dais.

Stopping behind Shining Armor, I watched him as he dropped to one knee with his head lowered, I glanced back to see the guards doing the same. 'Oh, a bow. I should probably do that too.' As I was about to drop down one of the princesses rose her hand and they all stood back up. 'Whoops, too late.' Being closer, I could get a better view of their appearance. The princess on the right had pristine, white fur and a very attention-catching mane. It had a mix of blue, pink, light purple and green. The attention-catching part, especially for me, was that it was gently blowing in a breeze that wasn't there. Why does that feel so familiar? She had a white, silky dress that ran down her figure like shaped glass. The other princess was almost the opposite, in a silky black dress, dark blue fur, and a mane that looked like she had taken a piece of the night sky and fused it into her hair. Damn... just keep your eyes on theirs and don't let it drop below the neck. You can do this, Alex... I hope. I had to admit it, they were very attractive even if they were half horse.

The white one sat forward when she noticed I didn't bow, I'm not sure if I should be worried or not. "Shining Armor, can you please explain to me why you were at the train station?" It's very unnerving to hear such a soft and gentle voice hiding aggravation. It was quite obvious she wasn't happy about what Twilight had told her.

"I received a letter detailing a 'weird changeling' on the train arriving from Ponyville."

"Are you aware that you have a guest of Equestria in binds?" Shining Armor was sweating bullets. It almost made the trouble worth it.

"He rendered one of my best guards unconscious. I didn't want to run the risk of him injuring more." Her gaze fell upon me and my entire body froze up on its own , but all of a sudden it felt like she was wrapping me with a warm blanket on a cold night.

"I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding, but if you would mind telling why this guard is unconscious it would be greatly appreciated." It was at this point my hands were freed from their glowing prison.

"Uh... I was acting in self defence?" Hey, what do you know, I'm on the right road to fucking up these first impressions as well. Go figure.

Apparently the guard behind me didn't like how I was acting. There was a blunt pain that suddenly hit the back of my knee. 'They really like this move.' The guard used the back of his spear, and slammed it into my leg, making me fall to one knee.

"Bow to the prince... GARGH," with a mighty swing, I launched myself out of my crouching position and used all my upward momentum to spin and slam my fist into the bottom of his chin. His head snapped back and fell to the floor holding his face with both hands, groaning as he rolled around in pain. I slowly raise my hands and turned back around after seeing every guard present hold their weapons in my direction, however, both princesses were still seated and calm. The midnight blue one even had a small smirk on her face, obviously she was enjoying the show.

"That answers that question." I heard the white princess mutter.

Time to talk my way out of this one. "I sincerely apologise, your royal highnesses, but where I come from, presenting yourself on one knee is very offensive as well as demeaning to yourself." I could not be talking any more shit if I tried, but I put on the straightest face I could, stared at my toes and prayed to any one or thing that would listen for them to buy it.

On the inside, I was dying. There was a short silence which felt like years. "I understand. With you being of another world, you must have different customs and we shouldn't expect you to know ours or force them on you, In fact, I would very much like to hear of your world." The two standing guards picked up their friend and headed out the doors, my guess to a doctor. 'I should too, it feel's like I broke my hand.'

"I don't see why I couldn't share a few things about my world."

"Shining Armor, you may leave us now. I will speak to you about this soon." He did as told and left after a quick glare my way. Something tells me we don't have the most positive of relationships. I watched as he stormed out of the throne room, along with his entourage.

Twilight walked over to my side "I'm really sorry about my brother, Alex. He's captain of the Royal guard and takes his job very seriously."

"It's fine, no one got hurt... except for those two guys." I subconsciously reached up and rubbed the side of my head where Shining Armour had struck me. That damned headache still plaguing me.

"Are you feeling alright?" The white princess asked, having noticed my discomfort.

"I'm good. Just helped Shining Armor make sure his sword was in one piece."

The darker princess looked at me with confusion. "With thine head?"

"Shining Armor knocked Alex out with his pommel." Twilight explained dramatically.

"Thou haveth an amusing way with words. Though, a blow to thine head is no laughing matter. Perhaps it be wise you lay down and rest."

"My sister is right. We can talk when you're feeling a little better, Alex. A maids will show you to your room." As if on cue a young mare appeared from one of the side doors.

"Your majesties." She said with a small curtsy. But what had my attention was the stereotypical maid outfit she was wearing, only the skirt was far shorter than it needed to be but still long enough for it not to fall under lingerie. It was also very revealing around the chest. Something I noticed very quickly and continued to notice for a longer time than needed.

"Please show Alex to his prepared room." Celestia instructed.

"Of course..." The maid turned towards Alex and Twilight "... Follow me." She walked passed us and over to the main doors where she turned back and waited for us to follow.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The rooms weren't that far from the throne room... I think. My attention was continuously drawn to other things, so I wasn't entirely sure. I tried to fight it, but it was a battle I wasn't winning.

We came to a stop at one of the few doors in this hallway. "Master Alex, this is the room that has been prepared for you." The maid said before opening the door and leading us into a decently sized living area. On the left were two large, white sofas and a dark grey arm chair around a short, wooden coffee table. On the right was a small bench that had cupboards underneath and a single sink in the centre. It was like an apartment, way more than what I was expecting. I was expecting it to be just be a bedroom, maybe a bathroom. 'Hell. This is already bigger than my house back home.'

"Uh. You don't have to worry about the whole 'master' or 'mister' thing with me, I'm not important enough for that. Alex is just fine."

"Of course, Alex. Your bedroom is through the door on the left..." The maid said, pointing to one of two doors at the far side of the room. "... and the bathroom is through the door on the right. Either myself or one of the other maids will come in to swap laundry and tidy your guest quarters every morning as well." She turned to Twilight, who I had forgotten was there. "Miss Sparkle, All of the rooms along this hall have been prepared for everyone."

"Thanks, I'll sort everyone out when they get here." Twilight replied. The maid was about to leave before I stopped her.

"Excuse me, I don't think I caught your name."

"My name is, Feather Duster." 'how fitting'

"Well, see ya round." I said while she turned and walked out.

"Okay, Alex. You should try to get some sleep." Twilight started pushing me towards the bedroom.

"I'm fine, honestly." I protested.

"You might be, but we shouldn't risk you running around with a concussion. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go have a very, very long chat with my brother." There was something about the way she said that, that sent shivers down my spine. I sort of felt sorry for him. "Have a good rest, Alex." Twilight said as she was leaving my room.

"You too." There was silence as the two of us just stared at each other, comprehending my 'big dumb'. "I'm just gonna walk off a cliff." I said, embarrassment plastered over my face. Twilight smiled at my antics before she shut the door behind her. 'You fucking idiot. You too?.'

I went into my bedroom. It was pretty big. There was a queen size bed in the centre of the left side wall and had a bed side table on each side. In front of me was glass door leading to a small balcony. On the right side was a large dresser with large mirror on top of it.

"Let's see. Rest, rest, rest... Rest doesn't always have to be sleeping." I went out onto the balcony. It was over looking the castle gardens and was a lot higher up than I thought it was. 'hmm. I don't remember going up any stairs... Wait. Yes I do. I almost got an up skirt view of Feather Duster... I am such a fucking perv.' But then again you can't blame me for what she was wearing.

It was such an amazing view. (The balcony, not the maid) And with a slight breeze, It felt so calm. Beyond the gardens below was a waist high wall that had a huge drop off the side of the mountain and out to the rest of Equestria. I must have been out there for a good twenty minutes or so before I went back inside from some slight dizziness. I closed the glass door and looked at the bed. "Oh man, that bed is ripe for the jumping." Since I was a guest in a princess' castle, I decided against it. That and that if I did start jumping, I just knew fate would make an example of me and bring a thousand years of bad luck on me. Feeling mature and sensible, I just laid down under the white covers and did my best to sleep.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Twlight POV

"How Could You Treat Him In Such A Way!?" I was really angry with Shining, as was Celestia. We were in one of the private meeting rooms because of the soundproofing enchantment. In the room was myself, Celestia, Luna and Shining, who was going to get the scolding of a life time.

"How Was I Supposed To Know He Was Who He Is, Twilight!" Shining retorted

"He Looks Almost Exactly The Same As A Stallion! You Can't Just Arrest Him And Call It A Day!" I shouted. I really wasn't going to have any excuses from him.

"Only He's Completly Different From A Stallion! I'm Captain Of The Guard, This Is What My Job Entails!" He shouted back.

"ENOUGH! You two should know better than to shout at each other like this." Celestia intervened with a voice louder than both of ours. "Now, Twilight, I understand you're upset, but I shouldn't need to remind you that this is a discussion between me and my captain." I lowered my head in shame. It always hurts when she points out my mistakes. "Now. Shining, this does not excuse you from you actions."

"But, princess, he attacked first." A childish excuse from someone like Shining

"Only because your guards were pointing their weapons at us!" I said with as much venom as I could muster

"We got a report about a possible changeling on the train, I couldn't just ignore it!"

"Shining, I did inform you that there was a new being arriving via train at one in the afternoon." Celestia seemed to have shut him down with this. He went to say something but didn't, either because he didn't want to upset the princesses or he couldn't make up any more excuses. "You were under orders from myself, that extra guards were not to be at the station as not to alarm ponies to Alex's presence." Shining knew he was in the wrong now. "You have disobeyed a direct order. Because of this you will have one week of extra duties." There was a short pause before she continued. "What's done is now in the past, Luckly, nopony was killed. You are dismissed, Captain." Shining gave a salute before leaving the room. Once door was closed again Celestia released a heavy sigh and turned to Luna, who I only just noticed was very quiet the whole time, and seemed to be a little distant. "Now we have to deal with the numerous concerned citizens about a changeling in Canterlot." Celestia said before noticing what I had about Luna. "Luna, are you okay?" There was no response. Luna just kept looking at the ground while holding her arms.

"Princess Luna?" I tried to get her attention, but still no response.

Celestia placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Lulu?" Luna snapped out of her trance and saw all of our concern looks.

"We are sorry if we concerned thou. There is just something we can't stop thinking about." Luna replied with a mix of worry and sadness.

"What is it, sister?" Celestia coaxed.

Luna gave a deep sigh. "The previous week, our first full night back as ourself. We sensed somepony was having a nightmare. We went into the dream to dispel of the bad. Only when we got in, We couldn't use our magic... as if it wasn't there."

"Was it a memory or something?" I asked

"No, we are certain it was a dream. The place was a twisted, dark and terrible building of sorts. It seemed to consist only of long halls and we felt as though we were inferior and afraid."

"Do you know who's dream this was, sister?"

"We started to search for the pony whom was suffering. When we were searching, we heard voices in the distance. One male, one female. We started to hear screeching and screaming also. When we got close, we saw a stallion kneeling down and trapped amongst a mess on the floor. There was a mare standing over him."

"Who was the stallion?" I queried

"It was Alex." When Luna said Alex's name I suddenly remembered AJ telling me how he woke up screaming his first night at the farm, also how he was quite distant all week.

"What do you mean he was stuck in a mess?" Celestia asked.

"We mean he was stuck in a mass of bloody body parts and other gore. What was very frightening to us though was that the female knew we were there. She called out to us. Then everything changed to a dark room with a single, bright light over a table that Alex was strapped to and the female was standing over him with a large knife." Luna was staring to choke on her words now, as if it was getting worse than blood and body parts trapping somepony. "She called out to us again. About begging and us watching..." Tears were threatening to fall from Luna's eyes. but I could see she was straining to hold it back. "She started to drag the knife over his body without doing any damage at first. But then she stared to cut into him, we couldn't turn away. He was screaming and begging for her to stop, but she wouldn't heed his pleas." Luna took a moment to regain her composure and clear away the tears that broke through. Celestia was comforting Luna. I wasn't sure what to do, I didn't know this side of the princesses existed. Once Luna had gained a bit more control she continued. "It had come to the point where Alex had been flayed, however, he was still awake. He was still in his nightmare. We couldn't close our eyes or turn away. We could only watch."

"Oh dear, I had no idea his nightmare was so bad." I stated. Hearing about what he actually went through almost made me want to throw up. 'I think I need to talk to the girls about this.'

"Twlight, how did he act once he had awoken?" Celestia asked me.

"Well he kept to himself a lot around the farm, but I just thought that he was upset being away from his home. Applejack would know more than me, She looks after him most days." I replied.

"We were able to rejoin Alex in his dream scape earlier this day." Luna spoke up. "It was quite strange to see him have something so calming after such a disturbing nightmare only one week prior. Normally such a nightmare would have a recurring effect. Alex, however, had no dreams until earlier this day. It was a warm beach at night, though, we were not able to use our magic to teleport ourself to him again, we were only able to walk. Unfortunately he awoke before we could converse."

'*gasp* that must've been on the train when I woke him about the goats.'

"Perhaps this is something Alex could better explain to us." Celestia proposed.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex POV

I love it when you go to sleep and don't dream. I feel like I can control time itself with a blink of my eyes. That's what I've just experienced, waking up from my little nap. Everything seemed so great: I was on the most comfy bed I've every been on, I had a wonderful sleep, and I felt the most relaxed I had since I was eight years old. My only issue right now is that bastard in the sky that everyone calls the sun. It was setting outside my window, where it's orange, red and yellow rays were assaulting my eyes.

I got off the bed and rose to my feet, then stumbled over to the balcony. Sometime during my slumber I had taken off my hoodie and shirt. There was a beautiful, warm wind brushing against my torso and face. The sunset was very spectacular, though.

There was a knock at the door, but I didn't hear it. Too lost in my own thoughts and the view, I was unable to hear the second knock. The door was opened slightly. "Alex? Darling, are you awake?" Without getting a response, Rarity walked into my living room followed by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

"Maybe he's not in here." Fluttershy suggested.

They saw my bedroom door open and went to investigate. At this time, I had felt like I'd had my sufficient amount of sunset watching and returned inside.

Rarity, Rainbow and Fluttershy had all entered my room and seen the empty bed. "Well, he isn't in here. I think Fluttershy might be right." Rainbow said.

I opened the door for the balcony and walked into my room. Of course, I was a little surprised to see the three mares there and didn't click that I wasn't wearing a shirt. We sort of just stared at each other for a few seconds before I spoke up. "Hey girls, what's up?"

"We came to... Ahem... See how you were doing, and see if you would be accompanying us to dinner." Rarity answered.

"And it seems you're doing pretty well." I had no idea why rainbow said it like that or with a flick of her eyebrows. Then I realised I didn't have a shirt on. I might be a little self-conscious about my body appearance. I think I look pretty good, nice and defined, not that I'd ever admit it to anyone, but I do pose in front of the mirror. What guy doesn't? But I hate it when I don't have clothes on around others.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry. I didn't realise I wasn't wearing a shirt." I quickly turned and picked up my white t-shirt off the floor and put it on. In my haste to cover up, I fumbled a bit and got my arm stuck. I had my back to the girls as I tried to put my shirt on, but I was losing the fight. I could hear rainbow trying to hold in her laughter. It made me all flustered and I didn't think about my next move very clearly. It went a little like this. 'You know what, Fuck you shirt.' With a big shove, I forced my arm into the sleeve. *Riiiiip*. I made a giant tear over the shoulder and down the side. For Rainbow, that was the final straw. She burst out in a fit of laughter. "It always happens to me." I mumbled while looking at my toes.

"Don't worry yourself about it, Darling. I can easily fix that for you by tomorrow." Rarity offered.

"Thanks, Rarity." I said in an embarrassed tone.

"What was that on your back? Was it your cutie mark?... If you don't mind me asking, that is." Fluttershy asked, but shied away after, as if she had offended me or something.

"That's an odd place for a cutie mark." Rarity added.

"What? No. At least I don't think so... What's a cutie mark?" All three of them seemed a little confused that I didn't know what a cutie mark was, until I reminded them that I'm from another world. Then they explained to me what it was, and that it defines a pony's talent.

"Uh. No it's not a cutie mark. It's a tattoo." This time it was my turn to know something they didn't. So I explained to them about a needle injecting ink into my skin, and used to draw a permanent picture.

"Why would anypony want to do such a thing." Rarity seemed a little disgusted by the process.

"Yeah, it sounds like it hurts." Rainbow added.

"It hurts like a bitch. But generally when people get them, they're symbolic of something; maybe names, or tradition, mine is symbolic... Only I didn't ask for it." Instantly, I regretted saying that last part. I could see they were about to ask why I had it if I didn't want it, but that was a story for another time. During the discussion I had put on my hoodie. And yes I did manage to do it without tearing it in half. "I think we should get to dinner, don't want to be late for the princesses now do we." My attempt at avoiding their questions was successful, but I could just tell it was going to brought up again.

On the way to the dinning room I asked the three girls what they plan to do while they're in Canterlot. Rainbow wanted to find a really good place to 'chillax' and wanted to go to a Wonderbolts merchandise store. When I asked what Wonderbolts were, I got a lengthy explanation about the best flyers in equestria and so on, It was a little difficult to keep pace with how fast the words were getting slung at me. Fluttershy wanted to spend as much time as possible in the Canterlot gardens with all the animals, and Rarity wanted to go shopping and hopes to meet this prince guy while around the castle. Something, something, dream boat.

The four of us came to these big doors, a common occurrence around here, and went through them. Inside was a really large table and a smaller door on the far side of the room. The table was covered in a very large, white cloth that dropped down to the point where it was almost touching the floor. It also had about twelve seats around it, five on each side and one at each end. Celestia was occupying the head, Twilight and Luna were sitting beside her, Pinkie was next to Twilight, and Applejack next to her, and Spike was next to Luna.

Fluttershy sat down next to Spike, Rainbow sat next to Fluttershy, Rarity went next to Rainbow, and I sat next to Applejack. As I did so, I noticed the three at the far end giving me a weird look. Not the kind of look you give someone you don't like, just a look you give someone you know has secrets, which sort of got me worried because I do have secrets... apparently, not anymore.

We all started idly chatting to one another about other things, which slowly formed into one big conversation.

"So, Alex. How come you have that tattoo?" Rainbow asked, maybe a little louder than I would have preferred, but shit happens.

"What's a 'tattoo'?" Twilight gained everyone's attention and now they were all waiting for an explanation. Rainbow beat me to it though.

"It's a permanent picture that's drawn under somepony's skin, by a needle that stabs you really fast."

"Why would anypony go 'n do that?" Applejack asked.

"Why would somepony want a 'tattoo', Alex?" Celestia turned all attention to me again.

"Well. People get them for many different reasons. It could be symbolic, it could be tradition, a lot of people get them just for fun."

"That doesn't sound very fun." Pinkie stated.

"So why did you get yours?" Twilight asked.

"Well... Um...' I went silent for a moment, thinking if I should tell the truth or lie. "It's a long story, It has a lot of meaning behind it. It's like my family tree mixed with a few personal things, type of deal... does that make sense?" I ended up lying because I thought it would make things easier. I don't think they'd understand the whole crush others to get ahead kind of world I'm from.

"Not really, that barely explains anything." Rainbow complained.

"."

"."

"Oh, oh. Do you like cupcakes!?" Pinkie practically screamed at me.

"That... Was a lot faster than I thought it would happen, but, I guess. Last time I had a cupcake was, uh, about sixteen years ago for my sixth birthday... It was the last gift my mom gave me before she died." I said that last part quietly and with my head hung, but everyone still heard it. Pinkie didn't press on about cupcakes and everyone else went quiet. "Huh, so much for happier things. Oh well. Let's see, why doesn't everyone tell me a little about themselves, I still don't know very much much." Me turning my mood so quickly caught everyone off guard so I had to push it a little. "Rarity, why do start then we can go around the table clockwise."

"Oh. Okay... I run the Carousel Boutique and design fashionable garments for all ponies. You need to stop by soon so we can get you some more clothes." Then she let out a small gasp in realisation. "Or you can come shopping with me tomorrow and we can pick something out." She said that with a lot of enthusiasm and I really didn't want to crush that.

"Um. Sure, why not." I didn't see the harm in it, and I don't know, I feel like I could wander the streets, no worries.

"Splendid! I know exactly where we can go."

Everyone turned to Rainbow. "Your turn." I said.

"Me, I'm the fastest flyer in all of Equestria, captain of the Poyville weather team, the only pony who can perform a sonic rainboom, aaand future Wonderbolt." Rainbow proudly exclaimed

"Yah hope." Applejack added.

Rainbow gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Yeah, that. But once they see how awesome I am, they're bound to let me in."

Applejack lent over and whispered to me "she's also very modest." we both laughed and Rainbow saw.

"What's so funny?" She didn't seem too please with use laughing

"You really want to know?" She nodded. "Alright I'll tell you... One word."

"Hurry up already." She demanded.

"Sarcasm." My vagueness made Applejack laugh even harder, and the sheer anti-climatic side of it made everyone else laugh... Except rainbow. "I'm sorry Rainbow."

"Nah, it's cool, but I'll remember this." well shit

Next was fluttershy's turn. It didn't go so well because I couldn't hear her, but I really couldn't bring myself to ask her to speak up. So instead, I played it cool and smooth. And this time I'm serious. "Really? That's so cool." Everyone knew perfectly well that I couldn't hear her, but caught on to what I was doing. I was trying to get her to feel more confident and maybe she would speak up a bit. I also noticed that it brought a smile to Celetia's face. hell yeah, making good impression for the princess.

My plan worked like a charm. She ended up telling me about how she's had many animals come to her cottage from the everfree, and how ponies will go to her if their pets are sick. So I put two and two together and guessed that she's a vet or something.

I looked to spike and he started his story. "I'm a dragon, as you know..." Fuck Yeah, I do! "... I help Twilight run the library. That's pretty much it."

"There's got to more, I mean your a dragon." I couldn't believe that he's a dragon and that's all he does.

"Um, I can send letters by burning them." Now that's what I'm talking about, magical fire breath.

"What? but wouldn't it just turn to ash?"

"Nope, I'll show you." He picked up is napkin and, with a shallow and lazy breath, a green fire shot out and set the napkin ablaze. It turned into a small, sparkly mist that floated over to Celestia, then reformed into a napkin, which she caught in her magic and floated it back over to spike.

"Woah, that's so cool."

It was Luna's turn and I could see she didn't know what to say. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, Princess."

"Words elude. We are unaware of what to say." This is actually the first time I've heard Luna talk.

"Just start with what you do." I suggested.

"We are co-ruler of Equestria, and princess of the night." hmm, spooky

"Um, so, what does 'princess of the night' mean?" I was a little hesitant in asking because I really, really don't want to say anything bad.

"We are called that because we raise and lower the moon. The same as our sister raising and lowering the sun." Luna almost seemed a bit quizzical that I didn't know about raising and lowering the moon. Me, on the other hand, was completly confused.

"I'm sorry, did you say that you control the moon?"

"We did."

"And you control the sun?" I said looking at Celestia. She gave me a nod as her response. "As in, the giant orbs in the sky?" They both nodded. "The sun and the moon?" Again, they nodded. The other seven were stifling giggles and I could see both princesses were amused by my astonishment. "No shit..." and you just swore infront of royalty. Well fucking played dickhead. I thought while mentally clapping. "Uh. uh. uh. Excuse my language princess Celestia and princess Luna." I was panicking. Everyone started laughing, including the princesses.

"It's okay, Alex, you can relax. And you don't have to worry about using our titles in private." Whew. Finally I can catch a break... In private eh?

In my moment of relief, the door at the back of the room opened up and several servants walked through with large, silver platters. They each placed the platters on the table, infront of each person/pony and lifted the cover to reveal cooked vegetables.

It is refreshing to have something that isn't apples, but the food granny cooks never gets tiring. A brief flash of sadness crossed my face at the lack of meat, but I don't know how any one will react to me being an omnivore, even if I've never eaten and never will eat pony. Celestia noticed the flash of sadness, but knew it was something she would need to ask me alone.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dinner went on with everyone talking and eating and having a good time. Celestia and Luna excused themselves early to go lower the sun and raise the moon, something I really wanted to see. The princesses leaving coaxed everyone else to finish as well. The seven of us got up and left the dinning room to retire for the night. After we left, I made haste over to the nearest window just in time to see the sun and moon moving unnaturally fast beyond and above the horizon. To say I was impressed would be an understatement.

When I got to my room, I bid everyone goodnight and went inside. Due to the nap I took earlier I wouldn't be able to sleep for a while, so instead I went and sat on the right side of the railing on my balcony with my back against the wall, my left leg hanging over the edge and my right leg stretched out on the railing. It was very peaceful, and without a dome, the night sky was absolutely astonishing. I could see countless stars and different kinds of reds, purples, blues and yellows among galaxies, and the moon was so bright and large...

"Can't sleep?" The voice beside me snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned to see Celestia standing at the door. "Excuse me for coming in without permission, but I have something I needed to ask you."

"No, it's absolutely fine." She walked over, I bent my leg up so she could sit on the balcony with me, only she had her feet on the floor. "What's up?"

"During dinner, I noticed you didn't seem pleased with the meal." She started.

"Oh, not at all, it was delicious."

"We both know that's not what I mean. There's something about you that you haven't told anypony."

"*sigh* You're right. It's just I'm afraid of how everyone will react."

"If it helps, you can tell me and I will tell you how everypony will react." I know she telling the truth, I can see it in her eyes.

"I... I... I don't know how to explain it." I just opened my mouth to reveal my pearly whites. I could see she recoiled a bit seeing my teeth, she instantly knew that I was a meat eater.

"That's the exact reaction I was afraid of..." my head dropped. "...Then it leads to either everyone running from me, or rejecting me."

"Alex..." Celestia reached out and placed her hand on my knee. "... You are not the first we have come across that eats meat. Gryphons can also. You haven't shown any sign of wanting to prey on my little ponies thus far, so I see nothing wrong with you. You don't eat ponies do you?" Her words were very comforting, I could feel the worries melting away.

"Never have, never will. I guess I was just working it up in my head. Thanks Celestia." After saying that, I came to realise something and buried my head in my hands. "Oh my god... That is probably the most clichè thing I've ever said." In response, Celestia smiled and stood up. "Oh well..." I was about to use one of the things I love to say.

"All's well that ends well." Did she just steal my line? the worst part was that she gave me this look of triumph before there was a bright flash and she was gone.

"I feel violated."

Author's Note

Chapters are getting longer now, Yay!

Thanks to: Frankie2 for some help mid way through the chapter.

Also, you may have noticed that I skipped over the definition of a cutie mark. I just feel like it's common knowledge and throughout most fics I've read, they say the same thing and it gets tiring. So yeah, theres the reason if you were wondering. :pinkiehappy:

6: Bad Blood

This morning I woke up in a very good mood for some reason. There was nothing I could think of that caused this feeling, but I felt like the King of the world and was really excited. I'm sure everyone has been through this sort of thing before.

Anyway, I am currently dancing and singing in this massive shower while my phone sat on the bench blasting a really upbeat song. I was really into it, flailing around and having a great time. I had just finished covering my body in soap when my feet were like 'nah' and I slipped over just as the song finished.

"WAAAH!" Every muscle below my neck, minus one (if you know what I mean), tensed up and my toes crunched against one wall and my back hit another. I was completely stunned about my luck, I was in a diagonal angle and there was no pain... And then my feet were like 'nah' for the second time. You know when you're walking around your house bare foot and then you kick the corner of a piece of furniture with your little toe? Yeah it was like that, but all of my toes. "OOOW!" I sat down with the water still falling over me and started to massage the pain from my temporarily crippled limbs. I guess the universe doesn't want me to have a good morning... Well, you know what I say to that? I stood back up and raised my fist to nothing in particular. "Fuck you, universe. I am going to enjoy this morning!" I started to chuckle at my own antics and got out of the shower.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3rd Person POV

Unknown to Alex there was a knock at the door. After a few more tries, whoever was at the door, opened the door and walked in.

"Remind me why your here, Rainbow."

"Because, Rarity. I might be able to catch Alex without his shirt again." Rarity huffed at Rainbow's reason.

"Alex, darling. Are you awake?" She didn't get a response.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Rainbow asked.

They both listened, and could hear music coming from the bathroom. Rarity started to walk over to the door to knock and see if Alex was in there, but before she could, the door opened and out walks Alex with nothing but a towel around his waist. Steam was graciously lifting from his defined body. The two mares couldn't help but gawk at the handsome man.

When Alex noticed them He gave a defeated sigh. "Really? Again?" Then rushed off into his room to grab his clothes.

Rainbow had a huge grin across her face as she looked at Rarity. "Told you." She then called out to Alex's bedroom door. "Thanks Alex!"

The door opened and a fully clothed Alex walked through. "Is that seriously all you wanted?" He asked.

All Rainbow responded with was "yup" then turned and walked out.

"Tell me there is at least one thing more you wanted." Alex hoped out loud.

"Actually yes, and I'm dreadfully sorry for barging in." Rarity apologised.

"It's fine, but I think I'm going to need a Rainbow alarm soon. Something tells me that's not the last time she's going to do that."

"On a more productive note. Here's your shirt, darling." Rarity said as she gave Alex his newly mended t-shirt. "As good as new."

"I was wondering where that was... How did you get it?"

"Ah, a professional never reveals her secrets." Rarity said, putting on a proud look.

Alex started to get a little worried. "Please don't tell me you sent Rainbow in to get it."

"Of course not. Feather Duster was kind enough to get it for me while she was cleaning your room earlier this morning."

"I feel like my door has a sign that says 'please stop what you are doing and come in'." Alex joked. "It doesn't, does it?" A quick glance at the open door answered Alex's question.

"Anyway, are you ready for our day of shopping?" Rarity said with a lot of excitement.

"As ready I'll ever be." He said matching her excitement. He did say he was going to enjoy today.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex POV

We caught a quick breakfast at the dinning room, and by 'we' I mean 'me', Rarity had already eaten, then headed for the castle gates.

Walking through the streets of Canterlot was easier than I thought it would be. Most of the ponies around here had their noses pointed so high they didn't even notice me. Of course there were ponies around that weren't so stuck up, but I paid no mind to it. Or tied to.

The first store Rarity led me to had a bunch of weird symbols as the name. must be a logo that's so well known they don't have to put the name up

"So, Rarity. What are we looking for in here."

"Alex, when one goes shopping you do not know what you're going to buy, until one sees it."

"Oh, okay." I had a look around all of the clothes and saw it was mostly women's clothing... mares clothing. I followed Rarity around as she searched though all of the racks and different pieces of clothing. Every now and then she would pick out something and get me to hold it. After a few things were picked out, she handed me a deep purple one-piece bikini, and with me being me, I held it up against myself. "I think maybe a white or red would suit me better, don't you think?" Rarity took one look at me and tried not laugh.

"And maybe a few sizes smaller around the chest." She playfully insulted as she took the bikini from me and placed it over the pile of about four items of clothing over my right hand.

"They aren't that small." I said, feigning sadness as I placed my free hand over my chest.

"Hello and welcome, is there anything I can assist with?" One of the store hands said from behind me. I turned around to face them while Rarity declined the help. The mare was relatively tall and slender. She had a sleek, forest green dress over her cream coloured fur. She also had a tied up mane that matched her dress in colour. She gave me a weird look and I returned it. Then she walked away and we continued on.

Rarity dragged me off towards the change rooms and asked me to wait nearby. I found a small leather stool and sat down. She was in there for a while, but I just waited patiently.

Eventually she came out wearing a white long sleeve shirt that was tight around the shoulders, but became loose as it flowed over her breasts and down her stomach where it ended just below her belly button. It was the same with the sleeves, only it was tight down to her elbow where it frilled out and hung to the middle of her forearm. Accompanying the shirt was a dark denim skirt that hugged her legs, but wasn't tight, and ended just above her knees.

"What do you think?" She asked while giving a slow twirl.

I really didn't know what to say, it looked good... She looked good. I tried to begin with that, but for some reason I couldn't speak. Come on brain, say something. Oh no she starting to look worried. "wow, you look great." whew. That was close. Her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink at my compliment. "Im no fashion master like you, but maybe if the skirt was a lighter colour it would give this summery feel while still being a cool colour." She looked down at the outfit then back at me but with a more surprised look.

She gave a small hum in thought. "Yes, I suppose you're right." She admitted before closing the curtain.

After a while she came out with a long, black singlet and tight, white jeans. She looked like she was about to go to a skate park. But damn did she look fine. "I never pictured you to wear singlets."

"Well, darling. I need to have an outfit for any occasion and it just so happens that this sort of attire is starting to make a name for itself among fashion." She replied.

It went on like this for a while until one time when she came out in the bikini. It had a diamond cut out of the stomach. The straps over the shoulders went down her back in a crisscross, twisted sort of way before they connected with a part at her lower back. I swear I was about to pass out. She turned around in a circle then asked "what about this? It is coming summer soon and that means beach season. I thought it looked nice with my mane."

Holy hot damn. That is so attractive... Oh god I'm suffering something shocking right now. "Yeah. I agree entirely. It looks great." AAAARGH she had a pleased smile plastered across her face as she went back into the change room. I gave a deep sigh and rested my face in my hands. I then pulled out my phone and checked the time. "Ten thirty five..." Just another five hours, give or take a few, of this torture. But I mean, I'm not complaining.

We left the store and headed onward to the next. This one also had weird symbols for its logo. The place was actually pretty cool, it was painted white, but had dark wood feature walls here and there. There was also a couple different sub-levels. The shop was split by gender, mare on the left and stallions on the right. I followed Rarity over to the guys section and she started pulling different shirts and pants and holding them infront of me. All I could do was watch because my hands were full of bags. Eventually she became satasfied with the clothes she wanted me to try on, so she pushed me into a change room along with everything she picked out.

"I don't get a say in what I'm wearing do I?" I raised my voice as I picked up a light blue shirt with thin, white horizontal strips... Or it was white with light blue strips, anyway. It was a nice and soft material, but still really thin. I like it already

"Of course you do, darling. But it's all going to fall on deaf ears." I heard her shout back.

I put the shirt on with a pair of white shorts that was with it. I looked in the mirror and I gotta say, I liked the shirt. It was maybe one size too small, but it was the perfect length, and I guess it being tight shows off my muscles. such a stereotype.

I walked out to find Rarity sitting on a small couch with a few more clothes for me to try. "It looks okay, but would look better with different pants, try these." She said, handing me another pair of pants. I went back into the change room and changed the pants.

In the end I had about four new shirts and three new pairs of pants. There was the light blue and white one, a black and red plaid shirt, a black long sleeve shirt and a faded yellow, almost white, t-shirt. There was the pair of grey shorts, a pair of denim jeans, and a pair of white board shorts that had a blue diamond on the right leg. Rarity was saying that she needed to get them for me because I didn't have anything to swim in and something about it being a coincidence. I had no idea what she was talking about. She even got me a couple more pairs of underwear. I have to say, I was a little embarrassing when she said I should try them on and show her. But I said I wasn't going to stand in the middle of a shop half naked, then she said that she could just go into the change room with me, but I said no again. So to get back at me, she made sure to get me a fluro pink pair.

It was time for lunch and Rarity said she knew the perfect place. I was planning on telling her about my diet, but I didn't want to spoil the day, so I kept quiet and was just going to have to enjoy the vegetarian meal. I happened to notice that all of the shops and signs we passed all had weird symbols in stead of words. I was a little puzzled at first because ponies seem to speak English, or Equestrian as its called here, but then I realised that they must have a different style of writing.

"Hey, Rarity." I started.

"Yes?" She said, looking up from her menu.

"What's this?" I asked pointing to a mass of symbols on the menu. From looking at it, I guessed that the laws of writing were the same as English, only the letters looked different.

"That's steamed carrot gazpacho. Why do you ask?"

"Um, what's gazpacho?"

"It's basically a cold soup with steamed carrots."

"Hmmm. I asked because... Well... It seems I can't read." She looked a bit confused. "It's not that I never could read, it's just that the written language between our species is different."

"That's very unfortunate."

"I know, it's like some ass hat just decided that moving to a whole new world wasn't enough for me. It makes sense though, in a way... Back to the menu, I think I'll just get whatever you get." Little did I know that was going to be a bad choice. Rarity called over a waiter and ordered two rose salads, as in the flower. We were sitting at a table outside and under an umbrella. The table and chair were a nice stained wood, and the chairs had a yellow cushion on them. I looked out to the street and saw someone familiar. It was Twilight and she seemed to be in a rush, if her pushing other ponies out of the way was any indication.

She was going to walk right past us before I called out. "Hey Twilight!" She looked around until she found us and then came over.

"Hello, Darling. What brings you out to here? Are you looking for clothes?" Rarity asked.

"No, I was actually looking for you two. Celestia wants to see us all as soon as possible."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We got back to the castle and went into the throne room to see Spike, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, the two princesses and a very shaken stallion. From the way he looked, I guessed he must be farmer.

We walked up to the our friends standing to the side of the thrones while the farmer was finishing his story. Something about a farming village being in danger.

"Thank you for bring this to me, we will make sure the threat is dealt with soon. For now, return to your family. There will be a groups of guards that will patrol your farms for protection." Celestia told the stallion in a motherly tone.

"Oh thank you, your highness." He then sprinted out of the throne room with a couple guards following him.

"so what was up with sonic over there?" I asked Rainbow, who I was standing next to.

"He said he saw something in a part the everfree a group of farmers settled next to... Sonic?" Rainbow explained and queried

"Heh, just a small joke from my world. So what did he see." I asked trying to make a picture from the puzzle pieces given to me.

"What he saw was a dangerously close description to that of Nightmare Moon." Celestia answered, obviously hearing my question.

"So what was it you needed from us, Celestia?" Twilight questioned.

"I need the eight of you to go into the Everfree forest and dispel this remnants of Nightmare Moon from Equestria."

"Eight? Does this mean I get to go on these adventures now?" Spike asked excitedly.

"Yes, Spike. Because you are much more physically developed..." Damn Celestia, a dragon? Only the exotic for a princess "... It would be wise to send you to help."

"Why not send guards? They are trained for this sort of brute task." Rarity chimed in.

"Because the last time you did, they all got slaughtered. Right?" After sharing, I noticed Luna sink in her throne and adorn a very sad expression. "Alex, what have you done." I thought out loud. "I'm sorry, Princess. From what I heard, it wasnt your fault." I said trying take back what I said.

"Thou words are comforting, but what is done, is done. We can not undo what happened." Luna said returning to a neutral demeanour.

"You are correct, though, Alex. The elements were the only things capable of defeating Nightmare Moon, and now that you six are the wielders, you will need to confront this threat." Celestia finished. "There will be a carriage waiting for you tomorrow, to take you to the border of the Everfree. It will wait there for your return."

For the rest of the day we all just hung out in my room for some reason. It was sort of weird actually. After we were done in the throne room, I came back here and Rarity followed because I still had her bags of clothes. When she came in to get them, everone else came in as well and just started chilling out and talking about things that always rounded back to the 'mission'. I was sitting on one end of a sofa with Twilight and Fluttershy. Applejack, Raity and Spike were on the other one. Rainbow had take the armchair next to me, and Pinkie was lying over the coffee table.

"We should play a game." Pinkie stated.

"What sort of game could we play here?" Rainbow asked rhetorically.

"I don't think now is the best time for a game, Pinkie." Twilight said dejecting Pinkie.

"I'm down for a game." I proclaimed in efforts to alleviate my boredom. "I mean come on, anything beats just sitting here."

"Ah gotta agree. It's gettin' mighty dull doin' nothin'." Applejack concurred.

"I wouldn't mind a game." Fluttershy added.

"How about 'Domination'?" im listening Pinkie said as she pulled a board game box out of her mane and put it on the table she was lying on.

"That was cool, let me try." I said grabbing the box and placing it on my head. "Did it work?" I asked, already knowing the answer. Everyone laughed at my stupidity while I put the box back on the table... except Twilight.

"How are you so accepting of her breaking every rule physics?" Twilight questioned.

"It's easy. Anything I don't understand anymore, I just chalk up to magic." I answered.

"But she doesn't have that kind of magic." She continued while everyone else set up the game. I looked like a pony version of Monoply.

"Twilight, I don't have magic either."

"I know that."

"But how do I have your watch." I said before easing my hand and dangling Twilight's watch infront of her face. She grabbed it and put it back on her wrist.

"How did you get that?"

"Tell the story another time. It's your turn, Alex." Rainbow interupted.

We played the game for a few hours and I was desperately scraping by. I only had four properties and apparently they are the worst ones because no one ever lands on them... and it was true. I haven't collected any rent the whole game. I only had about four hundred bits left when I landed on Rainbow's place... Which just so happened to have a rent of four hundred bits.

"Awww sheeeet." I said while placing my piece on her square. "That's all I have left, I'm broke." I started to fake cry. Honestly I didn't care. It was bound to happen any moment.

"I'll let have free rent..." I looked up at her with confusion. "But, I want something in return."

"I don't have anything to give you."

"I'll take all of your properties and give you a thousand bits." I didn't even think about this could go for me, but oh well, I was having fun.

"Deal." We exchanged ours parts of the deal and I was back in the game. I did roll a double making it my turn again, but with the luck I was having, I didn't to roll them. "Pinkie, roll these for me. I don't favour my luck." She rolled the dice and got me seven spaces around the board... and right onto Applejack's property. "Are you kidding me." It was one space off collecting money. Everyone laughed at my misfortune. "I don't suppose I can stay at discount?" I asked Applejack.

"Sure, but yah have to give me the rest of your money." She answered.

"What? That's such a scam. That's more that what I'd have to pay normally." Everyone laughed again at the ridiculous offer.

"Only by a couple hundred bits." She added.

"Really? How much is the rent?"

"The same amount as all the other times yah landed on it." I sighed and handed over the fake money. Leaving me with only two hundred bits. The next few rounds went it came to Rainbow. She moved her piece around the board. I got so excited that, for the first time, I would collect money for someone else. But was absolutely crushed when she used her chance card that get her out of paying rent. Then it was my turn. I rolled and landed on Rarity's property

"I swear I can't go one turn without paying someone." The laughed again at more of my misfortune. once again I was on the verge of going broke. "Any change we could strike up a deal?"

"You can stay for free if you wear a tu-tu." Raity offered.

"Only if Spike has to wear one with me." I said

"What? How did I get dragged into this?" Spike started.

"Deal." We shook hands.

"What? No." Spike continued.

Twilights horn started to glow, a few seconds later there was a flash around myself and Spike. I was wearing a silky purple tu-tu and spike was wearing a bright pink one. He wasn't too pleased with me or Rarity, but a deal is a deal.

The game didn't last much longer for me. My next turn I had to give the last of my money to Fluttershy. I sat around watching the rest of the game, but felt the need to sleep, so I went to bed. I'm pretty sure everyone else kept playing for another few hours.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3rd Person POV

The girls and Spike continued the game for half an hour before Rainbow was ruling the game.

"This was fun, but I'm going to bed. See you all in the morning." Spike said as he got up to leave. There was a collection of 'good nights' as he left.

"So Rarity, how did your day of shopping go?" Twilight asked making conversation as they packed up.

"It fantastic. Alex and I had so much fun trying on different outfits and going around to different stores." Rarity answered.

"Speaking of Alex. Have you girls seen his tattoo?" Rainbow asked. Twlight, Pinkie and Applejack shook heads in response. "It's like a pentagram with weird symbols inside, then covered with chains. It's pretty cool... or it would be, if it had a different meaning." Rainbow explained.

"Where is it?" Pinkie asked.

"It's on the back of his right shoulder."

There was a bit more talking about tomorrow before they all left to their own rooms.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex POV

We were in the carriage that was taking us to this place. The ride was pretty squishy. Me, Rainbow, Twilight and Pinkie were on one side and Applejack, Spike, Rarity and Fluttershy were on the other. I think it was only supposed to seat three people to a side. I had a bit of a scare when I looked outside to see we were about five hundred feet in the air. I'm not afraid of heights or anything, but I wasn't expecting a carriage to be flying. I flung myself away from the window and onto Rainbow's lap, who was sitting next to me.

It was a little awkward because her reflexes made her catch me in a bridal style position. "... Hey, do you come here often?" I said as I got back into my seat. Everyone had a little giggle at what happened, but no one was hurt.

The rest of the ride was faced with idle chatter until everyone felt a jolt as we landed. We got out and had a look around. It was pretty much what was expected. A few houses, a lot of farming land and a large forest next to the houses. We started walking towards the small village and the stallion we saw at the castle ran over to us.

"I'm so glad you all are here."he started. "My name is Fast Crop, but everypony calls me Fast."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Fast Crop. I'm Twiligt Sparkle and these are my friends: Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Alex." Twilight said, pointing to the respective pony, person and drake. We said our hellos and Twilight continued. "So what can you tell us about what you saw?"

"Well, I didn't see much..." Fast Crop began

I leaned over to Rainbow "That's helpful." I whispered.

"... But when I was collecting firewood in the forest, I saw that one of the lambs had gotten out of the pen. I went over towards it to guide it back home but it kept running away from me. I continued to follow it, but it ran out of my line of sight. When I rounded a large tree, I saw the lamb and just as I was about to step out, A large creature covered in shadows dropped onto it. The creature had large, slit pupils and teeth as sharp as knives. That's all I could see of the creature before I ran back to the village before heading to Canterlot." He said, finishing his story.

"How long ago was this?" I asked.

"It was about two days." Fast replied.

Twilight turned turned back to us as we all formed a small circle. "Slit pupils, sharp teeth. Sounds a lot like Nightmare Moon to me." She said.

"Well. If we're going after it, I think I would be more comfortable if I had a weapon of some sort... Maybe an RPG." I said. Everyone just looked at me not knowing what I was going on about. "You know, rocket propelled grenade?" I still got weird looks. "I'll just take a sword." I said in a sad tone. I would've liked to blow something up.

"I have an old sword you could use. It hasn't been used in a while, but it has been taken care of. If you want to use it." Fast suggested.

A little while later, we were trudging through a dark forest towards where Fast Crop had seen Nightmare Moon, or from what I've gathered, a reminiscent of her.

"This is the place." Fast said. "I don't dare go further, but I'm sure you've all got this under control." He said before walking away.

"Wuss." Rainbow whispered to me.

We continued around a large tree and everyone was hit by a putrid smell. "Oh dear holy mother of fuck! what is that?" I yelled out in disgust. Everyone had the same thought as they covered their noses. I went further to find the mangled corpse of the lamb. Everone else soon came over to look at the source of the smell. Poor Fluttershy nearly threw up at the sight. "That... Looks delicious." I said as I bent over to grab one of its legs. I don't know why I did, I knew nothing good could come of it. And even if I moved the corpse, the smell would remain for a while longer. But it did, and as I did, the leg I grabbed tore off. Everyone cringed at the sight. So I flicked my arm to the side and launched the leg into the forest. "Eww, I really don't know what I was expecting from that."

We continued past it in search of this Nightmare Moon character. The girls were very on edge walking through this forest, so was Spike. I didn't get it. So I thought maybe a little fun wouldn't hurt. I started walking a little slower than the group so I was behind them. I picked my target... Fluttershy. I picked up my speed slightly but quietly. When I was directly behind her, I spread my arms out ready to wrap them around her. "OH MY GOD!!" I screamed as I wrapped Fluttershy in a hug. She screamed along with a couple others, Spike was one of them. When Fluttershy calmed down a bit I let go of her. She turned around to face me. I could see she wasn't happy with me. With a huge swing, her hand came down on my arm. It didn't hurt, but the message was received.

"Alex, don't do that. You really scared me." She said as it looked like she was about to cry. oh no... My heart... It's gonna explode.

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy." I apologised. I gave her a hug, this time a real one, and she returned it. She had a few deep breath in and out before I leg go. I have to admit, I sort of regret doing that.

There was a rustle in some bushes in the direction we were heading and we all whipped around in the direct. I grabbed the sword from its sheath on my hip and readied it. I had no experience with swords. I've only ever used knives. It felt good to hold, though. It was light and sharp. It did only have one edge, so I might find some difficulty using it, but it's still better than my fists.

All of a sudden there was a huge explosion sound and we were surrounded by a ring of fire. I was quick to react and dove out before the ring had time to close. Twilight charged her magic and blasted the fire. There was a small amount of time it went out, but relit. Rainbow flared her wings and took to the air. I watched her as she was floating above everyone else, but I saw fireball heading straight for her. I yelled out to her to move, but she didn't hear me and was hit in the side. She fell towards the ground, but, luckily, was caught by Raity's magic. A figure walked out of the bushes towards us. They were shrouded in a cloak that covered everything except for their fire red eyes with slit pupils.

"HA HA HA HA." it's voice was definatly male. Deep and rough. "WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE. SIX PONIES AND A YOUNG DRAKE." He looked at each one with serious intent.

Apparently he didn't notice me. I started sneaking around the fire, behind trees. I was about 10 meters away from his side when he started speaking again. "No, none of you will do." he wasn't so loud this time, as if we was just talking to himself. "Hmm. I will just have to kill you instead." There was a large gust of wind that blew around us and he started sniffing the air. "What is this? I smell... I smell something very new... Someone that will work." I saw him starting to turn in my direction. I only had a few more seconds with the element of surprise, so I lunged out and ran at him with my sword gripped tightly in my right hand. He spun around as I swung my sword up from under my left arm and cut straight across his chest. He recoiled and stumbled backwards. I had a feeling grow inside me. I didn't recognise it at the time, nor did I register it, but it was slowing gaining control over me. I've never been a good fighter in my opinion. I lashed out with plenty more swings. I brought the sword back down on the angle it just went through, followed by a horizontal slash. I used the momentum from that strike to spin around and get even more power behind my next attack. He was able to dodge the big hit narrowly, but the sword caught his cloak and tore it off of him. It revealed a large body that had a very dark red, leathery skin. He wasn't wearing anything over his chest, and I could see the results of my attacks. They were just long scratches that barely pierced his skin. Over his lower half, he had black pants that were covered in a dark metal: over his knees, around his thighs, over his shins and feet, and around his waist. I looked up to his head and only now noticed that he was standing a good head and shoulders over me. He had a very angular face that looked slightly like a skull, only with a sharp and long jaw. He had large horns that were sticking out from the sides of his head and curved downwards where the points were next to his satanic smile.

I was temporarily paralysed. I've never seen anything like him before and any control I had over my body was lost. He used this to his advantage by raising his leg and gaving a very powerful kick to my chest. I'm pretty sure he broke any bone in that area. I slammed into a tree and he raised his right hand. There were two large staple-like things that formed infront of him and burst into flames. They went flying at me and before I could do anything, the flaming staples had pinned my wrists to the tree. I could feel the pain of them burning me. I watched as he walked over to the girls and Spike, still surrounded by fire. There were several blue and purple bolts of magic that were fired at him. He stepped back with each hit. I don't think this is Nightmare Moon.

Everything was all hazy from hitting the tree. I heard Twilight shouting about using Elements of harmony or something, but Applejack shouted back about Rainbow being unconscious. The evil guy recovered and raised both of his hands again.

I started to struggle against my restraints. I could feel them starting to loosen, but it was extremely painful as they were burning through my wrists. I kept fighting it, knowing that if I didn't, the girls would surely die. I couldn't let that happen. The restraints were very loose now. One more push and they gave way. I looked back over and saw that there was a dome of fire instead of a ring. Through the flames I could see a purple and blue glow twisting under the flames. Twilight and Rarity had a shield up. I looked at my arms and saw two very deep burns. They were almost at the bone. There wasn't much pain because my nerves had been destroyed. I picked up my sword that was conveniently beside me and changed at the demon guy. He was too focused on the fire that he didn't notice me until I lept up onto his back. From the interuption, the fire around everyone else had diminished. I raised my sword as he was trying to grab me and plunged the blade into his neck. He jumped up and fell backwards. I ended up being sandwiched between a four hundred kilo monster and the very hard ground. To say I was lucky to be alive was an understatement. He rolled onto his hands and knees while Applejack ran over and bucked him in the jaw. Twilight formed a bubble around him to contain him. He started jerking around in the bubble. Suddenly there was a massive shock wave of energy that erupted from him. It shattered Twilight's magic and blew everyone away from us. He pulled out the sword and started saying some cryptic words I couldn't understand. I closed my eyes as he crawled over to me and raised the sword above me. I opened them again to see the blade was glowing orange and had red engravings over it.

"YNCH NEH RUBOH!! He shouted out before slamming the sword straight into my chest.

"NO!!" Everyone shouted in unison. With that, both mine and the beast's bodies fell limp and everything went black.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My eyes opened to find that I was no longer in Equestria. I was floating in darkness, but I could feel a floor underneath me. All of a sudden the demon thing appeared infront of me with his arms folded. I stumbled backwards from the surprise.

"Do not worry. We may be enemies, but we are not fighting here." he started.

"W... What do you what? Who are you? Where are we?" I asked, still very on guard.

"We are in the Realm of Nothingness. he started. "I am called Ishrahg and I am looking for someone to wield my power" he answered.

"This is like, a complete one eighty flip. I mean, thirty seconds ago we were fighting to the death."

"Yes. But now you have a choice to make..." Ishrahg said.

"A choice?"

"Yes. I stabbed you with an enchantment. One that only allows one soul to return."

"Dude. What the fuck." I said.

"I will allow you to return. But you will be the new wielder of my power." Ishrahg said.

"And if I don't want your power?" I asked.

"I will return and slaughter your friends."

"Well. That sucks..." I gave a little thought about it. "This seems awfully one sided. If I go back, I get all these cool ass powers, and if I stay, all my friends die... So what's the catch?"

"You are more clever than I anticipated, however, there is no catch. I was betrayed by my brethren and outcasted. They killed my only successor, so now I need to find a new one before my time passes.

"No shit... *sigh* alright I'll accept the deal." I said

"Good..." He pulled out a ceremonial looking knife and slit his hand. "Do the same, then we shake on it and the deal is sealed in blood." I repeated what he did. placing the blade in my palm, I sliced across. I winced as blood started leaking from the cut. We grabbed each other's hand. There was a red glow around our hands and a wind started to blow. "Ha Ha Ha. You were wise to think there was a catch, but foolish enough not to pursue it." Ishrahg bellowed. Our blood started winding it's way up my arm. I tried to let go, but I couldn't. It slowly made its way up my arm and over my chest. I could feel it crawling up my neck and onto my chin, where it made its way into my mouth. I started screaming, but I only made a gargling noise as I choking on the blood. There was a bright light that blinded me. The last thing I heard was his laughter slowly fade.

Then nothing.

Author's Note

Worst thing happened while writing this. As I was searching up for what would look good with the first shirt rarity tried on, my sister walked in and was like "I knew you were gay." then walked out before I could explain. Why did she have to visit then? Oh well shit happens.:derpytongue2::twilightblush:

Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Next chapter will be coming soon.

7: Birth Of Fire

Three weeks. Three. Fucking weeks. That's how long I've been in Ponyville hospital. It was the closest one to the forest where I 'died'. They have had nurses and doctors transfer from Canterlot hospital to aid in my surgery. It wasn't the best of times for me, there were times where I was aware of what was going on around me, and there were times where I was fully comatose.

The first thing I remember since arriving at the hospital, it's a huge fuss. There were ponies everywhere, rushing and yelling at eachother. It was all blurry and I was always seeing three of everyone.

The next thing I remember is having a bright light shining on me while there are several doctors and nurses around me. One of the doctors was saying something to me, but I couldn't hear him. He had a scalpel in his hand and I saw him start to cut into my chest. I felt like I needed to scream, but I couldn't feel the pain, or make any noise. As the tiny blade was poking around my wound, the doctor was starting to sweat. He made the mistake of placing his hand against the edge of the deep hole. My body convulsed once and the doctor pulled away his hand. The plastic glove he had on was starting to melt. Two other doctors starting using what I guess was a healing spell. As they did everyone present suddenly jerked their heads at something to my right. I tried to look, but couldn't move. Then it went blank.

The last thing I remember is being in a bright, white room. There was plenty of light coming through the window indicating it was day time. I wanted to go over to the window and take a deep breath of fresh air, but once again, I couldn't move. The door opened and all of my friends walk in. Twilight, Spike, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy then Rainbow. They all looked so sad. I saw tears start to fall from Fluttershy's beautiful, teal eyes. Then she burst out crying. She was followed by Pinkie. I didn't quite understand it, they've only known me for just over a week, but when I get sent to the hospital, they react like this. I wanted to hold Fluttershy and Pinkie, and whisper to them that it's all okay, but again, I couldn't. Then they all did the same thing the doctors did. They all looked at something to my side before Twilight ran over to me and placed her hand on my arm. She recoiled as quickly as she started, holding her hand in pain. I hope I didn't hurt her... Then it all went blank.

In the moments I went comatose, I had bad dreams that only got worse and worse, they weren't very long but were very vivid. The first time, I was in some place that I imagined hell would look like. The ground was a hard, red stone that carried on to the horizon. There wasn't anything above me, apart from a black void. There were a few trees here and there, but they were just an ash black colour with fire as the leaves. I looked down at my feet and saw a lone flower. It looked very pretty, it had a yellow stem that led up a few inches and had deep red leaves dotted around it. At the top of the stem was a black bulb, that was sprouting out into a flower that had red petals with orange tips. The two colours on the petals looked like they were fusing. I was thinking of it being a sign of hope in a despairing place, type of clichè. I bent down to touch the petals, but as my finger came in contact, the flower burst into flames and turned to ash. I don't know why, but it sort of felt disturbing.

The next dream, I was in Ponyville markets. It was like any normal day. I was with my friends and we went to see Applejack at her stall. She told us about her sales so far and I went to pick up an apple, but as I did, they all caught fire and turned to mush. I didn't even know apples could catch fire. But when I looked up to apologise, Everyone was looking at me with emotionless faces. I looked around and saw that everything was now on fire: buildings, ponies, stalls, everything. All of my friends were surrounding me and started saying things like: "There is no place for you here." or "you should just kill yourself." It really hurt, and was getting into my head because it was opening old wounds of my adolescence. With tears in my eyes, I ran up to Pinkie and grabbed her shoulders, asking her to stop. She didn't. When I looked back at my hands, they were on fire and I was burning Pinkie. My hands were melting straight through her flesh. I could feel her bones touch my palms. I yanked my hands away from her, but her expression didn't change. There was blood pouring from the wounds. I looked back at my hands and they were covered in blood and the fire had turned red. I looked back at Pinkie to see the red flames had started to cover her entire body. Her fur and skin were falling off, her flesh was burning away, leaving bone everywhere. Half of her face had burnt off. I saw the tendons across her jaw slowly start to rip, eventually her jaw just fell to the ground. She kept burning with that emotionless expression. It was close to her being just a skeleton when her expression changed. It twisted into one of extreme agony, and she let out a blood curdling scream, then fell to the floor still burning. As the life was leaving her body, her strenuous voice said my name. I was so mortified that I had just killed my friend. I fell to my knees. The other five started repeating the word 'murderer' in a demonic, monotoned chant. I could feel something growing. It felt like anger and frustration mixed with something else. It was growing faster and faster the more they chanted. I was doing anything I could to hold it in, but I just felt like I was filling up a balloon before it pops... and it did.

"STOP!!" I screamed as I felt all of that built up aggression, leave in a fiery explosion. My shoulders kicked back along with my neck. Flames poured out of me, along the ground and outwards in a circle... it felt so good. I looked at everything around me and saw the scenery had changed to the Everfree forest. The burnt corpses of my friends still around me. As I looked at each one, more and more regret welled up inside. Infront of me, a door appeared. Curious, I got up from my knees and walked over to it. I opened the door and noticed my hands were still on fire. Inside was a dark room with a full-body mirror in the centre and a light above it. Walking over to it, I gave pause to what I saw. My feet were bare, but covered in flames. My black jeans had thin cracks going all the way up, that were glowing orange and red. My hoodie was now black, and had a leathery look to it. It also had small spikes going from on top of my shoulders, down the outside of my arm, to my elbow. What got me the most, though, was my face. It was no longer the masculine, tired face it was. My green eyes had turned to a fiery orange and the whites had gone black. My short, blonde hair was gone, and my whole neck was now just the spine at the back. I think I failed to mention that it was just a skull as well. I pulled up the bottom of my hoodie to see it I was all skeleton, but no. I still had skin only it was like my pants, cracks all over that were glowing red and orange. I wanted to see where the skeleton started and the body ended, so I pulled off my hoodie and shirt. At the base of my neck was where it changed. It looked like I had been decapitated, I could see down my throat, there was blood that was spurting out of the severed veins, but instead of falling onto me, it turned to fire that went up and surrounded my head. I gulped at the realisation that this is me and watched as all the muscles in my throat contracted and extended.

The light above me flickered and blew, sending sparks all around me. I jolted a bit from it being so sudden. I calmed down and looked back at the mirror. What I saw was even worse than watching my friends burn. It was Ishrahg.

"AH HA HA HAA! I felt the need to to rip him apart. My fist flew out as my anger rose, and smashed into the mirror. As it shattered, it turned back to me in the reflection and the flames around me had doubled in strength... That's when it ended.

The third dream was far more violent. Ishrahg stood behind me, laughing and egging me on as I grabbed the throats of ponies and revelled in their cries of pain and desperation before brutally ripping chunks of their bodies apart. I would laugh at their expressions of horror before devouring the flesh in my hand, or I would force one pony to feed on another. While it was a horrendously morbid dream, what really got to me, was the pure, euphoric joy I felt in the moment.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3rd Person POV

It had entered the fourth week since the encounter with Ishrahg. According to the doctors, Alex had made a full recovery but refused to wake up. It was very early in the morning when Nurse Redheart was doing her check ups on the patients. Everything had gone as per normal. There was a light click of her shoes as she walked down the quiet halls of the hospital. The next patient to check on was Alex. She came to the door of room 003 in the recovery ward. She opened the door to hear the quiet beeping of the heart rate monitor, and the relaxed breathing from Alex's lungs.

Redheart picked up the clipboard and went over everything written down. She placed the clipboard back down and had a look around the room. Everything seemed to be in order, but there was one thing she had to do differently and that was check Alex's temperature. There was a thermometer beside Alex, so she picked it up and placed it into his mouth. After a few seconds the mercury read a normal thirty seven degrees (98 F). She pulled the thermometer out of his mouth, wiped if off and placed it back down on the table next to him.

*groan*

Redheart jump at the unexpected noise and looked around for the source, to see the room empty. She looked at Alex to see he was stirring from his coma. She got a little anxious at the sight of him waking up, especially since the doctors said the chances of him waking were very slim. She watched as his eyes fluttered open and looked around the room, eventually falling to her.

"Good Morning, Mister Alex." She said.

"Mornin" he grumbled as his eyes fell closed again. All of a sudden is eyes shot open and he launched himself into a sitting position. It startled Redheart and she stepped back, but her foot caught the leg of the table. As she was falling backwards, she prepared for the impact. The impact that never came. She opened her eyes to see Alex had caught her. She looked into his eyes that were an amazing mix of green and grey. It was a lot like the book she was reading. On that thought she blushed and he set her back on her feet.

"You okay?" Alex asked. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"I'm fine, thank you." She replied. "But how did you catch me, you were on the bed?" He just shrugged his shoulders and sat back on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright I guess... How long was I out?" He asked.

"You've been in the hospital for just over three weeks." She replied. He seemed to have gone into deep thought.

"What happened while I was out?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but I remember things happening while I was out... Everytime, everyone would look at something beside me then starting to freak out... What happened?"

Redheart took a while to register what he said. She was busy thinking about how he was aware of what was happening, even though he was unconscious. "Um... Well, one of the doctors was analysing the wound. When he touched you, there was a very large heat wave through your body, it melted his glove and he was burned. Then two of the other doctors started using healing spells and cooling spells, but your heart rate increased tenfold. Far beyond the limit it should... Then you burst into flames."

"As you do... Was anyone hurt?" He asked after a small delay.

"No. Not badly. We contacted Canterlot and they transferred more doctors here to help... That's pretty much anything interesting that happened." She said. "You should rest..." She started.

"I've done enough resting for a while. I feel like I need some fresh air." He interupted.

The nurse helped Alex over to the window and opened it for him. He thanked her before she left to contact Twilight and the Princesses as they had instructed prior.

About an hour passed of Alex just leaning against the window sill. He was watching the stars in the sky, then they started to fade away as the moon was lowered and the sun was risen. Alex went back over to his bed and sat on the end, contemplating the meaning of his dreams. Particularly the first one. It was so different from the others, and Ishrahg didn't appear there. Just as he was thinking about the power that Ishrahg apparently gave him, the door burst open and a pink blur whizzed through. In an instant, Alex was being crushed in a death hug from his favourite baker mare, Pinkie.

"OhMyGoshAlexYoureAwakeImSoGladYoureAwakeWeWereToldYouWerentGoingToWakeUpAndItWasVerySadAndIMissedYouSoMuchButNowYoureAwakeAndWeCanThrowAWelcomeToPonyvilleAndBackFromTheDeadParty." Pinkie burst out in a tsunami of words.

Alex returned the hug, even though he couldn't breathe. He was going to let her have this one. "Hi, Pinkie... I missed you too..." Alex manage to say as his air ran out. "But... Need... Air..." She released her grip and blushed a little before getting off Alex's lap as everyone else walked in. "Hey, guys... I'm back." Alex said with his arms out. Rainbow walked up to him with a scowl. He dropped his arms, a little worried about what she was going to do. "Hey, Rainbow..." His words were cut short as she reeled back and slugged him in his left arm. "Ow."

She then wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. "Don't scare us like that ever again." She said with a hint of tears clawing at her words.

Alex returned the hug. "Never." He whispered as they parted.

She had a large smile now. "Glad you're back, doofus." how creative Alex thought. He looked at the rest of the girls entering the room followed by Spike. He looked at Fluttershy who had light tear marks down her cheeks. Just as he was about to say something, Fluttershy launched herself at him and latched her arms around his waist as she started openly crying. Alex was a little shocked, but returned the hug.

"It's okay, Fluttershy. I'm okay, you're okay." Alex whispered to her had he stroked her hair with one of his hands. After a minute, he grabbed her shoulders, pushed her off him and looked into her bloodshot eyes. "Everything's okay now."

She nodded to him and stepped back. One by one, each of the girls hugged him and let out a couple tears, glad that he was awake. When It got to Spike and he walked up to Alex. He was a little surprised as Spike wrapped him in a hug aswell, but he just returned the hug and gave him a small pat on the back.

The door opened again and both of the Princesses stepped through. Alex was a little surprised, but bowed to them.

"Thou need not bow, Alex." Luna said. Alex smiled as he stood back up.

"It's good to know that you're awake. We heard of what happened in the forest. You have our thanks for protecting the elements." Celestia said.

"I was just acting on my nature." Alex responded.

"I know it may not be the best time, but I do have some bad news. If you want to wait, say so and I will tell you when you're ready." She said again.

"Uh oh... Don't tell me the Delorean is broken." Alex said. They all just looked at him confused. "Don't worry about it, I'm ready for the news."

"Since your arrival, myself and my sister have been searching tirelessly for a way to send you back..." Celestia started.

"Oh... I see where this is going." Alex said in a low, sad tone.

"We hath not been able to find a way for thou to return to thine world." Luna finished.

"So the Delorean really is broken." Alex said while looking at the his toes and sat back down on the bed. A few tears started falling from his eyes as he thought about it and buried his face in his hands. "I really appreciate you looking for me." He finished in a muffled voice

"We all understand that its upsetting that you can't return to your life..." Celestia sympathised.

"It's not that..." Alex interupted.

Everyone looked at eachother confused. "If that isn't it, then what's wrong, Darling?" Rarity asked.

"I love it here. I have friends, I've been able to eat really good food, I've slept in a comfy bed... Back there I had none of that. I had no money, and anything I did get from illegal drug trading, I used so my brother could go to school and live in what comfort I could provide... That's why I'm so upset... I'll never be able to see my brother again. He's the only family I have left... I had left." Alex said before breaking down in tears. No one really knew what to do, they were too busy thinking about Alex's past. Rarity was the first to act, she sat beside Alex and rested her head on his shoulder as she put an arm around him.

"I'm sure your brother is doing just fine, darling." She said in a comforting tone.

"Yeah, and who knows? Maybe he'll end up here like you did." Pinkie added.

That filled Alex with the tiniest amount of hope. Maybe James will go looking for him and find a way to Equestria. But for now, Alex had to focus on his new life.

"There is one more matter I wish to discuss with you, Alex." Celestia said. Alex looked up at her. "Your living arrangements. I can have a room at the castle permanently assigned to you, unless you have other things in mind."

Alex didn't really like the idea of living so far away from the only ponies he knew, but he wasn't sure if Applejack still had that spare room. "Yer more then welcome to move back in at the farm if yer want." Applejack said, clearing his doubts.

"I think I'll do that, if it's okay." Alex said.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex POV

I returned to Canterlot with the princesses to get my stuff. The carriage ride there was... Interesting, to say the least. I think they were just having fun with me. The princesses sat opposite me and they would both take turns at making me all flustered. It started with Luna. She has more of an immature personality like me. She moved her hoof and it bumped my foot. Our eyes caught each other's and I quickly looked away with a slight blush. I still couldn't get over how attractive these two were. Celestia must've seen and thought it would be funny to cross her legs, but as she did so, she made sure to slide one of them up the outside of mine. Then it became a war of who could 'subtly' make me uncomfortable. In the end Luna won a pose that did uncomfortable things to me. She leaned forward, with her elbows on her knees as close together as possible while throwing me a confident smirk. The clevage, the look, the eye contact, I could'nt not get excited. I went bright red and had to try every move in the book to hide my hard on. I just hope I did. They both had a laugh and I saw Celestia give Luna a small bag of bits. devilish mares... I like it but that did make me wonder if I was able to hide my main man standing at attention successfully.

Anyway, before I left for Ponyville, I was saying goodbye to the princesses and they were so kind to offer them riding along to make sure I get back safely. I politely declined, causing them both to giggle. I really didn't think that they would be so childish, but it makes knowing them so much more enjoyable.

When I got back to Ponyville, Spike wanted to help me with my bags, but I only had one, and it was a garbage bag that I had gotten Feather Duster to get for me. Spike followed me from the centre of Ponyville, why they couldn't just drop me off at the farm? Who knows? He was saying he didn't have anything to do. When we got the Sweet Apple Acres, I knocked on the door and Applebloom answered. Which reminds me of something. Not long before the incident with Ishrahg, Spike was telling me about what the Cutie Mark Crusaders did. To find out that Applebloom was only seventeen was quite shocking. She totally looked like she was at least twenty. What the fuck? The same thing happened back home. Whenever I went to a club for some deals, there were always a few really good looking girls trying to come on to me, but then I would find out that they're underage and thank any god that I turned them down. Jail bait. He did tell me about Sweetie belle and Scootaloo, who was Rarity's sister and Rainbow's unofficial sister.

I was up in my room at the farm with Spike. We were looking over the sword Fast Crop let me use. A couple guards brought it too me about five minutes ago, saying that when they went to give it to him, he said that I should keep it and that I'll have more use for it than he will. Free stuff, Hell yeah! the engravings were still on the blade too, making it look really cool.

"So, Spike. Got your eyes on anyone?" I asked, knowing he would say Rarity.

"Well actually, yeah." He said. "Everypony still thinks I have a huge thing for Rarity." He continued after a short pause.

"Do you?" I asked.

"Well, not any more. Me and Twilight have been in Ponyville for about a month now and I was really in to her, but I guess now I know that even if we did get together, it wouldn't have lasted long. She is two years older than me." He said.

"Okay, so who do have in your scope?"

"Scope?"

"Don't worry."

"Uh... I dunno." He lied.

"Don't know if you can tell me? Here..." I started as I faced him. I put up my right hand in a fist, then grabbed his wrist. "Make a fist." I said. He did as told. I guided his fist so that both hit, his over mine. Then I did the same thing again, only with my fist on top, then hit them together in a fist bump."open your hand." He did as instructed and I grabbed his thumb and he grabbed mine. "There. Now we have our own handshake. We're brothers from different mothers. That handshake is very special to me. I learnt it from a young kid I was able to save from getting shot." I know it's a little dull, but it does the job and has sentimental value to me.

"Alright." Spike said... See...can't argue with the results "I like... Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo." Yo, Damn, three. Who's da dragon? You da dragon.

As Spike said that, Applebloom walked in. woah, that was close. Spike was sitting with his back to the door and his face said everything. He was really freaking out, but stayed still. "Hey, Applebloom. What's up."

"Granny wanted ya'll to know lunch is ready." She replied and walked back out, shutting the door behind her.

"Do you think she heard us?" Spike asked as we got up.

"Nnnaah." I said while lazily waving one hand in the air.

We went downstairs and saw Big Mac and Applebloom at the table and Granny in the kitchen. I sat down next to Big Mac and Spike sat next to Applebloom. Granny came out with a big dish of something and placed it on the table. I had absolutely no idea what it was, food like this is a once in a lifetime deal for me.

"Where's Applejack?" I asked.

"She's still out in the orchard, dearie." Granny answered.

"Does she know lunch is ready?"

"She always knows when lunch is ready, I'm sure she'll be along shortly."

"I think I'll go look for her." I said. As I got up, Spike was watching me. I looked back at him, then at Applebloom, then back at him and winked. I think he knew what I meant.

I wasn't looking in the orchard for long before I started hearing the echo of something hitting wood very hard. I followed the noise deep into the western field. I had to admit, everything looked a lot like it came from a painting. The leaves were a bright green, the apples were a bright red, the grass was healthy, and there were slivers of light that broke through the canopy. Eventually, I came to the source of the noise and saw Applejack still bucking away. She had her back to me and I don't think she knew I was there. Apples rained from the tree she was under and fell into wooden buckets. She paused for a moment and stood up straight, her back still towards me. She lifted her right arm to her forehead and wiped away the sweat. Everything sort of slowed down as I watched her run her hands through her brilliant, light blonde mane.

I shook my head a bit to bring me back down to Earth... or Equis, as I should start saying. My playful side kicked in and I thought of having a bit of fun. I looked up at the trees and saw that there were a few branches that overlapped from each tree, easy enough to climb across. I jumped up and grabbed hold of the tree above me and pulled myself up.

Applejack had moved on to the next tree and I was soon in the tree above her. I picked an apple before she released a powerful kick to the trunk. It was very weird, I could feel the power behind the kick in the tree, but it wasn't shaking or anything. Anyway, all of the apples dropped into buckets, except for one. I dropped it so that it would miss the buckets. Applejack saw the apple lying in the short grass, then up at the tree. I don't know how she didn't see me, but she didn't. She went on to the next tree after picking up the apple and putting in a bucket. This time I dropped two apples. The confusion was very clear on her face. The next tree I dropped three apples.

"Am ah losing mah touch?" Applejack asked herself and she scratched her head. I was struggling to hold in my laughter. This is so cruel. I had enough fun for now and decided to end it. When she kicked the next tree, I jumped out and landed infront of her in a curled up in a ball.

"Hey, that's a funny looking apple." I said while smiling up at Applejack.

"Ah don't know if ah should be surprised or not." She replied.

"Trust me, you shouldn't. And before you ask, yes, I was dropping the apples, and no, you're not losing your touch."

"How bout yah make yerself useful an' help me finish up here."

"I'm sorry. Was that Applejack? Asking for help? From me?" I asked in an overly dramatic tone. "We interrupt this show to bring you breaking news. Applejack has just asked Alex for help on the farm. Oh. My. God." She shook her head and continued on, so I started picking up the buckets and loading them on to the cart.

In no time at all we had finished the section she had started.

"So what took you so long?" I asked.

"Hmm? What d'ya mean?" Applejack replied.

"Well, normally you would have a section twice as big as this done by lunch, but today it's taken..." I pulled out my phone and checked the time "... Three quarters of an hour longer."

"Ah dunno, got a lot on mah mind ah guess." She said as we started pushing the cart back together.

*BANG!*

We both jumped from the sudden burst of sound.

"What in tarnation was that!?" Applejack shouted.

"I have no idea." I said in a much more calm tone. I had a pretty good idea, though. It sounded a lot like a compressed explosiation device... What I call a gun. "Why don't we find out? It sounded close." I suggested, mainly because I wanted to know why there was a gun here, I haven't seen any signs of them being invented or anything.

I started running towards the noise with Applejack not far behind. Soon we came to the fence that borders the farm and quickly climbed over. The trees turned from Apple to a pine-looking forest. There was another bang, only this time it was very close.

I had slowed down to a brisk, but cautious walk as I came to a clearing with long grass that tickled my knees.

"Would yah mind slowin' down a bit." Applejack called out to me. I looked to the middle of the clearing and I saw a body among a large patch of flattened grass. Almost like someone was fighting there.

I headed towards the body to get a better look, but something slammed into my side, knocking me to the ground. I quickly rolled over and got to my feet to see a stallion wearing some weird black robes with an orange sash over his left shoulder. The robes also had a few tears revealing wounds seeping his blood.

"Don't move or I'll blow a hole in your chest!" He threatened. Oh yeah... He also had a handgun pointing at me aswell. Now, I know I'm not the sharpest knife in the... Place where they keep the knives, but, I do know that when someone is pointing a gun at you and says not to move. You don't move.

I slowly raised my hands as a sign of surrender. "Chill, let's not do anything rash." I said. I noticed a long and thick stick laying between us. if I'm fast enough, I'll be able to move out of his line of fire, get to the stick and whack him into next Tuesday... Flawless plan.

I edged forward, trying to get into a good position. "I said DON'T MOVE!" He yelled as he stepped forward in effort to intimidate me. I was ready to shove a stick in his rectum right now... Side ways. I lunged at the stick, but before I reached it, my body crumpled into the ground. Which was followed by a huge amount of pain. See. Flawless... he had shot me in the shoulder Ha, so much for a hole in my chest you fucker.

when I regained my senses, the stallion was standing over me, gun pointed between my eyes. 'well, shit.' His grip around the trigger tightened. I looked straight into the barrel, awaiting the bullet with my name... *whack* ... The stallion stumbled around with both his hands on his head and Applejack was beside me holding the branch. This is the problem with bad guys. They always take too long to pull the trigger Applejack took a couple steps away from me and towards the stallion, getting ready for another swing.

The stallion stood back up straight and held the gun at Applejack and she froze, knowing what it could do after seeing a bullet go through my arm. This time there wasn't anyone who could hit him with a stick and I knew this guy was going to shoot Applejack, then me.

I got up to my knees, holding pressure on the new cup holder in my shoulder.

I watched as the stallion pulled back the hammer and tightened his grip on the trigger. "No!" I shouted as everything drastically slowed down. There were so many feelings bolting through my veins, it felt like I was going to explode.

My body started moving without me controlling it. My hands grabbed the dirt and launched my body at the stallion. As My body was rushing towards the stallion, I felt a huge adrenalin rush hit me along with a heat wave. As I neared the stallion, my fist reeled back then flew at his hand holding the gun. As my fist came back into my vision, it was covered in intense flames and the sleeve of my hoodie was black with glowing cracks covering it. My knuckles came into contact with his wrist and absolutely obliterated it. There was blood and bones that flew out from the point of impact as his hand disintegrated. His face slowly distorted to one of agony. The gun went off and a bullet whizzed past my head, and into the stick Applejack was holding.

Everything came back to normal speed and I was standing over the stallion, but I still didn't have control. He was rolling around the floor, screaming and holding the stub that was his hand. My body reached down and grabbed his robes and pulled him up to meet my gaze. As he looked into my eyes he stopped his cries and screams. His body went limp and his face turned from one of pain to one of horror. All of a sudden my vision went all hazy and warped. When I came back to reality, the stallion was at my feet mumbling and rolling side to side. Then he stopped rolling and drew his final breath.

I had control over my body now, but as I looked at my hands they were back to normal, along with my clothes. I didn't feel any pain so I looked at my wound and found it was healed, but there was still a hole in the hoodie.

I looked back to Applejack. When our eyes met, I saw fear. She wasn't moving, but she dropped the stick. "Alex?" She asked.

I didn't say anything, I just looked away from her and at the stallion.

"Alex, what happened?" She asked, her confidence had risen and she slowly made her way over to me.

"I... I saw" I started. I found it very hard to speak after what just transpired.

"You saw what? Alex, what happened to you?" Applejack asked as she grabbed my hand and held it with both of hers. I looked up to her and there were tears in her emerald eyes.

"I saw his life... Everything, good and bad... Every minute of his life. He has a kid, a wife... But they left him when they found out what he did... He was a murderer... His lust for killing came from his father... He treated him like a slave... Not long ago, he joined a group and was told to come here and kill.." As I said that last part, there was a cough from the body in the centre. "... Him." I finished.

I rushed over the body and got a better look at him. The memories of the stallion, or Comet Dust as he was called, didn't show me who this was, but what I saw wasn't what I was expecting.

It was another human.

"I knew I wasn't... the only one." He spluttered. I was truely in shock. I knelt down beside him.

"What... Who?" My words stumbled.

"I don't have long... You need... To listen." I nodded my head quickly. "I need you... To be... My host... Now."

"Host? What?" I really didn't like the sound of that.

"I can... Explain later... But it will... Allow me to... Live." He said.

"What? I need time to think about these sorts of things." I said very fast.

"Please..."

'okay, I have an option here. I can either say no, and let the possibly only other human die... Or I can say yes, and he can become a parasite type of thing... This is like those games where you have to make a very hard decision that will change the outcome of the story, So you choose and then at the end you find out your a bad person... Shit.' "Okay, I'll do it."

"Good... Hold still." 'How is this guy still alive?' He raised his hand and grabbed my forehead. There was a very weird feeling coming from his hand, like someone was reaching through to my brain, but no pain... And I spoke too soon. A huge wave. Scratch that. A huge tsunami of pain rushed from his hand. I screamed out and tried to move away, but I couldn't.

"Alex!" I heard Applejack shout out. She grabbed my shoulders and tried to pull me away.

"No, don't!" I managed to instruct past the pain. She let go and stepped back. The pain was rising and to be honest I don't know how to explain it, but I'll try. Imagine giving birth to a brick, now imagine that brick is actually a wall, now imagine that wall is actually a two storey house. That what I think this feels like, only with my face. Giving birth to a two storey house from my face.

There was bright flash that blinded everyone present. When I faded, so did the pain. I looked around and saw the grass around me had lost its lush, green colour for a dead yellowy brown colour. I looked at Applejack, and she had been knocked off her feet... hooves... and was sitting in the grass, rubbing her head. I looked at the stallion, and he was still there and still dead. I looked at the parasite guy and he was... Gone.

I got to me feet and went over to Applejack. I held out my hands, which she grabbed, and I helped her up. "Well, what a day this has been am I right?" I joked

"So what now?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, ah mean with yer whole light on fire an stuff."

"Um... I dunno, but if we could keep it between us until I can figure out what to do, that would be great."

"But we've gotta tell Twilight, she'll know what ta do."

"I guess... I think I just want to wrap my head around it first, though?"

"Ah dunno, Alex. I think it would be best if we talked t' somepony that knows about these sorts o' things."

"Yeah, you're probably right." I said with a sigh. "Just a little bit of time and then we can talk to Twi."

"Okay then, ah trust yah. We should get back, everypony must be more worried than a cat in a dog kennel." She said before turning around to walk off.

"Oh hang on one second." I jogged back and looked around for a little bit. Applejack watched as I searched around for a second and picked something up before heading over to the body and rummaging around his robes.

"What in tarnation are yah up to, Alex?"

I finished rummaging and jogged back to her. "I really don't want this laying around for someone to find. I also just grabbed what ammo he had on him." I explained showing the old revolver as we started our way back to the farm.

"What is that? Is that what he was pointing at us?" AJ asked, to which I nodded.

"This is why I was in such a hurry to come over here. You don't have anything like this in this world, do you?"

"Not that ah've ever heard of. You know what it is?"

"I sure do and I really don't like that it's here. It's called a gun, although, this one is very old. At least on my world it would be. They stopped making one's like this a good hundred years before my time since better, more efficient versions made these obsolete." I explained.

"You know how it works?"

"Yeah, sort of. It has an explosive powder in a casing like this." I said as I showed one of the rounds I grabbed off of Comet Dust. "Then this little chunk of metal is squeezed into the end so that when the powder explodes, it sends the tip flying off at insane speeds." I sighed at the thought of guns tainting this seemingly pure world. 'I guess guns couldn't be too bad considering the monsters here.' "These make killing far too easy. As you just saw." I added with another sigh.

"Well you better keep that better hidden than a stallion during heat season." I agreed entirely, I need to find a good spot for it. Maybe even keep it on me until I have somewhere secure to put it. Then I paused for a second.

"Wait what? What does that mean?" I asked.

"Huh, what's that?"

"What you said. Better hidden than a stallion during heat season. Are stallions not so flash in the warmth?" She started laughing and I couldn't have been more confused. I continued to just stare at her, waiting for an explanation. As she composed herself she looked back at me and I could see a realisation dawn on her, like a light bulb moment, and a smirk spread across her lips.

"Actually, jus' forget ah said anything. It's too long'uv a story." She finally said, dismissively.

"Wait, what? Now I'm more curious."

"Look, let's jus' worry 'bout gettin' back for lunch. It's nothin', anyway." She said, waving me off.

"Hmm, it better be nothing." I said, giving in and hopping over the fence bordering Sweet Apple Acres.

"Oh, and AJ. I really appreciate you not running away and screaming bloody murder when I... you know." I mentioned as I helped her over.

"Well, you're a good friend, Alex. I wouldn' jus' run off cause you did som' you haven't done before. And yah kinda saved mah hide back there." She replied with a smile so sweet I could feel my knees go weak. It didn't help that I had her hand in mine when she said that. I could feel myself crumbling for this girl... mare.

I cleared my throat to snap myself out my trance. "Ahem. Well you kind of save mine first." I replied quickly while trying to avert my gaze and find something interesting at my toes. I heard her let out a cute little giggle before we continued on.

The rest of the way back, I had time to think. I thought about how the fuck another human got here, I thought about how today's events went down, not even one day back in Ponyville, and something happens. At least I wasn't sent to the hospital, that wouldn't be very funny. I also thought about how Applejack was so calm after I went all human torch and everything, I mean sure I could see she was frightened, but she didn't run... I know if I saw me like that, I would've been like 'nah man, it's been cool knowing you, but I didn't sign up for this shit' then GTFO. 'She really is something. I think I could be living the rest of my life here happily with AJ around. Man, fuck earth... Oh Shit! Earth! How could I have forgotten, I need to keep searching for a way to get James here... I hope I can get him here. There has to be something the princesses missed. Something brought me here so maybe if I can find how that old hag got me here, then I can use that to get back and forth. Argh! But where do I start?'

I got back on my train of thought and back to wondering where that other human went, and how did I see that stallion's memories and life in a matter of seconds, and what the hell did I do to him. 'Fuck, there's a lot to think about.'

When we got back, I skipped lunch and went for a cold shower. It was very refreshing. When I finished I looked at my clothes and decided it might be best to wash them before I use them again. So I picked them up and headed for my room. I opened the door and saw there was no one in that hall. Luckily my room was right across from the bathroom, so I made a quick dash for the door and went inside. I closed the door and threw my clothes on the floor.

"Hey, Alex." A familiar voice greeted from the direction of my bed. I turned around and there, sitting on my bed... was Rainbow Dash. I don't know why I'm even surprised.
4þ
"What The Fuck!" I shouted and jumped back. I really shouldn't have moved so quickly... While my hands were flailing around, my towel came loose. When I landed on the floor, it was enough for the towel to fall. I looked down to see my genitals hanging freeing, in full view of Rainbow. I felt my cheeks burn bright red and I quickly grabbed my towel and covered myself. I didn't even care that I wasn't wearing clothes anymore, as long as I had that towel I was happy...er.

I looked up to rainbow and she also had a huge blush on. She was also biting her lip and had a look that I wasn't comfortable seeing.

"No one ever hears of this. Got it." I said completely embarrassed.

"Got it... Can I at least tell..."

"No one." I interupted.

"Fine." She huffed as she got up and walked over to the window. "Catch ya later, Alex" she said before flaring her wings and flying off. This brings a whole new meaning to catching someone with their pants down.

Author's Note

Chapters done. YAY!

So it took longer than I wanted, but my days got very busy over the past week. Basically a guy I work with tried to hit on my bosses wife, so he got fired and I had to do his quota, and I was. worked like 115 hours all week... But enough about my boring life. I'll try get the next chapter out nice and quick.

Okay, so this part was written several weeks after this chapter was posted, not long before the 12th chapter was published. I was going back and re-reading my story so the future chapters would follow my lore. In this chapter I read something very strange: at the part where Applejack and Alex are fighting that dude with the gun and Alex punches his hand to smitherines, it said:

Blood and boned and cupcakes flew out from the point of impact

. I never wrote "cupcakes". Isn't that funny.

8: Dodgy Deals (Edited)

"... then his towel fell and I saw his... Equipment. You can't tell anypony, though."

"So what was it like?"

"Well, it was weird. It was out of his sheath, but it wasn't hard."

"But if he wasn't hard, how was he unsheathed?"

"Maybe he doesn't have a sheath."

"You know, Pinkie. You're probably right"

"But, Twilight. Every stallion has a sheath." Rainbow stated.

"You have to remember, Rainbow. He's not a stallion." Twilight said.

"So what did he do after *ahem* revealing himself?" Rarity asked.

"He sort of just stood there for a couple seconds, then covered himself with the towel and said not to tell anyone about it." Rainbow answered.

"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted.

"What? He said 'anyone' not 'anypony'"

"That still applies."

"At least Applejack isn't here. Everypony knows she isn't the best at hiding secrets." Pinkie said.

"I doubt much harm could come of this." Rarity reassured.

"It still isn't right." Twilight said.

"Hey, what's everyone talking about?" Alex asked as he walked up to the four girls sitting at one of the cafes.

"Nothing." They all said in unison.

"Um... Okay. Do you have any idea how suspicious that is?"

"No, what are you talking about, Alex." Rainbow said evasively.

"So what brings you here, darling?" Rarity asked trying to change the subject.

"And why do you have an axe with you?" Twilight added.

"Oh, Applejack asked me to get this sharpened at a blacksmith or something..." Alex answered, holding up the axe. "... You girls wouldn't happen to know where that is, would you? I've been walking around for a couple hours and haven't seen anything. I also noticed that no one really cares about me anymore, which is pretty cool."

They all pointed behind Alex. He turned around to see a stallion hammering some metal outside a small building down the street.

"Oh. My journey is coming to an end. See ya." Alex said before waving goodbye and walking off.

"That was close." Rainbow said as the four watched Alex walk away.

"Hey, girls." A voice came from the other direction.

"Hey, Fluttershy." They all greeted.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex POV

I wonder what those girls were talking about. Oh well. I am on a mission and closing on the objective.

I walked up to the stallion working hammering on a bench.

"Excuse me." He kept hammering away. "Excuse me." I repeated a little louder but still got no response. "Excuse me!" I shouted at him just as he finished hammering. He turned around and gave me a weird look.

"There's no need to shout." He said. fuck you too.

"I was wondering if I could this sharpened." I said, holding up the axe.

"Yeah no problem, it'll be forty bits."

"Are you serious. It's like a ten minute job." I said trying to get him to lower his outrageous price.

"A ten minute job that'll cost forty bits."

"Dude, thats way too much for what I'm asking." I said.

"Look, you're not from around here and I'm telling you this is how it works."

"I'm not paying forty bits." We were both really stubborn about this, and we could tell that the other wasn't going to drop the deal.

"Alright, I'll make an offer."

"What kind of offer?" I asked.

"You help me out today, and I'll show you how to sharpen the axe."

"I dunno. Maybe throw in a little more my end." I coaxed.

"Alright. I'll show you how to sharpen the axe, and I'll pay you for you're help. Obviously the pay depends on the quality of your work."

"Hmmm." the skills could be useful... buuut I am supposed to be chopping wood today.

"Give a stallion an apple, you feed him for an hour. Teach a stallion to grow an apple, you feed him for life." He said.

"I really like that saying. There's something similar where I'm from... You have a deal."

"Great... and to tell the truth, I desperately need help."

"Well I have no experience, but I'm a hard worker."

"I'm Steel Finger, by the way. But just call me steel." Steel said while holding out his hand.

"Alex Regent, but Alex is cool." I said while shaking his hand.

Steel showed me how to sharpen the axe. I wasnt sure if he was just trying scam me or not, but i didnt get it as sharp as I thought I needed it. He preceeded to explain that because I was cutting wood I only wanted it to be a certain amount of sharp or the edge would just chip very quickly and I'd be back within the week. I explained to steel that I had to get back to the farm and do a couple jobs before I could help around the forge and he was fine with it, as long I was there later today and tomorrow. I went back to the farm and told Applejack about the deal I made and she was okay with it as long as I got a few jobs done first. I feel like this is one of those moments where you're told to clean your room before you go and play.

cutting the wood was easy enough, especially since the axe was sliding through it like a hot knife through butter, but it was getting very hot. My job was to cut down a small area of trees so new ones could be planted and then we sell the wood sort of thing. Unfortunately the sun decided to hang directly above me. The only point where I was in shade was when I was cutting down a tree. Once I cut down the tree, I had to chop off all the branches and down size the tree, so it was easy to cut into small firewood pieces.

I had just cut through a tree and it fell down with thud. I was sweating something shocking, but I cut all the branches off and started carting some pieces back to the farm. I had already taken off my hoodie, but doing this in black jeans isn't a good idea. I needed to cool myself off.

"Wan' a drink?" Some one asked from behind me. I turned around and saw Applebloom there with a big glass of icy water.

"Oh my god, that is exactly what I need right now. Thanks, Applebloom." I said and took the glass. I looked at the glass for a bit and had a little idea. Like I've said before, I'm not the brightest and most of my ideas seem good at the time. I lifted the glass above my head and tipped it's cold contents over my body. "*gasp* that is so cold... And so nice." I heard Applebloom giggle a bit as I looked down at my shirt. thats right, when white clothes get wet, they get transparent. the shirt stuck to my skin and showed straight through. The water started getting warm, and the shirt got very uncomfortable. I know I'm self concious and stuff, but those encounters with rainbow every time I have a shower and sort of dulled it a bit. I never thought I would be a little thankful for it.

I took off my shirt and hung it over the cart to dry out. There was a loud wolf whistle that came from the house. I turned around and saw granny on the porch waving at me. It sent a lone shiver down my spine.

Once I finished with a couple mor trees, Applejack came over and said that's all that was needed. I did notice her taking an uncomfortably long glance at me before I put on my now dry shirt.

"How come you didn't go for breakfast with the others?" I asked.

"Ah had too much tah do today." She replied.

"You know, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. You need to have a break every now and then."

"You're not the first t' say somethin' like that. Ah jus' can't afford to spend too much time away. There's only the four of us to work the orchards and Granny's getting old." She replied taking a sad glance to the old mare on the porch.

"Good thing I'm around to help out then." I said, flashing a smile.

"An' ah couldn' be more grateful." She returned my smile. 'Oh, god. That smile.'

"Look, next time the girls are doing something or meeting up or whatever, just let me know and I'll cover your jobs."

"Ah can't ask yah t' do that."

"It's the least I can do. I mean, you've given me a place to live. No, more than that. You've given me a place to call home."

"That's very kind of yah. Keep talkin' like that an ah'll be swoonin'." Her smile got brighter and it made me melt a little. Then she turned and walked off.

'Wait. Swooning? What does that mean?' It was took late to ask as Applejack had already left. Then I remembered my deal with Steel.

I made it to the forge at about three in the afternoon. I would've been there earlier, but a certain pink mare decided that I needed to have lunch, not that I'm complaining. I walked into the forge (that's what I'm calling it, because I can't read the sign) and saw Steel tending to the fire.

"Hey, Steel." I said.

"Ah, Alex. I'm glad you're here, business isn't exactly booming around here so I can't afford to have an assistant full time, but I've got an order from somepony for twenty, thirty inch broadswords by tomorrow afternoon."

"Right. So what do you need me doing." I honestly had no idea what to do, I didn't even know the difference between a broadsword and a normal sword... If there's even a comparison between the two.

"I want you to organise the shipment that just arrived. It's mainly steel, but it'll need to be melted down for the swords. There's a box just outside the door, take it out back and start unpacking." Steel instructed

"Right." I said as I walked to the door and saw a somewhat large crate. how did I miss this? I bent down and got a good grip and used my legs to lift. It was very heavy, but because I had already lifted it, it came down to honour. I managed to get it out back and put down in the middle. I had a quick look around the shelves lining all four walls. 'holy shit this place is a mess.' there were empty boxes everywhere, bits of scrap metal, broken swords, ingots, and something furry in the corner. The furry thing peaked my interest so I grabbed one of the longer broken swords and slowly went to poke it. As the tip of the blade neared the thing. It moved a little bit. Then a butt ugly head popped up and hissed. I released one of the manliest screams I've ever heard. The thing uncurled to show itself as a giant rat and it ran out the door as I wildly swung the broken sword in its general direction. A couple seconds later Steel ran in.

"What the Buck is happening in here?" He asked while looking around.

"There was a giant fuck off rat in here!"

"Holy Celestia, is that it? I thought a filly was getting raped or something."

"Hey, that was a manly scream."

"It was a filly squeal." He said before leaving me to my work. I decided to give the place a good tidy up before I unpacked the box.

An hour later Steel had finished tempering a couple of swords. "Alex. Where's that steel? I need more for the next swords!" He shouted as he came out back. "What's taking... So long?" He went quiet as he looked around the storage room. "Wow. I haven't seen this room clean in years." He said admiring the now organised and tidy shelves.

"I'm not surprised. The amount of shit I found around here. There were so many cob webs I think even the spiders suffocated." I said. He took one look at me and cob webs covering my body and laughed a little. "I've got the metal ready on that shelf, the scrap over there, the boxes in that corner, and the broken swords in that bucket. It should be easier finding things now. I tried sorting the other tools, but in all honesty I don't even know what most of them are."

"It's fantastic. Grab six ingots of steel and let's go." Steel said walking back into the main room. I did as told and followed. We got through most of the order in a couple of hours. Steel was making the blades and I was fitting them into handles and sharpening them, then wrapping them in cloth and storing them in crates.

"Right. I think that's good enough for today. We can finish the last of them tomorrow." Steel said and gave a powerful pat on my back that forced the air from my lungs. I got up from the grinding stone and turned to him. I finally gave notice of what he looked like. He had dark brown fur with patches of black over his arms. I wasn't sure if he had burnt it or if it was just natural. He was wearing a thick, dark green jacket and maroon pants with a black apron over top. His mane was a light grey and so were his eyes. His face was worn and hard, he looked about his late thirties. We shook hands and I was about to walk off home... Home, that's what it is now.

"Hold yer horses..." 'Ahh, the puns are strong in this one "... Don't ya wanna learn how to forge a blade properly?" He asked.

"We haven't been doing that?" I asked slightly confused.

He let out a guttural laugh. "Buck no. We've been using moulds and stencils. It's the fastest way I know of to make a sword. But the speed sacrifices quality. Don't get me wrong, we're still making the finest swords in the country, but I can show you how to make a sword worthy of the princesses." His enthusiasm sparked a twinkle in my eye. I was in total awe of this man... stallion. There's something about watching a master craftsman at work.

"You know... I actually do." I replied

Over next while, Steel showed me how to make a broadsword while he made one and I followed his instructions with my own sword. In the end it was a beautiful blade. It did wonders taking time Instead of rushing with mass production as he'd explained. It had perfect shape. The edge was even and sharp. It was shiny and the handle fitted perfectly. Then I looked at mine and it was dull, bent and wobbled at the joint of the handle and the blade. The edge was even and sharp, though. 'ha, Alex: one... Sword: three'

"Don't worry about it too much kid. It's the best first blade I've seen with somepony of your experience level. Not to mention the short amount of time we had. A true sword of beauty can take months of hard work." He reassured.

"Thanks. Ill just leave it here for the time being." I replied. He gave a short nod before speaking.

"Just needs practice. I'll see ya tomorrow."

"See ya." I said before heading for the door.

"Oh and ah, Alex..." Steel called out to me. "... Here's yer pay for today." He said giving me a small, but heavy pouch. I opened it and saw a decent amount of bits "Hundred an' eighty for a good job an' tidying the back." That seemed pretty good to me for only five hours work.

"Thanks. See ya tomorrow." I said before heading for the farm.

I got back just in time for dinner. I told AJ all about the sword crafting and she was happy that I hadn't gotten myself into something I was going to regret doing. After finishing, I headed upstairs for an early night, starting with a shower. On my way back to my room (you guessed it, in nothing but a towel. Just my luck.) I was stopped by Applejack.

"Hey, Alex..." She said, giving me the once over with her gaze.

"Applejack?"

"Ah was thinking..." She started.

"That's dangerous." I mumbled, but she heard me and gave me a stern look which I just gave an innocent smile to before cracking a smile. "Sorry, couldn't help myself."

"Ah was wondering if yah wanted to join me an' the others fer lunch tomorrow." She invited.

"I see you're taking my advice."

"Yeah, Fluttershy stopped by earlier an' asked. This time ah couldn' think of work, only you..." She said. A small blush arising. "... an' what yah said, of course." She quickly added.

"That'd be great. When is it?" There was a look of confusion and 'are you serious' that crossed her face. "I'm kidding. Tomorrow, lunch. What I do need to know, is where."

"Sugarcube Corner."

"I'll be there... I might be a little late, though. I've gotta finish this order with Steel Finger at the forge."

"That's fine. I'm sure we'll all be glad yah jus' showed up at all." She finished with another smile. 'I can't stop melting at that smile. What sort of spell has she cast on me. Stop with the sorcery magic man.' "Goodnight, Alex.

"Goodnight AJ."

I went into my room and threw on a fresh pair of undies before getting under the covers. Then a thought hit me. My eyes scanned the room top to bottom, left to right and inside out... No Rainbow. Why does she always show up when I'm half naked? Is it because she's a pervert? Maybe she's just helping me be more comfortable with my appearance, in a scary sort of way, or maybe she likes me and this is her way of showing it... Women or Mares. I'll never understand them. My thoughts were silenced as the realm of dreams over took me.

I opened my eyes to see that I was in a really beautiful forest. It was like that dream I had of the beach: night time with a warm breeze. As I looked around, everything was still bright as if it was day time. There was a large pond to my right and I was in a clearing with short grass and a few rocks. 'Where am I?' I thought. I started walking around the clearing, getting a good look at everything until I came to the pond. It was quite shallow and very clear. The bottom was lined with sediment and small pebbles. It was very calming.

"Nice place." A familiar voice rose behind me. I turned around and saw that other human.

"Where did..." I started, but stopped when he rose his hand.

"I will answer your questions, but first listen. We are in your mind. This is what your mind has created to house me. It found what you think is most comfortable and made an image to roam instead of a black void. There's a lot more to it, but that'll just waste time.. I'm Nathan by the way." He said and held out his hand after finishing. I took his hand and shook it.

"Alex Regent." I replied.

"Yeah, I know."

"So is it just Nathan, or is there more to it?" I asked.

"Nathan Summers."

"So, Nathan Summers. How are you in my head?" I asked.

"After that bastard shot me, I used the last of my power and life to imprint myself into your head."

"Oh right, gun. Please tell me its yours." I said with urgency.

"Ah, I see you're worried about firearms in this admittedly innocent world." I nodded quickly. "Yes it's mine. That dick got the drop on me as I was making my way to find you... We've had previous encounters." I recoiled a bit.

"Find me? With a gun? Please don't tell me you want to kill me. I've had enough of that for one lifetime."

"No. I don't want to kill you. I caught wind of another human and had to come find you, putting myself into your head wasn't what I had planned, but it worked."

"I swear my life has turned into a story or something now. I mean first I get thrown into a world full of magic and colourful ponies, next I get stabbed by this Ishrahg guy, now I've got you in my head."

"Right. Do you have any final questions? I can feel that you're starting to wake up.

"I have many. First being..." I started before he cut me off.

"Wait! Did you say ishrahg. Fuck you came across him. That's bad news."

"You're telling me. The bastard stabbed me with my own sword. Thank god there's magic here or I would've had a quick end to my new life."

"So what happened to him? Where was he?" I started to grow suspicious.

"You seem to care an awful lot about that dick."

"Of course I do. He's really bad news. He's the son of..." just as Nathan started to explain everything got blurry and i felt a tugging sensation. Suddenly everything faded to black then morphed to my room.

I looked to my bedside table to see my phone going nuts from the alarm I set. I reached over and turned it off, rolling over to my back and staring at the ceiling. "*sigh* let's see... I've gotta get these swords done with steel before lunch so I can be at Sugarcube corner on time... Easy enough." I mumbled to myself.

I got up and went to pick up my clothes when I remembered the ones Rarity got me. The bag was sitting on the dresser, waiting to be used.

I picked out the jeans and put the on. I was about to grab the white shirt, but decided against it since I'll be at the forge. Instead, I grabbed the plaid shirt and put that on and rolled up the sleeves.

When I made it to my destination, Steel was already there.

"Alex. Great we can start now." He said.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3rd Person POV

Three hours passed and the last sword was wrapped and packed. Alex hammered the last nail into the crate when a mare approached the forge. She was in a suit and was carrying a briefcase. She had tan fur, a long black mane, and was quite attractive.

something about this chick doesn't seem right. Alex thought as he eyes this mare.

"How's it going?" Steel asked.

"I'm here to collect the swords." The mare said as another mare and a stallion walked up out of nowhere.

"Twenty broadswords, each blade thirty inches long..." Steel confirmed the deal. "... The bits?" He asked.

The mare signalled to the two lackeys and they picked up one of the crates and took it over to their cart. where did that come from? Alex thought. They came back and went to pick up the next crate, but Steel stood in the way. "The bits?" He said, with a bit more power this time.

"My boss has informed me that the price for these blade is too high and is only paying half the price." The lead mare said.

"What!?" Steel yelled. "That puts me at a loss."

"We don't care."

Alex was outraged at this. Not only was all their hard work being cut off, Steel wouldn't be able to keep the forge open for long after this deal. Blinded by his anger, Alex dashed at the mare and punched her right across the muzzle. She fell backwards and landed in the dirt. The two lackeys ran at Alex with the full intent of beating him to a pulp. The stallion was first to Alex and threw a punch at his head. Alex leaned his head back just enough for the punch to miss. With the momentum, the stallion fell into Alex, knocking them both over. The mare kicked Alex in the face and blood ran from his nose. The lead mare had stood up and was watching the fight. Steel was still by the crate of swords, stunned by what's happening.

The mare went to kick Alex again, but her hoof was caught and twisted around created a few crack and making the mare fall to the ground. The stallion got up, grabbed Alex by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

Alex had that feeling again. The one where he felt like he was going to explode. He was running out of air and had blood dripping from his chin. He reeled his foot back, and swung with as much power as he could and felt a release of the feeling. Alex's foot burst into flames that extinguished as it collided with the stallions tesitcles.

The stallion dropped Alex and passed out shortly after hitting the ground. The mare was about to get up and run, but Alex stood over her and curb stomped her. There was a sickening crunch.

The lead mare decided it was time to leave and turned to run. Alex saw it and chased after her. The mare almost made it to the cart, but felt a very tigh grip around her shoulders and was thrown to the ground. Alex grabbed her by the throat and hoisted her into the wall of the cart. She looked into his rage filled eyes that had changed. They were black with glowing orange irises.

"Tell your boss, if he only pays half the bits. He only gets half the product." Alex said with pure venom. The mare's head couldn't have nodded faster. She was pertified from the look in his eyes.

Alex dropped her and she clambered into the cart which lurched forward and took off, being towed by two pegasi.

Alex regained his composure and his eyes faded back to their normal greedy grey mix. He walked over to Steel, who was still stunned and leaning against the crate. Alex snapped his finger twice and brought him back to attention.

"Holy Celestia. I'm glad you're here, Alex. Other wise I would've been completely ripped off." He said, calming down.

"It's cool. I could tell there was something off about that bitch." Alex pulled out his phone to see the time was eleven fifty six. "I can make it." He looked back up to Steel. "I've gotta run off, but it's probably best if you tell some local guards about an attempted robbery and get them to deal with these two." Alex said, gesturing to the unconscious stallion, and most likely dead mare.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex POV

I made my way to Sugarcube Corner. On my way, there were plenty of ponies that were staring at me. I don't know why, but my mind was otherwise occupied at the moment. I killed that mare. She was probably just following orders... I just... Did it. No hesitation. I just did... there was something that scared me more, though. As my foot crushed her skull, I felt so...good.

I came to the door of the Ponyville-famous bake house and walked in to see everything looking like a normal day. There were ponies at tables, at the counter and in booths. I saw my friends sitting at one of the booths and walked over to them. Seeing them flushed all the bad feelings away and a genuine smile adorned my face. I pulled grabbed a chair from one of the empty tables and sat at the end of the booth. Fluttershy was on the end with rainbow next to her, and Twilight against the window. Rarity was opposite Fluttershy, with Applejack next to her and Pinkie opposite Twilight.

"Hey, girls." I said as I sat down. Their conversations ceased as they all looked at me with smiles that instantly faded to looks of shock.

"Holy Buck, Alex what happened to you?" Rainbow shouted.

"Oh my. Darling, you look like you got into a fight." Raity added.

"What? I can't be that ugly." I said, honestly confused. Rarity pulled out a small mirror and handed it to me. I took the mirror and looked at myself. My hair was a mess, there was soot all over my face and a large amount of dried blood from my left nostril to my chin and on my shirt. There was also a very large bruise covering my left eye. "Jesus! I know what you mean now."

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked looking over my injuries. "You're nose is broken." She said, making a big deal over it and tilting my head in different directions. She carefully touched below my eye and recoiled and I whinced.

"Well. I made a deal with Steel Finger the Blacksmith. I was to help him fill an order for these people by today, in exchange, he paid me and shared his knowledge. Anyway, the people showed up and tried to rip us off by only paying half the agreed amount. I sort of got angry and beat up two lackeys and scared off the lead mare... I also sort of got kicked in the face, like really hard." I said.

"So who were these 'people'?" Twilight asked.

"I dunno, but they definatly meant business." I answered

"They are a group called The Blades of Hircine. An old order that use to hunt werewolves, but they diminished long ago. Now they are a small time mercenary group trying to make a pretty penny." I heard a separate voice from behind me. I turned my head around but didn't see anyone there. I turned the other way and still no one. 'What the hell?'

"What are you looking for?" Twilight asked me. I turned back to the group with a confused expression.

"I could've sworn I just heard someone."

"Well we were just talking." Rainbow stated, slightly amused.

"Nah, it was like a man... or, stallion." I replied, kinda creeped out.

"Yeah, that was me." There it was again. I jolted a little from the unexpected voice. This time it sounded all around me, like I had said that.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Fluttershy asked, clearly concerned.

"You guys can't hear that?" Okay, now I was really creeped out.

"I literally told you I was in your head this morning. It's me, Nathan. The other human."

"Oh what the hell? That wasn't just a dream?" I asked out loud, not noticing the weird looks from my friends. "How do you know so much about them?" I continued. The girls around me looked at me with confusion.

"What are you talking about, Alex?" Rainbow asked.

"Huh, ah fuck. Uh... Nothing. Nevermind." I said nervously.

"Hi. Are you friendly?" Pinkie asked, looking over my shoulder. We all turned to look behind me, but again no one. Now all the concerned looks were in Pinkie's direction.

"Wait, are you talking to... How?" I asked, putting it together. She giggled and nodded her head.

"Oh no, it's spreading." Rainbow cried pushing herself as deep into the chair as she could.

*ding*

"Ooo, the cupcakes are ready." Pinkie said before disappearing in a pink blur.

"What. Just. Happened?" I asked.

Once we all got over whatever happened, Applejack and Rarity slid over to let me into the booth and we talked for a little bit more. Pinkie returned a little while later and I excused myself to get cleaned up. Pinkie showed me where the bathroom was and I went inside.

I looked into the mirror and sighed at my reflection. I turned on the tap and threw some water over face and started rubbing off the soot and blood, being very careful around my black eye. I looked down at the sink and watched the black and red mix with the water and slowly run down the drain. I looked back up at the mirror and saw my eye had healed. I reached up and touched it and it didn't hurt. "What the hell?" I thought out loud.

"You have really weird powers my guy. Like, unreadable. I've never seen anything like it. Did you get them when you arrived here?" Nathan asked, appearing behind me in the mirror. I turned around and saw him standing there.

"Hold up. How can I see you? Aren't you in my head?" I asked.

"Yes. I still am, but only you can see me as I'm altering your thought pattern so that you think you see me, but you actually don't." He explained.

"That's pretty cool." I said.

"Yeah, but how did you get your... Abilities?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah. I sort of had to make a one sided deal with a demon guy that gave me his powers or I would die and he would kill my friends and rule the world sort of thing." I said blatantly as if it happens everyday.

"Now hold up a fucking second. Don't tell me that was your confrontation with Ishrahg." I stood there silently and Nathan stared back. "Well?"

"You said don't tell you."

"Fuck! You're an idiot!"

"Tell me something I don't know, but what's the big deal? He's gone. Said something about his powers being passed on or something. He's gone now."

"Ishrahg is one of four brothers. All being the sons of Jakhael, God and ruler of the underworld."

"Oh..."

"Jakhael died in battle three hundred years ago, and his brothers have been at war for the throne ever since."

"Oh..."

"Ishrahg was seen as the biggest competitor for the throne, so his brothers temporarily joined forces to eliminate him. They murdered his son and his wife so he didn't have a successor to rule after him, and he didn't have a wife to bare him another one. Thus making him incapable of taking the throne." Nathan continued.

"Shit..."

"Shit indeed. If he has given you his powers, that means you are now a rightful heir to the throne of the underworld."

"Shit..."

"It gets worse... I know Ishrahg, I've had plenty of disputes over the years. He wouldn't just give you a place on the throne at his expense. He wants the throne and my guess would be, he's going to use you to get there." Nathan finished.

"Okay. So uh. Just on a side tangent for a second... You asked if I got my abilities when I arrived here. How would that happen?" I asked.

"Ah, yes. Here's how it works. I was able to make it back to Earth and when I was there I studied magical properties. In Equestria, everything has magical properties, that's how unicorns and alicorns can alter things with spells. Anyway, when I was back on Earth, I found that everything there is exactly the same, including humans..." Nathan started.

"You what!" I shouted with him quickly signaling for me to keep it down. "How the fuck did you get back to earth?"

"Yeah, I get it, but the way I got back was through a magic mirror, but I have no idea where the hell it's gone or if it even still exists."

"Fuck. But there is a way, right?"

"Well... yes, but why would you want to go back. This world is leagues better. There isn't even a comparison."

"My brother, I have to get him." The urgency in my voice made Nathan pause.

"Okay, I'll help you track down that mirror, but you've got a way, way bigger problem to worry about. I don't think you fully grasp the concept of how fucked the situation is. You're powerless and second in line to rule the underworld."

"So I haven't got my own powers, I don't see the problem."

"Earth lost it's natural magic eons ago along with the first civilisation who are the great ancestors of humans. They have an extremely large amount magic within them, enough to equal those in the overworld and the underworld. But the ability to use it was lost. All humans have a connection with that civilization, although not as powerful. You coming to Equestria should have activated your magical properties because of the natural magic on this planet, but for some reason you dont have powers. I was able to use telekinetic and telepathic powers, you should be able to do something aswell." Nathan's words left me in a trance.

"Wait, wait, wait. So what your saying is, I have magic that I can't use yet... And that's a problem."

"I guess so... Maybe that's why Ishrahg chose you. Maybe he could see your capacity for magic and wanted to add that to his powers and probably take over the throne of the underworld by force. Most likely using you to get there. But without your own powers, that's means you're as good as dead." Nathan concluded.

"I'll just find a way to stop him, shouldn't be that hard. I could just not help him." I said, albeit nievely.

"No. Not that simple. We'll continue this later, there's too much to talk about and your friends will be wondering what's taking so long."

"Right." I said before leaving the bathroom to continue lunch and try not to get overwhelmed by all that information.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3rd Person POV

Canterlot Castle:

Celestia and Luna were having a lovely stroll through the castle gardens as they did every now and again.

"So Luna, I've noticed an improvement in you're speech." Celestia said, starting a conversation.

"Yes, I've been practicing in my spare time. We hope it helps with everypony's view of me." Luna said.

"You shouldn't worry about it too much. It may take time, but they will see you as you." After that was said, both princesses stayed quiet for a while.

"You know, Tia. I don't quite understand how my time on the moon has left me looking and feeling younger than we... I actually am." Luna started.

"Perhaps you didn't age there."

"But why would that happen?"

"It could be like discord. Being trapped in stone hasn't changed how he appears, and he's been like this much longer than you've been on the moon." Celestia suggested, gesturing to a statue as they wandered past. "and speaking of things we don't understand, what do you think of Alex Regent?"

"He is very... Different. His moods can change so quickly and the way he acts changes just as fast when either of us are present." Luna answered

"I think he doesn't want to offend the rulers of Equestria."

"Like every other pony." Luna mumbled in a saddened tone.

"He's quite handsome isn't he?" Celestia said with a knowing grin. Luna's cheeks started to flush with a red hue and she shot a surprised look to her sister.

"I have no idea what thou is talking about." Luna said, trying to allude the truth.

"Lulu. I've seen the way you look at him when he's facing the other direction." Celestia teased.

"Tia, please. We barely even know him... and even if we did have a thing for him, which I don't, it wouldn't be right for a princess to be with somepony of another race."

"And yet you were so quick to feel yourself up infront of him." Luna's cheeks grew bright red as she stopped walking and turned to her sister.

"You made that bet and you know it!" Luna exclaimed, getting all flustered.

"Calm down, Lulu. I'm only teasing." Celestia said. "He is handsome, though." She said, continuing her stroll as Luna stood there, a little dazed, before catching up to her sister.

"Can we please change the subject." Luna said.

"The Gala is only next week, it has come around fast hasn't it?" Celestia said, granting her sister's wish.

"We don't feel like attending this year."

"But it will be your first Gala in Canterlot. You use to love going."

"Indeed, but that was back everypony liked me... and before I grew jealous of your day. Nopony likes me now. Not after what i've done" Luna said with a sad tone.

"I know a few ponies, a dragon and a human that like you. I planned on inviting them anyway. I have to admit, lately the attraction of the Gala has changed from the clothes and dancing, to the nobles talking themselves up and it is getting very boring. Hopefully, they will liven up the party." Celestia said.

"I still don't feel as though we should attended. Especially since Blueblood will be there. He's so frustrating." Luna said, shutting down Celestia.

"Yes, he has made it very clear that he doesn't like you returning. But believe me when I say it's only because it pushes him further from the throne." Celestia said as the two princesses returned inside to prepare the invitations to the Gala.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex POV

After lunch, Fluttershy asked if I wanted to see her animals and I agreed. There's nothing like hugging a cute and furry creature... I totally mean the animals. Anyway, Fluttershy led me to her cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville and right next to the Everfree. Upon crossing a small bridge and heading inside, I got a very unnerving feeling. It wasn't from the house or anything, but I couldn't pin point what is was, so I ignored it, like any normal person.

We entered the cottage and it was very nice. A calming sensation washed over me as soon as I stepped inside. There were plenty of little wooden houses for birds and other small animals alike.

"Woah, this is amazing, Fluttershy. Look at all these little guys. Is okay to pet them?" I said, admiring the flurry of ferrets, rabbits and squirrels that welcomed us."

"Oh, I'm glad you like it." She replied, meekly. "And yes, they're all very friendly."

I knelt down and became absorbed by the abundance of fuzz. I could help but laugh as the all climbed on me and dove infront of my hands for attention. Fluttershy went about introducing me to each and every one of them. I had never seen her so enthusiastic and it was absolutely adorable. There was one little bunny that stood off to the side and just stared at me. I guessed that one must have been a little shy.

"What's that? You want to show Alex your homes. Oh, I'll ask him." It was super cute how she talked to them, but it did give me small doses of 'crazy cat lady' vibes. But then I watched them all jump around and compete for which little house we were going to look at, and that made me pause for a moment.

"Alex, they are all very excited to show you their little homes. You wouldn't mind having a look, would you?"

"Wait, you can actually communicate with them?" I asked, astounded.

"Why, yes. My special talent is being able to talk with animals. Well, not all animals." Now that is cool. I was quick to agree and she led me on to see each of the little critters standing at their little home. The experience was almost surreal. I was, however, quite distracted. I was seeing a whole other side of Fluttershy and I really liked it.

After the extensive welcome, Fluttershy proceeded to show me around her house, and it was by far the most cozy little place I've ever been in. All the while I had a ferret named Robert that refused to leave my shoulder.

She was telling me something as we stood at what looked like a back door. Her words slipped my mind as I was too busy

"You know, Fluttershy. It's very nice to see you like this."

"Oh, really? What do you mean?" She asked, using her hair to cover half of her face. 'Saving this to my memory.'

"Well, you just seem very comfortable and relaxed. You're also so excited to introduce me to these little guys. I don't really know how to put it. It's just... really nice to see you like this." I couldn't help the small, dreamy smile creeping on as I thought about it.

"Oh, um. That's very kind of you to say." Her words were almost a whisper as she tried to hide the blush behind her hair. "Um. There's more animals outside, if you'd like to meet them too."

"Absolutely." I said with a grin. Fluttershy took me outside but as I tried to step through the door my foot got caught on something and I headed straight for the ground.

Unfortunately, Fluttershy had just turned around to continue talking only to watch as I came plummeting towards her. I tried to twist my body to miss her, but I couldn't quite get out of the way. My next plan was to try and push her slightly so I wouldn't tackle her... However, I'm not that lucky. Instead I ended up just grabbing her shoulder as I fell and brought her down with me. I hit the ground first and with my twisting efforts I landed flat on my back, knocking the air out of me. Then I was double winded as Fluttershy came crashing down on top of me.

I groaned as I slowly regained the ability to breathe. 'I've gone blind!' I screamed internally as all I could see was pink, but then the pink started to move and I realised I had just been covered by a pink mane.

"Oh, Alex. Are you okay?" She asked, rising slightly so that her weight wasn't impeeding my already weakened flow of air. It did mean that she was on all fours above me and that is the part where I would consider myself a little bit lucky.

My eyes met hers and I felt myself get ensared by their brilliant cyan beauty. I couldn't look away, I couldn't even do anything. Anything except get lost in those enchanting eyes.

"You have the most beautiful eyes." The words slipped from my mouth like true betrayal. I couldn't believe I had just said that out loud. I felt my face burn up from the realisation and my hands shot up to hide myself. I wanted to just sink into the ground and enter the forever nap. Fluttershy froze for a moment before reeling back.

"Um. Thank you." She squeeked. "No pony's ever said something like that to me before." She added after a lengthy pause. I took a deep breath to calm myself before pulling my hands away. I saw that she was still kneeling on top of me, but her fingertips were gently placed on her cheeks as her eyes darted around to avoid further eye contact. 'That is the cutest thing ever. Argh I'm gonna die from cuteness overload.' her elbows squishing together to emphasise her cleavage admittedly made it that much nicer. "What happened?"

"I think I tripped on something." I said as I tilted my head to see back into the doorway and what might have caused such an awkward situation.

"Angel?" She whispered to herself before placing her hands on my stomach and pushing herself up. I wheezed as more air was forced from lungs. "Oh, I'm sorry, Alex." She rushed to correct herself and help me to my feet.

When I got my feet, I took in another deep breath to collect my mind. "Okay, so that happened. Uh, where were we?"

"Um, these are the rest of the animals that like to live here with me." Fluttershy answered in a much similar state to myself.

"Wow." Was all I could say as i took in the sight. There were many more animals out here, like bigger ones. Hawks, deer, dogs... A bear! A fucking bear! Just scratching himself on tree. I was really impressed with how these different animals were getting along so well with each other.

Fluttershy introduced me to a couple dogs and a cat. Now this cat was something special, and not in a good way. Fluttershy said its name was opalessence and I don't really know if it like me or hated me. First it was acting all nice and cuddly and I was patting it and everything. I even picked it up and was cuddling it and stuff. Then it decided to be a dick and stuck its claws into my chest. As a reaction I dropped the cat it fell with its claws still piecing my skin and ended up slicing a shallow cut to waist. I don't know how, but it ripped the clothes Rarity got me.

"Oh my. I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Fluttershy said getting all worked up.

"That really stings. Aw man, I liked this shirt." I said as she grabbed my hand and took me inside. I sat on the couch as she left to get a first aid kit.

"You know. I thought that cat liked me." I said when Fluttershy returned.

"Mmm, Rarity's cat can be difficult at the best of times." She said while unbuttoning my shirt.

"That was Rarity's cat? Of course it was." I said. When she got all of the buttons undone, there was a furious blush across her cheeks. I started to lose myself while looking into her eyes. She pulled out a cotton ball and put some sort of cream on it.

"This may um... Sting." She said softly, getting ready to run it down my cuts.

I didn't respond as I was too entranced. She carefully placed the ball at the top of the cut and I found a whole new meaning of the word 'sting'. I threw my head back and yelped with displeasure.

"Oh I'm so sorry." Fluttershy said after pulling away and smearing the cream everywhere but the cut.

"No... It's fine..." I managed to say through my teeth. I calmed down and held back my shirt for her to continue. I don't know why, I could have just wiped it up and I'd be okay, but there was something about the way Fluttershy was doing it that made me want to savour the moment.

She put more of the cream on the cotton ball and went to apply it. This time I was ready for it and stayed strong for her to finish.

After the cream was over the whole cut, she looked up "There, all better." She said.

Fluttershy POV

We sat there for a little longer. Everything started to faded away and I felt my thoughts diminish into nothing as I gazed into his green eyes. It felt like time had come to a stop completely. Alex leaned in closer and I copied. Eventually we were mere centimetres apart and we paused for what felt like hours. I couldn't take it anymore and I took the leap, closing the gap. Our lips softly collided, which grew into a passionate kiss. Our tongues danced around each other and I felt my heart rate skyrocket. He pushed deeper into the kiss as his hand came up and ran his fingers through my mane. It was such a good feeling, like nothing I'd ever felt before. Fireworks were going off in my mind and all of my senses had dulled, making that contact between feel so much stronger. It made want more.

I fell back on the couch, with Alex above me. The sudden stop of those wonderful sensations was almost shocking, but then his open shirt caught my attention. 'Oh, my. This is the first time I've openly looked at his body. I've never seen such a strong stallion's body this close.' I was so lost in the thought that I hadn't noticed my hand sneak it's way onto his chest and slowly run down over the defined muscles.

After admiring his physique, for maybe a little too long, I looked back up to him to see him chuckling softly.

"You like what you see?" His voice was like music. The deep vibrations sending a slight shiver down my spine. I drove me crazy and I could feel myself losing control. I leaned up and wrapped my arms around his back and pulled it down on top of me. I needed more of his touch. I thought he was enjoying this, if him diving back into a kiss was anything to go by. However, he suddenly pulled back and we separated, his expression slightly horrified. Oh no, I hope I haven't done anything wrong or made him feel bad.

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy." He said, looking at the ground ashamed. He stood up and went for the front door but stopped as he grabbed the handle. "It wasn't your fault, it's me. There's just so much I need to figure out." He finished with regret coating every word and continued out the door.

I sat there, stunned from what happened. 'Do something Fluttershy, he's hurt and you need to help!' My mind screamed at me and I snapped back to reality. "Alex, wait!" I called out to him as I got up and ran to the door. I looked outside and he was gone. "You don't have to go." I continued with no one here to hear me. I went back inside and flopped down of the couch. 'I hope he's okay... But that kiss.' Butterflies formed in my stomach as I thought about me and Alex kissing. My first kiss.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex POV

"You don't have to go." I heard Fluttershy say quietly from her door. I had ducked behind a tree by her door. I heard the door close as she went back inside. 'Alex you moron. What have you done? Why couldn't you just let the moment flow?' I thought.

"I agree. Why didn't you let the moment flow?" I heard Nathan's voice in my head.

"we're you watching?" I said in thought.

"Of course I was. So why did you stop?"

"Because..."

"Come on. I'm in your head, it's not like I can tell anyone."

"You make a good point. Okay... I stopped because she reminds me of... Someone else. Someone I never wanted to think of again."

"Explain."

"Back on Earth. Me and my brother moved to The Capital to get away from everything in Dunshore when I was eighteen and James was twelve. I joined a mercenary group and met a girl. that's all I want to say."

"Okay, but why did that make you stop with Fluttershy?"

"Because... I freaked out. I don't know?"

"I don't want to say you just ruined everything, but..."

"Let it go" I said out loud, showing my frustration. I needed to find somewhere to think. Leaving the cottage, I stopped and looked down the path towards Ponyville, then to the forest. It seemed like a nice place to go and vent a little. So I ran in.

After a while of running, I came to an old rope bridge that hung over a very deep and dark crevasse. There was a thick layer of fog covering the ground on the other side, leading up to some very large ruins. I scanned the other side, looking for any reason not to go over. "Damn you curiosity."

The bridge seemed stable enough... Apart from the creaking and wobbling and everything else, but I crossed it anyway. The fog was thicker then I thought. I couldn't see anything bellow my ankles. So I took the walk very slowly. I made it to the very large doors at the front of the ruins and placed my hands against them. I pushed them open and continued on inside. It was very creepy, but it looks like this place once held an amazing beauty.

I continued deeper into the ruins and found myself in a very large dinning room. 'it's almost as if everyone just got up and left this place' I thought as I looked around.

*sob* *sob*

The echoing noise made me jump. I don't know what's scarier, someone crying... Or someone crying in ruins. My mind was going crazy with ideas of who or what is crying. 'l've read enough books to know this can't be good... But what if someone actually needs help. Im probably going to be the only one that comes by for quite some time... Why does everything have to be so double sided?'

I went back out into the long hall and listened for more crying. *sob*. I followed the noise deeper into the ruins, round and round the halls. Soon, I came to more large doors, only these ones had a large crescent moon and was hiding whoever was crying.

I opened the door slightly with a large creak. "Hello?" I asked as I opened the door fully. There was a very bright cyan flash that flew straight at me and into my chest. The force blew me backwards and I hit a wall with a very loud crunch. 'Argh, I knew no one need help. No one ever need helps in these situations.'

I raised my head with my vision blurry. There was a feminine form walking towards me with her horn glowing with the same bright cyan. Then everything faded and I fell into the realm off unconsciousness.

Author's Note

Chapters done. YAY!

A lot happened in this chapter, didn't it?

There were some parts where I wrote this after work (which is about midnight) and I'm really tired. At these times my filter for words has vanished, so if there's incoherent babbling, or parts that are plain random. You now know why... But that's what makes this story fun!

Hope you enjoyed :raritywink::heart::twilightsmile:

9: A Different Kind Of Nightmare.

3rd Person POV
Two days since Alex was last seen

"Heya, Twi. Yah haven't seen Alex anywhere roun' here, have yah?" Applejack asked as she walked into Golden Oak library.

"Can't say I have, why?" Twilight replied.

"Ah haven't seen 'em for a couple days now."

"Really? Last time I saw him, Fluttershy was going to show him her animals. Why don't we go ask her?" Twilight suggested as the two friends set out. "Spike, I'll be back soon!"

"Wait!" They heard Spike call back as he came running down the stairs. "I wanna come."

"Why, we're just going to see Fluttershy."

"The last time I stayed at the library, you lot went and fought Nightmare Moon. I wanna join in on the fun... And it beats cleaning." Spike said.

"Fine." Twilight huffed.

It didn't take long for the three of them to get to Fluttershy's cottage. Twilight knocked on the door and stepped back a little.

"Who is it?" They heard a small voice from the other side.

"Its just us!" Twilight called back.

The door opened and they greeted eachother. Fluttershy brought them inside and went to make tea.

"So why are we at Fluttershy's?" Spike asked.

"Ah can't find Alex, an' he hasn't been back t' the farm since he came here." Applejack answered.

"So he's missing."

"We don't know that." Twilight said as Fluutershy came back and set the tea on the coffee table.

"So what brings you three here... If you don't mind me asking."

"We're looking for Alex. Have you seen him?" Twilight asked.

"Well... No. Not since we... Um." Fluttershy answered, but stopped trying to avoid mentioning what happened between them, but her blush told the three otherwise.

"You... what?" Spike asked.

"...kissed." She whispered.

"Come again." Applejack said, leaning in further.

"we... kissed."

"Fluttershy, you're mumbling." Twilight said.

"We kissed!" Fluttershy yelled and instantly shrank into her chair.

Applejack and Twilight were quite stunned, not only at Fluttershy raising her voice, but the fact that her and Alex kissed.

there was an over dramatic gasp that came from the door and the four of them turned to see who is was. Rarity had just opened the door to here Fluttershy yell. "We kissed? Who did you kiss?" She said, excited about the new catch of gossip as she sat down next to Fluttershy.

"Alex." Spike said nonchalantly

"Alex? You kissed Alex?" Rarity asked in disbelief.

"So when you say kiss. Do you mean 'kiss' or 'kiss, kiss'?" Twilight asked.

"How was it?" Rarity over excitedly added

"Well..." Fluttershy started.

"I really don't need to be here for this." Spike said as he got up and went to check on the tea.

"... It was. Okay." Fluttershy continued after a short pause.

"Okay? Jus' okay?" Applejack interrupted.

"*sigh* it was amazing. He was so... I can't even explain it. There was so much emotion and passion." Fluttershy stated in a dreamy tone, staring off to nothing.

"What happened after that, Darling?" Rarity coaxed for more.

"He. Um... Ran off."

"He ran off? Where did he go?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know, just that he was gone by the time I got to the door."

"The only place close enough to be gone that quickly is... Oh no."

"What?" The other three asked.

"The Everfree." Twilight answered.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex POV
Several hours earlier

I woke up with a blistering headache. I groaned in annoyance at the blunt pain and went to massage my head only to find out my arms were strapped to a table. 'Oh dear god, I hope that nightmare isn't turning to reality. Best thing is to stay calm... The worst thing to do is freak out'

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!! WHERE AM I? WHY AM I HERE? Why do I smell blueberries?" I screamed.

"I just love how you stick to your plans." I heard Nathan's voice.

"Shut up, Nathan. How about you do something." I said out loud as I started struggling against my restraints.

"I can pretent to unlock those chains. I cant guarantee anything as im still stuck in your head."

"Oh ha, fucking ha. Your just hilarious." I said with sarcasm dripping from every word.

"You are a most intriguing creature." A voice came from the shadows in the corner.

I looked over to see the feminine figure step into the light. She looked a lot like Celestia, only she didn't. She had a long horn jutting out of her flowing night sky mane 'Luna?'. She had very large, slitted cyan eyes decorating her attractive, angular face. She was wearing medieval looking armour that had cracks and broken chucks in it. She also had large, dynamic wings that fluffed around a little as she waited for my response. My eyes scanned over her body and I couldn't help but notice that even her armour couldn't hide her curvaceous figure and large assets.

She noticed me looking her over and gave a small smirk and revealed to me her sharp, pristine teeth.

"Whew, I though I would be alone here. How's it going?" I asked, visually calming at her presence.

"what the fuck is wrong with you? You freak out, but as soon as you see the scary lady that strapped you here, your all calm." Nathan stated, obviously confused about my metal state.

'Dude, shut up. If I play my cards right, who knows maybe I can see what's under that armour... I mean just look at her, she's so damn hot.'

"we're doomed."

"You aren't afraid?" She asked

"Terrified. But don't tell whoever put me here." I said, playing dumb.

There was a genuine giggle that was released from her lips. "You are either very idiotic, or very charming... It's hard to tell the difference with you." She said.

"Believe me when I say it's both. I'm Alex by the way, you are?"

"I Can't believe I'm saying this, but I think you might actually be on to something right now."

"I have many names, but the one you will be most familiar with is Nightmare Moon." She said in a calm manner.

'I was expecting more thunder, lightning and shouting. Maybe she's new to the whole villain concept.'

"So... What's a pretty place like you doing in a mare like this?" I said, trying my best at humour. 'Maybe if I keep her laughing she won't eat me or whatever.' She tilted her head at my deliberate mix of words.

"I don't understand." She said.

"Yeah, I think the panic is getting to me." I replied to which she responded with more of a confused look.

"I'm dying right now, but she isn't cutting us open so keep up the good work."

"I'm beginning to believe you are more troubled than I first thought." She said.

"AH HAHAHA"

"Ouch. Okay, all jokes aside, can you please not cut me open. I like my insides where they are, thank you." She didn't reply to my pleading, instead she seductively stalked up to the table and placed her hand on my chest. It was then that I spotted her very long and very sharp looking nails. I gulped at the sight and started to sweat. She started tapping her fingers around my upper torso like a piano as she continued stalking around me.

"Should I have the need to cut you open..." She started, her voice was filled with malice and dripping with bad intent. She continued to circle me until she stopped at my right side and leaned herself over me where she had her mouth extremely close to my left ear. "... I would have done so already." She finished before taking a deep breath and removing herself from me. "I merely wish to interrogate you." She said as she turned away from me.

"Whew. Oh man, I thought I was in serious trouble for a second there..." I said while mentally wiping the sweat from my forehead.

"Oh I never said you weren't in trouble..."

"You're so done."

"... But that all depends on why you are here." Nightmare Moon finished.

"Right. I'll tell you everything you want to know... If you undo the chains." I offered.

"Come on... She's evil. There's no way she's going to just let you go like that." As if on cue, her horn glowed along with the chains and they released me.

'You were saying.' I thought to Nathan as I got up from the table.

"Right. So, what's the first thing you want to know?" I asked Nightmare while sitting on the table.

"I wish to know why you are here. What is your purpose."

"Well, I kind of freaked out after a... moment with my friend and needed to find somewhere to vent and I came across these ruins and decided to go on an adventure. What about you?"

"I AM ASKING THE QUESTIONS!" She yelled at me. Which I involuntarily raised my hands in a surrendering way to calm her down.

"Okay, okay, okay."

"What are you?"

"Huh, I would've thought that would be the first question, it usually is... I'm a human, and no I don't mean any harm." I said in hopes of not getting into a fight with her. From what I've heard she rivalled Celestia... That's not a fight I want to start.

"A human, hmm? Are there more of you?" She asked, getting a little nervous.

I dropped my posture and stared at the ground after the thought of being alone hit me. "No, I'm the only one." I said with a sigh.

Unknown to me, Nightmare dropped her defences for a second and felt a little bad for me. She regain her composure to not show weakness. "What powers do you hold?"

"Honestly, I don't even know. It's sort of stressful. " I answered. "How about we go somewhere else, It doesn't seem so comfortable here. Do you have somewhere more... Inviting?"

"Is this the part where you get her out of that armour?."

'Okay, you got me there. Just let me focus on getting out of here.'

We ended up back in the room where she knocked me out. I knew because there was a large hole in the wall opposite the door.

"Can I ask a question now?" I broke the silence after we entered the room. She was still very uneasy of me being here and always kept me in view.

"It may be accepted... Chose your words wisely."

"Um... Why are you here? And how are you here? From what I've heard, you're supposed to be super evil and not even existing right now." I said which I pretty much regretted instantly as her demeanour dropped into one of sadness. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"No, it is okay... It's true, I was born from Princess Luna's pure jealousy of her sister's day, But my intentions were not of what's been told. I just wanted everypony to appreciate her... Our night."

'Theres always two sides to every coin... It's just this coin is the personalities of the goddess of the moon.'

"I'm sure ponies love the night. I know I do. But if I'm correct and your a split personality. How did you get into real life?" I asked.

"It was the elements of harmony. With our time on the moon, I was able to establish enough of a presence in her that when the elements hit us, it 'freed' Luna from my grasp." She explained as we sat on the bed in the room that was lit by candles.

"Wait, but why weren't you. You know... Destroyed."

"The elements are forbidden to cause death, because I had developed inside of Luna, the elements saw me as another being... That is just a theory." She started.

"And they didn't kill you because they can't. I get it now."

"So when's the part where you get her out of her armour." I heard Nathan say, full of sarcasm.

'Can you just like, stop talking.'

"So why are you still here?" I asked.

"Because everypony views us as a monster and if I were to make an appearance, the princesses would have me executed immediately."

"Geez, that's harsh. I mean I get it, eternal night and whatnot. But still."

"I just wish I had somepony to connect with." She said with tears forming in her eyes as she started crying.

'This is not how I saw this going' I thought as my weakness for people being sad around me kicked into gear. 'ARGH! Why does everything have to happen to me, I mean seriously... A supposedly evil mare is opening up to me, a stranger and a random from an unseen race, and is now crying because she has no friends... I hope I don't regret what I'm about to do...' I thought as I wrapped Nightmare in a hug. 'Im such a softy when I come to pretty women'. She recoiled a bit from the sudden contact and close proximity, but eased up from the emotional feeling and returned the hug. "I can be someone you can connect with if you want." I said. She had never felt such emotion flow through her that it pulled everything to the surface and she held onto me tightly and started crying her eyes out.

'Ah, fuck.'

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight POV
Two hours later

We met Rainbow dash soon after we exited Fluttershy's cottage and Pinkie showed up not long after. It was good because it maximizes our search time to find Alex.

We filled in the two mares and headed into the forest. I sent out a magical pulse every now and then to find Alex, but nothing was showing up. I had started losing hope after what felt like hours of searching.

"Anythin' yet, Twi?" Applejack asked as she came out from behind a tree to my left.

"Nothing. Do you think he's..." I stopped myself before I finished that sentence. I couldn't think that way.

"Twi, we saw Alex go up against that demon guy and Timberwolves. Sure he get's beat up a lot, but he always pulls through." Rainbow said, joining the conversation.

"Both times he ended up in the hospital in a critical condition." I mumbled to myself. I decided to send out one more pulse before giving up. I charged my horn and released the magic. A couple of seconds later I felt something. "Hey, I felt something from... That way." I said while pointing in the direction of the feeling. I felt it getting stronger as we ran towards the signal. The others had joined us and rainbow was flying above. I saw her come to a stop and land up ahead. We burst through the tree line and saw why Rainbow had stopped. It was the castle of the two sisters.

"I hope he isn't in there." Fluttershy whimpered, hiding behind Applejack. I sent out another pulse and it confirmed he was in there.

"He is." We went across the shaky bridge and into the ruins. It was darker than last time, so I flared my magic and summoned three orbs to provide light around the six of us.

"I think it might be best if we went in groups of two. Pinkie and I will go this way, Applejack and Fluttershy go that way and Rainbow and Rarity go that way." I instructed which was followed by nods and the respective pony going in the respective direction and one orb followed each group.

Pinkie and I found ourselves down many cracked hallways. It hadn't changed since the first time we were here. "You know Pinkie, it's been over a month since we were last here." I said, breaking the silence to lighten the mood.

"I know. Time sure does fly when an alien enters your life." She replied. I could hear the others calling out Alex's name and slowly getting louder. We came to a section where four hallways met. Applejack and Fluttershy appeared from the one on our left and Rainbow and Rarity came from the one of the right.

"Any luck?" I asked.

"Nope." Applejack and Rainbow answered together.

"Let's go this way." Pinkie suggested while bouncing on the spot in front of the empty hall. The six of us started to walk down the hall when we heard footsteps behind us. They were light and fast, yet held power to them. They got closer and closer to point where It sounded like whoever it was, was right infront of us, but shrouded in the shadows. The footsteps were followed by panting. The six of us started getting nervous and got ready for a fight, should the need arise. Just as the tension reached an all time high, a body bursts from the darkness and into the light of my magic orbs.

"Whew. I thought... I lost you girls... back in the forest." Spike said between breaths as he leant against a wall to keep himself stable.

"Spike! Don't scare us like that." Rarity said with annoyance.

"What happened to you? Where did you go?" I asked.

"Looking... For Alex *deep breath* when I went back to the spot we were looking, you were all gone and a small pack of Timberwolves showed up and chased me here." Spike answered regaining a comfortable flow of oxygen into his lungs. "They wouldn't cross the bridge, but when I got inside I heard you lot and ran to catch up."

"Spike, you're a dragon that breathes fire." Rainbow started.

"Yeah, and you're a pegasus that can fly, what's your point?"

"Fire burns wood. Timberwolves are made of wood." She continued blatantly.

"...and" Spike said, completely oblivious to his major advantage over the wolves.

"You could have turned them to ash with a burp. You didn't need to run from them." Rainbow said, spelling it out for him.

"...oh." Spike came to realise his stupidity, which all six of us facepalmed to.

"Shall we continue looking for Alex?" I suggested. "You know. That thing we came here for."

We went down the hall and heard faint laughter. It wasn't evil or dark like we expected. It was the genuine laugh of a mare. 'what is somepony doing in these ruins... and why are they laughing?' I thought.

We continued in the direction of the sound and eventually saw some light flickering from one of the rooms. I signalled for the group to stop and be quiet. We tip-toed up to the door with Spike in the lead. He peered around the frame of the door and halted.

"Spike. What is it?" I whispered from behind him. He pulled his head back and looked at me with a weird look.

"It's Alex, but he's with..." He gulped in between his sentence "...Nightmare moon." He whispered back. I didn't believe him so I pulled him back and had a look myself. Sure enough, there was Alex and Nightmare Moon... Talking... and laughing. I looked back to the girls and Spike behind me. "Okay. Nightmare Moon has obviously got Alex under some sort of control spell." I explained in my hushed tone.

"We have to stop her." Rarity said, maybe a little too loud so I covered her mouth with my hand and pulled my finger up to my lips.

Alex POV

"We have to stop her." I heard come from the hall. I looked over to the door, but saw no one. Nightmare had obviously heard it too because she looked a little spooked that someone else was here. I recognised the voice to be Rarity's, which can only mean that the others are here as well.

"That must be my friends. They're probably looking for me." I said to Nightmare. I saw she had become a little sad that I would most likely be leaving. I could tell she was enjoying this little chat of ours. "Why don't you meet them?" I asked. Nightmare did not like that idea at all. She grimaced at the thought of ponies running in fear or worse. "Come on. It's not like they'll kill you or anything." I persuaded

"How do you know that? They could be the cause of my execution." She said, starting to freak out.

"I'll act as a barrier. They won't hurt me and if I stand up for you, then maybe they'll see that your actually a nice mare that had good intentions, but was guided by wrong ideas."

There was something that sparkled in her eyes after I said that. I think it was just the thought of being able to know more ponies. Little did Alex know, it was actually the thought of him standing up for her.

'Did you say something, Nathan?' I thought.

"huh? Uh... No."

It was at this point Rainbow dashed into the room and went went straight for Nightmare. I quickly stood up and got into Rainbow's way, where she ran into me fell backwards, but I caught her before she could hit the ground and set her back on her hooves. The other six followed in and got into fighting stances.

"Hey girls, how's it going?" I asked.

"Alex you've got to fight her influence!" Twilight shouted at me.

"Influence? What?" I questioned

"She's controlling you for her own gain. It's what evil ponies like herself do!" Rainbow yelled, not taking her eyes off Nightmare. I looked back at Nightmare, still sitting on the bed, but with her head down.

"Okay. I think everyone just needs to calm down a bit." I said, but no one was listening. They all started blaming Nightmare for things and starting saying some pretty mean stuff that I could see was tearing it's victim apart. "Girls seriously. Stop. She's not as bad as you think." Still, no one heeded my words. I was starting to get frustrated and I could feel it building up. "Girls! Come on! Stop this!" I raised my voice, but again, they continued their verbal attack on Nightmare. I released a growl as I felt my frustration fill to the point of burning. "Stop! You girls have no idea about her!" I shouted, trying to get their attention, yet they continued. It was really starting to raise my anger.

"Alex, Calm down. You don't want to lose it in front of them." Nathan said, but it was too late I could feel the control slipping from my grasp.

I couldn't take it anymore. "STOP!" I bellowed as flames enveloped my body. This surely got the attention of everyone present. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT SORT OF SHIT!" my voice was starting to crack and demonise. The fire around my head, hands and feet were burning furiously and out of control. I could see the girls were very frightened of my appearance and I came to realise what happened. I looked back to Nightmare and she had moved herself away from the heat radiating from my body.

"Alex, you need to calm down before you completely lose control. It might even act as a beacon for Ishrahg." I heard Nathan inside my head and followed his words. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I opened my eyes, the flames were gone along with the heat and I was back to my normal self.

"I'm sorry you all had to see that..." I knew Applejack had already seen me like that, but I could tell it was worse to have this sort of thing directed at you. "... But the things you were saying about Nightmare, and ignoring me, just... tipped me over the edge. I'm sorry." I said to the girls and Spike.

"Alex? Wha... What was that?" Twilight asked as all others present slowly came back to their senses.

"It doesn't matter right now..." I started saying.

"It does matter, you just exploded into fire." Twilight interrupted.

"No It doesn't! Not right now!" I yelled, getting a little angry at her trying to change the subject. "You lot said some stuff that was way too harsh." I said in a much more calm tone.

"But, she's the reason the Princess was sent to the moon." Rainbow said.

"And why a whole platoon of Royal guards were slaughtered." Twilight added.

"And she's really mean." Pinkie also added.

"Yah can't seriously be takin' her side." Applejack said in disbelief.

"Okay. She's done some bad shit, but she had to..." I started.

"She had to kill ponies?" Twilight interrupted again.

"Twilight, I swear. If you interrupt me again, you will personally find out what sort of things I can do now." I threatened.

"There was no need for that." Nathan said. He was right, that threat was over the line. She recoiled and shut up. Can't argue with results.

"I'm sorry. Nightmare explained to me why she did what she did, and it's understandable." I said as I turned back to nightmare. "Go on. Tell them what you told me."

She stammered a bit but went on. "The guards that tried to stop me, when I was still a part of Luna, had the full intent of killing me. I know their orders were just to subdue me, but I could see it in their eyes." She started.

"Get to the point." Rainbow interrupted impatiently. I shot a glare her way. "Please, continue." She said quickly.

"I was acting in self defence, and I do regret using such a strong attack spell on them. You would have heard the story differently to what happened because I am the only one, beside Luna, who was there that still lives." She said, solemnly.

"Okay, but what about the whole 'night for eternity' thing? I mean you did try it twice." Spike said, which was a fair question, and the same question I asked.

"The first time was because we just wanted to see the night be appreciated. If it were to replace the day, ponies would see its beauty and the effort Luna puts into it. When we returned from our imprisonment, we saw that ponies still did not appreciate the night. I came up with the idea that if we were to take Celestia before she could raise the sun, ponies would notice the night sky... Alex has explained to me that there would have been better ways." Said finished.

"Wow, how could you think that was a good idea?" Spike asked, which received a look from Twilight, who was starting to understand the concept of two sides to every story.

"I was 'born' from the princesses' jealousy. My moral thoughts are skewed at first. Also, when you spend a thousand years on the moon, you start to resent the pony that sent you there." Nightmare explained.

"So does everyone understand why she did the things she did?" I asked and the seven infront of me nodded. "Good, now before we go anywhere. I want to apologise for getting a little angry at you lot." I said in a guilty tone, rubbing the back of my head.

"A little?" Rainbow joked but got elbowed in the ribs by Applejack.

"It's okay Alex. We understand... Some of it." Twilight said.

"How did you explode into fire and get all scary?" Pinkie asked.

"Why don't we leave here, then I'll explain everything."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Golden Oak Library

Getting out of the ruins and the forest was easy enough, but when we made it to the edge of Ponyville, Nightmare was pretty hesitant to keep walking because of how ponies will react to her presence. I suggested an illusion spell and a name change. After a look in Rarity's handy mirror, we ended up with a unicorn mare with midnight blue fur and an azure blue mane and tail. Here eyes were still the brilliant cyan, but were no longer slitted. Her armour had changed to a casual long sleeve shirt and pants that still held the blue metallic colour of the armour. Pinkie came up with the name Night Bloom and Nightmare liked it. I still reckon Adolf Nightler is better... Even though it has a dark joke behind it... But what they don't know can't hurt them.

"... So that's when I made the deal and woke up in the hospital." I said, finishing the part of Ishrahg giving me his powers. I'm not entirely sure if I should tell them about me and Nathan's ideas of what Ishrahg is planning with me yet... 'Ah shit. I still need the tell them about Nathan.'

"Yes. Yes you do need to tell them about me... and about how we're omnivours, but that doesn't really matter for me since I'm in your head." Nathan said.

"Wow, that sucks." Rainbow said.

"Not really. I mean, I can light myself on fire... How cool is that?" I said and Rainbow smiled in agreement.

"So did you find out anything of this Ishrahg? Like why he was in Equestria." Twilight asked.

"Um. Yeah. So it turns out he's the son of... What was his name..." I started.

"Jakhael."

"Jakhael, who is the God of the underworld."

"So yah got powers from the god uv' the underworld?" Applejack asked.

"The powers of the God's son, yeah. Anyway, Jakhael died a few hundred years ago and now his five sons..."

"four."

"Four sons. Are at war for the throne. Ishrahg was apparently the biggest contender so the brothers teamed up and killed ishrahg's son and wife so he was no longer eligible for the throne. That's why he was here, looking for someone to hold his powers so he could take back the underworld by force." I said.

"Who are his brothers?" Pinkie asked.

"I have no idea."

"We have to report this to Princess Celestia." Twilight said with urgency.

I agree. Having Equestria ready for any sort of repercussions of another war of the underworld."

'How could a war in the underworld effect Equestria?'

"Normally it wouldn't, but since you are now an heir to the throne and technically from here, all other forces will seek any type of advantage, such as setting colonies in this realm. The last time there was a war of this magnitude, it was well over a millennia ago and it was when Jakhael and his brothers were at war and Jakhael came here to bolster his forces. Do you know of the Badlands?"

'Sort of, it's that desert between Equestria and the Dragon Kingdom.'

"Well, it use to be an expansion of forest and contained many rebel colonies of most races that had subjects that disagreed with their monarchs. Jakhael found the area and gave the rebels power if they fought for him, they did so and the demon war moved to the badlands. To say his planned worked was an understatement. Jakhael took control over the underworld and set his sights on this world. I doubt she would answer, but if you asked Celestia she could tell you of the battles that occurred at the border of Equestria." I proceeded to relay what Nathan said, although in a shorter form.

"How do you know so much about this?" Twilight asked.

"Okay now's probably a good time to say that I've got another person in my head." I admitted.

"What?" They all asked together.

"Applejack, you remember when we found that other human just outside of your farm?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, his name is Nathan Summers and he used his powers to imprint himself in my head so he could live... Now I have another human living in my mind and he knows all these things, which begs the question... How does he know all of these things?" I said.

"I've done my research." Nathan said in my head.

"That makes sense." I said out loud.

"What makes sense, darling?" Rarity asked.

"Sorry, I was talking to Nathan." They all shared looks of concern with eachother.

'Is there anyway you can show yourself to them?'

"Not that I know of."

'Bugger. Hopefully they just take my word for it.' I decided to rejoin the conversations in reality. Perhaps at the wrong time.

"I think Alex might've hit his head a little bit too hard." I heard Fluttershy whisper to the others. 'Fluttershy... That hurts.'

I did notice Twilight had gone somewhere. "Hey, where's Twilight?" I asked which caused Fluttershy to jump.

"She went t' go write a letter t' the Princess." Applejack answered.

I needed to make sure only certain things were put into the letter. I got up and ran over to Twilight's study area and saw she was about to give the scroll to Spike. "Wait! Can I see that letter, please. There's only a few things I want the Princesses to know at the moment." I told Twilight.

"I guess you can, but we need to tell Celestia everything." She said, handing me the letter.

"I know, and I will, but we need to be careful about what we put in the letter." I lied as I read over the letter. "Can you please change it so that it only tells of the possible demon invasion... And not about my powers and Nightmare Moon."

"Why not?" She asked, taking the letter and re-writing it on another piece of paper.

"Well, I think it would be best if she heard of what I can do from me, and I know she's a very powerful princess and everything, but don't you think it would a little hard for her not to get emotional about the thing that caused her sister so much pain and let said emotions make actions that could cause Night Bloom to end up very hurt?" I explained.

"Oh, I see now." She responded.

Twilight finished the letter and Spike sent it. A few moments later, Spike let out a big belch and a letter formed from the flames. Twilight took it and read over it. She said that the Pincesses were very concerned about the information and were making going to make a hasty visit to properly discuss why we beleive there could be a demon invasion.

"It shouldn't take them long to get here." Twilight said, ending her spiel. I could see Night flinching with worry clearly plastered on her face.

"Are you okay, Night?" I voiced my concern.

"I'm concerned that they will figure out my true identity, or the spell might fall."

"You could hide. I like to hide from awkward situations." Fluttershy proposed. 'I don't think that's something to be proud of.'

"I'm sure you'll be fine, darling. If it comes to it, Alex would be able to keep everything civil." Rarity said.

"Yeah, he did that with us. He'd be able to do it again." Rainbow added.

"They have an unhealthy amount of faith in you."

'I don't need your pessimistic comments right now. Even if they're true.'

"You could go to Sugarcube Corner. The Cakes are very nice and there's plenty of cupcakes you could eat." Pinkie suggested enthusiastically. Night, however, was quick to decline.

"I would prefer as little interaction as possible with other ponies." She said sadly.

"Well then why not just hide in Twilight's room or something?" I thought I'd come up with a pretty good idea and Night must have agreed by the way she look hopefully at Twilight, but Twilight didn't seem so keen. "Come on, Twi. It's only for a little bit, please."

"Okay, fine. But please don't touch anything. I have a particular way I like to keep everything." She groaned. This made Night release a sigh of relief.

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door and Twilight answered it while Night Bloom hurried upstairs. The princesses came in and sat down while everone, but myself bowed. 'I never know when to do this.' After greetings were exchanged we got right to business.

"So Alex, would you care to tell us about your theory of a demon invasion." Celestia started.

"Well, as you say, it's only a theory. Basically what happened was..." I told them everything about Ishrahg and the powers and me being an heir to the underworld and Everything else up to Nathan, but left out about Night Bloom.

"I see. While that sounds very plausable, there isn't much we can do at this moment." Celestia said after I finished. It looked like she went deep into thought.

"I wanted to ask one more thing." I added.

"Of course." Celstia replied.

"What I wanted to talk about was that Nathan informed me that this sort of thing has happened before."

Celestial looked at me curiously before speaking. "I don't know how you you've come to this conclusion. I'm not aware of any demon invasions during my rule."

"Hmm."

'What are you thinking?'

"Maybe I was wrong. Can't say I know much about it, maybe it was before her rule."

"Wait, so you're telling me all this without actually knowing yourself?" I accidentally said out loud.

"I know this happened, okay. But I wasn't there. I may know more than you, but i'm not a living archive." The group watched Alex seemingly argue with himself.

"Humans seem to be very... Different in nature, don't they?" Celestia whispered to Luna who just nodded in agreement. "I think our business here is done. We have a lot more to think about. Thank you, Alex." She said before she started walking towards the door.

"Can't we stay a while longer, sister?." Luna asked quietly, but quickly gave up on her efforts before following her sister. They both said their farewell's and left in their chariot. We went back inside to see Night coming down the stairs.

"You can drop your illusion spell now if you want, they're gone." I said to her as I sat down on a couch. I noticed her look herself over as if it was a hard decision. I suppose it would be, this way she was a normal mare and not portrayed as an evil bitch. Her body enclosed itself in a cyan glow and she returned to her self. "What a day." I said with a sigh as everyone started taking seats. Nightmare was a little hesitant to sit with us, so I gestured for her to join and she came over sat next to me.

Not much was said for the next while. We were just letting today's events settle down a little, but I just decided I wanted to be in a mood where I didn't like silence.

"Hey, Rainbow. What's it like having wings?" I asked out of no where.

"What d'you mean?" she replied.

"I've always wanted wings, but I can't grow them. What's it like having wings?"

"Oh, it's awesome. If I want to go somewhere fast I can just spread these babies..." is she still talking about the wings?

"You're so immature... but that was a good one."

"... And just fly. It makes everything so much easier." Rainbow finished.

"I'm so jealous." I thought out loud.

It was'nt much longer before everyone started getting up and going to leave. I got up as well and started to walk out with Applejack and back to the farm, but before I left the library Nightmare, who was back in her disguised form, tugged on my sleeve. I turned around and found her awkwardly looking around and avoiding eye contact. "What's up?" I asked.

"Um... I have no where to go... Can I stay with you?" She asked with her cheeks burning brightly and hope in her eyes.

I really don't know how Applejack is going to react to this...

"You can't just make her go back to those ruins. They're so depressing and she must have a shit tonne of bad memories there." Nathan said to me.

"Hold that thought." I said to Night Bloom and walked over to Applejack. I saw all hope wash from her as I turned away. "Hey, Applejack." I said, getting her attention.

"Yeah." She said and turned away from the others.

"I know this might not be in your best interest... buuut Night hasn't got anywhere to stay and the ruins have got some really bad memories for her and she asked if she could stay with me, so I'm asking if that's okay?" I could tell by the way she was looking at me that she didn't like the idea.

"Look, Alex. Ah know yah wanna help her an' ah can respect that, but there's no more rooms at the farm." I'm glad she was at least understanding about it, but there's one more sleeve up my trick.

"She can take my bed. I'll sleep on the floor or something." Applejack was stunned by my suggestion. Mainly because I was willing to give my bed to someone who tried to end daytime.

"Are yah sure, ah mean this is Nightmare Moon we're talkin 'bout."

"I know. I've slept on the floor for someone before, it's not new to me. I'll take full responsibility for her." I said, sweetening the deal.

"I can only see that ending badly for you."Nathan said, but I ignored him.

Applejack gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine, she can stay with yah, but if ah hear or see her doin' any evil stuff. She's gone yah hear." She said in a hard tone, setting the rule.

I placed my hand over my chest for emphasis. "you have my word."

I went back to Night Bloom and told her the good news, leaving out the part of me sleeping on the floor. She was pretty ecstatic to hear it and jumped up and down then wrapped me in a hug while saying 'thank you' over and over again. I don't know why, but I thought she would be acting a little more... I don't know... Dignified. I thought the same about the princesses, but I mean they were feeling themselves up infront of me for amusement.

Me, Applejack and Night went back to the farm to see Big Mac and Applebloom packing up their equipment. Applebloom came over to us first while Big Mac went into the barn. "What took yah so long, AJ? We had tah do yer stuff as well." She complained.

"Turns out Alex was... Further away than ah thought." Applejack answered. Big Mac strolled over and stood next to Applebloom and just crossed his arms. "It's ah good thing Alex was able tah help us get ahead, otherwise we woulda' fallen behin' today, AJ." He was not impressed.

"I got lost in the Everfree the other day. Applejack came to my rescue. If she hadn't taken a walk from her work, I would still be out there now." I partly lied.

"Oh, in that case, it's okay with me AJ. Glad yer okay, Alex." Applebloom said, but Big Mac didn't say anything. He uncrossed his arms nodded to his younger sister before turning to Night.

"An' who's this?" He asked, rasising an eyebrow.

"My name is Nightm-Bloom." She said and gave a nervous smile.

"Nice to meet yah. Ah'm Big Mac." He said as they shook hands, albeit hesitantly on Night's half.

"An' Ah'm Applebloom." Applebloom added as she waved to Night.

"Nough chit chat, dinner's up!" Granny shouted from the kitchen window. We all went inside and sat around the table. I could see Night was uneasy about everything and stayed as close to me as possible without making it uncomfortable. It was another dish that I couldn't recognise , but it was delicious none-the-less. A thought dawned on me as we all finished up.

"Did you guys know it's been nearly a month and a half since I arrived... Even though most of it I was either in the hospital, unconscious or both." I said which gained a round of laughter at the last part. There was a little more talking after the meal was finished, mainly about what happened while I was lost in the Everfree. I told them that I found myself in the castle of the two sisters, went exploring and found Night Bloom, who was also lost. Two days later, Applejack shows up and leads us back to Ponyville and they bought the story. I got up and collected the dishes and took them to kitchen and started washing them. Granny came in and told me she was going to do them, I said that I was fine doing them, but she refused to let me do so. Long story short, I found out Granny may be old, but she has a very strong swing.

I led Night upstairs and showed her where the bathroom was, then took her into my bedroom. She had a good look around the room and a blush started forming when she saw the one bed. I grabbed one of the four pillows and threw it on the floor at the foot of the bed. I saw Night had a confused look so I explained that I'll be sleeping on the floor. Her expression of confusion changed to one of guilt and she tried to take my position. I told it's fine and that I did the same thing with my brother so it wasn't new to me.

Night Bloom POV

"I can't take your bed. You have provided me with friendship when nopony else would, you stood against your friends for me and was the cause of the first time I laughed. I have to repay you somehow." I said, trying to convince Alex.

"If you want to repay me, let me give you my bed." He said. I opened my mouth to protest, but I could see he wasn't going to give in.

Does his kindness and generiousity know no bound? I thought. I gave a sigh in defeat, "Very well. If that's how you want it."

"Cool. I'll be back in a second." He said before leaving the room. I looked at the bed and walked over to it. I placed my hand on the mattress and felt it was very soft, much more so than the mostly decayed one I used at the castle. I sat down and smiled as I enjoyed the way I bounced a little. The door opened and Alex walked back in the two rolled cloths.

"Here, you can take first shower." He said, handing me one of the cloths. The fabric was very foreign to me, it was rough but soft.

"What is this? and what is a shower?" I asked, completely confused.

"Oh right, there's a huge time jump from what you're use to. This is a towel, surely you had them..." He started, which I nodded to even though they were quite different. "Right. A shower is like a vertical bath. You stand in a small room like thing and water washes over you while you clean yourself." He explained. The concept was very hard for me to understand and he saw this. "It might be easier if I show you."

He took me into the bathroom and showed me the 'shower'. Upon seeing it, I was able to understand most of what he said. I turned the taps and the water burst from the faucet. "I think you can figure out the rest." He said before he went to leave. "If you need anything, call out." He said before closing the door behind him.

I altered the taps until the water was of a comfortable temperature. I went to undress, but I couldn't shake the feeling like somepony might walk in. With a simple spell, I locked the handle and continued on. Once I was fully undressed I stood under the water and revelled in the sensation of the flowing water pour over my body.

After I had washed my fur and mane, which was incredibly more dirty than I had noticed, I turned off the water and got out of the shower where my attention was drawn to the mirror. Using my hand, I wiped away some of the condensation and was unfortunately greeted with the reflection of Nightmare Moon. The smile I didn't realise I still had fell to a frown. I flowed magic through my horn and my hand that was still touching the mirror glowed. The mirror distorted and changed to my disguised self. I felt much better looking like this. My mane was that of a normal mare along with my height. My eyes were no longer slitted and my teeth, no longer sharp. I still don't understand why I was given sharp teeth. They don't allow me to eat meat, but only make it difficult to eat everything else. I really wish this form was permanent or if ponies would not be frightened by my real looks like Alex.

Pushing my thought to the side momentarily, I wrapped the towel around my body. It was enough to cover my features, but came a little higher up my legs than I would have preferred. I wasn't exactly dry and my mane was still soaked, but there were other ponies who needed to bathe before retiring for the night. After collecting my garments, I unlocked the door and stepped into the hall. The cold air brushed against my wet fur as I opened the door to Alex's bedroom and went in.

Alex POV

I was on my phone playing some games and listening to some music while I was waiting for Night to finish in the shower. I was just about to beat the game when the door opened. I briefly looked up to see it was Night Bloom. I was going to continue on with the game, but I instantly looked back up and stopped playing from what saw. I didn't mean to stare, but there was something about her water coated body that made it impossible to peel my eyes away.

Holy Fuck. I thought as my jaw hung slack.

"Amen." Nathan was obviously in the same state I was. Even though she was in a disguised form, her magnificent body remained: her large breasts, wide hips, flat stomach... Everything else. The lust was flowing extremely strong through me right now. I felt like taking her in any and every way...

I need to have the coldest shower I'm to resist this... It isn't right... but it doesn't sound wrong either... I struggled to hold myself together.

"The shower is free to your use." She said, partially breaking my trance.

"Right. Good idea." My words were fast and forced as I bolted for the bathroom, towel in hand, and locked the door behind me.

Holy shit, the things I would've done to that. I thought, recalling the sight and doing my best to make the memory as detailed as possible.

"Dude. If you do this right, there's no reason why you couldn't." Nathan said.

"No. It's not right, I've only known her for a day... She probably doesn't even want to do that with me." I said as I got ready for my shower.

Night Bloom POV

I laid in the bed as I tried to go to sleep but my thoughts were plagued. No matter my efforts they always returned to one... Alex. He was so accepting of me, even when he was chained down, he cared about why I did what I did, he cared about how I felt, he cared about where I stayed... He cared about me. I felt something I had never felt before, it was a burning sensation deep within me. I felt the need for something, something I didn't know of, but something I felt Alex could give me... I think I want to... mate with him.

Alex POV

"I feel like this is very weird." I said as I lathered myself with the soap.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked.

"Just the fact that I'm showering and you're here."

"What the fuck man? Why make this so weird?"

"I just..."

"I can select what I see, hear and feel what you do." He explained.

"Oh, that's good."

"Your disgusting."

"So that thing with Fluttershy..."

"Saw it, but I didn't feel it... and it would've been disturbing to hear it."

"Whew. So can you select what thoughts of mine you can hear?" I asked.

"I can always hear your thoughts, but if you talk to me out loud, like your doing right now, I can block you out."

"This is so confusing."

"To you maybe."

I rinsed off all the suds and turned off the water. I let the water drip off me for a little bit before I got out and started drying myself off. There was a large banging on the door that made me jump and almost slip over. "Don't take too long in there." I heard Big Mac on the other side.

"Yeah, just a second." I called out.

I picked up my clothes and got a whiff of what I smelled like. I recoiled and dropped the clothes. "Woah, I don't know how people could stand being in the same room as me." I said as I bent down and picked them back up, this time more prepared. I unlocked the door and returned to my room.

"Hey, night. It's just me." I said as I closed the door behind me. I dropped the clothes by the door and turned around to have something collide with my lips. Night had launched at me and was now kissing me. I sank into the kiss and returned the gesture. Our tongues started dancing around each other and exploring the others mouth. This was going to lead to one thing. I was drived by lust and my hands ran over her body, my right found its way to her breast and I started massaging. In return she moaned into the kiss and her head fell backwards from the pleasure separating us. I used this moment started kissing her neck.

"Oh, Alex. This feels so good." She said softly, remembering there are others in the house.

"Then you'll love this." I said as I paused massaging and wrapped both hands around each of her thighs and lifted her up. I took her to the bed and put her on her back while I laid over top. I noticed that she was already naked. Our lips pressed back together as we joined in another make out session. I used my left arm as support while my right glided to the inside of her thigh where it drew circles and slowly made its way up. She released more moans into the kiss as my hand reached its target. With two fingers, I started working on the lips of her quickly moistening pussy.

She reached down with one of her hands and undid the towel. It fell to the ground as she started stroking my cock that hastily got to attention. We separated briefly for air as my fingers pushed into her folds. More moans were elected from her throat before I retracted my fingers and repeated the process. Soon she was gasping for air in between moans, I sped up and started trying different angles. "Alex... I'm so close." She struggled to keep her voice down. I double my efforts again and her legs tightened around my hand as her body went stiff and she cried out, but muffled it by covering her mouth with her hand and her juices sprayed over my hand. After a few moments, she rolled to the side and pushed me onto my back and she slid down my body. A wave of pleasure rocketed through my body as her hot breath brushed my cock. She brought her tongue to the base of my shaft and slowly brought it up to the tip where she wrapped her lips around the head and started sucking. A hefty groan escaped my mouth while she used her's expertly. I could feel pressure start to build up and knew I would blow my load soon. I've lost my endurance over the long time since I last did it. The thought was lost from Night's amazing blow job. She quickened her pace and I did my best to hold on. I think she knew I was close. Another groan got loose and I was ready to finish but she stopped and was breathing heavily. I shifted around and got her back up on the bed.

"Do you want to continue?" I asked which she nodded to. I lined my cock with her pussy and slowly pushed the tip in. We both moaned from the pleasure and I continued to push in. There was a look of pain that crossed her face. I halted any movement to let her adjust. "Take as much time as you need." I said to make sure she didn't feel pressured into continuing as I kneaded her breasts to drown out some of the pain.

"Okay. You can start now." She said and I slowly pulled out to where it was just the tip still inside. I pushed back in, faster than the first time. We both released pleasured sounds as I picked up speed. I lowered my upper half and and started sucking on her nipple as I rammed her pelvis with my cock. I felt the build up of pressure again as I neared my thresh hold. "Alex, I'm so close. Harder." She said getting louder. We were too caught up in the moment to control our noise level. I obliged and put full focus on going harder.

"Argh, Night. I'm gonna cum." I said, gritting my teeth.

"Inside, ah... I want it inside." I did as told and with a final thrust, I shot my seed deep inside her as we both cried out.

I collapsed beside her as we laid in the afterglow, panting.

"That was one hell of a run." I said once I regained my breath. Night didn't reply so I looked over to her and saw she was already asleep. I smiled and pulled the covers over us and let sleep take hold of me.

Author's Note

Woah, things are getting heated. I wonder how Fluttershy is going to feel if she finds out... and what will happen if the Princesses get wind of Nightmare Moon being around? So many possibilities.

This chapter was a bit longer because it's very dialogue based and I felt like making it a bit longer so more happened. It was also my first shot at a clop scene so feedback is appreciated.

:heart: hope you enjoyed.

10: A Normal Day...?

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 :heart: Peace!